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Wasn't really planning on doing this one while still on break from school, but I figured what the hell, what's the worst that happens? I don't do it? Oh well. Anyway, I am going to keep this one really simple. Challenge 1: Climb stuff, but not too much. ​ Still trying to make sure that I don't re-injure my left elbow, and keep my fingers strong. So I can climb three times a week for two hours each, MAX. No mas. I know I am traveling a bit over the next few weeks, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but I will just try to keep track. ​ Attr: +3 CON; +2 WIS Challenge 2: Climb stuff, but please stretch first. Pretty self explanatory. I just need to make sure I stretch before I start my warm up. Attr: +5 CON Challenge 3: Sleep and don't sleep ​Wake up no later then 8 every morning. Need to get back to a more structured sleep pattern. Attr: +2 STA; +3 CHA As you can sort of tell, I'm not putting too much effort into this challenge. I'm only doing it because I know it will help me get into the swing of things, not because I really want to do it. I'm pretty sure I have done the points right, but let me know if I am wrong.

The one in which Mad Hatter pulls her head out of her ass The past six months have been hectic, for starters I’ve moved flat twice, been to Argentina, Thailand, Barcelona, Laponia and I’ve injured myself - twice. As a result I’ve been struggling to get into solid exercise routines and lost a bit of ground from last year. Instead of accepting my current level and doing whatever I can I’ve often made up excuses and stuck my head in the sand. And instead of being happy about all the fun and cool things I CAN do I’ve been sulking about the things that I can’t do. I’m getting bored with that attitude. It's lame, it won’t get me anywhere near my crazy epic goal of gaining contortion level flexibility and skill, and it’s no fun for anyone. This challenge I’m going to focus on fixing my mental game, pull my head out of my ass and focus on being awesome. Goal #1 Stop being hard on myself Stop comparing myself to others, to my “past†self, or to where I “should†be. I’m strongly counting on you guys and B to slap me whenever I use words like “I used to be able to..â€, “I did this awesome thing, BUT…â€, “I suckâ€, you get the drill. I’ll be counting slaps, and aim to reduce the number of slaps every week. Post daily win Goal #2 Lose the flab I’ve been complaining about my weight for a while now and done nothing about it. Well, I’m doing something about it. I’m aiming to eat 12000 calories/week plus I’m allowed to eat back any calories from running Goal #3 Weekly routine Third time’s the charm? I’m going to keep this goal in every challenge until I run out of excuses. 2x backbends 2x handstands 1x active flexibility Side quest #1: Be awesome There’s so many fun things to play with, and I’m going to do them all. As a side quest I’m going to collect awesome points for all the shiny things. No pressure, just fun. Ideas for fun things Slacklining (extra awesome points for walking across the whole line)Armbalances (extra shiny awesome points for crane pose)Climbing (awesome points for each new problem solved)Flow movementAcro in the park (when summer comes)Lindy hop by the lake (when summer comes) Side quest #2: Sew a dress I bought fabric for a dress over a month ago and it's still untouched, so I'm making it a goal to finish it.

Hi! I'm looking for some advice. I started rock climbing almost a year ago, and I love it (it's like a real life video game). I've lost a bunch of weight, but now I want to start building a bit of muscle. I read on here that it's good to start by using a pre-set workout plan rather than trying to create my own as a beginner. A lot of the programs online that have to do with climbing are like "weight lifting to be a better climber", but that's not quite what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a plan that is focused on building strength and muscle, but also lets me keep climbing on the side (like twice a week). Does anyone have any suggestions of a specific plan or how I can modify non-climbing plans so that I don't inhibit gains or hurt myself? Or is this just a non-issue and can I do both without any problems? Thank you all!

And another round begins. So a little bit about me. I joined the forum about eight weeks ago and did my first six week challenge. I learned a lot, even though I didn't do so hot on the stated goals. I am currently attending a University, which is a lot of fun. Challenge one: Climb or not to climb. During the last challenge, I ended up starting to rock climb at the campus gym, and absolutely love it and the people. I went as often as I could, and generally more then I should have. Unfortunately, this led to me hurting my elbow with what I believe is tendonitis from over use. I did some research and asked around the forums and that is pretty much what the general concensus was. My problem is willpower. I go to the wall and I will be there for five hours, pushing myself and hanging out with people, when I should probably only be there for two. Sometimes I will go to work out, get there, and then decide I want to climb more then do pushups. This is pretty much what has kept my elbow from completely healing up to this point. So the challenge here is to climb no more than three times a week (generally Sun/Tues/Thr) and to climb for no more than two hours every time. Attribute: +3 CON; +1 WIS Challenge two: If you would be so kind as to GET THE HELL UP! At the beginning of the last challenge, I was getting up at six thirty, and I loved it. I felt so productive, much more cheerful, and overall more accomplished. However, when I was sick, I decided I needed as much sleep as possible and long story short, it’s now a struggle to wake up at eight. So the challenge here is to move the alarm clock back thirty minutes every week, until I am waking up at six thirty, and then continue to wake up at six thirty every day, weekends included. This will also help be cook breakfast everyday, which has become a problem. Attribute: +2 STA ; +1 CHA Challenge three: Since you are up... I want to get back to work out three times a week. Ever since I started climbing, it’s harder to motivate myself into doing a workout vs. climbing. One I love and the other is “mehâ€. So the challenge here is to start working out MWF mornings when I wake up. Attribute: +3 STR ; +1 STA Life quest: Three years is too short I did a lot of research into rock climbing when I started and one of the common things I found was that improper technique will carry you for about three years before injury occurs. I would like to avoid injury at all cost, because obvious reasons. So the challenge here is to learn proper crimping technique and to stretch for at least ten minutes before even thinking of climbing. Attribute: +4 CON Grading​: One of the things I learned last challenge was to set up how I am goin to grade myself at the beginning, because otherwise, it becomes guess work. So here is how I will be grading myself throughout the challenge. A special note is that this challenge is going to fall over two separate test weeks and thanksgiving (which means traveling), so certain challenges will be more out of three weeks then six. Challenge one grading: I will give myself a point for every time I go to the wall that is not over exerting. If I go a fourth time a week or if I stay for longer then two hours, I loose one point. However, I know during test weeks, I will not be able to go as regular, if at all. Also, I am going home over Thanksgiving, which means I won't have access to the rock wall. So this challenge will be graded out of three weeks. That means there are a total of nine points. There are no bonus points for going during a test week. That seems slightly counter productive.​ Challenge two grading: For every day I get up at the correct time, I will give myself a point. For everyday I sleep in later, I loose four points​. This is so I work hard to keep the habit, and any breaking that habit sets me back several days until it's natural. This means I can get a total of forty-two points Challenge three grading: Every workout is worth one point, regardless of what I do or how long. Ever time I don't go IN THE MORNING​, I loose two points. I am not sure how this is going to work with tests and Thanksgiving. I am confident I can continue this over Thanksgiving, but not necessarily test weeks. So there are a total of eighteen points I can get. Life Challenge grading: It will be hard to grade technique, so I will be grading the stretching instead and trust I practice good technique. Every stretching session is worth one point, and failing to do it will loose me one point.​ Since this challenge mirrors my first one, the grading scale will be the same. Nine possible points with no bonus for going during test weeks. ​​ TL;DR Challenge one: Don’t climb more than three times a week, and only for two hours each time Attr: +3 CON; +1 WIS Challenge two: Wake up at six thirty each day Attr: +2 STA ; +1 CHA Challenge three: Go to the gym three times a week in the morning Attr: +3 STR ; +1 STA Life Quest: Avoid injury through proper technique and stretching Attr: +4 CON

Like so many other mathematical words, adaptive also has a meaning in normal english: characterized by or given to adaptation. Thank you google. Fortunately, a few definitions later it basically says that it is something that can be modified . Currently, I'm suffering from a depression with exhaustion as my biggest symptom. I have no idea what I'll be able to do each week, so I'll have an adaptive challenge. I usually exercise a lot (cycling ~45-60 minutes a day, walking ~30 minutes a day, c25k twice a week and climbing once or twice a week on average), so I don't need more general exercise. However, I do need more energy, a better posture and to stay injury-free. I also want to be able to do some awesome tricks in the future, like a freestanding handstand, a nice bridge, a pistol squat on each leg, one armed push ups, etc. So my single quest for this challenge is: Quest 1: formulate a subquest for each of the following categories every week on Sunday or Monday: a. Posture b. Stretching and yoga c. Push-ups, glute strength and core strength d. Adulting e. Fun Note that I did not include a full strength program, that's because I train my pull-muscles and legs with climbing already. I need stronger glutes to compensate for my quads and calfes, my knees are already starting to hurt because my glutes are not strong enough at the moment. I will use this week to set a (simple) base. Subquests for this week, starting tomorrow: a. Posture: do 3 sets of 5 shoulder rolls during the day, every day of the week (0/4) b. Stretching: do 3 different stretches every day of the week, the stretches must include a calf stretch and a quadriceps stretch (0/4) c. Determine which push-up and plank level of startbodyweight I should start with and do one extra set of push ups and planks. Complement each workout with 3x5 glute bridges (0/2) d. Clean or tidy at least 5 minutes every day, not counting the dishes (0/4) e. Bake a no knead whole wheat bread (0/1)

Mad Hatter does stuff Thoughts on this and the previous challenge behind the spoiler. Feel free to skip ahead if you want to go straight to the good stuff. For this challenge I’ve decided to just do stuff. I don’t have any particular goals reeeally (even if it looks like it) and I’m just going to do whatever I feel like for a while. As long as I put in work and it’s useful stuff it’s all good. Goal #1 Train hard, stick to my priorities and have fun Even though I do best with focusing on one, at most two things I’m not going to to do that. I’m going to do all the things and have some fun with it. I will however try and focus my energy on the things I want to progress the most at and see what happens. A Handstands: TBA after workshop A Contortion: Get started with backbends again. No particular goal except to do my strength exercises 2x/week, at the very minimum B Rings: Follow the program. It’s designed with 3 training days/week but 2x/week is fine C Pole: Try all of the intermediate moves on SV (except climbs and spins because of space restrictions) C Climbing: Chill out and have some fun, instead of going crazy. Grading: Have I done what I could/what I “should� Y/N Goal #2 Keep the black dog at bay I can feel this winter is going to be a tough one, so I’m going to try and do my best to avoid ending up in dark places. Sun lamp - not sure it actually works that great but I might as well use everything in my arsenal Vitamin D - again, not sure how well it actually works but I’m sure I’ll need it soon enough even if I don’t notice anything Eat 3 proper meals - skipping meals generally doesn’t work for me so I need to make sure I eat and don’t wait until my head’s spinning. Max 1 junk serving - quite generous but I’m including booze, snacks I don’t need and any sort of trigger food. Social events don’t count. 20 min walk - normally I walk loads, but when it gets cold I get a bit meeh. Plus being outside is good. Move! Spend a few minutes relaxing in the morning and evening Leave work on time - I’ve been super focused and absorbed into my work lately, which is fun and I’ve been really productive. But it’s also quite mentally tiring so I need to stop working overtime. Keep the new flat shiny Don’t disappear on NF Grading: Points out of 10 per day Goal #3 Learn some skills I’m going sit down and do something, anything with my hands (no, that doesn’t count you pervs), even if it’s just doodling in the margin or play with LEGO for 1 cumulative hour/week. Tiny, tiny goal just to get me started. Grading: Pass/Fail

Bouldering Definition (thanks wikipedia) Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad (called a bouldering mat) so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practised on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas. However, it may also be practised at the base of larger rock faces, or even on buildings or public architecture (see buildering). Bouldering is a style of climbing emphasizing power, strength, and dynamics. Its focus is on individual moves or short sequences of moves, unlike traditional climbing or sport climbing, which generally demand more endurance over longer stretches of rock where the difficulty of individual moves is not as great. Boulder routes are commonly referred to as problems because the nature of the climb is often short, curious, and much like problem solving. Bouldering is more focused on the technique of climbing instead of undertaking a full bodied climb. To reduce the risk of injury from a fall, climbers rarely go higher than 3–5 meters above the ground. Anything over 7 meters is generally considered to be free-soloing (or simply 'soloing'), although such climbs might also be termed high-ball bouldering problems. For further protection, climbers typically put a bouldering mat (crash pad) on the ground to break their fall. Last, climbers often have one or more spotters, who work to direct the climber's body toward the crash pad during a fall, while protecting the climber's head from hazards. Where to do bouldering Indoor bouldering With its increasing popularity; bouldering areas are more and more common in indoor climbing gyms and some climbing gyms are dedicated solely to bouldering. Outdoor bouldering One of the most famous outdoor bouldering site is located in Fontainebleau forest in France, this forest contains a lot of natural boulders, including the well known: L'éléphant: The bouldering grading system used in Europe is the Fontainebleau system which ranges from 1 to 8C+. Many other bouldering site can be found all over the world like the Red rock canyon in Nevada. Equipment One of the major appeals of bouldering is its relatively scant equipment requirements. Bouldering equipment may include: Close-fitting rubber climbing shoes, for better traction and edging capabilities.Loose, powdered chalk.A mattress-like object called a crash pad to provide some cushion if the climber falls.A brush, or several brushes of differing sizes, is used to clean holds.Sport tape to cover cuts or blisters and provide support for jointsGrade Bouldering Rating Systems Hueco (USA) -> Font. (French) V0 -> 4 V0+ -> 4+ V1 -> 5 V2 -> 5+ V3 -> 6A/6A+ V4 -> 6B/6B+ V5 -> 6C/6C+ V6 -> 6C+/7A V7 -> 7A+ V8 -> 7B/7B+ V9 -> 7B+/7C V10 -> 7C+ V11 -> 8A V12 -> 8A+ V13 -> 8B V14 -> 8B+ V15 -> 8C V16 -> 8C+ Climbing What's climbing Rock climbing is an activity in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing competitions have objectives of completing the route in the quickest possible time or the farthest along an increasingly difficult route. Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that often tests a climber's strength, endurance, agility and balance along with mental control. It can be a dangerous sport and knowledge of proper climbing techniques and usage of specialized climbing equipment is crucial for the safe completion of routes. Because of the wide range and variety of rock formations around the world, rock climbing has been separated into several different styles and sub-disciplines For rock climbing, having a partner to hold the other end of your rope with the rope already strung above is called top roping. A specific knot is tied to the climber on one side of the rope and the partner "belays" for the climber by running the other side of the rope through a belay device. There are many different types of belay devices but perhaps the most popular is the grigri. Where to climb Indoor Outdoor Equipment TBC Grades I need your help to improve this thread If some of you could spare some of your time to write a few words about the followings subject: Boulder: how to chose your shoes Boulder: vocabulary Boulder: competitions Boulder: Famous bouldering place Climbing: Equipment required Climbing: vocabulary Climbing: competitions Climbing: famous climbing places And whatever subject you think would be interesting. It will be my pleasure to add them to the main thread

Hey there, I've just recently joined NF and I'm excited to dig into the Academy workout program. My one hesitation is figuring out how to schedule my workouts. I've recently started bouldering and I go 2 times a week, Monday and Wednesday. I'd like to add gym workouts to my week now, and ideally I'd like to do that 3 times a week, but then I will have back to back days of activity. I've been poking around and came up with something like this, but wanted to check to see if any other climbers have advice to make sure I don't overtrain. Sunday: Bodyweight track exercises Monday: Bouldering Tuesday: Dumbbell track A Wednesday: Bouldering Thursday: REST Friday: Dumbbell track B Saturday: REST My thinking is that the Dumbbell track A workout doesn't focus on back exercises so it will compliment the 2 days of bouldering pretty well. I normally feel my bouldering in my back muscles the next day.

TALVI's NINTH CHALLENGE: On the wild track! Time for a shiny new challenge and a shiny new game! Ark survival is a game that has just been released for early access. To be honest, I don't know much about the game yet. But I do know that the idea is to survive and thrive on an island covered in dinosaurs. Particularly excited about taming velociraptors and riding enormous alligators around, and the game may have infiltrated my challenge theme. I should probably introduce myself: I'm Talvi and and these challenges have really helped me enjoy fitness particularly with my first push-up, starting and improving in climbing, my first 5km, my first 10km and recently my first chin-up and pull-up. I've also used these challenges to improve my Spanish and to learn some programming. At the moment, I'm playing Ark survival and whilst I am a long-time DOTA player, I'm trying some LoL and HotS on the side. So let's get down to business. I want to develop six skills which will coincidentally help me to survive on a dinosaur-filled island of doom: 1) Dinosaur! Argh, just keep running... Whilst I'm not convinced I can outrun many dinosaurs, running will certainly be more useful than standing still. Unless there is a T-Rex… But we'll cross that bridge should I ever come to it. To train myself, I want to try running twice a week (approx. 4 runs) in preparation for a 15km race in the gardens of Versaille on the 21st June. It is only two weeks away, so I just need to practice being comfortable running that distance again. Not too bothered about running for the duration of the challenge, but it would be nice to run a couple of times in the last 4 weeks. Also I need to get a certificate from a doctor before hand - I must remember to do that! 2) This isn't working, try escaping vertically... Should the running not shake off any velociraptors, my plan B is to climb to safety. I could escape by trees, boulders or mountains! But I will train mainly on boulders. I want to practice bouldering once or twice a week with the goal of playing with blue routes (the next level up) each session until I can actually do one. 3) Flight isn't working, so what about fight? To be honest, I'm not sure how I'd approach fighting a dinosaur. So far in Ark Survival, I have punched a pterodactyl and it killed me. I'm going to assume that in this survival scenario, that strength will be pretty important. I did my first chin-up a couple of days ago (I was so very surprised) and literally just did my first pull-up an hour ago! 5 pull-ups in a row is on my epic quest list for 2015, so I am going to work towards that by trying different bodyweight workouts, tailored exercises or pull-up bar play. Whatever takes my fancy on the day as long as some practice gets done each week. 4) It's a UNIX system, I know this! I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be eaten just because I didn't know my way around a computer. Plus, there is definitely some tech in Ark Survival since there are some mysterious towers in the distance. I'm made some progress in past challenges in learning Python, but this time my overarching goal is to finish the Edx MIT course 6.00.1x "Introduction to Computer Science and Programming using Python". 5) Cuidado, hay un dinosaurio! In this game, you can get teammates by joining tribes and then working together to survive longer and make more epic things. Makes sense. Expect that the boyfriend's tribe are all Spanish. The plan here to use my HP audiobooks, Anki apps, online grammar practice, Spanish book lessons and speaking practice to improve. 6) Dear reader, if you have found this diary then... Now this is the MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVE of the challenge: to write down what I have done towards this challenge EVERYDAY (+/- 2 days). There is nothing really new in this challenge, so I know that I can do these quests if I give them the time they deserve. Writing down what I do everyday has been really helpful in past challenges: it makes me more accountable and makes me review each day in the context of my goals. Overall challenge set-up: To level up in the challenge, I will only have to complete my 6th quest aka. post everyday about the challenge. STAT points will be allocated depending on the successes in the other 5 goals. Ideal allocation: 1. Running 5+ times: + 3 STA 2. Climbing: 11+ times: + 2 DEX & + 1 STR 3. 5 x pull-ups: + 2 STR & +1 DEX 4. Completed the first 6 weeks of programming course: + 3 WIS 5. Acceptable progress in Spanish: + 3 CHA Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys on the forums. Good luck with your challenge!

This challenge will be all about rainbows. And cats, but of course everything on the internet is about cats, so therefore this is a rainbow challenge. Anyway, rainbows are awesome: - they have many colours - they are formed like an arch - they are outside - they are very science-y I want my life to be more like a rainbow! Therefore, my goals for the next challenge are: 1. Cook with colourful vegetables and fruits, at least 14 different ones, 2 for each colour of the rainbow. Instead of blue and indigo, I can use any colour I want. So at least 2 red, orange, yellow, green and purple fruits and vegetables, and at least 14 in total. The ulterior goal here is to keep eating varied foods. 2. Practice bridges every day. Bridges are a great show-off and cool trick, they also might be good for back-mobility. I will also do one auxiliary exercise every day, mostly to help with upper back mobility and wrist strength. Lastly, before and after pictures are mandatory . 3. Walk/cycle for fun once a week. I used to enjoy going outside for a walk or cycle route, but I keep giving myself excuses why I don't do it anymore lately. No more! One route of at least 30 minutes every week. Berry picking sessions do count though . 4. Do something science-y every week. I need to keep expanding my knowledge to feel fulfilled, and with my PhD I'm just learning more about a relatively small subject. Possible activities: - read a peer-reviewed paper that's not from my field - read a chapter of a book at undergrad level, not from my field - work on advanced programming techniques, testing, or other computer science skills for at least 1 hour - solve a project Euler puzzle Scoring Each goal will get a percentage in the end. Grades are given based on these percentages: 100% A+, 90-100% A, 80-90% B, 70-80% C, <70% F. Have a nice challenge!

Well, since the challenge starts tomorrow, and I've had 2+ weeks to think about it, I guess it's time I post my challenge thread! I've had a lovely, if somewhat indulgent, 2 weeks off, but it's time to get back to business! I was so excited about/inspired by our mini, I decided that I'm going to work some spells this challenge. Quest 1: Wingardium Leviosa - levitates and moves target It's about time I get back into lifting myself in the air... aka climbing. So, I want to climb at least once a week with body weight workouts thrown in for a total of 3 climbing sessions or workouts a week. Quest 2: Aguamenti - Water Conjuring I've been doing pretty well with drinking enough water lately, but there are still days when I have almost nothing. To make it easier to measure, I got a 74.4 oz water bottle. I don't need to drink all of that because I also have a fair amount of water in the foods I eat, but I'm going to aim for at least 60 oz a day. I'll figure out exactly how much of the bottle that is. I had thought about requiring it every day, but I'm afraid that's setting myself up for failure... so we'll say 6 days a week. Quest 3: Alohomora - Unlocking/Opening This quest is all about flexibility - or joint "opening" - and balancing. I want to do 30 10 minutes of flexibility and/or arm balances 3 times a week every day, preferably opposite the days I do my workouts. Specifically I'm going to work on crow, handstands, splits, and touching my toes. Last challenge, just for funsies I worked a bit on crow. I am able to stay on my hands for at least a few seconds and feel balanced, but my form is nowhere near the ideal. Quest 4: Arapneo - clears target's airway So this is a bit of a stretch... but this is my food goal, where I'm going to keep my airway clear by not eating too much. Or something like that. Anywho, I had really debated having a diet goal at all because I felt too restricted last challenge, but during the bye weeks, I went a bit overboard living free, so I want to have something in here to keep my on track. I'm going for an 80/20 thing with the NF Paleo Plus diet, so that's about 17 meals out of 21 each week that should be on the stricter side. Life Quest 1: Prior Incantato - conjures echo of the last spell cast This is my reading quest... where I read... echos of things written prior. Anyway, I want to read for at least a half hour 4 times a week 2 hours a week. Ideally I'd like to finally finish the LOTR. I've gotten halfway through the Two Towers twice in my life... this time I will pass this hurdle and finish them! Life Quest 2: Nox - lights out I will get in bed by 10:30 at least 4 nights a week. I don't have to sleep right away, but I need to start the process. I'm probably going to tweak this a bit over the next few days as I see how the week plays out (and as I am hit by formatting inspiration), but at least I'm ready to go for tomorrow. Good luck everyone!

Waanie's un-challenge After 10-or-so challenges, it's time for a very laid-back challenge for me. I have some mental issues (again), so I have to make sure that my goals don't feel like chores. Therefore, my goals can be very small week and a little bigger in another week. I'll track my goals in habitRPG, since then I'll only have to press a button to mark something done . Without further ado, I present to you my goals: Do some sort of yoga every day for at least 5 minutes a day Yoga is good for me, I'm usually more relaxed after yoga. So it's okay if I just put on a nice song of 5 minutes and be on my mat without doing anything else. 5 minutes of corpse pose also counts, especially on hard days . Twice a week, either go climbing or do at least one set each of push/pull/legs/core bodyweight exercises I love climbing, but in the last month my partner got injured and busy, so I did not climb as often as I should. If I don't climb, I should do some strength training to keep it up. It does not have to be much, just one set of push-ups, pull-ups, squats and leg raises, at whichever variation I feel comfortable. Furthermore, I'll have to post my reps of the workout on this forum. Cook something "from paper" once a week I have many cooking books and torn out a lot of recipes from (free) magazines, but I almost never use them! So it's time to find something nice and cook it once a week. Slight adaptions and substitutions are allowed, but the food should resemble the recipe to some extent . In the past, small goals like this have turned out to be very momentum-building, so I hope that this is the case again with this challenge .

As the echoes of the ringing of the hammer died away, the tinkerer looked up from his anvil. Alas, the long days betrayed him; he had worked past dinnertime again. With no small degree of pride, he surveyed the completed stack of tools he'd created. This was by far the biggest order he'd ever taken and the task filled him with fulfillment. With slight hesitation he considered the work remaining - it added up to several month of solid work. The rays of the setting sun caught his eye as they fell on Firle Peak in the distance and the tinkerer sighed aloud. This was a hard life for an elf. He longed for the forest and the mountains yet the forge and anvil called his name every morning. Come summer, the tinkerer vowed to lay down the hammer for a fortnight and venture to Firle. He'd never climbed her summit and the bard in the tavern had told amazing stories of the climb and the tavern in the foothills. Indeed, much work remained. But he had an apprentice now. In the growing twilight, he took down a mold not used in a long time. A plan was beginning to form in his mind. This month is a crazy one at work. Many things are due on June 20th, a major construction project is starting up, and our operating permit requires new and difficult tasks. However, my crew is fantastic and motivated and I just hired a Project Manager for the construction project. I feel like all my work objectives can be met if I can anchor my life and focus on the important things. In climbing, a piton is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the rock with a hammer, and which acts as an anchor to protect the climber against the consequences of a fall, or to assist progress in aid climbing. -wikipedia (links included for wikipedia addicts like me) My plan is to anchor my busy work schedule around a pleasant and productive, but not crazy, home life. Fitness and being active really play into this as those are the elements which refresh me after 8 or 9 hours of keyboard pounding and phone wrangling. However, I don't want to be overly busy outside of work as rushing to have fun can be just as stressful as rushing to a meeting. Goal Number 1: Hamstring Rehab While my hamstring is improving after a minor tear last winter, things are still not normal. To work on this I have three options: Standard PT Workout - About 20 minutes of resistance bands and isolation exercises with stretching afterward.Bike and Stretch - Ride my bike at least 10 miles and stretch afterward.Run and Stretch - Run at least a mile and/or until leg is uncomfortable. Then stretch afterward. For all of these, stretching is required or it doesn't count. Goal Number 2: Strength Training This is an area where I have not tried very hard lately. In the past, I set a goal of 30% average improvement in bodyweight exercises over the challenge. This time I'm shooting for 15% improvement in all of the categories. My first two sessions I'll go for maximums and use the average of the two as a starting point. At some point in the last week I'll have my proving session. Categories include: -Pullups-Dips-Hanging Leg Raises on Hang Board (must raise feet to eye level)-L-Sits on Rings for time-Inverted rows on rings Goal Number 3: Social Running, Bike Transportation While I'm recovering my ability to run, it's a great opportunity to run with my wife and/or the dog. Usually neither of them will run as far or fast as I do but the tides have turned. Also, the City I work for is sponsoring a bike challenge event. The best way for my to accumulate miles is to bike to work. Over the challenge I want to accumulate 12 runs with either or both of my companions and 6 commutes. Accomplishing these tasks is OK for double dipping with Goal Number 1. I will add my goals here as I round them out. They will probably include biking, running, rock climbing, house projects, hamstring rehab, elevation training and/or bodyweight strength training. Goal Number 4: Climb Mt.Rainier (sort of) In August my wife and I are headed to Colorado to backpack with friends. (YAY). To thoroughly enjoy this we want to practice hiking uphill. We'll go hiking each week gaining a total of 14,409' of elevation. I'll bring along a GPS to keep track of the gain. Goal Number 5: Something Fun Stealing from Kyliewyotie here, I have lots of fun hobbies that I need to enjoy more regularly. Each week I will spend at least one evening or half of a weekend day enjoying an activity I love from the categories below. Overlapping with other goals is OK except the hiking goal. Yes, photo proof will be posted. -Backpacking-Rock Climbing-Kayaking-Mountaineering-Motorcycle Riding

Hey, I'm looking for some advice about my diet. I'm a female climber, who is trying to lose a bit of weight/ get leaner. At the moment I'm not overweight, but I'm at the high end of healthy for my bmi, and would ideally like to be about a stone lighter. I weigh about 137 pounds (I am about 5''4), and I work out for about an hour 5/6 days a week. This is a mix of climbing (at a high intensity) and weights. Sometimes I do HIIT. I don't want to lose muscle, although I guess some loss is probably inevitable. When I'm not working out I am completely sedentary haha (I am a student- I sit down and revise/ netflix). Does anyone have any guidance as to how many calories I should be eating, roughly? I am confused by all the different advice on the internet, I've found everything from 1200 to 2000 calories recommended for me per day. I've been following the every other day diet for the past few weeks, but got fed up as I started getting light-headed whilst bouldering (not a great combo). Thanks v. much for any advice : )

After a restful period with the druids, Waanie longed back to her old home in the assassin's den. She missed the action, the weird movements and, mostly, the black clothes. The route she had taken from the den to her current home was just the easiest and most straightforward road. However, she had heard of many side roads. Some were said to be dangerous, some held beauty beyond belief and others even held treasures. Because the druids had taught here that she has plenty of time to get back, she decided to take some of these meandering paths. The first adventure she wanted to make was to climb the waterfall. Of course, she could walk around it, but the view was said to be amazing and there would be a treasure that only the strongest and most skilful climbers could reach. Quest 1: Successfully climb a top-rope route with difficulty 5b) I can now climb about half the 5a)'s, and most of the other half I can finish with one or two breaks in the middle. It's time to move on to more difficult routes, even though it's scary to start a new difficulty. In order to reach this goal, I will climb twice a week. If my partner is unavailable, I will do bodyweight training instead. Secondly, she wanted to see the dragon. Adventurers had spoken of a huge, dangerous and steaming beast that loved looking at tricks people could do with their body. She would even give them something from her hoard if she was sufficiently impressed! Since Waanie had learned some nice poses from her time with the druids, she thought this could be a great experience. However, she would have to learn some new poses to truly impress the dragon. Quest 2: Master the side-crow, the half-moon pose and the downward-facing dog Climbing basically covers my strength-work, but I want to learn more awesome things I can do with my body. I therefore chose an arm-balance, leg-balance and stretching pose that I do not manage to do yet, but should be able to master in a relatively short time. I will practice the balance poses twice a week, and the stretch five times a week. If I master one of the poses, I will replace it with a pose from the same category. Lastly, there were very wild stories about a big meadow with the tastiest fruits and vegetables anyone had ever tasted. However, only seasoned cooks were allowed to enter. If the warden would not like at least one of the dishes she brought, she would not be allowed to eat any of those great foods. Quest 3: Cook at least one meal with legumes and one dinner without meat every week Legumes are healthy and can be very tasty with the right spices. Meat is not very good for the environment, and there are plenty healthy alternatives. I'm not often cooking with legumes or without meat, so coming up with good recipes is the real challenge here. Hopefully, this will lead to some new quick and healthy recipes that I can cook regularly on weekdays. Will she be able to complete her journey?

Meow! As a fierce assassin cat you need to be able to blend in anywhere.... And Lilith's next assassin assignment is to defeat Team Rocket, in their attempt to control the region! The way to come closer to them is to cartwheel, because that way Lilith's dodge skills are highly increased! Also, it looks so cute of course that Team Rocket will be lured into NOT attacking, like this: Then the little assassin cat also needs to be strong, in order to do a lot of damage! Soooo how will I achieve those things? Well here are my goals: Goal 1: Do Stronglifts 3x per week. Goal 2: Do Third World Squat every day. Goal 3: Finish my Cartwheel Checklist (scroll down for the checklist) every week Goal 4: Hooping 1x per week. Quite a lot, no? Cartwheel checklist is based on the things written in http://gmb.io/cartwheel/ Hollow Body Plank 1x Frogger hopping 1x Wrist exercises 1x Triangle Pose 3x Half Pancake Sidebend 1x Pancake 1x Cartwheel 1x Obviously more would be better, but I don't want to overdo it. If I WANT to do more that's fine obviously, but I don't have to. So that's it!

Main goal: Onsight 5.12 (currently at 5.10). An "onsight" is a rock climbing term meaning to ascend a climb cleanly on the first attempt (no resting on rope, no information about the climb besides visual inspection). Motivation is to go on more climbing trips to unexplored places. What I will do: If going to the gym, stop messing with the machines. Maybe ask a trainer to check my form when starting out. "If going to the gym" is not me being lazy, I just rarely go because I'd rather go climbing, pretty much the same thing in my eyes, just ten times more enjoyable!Better eating. Lately I have learnt a lot about what things mean (simple things like calories even), my approach until now was absolutely random, I wouldn't have been able to tell you that cheese was filled with fat, that rice has considerable amounts of calories, etc.Better scheduling.For specific goals these 6 weeks: Squats, pull ups, push ups and deadlifts with proper form (so far I think I can do pull ups and push ups, I'm not sure)Get nasty things like saturated fats and sodium under daily intake levels at least 6 days of the weekOnsight a 5.11Learn what my weight and body fat percent is (I rarely monitor/track anything) and compare at endSide quest: Do something good for humanity at least once a week. Donate blood, volunteer for a few hours at a soup kitchen, etc.

It's said I run like a stubborn tide, Unstoppable, untamed and wild, But a brave face isn't brave I've learned, And as I searched for wisdom I remembered your words, You told me "sing for the wind my love, fear not for tomorrow, Cos love's the journey of a lifetime, and where you finish isn't where you start" So tomorrow doesn't worry me, And though the path be untravelled at least I'm free, To be great not just to be, That's what your wise old words taught me. You told me "sing for the wind my love, fear not for tomorrow, Cos love's the journey of a lifetime, and where you finish isn't where you start" Last time on the Rebellion... I spent my last challenge challenging my fears. The darkness within loves to taunt me with my worst fears. Fear of not being good enough, being enough for those I love. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing those I cherish the most. Not being able to start a family. Fear of attempting things that stretch my comfort zone. And I kicked that fear to the curb. I am feeling better than I have in a long time. The difference between where I am emotionally and mentally is night and day compared to when I started with the Rebellion. You guys are awesome, thank you so much for all your support! I have proved to myself and the darkness within that I am a strong woman. Strong in body, spirit, mind and soul. Let's go be unstoppable, untamed and wild! Time for an update in my motivation.... Motivation I will face each day with an open heart, be adventurous in all the ways that piqued my curiosity, have specific long-term goals, and practice kindness and compassion towards myself. I will meet myself where I am with love, compassion, and without judgement. I will celebrate the smallest of successes and be gentle with myself if I fail, focusing instead on learning what works for me. I am a unstoppable, untamed and wild force of nature when I go through life with all of my mind, body and soul. Main Quest Building strength, calm, harmony, and restoration of my heart, body, soul, and mind. - Time for a main quest update. For now, I am going to let this stand until I finish thinking about an update. Challenge Quests I'm focusing on getting lean this challenge. I have lost a fair bit of body fat (36% to high 20's) since September according to the Navy method. I would really like to lean down some more to be able to do some of the awesome bodyweight moves I'm working on easier. All my challenge goals will support this overall goal. I choose 25% as a metric for this challenge, because I think its doable and I like numbers.However, I'm awarding stat points based on effort not total loss. If I'm doing the things I've set out to do, the rest will come. Challenge Aims Physical: Decrease my BF to 25% and lose 190 lbs http://www.precisionnutrition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/pn-calorie-control-women-771x1024.png Quest One: Unstoppable I've done some work cleaning up my diet over the last couple months that have had awesome results. This challenge, I'm going to focus on portion control and eating only when I am hungry. This is my way of loving my body and being mindful that food is fuel. The method below is a guide, which I can adapt as needed to respect where my body is at on a daily basis. Week 1 - Record the number of times I stop eating when I am no longer hungry. Week 2 - Quest 2: Untamed I have been terrible at tracking things and keeping up with how things are going towards the end of my challenge. Time to add a tracking goal! I know some people have lovely spreadsheets but I tend to go ooooo shiny then forget about the spreadsheet part way. Going to complete a daily log on paper to build a tracking habit. Weekly items to track: - Weight - Waist measurement - Hip measurement - Neck measurement - Photo - Weekly update posted Daily tracking - Physio done? - Pain levels - Workouts - Sleep quality - Food intake - Other? Acquisition: >20 days tracked Consolidation: 20-30 days tracked Refinement: >30-40 days tracked Bonus quest: If I post a weekly update for every 6 weeks, I will buy myself a treasure item!! (TBD) Quest 3: Wild My mental health has drastically improved from my last challenge. My physical health is being challenged currently by a fibro flare up and some ongoing chronic pain issues. I would really like to have more time to myself in the morning, building towards a better morning routine. My keystone habit is going to be to wake up >60 minutes before I have to be out the door in the morning. This will create space for other habits I want to add later (fasted cardio, yoga, meditation) but I need to create the habit of leaving time for this first. Once I'm up, I can't go back to bed!! (I'm bad for this). Acquisition: >20 days awake 60 minutes before leaving time Consolidation: 20-30 days awake 60 minutes before leaving time Refinement: >30-40 days awake 60 minutes before leaving time

Crouching in a small cupboard, where Ocelot had flung herself to evade detection, it was hard not to groan aloud: her entire body ached with the tension. Her thumbs rubbed against the newly formed calluses on her palms in futile distraction. She could hear the guards’ conversation - snatched words, at least. They were wondering aloud about the identity of the assassin who had been haunting the fortress for over two months now. Imagine if they knew it was the new maidservant to blame, the small red-haired girl who looked as if butter wouldn’t melt, who concealed her powerful weapon-skilled arms under a brown cloak and kept her sharp eyes turned downwards to hide their rebellious flashes. Hours had passed - they must have, for her counting of breaths had lost itself at over a thousand. She had lost all sense of time and place. But in the darkness, in the solitude and forgottenness, a plan was beginning to form. Goal One: Ascending She would escape using her best skill - her small size and relative strength, meaning she could climb to freedom. For this goal I’m going to go on climbing based adventures! An adventure counts if I climb something to a significant height (rock, tree, hill, mountain, building, etc) and I get photographic evidence. I need to learn to use my climbing harness and I need to get into positions from which I can hang my new rings. Time to put those pull-up muscles to action. 0-6 climbing adventures: 0 points 7-12 climbing adventures: 1 STR, 1 DEX 13-18 climbing adventures: 2 STR, 2 DEX 19+ climbing adventures: 3 STR, 3 DEX Goal Two: Dragon Taming And at the top of the tallest tower, who knew what she would find… except that she’d seen it through her window: a huge, burnt umber scaled beast, with long black tail and huge black wings… a creature she could only hope to tame with patience, time - and plenty of tempting morsels of food. My dragon (aka, my horse) has been out to grass all winter and its about time I started his spring-grass fitness regime again… For this goal I need to go on a ride or do groundwork with him for at least 20 minutes building both our muscles up to some good long rides. 0-6 taming sessions: 0 points 7-12 taming sessions: 1 STA 13-18 taming sessions: 2 STA 19+ taming sessions: 3 STA Goal Three: Feeding the Fires of the Mind Then, with pure exhilaration they would take flight - but would she find the endurance to turn around and continue the battle for the Castle of Consistency, or exalting in freedom, leave it behind for more varied and unpredictable lands? This is a strange goal I’m afraid. I’ve been reading about neurotransmitters and their role in improving mood and emotional wellbeing. Interestingly, even if vital proteins are in the bloodstream, apparently its no use to the brain unless given a hit of carbs in the evening to enable the uptake of neurotransmitters like serotonin etc. Having also read some interesting analysis by various authors regarding nutrient timing for muscle growth, I’m doubly interested in shuffling things around a bit. My idea is to save all simple carbs until after 6pm, or at least 1 hour after a protein based meal. I’m still going to eat the same way - ie, mostly chocolate - just change the timing and see what happens. So, a day will count as successful diet wise if I: Get enough protein pre 6pm Save simple carbs for after 6pm Drink 2 litres of water Eat fruit and veg Track everything on MFP Seems simple enough except for the timing thing which might require some mental endurance! So, we’ll see... 0-25% of days successful: 0 points 25-50% days successful: 1 CON 50-75% days successful: 2 CON 75%+ days successful: 3 CON Life Goal: Translating dreams to reality Adventures with art! Another goal all about having fun. (Are we sensing a theme?) I’m determined to rekindle my drawing habit, and find some new enthusiasm for the illustration work which I’m pretty sure is my calling in life. (Not gonna quit the day job though. Yet) This goal is simple: go on art adventures! This means at least 20 minutes, preferably more of drawing in an unusual/public/awesome place. At least one sketch per adventure must be from life and be posted here. 0-6 artistic adventures: 0 points 7-12 artistic adventures: 1 CHA 13-18 artistic adventures: 2 CHA 19+ artistic adventures: 3 CHA Mini Challenges: Game of Pwns I'm in House Baratheon!

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FOREST CLOAKS ME I am going on holiday midway through the official challenge, and so I shall be starting early and hitting pause until I get back. This challenge will be 6th – 23rd April until 5th – 31st May. Getting ready for Fontainebleau Possible challenge reward: +5 STR, +3 DEX & +2 STA I started indoor bouldering around about a year ago thanks to these challenges. I’m still pretty bad, but I enjoy it and I progress a lot when I can boulder regularly. Soon after starting climbing, I realised that I live pretty close to a really famous bouldering forest and I’ve been meaning to go for a while. Well, there is no time like the ‘near’ present. I had a little think about it, set a date, found a campsite, bought a tent, looked up how to rent a crashmat and roped my partner-in-crime into it. The plan is to go on the 2nd or 3rd weekend in May! I focussed on running last challenge with the Scouts and bouldering fell to the wayside. However I need work on being at the best level I can be, if I want to get the most out of this trip and to be safe whilst I’m there. Practice makes perfect so I will boulder twice a week. Also, I will try and improve my climbing by doing three supplementary activities each week: reading about bouldering and techniques, pull-up practice, yoga, BBWW, running or grip exercises. Learn to draw Possible challenge reward: +3 WIS & +2 CHA I have been experimenting with digital vector art using Inkscape for a few months now, and it has been nice to do something creative. I have always wanted to draw, paint and make beautiful things. So I’m starting here. There are quite a few resources on the web about beginning pencil drawing, so I plan to do an hour of lessons/learning every week and try to draw something every day, even if it just a doodle. I am not going to be super strict about the everyday rule, but if I can draw 5 out of 7 days then I’ll be pretty chuffed. I’ll see how the goal evolves and I may tweak it as need be. To sum up: 1. Boulder twice a week 2. Do three extra activities to make me a better climber 3. Do an hour of drawing lessons/learning each week 4. Draw five times a week Let me know if you have any advice or suggestions (especially bouldering-type ones), and I look forward to another awesome challenge with you guys!

I recently started bouldering with my boyfriend. I climbed and/or bouldered before with school, but that's years ago and nothing serious. I want to try and go more often if possible and try to actually improve. Problem is I probably won't be able to go to bouldering or climbing gyms often because I'm broke, which is also why I don't have my own equipment (like the much wanted shoes) yet, and borrowing these increases the entrance-fee of course. I was wondering what exercises and stretches I can do at home or at the small gym I have access to to at least get the strength I need for climbing. I can't say which machines and equiptment the gym has to offer since I don't know the names... At home I have a pair of 1,5kg/3,3lb dumbbells, and my sister has a pair of grippers that I could probably borrow. There's rather high bars in the courtyard of my house which I never use because they're full of spiderwebs, I can hardly reach up the smaller one and even if I could I couldn't even do one pull-up. What tips can you give me to improve my performance for the times I do manage to go to the bouldering gym again?

So I am very new to this, like 10 mins kinda new. But so far so good! I am 32, and recently discovered rock climbing, and have become a bit addicted. Main Quest Be able to lead climb 7a (currently top roping 6a) Quests Climbing is hard, and even harder when you carry a few extra pounds, so I am hoping to build strength and lose weight in a manageable way.. Lose weight I am currently 5'4 and 155lbs, within the 6 week challenge I would like to be 145lbs, I am going to hopefully achieve this by cutting out all junk food and increasing my protein - decreasing my carb intake (I am vegetarian so any advice on meat free protein would be great) Start running I have started the couch to 5k and am on week 2, ideally by the end of week 6 I would like to be able to run for at least 20 mins, even if its slowly, my dog will thank me for it too! Make time to climb My local climbing wall offers women's only bouldering on a Monday night, at the moment I am so busy with work (queue excuses here) that I rarely make it in, and it can be intimidating when they all are strong climbers, so by week six I want to have it ingrained in my routine. Monday nights sorted. Any and all advice welcome!

Lilith the Assassin Cat wants to get STRONG A proper assassin should be able to fight, to pounce, to kill. Lilith the kitten grew up to be a stealthy, agile, smart cat. However, not a very strong one. Her latest assassination of the stealer of boxes ended up like this: Which tired the target out some, but didn't make him unable to breathe, or steal Lilith's favourite treats afterwards. So Lilith realized she had to learn how to channel her inner lion. And how do you do that? By getting STRONG. Lilith undercover to learn from lions: ------- Okay in all seriousness now guys. I am an assassin. I just know it, I just feel it. However, I have ALWAYS (alright, probably not always, but for a very long time now!) wanted to do weightlifting. I just like it, I want to have great abs and booty and everything nice and muscular and I want to be strong! Assassins are all about workout at home, workout everywhere. I ordered/build my own homegym and I am going to follow Stronglifts 5x5. If that is not enough to remain assassiny, I am also going to work on my third world squats and I still do climbing, hooping, yoga, all the craziness you can expect basically! So my goals are: Stronglifts 5x5. So weightlifting three times a week. My lifting days will be Monday, Wednesday, Saturday but I go to Paris for an interview soon and that will wreck the schedule completely, so I will try to fix that by being creative on which days I workout then. Third world squat. Work on it every day. Python programming: work on it for at least 1 pomodoro (25 minutes) every week. Non goals but definitely things I will be doing: Hooping Stretching Yoga Bouldering Toprope climbing I missed you guys so badly! It's hard to log challenges and spend the time on it etc etc and I will do my best not to flake but your company is the thing that really matters to me. <3 Together we will conquer the world! I love you guys!

I've been around the NF Boards for awhile now. I've started a challenge or two, but never followed through. I've started an assassin challenge before, but I thought I'd follow the rules and join the recruit ranks since I never finished. Goal 1 Endurance: My endurance is crap. I'm very strong for the first 20 secs(Beastmode FTW!), but I quickly lose steam. It doesn't help that I smoke cigarettes either. I'll never get on Ninja Warrior being a badass for only 30seconds. Challenge: Run at least 2 miles, 3 times a week. Goal 2 Combating the Office Spread: I worked in the field forever, but have spent the last year in the office. After sitting on my butt for a year I'm getting a little pudgy round the middle. So... Challenge: Abs, baby! 5 1min planks a day, along with at least 100 crunches. Goal 3 Cleaning the Muddied Halls: I think waaaaaaay too much. I tend towards negative, and if I do not make a daily concerted effort to remain positive I quickly sink back into the mud mentally. I think that mental &physical fitness go hand in hand. Challenge: Keep meditating 10 mins a day, at least 3-5 days a week. Personal Goal: I get antsy if I don't do something creative. I play guitar and drums everyday, as well as write stories/books/screenplays often. I've been working on an album for awhile, and in the next 6 weeks I'm going to finish writing, and being the recording process if possible. I play everything, all the guitars, piano/keys/synth, bass, drums, etc. It's a slow process, but one I enjoy. Anyone interested can give a listen here. https://soundcloud.com/fairyunnatural

Right, so anyone that knows me on the forums or in chat knows that I have a target painted on me that only motorists seem to be able to see. This led to 5 cycle accidents in 2014, 4 of which were serious enough to have me off training for weeks. Hilariously, the last one was on 3rd November, the first day of my new training routine after some time off to recover from the previous accident (oho!) The most recent one actually knocked my confidence a little, because not only did the guy hit me doing twice my speed, but he drove off, leaving me for dead in the middle of a dual carriageway (injuries weren't that serious. Dramatic effect. But how would he know I wasn't dead if he didn't stop); but I'm over it now. Got a replacement bike. Got two hella bright lights for the front, two hella bright lights for the back, a helmet light, fluoro backpack cover, new white helmet, bright colour knee high sport socks, jacket with white on the upper arms, and my personal favourite: a front wheel light (I can't do this justice with a description, so I'm going to try and take it out to get some video when it's dark out!) - Basically if anyone hits me and claims they didn't see me, I'm pretty sure I'm legally obligated to gouge out their eyes. Onto me, current stats, goals, how I intend to get there! Current stats (will update in a bit) Height - 5'9 Weight - 163.4lb Bust - 37" Waist - 29" Hips - 39" Thigh - 24" Bicep - 12.5" Calf - 16.25" Food targets, and penalties: Calories: no target Protein: 145g / day Carbs: <50g net / day (changed because otherwise I'm going to freak out about MFP's vegetable carb calculations) Fat: Til I'm full Penalty for non-compliance: 50p / day (rising to £1 a day after week 2) Tea: 2 cup / day (reason: tea = milk+1; tea = carb+carb) Penalty for non-compliance: 50p / cup Water: 1ltr / day (rising to 1.5ltr / day by end week 2, 2ltr / day by end week 4) Penalty for non-compliance: 50p / 500ml (miss a litre, pay £1) Alcohol: 2x pub measure a week. Pub measure: bottle beer / 125ml wine / 35ml spirit - no guessing. Penalty for non-compliance: £1 / drink Exercise targets, and penalties: Cycling: 3hr / week (rising to 5hr by end week 2) Turbo trainer: 30min / weekend (rising to 1hr / weekend by end week 2) Running: 1.5hr / week (rising to 3hr by end week 2) Penalty for non-compliance: £1 Bodyweight exercises (per day): 25x pushups (from kneeling to full by end week 2) 25x flat leg raises (add in 3min of plank by end week 2) 25x pullups (negatives to supplement as I still can't do them) All rising to 50x by end week 2; when I can easily do sets of 10, I'll evaluate and modify. Penalty for non-compliance: £1 / day Other things: Swim for 30min in first two weeks Take climbing lesson in first four weeks Setting financial penalties should hopefully motivate me a lot more, as I'm entirely skint this month, and all non-compliance penalties will be donated to charity. GOALS! The reasons for all the things! Running: trying to build up to running to and from work by the end of March (just one day a week) which is 7.5 miles in either direction. I can do 2.2 miles in 30min atm, and I can obviously run a Tough Mudder so there's no reason this should be unreasonable. End game: Tough Mudder, early May - wish to run twice on the same day Cycling: I just fucking love cycling. I'm hoping to get into the 3 cities charity cycle challenge this year, which requires me to have raised £750 by February, so I'm not sure I'll make it. Worst case scenario I make half and pay the rest, I guess. Also, I need to renew my passport so there's another goal! Other things: I can't swim, and I'd like to be able to. Currently I skip any swimming related Tough Mudder obstacles; I'd like to familiarise myself with the water so that I can finally do them! Climbing: Upper body strength sucks, climbing is meant to supplement that and will hopefully make me more confident with heights. Roll on 2015, I guess.