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Welcome everyone to my first challenge for 2018! My (user)name is DarK_RaideR and last month I turned 31. I’m Greek, I recently switched from government work back to being a self-employed lawyer and I refer to my girlfriend as my Special Ranger Lady Friend, or SRLF for short. That’s pretty much all you need to know…. oh, I’ve also been on this forum for about three and a half years, which is also how long I’ve been a crossfit athlete. For those unfamiliar with Crossfit, the start of every year is the Open season, this year happening from Feb. 22 to Mar. 26. During that time, a workout is announced every Thursday, people go to crossfit boxes and do it under the watchful eye of a certified judge or upload a video of themselves doing it so they can be judged, then ranked on a global leaderboard, with the best of them moving on to Regional qualifiers and the Crossfit Games in the summer. For most of us who aren’t professional athletes, it’s a chance to participate, celebrate, compete with friends and compare results with where we used to be. This year will be my third Open and unless @Endor decides to chicken out (injuries don’t count, since I did the 2017 Open with a blown knee) this challenge is devoted to preparing me for the 2018 Open so I can have him shedding tears of loss onto his Crossfit Pireaus shirt. Of course, even though some folks here might disagree (Warriors especially), life is more than just eating and working out, so I’m including a few other life quests in line with my 2018 Roadmap. Speaking of which, I got my benchmark numbers on the morning of Jan. 1st (87kg, 100cm waist) and looking to take those down by the end of the year. Quest 1: Not a single day lost. 3 Crossfit workouts per week minimum and active recovery during days where I'm not going to the box. Quest 2: Get in the Zone. Measure my home cooked meals and use the 30/40/30 rule for the rest. Make sure everything is balanced and zone-compatible. Quest 3: No distractions before 15:00 on workdays. hat includes NerdFitness, Videogames, Steam, Gamersplane.com and the Grey Dog Software forums. Also, no social media, unless specifically asked to look up something. Quest 4: Housework. Keep up with the day to day stuff (laundry, ironing, dishes etc) and do something beyond the usual stuff at least once every week. Quest 5: Continue using a Bullet Journal. t keeps me organized and makes sure the little stuff gets done. As a final note, for those who haven’t followed any of my 2017 challenges, I will be using a wrestling manager videogame (way cooler than it sounds) called Total Extreme Wrestling to provide a narrative for your entertainment. This has nothing to do with the challenge itself, it’s just a way for me to make my favorite game a bit juicier and hopefully put a smile on you readers’ faces. I’m aiming for 3 weekly updates (Mon-Wed-Fri) in general, but that might change on occasion.

Hello all, My name is Dennis and I'm a 34 year old Correctional Officer from Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. I dabbled in some Nerd Fitness Challenges in the past, I want to say almost a year ago but it seemed like nothing ever "took" and I continually fell off the wagon after working out consistently for like a week or so at most. That has been my story for the past four years roughly. In 2013/2014 I went through a weight loss journey. I went from my heaviest at 242lbs and 5'9" all the way down to my lowest at 189lbs in a matter of 6-7 months and held there for a year or so and then totally fell off the wagon and began eating whatever I wanted and totally cut out training. I am now, as of this morning, right around 232lbs (after losing 10lbs from being sick) and am looking to get back to where I was and actually hold and improve this time. So I guess my main goal is... Main Goal: Lose 40lbs - This will put me back to around 190lbs and alleviate a lot of ailments that I feel now that I didn't when I was more active. Lower back pain, over stiffness, feeling of lethargy, lack of confidence, etc. Smaller, SMART Goals: 1) Food Prep/Choices - Where I work 5 days a week, let's just say the meals are not the healthiest. One thing that I was very consistent with when I initially lost a bunch of weight was I prepped. I was almost religious about eating a Paleo'ish diet at about a 85-90% consistency. I'd like to get back to this as I have tried many ways of eating and this is what my body seems to respond the best to. 2) Working Out - I have to get more consistent with this. I have hired a Remote Coach as I have a full gym set up in my garage, (no gyms locally), but the last month or so I have not been doing the workouts with that great of consistency. I find that if I have a bad day at work, or ANYTHING goes wrong in the day that I just "give up" and use it as an excuse not to be able to workout that day. I have to get mentally tougher somehow and hit my workouts with consistency, putting in the work is the only way I am going to see results. In closing I hope that I can get some good advice, and encouragement here, especially when it comes to being mentally tough and being able to get in work outs even when the rest of your day my not be ideal. Other's can do it, I did it at one point, which means I can do it again. Thanks for reading all, hope to hear from ya! Dennis

The Crossfit 2018 Open starts on Feb 23. I'll be prepping by targeting the following goals this month: - No Alcohol - 1 hour walk or 1 hour gym every day - Track Calories - "Never 2 in a row" I'm also going to try intermittent fasting as my main goal is to lose weight. Looks easy on paper, will be tough in practice but I'm spending the next few days getting my eye on the prize. Bonus motivators: 1. I'm in a weight loss competition with a friend at work from 8 Jan to 31 Jan, every 500g one of us loses more than the other is $5 you owe them. 2. I bought some new gym gear 3. I bought some BCAA's to try. 4. I've set myself up for success with 20 pre-packed Paleo meals. 5. I've setup an NF Indoor Climbing meetup for 2nd Feb, I'm far too heavy to be climbing at the moment so need to drop a few kg's before then. (not so) Secret driving force:

Well, here I am. I finally ran out of steam to go on doing productive things with my own motivation and I need a place of accountability and to battle some RL bosses and smash some quests because I can only play Horizon Zero Dawn for so long. I was once an aspired ultra trail runner. I did pretty good, too. I even stuck with it for multiple years. But going from couch to marathon in less than 6 months more than 3 times over just fried me. In the beginning I also discovered crossfit and fell in love with the idea of getting stronger. I feel like I already know what guild I'm joining because I'm of such mind to be the person who can do anything so I can be anywhere and know I'll handle whatever situation is thrown at me (Rangerrrs, holllaaaa). My goals for this first challenge are as follows: (1) Run 2x/week & weightlift 3x/week. Start slow and start small. Don't let my ego get in the way or more honestly, don't let my "constant need to be the best self" get in the way. Consistency is key and I will get there. (2) Eat some greens with every major meal. Leafy or hearty (brusels and asparagus). Eventually I want to get back to a raw vegan lifestyle, but I need to start small (again). And I live in Colorado and it's winter, so I need to have forgiveness and realize that I may continue paleo for a few months for most of my meals. (3) Turn off all distractions: TV, podcasts, phone, anything that's not a book or playing with my cat - BY 8PM EVERY NIGHT. Time to be more present in my life and not be afraid of the noise in my head. Time to get back to my normal bed time of 9pm and wake up at 4am to GET SHIT DONE because I'm a morning person. Can't wait to score myself at the end of the 5 weeks. I've been listening to the inner voices, the not-meant-to-be-advice-but-omg-you-just-gave-me-advice from others, and in many different forms (dreams, meditation, tarot cards, podcasts) that have all told me I need to get back to a healthy lifestyle and "healthy" being very specific to me, my body, my blood, etc. Veggies and movement. Since I'm a physicist originally, I need to remember Newton's law that anything in motion will stay in motion and vice versa anything not in motion stays not in motion. Getting back into motion is going to be rough, hard work, and my brain is going to rebel. Go home brain, you drunk! Oh wait, that was just last night. I'm here! I'm queer! Get.... oh wait that's a different post. Anyway, I RULE HERE, OKAY?! Get a move on!

The 2017 Crossfit Games Open is almost upon us! (I know there's an Open sticky above but it's full of old posts from previous years and I wanted a shiny new one ) Here's the 2017 schedule: http://games.crossfit.com/article/2017-reebok-crossfit-games-season-schedule The Open Five Weeks | Feb. 23 - March 27 17.1: Feb. 23 - 27 17.2: March 2 - 6 17.3: March 9 - 13 17.4: March 16 - 20 17.5: March 23 - 27 Countdown: http://free.timeanddate.com/countdown/i5iscft5/n240/cf111/cm0/cu4/ct0/cs0/ca0/cr0/ss0/cac000/cpc000/pc66c/tc66c/fs100/szw320/szh135/tatTime left to Event in/tac000/tptTime since Event started in/tpc000/mac000/mpc000/iso2017-02-23T00:00:01 I'll be taking part, who else is in?

The Rangers and people from other guilds, that have been around for a while (at least 2 years i just checked) could know that, in my past, i have dedicated a few challenges in a row to prepping for my first StrongViking Beast obstacle run in the start of 2016. Those were pretty successful challenges, so now i'm summoning the strength of that format again. Because, frankly, things need to be done. You can also say i'm slowly starting to get frightened a bit by the endeavor i have set upon. For the people that don't know, a few facts: *** * T-minus: ~ 23 weeks / 154 days *** * Rat Race Dirty Weekend 2018 *** * UK obstacle run *** * 20 miles *** * 200 obstacles *** * Meeting all the Epic Nerds IRL for the first time!!! There are a couple of things i want to accomplish before that time, and one way or the other i tried to put it all into a spreadsheet which i will upkeep daily. (WIP) A little explanation about all the things: Weeks / Days: Countdowntimers to keep me focused on the time left KCAL/d: I want to be just under 2000 KCAL a day, this is just under maintenance, which will allow me to lose some fat, and keep up with working out. I need to lose some weight to be able to handle all the bodyweight related exercises better, like hanging pulling jumping etc. etc. Protein/d: I don't want to lose the muscle i have built the last couple of years, so protein will be the most important nutrient that i will keep my eye on. Doing 160+ a day is just a little under 2gr/lbs of bodyweight. Drinking/d: I know this is not going to be much of a problem (especially compared to 2 years ago), but i know that if i don't mention this here a few days will be lost due to excessive drinking. Now i rate this on a scale of no / mindful / less than mindful. This gives me some leeway to enjoy the occasional beer. Cause a challenge has to be hard, but you don't need to set yourself up for failure, especially when the drawback (of a single beer) is that low. This untraining of my beer-habit also makes me a bit afraid of the race itself, i owe it to some people to thoroughly enjoy several beers on friday and saturday that i really am getting a bit scared of having to do the 20 miles and 200 obstacles while having a major beer-induced headache. Eat healthy/d: B/L/D a.k.a. Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner. These are the only moments i will eat. The only exception here will be stuff around workout like PWO, recovery drinks and protein shakes. Again this will be scored for doing the best i can. "Best option" means that there was no way i could have eaten healthier given the circumstance at that moment. "Mindfully" means that there might have been a better option which i didn't take but i made a conscious choice not to have that, but also chose not to take the worst option. This is a choice i frequently have to make. I'm not one for meal prepping (yet). And i also don't want to give my kids a bad example by doing some extreme dieting and in their presence i will eat normally but try to do so as healthy as possible. No CC: No Candy no Cooky, no inbetween snacking. This means i just eat at B/L/D and nothing else. This should bring a halt to several of my weaknesses. Especially the one that hit's me after snoozing on the couch, somehow i always wake up with such a sweettooth and stuff my face with cookies or candy just before i go to bed. It will also help in not accumulating those small extra KCALs throughout the day. Lift / Run / Crossfit: These are the workouts i'm gonna do, and my goal is to give them equal attention. I always leaned on lifting more than running, and combining running with lifting was pretty doable. Now that i have CF in the mix it's hard to give running the proper attention. That's why i decided i'm gonna lay down a bit on the lifting and sacrifice one lifting workout for one extra running workout. Even the lifting workout will be geared towards the Rat Race. I'm gonna keep on doing the juggernaut program, and i will do a workout of DL/BP and SQ/OHP + 2 accessory exercises. This program will be written out coming weekend. This also goes for the running workout. I'm gonna go look for a plan that get's me to run about 10 miles within my ~20 weeks i've got. Extra Reps: I just like the idea of doing extra. So this is the excuse to do extra reps, and i'm going to categorize them as hard medium and easy. Hard ones are things i can only do a few of, like pullups. Medium are things like pushups, i can push those out a lot more. And easy ones are the things that i feel i could do all day (and actually have done so), like jumping jacks and mountain climbers. Scoring points are as follows, per rep: Hard 10 points / medium 5 points / easy 1 point. Weight / BF%: These will be here to record how my overall weight and BF% will transition throughout my prep. OSM: OSM a.k.a. Awesome. An awesome day, where i have been completely focused or something else significant happened, will be noted here. I'm hoping a lot of x'es in this column. Comments on missed goals and OSM days: Part of the pressure of accountability, if i fuck up, i have to come clean. Tell how and why i fucked up a goal. On the other hand, this is the place to gloat about awesome days too! So if you want to be part of this success please add some accountability. Nag my ass over things i haven't done or when i tell you i don't feel up to working out. Challenge me (that won't work i can assure you) or find some other way to get under my skin. I'm hoping with the help of you all this will be another good (set of) challenge(s) and i will get my butt in gear to kick ass on the Rat Race. May the lord have mercy on my body So...

I'm returning to the Rangers, been a rough 6 months and I'm finally ready for change. Inspiration: Nerd Fitness! Back to a proven standard I have used for fat loss in the past. Level up your life. 1. https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/level-up-your-life-make-a-change/ 2. https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/level-up-your-life-body-mass-index/ 3. https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/level-up-your-life-3-basal-metabolic-rate/ 4. https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/level-up-your-life-4-determining-your-calorie-level/ 5. https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/level-up-your-life-5-activities-that-burn-calories/ Overview: Long Term goals - Reach sub 25 BMI = 79kg (3 months) - Muscle Up (3 months) - Save enough for a new car (6 months) Key Goals: - Calorie count (stay under 1912 cals per day + exercise cals) - 1 hour walk every day Sub-goals - 1 hour swim on Sundays - 4 lifting sessions per week - 4 hours study per week Starting weight: 94.1kg Extra cals I can eat if I exercise: 1 hour walk = 473 cals 1 hour PT = 600 cals (guess) __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Calcs from the NF articles

Keep forgetting my PR's so I'm going to log them here: Movement: Back Squat Weight: 105kg Reps: 1RM Date: March 2014 Movement: Back Squat Weight: 107.5kg Reps: 1RM Date: Aug 2014 Movement: Back Squat Weight: 121kg Reps: 1RM Date: July 2016 Movement: Front Squat Weight: 90kg Reps: 1RM Date: July 2014 Movement: Front Squat Weight: 90kg Reps: 1RM Date: August 2015 Movement: Front Squat Weight:110kg Reps: 1RM Date: May 2016 Movement: Front Squat Weight: 90kg Reps: 3RM Date: 20 Jan 2016 Movement: Power Clean from Hang Weight: 80kg Reps: 1RM Date: July 2014 Movement: Power Clean from Hang Weight: 75kg Reps: 2RM Date: July 2014 Movement: Clean from floor Weight: 75kg Reps: 1RM Date: 30 July 2014 Movement: Clean from floor Weight: 80kg Reps: 1RM Date: May 2016 Movement: 2km row Time: 8:29 Date: 11/08/2014 Movement: Deadlift Weight: 140kg Reps: 1RM Date: May 2016 Movement: Deadlift Weight: 110kg Reps: 3RM Date: 05 Sept 2014 Movement: Zombie Squat Weight: 95kg Reps: 1RM Date: 22 Oct 2014 Push Press Weight: 70kg Reps: 1RM Date: 2 June 2016 Movement: Metcon: 2km run, 2km row, 2km run Time: 22 mins 33 secs Date: 25 Jan 2015 Movement: Bench Press Weight: 80kg Reps: 1RM Date: June 2016 3RM Bench Press Weight: 65kg x 3 Date: 25/05/2015 Fran (Rx) Time:11:32 Date: May 2016 Helen (Rx) Time: 14:42 Date: May 2016 Double Unders = 33 in a row June 2016 Movement: Back Squat Weight: 130kg Reps: 1RM Date: 1 May 2017

New Challenge! Or rather a series of challenges because I am trying to do multi-challenge character arc and it will span the course of 12 months. So, in case I have not mentioned it, tomorrow is my birthday! And also Thanksgiving if you're one of us Yanks. Which means I plan to get some extra stuffing and NOT feel bad about it. I turn 49 tomorrow, which is a weird combination of WHOOOT WHOOOT and holy fuck. I want to make my next few challenges all about getting out of my comfort zone, trying new things, and basically revving the engine so I come screeching up to the starting line of 50 with my tires smoking and my helmet on and some other racing cliche that I cannot in this moment think of. Half a century, baby! Bring me the bifocals and the comfortable shoes BECAUSE IT IS ON. I used my ongoing obsession with the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as a framework. In the course of the movie, Walter takes on a whole series of challenges that lead him to the prize and leave him a different person. Or... does it? There's a scene in the movie where Walter, after all his adventures, is sitting in a coffee shop and trying to write his resume - because while he was out having his grand quest, the magazine he worked for folded and he lost his job. It's almost a throwaway scene, but it's always stuck with me, because I watch it and wonder what happened to him after the movie ended. Like, did he get another boring job, and Cheryl get another boring job, and they just went back to being little gray pieces of paper again? I hate that thought. I refuse to believe it. I think - I like to think - that having gotten a taste of life outside his comfort zone, Walter and Cheryl bought an RV, and traveled across country with her kid and her three-legged dog, rock climbing and surfing and selling cupcakes at music festivals, with Walter's mom baking clementine-infused weed brownies whenever they traveled somewhere with legal marijuana. I am 90% sure that Walter's mom makes kick-ass weed brownies. My last couple of years have taken me waaaaay outside my comfort zone, or what I thought was my comfort zone, and I want to build on that and really start to stretch. Think about this: - I started weight training with a 40-pound back squat and a zero-pound deadlift, because I didn't know what the fuck a deadlift was. I now squat 175 for reps (or did, and will again when my knee is back) and my 1RM deadlift is 225. I'm still considering getting that printed on t-shirt, by the way. - I went from 42% body fat to 31%, and I gained 18 pounds of lean mass. I'm heavier, but a smaller size, so I guess I got denser. I'm weirdly proud of this. - I started riding my bike with a 3-mile loop around my neighborhood that was almost enough to kill me. This February I attempted the 52-mile "Brushy Tunnel" ride for the first time (a rite of passage for local cyclists) and was shaking in my shoes because I was sure I couldn't do it. I've since done it 8 times. I've ridden 6 metric centuries (100 kilometers) in the past two years and I have Tyrannasaur quads like Usain Bolt. I never want to wear long pants again. - I planned and did my "Keys Loop" Adventure, I went diving in Hondouras and was not kidnapped by drug lords, and I toured California and spent a week in Yosemite and ate every taco in Los Angeles. I took a sailing class and got certified as a keelboat operator. I bought a decent car. It doesn't seem like much taken individually (just like my resume!) but as a whole it's actually a lot. Now it's time to look ahead and really start to stretch. I made a wish list of everything I wanted to do in the next year, and I'm going to attack a couple of items each month until I get them all. Some will span a few challenges and some will be one-and-done things, and a few can overlap which is good because I am all about efficiency. A few things are goals about accepting my own self, like stopping dying my hair and being embarrassed about my love of nature movies and how much I adore things that are fried. A few are athletic goals that I've been wanting to do but chickened out because I was afraid to fail at them. Some are professional to make my job and my life easier. And some are just things that would give me enjoyment, like starting an instagram for my obsession with street art. But they are all things that have unique meaning to me and will allow me to grow. I'll post a copy of the list on my challenge periodically and cross things off as I accomplish them. I'd put it in my signature but I can't figure out how to make a pretty multi-colored signature with editable items and different fonts like some people have, and godamnit if I can't have the My Little Pony version than I'll just make my own. Given, then, that the challenge starts right after my birthday (I will plug this shamelessly, I am a complete attention whore), here are my items for this month: - 250 pound 1RM deadlift: The Mantis is convinced I can do this, though I find it slightly terrifying. The one good thing about my knee being janked so I can't do squats is that I am really focused on my deadlift and I am frankly kicking some ass there. My most recent workouts were 165 pounds for 3 sets of four reps. - Find a uniform: Like Steve jobs and his turtleneck, or Diane Von Furstenburg with her wrap dresses. I want to have a go-to look that always looks decent so I can stop thinking about what I'm wearing. So far it looks like my winter look is a pencil skirt with knee boots and a long sleeved top, or jeans (actually jeggings; there is no getting my quadzilla thighs in jeans anymore) with the same boots and top. I also promised myself I'd buy a decent pair of winter boots this year; Atlanta is not that cold but it's constantly wet in the winter and I'm always miserable. I want something with traction because I have a phobia of falling. - Revise the side hustle: I had a little ebay business that I ran on the side of my regular job, but it takes a ton of time for some reason and even at it's peak it only made about a hundred bucks a month. I'd be better off finding a different side hustle or just putting in more hours at my regular job. So this month I am going to give myself permission not to think about it or try to work on it. Bonus: more time for gym! Enter a powerlifting meet: I won't actually accomplish this goal over this challenge, but I'm going to attend a powerlifting meet so I can get a feel for it on the 9th, unless I have to work. I want to see how they run and what the competition is like. My gym workouts will continue on the strength end of things because I've discovered that 80 miles a week on the bike and three to four crossfit-style workouts make me want to become one with the carpet. I'm going to be working on my pull-ups a lot because I can't enter the Crossfit Open unless I can do a pull-up (even in the Master's division, where I totally am) and getting back to squatting. I did a couple bodyweight squats at the gym Monday for the first time in 5 weeks and they worked pretty well, just stiff. I'm also going to give myself permission to drop out of the online video bike training program I was using because a) it was killing me and b ) I hate riding the trainer five days a week. I'm going to mix up the trainer and outside. okay this has totally gone on long enough, you're all very patient. Go eat turkey.

Hello, folks. I am Ava and this is my first challenge (sort of) so I'll keep it short. I am a 27 year old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who loves gaming, lifting heavy things and her cats. I run an e-commerce store so I am always interested in all things digital marketing and etc. I am getting married next year (yay!) so my two Main Quests for now are to look great in my wedding photos (lose weight, go back to having a fitness routine and all that jazz) AND to become more financially stable (save and earn more money). So for this challenge my goals are as following: 1 - Diet Stuff - I am not going back to counting calories just yet, so I need to stop eating like an idiot. Only one "cheat" meal each week. - Alcohol only once a week and definitely no beer. NO BEER. 2 - Fitness Stuff - SS 3x/week. - Crossfit at least 2x/week. 4 - Level Up My Life Stuff - Save 1,5k this challenge. - Study and get another two DigitalMarketer's certifications. - Plan my week every sunday and my day the night before.

HAHAHAHAHA. It was worth tendonitis just to get that challenge title. So, for those folks who’ve lost track at home, I’ve been having some tendonitis issues in my left knee for a few months, and mid-August I tweaked it really badly and I think it’s developed into ITB syndrome, so I’m spending this challenge doing rehab work and not inflicting any more damage. While I’m at the knee rehab, I have a couple of other nagging issues that need fixing, so I’m going to go for the three-pointer and include those in THE REHAB CHALLENGE. My twelve-step program: Rehab One: The Knee I have what I have self-diagnosed as an ITB injury, so I’m doing the following things to repair and rebuild the tendon: - I’ve pulled all the squat and squat-like movements out of my workout. This means no back squats, no wall balls, no thrusters, no box squats, no rower if I can avoid it. Sigh. So depressing. I can still deadlift, though, so I still have a reason to live. - eat soup once a day, for the collagen, to help rebuild. I’ll start making my own again (bone broth) and eat Mexican Chicken Soup and Pho at my favorite dives as often as possible. *nerd note: the homework I’ve been doing indicates that vitamin C improves collagen & protein uptake, which I found very interesting given that it’s traditional to squeeze a lime into Pho, which is my very favorite thing. Likewise for Tortilla soup, which is also my favorite thing. Actually I think we can all just agree that food is my favorite thing. I’ll be squeezing lemons and limes into all my food is the important bit. - Add abductor work to my workout. Leg lifts! So very, very Jane Fonda. Working abductor muscles should stabilize my knee joint and increase my hip strength, which in turn strengthens the joints below. I bought a resistance band in a particularly eye-searing shade of yellow to help with this. - exercise micro-bursts: This basically means that 3 times a day I grab the little 10-pound barbells I keep in my office and do some OH press, bicep curls, etc for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. There’s some studies that indicate this increases the body’s output of growth hormone, which in turn helps with healing. http://www.gnolls.org/191/walk-it-off-sally-why-exercise-helps-speed-injury-recovery/ Rehab TWO: Blood Pressure My blood pressure is high. I check it fairly regularly at that machine at the Publix, and it runs pretty steadily at 160 over 80. That’s officially hypertension, so unless I want to go on the medication merry-go-round, I need to get it down, stat. I also had a point this summer where it spiked to 190/80 for a few days and I nearly checked myself into the hospital because I was sure my brain was going to explode, but I may have just eaten an entire bag of teriaki beef jerky right before hand so I decided to wait and see if it normalized on its own (I cut all the salt out of my food too) and it did. But it’s not down enough. - Lower salt intake (obviously). Salt free seasoning, no bacon. I’ll have to make my own soups as much as possible because my GOD commercially available soup is salty. I checked a beef broth package in the store yesterday and it had 893 mg sodium PER SERVING. How does it even stay suspended in the liquid? Does it just precipitate out to the bottom and that’s why you have to shake the box? - Drink more water: I ashamed to admit that I drink almost no water. I mean it not like I'm doing shots of Early Times instead, I just tend to drink coffee all day and forget to drink water, and I drink soda with some of my meals. So I’ll switch to exclusively water and only one coffee a day. - Meditation: I had a really good run with meditation for a while but I stopped over the summer. It’s time for it to come back. Calming, lowers tension, blah blah blah. - Add potassium: There’s some studies* that show increasing your potassium is just as important as decreasing your sodium, so I’ve switched to a “Lite Salt” that’s higher in potassium and I’ll eat bananas and potatoes as my preferred carbs, as they’re high in potassium. Finally, an excuse to have baked potatoes every day! - Forest Bathing: okay, this is fucking weird, I admit, but APPARENTLY it’s a thing. You just go out and sit and look at nature, and it’s supposed to be very calming and can lower your blood pressure and tension. The Japanese are all about it. It’s probably effective just because you get away from your goddamn phone for twenty minutes but at this point I’ll try anything. https://www.outsideonline.com/1870381/take-two-hours-pine-forest-and-call-me-morning Rehab Three: Posture I have really bad upper-body posture (kyphosis) from too much time on the computer and phone. The bike probably aggravates this. I swear my head is about three inches in front of my shoulders, like a swaybacked horse. - Yoga, especially stuff that will work that posterior chain. The bike training program I use (Sufferfest) has a yoga program built into it that’s specifically for bikers, so I’ll use that. I already do yoga periodically so I just have to remember to do it. - Trap work and core work: I have a phobia of making my traps larger as they’re already big, but I’m going to work some trap/upper back exercises into my routine and see if I can strengthen/straighten that upper shoulder/lower neck region. I also almost never do core work, so that goes in too. It can take the place of squatting (sob) - I might not get this far, but I may make myself some sort of standing desk. Better for your back and all that. So that’s it! I actually started some of these things last week so I have a little bit of a head start, but I think you’re supposed to be in rehab for 45 days anyway so I don’t feel bad about it :-) I know it sounds like a lot of things, but some items overlap - like dropping squats and replacing with abductor work, or yoga and meditation - and some are just a matter of replacing things once, like buying the “lite” salt and some salt-free seasoning mixes. I’ve already weaned myself off soda (and had a headache for three days) so drinking more water is sort of automatic. (Although I may spend more time peeing.) Eating soup is easy, since I kind of live to eat anyway. The hardest things will be remembering the “micro-bursts” of exercise and the forest bathing. I’m glad mosquito season is over. So my knee has been bad, but when it comes back, you'll know, know, know... By the way, Amy Winehouse looks stoned to the cats in that video. How did we not know she was on drugs? * “God,” I hear you saying, “enough with the studies already!” Nerdbrain. Sorry.

Keepin tight... Well, i might've gotten myself into some trouble with some obscure members of the NF. Taking out loans so to speak. Which means i have to deliver. In NF terms this means i got to keep it tight. Forfeits are in place, and since i don't want to be virtually raped i got to keep tight, to keep "it" tight. I'm almost done with watching Sons of Anarchy, and for you who also seen this show, it all made perfect sense. Trying to live the good life, but you have got some juggling to do. People expect shit, and you need to deliver. Consequences could potentially be pretty ugly. (and not in a good way...) Sons of Anarchy: NF Chapter @Grumble@Br0din@Laghail@MikeWazowski @mr_willes@Oramac@WildWolf@SeanP So how to make sure i keep my Sons happy Daily payments 1. Get that junkie body (Weekdays <2000 KCAL / Weekend 1 day <2000 KCAL) 2. Stick to the plan (No false KCAL, soda/cookies/candy/etc) 3. Fuel the inner junkie (2 protein shakes a day) 4. Be always alert (in bed before 11 PM, sun / mon / tue / wed) Weekly payments 1. Don't succumb to the booze (Free pass for 1 day of drinking alcohol each week) 2. Get the job done (Payment of 5 FULL workouts a week) Monthly payments 1. Get a new health insurance (with these hazardous new "friends") So i better make sure my payments will be made or some bad decisions will be taken at: and like and i don't want any of that!

It has been about a year, since I last did a challenge. Lots of things have happened since then. But I thought I'd try this again. It's neither pretty nor shiny (maybe the next one will have a theme again), but it is a start. Quest 1 - Fuel the body you want (intermittent fasting, lunch prep) 1-3 IF days per week, ideally 2 lunch prep the evening before Quest 2 - Work on your weaknesses (Shoulder Press, Squats/Wall Balls/Thrusters, Pull-Ups/Rows) additional work on free days (not rest days!) Quest 3 - Heritage of an Assassin (Handstand practice) 4 times a week for at least 15 minutes Quest 4 - Document all WODs and other training sessions

Welcome to my return challenge! The last 6 months have been crazy...long work hours, neck injury, capstone projects for school work, and a general lack of motivation for health related activities have kept me away from NF and other health-centric things. I tried a challenge to no success in August again before falling off. All of this has has led to a pretty large weight gain and I am really starting to feel uncomfortable in clothes that fit great at the beginning of the summer and things like knee pain and other injuries are starting to rear their heads again. Current feelz: I am returning to challenges with the hope that it helps get me thinking about little things to get the ball rolling and getting back on a healthy plan. With that said, what I have done in the past are not necessarily going to work so going to have to think outside the box in order to get back in a healthy rhythm. There will be two main categories for this challenge, Nutrition and Exercise(I know...really out of the box concepts here!). Nutrition: Goal 1: Dont eat from the box - 3 Days per week no boxed(processed) foods My comfort after long work days or busy times is to throw some pasta in a pot or heat up some boxed foods from Trader Joes. When I originally lost weight 2 years ago, I succeeded by prepping my meals and keeping focus on eating fresh healthy foods and even going as far as being strict paleo for 4-5 months. Having three days where the focus is to avoid these processed foods should help start shifting the mindset back towards cleaner eating. Plus I do love cooking and haven't had that much time for it recently so this will get me back in the kitchen experimenting with healthy cooking. Goal 2: Fill out the boxes - Track foods 5 days per week MFP was my friend when it came to losing weight in the past. It helped keep me a bit more honest than when I kind of wing it with nutrition. I find that when I am not weighing and tracking my food, I do a poor job of measuring portion sizes and determining the nutrition of certain foods(This should improve with the less processed foods...double win). So the goal is to track during the week and if I track on the weekends then that is a bonus. Exercise: Goal 3: Embrace the Box - Workout 3 mornings per week For those who dont know my workouts/gym experience, I basically do Crossfit except there is a stigma against it from gym owner/coaches so we are not an official box. One of the things that drove me away from the gym a bit these last few months was lack of variation in workouts. Every Wednesday was 5/3/1 Bench press, some accessories, and a quick conditioning set and Fridays were the same but with Deadlifts. I ran 5/3/1 in the past and didnt like the progress I was making so I wasnt that excited to do it as part of gym programming. Well...I wasn't the only one to complain about it after doing the same thing for 10months and now the gym has new programming, written by Box Programming(original intent of the box theme). The main basis of their programming is the Conjugate Method for Athletes which has a strong focus on accessory type lifts as well as incorporating different reps and workout schemes. Some highlights so far have been floor presses on the old bench day and EMOM style sumo deadlift workouts for the old deadlift day. Plus with these new rep/set schemes we actually have like 30min for conditioning instead of the 8-10min after-thought tabata conditioning that we've done in the past after 5/3/1. These new workouts have gotten me excited to go to the gym again. Just need to get back on a schedule now that work has calmed down and get back to lifting 3 times per week minimum at the 6am class before work. And what would a box theme challenge be without checkboxes! Goal 1: ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ Goal 2: ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 3: ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ Onward to victory!

Hi Nerds, I have had pairs of Reebok Nano 2s, Nano 4s, Nano 5s, New Balance Minimus, Merrell Bare Access... I've almost burned out my current Nano 4s and am looking for a replacement. I'm looking for something low-drop with a big toe box (my toes splay) that I can wear casually or for workouts. I'm looking into the NoBull brand, but am hesitant to buy something I can't try on first. What do y'all like?

I've broken this year down to 3 big chunks of long challenges leading up to major fitness events. Chapter 1 was about preparing for the Crossfit Open 2017, Chapter 2 was about preparing to run a Tough Mudder in Ireland next to @Jarric and now Chapter 3 is about getting ready to run the Spartan Super in Sparta on November 5th. I've also kept up a wrestling narrative, where I’m playing Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 and doing the Road to Glory challenge, essentially creating a newbie 18 year old alter ego in some backyard wrestling promotion as I try to headline the Main Event of a big promotion’s Pay Per View event. Technical details and rules can be found here. I am using the game’s database of characters, but set in 1997. Considering the first TEW was set in 2005, it's pretty early in that universe and if played well, I should have the chance to rise together with the game's most famous characters. While so far I've used my Guild Leader powers to move the same thread across challenge forums until each chapter was complete, I've realized it makes it hard for people to keep up with the narrative if they've missed the start. Also, since I will be tweaking my goals for every challenge cycle anyway, I decided I might as well set up a new thread to continue where the old one left off and help people get back in track with where me and my storytelling is. Nutrition: Quantity over quality I feel like I've been focusing on the tree and missing the forest. While my overall eating habits aren't perfect (far from it) I do know what's good to eat and what not. I no longer indulge myself or go overboard with ultra junk food, nor do I really carve such things. You could say that more or less I have my eating in line and have been focusing on trimming the details to perfect it. Given my current life parameters, that is too much effort for too little detail that will result in too minor a difference. While I've been focusing there, I let the fact slide that I am consuming massive quantities of food and most of it is completely senseless and irrational because I'm not that hungry. That said, my nutrition goal for this challenge cycle will be to cut down on the quantity of my meals. Pretty cloudy goal, even if I'll know when I've hit or missed it, but just to make it a bit more SMART I'll put it out as a "mindful eating" goal. Take a moment to consider what and why I'm eating before I eat it, as well as give myself some time to feel full before I decide to have some more. Crossfit: Focused work on eliminating weaknesses When I did the Tough Mudder, I was at my worst physical shape ever for a race and fully expected it to be a trainwreck. Surprise surprise, not only it went great, I even rocked stuff that's been troubling me since day one such as rings and hangs. My biggest weakness was conditioning and that also becomes apparent pretty much on every crossfit workout I do. The lessons from the Mudder, coupled with the fact that going to the box 3 times a week to train is no longer a challenge but an established habit, mean I need to rethink my training. For every week of training, my goal is to spend some extra time working on one of three things: Metabolic Conditioning, Grip Strength and Climbing skills, Upper Body Strength. Things that count as Metabolic Conditioning: Running, Rowing, Assault Bike, Ski Machine, Double Unders, Burpees, Box Jumps, Wall Balls Things that count as Grip Strength and Climbing Skills: Dead Hangs, Pull ups, Muscle ups and pretty much anything involving rings or a pull up bar Things that count as Upper Body Strength: Shoulder Presses, Standard or Handstand Pushups, Bench Press Ideally, at the end of the week I want to have 3 workouts down and one of these three practiced in each Bullet Journalling I keep a simple journal, just dots of things I have to do that I strike out after I've done them. None of the fancy schmancy stuff, simple but it works for me. I've noticed I tend to slip and forget this, which destroys any pretense of organization, so I need to track my progress and make sure I keep doing it until it's an ingrained habit. Domestic Rangering My new job is much closer to home and lets me be back a lot earlier, before the SRLF is there even. My goal is to take advantage of that time to get the house in order instead of goofing around and then sluggishly doing whatever I can be assed to (usually just dishes, laundry and the occasional cooking or ironing).

PRELUDE I’ve heard it said that the spirit leopards of the frost-touched highlands know there is no glory in a death of age, that they seek the deadliest lands and foes when old age threatens and winter steals into their enigmatic coats, that they may die as they lived. And thus came I, Rurik Harrgath, wild-bearded and sullen-eyed, gunblade in each hand, a ranger, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the wild places of the earth under my booted feet.” Starting weight baseline: 207 lbs. CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Metrics AIM WITH MY EYE: A treatise on Blood & Alchemy. RP Plan & MyFitnessPal Tracking 6 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐☐☐ Mindful Moment before meals [Challenge Total: __ ] KILL WITH MY HEART: The Non-Permissive Environment Specialist. Follow the Training Protocol 5 days per week: ☐☐☐☐☐ Ruck or Bike once per week: ☐ SHOOT WITH MY MIND: A Self-Improvement Junkie. Partake of 3 sessions of “Be Happy” per week: ☐☐☐ Post a daily challenge update 4 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐ Ongoing To-Do list… ☐ Read: Focus on your N.U.T.S. ☐ Minimalize: Liquidate personal vendor trash. ☐ Other Big Three Objectives… ☐ Weekly goals. CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: I’ve forgotten the Face of my Father and his Seven Commandments. @ShadowLion once said we ‘live’ our challenge titles and so I shall. This challenge is dedicated to the fallen Jedi, the Paladins who've lost their Light, and the mercenaries who have fought for nothing. When you lose your purpose and your hope, your days seem to be plagued by overcast weather. Everything is Shadows and Mist. All a man can do is find his own way through the wasteland sprawl of life. It may not be the destiny full of triumph and grandeur he might have hoped for but even survival itself can be a trial worthy of celebration. When that isn’t enough for the world-weary, one must seek out a greater glory - a reason for living and a purpose in action. That much at least is something tangible he can cling to… a foundation worth setting out from. A primal matrix to override his self-imposed programming. I am whiskey, gunpowder and leather – I am blood, sweat and tears. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll feel that same grim determination settling in your old bones and the tingle through your weathered skin; it’s a call to action threatening to drive you mad with passion and purpose. Dial your shit up to Mother Fucker, folks. It’s time to hemorrhage awesome all over the goddamn place. My name is Rurik Harrgath, and this is my story.

Long Term Ranger...first time Monk. Long post but it's mostly for me so skip to the goals if you like I won't be offended I've been away from NF for a few months. I haven't told anyone IRL...and I haven't said it out loud...but privately I'm fighting through a sea of work stress and other issues and I've been dealing with it by internalizing and self sabotaging and I've been mostly aware of it the whole way. Ridiculous I know but also irresistible, a cycle I have seen over and over in my past, very damaging but hard to resist. I've been working 60 to 70hr weeks the last 4 months, something I could manage as a young man but these days at 42, I've reached the edge of my limits and teetered on the cliff. Compromised my health without a doubt and knowingly.However I've made some serious coin, and I mean serious coin but I signed up for 5 months of this and was done after 2. Now I have 6 weeks left, I don't need or want the money but I have to deliver and finish the project, I always follow through on my commitments. Integrity is above all else for me. The challenge is I need to look after myself at the same time as I push myself up to and sometimes beyond my limits. I'm in the worst physical shape in years as a result of this situation but it's my mental health that has really suffered. Strange I have never been in this position before...I'm "strong". Bringing years of work stress coping mechanisms to bear and finally finding strength to admit to work colleagues "I'm taking a weekend off and I'm not answering my phone, I'm not working". I slept for almost the whole weekend and needed more. I've put work first, neglected my wife, I've called my borderline OCD (it's really OCD but I don't want to admit that) into it's full power to devastate my mortgage, at the cost of my health and friendships. I haven't seen my friends for months. On Tuesday my sacrifices come to fruition, the mortgage on a dream house will finally be paid off at age 42 and I will begin to set myself up for the rest of my life. A 25 year goal achieved, but at what cost? We'll see. Well here I find myself, at the doors of the Monastery. I need help, I need to help myself. I'm not really sure yet what that means. As a Ranger and a Crossfitter I am multi-faceted and I can bring a lot of skills to bear but the time to meditate, stretch and be with myself is upon me. A strange feeling indeed after pushing so hard for so long, I'm still finding my way in this new head space but initial goals are: - 1 hour of yoga per week (complete beginner) or 1 hour of swimming or 1 hour of "mobility" (crossfit stretching) - 1 float tank this challenge (haven't done one for years but has been revitalizing in the past) - 4 days with no alcohol - 4 days with no sugar These are meager goals compared with previous achievements but they are real goals for now. I can't tell you right now the last day I had with no sugar or alcohol. Times are tough but we will fight in the shade. @zenLara @BarefootDawsy @DarK_RaideR I'm in a hole and I need accountability, if you can spare some time to check in on me occasionally I will be very grateful. Side note, this is what drew me to NF all those years ago and hence the reference here:

I'm back for the upcoming challenge! After a bit of road tripping and a break for summer, I'm hitting the gym again. I finally think I've found my way around the problem... except that for this challenge, I'll be "on the go" 3 of the 4 weeks! Here's the itinerary: Week 0: Home Week 1: SoCal Week 2: Home Week 3: Germany > Czech Week 4: Czech > Austria, home Sept 9. So the challenge will be to somehow fit some growth into this. The issue that I've had in the past is that working out M-W-F doesn't work well with my active weekends. So I'm flipping it around and resting M/F, CrossFit T-W-Th. Saturdays/Sundays are for hiking, paddleboarding, running, tree projects, etc. They aren't "off" days! For Week 0 and Week 2, that's my plan. In the meantime, I have a few other things in the air. Finish >3 books On the 2 weeks I'm home, work out T-W-Th In SoCal, 1 beach workout, 2 hotel workouts Walk a ton in Europe, and do at least 40 of one (or a mix) of the following daily: push-ups, pull-ups, squats, sit-ups, burpees. Eat more whole food. Max 1 "bar" or or other such crap per day. Limit eating to a <10 hour window. If I have breakfast at 7:30, I should be done eating by 5:30 pm. Only water before/after! Even more than practicing IF, this keeps me out of the late night munchies!

Kinda fell off the map a bit there, because reasons (life reasons, mainly, June was an exhausting month, and so far July's been only somewhat better). This challenge will be nothing new. My weeks will continue to run Monday-Sunday, so I don't actually start 'til tomorrow. I'm only sorta feelin' it this time, but I don't want to drift off into the sunset quite yet, so I'm posting one. I'm not going to commit to updating every day, but I'll do my best. I find it always takes more time than I imagine it will, between posting on my thread and catching up on everyone else's, and I end up using it as an excuse for skipping things like stretching and physio, and for not getting around to looking up things I need to. I might just have to play catch-up only once or twice a week, we'll see. Goal 1 ~ Crossfit 3x/week. Ideally Monday-Wednesday-Friday. My first two weeks of proper classes I was successful at this, and then the holiday week (last week) messed it all up. This week I'm back on the train. Goal 2 ~ Running 2x/week. 1 interval session and 1 long run, at least 5k, but I need to do one 10k by the end of the challenge, just to see if I can, and how long it takes me. I've got new shoes on the way, so the 10k can wait 'til after they arrive and are a bit broken in (they should come early next week, if Canada Post does it's job, and the last ones broke in quickly, so it shouldn't have to wait too long), I'm in fairly dire need and I don't think my feet could handle that distance in the old ones. Goal 3 ~ Taking Care I've been incredibly lax in my stretching and physio. I need to to this every day, even though it feels like a lot it's not actually. I need to do this before I turn on the tv and/or computer in the evening, since I usually get sucked into that and choose laziness. Goal 4 ~ ETP Keep hitting numbers. I've been good for stretches and not as good for stretches (but never terrible, so far). This will require continued meal planning, which will be easier with my weekends being actual weekends again and my work schedule being considerably more regular. Goal 5 ~ Sleep Up with the alarm, to bed at 11 on work nights, midnight on non-work nights. This is a perpetual challenge for me, so here it is again... Goal 6 ~ Police Stuff I started my fitness log for the police a while ago, so I need to continue with that every day (and get a binder to keep it in, before I start losing pages). I never got around to checking out the website with the free (?) courses I can take, so I need to do that too. I also want to look into ASIST training and/or a mental health first aid course, and I need to requalify for regular first aid sometime too. Not all of these have to be accomplished by the end of the challenge, but I need to at least look them up and see if/when/where they might be offered. Extra Credit After reading Elastigirl's thread, I've decided to just barge into her 30 day pushup challenge and do it too. I'll do at least 10 every day of the challenge. Doing them as part of a crossfit workout is fine, and will probably result in more than 10 that day, but if I don't do them in the workout, or it's a non-crossfit day, I'll do 10 at some point anyway.

Continuing from Chapter 1 where I did the Crossfit Open and Chapter 2 where I did a Tough Mudder in Ireland, this third Chapter will be about doing the Spartan race in ancient Sparta on November 5th. In the words of a wise Jedi Master: Eyes on the prize The Tough Mudder experience was a useful test in that sense and taught me that I need to keep doing what I do, plus eat better to feel lighter and work on my conditioning. This means I need to Eat lighter, eat healthier Sugar and processed carbs contribute to weight gain and that bloated feeling. Avoid them, simple as that. Keep working out It's not like I'll suddenly stop Crossfitting, but I don't want to suddenly put up specialist goals like running and grip strength. Instead, I'm keeping this flexible with a program that'll change with every challenge cycle. For starters, I'm sticking with 3 CF workouts per week until the end of this cycle (August 5) and brainstorming what's next. Unrelated to the race but tracked nonetheless are life quests to keep Bullet Journalling and at long last get a plumber to fix the damn toilet. The wrestling narrative will continue as well. For those who haven't been following this, I’m playing Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 and doing the Road to Glory challenge, essentially creating a newbie 18 year old alter ego in some backyard wrestling promotion as I try to headline the Main Event of a big promotion’s Pay Per View event. Technical details and rules can be found here. I am using the game’s database of characters, but set in 1997. Considering the first TEW was set in 2005, it's pretty early in that universe and if played well, I should have the chance to rise together with the game's most famous characters. This challenge will run from July 15th until the end of the Spartan weekend on November 5th.

Hi Rangers, I got lost on my way to my gym and started Crossfit. So this challenge will be more of the same except that I'm going to give up my gains... and the change of venue. 1: Continue to get my workout back in order. 2 challenges ago, I changed to order of my work out order and I like it. I'm doing a modified 5-3-1 with emphasis on Bench and front squats. I've changed the order of my workout so I do squats/legs on day 2 and DL/back on day 3. This has reduced my back fatigue/pain in the week I've done it. Last Challenge I separated out the OHP from bench day and now truly doing a 4 day 531 cycle with the exception of pushing DLs. I still don't feel comfortable programming heavy DL's so I do some volume and call it good. Fuck this shit, I'm doing crossfit. I pushed myself to about the limit I could push myself too, coaching myself. I found a Coach who loves fitness and has already helped me improve my technique and called me out for my bullshit. Needless to say... I'm in love. Plan: 1: Be better at Crossfit. Train hard, rest when I'm dead. 2: I got fat(ter). I hit over 240lbs a couple of times (I was 212 in OCT) and I'm measured the highest I have ever measured on the waist. This is unacceptable. a. Track all the foods. I did better, but I've decide that I need to fix my metabolism. reserve diet starts now. I'm going to add 100 cals a week and then evaluate how I feel each week. This week I'm going over 2300 cals but not over 2400. Of course this experience doesn't work if I straight up eat like an asshole, so keep tracking. b. Be less fat. Using the Marine body fat test, I'm 21% BF with 50lbs of fat and a LBM of 186lbs. So, losing the 25lbs I gained will quickly fix the problem that I don't fit inside my armor. I hit 226 and under 36" around the waist, 10 weeks ago... now I'm 233 and 36". Stop being a fat fuck! Make better decisions, I know what I have to do, have some goddamn discipline. Fuck this shit. I'm reverse dieting now. 3. Ragnarok will require proper defensive positions and weapons. So, I need to build proper defensive positions. Then I will train with my new Sword (in the Romeo and Juliet sense (no, the Leo/Clare one!)) I did finish the shed and cleared out most of my garage and I did get to the gun range once. Things I want to do this month to improve my defensive positions: A: Sell my Army uniforms. I found a surplus guy, we coordinated to meet, but he had to cancel, I need to follow up and sell it. I think I can get about $2000 for them. Uniforms have been sold B: Clean out my garage fully. Move the rest of the stuff out of my garage into the shed, then sweep and clean out the garage. Complete C: Clean out computer room and move stuff to the garage, shed or good will. Build racks in the Garage to mount my snowboards. Not started D: Touch up paint a couple of spots around the house, and WD40 the door hinges and garage door. Complete 4. Lastly, I've not been around the forum like I should be, so (Doing better, but can always do better.) I disappeared for 2 weeks last challenge, be that troll I know I am again.

PRELUDE: Though the storm around me continues to rage, there is some peace to be found in its eye. I’ve looked into the very heart of the Dark itself, but I haven’t emerged unscathed. Like the ancient battlefields of our ancestors fought across the cosmos, I gain ground at times only to lose it hours or days later. The Rurik of days past would never have acknowledged let alone outright admitted to the weaknesses in my character but the scars which were once only inside seem to find their way to the surface in such a way that few escape notice. Maybe I sound melodramatic – and perhaps I am a bit – but exposition seems to be the only factor keeping my tenuous hold on sanity. One day the burden of my destiny became too much and I lost touch with reality, my path veiled behind a cloak of shadows, and I found myself without the Force to guide my way. This is my story. Starting weight baseline: 207 lbs. CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Metrics BIOCHEMICAL ALCHEMY RP Plan & MyFitnessPal Tracking 5 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] Mindful Moment before meals [Challenge Total: __ ] TACTICAL ADVANTAGE 4 CrossFit classes per week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] Visit the Sanctum of Inner Sight (Happy Place™) daily: ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ 3 sessions of “something resembling meditation” per week: ☐☐☐ SELF-IMPROVEMENT JUNKIE Post a daily challenge update 4 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] To-Do list… ☐ Read: Focus on your N.U.T.S. ☐ Minimalize: Liquidate personal vendor trash. ☐ Test: Weightlifting totals for Hot and Heavy Heroic Hefting 2017 CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: This challenge is dedicated to the fallen Jedi, the Paladins who've lost their Light, and the mercenaries who fight for nothing. When you lose your purpose and your hope, the world seems to hide behind an impenetrable mist and your days plagued by overcast weather. All a man can do is find his own way through the stars; it may not be the destiny full of triumph and grandeur he might have hoped for, yet even survival itself can be a trial worthy of celebration. I see a familiar face in the rearview mirror but there's a crack in the reflection. Yet even if I cannot see the forest for the trees, that isn't to say I've lost sight of who I am. That much, at least, is something tangible I can cling to: a foundation worth setting out from, the cockpit of a starship from which to chart a new course. “Always work harder than you feel capable. That way, your enemies will never know your limits.” “The only thing better than having a Mandalorian’s mind is having a Mandalorian’s heart.” - Mandalorian proverbs.

My focus for last challenge was to not just hold my shit together but also rally. All things considered I feel like I accomplished this and everyone around me insists that I have. Dealing with my breakup while living with my ex and looking for an apartment has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Apartment hunting has been discouraging at best. I have decided to take an apartment just a few miles down the street from where I currently live. I'm not super excited about it but I can afford it and it allows dogs. It will also change very little about my day to day life other than where I'm living. That might be a very good thing for me right now. I finished my groupon for Crossfit bootcamp lite and fell in love. I will keep going at least throughout the summer and hopefully I'll find a way to pay for it after that. The people are so nice and supportive I hope this will grow into a social support system where I will make some new friends. My goals for this challenge will remain basically the same with a few small changes. Exercise I love my bootcamp but I need to start running more. Last time I did Crossfit I almost stopped running entirely. I don't want this to happen. Goal 1: Go to bootcamp at least 2-3x/week Goal 2: Run at least 2x/week (ideally one would be a long run and one would be a RWR, I'll be happy if I run 2x outside of BC) Life I am still working on holding it together. I know moving will push me into a different phase of processing feelings. I will still need to keep busy and stay connected to people. Goal 1: Pack and Move Goal 2: Don't isolate- Same as last challenge, I need to be active on the forums and make it a point to stay busy. Reach out to people, make plans, take people up on offers to help. Goal 3: Be friendly at the gym. Introduce myself to new people have conversations with people I have already met! Initiate conversation! Goal 3: No stabbing- figured this was worth keeping. I am going to broaden the goal to include avoiding the low road. It does not help the situation and ultimately makes me feel worse. I will confess my indiscretions. This stays until I actually move out! Diet Goal 1: Log all meals in MFP (guestimate if need when eating out)

Hello there guys,We are a Barcelona's fitness center and we are planning to build our own "functional training / street workout park". Our idea is to buy all the materials and make it cheaper than it would be buying a pre-fabricated park. The objective is creating a park were to attract crossfit, streetworkout and calisthenic users.Since I'm sure that you have far more experience than us, I would like to know your opinion: First of all, what are those elements that you think its should be a must? I mean: high bars, parallel bars, crossfit jump box... On the other hand, we have a punching bag, a climbing rope and a training rope. All we need to do is create the structure for this three. We have searched measurements for high bars and parallels. What we have found is that high bars should have a height of 2,50 meters and around 1,50 meters of width and parallels around 1,50 meters of height. To me, that seems a little bit high. What do you think? Thank you so much for your help.