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....always a Jedi? But although I've always been a Jedi, I have been called a grey one and actually had more than one lapse into the void of the dark side. As any great Jedi Master will tell you, the dark side is part of everyone. And emerging from it again into the light is what makes you a true master of the Force, if you emerge again, that is..... Challenge #10 QUEST 1 : Nutrition/Snacking This didn't work out last challenge so I need to change it. Since at the moment I can't really control what I eat, I'll concentrate on quantity instead. Also concentrating on little thing Mission: No snacking between meals QUEST 2 : SIMPLE & SINISTER [ II OF XII ] Continuing the year of Kettlebell. I'm trying to reduce the light days (swinging a16kg) to no more than once a week and start to introduce some one-handed swings on the hard ones this time. Also I usually did two days off per week last time, but I need to reduce that to one day. TGUs ar not going to change for this challenge. Mission: 100 Swings per day (either two or one-handed) 24 or 16 kg 5 Turkish Get-Ups per side per day with a 12kg QUEST 3 : Nutrition/Tea The other little thing to improve the intake side of the equation. Drink at least one litre of tea (additionally to what I usually drink). Mission: Drink one litre of tea per day QUEST 4 : STRENGTH (ENDURANCE) WORKOUT This quest is competely the same as last challenge. Mission: Minimum Strength Workout (one exercise out of two of Push/Pull/Hinge/Squat) 4x per week Strength Endurance Worktout (like EMOM or for time or AMRAP for example) 2x per week Maximum Strength Workout (2 exercises out of one of Push/Pull/Hinge/Squat) 2x per week

#8 Waldgeist prepares for the S.H.I.E.L.D. Entry Exam Backstory : First Marvel Chaper Synthetic light is flickering through the room, a folder with my name on it is on the table. I know I'm waiting for someone, to get ..... something. I'm not sure, the memories of this persona is fuzzy. Only the personal stuff though, I know this worlds name is Earth, there is no magic here, but some advanced technology and other strange forces created by man or aliens. A woman enters the room and takes the seat in front of me, all while she eyes me intently. She opens the file and begins reading it: "Sex: Male Age: 28 Country: Germany Height: 182 cm Weight: 79 kg Body Fat: 22.4%" The fog begins to clear. This is an interview, one I need to overcome, to get where I want to be. If I just remembered how..... "I heard everyone at the Science/Technology division of the SHIELD Academy disadvised you against transferring to the Operatives division of the Academy? And still you want to do this?" "Yes, Madam!" "You know what the life of a field operative is like, right? You are gonna get hurt, hurt badly! And not just once, but repeatedly... " "You need a body, which is able to withstand that. And frankly, you don't have it." "With all due respect, Madam, you have no idea what I can or cannot do!"..... "I respect someone with ambition, clear goals and the discipline to pursue them.... The regular assessment for the ops division of the SHIELD academy will take place in just a few months." "It includes thorough physical as well as a medical assesment with the most modern technology. I'd actually like it if you pass, an agent trained in both science and operative division would be a great asset for the more demanding missions we are encountering more and more these days. But you have the same chances as everybody else, and you background may even be detrimental to passing the entry exam....." GOAL: Body recomposition a.k.a. loose the belly This will be the big goal for not only this but at least the next two challenges, maybe even more. I need to get this done before I move on to hunt other shiny things. Now, that doesn't mean I won't pursue anything else, but only things which will reinforce this main goal. QUEST 1 - Nutrition (1 CON I 1 WIS I 2 CHA) To achieve my goal I need a calorie deficit and the most important quest for that is nutrition/intake. The target here is a daily deficit of -500 and a weekly deficit -3500 which should rougly equate to 0.5 kg of fat loss. No more, no less. Grading: A (7 days) B (6 days) C (5 days) D (4 days) F (3 days or less) Don't eat that or you won't have a deficit today! QUEST 2 - Intermittent Fasting (1 CON I 2 CHA) Another helping quest to control calorie intake is IF, which also should alleviate the fat burning. Eating is only allowed 8 hours a day, the other 16 hour only water, tea and sugarless chewing gum. Grading: A (6 days) B (5 days) C (4 days) D (3 days) F (2 days or less) QUEST 3 - Calorie Burn (1 DEX I 2 STA I 1 CON) Now, while nutrition is the bigger part of the equation activity also counts. The objective is at least 10 minutes daily of fat burning activity like kettlebell swings, running, burpees or jumping rope. Grading: A (6 days) B (5 days) C (4 days) D (3 days) F (2 days or less) You can never do enough Push-Ups. QUEST 4 - Strength Preservation (3 STR I 1 STA) I only want to loose fat but not muscle. While I know that 100% muscle preservation is not possible, I want to minimize the loss as much as possible. I'm gonna do 4 groups of exercises split into two days done twice each week. Day A: PUSH (Push-Up Variations, KB TGU/Jerk/Floor Presses/Military Presses) + SQUAT (Air Squats, Goblet Squats, Pistol Practice, Lunges) Day B: PULL (Pull-Up Variations, KB Row Variations) + HINGE (KB Deadlifts/Snatches/Cleans) Grading: A (4 days) B (3 days) C (2 days) D (1 day) F (0 days) In-Game Games Those are things I'd like to do very much, but are not relevant to my goal and can fall off the wagon without problems. Parkour Practice is every Sunday, but technically I could practice anytime if I felt like it. This also counts for quest 3. NaNoWriMo I haven't been writing much this year and I really would like to change that. Doing NaNoWriMo seems like a good idea to fix that. 50,000 words in a month may be a bit forced, but force may be just what I need. REWARD If I get an overall grad of at least B I'll get myself an appropriate themed shirt as a reward. And another one just for fun.

My goal is to get bigger and stronger using bodyweight exercises, specifically I'm trying to cut my bodyfat in time for my wedding in 2015. This is just where I'll be posting between challenges, and after finishing my first challenge this year (WOO!) I have really gotten into the habit of logging. A few days late, so here's the past few days. Monday, 27th Meals: B Smoothie and bagels for breakfast, lunch was an apple, cheese, pecans/raisins, for dinner we had a potato/chicken soup with carrots that I made in our gigantic stock pot. Very very tasty. No workout, sorta taking it easy since I want to do a fitness assessment this week and it'll involve going near to failure. Water: B Had plenty, but could have more. Tuesday, 28 Meals: B Pretty much the same except dinner was stewed chicken with peas and onions that my fiance made, served over zucchini noodles. Yummy, and I didn't have to cook it! Still resting. Water: C Not well hydrated, in spite of taking my water bottle to my evening class with me. :\ Maybe I should take a sip every time she gets ahead of herself? I could drink a whole bottle of water in the 4 hour lecture like that! ______ Today's Wednesday and I'm planning on doing some kind of assessment to figure out which YAYOG plan I'll be using for the next challenge, may even start it next week so I'll be in the swing of things before the challenge starts.

So I didn't lose much weight last challenge (like a pound or two maybe), although I did gain a good amount of strength and was able to level up on my climbing (from onsighting a 5.8 to a 5.9). I'm very happy with that, but I do think that to break the 5.10 barrier I need to drop some poundage. So I am going to try Tim Ferris's Slow Carb Diet from the 4 Hour Body. Other goals remain. Main Quest is to (free) climb a 5.10. 1. Climbing skills: climbing-specific workout 2x/week. A - 2x C -1x F - none times :-( 2. General fitness: workout each day. I've got a good rotation right now between climbing, HIIT, a spinning class with weights, and yoga). A - all 7 days (including active recovery day) B - 6 days C - 5 days D - 4 days F - 3 days or less. 3. Nutrition: Follow Slow Carb Diet. Rules are as follows: 1. No white carbs (dairy, grains, potatoes, etc.) 2. Eat the same few meals over and over again. 3. Do not drink calories (Tim makes an exception for red wine, and I am going to make an exception for coconut milk in my coffee). 4. No fruit. 5. One binge day per week (woo!). This will be Saturdays for me. A - Perfect week. B - Cheated on a non-cheat day. C - Cheated on 2 non-cheat days. F - Cheated more than 2 non-cheat days. I have my first week's meals ready in the fridge and freezer. Looking forward to giving this a shot!

Third Challenge [ November 11th – December 22th ] Endangered Initiation Part II Actually started this on on Monday, November 4th. So, this challenge will last 7 weeks for me, with the first (unofficial week) being known as Week 0. Where I came from... Where I went after this... BACKGROUND STORY The two old Jedi stood on the high gallery and looked down on the training younglings in the great hall. “He has made some respectable progress, I give you that, Grand Master! But there are still weaknesses in him, that will prevent him from passing the Initiate Trialsâ€, the Jedi Seer said in a low voice. “Know that I do, but point out those to him I will later today! Assume they will be fixed, what do you think?†“Hard to see, even his near future is.... Even if he passes, many masters will refrain from taking him on as a padawan because of his past and the long time he took to face the trials. But some may and then I daresay he will pass his Jedi Trials, as well eventually, and become a knight!†The Jedi Seer looked sternly into the contemplating face of the Grand Master, before he added: “Success and failure are strangely intertwined in his fate, he may become one of the greatest or worst of our order, or maybe even no member at all! †The Grand Master sighed: “So, not only my sight is clouded here, but the force itself refuses to reveal his destiny.... Nonetheless, thank you for your help! Continue to specially guide this one, I will, until the trials or thereafter, when his path will be apparent.†--------- “Of course, you can speak to him, Grand Master!†The lightsaber instructor bowed low, before she shouted into the hall: “Waldgeist, you're practice is cancelled, you have a visitor!†The practicing younglings stopped at once and one of them left the circle to join the Master, calm on the outside, but bursting with agitation on the inside. “So, William Waldgeist, some time it has been, since the last talk, that we had. Fare how did you?†“I'm goo..., I mean, I have improved. But....†“Wondering wether it is enough you do?! This feeling memorize well, youngling, for you will need it all your life to push past the limits others and you yourself will impose on you!†Slowly the Grand Master walked around William, watching him carefully. “But, your thoughts now are focused on the trials, as well they should be! Spoken with your teachers and observed you myself I have. Improved you have enough, that the Council will order your trials somewhere in the next 6 monthsâ€, the Grand Master said in a clear voice, concealing the discussions that had led to this result. Many of the other members of the High Council had been of the mind, that William would maybe never been ready for the initiate trials and should be handed over to the responsibiliy of the Reassignment Council to become part of the Jedi Service Corps immediately. His diplomatic skills and the weight of his word as Grand Master and Master of the Order were the only things that had prevented this decision. But the price has been to fix the date of the trials in the next months, knowing that the time for preparation may not be enough. “I'm ready?â€, he asked with overboarding joy. The old Jedi cautioned him: “You can be, by then. But only if on the path you are now on you stay and focus even more on your goals!†“I will, Master!â€, the proud initatie said and bowed. “More there is, though..... Some flaws remain, made even more obvious by your improvement. All of them we cannot fix in the time you have left, but on the most important we have to focus on!†The Grand Master threw away his crane in a swift motion and without ever breaking eye contact with the youngling stood on his hands. “Both feet on the ground may work as a metaphor but for the movements of a Jedi it is not enough. Become a circus acrobat you will not by the time you're trials happen, but certain basics you will need. Know that you've failed here before and that this is something many a initiates struggle with, I do, but conquer this fear soon, you must!†The initiate wasn't surprised, he'd actually expected a pointer here and had already started to make plans, that would lead to improvement. “More flexible you've become, but still a major problem this remains, so concentrate especially on this as well! Shoulders and wrist are indispensable parts of you body, focus on them, you must!†MAIN QUEST – Mastering the Pillar of Self-Discipline (=Leaning Up/Body Recomp/Functional Body) GOAL I – Kill the dead weight (+2CHA / +1CON) “A Jedi with the force he flows like a leave, not a dead rock he is, blocking its current!†Basically this is a continuation of the last challenge(s), dropping fat by dietary means while not loosing (too much) muscle on the way. My usual nutrition (by now) is almost completely paleo, that's my base line and starting point. I'm also used to up to two 24 h IF sessions a week, but not gonna use them much this challenge I think. Aaaand last challenge I managed to half my sugar intake from about 120 g a day to about 60 g (take that sugar demon, hah!). If you look down, you'll see I'm about drastically reduce my sugar (all carbs actually) intake again and right from the beginning instead of slowly over time. Abtacha pointed me towards the carbnite concept/ketolysis in general, and I searched around for them and similar ideas in the depths of the internet. Long story short, I constructed/calculated the following macros for my personal use/need on (non-)training days, as well as more general guidelines for the refeed day/carbnite window. Since getting enough veggies(/fruits) in with that concept might be a little hard, I'll also be monitoring these. Goal is therefore to hit these macros with a margin of error of +/-5%. Revised after Week 1 Non-workout day: Workout day: Carbnite: Calories 1.685 2.055 3.600 PROT (g) 120 135-150 130 FAT (g) 125 155 60 CARBS (g) <30 <30 630 Veggies/Fruits 5 portions a day 5 portions a day 5 portions a day Grading: A – Hit macros on 36/49 days B – Hit macros on 34/49 days C – Hit macros on 30/49 days D – Hit macros on 26/49 days F – Anything less than D GOAL II – Body Control (+2STR / +1DEX / + 1STA) “Without control over his own body and mind, to be a Jedi is impossible!†Also a summarized continuation of my workout goals from last challenge. That includes Calisthenics, Gym, Karate each twice a week. Grading: A+ – A conditions plus passing green belt examinations in december A – Working out at least 13 times in each category B – Working out at least 12 times in each category C – Working out at least 10 times in each category D – Working out at least 8 times in each category F – Anything less than D conditions GOAL III – Weakness Elimination (+2DEX / +1CON / +1STR) “Mind what you've learned, save you it can from failure at the trials ahead of you!†A couple of things, that I lack or need/want to work on, as I noticed during the last challenge. A general part of this is my flexibility/mobility, bodypart-wise the focus is on shoulders and wrists and last but not least skills-wise acrobatics basics (really basic stuff like falling and rolling, but also the first steps towards the handstand) To tackle those weaknesses I want to incorporate them into my nightly routine, which worked out pretty good last challenge. Now I'll just have to invest 15 (or 20) minutes instead of 5, which should be still manageable. Nightly Routine: Karate (Kata, Stances, Kicks) Rolls (Parkour, Forward, Backwards) Handstand Progression Stretching (Hand-to-toes, ….) Shoulder/Wrist mobility Grading: A+ – A conditions plus wall handstand for about 30 seconds A – 7/7 days a week - 40/49 in total B – 6/7 days a week - 36/49 in total C – 5/7 days a week - 30/49 in total D – 4/7 days a week - 24/49 in total F – anything less than D LIFE QUESTS – Mastering the Pillar of Knowledge (=study/research/write) “A true Jedi is not fooled by informations other give him, he seeks knowledge out himself!†Grading for those will all be the same. One point a day if I actually did something, partial points possible, but higher bar than last time: A – 6/7 days a week - 36/49 in total C – 5/7 days a week - 30/49 in total F – anything less Thesis Finish Quest (+2WIS) Nothing new here as well. Just a closer deadline..... While the survey is running, I need to write extensively on all the chapters not dependend on the survey results, e.g. theory and methodology. After the survey's finished, the time for analysis and interpretation has come. Psy Class Mini Quest (+1WIS) 15 Minutes a day investment for either developmental or personality psychology/diagnostics. Be it reading a chapter, watching an online lecture, summarizing either one, making study cards etc. I want to be able to kick those exams' asses in March, so gotta prepare now! Oral Exam Prep Mini Quest (+1WIS) After I submitted my MA thesis, the oral exams will be the next dragons to battle in order to graduate. For the moment only two things to do here: 1) finding topics (and get them approved, but that is already done for 2/4 professors) and collect relevant literature, and 2) prepare 60 pages of original Japanese literature, learning new vocabulary, new kanji including reading and maybe even some higher grammar (that I don't know yet or forgot because of not using it). 15 minutes a day should be attainable, as well, I think.

Meat Tanking : Dual Class System I didn't participate in the previous challenge. If anyone actually kept up with my battle log, you'll know that I actually made a rather drastic change to my workout environment and implementation. I drank the kool-aid, I gave in to the hype, I signed up for Crossfit. I just recently finished my first month. If you'd like to talk about the advantages and disadvantages that I've found so far, I'd be willing to do that at some point. I'll tell you this much, when I was at a point where I was okay with mixing up my goals and trying new things, this is hitting the spot. It provoked me to wonder, can a meat tank dual class? Now, I'm not going warrior priest or anything silly like that. I'm just throwing a few points into Dexterity, maybe picking up a bow or throwing knives. Don't try and tell me that you wouldn't love to see someone sniper a few mobs before bum rushing into the thick of things to off tank.. Everyone knows that dual class characters are hacks, and as anyone that has gamed with me will tell you, I try to hack any situation that I'm in. So, I'm going to give this a shot. Is there a possibility that my power lifting total will fall? Oh it's a certainty. Is there a possibility that I'll be someone who can run a mile, then squat 4 plates? I'd certainly like to think so. I'll let you know how that goes. Main Quest I'm in a wedding the week that this challenge ends. My mission is to be in the best possible shape that I can be, because Warriors clean up damn well in tuxedos. I'd like to stay within the 195-205 pound range, but with the body fat percentage that I ended the first Armor Free Challenge. The goal is to complete this goal without affecting any overall fitness through my new workout regime. Goals That Serve A Purpose Goal 1: Drop 2" off my waist. I ended the first weight loss challenge at 198.5 lbs and a 36.75" waist. I'm currently at ~202 with a 38.5" waist, most of that from the week I just spent in London where the amount of fucks I gave about my eating was approaching absolute zero. [[updated 7/27 to reflect current sizing]] Over the last challenge, I learned that I needed to add carbs into my diet in order to be prepared for class. Going into a WoD at ~10 carbs for the day was leaving me gassed. So, instead of CKD, I'm going to try TKD. Targeted Keto is a variant of keto where you drop a couple carbs directly before and after your workouts, supplying just enough sources to fill your overall glucose levels and provide excess for muscle glycose levels. Doing a bit of research at the moment, but it looks like I'm going to be taking 20g of carbs before and will most likely wave the post workout carbs. The end game goal is 36-37" waist at around 200 lbs. That is my ideal. I look pretty damn good at those levels, and the drop is completely manageable in the time constraint. Bonus: Be under 200 for the wedding. Goal 2: Get to class 3x a week. Now, we're not going to get there just through diet alone. Body recomp is 80% diet, but it still requires me to be active for the left over 15%(5% has to be left as a buffer for genetic nature). I think I've figured out what my schedule can look like in terms of classes. It only took me a month, but that's just me. I have routines and it takes me a while to get them setup; afterwards, it's damn near impossible for me to break them. I'm looking at a Mon/Wed/Thur class routine. This leaves me with Saturday afternoons for open gym. That's when I get to go and be a meat head still. I'm still on a 3 times per week plan there, which may change at some point. But for the time being, this schedule is optimal. If I skip a class, I need to setup a 'fatty jar' or something. More on that, once I find a jar. Bonus: 3x a week plus open gym(or equivalent) every week. Goal 3: Add 10% to Snatch. BigM and I threw out the idea of seeing who could get to a bodyweight snatch first. We both started moving from pure PL to WL around the same time and he is an amazing athlete with which I can compare myself. It's fun for us to look at each other in terms of statistics because we are almost polar opposites in terms of what we're built to do. He has a huge leg up here as he's settling into a program with a coach that I've actually read articles printed by, someone of that notoriety. That said, I'm just really fucking stubborn and am good at whatever I do. I've been receiving real life coaching at class from our Oly certified coach. Everything that I try to remember from JDanger and AngelaTheGeek from their online feedback is reaffirmed immediately and in my face every Thursday night. Anywho, 10% will be ~16.5 lbs. That would require me to hit a 182.5 lb snatch. I think that's doable. I'm still at a place where my main weakness is form. I could probably go out there and power/muscle snatch that up... but that doesn't count. I want that shit to look pretty. Means I'll probably be snatching at least once a week, twice if at all possible. Bonus: Hit BW Snatch first. Life Goal: Putting myself out there. About two months back, I signed up for OKCupid. It's been an interesting experience, to say the least. I met and courted a girl for about a month before breaking things off. It's allowed me to try and be more social, in a very restricted and nerdy and safe way. That's a great start but... I want more. I have trouble with social anxiety and I'd like to try and stare down that monster. The goal here is going to be to interact with one random person per week. There's a caveat of course that Crossfit doesn't count, at least not people at my gym. So, this is people on the way to work, at the pub, around town, where ever... I always like to move outside my comfort zone when I'm travelling, but I don't do it here. I want that to change. Bonus: Get out with another fine young lass?