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So i missed some challenges, and the last few haven't ben good. So now I have a relative easy challenge where I hope to succeed 4 simple goals, to finally get a good challenge. 1: read for 30 minutes at least 4 days pr week 2: check up on this treat at least 4 days pr week (everyday doesn't seem to work so now it should. 3: Be upside down at least once pr day. Can be just one time, might make it harder later. 4: juggle for 5 minutes pr day: can be contact juggling, scarf juggling or cascade juggling. Weekly video to see progress

Grandkai Going Hybrid Assassin: Part II So this is Part II of my Hybrid Assassin transition. The last one went okay.....(check my review HERE). So this challenge i'm going to start with Part 2 Goal 1: Kettlebell Strength & Bodyweight Skill I'm going to use a mix of Kettlebell and Bodyweight workouts. With Kettlebell i'm going to use a workout plan by Onnit Academy to build my strength and endurance. Thats day A and on Day B i'm going to mimic those movements with bodyweight exercises. Goal 2: Run More Last challenge i wanted to run a lot, didn't happen. So the goal this time is get back into running, despite the cold weather. I'm aiming for 2-3 times a week. Goal 3: Handstand Direct copy from my last challenge, made great progress (got a minute Headstand) and getting close to a Handstand. So i'm going to train everyday switching between handstand & headstand. I also have some side-goals for this challenge, not as important but would be fun to get really into regularly: - Post everyday a basic list of my progress (to improve posting and checking the forums) - Update my Character Sheet (do you remember your Character Sheet?) - Start a new Daily Battle Log & post a new Epic Goals for 2018 list.

Grandkai Going Hybrid Assassin: Part I In 2017 i used mostly bodyweight exercises and i mostly used the Start Bodyweight Program. Great program, i've seen great progress but doing only bodyweight has become a bit boring to me. So for 2018 i'm going to become a Hybrid Assassin. Goal 1: 6-Week Hybrid "Athlete" program; I'm going to use two 6-week Hybrid "Athlete" programs which have Kettlebell training, running & bodyweight training. So i'm set for the next 3 challenges Goal 2: Run faster Upcoming Sunday (December 31st) i have my first 10K race and i'm aiming for a time under 1 hour. After that i want to train to be able to run a faster 10K, so that i can have a faster time for my next race that's in April. My goal is to run the 10K in 50 minutes in April. Goal 3: Handstand Last challenge i got some good progress on a handstand and i want to continue that progress in this new year. So i'm going to train everyday switching between handstand & headstand. Side-Goal: 100% Gaming Spiderman Shattered Dimensions I still like playing games and trying to get them to 100%. This time its going to be Spiderman Shattered Dimensions

Grandkai's doing Assassin Stuff (part 2/2) Previous challenge had its good and bad things so i'm stopping with the bad and continue with the good from my last challenge. I'm gonna try and finished this last challenge of the year strong. Quest 1: Increase Agility "Assassins spend most of their time training with functional body weight exercises as that’s usually the only thing they need to lift." - Startbodyweight Routine 3 times a week; - Handstand Training every day for 5-10 minutes (alternate between handstand & headstand) Quest 2: Increase Stamina "They have solid endurance as well, allowing them to progress through an obstacle-filled environment without breaking a sweat." - Run outside 5-10 km 3x a week Quest 3: Improve Body "Fearless, calculated, and efficient, Assassins have low body fat percentages because extra weight could mean the difference between life and death on a mission." - No ordering food - Multivitamin, Omega 3 & Apple in the morning - Protein Shake & Apple after workouts - 2 Liters of water everyday Quest 4: Relaxation - 100% Rayman Origins on Xbox - Read 30 minutes after waking up and 30 minutes before going to bed So these are my quest's for this last challenge of 2017. A bit of my previous challenge with some new things. I'm gonna do my best to post every day on this challenge forum, even if its just an emoticon.

Grandkai's doing Assassin stuff (part 1/2) Previous challenge didn't go so well, but giving it another shot so here are my BIG goals for the last 2 months of this year. BIG Goal 1: Do a Handstand; - Everyday #5 Minute Flow - Everyday Headstand training & progress to Handstand - 3x a week Startbodyweight Routine to build strength. BIG Goal 2: Do a Split; - Do the Darebee "Splits in 30 Days" challenge -1x a week Yoga class - Everyday 30/30 challenge by Ido Portal BIG Goal 3: Reduce Unhealthy foods; - Block Food Ordering websites. - NO more quick trips to the store after work for unhealthy foods. - Buy protein bars/powder to supplement nutrition. Side Goal: 100% Rayman Origins on Xbox

I figured it's about time I actually made a thread here. I didn't really know what to do regarding themes or whatever so I'm just going to basically recreate my daily log here but as it pertains to the mini-challenge and whatever personal goals I have for myself. When I have my charger, I'll come back and update this with actual dates because those are important. MINI-CHALLENGE Kingdom Hearts: Deliverance I completed Masyaf a few weeks ago. Began Wonderland: AMSAP free tripod headstand: 86s Required tripod headstand: 14m 20s Time remaining: 10m 28s PERSONAL CHALLENGES Making the Bed Current official streak is 19 days. ....I think. I'll have to go back and check to make sure that none of those days were in that hotel, because I definitely did not make the bed those days. o_o Also what to do with those days -- freeze streak? (not required to make the hotel beds since that's what room service is paid to do) or reset streak? (because of the habitual nature of and meticulousness I exhibit in bed-making) Being Proactive with Homework I'm a terrible procrastinator, so I'm using a couple of different methods to try to stay on top of it. I have a zip-up thing with a notepad in it where I write down things I need to do, highlight them if they're urgent, and check or cross them off as they're done. This includes homework, emails I need to send but couldn't right at the second I wrote it down, steps to completing essays, etc etc. I'm taking 19 credit hours right now (four 4-credit classes, three 1-credit ensembles, and a 0-credit class). All of the 4-credit classes require major papers at some point, so I NEED DEADLINES FOR THE PARTS. And the readings. Hopefully my housemate will help keep me accountable for all of this. GEN: Add dates from all syllabi to phone calendar. PDE | M 2:30pm | opt : section 1 in book; look at first five problems on homework set USO | M 4pm : pick up Wagner from orchestra library EPI | T 10am : ch 1 in textbook; readings on Blackboard; SYLLABUS WBL | T 1pm : ch 1 in Fennell CLA | W 6pm : outline/bullet point list of strengths & weaknesses and goals essay (this usually ends up more as a stream of consciousness) IMP | F 11am : buy the book, read pp ii-ix, practice p iii EPI : Read Ghost Map ch 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 conc epi; take notes, cite, and quote. --> major class paper CLA : Research the mechanical history and development of the clarinet. Take notes. Cite and quote. Put in outline form on MS Word. --> major class paper CLA : Research concerto piece. Take notes. Cite and quote. --> Program notes. Practice the Clarinet I'm putting on a senior recital next semester and it has to have at least 50m of music. I know most of the pieces I'm going to play; I just have to learn and master them. And write program notes. Also Concerto Competition in less than a month. Very important that I do my best for that because I WANT TO WIN AND BEAT COLE DAMMIT. Unless he wins too; I could handle both of us winning. The goal is 1h a day outside of ensemble rehearsals and IMP. Once I get this set I'll amp it up to 90m a day - scales, books, rep. I'm off-campus this year, so as long as my housemate isn't asleep I can practice at 3am all I want. XD This also might change on days where I'm in both band and orchestra rehearsals. Today I played for an hour, working mostly on woodshedding a few scalar runs in my concerto piece. I can play my scales, but not sixteenth notes at quarter note = 160. I got up to quarter = 132 using alternate rhythms though. I also played through three scales before blowing my chops at pep band rehearsal. Get enough sleep!!! Obviously. The point of this is to limit my downtime to actually do the homework so that I can sleep easier at the end of the semester. Right now it's 00:42 because I am a lazy bum and I've been listening to the song from yesterday's new Steven Universe episode. Actually that might be a worthy theme for my challenges. Hmmmm.

Lucky fire dragon pulls herself up and up and upside down Hi everyone, for those who don't know me yet, I am an amateur pole dancer who got hooked about 3 years ago and is since then slowly, stubbornly building some strength to actually do some dancing on this fabulous thing. It's totally addictive, gives me big bruises and even bigger fun, confidence and has turned me from sluggish desk worker into circus-nerd, active, stronger than I have ever been and roughly 10 kg lighter to when I started three years ago. Apart from pole dance I dabbled with aerial hoop, will get gymnastic rings for my birthday in May (whoohoo), love yoga, hiking, bathing, reading, travelling, music and of course all the gorgeous amazeballs in here Due to some work changes and challenges I was quite absent during the last two challenges and ... am embarrassed to admit... let myself go a bit. Well, contrast is our friend, right, so here is me motivated and dedicated for a proper tough challenge again Let's BRING IT ON!!!! (will have to look for a proper gif later, sorry) This time I'm going to do it all: spring clean detox get super strong, especially on PULL UPS train all the inversions and stay super focused with meditation powers The rough plan is there, I might still adjust some details later. Also this challenge will have different parts for each week as it builds up gradually and that will give me some room for adjustments if need be. 1. Get sparkling and focused I have a fabulous yoga book by Tiffany Cruikshank with a 30 day yoga detox program that helped me shed about 4 kg two years ago and will go through the progress again. Might shed less weight this time, but am hoping for some cm less and also noticed the cleaner my diet and the less alcohol I drink, the better my grip on the pole. Aaaaand it turns out that is a BIG motivation For Week 1 I will - drink a lemon drink every morning - do the detox week 1 yoga program every morning breathing exercise (inhale for 6 seconds, hold for 6 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds, same with 8 seconds and then 10 seconds for 3 rounds each or more) 10 x cat / cow 3-5 sun salutations A (forward fold, plank, lowering into cobra, downdog, jump to hands, forward fold, roll up) 2-5 sun saluations B (forward fold, jump into plank, up dog, down dog, lunge left with arms up, down dog, lunge right with arms up, downdog, jump to hands, forward fold, roll up) Savansana (after hoop and inversions) meditation (after savansana or later in day, see below) - add 5 of each pull up and chin up rows as well as tuck into straddle and crunches on the aerial hoop every morning - meditate for 10 minutes minimum every morning (can be done later in day if need be, but morning would be ideal) - do all this early enough that I can still do all needed desk work in the mornings and have the afternoons free for other things - do 3 rounds of fire breath every day - drink no alcohol except on Saturdays but only if I had at least 2 liters of water before - drink 2 liters of water or herbal tea every day - take measurements on Sundays 2. Get Stronger As I want to really really play with my rings when I get them and apparently you need to have pull up strength for that, pull ups it's going to be. Plus pole lessons at Level 2+ are really challenging me majorly so no more lazying around on that either - 3 x pole training at home / week (plus the lesson at the studio) - collect 50 pull ups or chin ups over week 1, negatives and rows count as 0.5 each -> will raise this goal in the weeks 2-4 3. Train all the inversions I have this fabulous feetup stool at home allowing me plenty of play with headstands without any pressure on neck or hand, so I could play more with that... or with handstands (I recently managed to kick into a wall handstand and hold it for the first time idk!!!!! That was so cool it needs repeating) ... or with headstands as we need them way more controlled for pole choreos than I can do right now - spend 50 minutes / week upside down Current status videos Here is the video of the hoop morning training with lots of work still needed on my rows as you can see. I'm thinking now that maybe I am positioning myself wrong and must go a bit more back to that when I come up the hoop is not at my head but at my chest rather... any hints? https://vimeo.com/161294594 Also can we still imbed videos in here or not anymore? Couldn't find yet how... Here is a video of some current pole projects: seat relax into hangback should ideally be switching from one into the other and back with as little hand help as possible (good prep for higher levels ) the handstand attitude with one leg away from the pole feels for some reason suuuuuuper scary, so it will be my bravery expansion for a while and the slide down needs more control and less hooking in with the bent leg, finally the headstand - goal is to lift straight legs up controlled from top of foot (i.e. not standing on toes like I did here) and then crunch up to hold straight away at the top of the pole (not use the help of hand below butt like I did here...) https://vimeo.com/161296316 Measurements and weight on Day 1 upper right arm: 29.5 cm upper left arm: 29.5 cm chest: 88.5 cm waist: 83 cm hips: 89.5 cm right thigh: 54 cm left thigh: 53 cm right calf: 35.5 cm left calf: 34.5 cm Starting weight 64 kg Squeeeeeeeeee EXCITED Best of FUN and SUCCESS and safe training everyone!!

Hi everybody, I am a happy go lucky fire dragon, who likes pole dancing, aerial hoop, yoga and other shiny movement things that make me feel alive, strong and nimble Currently I have some big work projects that I want to tackle and in the past that used to suck up my willpower for workouts. Seems work and workouts use the same contingent of willpower and I could not do both consistently over a longer period. That is about to change Cause I'm gonna expand my willpower and and DO ALL THE THINGS Well, I'll start gently, with lots of yummy restorative things, to keep myself juiced up and my batteries charged ... build a routine that will carry me... and give myself time to ROCK my WORK and ROCK my WORKOUTS -hah, work is just another workout after all, and those I can do I will use how we are creatures of habit and CREATE HABITS that make things easier, I'll ruthlessly kick out routines that don't serve me well anymore and reclaim full power as Queen of My Routine Quest 1: Morning routine (5 days/week) - get up at 6 am on Mon-Fri - 15 min restorative yin yoga - 15 min active yoga - breakfast - start work at 7.30 am on Mon-Thu Quest 2: Workout Routine (4 days/week) - Angry Bird Workout with Pole (2x/week - planning Wed and Fri or Sat) * pole knee tucks * pole climbs with arms only (resting in seat) * aerial squats * standard push ups * dolphin plank hold explanatory video will follow - hope I can do it at all - Dance Workout (2x/week) * once at class (Mondays) * once at home training class moves, other spins and tricks (Thursdays) Quest 3: Recharging Energy Routine (3 to 7 days/week) - 20 min walk 3 days / week to get fresh air and relax eyes (on the days off pole) - 2.5 liters of water 7 days / week - 10 min eye training on 7 days / week (to start with reading up about exercises during those 10 min is also okay, as long as I get myself there, more screen time at work means more rest for eyes needed) Life Quest: Work Routine get in 16 hours / week on website and/or translation work get translation project (in signature) done by end of January ideally to be done by Friday because the plan is to have the weekend plan free Tracking will be done with shiny spreadsheets again for shiny stars to stick on for every shiny win Big stars for pole sessions, small stars for morning routines, recharging routines and work routines I will be away from Jan 14 - 17 (leading a silent retreat and takes me up completely) so no points given or lost during those four days. Let's get this party started....

INTRODUCTION: My name is Ted and this is my second challenge. I am looking forward to being a part of the assassins during during challenge 44. If you are interested, my first challenge thread can be found here. When I found Nerd Fitness, I joined the academy first. I was searching for how to build intrinsic motivation into a fitness routine and Nerd Fitness came across my path. Thanks to my first challenge, I am getting closer to my goal of intrinsically motivate fitness. My hard work and my look into essentialism has really helped me focus my efforts. I chose the assassins because I enjoy bouldering, calisthenics, and balance work done through yoga. I want to build a learner stronger frame. People I admire and look to as I train would be Kevin Poeung and Simon Park. I am a 33 year old English and History teacher and live in San Francisco, CA with my husband and our orange bob-tail cat named Cha-cha. We have been in the Bay Area for about a year. Before California, my husband and I were living in Japan (I was there for seven years and he was there for his whole life). I am a lover of science fiction and have been a fan of all the Star Gate seasons which is why my topic titles reference the dialing sequence. These challenges are a way I can take back control of my dreams by making my fitness and health a priority in my life. I am excited about doing this for myself and glad I have gained some great support and friends along the way. MAIN QUEST: I will have an active life full of movement and activities I find joy in so I can live a life of peace and adventure with my husband. CHALLENGE GOAL 1: "Be-Four Dawn" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will exercise for a least thirty minutes in the morning, at least four days a week, for a total of 24 workout sessions over the course of the challenge. REASONING: During the last challenge, I scheduled a workout everyday of the week. On any given day, I was either practicing yoga or doing the body brigade workout. This left little to no time for recovery. This challenge, I am giving myself three days for potential recovery. I also want to work towards enjoying morning workouts since I can take full advantage of the after-burn over the course of the day and be more energized. I also would like to have my evenings open in order to spend more time with my husband. Up until now, getting up early in the morning and working out has been difficult for me. I am a teacher and wake-up really early already. MEANS OF EVALUATION: I will post on my thread the details of each workout for the previous week by Sunday evening of that week. The details of my workout will include the time started, duration, and what I did to workout. If I have at least 24 workouts recorded by the end of this challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: STAMINA A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] CHALLENGE GOAL 2: "Pull It Together" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will work for 10 minutes, at least four days a week, on my training to do a complete, unassisted, pull-up for a total of 24 sessions over the course of this challenge. REASONING: I have enjoyed bouldering and have some pretty solid upper body strength. Unfortunately, I do not have the muscle strength needed to do a complete unassisted pull-up. Systematically working on my pull-ups throughout this challenge will help me build the needed strength in order to get close to doing an unassisted pull-up. MEANS OF EVAULUATION: I will post on my thread the details of each training session for the previous week by Sunday evening of that week. The details of the training session will include what I did to train and the time I started. If I have at least 24 training sessions on my thread by the end of the challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: STRENGTH A=+4 B=+3 C=+2] CHALLENGE GOAL 3: "This End Up" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will work for 10 minutes, at least four days a week, on my inverted poses foundation for a total of 24 sessions over the course of this challenge. REASONING: In my practice of yoga, I have always felt inspired by inverted poses. In the beginning, I had a fear of going into an inverted pose. I thought, if I went into an inverted pose, I would drop on my spine and break my neck. Several years back, I trampled that fear by running into a handstand. The momentum of this method got me into a wall-assisted hand-stand. I want to work toward doing an unassisted tripod headstand. To do this I will need to work on building my foundation on a consistent basis. MEANS OF EVALUATION: I will post on my thread the details of each foundation building session for the previous week by Sunday evening of that week. The details of the foundation building session will include what I did toward building the right foundation and the time I started. If I have at least 24 training sessions on my thread by the end of the challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: A=+4 B=+3 C=+2] LIFE CHALLENGE GOAL: "Write On Track" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will write over 40,000 words towards a new novel which I will plan with my husband. REASONING: My husband is an illustrator and a graphic designer. We have been playing around with the idea of me writing a novel and him drawing illustrations for the story. We have floated ideas and concepts around but never got anything seriously together. Since November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and this challenge covers the month of November, I thought I would inspire our project to head in the "write" direction and get my husband and I "write" on track towards completing our novel. MEANS OF EVALUATION: I will have met this goal if I have written at least 40,050 words on my novel by the end of this challenge. My word-count progress can be seen on my NaNoWriMo page. I will also give weekly updates on Sunday evening on how I am progressing towards the 40,000 word goal. [Attribute: WISDOM A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] PRE-REFLECTION: Setting new goals fills me with such great energy. I feel geared-up and ready to begin. I feel even better this time around since I have already engaged in one challenge and know my goals are challenging yet attainable. Learning what works well for me and what needs tweaking I believe will help me towards an intrinsically motivated practice. I am proud to be part of the assassins and growing stronger with everyone!

Lightning Strikes a Pose My last challenge (also my first) was about establishing some good habits and dropping weight. Although I still have some pounds to shed I’m pretty close to my goal weight and ready to tighten up the bod. I’m choosing yoga instead of traditional body-weight exercise because of the flexibility component. (Its also really badass when you can hold a crow pose or one arm plank.) Main Goal: Get Fit and Flexible After a long break betting on Chocobo races and partying at the Casino Lightning needs to get back into shape and battle ready. She is going to level up her Crystarium to ensure she is buff enough for the next Boss Battle. Her focus will be on the following paradigms: Commando (strength, charisma) Ravager (stamina, dexterity) Medic (constitution, wisdom) #1 Lightning Strikes a Victory Pose: The first 3 weeks of the challenge will focus on completing a (mostly walking) half-marathon. Will follow the walking plan already in progress and complete the half-marathon on May 2nd. (There will be a victory photo of me and my shiny medal!) The second half of the challenge will include 2-3 days of cardio (any kind). STA +3 / CON +1 #2 Lightning Strikes a Yoga Pose: During the first 3 weeks of the challenge will practice yoga for strength and flexibility 2-3x a week. Will ramp it up to 4x a week for the second half of the challenge (or 3x plus a Barre class 1x a week). STR +2/ DEX +2 One pose that Lightning wants to master is the Tripod (working it into a headstand) Two poses that Lightning wants to master are the Tripod and the Spartan Plank. By the end of 6 weeks she will be able to hold both poses for 2 minutes. STR +1 #3 Lightning Strikes a Pyramid Pose: · Continue focusing on Paleo food pyramid aiming for 80% · Vegetables 3x a day · Eat mindfully (take off the training wheels and quit tracking macros) CON +2 / WIS +2 SIDE QUEST: Lightning poses for pictures: Work on scrapbook for parent’s 50th anniversary and complete it by May 16th. Also, need to finish the decorations so we can reenact their cake-cutting photo. CHA +2

Promised myself I'd try for a proper RP start to this challenge. And having seem lots of good guys I figured we needed some monsters to spice thing up So here we go, Horde of the North: Part the First. It is often forgotten among the Southern lands in years of peace that the Orcs and Goblins have, at various times, had an empire, or something similar to it. At times mighty chieftains arise that weld the disparate tribes of Green Skins into a Horde bent on conquest and destruction. Goblins and Orcs, hardened by the brutality of life in the North, and their brutality to each other . Or at least that seems to be the conventional view. In fact, at times when a single Chieftain does arise and the tribes unite it is voluntary (for a value of voluntary), and like the Mongol or Hun Hordes/Empires there is far more than what meets the eye. Organisational structures as well as soldiers. As the Green Skins pour from their caves, holes, tents and cities, uniting and submitting their tribal banners to one new, blood red war banner. Old tribal splits are laid aside as previous enemies unite to form new legions. Among these new legions one of the most feared and hated units is raised by the Chieftain. The Goblin Raiders. Made up of the toughest and fastest of the wiry creatures, they were known for appearing out of nowhere and running down whole villages, killing and burning before retreating with whatever they can carry. Attacking wherever the enemy isn't, villages, farms, merchants, supply lines. They need to be strong and fast, to run down the enemy, to fight, and then retreat or carry off loot before reinforcements can arrive. As the sun beats down heavily on the vast sprawl of tents, thousands of feet beating the ground, trampling the grass to dust until it blots out the sun and chokes those who pass along. The sight can be seen for miles, more and more Green Skins pour down towards it in long trains all the time. Out the plains legions drill, armour glinting under the dust and weapon crashes fill the air. Into this mess steps Estrix, one Goblin among thousands. His waiting in the sweltering heat, waiting to be tested. To be assigned their roles in this new order. Those who are strong may become Raiders, those who are weak will be fodder for the infantry, those even weaker...it's best not to think about. And so Estrix prepares to be tested, hoping to become a Raider, one of the few that will make it. ...So this story will be updated as I get through bits of my goals based on success or failure. I'll try work in the goals to story pieces maybe once a week Goals Strength: Squat: 124kgx5 Bench: 77kgx5 Deadlift: 105kgx5 +5 Str Fitness Run 40min at 12km/h +3 Stam +2 Con Freestanding handstand +2 Dex Meditation Once per day +2 Wis Life Goal (of sorts): Play my harmonica every day so I can manage more than 2 songs and nursery rhymes lol +1 Char (Not sure this will in fact add charisma as opposed to remove it but there we go )

Elastigirl sits alone in her room, mindlessly staring at the computer in front of her. She is trying to get her mind off her worries. But instead her mind is reeling with the events of the past few weeks. Sighing, she recalls the events that led to this day. It started innocent enough. A seemingly friendly alien moved into a nearby town. He referred to himself as Little Cloud. Everyone seemed to like him. He said he wanted their town to grow and prosper. The towns people enthusiastically set out to him build their town into a thriving metropolis. It all seemed to be going so well. The town was now a thriving metropolis, growing larger every day. But then the rumors started. Rumors that Little Cloud was somehow taking the souls of the townspeople and using the very souls of the people as energy for his metropolis. At first the rumors were ignored as gossip, but then people started reporting how their friends and family were disappearing. Or worse, how they had changed from cheerful, fun loving people into emotionless drones. It was then that Dash, now an adult, had been sent out a mission to discover the truth. He has his superpower of speed, and he had taken his light saber sword with him for protection. But that had been over a month ago and Elastigirl had heard nothing from him since he set out. But the Superpowerhero Security Force was denying her and Mr. Incredible permission to search for him. So now she sits staring at her computer screen, trying not to worry. Her phone beeps. She checks for messages. Her body tenses as she realizes the text is from Dash. The message reads: ydo; kk kj lfjej wskfe wgldj Elastigirl quickly grabs her decoder ring and set out to solve the cipher. Help;Im in prison, sword stolen. She swallows hard, trying not to let panic overtake her. Dash is being held prisoner somewhere, defenseless without his sword. With this message, the Superhero Security Force will give her the green light to start a rescue mission. But instead of acting quickly, she sits in front of the computer, unsure of her next move. Taking a deep breath, she decides to Skype Edna and brief her. Elastigirl updates Edna. Edna looks meaningfully at her for a moment and then says: Elasitigirl takes another breath and focuses. She has this. She is ready to begin the rescue mission And so the mission begins.... Main Quest: Be able to do a freestanding handstand Missions #1 Hold a freestanding handstand for 5 seconds/be able to repeat this feat 4 times DEX =4 Mission # 2 Practice morning and evening 5 times a week/keep track on chart- note the goal is to practice 2 times a day. However, if that doesn't happen I am allowed to make up session I may miss during the week 2nd note If my body is too tired to complete a practice I will do stretches and visualize myself doing an awesome handstand instead STA=3 Mission #3 Handstand prep work; frogger and scapular retraction 3 times a week STR=3 Life Goal;The heart, (and liver) of the matter In fall we bought 1/4 of a cow (in frozen beef form). We affectionately refer to her as Bessie. Sadly, most of Bessie is just a fond memory. We had eaten all of her-except the heart and liver and some other part, I'm not sure what it is. And I keep saying we will try it later. Well, the time is now. By the end of the challenge, I will have cooked and eaten all that remains of our cow. CON=5 .

I am still working on my "year to awesome." Some things have gone well, some have not. My biggest issue has been my diet. I have not made it a priority, so it keeps getting lost in the shuffle. So this round will be a full on emphasis on diet. As luck would have it, Lent is almost upon us, which gives me both a spiritual and physical reason to start a new diet lifestyle. I will do the following: Health and Fitness Observer the Whole 30 protocol during the days of Lent. This starts on Wednesday, March 5 and ends on Saturday, April 19. Yes, this is after the end of this challenge, but Lent is when Lent is . I will use the time between now and March 5 to do proper preparation. +2 STA, +2 CON, +1 CHR I will practice handstands for two minutes each day. +2 DEX, +2 STA I will add another day of pullups/pushups to my current weekly high intensity weight lifting routine. +2 STRPersonal Growth I will practice music at least five hours a week. split however it happens to fit. This must be at least two hours each of violin and mandolin playing. I have a recording project I would like to get done before the end of Easter (my parents would like a meditative recording of the rosary), so that should help with motivation. +2 WIS, +2 CHR

The Ranger Guild Leader looked at GoodDoug. It had been rough, but he could see that the half-ogre was better off than he had found him weeks ago. It was a hard decision to keep the half-ogre back and focus on simple training, but it had been worth it. He now loked to have the strength and discipline needed to see this to the end, whatever end there was. The efforts of the guilds was showing, the influence of the corruptor was being pushed back here in the North, but reports were coming in of more insidious threats down south. The ranger guild leader would have to head down there to try and push that back as well. But he knew that GoodDoug was the key to ending the Corruptor. "Follow your instincts, trace the source of the corruption in you to find the Corruptor. Then, do what you have to do." "I intend to. And thank you for the time and training. I'll need all the discipline I can muster." GoodDoug shouldered his gear, then took out and inspected his shiny sword. It seemed so long ago that he had joined the Rangers, he hoped they would want him back after this mission was done. GoodDoug headed off, he knew what he had to do. == I took last challenge off, I needed a break and knew that it would have been folly to try and do a 6 week program at that time. I think the break did me well. I know what I want to focus on... and focus is the key word here. Rather than try and do too much, I am going to focus on a couple of things I need to get better at. Diet: My diet didn't completely go to hell, but I have been allowing myself too many cheats. The holidays are never helpful, and I'm glad I was able to enjoy some of the treats, but it is time to knuckle down and do the right thing. I'm going full primal, aiming for 90% compliance most days. That means no grains or legumes. I also need to stop drinking so much sweetened coffee. That will be the hardest part. I will limit myself to only one cup per day of sweetened coffee. I can drink unsweetened... but only one can have my customary teaspoon of honey in it. Along with that I will do IF on days that I workout in the morning. That means not eating until after my morning workout on days I work out. Compliance is 90% primal 6 days out of the week (80% allowed on the 7th day to account for going into work) and not eating breakfast until after workout on days I workout. I will also use the scale to measure this. I know, the scale is evil, yadda-yadda. But it works for me. I want to see a positive change on the scale, getting back under 200# and under 23% body fat consistently by the end. That is completely doable. Think of it as using a tool of the Corruptor to fight Corruption's influence. Sta +2 Con +1 Wis +1 Cha +1 Discipline: During my hiatus, I did the 28 day headstand challenge. Having one thing to focus on every day really helped. This challenge, I will do headstand practice every day as well as plank practice every day. That means every day, hardhat style. I will get a calendar and mark off every day I do both. I will never miss two days in a row and will do it whether I have time or not. (but really, it should take 5 minutes so there is no excuse) Con +1 Wis +4 Dex +1 Maintenance: Rather than focus on working out, I want to focus on habits and diet. So I will have a simple and doable workout goal for this challenge. I will run twice a week and lift once a week. If I do more, great! But I will not do less. Str +2 Sta +2 Life goal: Many of you may know that I am an avid gardener... well, I was and want to be again. Last year I let myself get distracted and my garden didn't happen they way I wanted it to. This year I am going to do it right. I will check my seedlings and garden daily. I will also get my old beds torn out and new ones in by the end of the challenge. Success will be determined by having new beds in and having the kale, lettuce, spinach and beets I started this past weekend in the ground and thriving by the end of the challenge. Finally, I want to make sure that I keep up with all of my friends here in the Rebellion. I've gotten so much form all of you, I want to make sure I am giving back.

Main Quest This will be my third challenge on my "year to awesome" quest. I have made some progress toward the physical goals, more toward the life work goals. I have been very consistent about getting old projects done, furniture fixed and refinished, etc, but have still been neglecting my music a bit too much. My main area of work this challenge is getting my body fat percentage down. Short Term Quest Keep carb consumption down to 100g per day or less, subject to 80/20 rule. STA +2 CON +3 Drop an inch or more of waist size (currently 36.1"). CHA +2 Work on headstands at least four times per week. I still get dizzy when I try them and I need to get over this. STR +2 DEX +2Life Quest Publish some music, somewhere, and let this community know where. I currently have several projects in the works that could qualify for this. WIS +2 CHA +2

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of my favorite stories of all time and for my first NF Challenge, I want to invoke Aang and laugh at gravity. {For those who aren't familiar: The show was originally written for kids and aired on Nickelodeon, but it was so good much of the regular audience was made up of over 18s. My local bar in Brooklyn actually packed in a huge crowd when they played the final four-episode finale. The premise of this world is that there are four main superpowers in existence, and four separate nations or groups of people: The Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Special people from each can "bend" their own group's element. Fun fact: The bending styles are based closely on four Chinese martial arts, respectively: tai chi, hung gar, northern shoalin, and baguathang.} My friend and roommate, C, introduced me to this show the very same week she took me and our other roommate, L, to a medley martial arts class. We joked about what kind of bender we'd be and I was the last one to figure mine out. C already knew she was Waterbender (a natural at Tai Chi, sensitive, graceful) and after a few classes not even the giant dudes could knock L down, even though she's tiny. She's totally an Earthbender. It wasn't until we started using holds that I found I could escape almost any situation, particularly with spinning moves. I'm a goddamn Airbender. Fast forward a year, I'm no longer in New York (which makes me happy and sad at the same time) and no longer taking martial arts classes (which just makes me sad). I will again once I'm settled into a new city, but for now while I'm being a bit nomadic I have to do my Airbender training solo. And Airbending is a lot of acrobatics. In the past I've done exercise I didn't love: Running, swimming laps, lifting weights—along with (excessively) restricting food. It never works for long because eventually my resentment that I have to slog through it every single day outweighs the benefits and I start making rude hand gestures at the whole endeavor. The irony in all this is that the times I've been fittest in my life have been when I've done only the things I like. Mostly? Acrobatic, gravity defying stuff. Here on in I will no longer be dragging myself to a gym. I will no longer fight myself. I am going to do what I enjoy. I need to ditch the desire to be routine. Many people seem to take comfort in consistency and repetition. For me routines are shackles. So instead of trying to do a series of movements or circuits a certain number of times a week I'm going to learn specific tricks. Task 1 Upside down things 1: Learn to drop into a backbend. Aim to practice every day, with a minimum of four times a week. My starting count in an up-from-the-ground wheel is a max of 10 "mississippis" in this pose, I'll aim to stay up just a few longer than feels comfortable at the time and take a count at the middle and end of the challenge. 2: If I master drop-backs before the end of the challenge, I'll move on to practicing my crow/frog stand and bound headstand balance times. I'm currently at about 3 "mississippis" for each. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Strength: 2 Stamina: 1 Dexterity: 1 Task 2 Get bendy Splits are a mainstay of acrobats, ninjas, and basasses of all stripes, including Airbenders. And I want in. My starting yet-to-split measurements are right leg front: about 30 centimeters left leg front: about 30 centimeters horizontal: about 23 centimeters To get lower I'm going to do the following stretches (each for a total of at least five minutes) throughout the day as I take breaks from working and/or before bed: Forward bends Butterfly Pancake Pigeon with quad stretch Frog stretch Reclining Hero Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Strength: 1 Dexterity: 2 Task 3 Slash at the thyroid monster with food I have a bit of a tendency to restrict my eating when I want to see results and it's problematic, especially because I have a mostly-dead thyroid. In my early 20s (I'm in my late 20s now) while my thyroid was secretly doing the hereditary death-rumba, I found that to lose about a pound a month I had to workout at least an hour a day, seven days a week, and eat less than 1200 calories a day. I did this on and off for years until my thyroid totally died about a year ago and I gained at least 30 or 40 pounds in a couple of months while barely eating at all. It was awesome. Of course, once I got on the right thyroid medication and threw out the grains, things started to change without the need to starve and exercise to exhaustion. I promise to eat. I will eat when my stomach rumbles. EAT. EAT. EAT. Like Appa and Momo. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Constitution: 1 Life goal Fight the complacency beast I'm a freelancer, which means buckets of freedom, and that's great. But to get more (and more interesting) work I need to do some hard self-promotion including cold emails, and that blows. I'd rather bathe in leeches than "network" but I really like having a bed indoors, so I will spend five hours a week pursuing new work. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Charisma: 1 Wisdom: 1 Ready? Set? Yip yip!

Main Quest This will be my third challenge on my "year to awesome" quest. I have made some progress toward the physical goals, more toward the life work goals. I have been very consistent about getting old projects done, furniture fixed and refinished, etc, but have still been neglecting my music a bit too much. My main area of work this challenge is getting my body fat percentage down. Short Term Quest Keep carb consumption down to 100g per day or less, subject to 80/20 rule. STA +2 CON +3 Drop an inch or more of waist size (currently 36.1"). CHA +2 Work on headstands at least four times per week. I still get dizzy when I try them and I need to get over this. STR +2 DEX +2Life Quest Publish some music, somewhere, and let this community know where. I currently have several projects in the works that could qualify for this. WIS +2 CHA +2

I posted an early draft of my goals here http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/17809-challenge-goals-thread/page-12. But I have decided that for my first challenge ever it's much better to keep it simple especially in light of what's going on in my life right now. My wife has been in the hospital since last week due to early contractions (the baby isn't due until the end of May and she's only on her 33rd week of pregnancy) so I will have to juggle work, going to the hospital, taking care of our son, and this challenge. And once our daughter is born I will have to consider how much sleep I'm going to get and factor that in the challenge. A recent mild asthma attack (most probably exercise induced) also served as a reminder to me to balance pushing myself with taking care of myself. So here are my goals for my first challenge: 1. Strength and Stamina goals: Work on my strength and stamina using bodyweight exercises. I've been doing this already since last year but for this challenge I'm going to alternate between the Angry Birds Workout and the Konami Code Workout. My schedule will look something like this: Monday: Angry Birds Wednesday: Konami Friday: Angry Birds Monday: Konami Wednesday: Angry Birds Friday: Konami I tweaked the Angry Birds workout a little. Instead of bodyweight squats I'm going to work on pistol squats. I also added the wheel pose to complement the plank. For the Konami Code workout I'm going to do as many as I can in ten minutes, with the intention of slowly increasing the number of circuits I can do. STR +2 STA +2 2. Work on my headstand. In my draft I referred to this jokingly as the big SCARY YOGA POSE. Well, it's not so scary anymore. I managed finally to gather my courage yesterday and just kicked my legs up against the wall. (YEAH! RAAAH! ) I held them up for about a second before lowering them to the floor. My legs were not straight up though so I'm going to work on both the form and holding it longer. DEX +2 3. Healthy habits: a. Get as much sleep as I can (especially important when the baby is born) b. Limit coffee to one cup a day with no sugar, cream, or anything else added - goodbye cafe mocha for now. CON +2 WIS +1 4. Music: Spend one hour a day working on writing songs and learning covers. The songs I write don't have to be especially good and I don't have to write one song per hour - but I have to set the time to work on them even if it's just a few riffs or a few lyrics. WIS +1

I kinda blew my last challenge. Too much Christmas cheer. I enjoyed the food, but it's time to get back into the groove. My physical challenge is as follows: Execute Dr. Eades' Six Week Cure For the Middle Aged Middle. This is tailor made for me. I need to get rid of some fat and cannot tolerate lots of exercise due to joint issues. (STA2, CON2, WIS1) Do 10 pullups. My stretch goal is 20. If I manage to lose 10lbs, I may make it. My max in the past has been 7. I have been struggling with shoulder issues, but those seem to have resolved, so no excuses. (STR2, DEX1) Do a 2min yoga headstand. 30 years ago, I could do 3min. Now, I tend to get dizzy when inverted. I will take it slow, and see how far I can get. (STR1, DEX1, STA1, WIS1)My level up challenge: Learn two songs on my violin that require upper positions. I have been complacently playing folks songs in first position for decades. It is time to branch out. I have a great songbook of gypsy music, most of which requires upper positions. I will see how far I can get on Kalinka and Two Guitars, two popular numbers. (DEX1, WIS1, CHA2)