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Hey all, I am looking for some endurance training help. I've been doing crossfit for a little over a year now, and while I have definitely gotten stronger, I get gassed super quickly (embaressingly so sometimes). I have a goal to do a "Super Septmeber", which is 15 weeks away, but I am struggling to figure out a game plan for how to build endurance in workouts. Before anyone asks, I know cleaning up my diet is going to help, and I am working on that now. But the workout scheme is got me all confused. Does anyone have any helpful advice or links?

Well it's been a long slog since February when I started training for the Marines (and even longer since 2015 when I started training seriously at all), but I'm finally selected for usmc ocs! I report in September so this'll be my last challenge for a while. This challenge is to culminate the last 3 years of training into a routine that actually makes sense. I made it by ranking my goals for the future and going from there. These are: 1. General endurance (need it the most for long runs and rucks) 2.ocs specific training 3. Pull-ups: average max < 20 4. Core strength 5. Recovery/injury prevention These goals are done through a set of daily/weekly activities. Daily(m-f): pull up workout (Armstrong usually) and stretching Weekly: 3 running days (1 sprints, 1 medium length, 1 long run) this is a 5k program I used to do. 2 ocs workouts (pppa, fartleks, murph, etc). 2 core/lifting days (I like to mix the two) 1 rest day with yoga and foam rolling. Theres also studying, I wanna study tactics and history and such 3 times a week, I've been struggling with that so somebody yell at me if I don't do it. Besides that it's just work, karate, eat sensibly and relax when I can, business as usual.

New year, new forum post. I've gotten lazy with working out and I can tell it in my body. Resting heart rate is higher than it used to be, less stamina, HUGE loss of flexibility, especially in my hips. I had some lower back pain last year that's still with me. Grip strength is still bad from my pinky injury a couple years ago. So, I gotta get back into it What worked before: - Abs diet (low carb, moderate fat, high protein, lots of veggies) or paleo-ish - Gym 4x a week with lots of cardio, full body workouts - Meditating occasionally - The last time I felt well and strong was right before I found out I had to move, in March '17. I want to get back to that point where I feel physically competent and go past it. Usually I get there and then get lazy again. I seem to go in a pattern: March, August, and November/December are the times I lose motivation. Goals for 2018: - Run a 5k - there's one in June at a theme park - Less scrolling facebook incessantly - At least one vegetarian meal a week (that's not breakfast) - 15,000 step per day - More outdoor time - biking, walking, hiking, biking, swimming -

I have lots of good reasons to go into the Navy: I want to see the world, I want to be able to call myself a veteran, I want to get an edge applying for federal jobs, and I want help paying for a masters of social work and to take spanish classes. I've been a retail pharmacy tech for 5 years and have grown to really, really, REALLY hate the field, mostly because of the poor pay and instability. Things will be running smoothly, then all of the sudden, I'll get cut to 10 hours a week and I have to job hop. I often work clopenings, so I get anywhere from only 2 to 12 hours a sleep in a night and I have a big belly because I live on fast food and comfort eat a lot. I've recently cut out sugary drinks from my orders, but I still have a fast-food diet because I never have the time or energy to cook. I'm 40 pounds overweight and am not sure where to start, but I know I need to meet all requirements for a medical waiver to even be considered for the military, especially a selective branch like the Navy or Air Force. Army isn't out of the question, but I am drawn to the Navy and Air Force first, and especially the Navy. My mother had me on ADHD medicine and antidepressants as a teenager, and I'm paranoid that if I lie about that, I'll be caught, but I also know I'll need approved for a waiver if I disclose that information about me. I'd really like to lose 40 pounds in 4 months, and be passing at least the minimums expected for Navy boot camp, but the better I can be, the better chance I'll have of getting a waiver. As for a class, I think either Ranger or Scout lends itself to the workouts I'll need to increase my strength and endurance, but moreso endurance. If there is any other information I left out, I'll be glad to fill you in if I ask. I'm glad to be here, and hopefully, I can get out of this career field I hate and into something better. (In case anybody is wondering, I am a man.)

Hi nerdy peeps, I don't have the creative juices for a fun intro story for y'all, so, sorry... I'm Joy, and I'm back for Reboot #20 maybe? Not all with NF but here I am none the less. I don't actually recall how I originally found NF! Anyway, I have PCOS and am tired of what it brings to the table. I'm fighting against it and hoping to drop weight and reverse some of it's symptoms! After wrapping up a huge life goal earlier this month (woohoo finishing licensure exams!) I've freed up a lot of time to recommit to my health and wellness. So for this challenge my overall goal is going to be: Building Habits + Consistency 1. Fitness Goal: Follow training program, workout 5-6x a week (3 individual workouts written by my trainer, two sessions with my trainer). Work up my courage for using the free weight areas. 2. Nutrition Goal: Keep up low carb, (~<50 G/day ideally) and continue logging daily in MFP, even if it means I'm not meeting my goals. 3. Nutrition / Life Goal: Minimize eating out (bad habits have lead to significant other and I eating out 5+ times a week. Aiming to get that down to 3, max.) 4. Life Goal: Devote time to hobbies. Work on art / sewing projects or read a little each day. Read two books by the end of the challenge, and have my main sewing project (first attempt at a quilt) at a minimum cut and pinned by the end of the challenge. 5. Bonus Life Goal: Healthy sleep habits! Wake up! Set alarm and wake up each day; build up to walking up early enough to fit in morning workouts. This week, aiming to wake up at at 6:00 (I am NOT a good sleeper or a morning person..) Thanks for reading :3 ETA: Hobbies: Reading, sewing (beginner :|), art-ish, hiking, baking/cooking, and my furbabes basically. Favorite TV Shows: All time: Arrested Development, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, 1960's Zorro; Anime: Original Sailor Moon, FMA Brotherhood, ATOT, Deathnote; Current: American Horror Story, The Good Place, Mr Robot [wow I'm kind of morbid eh?] Favorite Movies: Labyrinth, Clueless, ... So many really ... Favorite Games: I'm not very good at video games so I don't play them much! When I do it's usually classic Nintendo .. Or terribly played Katamari Damacy. I love board games! Catan, Ticket to Ride, Grave Robbers From Outer Space, CAH...

The months flow by Myrik and the Rascals pull off several runs flawlessly. They begin to attract the attention of The Great Dragon Hestaby. Hestaby needs a smaller lesser known group to move against Lofwyr’s Saeder-Krupp holdings in Los Angeles. Grinder calls the team to the hanger. “Okay guys this is going to be a dangerous run but very lucrative. Hestaby has graciously advanced us half of the agreed upon fee. She wants us to infiltrate what she believes to be a holding of Saeder-Krupp, Angelic Entertainment. She wants us to infiltrate their main office and find proof that they report to Saeder-Krupp.” The team prepared for the run, getting SINS for PCC and setting up a safe house in Los Angeles’s Downtown, as well as a pass to enter LA’s prestigious Studio City where Angelic Entertainments offices and studios are located. “Okay Myrik and Shade you two are going to Angelic’s party tonight to celebrate the launch of their new SimSense line. Once inside the office we need you to place several small sonar and radar device.” “Any places we need to focus on boss?” Myrik asks. “Main hall, entryway and anywhere you can safely get without blowing your cover we will need your SINS to get into Studio City tomorrow night for the run. Drone have you got the modification to the car done?” “Yes boss 4 unscanable and nearly undetectable compartments for the ground team” Good, Glitch how goes the matrix runs against them?” “Not good to be honest, for a small entertainment company they have some serious firepower in their servers, several Black IC that all have tracer IC piggy backing on them. I can take out the Black IC without much issue but there is evidence of an Otaku or Technomancer on their system. I tripped an alarm and within seconds a persona popped up and started after me. I was able to slow them down and get out before being traced but if the ground team or I trip an alarm I won’t be able to offer matrix cover and it will be all hands on.” “Luckily Myrik was able to procure a breacher rifle” quips Havok Goal I: Strength Pick a 3 workouts from the Monkii app and do them every week. (I'll list me 3 picks here when i pick them) Goal II: Endurance End of November is a family vacation so I need to increase my endurance and start doing family walks getting the kids ready for 12+ hour days on our feet walking and standing around. Also need to start running again because I plan on running a virtual 5K for Christmas (Jingle all the K's) Goal III: Mental Destiny 2 comes out on the PC Tuesday and I plan on getting my clan ready for raids Need to finish American Gods Get my table top group back together and finish or start a new campaign.

Hi everyone! This is going to be my first challenge on Nerd Fitness, so I'm pretty hyped for it. I've been feeling too down, too out of shape, too mortal, now it's time to CHANGE! Stop Having Crap Technique Mastering Technique! 1) Cartwheel Mastery (2,000 Cartwheels) I've been trying to work on my Aerial but to no avail (I kinda just keep falling...), so I figure a likely reason is that I have not yet really mastered the cartwheel. The same way that I managed to land a tornado kick by just spamming roundhouse and crescent kicks over and over and over again, I can likely have a much better time learning an aerial if I have the cartwheel completely down. So by the end of these four weeks, I'll have done 2,000 cartwheels, and hopefully be on my way to this in future challenges: 2) Butterfly Kick Mastery (2,000 Butterfly Kicks) Another trick I've been working on is my butterfly twist. Similar to the above situation, a butterfly kick is the prerequisite to a butterfly twist, and if my butterfly kicks aren't top notch, then I probably won't have a decent butterfly twist either. At the moment, my b-kicks don't look too great, and I definitely have flaws in my form. The only way I learned to execute a good roundhouse kick or crescent kick was by practicing them over and over and over, so by practicing the butterfly kick 2,000 times in these upcoming four weeks, I should be set, and on my way to this in future challenges: Stop Feeling Weak Build Beast-Like Endurance! 3) Back into Pushups (1,000 Spiderman Pushups) I used to be a lot better at pushups, but finals took a toll on me and now being home for the summer has been very unmotivating, especially given how much my parents shelter me, so I'm quite a bit out of shape. I will work on doing spiderman pushups every day, just to get back into the swing of things before heading back to college. (Spiderman pun not intended but I chuckled when I realized) 4) Handstand Endurance (Hold a Wall Handstand for 60 Seconds) Handstands are feats of balance, endurance, and mental resistance. My longest free handstand thus far has been 10 seconds, and my longest wall handstand around 30, I believe. In these four weeks, I will work up to a consistent 30, and then a consistent 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and finally 60 second wall handstand. From here, hopefully I can move off the wall and improve my handstands overall Stop Having a Cluttered Mind Conquer My Mind! 5) Getting Back into Meditation (5 Minute Daily Meditation) I used to be able to meditate for about an hour and a half at a time, but that was around a year ago; I was 17 and I had a bit more free time outside academics. Over time I just abandoned the habit, but it's time to get back into it. I have time now, during the summer, so I'll make it a habit again before academics takes over, and keep it this time. 5 minutes of daily sitting meditation. And that's it, my first 4-week challenge, I look forward to it and to feeling just a bit less mortal

Hey all, So I know I'm not quite the most novice beginner as I'm almost a year into my fitness journey, but I don't yet feel comfortable saying I'm experienced with all of this either. I ultimately started because I was wildly unhappy with how I looked in my graduation photos and I didn't want to be the fat kid in the PhD program I was starting. As I was starting out, I used a whole bunch of bodyweight circuits from over at Darebee, and I saw a good loss of belly bulge and moderate increases in strength, and since I've moved on to dumbbell work and building strength through iron. Recently, however, I've become interested in changing my approach to include sandbags and distance while maintaining and improving strength. In terms of nerd-dom, I used to be an avid gamer, and I still go pretty hard with board games and (to a lesser extent) DnD. Recently, I've shifted to a major science nerd, and I love studying the body and it's functions, so... Health nerd, I guess? Anyway, my goals are growth in strength and endurance while maintaining balance in my life. I think that throws my best fit to the Ranger guild, but I may flirt the line of Warriors and Druids as well. I really don't have a solid epic quest yet, but I have some ideas, and I'd love any input others have. Glad to join the Rebellion.

Hey. I started with the Academy last fall, and was doing really well with both it and posting here. I tested into level 2, worked on that for a couple months and then beat the boss on the first try. I was excited to start level 3, right up until I saw that pull-ups are a huge part of that level, and the ones above it. I rent, and I simply do not trust the door frames in my apartment to hold my weight without cracking. My gym didn't have any sort of pull-up area either. I hit the wall and just let it knock me out. In the past month, I've paid off my car and gotten a promotion. With the new budget space, I can afford a more equipped gym. I signed up for a place that I drive past on my way to and from work. They've got a pool, and a stupidly huge general workout area. There are free classes, which is also a plus. All that should help me get back on the gym horse. My diet had only made moderate progress in the fall, but I started intentionally eating my feelings a couple months ago to deal with some real life stress. My FIL decided, with much encouragement from my SIL, to move from his house in Florida to an apartment in an assisted living facility in Milwaukee. April was consumed with logistics and support for my SIL, who did almost all the emotional and physical heavy lifting. Last week, my spouse and I flew to Florida and then drove FIL up to Milwaukee. It sucked, but thankfully not as much as I was fearing. Now we have a new responsibility to him (visits, grocery trips, etc.), but the worst is past. With real life going back to normal amounts of stress, I'm going to work on getting my diet back to where it was a few months ago. My goals there are simple - eat more veggies and fruit, ease off on the snacking and fast food. This week will be working out numbers and stuff, and then starting a challenge to cover me through June. It's intimidating, but I know it's all doable. Even in the midst of backsliding, I hit one of my big goals. I skated my first OPR doubleheader as a roller derby ref in April, and have done two more since. Now I'd like to work on being able to JR, which requires much more burst speed and a very different sort of endurance. I got this.

Guys! I've lost my wind, and I need to get it back! I was totally trampled by some kind of respiratory virus during the last two weeks of the previous challenge. I'm only just getting over it, and my lung health and overall endurance is pretty not great right now. This challenge is about recovery and getting myself back up to my previous workout levels. Incidentally, my DH bought me the WiiU remastered Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker game to help keep me from losing my mind during my convalescence. So I'm currently playing that (for the first time!) and conveniently it's an appropriate theme! Goal One: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." I am going to get better a lot faster if I eat properly. What does this mean? 1. Cut out the gluten. It for sure does not help my breathing. The best way to make me want this SO badly is to tell myself I can't have any though. I am going to accomplish this by not being crazy restrictive with carbs. Lesser evils. I will still aim for under 150 gram of carbs per day - this is higher than my usual 100g goal, but it means that I can have rice/potatoes if I need to to avoid the much greater issue of wheat. (1 pt per gluten-free day. Bonus point for carbs below 100g. -1pt for carbs above 150g) 2. Restrict the dairy. While I can handle dairy okay, it's not the healthiest thing ever, and is probably my biggest indulgence. Aiming for 3 dairy-free days per week. (1 pt per day). 3. Eat enough protein. Not only will this support my recovery, but it will crowd out less healthy food choices. 80g per day ( 1 pt per day) A : 68 pts B : 60 pts C : 54 pts D : 48 pts Goal Two: "Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time." I am wildly behind my yearlong walking goal (10,000 step average for 2017), because i was averaging between 2000-5000 steps while I was ill. Not only is walking a good way to build my endurance back up, but I will make up some ground on this goal at the same time. Aiming for 11,000 steps per day. A : 308,000 pts B : 294,000 pts C : 280,000 pts D : 266,000 Goal Three: "Tough times never last, but tough people do" My intent for this challenge is build back up to the level of workout I was at before I got sick. This will be accomplished by 3x workouts per week, of increasing intensity. Likely 2 of these will be gym workouts, and a supplemental yoga/kettlebell/bodyweight whatever, but as long as I hit 3 sweaty sessions per week, I'm okay with whatever it is. A : 12 B : 10 C : 8 D : 6 Goal Four: "I don't mean to be a diva, but some days you wake up and you're Barbara Streisand." I've decided to add a sleep/wake up goal. I feel better when I have more time in the morning, and I've been staying up too late to get that lately. The goal, on weekdays, is to be in bed by 10pm, lights out by 10:30. On the other hand, I want to be up by 6:30 at the latest. I'd like to get this to 6am, but baby steps. 2 pts per day. A : 40 pts B : 30 pts C : 20 pts D : 10pts

Okay, so technically I'm not sprinting to the FINISH, but I will be sprinting. That really is the key, I think. As long as this all makes sense. Good. I've been building up my distance running since January for a marathon in May. I have completely and totally ignored speed training in all of this because my real goal is actually completing. Buuuut, since I am competing in a race I feel like I need to put forth a little effort into trying to build up some speed. So my goals for this challenge are: Complete overall distance requirements - See spreadsheet (-1 point per km NOT run, no points for going over). Maintain weight lifting cross training - 4 days/week in March and 3 days/week in April (3 points per week). Sprint Training - 3 sprints at 70%, 2 sprints at 100%. To be completed on my short run (2 points). Nutrition - Maintain my weight and my high fat diet. Consume at least 3300 calories per day (1 point per weekday & -1 point for every pound over 5lb lost). This week I'll set some bases (sprint times and my weight).

I am 45 yrs old a leo. Latina mixed I started out on this journey 415 pounds I got down to 165 .over the years I.have yoyoed with my weight I .emotionally ate.made excuses.used my dads death with cancer tore my.world apart and i used it as a excuse to eat ,failed relationship I ate. Food WAS my.comfort. I gained back into the 200s ..well with hard work dedication..im back in onederland. I also take care of my.mom that's partially paralyzed from multiple strokes.but.I need to take care of me too.self care..I cant take care of her if I.dont take care of my own health. Food= fuel no exceptions.Its not a hug or a warm blanket NOW its time to.rise and finish this journey. Power of three..this has worked for me. Clean eating Water Exercise 5 days a week. Diet..I.really hate that word, its a lifestyle change for me but my.plan is protective diet..a high nutrient vegan diet.there i said it diet lol I.make all my.own food pretty much from scratch Goals.. 1 month goal Work on getting in my.fitbit steps 10k No gluten ..I have ulcerative colitis Drinking green goddess aka green smoothie.Mon through friday Gym three days a week Meditation 2 month goal Work on strength and toning ..weight machines,kb Work on stairs. Continue meditation 3 month goals Release 20 pounds. I.say release instead of lose .losing means you can find it.I don't intend to find it again. Work on endurance I love to cook. And workout.ill be.posting workouts,my cooking experiments lol ..thoughts feelings and progress. Progress not perfection Time.to get.this party started its time to kick ass . .its time to finish what I started and keep improving.I believe there is no finish line My.goal is 135... Size 6 but that's just the beginning.than the real work begins..maintaining it..plus kicking ass every day. I.look forwarding to.making some friends here that we can support each other. I.love to.smile,laugh and enjoy life.. A good sense of humor a must.tou cant take life too seriously. .life is so short.make the most of it I have a cat named princess and she knows it..shes my baby. I like to.read..love to.dance.love.music.singing and listening to.it.its a great release. So now you know a little bit more about me. Let's do this guys! Yes im.talking to YOU..we got this!

I started riding again late last fall, after having mostly neglected to do so for years. I've been trying to keep up with it over the winter, but found that I wasn't doing a great job of hitting my 2-3 times a week minimum that I set for myself. I started setting a schedule for myself though, heading to the gym straight after work, which seems to help. Here's my log from last week. Tuesday: 60 mins, warm up, and two 8 min max efforts, 10mins between. The bikes at the gym had power levels, though they didn't have an option for average power over a duration, which was disappointing. I kept an eye on my power, and estimated my average as best as I could. Noted that both efforts, power would creep up throughout, even though I was completely spent after the 8 min sessions. Ended at ~153 watts FTP. The goal was to benchmark my threshold power, to use for calibrating the rest of my efforts. Wednesday: 60 mins, endurance pace (varied between ~60-75% FTP, did 3 mins 60, 2 at 75. Also varied cadence every 10 mins, just to break up the ride some). Thursday: 1 hour racquet ball, and some weight lifting before, since we got to the gym earlier. Weights weren't well planned, did bench, squats, deadlifts, and tricep pulldowns. Friday: 90 mins, endurance pace (~60% FTP). Felt pretty drained by about the 30 min mark. Kept setting small goals, and pushing till I hit 90m. Saturday: Recovery day. Sunday: 75 mins, endurance pace (~60% FTP). Felt good until about 40 mins, then started running low on energy. Was going to ride 90 mins, felt too spent, so I called it early. Noted that I'll need to spend some time reading up on proper nutrition to make sure I stay fueled properly. I'm a lot more used to how to eat for weightlifting, less so on proper nutrition for longer rides. I have today off, next ride is set for Tuesday.

Myrik returns to the ruins flying past the first few rooms and tunnels until he arrives at the main room. Myrik once again inspects all the runes above the other 4 tunnels leading out of the chamber. 2 lead to the dormitories, 1 leads to what Myrik gathers is a classroom, and the last one leads to either a treasury or armory Myrik is still unsure of which it is but he is sure the Scale will be in that room if its even half as powerful as Rue and Tevok let on. Myrik starts down that tunnel with every muscle in his body tense and ready to spring away from an traps he may encounter. Much to his surprise he reaches the door of the armory without triggering any traps. The door is locked by what appears to be a simple looking pin and tumbler lock, but upon closer inspection the lock has 6 holes surrounding the tumbler. The holes appear to be the same size and shape as the 6 focus stone Myrik found in the main chamber months ago. Luckily Myrik brought the stones with him into the Ruins. Myrik placed the 6 stones in the holes according to their shapes, once the final stone was inserted the door pops open revealing a room full of mysterious artifacts; weapons of unknown origins, jewels, and there in the middle of the room in a protected case sat the Scale. Myrik inspected the weapons upon the many selves and displays discovering a weapon that stuck his fancy, Myrik inspected the plaque beneath the weapon it read *Citipati* Star Cleaver Myrik picked up the weapon, "The balance is amazing". After attaching the sheath to his belt he placed the weapon in it, Myrik turned his attention to the Scale, the case opened easily and a blast icy cold air assaulted Myriks arm as he reaches into the case. As soon as Myrik touches the Scale the cold air stops, he pulls the scale out and wraps it in a leather cloth. Myrik turns to leave the vault only to feels the evil of the ruins weighing him down... Alright on to this months challenge. Goal I: Strength and endurance 1) Continue my bodyweight workouts - not much to say about this just keep up the every other day workouts. 2) Change up my workouts, need to get out of the routine and diversify. - change the way I use my muscles, adding some sprints and more HIIT training. “You need to move the muscles in a different way so that you don’t develop overuse. Plus, it becomes more motivating,” -Will Torres Goal II: Life skill, well sneaky assassiny skills 1) Learn to pick a lock - I plan on ordering a lock picking kit and a few clear tumbler kits to practice on. 2) buy and learn to use throwing knives or stars - this one is easy Goal III: lighten my load part 2 1) Clean out closet again - time to get rid of more cloths 2) Cleanout garage and spare room, sell or get rid of stuff I haven't needed since I moved into my new house. - I have a box of stuff that I have been meaning to toss out and/or post on the sales group on Facebook. This month isn't as easily quantifiable but I will figure out away before Sunday.

Hello, I'm 37, 240, and 6'4". In the past, I tried my hardest to try to bulk up in muscle mass, but I never could, no matter how much I lifted or how clean I ate. However, I was able to walk a full marathon and run a few half marathons about eight years ago. I swam a full mile in a lap pool here and there as well. I just read recently that one main reason ectomorphs like me have such a hard time building mass is because our limbs are so long, so doing a full rep of anything is significantly harder than it would be for someone shorter...which makes a lot of sense (less distance to move the weight, pushing or pulling it). Anyway, I am a software developer, and a gamer (shoot-em-ups and JRPGs are my top genres) and I consider myself a warrior at heart. But with my bent towards endurance activities like swimming and running, my past failures with weight training, and my interest in boxing, I could be a monk, could I? I never played regular sports. Only sports I ever liked were combat sports like boxing, martial arts, etc. I played competitive laser tag for all seven years I was in college...lot of what you use in the maze would carry over to the ring (agility, footwork, speed, accuracy, cunning, strategy, etc.). So where would be a good place to begin? I know I need some weight training and I haven't done any in over a year, and I'd like to eventually get into good enough shape to spar someone in the ring and maybe compete in an amateur bout or two. I just want to start seeing some results and making some progress of some kind. Thank you! - Bradford

I've finally set my goals for my first four-week challenge. 1. Spend at least 5 minutes outside shirtless and shoeless in temps below 30 degrees F (-1 C). 2. Cold shower every morning for four weeks. 3. Practice at least 15 minutes of Wim Hof Method breathing (similar to Tibetan Tummo meditation) every day. 4. Raise at least $350 for the Special Olympics (What does this have to do with winter? Well...) 5. Participate in the Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics. I'm not even kidding when I tell you the date for the Plunge: February 4th, the last day of the four-week challenge. What better way to end my challenge than a jump into icy water? As for my Level Up Your Life Quest, I chose to find and outdoor destination without step-by-step instructions. Preferably in the snow to help prepare for #5. Good luck to all other challengers.

I'll write out my goals and then write a bit about me, where I've been and where I'm going. All you readers can follow along and enjoy but all you non-readers can skip the wall of text that's sure to follow. My main overarching goal used to be weight loss. I still weigh 300 pounds (down from a recent high of 315 on Oct 24) but I've changed my theme from weight loss to improved performance. Weight loss will be a happy side effect. I'm a rugby coach now and still playing some. Even if I never play another game, I need to improve my physical performance so I can demonstrate things to my team. I also hope it will inspire some of the less fit girls as they try to improve. Goal 1) Go to the gym 3-4 times per week. I have to do 3 for the lifting program I'm following. The 4th is a cardio day that can either be at the gym or done from home. The lifting program is a slightly bastardized Stronglifts 5x5 with some rugby specific stuff added in. Goal 2) Food. My eternal Achilles' heal. I've eaten my pain for a long time and as someone with chronic and sometimes unrelenting depression, I have a lot of pain to eat. I'm starting small here. My only food goal for this 4 weeks is to track everything I eat. I automatically do better when I track. In January I will add a step. But this is such a problem area, I need to start small. Goal 3) My habitat. As I mentioned above, I'm in a constant struggle with my depression. My wife also struggles with it. As a result, our house sometimes isn't in great shape because we're both just too beaten up to deal with it. I used this goal once before in a challenge and it worked great for me so I'm going to start it again. I will do one thing each day towards tidying up the house. It might be a big project or it might be something as simple as making sure I've policed up the clutter on the coffee table. But I will do something each day. So about me...I struggle terribly with depression and anxiety. I'm actually considering seeing a psychiatrist to manage my meds instead of the family doc. I take 3 different medications and I'm barely hanging in there part of the time so I think it's time to bring out the big guns. I'm a rugby coach. Being a rugby coach has been a dream of mine for a long time but I thought that ship had sailed. I'm thinking about taking up bjj. I could write paragraphs about where I am but that would probably get old. Also, I'm not very good at posting lots of clever pictures and gifs. That's why I have you guys!

Hello Rangers! This will be my first challenge not as a Warrior. Last challenge, I completed my first Powerlifting competition with a 1045lb total and then decided I wanted to pull a complete 180 and changed my training to focus on building endurance capabilities and functional strength. End goal is to cut weight, improve endurance ability, and prepare to run my first Spartan Race and/or GoRuck event within the next year. About me for those I don't know, I recently moved to the city(Boston) from the suburbs and loving it(besides having a longer commute to work). This past year and a half or so, I ran many different powerlifting templates(SL 5x5, 5/3/1) and focused on competing in that sport, which I did successfully, and managed to drop my weight from 362lbs down to 315lbs as of this morning. I am now close to the gym my powerlifting coach owned and that my friend from high school teaches classes at. They support any and all goals that involve moving heavy things or lasting through the longest of endurance events. The gym is sponsored by GoRuck and Spartan Race so a great deal of their classes focus on prepping for events like that and it feels assuring to me that the coaches have run through some of the longer endurance events out there(GoRuck HCLs, Winter Death Race, Spartan Summer and Winter Agoge, etc). Last challenge I started working out before work on Wednesday and Friday mornings and then once or twice on the weekends. The Warriors noted that the workouts sounded an awful lot like Crossfit and I resisted the fact that they were similar. But, now I suppose I am drinking the Kool-aid even though it isn't officially a Crossfit gym. I am really liking the change from strict powerlifting to a variation of lifting and conditioning work. With all that being said, this brings me over here to the Rangers!! Challenge Goals - All centered around focusing and settling into a better rhythm Goal 1 - Gym time - Workout 3 days a week minimum I really like the Wednesday and Friday schedule in the mornings and Saturday for a weekend workout. Would like to add in a class on Monday mornings as well but the coach is different and honestly scares me a bit more. My coach teaches classes on Wed and Fri and they are more strength based conditioning while Monday classes Ive been told have much more running style conditioning. Likely going to stick with the WF schedule for now and look at adding in Mondays once the next cycle of classes rolls around somewhere in the middle of the challenge. Saturday classes are called Spartan RX and they are specific to training for spartan races. Lots of varied work and we have all sorts of mock spartan obstacles at the gym that can be used. Goal 2 - Reign in the diet - No more than 3 cheat meals a week Purchased the Renaissance Periodization diet templates last challenge. Now two weeks into a cut where I have dropped from 320 to 316. Been having some issue keeping to the template so need to refocus so I get the maximum benefit from them. I purchased these and currently feel like I am wasting my money...I know its in my best health interest...its only a few months for a much longer period of better health...templates end just before holidays aka holiday cookie bulk! Goal 3 - Bring back the swole and flexy - ROMWOD 4 days a week I was doing ROMWOD for the longest time pretty regularly to help improve flexibility and range of motion. Its only 20min a day and I keep making crappy excuses for not doing it. I started seeing improvement with it but then started falling off to only once or twice per week and I can tell those improved spots are starting to return to previous issues. Zero Week Goal - Remain blissfully ignorant to the fact that a lot of people are going to Camp this week and I am not. I'm certainly not jealous or anything like that....nope not even a little bit.

So I've been watching the Spideyfit YouTube channel lately... What's not to love about a Spider-Man cosplayer who does fitness videos? In the below video Spideyfit states there are 3 important skillsets needed to become your own superhero. Strength, flexibility, and endurance. So I'll be basing my fitness quests on these principles. The focus this time around will be on maintaining existing habits and plans, while also building new ones. Quest 1: Strength Using the Start Bodyweight routine customisation page, I've developed a push/pull split workout plan. The quest here is basically to stick with the plan throughout the challenge and report at the end how well it has worked after 5 weeks. Quest 2: Flexibility Every day I will spend at least 5 minutes working on stretching and/or mobility. Trouble areas to focus on - Hamstrings, hips, lower back. Quest 3: Endurance (modified) Go for a Ruck or long walk at least twice a week. Quest 4 (life quest): Perform at least one act of meaningful adulting every day. Bonus Quests Share the awesome - Weekly highlight reel edition! As always, I'll be posting a weekly highlight reel of all the awesome things that have happened during the past week. The point of this is basically to help me keep a positive mindset by focussing on the good things that have happened rather than the bad. Assassin's Guild Minichallenge Use this thread to keep track of my contribution to the mini. Should hopefully motivate me to keep contributing.

Anybody watched Mantracker before? It's awesome. I command you to watch an episode. Go one, go do it now! I'll wait. There's loads of episodes on Youtube. I'm not kidding guys, go watch it. I'm not posting anything more about my challenge until Day One. Watch the show, and you'll already know what I'm doing. I'm starting on the 16th rather than the 17th, because I want to include my charity race in my challenge =D

So I've been pretty obsessed with the Spideyfit YouTube channel lately... What's not to love about a Spider-Man cosplayer who does fitness videos? In the below video Spideyfit states there are 3 important skillsets needed to become your own superhero. Strength, flexibility, and endurance. So I'll be basing my fitness quests on these principles. The focus this time around will be on maintaining existing habits and building new ones. Quest 1: Strength I'm currently following a programme based on the Start Bodyweight basic program, but slightly modified to suit my needs. After about 3 weeks I'm already seeing/feeling more progress than I've had in the last 6-8 months. Clearly something is working! The goal here is simply to ensure I do my resistance workout at least 3 times a week. Depending on how the days fall, I may get in 4. But the idea is to never go below 3 session a week. Quest 2: Flexibility Every day I will spend at least 5 minutes working on stretching and/or mobility. **The amount may increase to 10 minutes if 5 proves too easy.** Quest 3: Endurance Perform two intense cardio sessions per week, lasting 15-20 minutes or more. I get a good amount of low impact cardio from walking, but I'm slowly moving over to a more speed focussed approach rather than the endurance stuff I've been doing the last couple of years. I will probably be rotating between interval sprints on an exercise bike, working on increasing my 5k trail run time, or doing hill sprints. Quest 4 (life quest): Adulting Spend 30 minutes a day doing some form of adulting. The time isn't super important, it's really just there to make sure I actually do some form of meaningful or useful adulting. Tasks will likely include job searching, cleaning, organizing financial stuff, and a myriad of all the other fun adulting tasks that everyone loves and enjoys! I will be on holiday from the 20th - 27th. These days the time will be reduced to 10 minutes. Bonus Quests Share the awesome - Weekly highlight reel edition! The last few quests I've been sharing a daily awesome, it's been super fun and uplifting, but doesn't really fit the main challenge this time around. Instead I will post a weekly highlight reel of various little bits of happiness and win that I have encountered that week. Assassin's Guild Minichallenge ..TBA..

The Way of Vikings The child had grown to a young man. The calluses on his hands showed the effort put into weapons training. His muscles had started bulging shyly throw the skin a few months ago, a fact which made him really proud of himself. A black eye from the last training with Ragnar; a patchy fuzz that resembled a beard. At age 15 he felt like a man. Living of wild game and foraged plants had changed his body, making it leaner and stronger, so different from his soft childhood body. After checking no one was around he flexed his arm to admire his halfway developed biceps. “Get a grip, pretty boy” Ragnar’s laughter caught him off guard. “Damn you and your stealth Ragnar, sure you are werewolf and not a werecat? ” Said the young man, his face red from the embarrassment. “Don’t worry little brother, no one else was looking, and besides, you are getting fairly strong for a fellow your size” Ragnar was a head taller than the young lad would ever be and he didn't missed an oportunity to remind him so. "Njal says it's time for you to swear the oath... if you prove yourself worthy" said Ragnar, suddenly serious. "Don't sweat it, I know you'll do great. I've trained you myself, didn't I?" "And a good trainer you've been, brother" said the youngster as he touched his black eye. All members of the brotherhood addressed each other as “brother”. He was not a full fledged member yet so calling Ragnar his brother was considered an offence to the code, yet he truly thought of him as a brother, from the day he found the boy half dead on the river bank… it seemed like a lifetime ago. Njal was the leader of the brotherhood, an old warrior as big as a bear and as smart as a scholar. He had accepted Ragnar’s request to let the boy prove his worth and swear the oath when he was old enough, and that time had come. The young initiate had to fight the newest member of the brotherhood, and if his performance pleased Njal, he would get to swear a sacred oath. His opponent would be Skallagrimm, a 20 years old man who was really fond of him. “Worry not fella, Imma make look good in front of the old man, you’ll be a brother really soon” he had said to him the day before. Njal must have told him first. "Hey, Ragnar! Can you stay away from your little fuck-boy long enough to attend a counsil meeting?" Hafthor's voice, loud as thunder, interrupted his thoughts. "Who do you call a fuck-boy, Hafthor you piece if shit" the young lad confronted the bigger man. "Bring it on then...fuck-boy" Hafthor smiled and raised his guard. “Break it off both of you. NOW" Ragnar got inbetween the two. "You said there's a counsil meeting, well let go then". "Ragnar won’t be around forever, boy" Hafthor laughed as they walked away. Ragnar and Hafthor were Njals officers and one of them would take command of the brotherhood upon Najl's death. While Ragnar simply acceptes this fact, Halfthor lusted for such power. Apart from being the strongest of the brothers, Halfthor was a mad dog: he enjoyed torturing and raping during pillages and had a fame for randomly bursting in rage over small matters. It was a fact that Hafthor was waiting for the chance to stab Ragnar in the back and claim Njal's place. By the time he returned to camp, the counsil meeting was over and some brothers were gathering around the fire. "It seems like the little rat will get a chance to prove it's worth" Hafthor spoke to no one in particular "can't wait to see how Skallagrimm chops him to pieces". The boy stepped forward to face Hafthor "Why don't you say that to my face?” “You’ve got a big mouth, hum… little cunt”. He could not stand the insult, just like Hafthor expected. The boy’s fist flew through the air and landed on the man’s jaw, barely shaking his head. “Alright, I accept the challenge. Let’s see if you have what it takes to be part of the brotherhood”. Hafthor seized a fellow brother’s sword and tossed it at the young man’s feet, then unsheathed his and threw the first cut. His adversary raised the sword to block the blow. The force was so brutal that the sword flew out of the youngster’s hand and in quick succession; a vicious punch sent him to the ground. “This is how we battle boy, is the way of vikings!” Hafthor shouted, as he went for the killing blow. Ragnar’s sword deflected the blow just in time to avoid the death of his “little brother” striking Hafthor’s face with the pommel. “Stay down, damn you” Ragnar turned to face his little brother “What in the world was that? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Your first fight was supposed to be against…” At that moment a blade appeared through Ragnar’s chest. With eyes wide open, the man grabbed the blade coming out of his body and fell to his knees. Then he dropped to the ground face first. Hafthor held the sword for a moment and then proceeded to clean the blood out of it with Ragnar’s tunic and walk away. The boy with his brother’s dead body on his arms could not believe what just happened. As anger filled every corner of his body, he grabbed Ragnar’s sword and rushed towards Hafthor. The man saw this and raised his guard. Obviously brute force would not win that fight; he’d had to outsmart his adversary. The boy dodged a blow, and then a second and a third one. He kept on dancing around the bigger man, dodging every blow, until his technique became sloppier as he got tired, and his breath became heavy and difficult: Hafthor might have been strong, but he couldn’t fight for very long. The lad saw his chance and took it, cutting the backside of his enemy’s ankle rendering the leg useless. Just as Ragnar taught him, he did a reverse cut and sliced the other ankle. In the moment Halfthor fell to the ground, his adversary kicked his face with full force breaking his nose, causing him to lose his grip on the sword. “This is how we battle!” the boy shouted at his brother’s murderer. Another kick to the face and the murderer fell backwards- “this is the way of Vikings!...” -With all the strength he could summon, he drove his sword through Hafthor’s eye into his skull, ending him swiftly- ”…boy”. The lad fell to his knees crushed under the weight of his brother’s death, and tired from the stress of the fight. An old, callused hand grabbed him by the shoulder “C’mon , son” Njal said ”we have some graves to dig… and you have an oath to take” As many of you fellow rebels, I've found a weekly routine that more or less works for me. Last challenge I put an extra effort on the nutrition front, just to find out I wasn't doing it all that bad without actual macro counting and stuff. So, now that I feel confident about my caloric intake, it's time to get back to the grind: batch cooking, avoiding more than 1 variance/week and training my ass off. That takes us to the main goal of this challenge, which is working on my endurance. I am really lacking on that department. That is making the WODs harder to complete because even if I'm phisically able to perform a specific exercise, stringing a few of them in a row becomes really difficult due to my poor endurance (a.k.a I get winded way too fast). Besides is an excuse to try some rucking, using "Zombies, Run!" to add some sense of purpouse. I'll definetly practice jumping rope because I totally suck at it and if I can, I'll squeeze in one or two sessions of HIIT. Last challenge non-fitness related goals where left for dead, but they are coming back for this one. The to-do list will be weekly, not daily, and there will be a goal related to decluttering and organizing my small toolshed in order for it to become a small functioning workshop. I'll use a point system to grade my efforts, so I get an idea of how well I did when the four weeks are over. For the activities I do on a regular basis (CrossFit, Ultimate Couple WorkoutTM,batch cooking) I'll be getting 5 points. For the new activities related to this challenge(Rucks, Jumping Rope) I'll be getting 10 points. For the extra activities(HIIT, Yoga, Martial Arts?) I'll be getting 15 points Every hour dedicated to building my metal/wood working manshed shall award me 5 points To- do lists and PvP events from Wolf's and Rurik's challenges will SUBSTRACT 5 points each when not completed but won't add to the total point count. The same goes for non-paleo food: Any non-paleo meal will substract 10 points to the total point count. So if I dont miss any of my regular activities they should make 100 points. New activities should make 120 points(2 rucks, 1 rope session a week). That's 220 points total; anything below that number will be counted as a fail. Let's do this!

Mostly placeholder for now. Goals are going to be simple (with an eye on sinister >.>) for this month: 1. Train the kettlebell swings & get-ups 5-6 days/week. I'm at 8x10 two-hand swings now (15 secs on, 30 secs off), should be at 10x10 for this pace by the end of the week. Then I'll start decreasing the rest time and start working on the one-hand swing. 2. Keep going to Kung Fu & lightsaber class regularly. 3. Maintain close control over intake to restart my downward weight trend. Could maybe see 199 this month, if I'm very disciplined. Current weight is 202.8, confirmed on 4/30. May Events: Finish my Dao form (should be tonight!!) and crush the demonstration on 5/21. Preparing For: June 05, 2016 -- Wu Dao Tournament, Cambridge MA June 18, 2016 -- TOUGH MUDDER

Okay, since week 1 is winding down, seems like I should post goals or something. I really hadn't planned for this one so my goals are probably not going to be all that SMART. I just had such a huge crash and burn at the end of last year. I just need to rebuild some habits and then really attack my long term goals once I get a plan going. The long term goal is to do the things I need to do to continue playing rugby into my 40s. The first 2 steps to that are to get my weight down and my cardiovascular endurance up. I also have a problem with glute activation so I need to work on that too. Turns out it's hard to push 1500 pounds of scrum off you when your glutes don't want to participate. Goal 1) I've got a gym routine that is Coach approved. I will do it 3 times per week. It involves weights and long, slow cardio. Goal 2) Attack the lazy glutes. I've got a routine set up to attack this whole area of my body. It's drawn from Joe DeFranco's Limber 11 and a website I found about hamstring dominance. I'm not sure how many days a week I need to be working on this. Will check that out. Goal 3) Food. Sigh. The neverending problem for me. For this challenge I'm going to work on getting back to tracking using MyFitnessPal. Just starting to track usually helps me cut down on a lot of stuff. I also want to work on identifying the triggers or habit cues that are causing my binges. That seems good for now. I need to take some new measurements. I haven't done that in a while. I know that my weight is roughly the same but clothes are fitting me differently so it seems like the fat is moving around a little.

What's everyone's take on maintaining an intermittent fasting regimen whilst also maintaining performance in an endurance event? I'm currently doing 16/8 intermittent fasting (nothing to eat between 8pm and 12pm the next day), but have a couple of events on the horizon that would require me to perform in a fasted state for a few extra hours - a karate grading that would be at about 1pm that I won't have the chance to eat prior to, and a 50km (31mi) mountain bike race that begins at 11am. I'll have home made energy gel (honey, rice malt syrup, molasses) on me for the MTB race, but will that be enough? This IF thing is working for me, so I'm sticking with it, but I'm concerned that I'll have an energy crash if I take on these 2 events fasted. What's everyone else's experience and recommendations? I'm really interested to hear.