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Had a fitbit since around January. Kicked ass this morning in full body circuit and run...checked the fitbit app and finally moved my cardio score from "Good (44.2-49.6)" to "Very Good (49.6-55)" Woot woot!

Hi guys, im just starting out in calisthenics, but im getting tired really quick which disturbs my workout program, therefore i want to start stamina training but i dont want to lose weight because im already thin (i'm 5.7 feet/ 173 cm and weigh about 130 lbs/ 59 kg). Is there any way i could gain weight, stamina and mucle while doing both, or does anybody have any advice/tips on my topic? (btw i eat 3-4 meals a day)

Though I am long in the leg, I am short in the lung. (I don't enjoy traditional forms of cardio.) On a whim, I picked up rowing on day at a local gym. I found that I really enjoy it, and I didn't hate everything afterwards. Or taste pennies.

JK it’s me Jonesy! Netflix finally added Moana to their streaming and I think I’ve watched this movie 3 times in the last week, It’s like I’m 5. Since the songs have been stuck in my head, I decided to use it for my challenge theme. I’m also going to incorporate my game into this challenge. The points for activities at least. Overall Passing Points Goal = 584 Stronger than you think I like improving on my dead hangs so I want to keep that going. For other workouts, I need to do at least 2 a week. I failed pretty hard at having regular workouts last challenge. Dead Hangs (PR 10s) Bodyweight Workouts Cardio Workouts Wayfinding for the soul I love the idea of a routine but I struggle following them. I want to change this. Part of me wants the structure but the other part wants to do what I feel like I want to do...not necessarily what I NEED to do. Again, I want to change this. So for both zero weeks I’m going to work on creating some routines and then seeing how well I follow them for the challenge. create a workout routine to follow create a morning routine to follow create a nightly routine to follow create a household routine to follow Week 1-4 TBD Points awarded for routines Don’t be tricked by shiny things With the increased Regional transit authority (RTA) tax for my car this year ($250 more than last year) I really need to save up for my Sept/October bill. I also realized that I spent WAAAAY too much money on take out. Like embarrassingly too much. Zero week I’ll spend some time, not money, creating a monthly budget and possible the weekly ones. Create a Monthly and Weekly budget Bills identified and paid Set spending for week and stay equal or under Unplanned spending on food will result in negative points

This will be my first challenge. The time frame is actually close to perfect. I'm traveling to Europe for the first time on the 19th of May. I guess I'll start two days early and end two days early. I am 5'10" (177.8 cm) and weigh 260 lbs. (117.934 kg.). I am overweight and I feel that my health is greatly suffering. My goal weight is probably to be somewhere around 180-190 lbs. I plan to accomplish this goal over time and definitely not by the end of this challenge. I plan to lift weighs, run, do some Jiu-Jitsu, and eat right. There's a Jiu-Jitsu tournament in August, and I plan to compete. I'm also currently unemployed and as a Life Goal, I'd like to gain some employment, because you kind of need money to pay for things like food, gas, and a house. So I'll be job hunting, trying to get some certifications, stuff like that as a long-term deal. For the purpose of this 4-week challenge, here are my goals: tl;dr Lose ~ 80 lbs. Get ready for a tournament in August Find a job Diet and Fitness 1. Go to five Jiu-Jitsu classes a week. It's often said that if you want to improve your Jiu-Jitsu, do more Jiu-Jitsu. So I plan to go to five Jiu-Jitsu classes each week. This shouldn't be too much of an issue schedule-wise. The gym where I train offers three classes Monday - Friday at 6AM, Noon, and 6PM. For the purpose of this challenge, I'll count an open mat as a class as well and I have multiple options of open mats on the weekends. I'm going to try to focus on my Half-Guard/Deep Half game. Criteria: C: The Bee attended 5 Classes B: The Bee attended 7 Classes C: The Bee attended 10 Classes 2. Do 400 Push Ups a week. I don't really lift or run or anything. I'm definitely planning to lift and run during this challenge as well but for what I want to track is 400 push ups in a week. I think this is achievable. If I split up 400 push ups in a week, I'm doing less than 60 a day. If I split it into morning and evening sessions, I'm doing 30 each sessions. This of course is a bottom line and the bare minimum. Criteria: C: 400 Push Ups B: 500 Push Ups A: 600 Push Ups 3. Limit eating out to twice a week. I'm a foodie. I love food and I got a body that shows it. I'm not huge on meal prepping all my meals a week ahead of time especially grilled chicken because I find it tends to be on the dry side. Since I am, unemployed and have more free time than most people. I'll try something out. Every Sunday and Thursday will be my prep day. I will prep all my food, but cook it the day of. So, my proteins will be marinated. My veggies will be chopped. Then the morning of, I'll cook up some rice (because if Filipinos don't have rice, we die) then cook up my meals for the day. I'm thinking the food will taste better as it's more fresh an I would be more likely to eat it and not just decide to order a pizza or go out for burgers. I'll also meal plan for the week on Sundays and check out the recipes threads to keep from getting bored. This should also help me out financially from not eating out so often. Criteria: C: Went out to eat twice. B: Went out to eat once. A: Didn't go out to eat. I want to try to keep my goals relatively small as I'm kind of just starting out. The push ups are also supplemental. I plan to re-evaluate the criteria for these goals at the end of each week to see if I maybe need to adjust the criteria if I'm not being challenged enough. I will only make the criteria more difficult with the exceptions of illness or injury. Lifestyle Goal: Study 10 Hours a week So for my lifestyle goal, I'm going to look into getting certifications or short classes to increase the different types of jobs I can get. I'm currently studying for an A+ Certification Test, which consists of two exams. I passed the first one and I take the second one on Saturday. I bought a few classes on UDEMY and I plan to take some MOOCs as well. So to make this measurable, I'll devote hours throughout the week to study something. I'll go for a minimum of 10 hours a week. That's two hours Monday - Friday which still gives me time to pursue my other goals and still enjoy the freedom of being unemployed. Criteria: C: Study 10 Hours/Week B: Study 15 Hours/Week A: Study 20 Hours/Week So yeah, there are my goals for the next four weeks. Any feedback would is welcomed and appreciated.

So I currently have less than 3 weeks until I leave for my trip to Italy, I am going to try to lose a little over 1lb a week in order to get to the goal of 180(180.whatever works too) before I head to pasta land In order to get this done I will be focusing on 3 things... Meals: Prep all breakfasts and lunches using the containers that help with portion sizes, and plan all dinners in advance including my 1 "cheat meal" which can be anything but must be portioned well. Training: I am doing a 15 day HIIT challenge starting in 2 days (along with my usual training), after that I will make sure I do 2 days of cardio for at least 45 min (stair master, max trainer, low impact) per week, and 25 min on the stair master after every normal workout. Culture Crash Course: I failed at properly preparing for this trip language wise, time to focus and get as much learning in as possible. Italian lessons every day until the trip, with at least a solid 30 min to an hour on weekends. I will be posting updates daily for accountability on meals (which start on Saturday since I have my catered stuff until Friday), and language. Starting Weight 185.4

I was thinking about getting a cardio-machine. My parents have a stationary bike which I could use while watching TV, that was perfect for me. But now, in a place of my own, space is very limited. I could get a cross-trainer from my grandparents, but there's simply no room for it. Question is, is there something actually useful in smaller sizes that I could fit under a table or in a cupboard when I'm not using it? Like those little stepper-thingies, are they actually any good? Or another alternative for doing sports while watching TV? I have considered alternatives. Unfortunately I never really got into running, and I'm afraid it also doesn't quite agree with my knees. They always end up hurting. Maybe arthritis, it's running in my family... I also don't want to bike to work and all that because I'm terrified of anything on the road that's bigger than me. With me on a bike that would be literally anything. I don't trust the traffic in my city, I even hate driving a car here. Thanks for your help!

Woo, new challenge. Last challenge I needed something to focus on to keep myself from falling into a slump while waiting for my non-weight-bearing period for my broken ankle to end. It did, and I am now cleared to weight bear as tolerated. I am not yet cleared to drive so I'm still house bound, but I have a physio appointment this Thursday so depending on what they say I may alter my goals slightly. My long-term goals currently stand like this; Walk without moon boot, crutches or limp. Be cleared to drive again. Be cleared to skate again. Re-Pass my Minimum Skills Test. Play a whole derby bout. My quests for this challenge focus mostly on the first three goals - being able to walk, and then drive my car and eventually skate again all rely on me strengthening and stretching my weakened right ankle. Passing my MST and playing derby will come in a few months when I can skate again without fear of re-injuring myself. QUEST 1 - CLEARED FOR SKATING Part 1 - CARDIO. 3x a week; Planned for M/W/F I need to keep this up because otherwise I will die when I get back on skates. I will be using the stationary exercise bike I own and doing intervals on that as it is currently the only form of cardio I can do that is low-impact and also good for my ankle. I have started with 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off and I will increase the intervals weekly. I want to work up to cycling for 2 minutes with a 30 second break because that is the longest one derby jam can go for. If my breathing can keep up that long I can survive most derby stuff. Week 1: 45/15, Week 2: 60/20, Week 3: 75/30, Week 4: 90/30 Part 2 - REHAB. Daily. Once my physio tells me what to do I will be doing that. I also have some derby ankle strengthening exercises I can do as well if I feel like it. If I have to take a rest day and just stretch and ice my ankle, then that will count. Rest is rehab too. Physio has prescribed theraband exercises (working on all the different ranges of motion my foot struggles with) and one-leg balancing. I need to do it at least once a day, but three times is optimal. Part 3 - WALK IT OFF. Daily. For this quest I am just wearing my pedometer everywhere and logging the steps. I will aim to increase my steps weekly by a small amount. Being able to walk again is crucial to my returning to work and me feeling like an able bodied human again. QUEST 2 - MIND YOUR HEAD Part 1 - MEDITATE. Daily. I find myself often trying to burn up any free time I have with being on social media, especially before bed in the evenings and before getting up in the morning. I plan to stop that and focus on nothing but my breathing either in the morning or the evening. Just for a minute or two. In the morning I can set positive intentions for the day and in the evening I can look back over anything I was grateful for and things I did well. QUEST 3 - TALK ABOUT IT Part 1 - WRITE. Daily. I have a sci-fi story that I am working on that I'd love to get more of done, and I can also journal about my day or something I need to vent about if I don't feel like writing sci fi. I aim to do this directly after meditating in the morning or just before bed in the evening. I will log the word count and try and increase it weekly.

So, I'm finishing up a freakin' awesome weekend on the fitness front: 2 hours of martial arts classes on Saturday (as well as some light weights because I got fidgety in the evening) and then a 5K run today (I need to set a new pace target because my last 3 5Ks I've been right on the target... new one to aim for will be 25min, I guess), and then just to get an idea of my baseline fit level I tried the one round of the advanced body weight circuit and found it to be a great challenge - hard enough to be hard, but not so hard that I'm dying, so that'll be my new strength builder routine going forward. Diet front... could be better. I need to get more veg. Weekends usually better than weekdays for me (when I have a bad habit of going for fast food if I'm tired after work). The other issue with me is I'm bad at meal planning and also tend not to realize I'm hungry until I'm HANGRY and then I want whatever is available. Anyone have tips on meal planning? I think that might be the solution to the "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine I'm - I NEED TO EAT EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW!" pattern I get into.

Hey everyone, complete newbie here hoping to have some fun with the assassins I've been a member of NF for about 6 months now, but never got round to checking out the forums. I very recently had to respawn so I thought 'why not'? After all, there's a lot of cool-lookin' stuff going on in here My personal challenge is a simple one of pure self-improvement; strength training, cardio, drinking more often, and eating more veggies (and potatoes, oddly enough - versatile things, spuds): At the moment I can do about 24 push-ups in a minute, I would very much like to increase that number - if I can do about 40 *consistently* after 4 weeks, then I'll be a very happy bunny. I've not really done much in the way of running or interval training, but it's been on my to-do list for ages now, so I'm putting that in there too, else I never will I'm hoping to go out at least twice a week, every week - that should be a good starter. I don't drink enough water - it's actually a little embarrasing that I'm even putting that on the list, but frankly I'm tired of not drinking properly. So there - it's on Finally I'm adding that quest to eat at least one vegetable a day, every day - my super veg. is the humble carrot - because I can cook that in just about any way I fancy After that long-winded post, I think I'll sign off with a "It's good to finally join you all, I'm looking forward to knocking this one out of the park", and maybe a "Dickie, reporting in" to try and sound cool. I might also join in on the Assassin-e street thing, that looks fun. Included is a picture of my personal trainer - he's not led me wrong yet

Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 41.75 | CON - 72 | WIS - 41.5 | CHA - 44.5 Weight 173lb Waist 31" Belly 35" Hips 40" Thigh 23 1/2" Body Fat 27.11% Previous Challenge Goals Sleep 10:30pm bedtime. Pay attention to the reminders on my phone re: getting ready for bed/getting to bed. Cardio Minimum 1 "long" (read 30 minutes/5kish) run per week + 1 intervals session. Extra is encouraged Reading Haven't been reading as much as I would like, so 210 minutes of reading per week (equivalent of 30 minutes/day) Mini Challenge Strength Feat - 1 extra lifting session COMPLETE Ranger Feat - start next knitting project. Minimum 120 minutes of working on it throughout the week. COMPLETE Distance Feat - 1 extra cardio session COMPLETE Recovery Feat - Go to a yoga class COMPLETE

Grayspeed's February Challenge. Over the last few weeks I've had a few revelations that have changed the way I approach fitness. Much of this comes from acknowledging my previous failings; the biggest of which was setting myself arbitrary goals without any clear progression or plan, and hoping I'd figure out how to get there on the way. Which has probably resulted in more wasted time and setbacks than I care to think about. The most important mindset shifts are thusly: 1) I should set clear goals that act as milestones on the path to unlocking skills that are meaningful to me. 2) I need to set up a process designed with progression in mind. So, first things first. What are my immediate goals? 1) Be able to do an unassisted ring dip. 2) Be able to do a set of 5 reps of good form chinups. That means a hollow body position - no kipping, no half reps, no using knees for momentum. 3) Run one mile in less than 10 minutes. 4) Learn to cartwheel. This will be a precursor movement before getting into rolls, handstands, and other fun stuff. I've decided to focus on four key areas to help build my body and mind: Strength, Mobility, Speed, and Recovery. I've also decided to cancel my gym membership and do my strength training at the local park. I realised that having a gym membership was kind of a waste of money considering 80% of my workouts are bodyweight only and I was becoming increasingly frustrated by only being able to go during quiet times, meaning I'd often skip a workout just because the gym will be busy. So by the end of this month I'll be a playground warrior! Enough backstory. Let's get questing! Quest 1: Strength. Build strength by doing a NF Rings workout at least 3 times a week. Quest 2: Mobility. Build up mobility and bodily awareness by doing a 5 minute flow every day. Link to explanation of 5 minute flow. Quest 3: Speed. Improve my speed capabilities by doing speed/agility based cardio & conditioning workouts 3 times a week. Quest 4: Recovery. Increase recovery time and be more alert by making sure to be in bed by 10:30pm 5 nights a week. Some rules for this one - I must actually be in bed and have finished nightly tasks (brushing teeth, letting dog out, getting glass of water..). No laptop. No phone. Reading and listening to music is allowed, as is chatting with my girlfriend. The other thing that grown-ups use their bed for is also allowed, let's be mature here . Now. Let's get down to business.

Sorry for being MIA, work took away our wifi because planning a switch over before actually doing it totally makes sense. I finally got it back yesterday. Also, went to the chiro, had 3 adjustments, started icing my back/hips/shoulder every night, and I started a strict (as in I actually do it) warm-up routine. Those three things have made a good improvement, but I am still babying the arm as much as possible. Last challenge kind of became a mess because as much as I hate to admit it, if I don't see crazy awesome results (which normally isn't a great sign in the long run) I get antsy and change things up too fast. Part 2 is going to change that, or at least curb it a bit. FEB MEASUREMENTS GO HERE AT SOME POINT: Current weight: 187.8 Goals will basically be the same with a bit more detail... Goal 1: I Will Embrace My New Hellish Workouts While I do eventually need to focus on LISS at some point I had started going to the gym more often last month. I now do M/W/F with the trainer, and at least 1 other day Thur or Sat with a friend. So Sunday I will be adding a walk with the hyper pup or yoga, and Tue I am leaving free so I have a day that I know I can be a lazy ass if I really want to. -Go through the 10 min pre workout warmup every damn day and ice after workouts to continue to heal. Goal 2: Meal Prep That Shit I had breakfast prep down almost the entire challenge last go around, I am going to keep up with that and add a minimum of 4 prepped lunches for the week. Also, I will follow my nutritionist plan for ALL FOUR DAMN WEEKS... instead of becoming impatient and going keto for a week and a half until my digestion said NOPE. Goal 3: Drink the Damn Water I did really well with this at first but it kind of fell by the wayside as the challenge went on. I will be using my notebook to keep everything tracked so that doesn't happen again. Goal 4: Make Myself Feel Pretty Damnit! I bought 4 blow dry bar sessions when I went yesterday before my date night, I will use those up randomly this month and try to at least put some damn eyeliner on. I will also continue to show off my awesome matching legging/converse collection on IG as well as take at least one video of a lift. Life Goal 1: Attack some spring cleaning early. - Dresser cleaned out and things tossed or donated - Start Craigslisting things that we can sell - Finally put up the curtains in the guest room - Clean out closets - Properly put away the christmas tree that my boyfriend just threw in the guest room... - Get rid of the extra crap in the gaming/dog room and make it more homey feeling (put up those damn curtains too...) Life Goal 2: Take the leap and order the damn shirts for my and my friends business, also get quotes on printing once they are ordered.

Overview / Motivation: Returning to the Rangers following a challenge with the Druids focused on getting my mind right for a high impact 2017. I'm keeping with the same formula of weight training, yoga, and cardio that I used through most of 2016 as I was pleased with the gains. I do need to start building back up my cardio shape, so not super excited to lace up the running shoes again, but it will be worth it. For the non-physical portion of this challenge, I am working through Michael Hyatt's book on building a platform. I am ramping up to create a blog focused on leadership and building your best self, and I've found some great nuggets in this book already as I inch closer to going live. Looking forward to a solid challenge. Main Quest: Hit the following benchmarks in strength and stamina: Bench Press 250 lbs. Squat 250 lbs. Complete 20 Pull Ups Side Quests: Average 3 Weight Training Sessions / Week Points Potential: STR+5 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% D= Average > 60% F= Average < 60% Complete 2 NerdFitness Yoga Sessions / Week Points Potential: DEX+3 Grading: A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% D= Average > 60% F= Average < 60% Average Running 3 Miles / Week Points Potential: STA+3 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% D= Average > 60% F= Average < 60% Life Quest: Read Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt Points Potential: WIS+4 A= Read > 90% B= Read > 80% C= Read > 70% F= Read < 70%

No, I'm not going to do anything political-themed, despite that quote. Fear not. I just couldn't get the idea for a title out of my head once I had it, lol. So basically, I've REALLY been struggling lately. Constantly failing challenges, yo-yoing in weight, and I recently described how my life has been going lately to somebody as 'kinda like watching Black Swan, super stressful/distressing, but at the same time really good.' I know that technically I'm in a very good place - I have a lovely apartment with no roommates, I live in a wonderful area, I have a stable job that pays decently well and has great benefits, etc - but projects at work, and the rising level of competition for a promotion, are stressing me out, the fact that my current work schedule keeps me out of my aerial studio makes me sad, and this upcoming wedding in April is making me want to cry, because my bridesmaid's dress doesn't zip anymore, and I'm hands down the biggest bridesmaid already. T-T BUT I SHALL PERSIST NEVERTHELESS. (Hence the title, yayy, we came full circle.) Despite everything, I dropped a total of 5 pounds last challenge, and if I can keep that up, I should fit into that stupid dress again by the ceremony. I'll still be bigger than all the other girls, but everybody should be looking at the bride anyways, right? (except once the pictures hit FB... I shall need to be vigilant in untagging myself, hahaha.) NOW FOR WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! WHAT SORT OF GIFS AND JPGS SHALL I INFLICT UPON YOU THIS GO AROUND?!?!?! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THE LEGEND OF ZELDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This, like the WoW challenge of last time, has been a long time coming. (I love you, Link) One more thing before we get started: I am DRASTICALLY changing how I do my challenges based on some conversations from last go around. I will be using the same format I use to coach my associates at work. Each metric is graded on a 1-5 scale, with 3 being considered proficient. The individual metrics have different percentages assigned to each number on the scale. (the most difficult metric has a 12% success rate graded as a 3. Yep. That ish is so tough we're happy if you can do it just 12% of the time, hahahaa.) So let's go! Main Quest - Lose 6 pounds. I figure, 'they' say you should be able to healthily lose up to 2 pounds/week, and 1 pound/week is supposed to be low-key, so I'd like to aim for 1.5/week. Goals 1. Swim like a Zora, Run like Epona. (Cardio) 2. Strong as a Goron. (Conditioning) 3. Eat like a Princess. (Calories) Life Quest More Swords. (Comrades) Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 205 lbs Waist: 34" Hips: 46" Thigh: 29" (I need to take these in the morning...) Grading Anybody that's been following my rather distressing journey thus far should notice that something is already different! I DIDNT PUT SMART GOALS, OMG PANIC. No, no, calm down, they're still SMART, they're just being measured differently, so I'm presenting them differently. Below is my new grading scale! I will probably update it in the future, sort of like how the scale at work changes when you get a promotion. (totally just made up that little title, but I like it. It's snazzy, true, and saves me from typing out the titles I gave each goal for these challenge's theme. Whoo!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE FOUR C'S OF WEIGHT LOSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 2 3 4 5 Cardio (30%) 15 minutes/wk 0.5 hours/wk 1 hour/wk 1.5 hours/wk 2 hours/wk Conditioning (30%) 2 full exercises/wk 3 full exercises/wk 4 full exercises/wk 5 full exercises/wk 6 full exercises/wk Calories (30%) 1800+/day 1700s/day 1600s/day 1500s/day 1400s/day Comrades (10%) 3 6 9 12 15 1-2 is red, 3-5 is blue. I will put an example graph below. A ‘full exercise’ in Conditioning is all current sets and reps for one of the Convict Conditioning’s exercise series. (Pushups, pullups, leg raises, or squats.) The reason 6 is an option is because doing two ‘full exercises’ is pretty easily one ‘strength day’. So if better than proficient is 2 strengths days, then if I push myself and do 3 strengths days a week - that would be optimal. The grading for the first 3 should be pretty self explanatory. Cardio & Conditioning are graded by how much I do each week. Calories is graded by how much I eat a day, averaged out for the week. Comrades is the one that probably threw everybody. It's a combination of my Insta-Famous goal from last time, and my realization that I need a 'team' of sorts. A DM never came forward for my (frankly awesome) D&D idea, so I have decided to venture forth into the real world. *shudder* There's an overeaters anonymous meeting every saturday near where I live, and I'm going to start to try to attend. Especially after the caloric debacle that was me while stressed during the last couple weeks, I think that it would be a good thing for me anyways. If I attend a meeting, I get 4 points towards Comrades. Posting (something fitness relevant) on Instagram is 1 point. Posting on here is 1.5 points. Final Challenge Grade is the average of the weeks. Example Week: (Excuse the lame chart... I dont have excel anymore on my computer, b/c microsoft is evil & was all, oh, you had to replace your hard drive? Yeah, we don't care that you backed everything up beforehand, and have pretty concrete evidence you'd already bought office for that computer - you're gonna have to buy another copy of office if you want to use it on the new hard drive. So this was basically hand-drawn in Google Sheets, b/c the insertable charts on there are super uncustomizeable.) Cardio 3 Conditioning 4 Calories 5 Comrades 2.5 Overall 3.85 5 4 3 2 1 Cardio 3 Conditioning 4 Calories 5 Comrades 2.5 Now for the fun part! Motivation I finally got my Sylvanas leggings last time! I didn't 'pass', but I still lost 5 pounds, which was just 1 pounds shy of my goal, and I decided I deserved a little pat on the back, plus I've been lusting after these things for SO DAMN LONG. I'll post a picture once they get to me, but it's international shipping, so don't hold your breath, haha. This time, if I get an overall 3 and/or lose 6 pounds, I'll get a pair of Dragonskin leggings!!! Overall 4 = One of the Game of Thrones seasons on dvd! I've got most of them on my laptop, but I'm such a loser when it comes to having physical copies of things. I just love having my DVDs all organized and lined up on my shelf! And there's something so much more satisfying about running your fingers over the spines of a long row of DVDs (or books for that matter) when trying to make a selection than clicking through a digital library. Overall 5 = a Wii (yeah, I know, I'm behind the times) End game: if I can zip my dress for the wedding in April, I'm buying myself a new TV. !!! Tracker Cardio Conditioning Calories Comrades Total Week 1: / / / / / Week 2: / / / / / Week 3: / / / / / Week 4: / / / / /

Introduction: Loves Yeshua Class: Level 3 Ranger/assassin hybrid Hobbies: hiking, knitting, reading, & more Want to know more? Ask me.

Summoning the Science Nerds! Is anybody familiar with sauna suits? Are they legit, or just for dropping water weight? I have friends in MMA who swear by sauna suits and it's clear that they work to a certain point. Clearly, water weight is being lost. Some claim that raising the temperature encourages sweating which does something science-y to break down fat etc etc FAT LOSS. This seems a little overly hopeful to me but the guys are convinced. Anybody else's input? Are they living in a dream-land or is there long-term benefits to go with the short-term results?

Time for bed, deets tomorrow Mmk, technically bedtime now but I should do this to so... Last challenge: didn't take holidays into account, didn't end up tracking food at all due to not making my food for probably half the challenge cause I was home, continued sleeping not-enough, etc. etc. So, time to try and do the things that I've been trying to do for ages? Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 41.75 | CON - 72 | WIS - 41.5 | CHA - 44.5 Weight Waist Belly Hips Thigh Body Fat Goals Cardio I have a 5k coming up in a couple months, so that and rugby starting up again are my cardio motivation. I should do a "long" (5k-ish) run once a week, and intervals once a week. Sleep This is the big one. Bedtime is 10:30, gotta figure out how to meet it. Mobility Gotta do this 5/7 days a week to keep my body happy Food Food prep + IIFYM are gonna be the order of the day here. Aiming for 5/7 days of IIFYM. Mini Challenge Week 1: You Must Gather More Resources Before we can begin rebuilding the Guild Hall, we need something to build it with. So for week 1 we will be quarrying stone, chopping down trees, and gathering dirt for mortar. This will be represented by several activities from which you can choose. Wood Choppers will represent cutting down trees and milling them. Kettlebell Swings will represent mining for stone. Shovelglove workouts will represent gathering supplies for mortar. We will track it by multiplying reps times weight. It would get to technical trying to keep the three separate, so any of the three, in any combination, counts toward the goal. Keep track of how many reps you do at each weight, and post your totals in the mini-challenge tracking spreadsheet. Week 2: Return To Base We have gathered all the supplies we need to re build the guild hall. Now we need to get them to the construction site. This weeks feat is a distance feat. We need to log 220 miles as a guild to get all the wood, stone and mortar supplies to the fort so we can use them. The barkeep is getting positively giddy with anticipation. Apparently the rubble we cleared from the old hall was organized in our absence, which means the new hall will be even bigger and more impressive than the last. Any mileage counts, whether its real world stuff or on some sort of cardio machine, just log your miles on the tracking spreadsheet. Count anything from 12:01 am Sunday morning your time to 11:59pm Saturday night your time. Week 3: Construction Commencing We have gathered all the supplies we need to rebuild the hall and transported them to the construction site. Let's build this thing! To represent moving the supplies into position, shaping them, and actually assembling them, we will work with over the head weighted exercises. By that I mean anything that involves moving something weighted over your head. That could be any of the Olympic lifts or their variants, over head press, push press, thrusters, squat thrusters, squat press, Turkish Get Ups, any of it. Again, multiply weight times reps to get yours score and post it on the tracking spreadsheet. We need 50000 lbs to finish. Week 4: Putting The Tent Away Well done everyone, we've got the project done on time and under budget. The only thing that remains is to give the guild tent a thorough cleaning before folding it up and putting it away one last time. That's right, it's time to do your Domestic Rangering feat. When you finish, put a 1 in the week 4 column by your name in the tracking spreadsheet. At least twenty of us need to get our feats done to get the tent cleaned and fully packed into the cart. To Do List 2017 Roadmap Mitts for Dad Kitchen Organize cupboards Work on Imagining Other Earths on Coursera Shrink sweater sleeves Stretch NY shirt Rugby team website/image gallery/design Account/password list Finish white skirt Drawing Change address Tidy Closet - started Grey drawers - started Bed drawers - started Clean green purse Get watch button fixed Living Room TV out Magazines - working through the stack Tray on coffee table (actually a trunk) Mending (socks + leggings) Send @Wild Wolf that prehab stuff (I promise I didn't forget - I scanned the stuff I had and then realized that it's not super helpful without visuals so I have to find videos/pictures to go along with it) The Road So Far Week 1: Cardio 1/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 4/5 Food 4/5 Week 2: Cardio 2/2 Sleep 1/7 Mobility 5/5 Food 5/5 Week 3: Cardio 2/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 3/5 Food 5/5 Week 4 Cardio 2/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 5/5 Food 5/5

I haven't passed a challenge in a long time. Like since my original account two years ago I went back and looked at what I did then, to see what the difference was, and I only noticed two differences. 1) Successful challenges weren't splitting my energy multiple ways. EVERY goal on the challenge had something to do with losing weight, and they worked together really well. So as much as I liked my 'adulting/self care' goal from last time, I'm going to ditch it in favor of the tried and true cardio/strength/diet recipe. 2) I had a lot of interactions with my support network. I was a member of a group of like 8 or so newbies (The Pirate Lasses or something) who had a roleplaying group going. So we had this separate thread going where we were roleplaying this fun pirate adventure together, which meant that I was on the forums posting sometimes multiple times a day. And since everybody was already on for the pirate adventure, we'd all support each other on our challenges too. But I don't think it was the support that made the difference, (though of course it helped) because I've still got support now. I think it was the fact that I was constantly on the forums because of the roleplay, keeping my challenge and my goals at the forefront of my mind while also forcing me to be accountable - can't really get away with fading away on the challenge if you're still pirating. I tried to rally interest for a NF D&D group, since that would be very similar, but nobody was really into it... & I know I can't just be like, oh, well I'll just have to get on the forums a lot, because I've tried that, and after a week or so lose interest in scouring the boards. So... I'm at a bit of a loss... I've got a Life Quest idea that might hopefully maybe help with the accountability/constant reminder thing... but idk. Maybe I ought to look for a weight loss meetup or join a weight watchers group, so that I'll have to physically show up to something? Idk. If you have ideas, PLEASE SHARE. Anywho, I like having an excuse to post gifs and pictures of things that I like, SO. Theme is World of Warcraft, because let's admit it, it should've been WoW a long time ago xD Main Quest - Lose 6 pounds. I figure, 'they' say you should be able to healthily lose up to 2 pounds/week, and 1 pound/week is supposed to be low-key, so I'd like to aim for 1.5/week. I really gotta drop what I gained over the holidays... I've never been this fat before, literally ever. Goals 1. Swim like a Naga - Swim 3x a week. 2. Strong as an Orc - Strength workouts 2x a week. 3. Eat like an Elf - Eat 1500-1600 kcal of home cooked food every day. Life Quest Insta-famous - Post something diet/weight loss/exercise/health related daily to my secondary Instagram account. @ljaybirdfly (lame name, I know, but all combos of my username and fit were already taken... and I figured, I like aerials, so... w/e) Please follow me so I feel like I've got people holding me accountable. Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 210 lbs T-T Waist: 34.5" Hips: 46.5" Thigh: 29" Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 30% of that week's total grade. Life Points are no longer extra credit as that provided little incentive for me to actually DO said Life Quest. Instead, the Life Quest will also be graded, worth 10% of the week's total grade. My final grade will be the average of all four weeks. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. Swim like a Naga - scored as a percentage of completed swims (side note, I'm super irritated I couldn't find a decent gif or even picture of a naga swimming. They're water creatures, stop having pictures of them out of the water or just chilling on the ocean floor. *rage* oh well, you get the gist) Strong as an Orc - Scored as a percentage of completed workouts. Eat like an Elf - 14 points total. 1/day for meeting calories. 1/day for the food all being home cooked. I liked my point loss system from last time, so I'm keeping it with an adjustment: every 200 kcal over limit is -1 points and every not home-made meal/snack is -1 points. So I can't forget lunch, have to buy from the cafeteria, then get home and be like OH WELL MAY AS WELL ORDER. Also, I can't overeat and be like OH WELL, MAY AS WELL STUFF MY FACE. Insta-Famous- 7 points total. 1/day. (oh yeah, that's right. For those not in the know, you can totally take selfies in WoW xD No, I will not count any WoW selfies towards this goal, haha) Exceptions - If I get REALLY sick, I can be exempt. But I have to be SUPER DUPER sick. So sick that I can't even walk for 15 minutes or do a little bit of cooking. I seriously doubt I'll get that sick. *knocks on wood* Motivation I WANT THOSE DAMN SYLVANAS LEGGINGS. OMG. GIVE THEM TO ME. T-T Also, Bangarang just released a new set called Dragonskin and I want ALL OF THEM. So if I get an A and/or lose more than 6 pounds, I can have one of them. I kinda want Deathwing (black) or maybe Alexstrasza (red). Or all Malygos(blue). Or Ysera(green). Or Nozdormu(yellow). I WANT THEM ALL. Tracker Swim like a Naga Strong as an Orc Eat like an Elf Insta Total Week 1: 0% 0% 0/14 0/7 0% Week 2: 0% 0% 0/14 0/7 0% Week 3: 0% 0% 0/14 0/7 0% Week 4: 0% 0% 0/14 0/7 0%

Jason Bourne is very strong so Quest 1 is: Strength training 2x/wk. STR +3 He also speaks multiple languages so Quest 2 is: Spanish 6 days/wk. CHR +3 He can travel long distances on foot so Quest 3 is: Walk at least 1 mile/day. STA +3 He has a lot of stamina so Quest 4 is: Cardio 2-3x/wk. STA +3 He knows first aid/healing so Quest 5 is: Anatomy 3x/wk for 30 min. (Minimum) WIS +2 And Materia Medica class. WIS +1

I know what I'm doing! Kicking it off with the first Nerd Fitness Challenge! I attempted a challenge last month in the midst of the holiday craziness, and it didn't turn out well. There was just too much going on at once, and attempting to juggle a challenge? I was driving myself insane. But I'm not giving up! I never want to give up and stop trying. I will continue to come back, push through challenges, ask for help and motivation, and keep my chin up until I have built a concrete and successful routine to better my lifestyle. I did a lot of reflecting on what I need to do in a Respawn Point post, and I plan to dutifully stick to everything as much as I can. I can say that, on an emotional/mental level, I've been doing pretty good! I have been doing things to keep a smile on my face. I'm still learning to accept that being a sensitive individual is NOT a bad thing. I'm no longer pushing myself into social situations that I absolutely do NOT want to be in. Would it be nice to have a few folks to hang out with outside my family? Maybe, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't need to do that. The times I have gone out in an attempt to meet folks, I just didn't enjoy it. I tried to tell myself and others that I did, but I was trying to make my self-conscious believe it so that I would keep trying I guess. Our brain works in funny ways like that. I've also been fighting with a lot of past events that I still seem to fall back on at the oddest of times. Bad ex-roommate/friend situations, bad job situations, and just bad or sad things in general. I'm not sure why, but it happens every now and again. There were times when I felt guilty about the roommate/friend ordeal, but I have started down the path that I cannot and should not carry blame. I know, in my heart, that I did everything and anything I could for said group of people. I was there when they needed me, took care of them when they needed it, and gave far more than I should have. In the end, I was labeled as the bad friend, but I know the truth. I know what really happened, and that is what I'm going to remember. As for my work situation, I was not happy with my job. I didn't really like my job. It was stressful (probably too stressful for what I was getting into mentally) and just put a lot of pressure on me. I stayed there because it paid very well, offered me a lot of perks, and I was able to work remotely. I was able to visit family during holidays, and stay for a long period of time. In the end, I just couldn't handle it. Not in the state that I was. I am letting go of these things - these feelings and regrets - and not looking back. I am going to continue to look forward. I am going to learn from these lessons and work to be a better me! ALL OF THAT SAID: 2016? And now I move on! QUEST ONE: YOU BETTER WORK, WORK IT GIRL! I found three workouts that I wanted to do in order to start building up some stamina, muscle, endurance, and what not on Darebees. I plan on revisiting these three workouts as they are good for beginners. This quest is going to help me get back into a exercise routine while burning some calories, greasing up rusty muscles, and hopefully boosting my energy levels! I am also going to incorporate one day of yoga a week. This should help me work on my flexibility, maintain some good energy vibes, and possibly help with some lower back pain. THREE TIMES A WEEK: cardio inc workout | slow burn workout | mermaid workout ONCE A WEEK: various beginner yoga sequences QUEST TWO: MILLIONS OF PEACHES, PEACHES FOR ME! TRACK YO FOOD. That is literally what my second quest is going to be. When I was tracking my food, I was eating better. I was junk fooding less. I was just feeling better because I wasn't eating so much. I know that, in the past so many months, I have gained a lot of weight from overeating. Some of it has been stress eating. Some has been eating out of boredom (which is the WORST). There are a lot of things, but the most important thing is that I get back into tracking what I'm eating. Whether it's through My Fitness Pal, in a notebook, in a Google Doc; RECORD IT. Also, record how much water I'm drinking. I was drinking LOTS of water, but have been slacking. I also need to cut back on my soda drinking. It hasn't gotten out of hand, but I want to go down to one a week. I was down to drinking no soda, but I do enjoy Ginger Ale or Sprite every now and again. TRACK ALL FOOD. ONE SODA A WEEK. MORE WATER. QUEST THREE: OOH-OO CHILD, THINGS ARE GONNA GET EASIER! This one contains a WHOLE LOT of things that, I think, will make life EASIER and BRIGHTER. I may also have been watching Guardians of the Galaxy while writing this up. EITHER WAY? IT WORKS. I want to take time out to just make ME feel better. I want to make OTHERS feel better. I want to take better care of myself and not feel so G R O S S in so many words. Whether it's painting my nails, doing one of my Craftsy classes, working on crafts, or watching a silly movie that I love, I NEED TO DO THIS. I also want to do all of this with MY MOM. She needs lots of laughter and smiles right now and always. If I can keep my spirits up and keep myself in a good place, that will help HER be in a good place. See? IT WILL GET EASIER AND BRIGHTER! DO FUN THINGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. (Once a day, a few times a week, WHATEVER! Just do it.) GET OUT OF YOUR JIMMYJAMS. (Even if it's to put on sweatpants or leggings or whatever! Brush your hair, take a few minutes to reflect, and smile!) YOU ARE IMPORTANT. (Take better care of yourself, girlfriend. You deserve it!) EXTRA: YOU CAN COLOR MY WORLD WITH HAPPINESS ALL THE WAY! As my extra, I keep picking up and putting down my sketch pads with little to nothing to show for it. My creativity and inspiration is very low almost like that weird snow you get on bad channels. STATIC! It's very frustrating because it use to be on HIGH ALERT for a long time. Apparently anti-depression medication (and medication that messes with your head in general) can cause this to happen. I don't want to force it because then it's not fun, but I want to get SOMETHING going. I've been poking around in my "ADULT" coloring books and working with color palettes. I need to find something to give me a bit of a jump start. There are a lot of challenges, inspirations, and what not on Pinterest and Instagram that I might look through. See what speaks to me and everything. I am ALSO trying to do a silly selfie a day through 2017 on Instagram! I just want to bring happiness and smiles to others, and remind myself not to take everything too seriously. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I'm even using some great Snapchat filters to add a little VA VA VOOM to them. It's great because the feeling of laughing just makes the day better. I'm very excited about really taking this challenge and owning it like a champ! I know I have a lot of great folks here to help me along the way, and to help me keep my rear in gear!

Hello, I'm 37, 240, and 6'4". In the past, I tried my hardest to try to bulk up in muscle mass, but I never could, no matter how much I lifted or how clean I ate. However, I was able to walk a full marathon and run a few half marathons about eight years ago. I swam a full mile in a lap pool here and there as well. I just read recently that one main reason ectomorphs like me have such a hard time building mass is because our limbs are so long, so doing a full rep of anything is significantly harder than it would be for someone shorter...which makes a lot of sense (less distance to move the weight, pushing or pulling it). Anyway, I am a software developer, and a gamer (shoot-em-ups and JRPGs are my top genres) and I consider myself a warrior at heart. But with my bent towards endurance activities like swimming and running, my past failures with weight training, and my interest in boxing, I could be a monk, could I? I never played regular sports. Only sports I ever liked were combat sports like boxing, martial arts, etc. I played competitive laser tag for all seven years I was in college...lot of what you use in the maze would carry over to the ring (agility, footwork, speed, accuracy, cunning, strategy, etc.). So where would be a good place to begin? I know I need some weight training and I haven't done any in over a year, and I'd like to eventually get into good enough shape to spar someone in the ring and maybe compete in an amateur bout or two. I just want to start seeing some results and making some progress of some kind. Thank you! - Bradford

Last Challenge got derailed by a fun combo of depression, major illness, and General Ennui (worst military leader *ever*). Hey, new year, new me, new "screw you health issues, you can't mess with me"! So, here's my Challenge goals: Goal 1: Whole30 Complete the Whole30 that I started late for Jan (because I had bronchitis and didn't want to do something new and different until that was sorted). So, it goes through Feb 4. This is the first time I'm trying this, and I'm wary yet committed. Goal 2: Yoga Part of my health woes involved cracking under the pressure of stress. So, got the goal of at least one yoga class per week, two if it works with my schedule. Goal 3: Just Do the Stupid Cardio I love running. Running is my joy and my main form of stress relief. And, I have a foot injury that's kept me from running (probably plantar fasciitis, though that's a "Doctor Internet" diagnosis). So instead of doing alternate cardio, I've sulked like a baby. I need to get back to the gym and just do elliptical, bike, rowing machine, even (god I hate it so much) swimming. No cardio makes Anathema blobby and sad, and if my preferred form is off the table for now, gotta find alternates and not get all pouty. Level Up Your Life: Workplace Efficiency I spend way too much time dicking around at work. I have a job where being on Facebook and browsing news sites is actually work-related. But then i go down a clickhole of funny articles and cat videos and then suddenly it's 5pm and I'm still behind. I am going to allow myself 5 minutes per hour to skim through personal stuff, then back to work. My work is evaluated on results, not time spent, so it's easy for me to waste hours, and then work nights or weekends to get caught up. One more think piece on American politics or one more funny blog post isn't worth it, I can catch up on all that on the weekend if I really want to. Bonus Goal: Sleep Schedule Left to my own devices I would probably sleep 16 hours a day. Slight exaggeration, but only slight. I need to get back to a reasonable sleep schedule. It won't work every night due to various scheduled things (mainly swing dance night most Wednesdays), but the goal is in bed by 10pm and up at 6am. Small amount of reading in bed allowed, but not much.

Let's stimulate some activity in the Cross Training forum. What was your WOD today? We did a Front Squat AMRAP for 8 minutes that looked like this: 10 Front Squats @ 45 10 Front Squats @ 65 10 Front Squats @ 75 10 Front Squats @ 95 10 Front Squats @ 105 10 Front Squats @ 120 10 Front Squats @ 135 And then as many Front Squats as you could at 225/145 but I crapped out at 37 reps because I accidentally jumped two rounds in my enthusiasm. There were two strength divisions for advanced/beginner and I'm still 'checking my ego at the door' and taking the beginner route. For conditioning we did an AMRAP in 20-minutes of: 5 Strict HSPU 15 Box Jumps 10 HSPU (strict, kipped, or handstand hold) 2 Rope Climbs or 10 Ring Rows and 15 Burpees with a 6" jump.

Just a brief overview: I'm a 27 year old girl that weighs 137 at 5'6". About ten years ago, I lost 40 pounds predominatly by playing DDR, which should give you a bit of an idea of what kind of nerd I am. I'm a web developer, thus all the '90s technology references. My website even has a bonus if you type in the Konami cheat code at any point. So, old video games, computers, books, fantasy, art, music, I love it all and always have. Right now I have three main goals I've been tracking: 1. Run at least one mile per week 2. Either do an exercise regimen at home or at the gym 5 times/week 3. Weight I've been trying to get down to 130 for the past decade, and this time I'm going to do it. Running Current mile time: 9:00 I'd love to get that down to 8:00, so I'll be tracking that. I've actually been running 3 or 4 times per week, and even sometimes before work, which I've never done before, so I'm proud of that. I don't like running and I never will, but I get it the hell done. The faster I go, the less I have to run, so that's my motivation there. Lifting Right now, I can bench 3 x 5 sets of 80lbs. My goal is to get that up to 100lbs. Usually I do dumbbell curls (17lbs, 8 x 3), leg press (225lbs, 12 x 10), weighted squats (110lbs, 5 x 5), standing press (60lbs, 3 x 5), pull ups, hip ab/dduction, in no particular order. I don't do leg/arm/core/cardio days or anything like that. If I don't go to the gym, at home I do a minimum of 50/50/10 - squats/situps/pushups. If anyone has any suggestions on something better to do at home without equipment, I'd love to hear it! Weight loss Current weight: 137 Looking at my goals from last year, I weighed 146 a the beginning of the year, so I've lost 10 lbs overall for the year, which I think is a really good sign. Diet wise, I know I eat very well - I'm allowed to eat anything, but I VERY rarely drink pop or fruit juice, eat fried foods, eat dessert, eat junk food, eat anything packaged, and that's just how I've lived for over a decade. - Breakfast is usually two eggs or granola with peanut butter. - Lunch can be anything. This is usually the one time I go out, so it's my worst meal of the day. - Dinner is usually boiled/sauteed vegetables and rice/quinoa/pasta/beans or occasionally some sort of protein, or soup of the day. - I don't do snacks. - Drinks are tea, coffee, water. Biggest issue is alcohol - I usually drink beer when going out, so I'm going to drink less in general, and only wine or vodka/tonic-like drinks. Otherwise, there's really not much more I can cut out, I just need to eat slightly less. So, to make some of these goals clear and concise: 1. Bring mile time down to 8:00 2. Be able to do a complete pull up from hanging, and bench 100lbs. 3. Bring weight down to 130 I'm not exactly sure on a timeline, but I'm going to say four months for these, so by April, 2017. April, 2017! My other big goal for 2017 is to learn how to stretch, because I'm not flexible at all. I know it's important, I've just never really done it. Maybe yoga? Please suggest anything you can to me. Also, I deleted Facebook this year. Do it guys, it's awesome.