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So Hollywood has decided to make a blockbuster movie, a spinoff of Game of Thrones, called the Clash of Khal's. The story centers on Khal Drogo's rise to power and features many epic battles with rival Dothraki hordes. Jason Momoa told them to fuck off because they didn't offer him enough money, so now I'm playing the lead role. Of course, to play the lead in a blockbuster action movie, I have to get in shape to play the part. I'm gonna need to get ripped. I'm gonna need big showy muscles to look good on camera. I'm gonna need endurance to get through long days on set, and the coordination and agility to perform my own stunts and participate in fight scenes. Brogo goes to Khal-E-wood is going to be a series of challenges designed to get me in shape in much the same way that Hollywood actors use to train for their movie roles. I've been reading some of the articles about how these guys have been training to get in shape for their roles: How The Rock trained for Hecules, how skinny Jake Gylenhall trained for Southpaw, Hugh Jackman → Wolverine, and how Chris Pratt went from being Andy Dwyer to Peter Quill and Owen in Jurassic World. Most of these workout programs center on barbell training using strength and hypertrophy, and use additional circuits or complexes to increase weightloss and work muscle simultaneously. They may also incorporate fighting or martial arts work depending on the role. Basically, by supplementing my current strength routine I can make my workouts start approaching the rigor used by actors to prepare for action roles. So this series of challenges will take me around the guilds a bit. Where I'm at: My big 2016 goal is to bench press my bodyweight. I'm at 263 now, and plan to take a short break when I hit 250 to maintain weight and increase my bench and see if I can hit it. My best bench ever was 235, and I'm currently benching 180 for 3x3.I've spent the last two challenges nailing down my nutritional needs and figuring out how to manage steady weight loss. I've mostly been successful with losing a pound a week and keeping it up the last two months. More on this stuff later. I've also been reconditioning my big three barbell lifts. I have been successful with this as well, but progress has slowed since I'm getting closer to where I was before my 5 month lifting hiatus, and I'm cutting. Since I'm cutting, the big strength gains will have to wait a bit. But while I'm doing that, I can focus on some other conditioning work and bringing some of my current weaknesses up. Lately, of concern are my core strength and mobility. Plus I really want to get chins and pullups going and hopefully get more comfortable with jumping onto, up to, or over stuff. I'll be starting in the Assassins to try and condition myself to be more “Spry” by focusing on bodyweight exercises, core work, some agility, and mobility. Sounds Assassin-y enough to me. Here goes: Meta-Goal 1, Getting Spry: Goal 1, Stretch. Basically go through the stretching equivalents of squat, bench, and deadlift for stretching every day. Hip flexor stretch and/or couch stretch Thoracic extensions (palms up, arms back, head back) Forward bends If I just put a few minutes into each of these every day while I'm brewing coffee it'll pay off. And it should become routine, and I can start building on it by throwing some foam rolling and yoga poses in. Grading: 1 point for each day of the challenge. Goal 2, Core. I want a stronger and better coordinated core. I found this progression: http://jasonferruggia.com/gymnastic-secret-stronger-abs/ It looks like a decent place to start developing better coordination. These exercises will be my go-to's. And some of what this article says I think will help me with developing strength. http://www.elitefts.com/education/training/seven-rules-of-highly-effective-core-training/ And I really want to follow the hanging leg raise progression video at the end. Grading: 1 point for each core workout Goal 3, Jump. Box jumps, jump rope, distance jumping. Whatever gets the spring back in my step. 1 point for each jumping exercise. Goal 4, Pullups In my last workout, I was able to do 5 pullups with 40 lbs. of assistance. I'm going to keep shooting to decrease assistance until I can do an actual pullup. 1 point for each pullup workouts Bonus: +5 points if I complete one pullup from a dead hang by the end of the challenge. Bonus: +1 point if I do all 4 in one day. Meta-Grading 1: <25 F, 30 = C, 40=B 50=A Meta-Goal 2, Maintain. I still need to stay focussed on getting my bodyweight bench press. 2 strength workouts per week. (1 pt. Per workout) Keep average caloric intake at or below 3200 kcal/day. (1 pt per day <= 3200) Bonus: +10 points for a bodyweight bench press. Meta-Grading 2: Percentage of the <25 F, 30 C, 35 B, 40 A Meta-Goal 3: Circuits and Complexes I really like doing barbell complexes based around the Oly lifts which should help make me spry and encourage fat burn. Plus, when I do assistance work I usually organize it into supersets or circuits. But I want to do this more often and really up my game. Whenever I am working on the above and/or other assistance work, I'll perform them as a circuit or complex. It counts if there's no rest between exercises until the circuit is done and I've done it at least twice. Bonus: +1 if I do a circuit with all my spryness goals Meta-Grading 3: 1 pt for each circuit or complex. <4 F, 6 C 8 B, 10 A LUYL: Soto Zen style Zazen Meditation Enduring the lotus position with a straight back, a steady breath, and a still mind. Start with 5 min. per day. Add 5 min each week. tl;dr - I'm gonna jump, and do core, and hang from stuff, and work on being less of a slouch, while I'm cutting for the sake of a bodyweight bench press. Scoreboard: (as of ocho de Mayo) MG1: Stretch: 10 Core: 5 Jump: 1 Pullup: 2 MG2: Strength: 4 Nutrition: 0 MG3: Circuits: 2 LUYL: Zazen: 0

As per my usual in 2016, its the third day of the challenge and I'm getting my thread started. Meh, I've been busy. But, let's get to it. Last challenge I mastered my late night snacking tendencies after limiting them in my first challenge. I'm not going to make that a goal, but intend to keep it going. I've also been soda free since the start of the last challenge, but I'm going to continue that goal. Those 2 things plus the training has my weight down 5.5 pounds in 2016 and has my 5K time down by about 30 seconds per mile. So, let's kick that up a notch. Goal #1 While continuing to limit the late night snacking I'm setting my sights on the other part of my day that is near sleepy times -- the morning. I have a tendency to hit the drive thru for some coffee on the way to work. That wouldn't be so bad, except while sitting in line I will usually decide that I need something to eat to go along with the coffee. I speak from lots of experience, there are no healthy foods available in any drive thru. So, my goal is to eliminate the drive thru food. My plan is to attack it the way I did with snacking after 9 PM. So, for this challenge, I'm limiting myself to once per week and the next challenge I'll eliminate them completely. Goal #2 Continuing the no soda goal. Goal #3 Continuing the plan. We're on to the second month of the plan, which means new exercises but the same overall program layout. I'm feeling stronger and faster on my runs. Additionally, I haven't had any of the injuries I typically get when jumping into a new routine. So, I'm just following the plan. Goal #4. I failed at this goal last time, but, I'm going to try to do it this month. 1 blog post per week for the length of the challenge. So, 4 posts this challenge.

So, I usually post @ the bodyweight section of this forum. Mostly, because I'm focusing much more on my bodyweight techniques than on cross training (used to do that, but want to get my strength up in a hurry). But I thought it be nice to share this small circuit challenge with you guys. BTW, the link is to my blog so, yes, this has some blalant self promotion in it. The circuit consists on burpees, pull-ups, hanging leg raises and animal movements done in ladder format. People with a crossfit background will be kind of used to something like this. So, for the details: the link: An Evil Easter Challeng @ Motus Virtute Enjoy!

Last challenge, training was stagnant. I didn't enjoy it and I don't believe I pushed myself like I would've otherwise. On the other hand, I had good results with the nutrition side of things last challenge. To the point of dropping 9 pounds. So, it's clear to me that diet is the lion share of the weight loss success. I'll turn 42 during this challenge and having this extra weight is not doing me any favors. I'm now closer to getting under the Mendoza Line than at any time in the last 7 years. If you're not a baseball fan, the Mendoza Line means very little to you. If you are a baseball fan, then you know that my main goal this challenge is to get my weight below 200 pounds. I'm currently sitting at 206 (as of yesterday). I will achieve my goal by: Goal #1: Run baby, run! I like running. It should be a goal. I don't know why I haven't had it a goal and have been focusing on other things. If you like it and it's good for you, why not make it a goal? 3x/week. Right now I don't care about the distance. As long as I'm out there enjoying a run. It could be 2 miles or 4. Likely it will be somewhere in between. Goal #2: Turn on the Circuits! I like circuits. I like kettlebells. I keep trying stuff that I think I should be doing. To hell with that. I'm going to do what I like doing. Why? Because then I'm a hell of a lot more likely to do it. 3x/week. Yep, that about sums it up. Goal #3: Meat for strength, veggies for health. Despite my training plateauing last challenge I had pretty good success with the scale. I beleive it was all due to better eating. Less stress and sleep played a big part too, but it all would've been for naught if my eating hadn't been solid. Carbs below 120g/day. All the veggies I can eat. And anything else is some kind of meat. If that doesn't work, I'll start looking at leaner cuts of meat next challenge.

This will be my tenth NF Challenge. Wow, that went by quickly. So, why am I continuing the indestructible quest? Because I'm gonna need it. My overall goal for 2014 is to finish the year a lot closer to happy than where I've started it. I'm not unhappy mind you, but there are areas of my life that do not move me farther up the happy spectrum. So, I've come up with some simple year long goals towards being happier at the end of 2014 than the beginning. They are: Physical - Run 3 miles, once a week every week. It always makes me happy.Intellectual - Read 10 minutes a day, every day. I know, 10 minutes doesn't seem like much, but over the course of the year that's 61 hours of reading. That exceeds what I did the last few years rolled together.Emotional - Once a month, an excursion of some kind with my wife without kids. She's my best friend and I don't give her enough time. And when I do, its at the end of the day when we're both tired and exhausted. It didn't used to be like that. So, at least once a month, we will go to dinner, spend an afternoon together, let the kids sleep over at grandma's, whatever. Something. Once a month. I can do that, right?Spiritual - Once a week, 1 question, written in a journal to ponder.All those things increase my joy and I haven't been finding the time for them. So, I made them goals for the whole year. Along with that will be some shorter 3-4 month goals. But, as the year starts out, I'm going to need to be more indestructible to reach that happiness. Quick background: Friends' with a sick baby that managed to out-survive Dr's predictions, but she's not doing wellAnother friend has been fighting a brain cancer for 5 years and Dr's just pulled the plug on his treatment saying there's nothing more they can doMy father managed a successful bout of treatment for his cancer, but he hasn't been given the all clear sign yetLast week, my mother was diagnosed with lymphoma and the treatment plan is pending more testsAnother friend's mother recently passed from ovarian cancer.Am I reciting all of this to be a major downer? No. Cancer sucks. We all know that already. It's more that death has a nasty habit of putting life in perspective. I think we'd all agree we want to be happier. Everyone loves being happier. But, those things I've outlined for the year will be hard to do if I don't come up with some better habits. Especially with what might be some heavy obstacles in my future. So... I will run at least once a week (just not today, freakin' -40 wind chill...are you kidding me?!), and more if my joy/peace reserves are running low I will go back to my MRT and MCT circuits. Don't get me wrong, I love lifting weights and the heavier the better. But, I love supersets and circuits more. I will get stronger just not at the same pace, and I should shed fat faster. This fits better with my reasons for why I train in the first place. To be healthier, to be alive longer, to be able to do what I want, when I want without worrying about my conditioning, to look better, and most importantly, have fun doing it. So, 3 circuit workouts a week. I will use 24 hour intermittent fasting 1x-2x per week. Alright, the goal is once per week, but as it gets easier I might go for more. Essentially, this is skipping breakfast, lunch and snacks (probably on Fridays) from dinner the night before until dinner that night. Hence, no food for roughly 24 hours. Coffee, water, tea, and the like are permitted. I've done this before with the best results in terms of fat loss from diet. So, why have I been tinkering with different ideas? Time to get back in the habit of what works for me instead of looking for something better and not getting results. I will keep my emotional, intellectual and spiritual goals alive throughout this challenge.That's it. I'm letting go of the outcome of what meeting those goals will bring and I'm just following the goals. To quote Dan John, "Let the goal be the goal." We'll see where the chips fall when its all said and done.