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It had been a nice vacation; a time to relax and take stock of the situation. Now Anim returned to his normal routine with new conviction. Spent the first week of this challenge at Disney World; walking ~5mi a day and playing with the niece and cousin seems to have balanced out all the buffets and snacks. So now I've got 3 weeks left to return to normal and settle back into my routine. Goals are mostly unchanged from last challenge. At least 5 "workouts" a week, including stretching as appropriate, options include: -dedicated strength work with skill practice (currently free handstands), up to 3 per week -HIIT/sprints, up to 2 per week -Crossfit class, at least 1 per week -Strenuous yard work or remodeling, up to 1 per week -Office sports PT Sleep management: time to reestablish proper bed and wake up times: -In bed by 10pm on work nights -Out of bed by 6:30am on work days Cook dinner: at least once a week, and include leftovers (mmm, leftovers...) Complete projects, at least 3, currently in progress/planning: -Collect and frame family pictures -Surround-sound rear speaker install -Paint Bedroom (x3) -Paint Hallway -Backyard cleanup -Front flowerbed remodel -Miter saw stand -Garage attic access -Bolt Action army assembly (miniatures) -DnD miniature painting -Grifter gun props -Mandolorian helmet (custom) -Prince Hans coat -Nightcrawler tail Mk4

Anim surveyed the area with some surprise. It had been too long since he had truly looked at his surroundings. He could remember victories and pitfall along the way, but with no real certainty of when or where they had occurred. Simply put: he had fallen into a pattern and let it carry him where it wanted. But now it was time to take back control of his path. Goals: At least 5 "workouts" a week, options include: -dedicated strength work with skill practice (currently free handstands), up to 3 per week -HIIT/sprints, up to 2 per week -Crossfit class, at least 1 per week -Strenuous yard work or remodeling, up to 1 per week -Office sports PT Improve flexibility: stretch after EVERY workout Cook dinner: at least once a week, and include leftovers (mmm, leftovers...) Complete projects, at least 3, currently in progress: -Collect and frame family pictures -Living room remodel -Surround-sound install -Wall patches and painting -Backyard cleanup -Front flowerbed remodel and repotting -Bolt Action army assembly (miniatures) -DnD miniature painting -Grifter costume -Mandolorian helmet (custom) -Prince Hans coat -Nightcrawler tail Mk4

The theme this time around is Galavant and there will probably be some gallivanting (and possibly mayhem). The four weeks of this challenge promise to be exciting and slightly insane what with finishing my Christmas break, moving back to school, and kicking off the new semester. While I’m normally fairly busy, the beginnings/ends of semesters tend to be especially chaotic and stress-inducing. Since this challenge is only four weeks long, I’m going to keep this round fairly standard and work on rebuilding and reinforcing old habits. The themes and goals are basically the same as last time around since I still have a long way to go before I complete those goals. The second season of Galavant is also running at the same time as this challenge, so brace yourself for knights, music, and madness. I’ll try to minimize spoilers from the second season, but the first season is fair game. So, I'm like this: 1. Foundational Fitness I had mixed results with my training last challenge. For the first month it was going amazingly well and then I ran into some health issues. I visited my cardiologist last week and have been given orders to the effect of: less weights, no isometrics, be careful. He sort of suggested lifting weights of less than 5lbs in order to achieve 'tone' (makes face). Needless to say, I was not happy since he basically feels I should stop all bodyweight exercise and take up running/biking. I expect that I'm going to continue with my bodyweight workouts, though I'll probably have to phase out some of the more full-body exercises and add more cardio (i.e. no more transition planks since I know those cause problems). Biking is apparently acceptable, so I'll be spending a lot of time on the gym's stationary bike once I get back to university. Challenge Goals: Darebee Workout a minimum of 3x a week (any workout, as long as it looks fun).30 minutes of walking/biking at least 2x a week 2. Food; Eat it Don't light the vegetables on fire; eat them instead. Honestly though, the holidays have done a number on the eating habits I was working on last semester. There is quite a bit of room to improve. Until I move back to college I have minimal control over what is being served most meals/where we eat out. I am 100% in control of breakfast and need to do a better job with controlling what ends up on my plate during other meals. It's amazing how much harder it is to resist temptation when I can't simply keep certain foods from ending up in the fridge. To help my self-restraint I'm going to continue tracking my food intake in my food journal and review it nightly to look for areas to improve. Challenge Goal - Track food intake in my food journal without fail. Hold myself accountable for my eating habits. - 26 days possible. 3. Limit the (caffeine) Drinking Challenge Goal: - Cut caffeine by the end of Week 3. I was making progress with this and then finals week + no sleep happened. Diet soda is not healthy. It needs to go. 4. Put the Armor on Properly - Life Goal (broken into Mini-Goals) Lately I've been feeling a bit hard pressed to keep up with everything and I'm tired of feeling this way. I want to catch up on my workload and get back in control of my life. Goals will be added as I come up with new ones. Challenge Goals: · Prepare the Armoury - Continue work on my Mandalorian Armor. I had to halt progress on this during finals week and haven't been able to get much accomplished since. There's still 2 weeks before I return to college, so I have some time to get this done. · Find Work - Apply for a minimum of 16 internships for next summer (avg. 4 per week). I really need an internship, preferably one that pays. This mini-goal is a priority. Ultimate Goal - Weight Loss I have confirmation that we are going to Hawaii for 8-10 days this summer. This will most likely be in August and I want to be closer to my ideal weight (currently this equals 160lbs.). My motivation so far has been personal health, better fitting costumes, and now I can add an upcoming vacation to the list. Challenge Goal: - Lose 4 pounds Current Weight: N/A

There have been rumors that Chancellor Palpatine is plotting to overthrow the current rule of law and become a dictator. Don't try to ask me where I got my intel, or who hired me - like a good Assassin, I won't tell you. But, I have been hired to go investigate this rumor, and if it's true, try to do something about it. Those jedi can be rather pesky, though, so I'll have to be quite sneaky...I think I'll need a disguise. Goal One: Get to Coruscant! It's rather far away, so I'll need to make sure I travel a lot every day, to make good time. 13000 steps (and/or other activity translated into steps) per day. This number is driven by the exercise challenge my office is having, so it will actually start a week early, on June first. Pass/fail. Either I make it, or I don't. As long as I average that number, I'll be ok, so if I have a more-sedentary day, I can make up for it on other days and still pass. Bonus reward: if I can meet this goal for 8 weeks, I get a $100 gift card! The plan: get up from my desk and walk around more, ride my bike to/from the bus stop on work days, and keep up the kettlebell and yoga workouts I've been doing. Goal Two: Arrive healthy The food on spaceships isn't the greatest, so I'll have to bring my own supplies, to make sure I get there in decent shape to be able to do my job! The plan: We've been eating out way too much, so that needs to be fixed. Week One will start with making, or providing supplies for Husband to make, dinner at home twice. Bonus points if it uses the crockpot for easy prep and/or produces lots of leftovers to be eaten for another meal later. Each week thereafter will add another meal prepared at home. I'm not sure yet if I'll count grabbing leftovers as a "prepared at home" meal. I will adjust after I've had a bit of a chance to see how it goes. I'm going to attempt to keep up the gluten free/reduced sugar diet from the last challenge, but the focus for now is going to be on making food at home more often. Goal Three: Travel Light It's hard to do this job if you've got a bunch of stuff everywhere that needs to be kept track of and/or packed and moved with you! And there's not a lot of space of stuff on a spaceship, so what I've got needs to be kept in order! This is my "keep the house clean" goal. The plan: Load the dishwasher every night. Run it when it's full. Pick up toys/loose items every night. Clean the house (vacuum/dust/mop as needed) once a week. Put the laundry away when it's finished. Pass/fail grading criteria. Goal Four: I'll Need a Disguise (life goal) If I want to infiltrate the Senate, I'll need to fit in. Research indicates Senator Amidala is often away and thus would be a good candidate to imitate. More research is required to make sure the disguise is good. The plan: Husband and I are huge nerds (shocking revelation, I know ), and costuming is one of my hobbies. We've been toying with the idea of joining The Rebel Legion for quite some time, and have finally decided to do it, before the new movies come out. After a lot of debate, I've settled on making Padme's arena battle outfit (non-ripped version...my abs are not ready to be shown to the world). This is a rather long-term project, especially with how busy I am. The goal for this challenge will be to collect all the reference images I need beyond the ones I took at the costume exhibit, and determine what patterns to use. If I can start sourcing fabric and other supplies for the accessories, that'll be a bonus.

Nightcrawler_Bamff in the Danger Room Story: After touring the upper grounds of the mansion, Kurt and Professor Xavier descend to a hidden compound deep under the school itself using a hidden elevator. The first room they enter is small and empty other than an ornate, curved desk. Xavier pulled out a small, cordless machine that he had been carrying . "This is Cerebro. It enhances my telepathic abilities and allows me to locate any person on the planet and differentiate between human and mutant. I first learned of your brother's deeds and was on my to see if I could help in any way. I am truly sorry I was unable to get there in time to help. I then found you and felt your pain along with the fear of the villagers nearby and knew what was coming next." After placing Cerebro in the center of the desk, Xavier leads Kurt down the hall to another empty room. This room, in contrast, is massive. A football field could easily have fit. The walls, floors, and even the ceiling, all metal, are covered in scorch marks and deep gouges. "This is called the Danger Room. It is here my students learn to control their mutant abilities and how to use them to benefit all of mankind, mutant and human alike. Together they form the X-Men, which I am extending the offer to join to you. First, however, I think you may like to experience the Danger Room first hand." With the push of a button, all manor of obstacles and bars spring from hidden compartments within all surfaces of the room. Nightcrawler's eyes light up as he sees this massive jungle gym. To an acrobat this room is like a candy store is to a child. Forgetting his fatigue from merely hours before, he is eager to stretch his now sore muscles. "I have set the danger level to 0. After you warm up a bit, I can increase it to show you a little more of it's capabilities." Challenge Eight: It's been a year since I joined Nerd Fitness!! Happy anniversary to me!! This will be a two part challenge. Wizard World Comic Con will be here January 23rd and I still have a ton to get done by then. Due to these time constraints, the first half of the challenge will put more emphasis on weight loss via diet and the second half will focus a little more on activity. Main Goal: Gymnastics! Always! No specific goals for this challenge, but I am currently working on aerials and will soon start working on moving my round off-back handspring-back tuck on to the floor from the tumble track! Specific Tasks: 1. Weight loss! It's easier to throw your body around in gymnastics if there is less body to throw! Time to lose some of that "holiday spirit" I gained through Christmas time...several pounds of it...For this I will be tracking my Weight Watchers points daily throughout the entire challenge, with additional constraints applied to the first half of the challenge. Part 1: Definitely not the most healthy way to do this...but I am going to crash diet to get ready for the convention. Gotta look good in costume for the pictures!! I am normally allowed 29 points daily with an additional, optional allowance of 49 points to spread throughout the week if I choose. For the first half of the challenge, I will be dropping this allowance to no more than 6 points per meal and no points available for snacks. This means a maximum of 18 points per day. Fruit and vegetables are zero points, so I will be eating a lot of them.Part 2: The heavy constraints will be lifted and I will go back to being allowed 29 points daily and 49 extra weekly points if I so choose to use them. 2. Exercise! Cant do gymnastics if I get all lazy!! Some sort of exercise is to be performed every day off from work during the challenge. Part 1: Gymnastics counts as required exercise.Part 2: Gymnastics does not count toward required exercise and I will have do do some sort of exercise during the day in addition.3. Splits! Because flexibility! My normal routine is: Part 1: I will work splits every dayPart 2: I will work splits every day, twice on days off work. Life Challenge: Costuming again! Working on completely upgrading my Gambit costume I made a few years ago: With less than three weeks until the convention, I know I wont have enough time to get everything done. I knew that when I first made the plans. Whatever I am not able to finish can be reused from the previous costume. Reference picture:

Argh. I typed most of this, hit the Enter key and for some reason Google Chrome decided that meant "go back." Starting over... *grumble grumble* Main Quest: Obese No More. This requires that I lose almost 100 pounds. My current weight is 261, and in order to no longer be obese according to the BMI, I must weigh 169 at least. Quest 1: Heavy lifting workout 3 days a week (3 exception days permitted). I'm permitting exception days because I know that real life can get in the way, and there's also a much greater chance of me getting sick this time of year, which would prevent exercise. Also, 2 days a week of a good weight lifting workout is still good. But for the best results in this quest, 3 days a week is ideal. Quest 2: Tracking food every day (3 exception days permitted). Stay within daily food allowance limits. Again, real life may get in the way. In my experience, especially when eating out it can be hard to track food. I want to strive for tracking every single day, though, and if I can't track something I want it to be because it's a meal that is very hard to accurately track, and not because of laziness. Also, last quest I stuck to tracking only, but could eat whatever I wanted, because I was just making myself get into the habit of tracking daily. This time, I need to stay within daily allowances and stick to healthy choices most of the time: good sources of protein, healthy fats, and of course lots of fruits and veggies. Quest 3: Lose 6 pounds. Quest 1 and 2 should lead to this goal. This is low-balling possible weight loss quite a lot - considering my weight, I wouldn't be surprised if I lose 10 or even a little more. But a pound per week is good healthy weight loss, and accounts for any plateauing that might occur. Life Quest: Complete one wearable garment for my costuming. DragonCon is at the end of the summer, which is closer than you might think. I have a bad tendency to start my costuming in June, and that means I spend the entire summer rushing to finish costumes. Things that I have a very hard time doing while rushing to finish costumes include having a social life, getting to the gym, and prepping healthy meals. So this year I'm striving to get started early because I know at least one costume will include a lot of leather work, and the other is an existing costume that I'm altering to make it look much cooler. And since "get started on costuming" isn't really a SMART goal, I've decided I should strive to complete one wearable item. Could be a leather gauntlet or armor. Could be one of the two jackets I need to alter. Just so long as I can wear it by the end of the challenge. And yes, everything I'm working on this early is either not relevant to size or else adjustable, so that weight loss won't prevent me from using it. Editing to add point distribution for each goal. Quest 1: Heavy lifting 3 days per week: +3 to STR, +2 to STA Quest 2: Track food every day: +3 to WIS Quest 3: Lose 6 pounds: +2 to CON, +2 to DEX Life Quest: Complete one wearable garment for costuming: +3 CHA Point distribution in case of failure to complete any part of the challenge is as follows: A - 100% B - 75% C - 50% D - 25% F - 0% I will also only award myself an A in lifting and tracking if I do these the set number of times (3 times a week for lifting, every day for tracking). I really only added the exception days in order to give myself permission to make a few exceptions, but still put a limit on the number I intend to take.

I sat out the last challenge and did an "anti-challenge" before that. It was nice to have a break and just free form my exercises, but it's time to dig back in and chase some goals down. Challenge Themesong: Tom Petty - Runnin Down a Dream Goals: 1: Handstands - Work on them at least 4 days a week. I can currently do a 30+ sec wall handstand, but my PR for a free handstand is ~5sec. 2: Muscle Up - Work towards them at least 4 days a week. Current workout includes supersets of chest-to-bar pullups and low dips, but I don't have anywhere handy to try an actual muscle up at the moment. (All the pullup bars I have access to are either free rotating or have the neutral grip handles in the way.) 3: Stretching - After every workout. I've been good about it the past couple months, but I'm starting to pickup my schedule again and need to make sure I stay on top of it. I'm not going to have a specific life goal this time around. There are a bunch of things I need to work on, but none of them jump out as "most important." I also won't be worrying about stat points any more; they weren't motivating me and the extra paperwork distracted from my real goals.

I keep running into the problem of my goals falling apart halfway through the challenge. Last challenge, I just didn't bother grading because I didn't care enough to remember what I claimed I was going to accomplish. So this time around I'm going completely free form. Challenge Themesong: General goals for this challenge are: Get in shape for Dragoncon - I'm down to a 30.5in waist at ~13.5%BF, and my goal is <10%BF. Rough estimates are telling me that's a 29in waist, but I'd be happy with <30in by the end of Aug. Finish costumes - I'm still working on Nightcrawler and a Diddy Kong/Jedi crossover. If I keep working, I should have just enough time to finish, but can't slack. The tail (I'll be using the same one for both with different color sleeves) is the hardest part, but will be epic if it works. Buy a house and move in - I'm working paperwork, and looks like everything will line up to close mid-to-late Aug. Then I have to pack, move, and clean my apartment so I can get my deposit back. Don't miss a day of PLP - I started 2 weeks ago and haven't missed a day yet, just have to keep momentum going and make sure I keep it in my schedule. Starting Stats (as of 28July): Height: 66in Weight: 145lb Waist: 30.5in BF: 13.5% Costume pictures to come.

Still no idea what I'm doing with my life, beyond doing what I can to enjoy it and Nightcrawler is still the current focus. DragonCon is now less than 3months away, so plenty of time as long as I keep working on it. I learned a lot about what works and doesn't work for me last challenge when I dove into tracking and then all but quit halfway through. Calorie/macro tracking, specifically, is too much work for me to do on a daily basis, but not tracking at all doesn't give me the results I want (I cut from 18.5%BF to 16%BF while gaining 3lb overall in ~4weeks, then stalled when I quit tracking daily). Additionally, following a structured workout plan makes exercise a chore instead of playtime. And I'm terrible about doing anything I see as a chore. Finally, as soon as I become involved in a competition, it becomes my sole focus and anything that interferes gets marginalized. Last challenge I joined the Pushup Quidditch PVP, and it was great, but I quit doing a lot of other exercises so I could crank out more pushups each week, which is counter to my overall goals. Challenge Themesong: Halestorm - Freak Like Me Challenge Goals: 1: Diet Guidelines (Con +2, Wis +2) Last challenge I tried counting calories and grams of protein, which was really helpful in keeping me on track, but ended up taking so much time and willpower that I started skipping workouts and cooking. This challenge I'll continue tracking my weight, waist, and %BF weekly, then create and follow rules for the week and see how it affects the numbers. Each week I'll tweak the rules to address problems, either in the results or my ability to follow the rules. As an example, this week (pre-challenge) I'm attempting to get the equivalent of 1 chicken breast, 2 cups of veggies, and 1 large sweet potato a day with the rest of my diet filled in with healthy snacks. And I'm allowed 2 "cheat" meals during the week when hanging out with friends. 2: Record Workouts (Str +2, Dex +2, Sta +2) I tried following a set exercise plan and got bored in less than 3 weeks. As soon as working out became a chore, I started coming up with excuses not to. This challenge I'll be going back to the "whatever sounds fun at the time" workout plan, but focus on recording what the work out was and how well I did. That way I'll have some kind of record to look back at. 3: Skill Work (Str +1, Dex +2) Yet another goal last challenge where too little flexibility led to an unhappy Anim. I like monkey hangs, but they still get boring after a month straight and a week of early mornings at work was all the excuse I needed to stop completely. This challenge I'll loosen the chain a little and try to reduce the time requirement: work on a "skill" for at least 5min at least 5 times a week. For the purpose of this goal, a "skill" is any exercise that relies on balance and/or coordination at least as much as strength. Examples (and ones I'm currently trying) are crow pose, PK roll, and anything leading to a handstand, lever, or back lever. Life: Nightcrawler Ready for Action (Cha +2) I'm actually pretty far along on the costume, the only things left are the tail, reinforcing the sash, and the makeup. But with only 3 months left to prep and at least one other costume to work on, I want to make sure this one is finished by the end of the challenge. The tail in particular is being difficult, as I'm trying to make it move and figure out how to make it support my weight after wrapping around a branch/pole. I've been doing trial and error building for the past couple months and the next plan is to build some sort of skeleton for the primary length to prevent the cable I'm using as the core from twisting. Once that's accomplished, it should be a simple matter of reattaching the brake cables and tweaking placement/lengths to get the motion I want. Starting Stats (as of 2June): Age: 30 Height: 66in Weight: 150lb Waist: 31.5in Body Fat: 15.8%

I'm still deciding what I want to do with my life overall, but I at least have a goal for the next 5 months: at DragonCon this year, I must be able to do Nightcrawler true justice. Last year was acceptable, but this year will be better. To that end, and taking into account my progress last challenge, it's time to organize my workout and diet. Challenge Themesong: Metallica - Fuel (edit: I'll save the other songs for another challenge) Goals for this Challenge: 1: Start Tracking (Con +2, Wis +2) I've been flying by the seat of my pants for the past few months while I reacquaint myself with this "fitness" thing. It's worked well enough, but it's taken me as far as it can. I've started a spreadsheet to track body fat % and signed up for Calorie Count; turns out I have no idea how to properly feed myself, even after a Taco Bell run for dinner, I'm still 250 calories short of maintenance for the day and 25-30g of protein lower than I'd like. I'm 5'6" and currently 147lb, but with ~18.5% body fat, so I'll spend the rest of this week uploading my regular meals and tweaking the recipes to hit my current targets of 2400 cal and 120g protein per day. That should put me on solid footing to track my diet and the results throughout the challenge. 2: Workout Plan (Str +2, Dex +2, Sta +2) As much fun as "random workouts of whatever I feel like at the time" are, they make it difficult to track progress. Time to pick a plan and go with it. I'm starting at Level 2 of the Bodyweight Brigade workout plan, but should make it to Level 3 on some of the exercises this challenge. Anything past that will follow the progression from Start Bodyweight. Additionally, I plan to do 1-2 days of sprints or sports and a beach run of increasing length each week. 3: Grip Training (Str +2) I let a lot of my training slip while I was worried about wrist pain, but the doctors didn't find anything. Plus not working out didn't make it hurt less, but starting back seems to have helped. I'm now at the point where grip strength is a major limiting factors on my workouts, and it annoys me. Plus Nightcrawler should be able to hang long enough to get a decent photo. To reach that, I'll start with 5min of grip training every day, probably monkey hangs, and increase as I progress. Life: Early to Bed, Early to Rise (Con +2, Wis +1) There are a lot of things I'd like to put as a life goal this time around (finishing my costume - with robotic tail, cleaning/organizing my closets, selling my old Magic cards, etc), but this one is really the most important. Plus if I can get my sleep schedule back under control, everything else will become much easier. The goal will be 8hrs of sleep per night and get up at 0600 every work day.

I'm still working on the exact wording for my main quest, something to encapsulate the desire to perfect myself, body, mind, and soul, and constantly seeking new challenges to test how far I've come along that path. For now I'll stick with something simple: Let's go have an adventure! My motivation is equally simple: Grow or Die. Every time I've gotten to a place in my life where I start to think I'm doing well enough, I stagnate and lose a piece of my life. I'm tired of letting that happen, so I've got to accept that the only way to live is to constantly challenge myself. Challenge Themesong: Stone Sour - "Reborn" Goals for this Challenge: 1: Cook twice a week and eat all the leftovers (+2 Con, +2 Wis)- this is something I keep having problems with. Either I don't cook and eat fast food or I cook too much and throw half of it away. I'm getting better at cooking for one, but need to make it a consistent habit. Prepping for a week's worth of protein shakes or omelets will count for one "meal" as well. 2: Workout 5 days per week (+1 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Sta)- I made it here by the end of last challenge, but want to ensure it becomes a permanent habit. No set schedule yet, though ideally I'll do 3 days of bodyweight/sand bag training and 2-3 days of running/sports. Also want to find a regular yoga class I like. 3: Stay hydrated (+2 Con, +2 Sta)- For me this typically means 3-4 bottles of water a day. I've been doing well at work, but forgetting over the weekends. If I want to keep performing at my best, especially with another Florida summer on its way, I need to get this under control now. Life: Clean house/Finish what I started (+3 Wis)- My apartment is currently full of half finished projects and it's almost to the point where I can't work on the current projects because of all the junk leftover from previous ones. I need to either finish or get rid of 4 major projects this challenge, then reassess. Two minor projects will count as one major for scoring purposes. No definitive list of what counts, as writing one would be a major project by itself.

Hello good gentles, I'm just seeing how many other NF members participate in the SCA. For those of you not in the know, the Society for Creative Anachronism (or SCA) is an educational organization focused on recreating the best parts of the European Middle Ages (approximately 600-1600 AD). We have everything from armored combat, to royalty, chivalry, music, tapestries and everything inbetween. If you're curious, check out the society website: www.sca.org Also, feel free to ask questions! I hail from the sunny land of Atenveldt and have been playing regularly for about 6 years. I'm primarily into fiber arts and book heraldry. Hope to meet some fellow "dreamers." YIS, Lady Elnor Howard