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Hello all, So... this will be my second time writing this out due to fail-y internet. WHY INTERNET WHY?! Sorry, needed to get that out. This is 6 week challenge number 2 for me, after not really at all completing my first one. The problem with my first one is I set myself some hefty goals at a time in my life when I didn't really have any extra available time for them. I'm still busy at the moment, so I've set myself goals this time around that are extending things I'm already doing (rather than adding in brand new stuff). My priorities at the moment and for at least the next few months are eating healthy, learning about pilates, and writing the second draft of my play. My goals are set up to reflect these. Goal the First: Healthy, Paleo, Filling Breakfast - 6 days a week I've been making a big effort with breakfast for a while now, but it's time to be structured about it and let it just be 'how I eat breakfast now', rather than 'I have to make myself special breakfast'. Grades A = 6 healthy brekkies/week B = 5 healthy brekkies/week C = 4 healthy brekkies/week D = 3 healthy brekkies/week FAIL = 2 healthy brekkies/week (or less) Goal the Second: Attend Pilates Class - 2 days a week I signed up with a yoga/pilates studio on a gnarly membership that means I can go nearly whenever I want. Yay! Trying to focus on taking the Level 1 pilates classes and build up some knowledge and strength, but this can help me build consistency in my attendance. Grades A = 2 classes/week B = 1 class/week FAIL = 0 classes/week Goal the Third: Pilates at Home - practice 3 times a week at home For days when my schedule doesn't allow me to attend class, and so that I'm being consistent (a 3 day no pilates gap will probably mean I lose whatever strength/knowledge I gained in the last class). Grades A = 3 sessions/week B = 2 sessions/week C = 1 session/week FAIL = 0 sessions/week SIDE QUEST: Writing my play - 40 minutes, 5 days a week I'm not very good at making sure I write regularly, so my stamina is pretty bad. This side quest will mean I build up my stamina while also working towards that second draft I mentioned earlier (and probably make the writing of that draft a much more pleasant experience because I won't be stressing a week out from deadline...) Grades A = 5 days/week B = 4 days/week C = 3 days/week D = 2 days/week FAIL = 1 day/week (or less) Ok. Well I better get on with it as now that I've written it down it's something I should do. I've made myself a little chart to put up on my wall and record my progress, and I'm aiming to update on here at the end of each week with my marks and any thoughts on how it's all been going. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to and being a part of NF's excellent solidarity. Go team! - SconeMaker

Meesa Fixes Her Weekly Routine [Level 5] Right so this time I’m going with a slightly clearer method of tracking things; going for a spreadsheet and screenshot kinda deal - rather than text posts. Goal 1 - Consistency I’m going to track everything into my spreadsheet. Split into 2 sections ‘Life’ and ‘Health; Life is things like doing washing; getting my morning routine right; shopping on time and these are weighted at 1 point. Health goals are things like eating healthy meals, exercise etc and most are weighted at 2 points. I’ll need to clock up around 10 points a day to pass and therefore 70 a week to pass. Goal 2 - Food Once again I need to focus on good food. Goal will be padding most meals with extra fruit and veg; and focussing on getting protein in time after major exercise sessions. My constant problem is that I don’t have time to eat food in between work and soccer training - and by the time I get home its too late to really have a proper meal. So I will be focusing on having a big afternoon snack before I leave work; and maybe some more fruit or a bread roll before training and a protein shake after. The problem with eating well before training is the nature of my position is the I take a few blow (via catches) to the stomach - not hard - but hard enough that if I’m full I will get unsettled. Side Goal- Not spending money! Trying to save to go to Denmark and visit my best friend - but in order to do that I need to stop spending money on more unnecessary items. Getting my food budget under control and eliminating the bad food. I mean if it creeps up because of the amount of good food I’m eating - I’m ok with that. But the goal is very much to not spend money on things I don’t need. I’m also thinking about leaving my job - anyone that’s seen my challenges before knows I have the boss from Hell; and I just want to boost my available funds to make sure I can cover the gap. I won’t be leaving until I have something new lined up - but I want to be able to cover any gap between pay cycles so I can pay rent. I also have a close family member’s wedding and will need to be able to provide a nice gift and also by myself something decent to wear to the wedding. Anyway - I have attached (hopefully) a before screenshot of my first week spreadsheet. I'll put some text posts up during the week - and a screenshot of how my week ended up.

I'm going to keep this pretty simple. For this challenge, I want to be consistent in my workouts, make progress, and do a heck of a lot better job posting in the forums. Next week I'm going to have an MRI on my knee to check out some suspected ligament damage. For the past few weeks I've done virtually no leg work. This sucks lots as I've really grown to love squats. I've been doing the 5x5 program from Strong Lifts, but for this challenge, I'm going to add in a few additional back and chest exercises along with change up the reps and sets a bit. So, I'm going to stick with the upper body exercises from Strong Lifts (bench, overhead press and barbell rows) annnnd, so far the knee pain doesn't effect my deadlifts. I will be careful though, (Spezzy said to!). What I've learned from Strong Lifts is the value of compound movements. For example, I'm amazed by how much strength my arms have gained by doing Barbell rows. (It's not just for backs!) So my workouts are going to looks something like this: Workout A Bench press Set 1: 20 @ 60% of goal Sets 2-5: 5 @ current "heavy" weight, working toward goal Bench dumbbell fly 2 sets: 10 @ 45 each arm (I'll up the weight as I can) Barbell rows Set 1: 10 @ 135 Sets 2-5: 5 @ current "heavy" weight, working toward goal One armed dumbbell rows 2 sets: 10 @ 45 each arm (I'll up the weight as I can) Workout B Overhead press Set 1: 20 @ 60% of goal Sets 2-5: 5 @ current "heavy" weight, working toward goal Dumbbell overhead press 2 sets: 10 @ 45 each arm (I'll up the weight as I can) Deadlift Set 1: 20 @ 60% of goal Sets 2: 5 @ current "heavy" weight, working toward goal As far as my lifting weight goals go, I'm working toward:Bench Press = 200Overhead Press = 125Deadlift = 325 My "Current" heavy weights are:Bench Press = 150Overhead Press = 105Deadlift = 245 If some great progress is made with my knee and it heals completely before the end of the challenge, I'll add squats back in. I plan to workout 3 times a week.Can I meet these goals in 6 week. I don't expect to, but I'm comfortable with these goal for now and don't want to figure out how to make them fit into 6 weeks. I know, I'm difficult. I'm also exploring Yoga and Tai Chi and will do one or the other 3 times a week.Additionally, I'm working on hand stands. I plan to do a wall stand of at least 30 seconds and work my way toward 2 minutes 4 times a week.--- I'm also going to push myself to be more active on the forums. It doesn't come naturally to me, but I will try. I should at least post weekly. Maybe that would be better than posting daily for 2 weeks then dropping off till the end of the challenge.

This is my first 6 week challenge and I am looking forward to the journey and the support/supporting of others in the guild. Mission - to lose 12 lbs, build up endurance and consistency - thereby setting the stage for the next 6 week challenge. SMART Quests - 1.) Develop and maintain healthy eating habits 2.) Complete body weight exercise circuit each day 3.) Walk at least 15 minutes a day LIFE Quest - 1.) Develop a new budget with my wife I know this is simple but that is what I need at this juncture in my life. I know what I am capable of but have just not care lately. Need to get back to being all in on life - in my work, ministry, marriage, fatherhood, fellowships...thanks for your time and I would appreciate your thoughts, prayers and encouraging words.

The last few challenges, that didn't go so well, made me realize that I have lost focus on my main goal of improving my Karate kicks. It's time to go back to my roots and focus this challenge on making my kicks better. 1. Focus, focus focus on improving my kicks by kicking every day. If I want to continue improving my kicks and I really do, I need to kick more often. I need to do at least 1 side thrust kick and 1 roundhouse kick for each leg, each day. I know, anyone can do 4 kicks a day but I want to be able to do this every day and not have any excuses that I'm too sore or too tired to do them. 2. Work dem hips 4 times a week. Did I really just type work dem hips??? I guess I did. I need to have my hips and glutes working at peak performance. My kicks are always better when I work my hips and glutes and this time, I need to do some type of hip and or glute workout 4 times a week. This workout can consist of: The 2-minute workout for strong and powerful glutes or Cheechoe's awesome hip routine or Some evil workout plan of my own that includes lying side leg raises, glute bridges, band shuffles and other goodies to get awaken the hip and butt muscles. The nice thing about the hip workout is, every time I do Cheechoe's hip routine, I am also getting in my daily kicks! I like combinations! 3. Without the core, everything else falls apart right? 3 times a week. The hara, the center of the body or the core, no matter what you call it, I need some more so that I can move from it. Move from your hara my Sensei told me many times and push the knot of your obi forward. Needless to say, when I tighten my lower abs, my kata and kihon really improves. Not only does my posture get better, I move from lower body and not my chest and shoulders. What's the point you ask? The point is, I need to get my abs and lower back in better shape and I will work them 3 times a week. I am seeing planks, v-sits, cable crunches, dead lifts and other fun stuff happening with this part of my challenge. Life goal: Find some Zen! I really need to relax. I am letting too many things stress me out and I need to find some Zen to find my happy place. The goal is to mediate 3 times a week for at least 2 minutes but longer if possible. As always, this is subject to change.....

Overarching Long-term Goal: Get to ~25% body fat Goal 1: Training Last challenge I had a goal of finding a new place to lift and getting under the weights at least once/week. I did that so now I’d like to up it to at least twice per week… ooOOOooo I’d like to continue incorporating cardio, yoga, and BW circuits in my training. Plus we got a sweet pull up bar for Christmas that is all set up! I’ve done probably a total of three jumping chin up holds… Ultimately, I’d like to get the following in in each week: 2 weights sessions1 yoga session1-2 cardio sessions2-3 BW circuit sessions Goal 2: Food Depending on how much I work out each week, I’d like to stay within 13,300 total cals. Given that, this goal also includes some other restrictions: Continue with NO packaged crap candy from the work jarLimit TWO pints of ice cream over the six weeks – last challenge I don’t think I bought one pint of ice cream (yay!) but ice cream in general was definitely eaten at the sporadic party/eventStay below 30% fat for the weekDon’t buy non-paleo items at the grocery storeNote that Clark Gregg is holding sriracha in that pic Goal 3: Life Just a few things I need to get done over the next six weeks. There’s not too much on my calendar so I should have plenty of time to tackle them. Work on (or finish) at least one item per week. Purchase and implement a double-tiered lazy susan – I have the bed/bath gift card I just need to get the damn thingTake down and pack up the holiday decorationsReturn/swap xmas gifts for the correct sizesClean bathroom – deep cleanSort file cabinet and old receiptsDe-clutter dresser surface and nightstand drawers

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

Hello Rebels, I have determined that 2015 is going to be the year of consistency. The last couple of years I have not done so well. I have either dropped out for a couple of weeks or more, or I have switched routines way too often. Hurting myself a few times in there didn't help things either. So, I have declared that this year I will be following a routine based on an old Doug Hepburn routine that is widely available on the internet. I am going to pretty much stick with the big three on this (plus some bro-curls!). I know that I could progress faster at my current strength levels with other programs, but slow steady progress is what I need now. I'm not competing in the near future, and I really need to focus on building my base. Besides, by the end of the year I can add 50-60 pounds on my upper body work sets and 100-120 on lower body (and work sets don't necessarily correspond to true maxes, of course). I have to remind myself to think long term, but remain focused on getting the daily work done. I have arranged it in a push/pull format, and will be doing it four times a week. Push will be squat and bench. Pull will be deadlift and bro-curl. The routine starts with 8 sets of 2 with about 80% of 1RM with two minute rests between sets, and adds a rep each workout until 8 sets of 3 are reached. At that point, add weight and start back on the doubles. For curls I am going a bit higher reps and less sets. This works out to 18 workouts per cycle, or just over a month. I have already done the first two workouts of my current cycle, and today is a rest day. Work set weights are (in pounds) 205 for squat, 170 for bench, and 275 for deadlift. Challenge goal is to be consistent. That is all. Nothing fancy. OK, I need to be a bit more active around here too.

I have really been sweating what to plan for this challenge. I mean, my best excuse...uh...I mean roadblock to success is gone now. I'll be working in the office, regular hours and all. So I was thinking, this challenge has to be perfect. Oh crap, there's the perfectionist self sabotage crap starting again. Couple that with an urge to do ALL the THINGS! and I'm setting up one more huge flop. Sometime yesterday evening it occurred to me, I don't have to be perfect and get the next 6 weeks scheduled in 15 minute increments right now. I just need to pick 3 things and for the sake of all that's holy do them consistently. I mean, it really is that simple right now. Once I get the basics down, then I can worry about dialing in to the nearest calorie and so on. So here goes... Goal 1) Boxing: 3 times per week. I've always left this as a vague 3 times per week goal which has allowed me to put it off at the beginning of the week and then at the end of the week announce that I would do better next week, lather, rinse, repeat. But I was also nervous about picking 3 specific days for the next 6 weeks. I do need some fluidity in my schedule to account for family time. I saw my friend karinajean is going to pick her days for exercise on a weekly basis. That sounds much more workable. On Sunday afternoons I will declare which 3 days it will be and then I will just have to stick to it. Goal 2) Food: The eternal bane of my existence. I'm going a completely different route this challenge. Getting most of my food from restaurants or convenience stores is really my biggest failure. When I eat at home, I don't do too bad. So I'm not declaring for an eating style or a calorie limit. Here's the plan: 3 nights per week I will cook dinner 4 work days I will pack a lunch 4 work mornings I will fix my own breakfast One dinner per week will include either a new vegetable or a new way of prepping a familiar veggie. I really need to get better about eating a fracking vegetable once in a while. We share more of the cooking duties at night so that's why only 3 nights for dinner. I just really need to take control of what I'm eating during the work week. Goal 3) Life: Continue working with my therapist on the self sabotaging not good enough voice. She's really helping me make progress. Here's a song about therapy! My therapist kind of looks like Dar Williams, so there's a big bonus. Another main theme of this challenge is no zero days like my friend WCG. If I fall off on food one day, bust out a home workout or a long walk to counter it. If I miss a boxing sesh, cut back on the food. Above all, don't beat myself up for mistakes. And for those of you just learning about the joedog brand, I'm a 39 year old female. Tall, broad and overweight. I live with my wife and our houseload of pets, 3 dogs and 5 cats at last count. I work in highway construction. I suffer from depression and anxiety although with help I'm getting that under control. I lost my Dad to cancer back in February and I just found out my best friend has cancer. I really hate cancer. I have a tendency to write walls of text. I have the best group of friends and support available here on NF!

Main Quest – Become Resilient People have accused me of becoming “consistent†over the last challenge. Sadly, this remains a struggle for me. Over the last few years, I’ve learned what works to keep me happy and healthy. Far too often, I wander astray because I “deserve some time off†or want to pursue some shiny new method or goal. Time to develop persistence and focus like Batman. Time to bounce back from setbacks even stronger and wiser. Time to become resilient. (BTW, grading = >90% - A 75-89% - B 50-74% - C <49% - F) 1) The Training is Nothing! The Will is Everything! The Will to Act! [+5 STA] Doucard is right. The will to act is how I will continue my daily training, including: - pray and read the Bible - prepare food - play outside (walk, BWW three times per week) - post on NF - pause (meditate) - plan for tomorrow This is the big goal for this challenge - consistent will to develop a healthy, happy Batperson. 2) Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up. [+3 DEX] Because sometimes falling is the only way forward, at least 3 times per week, I will develop the following skills… - chin/pull up negatives - bailing from handstands - parkour rolls 3) I synthesized an antidote. [+3 CON] I will counteract fear toxin (candy, junk food, baked stuff, work cafeteria “foodâ€, and other forms of emotional eating) with new antidotes. Some ideas (feel free to suggest more)… - drink tea - walk - listen to a song on my iPod - meditate - find a joke on the internet - animal pictures - read inspiring quotes - five deep breaths Side Quest – I am the Night! [+2 CHA] For the last 2/3rds of the challenge, I’m going to be working a super wonky schedule – 16 hour overnight shifts every other night. I have enough trouble shifting my schedule, but this looks to be playing sleep on expert difficulty. Here’s my plan to maximize the sleep that I can get, but expect adjustments - while on days sleep 9pm-6am - while on nights sleep – 9am-3pm - nap sometime between 1-4am or sleep later on non-working days - yellow glasses - magnesium? Life Quest – Build the Batcave [+2 WIS] My house and laptop are crammed to bursting with too much stuff. I will spend at least 15 minutes per day to declutter, organize, clean, or otherwise improve my physical and digital batcave.

Since I love getting a great start at the beginning of a challenge run, I'm going to do the best possible thing I can do to make the first week a week of a resounding success: go to a martial arts bootcamp at a beach site and relinquish control over my timetable to two crazy trainers who enjoy making us do push-ups in the water (in full gear of course) just a tad bit too much.[1] Oh, and what better place to write a PhD application to, well, anywhere-not-here than by putting us in straw huts with no electricity or paper whatsoever? Doesn't that sound great? … Okay, so now you know where my first week is going, let's talk about week four: the 50-year celebration of our martial arts branch in Germany and Europe, and we're hosting the event. Some 600+ people are expected to come. It's gonna get crazy. Not just that week, but also the weeks before, as everyone from our school slowly loses sanity and gives in to paranoia. Oh, and did I mention that the other Singapore application is due by end of June, right around the 50-year celebration above? … So yeah, by the looks of it, this challenge too is dominated by the "important and urgent"… and not the "important but not urgent", which is where I'm trying to get to. So, taking into account that I don't (realistically) have a lot of say in what I'll be doing, I'll be working on the small things which I can choose to do, in between everything else. In detail: Challenge Goals Burpees, burpees, burpees. To misquote a case study from Made To Stick: “Why are challenges successful? It's because of three things: Burpees, burpees, and burpees.â€[2] Therefore, I pledge to do (number of week) × 5 burpees per day, minimum. Convict Conditioning. I've been on and off CC for the whole of my NF career. If there is one major downside to this program,[3] I'd say that it is intimidating to restart if you've slacked on it for some time. (At least for me that's the case.) Therefore, I pledge to do round_up((number of week) ÷ 2) sets of at least one repetition of a CC exercise, one CC exercise per day. Both of these goals aren't exercise goals in the common sense, they're willpower goals. They're supposed to get me used to exercising regularly again. Therefore, while there is a steady increase in load (# of burpees/sets), right now I don't care about e.g. having at least 8 reps per set or so. Just that I show up and do the work, no matter how shitty it is. Side Quest Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin outlines 13 virtues he practiced to achieve moral perfection. I pledge to practice the 13 virtues according to Franklin's system (with modifications to virtue #12, chastity, because it's based on religion and IMO thus outdated) over the next 13 weeks. Each week, I will focus on exhibiting that week's virtue, as well as all preceding weeks' virtues, taking note of where I have failed to do so. This means that for this challenge, I will be practicing the first six virtues: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality and industry. And yes, there is a steady increase in load here as well. Book 7/Conclusion Of Book 6 …will come sometime next week if I find internet access, and at the beginning of week two otherwise. 1I swear I'm not making this up and I'm not exaggerating. They really love making us do this sort of stuff. 2The actual case study is about a local newspaper with above-average readership. Original: “… asked why the [local newspaper] Daily Record has been successful, [founder] Adams replies, ‘It's because of three things: Names, names, and names.’†(Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Made To Stick. p. 42) 3I hear that not everyone is happy with CC's progression system, its steps and conditions for advancing. But I don't feel knowledgable enough in calisthenics to pass (useful) judgement here.

Let's get one thing out there. I fucking hate Monopoly. And yet, sitting down with my friends to play a well made board game is the most fun I can conceive of. I'm taking a break from the epic quest of my last several challenge to have a little fun with my goals and get myself back in the game. As I posted at the end of my last challenge, my physical fitness has taken a back seat to my mental health. I feel sad about letting my fitness slide, but at the end of the day, I don't have any regrets about getting my head back on the right way around. This challenge is going to be themed around the ideas that I find that make modern board games fun. Have a plan and follow it <insert Scot joke here> No, I will not post pictures of me in my kilt. That's for the Highland Games. Come to Fergus. See the geek. The good board games require you to think at least a little bit. Even the really fast and simple ones give you a goal that you need to be aware of. Be the Sheep Baron. Buy all the Villages. Shoot the Sheriff. These simple, grokkable goals give the board game player something to focus and and engage them. And really, who doesn't have wood for sheep? My plan is to rebuild my push-up habit. I'm being groomed for 2nd dan "soon", which could mean anything from two months to a year from now. What that means is that I don't often participate in the general workouts during class, but instead work with the higher ranked black belts to refine techniques and practice my own stuff. Then the general class is teaching. I don't mind this as these techniques are not a walk in the park, physically speaking. But my callisthenics have suffered. I will do push-ups every day. Numbers have historically thrown me off, so my goal is just to do more today than I did yesterday. Not in a single set (that would be crazy), but if I do X push-ups today, then I must do X+1 tomorrow. Simple. Learn by doing This is not related to my goal in any way. It is just funny. There's a very interesting difference between Euro-games and North American designed games. So much so that board game enthusiasts attend design panels where game developers and retailers will have incredibly detailed conversations about those differences and what that means for consumers. The very, very short version is that North American games are designed to be explained in a newspaper or television ad and that Euro-games are designed to be explained in about 5 minutes, or while playing the first few turns. The implications of this are that North American games have a tendency towards shallow game play (Kerplunk, I'm looking at you) and Euro-games have depth that a player becomes more aware of the more that they play. And the fact is that I need to play more and learn that depth. That's my black belt techniques. I can be honest enough to say that I'm going to miss classes over the next six weeks. It's summer and that means my weekends are not my own (EXCEPT FOR NERDS, BITCHES!). I... I don't know where that came from. It must be finger-Tourette's. In order to keep up with my training, my Monday nights must be sacrosanct. Monday nights are the black belt classes. That is where I learn the most about the fine details that differentiate a black belt from the lower ranks. Don't miss a Monday night. That is all. Cooperation is victory Manatees are funny. Also, Dominion is awesome. There is an emerging trend of more games which force the players to work together against the mechanics of the game itself. Victory is rarely easy and relies on a combination of good communication, effective use of game mechanics and a little bit of luck. But when victory occurs, it is sweet indeed. And it took each and every person around the table with you. That moment is awesome. I have the privilege of teaching a lot in hapkido. It is the art I love and I love to share it with people. However, one of the things I need to work on is to embrace the opportunities I am given. There are some belts I just don't like teaching. Whether it's because the techniques are a little flat or they have things that I still find struggles with, I just don't have the enthusiasm for those small portions of the art. But my role as a teacher is to share the joy I have in my art and to encourage students to find the things that make them want to keep coming back. This is difficult to measure as it's as much a feeling as an actual concrete event. My goal is to embrace the teaching opportunities that come my way. We currently have a LOT of people orange belt and under. I am regularly teaching within that group. There are always things that students find frustrating in this period because, frankly, they don't have a complete understanding of what they're doing. After every class, I want to feel like I paid attention to that student right there in front of me and taught for their needs. More nerds is more awesome Get a good group of friends together for a board game night and tell me I'm wrong. Especially if you've got a stable of fun games that leave you telling stories for months afterwards. Nerds are awesome. There's this thing happening in Toronto where a bunch of nerds are coming to Toronto and I get to finally put faces to internet aliases. Maybe even learn some real names in the process. As a socially anxious nerd, like many of you, the prospect of all these new people scares the ever-loving crap out of me. Seriously. I'm putting this up on my challenge as a life goal despite the meet up happening halfway through the challenge. My anxiety and depression keep me from doing a lot of things. I will not allow it take this one away from me. I will post pictures of myself with Littlewings and Catspaw and any other nerds that I meet and show my brain who's boss. Me! That's who! And that's my productive morning, digging up links and writing out silly things. Rock on, my monk-y nerds. Rock on.

Hello, Brothers and Sisters. Challenge number three for me. And, I have the opportunity to complete it, something I haven't done yet. The theme of this challenge is Consistency. Main Quest: play soccer competitively Goal 1: consistent cardio. 3 days per week, 20 minutes total workout. walking is fine. failing to walk/run is not. I stick with this goal, because last challenge I was doing great for like, 3 weeks, and then I hit a mental wall. I just couldn't get up and get out, perhaps I was working out too hard, or perhaps I'm jsut a baby and need to man up. whatever the case is, the vehicle on which you arrive on the road of success is persistence, so, I continue pressing on, training for the goals I have to survive. I often times want to get up and run, though, and do intervals with some regularity because they feel great. But I want to get that measurable consistency up. This particular goal is Pass/fail. anything short of 100 percent completion is a failure for me, because I have a degree of fitness already. So, 3x6(w)=18 total workouts. my work schedule is fun, graveyard shift and all, so M, W, and F afternoons are when the workouts will go on. Goal 2: Train for the upcoming soccer tournaments (jun 21st and July 31st). I have 8 drills that I do. I don't want to do each one each day, because that challenge sucks. I tried, and failed. So, I'm gonna say if I spend five minutes working on 2 skill drills (or completion for the around the world challenge) 3 times a week, it'll be ok. I play between two and four games a week during the summer, and while I love it, I have to take it easy if I want to be consistent, My goal is not to break my body, but to consistently build skill. DAY 1: soft touch and around the world. Soft touch is a cones drill (I use rocks, cause I'm broke right now, but maybe that will change.) where you dribble through cones. Around the world is an adaption where you try to build passing accuracy on each side of both of your feet by consistently hitting the same post from nine different positions. DAY 2: Triangles and juggling. Triangles is relatively straight forward, you pass the ball between both feet making a triangle. Juggling, you keep the ball in the air. DAY 3: Shooting precision and shielding: Shielding is the movement of the ball in four directions without changing the orientation of the hips. Shooting precision is working on hitting the same spot on the ball with each kick. I'm not super skilled yet, so the goal is to have the ball roll forwards and backwards with no spin. DAY 4: classic agility ladder and lower leg strength. The classic agility ladder is one that I have seen in every strength training/sports program I've ever been involved in. I don't think it needs a whole lot of explanation. But the lower leg strength is gonna be bodyweight squats and jumping drills, forwards and backwards on a left to right on a line. 15 secs squat, 15 secs jumping forwards and backwards, 15 secs jumping left to right, 15 secs rest, for five minutes for this drill. Two days a week is going to be easy with this drill, as I work at a soccer program (WHICH, BTW, I got paid to do this summer! I wasn't expecting that one) and I can show up and use our equipment before I run our program's games. So, 12 total workouts (2x6(w)=12 total workouts), 3 on each day. Should be easy-peasy, no joke, but I'm going for the easy win here because I've not been able to complete a challenge to my satisfaction to date. A: 12 workouts total (3/d) B: 8 or more workouts total (2/d) C: 4 or more workouts total (1/d) F: 0-3 workouts total. Goal 3: Develop 4 recipes that are 2200-2400 calories. These recipes will be big pot recipes, or something along those lines, that I can cook in the evening and distribute in small portions throughout the following day. This is part of a long term strategy that I'm working on to lose weight. But I don't want a specific fitness goal as much as I want to start building a lifestyle of healthy eating habits that I can then stand on for the rest of my life. I have 2 recipes already, for a 400-600 calories snack, if it becomes necessary. I'll post up a recipes thread, probably somewhere not challenge specific, to keep you informed of what I like to eat, and to talk with you of the many tasty concoctions we can make. so, 6(w)/4 equals 1.5(w) per recipe. Starting on June 9th, the challenge start date, I will have one recipe drafted for each 1.5 weeks of the challenge (252 hours to complete one recipe). A: 4 recipes, 1.5 weeks apart. B: 3 recipes over challenge. C: 2 recipes over challenge D: 1 recipe over challenge F: 0 recipes over challenge And, since I'm still trying to successfully complete a challenge, no life quest, though there are several I'm looking forward to getting underway. If you can, help me out. I get weighed down after some weeks, and can definitely use the encouragement. that mental wall is for real, and its out there for me to find, and overcome. Hopefully, this will be the challenge that I do just that. This challenge also, I'm going to be posting up a signature with progress bars, and all that, so that'll be a lot of fun. And, any suggestion about tags would be helpful, I don't know how to tag this thread at all. AND, I have a theme song for this challenge as well... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHk_Emakefg. "To pass beyond is what I seek. I fear that I may be to weak..." (;

Everything old is new again. I'll be revisiting some old goals which I've had success with in the past, and which have helped me succeed in other areas of my life (mostly in the Life Goal section). The 3 exercise goals are nothing new, but do contain some new details. Overall Challenge Theme: Be Consistent Goal #1 - Run Ok, so I'm getting really sick of this goal, but it's one I still have to stick with whether I like it or not. So, as usual, run 3x/week. Focus is on improving my 2k time to 10 minutes or less. Goal #2 - Strength This isn't so much an old goal as a continuously evolving goal. There are several things I do that fall under this umbrella. I'll post a tentative schedule at the end of all this, which will hopefully help make it seem a bit less crazy and overwhelming. Climbing 2-3x/week, as per usual. Other strength stuff 3x/week - consists of incline pushups, something core-related (either plank thingys or knees-to-elbows(ish)), Bulgarian split squats Pull-up practice 3x/week - consists of band-assisted pullups (with the smaller of my two bands), flex hangs at the top of the ROM Rice Bucket - Iron Fist Goal #3 - Stretching I'm terrible at this, but it makes me feel 81% better when I do it an 117% better when I do it regularly. Instead of 'just stretching', which I absolutely won't stick with, I'm going to give yoga another go. In the past, I've always (ALWAYS) hurt myself when doing yoga, which is why I've never really stuck with it, but, in an apparent attempt to disprove the theory that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, I'm trying again in the hopes that some routine will stick. I've picked a few videos from the Do Yoga With Me website which are in the 'Beginner Studio' and seem like they shouldn't be too intense (and therefore less likely to injure me). I'll also be changing this up by making it a morning thing. Not first thing, I really am non-functional until I've had a coffee, but it will be a post-first coffee, pre-second coffee thing. I usually spend this time doing absolutely nothing of any importance, and then wonder why I don't have time to do stuff later. I'm also shooting for this being a daily thing, but I won't fuss too much if I miss a day. I will make an attempt to fuss a lot if I miss 2 or more days in a row, though. Life Goal - Multi-Stage i. Sleep No TV and no computer after midnight on non-work nights, after 1am on work nights. I can be up past these times, but I must be reading (or possibly writing, if the spirit moves me), and I can only read magazines or short stories. Work towards my alarm set for 9am (currently set for 9:30am with at least 20 minutes of snooze indulged in). ii. Unplug Related to my stretching goal, but also to general time management, I aim to unplug myself a bit. I spend a lot of time in the morning wasting time on the computer. While I'm drinking my first coffee, I can do things like check Facebook and read my programs, but that devil known as StumbleUpon shall not be touched. After my first coffee, I shall stretch, and then during my second coffee I can have more computer. After the second coffee is done, I get my arse out the door. This will probably lead to me being on here less, since I also spend a lot of time lurking and reading, though it probably won't make much difference to my posting rate. iii. Adapt Day shifts at work screw with my workout schedule. As previously mentioned, I'm a not-morning person, so early mornings followed by 8 hours on my feet (not to mention dealing with the giant steaming pile of bullshit that is my workplace) leave me tired, hungry, and not even close to motivated to work out. So I will pay more attention to my work schedule at the beginning of the week and adapt my workout schedule as needed. I'll do my best to just rearrange things and try not cut anything out, even if it means climbing 2 days in a row. iv. Record I want to keep up with my goal of writing stuff on my calendar. It's not been overly helpful to me, but I also wasn't super consistent with it. It literally takes 10 seconds, so I don't really have an excuse not to. Potential Workout Schedule Daily - yoga/stretching Sunday - climb, pull-up practice, rice bucket Monday - run, other strength stuff Tuesday - climb, pull-up practice, rice bucket Wednesday - rest Thursday - run, other strength stuff Friday - climb, pull-up practice, rice bucket Saturday - hockey (and/or run), other strength stuff Comments/questions/advice welcome!!

Hello, all! This is my first challenge with the Assassins, but my, what, seventh with NF? So I will give a brief background for those who I haven't met, yet. I joined NF March 2013 with 50lbs to lose and not much in the way of fitness except a running habit that constantly left me injured. I hopped around throughout a few guilds, namely Adventurers, Scouts, and Monks on a quest to find that perfect combo of training that actually would get me fit and (almost more importantly) not make me cry. In the course of my explorations, I lost about half of my goal (20-25lbs, depending on the day). So, I probably have another 25lbs I'd like to lose. Every guild has been great and I've made a lot of friends, but in the ongoing evolution of me, I decided to run with the Assassins for now. Why, you ask? The sort of fitness I enjoy the most involves flexibility and fluidity/grace of movement, e.g., gymnastics, dancing, martial arts, parkour etc. I can currently do none of these. My journey starts now. Main Goal: Lose Weight I plan to tackle this with the classic(ally boring) two pronged approach: diet and fitness. And in keeping with the suggestions from the NF article Are You Boring?, I am going to stick with what has been working for me mentally instead of changing up my routine every other challenge, with the idea that being boring will secretly develop exciting results. http://youtu.be/bjqGDfQA5zA Goal 1: The Böring Diet No grains and limit sweets to natural sweet additives (honey or real maple syrup) once a week. I've had great success with this plan in the past, I just got majorly sidetracked with the holidays (starting for me with my vacation in October. Oy!) Goal 2: The Böring Routine This means walking 3 hours/week minimum and 2 yoga sessions per week (minimum). Goal 3: Getting to the Good Stuff I'm starting a Hard Hat Challenge to spend 5 minutes every day mastering the handstand. I'm hoping that chasing this shiny will keep me from being too bored with the same old, same old. Plus, it would just be freakin' cool. Aaaaaaaand...we're off!

I turned 36 during the last challenge, go me, I lived another year! Last Challenge was up & down, and most of it due to my reaction to the unexpected. I had planned pretty well for the Holiday craziness, but we had unexpected out of town guests, we took an unplanned trip, and we had family emergency/illness. If I was eating well, I wasn't exercising, and vise versa. I'm going back to something very similar to my first Challenge goals. This time around it's all about focus, consistency, determination! I shall eat this stinkin' elephant one bite at a time until it's GONE!! Main Goal- Get back to what was a very consistent exercise/eating routine 1. Exercise 5 days a week. In the past I had met up with a group of people at 5am at the gym & we kept the same schedule; Mon, Wed, Fri, lift, Tues & Thurs swim. This works really well, but somehow I just got out of the groove and haven't gotten it back. 2. Make a meal plan that has me eating every 2 hours. I've discovered how much better I feel and less likely to cheat/binge If I'm eating every two hours. 3. Get 8 hours of sleep, and ditch something if it will keep me up late. I'm a natural morning person; it doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I wake up at 5am, and I'm happy, even if I've only gotten few hours of sleep. But then 2:30 comes around & if I haven't gotten much sleep, we killin' some folk. Side Quest- Make a plan. Stick to the plan. I need to get back to looking at my calendar and knowing what I've got going on, rather than being surprised that I missed something important. I homeschool my 2 kids, and I have two outside the house commitments, neither take much time or effort, but I've let the ball drop recently just because I didn't take the time to look at the calendar.

This is my very first NF Challenge and I am super pumped. Main Goal Work out consistently and establish the habit. Missions: - BBWW 3x a Week (MWF) - 30 Day Plank Challenge - 20 - 30 min. Stretching on off days Life Quest: - Pay off the new car ($1000) I may have a bit of a head-start on the life quest. I've figured my budget for the rest of january and should be around 700. The challenge will be getting the last 300 dollars before the end of the 6 weeks. Overall, I really like bodyweight training. I want to be toned to about 12-15% body fat (based this picture and this picture, paying to check that is just not frugal enough for me). I want to become more flexible. Being 6'3" i've had a real struggle touching my toes my whole life without bending my knees.

Well, I found great success and loved the challenge portion of my first six week challenge. Before the first challenge, I was weak as a kitten and now I can say I am more like a moderately ill-tempered alley cat. Since the goal is to be a strong and lean cheetah, I still have some work to do, and I can't wait to get rolling. Last challenge was difficult because I had a lot of travel to do in the last two weeks, which killed a couple of my goals. With that in mind my main goal is... MAIN GOAL - Work Out and Diet Consistency This goal is super important with traveling and all the other little things that come up in life. I have dietary restrictions, so it is important for me to follow them otherwise there are serious consequences. With that in mind, I have 3 goals: 1. Strength Train 4x a week The Reasoning: I made great progress during the first 4 weeks of the last challenge and lost it with a business trip and the early holiday rush. I also have a tendency of shifting my workouts around in the week, which throws off future weeks and means sometimes I may never get to them. I am going to accomplish this by doing the following: ​Follow weight lifting program with a focus on the big three lifts When traveling, get a gym guest pass or do body weight circuits Track everything in Fitocracy for that sweet, sweet, instant gratification (can I tell you I am dying for Rising Heroes?) Grading: A = 4x per week, B = 3x per week, C = 2x per week, D = 1x per week, F = 0x per week 2. Cardio for 120 minutes per week The Reasoning: Because I made such great progress in the weight room, I slipped doing cardio and I have been struggling to regain my endurance. I have been struggling with imbalances in my back which has made it hard to breathe (basically giant knots around my rib cage), so I am hoping to find some form of cardio that meets my needs. My favorite forms are the stairmaster and running, but I may have to dial it back depending on how I feel. I plan on accomplishing this goal by doing the following: Leave the house by 6:30 so I can fit in both strength and cardio before work Work on building up my endurance with treadmill interval workouts (too cold to be out side near Boston!) Make any needed changes to the type of exercise depending on how I feel (switch to bike / elliptical)​ Track everything in Fitocracy for that sweet, sweet, instant gratification Grading: A = 120 min/week, B = 90 min/week, C = 60 min/week, D = 30 min/week, F = <30 min/week 3. Make 4 Paleo Dinners and 4 Paleo Lunches each week (8 meals total) The reasoning: I already eat GF and I liked how I felt with less sugar in my diet last challenge. This one will be a bit more challenging since I eat a TON of dairy even though I don't feel that great with it, rice and quinoa are big staples in my house. I also have to contend with my fiance who loves all the unhealthy stuff, so there may be a rebellion of a different sort! Here is how I plan to do this: Grocery shop and do a massive prep at the beginning of the weak - Get 2 paleo cooking staples per week Make meals from a paleo cook book - currently leaning toward make ahead paleo just for the ease, but may also get the against all grains one. Bring some paleo snacks to stock at work to keep me honest Grading: A = 8 meals/week, B = 6 meals/week, C = 4 meals/week, D = 2 meals/week, F = 0 meals/week Life Goal - Pay of $2000 of my CC debt The reasoning: My last goal was to cut back on my impulse shopping when stressed. This goal takes it a step further to help get rid of some of the consequences of my impulse spending from before the last challenge. I am not sure the best way to go about doing this, but my goal is to start the flow back toward a $0 balance. Grading: A = $2000 B = $1500, C = $1000, D = $500, F = $0 Stats Measurements as of January 5: Height—5'8.5" Weight—Starting, 141 lb Waist—Starting, 26 in. Hips—Starting, 40 in. Bicep—Starting, 11.5 in. Thigh—Starting, 23 in. Calf—Starting, 13.5 in. Best of luck to everyone, and I can't wait to read about everyone's progress!

Will work out a nicer title in time. Trying to lose weight - ideally, 10kgs - in time for my half - which is 13 weeks away - (and in time for my birthday in April). Starting stats: Height 1.69 m Weight 75kg Waist 72.5cm Belly 74.5cm Chest 90cm Hips 101.5cm Neck 34.5cm According to army body fat calculator I have 27%BF, ideally I'd like to lose 5%. I don't want to just recomp however - I did that last year - but that's not enough for me, I'd like to lose volume. Rules: - stay below 1400 kcals/day (track) - 98% low-carb paleo (with one cup of milk a day and allowing some condiments like soy sauce, a teaspoon of honey, etc) and carbs <80g/day. - follow half marathon training plan (3-4 runs a week - Tue, Thu, Fr, and Sun) - do beginner bodyweight workout 3x a week (Mon, Wed, Fri morning) - one obligatory optional "cheat" day (Saturday) with lots of carbs and sweets - one rest day (Saturday) No snacking: - eat only at meal times: 7:45-8 am :: 1-2pm :: 6-7pm My hunger patterns should adapt to this within a few days. Rewards: - work out diet-friendly rewards for each weeks - that is a total of 13 treats over the course of the challenge! I am using Anathemas reward system - you get paid a pound for each goal that you achieve every day - so a maximum of two pounds a day. This means I get a maximum of £14 to spend every week. Reward ideas: compressions socks chin up barnew running shortsnew technical longsleevegig rowing club membership (3 weeks)hot air ballon membership (2 weeks)foam roller EDIT: I have changed this to be more low-carb and include more strength training as I have found that this really helps my weight loss. I can only ever keep to the 1400 cals threshold if I do low-carb anyway, so why not say it.

Meat Tanking : Battle Patterns Everyone knows that marching into battle without a plan would be asinine. Much is the same with heading in to the gym. If you enter those hallowed grounds with no set plan, you're just wasting your own time. over the course of this challenge, I'd like to get together a plan for how I can use my new found enjoyment of CrossFit to fit into an overall strength plan. A lot of this is rooted in the fact that I'll be heading down to the NF Lift Off in January and really don't want to lose to BigM because of the fact that I haven't been training like a Warrior for 6 months. So, how to establish these battle patterns? 1[F]. Setup Your Basecamp First we need to setup a a standard. Something that we can rely on every week. I started this last challenge and it helped me stay sane during some rather stress filled work weeks. I'd like to make sure that I'm keeping a routine of getting to class 3 times a week and in by myself at least once a week. Same scoring as last time. 3 classes a week1+ extra day per week. 2[F]. Ready the Troops Once you have a solid foundation built, it's time to lay the ground work for your building. I'm mixing my metaphors here... Once you have raised your fortifications, you need to ready your troops! Troops are useless if they're underfed and running ragged. The second goal is to ensure that my body is given enough of what it needs to properly recover. I don't think I'm doing this at the moment and really want to work on it. PWO Shake + BCAAs after each workoutIn bed at 10 on workout nightsOnly two nights drinking a week 3[L]. Study the Enemy's Movements More of a life goal than the others, this challenge goal is work related. I've started perusing my brother's library for books on improving managerial and/or people skills. I'm being put into such a position in my company where I have direct subordinates and have a lot of face time with clients. I want to make sure that I'm taking full advantage of these situations and can progress professionally from the outcomes of the projects that I'm heading. Read another managerial bookCreate S&P for Client repo 4[F]. Devise Battle Patterns As the year comes to an end and I'm getting into the swing of things at CrossFit, I'd like to setup my own battle patterns. What that really means is setting up programming around the WoD that we do during class. I haven't benched in 5 months now.. I haven't pulled anything over 85% for deadlifts in about that long.. I'm not sure what programming I want to get into, if it's PL or WL focused. A lot of that is going to depend on feedback from my coaches who are in the notes for this goal. Jen is thinking about doing a WL class during the week and Rick is our strength coach, so any programming I'll be running past him. Have a program setup with input from Rick/Jen on how to enter the new year 5. Sub Goals Place in my CF Competition this week?Beat(don't hold back) TinMan and Ska at the Spartan in two weeks.Make progress towards my bodyweight snatch challenge with BigM.Get in a couple heavy pulls to prep for the NF PL meetup in January.

*peaks in back door* "oh good no one is looking... I can slide back in and it'll be like I never left" Actually I really missed all you awesome people! I'm so glad to be back in a place I can hang out with you all again... In case you wondered where I went, my life exploded as I moved from WI to IA (read: the middle of nowhere) this fall... and while I love people, this move was completely out of my comfort zone. All new faces, new surroundings... (and new gyms to explore ) Unfortunately my beloved barbells and crossfit box are fairly inaccessible these days. (I can sometimes get there 1x per week but not even always that *sniff, sniff*) BUT instead of feeling sorry for myself and quitting I'm carrying on in true assassin fashion aka finding ALL the playgrounds of which there are many SO ONWARD HO! 1- I want to work towards better control of my body while upside down.... handstand walks, falling out of handstands safely and without panicking ... (working towards one handed handstand too down the road of course) needs to be 5-7 times a week for 5 minutes at least 2- Running ... I will sprint at least once a week. 3- Core- since this is vital for all gymnastic moves, gotta get it stronger... I'm doing a plank challenge with a workout buddy (long distance but that's ok) it's daily. side thing- I really need to stretch daily too... fell out of this habit and I can feel it! not so side thing - do SOMETHING everyday ... it doesn't have to be super intense every day.. but MOVE! In fact I'm making this one the "if-you-don't-do-it-you-don't-get-credit-for-anything-else goal" (shouldn't be a problem as the plank thing is also daily, but this is added incentive) Let's GO!! (having some fun at an awesome playground...)

Here's a little background on myself: approximately 1 year from now, my husband and I are planning to quit our jobs and move onto a sailboat, cruising the world. We've been planning and saving for about 2 years now and are super excited to be as close as we are. That being said, I want to make sure that I am ready for life aboard physically as well as mentally to assist with boat jobs and add safety to our journey. (For more info, visit my first challenge thread.) For this particular challenge, I'll be working on maintaining consistent workout habits, as well as breaking the bad habit that I have of eating any snacks that are available to me. Especially this time of year when there are so many temptations, wining the battle over my willpower is always a struggle. In addition, my life goal is also going along with the willpower theme. I need to be better about consistently updating my blog to maintain readership and grow it before we leave. Main Quest: To increase strength, dexterity, and overall health before casting off the lines. Fitness Goals: Get Strong! Going with this again since I want to just continue to increase my baseline strength. This time around, I will be following a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule to hopefully increase my motivation retention and eliminate confusion on when I should be working out. I am the Pretzel: Improve overall flexibility by doing yoga twice a week. The schedule will fit into the Tuesday/Thursday slots in my week, with the potential to use the weekends as catch up for special circumstances. Also, I've found in the past that yoga is a great way for me to relax. Defeat the Cookie Monster: Limit junk food intake to twice per week maximum. This includes (but not limited to): baked goods, candy, and other garbage made available at work and family gatherings during the holidays. Lifestyle Goal: Willpower Renaissance: Post a new article on my blog a minimum of once a week. Grading: Get Strong: 3pts of Strength possible. 3 = miss <4 days during challenge 2 = miss 4-6 days during challenge 1 = miss 7-9 days during challenge I am the Pretzel: 2pts of Dexterity; 2pts Stamina 2 Dex/2 Sta = 10+ yoga sessions 1 Dex/1 Sta = 8-9 yoga sessions Defeat the Cookie Monster: 2pts Constitution; 2pts Wisdom 2 Con/2 Wis = <13 samples of junk 1 Con/1 Wis = 13-15 samples of junk Willpower Renaissance: 4pts of Wisdom possible 4 = Publish 6+ posts on my blog 3 = Publish 5 posts 2 = Publish 4 posts 1 = Publish 3 posts Motivation: To be ready when my family needs me.

Solar Exaltation is for heroes. Those who look at the world and determine that it could be better and that they will take action. Men and women of conviction and purpose. These individuals can shake the foundations of Creation. In all of their cases, they are presented with their heroic opportunity and they rise to the occasion, standing for their beliefs with the power of the Sun exploding from their bodies. Many people face this opportunity. But some of them fail. Those who have heroic potential still choose to turn away from their destiny. It is too hard. They are frightened. They feel weak. It is in these moments that the Yozis smile. From these failed heroes they create the Chosen of Hell. The Infernal Exalted. Empowered by mad, mewling things, driven beyond the borders of Creation , the Infernal Exalts are twisted away from their human heritage and pushed to embrace the alien and demonic. They are joined, body and soul, with a demon of the First Circle, warping their minds and changing their bodies. They see the horrors of Malfeas, the chaos and destruction that is life in the Demon City, and they call it home. They stand, radiating the awful light of Ligier, the Green Sun, heroes of Hell and champions of the Yozi's cause. Creation must be poisoned and corrupted so far that there is no distinguishing it from Malfeas. When this occurs, their masters will be able to cross the boundary, free from their prison and wreak a terrible wrath upon all who have wronged them. With this terrible purpose, they return to Creation's shores, full of malice and a twisted power. What the Yozis have forgotten is that their servants, whom they have twisted as far as a human can go, were destined to be heroes. *** I know I said I wasn't going to join this challenge. I am still feeling very overwhelmed. I'm not even sure how I'll be able to do. But motivation comes from strange places sometimes. I felt, and still feel, a failure. But my goal has not yet changed. If you didn't see my last challenge, allow me to restate. To become worthy of a Solar Exaltation. Exalted fans among the crowd may start frothing at the mouth with all this talk of an Infernal Exaltation when my goal is to become worthy of a Solar Exaltation. Nerd scholars will admit that an Infernal Exaltation is merely a corrupted Solar Exaltation. 'Nuff said. Going deeper into the nerdery here, I feel more like the Infernal Exaltation better suits my mood, temperament and current mental state. My depression predisposes me to regard everything in my life as a failure. My job, my marriage, my status as a friend, my whole life. And this is even when I can logically stack up rather a large number of events that were overwhelmingly positive. So it's hard for me to look at the potential for heroic opportunity and not immediately think that I would turn away. That's when the Yozis begin their seductive temptation. So how will we do this? Well, the Yozis sure do have a lot to teach a budding Infernal. Tap into Malfeas' indestructible fury The Slayer Caste are the warrior-generals of Hell. Malfeas gives them rage and potency. They are unstoppable in battle. I must channel my energy into the fight. Go to 2 hapkido classes a week. Marked out of 12. +1 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +1 Stamina Follow the laws set down by Cecylene Cecylene's laws are not the laws of Creation. She decides almost on a whim what can and cannot be done within the Demon City. Despite her madness, her priests enforce all of her laws with an iron fist. One of those laws is a capacity for battle. Might makes right in Malfeas. So one must be ready for battle at all times. I will accomplish this by starting a stretching routine. I don't know any yoga, and my only access to yoga routines is though my wife's Wii Fit, but that's a start, right? Twice weekly. Marked out of 12. +2 Dexterity, +1 Stamina Live the unrelenting movement of Adorjan The Silent Wind never stops moving. And where she goes, all living things are silenced. Forever. Last challenge, I tried a push-up challenge. And while I failed at it, I found it valuable to be building the habit of doing something physical every day. Not strenuous or to make myself sweat like mad, but something. Do something physical every day. Marked out of 42. +1 Strength, +1 Stamina I've been here for a little while, so there's a life goal, too. Plumb the secret knowledge of She Who Lives in Her Name The Pyrian Flame knows of things that Creation cannot even fathom. When she shattered three of the spheres of her being against the walls of Malfeas, she destroyed concepts and ideas that even now cannot be known in Creation. Surely she would know a thing or two about an Infernal Exalt. I've started seeing a psychologist and I like how she approaches therapy. My schedule to see her is entirely in my control. And I need to make this consistent or I will never overcome my depression. And it's expensive, despite having coverage through my and my wife's benefits. So I am reluctant, even though it is necessary. See my psychologist 3 times over the challenge. +2 Wisdom, +1 Charisma And a non-workout-y fitness goal. Develop a secret plot worthy of the Ebon Dragon The Ebon Dragon has been plotting his escape since he first set foot in Malfeas. He has never succeeded, but it is in his nature to fail. This has not stopped him from executing cunning plans throughout the millenia, including that which placed fifty Solar Exaltations into the hands of the Yozis. For the Ebon Dragon, success is making a plan. I often plan what to eat an hour before I eat. Or when I'm at the grocery store. I cook breakfast and dinner, but I often don't have a schedule before I actually need it. I started working on this as a habit but life circumstances have knocked me right off the habit again. Make 2 meal plans each week. Planning for a whole week is too much. Marked out of 12. +2 Constitution, +1 WIsdom *** Now for the disclaimer. Everyone's support is great and I love all of you for it. But I am likely to be pretty quiet this time around. Physical activity is one of my soothing behaviours, so I'm definitely going to be trying to do this stuff. If I don't respond to your encouragement or comments, I guarantee that I'm not trying to be anti-social or ignorant. You guys inspire me, so I'm going to keep trying to fight the Infernal nature. Even those who have fallen can stand again. They might even be heroes.

Alright, so I've only attempted one other challenge and that I never actually completed. So while I stayed true to my goals thoughout most of the challenge, I am not counting it as successful because I never completed that final week. Life got too lifey and I was off of NF for a while. I've been busy. Things have been happening. I've faced much I've not wanted to recently, been brought down by it all, and I crave a fresh start. I am setting my goals this challenge to pull through and find myself in a better place at the end of this 6 weeks. I will build my strength through bodyweight training. I will relieve myself of that which is holding me down. I will start over. MAIN QUEST: Since I'm struggling with long term goals at the moment, my quest (unless I come up with something more long-term during the challenge) is to consistently stick with the Angry Birds (AB) workout for the full 6 weeks of the challenge. My breakout goals will be more milestones I am aiming to achieve within the AB workout. Particular areas that I am seeking growth in. The workouts themselves will be logged in my battle log in detail. Here I will comment specifically on the progress made toward these specific goals. Goal 1: Push-ups. Currently in the AB workout push-ups section, I just achieved 2 stars on level 1. For level 1 I am doing incline push-ups (using my kitchen counter). For this challenge, I want to complete level 1 with three stars. Stretch goal: complete 10 proper, on the floor push-ups. Goal 2: Pull ups. Currently on the back exercises I am on level 2 doing inverted rows using my dining table. I've just achieved 1 star (finally completed a total of 20 between 4 sets!). In this 6 weeks, I want to graduate to level 3. I know I will be at level 3 for a while when I get there since that will mean trying to do actual pull ups. So I just want to get there. Goal 3: Timing. I need to do better at getting to bed at a consistent time so that I can get up at a more consistent time. I am fighting lack of daylight since the sun does not rise for an hour after my alarm goes off, but I need to be more consistent about actually getting up when it goes off, workout day or not. If I can make this a better habit, I will not only have more time to have more calm mornings on non workout days, but I will have more time to stretch and shower before getting ready for work on workout mornings. Which will certainly be good for both my soreness and my not running late for work. LIFE QUEST: Lighten the load. As much as I love him, in some ways I am too much like my father. The most prominent characteristic I am thinking of right now that is holding me back is his tendency to keep everything. "You never know when it might come in handy." Famous last words. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not in hoarder territory. But I do have a lot of "stuff" that I don't need or use. Or even remember that I have because it has been in a box under the bed or in the closet for a few years. Like I don't need to keep the box from my broken iron. I don't need to keep my physics tests from 10 years ago. And I certainly don't need to keep my old frisbee bag that is broken. To combat this? Each week of this challenge I need to face either 1 box from under the bed or 1 shelf in the closet. Things are to get organized so that I know what I am keeping and everything else either goes in trash, recycling, or a donation box. Purging my way through this weight will help lighten the load. At the end of this challenge, I want to have built better habits, gotten stronger, and lightened my load so that I feel fresh and ready to move forward. My motivation? (written on the white board next to my desk) "Be stronger. Be happier with MYSELF and WHO I AM so I can MOVE ON." I'm ready for a change. Let's DO THIS.

I have a yo-yo relationship with fitness. It's either full bore, Insanity/P90X addict, or couch potato. The first generally leads to burnout or injury, which leads to the second, which tends to linger until my pants are too tight, which then sends me back to to the first. Rinse and repeat. My ultimate (for now) goal is to build consistency of habit without the extremes; a sane, geek-based approach that keeps me motivated. For me, that means visualizing myself as a kick ass assassin/swashbuckler/ranger who climbs the walls of the castle in the dark of night, subdues the guard and opens the gates to awesomeness. I'm not sure what actual exercise routine that translates into yet. Mission 1: Exercise 5x wk. It does not have to be Insanity or p90X, or an hour long slog-fest. A walk-run, hike, or yoga counts, too! (This may be obvious to some of you, but I have some sort of block about it.) Mission 2: Reduce wheat, sugar, and dairy in my diet. Add more fruit/veggies at every meal. Less meat for meat's sake. No boxed freezer meals. Mission 3: No slamming myself for mistakes/ skipped days. Get back on the horse and keep going. Mission 4: Try a new kind of exercise class; parkour or rock climbing or barre or hot yoga or... at least 2x during the challenge. 1x a week would be bonus points. Life Goal: Schedule, study for, take, and pass the next exam in my licensure series.