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In an attempt to learn from last year, where I "failed" (aka dropped out of) challenge after challenge, and proceeded to put ON weight over the summer, I am changing my approach! While it's not summer yet, the busyness is already starting for me, and I find trying to build 4 week challenges that work around all the stuff I have going on is a recipe for failure. Instead, I will be making some longer term goals, trying to check in here fairly regularly, and work more on my over-arching plan! I'm going to go with a 12-week goal format for now. I'll be formally tracking these from April 9th until July 1st, but I'm working on them all now anyways. Goal #1: Stay Keto. This way of eating is REALLY working for me, but I know my biggest struggle will be keeping it up while we're disc golfing/camping most weekends over the summer. I'm going to allow some flexibility while I'm in Mexico (we leave in 9 days!), but after that, it's aiming for <20g of carbs per day, with one higher carb (<30g) day allowed per week. I do have targets for other macros, but in a effort to keep things simple, I'm just going to report my averages each week, reflect on it, and decide what, if any, changes need to be made. Goal#2: Kettlebells I'm hoping to average 2x classes per week. I'm mostly making 3 right now, but it's unsustainable over the summer. With disc golf league night once a week, and the fact that we're going to be gone about 1/2 of the Fridays, I'm down to 1 free evening per week, on a good week. Trying not to make myself crazy. Goal #3: Practice disc golf! My competitive spirit really wants to get better at this... but I can't expect that to happen without putting in the work! Goal is to attend league night (1x week), do field work at least 1x week, and get in 3 additional practice rounds in on non-tournament weeks, 2 on tournament weeks (including the usual Friday night practice on the tourney course) Goal #4: Nourish my marriage I don't want to lose sight of the most important person in my life in the midst of all this self-improvement! I'm going to pick on thing to focus on each week, work on it, and reflect. I have some ideas in the back of my mind, but open to suggestion! Goal #5: Grow our business. With the focus being on the disc golf apparel side of things. This is kind of a monster goal. It involves some one-time things that need to happen, some habits we need to get in to, and some long term goals to achieve... I'm going to make a spreadsheet, and I'll post that when I'm done. I think between all of this, I've got a pretty holistic grasp on the important aspects of my life. The only thing not addressed at this point is the bike commuting that I intend to take up starting in May... I'm going to see how that goes, and maybe add it as a goal later on. I'm also okay with the fact that these are going to ebb and flow as my schedule shifts and changes and fills... and I'm okay with that! The important part is ensuring that I keep my priorities at the forefront, and don't fall back into bad habits. I'm not grading myself, per se, on any of this, but I want to make sure I'm thinking about it, reporting/recording it, and using that data to make decisions about how I spend my time and energy.

My husband and I just moved to Madison, WI for work. Would love to meet some other Nerd Fitness members!

"A safari /səˈfɑːri/ is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. In the past, the trip was often a big-game hunt, but today, safari often refers to trips to observe and photograph wildlife—or hiking and sight-seeing as well." "Hatari! (pronounced [hɑtɑri], Swahili for "Danger!") is a 1962 American action/adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. It portrays a group of professional wildlife catchers in Africa. The film includes dramatic wildlife chases and the scenic backdrop of Mount Meru, a dormant volcano." [credits: wikipedia] Hatari! is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. In the movie, the wildlife catchers are collecting animals for zoos around the world, caring for the animals and having some pretty ingenious ways of capturing them. In this challenge, I'll be setting my sights on the "animals" I want to "collect" for my imaginary zoo. Each element of my challenge will have an associated animal to capture by the end of the challenge. But there's also another Safari in my life: a disc golf one. "Safari Golf – [slang term] This is when players create a new route through an established course. For example: instead of playing the holes in order, players may choose to use the tee from hole one to throw towards hole 6. (Reference: Gypsy Golf) [credit: disctroy] Here's the disc golf safari in my life: Allen (hubby) and I are running this tournament together and playing in the Mixed Doubles division. I have alot of responsibilities for helping organize, plan, and run the event, which is on the last day of the challenge. I also need to work on my game, which is a little rusty after not playing all winter. If you're unfamiliar with disc golf, here you go in a nutshell. It's one of the fastest growing pro/am sports worldwide. So onto my challenge goals, the animals I want to collect for my imaginary zoo: Main quest: Rhino My Rhino is the disc golf safari tournament. I have a lot to do: --Upload regular photos/updates to the Peoria Frisbee Club & Celebrate Recovery Facebook pages --Photograph and edit pics of all the donated raffle prizes and players' packs --Keep track of all event volunteers [and gain said volunteers in the first place] --Keep the CR leadership/PFC leadership up to date on all progress for the event --Produce handouts/fundraising packets/powerpoint slides for CR and keep them up to date and have plenty on hand of the consumables --work on my game (play as many rounds as possible, practice my putts on workout days, get in as much field work as I can) Second Quest: Zebra My Zebra is time management. I need to: --Work on all of my zoo animals in a timely manner and not procrastinate or the fast-moving horse-like thingy will get away from me. --Use a calendar to schedule when I work on things. --Practice the presence of "no". No new projects, no spur-of-the-moment side adventures. I have alot on my plate in April and don't have time to get distracted. Quest 3: Giraffe My Giraffe is my yard. April is when things spring into action and everything is tall and needs to be corralled. My trees, my bushes, my grass. --Get Trimline to either commit to mowing my grass or find someone else. I'm tired of their lackadaisical attitude. --Get out there today, do a review of the yard and what needs to get done, in what order and under what schedule. --Talk with Allen about where we're going with the landscaping and make it a joint effort (I'm tired of doing all the yardwork myself...) --Get the house perimeter sprayed Quest 4: Buffalo My Buffalo is continuing my strength training. I made tremendous noob gainz last month, and I'm going to continue working at it. But, somehow I messed up my right MCL, so I'm backing down on the weight until it heals. I.) work out 3x a week (disc golf is bonus) Each of these exercises is done between 3-5 sets per workout, depending on how I feel --Squats: bodyweight until MCL heals --Push Ups: Wall push ups, working on wrist strength and mobility --Lunges: bodyweight static lunges until MCL heals --Dumbbell Rows: currently 10|30# --Elbow Planks: currently 40 seconds --Disc Golf Putts: currently averaging 7|10 putts from 15 foot distance --Bicep Curls: currently 5|30#, 2|35#MR --Triceps Kick-Back: thinking of starting these again because I know my triceps are weak. I'd been able to do 3 x 7.5# a year ago. So I'll start there. 2.) Weight and measurement baseline for April: Age: 50. Height: 5'8" --Weight: 175.8 --Underbust measurement: 32" --Waist measurement: 30.8" --Hip measurement: 37.2" --Thigh measurement: 23.8" 3.) Track all my food, continuing a +/- 1700 calorie goal. Macro goals: --Protein: 106g --Fat: 76g --Carbs: 149g --Fiber: 25g Quest 5: Monkeys In the movie, they need to catch some Vervet monkeys, and because those monkeys bite, claw, scratch and otherwise cause mayhem, the team has to protect themselves while at the same time capturing the monkeys without harming them. My Monkeys are my social skills. --I will remember my slogan: 'not my monkeys.' As in, 'not my circus, not my monkeys'. I remind myself that other people's monkeys are their issues and their responsibility, not mine. I'm not responsible for fixing people or for being the peacemaker when that means being codependent. --I should keep my own monkeys in check and not let them fling poo at others, especially when I'm under alot of stress like April looks to be. In other words, I will use the relational tools available to me to respond appropriately to people and situations mindfully, rather than knee-jerk reacting. --I will remind myself to not take things personally, and I don't need to act as if every person I come across must like me. Sometimes personalities clash. Sometimes it my monkeys; sometimes it's theirs, sometimes it's both. Live at peace with one another as much as it depends on you; but sometimes it doesn't depend on you. --I will work on prayerfully saying the Serenity Prayer like I used to do, which was a good centering practice.

No I don't mean cleaning my house. No actual dust bunnies will be harmed in the making of this film. Er, Challenge. Compared to the average Warrior, I'm starting small and lifting amounts that are very light, hence the dust bunnies!! I will be continuing what I started at the end of my 8th challenge: Fitness-- Doing a modified Weighted BBWW workout, Tue/Thu/Sat. Tracking my workouts in a spreadsheet and posting workout logs here in my challenge. Progressions in reps to 10, then increase weight. Goblet Squats: currently at 3 sets of 5, at 5 lbs. Incline Push Ups: currently at 3 sets of 10, at 60 degree angle. Goblet Lunges: currently at 3 sets of 16, at 5 lbs. Dumbbell rows: currently at 3 sets of 10, at 25 lbs. Planks: currently at 3 sets of 25 second elbow planks, with some side raise planks thrown inJumping Jacks: currently on hold, as plantar fasciitis flare up recedes -- So Disc Golf Putts in it's placeBicep Curls: currently at 3 sets of 8, at 30 lbs. Diet-- Track food daily with My Fitness Pal. 1700 calorie goal. Post food logs in challenge thread.Weigh and measure on Mondays, post stats and compare to beginning stats.Weight: 176.6Height: 5'8"Age: 50Underbust: 32.5Waist: 31.2Hip: 37.2Thigh: 24.5Life-- Keep up with customer orders so I don't get behind with workKeep up with dishes and laundryPrepare for disc golf tournament in April

TTZZAAPP!!! A PUFF OF SMOKE AND... Granny Nogg has turned herself into a little brown mouse. The first thought that enters her mouse brain is, "Cheese. .. I smell cheese!!" Lovely, golden, creamy, tangy cheese is going to help Granny Nogg gain some serious mouse muscles. That, and lifting heavy things to the Rocky theme song. Or Disco. Because Disco isn't Dead. Fitness: Do the BBWW 3x a week (Tue/Thu/Sat). Progression in squats, lunges, and dumbbell weight. Track workouts in spreadsheet. Track steps the other 4 days with my FitBit. Diet: Track my food daily with My Fitness Pal. 1600 calorie goal. Weigh and measure once per week. Track in MFP.weight:176.5underbust: 32.25waist: 32hip: 39thigh: 25Life: Keep up with work orders and don't get behind. Weekly Summaries: Week 1: Fitness: workouts 1/3 Did track in spreadsheet and tracked steps. Diet: Tracked 7/7. Went over goal twice. Weighed and measured. weight: 179.3 underbust: 32.75 waist: 31.5 hip: 38.75 thigh: 25 Life: orders still caught up. Week 2: Fitness: workouts 3/3. Did track in spreadsheet and tracked steps. Diet: tracked 7/7. Went over once. Weighed and measured. weight: 175.9 underbust: 32.5 waist: 31.25 hip: 37.25 thigh: 24.75 Life: orders still caught up. Week 3: Fitness: workouts 3/3, because I'm counting the Yard Work that gave me DOMS for 3 days. Wow. Did track in spreadsheet and tracked steps (Fitbit needs a new battery!) Diet: Tracked 6/7. Dunno what happened to Saturday's food log, I can't find it. Went over only one day, on Wednesday. I know I didn't go over on Saturday because I didn't eat much. Weighed and measured. Weight: 176.6 Underbust: 32.5 Waist: 31.2 Hip: 37.2 Thigh: 24.5 Life: orders still caught up, but I'm feeling a little bit pressured by the number of them on the board, so I need to step up my game and get more of them actually completed. sent from my tiny particle accelerator

WARNING: THIS CHALLENGE IS ABOUT VULNERABILITY, CHRISTIAN FAITH, AND RECOVERY. "Hi, my name is Granny and I'm a grateful believer in Jesus, who struggles with codependency, resentment, and food." For the last 3 years I've been a member of Celebrate Recovery (a Christ-centered recovery program), and this is how we introduce ourselves. While I haven't struggled with drugs or alcohol, I am the child of an alcoholic and the child of an abuser. I do struggle with other behaviors that have hindered my maturity as an adult. Things like stress eating, people pleasing, procrastination and workaholism. Everyone has hurts from the past that they don't know what to do with; habits they've developed to help them cope with the unresolved conflicts in their past; and hangups about how they view themselves and the people around them. CR uses the 12-step model from AA, the principles in the Beattitudes, and cognitive behavior life skill tools to help untwist the damage in our lives. The Rehab Challenge: In this challenge, I'm going to be working on rehabilitation, both in mind and in body. I'm struggling with the aftermath of being injured in a car accident. The last day of the previous challenge (7-19), my hubby and I were in the left lane of a 3-lane road that's also a one-way street. The guy in the middle lane made a sudden decision to take a hard left turn into a business driveway across our lane, and cut in front of us, so close that we couldn't avoid the crash. He said he didn't see us, and I believe him; we must have been in his blind spot and he didn't look over his shoulder before turning left. Now it wasn't a serious accident; we were only going about 35mph, both cars' engines were still mostly functional, even though the body and frame of both were damaged (the other car likely beyond repair). My husband and the other driver were unhurt. Me, on the other hand, I have a Cervical Sprain, which is also considered whiplash but this one was side-to-side instead of back-to front. I also have two compressed discs in my neck, and the injury is making that area of my neck particularly problematic. Soft tissue damage is still being assessed at this point. It could have been alot worse, physically! But it's taking a toll on me psychologically. I'm in pain, seeing doctors and chiropractors and on the phone with insurance agencies and the lawyer, multiple times this week, which takes alot of my time. I'm also working-- owning my own business means I don't get to take a couple weeks off. I can't do my workouts or play disc golf, pick up my grandchildren, etc. I'm having a hard time keeping resentment at bay. I'm also struggling with a desire for revenge, financially. I don't believe that's the right thing to do, so I'm trying to put those emotions into proper perspective so that they don't influence my behavior. *So my goals for this challenge:* Main Quest: Create a plan to rehabilitate physically. Part of this plan will be to keep all doctor appointments, ask probing questions about my condition to make sure I completely understand what is being said, and make a plan to work my body back to it's previous state (or better!), whether that involves physical therapy or other forms of physical activity. Measurement: Keeping all appointments, making a plan for physical therapy, and following through on regaining my physical abilities: +5 Con Second Quest: Keeping it real. Part of this plan will be to recognize when I'm tempted toward using my injury for greed, and reaching out to my accountability people when those thoughts come. Same thing when I can't do something I want to do because of the injury-- recognizing when I'm tempted to hold my anger or frustration inside and nurse it into a cold resentment. I will choose not to either minimize my injury in order to speed the process toward playing disc golf or working out, nor play it up for laziness or to get out of a responsibility or to get sympathy. Measurement: Reaching out to my accountability team, attending all recovery meetings, and refusing to fall into psychological traps or acting out: +5 Wis

Welcome to my 50th Birthday Challenge! I turn the Big 5-0 the first week of this challenge, so to celebrate being in the best shape of my life as I turn a half-century old, I'm celebrating in a big way by having a giant 6-week-long Luau Party! At this party, we're gonna have plenty o' fantastic music. I have a Hawaiian play list, and here's one of the songs to read this post by: We'll also have fantastic, healthy recipes like this one: Hawaiian Pork Chops. And we'll play disc golf! Yeah, baby. Yeah. YEAH. My Quests! Main Quest: to play at least one round (18 holes) of disc golf EVERY DAY. That's 3.5 miles of walking per round. If the weather doesn't permit, then I make 100 putts into the temporary basket. Or both if I'm feeling particularly outstanding! Measurement: 42 games of disc golf in 6 weeks: +5 DEX. 35 games of disc golf in 6 weeks: +3 DEX. 20 games of disc golf in 6 weeks: +1 DEX. 2nd Quest: to eat protein for breakfast. GRONK NEED PROTEIN! I don't care whether it's a whole bag of edamame, a microwaved chicken breast, or leftover ham from dinner. But I need to get at least 20 grams of protein in me at the start of my day! Measurement: 42 protein breakfasts in 6 weeks: +5 STA. 35 protein breakfasts in 6 weeks: +3 STA. 20 protein breakfasts in 6 weeks: +1 STA. Life Quest: to post a bikini photo shoot set at some point in the 6 week challenge (Hear that, Razzy?!!). I'm delighted to be healthy and energetic and athletic at 50! Measurement: 3 bikini photos: +5 CHA. 2 bikini photos: +3 CHA. 1 bikini photo: +1 CHA.

Last night I decided what my goals are going to be for this challenge. I'm still working on meeting all the required reps and time of the Beginner Body Weight Workout. So that's my Main Quest: to perfect the Beginner Body Weight Workout (BBWW). To do this, I will practice the BBWW workout 3x a week. Measurement: working out 3x each week: STR +7. Working out mostly 3x, but sometimes 2x: STR +6. Working out mostly 2x but occasionally 3x: STR +5. Quest 2: Participate in the Rebellion. To do this I will update my challenge thread 3x a week and participate in the Guild Mini's. I will also participate in Accountabilibuddies and encourage new rebels. Measurement: Update challenge 3x a week AND do all the guild mini's: WIS +3. Update challenge 2-3x a week and do some of the guild minis: WIS +2. Update challenge 1x a week or less, and not do any of the guild minis: WIS +1. Life Quest: Clean up the yard! I have alot of brush to get rid of, leaves to rake, small trees to cut down, and bushes to prune. Measurement: Complete all 3 items (brush, leaves, pruning): +5 Charisma for my property. Complete most things (some brush, some leaves, some trees, some pruning): +3 Charisma for my property. Complete only a little of each: +1 Charisma for my property, as in "E for Effort". I have a high motivation to get this life quest done by the beginning of week 4, because my husband's parents and siblings are coming for a week's visit. I also need to not get bogged down in tiny details, like sifting all the volcanic rock and replanting all the daylilies.

Main Quest: to perfect the Beginner Body Weight Workout (BBWW). To do this, I will practice the BBWW workout 3x a week. Measurement: working out 3x each week: STA +7. Working out mostly 3x, but sometimes 2x: STA +6. Working out mostly 2x but occasionally 3x: STA +5. Quest 1: increase my plank time from 20 seconds to at least 35 seconds. Measurement: Increase plank time to 35 seconds: STR +5. Increase plank time to 30 seconds: STR +4. Increase plank time to 25 seconds: STR +3. Quest 2: Participate in the Rebellion. To do this I will update my challenge thread 3x a week and participate in the Guild Mini's. I may also participate in Accountabilibuddies and encourage new rebels. Measurement: Update challenge 3x a week AND do all the guild mini's: STA +3. Update challenge 2-3x a week and do some of the guild minis: STA +2. Update challenge 1x a week and not do any of the guild minis: STA +1.

Have any of you been able to increase your driving distance with weight training. I am doing SL5x5 and can't wait to see if I can add distance as I get stronger.