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For my 14th challenge, I'm going with The Mummy Returns theme because I love the character of Evie! She's an intelligent writer/librarian and scholar who is perfectly able to kick ass when necessary! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. I've managed to put on some muscle in an effort to become stronger by weightlifting and I’ve discovered that I love lifting heavy things! Smaller Quests 1. The Scorpion King - Animal Flow I want to focus more on my movement and endurance by being more mobile and conscious of how my body moves. Plus, I enjoyed this when I’ve done it before. I'm going to try for at least twice a week of practicing animal flow poses at home. Scoring: x/8 weeks Reward: +4 to DEX 2. Run from Imhotep - Running In my 12th challenge, I worked on running and slowly building up to doing it longer. It was actually easier than I expected (or else I’m just that determined!). I don’t think I want a specific goal other than to simply run 2-3 times per week at the gym for more than 15 minutes. Scoring: /12 Reward: +3 to STA & +2 to CON 3. I Am A Librarian - Editing Now that I won NaNoWriMo, I need to edit my story before sending it off to a professional. I’m going to work on editing my story twice a week. Scoring: /8 Reward: +2 to WIS 4. The Mummy Returns - Weights No matter what else I do in my challenges here, I still always come back to lifting the heavy things. I like it, it makes me feel better about myself and it’s got practical, real-world purposes. However, since I’m concerned that my heavy lifting has somehow injured my neck and my left shoulder, I’m easing up on the weights. I’m going to try for endurance this time instead of increasing the poundage. I want to aim to do weightlifting 2-3 times per week. Scoring: /4 weeks (1 point for going 2-3 times per 2 weeks) Reward: +2 STR & +2 to CHA

Ballad's Challenge [#1] “There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don't you?†Rumi 2016 Epic Quest: Develop mental fortitude, discipline, and kindness. My first challenge is dedicated to building a solid foundation of small, but extraordinarily important, habits that will support both my mental and physical health. Two quests (sleep and water) will be ongoing throughout the challenge. The third quest is a one-time achievement. Quest #1: Sleep for 7-8 hours per night. I need a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night to be fully functional, thoughtful, and kind at work. Getting enough sleep gives me energy, is great for my skin, and allows me to exercise the willpower and discipline to make good, healthy decisions. It allows me maintain my perspective, particularly when stress rears its head, and helps me to be fully present in my relationships. A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days Quest #2: Drink 1 glass of water each morning. The body is, what, 60% water? This shiz is clearly important. This is quest is intended to test (1) the effects of having a morning ritual, and (2) the energizing effects of drinking water right when I wake up. Future quests will include drinking 5-8 glasses of water per day, but I'm starting small for this challenge. Quick wins lead to momentum! A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days Bonus: Bring a reusable water bottle to work. I don't drink enough water at work, so tearing down one of the barriers & bringing a water bottle to the office will make developing this habit much easier. Quest #3: Book a doctor's appointment. I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't seen my family doctor in almost 2 years. I feel & look healthy, but two years is much too long. I want to baseline my physical health for this challenge and make sure everything is good to go. Pass: Book an appointment. Fail: Don't book an appointment. Bonus: Book an appointment with a physiotherapist. I want to practice prevention, rather than rehabilitation. I'm a bit concerned about the future state of my knees, so I'd like to get a baseline from a physiotherapist to identify any problem areas & solutions. I've also included one life quest, based on my Goodreads goal of reading 35 books in 2016. (As a side note, please feel free to connect with me on GR!) Life Quest: Read 2 books between Jan. 4th - Jan. 29th. Pass: Read 2 books Fail: Read less than 2 books So, what happens when I succeed? I get access to the treasure pile, where treasures stack. Complete all 4 quests: Get a facial or sign up for a class (singing, improv, yoga, wine), + bragging rights Complete 3 quests: Buy a new workout top Complete 2 quests: Cook (and eat!) a delicious meal with friends, complete with wine Complete 1 quest: Guilt-free "me time" day Please feel free to follow along, cheer me on, and ask about my progress! Cheers, Meaghan

I've read a lot about this book and it's teachings lately, but only from news type places. I was wondering if any rebels have used this method successfully? I'm thinking of buying it but I don't want to spend the $$ if it's garbage.

So my backside is still killing me from how hard I've fallen off the band wagon starting in like, October. I had already lost a lot of consistency with my workouts before then but that's when my butt started being fused to the couch. I've been able to mostly avoid the "eat tons of crap" that comes with the holidays but between all this time off and the cold weather it seems I'm either staying with family(who DON'T workout..like ever) and lazing about with them, or snuggled up in my house trying to stay warm reading and/or binge watching Arrow and Flash..... unacceptable I haven't been walking or assassin training lately cause it's normally dark when I get home/get up and there's been some er...crimes against the female population in my neighborhood recently. (bastards ) I finally started working out a few times a week in my liv room as of a week and a half ago but still, I've lost a lot of my gains! ARGH! My push-up numbers are fairly pansy-ish and let's just not discuss pull-ups. So I'm trying to keep up the reboot and don't want to wait until the new challenge but I need motivation for un-fusing my bum from the bed/couch (which means taking my eyes off my kindle) and ideas on not being bored since normally my workouts were at the park - I have kind of contemplated working out to audio-books but didn't want to pay for a subscription for them if the stunk.... any ideas?

Goal: 10 lbs lost. Chase Youma. I'm trying hard to mix it up this challenge. I'm bored of the BBWW. I'm not doing yoga when I said I would, because several of the poses don't seem to 'do' anything for me, and videos just confuse me because I don't have them memorized. However, I do have a treadmill now. And lots of podcasts. And running seems to shut off my brain, which can be nice. Goal: 3x/week, 20 mins minimum. .2 to STA for each day. 3.6 Keep Calm Kill Witches. I don't care how powerful her magic might be, Mami's got to be incredibly strong to lift her Spiro Finale gun. And ridiculously agile to turn and shoot like she does. So, this is a two-part target. Goal: 2x/week, 3 sets of dumbbell rows, interspersed with two sets of leg lifts, with starting and finishing stretches. .2 to DEX and STR for each day. 4.8 Take Time for Donuts! I'm pretty stoked to admit that I lost 13 lbs in the second half of the last challenge. I had a few more cheat days than intended, but that's ok. If I wanted to indulge, I was going to have fruit and expensive chocolate and fresh sourdough bread, and not 'cheap' or 'junk' food. Keto feels pretty simple, if a bit dull. But that's ok! I'm finding new things that I like all the time. I'm buying avocados on a rotation so that I always have some perfectly ripe ones in my crisper. I plan to keep doing this until I'm satisfied with the results, I guess. I have one planned bad day each week, being Wednesday, since it's the start of my weekend. Each day of sticking to my macros will be .1 to CON. 3.6 Read or Die. I've got no cons coming up soon and way too many books languishing on my shelf. I will finish 3 by the end of this challenge for WIS points. 3 The Sea of Despair. I'm in the de-clutter PVP for this round. I'm supposed to get rid of 1 thing on day 1. Then 2 things on day 2. And on, and on. I am honestly not sure how far I will make it, if there are really that many things to get rid of throughout my house, but I will try. Each day that I can't, however, I will put that same 'amount' into my piggy bank. I'd like to think that eliminating clutter will probably show me that I waste a lot of money on junk. So, if instead I make myself save money, I will avoid accumulating new junk. I solemnly swear I will set up nice things to get based on how much money I save overall. These numbers are for me to budget my pocket money for the week. 1: clear! 2: clear- 3: ~clear 4: clear. 5: 57 Rewards: purchased an additional dress and a petticoat for the trip.

Last challenge of the year, I've been off track for most of the year it seems and its time to get going again. +2 WIS-Read 6 books +3 STR Benchpress max to 60lbs +4 STA 1 set of 25 knee push-ups +2 CON clean out the extra stuff +4 DEX +15% improvement on NF flexibility benchmarks My schedule at work is up in the air and has been since July when I applied for a new position with completely different hours. I can't allow this to continue to be an excuse, so I;m just going to move forward until I hear otherwise. CampNF was a blast, but I haven't stopped moving and traveling since and now that I'm back at home with no other upcoming travels, I need to get myself back into my normal groove. My goals this year have not really been met, but I am ok with that, other things have happened and I have adjusted. Even my goals for next year are starting to look pretty different.

In my last challenge, I made some good progress on things but still managed to fail a couple goals--almost entirely because they were a) too scattershot, and constantly felt like penalizing myself. So this time I'm just going to focus on one big thing and knock it out of the park (I hope). FOOD! As our fearless leader says, food is 80% of the equation, and you can't outrun your fork. So while I hope to maintain good habits like cubicle exercising and meditation, here's the game for this challenge. -Tracking calories. Every day. If I stay under 1550 calories, +3 points for the day. If under 1400 calories, +5 points. If I avoid all alcohol, +5 points. For every 50 points, I get to purchase a new book from a particular group that I have my eye on. That's it! My simplest (but possibly hardest) challenge yet. I'm really just trying to lose the last 5-6 pounds of weight from my last pregnancy, 16 months ago... Ideally, I'll have bought at least 6 new books by the end of the challenge. That's 300 points for an A effort.

There aren't many qualities common to all rangers. As a matter of fact, I can only think of one: the drive to constantly be improving at something. This thread is an attempt to collect a list of books, web-based references, and other learning materials about any topic of rangerly interest. There are just three rules: 1) Please include enough information (e.g. Title+author, Title+ISBN, a link) for another person to both locate the item, and be confident that what they found is the version referred to in this thread. 2) Please provide a description of what the resource covers, its intended audience, and what you think it is good/bad for. 3) Please don't repeat a previous mention, unless you have additions in terms of suggested uses or description (or you disagree with the description and would like to provide another point of view). Have at it! I'll post a few of mine soon. EDIT: There's also a Ranger Goodreads group. However, I'm continuing to maintain this thread as 1) the GR group requires separate registration and 2) the GR interface isn't very helpful for including non-book resources such as blogs and web pages.

Got another book question.... With the new Star Wars being about 177 days until the The Force Awakens comes out, I am curious if anyone out there has read the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn? I was thinking on my drive in this morning if it would be worthwhile to read them before the new movie, or if I should just wait and be pleasantly surprised by what Mr. Abrams is going to bring us. Thoughts, please?

I just read Convict Conditioning and I'm totally excited about starting it! I loved the book, the program, the simplicity of it etc. I'm usually good at having a critical stance regarding ultimate fitness programs, but I confess I can't see any problems with convict conditioning, though I'm sure they're there. Any thoughts, anyone? Anyone successfully followed it? Anyone started out and quit? Got bored? Got hurt? Got strong as fuck & awesome & happy & healthy? Thanks for any insight. (I guess I mostly want to talk about the book... ) My background: Tried some gym here & there but got bored. Got six months of crossfit in but gave it up because it's too crazy for me & i'm too slow for it. I have some experience swimming (that was my first modality). I'm also part of a beach rugby team (sevens) which I'm not currently practicing with because of back pain. Lower back, low lumbar & top sacral: bulging discs :'( My current fitness level is somewhat decent on account of crossfit (just gave it up) except for the back pain.

Hello all, I am happy to say that I just completed the LOTR: Fellowship book. While I can't say that I remember all the details of the novel, I can say that it was a very good book. I do think that to complete the series, I may opt for the movies (none of which I have ever seen)....I know "bad nerd". I also started Star Wars Rebels this weekend. One of my other posts about Thrawn Trilogy led me to begin looking closer at the newer Canonized Star Wars Universe, instead of going back to the older books. So Rebels is my first step. I didn't watch all of Season 1, but watched enough to know what was going on, and then watched the Season 2 Premiere. I will also be going back and watching Episodes IV, V, and VI with both my daughters this weekend. My daughter and I are also going through the list of Marvel Universe Phase 1 and 2 to get ready for the upcoming movies. I am happy to say that I have turned her into an Avengers Angel (I liked the alliteration better than saying Marvel Nerd). We began with Captain America: First Avenger, and have made it through Iron Man 3 so far. Next on our list is Thor: Dark World, Captain America Winter Soldier, then to see Age of Ultron (again), and Ant-Man. Next on my list of books will be Game of Thrones. I haven't seen any of the HBO shows, but I am still looking forward to it. So, anyway, that is my "Leveling Up in the Nerd Universe" update. Now it's on to Level Up my Diet and actually stick to it. More to post about it later. If anyone has any suggestions about what they recommend for what's next, feel free to share.

Hello! My NF name is Cleatorus, same as my WoW handle, and I am working on my second challenge. I would consider myself a Mountain Dwarf type at 4'11" and 167lbs. I am looking to be a warrior/ranger hybrid for strength and stamina. I want to be an adorable nature-loving, hiking, gardening person as well as a strong self-sufficient badass. I have let depression and stress eating keep me from living a healthy adult life. I used to play ITG/DDR constantly to keep in shape but after getting married and having a child my dance game routine has fallen to the wayside. I feel that my depression has gotten worse as a result of my unhealthy life. I work as a patent assistant at an Intellectual Property law firm so i'm at a desk all day. Luckily, we have a free membership the the Sport&Health downstairs! I used to get embarrassed even thinking about going to the gym but thanks to NF i've found the courage to go in on my lunches tu/thu/sometimes fri. I have been using the beautiful riverside park outside of my office as a place to run or just get moving under the sun. I have been getting into hiking and gardening as outdoor activities to be more active without scaring myself into being inactive again. I joined NF to be accountable to like-minded, accepting, individuals and to reach my lifestyle/weightloss goals. A summary: Current favorite music: Blues/indie rock I enjoy a lot of different types of music...from Drum and Bass (current favorite: camo & krooked) to alternative hip-hop (c fav: Deltron 3030) to pop (c fav: Marina and the Diamonds) and the list goes on. Sorry Country fans, I got burnt out on country in my early years. Current favorite game: Transistor or Hearthstone imo, Bastion is better than Transistor but i'm not done playing Transistor so i'll give it a run through before my final verdict. The games I cycle through: Castlevania: SOTN, Pokemon, BlazBlue, MvC, MvC2, Spyro series, WoW, Skyrim, ITG/DDR, Bastion, Minecraft...I think those are the main ones. Of course there's the massive steam library of my husband that'll I might maybe one day get around to looking at. Current favorite book: Ready Player One by Earnest Cline Much loved books: American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop, Hobbit & LoTR, and many many more... I am a Disney nerd. My favorite Disney movie is Beauty & the Beast but the one I watch much more frequently is my feel-good go-to Mulan. The Pebble and the Penguin deserves an honorable mention, even though it's Don Bluth and not Disney. I like Halloween. A lot. I am obsessively getting into veggie gardening and chicken raising. I have collected, but do not anymore, pokemon plush and video game figurines. I am hoping to find a local D&D group to join. I haven't played before but I would like to start! I will be starting school back up in August to finish my law degree. I would like to do public interest law and do some good in this world, help someone, protect someone, be super without the super powers! And thus, here I am, Cleatorus.

Hi Folks Specifically for the history buffs! Can anybody recommend any good history books on the pilgrims arrival to the Americas?

Hi there! Looking to start doing Tai Chi on my own and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for beginners in terms of videos, books or even apps. So far on youtube I found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VNw8tM7MYE which seems to be a good starting point and they really explain how you move through the stances. Thanks

The 100 Best Strength Training Books Some list someone put together. Anything you would add?

ev·o·lu·tion (noun) the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form. Synonyms: development, advancement, growth, rise, progress, expansion, unfolding Hello! I am GryffindorGoddess - or GG - and this is my first challenge. I know most people start with the Recruits on their first challenge, but I really feel like I belong here. I am evolving. Slowly. But I am. I am making changes in my life that will help me to grow in to the strong, healthy, and amazing woman that I know I can be. I am looking forward to the changes that will come, to the new experiences I will have, to the things I will let go. I cannot wait to see what has been hiding under my cloud of doubt and laziness. I have called myself goddess for many years, yet have not been behaving as one for quite some time. It is time to fix that. It is time to become the goddess I have long since claimed to be. My Goal for 2015 Reduce body fat to 25% by the end of the year My Goals for This Challenge Goal 1: Do yoga three days a week - Do at least twenty minutes of yoga on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays A = 3 yoga workouts // C = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 2: Track calories and macronutrients - 1375 calories a day // Carbs: 103 grams // Protein: grams 69 // Fat: 76 grams A = 1375 calories // B = 1425 // C = 1475 // D = 1525 // F = 1575 -- daily goal A = 103 grams of carbs // B = 120 // C = 140 // D = 160 // F = 180 or higher -- daily goal Goal 3: Wake up at 5:30a on work days - Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays A = 5 mornings // B = 4 // C = 3 // D = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 4: Go to bed by 11p on work nights - Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays A = 5 nights // B = 4 // C = 3 // D = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 5: Journal before bed every night - Minimum of one sentence summary A = 7 journal entries // B = 6 // C = 5 // D = 4 // F = 3 or fewer -- weekly goal Life Goal Read one book every week Motivation I want be a strong, healthy, and amazing woman.

Some of you know me from my threads over in the Rangers camp. My time there was well spent but I wanted to switch to the Assassins since you mission lines up with my goals so if you will have me, I would be honored to join. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Mikroftt (like Sherlock's brother but my own spelling since my real name is Mike). I have a bucket list of exercise stuff (link in my signature) and love doing anything athletic. I signed up for a Spartan Sprint in Indy on May 16th, so I am in training right now for that. Goals for this challenge: 1) PLB everyday (+3 STR, +2 STA) I started this the other day as the normal PLP that Steve suggested but changed it up to do burpees instead of just push-ups cause let's face it, a burpee is just an extended push-up. Plus the penalty for failing an obstacle in a Spartan race is typically 30 burpees so I figured I should practice them. 2) Stretching 5x per week (+2 DEX, +2 STA) I am horrible with flexibility so I am making an effort to work on it. I plan on doing yoga at least once a week but I want to do stretching more often than that. My goal is that if I am watching TV then I am stretching. Favorite shows currently are The Big Bang Theory and Agents of SHIELD. 3) Read 3 books (+2 WIS) Right now I plan on reading You'll Know at the Finish Line, SealFit, and The Millionaire Next Door. You'll Know is a guide to running your first Spartan race. I read Spartan Up last challenge and loved it. SealFit sounds interesting mostly for the mental training aspects. SpartanUp just did a podcast featuring the founder of SealFit and it was interesting to listen to. Millionaire was recommended by a friend and talks about why millionaires got to where they are. The kinds of habits they have with money and the like. I threw it in there to expand to something beyond just exercise related books. 4) 20-40-40 (+2 CON, +2 CHA) This one is going to be the hardest for me. I have been struggling with looking as good as I feel and most of it is due to the high amount of carbs that I am consuming. So the goal will be to eat 20% carbs, 40% fat and 40% protein each day. Right now the number are more like 47% carbs, 37% fat, and 16% protein. This is going to be a challenge for me but I know it is the healthier way to go. 5) Bonus goal: working on running form (+1 DEX) This one I don't expect to make much progress on but I need to start working on it. I need to work on form while the winter is here so that when I go out in the spring and start running outside, I am doing it right so I will not injure myself. I have the time and resources to work on this but have not made it a priority yet.

That is a fantastic title, I'm fairly proud of myself for that! Anyway, I feel that missing more than 2 weeks of the current challenge is enough to want to wait until the next one starts to officially log there. That is to say, I will still sort out and start on my goals RIGHT NOW, but I won't join a 6-week challenge until the next one starts (Feb 23 - April 5 I believe is the next one) So a preview and toe-dipping-to-check-the-temperature is what this is, I suppose. There's always room for tweaks and scootching to adjust for the busying of schedules or for more leisure time as it comes along. MAIN QUEST: It resides in my signature~ inspired by Daft Punk's song "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and Might Guy from Naruto, I never want to actually be able to finish this goal. So, my goal is to be better than my past self. YEAH FOREVER-GOALS! My current goals to achieve the fundamentals of my main quest are as follows: EDITS IN BOLD Goal #1: Mostly Vegetarian, Mostly Paleo Inspired by: Everyone who's ever picked on me for eating a vegetarian meal. Please note: I am not a vegetarian. I just don't eat a whole lot of meat products, they tend to be a smaller part of my diet because I prefer vegetables. Someone once told me this meant I was "Mostly Vegetarian", and I laughed pretty hard not gonna lie. I told one of my vegetarian friends about it and they got upset to the point of being offended, which I thought was strange but hey- to each their own.Plot Point: Reduce grain intake and replace with more proteins and healthy fats. I mean I love veggies, but they're not gonna keep the engine running all by their lonesome. Veg intake is already optimal.How-to: Replace at least 1 grain product per day with a protein/fat combo (ei: replace veggie burrito with lettuce wrap + meat/nuts, replace sandwich with raw almonds, ect) watch portions - make sure to have ≥ of veg instead of going nuts later and filling up on potatoes/breadGoal #2: Walk to Mordor Inspired by: The Lord of the Rings & Nerd Fitness! Great movie/article. I have a good activity level, but it's kind of sporadic and dependent on other peoples presence (my mother at the gym, my co-worker for bouldering, my sister for Just Dance Wii, ect)Plot Point: Walk places, or around. Don't have to go anywhere necessarily, but motivation always helps! Instead of paying an extra $3 to go 5 km from work to the next bus stop, walk. 0.75 km from the grocery store on the way home to buy those raw almonds instead of asking someone to pick it up. It's a beautiful, fresh-aired day, walk the 11 km to the local nature park and back, plus whatever wandering happens at the park! Anything counts.How-to: Walk a total of 25 km (15 miles) per week walk 5 minutes/day minimum - first thing after breakfastGoal #3: BAT-CAVE!!! Inspired by: Batman & Nerd Fitness (I spy a theme here)Plot Point: My living areas are pretty chaotic, it's not good. Definitely need more order and organization in that department.How-to: Do one thing, every day, to improve the overall functionality of my batcave living spaces. Can be cleaning, dusting, re-organizing all of my mothers DRAGONLANCE books (that last one takes hours though, maybe for an especially enthusiastic day) order of importance/rooms to focus on first: Computer room, kitchen, bedroom, living room.Goal #4: Finish This Challenge Inspired by: Every other challenge/goal that I have not finishedPlot Point: I habitually quit after a week or two for most things. No longer. I am now someone who finishes what I start or has the sense of mind to not start that thing.How-to: Keep a day-to-day journal. Post a cumulitive report online once a week (Friday) I opted to replace one of my diet/fitness goals with another life goal because that last one is fairly important. It's not looking at my failures in life and trying to be motivated by regret. I've accomplished a lot since I decided I wanted to be healthy: Lost 45 lbs Started exercising again Made new friends Go out of my way to socialize instead of complaining about being lonelyand then some more, so it's more looking at my failures and seeing how I can better myself from them (see: main goal). And this all starts today, right now. After I post this, I'm going to go wash todays dishes (goal #3) and then I'm going to check out what food-stuff we have so I can plan tomorrow's breakfast (goal #1). I'm not going to put too much pressure or planning behind this, because I know it doesn't work and I'm only moderately insane. So tomorrow's goal achieving plans will be made tomorrow, likely right before I do them. It's 11:01PM here in Canada, I wish you all a good night! Happy Tuesday~ -Rebecca

What do you call a late noob? Me! (Better late than never, right?) Hi all, after some deliberation, I decided that since fat loss is still a major long-term goal of mine, I hang out with the adventurers for a while. Did well as a level 1 rebel on my first challenge, moving up in strength training from 10 to 20 lb weights in most exercises, and 20 to 30 lb dumbbells for chest press. I walked for at least 20 minutes EVERY DAY during the last challenge, and I improved a lot by the end of my mini mission of eating < 100g carbs per day (4 times a week). By the end, I had lost 6.5 inches off my, chest, waist, and hips, yay! Since diet is like 90% of fat loss success, I’d like to focus on mostly diet stuff for this challenge. So for my first adventurer challenge, I have posed the following for myself: Main Quest: Fit into Size 8 Jeans by the end of the year (this would be a great xmas present to myself!) **EDITED** I decided that I want to incorporate a strength challenge for myself in order to maintain my strength training. I'm still new to it and need to keep it challenging, otherwise I'll get bored and might quit! So my strength challenge is a part of a long term goal of mine to do a pull up one day. I can do 20-25 lb dumbbell rows, and according to Steve's How to do a Pull Up post, I need to get to 35 lbs before I can get to pull up land. So my strength goal is to get to 35 lbs by the end of the 6-week challenge. **I'LL SAVE THIS FOR NEXT TIME!!** Drink 8 glasses of water daily: I plan to track this through myfitnesspal. It was a good tool to have during the last challenge, so I will continue to use it. To help reach this goal, I also have a water bottle at work that holds about 4 cups of water, so as long as I fill it up in the middle of the day, I’ll have drunk the majority of my water goal at work (or at least half if I don’t get a chance to refill it). Have one vegetable daily: I’ve always been good about trying to get my veggies in, but never consciously tracked this. Batch cook meals every Sunday: During my last challenge, I had a really hard time making my carb goal, but once I started preparing meals for the week, it got so much easier. So to continue this successful trend, I will batch cook a bunch of food on Sunday, divide it up into my little Tupperware containers, and I’ll have food for the week ready to go for work! Side Quest: Read: I’m going to keep this one simple, so the goal here is to find a book and finish it by the end of the challenge. Any suggestions? I read mostly fantasy, and would go for a new series. I was recommended the Mistborn Trilogy, but I am open to any recommendations. Here’s the point breakdown: Strength Challenge: 35 lb dumbbell rows: +3 STR 30 lb dumbbell rows: +2 STR 25 lb dumbbell rows: +1 STR **SAVING FOR NEXT TIME** Water Challenge: 40-42 days: +3 CONS 37-39 days: +2 CONS 36-38 days: +1 CONS Veggie Challenge: 40-42 days: +2 CONS and +1 WIS 37-39 days: +1 CONS and +1 WIS 36-38 days: +1 CONS Batch Cook Challenge: All Sundays: +2 CONS and +1 WIS 4-5 Sundays: +1 CONS and +1 WIS 3-4 Sundays: +1 CONS Read and finish book: +1 WIS (this one’s an all-or-nothing) Not sure how to allocate my points to my attributes, any suggestions there would also be very helpful. Thanks for reading my post! *EDITED: I added the attribute allocations suggested by T2sarahconnor.

Using this thread I am going to be creating a list of books that I want to gather for my library. It will be a mix of classic books, reference texts, and philosophical tomes. Any suggestions are welcome. This list will also serve as a guiding point in the years to come. I will be re reading some of these titles. Some are new to me. 1. The Book of Five Rings by Musashi Miyamoto 2. The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu 3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol 5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 6. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein 7. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli 8. The Republic by Plato 9. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 11. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 12. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 13. Call of the Wild by Jack London 14. The Iliad by Homer 15. The Odyssey by Homer 16. Walden by Henry David Thoreau 17. Lord of the Flies by William Golding 18. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 19. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri 20. East of Eden by John Steinbeck 21. The Thin Red Line by James Jones 22. Adventured of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 23. First Edition of The Boy Scout Handbook 24. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand 25. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller 26. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 27. Animal Farm by George Orwell 28. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs 29. Moby Dick by Herman Melville 30. Essential Manners for Men by Peter Post 31. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecroft Shelley 32. Hamlet by William Shakespeare 33. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 34 A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare 35. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 36. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 37. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux 38. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose 39. Paradise Lost by John Milton 40. The American Boys' Handy Book 41. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard 42. A River Runs Through It by Norman F. Maclean 43. The Autobiography of Malcolm X 44. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 45. Holy Bible 46. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty 47. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett 48. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler 49. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden 50. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Persig 51. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier 52. The Art of Expressing the Human Body by Bruce Lee I will be adding more titles to this list as I go and will also be keeping this thread up to date on what I;ve read and collected. This list is heavily inspired by The Art of Manliness's article titled "100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library" Link here -> http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/

Books bore me now. This is because I only go for things that are similar to what I've already read, and ignore what's different. I'm ashamed and slightly disgusted by my attitude. Not sure if I even like my favourites anymore. Do you ever feel like you only go back to something out of habit or nostalgia? It's like that. But picking books at random won't do any good, so I need recommendations! What are the books you think everyone should read? Don't care what genre, or if you think they're embarrassing. Trying to start over with no preconceptions about any type of literature.

Has anyone read this fantastic book? I LOVE it. I've loved it since it came out. It really spoke to me. I didn't like the second book, Insurgent, quite as much, but Divergent is one of my all time favorites. When I read it, I decided I wanted to be more Dauntless. Not 100% Dauntless because that's not my style. But I was a little Dauntless. I went bungee jumping and didn't scream or make any noise at all. It was awesome. I also love it because I have a son named Tobias (born before the book came out though - I'm not THAT much of a nerd.) What faction would you choose to be in? I'd choose Erudite.

Mission: Start my journey out of the 200 club once and for all - step out of that comfort zone! My last challenge focused on getting myself somewhat in the mindset of losing weight with minimal failure - discovering myself, my strengths and weaknesses, what I like and dislike, etc. Well, now it's the time to put on my cowgirl boots and get to work. I'm also going to up my grading scale so it'll be a bit more challenging. Quests: #1: Create a routine I'm not saying a daily routine from the time I wake up until I go to bed, but a routine. You know, the routine you have when you shower and brush your teeth and eat lunch and dinner and all of that daily stuff. It isn't scheduled, but it just happens. I'm sure there are some people out there that look at the clock and scream "Oh gosh! It's 10:01pm!! I'm a minute and twenty seconds late in brushing my teeth!!!" But I'll be okay with looking outside, noticing that it's dark, and thinking to myself "Hmm, I need to brush my teeth soon" and go ahead and do so after killing the dragon I'm fighting in Skyrim. So lets throw some of these bad boys into my "daily routine": - brushing teeth - going for a small walk - cleaning the pool/hot tub - going to the gym - fixing up my face - reading - dishes - keeping up with my bedroom, bathroom, and office room - relaxation time! - go back to logging my food, since I've been neglecting that majorly Grading: A - I successfully incorporated at least 7/10 of these into my daily routine! (+2 CON, +3 WIS) C - I incorporated a few of these into my daily routine, but could have done better work. (+1 CON, +1 WIS) F - I didn't do crap. (+0 CON, +0 WIS) Yeah, I don't take good care of myself when it comes to brushing teeth. THAT'LL CHANGE THOUGH!! I'm already a week or so into this "habit" and have been doing good! Onward... #2: STEP INTO THE GYM Sending myself to the gym is like pulling teeth, and that'll only happen if A ) I'm heavily drugged. or B ) I stop letting this damn social anxiety eat me alive and go. I just need to GO. Rianne, you have been building yourself up mentally to the EXTREME to get to this point, and this may be the opportunity for you to finally do this! June 13th (hahaah friday the 13th, a day of a full moon as well) I'll set my foot into the gym, scope around and see where everything is set up, and do some work. As long as I exercise for as long as it took me to get there and back home, I'll be happy. After I take that initial step, I'll begin to incorporate that into my ritual and make it into a habit. I will go for at least 21 days during this challenge. I will be greatly rewarded, much happiness. Grading - A - Yay! I went at least 21 days - actually, I went above and beyond 21 days and am kinda sorta okay with going now! (+2 STR, +2 STA, +1 CHA) B - Yay! I went at least 21 days! (+2 STR, +2 STA) C - Hey, baby steps, right? I went between 5-10 days and am damn proud of it! (+1 STR, +1 STA) D - I still have a lot of work to do. That's okay. I went, I tried to conquer, I somewhat failed, but I still get a shiny point! (+1 STA) F - I didn't go. sadface. (+0 STA) #3: Get sum smarts - more books, more brownie points! I have some of these on my list of books-to-read and books-to-finish: 21st century yoga - culture, politics, & practicewill grayson, will graysonit starts with fooda unified theory of happinessIf I can get through all of these, I'll be a super happy camper, since they're been on my back burner for a while and I keep saying I have no time to read, or do anything else for that matter... Grading: A - I read 4 books! (+5 WIS) B - I read 3 books! (+4 WIS) C - I read 2 books! (+3 WIS) D - I read 1 book! (+2 WIS) F - Yeah... not this time. (+0 WIS)

Hi Nerds! I am looking for an accountabilibuddy that I could text with in order to motivate/remind each other to make good eating choices and to exercise. I find it difficult to follow a forum online as my schedule is quite random, thus texting is more flexible and convenient! I'm hoping to find someone that can help me, and who I can help in return! My goals are to lose around 50-70 lbs. I'm 23 and into video games, politics, movies, books (lots of books), and entrepreneurship - I'm sure we can think of some more things to chat about too . Looking forward to creating a mutually beneficial relationship with someone! Ashleigh

Last challenge I did started redefining some habits that were bad and creating better ones. This challenge is a continuation of that. A couple of the goals are to complete what I started last time (PLP and HASFit Warrior Program), and a couple are new. The overall goal of my challenge is still to prepare for my Warrior Dash that is coming up in July. I have it planned out that this challenge will finish up the same exercise plan I started last time for building strength, and then the next challenge will be about running and getting the cardio in order with a little strength also. If my calculations are correct, this challenge is April 14-May 26. Then there will be a week off between challenges (May 26-June 1). June 2-July 11 will be a second challenge (the running/cardio one) and then I will have 2 weeks before my race. 1) Complete PLP Challenge (+3 STR) I started this in the middle of the last challenge. I am doing it with a friend and we are on 36/69. I have seen great improvement with this workout and want to see just how much strength I can gain from it! 2) Complete HASFit Warrior Program (+2 STA +3 DEX) I started this last challenge and want to see it through to the end. I will actually complete it the week after this challenge is complete currently. My “rest†days toward the end will be the days I play softball. 3) Walk with wife and puppy 4x per week (+2 CHA) I wanted to include this as a goal because we both work and our dog is in her cage all day. With it being spring, the weather is typically nice enough to take her out and give her some exercise. Also it will give us some time away from electronics to talk and spend some time together. As a mini bonus, I plan on wearing my Vibrams and weight vest while we walk to get some exercise out of it. 4) (LIFE) Finish reading “Drive†and “Teaching with Love and Logic†(+3 WIS) I have started reading both of these books but have not finished them yet. There is an idea in the back of my mind about a new way of teaching that I think would be helpful not only to my wife, since she teaches, but also for when I teach to the high school students that I volunteer with. 5) (DIET) Eliminate pop (+2 CON) I have fallen off the no/few pop bandwagon this year and I know that part of my struggles with my BF% is because I am drinking pop still. So my plan is to do a ladder system for stopping. Week 1, I will be allowed 6 pops throughout the week. Week 2 is down to 5 and so on. I will allow myself to drink as much real fruit juice as I want during this time, but eventually I know that drinking too much fruit juice will also keep me from my BF% goals. But one dragon at a time. Side Experiment: Fast 1x per week for 24 hours. I have done intermittent fasting in the past but doing it by skipping breakfast, eating only between 11am and 7pm. After listening to Brad Pilon talk about what he meant when he started intermittent fasting, I am going to try his 24 hour 1-2x per week fast. I will start with once a week starting on Saturday at 1pm and starting again on Sunday at 1pm. This is normally a time where I am not exercising and can take a break for my body to reset and repair.