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Jackdaw gets fit Ok, so finally I am gonna focus on what this forum was designed for: fitness! My main goal is pain relief, getting back in shape after injury and working on my posture. Exercise three times a day (15 min) I am gonna do Liebscher Bracht routine. It is focused on pain relief and improving mobility, but actually it is quite strengthening too, my core was super sore after the first few workouts. Stretch throughout a day Bracht has lots of one-two minutes exercises while standing, so I wanna implement it into my day. Besides I am gonna report about other fun things I am into recently. These days I am totally hardcore about learning Morse Code. I am already fluent with the alphabet. I am excellent at sending, but not so great at receiving. It’s very hard. My brain just doesn’t catch up with noting the sounds. I am working on it every day. I am practising with an Indian soldier (My life is interesting, huh?) I met on an app for learning Morse. Many people all over the world message there in Morse. It’s really cool. For quite some time, I’ve been fascinated about making electronic gadgets and had thought about trying it myself, but I never had time for it. I don’t need to learn German anymore, so I think it’s time for developing some new hobbies. I’ve got my eye on a an electronics course (together with tool kit) for beginners, so that’s what I am gonna do after we move - learn basic electronics and learn how to make the most primitive circuits. I am totally excited about it. It’s my dream to make a simple robot (one day) and a toy car. I am also searching for a new job. It hate the idea of working again. I’d like to stay home and learn stuff I am interested in forever. But on the other hand, if I work, it gives me lots of satisfaction I can feed myself. So quite conflicted here. In the last four months I moved four times. We’re just about to move again. We’re both jobless and the euro currency is bleeding our pocket quickly. I am having a job interview in a field I have no idea about (logistics) but they want someone who speaks Polish, English, Chinese and German fluently, so they invited me over. Life has been like standing on the edge of a precipice with one idea what is down there when I jump. Because of my anxiety disorder, I hate that situation, but in some perverse way, I love it too. I love life to be like an action movie. My new morning routine: 1. Get up early 2. Coffee & morning reading/writing diary in Chinese 3. A walk in a park 4. Job search/interview preparation 5. Morse Code practise

My Venom themed challenge brought some very positive results. I am definitely gonna come back to it. But as I am jobless right now and I don’t experience any anxiety at home, I decided to make a different challenge this month. Lara Croft is my favourite childhood heroine, I always loved her and admired her, I think she also shaped the kind of person I’ve become. So here we go, Tomb Raider challenge! The adventure ends in ground slipping from under Lara’s feet, walls falling down and great explosions, as it usually does. Lara comes back home to Croft manor, but she is injured and it will take time to recover and get enough information to embark on a new journey. It’s all right - she has been through worse things. Croft manor has lots to offer; spacious rooms, the garden, swimming pool, training ground, rooms filled with books and treasures. Let’s make a cup of tea and explore! 1) Don’t forget the first aid kit As most of you already know, I am injured. I must focus on these things to recover: wear a corset, spend most time lying or walking (no sitting or standing), do core strengthening exercises. 2) Unravel the past I’ve always been interested in history, but never really had time to learn it, so that’s something I want to focus on now. If you watched any interesting documentaries or read books, feel free to recommend me something 3) Decode the inscriptions Reading Chinese is almost like reading hieroglyphs, maybe that’s why it makes me so excited. Recently I discovered I can finally read novels, so that’s the plan - read more in Chinese and try to improve. 4) Work out The only thing I can do now is swimming. I am planning to upgrade my training and try to build muscle at the pool if it doesn’t hurt me. I already have a few ideas, I’ll see how it goes. I am also more and more convinced to take swimming classes to learn a proper technique. That’s it! Let’s get it started!

Over the past few challenges, I have become more energetic and my life is finally getting in order again. Unfortunately, I'm now suffering a groin/hip injury due to poor running-technique. Since I have no idea how much exercise I will be able to do in the next few weeks, I will focus on flexibility. Long term goal: Feel more energetic again and move with ease. Challenge goal: - recover from running injury - improve squat "stretch" and prone knee-to-chest stretch - maintain yoga, cleaning and clarinet habits Quests: 1. Daily physical therapy exercises 2. Daily Focused Flexibility exercises 3. Yoga 3x a week L1. Play the clarinet 3x a week L2. 15 minutes of chores 3x a week There will be one week where I'll be on holiday, then I'll skip the yoga, clarinet and chores. I will try to keep up the climbing and will possibly do some strength-training or running, we'll see. This week is to settle in, and next week I will really start this challenge .

Hiiiii, I’m coming to play with you guys for as long as I’m not running due to this strained, tweaked, torn, or whatever business in my foot (walking and cycling are ok, thank goodness, but apparently jumping jacks and similar movements are Bad News Bears). I see a few familiar faces...for those who aren’t and who like intros, I’m Radost, a child care professional & teacher in my mid-30s from the west coast of Canada. Geekery-wise, my main jam is fibre arts, but I love board games, tabletop rpgs, and video games. I used to love reading sci-fi and fantasy too, but as a feminist who has started reading more Literature, I find it’s rare that books in the genre meet my standards these days (open to recommendations, though!). Fitness-wise, I love to run but I’ve been working on adding strength training and yoga to my routine, and that’s where my focus remains for as long as my foot gives me trouble. Here’s what I have planned for the upcoming challenge: Diet: For workday snacks, I get 7 points per week. Things that are worth a point: packaged snacks of 150 cal or less (e.g. granola bar); single large baked good (e. g. donut); up to 3 small baked goods (e.g. my homemade cookies), chocolates, or candies; sugary coffee drinks. This should do a good job of limiting my sugar intake a bit more than the last challenge while also giving me more flexibility. And I think that’s all I’m going to focus on for diet this time. Fitness: work out 3x/week - pass will be 84% One workout weekly that is 30+ minutes - pass will be 75% Stretch five minutes 5x/week - pass will be 80% - this is my primary line of defense versus the aforementioned Bad News Bears. I admit that I haven’t seen a doctor about my foot but the stretches the internet and my massage therapist recommended are not helping, don’t even seem to touch the affected area, so I’m going to keep delving into various leg and foot stretches until I find the right ones. Life: Gardening: weekly for 30+ minutes - pass will be 75% Cross-crafting: fit in one of my neglected crafts (sewing, spinning, cross-stitching) or a wip I haven’t touched in over a year every week (minimum time commitment 15 minutes) - pass will be 75%

HI everyone, I've been a runner for 5 years now and found your site while trying to Google and get some advice. I injured one of my abdominal muscles pretty bad a week ago. Should have stopped running but pushed threw it and ran a hard set for an hour and really messed myself up. Stupid, I know. I waited a day and then ran and it started to hurt right away so I quit after 5 minutes. I'm now waiting a week before I try again. The injury is in the front of my abdomen below my belt. It's the muscle you would use to raise your feet from the floor if you were on your back. It only hurts when I run or if I move in a certain way. It's a dull pain at first but was really painful after a while last week. I haven't been doing any core training at all. Someone suggested planking would help strengthen my core and not aggravate the injury. I tried it last night with some other variations I can't explain but you do on the floor. Today I feel a little sore but nothing you wouldn't feel after a set. What you you guys think?

This round my challenge is going to be fewer so I stop beating myself up for what I don't get done and can be more adaptable to the needs of family as Christmas approaches. My main challenge for this round: Continue my yoga streak. Today is day 331. Since January 4, 2016, I have been doing yoga every day without missing a single day. While this is quite an accomplishment on its own, I managed to do it through ACL surgery and ankle troubles. Since April I have had no use to very limited use of my left leg. Yesterday, I almost tossed the streak out the window because I found out that there is a strong possibility that I may need foot surgery (PTTD and "rearrangement of my foot"). As I type, I'm on crutches and can't put any weight on my foot because I have a torn tendon in my ankle. What's the point in continuing my yoga streak if I'm bored with the few videos I have found and feel extremely discouraged about what the future holds? This evening, I had a EUREKA! moment thanks to a guy who continued his yoga practice with a broken femur. https://youtu.be/OBNPAEQ2Kak The video showed me how to adapt some of my favorite yoga sequences without putting weight on my leg. I did a test run this evening and couldn't keep from grinning. So my yoga streak continues. My goal is to get 365 days of not missing a single day of practice. Care to join me for the last stretch? My side challenges: Swim when I can. At this point, if I can get once a week I'll be happy. My mom is dying of an incurable form of ovarian cancer and I find pool time is hard to squeeze in because I'm at my parents' house a lot more frequently these days. Edit my novel. Since I can't walk without crutches I may as well take advantage of the sitting around time and continue to edit my novel. I'm about halfway done. If I can get at least 3 hours a week logged my goal is a success. I would be super happy if I could have it completed by December 31, but because of the other things happening in my life I don't need any more pressure. Keep up with other NF threads. I'm bummed I've fallen behind the past few rounds. Yes, I know I have good reasons, but I really enjoy the community. So this round, I'll give myself permission to be more social.

I decided that March needed a mentally strong month for me. I will likely be limited physically due to my knee/ankle injury and it will take a high level of mental fortitude to keep my spirits positive, clean up my food choices and exercise as much as possible give my physical limitations. Jean Grey (aka: Phoenix) is one of the most powerful mutants through her powers of telepathy and telekinisis. Also she absorbs the Phoenix Force that renders her even more powerful with crazy amazing abilities. I am going to focus on the two original power of Jean Grey with the end focus of being reborn through the trials of fire (surgery or nasty PT for the knee) to be reborn into a new and powerful me! Telepathy – I will use the power of my mind in many ways!!! 1. I will use the power of Telepathic manipulation to perform Personality Alteration on myself. EACH and EVERY post to this challenge thread will have three bulleted points of gratitude. If you see a post from me with out these bullets call me out!!!! a. A family gratitude b. A personal gratitude c. A wildcard gratitude 2. I will use the a Telepathic Defense and Psionic Shield to protect me from poor decisions and peer pressure (including from my own family) when it comes to the food choices that I make this month. I need to eat paleo for my health and eating healthy for me will improve my chances of a quick recovery. Clean paleo eating is a must for me right now. And here is what I need to do to clean it up: a. Get rid of the dairy/cheese. This has been a stress food for me lately and I just need to get it out of my diet. Its in the house because other b. On occasion I eat corn or rice, but they have gotten too frequent and the impact is not good. So no grains at all this challenge! c. Veggies have been lacking lately so I will increase my veggie intake this challenge. d. Potatoes, while arguably paleo, are a comfort food to me and I need to minimize my intake of them. So one potato serving per week (I’ll use this as a treat) Telekinisis – I will use my mind to move the things that I can! 1. I plan on maintaining my attendance in the BJJ classes this month. a. It part because my attending class will keep my family (especially the hubby) moving and attending classes. b. I will also participate in BJJ as much as I can. I might not be able to do much while protecting the knee/ankle but I can do stuff. Professor wants me to keep attending and is willing to help me work on skills that stay away from my injury. c. Conditioning classes often include working on abs and upper body strength with free weights and I can still do these things. So attendance in these classes will continue. 2. I will also make an effort to make things in my spare time. Once I week I will get down to my craft room and do something productive. a. The room still needs some cleaning… b. The weekend of March 18-20 my girls and I are planning on doing lots of work for the cruise gifts that we are making for our summer vacation… If I need it I will ask for my sewing machine to be brought upstairs for easy access… In the end I will channel the energy and power of the Phoenix Force to rebuild myself and come out of this setback a stronger and more resilient superhero!!! Below is a selective excerpt from http://x-men.wikia.com/wiki/Jean_Grey on Jean Grey’s powers. Telepathy: She can manipulate and control the minds of others and even higher order animals within a vast, potentially limitless radius. Her notable powers include: Telepathic Defense: She can manifest her telepathy in a number of defensive ways. Psionic Shield: Ability to erect a psychic shield for protection of herself and of others minds. Telepathic Illusions: She can create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring. Telepathic Manipulation: She can manipulate other people's minds easily, achieving a variety of effects. Mind Control: She can control the thoughts and actions of others. Personality Alteration: She can alter the minds of others by force of will, permanently changing their personality partially or entirely. Mental Paralysis: She can induce temporary mental or physical paralysis. Heal Trauma: The ability to erase a person’s memories and to heal mental trauma through “psychic surgery,†the power to stimulate or deaden the pain and pleasure centers in a persons brain. Mind Link: Ability to develop a mental link with any person which remains as a connection to that individual. Telekinesis : telekinetic abilities enable her to levitate herself or other objects, propel or manipulate them however she wishes, stimulate individual molecules to create heat, and generate concussive force or protective shields. It was later revealed that Phoenix had a secondary mutation. This mutation makes her the physical embodiment of the Phoenix Force; she and the Phoenix itself has stated that they are in fact one and the same being. The Phoenix powers are infinite. She is able to manipulate matter and energy on a sub-atomic scale, although there is substantial variation in the amount of power she has access to at any point based on her current health, mental blocks (natural or constructed - by herself or others), and sometimes for other more esoteric reasons. Phoenix Force Avatar: A cosmic entity which embodies creation and destruction, and derives its power from those yet unborn. Phoenix's body is permanently tied to the Phoenix Force as a nexus. Phoenix Force thinks of Jean Grey is its "host, body, and self." The Phoenix Force gives her vast psionic ability to manipulate time, space, matter, and energy for virtually any purpose. Phoenix (Jean) can also revive, absorb, re-channel and preserve any kind of life-form, since the Phoenix is the sum of all life-force. The Phoenix Force can significantly boost her mental abilities allowing her to rearrange matter at a molecular level, to fly unaided through space, create intense heat and thermal energy by stimulating molecular activity to create fire, flames, and concussive blasts. She can create fire under any condition, including while submerged, and she can manipulate thermal energy in her vicinity. She can also manipulate the voluntary and involuntary responses in the human body.

After being away from this forum for a month or so, I came back battered and sore. My achilles tendon is injured, I'm close to depression again and I don't feel very well in general, so it's time to start working on that again . In the long term, I want to be healthy, a good climber and strong enough for things like moving without having to worry about my body. I love exercise, climbing and yoga-like movements in particular . This challenge is going to be a short one for me, so I'm going to focus on recovery and trying out new things. I can't climb (or cycle there) with an injured achilles, which makes for an ideal time to experiment with upper body strength. Missions for this challenge 1. Injury recovery: strengthen my calves with calf raise progressions every day. Start with just flexing and stretching feet while sitting, go for 3x15 without pain. 2. Fun: complete the 7 day bad yogi challenge of Erin Motz. I've already done the first 3 days, so 4 to go! Make substitutions when my heel hurts. 3. Strength: do random sets of pull ups and push ups throughout the day (grease the groove) for a total of 75 pull ups and 300 push ups this challenge (ca. 5/20 per day) 4. Food: eat a meal with legumes every week. 2016 is the year of the bean, and they are delicious and healthy. I should eat them more! That's it for now, we'll see if my steps are small enough this time around .

Weight: I need to lose about 15 pounds to not be medically overweight, and would like to lose 30. I’ve also got a couple of injuries that I think would heal faster if I weighed less. From experience, I know that if I want to lose weight, I need to be tracking what I eat. Otherwise, it just slips my mind when I eat “just one†cookie or candy multiple times a day. “Just one†is fine. “Just five or ten†is not. I’d like to lose 2 pounds by the end of January. I’m at 164 now, with 42 inch hips Exercise: I’m recovering from a back injury and from persistent plantar fasciitis. I hurt my back in October, and reinjured it a little in November. It’s been healing well since then, but there’s still a ways to go. At my worst, I wasn’t even bending over to pick up silverware that I dropped because it was so painful. I can now bend over with only a little twinge, and stand up without upper body assistance a couple times before it starts hurting. It’s only slightly limiting now. The plantar fasciitis showed up last June, and for the first three months, consistently got worse. Then I got better about actually resting it and wearing good shoes. It’s been holding steadily bad ever since. I can walk a mile with only a little pain, but by the end of two miles, it hurts. That’s walking slowly. So the goal for January is to actually rest my foot as much as possible. No long walks because the weather is nice. No hiking. No testing if I can run. This will be hard, but I’m hoping it will let me heal by spring, when staying inactive is really miserable. Ironically, with the just the back injury, I could still do as much cardio as I wanted. With just the foot injury, I could still intensively lift weights. But with both, I need to be careful all around while I heal. Life: My most important goal is my life goal. I want to start my own business. I’m not to hung up on what that business does: I figure if I start at something I enjoy, I can tweak it as I get established. I like to read and write, so I’ve decided to start an editing and writing business. This has been lackadaisically in the works since October, but now it’s time to get serious. The goal for January: find at least one client. Ideas for finding clients Tell everyone what I’m doing. Find poorly written websites and product descriptions, and contact the site owners/product sellers. Find local businesses, and offer my services. This is hard because I work 9-5 in an office, so I don’t have time when these businesses are open. Challenges: I’ve got a fair amount of social anxiety. I find making phone calls very stressful. Using my phone is going to be the biggest challenge. I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know what works. I’m going to track who I contact, and how I contacted them on a spreadsheet. With any luck, I’ll be able to see what gets responses.

HELL WILL COME BEFORE YOU GROW! Indra Respawns This will be my first challenge since back surgery. I am excited and a little nervous. I have been doing nothing as I heal for so long and screwed myself up even more when I pushed too hard too fast before… The goal now is to find the happy medium. I need to get back to regular workouts but NOT push so hard that I hurt myself again. Sometimes we need to stop pushing at the wall in front of us. I want so bad to be back to the strong, confident, thin me that I keep trying to do what I could then…… but… I can’t. I keep pushing for it but all I am going to do right now is hurt myself. I need to start over. Sometimes backing up to your origin and taking a completely different path is necessary. I found this song and it really is what I need to do right now. https://youtu.be/PscXGpsF3dY Had to lose my way To know which road to take Trouble found me All I look forward Washed away by a wave I'm going back to my roots Another day, another door Another high, another low Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom I'm going back to my roots I know it’s gotta go like this, I know Hell will always come before you grow I have come from being severely obese to within 25lb of my goal weight I am back to being overweight. I know how to do this. I just need to go back to where I started and do it again. I was playing Tomb Raider the other day (because I’m obsessed with finding EVERYTHING and EVERY trophy before I will put a game away) and realized that this is exactly what Lara Croft had to do when she was shipwrecked on the island. She has nothing. Just her knowledge of what she had come there to do. Right now that is me. I have nothing to show for my two years of hard work. All I have right now is the knowledge of what worked before. I just need to back up. Stop playing head games with myself and get back to my roots. MAIN GOAL: To stop pushing against the wall of what I WAS, back up, and take a completely new path to lose 12-15lb in this challenge! Battle 1: Become the hunter. Lara only had certain food to survive. No junk food! I have had far too much crap/junk food. I gave in to pain eating when I was injured and that led to stress eating and I am DONE with that. Battle plan: I need to learn what sets me off. Are there places I need to avoid? Do certain situations lead me to binging? Find these triggers and eliminate them. Get back to the clean eating basics. I remember before macros and Fat Shredder and No Carb. I just ate good food. I knew that pizza, salty chips and deep fried crap was a definite no. I need to get back to that. Stop overcomplicating it. I know what not to eat.. Battle 2: Workouts. Body weight Basics Again. Back to basics. I have spent too much time trying to come up with all these fancy ways to get fit again. Join this, and do this, run this day and classes this day, join this group and make sure your at this event…… all this is doing is stressing me the F#$k out. That is NOT helping my stress eating. Back up… stop hitting a wall that will not break down. Go back to the beginning. Basic workouts in my house with basic equipment. Battle plan: Get back to 6 workouts a week and keep them simple. Go back to the beginning. Basic workouts in my house with basic equipment. Lara only had her body and a pick to get around during most of the game. I have a basic six week plan together. I have the workouts planned out. I just need to stop making excuses and get my butt up to do them. Not later today. Not next week. NOW! Battle 3: Remember the most effective way to lose weight. PORTION CONTROL! I let old habits come back in full when I was giving in to pain/stress eating. NO YOU DO NOT NEED SECONDS! Battle plan: Back to basics. Look at the serving size and follow it Lara could only carry so much gear with her and still be able to move quickly. I need to focus on the same. Food is fuel not feel goods. Stop thinking I have to have more. There will be plenty left for a chance to enjoy it again later. Why do I have this mentality that I need to eat it all right then and there or pile a ton on my plate to begin with? Life Quest: Life Battle 1: Finish Christmas gifts!! I have dragons and sprites and necklaces to make with chainmaille and I AM SO BEHIND! Battle plan: Work on projects for at least ½ hour a day on workdays and 1-2 hours on days off. I love homemade gifts for Christmas but I am ALWAYS floundering at the last second to get them done. I have some pretty intense projects planned this year. I know if I focus and really sit myself down to work on them that I still have plenty of time to get them done. Lara had to salvage gear around her to make things work out. I need to hunker down at base camp and get it done. Scoring: This time around I am not going to score myself. I want to concentrate on getting it done or not getting it done. I will be using the Daily Success app ( https://play.google....lysuccess&hl=en) on my phone to track daily progress to keep me accountable but I think I will keep it at that for now. No level up …. at least not numerically. ;}

I'm starting this challenge with only two weeks left in it. But since the other option is not starting at all for another month, I'm in. I need to lose weight. I’ve been suffering minor injury after minor injury this year. Nothing I can point to and say “This is because I’m 20 pounds overweight,†but being overweight is a risk factor in all of them. So fitness for the winter is strength training. Right now, it’s centering on physical therapy (PT) for my back and foot. (Plantar fasciitis and stupidly trying to lift a log). Exercise: Short term is recovery, not progress. Next challenge will hopefully be more about gaining significant strength. Spend 10-15 minutes in the morning and 10-15 minutes in the evening doing PT strength and stretch exercises (I’ve put this into a yoga routine). Extra credit for doing the stretches extra times during the day. Walk a minimum 5000 steps a day. Over 10,000 is better. Mark pain level/progress on a calendar.If my back stops hurting during basic motions, I’ll add more challenging yoga to the PT routine. If I can go 4 weeks without back pain, I’ll start doing weighted strength training with very low weights. Starting with body weight should help me avoid injuries early on. Diet: I want to lose about 30 pounds, long term. I know from experience that I can lose about 1 pound a week and still feel good. Since I’m also hoping to build a significant amount of muscle, I’m going to take waist, hip, thigh, and bust measurements once a month, and note how my clothes fit rather than rely on the scale. Record everything I eat. This doesn’t have to last forever, but I know that right now, I’m eating too many snacks and desserts on the “It’s just a little piece†basis. That logic falls down when you eat 5-10 sweets on the basis that each one is only about 100 calories. Set a general calorie goal. This is going to be more important than usual because I’m very limited in the amount of exercise I can do. My goal is 1200-1400 calories + exercise. I know that 1200 is sufficient if I’m really careful about eating lots of protein and nothing unhealthy. 1400 is an acknowledgement that I won’t be that careful every day, and I can still lose weight on 1400 calories. This goes hand in hand with recording everything.Life: I want to become a freelance writer/editor. I've always been an OK writer, and I've got a good eye for editing. I need to be better. Write about 500 words a day, or edit 1000-2000 words. Except Tuesdays. Casually look for people/businesses who could do with an editor. I want to be find at least one client by the end of the winter, so this is mostly a goal for the next challenge.

As the echoes of the ringing of the hammer died away, the tinkerer looked up from his anvil. Alas, the long days betrayed him; he had worked past dinnertime again. With no small degree of pride, he surveyed the completed stack of tools he'd created. This was by far the biggest order he'd ever taken and the task filled him with fulfillment. With slight hesitation he considered the work remaining - it added up to several month of solid work. The rays of the setting sun caught his eye as they fell on Firle Peak in the distance and the tinkerer sighed aloud. This was a hard life for an elf. He longed for the forest and the mountains yet the forge and anvil called his name every morning. Come summer, the tinkerer vowed to lay down the hammer for a fortnight and venture to Firle. He'd never climbed her summit and the bard in the tavern had told amazing stories of the climb and the tavern in the foothills. Indeed, much work remained. But he had an apprentice now. In the growing twilight, he took down a mold not used in a long time. A plan was beginning to form in his mind. This month is a crazy one at work. Many things are due on June 20th, a major construction project is starting up, and our operating permit requires new and difficult tasks. However, my crew is fantastic and motivated and I just hired a Project Manager for the construction project. I feel like all my work objectives can be met if I can anchor my life and focus on the important things. In climbing, a piton is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the rock with a hammer, and which acts as an anchor to protect the climber against the consequences of a fall, or to assist progress in aid climbing. -wikipedia (links included for wikipedia addicts like me) My plan is to anchor my busy work schedule around a pleasant and productive, but not crazy, home life. Fitness and being active really play into this as those are the elements which refresh me after 8 or 9 hours of keyboard pounding and phone wrangling. However, I don't want to be overly busy outside of work as rushing to have fun can be just as stressful as rushing to a meeting. Goal Number 1: Hamstring Rehab While my hamstring is improving after a minor tear last winter, things are still not normal. To work on this I have three options: Standard PT Workout - About 20 minutes of resistance bands and isolation exercises with stretching afterward.Bike and Stretch - Ride my bike at least 10 miles and stretch afterward.Run and Stretch - Run at least a mile and/or until leg is uncomfortable. Then stretch afterward. For all of these, stretching is required or it doesn't count. Goal Number 2: Strength Training This is an area where I have not tried very hard lately. In the past, I set a goal of 30% average improvement in bodyweight exercises over the challenge. This time I'm shooting for 15% improvement in all of the categories. My first two sessions I'll go for maximums and use the average of the two as a starting point. At some point in the last week I'll have my proving session. Categories include: -Pullups-Dips-Hanging Leg Raises on Hang Board (must raise feet to eye level)-L-Sits on Rings for time-Inverted rows on rings Goal Number 3: Social Running, Bike Transportation While I'm recovering my ability to run, it's a great opportunity to run with my wife and/or the dog. Usually neither of them will run as far or fast as I do but the tides have turned. Also, the City I work for is sponsoring a bike challenge event. The best way for my to accumulate miles is to bike to work. Over the challenge I want to accumulate 12 runs with either or both of my companions and 6 commutes. Accomplishing these tasks is OK for double dipping with Goal Number 1. I will add my goals here as I round them out. They will probably include biking, running, rock climbing, house projects, hamstring rehab, elevation training and/or bodyweight strength training. Goal Number 4: Climb Mt.Rainier (sort of) In August my wife and I are headed to Colorado to backpack with friends. (YAY). To thoroughly enjoy this we want to practice hiking uphill. We'll go hiking each week gaining a total of 14,409' of elevation. I'll bring along a GPS to keep track of the gain. Goal Number 5: Something Fun Stealing from Kyliewyotie here, I have lots of fun hobbies that I need to enjoy more regularly. Each week I will spend at least one evening or half of a weekend day enjoying an activity I love from the categories below. Overlapping with other goals is OK except the hiking goal. Yes, photo proof will be posted. -Backpacking-Rock Climbing-Kayaking-Mountaineering-Motorcycle Riding

These are my fingers after rock climbing today. Blood blisters from slipping off of a tiny, sharp hold. Typing isn't really fun at the moment. I'll be out of town for the weekend (hopefully) so I want to get this posted this week. I'm at a bit of a tricky spot where my fitness goals are really to put my training to work. I want to continue working out but I'm really more excited for some activities instead of more workouts. I've been really enjoying tracking things over that last few months and look forward to more of that. The attribute points aren't really doing much for me so I am going to table that idea for a while. Goal Number One - Putting the winter training to work. I really want to get out this spring and go rock climbing, hiking, kayaking, camping and/or mountaineering. This will be points based: Rock climbing will be based on completed pitches Top Rope Climb - 1 point Lead Sport Climb - 2 points Follow Trad Climb - 2 points Lead Trad Climb - 3 points Hiking is 1 point per mile Kayaking is 2 points per hour Camping is 5 points per night, 10 points for backpacking nights Mountaineering is 5 points for every 1000 feet climbed (either/or with hiking but not both) This will be graded on total points amassed. I'm not sure if this is ambitious or easy at this point. Points can always be adjusted to make it harder but I don't plan to adjust them down. Grading: 120 points - A, 80 points - B, 60 points - C, 40 points - D, <40 points - F Goal Number 2 - Do PT Every Day I tore my hamstring in January (which is why there is no running goal). It was mending but has slowed down. I'm just getting started with PT. I really want to get better so this is a priority. More so than any other strength training (which I have to remind myself). Grading: 90% - A, 85% - B, 80% - C, <80% - F Goal Number 3 - Zero Alcohol Pretty much what it says, no alcohol at all. If anyone wants to know more about this I'm happy to elaborate but here are the top three reasons I'm making this choice: decreased risk of causing trouble in life, decreased empty calories, grand experiment. Sips are OK to determine if someone is in fact drinking the best beer they have ever tasted. More than a sample sip is a fail. Grading: <1 drink - Pass, 1+ drinks - F Goal Number 4 - Core Workouts I want to keep this goal from last time. For both fitness and appearance reasons, I'd like to develop my core muscles. I'll do this workout twice per week for a total of 12 workouts with one "miss" allowed. I'll take progress pics to see how effective this is. As an added twist to last time, each week I must increase the difficulty of one or more of the base workout components. Initial Core Workout 1 min plank 1 min right side plank 1 min plank 1 min left side plank 1 min plank 3x15 second L-Sit on Rings 3x10 Crow Pushups Knee to Same Elbow 3x10 Crow Pushups Knee to Opposite Elbow 3x15 Pushups Grading: 11 Workouts - A, 9 Workouts - B, 7 Workouts - C, <7 - F Goal Number 5 - House Projects There are a lot of projects which need to be completed. My goal is to check four of these off of the list. New projects can be added to the list as long as they are necessary and of equal size. Install dishwasher Caulk/spackle window trim Paint gym Kitchen floor Kitchen/bathroom shelves framing Bathroom demo Kitchen/fridge wiring Gym/storage wiring Grading: 4+ projects - A, 3 projects - B, <3 projects - F

Greetings fellow Rangers! This is my first time on the forums and my first challenge, so this should be interesting. I'm a soon-to-be 30 year old female veterinarian (bonus points to anyone who can spot the name reference WITHOUT Google) who would probably fit in with the Dwarf race. I'm relatively short (5'4"), not too thin (135lbs.) but most of it is muscle (<20% bodyfat). My friends usually say that, though I'm smaller than them, they'd never want to pick a fight with me lol. I'm here because an injury has led to a need to pursue some cross-training. By nature I'm a weight-lifter and an endurance runner....*pause for the laughter at picturing a stocky, red-headed dwarf running for 10 miles with legs blurred like Marvin the Martian to die away*....but my right leg developed some serious tightness of the ilio-tibial band several months ago and my training is only just getting back on track. For the moment, though, my running is limited to only a couple of miles per day and legs weights down to 2/3 of what I normally lift, so I can feel my muscles getting squidgy. I know there are other exercises out there, I've just never really tried any of them and finding the motivation to do so has been a challenge. Hence why I am here, to push myself to branch out a little and build up my lost strength so I can once again tear through miles of trees and mud with reckless abandon. With that in mind, here is my plan of attack: 1). Go to the gym 4 mornings a week - without the ability to run for an hour every morning, I really need to utilize my gym membership more. The plan is to run there from home (about a mile), do 2x20min sessions on different machines (i.e. 20 minutes on the bike and 20 minutes on the rowing machine) or weight training, then run back home. So here's what a weekly schedule SHOULD look like (hopefully): M = 20min bike, 20min rowing T = 40min weight training W = off T = 20min rowing, 20min elliptical F = 40min weight training 2). Increase my protein intake gradually to reach 100g a day. If I want to build up muscle then I need to give it the proper building blocks and I've always struggled with protein intake (probably because meat is expensive), so I'm going to be looking at ways to gradually increase from my current intake (60-70g a day) up to 100g a day consistently. This will probably include protein shakes and lots of lentils, but any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. 3). Do at least 30min of yoga 5 nights a week. This is something I do occassionally now, but I'd like to make it a more permanent feature, as I love it and find it really increases my flexibility. There's no point in having all that muscle if it can only move 2 inches. My "level-up your life" goal is also something I've been wanting to do for ages but just lack the commitment to make it happen. I really want to learn basic Hindi, as I've been to India on a work placement and would really love to go back, and I've downloaded over 100 online recorded lessons that are only 10-15 minutes each, but as I said, finding the motivation after a day at work can be difficult. But for this 6 weeks, I'm going to push myself to go through 5 lessons a week, that's one each weeknight which is definitely achieveable. So that's my battle strategy to get myself from injury recovery to dashing demon in 6 weeks!!

Phew! I thought I'd missed the challenge. I have a habit of starting stuff up which doesn't stick, like checking NF forums, and then kicking myself when I miss out as a result! My goal for this challenge is to take part and complete it. Seriously, if I do just that for the duration of the challenge, I will be super happy with myself. OK, OK, some health goals. And some context. I had a snowboarding accident in February. YAY ICE. Kids, always wear a helmet. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't. This is why I am now a Cyborg (part-titanium!). Ahem. Prior to the accident I was really on a good track with Crossfit and supplemental work, but it wasn't structured, and I could really use a little more routine. I only started going back to Crossfit last week, so I am ramping up again and definitely feeling sore after workouts, so my plan is to not over-stretch myself but to set up habits gently. Starting point: 165lb, eat too much sugar but otherwise decent paleo/primal diet, 3 crossfit workouts a week and one yoga, want to improve my upper body strength and strength in general along with upper body mobility and posterior chain activation. Also want to buy a house next year so hubby & I are aggressively ramping up our savings. :] Oh, and in terms of hairy goals, I was just reading about Bronwyn and wondering... maybe I could compete in lifting? I could be strong. So here's the foundation for that. GOALS 1. Do mobility work EVERY DAY. 2. Complete a Whole May (strict paleo for the month of May) along with my Crossfit gym. 3. Two strength focused workouts per week. 4. Put $1000 into savings account by end of May. 5. Participate actively in NF six week challenge! :] PLAN Mobility - I am going to do a morning stretch before work, there's a really nice area I can go and do it outside with the lovely weather, will keep my ratty yoga mat in my car for this purpose. I als o plan to try out a new yoga class every week, my aim is to figure out a yoga class where the level/pace/instructor works for me (don't have that dialed in yet). Ideally one that doesn't cost money... Whole May - This should be doable, I've done Whole30 by myself before and with the gym doing it, I can't see too much trouble. I don't like giving up dairy, but I recently found my stomach cramping after cheese so cutting it out might be for the best. Strength - I think this is going to challenge me the most, I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings free so I plan to pick up Stronglifts or Starting Strength (I have the stronglifts app but prefer SS) and work through the program. I am going to allow myself to skip due to post-Crossfit soreness, and catch up at the weekend. The weight will be pretty light for a while so I think I will be ok without overstretching myself. Money money money - I will automatically direct money from every paycheck into savings -- and identify one thing to sell every week and put that money in savings too. $1000 is a big goal and I'll have to be mindful about my spending. Participation - I'm going to add a calendar reminder right now to log into NF. Maybe I can make a nice morning routine of doing my stretch and then hitting up NF to check in.