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Hello, fellow rebels I wanted to invite you to come join me on My Quest to Become She-Hulk! The second episode is up as well if you want to find out how my first week went! I would really appreciate any support you guys can offer and I hope that this series ends up adding some value to the community. Here goes nothing!

right. well. last challenge had its ups and downs [as is to be expected] but it ended with a catastrophic down. so i'm dusting myself off and trying again. pictured above is how i plan to deal with this challenge. long-term goal: 19% bodyfat i'm currently ~25% and i have been for quite a while. i joined Nerd Fitness in July of 2013. from then until now i have been trying to drop these last few pounds of fat. physically, there have been a few small changes [both forward progress as well as back-sliding]. mentally and emotionally, however, i am in a much better place than ever before. i think the kind of progress i've made is the most important, and i'm extremely thankful that i'm able to love myself the way i should, but these last 5 lbs are really starting to get on my nerves... 1. don't eat that shit! reprise - no sweets in the previous challenge, i tried to track my food every day and stay at a caloric deficit. it's a great idea in theory, and last year i probably could have done it, but my life has changed and i don't have the time or discipline that i used to. so i'm taking out the extra effort of recording every dang calorie and just cutting out sweets all together. no more guess-work. no more excuses. just results [i hope!] 2. do what you love - get up and move around 5 days/week i already have a habit of taking a brisk 15-30 minute walk every day at work, so that's a good start. i also meet up with a friend 2 times a week to jog [which, surprisingly, i am really starting to love!] but more than that, i have to re-commit myself to exercise. i've got a punching bag, rock climbing shoes, a bike, running shoes, a weighted vest, and lots of knowledge about bodyweight exercises. i always have fun working out. it's just making myself do it that's the hard part. 3. pen to paper - write 700 words/day, 5 days/week as you may or may not know, i have aspirations of becoming an author. during the last challenge, i finished my first book. now, i've started work on my second book [which will be the first in a series]. i need to write on this thing HARD, and i also need to publish the first book. i have a feeling it will need quite a bit of overhauling before i send it off to the press, which i don't even want to think about because i am just so done with that story, you know? anyway, it's something i have to do. i'm really proud of the work i've done so far. i know i can shine it up and make it even better, but it's hard. other things i want to do more of during this challenge: witchy things - Tiberius got me a whole bunch of spell ingredients and a freaking awesome Grimore for Christmas. plus i ordered a couple of wiccan almanacs for 2015 that have information about moon phases and herbs and all kinds of things. and on top of that, i did a lot of prepping this past fall so that i can have a garden this year. and having a garden means lots of green magic! so i'll read up on that, too. violin/dance - right now i'm half way through a pottery class [another (early) Christmas gift from Tiberius] but as soon as that's over, i'm going to either start violin or dance lessons. i've been wanting to learn both for years and years and i finally have enough money, so i'm going to do it. go to church - i grew up going to a typical non-demonimational Christian church, and i hated it. but my parents have started going to a really, really cool Mennonite church. whenever i've gone with them, i come home feeling full of wonderful peace and joy. so i think i should do more of that. i think peace and joy are good things to be full of.

I haven't been happy with my progress the last couple challenges, no excuses. It's time to double down and get back to basics. I'm going to focus on Lifting, Running, Hydrating, and Recording. Main Quest: a ) Finish this challenge as intended. b ) Under 200 Lbs by 30th birthday (12/04/14) Mini Quests: 1. Workout more frequently [sTR +3] [DEX +2] 6am workouts alternating with running & lifting. Angry birds workout with added dumbbell workouts. Success is dependent on getting to bed early. A = 5 workouts B = 4 workouts C = 3 workouts D = 2 workouts F = <2 workouts 2. Hydrate [WIS +1] [CON +3] Drink 1+ Liters of water each day. Cut out all juice, booze, creamer. Coffee & Tea are permitted, but no more than 2 per day. A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days 3. Record Keeping [WIS +2] [CON +1] Track food/drink on MFP A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days 4. Clean house [CON +1] [WIS +2] All dishes done before bed + 15 minutes of clutter clean up. A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days Starting Stats Weight Waist Hips Chest Biceps Legs Calves Neck

Handbook for Applied Superheroics Chapter 2: Getting Big As Fudge So now you're on your path to super strength, and you feel like you're ready to handle anything the bad guys might throw at you. Time to learn an important trick of the superhero trade (it's a secret, so don't tell anyone!) Most times, the easiest way to win the fight is to stop it before it starts. Intimidation is essential in making your job easier, and nothing is more intimidating than having gigantic muscles. When starting your life as a superhero, it is easy to focus so much on developing your powers that you forget one of the most important parts of the superhero health plan. If you don't look like a superhero, you're not going to make it in the long haul. Nobody will take you seriously when your spandex is hanging off you like a baggy t-shirt. This chapter will focus specifically on crafting a superhero physique. To achieve this, we'll be focusing on high Time Under Tension (TUT) lifting, proper diet, and proper rest. As a basis, we'll follow the minimalist approach of Occam's Protocol (from The Four Hour Body). In this six week period, we'll be adding 5 pounds (minimum) of muscle, and reducing bodyfat by 8%. The procedure will be as follows: 1.) Each workout will consist of two compound lifts (Pull Down/Shoulder Press and Bench Press/Leg Press), performed at a 5/5 pace for one set to failure. Each session will increase weight by 10 pounds or 10% (whichever is less). Afterwords, minimum assistance work may be performed) 2.) Focus on increasing rest as much as possible. In addition to trying to maintain a proper sleep schedule, we'll also be increasing amount of recovery time between lifting sessions as the program progresses (starting with 2 days rest, then adding an extra day as gains progress) 3.) Getting the proper nutrients is important. Last challenge we maintained a minimum of 2600 calories a day. This will continue for 4 weeks. The last 2 weeks of the challenge will change over to a cutting plan to reduce body fat. Life Goal: QUIT SMOKING! Each week, we'll be cutting back the smoking in increments until finally having no tobacco products on week 6 Current rankings: Bodyweight (pounds) - 158 Waist (inches) - 34.35 Bodyfat (percentages) - 19.469 Fat (pounds) - 30.76102 Lean Mass (pounds) - 127.23898 Good luck, Cadet!