Search the Community

Last challenge was my first since last fall, and was partly to help me get over the winter blues. This challenge I’m building on that and adding in music. Goals Fitness- Walk or take my bike to work every rain-free day. It's about a mile and a half, or 5-10 if I have extra time and take a long route for the fun of it. (+1 per day, +2 per longer ride) Run 3 or 4 C210k workouts a week. Running isn't my favorite, but it's convenient and I like being able to run. I’m on week 7 now. Also, I’m signed up for a half marathon in November. (+2 per 30 minutes) 10+ minutes of strength training every day, not including warmup. This will usually be half or all of Simple and Sinister kettlebell routine. Take the mountain bike onto trails at least twice a week. I'll also be looking for a group to ride with. (+2 per ride, +5 for finding a group) Cleaning- Last time, I gave myself the goal to set a timer for cleaning. It didn’t work very well, partly because I felt undirected. This time, I’m going to set myself an area and spend a minimum of 20 minutes a day until it’s acceptably clean. This is in addition to a required 10 or 15 minutes to maintain whatever I’ve already done. (+2 per area completed) List of areas: (To be taped to the front door.) Kitchen counters Kitchen cabinets Kitchen floor Living room shelves (by radiator) Living room shelves (by door) Living room furniture Living room floor Living room bike storage Living room workout area Bathroom cabinets Bathroom floor Bathroom shower/toilet/sink Hallway closet (high) Hallway closet (low) Bedroom shelves Bedroom floor Bedroom furniture Bedroom underbed Bedroom closet (high) Bedroom closet (low) Mending/alteration pile (30 pounds down = Badly fitting clothes!) Diet- Last challenge, I lost 1 pound. Could have been better, could have been worse. I'd like to lose 2 this challenge. Keep in the range of 1500-1700 calories a day, and track it in the LoseIt! app. (+1 per day) If I burn more than about 500 calories in exercise, eat back the extra. Starting weight: 141 (+2 per pound lost). Music- I’m signed up for a folk music camp in June, but I haven’t really played much since attending last year. As an extra challenge, I’m switching from my main instrument (fiddle) to flute (which was my main instrument 15 years ago) because my apartment’s walls are like paper and the flute is quieter. I’m less self-conscious about playing it, which means I actually practice it. Goals: Play at least 15 minutes a day. (+1 per day) Do 1-3 lessons from the Flute Basics class at the Online Academy of Irish Music per week. Number depends on difficulty. (+2 per lesson) Attend local Irish session. (+5 per session) Keeping track- I'll print out a calendar and note progress on it. (+1 per week) Bonus stuff- Bonus points for applying to jobs. +1 per application sent, +50 per job offer, +100 per good job offered and accepted. Budgeting. I’ve never had any trouble saving money, but I decided last week that as long as I’m in the habit of tracking my food, I may as well track my spending as well. +1 per week of tracking all spending in an app. This ties in with my cleaning goal because I’ve got a budget item for storage furniture so that I can actually keep my apartment looking nice. Sewing. It’s under cleaning as well, but I’ve got a big pile of clothes I’ve shrunk out of, but that I still like well enough that I don’t want to give them away. I need to start altering those so they fit.

I've been procrastinating and avoiding doing stuff, which is both the cause and the result of mild depression. I need to break that cycle, and nerdfitness has helped before. My main priority is to get back into a healthy routine where I'm taking care of myself. This means eating right, exercising regularly, and keeping my home clean and welcoming. All things I've been so-so at lately, especially keeping my apartment neat. Goals Fitness- One-off: Take my mountain bike into the shop, and make sure it's in good condition for trails. I've had this bike for years, but I just took a mountain bike course, and had so much fun that I want to get serious about it. While I'm there, I can buy fenders for my new road touring bike. (+5) Walk or take my bike to work every rainfree day. It's about a mile and a half, or 5-10 if I have extra time and take a long route for the fun of it. (+1 per day, +2 per longer ride) Run 3 or 4 C210k workouts a week. Running isn't my favorite, but it's convenient and I like being able to run. (+2 per 30 minutes) 20 minutes of Simple and Sinister (kettlebells) at least every other day. (+2 per workout) Take the mountain bike onto trails at least once a week. I'll also be looking for a group to ride with. (+3 per ride, +5 for finding a group) Cleaning- 1) Set a timer, and spend 20 minutes cleaning my apartment. Kitchen doesn't count, because I already do that consistently. This can be split into two 10 minute segments. (+1 per 10 minutes) 2) Donate or sell stuff I haven't used in the last year or two. (+2 per large bag donated) Diet- Track what I'm eating in the LoseIt! app. Everything, even the random nuts, m&ms, and pieces of fruit I keep sneaking. Starting weight: 142. (+1 per day, +2 per pound lost) Keeping track- I'll print out a calendar and note progress on it. (+1 per week) Other stuff- 1) Bonus points for writing a story I got halfway through a couple years ago. +4 per chapter completed. 2) Bonus points for applying to jobs. +1 per application sent, +50 per job offer, +100 per good job offered and accepted.

Well, life has been interesting. Got into a good grove working out with a coworker, start playing hockey in a local beer league, started playing with software defined radio, wrenching on a beater suburban, lots of goodness. Then I slowed down on working out with my co-workers, had excuses not to play hockey (Sunday night), and put on more weight than I needed. Oh, and let my housekeeping go to entropy. Goals and metrics are easy. Every day - one action against entropy to clean/improve the house. Sunday night - hockey - starting tonight. Strong lifts - squat, press deadlift, and squat, bench, power clean - alternate and lift twice a week. Walk the dog - if you don't patrol it you don't own it, and I plan to take to walk twice a day in the neighborhood and the open space near my house. Bonus points - maintain my beer fast for February. I am fasting from beer, not living on beer. Bonus points - get out of February at under 200 lbs. Bonus points - 1 March start the mustache. Robin Olds. Okay, this is a lame post, I must do better with funny pictures, that is my ultimate challenge this 4 week go. - Murphy's Roommate

So I'm still distilling the challenge down to its essence by simply bragging about what I did. I'll try to be better about telling you what I made for dinner.

Last challenge, I put something up, then never checked in again. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, but even just the act of writing this up helps keep me on track. Over October so far, I've lost almost 4 pounds, and continued to strength train. I've finished ZombiesRun!5k and I can do 3x8 negative pushups easily. When summer started I could do none without almost collapsing. Between training and losing 20 pounds, those have gotten much, much easier. My longest run is up to 4 miles, and I've got my second 5K on the 30th. My goal is to run 100% of the race. A secondary goal is to finish in 36 minutes. It's a hilly course, though, and while I practice running hills every week, they slow me down a lot. I've no longer got my easy "Attend 2 strength training classes per week" goal. My wonderful tiny gym is closing at the end of the month because one of the two owners got a job cross country, and the other owner is his wife. Instead, I plan to focus on running while that's still an option, then I'll figure out something else when everything ices over. Exercise goals: Running. I want to run 3 times a week, following Jeff Galloway's 30 minute 5K training program. Saturday or Sunday AM: sprints at the high school track. Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday: Mid pace 30 minute run. I'll probably use a modestly hilly route. Thursday/Friday: Long, slow run. No trails. Strength. I've gained a lot of strength over the last 5 months of twice a week strength and conditioning classes. I want to hold on to it. Improvement is nice, but not my main priority just now. Non-running days: Do Simple and Sinister kettlebell program, plus continue working towards unassisted pull-ups and full push-ups. Running days: Do S&S warm-up, followed by either S&S or pullups/pushups. Rehab: I twisted my ankle a few weeks ago, and am doing rehab exercises for it. Every day, without fail: (at least until Thanksgiving, probably longer) Mobility: Stretch calf. Trace alphabet with my foot, 1 to 3 times. Proprioception: Balance on each foot for 1 minute. Increase difficulty as needed by standing on rolled towel or closing eyes. Strength: push and pull exercises with the ankle and related muscles, and one legged squats. I've got a list. Rest days: Take rest days as needed. Probably 1-2 per week. Stay on pavement. Seriously, if I try to go hiking or trail-running before Thanksgiving, kick me in the ankle to remind me why I'm avoiding it. I keep hurting my ankle (mildly, but still) everytime I go at full speed on grass, much less on actual bad terrain. Diet Goals: Keep doing what I've been doing since June. I'm keeping a food diary and generally aiming to eat at a 200-500 calorie defecit. Life Goals: Apply to one job a week. Clean 10-30 minutes a day. Buy a couch? At least rearrange my apartment again.

Seriously, how do normal people do it? Ever since I've started my second job in august and have been working full time for the first time in my life, I'm in awe of people who manage to work a regular job and still find time to work out, pursue their interests, socialize, learn new stuff... when I get back from work, I'm just exhausted. I've been sleeping more than ever these past few weeks (and I've always needed more sleep than other people) and feel like working 150% more than before requires 150% more energy than I have. There were days when I got home and lay down on the couch for a while just to wake up 1,5 hours later, eat something and go to bed. Ugh. But, I will not let this new situation control my life. Partly because I don't want to believe that I'll only live on the weekends from now on, but also because I've come so far this last year with NF that I don't want to let all these gains and skills and experiences slip out of my hands, just because I work regular hours now. I want to get those free standing handstands. I want to learn crazy new yoga poses. I want to see my body change and get stronger and healthier every day. I want to get back at drawing and singing and also learn new stuff (calligraphy and brush lettering being very high on that list). I want to do things that I enjoy doing. Not that my new (or old) job isn't enjoyable, but I don't want it to be all I do with my life. Lately, I've let things slide. I stopped bullet journaling, stopped working out, gave up on my morning yoga practice, didn't eat as healthy (but managed to stay away from the fast food for the most part) and let my flat become a mess. This has got to stop. I'll take baby steps this time, little steps that I'll be able to stick to. I won't go over board and plan to do all the things (and some of you know how hard this is for me). Easy does it. For starters, I'll get back to my 3x15 plan that worked pretty well before the evil forces of working full time pulled me back into the Empire's grasp: Move. Learn. Tidy. 15 minutes of moving a day. I'll do yoga, go for a walk, run, bike, skate, swim or even do a workout if I feel up to it. Any kind of movement for the sake of movement counts. I'll do this because I know I feel better when I do. My lower back has been bothering me a bit lately and my knees are still not quite right, and I know that light movement helps. Yoga definitely helps. And I feel accomplished when I've finished my daily dosis of moving my body. I want to feel proud of my body and what it can do. So I'll move. 15 minutes of learning a day. I'm studying french on duolingo just because I feel like it (and I've been able to stick to that one thanks to morning commutes and mobile access), but I might also read stuff for work, practice existing skills or try out new ones. I want to always continue learning and growing. There are so many things to know and learn. And if I exercise my body I should not forget to exercise my brain. So I'll learn. 15 minutes of tidying a day. I have a list of housekeeping chores that need to be done to keep our flat clean and somewhat presentable. There have been a lot of arguments about this with my boyfriend but I know from experience that 15 minutes a day is enough to get my share of chores done and make both of us feel more relaxed and comfortable in our home. 15 minutes is a small price to pay for nice surroundings and peace of mind. So I'll tidy. I'll track these in my bullet journal. For further motivation (and because I'll never get anything done otherwise), my computer is OFF LIMITS until all three of these are done. If I decide I don't have 15 minutes for moving on any given day, that's fine, but then I' don't have time for facebook, either. If I manage to get these done 80% of the time, I'll reward myself with a new fancy water bottle that's lightweight enough to take with me. If I manage to get these done 95% of the time, I'll reward myself with a flex nib pen for calligraphy practice. Oh, and guys... I'm back!!

A druid challenge! My sport is a nice warrior/scout hybrid and my heart lies with all things assassins, but being one with nature and finding balance.. yes that sounds just right for this challenge Short introduction: (Hi!) I'm KB Girl, 28 years old and from the Netherlands. Kettlebellsport is my hobby and now also my work, I train people, coach my team and on the side I also tell them what to eat (I'm a dietician). My own career as an athlete was going pretty well, I won nationals in 2015 and placed 8th at the world championship that year. I had hoped to do even better this year, but that's kind of on hold because i'm growing a baby instead! Still placed 3th at nationals while 4 months pregnant, and I have big plans for 2017 This is me, doing my sport; The challenge: After rereading some NF blogposts I was reminded that I ought to stop collecting underpants and focus 98% of my attention on phase 2. So there will be no elaborate plan, no fancy scheme, not even a very smart scoring system... just dots. I will collect dots on three area's of interest and hope to end up with a huge pile of dots at the end of the challenge. Blue dots: Social Media Horror For our business (our gym + practice) I need to get our shit together and just post things on social media. Also the website needs an update, there need to be actual blogposts written.. Plenty to do, also plenty of ideas (and underpants).. Just need to get to doing it. This is a hard one for me and honestly i've been working on this for years. I'm getting better very slowly, but maybe it's time to get better faster. Pink dots: Taking Care of Self + Family Housekeeping is something i'm bad at.. as we've gotten more busy with the gym we eat home cooked meals less and less often.. since i'm tired all the time i've gone from training 5+ times a week to 1,5 or so.. dog needs more walks. All these things will earn dots. The pink dots are special to me because.. well, when this baby comes, I want to take good care of her, give her good examples, not have her live in dog hair. Orange dots: Special "Get Ready for Baby" Projects I've been collecting inspiration (aka underpants) for weeks/months now, and it is time to just get these things done. For example; - the upstairs rooms (including my own bedroom + babyroom) need new floors - perhaps some paint - we are moving the gym, we get keys on the 1st of september, so there is lots and lots to be done (we are moving because it has an office and it's far far more baby friendly)

I turn thirty this month. I've a mortgage, the Finch and I are expecting a baby. We're getting buying† a car from my parents. I am on the tipping point into Ætas Adulta, and out of the land of the carefree twenties. It turns out that my priorities have been a little askew. Not terribly much, and when I wasn't in school, it worked out fine. It was a little rockier after I started school but with all this freaking adulting happening, the skew is now causing a bit of strife. I'm also the worst at communication: I tend not to say what I'm thinking during Important Conversations™, for fear of making conflict worse. I'm pretty sure this started as a coping mechanism because when I get upset, my brain jams and often what I'm thinking is unfair or inflammatory, which by not voicing I don't step on anything. The problem is though when the not voicing itself it the stepping in anything. The next five and a half weeks are to prioritize housework and communication with the Finch. I do also need to keep up with my schoolwork, with this self-directed course that I'm taking. While I've started by filling out my Passion Planner for the week, I'm kinda at a loss for what to do for how to fill out chore lists, and then on top of that my mental tunnel-vision makes it difficult to look around the condo and seeing what needs to get done. Week -1: Try to pinpoint what can be done to improve accountability at home and improve communication. Then build the plan for the rest of the challenge. Challenge: Let's do a KISS challenge! Fill out the passion planner every Sunday for the week. Include some Unfrell Your Habitat time for everyday. Unfrell Your Habitat: do a little bit of house work every day. Particularly, because they're the worst: no bed until the dishes are clean. That way they don't pile up. Two outings a week with the Finch that's just us, even if it's just for a Pokéwalk † Since my parents already gifted so much for our down payment, they can't gift anymore without someone taking a big ding in taxes. So I'm purchasing my mother's Honda for a nominal fee to avoid that. It's still steeply discounted from the blue book value.

Goals: Fitness: I’m very happy with how my fitness goals have been going this year, so I’m only giving them minor tweaks. 1) Keep up the momentum. I’ve been doing 2 kettlebell strength training classes per week since February, and I’ve made a lot of progress. I want to keep doing that. Bonus points for doing an extra workout at home, or a third class. 2) Don’t drive unless it’s raining. I live 1.25 miles from work, or 1.5 miles if I avoid the busy road. That’s a 20-30 minute walk, a 12 minute bike ride, or an 8 minute drive. I want to bike or walk every day that it’s not raining, minimum 3 days per week. The second half of last challenge, I was trying to bike 2-3 times a week. The flexibility to choose between walking or biking will make it easier. 3) Start running again. I tested my foot hiking last Saturday, and was able to do a significant distance before I had any pain at all. I want to start running again. I’ll begin with 1-2 minutes, and try adding in 1-3 minutes per week. Diet: Back to Tracking. I’ve been slipping more and more, which means I need to go back to tracking and healthy cooking, and possibly clear out all the junk food that’s accumulated in my kitchen. 1) Track everything I eat for all of week 1. 2) Eat healthy: Macros: ~40-50% fats, 40-50% carbohydrates, 10-20% protein. No more than 50 g added sugar. At least 1 fruit or veggie per meal. Ideally 5-10 per day. Music: Learn fiddle tunes! I’ve had a writing goal all year and have had mixed success, mostly failing. I think the main problem is lack of energy after sitting in front of a computer all day at work, using my brain. So I’m mixing it up. I’m signed up for a music (fiddle) camp at the end June, and I am seriously out of practice. I need to get back into playing regularly. I’ve been to this camp before, and they mostly play Irish/Scottish/New England style music. I learned to play in Nevada, where the fiddlers play a mix of blue grass and Southern old time. I need to learn more tunes I can play with people here. 1) Play at least 10-15 minutes per day. 2) Learn 1 new fiddle tune per week, from Irish/Scottish repertoire, preferably tunes I’ve heard at jams. Week 1: The Silver Spear. 3) Go to the Saturday night Irish jam nearby. I can’t do this coming Saturday because I’m singing in a choral concert, but I can go on the 14th. Cleaning: I’ve been getting used to having an apartment that I can get acceptably clean for guests in half an hour instead of 2 hours. I’d like to improve it further. I also want to seriously rearrange my apartment and buy a new sofa if I can make the space for it. 1) Clean for at least 15 minutes a day (up from 10). 2) Set up the pegboard I bought in my kitchen. 3) Continue reorganizing, clearing out unused stuff, etc. Random Bits: Track My Progress: I kind of skipped this in April, which hurt me on the cleaning and writing. I need to put up a new tracking calendar for May, and fill it in with smileys and frowns for each goal. Post more often: I enjoy it when people post in my challenge thread, so I usually try to post on other peoples. Last challenge, I was only logging in about once a week. I want to spend 1-3 hours per week on the challenge forum, posting in other people’s threads and updating my own. Buy a dial timer: I’ve got a lot of goals that would benefit from this. I’ve been using my phone, but a dial is simpler to use.

This challenge, I am aiming to go back to basics. I'll be mimicking the challenge in a binder, so I can track myself off-line (which tends to be more successful). Fitness Challenges: 1) Track Food Eaten - Not looking for quantities here, more of an "Small Salad" type thing. The idea behind this is to start a focus on mindful eating. Also, trying to see if there are triggers for "junk" days or the "Oh-God-I'm-Starving" days. I typically hate food journals, so I'm trying to make this as minimally painless as possible. Minimum - 20 Days Total / 5 x week Good - 24 Days Total / 6 x week Best - 28 Days Total / 7 x week 2) Gym Recital! - In theory, I will be joining a gym at some point this month. Just waiting on a few things to align. In the mean time, I need to start getting myself dressed and moving as if I were going - there are some at home things I can do for now. The dry run. Once I get the membership, this will change to hitting the gym. Minimum - 8 Days Total / 2 x week Good - 12 Days Total / 3 x week Best - 16 Days Total / 4 x week Life Challenge: 1) Housekeeping - I focused on my kitchen sink last challenge. Now I am expanding a bit. I want to spend some time, every day doing house work chores. This includes making my son do some cleaning (dear god, the boy's room) most days. I'll let him get a little more slack than I'll allow myself but I need to get him used to it. The minute totals here are "extra" - for example, everyday I clean up dishes so those minutes don't count but if I spend time scrubbing the floors, that time will count. My home is lived in and I'm not looking for Home and Gardens but I want less clutter and stuff everywhere. Minimum - 10 minutes, 5 x week Good - 1.5 Hours Weekly Total (10 minutes min for 5 Days) - 1.5 hour cleaning session on a weekend does not count Best - 2 Hours Weekly Total These goals aren't crazy and they give me some room to make mistakes. They also give me a chance to start building in habits.

Introduction: Day 0 There's nothing out here but a wasteland of misery and destruction- and a shit-tonne of dust. I am weak, and ill-prepared. If I am to survive, I will need to find shelter- recover my health, and build my strength. I shield my bleary eyes and look up to where the sun lays, giant and aggressive at the crest of a cliff, it's unending shower of painful rays strangling out the last shreds of moisture from the choking landscape. I gaze so long I begin to see dots- dark smudges against the backdrop of fierce, fiery orange. Strangely still for a trick of the eyes. that is when I notice it is not a trick of my vision at all, but an actual, physical object. A shack, standing strong in the nothingness that surrounds it. It is ramshackle, it will surely need a great many repairs to fortify it, but it is there, and it is real. Shelter at last. Ashtree's 6 Week Challenge! My name is Tree, and this is my first 6 Week Challenge, and my theme is Post-Apocalyptic Shelter Repair! i.e- I'm gonna clean my garage and turn it into a dance studio/gym! My long-term goals are fitness and recreation based- in my youth I was a member of a scout-like club called "Pathfinders" and I did so much outdoorsy-fitnessy-healthy stuff, but I have since gone way off the rail. The past 10 years have been a struggle of fighting mental illness and fixing myself emotionally- now that I have it under control (not cured, but controlled) I want to rebuild myself into a greater version of who I was before. Nerd Fitness is how I hope to attain that! So, without further adieu, my 6 Week Challenge Goals: Main Goal 1: Clean the garage, turn it into a great studio for fitness. A good survivalist has priorities: Shelter is one of the highest. This is something I HAD to do anyway (the cleaning part) so why not make it a goal, amirite? To achieve this, I need to do the following things: Sort and organise camping equipment.Find containers or storage for gardening stuff- especially the fuel.Sweep the entire garage.Debug. Despider (move them outside nicely)Purchase and lay-down foam flooring.Purchase and set up new "studio mirror" (it's an old dresser with a giant mirror...)Set up curtain dividing storage space from studio space.Attach power source (no power at the moment)Purchase and set up punching bag and frame.Set up lighting. This goal will be graded based on how many of the items I complete- 10% per item. Main Goal 2: Swimming, at least Once a Week! A good survivalist makes use of accessible resources! Both of my housemates go to aqua-aerobics, and also just plain old swimming, twice a week. I'm not in the financial-space to pay for sessions, but there's no reason I can't go to the pool with them and just swim. I also live near beautiful beaches, with ocean baths- that are free. It's hitting summer here, so I should really make use of those. Grading wise, I'll assign 10% to each session, which means I *won't* be able to make 100% just by attending. The extra points can only be made by swimming laps while there (I tend to just...float and splash). 5% per lap. Main Goal 3: See Doctor, Create Weightloss Plan: A good survivalist takes care of their health: I am a fats. I have always been a fats. What I have not always been is unfit. As a child, I was involved in everything- camping, hiking, sports, orienteering, canoeing, band camp- if it was an optional activity on a sign-up sheet, I was there. Since mental illness took over in my late teens, I have neglected myself in a big way. I am no longer able to hike 25km in 2 days with a 15kg pack like I could when I was a teenager. That was something I loved doing and something I miss greatly- as you can see in my "goal bars" below, I want to- however long it takes- get back into the rough scrambler mode I once was, and hike a cumulative 100km with a pack. To get there, I need to get myself in shape- my pack belt doesn't even clip around my waist anymore. I don't know how much I weigh but it's more than conventional scales can display, so my only step for this goal so far is to see a doctor about my weight, make some plans, find out what I actually weigh and go from there. 100% just for seeing the doc on this one, because I have been putting it off a long long time. And now- just for fun- Side-goal: Just be a little bit tidier in general, geez Tree... A good survivalist is neat, tidy- with a solid working knowledge of their inventory. This one is easy- over the next few weeks of this challenge, I just need to progressively tidy up, get rid of stuff I don't need and organise what I do need. I'm about to start a course online, so I need to make sure my work-space is workable. I have to share that room with my housemates, and it's also where I feed my cat- so it *really* needs to be organised. As well as my room. And the bathroom- the sinks have standing water in them that need to be fixed too- I basically need to make this a livable environment. Grading? 50% for initial clean of whole house next week, 5% per "upkeep" job thereafter. I think that's everything covered now- WOO! LET THE APOCALYPSE BEGIN! -Tree

Challenge 04: Achaedia Does the Bare Minimum inspired by this. Achaedia crested the hill and looked out at the vista that lay before her. Glittering white sand, soft palm trees waving gently in the breeze, and beyond that: a brilliant aquamarine ocean. This would be a good place to rest, and not a moment too soon. The past months of mastering wind and water, enduring trial after trial, all had taken their toll. A measure of recovery was in order. She looked at the sky. The shadow of the dragon was faint, but there. It never entirely left. Still, surely a few weeks of rest wouldn't be remiss... 01. Achaedia moves to the beat. For this challenge, I will move every day. Whether I am using my rainy day flowchart, hitting the gym for some stronglifts, or going to gymnastics class, I will do at least something every day. A (+2 STR, +2 STA) - Something done 6+ Days/week B (+2 STR, +1 STA) - Something done 5+ days a week C (+2 STR) - Something done 4+ days/week D (+1 STR) - Something done 3+ days a week 02. Achaedia eats all the things. The first 4 weeks of this challenge, I will still be working. My plan is to pack lunch on the days I am working, both so that I will stay at work after the kids leave and get things, done, and so that I am eating well for at least that one meal (although frankly, breakfast is easy for me, so then it's just dinner that's full of danger). Weeks 1-4: 4+ packed lunches, eaten at work Weeks 5-6 are my weeks off! So because there will be no going to work, I am going to simply require that I track what I eat, and that I make thoughtful choices. For this one I will just give myself a score from 1-10 at the end of each day. A (+2 CON, +1 WIS) - All 4 weeks 1-4 passed; self-assessment score of 8+ B (+2 CON) - 3+ weeks 1-4 passed; self-assessment score of 7+ C (+1 CON) - 2+ weeks 1-4 passed; self-assessment score of 6+ 03. Achaedia gets some R&R. Two things I could do to make myself healthier would be to drink water, and to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Because it's about to be summer, I don't think sleep is the more immediate need. So I am going to focus on the hydration part, with a couple of bonus tasks. Bonus Task 1: Put up blackout curtains. +1 WIS. My bedroom has an east-facing window. This is going to become a bad thing very shortly. Enough said. Bonus Task 2: Iron Lady. +2 STR. Every time I go to the doctor, my blood iron levels are lower. So if I take my multivitamin 80% of days, I will be awarded these stat points. Main task: Hydration. +3 CON. I really don't drink a lot of water now (I have a weird aversion to water in a lot of situations :/) so this task will be graduated thusly. Week 1 - 20 oz/day Week 2 - 30 oz/day Week 3 - 40 oz/day Week 4 - 50 oz/day Week 5 - 60 oz/day Week 6 - 60 oz/day A week will be considered "passed" if I make my water goal at least 5 days. A (+3 CON) - 5 or 6 weeks passed B (+2 CON) - 4 weeks passed C (+1 CON) - 3 weeks passed 04. Achaedia combs the beach. I know that this is very important to me, but I don't know how to do it in a way that will help me build a habit while at the same time not setting me up for failure. So this time I am going to try to clean at least something every day. Throwing things away counts. Cleaning pee off the carpet counts. Doing a load of laundry counts. Surely I can do at least something every day, right? A (+2 CHA) - Something cleaned 80% of days or more C (+1 CHA) - Something cleaned 60-80% of days Pull-Up Challenge! If I manage to pull up my own body weight without assistance at some point during this challenge, I will be awarded an extra +4 STR, taken from my very first challenge! It's going to happen at some point! Maybe it will be during this challenge! Measurements & Photos: starting weight | 160.2 lbs dress size | 10 pants size | 12 shirt size | L chest | 39.5" waist | 33" hips | 43.5" arms L | 11" R | 11.5" thighs L | 23.5" R | 23.5" calves L | 12.75" R | 12.5" before photos Challenge tracking: There are a lot of things to track this time, so I will be using this form to record my progress

challenge 03: achaedia masters the elements book 2: water 01. Achaedia gets back up (+2 STR, +3 STA) A less than stellar challenge won't get me down. For this challenge, I am going to go back to basics: Lift weights at least 2x/week. These workouts will not pre-empt regular gymnastics or aerial workouts, but I want to be sure that I am supplementing my regular training with some good, old-fashioned lifting heavy things. A: 12 weight-lifting sessions (2x/week) (STR, 3 STA) B: 9-11 weight-lifting sessions (2 STR, 1 STA) C: 6-8 weight-lifting sessions (2 STR) F: less than 6 weight-lifting sessions (nada) 02. Achaedia takes the plunge (+2 CHA, +2 DEX) Starting on the 14th of this month, I will be taking aerial silks once a week. Trying new things is scary D: but if anything will help my pull-up challenge, it's lifting my body weight by pulling on a piece of cloth suspended from the ceiling... Also I am going to continue practicing pull-ups at home (on days when I have not done aerial or shoulder prehab). A: 5 aerial sessions attended & 90 pull-ups done (+2 CHA, +2 DEX) B: 4 aerial sessions attended & 75-89 pull-ups done (+1 CHA, +2 DEX) C: 3 aerial sessions attended and 60-74 pull-ups done (+1 DEX) F: Less than 3 aerial sessions attended; 59 or fewer pull-ups done (nada) Bonus: If an unassisted pull-up is accomplished during this challenge, a balance of +4 STR (taken from my previous challenge) will be awarded. Achaedia packs it in (+3 CON) This is going to be a graduated challenge. Week 1: Pack lunch 2 times. Week 2: Pack lunch 2 times. Week 3: Pack lunch 3 times. Week 4: Pack lunch 3 times. Week 5: Pack lunch 4 times. Week 6: Pack lunch 5 times. Meals from a box don't count. All lunches need to be nutritious and contain a minimum of processed food. A: Pass 6 weeks (+3 CON) B: Pass 4 or 5 weeks (+2 CON) C: Pass 3 weeks (+ CON) F: Pass less than 3 weeks. 04. Life quest: Achaedia cleans house (+1 CHA, +2 WIS) Cleaning is not one of my strong suits. For this challenge, I am going to keep it simple: take out the trash. That's it. Recycling counts. Bathroom trash counts. Anything that I remove from my house that causes my house to be a cleaner place simply with its absence will count toward this goal. A: Trash taken out 5+ days a week/avg (+1 CHA, +2 WIS) B: Trash taken out 4+ days a week/avg (+1 CHA, +1 WIS) C: Trash taken out 3+ days a week/avg (+1 WIS) F: Trash taken out fewer than 3 days a week (ew) Starting Measurements: Weight | 161.7 lbs