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Fourth Challenge [ January 14th – February 23th ] (I know that's not right, but for me it is Initiate Trials Where I came from... Where I went to after this.... BACKGROUND STORY William Waldgeist left the chamber with a smile on his face. He'd just finished the last part of his trial of the Force successfully. He didn't know it, because the examiners had told him. They were forbidden to do so, but each time the youngling had felt a spark of achievement. Others of his friends, who had done this trial before, had on occasion had the same feeling. On one side this made Bill happy, but on the other side it made him anxious. Younglings who were strong in the force were considered to be needed an even more harsh evaluation in the other two trials! --------------------------- High over the constant noise of Coruscant there was just silence when the High Council of the Jedi Order started it's session. Master Verra rose to give the other members of the council an overview over the first parts of this year's initiate trials to discuss how they should proceed. There was little disagreement and no open controversy, until she reached the end of the list: "William Waldgeist, Katarn Clan, youngling here at Coruscant. Finished with the trial of the Force, halfway through his trial of Knowledge, not started the trial of Self-Discipline yet." "He passed the trial of the Force with flying colors, all examiners - including myself - were deeply impressed by his immersion in and manipulation of the Force", Master Kil'Noan added solemnly, "now I know, why you have been so adamant about this boy, Grand Master!" Before Yoda could answer, fellow Jedi Master Sandrin Grell cut him off: "Great power leads to over-confidence and arrogance, which is an open pathway to the dark side! Can we be sure, that there is enough wisdom and self-discipline in him to balance that out?" Master Verra consulted his notes, before she answered: "His trial of Knowledge is going well so far, he is ahead of his peers. So, there is enough reason to believe that there will be wisdom to balance out his powers one day." "It will still depend on how this trial ends...", Grell stated, "he could still fail!" "And there is then the matter of his trial of self-discipline, of course", Yoda interjected, "this the crucial one will be! Not an ordinary trial but a rigorous one it should be." "I agree", Master Grell said a little surprised. The other council members signaled their consent, which Master Verra recorded in her trials notes. -------------------------------------------------- MAIN QUEST – Passing the Trial of Self-Discipline Goal 1 : Meditate and Fast (+2 CHA/+2 CON) Fasting as in intermittent fasting, I might experiment a little with different variants this time, though. Meditating as in I don't know yet. ;-) But I experienced a LOT of stress in the last months generally and the last two weeks especially. Technically the stress period isn't over, but things slowed down a little bit again. I want to use that time, to clear my mind and figure out some stuff about the future course of my life. Also, there has always been something on my mind (usually negative) and Grading: A - 6 weeks of IF + at least 35 daily meditations B - 5 weeks of IF + at least 29 daily meditations C - 4 weeks of IF + at least 24 daily meditations D - 3 weeks of IF + at least 20 daily meditations F - less than 3 weeks of IF + less than 20 daily meditations Goal 2 : Walk through middle earth (+3 STA) I saw this at ApfelStrudis last challenge and I had to copy it. Although since I saw The Hobbit last (and I actually read the complete book compared to LOTR); and that book comes chronologically first - I'll do the journey towards Erebor. Well, techically Rivendell comes first anyway. And I have no idea, how far I'll come anyway, but the following is an educated guess. Grading: A+ - Reaching the Trolls A - Reaching Weathertop B - Reach Midgewater Marshes C - Reach The Forsaken Inn D - Reach Bree/The Prancing Pony F - Not leaving the Shire Goal 3 : Hand-Standing and stuff (+1 STR/+1 DEX) Meaning not only handstands, but everything where I need to hold my own weight through my hands. Including especially crow stands and related stuff, since I managed to learn those (for a few seconds anyway) last challenge. If I can get access to paralletes or rings, that would count for this goal, too. Grading: Consistency measuring A - 35 days B - 29 days C - 24 days D - 20 days F - less than 20 days Basic life : Work out and eat right This is not a goal, there won't be any stats awarded for this. But I want to track it anyway. This is the essence of my healthy life, which I've acquired over the last year: 1) Only paleo food will cross through my lips, 2) Do my calisthenics workouts twice a week for every split, and 3) Go to every karate practice. LIFE QUEST – Passing the Trial of Knowledge Grading: same for each goal, consistency measuring again A - 35 days B - 29 days C - 24 days D - 20 days F - less than 20 days Goal 1 : PolSci Final Oral Exam (+1.5 WIS) Goal 2 : JapStud Final Oral Exam (+1.5 WIS) Goal 3 : DevPsy Module Written Exam (+1 WIS)

This will be my tenth NF Challenge. Wow, that went by quickly. So, why am I continuing the indestructible quest? Because I'm gonna need it. My overall goal for 2014 is to finish the year a lot closer to happy than where I've started it. I'm not unhappy mind you, but there are areas of my life that do not move me farther up the happy spectrum. So, I've come up with some simple year long goals towards being happier at the end of 2014 than the beginning. They are: Physical - Run 3 miles, once a week every week. It always makes me happy.Intellectual - Read 10 minutes a day, every day. I know, 10 minutes doesn't seem like much, but over the course of the year that's 61 hours of reading. That exceeds what I did the last few years rolled together.Emotional - Once a month, an excursion of some kind with my wife without kids. She's my best friend and I don't give her enough time. And when I do, its at the end of the day when we're both tired and exhausted. It didn't used to be like that. So, at least once a month, we will go to dinner, spend an afternoon together, let the kids sleep over at grandma's, whatever. Something. Once a month. I can do that, right?Spiritual - Once a week, 1 question, written in a journal to ponder.All those things increase my joy and I haven't been finding the time for them. So, I made them goals for the whole year. Along with that will be some shorter 3-4 month goals. But, as the year starts out, I'm going to need to be more indestructible to reach that happiness. Quick background: Friends' with a sick baby that managed to out-survive Dr's predictions, but she's not doing wellAnother friend has been fighting a brain cancer for 5 years and Dr's just pulled the plug on his treatment saying there's nothing more they can doMy father managed a successful bout of treatment for his cancer, but he hasn't been given the all clear sign yetLast week, my mother was diagnosed with lymphoma and the treatment plan is pending more testsAnother friend's mother recently passed from ovarian cancer.Am I reciting all of this to be a major downer? No. Cancer sucks. We all know that already. It's more that death has a nasty habit of putting life in perspective. I think we'd all agree we want to be happier. Everyone loves being happier. But, those things I've outlined for the year will be hard to do if I don't come up with some better habits. Especially with what might be some heavy obstacles in my future. So... I will run at least once a week (just not today, freakin' -40 wind chill...are you kidding me?!), and more if my joy/peace reserves are running low I will go back to my MRT and MCT circuits. Don't get me wrong, I love lifting weights and the heavier the better. But, I love supersets and circuits more. I will get stronger just not at the same pace, and I should shed fat faster. This fits better with my reasons for why I train in the first place. To be healthier, to be alive longer, to be able to do what I want, when I want without worrying about my conditioning, to look better, and most importantly, have fun doing it. So, 3 circuit workouts a week. I will use 24 hour intermittent fasting 1x-2x per week. Alright, the goal is once per week, but as it gets easier I might go for more. Essentially, this is skipping breakfast, lunch and snacks (probably on Fridays) from dinner the night before until dinner that night. Hence, no food for roughly 24 hours. Coffee, water, tea, and the like are permitted. I've done this before with the best results in terms of fat loss from diet. So, why have I been tinkering with different ideas? Time to get back in the habit of what works for me instead of looking for something better and not getting results. I will keep my emotional, intellectual and spiritual goals alive throughout this challenge.That's it. I'm letting go of the outcome of what meeting those goals will bring and I'm just following the goals. To quote Dan John, "Let the goal be the goal." We'll see where the chips fall when its all said and done.

I'm getting a bit of a jump start, but here's the outline for my 12th challenge. I want to live up to my chosen alias. My life could stand more tenacity, especially given my tendency to program hop. It could also use more glee, so I'm going to spontaneously burst into choreographed song and dance every once in a while. No, wait, that's not right. See below for my plans to be more tenacious and glee-ful. Main Goal: Build muscle and lose fat, aiming at 175 lbs and 14-15% body fat by my 40th birthday (Dec 2016). Currently at 150 lbs and ~18% BF and just turned 37. Mission 1: Complete a 31-day hard hat challenge where I will perform at least one set of bodyweight exercises every day. [+2 STA, +1 DEX] I'll already be working out 4 times a week as part of the Engineering the Alpha program (see next mission), and each of those workouts includes some bodyweight activity. That just leaves 3 days a week to fit in one set of BW exercise. Seems simple, right? I guess that's the point of the 31 day challenge. Requires tenacity and establishes consistency. I started January 1 and will continue through the 31st. I'll be mixing up my exercises with Decline Push-ups, Diamond Push-ups, Dips, Pull-ups, Hanging Knee Lifts, and Suspended Chest Flyes once my suspension straps come in. If I get crunched for time, I may just bust out some air squats or regular push-ups. Grading: A = 28-31 days B = 24-27 days C = 20-23 days D = 15-19 days F = <15 days Mission 2: Continue to follow the Prime and Adapt phases of the Engineering the Alpha program. [+2 STR, +2 CHA] I started the EtA program midway through the last challenge, but didn't really dedicate myself. So, I took advantage of the Bonus Holiday Challenge to re-start Phase 1 (Prime) for two weeks. For this challenge, I'll complete weeks 3 and 4 of the Prime phase and then do weeks 1-4 of the Adapt phase. Following the program should result in increased strength and reduced belly circumference, but I don't want to set specific bench marks because my body never reacts quite like I think it will. This one will be more of a pass/fail. Grading: A = Complete Prime and Adapt F = Do not complete Prime and Adapt Mission 3: Follow a 16/8 fasting/feeding pattern along the guidelines of the Engineering the Alpha program, tracking calories and macronutrients at least 5 days a week. [+3 CON, +1 WIS] I will follow the preset guidelines for training and non-training days and track using MyFitnessPal. The diet requirements change a bit when I move from Prime to Adapt, but I'm going to shoot for falling within a certain range of the prescribed macros. For the Prime stage, I'll shoot for 85-100 grams of protein a day and 50-100 grams of carbs per day. I'll figure out Adapt before Week 3. I'll probably use http://www.eatthismuch.com/ for help setting my menu to match my macros. For scoring, days within 10g of goal (above or below) will be full points for the day, within 20g = half a point, within 30g = a quarter point. Over 30g above or below for the day disqualifies. I'll award points for both protein and carbs. I'm stealing this from Hammlin and modifying it, so I have no idea how reasonable it is... 51-60 points = A 41-50 points = B 31-40 points = C 21-30 points = D 0-20 points = F Life Mission: Have fun with the family! [+2 CHA, +1 WIS] My goal is to complete at least 3 weekend activities from the Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun with my kids. I want to spend more time investing in them and less time interacting with my phone. My kids are still pretty young (2 and almost 5), so I'm limited on how many of the activities are age-appropriate for them, but I think I can find 3 good ones. Currently considering: Superhero ABC book using construction paper, glue sticks, and pics from the internet Geeky Art Prints with shaving cream and food coloring Alien Drums with various lengths of PVC pipe See the World From the Sky with balloons and a Flip video camera Grading: A = 3 projects B = 2 projects C = 1 project F = 0 projects There you have it! I'll add in my starting measurements by Monday. edited 1/3/14 to add attribute points, scoring, and detailed description of missions edited 1/6/14 to correct scoring on goal #3

Hello guys, here I am with another question. I am trying to implement intermittent fasting into my diet, the 1 day with only one meal (in my case my evening meal) and one day normal eating. Now I am wondering which days I should implement as my fasting days, those on which I excercise, or those when I rest. Both have pros and cons. You need energy an proteïns when you excercise, in order to restart immediate repair. But you also need your proteïns in the rest days, for when the real growth happens. So when should I do it? I work my workout on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (Fridays are hardest to keep for me, personally), and 'rest' on the other days, with rest being relative, because I still stay active, but I don't just do my workout. The workout is as following, should it matter: 5-minute one armed planking work (one armed because I can't seem to activate my abs with two, and I end up putting the biggest part of the strain on my back.) 3*10 jump squats 3*20(max) pull ups (the max indicates that my goal is to reach 3 sets of 20 eventually, but I havent yet, the most recent set is 15-9-5). 4*8 pylometric push-ups (currently with my hands on the armrest of my couch) 10(max)*10 calve raises (started with the full 10 in the begingin, but that gave my muscle aches in my calves for the following 5 days, so now I am slowly building it up, with the most recent at 7) 1 minute of grip work (dead mans hang, got to 1 minute at first, but when I amped up the rest of the workout, my left arm would start to shrine and eventually pang when I tried to go for the full minute, so now I am building that up as well) 10 lunges per leg (recent addition) 1 minute waiters carry per arm (schoolbooks for the win!) 3*20(max) regular push-ups (most recent 18-18-11) I try to keep the time between sets small, not larger than a minute if I can. Hope you guys can help me once more.

So I am back at work and back at real life. Brazil was a blast, and although I didn't eat gluten free (please tell me how, when the Brazillians seem to worship at the alter of gluten), i ate as healthy as i could and i still managed to lose a ton of cms and kgs. I came back from holiday with clothes that don't fit me because they're too big now - story of my life at the moment, lol. I think i also melted some of it away, because of Rio's heat. I am not complaining mind you, because it's prepped me for my hot summer in Cape Town So as i'm literally starting this challenge mid way through week 3, i am doing a modified challenge and focusing on just getting back into the swing of things. Like getting back to eating better, getting back into gym and just finding a rhythm in my routine again. An easy challenge i know, but sometimes just building a base is a good restart. Main Goal (for the next year): Get in enough shape to complete the Cape Argus Cycle Tour in 2015. When i was in my teens i had done the Argus Cycle Tour religiously every year (making it 5 that i've completed thus far). It happens over the second weekend in March and is a 100+km cycle around the rather mountainous peninsula of Cape Town. Last year after being with NF for almost a year, i promised my cousin that for his 18th birthday i would cycle the Argus with him again. He reminded me the other day that it's his 17th bday this March Which means that for the next year my focus would need to be getting in shape to be able to make that 109km before the cut off time (7 hours). My best time while in high school was 2h54m but i just want to finish before cut off time this time around 1. Gym Routine (2 on, 1 off) - towards the end of last year, the general fatigue of a hard working year saw my gym activities take a bit of a nose dive. I was going as often as i could, but the willpower wasn't always there. I am just using the next 3.5 weeks to work out a routine that will work for me. I will be spending a lot of time over the next few months alternating between my apartment and JV's apartment, so i need to find a way that gym works for me. When we're at my place, it's pretty easy to just pop down to the gym at 5.30 as it's across the road from me, but it's a little more difficult when i stay at JV's place because the gym isn't nearby (although their building as a gym, i can't access it as a non-tenant). I want to get back into the routine of 2 days on, 1 day off. I don't mind what i do at the moment, but i need to get into a routine. 2. Cut down on the gluten again (70% gluten free) - I didn't do too badly while in Brazil on this, but it's hard to eat around the gluten. There's a padaria or pastelaria on every corner and i drank a shitton of beer (mmmmm, Brahma) - some days i just went without food cos i couldn't find anything not so gluteny. I didn't eat much in the way of snacky things (although i alternated happily between water, beer and soda - you had to keep well hydrated). I craved salad and meat like it was no one's business though and in my second week, i discovered a local churrascaria (brazilian BBQ) and I was in heaven. My diet however did lack a little on the veggie front. Since coming home i've done pretty well. I'm still teaching JV to eat out less, and he'd like to start learning to cook a few basic things so that all the homemade meals don't fall on me. 3. Intermittent Fasting (Mon - Fri) - i ate pretty sporadically in Brazil (and even since getting home). Dinner last night landed up being at 10.30 (that's late). So i want to get back into the routine of eating 12pm - 9pm again and train my body to adjust back to it. I will do IF Monday to Friday and be a little more relaxed over the weekends (i generally don't eat until a few hours after a workout so it should coincide nicely, but i need to build in wriggle room for those exceptions). And that's it. I am taking it easy getting back on the horse after my holiday, but still getting back on it Also for some of you who know Shoobie (another NFer) here's a pic of us before a night out at the Irish Pub. Edit: Anyone have any good training plans for long distance cycling. 13+months so it doesn't have to be intense or anything. I haven't done long distance, endurance cycling in over 10 years (and 60kgs ago), so some help would be appreciated.

Main Quest: ​Going for the Spartan Trifecta. Complete Spartan Super Race (level 2) before next summer and Beast (level 3) by 9/29/14. ​Did my first Spartan Sprint (level 1) on 9/29/13 at Sun Peaks. After the experience, I have a good idea on what needs work. Three Goals:1. Do exercises needed to build back and arm muscles to complete a pull up. There is a course of exercise levels to complete on the NF site http://www.nerdfitne...5/do-a-pull-up/ I am not sure at what rate you advance through these but I will start with Level 1 and work on it 3 days a week until I am strong enough to get to Level 2, 3, etc. I am currently doing assisted dips and pull ups on a machine at the gym with 1/2 my body weight of assist, but I am not doing them right as I am using more biceps so back to square one. (3 STR) (A for 3 days​, B for 2, Fail for 1 or less) 2. ​Do HIIT exercise class at gym 3 days a week. I have worked with the class instructor before and she is an OCR fanatic so her classes are great training for Spartan (3 ​END, 3 STR) (A for 3 days​, B for 2, Fail for 1 or less)3. ​100% paleo meals​ 5 of 7 days a week. (3 CON) (A for ​5 days, B for 4 days , C for ​3 days, F for anything less) Side (Life) Quest:4. ​Three days of 16+ hour of fasting a week (3 WIS) (A for 3 days, B for 2 days, C for ​1, F for ​less)

Hey dudes! Long time lurker...first time poster. After following NF and making a few of the sort of "staple" changes (regular body weight work outs and eating 80-90% paleo) I've dropped almost 15 pounds in two months. The thing that I'm probably most excited about is just how little urge or desire I have to fall back into my old habits. I've lost weight in the past by super stringent calorie counting and virtually starving myself...but I think in the back of my mind, I was always thinking "man...I can't wait to hit my goal weight so I can eat a whole pizza in a sitting again" This time it feels very permanent and I'm super stoked. BUT My buddy and I are going on a road trip out east tomorrow to see one of our favorite bands play their last couple of shows. It's going to be an awesome trip and I'm wicked excited, but I know its going to be 4 or 5 days of me eating garbage and drinking a lot. Anyway, sorry for that wall of text just to get to my point, but I'm wondering if intermittent fasting might help me better manage the trash I'm going to be shoveling into my face for the next couple of days. If so, would you recommend I fast for 24 hours starting today, or that I just only eat for 8 hour windows over the course of the whole trip? Any tips or ideas are majorly appreciated...thanks!

Oops! Reposted topic in current challenges.

Hello, my fellow Rebels! I *believe* this marks my fifth challenge here on NF, second as a warrior. Last challenge I stuck to my goals around 70% of the time, and I was okay with that. This time, my habits are in place and all I really need to do is learn to control myself a bit more. So - my goals are essentially the same. MAIN QUEST: Lean out (drop 8% BF by Jan 2014) How I'll Achieve That 1) Continue To Eat Well COMPLETE A WHOLE 30 What This Means: Self-explanatory! I have 31 days until I arrive in Chicago. I will begin tomorrow and my final day will be the 19th of October, the day before I fly out. Perfect timing. 2) Lift 5x A Week Focus on form What This Means: See Milo about squat and snatch form Continue to run questions by Nightlight Consider a deload MOAR MOBILITY Purchase 5/3/1 or 5x5 and Starting Strength and Supple Leopard 3) Do Some Fucking Conditioning* What This Means: Move quickly for a short period of time Ex: WOD, Sprint Intervals (row or run) Move slow(er) for a long(er) period of time Ex: Cycle for 30 minutes, Run 30 minutes, Stairs (Flights) *I have this really dumb idea to jog to the top of the Hancock Tower (94 flights) while I'm in Chicago so I'll be somewhat testing where I'm at every other week on the Stairmaster (probably not the best indicator but there aren't many tall buildings here). Timeline: Chicago, October - Down 3% BF Florida, November - Down 5% BF Texas, January - Down 8% BF Currently: 27% Side Quest: Do Some Fucking Footwork What this means: Dance more (Dancing in the shower and kitchen doesn't count)

I'm a bit late but fuck it! Short: Lose weight, build muscle Long: Get down to 13-15% bf. I am currently 82kg and about 23-26% bf. When I started: Deadlift: 40kg by 8 reps (on last set) Squat: 20kg by 10 reps (2 sets) Bench: 20kg by 10 reps (3 sets, 2nd set is more like 8-9 reps and last is like 6-7) Goals for end of 6 week challenge : Deadlift: 80kg by 8 reps on last set. squat: 50kg by 10 reps all 3 sets Bench: 40kg by 10 reps 3 sets I had been doing well with weight loss, when I started training I got hungry and put on a little weight, went up to 84kg, now fixed diet up a little and back down to 82kg. Was down at 80.5kg before weight training started. Main quest Goal 1: Eat primal and keep with in 2,000 calories per day, whilst hitting protein goals. Goal 2: Hit the gym 4 days a week and do my program set by PT Goal 3: Push hard at gym and try increase weight where possible whilst having good form. Life side quest: Pass all my subjects this semester at University. I have had on my wall for the past 3 months a piece of paper saying I want to be 80kg by Novemeber 1st. Also a friend gave me a bottle of scotch that says I can't open till I hit 75kg. Grading system: Goal 1: A: Track calories, stick under 2000 calories and hit at least 150g of protein every day. (1-2 cheat days allowed). B: Track calories every day, stick under 2000 calories per day (1-2 cheat days). C: Track calories every day. D: Track most days. E: Track most days but eat too much when I do track. F Don't track at all, eat whatever. Goal 2: A: Hit the gym every day I have designated. (only can skip if injured) B: Skip a gym day and not make it up. C: Skip 2 days with out making it up. D: Skip 3 days. E: Skip 4 days. F: Skip more than 5 days. Goal 3: A: Increase weight or reps on at least 2 exercises per work out. B: Increase weight or reps on at least a exercise per work out. C: Increase weight or reps on an exercise on 3 out of 4 work outs a week. D: Increase reps or weight on 2 out of 4 exercises a week. E: increase weight or reps on at least 1 work out a week. F: No increase in weights or reps. Progress so far on goals: So my update, diet was doing well, then slackened off because of increased hunger from strength training. #1:I have cleaned it up even more to leaner foods and more green veg, started tracking calories and taking appetite suppressants. #2: good as have not missed a day in the gym #3: fairly well been adding weight on most stuff, could maybe push a little harder when I am on my own in the gym. Form has been good, but I did screw up a little and it lead to my neck being sore. Life quest: did well on a test, but I need to study more

I spent the Spring slimming down for a trip to Jamaica over Memorial Day weekend. Got to 34†waist and 150 lbs - about 19% body fat, but didn’t want to drop below 150. Started bulking in June with the thought that I’d put on muscle and fat and then just lose the fat once the bulk was over. I wound up gaining 13 pounds by mid-August, but it was 4 lbs of LBM and 9 lbs of fat (added 2+ inches to my middle). I realized the typical bulk/cut method doesn’t work so good for a guy in his mid-thirties, so I started looking at some alternate sources for information. I even started a spreadsheet called "Collecting Underpants" to track what the different experts say about topics like diet, training, how much protein, what (if any) supplements to take, etc. Rather than taking one person's opinion/experience as the be-all-end-all answer to my questions, I've decided to cut and paste together a mix of info I think will work best for me. Hence the challenge title. Also, I'm hoping to cut some body fat and paste some muscle on my skinny frame! I've decided to follow the skinny-fat solution of getting to a lean base, even if it means dropping below 150 lbs. I checked with Anthony Mychal who said I may not be a typical skinny-fat sufferer, but I could stand to get leaner. I started following Eat Stop Eat midway through the last challenge to maximize fat burning and minimize muscle loss. My long term goal is still to get to a mid-teens body fat percentage and then pack on some muscle without the fat gain. Getting to 180 may not be feasible, but once I get to 14-15% BF, I’ll add back some calories and switch to once-a-week fasts. Anyman Fitness (a math teacher by day) says gaining 15 pounds of muscle in a year is an admirable goal and breaks it down as such: 1 lb = 3500 calories, 15 lbs = 52,500 calories, 52,500/365 = 143 extra calories (over maintenance) per day in order to gain 15 lbs in one year (about ⅓ lb a week or 1.25 lb a month) Challenge Goal - get lean while maintaining (or even building) muscle Mission 1: All your base are belong to us - Get to a "solid base" (32" waist, 15% body fat) +4 CHA Brad Pilon of Eat Stop Eat says to divide and conquer: think of diet as fat burning and exercise as muscle building. So in order to burn some fat from my mid section, I'm going to eat at about maintenance level (2300 cals/day) and fast twice a week. I usually do a 23 hour fast from dinner Wednesday to dinner Thursday and then a shorter fast from Saturday night to Sunday evening. My abdominal circumference is currently about 35", so I'm hoping to drop 3" this challenge. Scoring as follows: A= 32†B= 33†C= 34†D= 35†F= >35†Mission 2: A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man - Add inches to my arms, chest, and shoulders +2 STR, +3 CHA In my case, a noble spirit plus some push-ups, chin-ups, dips, and arm curls should embiggen this small man. Anthony Mychal has established his Great Eight exercises (PDF) for the skinny-fat guys trying to put on some size. Because of our natural tendency to be skinny, he recommends some isolation exercises on top of the basic squats, deadlifts, and bench press. I'll be following a modified version of Anyman Fitness's take on LeanGain's Reverse Pyramid Training, incorporating the Great Eight plus one ab exercise. I guess that makes my routine the Divine Nine? As I said above, I'm hoping to pack on some muscle while I lean down (divide and conquer!), so I'll be adding up any gains for my arm, chest, and shoulder measurements and scoring this mission as follows: A= +2†B= +1.5†C= +1†D= +0.5†F= no change Mission 3: Avoid the four main food groups of the elves - Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corns, and Syrup +4 CON This is obviously another diet mission. On top of practicing Intermittent Fasting, I want to track and reduce my sugar intake. I've been wanting to set this as a goal for a while, but wasn't really sure how to SMART-ify it. While looking for answers here on the boards, I found Athena's helpful post, Sustainable Sugar Consumption. I also went back and read Steve's post from this summer about sugar. A couple of things jumped out at me: 1. "If you're going to eat sugar, get it from fruit or naturally occurring sweeteners. What that being said, to minimize the effect on your blood sugar, minimize sugar consumption across the board if your primary goal is weight loss." 2. "Sugar = bad. High Fructose Corn Syrup = Bowser evil" 3. "Most importantly, understand that what you really want (a happier, healthier life) can't happen if you keep settling for what you want RIGHT NOW (sugar!)." So, my plan for this mission is to track my sugar intake, probably using MyFitnessPal, and then actively reduce it week by week. I know sugar is everywhere and I don't really plan on cutting out everything (salad dressing, barbecue sauce, etc), but I want to cut back on the biggies that really don't do anything to improve my fitness. I'm not going cold turkey, either, but I'm thinking 1 dessert a week, 1 non-diet soda a week, no candy. I guess I'm still flushing out the specifics. I guess scoring will be based on days without "sweets". A= 36-42 days B= 29-35 days C= 22-28 days D= 15-21 days F= 0-14 days Life Mission: All your bass are belong to us - Practice my upright bass an hour a week +1 CHA My family gave me this sweet upright bass (that's me above) for Christmas a couple of years ago. I played it for a few months, but then got out of the habit and went back to playing my regular bass guitar. I want to get back into it and I'm trying to set my sights low. One hour a week equates to less than 10 minutes a day. I can do that! I just want to form the habit and start improving my skills. So, it will can be something as basic as working on scales or trying to learn a new song, but I just want to put in some time. A= 5-6 hours B= 4-5 hours C= 3-4 hours D= 2-3 hours F= less than 2 hours There are also some other habits that I started in previous challenges that I want to keep doing, so I'm throwing them on here for a reminder and for public record. Water: Eight glasses a day Sleep: 7 hours a night Clothes/Lunch: Make my next day's lunch and pick out my clothes for work before I go to bed a night iPhone: Continue to limit my gaming/phone time at work and get better at keeping it out of reach at home. I'll add in some other links for fat burning, muscle building, and controlling sugar in future posts. I'll also add in my starting measurements after I take them tonight.

Hello fellow rebellion armies, I'm a skinny-fat Southeast Asian dude weighted at a whooping 60kg and 167cm tall. On level 50, I'd want to be able to be present at any point on earth within 24 hours of prior notice. But that's a really long way to go. Right now I just want to build muscles, lose fats, and take control of my life. On my first challenge, I was able to gain 4.5kg by consuming 2500kcal every day (before joining the rebellion I was only 55kg). However, as I'm still not rich enough to buy "clean food", I managed to get those calories by eating a lot of stuff, even junk foods. I did consume protein shake and managed to increase my daily dose of protein. Those, with a HIIT training using 7 Minute Workout program, I got some newbie muscle gains (mostly just on biceps and triceps, also some increase on the chest and thigh if I stare at my body at the mirror long enough). HOWEVER.. My belly is getting bigger (fatter) faster than the muscles I gained from exercising. I mean, dude, I didn't want any of this. So, in this challenge, I want to focus on losing these belly fats, and to gain even more muscles by doing harder exercise (I'm not in a hurry to build huge muscles, no, not yet, maybe not ever). Current Objective: Keep getting fitter, happier, and leaner. Goal 1: On the 27th of October, I wanna be able to see some abs on my tummy. Meaning, cutting to 10-12% body fats, but I don't have the tool to measure that accurately, so if abs can be seen, even just a little bit, that's a success. Goal 2: Do a customized Advanced Body Workout 3 times a week. Increasing the difficulty as needed. Goal 3: Wake up at 7am every day. Once I able to do this 7 times in a row, try to sleep for at least 8 hours a day, which is important for muscle recovery. Current Life Goal: Because I'm on my final year of a college degree, at the end of this 6 week challenge, I would like my thesis proposal to have been accepted by my professor. That's it! Let's go!

Hi. I have been doing intermittent fasting for quite some time now and I have found it to be amazing not just for results but also to maintain it. However recently I have stopped the gym and moved to bodyweight training for budget and different goals reasons. Do I still do carb switching? Since I moved to bodyweight i started working out almost everyday. Are there any guides I could use to calculate my macros for it?

It is the beginning of the end. The culmination of an era. The final months. The past seventeen years have all be leading to this ultimate destination, and once it is reached the entire time spent traveling to it will matter no more. It will be the end of an end, and the beginning of a new beginning; in truth, it will be the end of the beginning. But the destination has not been reached yet; the end is in sight, but it has not arrived. Eight months remain. Eight more months of freedom; eight months until freedom. Eight months to finish learning; eight months until the learning truly begins. Eight months until graduation. There is much that our heroine must accomplish in those eight short—and yet unbearably long—months. Some things must be finished in that time, while others simply should be, and some might barely be begun. Nevertheless, these eight months will be the capstone on our heroine’s journey; it will be because of them that she will be vaulted higher than she could image, or that she will sink lower than ever before. Let us begin. MAIN QUEST In eight months, our heroine must become the person she truly wishes to be, the person she wishes to continue her life as. This improved version of herself is a black belt, weight at least 20 pounds less than our heroine does now, and has sharpened her social skills to a razor edge. First Mission (+2 DEX, +2 STR): In order to achieve her black belt, our heroine must be stronger and more flexible than she ever has been before. To this end, she will continue to awaken every morning in order to stretch, do her slow kicks, and perform bodyweight strength exercises on Moon’s day, Odin’s day, and Freya’s day. GRADING: Each day is on a pass/fail basis A: 7/7 passes B: 6/7 C: 5/7 D: 3-4/7 F: 1-2/7 Second Mission (+4 STA, +1 WIS): Strength and flexibility are not the only attributes our heroine needs to successfully attain her black belt; she must also improve herself as a martial artist. This mission has two parts: our heroine must attend all classes as that she is able, and must practice her art alone at least thrice a week. GRADING: a "missed" class means an unexcused absence--if I legitimately had so much homework that I couldn't go, it doesn't count as a missed class. If the only reason I didn't finish my homework in time is because I was YouTube-ing for three hours after school, then it counts. A: All classes attended, 3x practice B: 1 class/practice missed C: 2 classes/practices missed D: 3 classes/practices missed F: 4+ classes/practices missed Third Mission (+2 CON, +2 CHA): If she wishes to continue her journey to a lighter version of herself, our heroine must fuel her body correctly. She will continue to avoid grains and carbohydrate-filled foods while journeying down (a modified) Paleolithic way. Our heroine will, however, continue to consume dairy. In addition to eating as her ancestors did many moons ago, our heroine will also continue to experiment with Intermittent Fasting. At least five days a week, our heroine will ensure that she endures for 16 hours without food, then fuels her body for a mere 8 hours before repeating. GRADING: Pass/fail daily basis. The first two days without IF are still a pass (if the food I ate was acceptable) but after that, non-IF days count as a fail. A: 7/7 passes B: 6/7 C: 5/7 D: 3-4/7 F: 1-2/7 Life Side-quest (+2 WIS): If our heroine wishes to attend college, she must set herself down on her formidable ass and dedicate herself to completing manifold applications and composing essays of her most impressive prose. GRADING: Point system. Finish an application form - 1 pt; finish the rough draft of an essay - 1 pt; finish the essay to the point where I give it to other people to read - 1 pt; finish essay completely - 1 pt; all transcripts sent - 1 pt; application fully completed - 2 pts; all applications completed - infinite points A: 5 pts B: 4 pts C: 3 pts D: 1-2 pts F: 0 pts STARTING STATS Weight: 161.4 BMI: 24.5 Waist: 29.5 Hips: 42.5 Thigh: 24 BF Percent: 31% Bicep: 11.25 inches

Hey all, I'm interested in Intermittent Fasting. I've done a bit of research and looked into a few different approaches. Right now, I'm partial to the Leangains 16/8 approach. However, this plan has you working out and eating your biggest meal in the middle of the day. I'm sure I could bring a large a meal to work, but I don't think I could get away for 30-45 minutes to exercise. I work 9-5, but often have to stay a bit late; 5:30 - 6 usually (I enjoy the job, so I don't mind). So, counting time to get home and exercise, I wouldn't expect to be eating my first meal until around 6:30 - 7 p.m. most days. I'm plan to sleep around 10 p.m., so that doesn't get me the 8 hour eating window I'm striving for. I think my best bet is to bring a medium sized meal for lunch around 1 p.m., then eat my big meal after I work out around 6:30 - 7, then a snack around 8. However, that seems to push a lot of my food consumption to the very end of my feeding period (1-9). Also, I'm not sure if eating a medium sized meal at 1, would negate the beneficial effects of IF. Anyway, I'd like to get some advice from NF members who have tried IF to see what they think of this plan and how they've been able to fit IF into their schedules. Also, I'm planning to start doing IF gradually--just weekends at first, then 4 days a week, then everyday except a cheat day. I'd also like to see if anyone had any thoughts on whether it was a good idea to ease into it, or if it'd be easier just to go full IF from the start. And, if they think having a cheat day is a good idea, or it will just mess me up. I'm planning to have a paleo focused diet while doing this. Thanks!

Today is my first attempt at Intermittent Fasting. I'm a regular breakfast eater, so I'm wondering how my body is going to react. I'm mostly paleo, 90/10 I like to think. I've had one cup of coffee with a little bit of coconut oil (read about it on MDA) and am currently sipping on my second. I did my morning workout some HIIT (30s sprint- 60s jog 10X, pre/suceeded by 1ish mile run). I plan on breaking the fast at around 6 this evening, but if I begin to feel woozy I'm going to eat. I'm going to use this thread to keep track of how my body feels throughout the day. Here goes nothing!! (My tummy sort of already has the rumblies :/ ..... )

Does this happen to anybody else? I fast twice a week for 24 hours, from after dinner the previous night to dinner on my fast day. Usually on these days I only do morning cardio, but now I'm ramping up and adding a weight routine in the afternoon. After 20 or 25 minutes working out I feel like Gumby; not normal tired, but weak. Really wrung out. Has anybody had this experience? Should I break my fast before working out? I hope I didn't break something important ;-P Thanks, Barfly

So quick backstory. I tried out intermittent fasting some time ago, skipping breakfast and eating around 11-12. During my recent cut, I kept up the no-breakfast thing because I liked being able to stuff my face and feel full during my meals. Now that I'm eating to perform, I've re-introduced breakfast, in the way of a breakfast scramble. Eggs, bacon/sausage, veggies, cheese. It's pretty goddamn nom. I've had breakfast now for 3 days. Between 8-9:30. And, okay, I'm having digestive issues. I'm sure y'all can infer my meaning. I'm concerned I am getting dehydrated. None of these foods seem to give me trouble on the weekend or individually, and I've never had an issue before. Has anyone else experienced digestive weirdness when re-introducing breakfast? Is there a way to go about it, other than diving right it, that might be more helpful to my gut?

I ran with the Rangers for a while, but I've always felt I was more of an Assassin at heart. I oscillate between dumbbell and bodyweight-only training, but I've come to realize that I have more fun with and am more proud of the bodyweight feats I achieve than any other test of strength. I'd started working through GMB's Floor 1 in November, but had to take a break after dealing with a particularly nasty stomach bug. While I was recovering, I had plenty of time to think about what it is I really want, and what it will take to get there. I want to be able to do things like , and make them look easy. My first step is going to be mastering the progressions of the hollow hold before I return to Floor 1. I want to be working on the final progression when I begin the program. While I'll still be using dumbbells (mainly for lower body work), I'll be training with minimal equipment. Goal 1: Incorporate the hollow hold into 2 workouts per week, and randomly practice at other times throughout the week. Continue practicing crow stand at least 2x/week, and progress when a 60 second hold is easy. +3STA +1STR Goal 2: Improve flexibility and mobility. Complete a morning warm up immediately upon waking. Stretch after each workout. Complete a longer yoga flow 2x per week. +3 DEX Goal 3: Improve strength to bodyweight ratio. I'm going to be following Nate Miyaki's intermittent feast guide and continuing with my strength training (at least 3x/week). +3CON +2STR Goal 4: Stay sane by journaling daily. I've set up a Google calendar to email me the topic of the day. I schedule these a week in advance. +2WIS +1CHA Stats: Level 3 STR: 12.25 DEX: 5.25 STA: 11 CON: 11 WIS: 8.25 CHA: 2.75 Grading: 1: % of total workouts completed for each hold. 2: % of days goal met. If one of goals is missed, day doesn't count. 3: % of meals in compliance with ideal, minus 1 meal per week. % of workouts completed. 4: % of days journal completed.

TL;DR: Doing a Leangains recomp and the numbers seem a bit insane. Is this newbie eyes, or am I about to buy a catering quantity of steak and lamb mince? Backstory: I've been lifting heavy for strength, and eating ad libitum, and so I've got big and strong and fat. I don't want to lose the strength. I'm patient enough. The 16/8 fast/feed window study with mice impressed me and the logic behind it is at least as convincing as paleo without any of the "but eskimos don't have sweet potatoes" problems. So, I'm going for a recomposition, which I've calculated as something like: BW 112kg; TDEE 3400cal; estimated LBM 80kg Training days: 4080 cals: protein 264g, carb 567g, fat 84g Rest days: 2720 cals: protien 264g, carb 104g, fa 139g This is the first time I've paid attention to macros. It's a bit daunting. Am I in the right ball-park?

Hey Rebels! Here's my story and other information that might be helpful: I have been Primal since Nov. 28th 2012. At that time I weighed in at 191lbs with 18% body fat. Currently I am at 177lbs and clocking in around 12% body fat but have been there for 2+ weeks. I have read that doing a carb refeed once a week can help break through a plateau if you have been eating low carb. I have read a lot on MDA and the LeanGains sites but I was wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with this. I have recently adopted the IFing approach suggested by LG of 1pm-9pm serving as your feed window and 9pm-1pm as your fasting window. I have been doing it for almost a week and have had no problems with it. I enjoy it actually. I also did a carb refeed yesterday to see how my body would react to about 300g in starchy carbs after keeping my carb intake to between 75-85g a day since Nov. 28th. My protein intake is set up to be 1g of protein for every pound of lean body weight and my healthy fats make up the remaining caloric needs after carbs and proteins are accounted for. I have been getting around 166g of fats a day to keep me at/around 2400cals a day for roughly a 500cal deficit. Goal: To continue lower my body fat % to about 8% or 9% without losing lean muscle mass while still feeling fantastic and not compromising my health. I think that carb refeed yesterday really was needed. I noticed an increase in energy due to what might have been low glycogen stores. I may need to up my carbs to around 100g or so given my activity level. Thoughts? Any thoughts/advice are more than welcome. Thanks for reading! Cheers! ♣IRISHodabred