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This challenge is all about fine-tuning habits, breaking up large blocks into smaller modules, and building in agility. Previous challenges have a common theme -- I get into a groove, and then get interrupted. I find a good time for my workout...someone else thinks that's a great time for their meeting. I find a good staple for my lunch kit...someone else decides not to stock that item any more. I find a spot for meditation...someone else decides I look lonely and could use some company. The world is dynamic, so I have to be more agile. Another common thread in those past challenges is that I have tended to program in large blocks: workout once per day, eat twice per day, sleep x to y, meditate z amount of time. I've wanted to nail it all down. But that's what blows up, and worse...that's what I also get bored with. This time, we're breaking it into smaller bites. BODY Fuel: work toward macro balance and calorie targets. I've set my calorie intake to target BMR + workout calories, with an understanding that every single monitor overestimates workout calories. Still, I'll keep packing my early meal, logging both meals, and cutting off snacks 2 hours before bed. Hydrate properly! Work: Here's where the smaller pieces start. This time we'll try morning Pilates, so that lunch only needs the run (continuing the heart rate focused MAF routine, so these are easy runs). This will also give me two chances at getting something in, so interruptions won't necessarily cost me a whole day's workout. Mon-Tues, rest on Wed, Thu-Fri, recover on weekends. HEART Play: Work through the fretboard course on bass (I dug out the guidebook, so just need that 10-minute minimum 5x weekly). Do something for self-care twice weekly. I have sucked at this...working on it. Love: Mindful listening practice continues: look at the talking face! The second piece: respond to the emotional need in the talking, and not necessarily the concrete one. There are already a thousand little pieces to this one. SOUL Grow: This is another small-pieces area. I need to use pomodoro much more frequently, and with more intention. So: identify the daily task, and work on it with gentle intentionality during the pomodoro sessions. Pray: Continue daily meditation, but add in grounding at key times. A short list of such keys: before driving, before a meeting or phone call, before eating, before exercising. Again, many opportunities so that missing one long sit doesn't derail the intention. REST: Down by 10:00, up by 5:30. Eat restfully. Walk between pomodoros at work.

New life at springtime leads to a new long-term focus. I spent much of last year trying things on, rebuilding the habit of regular workouts, food consciousness, and intentionality in multiple areas. I feel that, especially over the past several weeks, I've landed on a road that I want to follow for a while. Here's the plan: BODY: Fuel: Continue focus on balancing macros and setting caloric intake for my target body composition. This involves packing lunch every day, cooking at home 5 days a week, and maintaining healthy hydration. We've decided to continue "Dry January," and I'm allllmost ready to drop another cup of coffee each day. Work: 45-minute heart rate run followed by 30-minute Pilates, 4x weekly on M-T & Th-F. Wednesday is full rest; Saturday and Sunday are 5k walks. HEART: Play: Bass practice for 15 minutes, at least 5 times weekly. 2 self-care activities each week. Love: Practice listening before speaking. I want to cultivate a practice of seeking 3 times to understand before speaking, unless waiting that long would make the conversation weird. Obviously this requires mindfulness, and I know it will be a growing edge, but I'll take it into meditation. SOUL: Grow: Study metta, stoicism, and other topics related to the above goals. This is primarily through Audible on my commute. The challenge part? Turn off NPR, and actually listen. Buy the paper book when I need to take notes, and then....take the notes. Pray: Metta meditation or contemplative prayer for 15 minutes every day. My cue is to sit after my morning water bottle and before my second cup of coffee. I remembered the cue today, but had an event disrupt the intention. Still, remembering the cue is telling me it's a good cue, so I'm going to stick with that intention. I'll also reserve the "just before sleep" window for a secondary window, with hopes to grow into twice daily sessions. REST: Honor the Wednesday rest day. Go to sleep by 10 (preferably earlier) (don't do the stupid crossword on the phone!). Relax while eating, and don't feed the face like it's dying. Off and running...see you on the mat!

Steve and friends: I am loving the academy and do not have a problem with leveling up via the honor system but it would also be fun to link to my garmin heart rate monitor and upload workouts as another way to level up. Just a thought on how to take the academy to the next level. Glenn

I've just started training for my first half marathon, it's in about 15 weeks in Birmingham in the UK. I'm a fairly fit 30 year old male, and I've run in the past but never beyond 10k in a race. I've got a Garmin 910XT, and I'm following their running plan, but I wondered if anyone with more experience could weigh in and let me know what they think of it? Personally after the first week, I've found I've practically been for 4 long walks (the easy/steady runs) because as soon as I started to put any effort in my heart rate shot up and I was told to slow down! For reference, my resting heart rate is around 55-60ish, but I can hit 190 on a run. It's the first time I've really trained for a run using heart rate as a measure, so I don't know if this is normal practise and in a few weeks I'll be laughing/crying, or if I should be pushing myself harder? Any other tips and tricks welcomed too!

Does anyone here train CrossFit with a heart rate monitor? I believe that I have been training too hard at CrossFit (lingering fatigue, heightened soreness, moodiness.) In my spare time, I've been reading a lot about lactic acid production (in regards to ATP production by cells during aerobic versus anaerobic exercise) and am really starting to grasp why aerobic is better (in general) than anaerobic work. This morning, I wore a HR monitor to see how things went and I think it gave me a clear indication that I'm spending far too much time on the anaerobic side of things in the longer WODS. For example, this morning's WOD was a 30 minute EMOM. Minute 1: 4 back squats @ 75% 1RM Minute 2: 8 Burpees Minute 3: 12 Ab Mat Situps. My aerobic threshold (after VO2 max testing) is about 157. I was at 170 by the end of the first set of back squats. I only recovered back below 157 four times in 30 minutes (for less than 30 seconds each occurrence) My max HR was 182. Obviously, I have no control over programming at my box. I basically have two choices on the days I show up for a WOD - the regular WOD and either the Endurance WOD. I also have no control over the coaches "pushing" me to go harder/faster. But, am I doing more harm than good by spending extended periods of time at these higher heart rates? Ultimately, I'm responsible for myself and my overall fitness. So, those of you that wear a HR monitor... Do you stop/break if you're above your aerobic threshold during a longer WOD? (I am primarily talking about longer WODs here, since I do understand the benefit of some anaerobic work -- but that those should be quicker WODS, like Fran, Grace, etc.)

I just bought a new heart rate monitor off Craigslist. It was still sealed in the box, and I paid $25! It is a very basic one--watch, stopwatch, heart rate, will warn me if I am above or below the range I set. Anyhow, as much as I would like to have one that tells me my calorie burn, I'm happy with this one. Anyhow, I got it Tuesday evening, and yesterday I did yoga, today body weight routine. Now, I know that you can't gauge your calorie burn with strength training based on heart rate (there are calculators online that you can use to put your average in to figure heart rate for aerobics plus your VOXmax if you know it). Anyhow, I decided to wear the HRM just for fun, to see what it put my heart rate as, and pretty much I was up in the anaerobic range the whole workout (as indicated by the watch's "beep beep"). Since I was doing a circuit routine, I never really stopped (other than maybe resting 10 seconds before push ups so that I would be able to get one or two extra reps in). I guess I'm supposed to be in the anaerobic threshold for strength training, right? Is it okay to sustain that heart rate level for half an hour (my workout takes about that long, not counting warm up and cool down). I understand that when doing HIIT, one would get the heart rate up there during the intense part, but it would come down during the rest movement, but this isn't HIIT--this is strength circuit training, basically. Now, here's another, somewhat related question. On days I don't do strength training, is it okay to do HIIT, or should I really just do cardio (ie, not get over 80% of my max heart rate) or something else less intense? I'm thinking of doing a HIIT-style walk/jog on Sunday for half an hour (preceded by a half-hour walk at probably 3 mph, so that I get a total of an hour workout--since Sunday's the only day I have my husband home to watch the kids while I work out). Do I really need to stay in my cardio zone for a "cardio" workout, whatever that may be? Someone, educate me!