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I'd like to get back into the challenge thing, but goals are amorphous/nearly nonexistent at the moment. This'll get filled with something at some point, probably? A silks routine to this song must be created. If my silks gym ever opens back up again. Things: Get stronger for return to the silksPull upsToes to Bar progressions Get bendier Straddle drills (on the ground for now, in the air some magical day)Backbends Have some fun HandbalancesPartner acro stuffClimbing gym Eat better MOAR proteinFEWER junky snacksMOAR water

I'm a 25-year old actor, clown, gender warrior, pagan, cyclist and dabbler in the circus arts. I'm here because I want to develop a more positive relationship with my body and food. I've dealt with disordered eating for the past decade, including periods of anorexia/overexercising (i.e. too much damn time on the eliptical machine) in high school and college, followed by binge eating disorder, which is where I'm at right now. I'm not overweight, and as a daily cyclist and physical theater performer, I have solid endurance, but my cycles of binge eating and depression have taken a toll on my ability to make progress and on my self-esteem. After a binge, I can feel sick and bloated for days. I'm here because I want to learn how to look at exercise as something that's fun and functional instead of something I use to compensate for uncontrollable eating. I also want to get out of my binge eating and depression cycles so that I can get my head out of my selfish asshole prioritize helping others. Considering my passion for circus arts, training to be an Assassin is definitely for me. My name is coybat because I live in a city where I'm fascinated by the physical and mental adaptability of urban animals, particularly coyotes and bats. I have a coyote tattoo that reminds me that the small ones (I'm 5'2") are often the fiercest. I'm hoping to get a bat tattoo next. This year I had three main goals, and I'm on my way to accomplishing them all. I'll start by sharing those: 1. Perform in a full-length musical (accomplished June 2015) 2. Write and produce a full-length play (accomplished October 2015) 3. Do 15 chin-ups (not yet accomplished! My best so far is 11). Here are some additional goals I'd like to work on while I'm here: Fitness Goals -hold a handstand for 30 seconds -do 15 chin-ups -do 5 pull-ups -do 15 push-ups -do a handstand pushup -take another trapeze class -get a skateboard and learn how to ollie -25 lb dumbell bicep curl -25 lb dumbell military press Food Goals -go binge-free for one week (and eventually for good) -quit chewing gum (I'm a serious sugar-free gum addict, and I'm pretty sure that fucks with my cravings and blood sugar) Other Health Goals -quit taking sleeping aids -finally get a pelvic exam Mental Fitness Goals -complete all of the exercises on my DuoLingo app (I'm learning Spanish) -write daily Social Goals -finally tell someone other than my grrrlfriend about my eating disorder -host the first meeting the Deviant Skillshare -meet other witches and pagans Urban Skill Goals -learn how to change a tube on a bike -drive a car in the city Work Goals -develop and teach an 8 week theater class with my own curriculum -perform burlesque -perform a circus act -write a zine or develop a program to help people recovering from eating disorders Looking forward to getting involved in this community! Progress to follow.

Just wanted to have a place to start writing things down again. I've been away from NF for about five weeks. Spent most of the month of September either ramping up the school year where I work (CU Boulder), or on vacation in the Pacific Northwest (North WET!), or on a business trip to the greater DC area for work. Mind you I wasn't a couch potato during any of that, though the days with the 12-14 hour drives were pretty rough, non-moving-wise. But since there's a 6-week challenge currently underway, I thought I'd start posting what I've been up to here at least as a form of self-accountability. So, starting with today! 3.2 mile run in 28 min. Followed by a one hour yoga class. Breakfast was cereal and almond milk, morning snack was a banana and a tiny "nestle crunch" bar, and lunch was a half of a burger, leftover from our anniversary lunch on Saturday. Followed by an apple. This afternoon, I'm heading to the physical therapist so she can help me develop a plan to rehab my right leg (hamstring, peroneal tendon, achilles tendon) so I can safely and painlessly (OK, that's a relative concept) run longer distances than six miles. I'm assuming she's going to beat on my legs and stab them with needles, because that's her MO, but it usually works wonders. Also, I did five pull ups at the gym on my way to yoga class today. Which is kind of sad because two months ago I could do ten without a problem. And then a set of six, and another set of six. So I need to get back to work on that. And, I signed up for Trap 3/4 at the aerial gym, starting tomorrow night. And, I scheduled a Lasik evaluation in Denver tomorrow morning, because I'd like to have 20/20 vision for at least part of my life, and it's time to buy another pair of prescription sunglasses, since on our 3600 mile road trip, my glasses broke. I've glued them back together twice now, but when you live in Colorado at 5400' and need to wear glasses, you must have functioning sunglasses. Because UV and all that. So that's all that's fit to report. Oh, and I need guidance: Should I switch over to the Ranger camp? I always felt like a ranger, what with the archery and the distance running, but then there's the circus work. Which I might not want to do much of forever since I'm feeling like I'm old and not very flexible anymore, and being flexible is a BIG BIG DEAL in aerial work. Meanwhile, I'm still an assassin...

What are the needed components to make something burn? Fuel Air Spark put those together and you get Fire --------------------------- Fuel Calories. Sigh. Need to rein them in. Track daily, aim for 1500/day. Air This one is somewhat self explanatory. Open gym 1x/week. During said open gym, work on floor work and flesh out routine. Get full routine planned by Aug 12. Spark Coming off vacation, self-care will be necessary in order to keep the good relaxed vibes. I'm shooting for small things 3x/week. Morning sun salutationsExtra stretching post workoutRemembering to get up and walk around from my desk at workWhatever small bits of joy I can slot into my day Fire Performance. The next showcase at my aerial studio is Aug 22 and I've said I'll perform (hence the 8/12 deadline for routine solidification) *Note I'm on vacation until Aug 1, so I'll be starting this challenge a few days late.

"'She's got lions in her heart, A fire in her soul; He's a got a beast in his belly That's so hard to control, 'Cause they've taken too much hits Taking blow by blow, Now light a match, stand back, watch them explode. When you've been fighting for it all your life, You've been working every day and night, That's a how a superhero learns to fly..." MAIN QUEST: Become the Queen of Heroes! Or, in layman’s terms, keep moving toward my long-term goal of being the best acrobat I can be! Not every quest directly ties back to this, but almost everything leads back to it in my mind, sooner or later. That’s called being obsessed, I think. Or maybe dedicated. I’ll be lifting, flying, and dancing my way through my days as always, but there are a few things in my life that I need to polish, and this first summer challenge is the perfect time to do exactly that! These things may not seem all that extravagant or super, but honestly? I think a hero is made up of many little things. So, here’s to the little things. Also, to the only time in my life I've found Comic Sans to be the appropriate font for... well... anything. As for the pass/fail grading…. well, I thought I’d give it a go since a hero doesn’t do half measures! Anyway, let’s get started! QUEST 1: Sky High! And again, Sky High! - (+2 STR, +2 DEX, +1 CHA) I got so much benefit out of this goal, that just like Sky High, I am repeating myself! Because I’ll find reasons not to do it, otherwise, I am setting myself a goal to work on one thing I really hate/suck at for at least 15 minutes in every open gym. This can include things like helicopter (ughhhh), single knee climbs, and anything else that I suck at. The only way to suck less is to DO IT: A: I did the thing! THERE IS NO TRY, SO THERE IS NO B OR C. QUEST 2: Chill out with Blue Rose - (+3 DEX, +1 WIS) So, I miss yoga, mostly for the mental and emotional benefits I always derived from it. And I keep making noises about doing some at home, since I am effectively unable to go back to classes. And then I keep putting it off. Well, no more! At least once a week, I will do an at home yoga video. It doesn’t matter if it’s short (though I will try for something at least moderately challenging), but I have to do it weekly. Full stop. This should also flow nicely into the stretches for the PVP I’m doing! A: I did the thing! THERE IS NO TRY, SO THERE IS NO B OR C. QUEST 3: Shrimp fried rice with Wild Tiger - (+3 CON, +1 WIS) Just like Kotetsu, I have my mainstay recipes. But while Wild Tiger may be just fine eating shrimp fried rice (with mayo… naturally) seven days a week, I’m getting a bit bored with my tried-and-true mainstays. Time to freshen up my recipe catalogue! Especially now that I have my BIG, NEW, BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN. And it’s summer. And I have that lovely fruit CSA starting next week. So, once a week at minimum, I will try a new SIMPLE AND HEALTHFUL recipe with the intention of adding it into the rotation if it suits me. A: I did the thing! THERE IS NO TRY, SO THERE IS NO B OR C. LIFE QUEST: Family time with Kaede - (+2 WIS) Kaede may actually be better at adulting than her father, which is simultaneously hilarious and sad. Thankfully, her grandmother takes care of things like teaching her to be a civilized member of society. And this includes eating meals at the table like a grown-up….. which both Kotetsu and I are TERRIBLE at doing. Whoops. This is really something that needs to be corrected before we have a bitty in the house. Thus, over the course of the challenge, I will attempt to wrangle stillskies a minimum of 4 times a week into proper meals at the table. NOT on the sectional. With plates and silverware and no Hulu. ADULTING, WE CAN DO THIS. A: 4 times, B: 3 times, C: 2 times As always, I have my handy-dandy spreadsheet which you can view to see my progress! The points thus come out like this, assuming I mathed correctly: STR: 2 DEX: 5 STA: 0 CON: 3 WIS: 4 CHA: 1 REWARDS: My head is reeling from all of the money we've spent in the last month (yay being new homeowners.... only not; I am tearing my hair out), so once again, no big, expensive rewards. But, if I ace this challenge, I will treat myself to tea at the teahouse with a friend... whoever wants to come with me, really. Before pictures: Measurements: Neck: 12.8" Waist: 26" Hips: 36" Shoulders: 41.3" Thigh: R: 21" L: 20.3" Calf: R: 14.8" L: 14.5" Bicep: R: 10.6" L: 10.6" Weight: 132.0 BF%: 20.1% Dress/pants size: 2

Alrighty. The Fuckits are absent, time to take advantage of that fact and get some real work done. Focused Study Man in Black: [intrigued] You've done nothing but study swordplay? Inigo Montoya: More pursue than study lately. You see, I cannot find him... it's been twenty years now and I'm starting to lose confidence. I just work for Vizzini to pay the bills. There's not a lot of money in revenge. [after a moments' silence, the Man in Black stands up and prepares to battle] Man in Black: Well I certainly hope you find him someday. Inigo Montoya: You are ready then? Man in Black: Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair. Inigo Montoya: [drawing his sword] You seem a decent fellow... I hate to kill you. Man in Black: You seem a decent fellow... I hate to die. Inigo Montoya: [confidently] Begin. I'm working on a silks routine. Like, REALLY working. As in, this is the routine and I'm not going to change the main skill set/order of skills for two months. Work the routine every week at open gym. Playing with movement and adjusting transitions is allowed required. Assess Progress Vizzini: A word, my lady. We are but poor, lost circus performers. Is there a village nearby? Buttercup: There is nothing nearby... Not for miles. Vizzini: Then there will be no one to hear you scream. Video. At least three over the course of the challenge to show myself how things have progressed. I'll compare these to my last "sequence" video for assessment purposes. I may or may not post them along the way, depending on how I feel progress is going. Hopefully, I'll feel good enough about them to at least post the final one. Straddle Man in Black: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something. Yep. Still working on these. Trying to get that middle split. Still. Flexy work each week at open gym and at least one other session/week. Careful on the Beverages Man in Black: Really? In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits. Vizzini: For the princess? [The Man in Black nods] To the death? [He nods] I accept. Man in Black: Good. Then pour the wine. [Vizzini pours the wine, and the Man in Black pulls out a small packet] Inhale this, but do not touch. Vizzini: [sniffs] I smell nothing. Man in Black: What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadlier poisons known to man. [He puts the goblets behind his back and, presumably, adds the poison to one of them, then sets them down in front of him] Man in Black: All right. Where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right... and who is dead. I have to toss this one in here once in awhile when I start to slide. Alcohol only when it's not a school night.

Aaaaah I do not have time to finish this right now so this is an in progress draft-y sort of thing with almost no formatting. Soorrrrrry. Will do later! In news... I HAS NEW JOB YOU GUYS!!!! I am trying not to go to nuts with goals since I know transitioning to new job could add to stress levels in and of itself (I officially start on the 15th but will have a few half days next week split between current and new department so that I can come back and train whoever they hire to fill my spot later!) Goals this round: GOAL 1, Circus abs, 3 times a week - I'd really like to actually increase to 2 circus classes a week I don't know when they are launching the new schedule that will supposedly have more night classes. For now Monday class plus two intense ab workouts at home per week will do just fine. And I'll make Friday class when I can but it tends to conflict with traffic as well as evening plans with work people. #commuterproblems GOAL 2, Pull Ups, I want to do them!, pull up work 3 times a week - Where I'd like these to be by the end of the challenge is: Part A. My progress on this seems to go slowly so if I can get to where I can do just ONE assisted pull up (not just an assisted negative) by the end of this challenge I would be thrilled Part B. Dead hang chin up with no assistance by end of challenge would be AMAZING, but I will settle for being able to do a set of 10 assisted chin ups (I can only do 2-3 in a row right now. If these were 10 dead hang and not from ground that'd be even awesomer!) Goal 3, Push up! MOAR PUSH UPs! push up work 3 times a week - By the end of the challenge I'd like to get to where I can do a set of 10 in a row (long term goal is 30, but I think that's going to take more than 6 weeks!) I can currently do about 5. My progress on these seems to go faster than pull ups so I will adjust this up if need be! Life Goals: DEBT PAY DOWN! - I'll be making more money now. I want to pretend like I'm really not making more money and pay down my credit cards first before fun timez! Re-arrange the bat cave - some serious decluttering needs to happen ya'll! MORE MUSIC - try to listen to new music once a week at least and try to make it to a concert at least every other month (pending I find ones I want to go to.) I already have Coachella tickets ready for next year and I will be doing Lightning in a Bottle again and I am going to Low End Theory Festival in August. Soooo if I don't find something for June/July I'll be OK with that!

For my first challenge with the Assassins, I am going to peek under the big top and dip my toe into some circus skills training. I know that my balance needs to improve as does my coordination. For this challenge I am going to focus on the following goals: To improve my balance, I am going to incorporate more balancing yoga postures and one-legged lunges and squats. By the end of the challenge, I will be able to hold the Tree pose for three minutes without touching the floor with my other foot or using my hands. To improve my coordination, I am going to learn how to juggle three balls. I have never juggled before so rather than set a time limit, my goal is just to successfully keep three balls in the air for at least one rotation. To add to my ongoing goal of improving my upper body strength, I will have at least one session on the heavy bag each week, one session on the chest press, and one session using bodyweight and suspension training each week. To feed my imagination, I will finish reading "The Night Circus".

"but I've got a plan... why don't you be the artist and make me out of clay? why don't you be the writer and decide the words I say..." I have to thank Hazard for this theme. When I was flailing around, trying to think of a theme for my next challenge, I remembered a conversation that we had had some time ago and realized… I am an awkward flying girl. In fact, I am an awkward flying girl who is trying to find a new place to live… and possibly attempting to be less awkward in the process. I am literally Kiki. Minus the magic (unfortunately) and the teenage angst (fortunately). So here I am, flying unsteadily into another challenge - and if I can expand my comfort zone a bit as I work on lessening that awkwardness, so much the better. Here we go! MAIN QUEST: In short: begin the process of merging sport and art. I’ve been training in aerial for five months now, and my skills are improving, but I’m not doing my dance background credit when I’m up in the air, either. I need to start moving with intention, adding beauty to the strength I am starting to display. I picked this sport not only to be strong - I picked it because I have always loved to dance. Time to remember my roots and begin, slowly, to create. QUEST 1: fly through the wobbles - (+3 DEX, +3 STA, +2 CHA) My biggest goal this time - and the one upon which all others will build - is to begin the creation of my very first choreographed piece on fabric. I am so excited and simultaneously so nervous about this. For one thing, it’s progress-based. For another, I’m trying to kick Impostor Syndrome in the teeth as I do this. In any case, I’ve picked my song (pssssssst it’s my challenge song) and my goal will be to create and learn at minimum two minutes of choreography by the end of six weeks. If you are all very lucky, you may even get to see the results… A: two minutes complete, B: 1.5 minutes complete, C: 1 minute complete QUEST 2: persevere in adversity - (+1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 WIS) Because I’ll find reasons not to do it, otherwise, I am setting myself a goal to work on one thing I really hate/suck at for at least 15 minutes in every open gym. This can include things like helicopter (ughhhh), single or double knee climbs, and anything else that I suck at. The only way to suck less is to DO IT: A: 15 minutes, B: 10 minutes, C: 5 minutes QUEST 3: up and away - (+3 STR) Straight legs on straddle-ups - my archnemesis. I try, I do, but I can’t do it yet - and I’d quite like to put them into my choreography... That said, I am in the air three days a week this challenge, so I will work on these every time I am on any apparatus, even if it’s just one or two at the beginning/end of class: A: 3 times a week, B: 2 times a week, C: 1 time a week LIFE QUEST: finding my way home - (+1 WIS) This is very amorphous, but stillskies and I are having First Time Home Buying Adventures, and my life goal is to basically do all I can to keep it running smoothly.... in a timely manner if at all possible. I'm not sure the ultimate goal (find a new house, buy it, move in) will be complete this challenge, but it's going to be the honest effort that counts here. The grading isn't SMART at all, but I'll know if I haven't done what needs to be done... and what "needs to be done" can even be giving up and settling back to wait until another time, if that is financially and logically the most reasonable thing to do in a given situation. I'll play this by ear for now. A: did what I could, THERE IS NO TRY, SO THERE IS NO B OR C. The points thus come out like this, assuming I mathed correctly: STR : 4 (A=4, B=3, C=2) DEX : 4 (A=4, B=3, C=2) STA : 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) CON : 0 WIS : 2 (A=2, B=1, C=.5) CHA : 2 (A=2, B=1, C=.5) I'll be keeping track of daily accomplishments in a gdoc, publicly available HERE. The spreadsheet does all the fancy math for me (I love technology). REWARDS: None this time… trying to save some cash for potential home ownership (if we ever, you know, find a house to buy). If I ace the challenge, though, I am going to take one day COMPLETELY OFF OF HOUSEWORK. There, I said it. Let it be so. Before pictures: Measurements: Neck:12.8" Waist: 26.2" Hips: 36.2" Chest: 35" Thigh: R: 21.5" L: 20.9" Bicep: R: 10.8" L: 10.8" Calf: R: 15.1" L: 14.7" Weight: 139.6lbs BF%: 21 Dress/pants size: 2/4

Everyone loves a good booty, do they not? A booty is important. It helps keep your pants from falling down. It provides a comfortable place to sit. It provides POWER to lower body athletic movements. And (let's be honest) it feels pretty good to have a nice rear view. Mine is trying to leave me. I dropped a bit of fat for vacation last month and found I was unhappy with the resulting shape. Thus, the Booty Preservation Society was born. I've done Bret Contreras' "Strong Curves" program in the past with good success; thus I will return to that which previously brought me good results. Save the Booty! Strong Curves. I've modified this into something I like, swapping out movements, lengthening the "phases" so I can actually see progress on exercises before having to move on to the next segment and only lifting 2x/week. I've been doing 5-6 x/week workouts for a pretty long time now and I'm looking for a bit more balance. Expect: lots of slightly pornographic exercises as I hip thrust and glute bridge my way to a better butt. Mondays and Saturdays You Gotta Fly to be Fly Aerial open gym once/week. At said open gym, I will work on scissor climb (ugh). Expect: lots of flailing. Frustration at the lack of friction. Wednesdays. It's a Stretch Goal... Still working toward the middle split. Continue to stretch toward that goal and strengthen the appropriate muscles. 3x/week, minimum. This happens somewhat by default due to the Strong Curves warm up, but I want to be sure to focus on it during open gym sessions as well and ensure that I'm working toward the splits, not just stretching in general. Expect: whining when I feel like I'm making no progress. Triumphant bragging if I manage to actually get the middle split this challenge. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays Mind your Mouth This one seems simple: eat when I'm hungry, don't eat when I'm not. Except not so simple. This is way outside my comfort zone of calorie counting and tracking. I'll be monitoring weight fluctuations and try to consciously eat less if weight skyrockets or clothes start fitting poorly. (Of course, I expect all my pants to get tighter as my butt work pays off) Expect: possible over-analysis of weight fluctuations and strong temptations to break open MFP "just to check." Note: I was sorely tempted to do an un-challenge this time around. As I mentioned at the end of last challenge, I have a severe case of The Fuckits, at the moment. Moving from 5-6 workouts/week to ~3 will do me a world of good, I think. If I want to throw in a day or two of extra cardio or yoga or whatever, I can, but it'll feel like less of a burden, I hope.

"I’m here to start a one girl revolution, I’m not a perfect ten, paper thin, Hollywood illusion. I thought I told ya, I’m a soldier, And I’m not leaving ‘til the party’s over..." I love me some tough, multifaceted ladies. I especially love them when they can swing swords and hurl fireballs. For my fifth (wow!) NerdFitness challenge, I’ve decided to take my inspiration from a few of my favorite Final Fantasy females, because if there’s one thing I know, it’s that these girls kick serious butt in a lot of different ways - and I personally aspire to look half as fabulous while being just as awesome. (Minus the fireballs, unfortunately.) MAIN QUEST: Live the dream! No, but seriously. I'm in the best shape of my life, getting stronger all the time, rocking my goal dress size, and LOOKING FORWARD to stripping down to a swimsuit this summer. Who is this woman??? I barely recognize her from a year ago! In any case, this challenge is a bit of a hodgepodge ultimately aimed at being smarter about upping my badass cred.... in my own particular aerialist way. Not kidding about the smarter thing… as I wrote these goals, I realized each of the fitness goals has wisdom points attached to it, ha! The (semi-serious) tagline seems to be, "Train Like a Tank, Look Like a Princess." QUEST 1: INSPIRATION: FANG (fuel my inner tank) - (+3 CON, +1 STR, +1 WIS) Tanks are strong, and I bet you they fuel themselves accordingly. This goal is two-pronged: first, I need to eat more protein to aid in continued muscle development. Second, I'm really good at eating at a deficit. Maybe... a little too good? I hit my goal size and started working up to maintenance calories, but keep getting spooked and not eating quite enough. And then losing more weight. Nice problem to have, only not really - much smaller, and I'll look unhealthy. Thus, two objectives: Eat at least 100 grams of protein a minimum of 5 days a week (my lean mass is estimated at 109lbs).A: 5 days, B: 4 days, C: 3 days Calculate my average daily gross calories at the end of the week. If more than .5lb was lost, the next week's daily average MUST BE at minimum 100 calories higher. If weight was gained but measurements dropped/remained the same, average should remain within 50 of the previous week (yay, true maintenance!). If weight was gained and measurements went up, I may drop back to the prior week's average.A: Followed guidelines 100%, B: Followed guidelines but was short of required average by <30, C: Followed guidelines but was short of required average by <50 QUEST 2: INSPIRATION: QUISTIS (work smarter, not harder) - (+1 STR, +1 DEX, +2 WIS) Everything is planning and planning is everything. I get access to one aerial open gym a week, 1.5 hours of silks time that I really need to be using to better effect. Accordingly, my goal will be to make a weekly open gym plan including tricks and number of attempts per side, and STICK TO IT. I'll try to post the plan here in advance, though my class and open gym happen on the same day, a few hours apart, so that may not always be possible. I'll be on the honor system if I just can't get to a computer. I hate trying to navigate the forums from my phone. A: Made a plan and stuck to it*, THERE IS NO TRY, SO THERE IS NO B OR C *If I ran out of time to complete everything, it does not count against me QUEST 3: INSPIRATION: RIKKU (dextrous hands sans sticky fingers) - (+2 DEX, +1 WIS) I don’t anticipate I’ll be picking any pockets or tinkering with airship parts anytime soon, but there are a few things that can be learned from a nimble thief/machinist. I don't get quite the horrid hand DOMS that I had when I first started aerial, but I still wake up with achy finger joints sometimes, and I know this is at least partially due to the fact that I don't always take the time for hand/grip exercises, despite having thera-putty in my bag and resistance hand grips in my office. Thus, I will commit to daily sessions of at least 5 minutes of hand exercises. A: 7 days, B: 6 days, C: 5 days LIFE QUEST: INSPIRATION: GARNET (pamper my inner princess) - (+3 CHA) Sometimes, a girl just wants to be pretty (or at least this girl does), and a little bit of pampering never hurt anyone, right? I’d like to get to the point where skincare becomes automatic - sometimes, I’m still lazy about it (especially when I’m sleepy), but I’m not 15 anymore, so really, I need to remember to make this a habit. Plus, I like how my skin feels when I take care of it, so this will hopefully be a feel-good little challenge for me. I’ll always count from the night prior and into the morning, and for a day to count, the following steps must all be followed: evening: cleanse and moisturize; morning: cleanse or use toner, brightening serum, and moisturize; one at-home facial a week. A: 7 days, B: 5-6 days, C: 3-4 days Skipping the facial drops me one letter grade BONUS: MAKING MEMORIES! No points for this, but as a bonus, I’d like to try to fit in something fun on a weekly basis - fun that isn’t necessarily “LET’S GO TO THE AERIAL GYM! ” and take some photos of said good times. I want to do more of this, but I’m not quite ready to commit to a full life goal around this. So, I’ll do my best to fit it in, and we’ll see how it goes. As a bonus, that means I may have some fun snapshots to share with all of you. The points thus come out like this, assuming I mathed correctly: STR : 2 (A=2, B=1, C=.5) DEX : 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) STA: 0 CON: 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) WIS : 4 (A=4, B=3, C=2) CHA : 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) I'll be keeping track of daily accomplishments in a gdoc, publicly available HERE. The spreadsheet does all the fancy math for me (I love technology). REWARDS: What would an epic quest be without treasure? If I succeed, I will reward myself with something nice (that isn't food). Rewards are stacking, meaning I get the A, B, and C rewards if I get to an A grade, the B and C rewards for B grade, and just the C reward for C grade. Rewards are as follows: A overall: HQ UPGRADE! If I earn an A overall, I will engage a cleaning service for a one-time deep scrubdown of my house. B overall: REVITALIZING ELIXIR! If I earn a B overall, I’ll book myself a hot stone massage at that place I keep seeing on the way to work. C overall: ACCESSORY UPGRADE! If I earn a C overall, I’ll buy myself a pretty new leather wallet, because I’ve been coveting one for awhile. Before pictures: Measurements: Neck: 12.9" Waist: 26.8" Hips: 37" Chest: 35.4" Thigh: R: 22.2" L: 21.8" Calf: R: 14.7" L: 14.5" Bicep: R: 11" L: 11" Weight: 141.4lbs Dress/pants size: 4/2

Mad Hatter bends over backwards Hi! I'm a level 15? 1 dabbler assassin (and perpetual noob). In my past lives I've played with circus, aerial, poledance, acroyoga, climbing, kitesurfing, lindy-hop, ballroom dancing, gymnastics, burlesque and I love it all! But lately I've been utterly fascinated by contortion and handbalancing and my current epic quest is to develop super powers in all things bendy and upside down! I feel like the last 1 3 5 challenges have been all over the place, and that I've strayed quite far from this epic quest. Perhaps not in goals, but in spirit. So in this challenge I'm going to concentrate on a single superpower with razor sharp focus - flexibility. Goal #1: Streeeetch! (DEX +5) I'm going to train for flexibility for an hour every day, in some way or other. My training sessions should be a combination of deep stretching, mobility work and strength training for the back, core and hips to keep my body happy and bendy. This is the main goal for this challenge and even if I fail at everything else that's fine as long as I really tried my best to reach this goal! Goal #2: Fix my environment (CON +4) What's the point in training everyday if I'm just going to undo any progress through my daily habits? I've already introduced a few experimental changes at work that I'll expand on some other day, but this goal is not about tracking each of them. It's more exploratory in nature so I'll just see how it evolves. Goal #3: Shinies! (DEX +1) Every week I'm going to explore a new movement that requires a high degree of flexibility. This could be dancey floorwork, or linking a few static poses together into a flow, or just anything cool that I've found on the interwebs. I don't have to nail anything, I just need to challenge myself and give it a good try even if I end up looking like an ass. Goal #4: Love the process! (WIS+2, CHA +3) The first part of this goal is to document the process. I will post a video every week and also a daily reflection. The second part is remember to love the process, and not to be so harsh on myself. I'm going to practice it by saying something positive about my training or my body in the daily reflection. And for full disclosure you might hear lots of other tales in this thread, of handbalancing, climbing, strength training, maybe some aerial and the makings of tasty food! Wheeeeee!

Not uninspired to workout, that bit is fine. Uninspired to neatly and creatively knit my goals for this challenge into a unifying theme or something clever. But, I do know what I want to do, and that's the important part, yes? Having a plan is goooood. So, the plan: 6 workouts/week Continuing this from last challenge. Pretty self-explanatory: 6 workouts for 5 of 6 weeks. One week of this challenge is vacation and I hardly expect myself to keep to my workout schedule while in a sunny, beachy environment full of margaritas. Pass/Fail Middle Splits/Straddle To progress in my aerial silks endeavors, I need to do something about my hip/hamstring/whatever flexibility and strength. Especially compared to my counterparts with dance pasts, I am laughably inflexible. My straddle width is improving, but I'm nowhere near where I think I ought to be. Long, straight legs = long, pretty lines in the air. Strength and flexibility needed for this one: Strengthen hip flexors by doing straddle leg lifts. Part of warmup prior to every silks session and leg workout. This will help with a future goal of L-sits as well, I think. I may look up some L-sit progressions and toss those in.Stretch (duh). Standing straddle, wall straddle, frog. I feel like I need more structure on this. *Flexy people, any input on this?I'll give myself a point for each session of straddle leg lifts and each stretching session. Goals: 2 leg lift sessions per week x 5 weeks = 10 leg lift sessions. 3 stretching sessions per week (seems low, but I'm being realistic here) x 5 weeks = 15 stretching sessions For a total of 25 total points available. I'll call 18/25 (72%) passing on this one. I'm horrible at this kind of stuff so I'm setting the bar admittedly low on purpose. Fuel the Machine (but don't overfill the tank) Still attempting to get a bit leaner for vacay, without going crazy and causing system collapse like I did last challenge. Calories = 1500/day average for 5/6 weeks (again, this constraint at an all-inclusive resort would just be cruel). Getting back to it once we get home will help mitigate post-vacation plumping (which was ridiculous last year). Pass/Fail Cooking My kitchen skillz are lacking. Usually I don't have the patience to fiddle around in the kitchen for long periods of time. Often, food becomes something prepackaged and easy to grab because I'm hungry NOW. This usually means extra carbs and lower protein. So, this is a macro-related goal as well, sort of. 1 point for each hand-prepared meal. (Toast doesn't count, heh. Neither does re-heating leftovers.) Recipes don't have to be new, or even prepared on the same day they are to be eaten. Batch cooking on the weekend = win. I really have no concept of where to set the pass/fail bar on this so we're going to go with a little more than 1/week. 7 meals over the 5 weeks of the challenge we'll be at home = pass. Else = fail. That should do it. There will of course be much chatter about silks and aerial. Probably videos as well. I haven't scheduled it, yet, but I expect my next private lesson will hit somewhere toward the end of this challenge.

(waves to all the nice people wearing black) Hei! I've been making my way around the Guild halls, and for this challenge I've decided that the Assassins are the place to be. I have a rather odd collection of goals this time around: Main Quest: Body recomposition and weight loss A bit about me: I'm 57 and work in a super-sedentary desk job (I type medical reports all day). Most of my hobbies, including playing clarinet in concert bands and writing novels, also involve an inordinate amount of sitting. Currently I'm at 215 pounds but would much rather weigh 155. For the next 6 weeks, though, the goal is to get my weight down under 210 and keep it there. Subquest #1: Circus arts I found this list of circus skills and want to learn the basics of a few of them: Juggling. I've tried it before but didn't master the 3-ball cascade, so I want to finally get that figured out.Basic acrobatics. In particular I want to be able to get better control of my leg muscles throughout their entire range, both for strengthening and muscular endurance. By the end of the challenge I'd like to be able to do a pistol squat with either leg (at least 1 rep, down and back up, with good form), and be able to slowly lift either leg to waist height and hold it there for a few seconds.Stage magic. I want to be able to manipulate a coin between my fingers, making it appear and disappear smoothly.Balance. I have a wobble board, but I'm waxing nostalgic for the balance beam in my high school gymnastic classes 40 years ago. Somewhere in my workshop I'm sure there's a suitable piece of 2x4 that can be commandeered...Stat points to be awarded for DEX and STR (plus CHR if I manage to put together some good magician's patter along the way). Subquest #2: Diet Time to start keeping a food record so that I have a better idea of what's going in the front end. Stat points for CON and WIS. Side Quest: Circus music Specifically, I want to lock down the fingering and increase the speed on the chromatic runs in Fucik's "Entrance of the Gladiators." Life Quest: Get back to some serious writing, every day I have stories to finish and stories to edit. They aren't going to write themselves. Now, where did I put that -- (grabs a black sweater and pulls it on) -- Ah, that's better!

6 workouts/week General lackadaisicalness and the holidays (Christmas cookies and Dragon Age are a dangerous combination) have wound up with slacker sylph. Time to get back to it. 6 workouts/week is the goal. 3 strength, 3 cardio. Silks practice counts as a strength day. I actually started this week. Yesterday was workout #6. Today is a rest day. We'll see how this fares now that I'm back at work post-holidays. 6 workouts/week for at least 5 of the 6 weeks = pass Less than that = fail Straight arm/straight leg straddle up I am soclose to getting this regularly. But I think I have microbends in my elbows and knees. I'll need to take a video to assess current state and work on some drills to correct those. Bonus if I can figure out some work to do at home, outside of the studio. Something to ask my coach at my private lessons which start Jan 19th! First open gym session of the new year is Jan 7th. I'm very excited to get back to it. To pass, do both of these things: Work on this at each open gym sessionTake at least 2 videos on separate training days to assess progressElse, fail Calorie budget: 1400 Slacker sylph = chubby sylph. It's not out of control, but clothes are fitting on the snugger side. Tracking and staying within 1400 cals is the goal. With 6/week workouts, this could be too low and may need to be adjusted upward, but for now 1400 it is. Weekly average calories at or under budget for at least 5 of 6 weeks = pass Over caloric budget for 2 or more weeks = fail No online shopping Sigh. I am in a constant state of trying to slim down my wardrobe and at the same time panicking because I have nothing to wear. Thus, when WHBM, Old Navy or Ann Taylor send me a little email with some crazy-sounding sale, I have difficulty resisting. Surely I can live with my current clothing for the next weeks. The only exception is if I find some amazing, black knee high boots as my current pair is literally falling apart and I've been hunting for 6+ months to no avail. No online purchases = pass Else, fail I've gone straight pass/fail on these, which may seem a bit harsh, but it'll keep me honest. I'm the Queen of Justification when it comes to partial points and subjective grading so these criteria leave minimal/no room for interpretation.

"i'll spread my wings and i'll learn how to fly i'll do what it takes 'til i touch the sky. and i'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway..." Coming up with this challenge has been tough, mostly because I have little room for new habits without sacrificing my very solid exercise regimen, and I hate giving myself stat points for doing something I do anyway! I have my eating/calorie goals dialed in (in fact, I should hit my weight loss goal very soon!), I'm settled into a good lifting regimen, I'm set for aerial twice a week... what to do? Step out of my comfort zone and set a couple progress-based goals, apparently, and refocus on areas I've been neglecting lately (too many new habits, too little time!). That means that I'll still count calories, take measurements, and lift all the heavy weights (and share any PRs, of course!) to maintain my weight loss, but overall, my challenge focus is going to be on self-improvement in the area that interests me most right now. Considering what that area is, I think I won't be neglecting my pull-up practice, either. MAIN QUEST: In short: become a Kaleido Star! better acrobat! I'm really digging my aerial training, and I'll be stepping it up this challenge - up to two days a week (one class, one open gym). I have a (possibly vain) hope of getting to the level 3/4 fabric class by 2016. And of course, I want to give extra time and attention to my neglected flexiness... so, without further ado! QUEST 1: FEARLESS IN FLIGHT (+2 DEX, +2 STR, +2 CHA) As much as this freaks me out, I am setting myself a progress-based goal this time around: by the end of the challenge, I will aim to master 3 new tricks on fabric. There will theoretically be new items introduced every week in class, and I'll have open gyms to work on them. Mastery in this case means I can successfully do the trick multiple times in a row, both sides. New climbs count. I more or less know my learning pace by now, so I think it should be doable! And I will try for photos and/or videos if relevant as I check these boxes off! Maybe I will manage a bent-arm straddle-up without hop at last??? A: 3 tricks, B: 2 tricks, C: 1 trick QUEST 2: BACK TO BASICS (+3 DEX, +1 CHA) I've been so busy trying to cram in lots and lots of lifting that I've completely neglected my yoga practice, and my flexibility has suffered as a result! No longer!!!! This goal is actually a two-parter: every week, do at least one consecutive 30-minute stretch session (if I make it to a yoga class, that counts), and try one new yoga challenge pose every week (does not have to be perfectly balanced - the attempt is what counts here). Again, will post photos if I manage to do anything particularly cool! A: both criteria met, B: 30 minute stretch session only, C: challenge pose only QUEST 3: HEALTHY HYDRATION (+3 CON) I am ashamed to admit this, but I am terrible at water. I was actually better at it when I was heavier - I sweated a ton and used to go through three or four bottles in one workout - but now I don't get as winded and as a result seem to be drinking less and less of it. Add to this that it's winter and I want hot (usually caffeinated) tea all the time, and, well. Nowadays, I'm often waking up dehydrated, and dehydration negatively impacts flexibility, too, so basically, since I can't seem to dial this in on my own, I'm going to use the challenge to help me! The goal will be to drain two 30oz water bottles per day outside of gym time (gym water is extra!). Giving myself one bye day per week in case something goes awry, but I will try for all 7. A: 6 days complete, B: 5 days complete, C: 4 days complete LIFE QUEST: MONEY MANAGEMENT (+2 WIS) So, I finished out the year with $7,999 on my interest-free credit card. My goal is to be credit card debt free by 2016, and I have 10 months of no interest remaining. Thus, I need to shrink this amount by $800 a month, while still paying other bills and taking on the additional load of stillskies' student loans, which come due for the first time this month... somehow, let's do this! This challenge encompasses only one billing cycle, so the grades below are laid out accordingly! A: $7,200 or less remaining on credit card, B: $7,350 or less remaining, C: $7,500 or less remaining The points thus come out like this, assuming I mathed correctly: STR : 2 (A=2, B=1, C=.5) DEX : 5 (A=5, B=4, C=3) CON: 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) WIS : 2 (A=2, B=1, C=.5) CHA : 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) I'll be keeping track of daily accomplishments in a gdoc, publicly available HERE. The spreadsheet does all the fancy math for me (I love technology). REWARDS: What would an epic quest be without treasure? If I succeed, I will reward myself with something nice (that isn't food). Rewards are stacking, meaning I get the A, B, and C rewards if I get to an A grade, the B and C rewards for B grade, and just the C reward for C grade. Rewards are as follows: A overall: BONUS LEVEL! Camp Nerd Fitness, yo. I want to go so badly. B overall: Design Upgrade! A fancy, all-out pedi at my favorite place near work. C overall: Armor Upgrade! A long-sleeve shirt (for aerial!) from Activate Apparel or Look Human. Something geeky. Possibly this one (probably the red sleeves). Before pictures: Measurements: Neck: 13.5" Chest: 36" Waist: 28.2" Hips: 38.5" Thigh: R: 23.3" L: 23" Calf: R: 15.6" L: 15.3" Bicep: R: 11.2" L: 11.3" Weight: 150.6 lbs Dress/pants size: 6

I don't like spreadsheets, so I would rather keep conversation in this thread for all to benefit. I am a skilled juggler, contact juggler. I can spin poi, baton relatively well. I like to dabble. Such is the nature of circus arts... you want to collect them all! I would like to know if there are others like me or if you want to learn. I would love to point you in the right direction.

Hey there my fellow rebels. I've recently gotten back into fitness and as such, I'm returning to my first love. The Circus. I've had a thing for the circus for a few years now, and although my love for it had developed later in life, it still fill me with childlike wonder. Currently I am looking into making a workout for myself that will help me at least pretend I'm in the circus. So far I'm going to work on my physical strength, endurance, and flexibility using a bodyweight routine and some extensive stretching. My question: are there any skills I can work on by myself that fit with the theme. I quite obviously need to work on my handstand, but if anyone has any info of ideas that would help me with goal setting, please share . also, viva the rebellion,

Ahoy fellow assassins! That is me saluting you from the straps. No really, I swear I'm not talking on the phone that's someone else's arm behind me. I am back and for once I have some enthusiasm and direction! I know, it's amazing! To recap, I am a quirky 40something year old aerialist and mom, but the last 6 months of my life has been super disrupted assisting my mom through cancer treatment. I've kept up with my fitness, but not really had the energy or enthusiasm to make gains or level up in other areas of my life. Sometimes you just gotta stop and take care of people and then kinda wake up and re-reflect on where you've ended up. However, I'm finally pulling myself back together and getting some direction. Part of that this challenge means taking on a life goal. An actual challenging life goal! So... here goes nothing... Life goal: To put together a boutique accessory collection. Yeah. This is an actual stretch, but hear me out. Now I'm not your average cutesy fashion blogger or anything, but I do have tons of informal costuming experience. Some for halloween costumes, some for ren faire, some for burning man. But I'm really good at taking something creative in my mind and turning it into an actual thing out of fabric. After my last major aerial showcase, (where I did the costume design for myself and my partner) I've been tossing around the idea of doing a faux fur accessory collection. Small scale pieces for performers and other fabulous people. Only hitch? I don't draw very well at all... I pretty much have to sit down and actually MAKE the things and then photograph them to communicate what's in my head. So I've decided to just go ahead and do it. Create like a 5-8 piece capsule collection, probably in two or three color family options and then see if it's something people would be interested in (either through Etsy, through the local boutique market or maybe other channels). But step one is simply to do the basic development and see where it gets me. As a measurable goal this works out to doing a minimum of 1 hour of work on the line 5 days a week. I will very likely have days where I spend more like 3-5 hours on it, but I need to get in the habit of doing regular work turning schematic sketches into reality on a daily basis, rather than hammering out something insane in one day and then not doing anything else for a week. OK... now on to fitness goals.... Goal 1: Ye Olde Training Program. Yup. This again. I've done some more research and started a Strong Curves, which is a lower body/glute training regimen that's consistent with my functional goals. And so far it's been paying off since I can actually get into the front balance shown above (as messy as it is). I've been struggling with that move for months. So that's 3 days a week of strength training and then straps training 2 days a week (or other circus/BW strength training if I'm unable to get to a class). Goal 2: Splits, splits, splits. I'm doing a splits challenge on facebook and it's 5 days a week of splits, both fronts and middles, with photos posted to the group. A few of my circus friends are in the challenge too, so I've got lots of support. Right now I have a small oversplit on my left leg, and I'm literally 3" off the ground on my right leg, so really I'm working more on correcting that difference on my tight left side than anything else. I recently had a breakthrough in training my middle splits, so I'm hoping to get them down to the ground by the end of the challenge. Goal 3: Conditioning. Ugh. Dreaded and boring. So I've recently found a consistent weak spot in my straps work, it's bringing my feet up and over through the straps with my arms straight. I pretty much cheat it one way or another (often by doing a pull-up). I really want to fix it. So, three times a week, I'm going to do a set of 5 leg lifts on my pull-up bar. Doesn't need to go up and over, I just need to build the strength to get my feet up to the level of the bar. OK... now off to watch Sylph's performance video... whee!

Mad Hatter gets a clue Last challenge can only be described with the words epic and fail. It should have been good. I should have rocked it. I hated the fact that I failed so much I even thought about skipping this challenge. I mean why do another challenge when I was just going to fail again? And if I did another challenge what goals would I even pick? I was totally clueless. Then I got an idea! I need a makeover for my soul! There's so many things I love to do or would love to learn. But I keep forgetting why and how much I love them. And, as some of you have pointed out, I need to be nicer to myself. This challenge will be very simple (really!) with no pressure, no shiny goals and no homework. Here's the plan. Step 1 - Play (DEX, STR, STA +5) I have so many options here, handstands and hooping and climbing and lindy hop and contortion and pole and lyra and many more fun things! And I'm in a great position where I can play with and explore all of these things, so I need to stop putting pressure on myself to become "good". I mean who cares, it's not like I'm a pro, I just want to play. I'm not setting a goal on time or intensity, the important thing is that I do something every day and say something positive about it. Each activity will contribute DEX, STR or STA points and I'll distribute the final stat points with the same ratio as the activity points. Step 2 - Do something I love (WIS, CHA +5) My brain also needs playtime and now that I'm on holiday and have plenty of stress free time to do all the things I always wanted to do! Every day I'll work on something, be it sewing or drawing or whatever comes to mind. Alternatively I can do other things that bring me pleasure, be it lazying in the park with a good book, meeting friends, indulging in great coffee or cooking delicious food. Again, it doesn't matter what or for how long, but I have to do something every day that makes my brain feel good. Step 3 - Take care of myself (CON +5) When I'm down I tend to do small things that have a huge negative compound effect but individually they're really easy to fix. Every day I should: Keep the flat tidy and do the dishesLimit casual web browsing, especially in the mornings and before bedEat in a way that makes me feel goodPost an update every day (I'm not bailing again!)Go outside These are not meant to be super strict goals and I'm not going to punish myself if I say forget to wash up a cup or stay inside on a rainy day. But they're a good way of spotting downhill trends. Thanks for being awesome and for listening... ...and don't forget...

You want me to do what, now? Last challenge, I essentially committed to doing the student showcase at my circus studio. It's Oct. 11 (one day before my birthday). I need to have a silks routine sorted out and ready to perform by then. Eek! Fortunately, I have chosen a song (Hallelujah, by Jeff Buckley) and I've trimmed my audio file to 5 mins. That's a start, right? This challenge I want to get at least 3 mins of choreography sorted out. Ideally, I'd get it all planned then have next challenge to just practice and polish, but since I've never choreographed anything before, I'll be a little lenient with myself. Worst case, I can chop a verse out of the audio file and shorten the performance. I may have to do this anyway, since I'm not sure I can handle 5 mins in the air at one time right now. Super Bonus: figure out costume, hair and makeup THE song, for any who may not know it. Beautiful Ascent (thanks, Hatter) Last challenge I worked on inverts and hollow body holds. This time around, it's climbs. Particularly Svetlana which is sloppy on the right and abhorrent on the left. My coach keeps telling me the secret is to lean back more and for some reason I have a mental block about it. Time to get over that. I'll also work on cleaning up my other climbs--maintaining good form, not kicking the silks, etc. In other words, make the skill/trick pretty rather than just heaving through it to get it done. Super Bonus: before/after videos of Svetlana on both sides. Super Super Bonus: Swimmer's climb. Ick. Happy Hands, Part 2This was an excellent addition to my routine last challenge, so I'll keep it up. 3 x week for hand/finger rehab/prehab. Your Friendly Neighborhood Assassin I'm quite chatty in my own thread, but feel like I read-but-don't-post quite a bit in other people's threads. Goal for this challenge is to post something useful in at least one other person's thread 7x/week. Here's to being less of a lurker and more of an active supporter.

Hi there! So, my last challenge kind of died off. Right after the beginning of the challenge I found out my mom had cancer and things really kinda went downhill from there. I had two major infections then I had to help my mom through surgery and life was just... it wasn't happening. Once I got to feeling better I was able to get back to training, but the whole situation with challenge goals totally fell by the wayside. That's life. The good news is, things are looking up! First of all, my mom is in pretty good shape! (YAY!!!) She's got some follow up stuff to deal with that she'll need my help with but the big scary part of it is done, and prognosis still looks positive. The other good thing is that my circus school is having a recital! So I have something fun and exciting to plan for. Recitals are great because they're lower pressure than our showcases (which are pretty much a full 1-ring circus show performed by amateurs), but still a chance to practice putting together an act to show our friends, family & classmates. This is really nice for me because it gives me a great incentive to dive back in, while not having to be so stressed about my mom or my own health. PLUS, today actually marks 5 years since I started training in aerial, so I've got that to celebrate too. So... onto goals! Goal 1: Develop a 1.5-2 minute straps piece focusing on things I can do with my feet in the straps. Work on really polishing up what I can do, within my current skill level. I've been really holding back on working on performance stuff until I have more straps tricks... but I realized it would be good to refine what I have, so I have some grace and polish to bring to the table when I start to add more advanced work. Subgoal: Follow training schedule with extra act development workshops.Subgoal: Spend some time on reviewing music and getting ideas from friends & youtube.Subgoal: Use mental rehearsal techniques. Goal 2: Stretch my splits 4-5 times a week. The performance piece is going to need to use my left split. So I need to work on my left side oversplit and on regaining my right side flat split. (For whatever reason I woke up one morning in February with a cramp in my right glute and haven't been able to get my split back on that side ever since.) Goal 3: Work on my foot extension & expression 3 times a week. Goal 4: Get busy on my gardening goals. Planting time is coming up in late September and all the chaos so far this summer has really hamstrung me from getting stuff done. (I will post some pictures from last challenge soon.) I need to finish turning the wire mesh in my garage into deer protection cages for my plants.I need to work with our landscape guy to put in our retaining wall and finish clearing last year's storm debris.Once a week I need to prune the seed heads off the feathergrass.I need to start some preliminaries on the parts of the hillside that are going to be planted with wildflower seed. (I.E. water it to sprout the weed seeds and then remove weeds).Only one thing... I'm going to be away from my computer all next week, so hopefully I'll have a chance to keep up with the forum from my phone... otherwise, I'll check in again on Sunday August 3rd.

Alrighty, let's try this again. Last challenge ended mid-stride with busy life stuff and a slight overwhelming of the mental muscles. So, reset on challenge number 4 with different goals and a better outcome. My hand(s)! Hands have been taking a beating (also feet, calves, hip flexors and lower back, but we'll focus on one thing at a time). Silks, motorcycles and lifting weights all put varying degrees of stress on the hands/fingers and mine are telling me they need some help. Goal: Week 1: Find some kind of Happy Healthy Hands routine. Weeks 2-6: perform it 3 x week minimum. Train you must I took some video of myself at an aerial open gym session a week or so ago. I've realized that I often look like a strung up fish when I'm hanging from the silks. Things need to look more intentional. Engaging my core and keeping my knees straight will be huge to improve this. In the meantime, let's do some work: Hollow body holds: paperdoll militia has an awesome hollow body progression on their youtube channel. I'll work these up to three sets of 30 second holds at each progression, practicing them at the end of each weight lifting session Straddle inverts: These are SUCH a basic silks move and mine look generally sloppy. paperdoll militia also has an awesome progression for these. We do these often during class as part of other sequences. My goal is to really focus on making these look nice rather than looking like a bunch of flailing. I'll be starting at the bottom with bent arm, bent knee inverts and once those are under control, move up from there. The cantina I've said in the past that I wasn't going to make another alcohol-related goal, but I've gotten to the point that I'm a little worried about myself. As such, no after-dinner drinks on "school nights." An occasional drink after work with a friend or a beer while watching whatever sporting event on TV on Sunday is one thing. What I'm doing now is... not that and I don't like the excess and dependent feeling. Speeder bike I love my motorcycle. Riding it is excellent therapy. Last year, we took a week's vacation solely on the bikes and I'd like to do that again. This is a two part life goal: 1. Ride to work once/week (weather permitting). 2. Solidify dates for moto trip toward the end of the summer in some awesome-to-ride location. bonus points for taking rides on the weekends bonus bonus points for an overnight moto trip/long weekend. Also, I'm continuing to bulk slowly. I'm having a bit more mental trouble with it than I initially expected, but I think I have a handle on it at the moment.

Mad Hatter's Petting Zoo As you might recall one of mine epic, scary, ridiculous quests is to perform a burlesque routine. The hard deadline is before I'm 30, but why wait? I mean I could wait until "I'm ready", and I've learned to dance, and to make circus cool tricks and how to make awesome costumes. Or I could just start now and learn it on the job. I'm going with option 2. For three reasons. The first because I happened to be stalking the hooping thread and there was a performance of a girl who did fairly simple tricks. But Lilith pointed out that it doesn't matter because it was still really fun to watch, and that's the whole point! I might not be able to do a lot, but I can use what I can to do something fun and use what I can't do to do something creative! The second reason is that there will be a burlesque class in the fall where the "final exam" is a solo act. And it won't be just in front of friends and family, but in front of Stockholm's burlesque crowd! This sounds like a way too fun opportunity to miss out on. When I found out it brought out the butterflies and butterflies is always a good sign I'm heading in the right direction. And 3, in a few weeks time I'm taking an 8-week staycation and I need a big project! Because I learned from the last two challenges that big overambitious projects inspire me, even if I fail. Because my day to day situation will change so much during the challenge I really want my goals to be sustainable. So I'm actually going to do a 4 week challenge followed by a 9 week challenge, but with largely the same goals except for some minor tweaks. Now part of why I love circus and burlesque is because of I'm a huge fan of the weird and the wonderful in the world. But I was struck how the assassin has an unfair representation of cute, cuddly animals so today I'm going to make a stand for all the uglies and creepies in the world. Because they need some assassin love too. Life Quest: Hey, look at my shiny butt! or Create a burlesque routine! Starting with my life goal because it's the most important one. In part 1 of the challenge I will start the prep work for creating a routine: Find musicDesign costumeCome up with theme and feelFigure out what skills I want to useCollect lots and lots of underpants. Mostly figuratively.In part 2 I will: Come up with choreographyMake props and costumesPractice necessary dance and acrobatic skillsDevelop characterPractice facial expressionsBe creepy and stare lots at peoplePractice costume makeup skills Side goal #1: Don't become a blob fish! or Get off the sofa! I have a fear that I will spend my two months off on the sofa being a blob and that's not allowed to happen! For the next two challenges I will do my assassin "chores" (icky stretches, boring strength training etc) in a short session in the morning as Nymeria suggested. That way I get it done without sucking up my fun evening time, it'll add to my daily movement and it should hopefully get my ass into work on time. When I'm on vacation I'll also have add a longer evening fun session where I can do whatever I want. Side goal #2: Om nom nom or Made from scratch I'm bringing back made from scratch eating. My food was so much more delicious when I had it as a challenge goal, but somehow my laziness won over me and against better judgement I'm eating way too much crap again. Four weeks will be too short to form the habit, so I'm going to stick with it for the whole next two challenges. I won't be as militant in my grading though. Like ice cream doesn't count. What, it's summer! Side goal #3: Jazz...Tentacles! or Fun movement! I admit it, I got jealous of all your fun goals when I had homework to do. I'm also itching to go climbing and lindy hopping again, but I haven't had the time to drag myself to go. But with summer, lots of free time and limited class schedules I'll be able to add more fun things. Who know, I might even get a hoop again to get in with all the cool kids. The goal is to do something different and that gets me outside the house at least once per week. As you might have noticed I don't have any stat points for grabs and no grading. This is because in the past I've got good grades on technicalities, and I've got bad grades though I did good because my grading was too harsh. This time I'll grade myself on a completely subjective scale from Epic to Epic Fail and award stat points where I think I've made the most progress. Oh and my side quest will be to participate in the mini challenges. Because I know what they are and you don't lalalalala. But I can tell you it's going to be fun!

TOTAL REWORK OF CHALLENGE 6/21/14: Here's the deal. My laptop has been down for a while and I've been sitting pondering what to do with this challenge. I think I'm going to keep going at it, but seriously re-work the whole thing. New challenge title: This is Why I Train. My mom has breast cancer. I have to go down (next county over) and help her with things like understanding the info she gets from her doctors and several days of recovering from surgery. The good news is that every sign is that this is going to be 100% treatable with a very low chance of recurrence if she does everything right. So my job right now is to support her in doing everything right. With that being said my new challenge goals: Goal 1: Support my mom in what she needs. Surgery/recovery. Company for appointments. An ear to listen or shoulder to lean on. Goal 2: Support myself. I can't help her unless I take care of myself. This means following a skeletal version of Ye Olde Training Schedule focusing on not missing any training opportunities with my friends. (Workout & social support all rolled into one? Perfect!) At home training will either be handstands or stretching splits. I don't need to be killing myself with squats or wearing out my shoulder on the P-bars right now. This also means eating consistent, healthy meals. A protein shake is not a meal. McDonalds is not a meal. I know from the past that subsisting on both of those leads to binging (and feeling crappy) and I just don't need that right now. Get some good solid food, good hard workouts and time with friends. Goal 3: Get some of the basic landscaping work done for my yard. This was originally a main focus of this challenge for me, I've got some big, physically demanding hardscape work to do. So a slightly lighter set of goals would be: Mini-Goal 1: Weedcloth and rocks over the succulent planting area next to our driveway.Mini-Goal 2: Build 15 deer cages to keep the deer out of our new plantings next fall.Mini-Goal 3: Dig out an infiltration basin in the side yard (about 75% done right now), fill in with rocks and re-fill top with soil to plant in.