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Ok, it seems no one really comes to this page as I only see 2 other threads…..or it appears that everyone is off power lifting, but I will go ahead and post this here to see if it gets feedback. I have spent the last few weeks looking into different bodyweight workouts and have put together what I think is a good whole body workout for 3 times a week. Most all motions will be done using Jungle Gym XL (JG) suspension system Warm up: Dynamic stretching5 min jump rope Workout: (3 straight sets) Inclined Bicep Curls (JG): Focus on isolating Bicep, not pulling with backBox Squats: Focusing on pushing through my heels and straight back, 1-2 sec pause once I touch the box (no weight resting on box though)Inclined pushup (JG): Focus on keeping core ‘engaged’, and not rounding my backInverted Row (JG): same focus as pushup while starting the pull with my back/shouldersPlank: focus on staying straight and keeping belly pulled inBack Squats (JG): using the suspension trainer for balance, focusing on using legs for the lift and not pulling with my armsOHP (15# kettle bell): focus on smooth movement (need to buy bigger kettle bells)Tricep extensions (JG): Focusing on isolating the proper muscles not readjusting to use biceps and shouldersSuperman back extension: keeping shoulders and neck relaxed not straining them Cool down: target streching Plan will be to complete this workout MWF, with the plan of cardio/drill work on TTh and possibly Sat. I will increase the difficulty of each exercise once I achieve 3 sets of 20, and then will make adjustments to only being able to do 3 sets of 10. Example, for squats, will go to non-box, then deep, the Bulgarian..etc. My main focus is to lose weight and I am using the challenges to address my nutrition work, but I have always had a weak upper body and would like to work on that as I try to lose the weight. The goal would be to start lifting once I am done with school and have the time/money for a gym membership…but for now want to do all the work I can. My main questions are: Is there too much overlapping in the movements selected?Are there more optimal exercises I should focus on instead?Is my rep range from 10 to 20 too wide, not enough, completely wrong? (this was an issue I never really found an answer too, everything I read had a different answer to reps)Is there anything that I overlooked? Thanks for helping out, I am always up for any suggestions or help offered.

Hello everyone! This is my first challenge, and my first post. I'm really excited about getting my life back into balance. For far too long its been totally out of whack. I'd have to say it started in 2008 when I had a giant celled tumor removed from my knee. Since then I've been motivationless, and lazy. That however is in the past, and I'm only looking to the future. I stumbled upon nerd fitness a few weeks ago, and have been more active than ever (except for when I was in the military, but that was ages ago). Main Quest To lose weight and build muscle. I've never seen myself with a flat stomach. I've often wondered if it was even possible. With this challenge, I take the first steps to realizing this goal. I am entering as a fat goblin. Who knows what will walk out? Do the beginner bodyweight workout at least 3 times a week. ( Can't fight dragons before I pick up my first spear. ) Limit the amount of food I eat. ( Goblins eat often, and they eat anything. ) Ride my bike for at least 20 minutes, at least twice a week. ( Dragon riding is fun! ) Side Quests Get setup for the advanced bodyweight workout. ( I can see the BBWW working already, I'll need to be ready to level up ) Keep my water bottle filled and drink mostly from it. ( Get rid of all the grog (soda) ) Get the nieces and nephews to workout with me. ( Motivation ) Begin my Walk to Mordor ( I heard they were hiring at Mt. Doom. ) Life Quest Find a job. (Even goblins got to get paid!) Motivation “If you keep doing what you've always done, you will keep on getting what you've always got.†Its time to stop dreaming about having super powers, and develope some of my own.

Well, I've worked out before, but that was mainly distance running. I'm a freshman in college now, and though I've been taking capoeira classes twice a week (which I really stink at to be honest), I haven't done much besides that. I found that I feel like the weakest guy in my dorm and I want to change that. The problems: 1) I'm lazy about it, and 2) I feel really insecure working out around people in a Gym. So I've taken it upon myself to try a body weight workout. (The whole Insecurity thing can be a challenge for another day) I may be under/overestimating my abilities, but the numbers will only ever move upwards. I will adapt to fit the workout if its "too" tough. Pull-ups 10 Push-ups 20 Jump-squats 20 Planks 1 minute Chin-ups 10 Leg-lifts 20 2 Sets Finish by drinking a bottle of water. 3 times a week +2 Str 3 800's with 2 minutes break between each 800 Finish with a bottle of water +1 Dex,+1Sta 3 times a week Quick nutrition fix: no more sugary drinks. water only. 2+ cups/meal. Scoring: Each successful completion of a workout (the body weight or the 800's):+2.5% Every numerical improvement: +1% (after 1 week period to get a feel for what a challenging workout is) Drink +1% per good week Feel free to post, especially if you have advice. This is the first time I've ever made a workout.

Just a little one, managed to complete the beginner's body weight circuit x3 sets without any breaks! Woot!

Hi guys, So I'm currently embarking upon the Beginner Body weight program, and I have a couple of questions. 1. How will this effect my body, as in what perks can I expect to get out of this form of exercise in comparison to weight lifting? 2. Is it an effective form of exercise if your goal is all round top fitness levels? Ps; I intend to do Interval Training on my 'off' days, any thoughts? Cheers, Layla

Well, how to begin. Up until one week ago today I knew my goals for this challenge. I was excited at my progress to date and looking forward to what more I would accomplish. A friend of mine told me that, 'Life is what happens while your busy making plans' Seriously, no truer words have been spoken. Warning: If your of the squeamish kind you might want to skip the next part. (sorry) One week before this challenge started, I got up and put in a fantastic workout and was getting in my fluids and meals and feeling thrilled at what seemed a very productive day. Then everything changed drastically. Within a little while of one of my meals I felt off. Kind of yucky. Then suddenly I felt a pressure and stabbing pain located in my left hip area. I thought it was merely a gas bubble trapped and tried to ignore it. Within a few more hours I found myself on my hands and knees in tears at the amount of pain tearing up my abdomen and centered in that left hip. And it was when I placed my hand to my hip and found a large lump that I knew something more serious was wrong and headed to the emergency room. Within hours I was headed into surgery for a severe incarcerated hernia. Simply put, my abdomen muscle in my lower hip/ groin area had opened a hole and my lower intestine had pushed through and become pinched off, cutting off circulation and forcing them to remove a section and put it back together. They also used mesh to reinforce the muscle area that had weakened. I spent 5 days in the hospital only allowed ice and morphine. I never knew what a hernia was before- I do now. Bad news, my plans for this challenge are no longer possible. Good news, I'm not giving up. So, I have a 4-6 week recovery period before I can even hope to get close to what I was doing. And I am kind of grasping in the dark as to what direction I take with this. But, I will find that path and make as much progress forward as possible. With my friend/ mentor Donar helping me, and my accountability partner Vilkacis, and the support of all my friends here supporting me I won't let this be the end of my recomp. Just a new beginning. So, my driving motivation is to return to my recomp and get back to where I was before this setback. My life goal being to complete that recomp. As for the three main goals for this challenge, as of right now they are: Macros: First and foremost, as nutrition is key as Donar has told me. These will be redone according to my new activity level. And I will have to ease into them as I am having to get my body to accept food again after the surgery and no eating for 5 days. Fluids: A goal to meet 128 oz minimum per day. Again I will have to spend this first week easing back into this. My plan is by week 2-6 to be getting this in daily. To reinstitute some kind of physical activity. This will be something I have to figure out as I go since no heavy lifting is not allowed for 4-6 weeks. I do plan on putting in a walk every morning to gradually strengthen the muscle in that area back up. I am hoping to add some kind of partial body weight exercises in by weeks 2-6. For now this is where I am and what I am aiming for. I will update things as the weeks go by and I find what I am capable of week by week. I am also not going to incorporate a weekly grade so much as an overall grade since things are somewhat vague. If anyone who reads this has ever been through this and wants to offer advice it is welcome. My best wishes to all on their new challenges!

Well, This is the time I start my first full challenge. Joined the last one about two thirds into it so am a level one again. My last challenge was a bit "haphazard". I didn't really know what I wanted to gain from it and kinda wrote down just some things I was doing. It wasn't a true challenge. Since the last challenge I have increased my calorie intake. I wish I knew how much I was eating before, but judging from the fact that I was losing body fat I would imagine it was around 1800? maybe. Now I am eating between 2400-2800. Also on the leangains intermittent fasting method and eating/drinking the calorie bomb shake that Steve mentioned, sometimes with an extra spoonful of peanut butter in it. (like it needed more calories anyway) But, I digress, to my goals! Main goal! Keep a low bodyfat and gain muscle mass! (and strength) How I plan to do this? Well, firstly I will be sticking to no less than 2400 calories a day. (over the course of the challenge if I don't notice an increase in size I will up the calorie intake) Second, at least 4 workouts a week. 2 body weight circuits and 2 weight/kettlebell workouts Last but not least try and walk at least a mile everyday while in my fasted state. Side/life quest! This would be to pass my first grading for my JKD belt. I have done it for an extra two months longer than a lot of the other beginners but missed the grading last time. So I am fully commited to grading, this will be happening around the beginning of December so some time into the challenge. Motivation!!! Well this is a big one. With regards to my main quest I suppose it is a bit of a "shallow" one. Personally I think I am "too" skinny. I have always been a slim male and during the summer I tend to lose loads of weight because I am a diving instructor. (if you ever want to lose weight, get into this profession) I really want to try and track my calorie intake and how many calories I burn one year but pretty much the whole day (usually 12-14 hours) is a workout. Anyway, Up on my shoulders and arms I have quite a large amount of bone showing through. I want to get a larger back as well. I want to increase my flexibility to help keep my body in a good state and to help with grading for JKD. I hope people will follow and enjoy the ride

And we're back with another challenge from our fine sponsors. During this challenge, looking at my workout records, I will level up a lot of the exercises I am currently doing. A few months ago, I set up a level hierarchy for the body weight exercises I've been doing. So far, for most of them, I'm still on level one, except for leg exercises, where I'm at level 2. But for most of my level 1 exercises, I'm very close to my "magic numbers" of reps and sets (12 reps per set). And that's just one part of my challenge. Here's what I hope to accomplish this go-round. Goal 1: Fitness: Level up many exercises +3 STR, +1 DEX, +2 STA Here I'll list my current exercises and the ones I'll graduate to. I plan on keeping this updated throughout the challenge so people will know where I'm at. If I'm able to level up 4 exercises, I will give myself full marks. If not, I will scale attribute points accordingly. There are some in this list that I know I won't advance in (both types of planks), but I'll list them here anyways as added motivation. Also, you'll notice that I still have assisted pull ups on the list, even though I got my pull up in last challenge. This is because I want to be consistent and graduate my way fully off of these, continuing to build strength. For this reason, I'll also continue to rock the negative pull ups. LEVEL UP PROGRESS: 50% Pushups (Level 1) --> Decline Pushups (Level 2)Diamond Pushups (Level 1) --> Pike/Jackknife Pushups (Level 2)Assisted Pull ups (Level 1) --> Chin ups/Pull ups (Level 2)Assisted Pistol Squats (Level 2) --> Pistol Squats (Level 3)Squat/Lunge Combo (Level 2) --> Bulgarian Split Squats (Level 3)Side Planks (Level 1) --> Knees to Elbows (Level 2)Planks (Level 1) --> One and one planks (Level 2) *My threshold for leveling up an exercise is 4 sets of 12 for rep exercises, and 120 seconds for timed exercises. *For assisted pull ups, I move on from a weight offset once I hit 12 at that weight, and add a lesser weight to the bottom.Goal 2: Body Fat % Down to 25% or less +1 CON, +2 WIS This has been an overarching goal of mine since the end of last year. I have had this goal in mind for every challenge I've participated in, but up until now, I've set myself mini-goals to make this one more achievable. Well, it's finally within reach. When I started tracking body fat the day after Christmas last year, I was just over 32%, so reaching this goal will be a huge victory. And, of course, if I can go further down during the challenge, I certainly will. Starting BF%: 26.06%Will reduce by at least 1.06% to get to 25% or less Goal 3: Lose 1" from around my waist +2 CHA Getting to 38" around the largest part of my belly has also been an overarching goal for awhile. And this one is also now within reach. Starting measurement: 39"Goal measurement: 38" Life Quest: Play guitar for at least 5 minutes, 5 times a week Research and purchase a car +2 DEX, +1 STA, +1 CHA Last challenge, I think I was a little overzealous trying to play for up to 2 hours a week, especially considering my workload. 5 minutes a day is a lot more easily doable and is much easier to scale up if i'm really enjoying what I'm doing. My car has been starting up very rough, sometimes taking a good few minutes to actually get it up and running. This has been exacerbated by the fact that the weather has become much colder (thanks, almost-winter!). It is also very old (21 years), so it's probably time. My goal is to get a car that is model year 2005 or newer, that gets good gas mileage, is very reliable and not expensive to fix/run, and is going to last me for a good long time (read: I will drive it into the ground). COMPLETED 9th December! So there you have it. Check back tomorrow for my initial weigh-in numbers.

I keep getting lazy. I've been fighting this all my life and I've been losing for most of it, but I am going to turn that around no matter how long it takes. My last challenge was a disappointment, and after it ended I stopped doing everything aside from the climbing since I at least have my roommate to keep me accountable as we climb together. It occurs to me I really need an accountabilibuddy or six in order to not suck. As much as I wanted to do this on my own, it isn't working. In accordance with the prophecy, I am going to kick my own butt into gear and I'm going to find a way to make sure I don't slip again no matter what it takes. My first target this time is the same as last time but I'm going to be serious about it. I'm going to seriously work out three times a week. This is usually going to involve climbing, but that's not enough and it really never was. Sure my muscles hurt, but not all of them and I'm generally not working up a serious sweat. I've used climbing as an excuse to ignore working out a lot of areas of my body. This changes now. If I finish climbing and I have gas left in the tank, I'll empty it. Second target is stretching, I used to stretch every single morning for about 20 minutes, this was an awesome practice and I was getting steadily more flexible. Then I stopped. I'm going to start again. If I don't stretch in the morning I will stretch after work, and I will always stretch properly after climbing, as opposed to never (I've been very bad about this.) Third target is eating, same as last time, at least 3 times a week I'll make a point of making sure I get a properly prepared meal with some protein and green vegetables in it. Preferably every day of the week, but I know I need to take baby steps, one at a time. Final target is also the same as last time since my performance was a joke. I am going to declutter all the crap out of my life that I don't need and get things neat and tidy. No more distractions. This is going to be awesome.

Back in April, there was a massive update to the game. It nerfed my character pretty badly. It was never really clear how badly, though, until today. There've been more updates since that have rendered my previous build unplayable. So, back to the beginning, I go. 1. Car accident = Severely sprained ankle; surgery looms on the horizon; 2. Divorce agreed upon; 3. PhD program started; 4. Moving to a new apartment Soon; 5. My 36th birthday 3 days after challenge end; 6. ...I may have RA... My original goal for the year was to be benching about 140lbs at this point and weighing about the same; squatting 300lbs; deadlifting 275lbs, and actually making it to 100lbs rows and OHPs. I wanted to run the 5K on Thanksgiving morning, bike 26miles, and train for the L.A. Marathon. I wanted to join the police force, too... None of those goals are possible, right now. Zero. I am allowed to ride my bike, but only for short distances for now. Setting foot in a gym is not allowed for me (they know me and know I'd likely injure myself more, thinking I can do something I really shouldn't be doing). So... I'm having to find new and different things to do. So, I'm rebuilding....with the understanding that it's okay to fail on most of these challenges.. Challenge #1: RACE CHANGE Because of the reset, it seems my race has been eliminated and I must re-select my origins. I had a strong constitution. Things are different now. Perhaps I am a half breed? For whatever reason, though, the game locked "Celestial" as a playing race. So, what do I do?? This challenge may have to change over the course of the challenge, but! Depending on prognosis for RA and/or the other issues I have (such as my gluten intolerance), now is probably the time to just committ to a Paleo lifestyle and actually ween myself off of cheese. Cheese is one of my favorite snacks--especially with a nice glass of wine. But, if it's causing me issues, then it's best to let it go and move on. I really need to get back to my Paleo way of eating...I also need to find some cheaper stores. The goal for diet looks like this: 1. No grains. At all. No corn chips, no tortillas (I will miss you, breakfast tacos!), etc. 2. No refined sugar, unless it is exactly what the word means: a treat. 3. Moar salads!! 4. No legumes. 5. Ween off cheese. 6. Try not having nightshades for a week and see if pain improves. If so, sadly, ween off those as well. The above, of course, is based on whatever my acupuncturist says on Saturday...and what the doctor says next week about the possibly torn high-ankle ligament. Upon successful diet alteration, I will either be granted a GM Boon to keep my original race of "Celestial." Otherwise, I really must re-evaluate and figure I'm an elf...they're always squishy. Challenge #2: PRIMARY CLASS CHANGE I was once a mighty warrior, proud of my lifting! I could grip a bar and move weight some men didn't believe possible. I'm not able to do that now and may never be able to again. It's time to find a new class. I've always wanted to take up Parkour. Sadly, I'm not allowed to run right now, either, so....body weight exercises! What's the most challenging body weight exercise I could learn to do? PULL UPS! I've never done a pull up. I really want to fix this. I don't need my legs for pull ups, really. Plus, Steve had a great guide to working up to the first pull up. So, I'm going to follow that. I'm at the point where I can do 1 inclined pull up (reverse pull up?), so that's where I am starting. I hope that, where ever we move, there is a place for me to put the chin up bar. If there's a fitness center....well...we'll have to see how well I'm moving! Anyway! By the end of the challenge, I want to be able to do 1 pull up, unassisted. Challenge #3: SECONDARY CLASS CHANGE I was always just a straight Warrior. This last challenge, though, I dived into the world of the Rangers and found....I am a terrible ranger. I really hope that I can duel-class this time around as an Assassin/Monk. Because I need some focus! Since my primary goal is mobility, secondarily weight loss, and teriary flexibility, I want to do yoga (because it's what I have access to, currently) for strength and flexibility. I have a beginners, itermediate, and advanced program that is 15, 30, and 60 minutes, respectively. My goal is to do yoga once a day, 5 days a week so that I am doing the advanced strength & flexibility workouts by the end of the challenge. I'm only going to list these three challenges for now. I may have to eliminate or change them, so I don't want to overwhelm myself or use up any options I may have. Maybe things will work just right that I can add a fourth challenge for the 6 weeks! I do hope that is the case, but I believe these three are things I can do and NOT injure/reinjure myself doing them.

I am The Bishop. I'm trying to get stronger,faster and more agile. I've been practicing Martial Arts for ten years now, and gymnastics before that. However, after about three years of neglect and a horrible diet, I reached 228lbs, and couldn't do a single push up or run for more than a couple of minutes. This past mid September, I started to change my diet, moving away from grains and sugary foods. I lost about 14lbs from then until now, without any form of exercise. Along with my weight, I also lost a lot of strength, due to muscle mass loss. In order to get stronger, I've decided to join a community that pushes each other to be better than they were yesterday; in short, this community.Since this is my first Challenge, I've decided to pick a slightly more general Main Quest, and then next challenge do something more specific. Main Quest Increase my upper body strength Goals to reach my Main Quest Complete a 45 minute workout, three times a week. Have a Paleo diet 5/7 days a week. Wake up every day at 5am, go to bed before 11pm. ​Side Quests Perform 3 pull upsPerform 20 push upsCook and eat six Paleo inspired dishes ( one a week!).​ I may do some mini-challenges if I can, and post them on my thread. The reason I want to get stronger, faster and more agile, is so I can start practicing a little Parkour, maybe get back into gymnastics. I also just want to be stronger and look leaner. Hopefully, this will be the start of many challenges completed, and many miles traveled. Awesome.

Hi everyone, I lost about 30 lbs and am now "stuck" I set goals that I seem to be unable to stick to, so maybe this challenge will help. my main motivation is how much I love getting new clothes (luckily for the budget I'm addicted to the thrift store) and playing at the lake! Main Quest: Weight Loss, getting smaller feels great Quest #1: Quality work out every day - I struggle with lifting in body pump and then being so sore I half heartedly work out on other days. Grading: 4-5 days=A 2-3 days=C 0-1 days=F Quest #2: Clean up my diet, resist all the temptation around me. I buy healthy and then am easily influenced by others at both home and the office. Grading: 80-100%=A 65-79%=C 64 or less=F (based daily) Quest #3: Work on push-ups on toes, nose to the ground (I'm close now) Grading: 3x a week=A 2x a week=C 1x a week=D 0x a week=F Quest # 4 Work on lunges, with a good knee bend and balance Grading: 3x a week=A 2x a week=C 1x a week=D 0x a week=F Here's to the next 6 weeks!

Hello, fellow Monks! I am Taciturnip. I just finished my first NF six week challenge a week ago and am super excited to finally be amongst your ranks. I had been peeking in on the Monk forums for a while and everyone seems really supportive and diverse. My main challenge goals involve losing weight, which is an adventurer goal, but I really like the martial arts and hope to learn and lose weight at the same time. I look forward to training and growing with you all ! Epic Final Quest: Get under 200lbs. I am 5'6 and last time I weighed myself I was 305lb (I am trying hard not to weigh myself yet). I hope after a few challenges I might reach this goal. I also am a performer, so I wanna be fit enough to do my craft without acid reflux or bodily fatigue getting in the way anymore. Main quest: Lose 5lb. I hope I lose more, but five would be nice! One must respect one's bodily temple to get the most out of it in all capacities. If I can't get in shape, I certainly won't be singing or doing much else for very long. Goals: Good Food, Good Foundation: +2Sta/ +1Con I am going to try my best to go paleo! The last challenge I did focused on building up to paleo dieting. It wasn't so bad, but I kind of was giving in by the end of the challenge and throughout last week. I hope to eat paleo for at least six days a week. If 90% of weight loss is diet, I feel this will be the most critical part of my transformation. 7-6 Paleo meal days=A, 5=B, 4=C, 3=D, 2-0=F Strong Body, Strong Walls: +3Str/ +2Con Many of the articles on NV suggest doing resistance training lose weight as well as build muscle. I think this would be nice since I a few potent workouts would go a long way. I also don't really like running and such- I have pretty bad feet. I will be doing the NF Bodyweight Workout to start. I have a kettlebell which I may use for the rows. If I really get good at that, maybe I will start free-weight workout routine. 3-2 Resistance workouts a week=A, 1=C, 0 = F I hope this will be enough a week. Open Mind, Open Doors: +2 Dex/ +1Wis What kind of Monk would I be if I didn't know a Martial Art? This is the goal I think will be the most fun. I did Judo for a few years over the summers outside of college. Last summer my club kind of dissolved. I found another place close to my college campus that has beginner classes for BJJ and Muai Thai. There is a Monday and Saturday introductory class and then Sunday is an open mat day. I atleast want to make the majority of the classes each week. I have alot to learn so i don't want to miss much. 3-2 Intro classes a week=A, 1=C, 0 = F Sing with the Heart, Strike with the Soul: +3Cha/ +1Wis This semester I have oodles of songs to learn! I don't think I will learn them all in time for the end of this year unless get a head start now. Having things memorized and in technichally sound now will make it easier to sing them with feeling later! I will have to count all of the songs I have to learn for which group, Hopefully I will be halfway through memorizing them all by the halfway mark of the challenge. X out of/X songs A, _/X= B, _/X=C, -/X=D, _/X= F [ I need to tally up all the songs still :/ ) That's the gist of my challenge! I will also make one of those Daily Battle Log topics to keep track of stuff instead of an just an Excel sheet on my desktop. A friendly NF user said it helps to publicly post stuff to keep you accountable, so that will be up soon, too.

My most recent challenge, if I'm being perfectly honest, went much worse than I expected it to. I got lazy, and I screwed up. This time I'm going to fight as hard as I can against the laziness that's dominated my life until now. In accordance with the prophecy, this time I'll get it right. Let's get right to it. Goal 1: Simple, just exercise three times per week as a minimum. These have to be workouts where I seriously work some part of my body to the limit so that I'm actually gaining something from it. If I do more than three any extras are allowed to be more leisurely but of course working harder is preferred. Potential stat gains: Variable, depending on what I focus on. I'll put 5 points on the table for this goal to be divvied up. Goal 2: Eat at least three proper dinners every week. Sandwiches don't count unless they include at least one ingredient I cooked myself (eggs don't count). The dinner has to have a decent source of protein and at least one green vegetable. Con: 3. Goal 3: Do some sort of either climbing or work out with real weights once per week. Str 2 Dex 1 Sta 1 Goal 4: This goal will once again be to declutter my life since I didn't actually do it at all last time. Weeks one and two require an hour each, the following four weeks each require two hours.Wis: 3.

DOSSIER The S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent codenamed 5C0T (heretofore described as "asset") has displayed tenacity and creative problem solving skills. Asset continues to explore long term goals to improve overall physical fitness. (See also Infinity Formula and Project M.A.E. [middle age extension].) To this end asset faces several challenges over the next six weeks. KEEP MOVING Asset exceeded goals for physical fitness session participation during the past six weeks. However, the asset did not take advantage of off days. Therefore, asset is challenged to continue following proscribed thrice-weekly body weight workout regimen and to stretch daily. In addition, asset is challenged to "move" during off days. "Moving" can be defined as a short walk of a half hour or more, sprints, yoga, or combat challenges, described below. Asset has personal goals for the proscribed body weight workout regimen (improving repetitions by 50%): Assisted Chin up (@30#) 8x4; Squats 75 x 4; Side Plank @ 60 sec x 2; Push Ups 15 x 4; Lunges 18 x 4; Planks @ 90 sec. x 4. However, asset is to be graded by participation: points scored by days moving for a possible total of 42 points. [sTR +5] IT'S NOT A COMBAT MISSION Asset is not cleared for combat, but because of an incentive program (See GROUPON), has access to 10 Krav Maga lessons. Each lesson the asset participates in over the six weeks is worth 5 points. For a total possible total of 50 points, though the asset seems unlikely to fit all 10 lessons into 6 weeks. Asset may have access to other fight style training via Medieval Swordplay and Gladiator combat training courses offered by allies. If available, each would be worth 2 points and only one per week would count. This could yield "extra credit" of 12 additional 2 points. [CON +5] THE BIZARRE, THE STRANGE, THE UNKNOWN Asset started the year detoxifying from formula MTN DEW. Asset was re-exposed in July and the asset has since failed to cleanse the toxin from the system. The additives involved in MTN DEW make the formula suspect to asset's stated physical fitness goals. Therefore asset shall earn points for each day not doing the DEW. This yields a possible 42 points. [sTA +5] ORGANIZATIONAL STYLE Agents are expected to maintain a certain level of style. As such, asset is expect to purge wardrobe of ill fitting and ill mended clothing and to maintain clean, organized surfaces in private quarters. THE WHOLE WORLD IS IN ON THE ACTION Also, as asset bores easily with proscribed fitness programs, expect asset to reach out to the Community for ideas to spice up training. ASSET RANKING Each effort will be rated as such: A 42 - 39 pts B 38 - 35 pts C 34 - 31 pts D 30 - 27 pts Failure 26 or fewer points

So this is it, me committing to making something better of myself. So here we go, let's do this! This is my first challenge so I'm not sure how to start, and I'm a little late to the starting line, but here goes nothing. A little bit of me: I am a 20 year old Canadian man, I'm 5'11" and 135 lbs. I have moderate clinical depression that from time to time just rips apart and destroys any momentum and motivation I have to keep going (my psychologist recommended that I try to make exercises a constant in my life, then when I heard of this place with all of you wonderful people to hold me accountable and to keep me motivated I just had to join). I am a chef by trade, but currently unemployed. As a hobby I practice the martial arts of Hung Gar Kuen and Ninjutsu, I train in Parkour, I play D&D every wednesday, and I game. That's enough about me, onto the challenge! MAIN QUEST To master my own body by becoming stronger, faster, tougher, and more flexible. Three Goals 1. Train a body weight routine every other day, pushing myself to my limit. Doing this will help me gague where I am and how far I still have to go while making me stronger and building my endurance. Str, Sta, Dex, Con 2. Run at least 1 km on my off days, building eventually to 5+ km. This will not only help keep my momentum, but build stamina and speed. I'll throw in some vaults and walls for fun. Sta, Dex 3. Eat healthier, less processed food and sugar, and vegetables with every meal. Health is more than just physical capability, I want my body to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Con LIFE QUEST Get a job. MOTIVATION 1. My girlfriend. I want to be the best possible person I can be for her, both physically and emotionally. She is the light of my life, and the reason that I still bother to get out of bed in the morning. 2. Myself. I look in the mirror every day and see a skinny, lanky guy. I want to change that to something better. I want to be more confindent in my own skin, I want to be able to go to the beach and take off my shirt without being nervous. 3. Fun. I want to be able to do things with my more athletic friends. I want to be able to go to more sporting events and participate (like in Quidditch, Parkour, ect). Also, my girlfriend's dad is the stunt coordinator for an upcoming big film and if I can get in the right shape he'll let me be in the movie, so that would be really cool.

Hey nerdfitness people! Today was the first day of my first challenge! Since I'm out of shape and I joined late on the current challenge I started my own (I think I'm allowed to do that) so I could get started and level up. I did pushups and squats at the level I'm at with convict conditioning for strength training. Knee Pushups (3 sets of 30). Need to stay on this level Close Squats (3 sets of 20). Leveling up! Diet: Paleo Salad Grilled pork and carrots 3 L of water. One day down!

Hello. I'm SkullHands, and I am a shape-shifter. A noob shape-shifter... A level zero. So far I've been able to change my appearance... but only for a short time before I shift back to my level zero form again. Main Quest Find my Ultimate Form! I want to be comfortable in my skin. This means that I will have lost weight, increased my fitness and be a happier and more confident person. I'm not going to transition from my current gelatinous, blob-like form to my Ultimate Form in one morph. I have tried and failed enough to know this. But what I will do is make small manageable changes in my life that will allow me to find it. I don’t even know what my Ultimate Form looks like, but I know what I need to do to get there... change. I've already made some changes that have got me on the path to my Ultimate Form. I decided to get involved in the forums about a week after the last challenge started. I'm too anal to start a challenge a week in – “I MUST do the whole thing! Or else it doesn't count!†I told myself. And for a week I told myself that I would spend time planning until this challenge started.Then I realised I was just collecting more underpants! So I set myself some goals to get myself started on the road to a healthier life – rather than waiting until this challenge. I did the following: · Go ‘cold turkey’ on the soda (I used to drink a lot) and chocolate/junk food (I used to eat a lot) · Start using my FitBit again and ensure I hit my 10,000 steps per day · Stopped buying my lunch and made it at home instead and started to reduce my portions in all meals By making these small changes I have lost 7kg (15.43lbs) in 36 days. Something I am really proud of. These are small changes. I know from past failures that I will quit if I try to change too much at any one time. So, on my quest for my Ultimate Form I'm taking it slow. Lots of little manageable changes. And you’ll see the same when you look at my missions for this challenge... they are not earth-shattering, but they are challenging and I am going to kick their ass! Mission One: Run three times a week following the Zombies, Run! 5K Trainer. On the first day of this challenge I will be up to W2D1. This means that by the end of the challenge I should have completed W7D3. Week eight can be my ‘victory lap’. If I have to repeat a day as I could not complete it first time that doesn't affect my grades as my goal is running 3 times a week. A repeated day is still a running day (plus... failures are opportunities to learn and improve!) Grading: A: 18 runs completed B: 14-17 runs completed C: 10-14 runs completed D: 7-9 runs completed E: 4-6 runs completed F: 3 or less runs completed Mission Two: Do the Angry Birds Workout Plan 3 times a week. This will be completely new to me, and is going to be a tough challenge. In the past my attempts at losing weight and getting fitter have only involved diet changes and cardio. I am really looking forward to doing this workout plan though. I have no set level that I wish to get to for each exercise by the end of the challenge, but I will track my progression in my challenge thread for all to see. Grading: A: 18 workouts completed B: 14-17 workouts completed C: 10-14 workouts completed D: 7-9 workouts completed E: 4-6 workouts completed F: 3 or less workouts completed Mission Three: Measure myself! I weigh myself a couple of times a week. But I know that the quick weight that I have lost with my small changes so far is going to slow down or plateau. I also know that it’s not necessarily all about the weight loss if you are building muscle mass. As such I want to track my measurements and take progress pictures... both of these I have never done before. These will be another measure of success and motivation for me besides just relying on a number on the scale. I really wish that I had started doing this earlier as I would have loved to see the change over the last 5 weeks or so... I will take my pictures and measurements on each Sunday of the challenge and post them in this thread (well the measurements anyway... not sure yet about posting the pics). I’ll post my starting measurements tomorrow. Grading: Pass/Fail. I either do this EVERY Sunday or I don’t . Life Quest OK... this is a tough one. I have about a million and one things that I need to work on. The biggie for me at the moment though is my work. At the start of this year I began a new role at my work that involved me dealing with a lot of stakeholders throughout the business. I suffer from crippling low self esteem and am a huge introvert. I have found the role very challenging due to this and other factors. What has been happening lately is that I have been letting all my projects slip and not working as well as I could as I have not wanted to ask for help or are too afraid (if that’s the right word) to approach the people I need to. This needs to stop. I will get on top of my work. I will be more organised. I will take chances. I will ask for help. I will stop procrastinating. I will accept that nothing I create will ever be ‘perfect’. I guess my Life Quest can be summed up as Work Better, Work Harder! Grading; This is a tough one to quantify success for. I think what I’ll do is reflect each day/week on how things have been going, what I’ve achieved and what problems I’ve had. Then I’ll grade myself on a “are things better or the same?â€, “how much better?†type of scale. This is much longer than I intended! Good luck to everyone starting the new challenge. Look forward to sharing the journey with you all

Motivation, Long-Term Goal To pull myself up the career ladder, hardeeharhar. In one year, I will have a CAREER. This girl needs a real JOB, man! Someplace warm, with benefits, and with income enough so I can save, and my budget will be more than "just try to not spend any money ever." I will also be able to do a PULL-UP. I did a Tough Mudder last August (and FINISHED!) and when I do one next summer, I want to climb over walls with no boost!! I'm looking forward one year because I just started my AmeriCorps service which is a one-year term. It only started just last week and I'm so excited about it. My job has a purpose again and the group has such dynamic people. I work for a non-profit that helps to rebuild homes and businesses affected by flooding from Hurricane Irene and Lee, and the more recent flash flooding. And I'm the Volunteer Coordinator so I get to be a little involved in everyone's job, be it marketing or fundraising or construction. I am going to use this opportunity for everything it has, and it is my stepping stone to more. It's also the first time ever I have a 9-5 office job. WTH, they are weird and not natural. Any advice would help. 6 week Challenge - Recovery and Returning My character is a Femme Fatale, which for me stands for 1) physically: strength, flexibility, and mobility; and 2) mentally: confidence and authenticity. And I'll be able to climb trees. These are aspects I'm trying to return to and foster. I had a rough summer. My last job as massage therapist messed my wrists up (I didn't even last a year) and I made a sudden career change to being a professional volunteer AGAIN (I returned from Peace Corps 3 years ago). I left my apartment to rent a room AGAIN. Told myself some horrible things that I knew weren't true but kinda believed them anyway. So these 6wks are about healing myself up so I can Rebuild and Renew. Main Goal: Get a job, do a pull-up. This is my first time being an assassin! Before, I was a Warrior. Mini goals 1. Paleo, 90%, at caloric deficit Gained a little weight from my summertime sadness. So: Sunday's the free day, Saturday's partial. Coffee on weekends (because it was getting baaaaad). But because it's autumn, whenever someone brings in goodly-made apple cider donuts (not Dunkin' or Stewarts), one of those suckas is miiiiine. There's a lot of junk food in offices. 2. Yoga, 4x/wk To help stretch out and unravel from office work. I already jimmied a sort-of standing desk. 3. Workout 3d/wk Bodyweight. Got it all planned out., inspired by Convinct Conditioning. Outside workouts to take in the last of autumn weather and take advantage of my flexible schedule for bad weather days. Extra credit: hiking and interval workouts for fun. I live in a great area for hiking! Side Quests: Fitness: Wrist recovery program. On another Rebel's challenge, who's an aerialist, she wrote about a rice bucket workout for hands, also good for climbers. And the Assassin sticky had a link to a wrist recovery program involving massage and real easy eccentric work to work up to concentric. Maybe I'll even find a bucket to try the rice bucket thing Life: Make one herbal medicine. Follow on awesome recipe in Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Medicine for Beginners Here's my challenges (with some of my own options) Any advice? 1. Office hours, sitting, usually working extra hours on Saturdays (that becomes comp time and flexible schedule) (also, kinda made a standing desk), 2. Living in someone else's house so I don't want to break their stuff - like using a table for inverse rows - or disturb everyone with any jumping exercises like HIITs, (right now, outside weather is still nice, and my workout schedule is flexible) (and the owner is out a lot) 3. Getting cold out and bad weather, living on a country road with no sidewalk or shoulder so finding a walking place is kinda hard, (lots of local hiking, but trying to find a short walk for early morning) 4. Days are getting shorter, so trying to plan ahead for the next challenge in Nov. Yuck, November! 5. Lunch is 30min and it takes a long time to chew vegetables! (I don't have to clock in and out and I can take lunch whenever it fits in my day) 6. Wrist recovery techniques and, for the next challenge, working on grip strength so my forearms can go from inflamed, deteriorated grey aching numbs to STEEL. Good luck to everyone on your Challenges!! Every day, be stronger than the day before!

BALIX the VIKING MINOTAUR First Time Challenger Hey everyone! I am Balix, Norse god of Cows!...Oh who am I kidding, let's get started shall we? Who the heck are you, Balix? I'm 20 years old, and I like to think I have a magnificent beard! I joined the rebellion roughly four weeks ago, and have seriously enjoyed reading the various articles and forum posts that came across. I've been struggling with weight problems for some time, and I go into considerable detail in my introduction post (which can be found riiiiiight...HERE). When I joined the rebellion, I made a commitment to the Paleo lifestyle. Let me tell you, when I say commitment, I MEAN it! As of tomorrow (Sunday the 15th) I will have been 100% Paleo for exactly four weeks (I made one little mistake, but it was because I just didn't realise what I was doing. Soon as I drank that drink, it hit me like a brick: "That was liquid calories you blockhead, what have you done!?")! I feel like I'm already making considerable progress, as my old shorts no longer stay up without a belt, and I have to tighten that belt more and more each week! I live in Canada, so yes, I ride polar bears to school and live in an igloo (some of the time anyway ). I'm excited to get this show on the road, and so here I am! Let's begin! What....is your quest? Well, I wouldn't be much of a warrior without a weapon, now would I? My main quest is to acquire a grand weapon fit for a conqueror of worlds! Hmm, I guess an axe would do for now. It seems to be missing several parts though, perhaps I shall have to go on several smaller quests to gather the parts. Let's see what I can come up with. Main Quest: Build My Axe and Start My Adventure A warrior's weapon is the expression of the warrior himself. If I better myself, I can better my weapon. If I can strengthen myself in specific areas, I could probably find the pieces that I'm looking for. From the looks of it, I think I'm going to need three more parts: The handle, the head, and the blade. The Handle: Go to the gym and work out 5 days per week. The handle of an axe needs to be sturdy, and has to stand the pressures of constant physical strain. The best way to prepare myself for that is to start doing some serious exercise. Ornate handle: 6 days per week ~~ Standard handle: 5 days per week ~~ Weak handle: 4-3 days per week ~~ Rotten handle: 2 or less days per week The Head: Eat Paleo for 7 days per week. The head of an axe needs a solid base, and has to have the right shape to balance the axe and keep the blade steady. An excellent way to keep my balance is to balance my eating habits. Ornate head: 7 days per week and cook some new recipes ~~ Standard head: 7 days per week ~~ Weak head: 6 days per week ~~ Rusted head: 5 or less days per week The Blade: Sleep at 10, up at 7, 6 days per week. The blade of an axe is the most important piece, it has to be both sharp and sturdy, and requires just the right weight to keep everything flowing smoothly. The perfect way to keep myself sharp and flowing is to get some well needed rest, and keep my mind active. Ornate blade: 10 and 7, seven days per week ~~ Standard blade: 10 and 7, six days per week. ~~ Weak blade: 10 and 7, five or four days per week ~~ Rusted Blade: 10 and 7, three or less days per week And what about your life? Well, If I'm trying to get into the mindset of a warrior, what should my first step be? I think my main concern for the moment is income. How am I going to slay dragons and conquer evil sorcerers if I can't even afford a measly health potion? I'm going to have to start working somewhere, but where? It seems I'll have to give it some thought. Life Quest: Find a Job Still being in school, I don't have an opportunity to work as many hours as I want, but I'll hopefully find a place where it isn't too much of a problem. I very recently acquired my bartender's licence, perhaps I could find a position at one of the local taverns? Why are you doing this to yourself, Balix? Does one need a reason to quest for honour and fight evil!? Well, I guess so, yea. Why am I doing this? What can I say, I'm tired of just sitting around being fat. I want to get out there! I want to be able to get back into martial arts, and maybe even pick up something new! I want to look at myself in the mirror and like what I see, instead of avoiding the mirror at all costs! Why am I doing this? Because I want to. Not because I'm trying to impress someone, not because I want to live up to someone else's standards, not because I'm trying to conform to the norm. I'm getting myself better because it means that I'll feel better, and I'll live better! Does one need a better reason than that? I think not. All right, you've made your point. Now, where are you starting from? I only have measurements and pictures from four weeks ago, and I was planning on taking the next set on the 18th (which is exactly one month from when I started). So, we shall see my exact starting place when that time comes around. Height: 6' 1.5" (187 centimetres)

I've fluttered over from the Druids for this challenge. I'm not sure if I'm over here for good or if it I'll start dual classing it back and forth, but I expect to be here for at least a few consecutive challenges. I'm pushing my self rather hard this challenge. It will be the last time I have buckets of free time for a while and I really want to stuff done/started! Main Quest: Get leaner, stronger, fitter, more able. By the end of this challenge I will get my abs visible, I will be stronger, I will be more flexible, and more able at moving my body. Not the most focused main quest, but I'm trying to chock a lot into this challenge! -Increase number of consecutive pull-ups by one a week. Thus be able to do at least 11 in a row by the end of the challenge. 1STR for every increase of two up to 3STR -Average caloric intake of 1500. Last challenge I ended up around 1800, so will need to keep a close eye on this one! Eating more on strength training days, and less on others. 1400-1600 A, 1600-1700 B, 1700-1800 C, 1800-1900 D. Worth 3CON -Exercise every day. Strength training at least three times a week. Basic parkour and stretching on other days. Must be for at least twenty minutes. (This is me just starting parkour, so I will be focusing on mostly the roll and simple vaults). 2STR for strength training three times a week, 1DEX for parkour or stretching on every other day. Life Side Quest: I have an idea for a nonfiction book I want to write. So for this challenge I'm going to kick my ass in gear. -For the first two weeks I will research and brain storm a chapter a day, and for the final month I will write for an average of an hour or 1000 words a day. 1WIS for the first two weeks, 2WIS for the last month. Fitness Side Quest: Pushing the definition slightly, I'm going to make this about mental fitness and continue my meditation goal that I did very well in last challenge. -Last challenge I meditated for thirty minutes every day. I will continue that this challenge but with a whole hour at least once a week. 3WIS Bonus Quests: These don't fit into the challenge outline, and so won't gain stat points, but are things I want to accomplish this challenge anyway. -The first is to take photos of my friends to use as models for painting the major arcana tarot cards. At least 15 photos of different friends. -The other is to get a blog set up with at least three posts published. This will be a general blog from which to launch my online presence, and will eventually have tabs splitting it into a number of "mini blogs", but for now one blog with three posts will do. Posts can be modified versions for stuff I write for my book goal. Motivation: To be stronger, sexier, more able, and to have achieved (started) some projects I have been considering for quite awhile.

Hi. I have been doing intermittent fasting for quite some time now and I have found it to be amazing not just for results but also to maintain it. However recently I have stopped the gym and moved to bodyweight training for budget and different goals reasons. Do I still do carb switching? Since I moved to bodyweight i started working out almost everyday. Are there any guides I could use to calculate my macros for it?

Hi there! I'm Paradigm! Or really, that's what they call me around here. And by they I mean... me. This is my second quest for six weeks! I'm honestly surprised I managed it the first time and even more surprised that I am jumping on the band wagon to go at this a second time. I have a bit of a hard past and I detailed it all in my first challenge. But I'm in a better place now and I am moving forward and working on what I consider to be the last step in my journey to a better life.... Feeling comfortable in my skin. My Main Quest: Well, I have the same goal but really two quests. I am training to go to Tough Mudder 2014 in Manchester, UK. I have a lot of friends counting on me now as we reserved our spot and our name for the team! Along with that, I am looking to get in amazing shape for my future wedding. It is a bit further off, in 2015. But I hope to achieve my weight loss goals before the end of 2013 anyways so the rest will be toning, working on muscle building and just improving. So... to clarify... My main quest is to be able to fit in to my jeans, my favourite jeans from when I was 18. The Holy Trinity (Three goals): 1) Do a workout 3 times a week with weights and 5 days a week with cardio.( +2 STR + 3 CON if recieve a grade B or higher) I have had a hard time with this in the past as I always get so caught up in work that I don't make the time for me. So I am making this more of a focus for me during this challenge. This is my number one priority. 2) Convert to ONLY organic, grass fed meats and only locally grown/sourced sustainable produce (+1 CHA +1 WIS + 1 DEX if receive grade B or higher) (some exceptions will be made out of necessity). I would like to have it so only one meal a week will be non-paleo by the end of the 6 weeks. I've had a hard time, with our travelling, keeping up with the types of meals I'd like to eat. Not the eating, I'm consistently eating now, but I'm not eating the type of stuff I want. So wherever we are, I'm making it a priority to eat like I should. 3) Reduce my waist by another 2" (+4 STR +2 DEX + 2 STA + 1 WIS on grade B or higher) I had huge success in the last challenge, but I still have a long way to go. So I'm hoping to lose another 2" off my waist by the end of this challenge. I will be keeping track of all my stats, but this is my measurement point for the goal. My goal is a 30" hip as I feel comfortable with that. But that will take more than 6 weeks, so I think that will be for next time. Side Quest: My life related side quest is to get my bank balance 5k into the positive before the end of the 6 weeks. This will be particularily hard as we have a lot of outgoing expenses in the next little bit... For instance, we have to pay for a year long rental. We have to pay for our new sales people we hired during the last challenge. We need to register my fiance (omg I get to say that now!) for his permanent residency here, we need to get marriage licenses (expensive, surprisingly), we also need to shell out the holding fees for our places we're getting married and start planning. So there is a lot to go out and we need to make sure we have a comfortable balance starting to build. My Motivation: I already hinted at it... But I've had a rough time in life. Not all bad or anything but I have been through a lot, especially over the last few years. I now have a business, which is my dream. I'm working on a video game with some friends which is going to launch soon, another dream. I'm getting married to an man who makes my past seem like it was all worth it just so I found him. Now my motivation is to feel comfortable in my skin. I feel like I am not the person I want to be, despite all my changes because I don't feel comfortable with how I look. I have always had a hard time realizing that I am better than I think I am, because even when I was skinny as hell I thought I was fat. So it's why it's not necessarily a weight goal but a comfortable in my skin. I want to feel good about myself and I want to look absolutely f'in killer at my wedding! (I'll stop mentioning it soon it's still just very exciting to me lol)

It's been about 2 and a half weeks since I began body weight training, and 3 and a half weeks of healthy diet (mostly paleo, still allowing some "cheat" room so i don't go nuts.) I finally got the chance to look in a mirror today (my room didnt have one before now) and damn... what the hell happened? Did i just see... muscular definition? I have pecs? and forearms? wth man... that stuff on my leg doesn't jiggle very much anymore... I mean, still overweight, still gut, still flab... but it clicked. What I've been doing... is working. DAYUM! And to make things better, going out to dinner with a girl who is both awesome and beautiful. I'm not even upset that I have hours of Mandarin and psych homework now. Excuse me while I rip off my shirt and release a roar of how fricking awesome I feel. Peace

Hi all. I've been watching the start of another challenge, and I've been debating whether I should join in. My last several challenges have been disappointing: start for a couple of weeks, then quit the next four weeks. Part of me had been thinking about sitting one out so I could take a break from the challenge frenzy. But of course, I've been starting challenges and "taking a break" for the last four weeks. Very disappointing. I'm not going to give up. Since my last several challenges have been abandoned before their mid-way point, I'm not really bringing anything new from the past ones. I just have to do something. I've been going crazy not doing anything. Let's go. PRIMARY QUEST: Move. Consistency. Dance minimum 3x weekly for 10 minutes each. I'm going to a swing dance convention in Los Angeles around Labor Day (early September), and I'm pumped! I expect to learn a lot, so I want to keep myself active and practice what I already know. Get up early on work days Getting up early will help me get stuff done. Out of bed at 5:00 am. Bodyweight work 3x weekly* *This is a very general goal that can include hand balancing, Prasara yoga, and traditional body weight exercises. Some activity in this realm will happen 3x weekly. Practice musical muscles 4x weekly minimum 30 minutes Music is really in my head. I'm dancing all the time, but I also own musical instruments, some of which I've neglected. I played the saxophone in high school and college, and I need to get back at it. I haven't played in a long time, so I'll need to do some embouchure exercises as well. I've also recently inherited an electric organ, which I want to work at as well. So a musical instrument will be practiced 4x weekly. I got inspired by this video: Here goes.