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It's been two years since my last challenge, so I was pleased to log back in and learn about the 10th anniversary! Looking forward to checking out everyone's challenges Two years ago I started getting coached remotely in olympic weightlifting. At the same time, work got kinda crazy, so I didn't have the energy to do NF challenges as well as my lifting program. But now I am back with a new challenge! And I have officially made myself a Warrior instead of a Ranger! I am still prioritising weightlifting - my 3rd comp is on the final day of this challenge YAY - but next year I'm hoping to shift focus more to strongwoman, as that was why I started learning the olympic lifts in the first place. So my main goals on top of weightlifting 4xweekly are to drop my bodyweight a little and work on grip strength. (I have extra tiny hands...) A post with my quests to follow shortly

I am still trying to decide on how to round out this challenge buuut the primary focus of this challenge shall be my current weak points that are causing me to flounder and flounce sadly in aerial: grip strength, lack of chin up/pull up., lack of endurance in the air. (I am also still sort of doing a cut in that I still have a little bit of tummy chub I am working on losing, but I would really rather make sure I have enough food to fuel my workout schedule and lack of sleep so I am more doing maintenance + trying to eat more veggies and don't eat like an asshole. I'm more about intuitive eating than tracking and it's been making me lose teh fats so far sooo HEY stick with what works I suppose!) ANYWHO!! GOALS!! Grip training and static holds- Hang from my baby silk for grip training on all my off days from workouts (and also possibly on days when I do something not grip heavy like dance or working with my trainer if I have time/ energy!) When working on grip training also train static hold in both bent arm hang and straight arm/ dead hang, with both silks together and with both silks separately( and also if I have enough juice in my arms do bent arm hang and straight arm/dead hang on pull up bar for extra credit.) Pull up training - 3x per week minimum work on pull up/chin up stuff. This can be negatives, jumping pulls, band assisted pulls or whatever. Aerial day and trainer day will most likely count for 2 of these days and then I need to mix in at least one more day of this in the week (may shoot for 2 days since I am currently doing trainer day on Monday and aerial on Tuesday.) Life Goal- Lipstick - I never wear lipstick and I'd like to because I like the way it looks. SOOOO GOAL TIME! Wear lipstick at least 1x per week. I'd love this to be on a work day but if it is just me wearing lipstick around the house on the weekend to get used to how it feels then that's still something! This totally worked for me with getting myself to wear eyeshadow (which I now do 90% of days) soooooo here's hoping I can get myself to do this at least a few times a week as a habit!

Smack! A red hand print shows clearly on WhiteGhost’s cheek where he has been slapping himself every few minutes to keep himself awake. Looking down at the computer screen dejectedly, WhiteGhost lets out a long sigh. “I got nothin’” WhiteGhost has been wracking his brain for the last three days trying to figure out what the message from Blinky could possibly mean. He has run every decryption program he could think of but nothing was working. He had spent hours combing through the recovered hard drive for decryption codes or any hint of what encryption methods Blinky preferred but every lead was a dead end. WhiteGhost had even considered asking an anonymous hacker group such as the Shadow Brokers for help, but without knowing who was involved he just couldn’t risk it. The sun broke through a crack in the curtains, and WhiteGhost let out a curse in frustration. “This is beyond me. I’m gonna need some help…” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission 1: Improve Grip Strength 2x/Week (Included in Mission 2 Routine) Mission 2: Full Body Conditioning Workout 2x/Week Mission 3: Focused Flexibility 5x/Week Mission 4: Prepare & Serve 1 New Recipe/Week Because I failed my Go/No-Go for my last challenge, I need to complete a side quest before I can advance to the next level. To complete the side quest, I need to get someone to join me in doing grip related workouts for the two remaining full weeks of the challenge. Go/no-Go = Both myself and partner need to complete grip challenge for weeks 3 and 4

Intro/Chapter 1 here: Chapter 2: A Blinky Mess WhiteGhost reaches the end of the wall and takes a bounding leap off of the back wall, tic-tacing over to a window ledge and pulls himself up. Afraid that looking over his should to check his pursuer will take precious seconds, he focuses on shimmying up a rain gutter until he reaches the edge of the roof. Only once he has pulled himself over does he risk taking a look to see how things are going. To his delight, the big man is still on the ground of the alley, trying in vain to grab the fire escape ladder. WhiteGhost breathes a sigh of relief “Well, that wasn’t so bad, but I am going to need to be more careful so I don’t get recognized. It will be a lot harder to find Blinky if I have people looking for me” he thinks to himself as he sets off at a brisk run across the rooftops. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blinky lives in a nondescript 3rd floor apartment in Indian Flats, a middle income neighborhood on the West side of town. He started out as a CIA forensic accountant many years ago working in the organized crime unit, but he traded sides and went to work as a financier for a mob boss who made him an offer he apparently couldn’t refuse. A couple of years ago he got caught embezzling his boss' cash and as punishment got his eyelids cut off, hence the nickname. He now works as a freelance financial advisor, supplying his services to white hats, black hats and anyone else with a lot of cash and something to hide. When WhiteGhost gets to Blinky’s place he finds the front door hanging from just the top hinge, twisting slightly with every gust of wind. “I guess I’m not the only one who needs a word with old Blinky,” WhiteGhost mutters under his breath and he slips silently through the broken doorway. Inside, Blinky’s place has been completely ransacked. Drawers have been pulled out and dumped on the floor, his bed has been flipped and the bedsheets are strewn wildly around the bedroom. His bookshelves have been pulled down and the floor of the living room is a sea of books. WhiteGhost takes a look at the computer desk and smiles to himself. The guys that did this clearly were not professionals, just some low level thugs who didn’t understand Blinky’s world. The computer keyboard has been smashed to pieces and there is a hunting knife sticking through what remains of it, pinning it to the desk. The monitor has been knocked to the floor with a fist sized hole through it. However, the tower under the desk is untouched and apparently still on, the cooling fan creating a dull hum in the background. Empty diet cola bottles litter the floor and a half eaten burrito is mashed under a tipped over chair. Apparently Blinky was interrupted unexpectedly. WhiteGhost hooks up his tablet to the computer through an HDMI adapter and discovers a TOR browser open, with TrueCrypt and Bleachbit running in the background. If Blinky didn’t have time to close these, he must have really been in a rush to get out. The TOR browser is open to a Lelantos email account, but most of the emails don’t make any sense. It seems Blinky was encrypting his messages manually before entering them into the encrypted system. Given the types of people he deals with, he couldn’t afford to mess around. The last email received, though, was not encrypted. Opening it up, WhiteGhosts finds a Darknote XDN blockchain showing transfers of large sums of bitcoin to accounts in varying countries with Switzerland, Russia, South Africa, China, India and Mongolia coming up the most. The email sender is merely identified by a single letter: H. “No time to worry about that now,” WhiteGhost thinks to himself. “I need to find Blinky and get to the bottom of this.” He reaches down to unplug his HDMI cable, and decides to pull out the hard drive for later. As he pulls it out, he notices a yellow sticky note stuck to the inside of the computer tower. He pulls it off and finds “WG38.2946071.-80.3132366” scrawled in pencil. Mission 1: Improve Grip Strength 3x/week (excluding Mission 2) Mission 2: Muscle Up Routine (+full body) 2 Days/Week Mission 3: Focused Flexibility 5 Days/Week Mission 4: Homemade Meal 1/Week Go/no-Go = 15 second one hand hang on each hand by end of week 4 Neither hand = Can’t decipher the clue, needs to keep working 1 hand only = Deciphered the clue but needs help Both hands = Deciphered the clue and can act on it

I believe in empowering people with their own self defense and fitness. We can get strong and fit without spending a bunch of money. I will share workout tips, videos, and how to make improvised exercise equipment. And a lot more! I look forward to hanging out with you all. Be good to yourself, because you are worth it.

Is anyone else here doing any dedicated grip routines? I have been using an adjustable hand gripper, as well as using rubber bands to strengthen the extensor muscles. I also do steel bending, which really gives you a beast of a grip workout.

The Queen of Blades and her Zerg swarm must be stopped! This 4WC I will be battling the Queen of Blades every week. I will be summoning the combined forces of my Protoss units in order to defeat her. The following goals will each carry Attack or Defense points for completion. If I do not complete all of the Attack goals for the week then my combined Attack will be weakend. If I am unable to complete my Defense goals then I can take Damage from the Queen of Blades at the end of the week. Volki My HP: 600 max Attack a/w: 450 max defense a/w: 375 Queen of Blades HP: 1500 Attack points a/w: 300 Max Attack a/w: 450 Max Defense a/w: 375 Lifting 2X a week UNIT: Zealot ATTACK POINTS: 200 A strong brute-force unit, in terms of health and damage this unit is second to none DB deadlift 3x10 Alt DB curl 3x10 Skull crusher 3x12 1 arm rows 3x10 DB bench 3x10 Turbulence 500(bodyweight program) 1X a week but can sub one lifting day for 1 BW day UNIT: Dark Templar ATTACK POINTS: 100 Dark Templars deal huge burst damage - enough to kill any worker in one hit 50 Prisoner Squats 50 Pushups 25 Jumps 25 Stability Ball Leg Curls 50 Stability Ball Jackknifes 50 Step-ups (25 reps per side) 25 Pull-ups (NO substitutions) 50 Forward Lunges (25 reps per side) 50 Close-grip Pushups 50 Inverted Rows 50 Squats 25 Chin-ups (NO substitutions) Rucking\Bouldering 1x a week UNIT: Dragoon ATTACK POINTS: 100 The quadrupedal walker moves efficiently over unstable terrain. Yoga 5X a/w at least 10 mins UNIT:Photo cannon ATTACK/Defense POINTS:A\D 50\150 Although the Protoss revel in the glory of personal combat, they also recognize the need for defenses. Grip Exercises 5X a week UNIT:Pylon Defense POINTS: 75 Protoss structures and units draw their energy from a great psionic energy matrix that emanates from the Pylons Walking with fam 5x a week Unit: Nexus Defense POINTS: 150 The nexus serves as the hub of any Protoss base. Also I am going to throw in the lifeline bonus mini challenges to save me from botching the week: I can only use each one, one time. Bonus: 30 mins of sprint drills = 100pts Record poem in sign language or 30 seconds of conversation and post to NF = 100pts Don't give up on beard and post status pic at end of 4WC = 100pts Complete a new drawing and post to NF = 100pts

Hello Assassins! Even though I am a monk at heart, I've decided to do a whole lot of body weight training this time around, thus putting me with you crazy lot I'm really excited, I'm not going to lie. Without further ado, here's what I have in store for the next round of badassery: Coulson is my spirit animal. Shut up. Falling off the cliff is not an option. [+3 STR +3 STA] I want to be able to do a pull up and I want to learn how to do so before end of the year. At the beginning of the challenge I can lift myself only an inch or two, so I want to build up strength to do a real pull up. I am not expecting myself to be able to do it in 6 weeks, though, just improve a lot Acceptable forms of training: negative pull ups at homeassisted pull ups at the gymTRX (or a playground) body weight rows4 sets of 10 per session on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday A - 3 days +3 STR +3 STA B - 2 days +2 STR +2 STA C - 1 day +1 STR +1 STA F - 0 days +ZERO Look at my arms. They are firm and shapely-like. [+3 STR] I need to increase my strength, period, and push ups are a fantastic way of doing so. 50 push ups on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday A - 3 days +3 STR B - 2 days +2 STR C - 1 day +1 STR F - 0 days +NONE FOR YOU! Hold on! It's going to be a ride! [+2 DEX] Grip is one of those skills that gets under-rated constantly. It's necessary in pull ups/chin ups. It will come in handy when I participate in Spartan next May. So, here comes my grip training! There's a whole bunch of different grip exercises but after some talking and researching, I decided to start 'easy' Do grip training for a total of at least a minute each time, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Acceptable exercises: Dead hangPlate pinches (let's see what actual weight I can get my hands on) Fingertip planksHex holdsA - 3x week - +2 DEX C - 1-2x week - +1 DEX F - 0x week - +DO YOU EVEN TRY? Please ignore the leg I'm wrapping around your trachea. I promise it won't kill you. [+2 DEX] And I wonder why people at work are afraid of me... With all this strength training and muscle building I need to remember to keep my flexibility going as well. I already stretch after each workout, but I need to amp up my yoga game. Here comes Youtube to the rescue! I will do one yoga video per week [PASS/FAIL] It won't really matter how long the video is, but I'll try to do something longer. I want to increase my flexibility after all Hablas español? [+2 WIS] Well, I sure don't speak Spanish, but it's about time I changed that. I have access to Rosetta's Stone for Spanish so I will give it a try and see if it'll help me learn the language. I've heard mixed reviews of the software, but it's still better than nothing. Two lessons of Spanish per week (roughly an hour) [PASS/FAIL] Do or do not, there is no try. I really do like living dangerously ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ REWARD: - Belgian waffles from International Pancake House - Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks: it's a bit of a weakness of mine, but I should be fine if I only do it once every 6-8 weeks, right? - Make mini Nutella cheesecakes and eat them (duh!)

Hi, I've just hit 135lbs on deadlifts recently. I'm having this problem with the bar not slipping down my fingers. I'm using a mixed (left underhand, right overhand) grip. My left hand is doing fine, but my right hand is slipping towards my fingertips. Is there any way to fix this problem? I also think I have sweaty hands. Also, should I keep doing 135lbs, but give my arms enough time to recover before doing another rep? I'm doing Starting Strength, 1 set of 5 reps. They problem says increase the weight, but I already cannot grip 135lbs, how can I grip 140lbs? Thank you!

So here's my dilemma. I have a terrible grip. I'

I decided to accept this challenge. I have had a nemesis in the Captains of Crush #2 for far too long. I need to close that thing and get on the road to certification! This beast is not your daddy's squeaky grip toy this is a nasty thing designed to test the will of any man! My Side Quest is to write a short story. I have several ideas that have been laying around and I want to get them finished.

My challenge is dedicated to this . Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter, fail again. Fail better. | Do not fear mistakes. There are none. These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. My personal tyranny is my big ole noggin. I'm such a big pile of sad that I am annoying myself. I don't even know why my pets like me. Therefore, it's time to get over myself. Work really hard for something and esteem it's value. This is a challenge with a bribe. If I rock it (rocket?) these 6 weeks, then I earn a prize. Not sure what that prize will be. I've had my eye on some NF kit but also have my REI rebate to spend... If I don't rock it, but fail spectacularly then I get a prize. Essentially I'm making an effort to say I may not win the battle but I still have to die trying. You gotta admit that the above mentioned rocket failed in a most enjoyable way. Exercise Goals I'm becoming dangerously close to only trying to be good and feel good when my life isn't shitty. Summer soldier? Thus it's time to bring the smack down on the good fight. 1 - Grip - So I realized this was a mini challenge 1?2? challenges ago, but you all moved too fast for me. My "upper body strength" is totally limited by my hand grip and what my elbows can handle. 2 - Flexibility - biking and lifting are in constant conflict with my desire to feel comfortable. Anybody want to trade hips and knees and calves? 3 - Pick up things that are not light in weight - I would say heavy things but let us be realistic. 4 - Take Terry's Climbing Course. (Which will require me signing up soon) Life Goals I fear I have been teaching my dog too many bad habits. Like me, she does not want to get off the couch.* I'm also considering making a blog like reasons my son is crying possible titles include 'reasons my dog is whining' and 'reasons my dog is sleeping' * It's a love seat and both of us fit on it together. Sort of. 1- Private 2- Heavenly Heeling - Time to "get serious" about the canine good citizen test before its too late and the little monster takes over the world. Plus Pups and Pints will start again soon. 3 - Read and reflect on The Antidote and The Art of Happiness (which was written by the ) Buttmuch. I guess I have to assign attribute points but I'll do that later, perhaps. I have not yet begun to procrastinate.