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Here I am hiking after Gyddyn, a ranger from Middle Earth. Why? I don't really know except yesterday after my grandmother's funeral I found out that my mother was a distant relation of King Legolas of Mirkwood, or as it is now known, the Great Greenwood Forest. Guess I now also know where my almost pointy ears and my affinity to animals and plants, come from. My father was a human from "New Earth", in a different dimension to their Middle Earth, who accidentally stumbled upon the portal. He was gone for a long time, and when he returned to his own dimension, my grandmother couldn't make head or tails of his story about elves, ogres, orcs, dwarves and fighting. So much fighting. My grandmother raised me from baby till her death, now 27yrs later as my father passed from some infection soon after reaching home. “Keep up, Calithil. We have a long way to the portal still.” The flicker of his star brooch caught my eye as he quickly turned away from me. His faded green long coat fitted loosely over his leather vest, and looked a bit worse for wear. If it wasn't for the fact that my grandmother's last letter spelled out that it was essential I go “home” with this ranger, I wouldn't have set off with this scruffy looking stranger, with his reddish hair and beard, armed to the teeth with bow, arrows, long sword and various daggers, no doubt. “You mind explaining again the urgency behind this trek, please?” I huffed out breathlessly. “And why do you call me Calithil, when my name is Sarah Elizabeth?” “Huh, your human name may be Sarah Elizabeth, but your elven name is Calithil, meaning Moon Light. I wish to reach the portal before nightfall when the mountain trolls come out. They roam that area at night.” “But why am I rushing to Middle Earth now. Why not before?” “That is for King Ellavorn to discuss. I was asked to fetch you, as soon as possible, after your grandmother's passing.” We reached the portal in another hour. It was inside a dark cave which grew colder and colder as we penetrated its depths. Then suddenly all was pitch black and between one footstep and the next there was a shimmering, and suddenly I stood among rocks, with the sun sitting low behind us. As I looked up I walked from under a rock arch so magnificent it boggles the mind. Pointing at the engraving on the arch Gyddyn said: “It says Middle Earth in Elvish. We should reach Bilbo's house within another hour as I've arranged for horses to be waiting for us. Another reason why I would prefer to leave before those mountain trolls wake up. They love horse flesh.” On the other side of another huge boulder we reached a grassy knoll with two magnificent horses waiting for us. “Firefoot and Lightfoot. Horses of Rohan, and descendants of Felarof, first of the Mearas.” His quiet voice held the awe he felt for these animals. We quickly mounted and set off for Bilbo in The Shire, a descendant of The Great Bilbo, The Adventurer, who helped the dwarf king defeat the dragon Smaug. Upon reacing Bilbo's house a while later, I found we were not the only ones to stay over there that evening. As tired and weary as I was, I found the company of these dwarves and one wizard quite enlightening.

fitness goals Follow Darebee's 30 days of gravity workout. This will go 2 days over the 4-week duration of the challenge. I'll start today so the finish day will coincide with the end of the NF challenge. I'm looking forward to this. I've incorporated some Darebee exercises in my routines for the last few months but this will be the first time I've followed one of the programs. Drink at least 64oz water daily Weigh myself at least weekly My last challenge I focused on strength training and as something of an experiment I made a conscious effort to not weigh myself at all. I really increased my strength over those six weeks and interestingly lost almost two pounds. However, I've put on weight over the past three months and I know myself well: if I'm looking at the scale at least once a week I'll lose weight because it makes me even more conscious of my food input (and yep, I track using MyFitnessPal). So the goal is not to specifically lose weight for this challenge, only to track my weight, which I believe will result in a loss. cook dinner at least 4 times a week I'm really good at making/bringing healthy lunch and snacks to the office, but I've let my evening cooking slide a bit over the last three months. In retrospect, it's been a clear case of "cook fatigue." I've gotten tired of cooking, especially as I felt drained from the anxiety of doing well at the new job. Time to reinvigorate that, get some pre-cooking done on the weekends so I'm ready for the week ahead. life goals Just as Fall 2015 was beginning I was laid off from the dayjob. The startup I was working for was floundering in rising debt and dwindling revenue and simply couldn't afford the IT manager any longer. Since I knew I'd (unfortunately) have more time on my hands, I did the next NF challenge and made it part of the life goals to basically "find a job, dammit." I got a job offer a couple of weeks after that challenge ended, and I'm currently finishing up my first two months at the new job. That goal necessarily eclipsed all other life goals at the time, but I want --- need --- to revive those. The primary goal is to exercise my musicianship. I'm currently involved in a fun music project that has me orchestrating and composing for a very nerdy indie film that will see a release at the end of 2016. The demands on my spare time for that project will wax and wane, but the bulk of my involvement should be finished this month. With this in mind, my goal for this challenge is to do something as a musician at least three times a week, which can be anything from this list: work on the film project work on new/original compositions play any instrument (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, etc) record new songs I don't really need to set a minimum time for any of the activities in this list because once I start I quickly become immersed and lose track of time. If anything I'll have to put a cap on the session time so I don't stay up too late and hose my chances of rising on time for morning cardio. So those are my goals for the challenge: a handful of fitness goals, and a personal/life goal to do something I love three times a week.

Ok, so we're about to run out for lunch, so maybe this isn't the best time to be posting my thread, but I'll just leave as a placeholder here. Quick note about the name change - being a mom is a really important part of who I am and while I am a huge Star Wars fan (hence original name of JK_Mom), I think Aquamom will fit me better as I rehab my two bad feet. My left ankle was sprained earlier this month and has not been healing well, while my right foot may have a stress fracture (I'll find out 11/2) or some more tendinitis. At any rate, this challenge period, I want to focus on mindfulness and upper-body strength. More to come later!

So I'm going to make this easy on myself, and literally copy and paste from one of my previous challenges, what I would consider my most successful challenge. *** [The following content copied from here] Goals: Diet- Nothing is drastically changing here. I have a chart of foods to choose from, and each meal and snack is a combination of different foods from different groups. Simply put, I get a point for each food that falls under my plan, and a negative point for anything that is outside of the plan, as in extra food, sweets or alcohol. Unlimited non-starchy vegetables are allowed, so no worries about going hungry. My point goal for each day is between 11.5 - 12. The total points for the entire challenge will be 483-504 for a perfect score. Now, as long as I follow the plan 80% of the time, I will still pass the challenge. (CON 2 STA 1 WIS 1) Like I said, I've made up note cards and have the points all broken out so it will be easy to keep track of. And it's not that different from how I eat most of the time now anyway. Point goal for each day = 10. Total points for perfect challenge = 390. Fitness- Focus on strength training, while continuing my cardio to show results. As far as which workouts I will do, that I will not be including as part of the challenge, only because I plan on trying some new things soon. For the purpose of the challenge though, just making sure I do include strength training 3 times per week is what I want to focus on. I also plan on keeping a journal to track progress. (CHA 1) Strength training – 3x per week = 18 workouts (STR 2) If I manage 2x per week = 12 workouts (STR 1) Convict Conditioning Cardio – 5x per week goal, 3x per week pass = 18-30 cardio workouts (DEX 1, STA 2, CHA 1) Preparation – Planning is everything. I’ve found that how well my day goes, at least weekdays, depends almost entirely on how well I prepared for it the day before. So, point for every day that I make all necessary preparations for the next day. Total points = 42 39. (STA 1, CON 2, WIS 1) Life goal: Update more, and include more detail in my posts. *** *** I'm dealing with a different set of challenges this time around though. Well, I possibly am. Let me explain. I work a job, Monday - Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm. That was what I was doing earlier this year when my challenges went fairly well and I was focused. Now, I work that job, but I have another job. Typically I work second job Wednesday - Saturdays, 5 or 6pm to anywhere from 10pm-2am. It's at a bar, hence the undetermined schedule. Suffice to say, this is difficult, even when I'm not trying to work out and eat well. I had decided on Saturday that I would quit, that the little bit of extra money I've been making has not been worth the physical and emotional exhaustion I feel almost constantly. But I'm not sure yet, and I'm still trying to make up my mind on that. I'd like to give this challenge a go either way, and I feel like whichever choice I make will definitely affect how well I do. I've been thinking non-stop about this today and yesterday and will continue to do so.

Hi, I'm Shukar and I'm a Scout. I'm also a huge Disney nerd. I decided this time around I was gonna merge the two things for the challenge, but first a little background. I'm 24 (soon to be 25), married, college graduate, working for a living. I'm 6'5" and used to be a fat guy, not I'm just a slightly suboptimal guy (around 210-220). I've run multiple half marathons and some recreational running with an upcoming marathon. For strength training I do mostly bodyweight work with the occasional kettle bell or other work. I've been having some issues with sticking to my diet and getting enough training volume for my tastes (specifically my runs) so those are things I'm hoping to work on this challenge. This time around I decided to do something different, because I was struck by inspiration while on a long drive. Each of my goals is based on a different disney movie/song! Go the Distance aka The Running Goal: (Hercules) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cja4NvIR1UU The running goal is first and one of my favorite disney movies and songs, Hercules! This one is probably the key song for this challenge which is why it goes first, set the tone early. Hercules wasn't just strong, he was determined. I'm likewise determined to go the distance to find what I'm after. So what am I after? • Go the Distance: I'm running a marathon on March 2nd, first step of my challenge goal is to finish that marathon, slow and steady, lightning fast, doesn't really matter to me (though almost certainly slow and steady) so long as I finish. • If I can be Strong: I want to do one run a week at least in the Luongos (barefoot shoes I won a while back) hopefully working up toward running a 5K in them before the weather gets incredibly hot. This part of my running plans doesn't kick in until after my marathon. • Every Mile, Will Be Worth My While: My goal is to get in 3 runs per week every week as a minimum, at least a mile each run unless there are specific reasons otherwise. The purpose here is consistency and pumping up mileage of some kind. Got to keep busy. Points: 2 Sta, 1 Con, 1 Str Let's Get Down to Business aka The Strength Goal: (Mulan) That's right, it's time to get down to business, to defeat the huns naturally. I indeed used to be among the saddest bunch you've ever met, but I've taken some steps to make a man out of me. Strength Training for the win! • With all the Force of a Great Typhoon: I started up a strength program last challenge that seems to be working out alright for me so far, but it's time to punch it up a bit. So here's the down low. Every day I'll do the Warmup and Skills sections of my workout plan, and 3 days a week I'll throw in the Strength and Cooldown sections of my plan. The goal here is to do at least 4 rounds of my Strength block each week, up from the 3 last challenge and moving toward the 9 that is the long term goal. • Mysterious as the Dark Side of the Moon: Streak Club. It has happened for the last two challenges so I'm sure it'll happen again this challenge, find the task, do it every day. It's pretty simple. Points: Str: 2, Dex 1 Bare Necessities aka The Food Goal: (Jungle Book) Sometimes life boils down to the simple things, the truly fundamental things. My diet is like that I think. It's never been the greatest, though the absolute quality has fluctuated a good deal over time. My goal with it this challenge is to try and clean it up a bit and take it back to basics where I can. Because it's important and I need to do my best with it. • Mother Natures Recipes: Vegetables, they are delicious when cooked right and horribly under appreciated. I'm guilty of that last for sure so this challenge I'd really like to increase my veggie intake. Sadly since I'm coming from such a low average the goal is a low 1 serving of something that is obviously a veggie every day. Mac and Cheese certainly doesn't count, potatoes might depending on preparation, get some color in there and some nice nutrient density. Real food, mostly plants right? • Then Maybe Try a Few: I don't eat hardly enough variety of different vegetables in my diet so this challenge a goal will be to try at least one new veggie that I've not had before each week. • If You Pick a Raw Paw, Well Next Time Beware: I've learned from past experience that gluten and my stomach do not agree all that well. Most of the time I can get by without caring all that much but around races I find that being strict about it for 3+ days before hand seems to help me get into the right place for a race. So that's the goal, gluten free for the 3 or more days leading up to my race. Points: 2 Con, 1 Wis Gaston aka The Life Goal: (Beauty and the Beast) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK3x2DOoJIc No ones slick as Gaston, but darn it I've got to try. I pondered for a while what to put down for this goals song and this was the one I came up with. While I don't want to be like the guy, you've got to admit this song makes him sound kind of like a badass. Well I am a badass, obviously I mean look at the Disney themed challenge on Nerd Fitness, so this is clearly a great fit for me. • There's No Man in Town Half as Manly: I am not a naturally hairy man like Gaston, and honestly I'm kind of glad for that, and what I do have I try to keep trimmed nice and neat. As part of this challenge I'm making it a goal to try and shave every other day. That's an increase from what has been my usual level of approximately weekly for some time now, and setting it at every second day because that seems to be working alright for now and I want to stay consistent for my razor blade experiment. I do however keep a beard, so keep it looking sharp. • As part of this it's a goal to take good notes on the shaves and try to improve my end of the shave experience progressively (but not too much, might throw off the data) • As a Specimen Yes I'm Intimidating: I already dress fairly well compared to my coworkers but for the challenge I'm making it a goal to try and step it up wherever I can. Do the laundry a little more often if needed, maybe even go so far as to iron things, try and be more observant about what I'm wearing outside of work. Take the extra steps to try and look your best man. • Gaston is the Best and the Rest is the Drips: While I can't say as I smell bad or anything, sometimes I simply don't shower as often as I probably should, so this challenge I'm gonna try and change that. Shooting for showering pretty much every day. In addition I'll likely be playing around with some of my prep, thanks to Chammy and some info from r/Beards I've been playing with conditioner for example, and we'll have to see how that goes. • I'm Especially Good at Expectorating: As a further health goal I'm gonna try and start flossing and otherwise taking better care of my teeth. Yes this goal is coming about because I have a dentist appointment in the future for the first time in years, why do you ask? Points: 3 Cha, 1 Wis, 1 Con So here's some starting pictures I took, clothed partly because I dislike the way my belly looks on camera, and partly because dressing sharply is a goal so getting that in the image is handy. I apologize for the quality of the shots, camera and a mirror and all. http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/uploads/gallery/album_64/gallery_2137_64_957956.jpg http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/uploads/gallery/album_64/gallery_2137_64_1256645.jpg