Search the Community

SHINY & EXCITING NEW CHALLENGE INTRO:  Haven't managed to make a challenge stick much this year to date. Once-successful habits eroding. Healthy lifestyle, crumbling. New challenge cycle imminent, and therefore a righteous time to respawn... again. Thank goodness lifestyles can be treated like a video game, or I've got 3 of 9 cat lives left on the line, depending on your perspective. So last challenge, , was marginally successful by Rurik Harrgath standards, but subsequent attempts to reboot through that challenge-turned-Battle Log failed to launch, and I haven't been treated myself well since - or, again depending on your outlook, I've maybe been treating myself too well. Every time Sir Tanktimus the Valiant posts in any of the Nerd Fitness Facebook groups I frequent, a pang of guilt and disappointment compels me to post a challenge and I'm finally answering that call with a fresh start. I can't promise optimism overflowing with enthusiastic motivation or guaranteed success or even the shenanigans of old, but I can offer the inspiration behind a rough and tumble, been there & done that, devil-may-care comeback story that's been tempered by reality's rollercoaster. Starting weight baseline: 212 lbs [Dec 23/18] CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Levels HEMORRHAGING AWESOME ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE "A delicate balancing act of fuel and activity." [+2 STR, DEX, STA, CON] The Mindful Art of Nutritional Alchemy™: ☐ 4 CrossFit classes per week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE "Dump Statting Charisma until I’m an Extrovert.” [+5 CHA] Engage in 4 sessions of exceptionally positive Self-Care per week: ☐☐☐☐ An Advanced Social Networking™ activity once weekly: ☐ New “Gymtroductions” completed: [Total: 0 ] A CHAOTIC APPROACH MAKES FOR SPECTACULAR RESULTS The Self-Improvement Junkie. [+2 WIS] Post a daily challenge update 3 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐ Ongoing To-Do mini-quests… ☐ Read: [In Progress] Overkill by Ted Bell. ☐ Currency: [0g] Ongoing clutter purge for ??? and $$$. ☐ Sanctum: Finish concrete countertops. ☐ Sanctum: Paint laundry room. ☐ Sanctum: Baseboards in Den, Guest and Laundry rooms. CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: Relatively fresh from a Girl in the Spider's Web viewing which has me feeling the Ducati Spirit, in turn driving me down a rabbit hole that will hopefully see my lumbering, clunky Harley-Davidson 883 eventually replaced by either a Ducati Scrambler or preferably a BMW R nineT in the cosmic near future. That also calls to mind a video I once saw of retired CrossFit phenom Jason Khalipa speaking about turning your body's engine into a Ferrari, referencing an athlete's training for comfort exercising or working at that 80-90% of capacity without redlining and crashing. Just like my Harley-Davidson, I've become a little too lumbering & clunky myself lately, so instead of downshifting further we're dropping the clutch and dumping the throttle full into a new Sleek & Sexy 6th Gear to find that elusive mojo again. The barbarian who selfishly sold his soul as a mercenary, the mercenary who fell to the void and became a demon hunter, and the demon hunter who returned from the darkness to live like a scoundrel is back; a Raven tattoo is notably visible from beneath the sleeve of his Lululemon metal vent tech t-shirt - a symbol of foreboding darkness, but also absolute freedom on dark wings and wisdom beyond learned reality. Once more into the breach, dear friends. It's Magnificent Bastard™ dialed it up to Mother Fucker again... I hope.

The CrossFit Open is finally over, and I've identified a whole slew of weaknesses. I think I've been focusing so much on reaching the summit that I've forgotten to work on the foundation. I need to remedy this problem. Between that and a busy schedule with my job, my work is cut out for me. Goals are: 1. Handstand Work: My open score really suffered due to the fact that I STILL don't have a single strict handstand pushup. Rather than spending my time perfecting skills that I already have, I need to address this shortcoming, and hit it hard. I will spend a significant amount of time each week working on shoulder strength and flexibility, and spending time on my hands (to wit: this means upside down). 2. Food: Between the open being over and going on vacation, I've been getting sloppy about my eating. I need to clean this up. I will focus on whole foods, especially protein and vegetables. I will bring lunch to work every day, if at all possible. 3. The 'Murph': The 'Murph' is an annual American CrossFit tradition that takes place on Memorial Day. It involves the following: Part 1: run 1 mile Part 2: (in any order you like) 100 pull-ups 200 push-ups 300 air squats Part 3: run 1 mile To make things more interesting, the Murph should be performed in combat boots, and while wearing a 20 lb vest. While I don't own combat boots, I have done the event in a vest in both 2017 and 2018. This isn't really a competition, but it does require a bit of prep work. (100 pull ups in a vest, anyone? Ugh). I will spend some time training for this.

Most of you probably don't know me, but I was active on NF a good number of years ago. It is true that I'm in the Warrior's guild and my first love is powerlifting - and for the record, I'm pretty bad at it. But it's also true that I have a savage interest in CrossFit and was back to participate in the 2018 CrossFit challenge thread last year. [We're doing this again, right?] Sadly, a life event knocked me down pretty hard in November. I had a skin biopsy come back bad, which required surgery to remove a moderate size chunk from my neck. They cut deep enough to require two sets of stitches, internal and external. This kept me out of the gym for 5 weeks and really destroyed my training base. Since then, I've been slowly getting back into things, but up until last week I really haven't felt like my old self - no pun intended. Those of you who are CrossFitters know that the open starts on February 21. I don't expect to match my score from last year, but I'd still like to do reasonably well. That means that full speed training starts today. I need you guys to hold me accountable. As such, I intend to do the following: 1. Train like a madman. The big focus right now is engine building, skill work (meaning handstands and rings), and stretching. I also need to do enough olympic lifting to stay limber. My training log is pretty far behind, so I'll try to record it all in this challenge thread for now. 2. Eat like a boss. More calories, more protein, and extra veggies. Try to bring lunch to work every day instead of buying it there. 3. Recover like Wolverine. Make sure to get plenty of sleep, Bub. 'Nuff said. For the record, last year I hit the 78th percentile worldwide in my age group (male 40-44), all workouts performed Rx, with individual workout scores as high as the 86th percentile worldwide. After what happened, it is probably unrealistic to beat this score in February. But I'd like to hit the 70th if at all possible.

SHINY & EXCITING NEW CHALLENGE INTRO:  If last challenge was 'or how Rurik learned to stop worrying and took back his gigantic mirth,' this one is 'or how Rurik spat in luck's good eye and got his mojo back.' It's great to be back regularly participating on the forums again (and if I'm being honest, actually earning that Guild Leader title beneath my user name...) I really want to make 2019 something special after the rough-and-tumble rollercoaster of 2018 and I think I've laid a decent foundation. Gone is the fixation on melancholy and what I cannot control; new is a more optimistic mindset tempered by reality but a horizon full of solid potential. With that in mind... Starting weight baseline: 212 lbs [Dec 23/18] CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Levels CRACKIN’ SKULLS & CHAININ’ COMBOS "A delicate balancing act of fuel and activity." [+2 STR, DEX, STA, CON] The Mindful Art of Nutritional Alchemy™: ___ / 2170 cals. MyFitnessPal tracking streak: ___ days 5 CrossFit classes per week: ☐☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐☐] I DON'T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING... "Dump Stat my Charisma until I’m an Extrovert.” [+5 CHA] Partake of 4 sessions of “Be Happy” per week: ☐☐☐☐ Social activity 2 times/week: ☐☐ Moment of Positivity shared (per update): ☐ ...I'M JUST HERE FOR THE VIOLENCE A Self-Improvement Junkie. [+2 WIS] Post a daily challenge update 4 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐ Ongoing To-Do mini-quests… ☐ Read: [In Progress] Kings of the Wyld, Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braid,You Are A Badass, Remember your N.U.T.S. ☐ Play: Game out! ☐ Play: Hit the slopes snowboarding! ☐ Write: Share one self-authored poem. ☐ Currency: [0g] Sell 250g worth of clutter. ☐ Currency: [Pending] 2-week shopping ban. CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: I am whiskey, amber and leather – I am blood, sweat and tears - I am supplements and coping mechanisms and consequences; the barbarian who selfishly sold his soul as a mercenary, the mercenary who fell to the void and became a demon hunter, and the demon hunter who returned from the darkness to live like a scoundrel. A new year means fresh opportunity. Now I'll live a life AMAP (As Momoaly As Possible), perpetuate the charming rogue archetype, keep polishing my devil-may-care heart of gold, and just entirely strive to Live My Best Life. In 2019 I'll be a Magnificent Bastard or I'll die trying; it's a simple matter of adrenaline, new experiences, and living life in the fast lane! So let's dial this shit up to Mother Fucker once again, folks - I'm about to hemorrhage awesome all over the damn place.

Hello. My Name is Charlie, and I am a I started CrossFit in December. My head has been dunked in the barrel of Kool-Aid and I've taken a giant gulp. I've not gone 'full wanker' yet, I'm only going twice a week and I currently don't start all sentences in a conversation with 'at my box...' or 'when I was at CrossFit the other day...' But you know, early days. This challenge is more of a battle log for CrossFit. I've been running the same goals forever, because my long term goals haven't changed. I'm still training for OCR's and looking to qualify for the OCR world championships.This means as well as CrossFit, I'll be running three times a week and bouldering once a week. EMOM, AMRAP It's getting a little dull and it's pointless to put my running and bouldering as challenge goals, as they are now pretty much part of my routine. So this challenge is just going to be a little fun place for me to write crap, post pics of WOD white boards CrossFit and talk nonsense WOD, Metcon. Feel free to join in with the crap talk and post dumb memes and gifs. CrossFit

52 Days bring it, bitches

Road to Oblivion - Part 1 So I've just written up my 2019 road map, and the first 4 challenges of this year will be working towards my first big and scary goal - running 4 laps of Nuclear Oblivion in May. I'm going to need to be able to gain some serious endurance to keep doing that, both in running and in general fitness for the obstacles, so my physical goals will be based around that. Nutrition - 20XP This goal is split into three parts (hence the high XP). The first one is straight eating better - my Crossfit box posted a list of weekly nutrition habits a couple of years ago which I've unearthed on Facebook, so I'll be running through those. By coincidence (or just because they start with sensible things) I already do their first 3 weekly habits, but if you want to play along at home they are: Drink 1 pint of plain water daily Eat a healthy fat with breakfast Eat cooked vegetables in the evening So I'll be starting straight at habit 4, which is: Eat a raw vegetable at lunch I'll be tackling that in week 1 of the challenge, and then adding an additional habit from their list on each subsequent week. The second part of nutrition is alcohol. Leading up to Christmas I was really stressed and not feeling great, and I attributed that to a lot of year end work stress and general Christmas/ohmyGodIhaven'tboughtanything stress. I started thinking the other week however that maybe the amount I was drinking had its part to play in this too. Well, there's only one way to find out if that is the case, and that's to stop drinking for a bit and see how I feel. The goal for this challenge will be to drink no alcohol at all. That'll start from Week 0 day 2 (because day 1 was New Year's Eve, come on!). The final part of this is to track my mood - just a short sentence each day in my bujo is fine, but I'll only know if the above is working at all if I track it. Obviously there's lots of other factors to consider, and conclusions may be hard to draw, but I want to give it a go. Running - 15XP The goal here is simple (thought not necessarily easy) - run 140 miles this challenge. That includes week zero, and is the exact amount of mileage I should hit if I get all of my runs in. The plan is to run 4 times per week - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday - with the long run either on Saturday or Sunday depending on when I'm climbing or doing other things. Whilst the goal is simply the mileage, I'll put the full running plan in a spoiler for info: Climbing - 10XP I want to work on my climbing and my pullups in general, as these have massive transference to OCR, and I've got two parts to this plan in order to do it: a) Continue with GTG pullups - basically I have my pullup bar in my kitchen door and do one pullup every time I want to enter the kitchen. Minimum 10 per day. This starts week 0. b) Hangboarding - I have bought a hang board with some Christmas money, which will allow me to train hanging off very small edges instead of just a bar. The plan is to do hanging sessions MWF, but never on a day adjacent to a climbing day. As I usually climb every weekend this should mean that I usually do 2 sessions per week, but it could be 1 or 3 depending on how the climbing sessions work out. This starts when the hang board arrives. Budget - 5XP This is a difficult one this month as money and spending are a bit strange after Christmas. I probably wouldn't have a goal at all except that reducing debt and saving money is one of my main goals for the year. The goal here is to simply spend mindfully for the month, and write any comments about my spending in my bujo. This starts week 0. Study - 5XP This is something I have been neglecting, but I really need to continue my qualifications for work. There is a time limit on these, and having missed the initial deadline it's going to be tricky to catch up so I need to put in the work. The goal here is to do 2 pomodoros of study (or 4 hours, if you prefer) per week. Bonus 5XP if I get my next assignment submitted before the end of the challenge. This starts week 0. Forum Cardio - Mobile Edition™ - 5XP I don't spend enough time on here and I miss catching up with people and knowing what's going on. A big reason I don't get on is that I usually only sit in front of a computer at work, and so my lunch break is the only time I have to be here. I don't always get a lunch break, and I use the time to catch up on other things as well when I do so that gives me minimal forum time. The goal therefore is to use my phone to visit the forums every day. Even if I don't post anything just being here and catching up is a start. Well I think that's everything. It's loads of XP so i could do realll well out of this challenge if I ace it. I have to dash, so anything I've missed I'm sure will come up later!

POP QUIZ: what's the difference between being a truly successful (potentially mad) scientist and just messing around making things explode here and there? THE QUALITY OF YOUR NOTES. I was here last in June (oh god so embarrassed) and since then I've still been super busy, still been going to cross-fit 5x a week (I KNOW I LACK MODERATION OK), tae kwon do 2-3x a week, and eating not terribly. Over the last couple of months though I've said to myself: SELF, you know what would make you a more effective human being? if you were keeping better notes. * I don't know how much food I need to keep fueling my body at my current pace (I am moving at a rate of approximately NO MODERATION). * I don't know really how much stronger I'm getting, every new PR feels like a snapshot totally independent of time and space (but it is totally dependent on gravity, I will have you know) * I don't know what my body is supposed to weigh. I know I'm on the soft side - and I've been having a cookie bulk over the holidays as is appropriate - but with all the weights I've been lifting I need to find my new normal idea for how heavy I ought to be while living here with planet earth gravity. I'm up from when I started crossfit but also up from when I started the cookie bulk even more. I need a challenge to get data to support my FUTURE GOALS, which are: show off my new muscles a little big by debulking (post cookie bulk), see if it's possible to fit in some running, and oh also yoga. I'm pretty solid on showing up to my regular workouts but not so solid on the supporting habits that will get me looking the way I want to look and performing the way I want to perform, so this challenge is focused on rebuilding those habits. Goal 1: Finish this challenge. ok, that sounds preeeety self explanatory but I went back and checked and I started and did not finish 5 challenges in 2018. That's right, every challenge I started, I did not finish. I also didn't finish my last few challenges in 2017. Now, 2017 was a pretty rough year for me personally, and 2018 was hard for me as well (as it was for many of us), but beyond basic chemistry and thermodynamics, being healthy is really about having good habits, and you all are my good habit. measurable outcome: post here several times a week. write up challenge in my hobobujo and update / track against those goals. TAKE BETTER NOTES PART 1. Goal 2: Find your food balance. Take better notes part 2 - LOG FOOD. I've used the loseit app in the past and am comfortable with it. I'm going to try not to worry about calories, but rather, log everything I'm eating so I can start to pull apart that thermodynamic calculation of how much I need to be eating to power my body. When I first started at crossfit I pretty much ate avocado toast every day and it went pretty well for me, but the cookie bulk in December has for sure fluffed me up. I am also going to try not to eat like an asshole, so I can get a pretty clear understanding of what my natural food budget looks like right now. measurable outcome: log the things every day. Goal 3. More recovery activity. I've been hitting crossfit hard, and tkd hasn't been the most gentle pursuit either. I need to do more stretching and flexibility work. I would like to work in more walking and yoga into my already ridiculous schedule. I have a subscription to Do Yoga With Me and they have a Flexibility for Busy People course that I should be able to work in. I can walk at lunch, it's not horribly snowy and icy yet this year. And also, I have a few hundred dollars in my flexible spending account that I have to use up by March, so prioritizing chiropractic and getting massages are a big part of this too. measurable outcome: aim for 5 recovery activities every week. backstory. I'm karinajean, 41, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way where I manage projects and clean up hazardous waste. I joined the NFA in October 2013 and transitioned over to the big scary boards (ahem, these forums) in April 2014. Since I discovered NR, I've lost about 25 lbs, tore my ACL / had it replaced with a cadaver ligament and rehabbed it, ran a bunch of running things, took over instruction for a class at the dojo, started with some weight lifting, and have increased by weight by about 20 lbs (note NOT all clean muscle). CURRENTLY I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have a long-time overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I accidentally started doing crossfit in February 2018 and have been attending classes regularly since then. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my younger stepdude 1/2 time. the 2nd stepdude is In college out of state. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house and yard is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it to be true. also kittens. you see how it goes.

SHINY & EXCITING NEW CHALLENGE INTRO: From [REDACTED], unknown date and era. This challenge shall also be known as 'or how Rurik learned to stop worrying and took his gigantic mirth back,' because I've been focused for too long on my gigantic melancholies and things around here feel and look too goddamn grim. As they say, and by they I mean me just this moment, in a room full of the sane, it's the insane man who is truly free... and my freedom means everything to me. Plus this challenge will take us up to the release of Aquaman, and Jason Momoa should be an inspiration for us all! Starting weight baseline: 220 lbs [Aug 12/18] CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Levels I DON’T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING: "A delicate balancing act of fuel and activity." [+2 STR, DEX, STA, CON] The Mindful Art of Nutritional Alchemy™ 6 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐☐☐ 4 CrossFit classes per week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] I’M JUST HERE FOR THE VIOLENCE: "Dump Stat my Charisma until I’m an Extrovert.” [+5 CHA] Partake of 3 sessions of “Be Happy” per week: ☐☐☐ Social activity 1 time/week: ☐ Moment of Frivolity shared (per update): ☐ OH, AND STOP AND PET THE POKEMON: A Self-Improvement Junkie. [+2 WIS] Post a daily challenge update 3 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐ Ongoing To-Do mini-quests… ☐ Read: [In Progress] ☐ Play: [In Progress] Get a Wii and play the shit out of some Mario Kart. ☐ Write: Thoughts & Ponderings in ColorNote/OneNote app. ☐ Build: [In Progress] Accent Wall ☐ Minimalize: [In Progress] Return unused trade goods to Home Depot. ☐ Other: [In Progress] Dump run. CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: There's no theme in particular here, just #Momoa365 and as much geekery and frivolity as possible. Mostly I just want to live this challenge as if I were a Borderlands character (even though I've never played the game).

Well, last challenge had one win, several losses. I'm pretty okay with that. This cycle: maintain, 3 workouts a week. Bonus - add an extra. I'm reaching the misery equilibrium where being sore is normal. I'm starting to recover well enough to push harder or add another workout. Tai Chi - time to go introduce myself. It seems like the norm is to find people face to face - phone calls and texts are not going to work. Oh well, adventure time! Goal is to make first contact and start classes! Food prep - once more unto the breach dear Nerds! Eat more meals I cook than I don't - simple challenge, but oddly difficult. Life - I have a major life choice coming up with no clear right answers., I'm basically at the stage in my career where I have a lot of "chose your own adventure" options. I have one, maybe two assignments left until I retire and start another career. I think I'll keep following my own star, but I don't even know which options are open right now. By most standards, I've been successful but I'll always feel that one more thing, just out of reach, needs to be done. This is the last or second to the last roll of the dice and I want to make it a good one. More to follow. - Murphy's Roommate

This will be my diary, where i'll keep a minimum organized ( or try) of my workouts routines, diet and relevant things that may influnce my goals My athletic background is in martial arts, where i devoted 12 years of my life to wushu, sanda and brazilian jiujitsu (sadly, this one was short). Two years ago, i tried Crossfit, and oly weightlifting has become my passion since then. I have tried a couple of championships, opens and meetings, and now, i want to give a step further. My new program will require lots of discipline, since it is a 6x days/week, with 9 workout sessions per week. Nutrition and lifestyle balance also, for it reflects directly in the results... All being said, let's get started! Bodyweight: 76 kg/ 165 lbs Snatch: 110 kg/242lbs C&J: 125kgs/275 lbs Deadlift: 210 kgs/462 lbs Back Squat: 170kgs/374 lbs Bench Press: 120 kgs/ 264 lbs Those are for 1 RM Front Squats, rows, overhead press and weighted pull ups will be ignored for now. They're used as % for the main lifts.

Hi, I started Crossfit roughly two months ago, did a foundation course of two weeks first and I'm now participating in the normal workouts. While no one's actually ever been rude to me or said anything bad about my - admittedly not exactly impressive - performance so far, I really feel like I'm massively out of place. Literally everyone else is incredibly buff and fit and can do incredible stuff while I'm chubby and clumsy and I can't remember the weight lifting moves etc. My social anxiety kicks in big time every time we wait around for everyone to arrive or after the workout when everyone else, even the new people, chat and socialise and I have no idea what to talk about. I've tried to talk to people but I feel they don't know what to make of me because I'm quite shy and introverted and my life is so much different from the other people's there: I'm a teacher, I struggle with mental health issues a lot and most of the time, when I get there in the evenings, I'm already mentally exhausted by the day and just to get into the workout, where I don't have to interact socially with anyone and can just do my thing. So far, I've made slow but steady progress and I love the workouts themselves but the social situation with everyone else being best friends and me sort of on the outside makes it so hard for me to go back every time. Has anyone else here dealt with this?

My old gym turned into a box. I'd stopped going there when I got hurt last year but I always thought of going back to it when I felt confident enough. I made a stress fracture on my knee, at the head of my left tibia. A few days later, trying to walk on that knee with Law textbooks in my backpack, I injured my spine, lower back, on the connective tissue. I believe it was due to being a total noob and jumping form couch to free weights to beach rugby in a six month interval. Yesterday I was walking by the gym and saw it was empty! All the machines and weights were gone! But at the very end of it, a few women were practicing snatchs with empty bars. I got in and stroke up a conversation with the only man around, the one who had been resting lol. Turns out they set up a box there when the previous owner moved to another neighboorhood after greener pastures (my own neighboorhood is saturated with conventional gyms). The guy sounded like he really knew what he was doing. He sounded like a good physical educator. He told me in crossfit they'd teach me the foundations of fitness and gymnastics movements and get me properly strong before going to the weightlifting movements. And the thing is I covet gymnastics and love weightlifting. But I'm afraid I'll get hurt again. Crossfit looks so violent! With WODs and pushing and five workouts a week... I'm afraid my body won't be able to cope with that. I still feel pain on my back and knee every once in a while. Everytime I'm PMSing at least. Should I stay home and work on my push-ups and isometrics holds until I feel more confident... or should I take the leap?

Lately, I've had energy?? For the longest time, I was tired and foggy daily. I've been the type of person who can easily take 3 naps a day. But lately, if I take a nap it's out of habit (or procrastination) rather than any actual need for a nap?? I have no idea what's going on, but I'm ON FIRE these days. So I'm going to run with that. Last challenge, I restarted aikido AND started doing crossfit. I also signed up for a Japanese class that starts in 2 weeks or so. ALL THE THINGS. Regular fitness: 7 mobility mornings/week (20 sessions over the challenge earns me some sort of mobility reward - a class, a tool, etc.) 2 Crossfit sessions/week 2 Aikido sessions/week 1 Startbodyweight session/week 1 smaller muscle session/week (little stuff for muscles in hips, feet, etc.) - this can be combined with the startbodyweight session or broken up throughout the week 2-3 GST stretching sessions per week Walk 16 miles/week (12 to pass, but 16 earns $10 towards hiking/backpacking gear) Run weekly (shins allowing) Mobility Supplementation: Toe touch sequence daily Shoulder stretching daily Squat movement daily Yoga weekly? Soft tissue work as often as possible/needed "Triathalon" Goals GET MY FRIGGIN' BIKE TUNED UP AND RIDE IT ALREADY. SHEESH. Go swimming 3 times Other Goals: Stand OR sit on the floor to work 3 hrs/workday Do something weekly to connect with my father Continue to check off tasks on the nutrition program I started last challenge Put on clothes by 9AM on weekdays

SO, I am going to just accept that I am crap at updating Challenges, and leave this here to update when the fancy strikes me! Currently: Freaking out because TOMORROW I get to try out my new gymnastics class for next year! I had been planning on joining provincial/JO for next year, and had the head of the program reluctantly convinced to let me do so, but then I got some extra job responsibilities and am now unsure of how much free time I'll have next year. Just as I was pondering this, another coach at the gym actually approached me and asked what my goals were, and suggested that I join her group, which is a semi-competitive-type program. It will be less stressful and time-consuming, and the age thing isn't a problem at all (I'm 26, the oldest athlete in the group currently is 15, but since they don't compete provincially it doesn't matter.) And the coach is really excited to have me and keeps telling me so! Which is a nice contrast from the "well I guesssssss you can join but you realize everyone will think you're weird and maybe hate you" that I got from the provincial coaches. Also, since I posted last, been doing a lot of crossfit. Or... a crossfit-like substance not officially branded crossfit, and somewhat more intelligently programmed, but still. SHAME ON ME. It's so fun though.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~Winston Churchill I just watched Darkest Hour so I'm channelling Winston for this challenge. The over-arching goal for the next 8 weeks is to lose 1kg per week to put me below 80kg before I go on holiday to Hong Kong in June. For this challenge I'm reviving the goals from the Feb-March challenge as it was a successful one. Goals: - No Alcohol - 1 hour walk or 1 hour gym every day - Track Calories (eating to meal plan counts) - "Never 2 in a row" Weigh-in: 86.8kg starting weight. I also got a DEXA yesterday which I will use for comparison at the end of the next challenge. Rewards: - F45 t-shirt if I lose 4kg this callenge

I don't have the motivation right now for a fancy theme or back story. For those of you who have been reading my last couple of challenges you'll know that I've got some heavy stuff happening in my life at the moment. Update below for those who are interested. I'm doing OK, not well... just OK, and I'm here to keep up the fight. I know that falling into a sugar coma won't take the pain away, as tempting as it looks at times. Hubby and I did have a relaxing week away in Far North Queensland. Without further ado, the goals for the next four weeks. Challenge 1: Eat meat and vegetables Measure: Every meal includes both meat and vegetables. Reason: This is the core part of my HEALTHY goal, you can't out-run your fork so I need to make wise food choices. Losing weight and feeling better will also supporting my HAPPY goal. Challenge 2: Functional movements at high intensity Measure: Attend Crossfit classes a minimum of 3 times per week Reason: Going to gym makes me HEALTHY, but it also makes me HAPPY. Right now it's extra important as a non-food outlet to my feelings. Challenge 3: Walk the dog Measure: Take Willow for a walk at least 5 times a week, preferably in the morning before work. Reason: My puppy dog is an important part of my HOME goal, she also makes me HAPPY, and morning movement is HEALTHY. As you can see these are basically the same goals I've had since the start of the year. I'm still struggling with consistency on all of them, though Crossfit now feels like an embedded habit. I really want this challenge to be focused on nutrition. It's my biggest down hurdle to being the healthy, happy human that I want to be.

Yep I have no shame, it's Europe to the rescue! Bust out the big hair, we're headed for Venus!! Summary I set out on Jan 1st this year to drop 20kg, there are 4.4kg remaining. This challenge will be focused on cutting the final 4.4kg to get me under 80kg. Goals: 1. No alcohol until I'm sub 80kg. (2 exceptions allowed, this Saturday is my friend's 60th and 28 March I have a work lunch) 2. 4 x F45 challenge sessions a week 3. Eat 100% to the F45 meal plans for the first 2 weeks and 80% after that. 4. 2 x 6km walks a week 5. Rehab my shoulder. Physio exercises 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday Friday. Please feel free to hold me accountable for this, I never do them. Measures: 1. I have an F45 end of challenge body scan in 2 weeks time, that will be a difference scan of 8 weeks. 2. I have a full DEXA booked for 17 April. This one must see me at under 80kg or I will be disappointed. Rewards 1. I have a drive day lined up for 11 April where I take my MX5 (Miata) on a track with some friends. I'd like this to be my weight loss reward which means I have 3.5 weeks to drop 4.4kg. 2. Something else I haven't decided yet, maybe some new clothes, maybe a massive wig! Let's Rock!

Growing up, I wasn't very active. I never understood the rules well enough to actually play well in ballgames, I have a lazy eye so my depth perception was bad, I wasn't on a sports team like a lot of other kids, and I was terrible at running. Those were the stories I told myself. I would DREAD the "1 mile run" fitness test in school for WEEKS leading up to the event. And it wasn't just baseless dread - after the mile, I would have crazy DOMS for days afterwards, because running a mile was just so much more exertion than I was used to. I would always finish late and miserable, and any time anyone tried to encourage me I was certain they were making fun of me. All in all, not a fun experience. It was a great relief when high school Fitness class came around, because it meant strength training on machines instead of ballgames. 4 days a week, we would work 2 muscle groups + abs and cardio. But even then, the cardio was up to us so I got cozy with the stairclimber. Soon I found myself proudly walking up hills and stairs next to people who were out of breath. But that mile run still happened, and I still dreaded it even as my times improved. I was still not passing the test by any means. One day as the mile was approaching, I was out on the track with a few of my friends during Fitness, and I whined to my soccer-playing friend that I was "just not very athletic." She scrunched up her face at me and said something like "Of course you're athletic! You work harder than almost anyone else in this class. Everyone else is always trying to find ways to slack off. And you're really strong. Just because you're not that fast doesn't mean you're not athletic." !?!?!?!? Just like that, my story changed. It was obvious that she was right. Suddenly, my bad mile time didn't mean that I was unathletic. It just meant that I didn't do a lot of running. My lack of success in sports didn't mean I was unathletic; it just meant that I didn't play a lot of sports. It didn't mean I suddenly became a workout machine or anything, but that comment from my friend set me on a different path. As a person who was athletic, I chose to voluntarily take Fitness after I had filled the requirements, even waking up an hour early to go to school. As a person who was athletic, I got to do workout videos with my school principal when he showed up on those mornings. As a person who was athletic, I continued finding ways to exercise as I entered college, doing things like going on 45 minute walks around the hilly campus, taking pilates classes, doing 45 consecutive pushups, and trying different workout videos. I'm not sure that I would have done ANY of those things if my friend hadn't made that comment that day in high school. Slowly but surely, she set me on the path to where I am today, doing so much athletic stuff that I'm running out of time to do it all! I wasn't always working out super consistently or anything, but I was always trying to do SOMETHING to work on that athletic side of me. Slowly but surely, that road let me here. And so I need to remind myself that if I'm patient and I stay on the road, I will get to where I'm heading. If I can't do every single thing I want to do right now, it doesn't mean I won't get there. If I can't fit everything into the week, it's ok because I'm still on the road. It's all about the story you tell yourself. Challenge Details A lot of this will be continued from my last challenge. Or at least to be expected based on my last challenge. I'll be traveling for a lot of this week, and maybe even next week, so some of it might not launch fully until Week 2. PILLAR 1: Flexibility If I do yoga or other flexibility work, I feel about 60% better even if I do nothing else. I feel good in my body. I don't feel stiff. I feel more in tune with my needs. GST stretch sessions - 3 sessions, 45 minutes each. NEW Mobility mornings - every morning, I want to do some sort of movement. It can be yoga, MWOD, GST-based, or something else entirely. If I hit at least 14 sessions over the course of the challenge, I can pick up some kind of cool mobility tool or yoga classes or comfy pants or something like that as a reward. Ideally I also want to do some stretching before bed too, but I'm not making that a goal this time. NEW Standing - I got myself a standing desk a while back to try to force myself to stand while I work, but now I just end up working on the couch. Which is murdering my back much worse than a sitting desk would. So my goal is to just try to accumulate a measly 3 hours at the standing desk each day. PILLAR 2: Walking I work from home and don't have a very active social life. If I don't deliberately take the time to walk, I do not walk. Ever. And I really like walking and hiking. It's also just really important for basic health because people are meant to walk. Walk 16 miles per week (2 miles weekdays, 3 miles weekends) - this only counts deliberate walks and not overall steps/distance, although TBH there's not a huge difference. PASS: 12 miles. EXTRA CREDIT: 20 miles. For each week I do extra credit, I can put $10 towards hiking/backpacking gear goals. ROADMAP: Start rucking again now that I have a better backpack for it, begin exploring local hiking trails more. PILLAR 3: Strength Pretty self explanatory. I seem to naturally be pretty strong and I like doing strength work, but I have a lot of recovery to do after wrist surgery set me back. 3-4 sessions/week - 2 Crossfit and 1-2 Startbodyweight (I'll be joining the Crossfit box I visited last challenge once I'm done traveling) PILLAR 4: Food Kind of a mess, tbh. I don't even know where to begin here. But my belly is doing things that I do not like. Paleo-ish works, but it sends me into that diet mindset that eventually backfires?? But also it really works?? Last challenge I tried aiming for 5 freggies/day and didn't do so well at it. I'm trying a nutrition program that gives you 1 task per week. If you do it 6 days in a row, you get the next task. If you don't, you have to repeat it and succeed before you move on. So I'll just focus on that for now. I miiiight still count freggies though. We'll see. Each successful task = $10 towards a kitchen gadget. I've got a measly $10 accumulated from my goals last challenge. Triathaloning I can't really swim or ride a bike competently, and shin issues keep setting me back in my running. So I want to work on upskilling these three areas. Run at least weekly - I'll be testing out a new custom orthotic as soon as I get the call saying it's ready, so I'm hoping that will help deal with some of my leg issues and let me increase my running towards a more standard program. Swimming - Travel week(s) excluded, I'll continue trying to flail swim once/week while somehow also breathing. At the end of the challenge, I'll evaluate whether I should just sign up for lessons. Cycling - I don't think the reclining bike work is doing me any good, so I'm thinking of dropping it. I still need to get my bike tuned up. After that, I just want to get out on it at least 2x this challenge. Simple. Other Do 1 thing/week to connect with my father. It has to require actual effort on my part. Take 1 hr/week to work on some form of personal development (non-fitness skill, etc.) I'll be starting up at the Aikido place I found last challenge, but it's not actually a goal Prioritization This is a lot of things and it's very likely I won't be able to do everything every week. Priority #1 will be the things I'm paying for - so, Crossfit and aikido. Beyond that, a lot of things are kind of equal. I think I'll generally prioritize hitting at least 3 strength sessions/week. Followed by getting in all of my GST sessions. Walking is easy right now because it's only 1x/week, but if (FINGERS CROSSED) I can start to increase my frequency, I'll probably prioritize above walking. And doing some sort of walking for the day is more important than covering a specific distance. But it's also about listening to my body, so if I feel stiff, I might prioritize flexibility above walking. Etc.

I wanted to start a seperate CrossFit journal, cause i just SMASHED my first Open Workout 18.1 Workout 18.1 RX Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of: 8 toes-to-bars 10 dumbbell hang clean and jerks 14-cal. row Men use 50-lb. dumbbell Women use 35-lb. dumbbell Workout 18.1 Scaled Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of: 8 hanging knee-raises 10 dumbbell hang clean and jerks 14-cal. row Men use 35-lb. dumbbell Women use 20-lb. dumbbell The story: My son turned 8 friday before 18.1 and i was at a bikefair all day. Saturday we celebrated his party. Friday as well as Saturday i had a good nights sleep, but i also drank some beers on saturday during the day (about 6-8). I had been prepping pretty hard the last weeks, so the 2 days without workout were pretty welcome, i had done a lot of upper body work. Sunday i awoke a little later than i meant to, which meant that the start of the day wasn't as relaxing as i wanted it to be. Note for next week, set alarm at 08:30, as we will be doing all the workouts on Sunday, first waves start at 11:00. I also saw i had to judge someone in our first wave. Box opens at 10:00 and at 10:30 there is a briefing about the WOD, some tips and tricks, and how to judge. Seeing i was late i didn't made it. Luckily my spanish friend and our very own official CF judge filled me in. He always wears his "no rep"-shirt to these occasions. He could be related to @Endor, as he was constantly nudging me towards RX. Judged a girl who i regularly see during the workouts. She really had a battleplan, knee raises 4-4, rest, 5 hang clean and jerks left, put dumbbell down, pick dumbbell up, 5 hang clean and jerks right, put dumbbell down, row 850 cal/h. I didn't need to no-rep her, she came close once with a knee raise as her foot was barely behind the bar, but i told her afterwards and the others were super obvious. She did about 266 reps (IIRC) she give it all at the end. But told a bit later she could have gone harder on the clean and jerks, took to much rest during that. Next, 2 waves of watching others, and in the fourth wave i was up. About half an hour before my wave started i checked in the groups-app to see if @DarK_RaideR had posted what he had scored, cause i really wanted to use that to base my split times on. Unfortunately nothing. So i tried a little rowing, knowing the girl i judged did 850 CAL/h. I decided to try to keep it at 950 CAL/h. Each round would give me 32 reps. I really wanted to nail the 300 mark as i saw the people who did it scaled scored between 250-300. Which meant about 10 rounds thus 2 minutes per round. A little leeway to be tired at the end. I positioned myself at the far end of the rows, and our box-owner came into the lane besides me. The other co-owner was my judge, and gave me a friendly warning, never do more reps than the owner . Thankfully she was doing it RX and i was doing it scaled so no direct comparison. Almost time. Nervously wandering around my lane. Congratulated the person who just finished his workout. First round i pushed out a 01:4x. Oow crap, that's quite a bit faster than i anticipated. But i felt great and it didn't felt all that heavy. Just keep it at that pace and we'll see what happens. All round went pretty solid right. In the second half of the workout i chalked up my hands again, right after the knee raises, next time do this before the hanging. Still pretty much ahead according to my battle plan. Starting round 10 my judge told my that i would probably be in the clean and jerks at the 20 minute mark. So i kept the knee raises fast and smooth, and i didn't waste any time on the C&J, rowing, gave it all i had at about 1300-1400 CAL/h. Tired with less than 30 seconds on the clock i jumped off the rower and got my ass to the bar for the knee raises, onto the C&J which (For the first time) i started with my good right side, closely monitoring the time those 5 went up pretty easy, and with a few seconds left on the clock i pushed out 3 C&J on the left. I made it, i was completely wasted, mostly because of the last bit of rowing, needed some time to catch my breath. Score 336. "No way!!! Wicked!!!" At that moment i was placed second at our own box for the "Men -Scaled" division. And i remained that throughout the day. Oow yeah, remember, my spanish no-rep-judge friend. After seeing i finished in second place he couldn't shut up about that i should have done it RX! Still all in good fun though. I'm still on a huge post-Open-rush. Preparation felt great so i'm gonna do the same thing this week: Monday: Lift Tuesday: CF (Oly) Wednesday: Lift Thursday: CF (WOD) Friday: Rest Saturday: Rest Bring on 18.2! (just please no wall balls)

Goals: - No Alcohol - 1 hour walk or 1 hour gym every day - Track Calories - "Never 2 in a row" Big shift in my training this challenge, I got injured (again) and decided I am no longer doing Crossfit training with a Personal Trainer. I'll be going to F45 classes instead and training weights at home. I have signed up for the Crossfit Open but I'm not sure at this stage whether I will take part because I'm carrying a bicep tendon impingement injury which prevents me from doing any overhead or bicep work. The overall goal at the moment is body composition, specifically losing fat. Bonus motivators: 1. I'm in a weight loss competition with a friend at work from 6 Feb to 27 Feb, every 500g one of us loses more than the other is $5 you owe them. (This is a repeat, I crushed him in January in case you were wondering!) 2. I've entered an 8 week challenge at my new F45 gym, which runs 29 Jan to 25 March 3. I've set myself up for success with (another) 20 pre-packed Paleo meals. 4. In a PvP with @Baxtan which is a race to see who can lose 7kg (15.4lbs) first. Current status: Starting weight 93.0kg Current Weigh in: 88.9kg PVP progress: 4.1kg lost, 2.9kg to go. Super secret (not so secret) Open motivation

Well, looks like I'm gonna do a theme after all... Left to right: Augustus, Ares, Denton, Bodark, The Baron, Hoser, Hindenburg, Seraphim, Linus, Zeke, Hyde, Hudson. Though I might be getting Hindenburg and Hudson wrong. Tastee:Lethal Tactics is a turn based tactical videogame about a bunch of mercenaries fighting some drug cartel, meaning it pretty much ticks all the boxes for me to get into it. Originally, I wanted to do something with a mechanic about failure having consequences, because I'm pretty quick to chalk up a failed goal/day and move on if there's nothing on the line but bragging rights;my mind flew to the X-COM series and other high lethality games like the Dark Souls series so after some research, I discovered Tastee:Lethal Tactics. I haven't been too good with themes lately besides 2017's year long wrestling narrative and I couldn't come up with any such mechanic, so I was thinking about going themeless this time. As I was doing the recap for last challenge though, I realized there were a lot of lessons learned. In implementing those for the new challenge, Tastee:Lethal Tactics came up again. Let me explain that before we move on. Tastee:Lethal Tactics sends you into battle with a squad of 4 mercs and it's usually wise to pick one of each class (gunman, shotgunner, sniper, grenadier) for each slot. Combat is broken down into rounds of 5 seconds. You get infinite time to plan your actions, then hit the button and see how things play out. Since actions are all carried out simultaneously, you need to be a step ahead of the opposition, especially during online PvP games against humans. That said, it's a punishing game with a lot of rinse&repeat as you take the lessons learned with each defeat and try to do better next time. Lessons learned from last challenge Every time I failed going to the box, one of two reasons was to blame: one, I left it for "after work" and since I leave work around 18:00-19:00, it was either too late (last class starts at 20:00 and it's roughly an hour's drive away) or I was too exhausted to drive there, work out and drive back again. Two, I tried to time it and go with the SRLF, which means leaving work early around 16:30-17:00 for an hour's drive to her work and another hour's drive to the box. In all fairness though, it was mostly reason number one, the SRLF attends a rowing class per week plus one more workout, which is usually during the weekend. On a similar note, there were two main reasons why I failed my nutrition: one, because I was poorly prepared for work with a single lunchbox for something like 10 hours of work, leading me to buy pastries and unhealthy snacks as extras. Two, because grocery shopping and cooking went downhill, so we'd often have dinner out or get delivery. Distractions at work (games, NF, social media etc) are not that big an issue in that I need to ban them outright. Quite the contrary, bans add pressure and burn up willpower. I need to ride my motorcycle more often. Bullet Journalling works and it's awesome. OK, I learned that before the previous challenge, but I just wanted to put it up here with the rest. Onto the goals for this challenge Workouts: The Open starts before the challenge ends, so I need to get in line with my workouts. Aiming for a minimum of 3 per week. Ideally, I'll be extending the lunch break to ride my bike and attend the 15:00 class. Nutrition: Goal here is no purchased snacks at work and minimizing emergency dinners. To that end, I need to make sure we're properly stocked. Aforementioned extended lunch break will also be utilized to stop and grab some groceries. Also, I need to remind my dumb ass to bring some extra snacks with me at work. Bundling: Also known as "quid pro quo". Simply put, in order to do something easy and pleasing, I must first complete something that falls on the other end of the spectrum. If I wanna check out NF while at work, I must first complete a work-related task, if I wanna kick back and play videogames at home, I must first get some Domestic Rangering done and so on. Now, let's go shoot some sicarios.... AAAWWWWW YEEEEAH!!!

Time for a new thread with the same goals. Only 1 slight modification. Closer adherence to my calorie goals in MFP. Things went really well last round, so I expect it to be just as good this round. 1) Food Tracking and Calorie Watching Nothing fancy here just track it and watch those calories. I will not get to obsessed over the macros or a few too many calories, as long as it doesn't get crazy. I get 1 "free" non-tracked meal per week. - I use My FItness Pal for tracking 2) CrossFit The goal is just to get to class. Barbell and a WOD work out can happen on the same day. Barbell class twice per week WOD twice per week Side Goals: 1) Take care of my skin: it is winter and I am horrible at taking care of my skin. so morning and night I need to complete my skin ritual. 2) Practice my spanish and polish 3 times per week. I use duolingo to learn, it has a couple of apps so there is no excuse. 3) Practice my piano or music reading 1 time per week 4) Still working toward some CF lifting goals: -back squat = reach 150 pounds (currently at 130#) -front squat = reach 130 pounds (currently at 115#) -snatch = reach 90 pounds (currently at 75#) -clean and jerk = reach 100 pounds (currently at 90#)