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Total Eclipse of The Heart Remember this song? Probably not, most of you weren't born. But the 80's were epic, my hair was born for the 80's. This challenge I will be travelling to Texas to see the eclipse. This will be the second total eclipse I have seen. We travelled to Oregon (driving distance) and this time we are flying with several family members. So, here is my eclipse challenge: Goal 1 : "Turn Around": Continuing habit of Bible before screen Goal 2: "Bright eyes" Levelling up on habit of getting out workout clothes, now that winter's past and" I'm no longer living in the dark", goal is to actually get dressed before breakfast .First half of challenge I'm aiming for 2/5 days. then I will go for 3/5 Goal 3: "Every now and then I get a little restless and dream of something wild:" Give myself time to dream. Chatting with @Harriet about how too much screen time sucks out our creativity. I want more time to dream and be creative. No screens (unless I'm using them for creativity in something tangible like scrapbooking) from 1-4 in the afternoon Goal 4 : "Together we can make it to the end of the line" I'm continuing my reverse diet. Right now I'm at a good point with my calories , so I just plan on maintaining that. After we return from our trip, the following Monday I will start my cut. Plan is to continue tracking calories and keep at it for 6 weeks

I'm going to continue working on the habits I've been trying to establish: Habit #1 Reading Bible before looking at screens Habit #2 Setting Workout clothes on my bed before breakfast, so that I am ready to workout as soon as I finish breakfast Both of these I have in my habit reminder on the phone, so I also need to check off there whether I have done them or not Habit #3 Writing out weekly goals and daily goals for the week/day. New goal: The workout program I'm doing: Anabolic , has what they call trigger sessions on days where I'm not working out. The idea is you use resistance bands, some intensity but not too hard, just enough to get a pump. Goal is to do these at least once ( they recommend 1-3 times during the day) a day 3 times a week What else I'm doing: Right now I' m doing a slight bulk. I want this to be at least mostly muscle gain. Which means I need to track calories, and weigh and measure myself. So, I will be doing that. I'm not listing it is a goal, because that actually backfires and makes me less likely to do it, because I slide too quickly into the all or nothing category. I feel like I'm lying if I report on here that I tracked, and I really can't remember what I ate for lunch, and it was only a guestimate. Where if I'm just noting it for myself I don't do as much self questioning and am more flexible. My workout program is Anabolic by Mindpump it's set up to be a 2 to 3 day a week workout. I will usually do 3 days, cause I love working out. I will also do walking. Maybe not as much rowing. I felt like January I was sick and pushed myself too hard, so I'm trying to back off. Let my rest days be rest days . I have the trigger sessions to do, which gives me movement, so I think I will just do walking. If I really want to get a row in, that's fine. J

Part way through this challenge, we will be vacationing at Disneyland and Joshua Tree National Park.Which means I get to ride the Incredicoaster. My Incredicoaster Challenge: Looking forward I've stopped writing down my daily and weekly plans, I want to start that again Climb to the top of the hill: Cardio, Continue walking, no real goal, just get some in, if I'm not rowing that day do a bit more walking Rowing: I want to finish the 24 day zone 2 and 5 rowing challenge goal is 2 days a week zone 2, 1 day a week zone 4 or 5 VIew from the top Strength train 3-4 days a week. This is fairly easy for me, I like strength training Going Down Work on looking incredible in my shorts for my trip Follow Eating Skills Good : Track in MFP 3 days a week, keep within my range Better 4 days a week, including a weekend day Best: Best days a week including a weekend day The Loop I don't like the upside down part of the coaster. I also don't like drinking lots of water. But some things are just part of the ride. This challenge I'm just going to track my water. Drink my big glass in the morning, and then track the liquids I drink. Any liquid counts (except alcohol) I will track in the Fitbit app. Good: track 3 days Better track 4 days Best track 5 days Side quests: Finish staining fence Begin preparing the garden for winter To do list for final vacation plans frames for pictures Other notes: On vacation I will not be working on my challenge goals. I will be enjoying my vacation. And probably getting in oodles of steps. The only real goals I have for eating during vacation is to eat slowly, and savor the moments.

I'm enjoying this song It's a good reminder that right now, this life I'm living is the good life. Goal 1: Enjoy the summer I love summer! And where I live, the summer weather has been fantastic. Sunny and warm, but not happy. I want to enjoy it. Spend time gardening, long walks, reading outside, geocaching, and all the other pleasures that summer offers. Goal 2: Being low-key My clothes are getting a bit tight. That's a win in the area where I'm building muscle! But not so much with the belly fat. Measured my waist and belly, and I have gained weight there. Instead of a big plan and focusing all my energy at losing weight, this time I'm just going to be low key about, Make wise choices. Track fiber and protein. Use my eating skills. Focus on strength. Not tracking this, just sort of an awareness. It won't happen all the time, just an acknowledgment that I need to make some subtle changes. I will measure once a week to see how it's going. I don't care if all I do is maintain, I just want to stop the gain. 1 day MFP protein and fiber tracking= C 2 day =B 3 day = A Goal 3: Going with what works: I've been focusing on getting 20 oz of water in the morning. That seems to help my workouts, so I want to keep up with this habit Light in the morning: When I read my Bible in the morning sit outside, or at least at the couch with the blinds open. Sometimes maybe when I feel like it I will go for a morning walk. Keep up with my workouts Add : Water goal 32 oz by 2 pm (if I have smoothie this can be 26 oz) Goal 4: Deep Sleep I've been experimenting to see if I could improve the deep sleep numbers on my Fitbit. One thing that seems to help is spending a few minutes before I sleep deep breathing so I will try and do that most nights. Also, I've been workout on this 3; 2;1; formula 3 hours before bed stop eating 2 hours no drinking(maybe sips but nothing big 1 hour no screen The 3:2;1; is a guideline more than a rule, sometimes exceptions happen, just something to shoot for because I know it helps Side Quests; Stain fence finish vacation planning have day long geocaching adventure clean deck buy frames for pictures

Been doing the summer stuff, walking, gardening, reading in the sun, and haven't put a lot of thought into challenges. Kept thinking I'd get around to it, but it hasn't happened. So, let's just focus on what I was already doing: 1) Morning Sun; Read my Bible in the morning by the window with drapes open bonus: sit outside double bonus; ,morning walk 2) drink 20 oz of water in the morning. I've slacked on that this week, and I can tell the difference. 3)Strength I've been doing slowed down Romanian deadlift, so that's this challenge 3 x 6 44lb Romanian Deadlift at a tempo of 1-4-3-1 Current 3 x 4 Single arm military press with a hold at top and slow descent 25lb 3 x 5 current 3 x 3 Rows 3 x 8 2 second pause at top 35lb current 6,,6,7 4) Summer list : I've made a list of things I want to do in the next couple of months. Each week I want to report on what I've accomplished from the list Added goals: Cut down on evening snacking: I'm snacking more out of habit than hunger. I want to change that. I don't want to do a goal of " no snacking" because then by next challenge I'll just be burnt out and go back to the old habit of snacking. I will record and give myself a point for each day I go with no evening snacks. There is no goal for my points, I'm just sorta seeing if I can say no some of the time. Tea with sweetener and a bit of coconut milk, or warmed up coconut milk is fine. Eat more fiber. I tracked last challenge ,and I had a decent amount of fiber, but I could do with a bit more. I am not in the mood to track , so this is a very wibbly wobbly goal , the only thing is awareness, if I eat one meal that has low fiber, think about it the next, fruits and veggies, and some fibery carbs are good.

Listening to this song makes me happy. I watched the video before posting, and it's an awesome vibe. And my goals: 1) Eat 120 grams of protein a day; This works well for me, I plan on continuing it Also; Eat according to my values ( joy, thankfulness) eat slow, pause before getting more food 2) In the morning, sit by the window with the blinds open while reading Bible Bonus: sit outside Double bonus go for a walk 3) Drink 22 oz. of water before morning workout Bonus; Drink another 22 oz during day before dinner- I'm still working on the 22 oz morning goal, so this is still a bonus goal, but I want to try and see if I do it. If I get overwhelmed I will remember to focus on hitting the main goal 4) Strength Military Press 20lb 5 sets of 7 4 sets of 8 (adapted to fit workout plan) Goblet squats 25lb 4 sets of 8 The last few workouts, I've done 3 sets, and once I could do that well, moved up in weight. This time, I'm going to add sets and get more volume in. My plan: I was going to do a 4 day plan; 2 days arms, 2 days legs , with core exercises in the mix. But, I was feeling overwhelmed because of yard work that needed to be done. It makes sense to focus more on the weights in the winter, and less in the spring and summer when I just naturally move more. So, I think I'm going to do 1 day legs, 1 days arms, a full body day with maybe some supplemental arms stuff, and then on the fourth day do a sprint workout on the rower. The spring workout can be done quicker than a bodyweight workout.

I'm carrying over my goals from the previous challenge round in an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of way. However, that could double as a reason to get complacent. It's called challenge for a reason and there's always a way to push further. So I'm tweaking those goals to take me a step further, without getting overly ambitious and setting myself up for disappointment. MOAR DUMBBELL Ironically enough, I do have a fever as I'm typing this and it's kept me from my workouts for a few days. Can't wait to get back into lifting. In the meantime, I got myself some proper metallic handles, which means I can further up the weight on my dumbbells. On the flipside, this means a jump from my 250gr plastic grips to 2kg ones and with the plates I have available, I was forced to drop from 10 to 9kg for now. I'm telling myself this is actually good, as it's forcing me to drop a bit and ease back into it once I'm over the plague, but there's no doubt I'll be investing in more plates real soon. In the meantime, the goal for this challenge is to stick to doing a workout every day. FUEL DA FIRE Last challenge I was content to just punch in the data of whatever I ate in my app. This time I'm taking it a step further and going back to my meal planning, hopefully also those grand macro sniping days even. From simply tracking and being mindful to intentionally making an effort to improve. This is going to be a goal that involves several steps, so here's the breakdown: Weigh myself every Monday morning and re-calculate my macros based on my updated weight. Make sure each night I have home cooked food to bring to work for lunch. And, you know, actually bring and eat it. Estimate my expected daily eating from the night before and add it on my tracking app in advance. Adjust accordingly to fit macros. Hopefully stick to it, then do a reality check and adjust data by the end of the day according to what was actually consumed. Weigh as much of my food as possible and accurately track it on my nutrition app. Adjust eating to fit daily macros. YAY CREATIVITY! I don't think I need to have a "do something fun every day" goal from last challenge any more, as I'm doing pretty well on the fun and self care department alright. I do however want to use this bit to hold me accountable for two things. First, the Gygax 75 challenge that @Jarric was kind enough to run with once I mentioned it a while back. I kinda feel morally obliged to participate as the instigator, but I've also tried to do it once in the past and dropped it halfway because I had no one hyped to actually play it, so I'm hoping the accountability and creative exchange on that thread will see me to the end this time. Second, I somehow got a group all hyped up to have me run 3e Shadowrun for them! Thing is, the Eurowars caught their attention and they all made characters from Kosovo, of all places, so I can't exactly rely on most of the published stuff that's set in Seattle and the northern US. To start with, I need to brush up the rules, maybe even write a short digest for me and them, because last time we played an introductory fight and in retrospect I realized I was running a mix of those, 5e SR rules I remembered and rules I pulled out of my butt on the fly (in case you didn't know, SR is a notoriously rules-heavy, crunchy system). After that, I need to consistently do some reading and prep work for their adventures. As a GM, I tend to do a lot of improv, on the fly. This isn't gonna carry me far in this case, so I'm making it a goal to hold me accountable and make sure I consistently put in the work needed. BAD HABITS DIE HARD Late last year, I started a new job after 4+ years of effective unemployment and got out of an 8 year relationship. One of the things that happened in the aftermath was me picking up a smoking habit again and I wanna drop it before it sets in for good. It helps that smoking isn't allowed at work, so I only have a couple later in the day, especially if I go out with friends. I'm practically halfway there, so I need to kick the habit for good. MAKE RASSLIN' CONSISTENTLY AGAIN Another thing that took a hit due to the work and relationship changes late last year was my nu-NGW rasslin' narrative. I'm aware most people don't quite get it, can't keep up or don't bother (besides maybe @Tanktimus the Encourager and @EricMN when he's around) but it's a fun process for me and I want to bring it back. Or maybe not let it die a silent death again. Challenge tracking spreadsheet on my signature has been updated with a new sheet for this challenge. Gonna do a rasslin' recap next. Welcome one, welcome all, let's have a good one this go!

Harriet's Organic Programming: Overview I want to combine programming with flexibility. I like how the JTS programming book explains the principles needed to make programming work (like identifying your priorities, determining what traits you want to cultivate and what modalities/exercises will support them, applying specificity, overreach and fatigue management, etc). It makes programming less mysterious. I want to take a structured approach to my programming this year. But at the same time I need to be flexible because I cannot know how bad my fatigue will be in advance. Hence, organic programming. It’s a sapling, testing where the stone might crumble a little to allow a tendril to anchor. It’s the seed of a planet coagulating speck by speck as each new mote joins and adds its own gravity to the growing core. The principles of my organic programming are within the spoiler. Process for Challenges Reflect on the goals, traits and modalities, and determine either the greatest current obstacle or an area that seems ripe for expansion. Choose what ‘exercises’ could help, decide on something to overreach in (difficulty that seems a little beyond me) but also pick a fatigue management fallback; lower-effort options that will help me maintain instead of giving up completely.

As the title indicates, I've been deadlifting with dumbbells (4lb threaded standard handles, around 14 inches long). The way the handles bump into each other is kind of awkward. So last night I tried loading up one dumbbell but there really wasn't enough room for me to grip it comfortably with both hands. A barbell is on my wish list, but until that becomes a reality, what's my best option here? Keep doing what I am and deal with the awkwardness? A little Googling came up with people deadlifting with the dumbbells at their sides instead of in front, but that looked more like a squat than a deadlift. Do single-leg Romanian deadlifts? (My thought here being that a lighter weight would make it easier to hold the dumbbells away from each other.) Find a pipe to fit over the dumbbell ends to keep them in line with each other? Something else that I'm overlooking? Thanks for any advice!

Hello there. I'm a 26yo skinny fat male, 182cm/68kg For the last many years I've been sitting in front of my PC playing games and learning programming. Since I didn't have money I couldn't afford eating burgers and stuff like that so I only ate what my mom cooked me, thanks to this I'm not overweight, but I do not have muscles while percentage of fat is pretty high I'd say (around 25%). For the last few monthes I've been doing some push ups and squats so I can do 24 push ups in a row. 5 weeks ago I was 71kg but decided to cut my calories intake (to 1500) and in 4 weeks I became ~67kg. A week ago I bought a pair of dumbbells that have some different weights and I can vary them (max is 18kg per dumbbell so it would last forever). I started eating 2100 calories a day and my aim is to get as much muscles as possible untill my body weight becomes 71kg again. I've googled for a workout plan with dumbbells at home and found this https://coachmag.co.uk/fitness/workouts/dumbbell-workouts but it sucks for me because some exercises in supersets such as Front raise + Shrug require different weights to be good for me, and since it's a superset I don't have time to change the weights. Unscrewing my dumbbells to change the weights takes about 2 minutes. So I'm looking for an alternative workout plan. I thought about mixing workouts of that workout plans so that I would have supersets comprised of exercises that requre kinda same weight, so I don't need to unscrew the dumbbells and change the weight, but I'm not actually sure if that workout plan any good for me or not, so I'll appreciate any tips and suggestions from you guys. p.s. my aim is to train for hyperthrophy, I'd like to get results as fast as possible and I'm not gonna skip legs days or anything like that, I wanna become super sayan or so, you know.. ka-me-ha-me-ha!!! gosh, I love DB, but having Saitama's physique is good too, he is kinda shredded I believe.

Hello everyone! This is my very first post on the NF forums, and I'm hoping to find some help. I'm a 21 year old female, 152 lbs, and since I was in late elementary school (so about 13 or so years), I've hated my body and have never been comfortable in my own skin. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) and have been told that that is the reason why I've always had issues losing weight and getting healthy. I've been thinking about it lately, and I realized I never actually tried to exercise properly, and I'm just using my syndrome as an excuse as to why I haven't been able to put of weight. When I was in community college, I walked for thirty minutes to an hour every day and was totally fine. When I started my desk job, I put on so much weight from unhealthy meals and canned teas that I very regrettably later on found was filled with grams and grams of sugars. I probably had about five a day when I worked. Fast forward five years, I've dropped the sugar filled drinks all together but I still eat very unhealthily. So lately, I've been looking into eating better and working out, and this time I'm determined to start and work hard at it; I want to be comfortable in my skin and happy with my body for once. So I turned to Pinterest, Instagram, Google to look up different workouts and see what other people were doing, and probably saw too much; I feel like I've seen so many different workouts I don't know where to start. Yesterday, I did my first workout since high school PE classes xD I decided to try and work on glutes and legs, so I did ten minutes on my stationary bike for a simple warmup (I was actually decently impressed with myself, I thought I'd be dying and out of breath by the end of easy peddling, but I didn't breathe hard or sweat at all); I did 10 reps of goblet squats with a 10lb dumbbell, 10 stationary lunges per leg with a 7.5lb dumbbell, 10 straight leg RDLs with a 7.5, 10 jumping squats, 10 hip thrusts with a 7.5, and 10 side lunges. I was supposed to do 3 sets of each exercise, but I could only manage 1 set. My legs are dying today. They only really hurt when I walk up and down stairs and hurt a little if I move how they're positioned while I'm relaxing, but hopefully I'll get to the point where they won't hurt so much after a workout. I want to work more with dumbbells over time, do the beginner body weight workout tomorrow, and I was going to try some yoga this week as well, but do not know where to start. I want to work out three to four times a week, with a rest day in between each workout, but I still feel like because I saw so many different types of workouts, I don't know where to start. I only started a workout yesterday because I was aggravated with myself for looking into working out for days without actually starting; I knew if I kept looking into it, I'd eventually lose interest and not actually start. I have an outline of what I want to do: Glutes and legs one day, yoga one day, and beginner body weight the third day, with flexibility stretching and walking on my rest days. Now that I have an outline, I need to figure out what exercises I should put into them xD Does anyone have any recommendations for glutes and legs, yoga, and flexibility stretching exercises?

My third kid is due this week... another girl! I've been reading Nerd Fitness for a couple years. I'm still in my twenties, and as a dad I know that if I don't battle for my fitness now, it'll be a much more difficult uphill battle if I start later on in my 30s or 40s. I've got a pair of dumbbells, a barbell, and a swimming pool. Anybody else out there been in a similar situation and has seen success? I'm looking for like a group of fitness pin pals. I'm new to the boards, so you should know the nerdiest thing about me is probably my ocarina. I bought it earlier this year at a street market. After looking at if for a while I asked the guy if he could play something on it. You guessed it. He played Sarai's song from Zelda, the Ocarina of Time. Classic! Instant buy! Haven't regretted it once. Alright, so who wants to help me get started with some dad lifts? I'll try not to disappoint. Post with your tips or join the adventure with a pledge that you want to not just be a nerdy mom or dad, but a fit one! For the Rebellion! Sandy_Romans12.2

It's been a long time since I was on these forums and probably even longer since I took part in a challenge. I've been in a lull for quite a while, not exactly eating healthy but not being so bad that I've lost all the progress I had made last year. However, the past couple of months I've felt like absolute rubbish. Both mentally and physically. Work has been horrible and it has affected how I'm coping in my downtime. And no amount of moping at home is going to change that. So I want to change my system. I want to start getting stronger again and get back to the place where I feel confident, happy and strong. This challenge I want to start that progression. I've chosen to return to the Rangers which is where I started making real turns in my health over a year ago, in the hope it has a similar affect this time round. My goals this challenge are: Mind - Meditate/Quiet time minimum 2xweek for 10 minutes For a minimum of 2xweek I want to spend 10 minutes being quiet and still to reflect on day or week. I'm not great at sitting still and I've found sometimes because I'm so busy I forget to just stop and take a breath. I'm hoping this will help with stress levels. Body - Exercise 3xweek - run at least once Simple. Or not. I struggle with doing this. Excuses appear left right and centre and even though I know I feel better after a workout I still struggle with exercising (even though I love sport). In the three exercise sessions I want to include at least one run. I prefer doing dumbbell workouts but want to improve on my cardio side too and running is the easiest way to do this where I live. Diet - Limit Fizzy drinks to two a week I went almost two years without having a fizzy drink after kicking the habit however since I went to Toronto I've been back on it. Not too much but I can see it could get out of control quickly. I've decided I don't want to completely remove it as I do like the taste every now and then and water is very boring when that is all you really drink. Hopefully the above is achievable for the next four weeks and starts the change of my system to living life.

Hi folks, I was so pumped up to start strength training but I realised my gym (planet fitness) as not barbells, no squat racks and have smith machines is it possible to mimic the classic 5x5 routine with dumbbells? Could someone help me with that? It would be so awesome. I can't wait to start on Monday. Cheers

This may be a dumb question, but... If I'm doing a dumbbell press with two 25 lb. dumbbells, is it considered 50 lbs. since I'm using two or 25 lbs. This has always confused me and I have never thought to ask before now. There it is, my dumb dumbbells question. Thank you.

World 2: The Capitol - Train for Survival 02.29.16 - 03.25.16 Target 1: Improve survival skills (work out 30+ minutes 10 times) Target 2: Eat for strength (track food/water intake 15 days on MFP) Target 3: Rest while I can (be in bed by 11pm 15 nights) Bonus: Stay flexible (stretch and hang 15 times) Starting stats (02.29.16): Weight: 189.2 lbs Body Fat: 35.5% Push Ups: 1 Pull Ups: 0 Progress Reports Target 1 Workouts Completed: 8/10 02.29 - Stronglifts 03.02 - Stronglifts 03.04 - Stronglifts 03.09 - Stronglifts 03.16 - Stronglifts (at gym!!) 03.19 - 3 hours of walking (totally counting it) 03.21 - Stronglifts 03.22 - 7 hours of walking (longest day ever) Target 2 Days Tracked: 9/15 03.01 03.02 03.07 03.08 03.09 03.16 03.19 03.21 03.22 Target 3 Good Night’s Sleep: 12/15 03.02 03.03 03.06 03.09 03.10 03.11 03.13 03.14 03.16 03.18 03.19 03.22 Bonuses Stretch: 6/15 Hang: 0/15 I wasn’t sure which guild to post this in. I’m kind of half warrior, half assassin and half adventurer. And 150% indecisive. I don’t know what I want. NO, I do not want a sugar cube. This is going to be a crazy month for me. I’ve finally started seriously looking for a job (just moved to Texas last month). I’ll have another biology exam near the end, and a lab practical in the middle. And I’m finally starting Stronglifts 5x5 (kind of), which I’ve wanted to do for a long time but always made excuses. Right now I’m stuck with dumbbells, a pull up bar and a bench made of strips of foam wrapped in a yoga mat. No, I’m not kidding. I’ll post pics. So yeah, because of Stronglifts and how excited I am to see how much more I can lift by the end, I’ve decided to make this a warrior challenge. And Hunger Games themed because I can. It’s from Katniss’ point of view, but let’s be honest. I’m here for the Effie Trinket gifs. Starting weights: Squat: 20 lbs Deadlift: 20 lbs Bench Press: 20 lbs (Though I could probably do 30, I just need to buy heavier dumbbells) Overhead Press: 10 lbs Row: 20 lbs Same rules as always. I have to complete all targets in order to defeat this world and move onto the next. The bonus is optional, it does not affect whether I pass.

This is my first challenge thread. My challenges may be hobbit-sized because I got off to a late start this month. But I can talk your ears off about them anyways. Diet challenge: Planning and cooking ahead of time. My weakness food-wise is the tendency to think "I can last without food until I get home" when I had lunch at 12:30 between classes and then have to go to work until 7. What invariably happens is my brain hits a wall halfway through the afternoon and I end up buying a giant cookie or some nasty cafeteria food to keep me going. Or I stop on the way home after work and buy junk food and then pig out once I get home because I let myself get too hungry. The plan is to find recipes that will keep me ticking over throughout the day, make them ahead of time, and remember to bring them. Breakfast: this is easy. Something carby, and some protein. Usually a hash brown patty and an egg, or herring and cream cheese on toast. Lunch: something that doesn't need to be refrigerated or microwaved, since I'll be eating it outside my locker between classes. Going to scout out some recipes for salads with things like root & green vegetables with a bit of protein. On Sunday I cooked up a big batch of noodle salad with buckwheat soba, peppers, snow peas, and zucchini ribbons, and a bit of ginger-soy dressing. (Note: who needs a spiralizer when you have a good potato peeler?) Not bad except I overcooked the noodles. But lunch is covered for this week because I made that. Snack: carbs are needed to keep the brain at full steam. This is only a problem on Tues/Thurs when I have work until early evening. I'm either going to portion out some nuts and dried fruit into little boxes to take with me, or make some muffins (if I can find the recipe, I have one for muffins with frozen fruit and a little dark chocolate, and no other added sugar). Dinner: if I had a snack in the afternoon and I'm not starving when I get home, I can take the time to make a decent dinner that isn't based on a box of mac & cheese or a can of soup. If all this works out... I still like my takeout food and my chips once in a while, but I won't be tempted to buy them several times a week because I forgot to bring a meal and got hungry sooner than I thought I would. I can plan when I want to have this stuff and not overeat it. I will also probably end up drinking less coffee because I won't be having glucose crashes and mistaking it for needing caffeine. Fitness challenges: 1) Figure out the school pool schedule so that I can get in at least one and preferably two endurance type workouts per week, until there's enough daylight and warmth to bike on the park trails. Depending on how long I can swim they could be after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or I might just have to make the extra drive and do them in the mornings on two other days. I suspect the latter. I hate this bus-free bike-unfriendly city sometimes. (Fitness gear goal for the summer: install Ben-Hur-style spikes on my bike hubs for the cars that get too close.) 2) Do home workouts with body weight or dumbbells on the other days. I'll make a point of having two rest days during the week. Or do I need a rest day after every workout day? Anyways, the home workouts are easy to schedule at this point. I've been doing 3x3x10 with the dumbbells (standing overhead presses, bent-over rows, and ... what do you call that thing where you hold the weight in front of you with your arms straight and then lift it to chest level? Those things.) Life challenges: 1) Get a new doctor at a clinic that takes my insurance. The guy at the insurance-free clinic is a weird old quack and I can't really talk to him. If I have insurance now I'm going to make the most of it. 2) Finish up the stuff for the little wee book I'm writing. I have to write the introduction and acknowledgements and source some photography. That's IT. Geez. Why is the last bit so hard.

I am running a tad behind posting my challenge. To top it off it is outlined on another computer so I am going to modify it as soon as I am able. My main goals for 2016 are to continue to loose weight, build strength, run and bike longer, do a handstand, do a pull up, and just continue to have fun getting healthier as I set a good example for my family. Okay my family and extended family loves RWBY. We have a blast watching it so I am going to have fun and do some RWBY themed challenges (bascially making them fit my goals just because it is fun). Jaune Arc – Leader of team JNPR (pronounced Juniper) because of his leadership ability even if he does not realize it. He has trained much with Pyrrha and improved his skills. Building physical strength as I build mental strength. Stay smart with my goals and training. Yet be consistent and put in the effort to get physically stronger otherwise I will post a picture of me dancing in a dress and I doubt I will look as good as Jaune (hilarious scene). He did it to keep his word to a friend trying to make them smile. Believe me if I have to post such a clip you would not be smiling. LOL Stay consistent and strength train 3-4 days a week no excuses for a total of 12-14 times total during the challenge otherwise you might cry.NORA: This girl knows how to have fun! She is bubbly, slightly over the top intense, and well she can smile while wielding her hammer Magnhild. That is how I feel when I swing Giggles around. Rucking also leads to me feeling all badass. Cross train with sledgehammer and rucking. Do each once a week for a total of 8 (4 each) this challenge.Pyrrha – ...able to change quickly with her weapon (spear, riffle, short sword)...My legs are my weapon. Stay the course for biking and running training. You can not get that good at anything without the work. Keep to the plan for biking and running.Lie Ren – calm and studious I mean he is without his weapon and has the presence of mind to be able to break the fangs off of King Taijitu and stab it in the eye. They all have cool weapons. He is calm and cool even around Nora. Read/meditate daily

Hello to all the Rangers! This is my second challenge, and my first with the big boys and girls outside of the safety and security of the recruit forum. Exciting! *disclaimer - the theme of this challenge is NOT just an excuse to trick people into posting me scrummy pictures/gifs of Matt Smith. Quest 1: Geronimo! Complete a dumbbell workout three times a week. (Starting on NF DB Level 1). Continue working on that elusive push up! Quest 2: Come along, Pond (The happy, jolly, we're off on an adventure "come along, Pond", not the devastatingly sad, don't you dare choose Rory over me by letting that damn angel touch you "come along, Pond") Complete a 30 minute run, twice a week - with a focus on increasing my pace. Double points awarded for any run that is completed in the real universe (not on the treadmill). Quest 3: Bow ties are cool Fit in some yoga somewhere along the way, once a week will do for now. Hopefully at least one of the yoga poses will involve twisting my arms or legs into a vaguely bow tie shaped position so I am able to justify the name of this quest... Life Quest: The swimming pool is in the library? Make sure you put it back where it's supposed to be! After six months of enjoying my very own personal housekeeper (an unemployed son), as of yesterday, I am now back to sharing the household chores (because he selfishly went and found himself a job). I pledge to do two household chores a day - no putting it all off till the weekend and then doing a rush job or, worse, no job at all. I need to plan a rota of some sort. It shall be pretty and I shall stick it on the fridge!

I think there is a spy among us... Hey there Warriors! I'm BlackTezca a gif crazy code Monkey that has decided to temporarily abandon my Martial Artist bodies and join in with the strong folks! You may remember me from such posts my bloody introduction From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, the uber violent and continuous macabre fest known as BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and the absolutely colossal and titanic grab bag quest known as BlackTezcas' 6th Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Becomes Colossal...in 5 Weeks. This time I'm ready to level from week vampire to a badass Draculina courtesy of you guys and of my awesome vampiric theme... Why Hellsing Ultimate?! Isn't Halloween before the challenge? You are correct! However, I love Hellsing Ultimate; the animation is gorgeous, the violence is just juicy, and despite it being very plot driven, the growth of Seras is a great bit of character development and acceptance of being what she is and growing stronger for it. It also helps that I have been on a vampire kick for a while, been disillusioned with the start of vampires in Young Adult fiction and Hellsing just reminds me of how awesome, horrific, and badass vampires can be. Especially the big ole Drac himself. Now, I thought the great Nerd gods would give a little bit of a break but already these awesome new forums are up and ready for the next greatest thing and I'm uber excited to level up my strength with the experts this time! No surprise here due to my main goal! My epic quest!! My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman The main focus this time with my fitness is strength training! I have been doing it consistently for while, but not really as a main focus and I'm looking to decrease the amount of cardio I'm doing (lots of HIIT) to increasing strength training as well, since the kickboxing classes I take add a shit ton of cardio already and Winter is coming so that means Maintenance as well as no more walks outside... I'm not that hardcore With that out of the way, let's get this party started!! Alucard: "It's time to educate you on how a real vampire does battle!" Details: The strongest, most powerful, oldest vampire. The real O.G. Alucard (otherwise known as Dracula cause of course). This is my strength training quest; I too would love to be over powered and to do that I need to ramp up my strength training and get buff! This will be a pretty simple quest; do strength training with weights four times a week, working either legs, arms (or both). Contingencies: None, this will be just be part of my normal routine that I do anyways. Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Calisthenics Vigorous/Moderate" for this thread. This thread will be updated with numbers (weight per hand, sets, and reps). Grading: A for Strength Training at least 4 times a week ( 3 Str 1 Sta ) B for Strength Training at least 3 times a week ( 2 Str 1 Sta ) C for Strength Training at least 2 times a week ( 2 Str ) F for all else Walter: "Oh dear, I missed...I guess I'm not as spry as I used to be." Details: So I work out five days a week, with three of those days being for kickboxing, 4 of those days including strength and one day with...well not much. Nothing super hard. I may dedicate this extra day to doing some yoga training for strength and core, as well as continuing my stretching work for after kickboxing as well. Walter is very spry, even in old age, and I think I need to stay just as spry as well, especially as days get colder! Contingencies: None; stretching and yoga can always be done, even when sore. Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Yoga' or 'Pilates' or depending on how hard it is 'Aerobics Low Impact'. Grading: A for Flexibility work 5 times week ( 3 Dex ) B for Flexibility work 4 times week ( 2 Dex ) C for Flexibility work 3 times week ( 1 Dex ) F for all else Seras Victoria: "I'm not afraid of anything anymore." Details: Seras Victora was a newly turned vampire who just refused to get enough liquids (okay, blood. She refused to drink blood). This left her weaker than many of her opponents, even though her master was Dracula himself. Only when she finally got the sustenance she needed did she evolve into a Draculina and a true vampire. I need to drink more water. I haven't been tracking as much I need to do and I slack on the weekends, so now it's time to keep track! Contingencies: None. This is water. I should be drinking water with all my meals too. I can't really think of a contingencies for water. Tracking: I'll be tracking my water using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) as well as keeping myself accountable using this thread. Grading: A for 64 oz of water 6 to 7 days a week ( 2 Con ) B for 64 oz of water 4 to 5 days a week ( 1 Con ) F for all else Alexander Anderson: "I want nothing more than to be a bayonet...wielded by the hand of God." Details: This will be a bit different! Anderson is a badass. Massive badass. He is a fantastic fighter and nigh-indestructible human being. However, he is fantastic with children, an honorable, noble person, and someone who I think fits what this Life Quest will be about... Thankfulness. Every day, I shall think of something to be thankful for and update my thread with it. This could be about what is good about the day, or about family, etc. One thankful, happy thought, especially since Thanksgiving is coming soon! I'm not a religious person, but a bit of a sentimental one, so this will be a feel good kind of quest . Tracking: I'll be updated this thread with my 'thankful' thought each day once the challenge begins! Grading: A for 42 to 38 thankful thoughts ( 2 Wis, 1 Cha) B for 37 to 34 thankful thoughts ( 2 Wis ) C for 33 to 29 thankful thoughts ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Pip Bernadotte: "It was never about the money, it was always about the fun." Details: Pip is human, like Anderson. But he is also the weakest physical character. He is creative, has leadership qualities, but in the world of vampires and werewolves, he is woefully lacking in strength and power. However, he loves, he cares, and he is French. He represents my art challenge! I will not have a number of works to do this challenge. Instead I will dedicating 30 minutes a few days a week to just working on art straight. I want to have less stress overall with my art and thus holding myself to spending a set amount of time on art maybe a lot easier on me mentally than trying to pump out work. We'll see how it goes. Contingencies: There will be busy days of course. My hobby should not stress me out. But 30 minutes most of the days in this challenge should be doable I think. We'll see. Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. I shall also post up WIPs of my work, maybe not after every 30 minute session, but several times a week to show progress on the current work. I have only two things to work on, and I will announce a new project after those two works are done, but that will not factor into this quest. Grading: A for 30 minutes of art 5 to 6 times a week ( 2 Cha 1 Wis ) B for 30 minutes of art 3 to 4 times a week ( 2 Cha ) F for all else That is a bit to keep track of, but I'm still quite excited to get back to a more normal routine! Especially after my vacation! Here are some starting measurements (starting from where I ended the last challenge) along with the latest fitness image of me! Starting Measurements: Date: 10/15/2015 @ 6:15 am Weight: 124.6 ***Body Fat***: ~19% Waist: 23 Waist @ Navel: 23.5 Hips: 33.5 Neck: 12 Chest: 32 Left Bicep: 10.5 Right Thigh: 16 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 8.5 I probably should take account my vacation the last week of last challenge but...nah I'm too lazy! I rather work from this high point like this instead . This challenge is looking quite fun so far! And should be quite manageable as we get closer to the holiday season! Let's do this strong Warriors! I mean, strong is what being part of the Warriors (for this challenge) is all about right?! W00t!! Time to go check out who else has there awesome thread up!

Quest 1: Let’s get complicated. By which I mean, cut out simple carbohydrates (sugar, grains) from all but 18 meals during the course of the challenge. I’m interested in heading in the Paleo direction but I don’t want to make drastic changes all at once and fall off the wagon. I like Steve’s free food day a week idea, but I would like those meals to be more flexible options than a one day carb load. I am emboldened by my success with cutting out potatoes in my last (first) challenge, which was definitely helped by me bringing lunch to work (=fewer potato chips and french fries). I really wasn’t watching what I ate otherwise though. True to form, my before and after pictures for the challenge look identical (granted, they were waist up and I saw definite changes in my quad muscles – thanks squats!). That’s when I realized… I really need to focus more on healthy eating if I’m going to get anywhere. I heard Steve’s articles echoing in my head citing whatever extremely large percentage of fitness comes from diet. I had a good start with bringing lunch to work and starting to eat breakfast, so I want to keep those habits going for sure and cut out simple carbs as much as possible in exchange for focusing on meat and vegetables. I’ve started researching good recipes but I need to delve into this more. I like the idea that this style of eating can be unchained by calorie counting, but I also recognize that it could get out of hand. I don’t like recording what I eat – I find it time consuming to do it right and if I really invest the time I end up getting obsessive about it. That said, if it seems like there’s a chance I’m overeating, I’ll record my food for a few days to get an idea of what’s going on and adjust from there. Quest 2: Become the ultimate female. By which I mean, strength train 4x/week mostly according to “The Ultimate Female Training Guide†on simplyshredded @ http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-ultimate-female-training-guide.html. For my first challenge, I did the beginner bodyweight workout 3x/week. This worked out really well for getting me in the habit of working out, but it’s starting to be too time consuming now. I wouldn’t say I outgrew it, because I made a lot of progress in some exercises (squats went from 20/set sitting on my toilet to 30/set low squats without a helper, planks went from 30 to 90+ seconds) and not so much in others (push ups, bent-over rows). Since I’m working out in the morning before I leave for work, I need my workout to be efficient. My sister recommended “The Ultimate Female Training Guide.†I like that it has a 12-week plan that transitions you into lifting heavy: weeks 1-4, lift what you can in the 8-12 rep range, weeks 5-8 lift what you can in the 6-8 rep range, then in weeks 9-12 transition to the 4-6 rep range. I also like that I will be adding weight not reps, so that the total amount of time it takes should theoretically stay the same. It has a 4x/week training plan with alternating upper body and lower body workouts. I was worried about starting with high weight/low rep when my body isn’t used to lifting at all, so I’m hoping this will be good for injury prevention. I did notice that several of their suggested exercises use machines or are isolation exercises, so I tried to sub those out where I could. I’m also planning on using primarily dumb bells because that is what is immediately available to me for keeping my workout early morning, but I might switch to going to a full service gym later on if barbells seem more appropriate. If anyone is familiar with this workout, I would love to hear any opinions! I did my first one this afternoon. Hopefully I’ll be sore tomorrow. Quest 3: Cycle through my fear. By which I mean, ride my bike to work at least 8 times during the course of the challenge, at least one of which must be alone. It’s a roughly 8-9 mile ride depending on which way I go. It’s less the distance and more the city cycling that intimidates me. My boyfriend rides to work a couple times a week and is a strong cyclist, so I will hopefully be able to get comfortable with the route etc with him before attempting it alone. I’m mostly scared of getting hit by cars (I live in Chicago). I know I need to just get out there more often and I’ll get over it, but I have trouble getting myself to do it. Hence, putting it in my challenge to push me into doing it. Also getting some cardio in while waiting for my Achilles tendon to finish healing up. I also want to get in the habit of biking to work because I’m moving to San Diego at the end of the year, and I am stubbornly convinced not to buy a car and to just live in biking distance of work and a grocery store. Life Quest: Worm my way through some books. I’ve somehow gotten out of the habit of reading for pleasure. Okay before you judge me, I have always loved reading and it was pretty much all I did as a child. I almost completely stopped reading for pleasure when I started grad school because I spend so much time reading for work (about brains). I love what I read for work, but it can make more reading seem like more work. However, I realized that I only feel that way when I haven’t been reading much recently. So, I want to read a little bit for pleasure every day. No page minimum, just any amount. I have plenty of time when I’m transiting to or from work (on days I’m not biking…), I just have to limit my time playing chess on chess.com on my phone (side note: if anyone is interested in playing, PM me). I tend to feel happier/less harried/more relaxed when I read regularly, so this is really a health-motivated quest as well. Happy challenge everyone!

Hi guys Im at home during summer and have only a pull up bar and dumbbells that go up to roughly 20kg (gym too far and cba to walk). Could anyone help me build a beginner workout plan with just this equipment? (obviously can include push ups etc too ) . Ideally would do either monday wednesday friday but im pretty flexible. Thanks

Hi all, What I find most difficult by far in doing dumbbell presses is getting the weights into position, I feel like I have to settle with lighter weights than I could because of this. Are there any tricks that can make this easier? Thanks in advance!

Hey all, Im now 35 and had a log here awhile ago and just now coming back on after a year or two layoff. my first venture I lost a bunch of weight and got nice and strong even though I stopped logging. I broke my foot in several places and because of a dvt(blood clot) in the same leg it took over a year to heal. it still gives me pain but some of that is due to me gaining the unwanted weight back on. I now weigh 328lbs and want to paleo and body weight myself down to about 210lbs before I start weight training again and then put on another 10-20 in lean muscle leaving me somewhere between 220-230. I'm a tall bastard at over 6'4 barefoot so even with that weight I am will be a skinny bastard. I plan on doing marches 5x a week and body circuits 3-4x a week until it falls off from the paleo. I blame no one but myself for the weight gain. I got depressed, ate like shit, smoked again, overall just awful health style. I am here to stop crying and keep honest, log workouts, and maybe converse a little bit with folks about the multiverse. I am a single dad to one son who is now 12 and want to be an inspiration to him in all things in this crazy life. feel free to comment and follow along as you will. I will list measurements and stats after tonights trial workout.

Here we go. Two challenges down and onto the third. The woman who could never stick with anything, and certainly not exercising. In previous challenges, overall I did pretty well with workouts, started getting on track with lunch meals. I'm going to keep tracking those as part of this challenge to keep on top of it. I've deviated from the straight bodyweight workout, using Fitnessblender dumbbell workouts, as I found it more motivating to workout along with the videos. So: Maintenance: 3x workouts and 2x yoga a week 4x prepared lunches for work Also, I'm going to attempt a pushup challenge: If it takes longer than 30 days (Haha. Most likely) well, the aim is to try Cut the Crap I have terrible habits of buying lollies and chocolate on a pretty daily basis. So, this challenge I will limit this to one treat a week. Doing this will help that little bit towards. . . Clear the Debris Work towards clearing off my credit cards and saving up. I have a trip planned at start of July (Vancouver and Vancouver Island!) Okay, the hard part with this will be to NOT buy more stuff just because hey, I've cleared of $$ so it won't hurt if I now buy *insert random unnecessary thing* for $$. Well, that's a start, I probably won't do the stat points, or, I'll figure it out later, in the weekend, maybe. Along with rewards and etc ETA Rewards If I meet all my goals each week bar 1-2 goals missed, I will allow myself online shopping up to a set amount at the end of the challenge. Note that this is void if I buy anything online in the meantime, or use my credit card. The true reward for the budget goals will be to have money for the trip, and I'll be able to DO things. So the reward will be to make some fun plans for the trip, like go caving, talk my friend into a road trip, etc.