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"The gunslinger came awake from a confused dream which seemed to consist of a single image" Roland awoke by the ruins of the campfire to find himself ten years older. His black hair had thinned at the temples and gone the gray of cobwebs at the end of autumn. The lines in his face were deeper, his skin rougher. SUMMARY In order to become who I want to be, I need to up my game. The past challenge was a massive failure. Like Roland, I had a dream that lasted too long only to wake up in a strange beach, years later, without a clue of what was going on, and losing part of the skills I´d worked so hard for (thankfully, not lost fingers, only fitness levels). So I'm still far from where I need to go. So, two steps forward, one step back. I lost momentum, gained some weight, but I´m respawning. I can do that, right? I will get to my tower. I´ve decided to penalize myself with a level down, and a stat drop to reflect the lost terrain. GOALS The man in black shuffled the cards with flying, merging rapidity. The deck was huge, the design on the backs of the cards convoluted. "These are tarot cards," the man in black was saying, "a mixture of the standard deck and a selection of my own development Watch closely gunslinger. I’m going to tell your future" The hanged man the man in black said. The darkness had given him back his hood. “Yet here, in conjunction with nothing else, it signifies strength and not death. You, gunslinger, are the Hanged Man, plodding ever onward toward your goal over all the pits of Hades." I will get fit. I will become better. I´ll exercise once more +5 STR if avg 3 workouts per week. The sailor Note the clear brow, the hairless cheeks, the wounded eyes. He drowns, gunslinger, and no one throws out the line. Your diet.†+3 CON if avg meal is paleo friendly. +2 CHA if 2kg lost (or visible change for the better). The lady of shadows “Does she look two-faced to you, gunslinger? She is. A veritable Janus.†She represents the distractions. One side looks at work, the other looks at something to procrastinate. Must avoid one and focus on the important. +2 WIS for focusing more on work Dominion / Ruin "Your choice, gunslinger. Take control of your life, or allow chaos to permeate it." +1 STA for succesfully completing the challenge. LSQ The magician Training of skills. Because. +1 DEX for training of pen spinning skills. +1 WIS for practicing drawing/sketching. MOTIVATION LGN MINIQUESTS none yet.

I think I'm going to take some time off from challenges, there's just not much of a point for me anymore. Move to a battle log instead. I'm bulking at the moment, have been for a couple months now, and plan on continuing through until the spring. Though I'm probably going to do a 2 week minicut in early December to trim a little of the extra fat off. Workout Log Key: I use a lot of easy to write shorthand in my workout log, which greatly increases the data carrying capability without long written out notes, however it does make it a bit difficult to read without a means of decoding it. Starting with the basic: Exercise Name - Reps or time in a set I try to add the unit (secs/reps) as much as possible, though I do forget from time to time. From there I add a lot of modifiers: / = Forward slash indicates that it is single limb work, and that the set is broken up per limb. I always use the convention left/right. 3/3 means 3 reps on the left, 3 reps on the right. , = delimiter between sets. 3,3 means a set of 3, a break, and then another set of 3. n = negative reps. 5n1 means a set of 5 with a negative rep at the end. 0n3 means a set of 3 negatives. c = cluster reps, can have a modifier in () to denote a nonstandard pause time. Standard pause time is 5 breaths. 3c3 means a set of 3 reps, a 5 breath pause, and then another set of 3 reps. 3c(10br)2 means a set of 3 reps, a 10 breath pause, and then 2 more reps. m{} = myo-reps, I'll usually add a () and note pause time. 10 m{3,3,3,3}(5br) means that I did a 10 rep activation set, took a 5 breath pause, did a set of 3 reps, took a 5 breath pause, did a set of 3 reps, etc... (repeated 4 times total). I often use multiple pause timings when doing myo-reps. Going past what was done, I also have 2 grading scales in use to note how it was done. The following is added to the rep/hold numbers above for each individual set to grade the set. Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), notes how "hard" the set was. I use shorthand to note the standard RPE scale: z = RPE 10, need to be mentally prepared for that output (making noises helps as well), true failure/edge of failure, very slow grinding final rep. y = RPE 9, might have a highly motivated rep left in the tank, failure or edge of failure when training calm, slow grinding final rep. x = RPE 8, left a rep in the tank (2 or more if highly motivated), rep speed slowed down noticably and there is a slight grind, but not close to failure. e = RPE's 7 and below, several reps left in the tank, did not lose rep speed, easy work. Rate of Perceived Technique (RPT) notes how good set form was. I'm going to use my own form rating system at first: ++ = Very high quality form, no major issues, any issues with the form are extremely minor. + = Average/above average form. No major issues, though there are some definite problems with the smaller details. - = Below average form. Major issues possible (though not severe), smaller details need a lot of work -- = Poor form, major form problems.

This is me for the past… long while. Tired and unmotivated. And frankly, I still am. I know I’m capable of so much more, but I just haven’t had the energy for it. I have noticed that I get the most done during the school day. I am not able to wake up any earlier than I already do (trust me, I’ve tried); and by the time I get home from school, I’m so exhausted that I usually just lay down in bed for the rest of the night. So, I’m going to try a new exercise strategy this time around: Go to the gym while I’m on campus. Don’t expect to get it done at home. GO TO THE GYM. I also need to get a better handle on the things I put in my mouth! I am pretty good about meal prep and having healthy foods available; but while I’m at school, if I run out of snacks, the moment I become hungry I am tempted to buy food and drinks! That is a problem. I know I’m capable of much more than I’ve been doing, because I’ve done much more in the past. So I’m going to do my best to push through this tough time in my life, even if it’s a nanomoment at a time. I have it in me, somewhere. I just have to figure out how to unbury it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I’ve started a bullet journal, and I’m going to design a spread in it to keep track of my goals: ~ work out AT THE GYM [3 times per week] ~ eat healthy [5 days per week] ~ didn’t buy consumables at school [5 days per week] [weekends don't count, cos I'm not at school anyways!! has to be during the business week] ~ read my Bible [3 days per week] [getting back into the habit, so starting small]

I'm closing in on 4 years in the forum now, having done my NF Introduction back right before leaving The North. I've finally been able to catch-up on updating my original training log, Third World Warrior: The Eight-Year Training Log (after some technical difficulties deleting like 2 years of logs) and I'll be using the Daily Battle Logs to both track my training and consolidate my challenges. I have been all over the place most of my life, hence many challenges with Rangers, but my issue is that I feed my training ADD and just ride the tides, making hay when the sun's out. Because of this I've gained proficiency in many things, but I'm having trouble tracking if I'm actually getting better in any of them. Hence, a long-term log. I've always been a fan of public training logs (for myself). I was never worried about how my competition was training, I was always focused on what I was doing. However because of this I tend to buy my own BS. A long term training log tracks progress, and allows others to call me out whenever I'm becoming too full of myself. (Perhaps having an Epic Quest might be of use as well, to keep the goal the goal.) I've always been very stubborn and secretive, even to my coaches. This can also cover training while I use 4-week challenges to work on life.

I was struggling to come up with a theme, or goals. So, I think I will just do an unchallege, and share my favorite Christmas carol I will be following NF's bodyweight Heroes Journey app at level 17 Working on rowing, Getting some movement in with GMB's Literal Immortality and walking I will be celebrating Christmas and the Advent season decorating cookies baking decorating the tree buying gifts Christmas movies parties singing

This video was posted on Youtube , and I really appreciated it, and thought it felt well for my next challenge, and how I want my goals to be focused. Fitness: Continue with the GMB workouts 3 times a week Do some walking Rowing , most likely 3 days a week, and sprinting once a week, or maybe every other week I also started GMB's respiration program, which is just a short program on breathing, so I'll do that some too Eating and maintenance: Last challenge I did a good job at maintaining my weight. What I want to focus on right now is learning how to maintain my weight without putting all my focus on it. I tend to swing between putting all my focus on weight, or not at all. I want it to be a good background, with some healthy eating skills that I can maintain most of the time, while also relaxing and enjoying other times and not being strict. Some eating skills I am working on: eating a balanced plate (carbs,protein, veggies or fruit) eating slowly being thankful for my food pausing mid meal and assessing my satiety eating snacks without a screen I weigh myself daily (ish) and take a weekly average so I can see trends. If I forget a day that's fine, it's just the consistent habit I'm establishing. I do it in the morning, so if I forget I just wait until the next day. Life: Monday morning write out my weekly goals _ I've been doing this for a couple of challenges , and find it very helpful Every morning write out the priority goals for the day. The goal is to write out a realistic goal of what I can do Gardening: Time to start putting things to bed. Prepare veggie garden for winter. Scrapbooking Complete at least 50% of Yellowstone trip Guest bedroom Last year I repainted it. But then I got distracted, and didn't finish the other things I wanted to do to decorate it. I have a to do list for it.. Goal is to get 50% of the way through that list. Goal to remember : I tend to think I don't have time for ..., because I don't have a big block of time. But things can get done in little chunks. Work on scrapbooking for a half an hour two days a week, is still progress. Also remember : My goals are to help me with my values. They are to help direct me on the path I want to be, and the things I hope to accomplish

Right now, I'm enjoying the summer, spending time in my garden, and catching those summer vibes. This challenge is going to be pretty straight forward. Maintenance Last challenge I just focused on my eating skills , and trying to maintain weight. I don't mind if I gain a bit ( muscles ) but I was gaining a bit more than I like, and the trend was going up. I'm going to keep focus on my eating skills, with one small tweak. I've gotten back into the habit of an evening snack. I think if I ditched this, I would be better off. I don't work really well with strict rules, so I am just going to put it as a guideline, with one stipulation: I can choose to eat something in the evening after dinner if I want, but if I do, I need to write it down, and record the calories, and also the why I am eating it eating skills I'm also practicing eating afternoon snack without a screen pausing before seconds, extra meal stopping half way through a meal and thinking about satiety stopping when full Life: The habit of spending some time on Monday writing out my weekly goals, and each morning writing out the goals, is super helpful. I will continue that. Garden is going great. I will work in the garden. Make foods with the stuff I grow. Fitness: Continue with my zone 2 rowing 4 days a week (ish) and my sprinting once a week Just started with the GMB and I will work on that walking- I will enjoy that. I will also recognize that I am working in the garden, and rowing, so even if I don't hit my 10,,000 steps a day, I don't need to feel guilty. Walking 10,000 steps a day is great, but so is other movement, and I don't need to feel guilty about not hitting it. Today: DId 20 minutes at 28 spm on the rower in the morning. Then I did my first session in GMB. It was just an intro to all the movement. Sort of similar to NF, but enough different to mix it up. On rings, we are working on the inverted hang. It's been forever since I did that, and I was a little nervous, but it came back fairly easy. Also working on L-sit. I enjoy GMB because it has some skill work mixed in. They also do stretching and mobility as part of it, which is good, because otherwise I skip it. GMB does shrimp squats instead of pistol work. I'm not worried about losing ground on the pistol though. GMB has you do a flow of front leg lift, to back to shrimp.It's pretty intense balance work, so it will help with the pistol. I don't think it does any dips though. I may add them in once a week, just to maintain the work I've done. We are in a heat wave, so not a lot of walking. I get some just by wandering around watering all the things. Took a short walk last night , and will do so again tonight. Right now I'm typing this challenge in our bedroom, which is where we have our portable AC

Hi, I'm looking for a recommendation. I'd like to ask if anybody knows about some bodyweight beginner program that is straightforward and not very long (around 20 minutes per workout) and with minimal or no equipment needed. I own GMB's Integral Strength and Parallettes 1, which I enjoyed a few years ago when I was way more active physically. But althought they're great programs, I don't have the time right now to go through the endless videos and variations to try, and assessments and all. I'd like something simple: do this x times x sets, something that will help me get started so later I can get back to other activities I used to enjoy. Thanks, guys!

Greetings, and welcome to all! I’m a married parent of 4 kids aged 0-8. Last challenge I sorta crashed in burned again. We’ve been obscenely busy with the bakery as well as all the other full time jobs and children and whatnot. I’m ultimately an adventurer at heart, though I train similar to a lot of Rangers (and I’m something of a Druid Paladin which is also something of an equivalent to a Ranger). I love hiking, exploring, traveling, and other fun things with the family. Since shortly before joining Nerdfitness, my physical training is typically built around injury rehabilitation (which happens a bit more often due to autoimmune arthritis) and training to be able to travel, explore, and play with my family. I have a pretty effective Disney World training system, and try to ensure that at any point I’m strong enough to carry my whole family somewhere. That has become more difficult as the years go on but I can still do it for the most part. I am also an enthusiastic suburban homesteader bent on establishing an orchard and vegetable garden, so things can get pretty out-doorsy depending on my goals. My needs mean I do a variety of types of training, and my earliest two physical training goals were “run fast” and “be able to competitively play any sport I come across.” I prefer to avoid gyms and do a lot of body weight training. When I do lift weights it is at the YMCA or, more commonly, takes the form of children, sandbags, or logs. We have returned to school in person, which I am finally becoming comfortable with. For the first time since… April 2020? The kids’ school has no COVID cases and today marked the sixth straight week. I’m still nervous about the younger two. I know getting some level of COVID is virtually inevitable but I really want to push that at least until we can all be vaccinated. We’ve been both cautious and lucky thus far, especially since when we had it we were able to avoid the older 3 from getting it at all. L’enfant shows no signs he ever had it aside from testing positive and some short, mild symptoms but I will feel much better when he and Bo Peep are vaccinated. Homesteading season is upon us. The fruit trees are doing well though my arch-nemeses the deer are back and uprooted the Ranier I planted last fall. I cannot express how unhappy I’ll be if it dies for such a feat would be impossible. We’re reigning in my red neck tendencies this year and redoing a bunch of our gardens. We may also be remodeling the house to add more space for my mother in law and her sister to move in as well. At the beginning of last year, we started shopping for an existing business with a professional kitchen to give a physical location to our small bakery. We now own the bakery kitchen and business. Business has been thriving even behind locked doors but THIS SATURDAY is our grand opening. I am ecstatic. We have the health inspection and the final fire inspection this week but the renovation is done. I am super excited. The kumquat tree and pepper plants came back home from the bakery this week. The soil is over dried and they got pretty sad so I’m rehabbing them on my porch. Or killing them entirely. I guess we’ll see. Healthwise, we’ve been living the keto lifestyle for most of the year and we’ve found it to be incredibly easy to stick to 99% of the time, meaning we’re seeing more success and I’m burning less willpower on food-related stuff. I am past my arbitrary goal weight, and I’m focusing hard now on maintaining around this weight while achieving my goal composition. We took a break over the holidays and I gained about 18 lbs, mostly inflammation; but I added some fat on my belly to the tune of around 7 lbs last challenge. I’m (barely) back in ketosis and my joints are already feeling better. I’ve not been physically or mentally as well lately. Jessie has work friends and I’m grateful (she really, really needs some good friends especially given her job) but she’s home less while I have been more isolated and I’m feeling the loneliness return. It can be pretty intense. I don’t really have many IRL friends. I love Marinara but he’s sort of emotionally unavailable and my other friends are almost all far away anymore. I've generally been doing well with my “no yelling” goal, though I’ve slipped a and I suspect it’s in part due to being tired and habits being difficult to break. I continue to strive towards zero yelling. I am also striving to be careful with my words at all times. I’m tired of being so very careful of my words most of the time to the point where I’ll simply be silent (where I have to be careful to not stonewall) but then just let loose and impulsively say a bunch of thoughtless things. I think the trip really, really helped. Getting away is mentally good for us and we kinda rely on the resets to break us out of bad mental-emotional routines. Goals: 1. Sleep. As best as possible. This is critical to managing my emotions as well as general health and quality of life. I’m currently trapped in sleep deprivation until we can hire and train our team. But I can also see a light at the end of the tunnel. 2. Basic calisthenics routine at the least. It is noticeable that I have not been training regularly and I am not a fan. 3. Take one concrete step forward per day- at least one tangible, visible thing to make life better. This ranges from things as small as “dig out the replacement toaster” to as big as “reorganize the playroom.” I don’t have to complete the bigger ones as long as I make progress. 4. Take one concrete step forward per day career-wise. I need my job but I’m not satisfied in it and otherwise need a change. I need to hone/adapt skills and look for other opportunities. -> Currently, this involves finishing the bakery paperwork and executing the grand opening. . 5. Home and Garden. I want both to be better. Especially the home. The basement is… bad. I spent one today doing laundry and cleaning up. The basement needs a tremendous amount of work. The dogs have been staying down there and it’s better than kenneling them but they’ve eaten some toys and containers which made a huge mess and the best dog’s separation anxiety issues are coming back into play. I hope that in the future I (or one of us at least) can be home half the day with them most days. We have a cleaning lady but I don’t think 3 hours a week is quite enough 6. Therapy. I have a new(er) diagnoses and new(er) medication that have been, it feels, pretty life changing. I finished intensive therapy that was also insanely helpful prior to that and I am continuing with less frequent sessions. My goal is to better learn how to manage ADHD and how to be a more connected, present, and supportive husband and father. I think I have been progressing well. I feel healthy. I am excited about how this has gone. I am working on anger management and taking a page from the book of Mr. Fred Rogers. I had no idea that he struggled with a strong and volatile temper. He never wanted to be remembered as a saint because he didn’t want his example to be unachievable but I do think he is probably the best person who ever lived a full life. I will be looking to him as an example and we’ve decided to introduce the show as a regular part of our kids’ lives. Gods know it’s as helpful to me as it is to them. And I’m adding care of words as well to this goal for things don’t have to be yelled to hurt. Overall, I am anxious to get back into things as well as open the bakery. I want to stay remote at my other job, especially since it turns out I had 1+ panic attacks a day there but rarely have them at home. I need to go to sleep now, as I’m already behind on goal 1. Oh, and if you’re following from my last thread, we’ve been RPing a scene with Barnaby the Brass Dragon in our D&D campaign since March 4th. It’s absolutely epic. This is going in my record books.

"Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring, what batters you becomes your strength. Move back and forth into the change. What is it like, such intensity of pain? If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine. In this uncontainable night, be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses, the meaning discovered there. And if the world has ceased to hear you, say to the silent earth: I flow. To the rushing water, speak: I am. Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29 Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower by Rainer Maria Rilke Greetings and Happy Holidays fellow Rebels. As some of you know, life has been wild crazy busy for me lately but for good reasons. While this is always a difficult time of year for me personally, I am determined to rise above dwelling on past traumas and instead focus on upgrading my mind and body as I turn this new page in my life. My challenge will be similar to my last one with a few minor changes. Since winter is approaching and cold weather is already upon us, I am returning to my Wim Hof training. I'll be squeezing it in with my morning meditation practice. I am also intermittent fasting again but not in the same way as before: I will eat if I feel hungry (as in stomach actually growling), but if not then I will hold off until I am hungry. So here are my challenge goals: PHYSICAL GOAL: Lift heavy objects as often as possible and move in ways that bring me joy. This includes cinderblocks, logs, stones, kettlebells, weights, and my own body whenever the opportunity presents itself (yoga, Darebee workouts, etc.). The key is to have fun moving again and to lift mindfully, focusing on specific muscles/muscle groups and specific movements. NUTRITIONAL GOALS: I will eat mindfully, selecting foods that nourish my body and don't leave me feeling blah after eating them. From the Harvard School of Public Health: "Eating mindfully means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make. This helps to increase gratitude for food, which can improve the overall eating experience. Mindful eating encourages one to make choices that will be satisfying and nourishing to the body. However, it discourages “judging” one’s eating behaviors as there are different types of eating experiences. As we become more aware of our eating habits, we may take steps towards behavior changes that will benefit ourselves and our environment." This will also include eating only when I feel hungry and not because I'm bored or because I think I'm hungry. This requires me to listen to my body and be mindful of my hunger. MENTAL/SPIRITUAL GOALS: I will re-instate my morning practice which will now include Wim Hof practices. I will meditate twice daily (morning contemplative meditation and evening gratitude meditation). I will read and post one poem a day, as well as write a poem of my own every day. I will read at least ten pages of a spiritual development book daily. I dropped the ball on the "poem a day" goal last time, but I struggled because life was so busy. Now that I'm finished with my Master's degree work, I should have the time to read and compose some poems. MORNING PRACTICE: 0400 wakeup prayer/contemplative meditation scripture reading breath work (Wim Hof) cold shower

Greetings, and welcome to all! I’m a married parent of 4 kids aged 0-8. I’m ultimately an adventurer at heart, though I train similar to a lot of Rangers (and I’m something of a Druid Paladin which is also something of an equivalent to a Ranger). I love hiking, exploring, traveling, and other fun things with the family. Since shortly before joining Nerdfitness, my physical training is typically built around injury rehabilitation (which happens a bit more often due to autoimmune arthritis) and training to be able to travel, explore, and play with my family. I have a pretty effective Disney World training system, and try to ensure that at any point I’m strong enough to carry my whole family somewhere. That has become more difficult as the years go on but I can still do it for the most part. I am also an enthusiastic suburban homesteader bent on establishing an orchard and vegetable garden, so things can get pretty out-doorsy depending on my goals. My needs mean I do a variety of types of training, and my earliest two physical training goals were “run fast” and “be able to competitively play any sport I come across.” I prefer to avoid gyms and do a lot of body weight training. When I do lift weights it is at the YMCA or, more commonly, takes the form of children, sandbags, or logs. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed baby 4 into the family, my cat was diagnosed with feline dementia a few months ago, we adopted a kitten (our third cat and Rex’s first), and we have returned to school. At the beginning of this year, we started shopping for an existing business with a professional kitchen to give a physical location to our small bakery. We now own the bakery kitchen and business, and are focusing hard on getting our renovation done and team built, as it had grown by multiples over the summer from the original numbers given to us. We’re on the cusp of hiring and some of our equipment is in so I am hoping we tame it a little bit because the volume has been insane and has left us all burning the candle at both ends. The fruit trees and bushes are all doing well. The Methly Plum tree which is recovering well from the last deer attack. We’ve had ever more figs, the Ranier Cherry tree isn’t dead year (and seems to be doing well thus far), and the serranos have a dozen new flowers and the Carolina Reaper is really filling out. They’re going to move insider along with the kumquat tree, though the kumquats are likely going to live at the bakery over the winter. No pumpkins and sadly, the few female flowers we have came very late. My dreams of a fall homestead surrounded by a bountiful crop of squash will likely need to wait at least another year, though if I possibly can I’ll make it happen this year. Even a handful of small ones would be awesome. The people with those violent dogs sold their house and they moved last challenge. Good riddance. This brings a great relief to me and basically all the neighbors. For those who don’t know, we were warned about the dogs when we moved in. Then one of them came over the fence and attacked my dog out of the blue, and my precious Mama Dog lost half her ear. Turns out that the pair of dogs 1. Gets out regularly and 2. Attacks other animals, children, and even adults. 3. The owners take zero responsibility and gaslight people about it. These are the only neighbors here I don’t like, because they’re an actual danger. I am relieved they’re gone, because it means soon I’ll be able to remove the rabbit fencing I’ve kept at the very back to keep our dogs and kids several feet away from that back fence. I’ll have the freedom to establish a real garden at the back, since my attempts to grow an espaliered tree hedge have largely failed. We do have a thriving Crapemyrtle and blackberries along the back and I look forward to basically making those and the lilac bush a full hedge without the threat of a dog attack. Healthwise, we’ve been living the keto lifestyle for a little over 8months, and we’ve found it to be incredibly easy to stick to 99% of the time, meaning we’re seeing more success and I’m burning less willpower on food-related stuff. I am past my arbitrary goal weight, and I’m focusing hard now on maintaining around this weight while achieving my goal composition. The last time I was this weight was before I met Jessie and when I was in my student teaching (yeah, before the wrestling coach gig!) That is, one of the best shapes of my life. I want to be lean and strong, not skinny and weak. (Tried that and hated it). I fell off the wagon a bit when it comes to strength workouts. I do push-ups in people’s name as a form of prayer and last challenge saw a lot of sickness and worry, so it sort of took over everything else. I’ve been doing lots of bodyweight squats and lunges with the 6-lb trays and I can tell a difference. Working in the bakery is much better physically than desk work (which I also still do). But it’s a nice physical job and I like it. I've generally been doing well with my “no yelling” goal, though I’ve slipped a couple of times. I continue to strive towards zero yelling. Goals: 1. Sleep. As best as possible. This is critical to managing my emotions as well as general health and quality of life. I’m currently trapped in sleep deprivation until we can hire and train our team. But I can also see a light at the end of the tunnel. 2. Basic calisthenics routine at the least. I don’t want to lose my pull-up and chin-up strength so I’m still doing those in the morning every other day, but I’m in maintenance mode until I can fix the sleep situation. 3. Take one concrete step forward per day- at least one tangible, visible thing to make life better. This ranges from things as small as “dig out the replacement toaster” to as big as “reorganize the playroom.” I don’t have to complete the bigger ones as long as I make progress. 4. Take one concrete step forward per day career-wise. I need my job but I’m not satisfied in it and otherwise need a change. I need to hone/adapt skills and look for other opportunities. -> Currently, this involves working towards dramatically expanding the team to help run the formerly part-time business that exploded with the acquisition of another bakery. Said bakery's business grew out of control and the previous owner did no real expanding of the business, she just worked herself into the ground. 5. Home and Garden. I want both to be better. 6. Therapy. I have a new diagnoses and new medication that have been, it feels, pretty life changing. I finished intensive therapy that was also insanely helpful prior to that and I am continuing with less frequent sessions. My goal is to better learn how to manage ADHD and how to be a more connected, present, and supportive husband and father. I think I have been progressing well. I feel healthy. I am excited about how this has gone. I am working on anger management and taking a page from the book of Mr. Fred Rogers. I had no idea that he struggled with a strong and volatile temper. He never wanted to be remembered as a saint because he didn’t want his example to be unachievable but I do think he is probably the best person who ever lived a full life. I will be looking to him as an example and we’ve decided to introduce the show as a regular part of our kids’ lives. Gods know it’s as helpful to me as it is to them. It is a very exciting time. We just celebrated our 11th anniversary and went for fondue and axe throwing. I’m pretty good with the axes though Jessie is far better with shuriken and throwing cards, which are substantially similar to throwing a ball. She played softball as a catcher and was on the Olympic team arc before an injury so she is an amazing thrower and it’s rare that I can out throw her with anything. Actually, so far, it’s only ever been the axes. And I suspect I would come out ahead on throwing spikes and throwing knives as well, but only because those things I practiced throwing as a kid and they are markedly different from throwing a ball. It was a good time. The bakery is overwhelming, though in a good way. We have too much business, which I think is probably better than the opposite problem. We’ve had no end of bank problems and then state withholding paperwork took forever to get processed, so payroll is only just now set up. I have a pretty good idea on how to best utilize people; even a totally untrained, unpracticed helper can dramatically increase the output by taking care of easier tasks allowing the other person to keep hand-rolling the pretzels. Machines are expensive and not able to adequately roll and work dough consistently so they tend to create pretzels that dry out quickly or are super chewy. Our real “technology” advantage is teamwork. A team of 3-4 could make half a week’s worth of cases in a day, being limited then by the mixer output. Walk-in retail is surprisingly high given we have a sign on the door that says “closed for renovations.” We have to lock the door to keep people from coming in and some knock and ask anyway, and I hardly have the heart to turn them down. As always, I seem to bounce between exuberance and despair 😂. That is, some of the long days are really hard. But having help is, well, oh-so-helpful. And though it is slow going, building a team will make it absolutely doable. Baking itself is FUN. And physically more pleasing than sitting at a desk. Sadly, our D&D campaign is on hold until we iron things out with the business. We have to focus on that so that we can all get our sleep/be able to take care of our homes/actually take our vacation over Christmas without ruining the business.

DISCLAIMER: This challenge has nothing to do with the show Supernatural. Sorry if the title is misleading. Late to the game, but blessed to be able to join this challenge. After some serious (but not severe) life challenges... ... I've found myself lost amid the chaos again. Bad eating habits and not staying active have taken a toll on my health lately. I used to be the guy who hardly gets sick, but now in the course of two months I've had a respiratory infection and a stomach virus, and my stress levels have been higher than typical. So, I return to something that used to both bring me joy and help me stay consistent with my workouts: lifting heavy objects Upon visiting their site this morning, I came across a new-to-me RPG style workout program called Pathfinder. After a closer look, I've decided it's a perfect way to get back into caring for myself with some physical training. And, as has become part of my true nature, there will also be plenty of poetry to accompany this adventure. PHYSICAL GOAL: Lift heavy objects as often as possible. I've had to modify my goals since the first time I posted this, but I'm beginning to realize that I need to return to simple and practical. I'm finding opportunities to run but struggling to find time to follow a prescribed workout routine, so I've decided to start lifting heavy things again. This includes cinderblocks, logs, stones, kettlebells, weights, and my own body whenever the opportunity presents itself. They key is to lift mindfully, focusing on specific muscles/muscle groups and specific movements. NUTRITIONAL GOALS: I will eat mindfully, selecting foods that nourish my body and don't leave me feeling blah after eating them. From the Harvard School of Public Health: "Eating mindfully means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make. This helps to increase gratitude for food, which can improve the overall eating experience. Mindful eating encourages one to make choices that will be satisfying and nourishing to the body. However, it discourages “judging” one’s eating behaviors as there are different types of eating experiences. As we become more aware of our eating habits, we may take steps towards behavior changes that will benefit ourselves and our environment." Seven practices of mindful eating From SAVOR: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life Honor the food. Acknowledge where the food was grown and who prepared the meal. Eat without distractions to help deepen the eating experience. Engage all senses. Notice the sounds, colors, smells, tastes, and textures of the food and how you feel when eating. Pause periodically to engage these senses. Serve in modest portions. This can help avoid overeating and food waste. Use a dinner plate no larger than 9 inches across and fill it only once. Savor small bites, and chew thoroughly. These practices can help slow down the meal and fully experience the food’s flavors. Eat slowly to avoid overeating. If you eat slowly, you are more likely to recognize when you are feeling satisfied, or when you are about 80% full, and can stop eating. Don’t skip meals. Going too long without eating increases the risk of strong hunger, which may lead to the quickest and easiest food choice, not always a healthful one. Setting meals at around the same time each day, as well as planning for enough time to enjoy a meal or snack reduces these risks. Eat a plant-based diet, for your health and for the planet. Consider the long-term effects of eating certain foods. Processed meat and saturated fat are associated with an increased risk of colon cancer and heart disease. Production of animal-based foods like meat and dairy takes a heavier toll on our environment than plant-based foods. I do not plan to switch to a plant-based diet, but I do plan to increase the amount of vegetables and fruits that I consume and reduce processed meats. MENTAL/SPIRITUAL GOALS: I will re-instate my morning practice. I will read and post one poem a day, as well as write a poem of my own every day. MORNING PRACTICE: 0415 wakeup prayer/contemplative meditation scripture reading breath work cold shower BONUS CHALLENGE: Read Becoming Supernatural and complete the recommended mindfulness exercises. And that is my challenge. As always, I am grateful to those of you who have faithfully encouraged me and followed me on this journey, even while I was away from the forums. I look forward to continuing with this new adventure.

For my 5 Week Challenge, I'm pursuing the following goals: 1. Meditation Station Clear a space in my office to put my yoga mat down. Complete a meditation each morning before getting on my computer. [Constraint] meditation can be no more than 5 minutes. Meditation can be guided or quiet. Find a good source of guided meditations. Spotify? 2. What is Superfluous? Background: One of my lessons I took from my cross-country bike tour is how to identify what is superfluous. When I moved out of my old apartment, I realized how much stuff I had accumulated since graduating college. Currently, the majority of my possessions live at my parents' house. My goal is to reduce the amount of stuff I have by about half over the next five weeks. Utilize the Marie Kondo Method of tidying up and letting go. Identify a good location to donate your stuff to. Clothes Find what doesn't fit, or hasn't been worn in more than a year. Donate. From what's left, decide how many of each article of clothing you need. Donate everything else. Books, Games, and Movies Books <No Strategy Yet> Movies If you haven't watched it in the past year, donate. Games <No Strategy Yet> 3. LeetCode it up Complete the Dynamic Programming Course from YouTube [Constraint] Can not watch more than 1 chapter per day Practice with LeetCode [Constraint] Can not attempt more than 1 problem per day EDIT: Forgot I have a major project I need to tackle over the next 5 weeks (What is Superfluous?) Replaced my workout quest with it since I'm still getting lots of exercise on my bike. Thank goodness for Week Zero!

Hello everyone! I am Aquarii, your resident element of chaos trying to learn how to become an element of controlled chaos 😂 For those of you who don't know me, hello! I love seeing new faces around here. For those of you who already know me, I am sorry. Jk. Welcome back, my wonderful friends. The last couple months have been pretty crazy. At the start of the last challenge, I left my job due to the environment spiraling into something very toxic. I have yet to find a new job, but I do have an interview coming up in a few days, and it happens to be for a place I would really love to work with, so fingers crossed there. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with bipolar II (probably, the jury is still partially out on that one) and have been on a journey to better understand and manage it. Last week, my apartment management decided to inform me that they are raising my rent by about 15%, which serves to motivate me that much more to get a new job position and get out of this place. Anyway, on to the reason for the title of this challenge. Over the last year, the style of fitness that I choose to do has been changing. Avoiding gyms for Covid forced me to focus a lot more on bodyweight workouts with very minimal weight, and I have found that I much prefer working with bodyweight, calisthenics, and bands instead of iron and heavy weights. It just fits a lot better with my interest in functional fitness. Once I am back in a position with a little more disposable income, I would like to start taking a few dance classes again. And, my partner and I have decided that we want to get into martial arts as a couples' activity. He has always had an interest in martial arts, having done some as a kid, and I have always wanted to learn a martial art. So, it seems like a perfect way to increase our fitness while learning something fun together. I don't know if we will be able to join the dojo or if I will be able to get into a dance class this challenge, but at the very least, I want to focus my training around preparation for it. Improving joint stability, range of motion, and muscle/cardio endurance are all going to be a big part of my training this challenge. Because my fitness is going to be heavily centered around bodyweight training and martial arts prep, it seemed like a perfect time to multiclass outside of my little corner of the forums. If you all have any recommendations or tips, I am always open to your advice and ideas. I only have a minimal idea of what I am doing, so I will take all the help I can get. Anyway, challenge goals: Bladesinger - Martial Arts, Dance, and Bodyweight Training - (STR) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 3x/week with focus on joint stability and muscle endurance - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga and/or stretching 3x/week with focus on flexibility and range of motion - (CON) Stamina: 20min+ walks/jogs 3x/week with focus on improving cardiorespiratory endurance Bladesinger - Mental, Intellectual, and Passion Training - (INT) Intelligence: Read 6 books - (INT) Intelligence: Complete 6 modules of Health Coach certification course and study for Nov. Personal Training exam - (CHA) Charisma: Choose one performance-based activity (music, dance, or acting) to practice at least once per week - (WIS) Generativity and Legacy: Watch a documentary each week on a topic related to minimalism, protecting the environment, society/activism, etc *Note: If you are interested in learning more about my leveling system above, check out the full leveling map in my Battle Log.

Welcome all! I’m a married parent of 4 kids aged 0-8. I’m ultimately an adventurer at heart, though I train similar to a lot of Rangers (and I’m something of a Druid Paladin which is also something of an equivalent to a Ranger). I love hiking, exploring, traveling, and other fun things with the family. Since shortly before joining Nerdfitness, my physical training is typically built around injury rehabilitation (which happens a bit more often due to autoimmune arthritis) and training to be able to travel, explore, and play with my family. I have a pretty effective Disney World training system, and try to ensure that at any point I’m strong enough to carry my whole family somewhere. That has become more difficult as the years go on but I can still do it for the most part. I am also an enthusiastic suburban homesteader bent on establishing an orchard and vegetable garden, so things can get pretty out-doorsy depending on my goals. My needs mean I do a variety of types of training, and my earliest two physical training goals were “run fast” and “be able to competitively play any sport I come across.” I prefer to avoid gyms and do a lot of body weight training. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed baby 4 into the family, my cat was diagnosed with feline dementia a few months ago, we adopted a kitten (our third cat and Rex’s first), and I’ve returned to work from my parental leave. At the beginning of this year, we started shopping for an existing business with a professional kitchen to give a physical location to our small cottage bakery. I’m not at liberty to discuss more at this time, only to say it’s a thing that we are working hard on. The fruit trees and bushes are all doing well. Deer chomped my kumquat tree, my serranos, and my Carolina Reapers (just the tops and clearly with regret) but they’re recovering and I’m still crossing my fingers that we’ll get some fruit from them. The Ranier is dead, but a replacement will be here in August or September. The berries are exploding again, now that the sun is in full force and we’re home to water them regularly too.. The fence is DONE (functionally, though I still have work to actually do when it’s not a trillion degrees outside). Healthwise, we’ve been living the keto lifestyle for a little over 5 months, and we’ve found it to be incredibly easy to stick to 99% of the time, meaning we’re seeing more success and I’m burning less willpower on food-related stuff. I am past my arbitrary goal weight, and I’m focusing hard now on maintaining around this weight while achieving my goal composition. The last time I was this weight was before I met Jessie and when I was in my student teaching (yeah, before the wrestling coach gig!) That is, one of the best shapes of my life. I want to be lean and strong, not skinny and weak. (Tried that and hated it). I have been focusing hard on my calisthenics since shortly after the start of the last challenge and when testing today, I hit a new pull up record of 10 last challenge. I can do 7 solid pull ups with le bebe in a harness and that’s basically my starting weight at the moment, though he’s getting bigger faster than I’m losing weight; in fact, I’ve hopefully reached my minimum and I’ve shifted to building muscle for a while. My plan is to work on bulking up for a while and after I add a good chunk of muscle I’ll return to cutting my body fat. It’s within the healthy range and bordering on the fitness range. This may mean I have to add gym time with heavy weights or make more or my own weights since I think that’s what will put muscle on the best. Goals: 1. Sleep. As best as possible. I’m a nonfunctional mess without sleep and can sacrifice it for a few days ok but then I have to make it a super high priority to regain it. With le bébé getting older this is easier but teething means there are still rough nights. 2. My basic calisthenics routine with Woody and Rex and Bo Peep. I’ve been hitting the upper body he’s but I need to get back into my lower body and core. Currently I’m at 10 pull ups and ?? push ups. I need to do a max push up test here. I’ve been doing the 25-push ups a day challenge in July so I hope that’s translated to progress. Woody was doing those with me but had a rough scooter accident where he sprained a wrist and that threw it off. Woody, Rex, and Bo Peep started dance last night and start swimming Saturday so we’ll be at the YMCA twice a week. I’m still doing the calisthenics but since we booked a Disney trip in December and are traveling on a vacation with my family in a few weeks, I’m back into DW Prep mode. I’ll be doing all the usual loaded carry exercises plus step ups, courtesy of my friends who answered my panicked call when I realized I no longer have a 15-story building’s worth of stairs to climb. 3. Take one concrete step forward per day- at least one tangible, visible thing to make life better. This ranges from things as small as “dig out the replacement toaster” to as big as “reorganize the playroom.” I don’t have to complete the bigger ones as long as I make progress. 4. Take one concrete step forward per day career-wise. I need my job but I’m not satisfied in it and otherwise need a change. I need to hone/adapt skills and look for other opportunities. -> Currently, this involves working towards dramatically expanding a part-time business into a full-time business, which would have Jessie running that business full-time and likely have me also working it full time within the next few years. I’ve also continued to interview elsewhere to help give us options. I really want the business to work though. 5. It’s watering time. It’s hot and dry now. We scrapped the one planned bed and I moved the blackberries. We’re going to nicely finish what we have before we add more. 6. Therapy. I have a new diagnoses and new medication that have been, it feels, pretty life changing. I finished intensive therapy that was also insanely helpful prior to that and I am continuing with less frequent sessions. My goal is to better learn how to manage ADHD and how to be a more connected, present, and supportive husband and father. I think I have been progressing well. I feel healthy. I am excited about how this has gone. There’s a lot going on. I’ve started a lot more regular D&D sessions with the kids. We’re a good chunk of the way into the Lost Mine of Phandelver. I’m seriously considering a TikTok channel detailing their exploits because they’re a lot of fun- a regular human fighter (who will likely become a Paladin) played by Woody,, a Dragonborn Barbarian who will 100% be multiclassing Druid played by Rex, and a higher level Tibbit multiclassing Druid and Rogue played by Bo Peep, who is a volatile sometime-companion and sometime-ally who can also wild shape into a dog. They love it and so do I. I told them we’d start a TikTok channel to tell their story, and if I manage to get that off the ground I’ll let y’all know- I did post one intro video but haven’t posted about the actual sessions.

Welcome all! I’m a married parent of 4 kids aged 0-7. I’m ultimately an adventurer at heart, though I train similar to a lot of Rangers (and I’m something of a Druid Paladin which is also something of an equivalent to a Ranger). I love hiking, exploring, traveling, and other fun things with the family. Since shortly before joining Nerdfitness, my physical training is typically built around injury rehabilitation (which happens a bit more often due to autoimmune arthritis) and training to be able to travel, explore, and play with my family. I have a pretty effective Disney World training system, and try to ensure that at any point I’m strong enough to carry my whole family somewhere. That has become more difficult as the years go on but I can still do it for the most part. I am also an enthusiastic suburban homesteader bent on establishing an orchard and vegetable garden, so things can get pretty out-doorsy depending on my goals. My needs mean I do a variety of types of training, and my earliest two physical training goals were “run fast” and “be able to competitively play any sport I come across.” I prefer to avoid gyms and do a lot of body weight training. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed baby 4 into the family, my cat was diagnosed with feline dementia a few months ago, we adopted a kitten (our third cat and Rex’s first), and I’ve returned to work from my parental leave. At the beginning of this year, we started shopping for an existing business with a professional kitchen to give a physical location to our small cottage bakery. I’m not at liberty to discuss more at this time, only to say it’s a thing that we are working hard on. We have several new fruit trees, including a kumquat tree, and they’re all still alive. My Ranier cherry tree is alive but hasn’t woken up and I’m not entirely sure what to do about it. I have to replant an apple tree that sunk as well. The berries are exploding. The fence had an incorrect section sent (another return and replacement!) and this last piece should ship soon, meaning that I’ll finally be able to finish the darned fence. Fingers crossed. I hope. This never should have taken more than a day or two but here we are lol. Speaking of dragging projects, our bathroom remodel snowballed. It’s almost a ground-up remodel of the small bathroom now. But it’s gonna look good. Healthwise, we’ve been living the keto lifestyle for a little over 3 1/2 months, and we’ve found it to be incredibly easy to stick to 99% of the time, meaning we’re seeing more success and I’m burning less willpower on food-related stuff. I am past my arbitrary goal weight, and I’m focusing hard now on maintaining around this weight while achieving my goal composition. The last time I was this weight was before I met Jessie and when I was in my student teaching (yeah, before the wrestling coach gig!) That is, one of the best shapes of my life. I want to be lean and strong, not skinny and weak. (Tried that and hated it). I have been focusing hard on my calisthenics since shortly after the start of the last challenge and when testing today, I hit a new pull up record of 8. It’s probably not an actual strength record since I could previously do 6 but at 25 lbs heavier, but I’m on the way. I can do 5 solid with le bebe in a harness and that’s closer, so I’m expecting to hit an actual strength record soon. Goals: 1. Sleep. As best as possible. I’m a nonfunctional mess without sleep and can sacrifice it for a few days ok but then I have to make it a super high priority to regain it. With le bébé getting older this is easier but with teething on the horizon that adds a potential complication. 2. My basic calisthenics routine with Woody and Rex and Bo Peep. I’ve been hitting the upper body he’s but I need to get back into my lower body and core. Currently I’m at 8 pull ups and 35 push ups. I recently read a study of endurance athletes that suggests full keto adaptation occurs at about 6 months and the performance dip corrects. I’m still doing the calisthenics but since we booked a Disney trip in December and are traveling on a vacation with my family in a few weeks, I’m back into DW Prep mode. I’ll be doing all the usual loaded carry exercises plus step ups, courtesy of my friends who answered my panicked call when I realized I no longer have a 15-story building’s worth of stairs to climb. 3. Take one concrete step forward per day- at least one tangible, visible thing to make life better. This ranges from things as small as “dig out the replacement toaster” to as big as “reorganize the playroom.” I don’t have to complete the bigger ones as long as I make progress. 4. Take one concrete step forward per day career-wise. I need my job but I’m not satisfied in it and otherwise need a change. I need to hone/adapt skills and look for other opportunities. -> Currently, this involves working towards dramatically expanding a part-time business into a full-time business, which would have Jessie running that business full-time and likely have me also working it full time within the next few years. I’ve also continued to interview elsewhere to help give us options. 5. It’s watering time. All but my peppers are planted or died sad deaths on the patio, but we have 1 solid bed. The second needs to be installed, I have a pile of clay dirt to deal with, a ton of weeding to do, and I gotta keep everything alive since the heats of heck have arrived. 6. Therapy. I have a new diagnoses and new medication that have been, it feels, pretty life changing. I finished intensive therapy that was also insanely helpful prior to that and I am continuing with less frequent sessions. My goal is to better learn how to manage ADHD and how to be a more connected, present, and supportive husband and father. I think I have been progressing well. I feel healthy, though I’ve been pretty amped up the last few days during the remodel chaos and whatnot. There’s a lot going on. I’ve started a lot more regular D&D sessions with the kids. We had a few false starts and some practice sessions but they’re finally getting into the Lost Mine of Phandelver. I’m seriously considering a TikTok channel detailing their exploits because they’re a lot of fun- a regular human fighter (who will likely become a Paladin) played by Woody,, a Dragonborn Barbarian who will 100% be multiclassing Druid played by Rex, and a higher level Tibbit multiclassing Druid and Rogue played by Bo Peep, who is a volatile sometime-companion and sometime-ally who can also wild shape into a dog. They love it and so do I. I told them we’d start a TikTok channel to tell their story, and if I manage to get that off the ground I’ll let y’all know.

Red1263 coming in and out consciousness, he hears voices... he thinks. "Hey!... I think he's de..." "... yeah? What ever gave you that idea?" "Well, he fell..." "Yes! When he fell through the ceiling!... Just grab wh... and go..." "Uhhnn... Who dat? Who dere?" "Whoa! He's alive!" "Ahh!! Run!" Red1263 struggles to get up, searching for his sword. "I'm... I'm still alive! Where are you?" His vision starts to get clearer. "Ohhh... My head... Lousy Gravity Knight... Where did he send me?" He scans his surroundings, there's no one there, but Red1263 sees himself in a winding, but narrow tunnel. "Huh, weird. I could've sworn I heard other voices around me... I guess it must've been the wind." "Heh, Idiot! There's no wind down here." "SHHH! Shut up you idiot! He can hear us!" "I can hear you! Show yourselves!" Red1263 started doublechecking his gear, he noticed his Crystal shard collection. "The shards! My Sword! Thieves! I'll find you! You can't run from me" "Quick! Run!" Red1263 only barely saw movement but it was enough to see which direction and give chase! The tunnel's twists and turns doesn't let Red1263 see whom he's chasing, but he can tell there are two of them. The chase lasts a few minutes until he gets to an opening. He stops, scans the area. 'They're here... I can sense the shards... they're close... I think...' Suddenly there's a flash out of the corner of his eye, something swipes at him! "Whoa!" His legs get kicked out from underneath him, causing him to hit the ground, he instinctively rolls away and jumps back to his feet. "Attacking me from two sides, eh? Smart." The battle continues for a few minutes until a distant boom caused all fighters to stop in mid action! "Uhhh... Please tell me that was you." "No... Was it you?" "Uhh... heh heh, ahh, no. Was that you?" "SWEET CID'S BEARD!!! TALKING CATS?!" "Crap... he saw us." "What do we do?" BOOM "That... doesn't... sound good..." the three of them say as they turn to see what was the source of the sounds. What the three didn't realize was that the opening was home to a former sleeping Giant Centipede! As they're running, Red1263 decided that this was an excellent moment to ask the other two cats some questions in a calm manner, whist running for their lives, "Give me back my stuff!!" "What stuff?!" "Yeah! We didn't steal your stuff!" "I know you have the shards and my sword! Give it back so I can fight this thing!!" "Your sword isn't going to do anything to that thing!" "You idio--" "HA! I knew you had my stuff! Now give it back!" "OK OK We'll help you if you can get us out of this!" "You have to give me your word! Otherwise no deal!" "Fine! I give my word! We'll give your stuff back if you can save us!" "Deal. But I'm going to need your help!" "Let's do this! It's all about outlasting the creature. Pushing yourself when you're really not wanting to!" "That's great! Because I really don't want to!" "Just follow my lead!" * * * So life became rather hectic for me lately (hence my absence about 2 challenges ago). But the goal of this challenge is one word: Discipline. I give in too easily to not working out or studying because of a minor setback. Some of these goals are a checkmark everyday, while others require focus and persistence. All of them reflect (in my humble opinion) an act of discipline that I can practice. Bruce Lee once said, "the Successful warrior is the average man with lazer-like focus." This is going to be my Mantra for this challenge! Challenge Goals: 60 Push-ups everyday Read/Study for 30 mins everyday Reach 5 Pull-ups without breaks Live with Aster and Iris* *So one of the things that been the cause(s) of the hectic-ness of my life, is the simple fact that I have adopted 2 kittens: Aster and Iris (pics coming soon). Both currently around 10 weeks old, I'm going to learn how to take care of them and try to establish something of a routine with them as well as maintain my sanity with work, studying for boards and being on-call.

I suggest you put this on your speakers while you're here Welcome to Glorantha, a heroic, mythic place of heroes and gods, where people hold allegiance to tribe, city, and cult, not to abstract alignments or ideologies. Although humanity is the dominant species, their dominance is due only to the quarrelling of the Elder Races, who still rule large parts of the world. In Glorantha, the gods and goddesses are real, and through their cults they play an important role in most major events. Would-be heroes of the age are known as adventurers, and each is tied to several of the Runes, cosmic powers that define Glorantha and are likewise manifested by the gods. Powerful deities are associated with the Sun, Earth, Air, Water, Darkness, and the Moon, as well as with Death, Life, Change, Stasis, Illusion, Truth, Disorder, and Harmony, and each has its Rune. Adventurers join the cults of their gods, from which they get magic and aid. Adventurers are participating and active members of society, whether clan, tribe, city, or other community. They have duties, loyalties, and conflicts beyond being mere freebooters, with ties to the world of Glorantha and the Runes as deep as they are profound. As adventurers advance within their cults, they strengthen their connection to the Runes, gaining power and questing towards becoming true Heroes. One of the most important places in all of Glorantha is Dragon Pass, located in the heart of the great continent of Genertela. It is a land beset by conflict and blessed with opportunity, an extremely magical place, center of many of the world’s great myths, and Dragon Pass is prophesied to be the site of the great, apocalyptic series of events called the Hero Wars. A recent revolution against the occupying Lunar Empire has left many of the cities of Dragon Pass in ruins. Nobles, cults, and clans vie for power and authority in their wake, and its liberators struggle to rebuild and reclaim that which was lost. Hello everyone and welcome to my new challenge. Featuring old goals, because I aced the previous one and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but also because I joined the 10lbs in 10 Weeks PvP at the start of January and calculated its end roughly coincides with the end of this challenge. What’s changing however is the theme and presentation, as last time I also did the challenge of reading a new RPG rulebook every day of January to finally get through my backlog of to-read books. No such thing will be done this round, however I will be using one of the characters I created for the narrative and setup of this challenge. More on this below, under my third challenge goal. Workouts: Last challenge I did Darebee's 30 days of HIIT Advanced program, which seemed to provide a structured sequence and pretty short (but intense) workouts I can do home with no equipment. I did it aiming for Level 2 (5 sets) in each workout, which provided some wiggle room to drop down to Level 1 if I was in pain or a hurry, or take it up to Level 3 if I wanted to push more. I completed the program and I’m quite satisfied, so after a Week Zero of physical recovery, for this challenge I will be re-doing it but aiming for Level 3 every time. There’s also a chance I might be able to join my Muay Thai school for some outdoor trainings, but with lockdown management being a raging dumpster fire, I have no security to work these into a proper and predictable challenge goal. Nutrition: I returned to the Zone Diet guidelines last challenge, and together with workouts it helped me drop from 96.9kg at the start to 93kg by the end. For those not familiar with the terms and science behind this, I'm basically 1) cutting out sugar and alcohol, 2) limiting grains and starchy vegetables, 3) putting together plates of 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat, 4) having 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, with a minimum 4 hour gap between meals (or 2 if last meal was a snack). I will be logging, tracking and reporting my meals on a daily basis, plus Monday’s weigh-ins, which will also be reported to the PvP. RPG stuff: RuneQuest was one of the games that really struck me during the January character challenge and I really want to try it out. I’ll put the game and character summary/review from back then in a quote below for ease of reference. The company has made a quickstart guide for the latest edition of the game available online for free, complete with pre-generated characters for an introductory adventure. I will be more or less playing that one out using some of those characters and the one I created, as a test run to familiarize myself with the rules and hopefully run it for friends in the near future. I also plan to include non-narrative breaks, from dice rolls to context for the game’s world, to make it easier for anyone interested in following that part.

Yay new challenge time! After my respawn I'm super excited for challenge no. 2. These things are very motivating, aren't they? One day I'll write some nice flavour text about my epic journey to badassery, but I'm a little brain dead this evening So, here's my three goals: Maintain the respawn! Do some flexibility training/stretching every single day Eat 2 of every food colour each day And some specifics on these... 1. My last challenge was to do 3 workouts a week (a mixture of bodyweight circuits and dancing), to walk twice a week and to stop eating seconds for dinner. I didn't quite manage the walks, so for this challenge I'm just going to switch it up to 'get outside at least once a week'. I'm all for meeting easy goals first and making them habit before ramping it up. I've actually signed up for an intro to jazz dance course on top of the weekly ballet classes. For circuit training, I'm super excited to have aced the NF beginner bodyweight program, I'm now aiming for the more advanced one (although not quite there yet!). Keeping off the seconds seems pretty easy at this point, so that's straightforward. 2. Being a good dancer means being flexible! I've been low-key working on this during the last challenge, but now I'm making it official. I'm going to base it on this: https://www.blogilates.com/30-days-30-stretches-to-splits-journeytosplits/ But I'll also be incorporating some other routines I've picked up from ballet. The more intense flexi training days will come after my workouts, but I'm going to do some degree of training in front of the TV in the evenings on rest days. 3. Although I've cut down my portions, I think I'm not necessarily getting too much vegetable variety in my meals. So I'm going to be using this: I know it says it is for kids, but who doesn't love a star chart?! I think for this one, rather than write a comment for every day, I'm just going to do a tick chart for each goal. Then I'll do reflections at the end of the week

I was trying to think of a wow theme, and it just wasn't happening. So here we are. I'm just living my life, trying to level up in fitness as well as the rest of my life. I'm not sure how Baby Yoda fits in to my theme, but isn't he cute? Looking forward to the new year, the one change I would most like to make is in my morning routine. It is the constant thing that I feel like I really struggle in. I’ve done challenges, and developed a routine for a challenge, but then I easily drop into old habits. This year, I would like to establish a routine that enable me to say I am making the most of my morning time. The Morning Way I’m going to try and establish a sustainable routine. Not something where I put down 500 things I will accomplish, and how I am now a morning person, but rather one where I get a couple things done, and then do my workout in a timely manner. For the first couple weeks, my goal is to just write down how I spend my time in the morning. Then I can determine some realistic goals. Goal : track the time I spend on things until noon 10 days tracked = 1 Wisdom point The Mindful Eating Habits Way Last winter, per usual, I put on some fluff. With the pandemic though, I just didn’t have the mental energy to do my usual weight loss in the spring. I did however, practice some good eating skills from Josh Hillis book on eating skills and maintained my weight. I have now added a bit more fluff this holiday season. My plan is to implement the eating skills. I’m hoping to lose a couple of inches off my belly. I’m hoping that if I go slow, and just practice wise eating, I will lose it, and then not do the quick rebound that I’ve done in recent years. Goal: Keep in mind my values around fitness and earing; Joy, self control, and family Eating skills: These aren’t rules, they are guideline, it’s not about perfection, it’s about developing skills Eat slowly, practice putting the food down between bites Give thanks to God before my meal Delay 15 minutes before snacking over the one snack Eat three meals + one snack: have the snack distraction free; Make a tracker, each evening make an x to show that I thought about how I did on these that day Points each week that I tracked at least 5 days = 1 Constitution point The Shiny Way I love to try new skills, such as the L-sit, handstand, pistol squat. My problem is that I get super excited about it, say I’m going to work on it until I master it.Then I work really hard at it for a few months, and then get bored and want to move on. That leaves me feeling like I’ve failed my goal. In actuality, the skill training is just a fun way to get some fitness training in.And sticking with it for 2 months is pretty good. I don’t need to be a master at the skill, I’m a Ranger , I like to try all sort of things. So, I’m changing my mindset on this. I’m going to pick one skill that I want to work for a challenge.Then I will pick a small goal of improvement with that skill and work on that 2- 3 times a week. Then next challenge, I can keep working on that skill, or pick a new one, whatever I desire. I will most likely just rotate among a few skills, but if I decide I want to chase a shiny new skill that’s fine too Skill for this challenge: L-sit I’m following the NF ring workout for L-sit. On Monday, I will take a video of myself doing the movement for where I am at. Then I will decide what I want to improve and what is a reasonable goal for the challenge and set it. * edit took video today, made a goal Practice at least 10 during challenge= 1 strength point complete level 6 3 stag leg raises focus on straight arms, straight leg height = 1 strength point, 1 Dexterity point Life: I want to paint our guest bedroom by the end of the challenge 1st goal; pick out paint color .5 charisma point other stuff: I am doing the NF bodyweight level 3. This is actually easier then where I tested at. I did level 5, but I couldn't pass the boss challenge. So, I'm doing level 3 so I can get a win. I can always do some of the progressions with weights if I need more of a challenge. Also doing GMB's Vitamin. And my shiny that I am chasing: I've been reading Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War. In the book, one of the characters does a daily routine with his sword. I loved the idea of this. So I looked up a Tai Chai tutorial flow for swords, and am using my light saber. This is purely for fun. I'll do it as I want, no goals I love walking, and it's great way to lose weight, so that will happen

This year I'm going to continue with the acronym I developed in 2020...I will be modifying a few items regarding it though (because of course I am) Those that have been following for a while know that in 2019 I was doing really good hitting my goals, so I went back to see what I was doing then that was working so well. I've been more lax this year on the food aspect (thanks Covid) With D cooking her fair share making a detailed plan is a little more difficult, but that's only one meal a day every other week so it shouldn't derail me as much as I've been letting it. I've also been lax in making sure my workouts happen, after coming home from my granddaughter being born last year it was hard to get back into the routine, then Covid happened and shut everything down...granted, I have a treadmill and workout equipment at home, but finding the motivation isn't as easy as when I was going to the gym, and when I do them I've only been meeting the minimum. I need to make this as much of a priority working out at home as I did when I was going to the gym, until I feel comfortable doing that again. (I live in FL, my governor is an idiot, this will probably not happen soon) The (new) Plan... Cardio - Three interval runs/bicycle rides/HITT Workout, and one strength training a week. Update - Post in thread three times a week. Track - Sleep (at least 7 hours a night) Food (eat on plan when hungry, stop when full) Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and any other random stuff goes here Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ The 1/2/21 will be 7 years I've been here...I have a thing for mirror numbers

[SOMEDAY IS TODAY] They drifted across a vast landscape. Directly below, stretching endlessly outwards in almost every direction, was a forest of the like they had never seen. Immense trees with impossibly thick, red barked trunks reached up towards the sky, deep green canopies spreading below the blazing might of two suns. Below, though not so far as to be called small, other canopies reached up with many hands. Some were broad leafed and fluttered in the light breeze, some were sharp, like needles, and some were narrow. It was impossible to put a name to every shade of green the leaves showcased, or every shade of brown prevalent on the trunks. In one direction, opposite the twin suns, far away enough to be faint, yet large enough at a distance that they must indeed be true giants, a mountain range rode the horizon. White capped, grey and purple flanked, and entirely unlike anything they had ever seen before. "This age has passed." The deep bass rumble sounded more like an earthquake than a person. "This age is yet to come." They frowned, opening their mouth- -a hoarse, pained grunt escaped them, quickly followed by a low moan of pain. Colours blazed before their eyes as dizziness swept across them, though they quickly receded. Yeti lay still, shivering, blinking back stinging tears of pain. When they could see clearly, it was to realise that they were staring up at a roughly hewn ceiling, one entirely unfamiliar to them. Slowly, carefully, frowning as they did so, they turned their head to look around. They weren't in the alcove. They were in a grey room that looked as though it had been upended. Every cupboard door had been left open, the contents spilled across floor and work surfaces alike. One wooden chair sat against the wall, two others were on their sides in the middle of the mess. Dried puddles of blood littered the floor. They frowned. Dull pain rippled across their forehead. Vague memories of stumbling into the room surfaced, of desperately searching for something to stop the bleeding, stop the pain. It seemed like they'd managed, but not with any degree of finesse. Looking down, they saw they'd managed to bind their left knee and that the bleeding had indeed stopped. It might have been better, however, if they'd managed to use some actual bandaging instead of what seemed to be the bedspread. Yeti sighed, then winced as that brought a bubble of pain. Broken ribs. Perfect. They felt their chest carefully, but couldn't find anything beyond the mass of mottled black and purple bruising. Maybe that was good, maybe that was bad. They didn't know. So they began to move, slowly, carefully, inch by inch, until they sat slumped against the wall, shivering and panting. "Birds?" The word escaped in a plaintive, broken voice. Choked and hoarse, wavering with unshed tears. Nothing answered their question, and there was no sign of either fallen feathers or whitish scat to indicate that they'd even been inside. The irritating, overly loud, and oddly faithful companions had gone. With that thought, the tears finally began to fall.

My spine is broken as fuck and here I am with a slipped disc again only 6 months after surgery. I don't know how things are going to unfold in the next weeks, so its 4 goals a week, changing up things as necessary. *realizes she is old now and cries softly* but hey: week zero goals: build back and stomach muscles by doing bodyweight core workouts daily (as long as it doesnt make the pain worse). Experiment with what's possible. Don't sit for very long. find out whether to keep going with keto or whether to eat a less strict low carb diet. Read recommended book on low carb. move outside with dog as much as possible organize doctors appointment LETS GO AND FINISH OFF 2020 ALREADY!

This isn't my first challenge, but this will be my first challenge that I will complete (I hope ). Im a gym owner in the Netherlands and I'm trying to train myself. I am having a really hard time doing my training so I thought to use this topic to get some training structurally. Main goal: One handed pullup! For a long time now I am pretty close to my one handed pullup. And I think it's time to get this hard skill in the books. If I can keep up my training towards this goal, then I should manage it in six weeks. So here we go! I will be posting the progressions that I'm using here (mostly on video) and will try to do them every day. We build a small bouldering area at our gym which I will be training on to keep up the work once I'm feeling really sore. Sub goal 1: Keep training. My main problem with training is that I don't have a record of being very consistent. I train for a couple of weeks, until real life gets in the way and instead of taking it down a notch I am skipping my training all together. I am really hoping to get to the point of being consistent with training. I won't expect miracles and am aware of the slow progress this goal normally has, So this is a goal that will stay on my list for a long time to come. Sub goal 2: Keep posting. As i said before, i was here a long time ago and didn't finish the challenge. I want to work through the whole thing now. So this time, I am not going social on other topics and I will use my own topic as a trainingslog. If you have any questions, just shoot them in this thread. I will react to them here. I am planning on posting my progress twice a week.

Stagnation is Death Annals of a Bladesinger A haunting melody weaves its way through the quiet forest. An alien in her homeland with a mind touched by the hand of darkness, the elven wizard hones her dangerous dance, ever vigilant, ever mindful. She practices her art not just for the protection of her people, but to soothe her tormented soul with the meditative, otherworldly whistle of bladesong. Journey to Bladesinger Master 2020 Stats: STR 10 || DEX 11 || CON 11 || INT 15 || WIS 16 || CHA 12 2020 Level: Bladesinger Apprentice Goal Stats: STR 14 || DEX 17+ || CON 14 || INT 18+ || WIS 18+ || CHA 14 Goal Level: Bladesinger Master Bladesinger Apprentice - Trains under a Master. Must demonstrate above-average intelligence, and wisdom to be accepted into training for a wizard, must show some promise in dexterity to be accepted by a bladesinger master. STR 8 || DEX 10 || CON 8 || INT 14 || WIS 14 || CHA 8 Bladesinger Knight - Able to train and fight independently. Must demonstrate above-average mastery of dexterity, and very high intelligence, and wisdom. Strength, constitution, and charisma must be high enough as to not impede progress. STR 12 || DEX 14 || CON 12 || INT 16 || WIS 16 || CHA 11 Bladesinger Master - Can train an Apprentice. Demonstrates exceptional abilities in dexterity, intelligence, and wisdom. Above-average abilities in strength, constitution, and charisma are required to perform at this level. Goal Stats: STR 14 || DEX 17+ || CON 14 || INT 18+ || WIS 18+ || CHA 14 Bladesinger Leader - Can serve as leader to other Master roles. Demonstrates all the abilities of a Bladesinger Master, with higher charisma for leadership qualities. Goal Stats: STR 14 || DEX 17+ || CON 14 || INT 18+ || WIS 18+ || CHA 17 How to Level Scores based on max 20 system, current list only filled to requirements for mastery from current stats, does not include information prior to or past current and master stats Strength (STR) - Calisthenics and Iron STR 11: Plank 1min, 4x13 Pushups, 4x25 Crunches, 30/20 bodyweight squats, 2x20 tricep dips, 2x30 one-leg calf-raises STR 12: Plank 2min, 3x15 Pushups, 3x30 Crunches, 2x40 15lbs one-leg calf-raises, DB Bench 30lbs, DB Squat 50lbs, Deadlift 40lbs STR 13: Plank 3min, 3x20 Pushups, DB Bench 40, DB Squat 60lbs , Plank 3min, DB Deadlift 60 STR 14: DB Bench 60, DB Squat 75lbs , Plank 4min, DB Deadlift 80 STR 15: DB Bench 90lbs, DB Squat 100lbs, Plank 5min, DB Deadlift 100 Dexterity (DEX) - Flexibility, Agility, Balance, Coordination DEX 12: Eagle pose, Warrior III, Hands flat on floor in waist bend, Baby Crow pose DEX 13: Front and side splits, Crow pose, complete NF Yoga DEX 14: Crane pose, Wall handstand (1min), start martial art or agility training DEX: 15: Flying crow pose, 8-angle pose, dragonfly pose, unassisted handstand (1min+), 1 year of martial arts training DEX 16: Level 5: Dophin Push Up Challenge DEX 17: Black belt in a martial art DEX 18: 3rd degree black belt in martial art AND first degree black belt is second martial art Constitution (CON) - Stamina, Endurance CON 12: Complete a 5k in under 45 min CON 13: Complete a 5k in under 35 min CON 14: Complete a 5 mile run in under 60 min CON 15: Complete a 10k run in under 60 min Intelligence (INT) - Academia and Language INT 16: Personal Trainer Cert AND Health Coach Cert INT 17: Complete a Master's Degree program AND reading intermediate reading level for 2 forgeign languages INT 18: Complete a PhD INT 19: Research published in 5+ academic journals INT 20: Research published in textbooks and taught in classrooms Wisdom (WIS) - Generativity, Activism, Social/Environmental Awareness +Be a founding member or leader in a non-profit organization +1 Teach a skill to at least 10 people (OR) mentor at least 10 people +Teach a college course +Create a college or arts scholarship fund +Convert >90% of Beauty, Cleaning, and Meal Prep products to reusable/recycleable/eco-friendly Charisma (CHA) - Leadership, Social, Performance, Confidence CHA 13: Perform a leading role in a community/unpaid show (OR) 1k sub on social (OR) Manager 1+ employees (OR) Promote to SR/Lead position CHA 14: Perform as a supporting role in a paid performance (OR) direct a community show (OR) Manage 10+ employee team CHA 15: Perform as a leading role in a paid performance (OR) release a music album (OR) 10k subs on social (OR) Manage 50+ employee team CHA 16: Publish best-seller (OR) 10k subs to a blog (OR) 100k subs to social (OR) Run a business of 100+ employees CHA 17: Performance award (OR) 100k subs to personal blog (OR) 1mil subs to social (OR) CEO of 1,000+ employee business