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OMG IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE [jumps up and down clapping like a seal] It's the new challenge!!!!! I'm modestly calling this one.... **** DJ Trippy T CRACKS THE COMBINATION!**** Because in this episode, I am almost 73% convinced that I know what the hell I am doing, and am going to put all the pieces and bits together in a magical formula that will make me successful, wealthy, and alluring. Or at least better at crossfit. Let's do it! Per usual with my challenges, I have a workout section, a food section, and a Paleo hack, plus this time an additional lifestyle adjustment that's coming along for the ride. I just need to line all the tumblers up correctly and... BAM! Workouts: THE FUN STUFF 2 - 3 x week cycling (not training for a particular event so this is just maintenance/enjoyment riding). Scheduled for my bike fit this Friday, so hopefully this will ease up my knee pain. Or maybe I'll just transition to riding one of those giant tricycles like old folks have in Florida. I bet those are easy on the knees. 3-4 x week in gym - still with crossfit style workouts, but going to throw in one straight strength workout every other week - probably squats, as that’s the real power-builder. I may start posting workouts below the spoiler so I don’t bore everyone to death, since they’re always pretty similar. You can only post about doing 150 squats in a row so many times. Which I did, on Sunday, by the way (preens shamelessly). Walking: I'm going to add a lot of walking to this challenge: my goal is to walk 200 miles in the six weeks (which isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds; it’s like 4 miles a day, or two laps around the neighborhood.) I know everyone has probably read that book “Born to Run†about how humans are designed for running, but I actually really believe that humans are born to WALK. Seriously, if you get just a bit of practice in, you can literally just walk all day with no adverse effects. So I’m adding this as a way to get some outdoor time, do some easy, zone 2, fat burning activity, and burn a few extra calories without risking overtraining injury or burnout. It will also help prep me for an extensive hiking trip I’m planning next fall. If I can get thru this challenge workout-wise without, um, dying, I am going to register for an OCR, and you can all watch me flail in the mud. FOOD: Ah, this is the key, and I am sooooo close to figuring this out. I really believe that there’s no one diet/exercise plan that works for everyone, and I think that there’s some survivorship bias on every single diet plan. In other words, I know a bunch of people that seem to do super well on vegan, all- natural, super light diets with a ton of yoga, and try to convince me to do it, but they all have the same long, slender body type and probably would just thrive on that diet even without trying to turn themselves into a human paper clip. I also know some ultra-runner and biker types that swear they do fine chugging down powerbars and gels and super high-carb stuff, but again I think they probably have the right metabolism for it, and also that they are burning SO many calories that it really doesn’t matter what they are eating, just that they are eating EVERYTHING in an attempt to keep ahead of their metabolic demand. (then there are people like my boyfriend that seem to thrive on a steady diet of Bugles and chicken wings, and I just don’t even know what to say about that other than it pisses me off.) For myself, as what could laughably be referred to as a power athlete, I seem to work best on a *fairly* low-carb diet, and for ages I assumed I did best on two meals a day, but last challenge I experimented with 4-5 meals a day and was surprised to find I really liked it and felt a lot more energetic on it. (which is not to say it wasn’t a pain in the ass.) I also experimented with a lot more carbs (200-250 grams as day) and that didn’t work out so hot. So this time around I am going to combine and refine both those ideas; eat smaller meals 4 times a day, but keep my carb count around 130-150 daily, except for long bike ride days, as I need more gas in the tank for those. Also, stop eating after 5 pm, as this is an easy calorie restrictor, and I’ve read that women tend to better with food restriction in the evening rather than the morning. I won't do that every day, though. I’m also going to experiment with eliminating cheat days. If I’m staying low(er) carb I should be able to eat about what I want quantity-wise, and I find that periodically loading up on carby junk is just a disaster for me - I get sluggish and sleepy, I feel like crap the next day, and I start craving junk again within 48 hours. So I’m going to go the six weeks straight thru, and see if I can break that cycle. Side note: I wrote this part out the day before Steve put his “Why Cheat Days Suck†or whatever article out, and now I feel like I’m a genius. (preens shamelessly) Paleo: Be the caveman. Cavechick. Whatever. I am, as I often mention, one of those Paleo weirdos, and my challenges would not be complete without me trying to work in some flaky Paleo biohack. This time around, I want to try magnesium baths (i.e. soaking my feet in epsom salts and warm water, to absorb the magnesium), and eating more fermented foods (note: this does not include beer, pumpkin or otherwise). Lifestyle: This is a bit different from the normal challenge stuff, but I want to bring - not a lifestyle improvement, exactly, but a lifestyle revamp to my challenge, in that I want to steer my career in a different direction. I currently work in the production side of TV & advertising, which is nice in that I freelance and theoretically can work/not work as I see fit (this does not always work out in practical reality), but the further I move up the production side of the chain, the further I get from the creative side and into the accounting side. And while I may not know what, exactly, I was put on this earth to do, I am fairly certain that staring at excel spreadsheets all day isn’t it. So I want to move out of the production side, and start establishing myself as a director. I made my first film last year (which I’m still editing) that I was the co-director and writer of, and I want to do some more projects like that, and also start a web series. I have two in mind; one on compact living, tiny houses, and minimalism, which are subjects that I'm personally obsessed with; and another on outdoor travel with a twist. I want to work on a sponsored adventure series that I have been playing with for a while, where I drum up support for a charity while doing some sort of outdoor thingy. (I know that sounds really specific). The first one I have in mind is to do a combo kayak/bicycle transit of the Florida Keys (kayak from Key Largo to Key West, then bike back) and in the process raise money for The Turtle Hospital, which is a sea turtle rescue center in the middle keys. My plan is to raise a certain amount (or get sponsors) to cover costs on the trip, and then the rest goes to the charity. So in this case, if the trip costs are probably close to $1500 (there will be 3 people involved, transportation, rent the kayaks, etc) so I would set a goal of $12,000 - so that we could make a 10k or more donation to the Turtles. I originally planned to do it next fall, but I decided to move the timetable up, as time and turtle waits for no man. Or woman. I know that sounds nuts, but really, why not swing for the fences, right? Right. Obviously this is not something that will happen in one six week challenge; but it takes time to turn the boat, and if I start putting it out to the Universe now, I can start making progress. And it'll give me some accountability. Ummmmm…. okay, I think that’s it. I guess I should go walk now, and start logging some miles...bonding with some turtles... etc. (This last image has nothing to do with my challenge; it was just too funny not to use.)