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Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo lives in a pineapple under the sea? Gurdris the Imbiber! Flimsy and flabby and lazy is she! Gurdris the Imbiber! If nerdical fitness be something you wish Gurdris the Imbiber! Then drop in the gym, and sweat like a bitch! GURDRIS THE IMBIBER! GURDRIS THE IMBIBER! GURDRIS THE IMBIBER! GURDRIS THE IMBIBER! GURDRIIIIIIIIS THE IMBIBER! Yarr, now that the musical number is out of the way... Main Goal: Become Wonder Woman and maintain the weight loss streak I started when I needed to make my shiny new engagement ring fit. Challenge Goal: Stick to a routine of exercise, fitness and keeping on top of laundry. No more collecting underpants - my fiance needs clean ones. Fitness Complete a streak of 10 unmissed workouts, totalling 20 with my trainer. Workout days are Tuesday and Thursday after work, Sunday morning. Loot: trainer and the co-worker who works out with me offered to pay for my dinner if we go out together after 10 workouts. Nutrition Follow my trainer's diet plan (lean meat and veg, low carb, low fat, no junk). Loot: additional plates, knives and forks for our understocked kitchen Mental Read before bed for at least 30 mins every day, instead of Facebooking in bed. Loot: art supplies Life Do laundry twice a week (folded and put away) Loot: new clothes Bonus challenge: Complete listening to an 8hr audiobook (Foundation by Isaac Asimov). However, it may only be listened to underwater, while swimming laps. No swim, no book. No book... No loot. Loot: Full body massage at the spa. Ohhhh yessssss... I've done challenges before but I'm doing this one after a long time away, so consider it a respawn but I'm adding in the extra 2 because I've already been able to maintain some of these goals for most of a month. Scoring: Mental 20xp Fitness 25xp Nutrition 25xp Life 15xp Bonus 15xp -------------------- Total: 100xp Accountibility: I'll update this Challenge log daily with my successes and/or failures and/or spongebob gifs and/or other gifs/all the gifs / no jifs only gifs.

Leaves and sticks crunched under Achaedia's feet as she made her way through the forest. She was sure it was here. The directions she had been given would indicate she should be coming upon the rebellion any time now. After a year-long absence in which she had married the love of her life, purchased a dwelling on the outskirts of Rata Sum, and graduated from University as a Master of Synergetics, she was now ready to return to the fray. Achaedia the Warrior Part II: The Liftening Goal 01. Strengthening Achaedia will research and select a workout program as a means of getting back into fighting shape. The ideal program will combine interval training for cardio with power lifting for strength. Once the training program has been selected, training will commence. Goal 02. Hydrating Achaedia will increase her water intake by 25% a week, with the first week serving as a baseline. Goal 03. Musicking Achaedia wouldn't call herself a bard by any means, but she used to be known to tickle the ivories every now and then. In the month of June, Achaedia will do warm-up exercises on the piano at least 3x a week. Bonus Goal: Gainful Employment An asura's got to eat. She will procure a part-time job in order to earn gold during the summer when the progeny are out of school.

I'm taking a short Discworld break, because Star Wars has finally properly crossed the streams with its martial arts origins. I'm easing back into real challenges. I need satisfying, but nothing too demanding. Step 1: Fighting Okay, not real fighting, but my super-fun kung fu conditioning workout, three times a week. Before work for preference. I want to enforce a good morning routine, and also test a good morning workout on the ADHD. The goal is partly to ease back into stuff the fun way, and partly to give everything a quick tune-up before I look for a new dojo. I'm a little extra-out-of-shape from a few month of life craziness, and I've had some injuries since I last was on the mat, so I want to make sure everything's strong. The challenges: 1) getting out of bed early, and 2) I'm so not warmed up first thing in the morning. My body doesn't do that shit till it's had a few hours to wake up. But we'll give it a shot. This is going to be my only planned workout, because... Step 2: Resting I don't sleep enough, and I overplan the workouts. If three is good, six is better, right? Well, maybe not. I need to learn to rest. Really rest. So I'm going to limit my workouts. I'm going to try to spend nine hours in bed. (The challenge: I hate sleep. Well, no, I hate going to sleep.) And... Step 3: Being One with the Force I'm going to meditate. Five minutes is fine, but I'm going to aim for ten. Because I need to rest my brain. Step 4: Stretching Because to move like that, you need to be limber. Did I say only three workouts? Well, yes, but also one stretching session a week. I could use the flexibility, and it'll help me relax more during the resting portion of my challenge, so it's sort of multi-functional. I don't know how much stretching I'll need in the end, but one a week is better than zero a week, so we'll start there. Probably on the weekend.

Well, let's give this new again 4 week challenge thing a try. In an attempt to shrink down my goals and keep things simplistic, I'm going back to what has worked for me in the past and just plugging away it rather than trying new stuff like I have for the last 12- 18 months. Diet Quests 1) No regular soda. Period. For this challenge diet soda is okay. We'll work on removing that from my diet in a later challenge. 2) No food after 9 PM more than twice/week. Why? Because I never pick something healthy that late at night and I seem to do it almost daily (or nightly if you prefer). So, there's no reason to eat anything at all at that time. Since it's a daily thing, I'm just trying to cut back this challenge. Training Quest(s) 1a) Interval Training 2x/week - My body can't handle running like it used to and intervals are just as good a way to burn fat. So, there you have it. 1b) Resistance Training 3x/week - More muscle = less fat. Simple as that. 1c) Running 1x/week - Given the state of my body (for some reason I keep getting older), I should scrap this altogether and replace with intervals. But, I like running. I feel free running. I can clear my mind running. So, I'm doing it at least once a week to keep my sanity. Level Up Quests 1) Floss daily - I suck at this and its the only set of teeth and gums I have. So, let's not suck anymore. 2) Respawn my blog - Something I've been thinking of doing for a long time. Why not now? I'll work at least 10 minutes a day on rebuilding my blog and providing content. Instead of writing on things I used to, I think I'm going to chronicle my getting healthy odyssey. I haven't written anything in over 2 years now. As long as this is on my mind, I'll write about it and up the level of accountability. I'm starting 2016 at 6' 2", 215 pounds, 25% BF and 43 years of age. My year end goal is to be 20% BF and under 205 pounds. If I could finish the year at 43 years old or less I would. But, since that can't happen, I'll settle for feeling younger.

I was fit once. Now I am not. I hope Nerd Fitness will finally get me back on track. (literally and figuratively) Main Quest: Be fit and healthy. Like I used to be in school. (Now I'm 28) Quest 1: Do the beginner body weight workout and the interval training at least once a week. Slowly build up from there. Also try following the Paleo Diet to the best of my ability. Quest 2: Make sure I do quest 1. I have done the beginner body weight workout once. It was death. I managed only one circuit. My legs were like jelly for the next few days. Interval training tomorrow...

Hi all, Tallpants here. Looking forward to my first challenge. I’ll start with my motivation. I basically have one guiding goal in life: to have a net positive impact on the world. This goal sums up a lot of underlying motivations: to be a true man, to be virtuous, to be a good husband, and to be a great father. In short, I want to live my life with the understanding that this is my only life; and in that time excel at being a human. As I near 30, I don’t find myself very far from the starting point of that journey. My life is comfortable, but, as with my workouts, it reeks of complacency. Single, distracted at work, distracted in life; I feel more like a child than a man. I’ve been starting to attack this problem on my own, but recognize it’s going to be really helpful to have the external accountability of a goal-oriented community to help me stay on track. Main Quest: My motivation is my main quest: To excel at being a human. How about some tangibles: Physical components: Be able to do consecutive 100 push ups, 25 consecutive pull ups, and squat 1.5 times my body weight. Mental components: Meditate daily. Journal daily. Read daily. Smart quests for this challenge Body weight workout 3 times a week; interval training or strong cardio 3x a week Meditate 5 minutes a day Diet: cutting out bread at lunch. Life quest Keep myself to 2 drinks a night Monday through Thursday. I'll keep track of my progress in my daily battle log. Thanks all.

Challenge: Lower body fat percentage to 25% Obviously this isn't going to be accomplished in 6 weeks, so this will be a continuing mission/goal/challenge for a while. I want to get some of this weight off to relieve pain in my joints, my back, and to make life and fitness easier in general. Last Friday I checked my body fat percentage with calipers and it was consistently 33.8%. I think that number is low and I should be higher than that, but it's the most consistent figure I have to work with so I'll go with that. Last challenge my goal was to do the absolute minimum, just as long as I did it every day (example, walking to the end of my lawn and back). These six weeks will be similar. My goal is to get through ten minutes of working out, start to finish. Maybe I don't walk very fast, maybe I don't use a lot of weights, maybe I have to stop and rest, but the goal is to get through the routine, start to finish, even if I need to make some alterations or rest for a bit in the middle. Goals; 1. Cardio (Max STR 1, DEX 2, STA 2) Interval training 3x a week for 10 minutes. 2. Strength training (Max STR 5) Beginner work out 3x a week, alternating with the interval training every other day. I'm doing the Nerd Fitness beginner workout posted here. This time around, the goal is to get through one circuit, start to finish. 3. Nutrition (Max CON 4) My goal here is a little weird... I learned a way of making up a plate of food that has all of the servings I need in it, but I haven't been eating that way regularly. When I do eat that way, it's very easy for me to pick up on any changes in diet and it's easy for me to keep track of stuff without writing everything down (I know, it's more accurate to write down, but I tried that over the last week and a lot of old eating disorder thoughts and behaviors came up... it's just easier for me to do it the way I learned to do it in therapy, which is making a "mercy plate"). So my goal is to eat a "mercy plate" for lunch every day. Just one meal. It's also the most important meal for me because the afternoon is the time I struggle with the most and having a square meal before I tackle that beast every day may help me get through it. Life goal: Write down ONE THING! I want to accomplish during the day on a piece of paper and when I'm finished with that thing, tear up the paper. Simple to-do list. 1 Point Wisdom if accomplished.

Hi all, I'm here because I like the philosophy and external accountability of this community. While I've generally maintained a decent level of fitness over the last 10 years (playing Ultimate frisbee, running, and bodyweight workouts), I rarely push myself to a higher level. It's basically a cycle: get fired up about being out of shape, get in shape, start making exceptions, get back out of shape. I want to break the cycle. I try to guide my life along three dimensions: 1. body - strength, mobility, flexibility, control 2. mind - focused, decisive, knowledgeable, calm 3. spirit - pursuit of the good/virtue I'm trying to focus on all three, but as you might expect, [3] is the hardest to achieve. [1] and [2] help get me to [3]. My logs will largely focus on progression in these categories. Body: I want to start lifting heavy, but know I don't have proper form down on most lifts and recognize that a lot of my stabalizing muscles are not up to snuff. I'm working right now on bodyweight workouts and interval training to address the latter concern. I'm working with a pvc pipe to address the former. Mind: Meditation. Reading. Reflection. Looking forward to my first challenge.

So Steve emphasises a lot the need to stretch before a workout but he doesn't say which muscles to stretch. Can someone give me an exact list? I'm wanting to do the beginner bodyweight workout and interval training (running and stationary bike). Exactly which muscles do I need to stretch for those workouts? Thanks

So I have been doing interval training for a few weeks and i feel as if I could be doing it differently. Currently, I go to my local park and do jogging and running back and forth on the green. And I wondered if there were a better way of approaching this. Any suggestions?

Hello Adventurers! A big part of my main quest to take control of my life is to get into decent shape. I'm just barely overweight, but so sedentary and squishy that I dislike it. I've never been athletic and have a full-time desk job, so getting active in the little free time I have is top priority. My diet is mostly good, but my weakness is sweets. Homemade sweets and chocolate candy (curse you, Easter bunny!!). Besides, this long winter was the final push into full-blown depression. I'm positive that getting active in the warm sunshine will help, and motivate me to tackle my creative goals. I'm so ready to get out of this rut. GOALS: 1. Be able to interval jog (STA | 3) (DEX | 2) 2. Improve on body weight exercises (like doing real pushups and lifting homemade weights) (STR | 5) 3. Limit sweets to weekends; or, if I cave during the week, subtract a day of the weekend (CON | 2) Life Quest: Solidify both story outlines, start a chapter of one or the other (CHA | 3) Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? I like to think so! Do your 3 main goals all build towards it in little ways, or are you taking on too much? I don't think it's too much. Notice I didn't set any absolutes, such as "3 days a week." My schedule is erratic, it'll happen when it happens. Better than not at all. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them? These are about as small as they're going to get. "Body weight" right now means knee pushups and squats, haha Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? I'm going to blow the dust off my MyFitnessPal account. It is helpful, just annoying to enter in every ounce of food. For the activity, just gauging how I feel after each week? As in, too much pain, on the brink of passing out, etc. How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€? I'm using the grading scale that was posted in one of the FAQs, letter grades and points. If I feel I've come out of this challenge successfully, I'm going to splurge on some new summer clothes on Memorial Day weekend. I have Mem. Day off work and it's a good time to go shopping in the big city :3 What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? If I'm so injured that I can't physically exercise, I guess... I won't grade myself as harshly? I'm really not sure. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Passover, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those? There will be Easter candy in moderation. See: weekend rule. Also, Mother's Day always sees a cake made by yours truly. Maybe I can get those 6" cake pans and make a smaller one, despite Mom always insisting on a whole cake. That she never finishes. (She's an enabler) Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? Don't think so! Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them? Hahaha...... this means no more computer time before work (which I don't mind at all), but probably no time to cook lunch, which is more of a challenge. I mean, it would be great to not have to cook and clean the kitchen spotlessly afterwards before I rush off to work (them's the rules), but it's expensive to rely on Healthy Choice meals... sigh. I'll find a balance somewhere. Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? Building multiple good habits is the core of my main quest. I've ambled along cluelessly for over 30 years, time to be a functional adult already who doesn't let her body go to waste and doesn't let the long setbacks ruin her future.

It was on 4/2/2014 that I became a member of the nerd fitness family. When I started I weighed 83kg and I was overweight for a guy who is just 5'5''(165cm) tall, I simply had enough of being out of shape and promised myself that I was going to do something about it. Back then I could barely even do a push up and my CV fitness was horrendous. After spending quite a few hours exploring the vast amount of free resources nerd fitness had to offer (and still does); plus some more research reading literature recommended by nerd fitness and its wonderful members I set myself a routine. I adopted the paleo diet, got a gym membership and stuck with it. The first week was probably the toughest of them all, DOMS kicked in and sticking to my diet was also really difficult for me as I had a very carb-heavy diet for all my life really. However, after about two weeks I saw my weight on the scales going down, this was probably one of the most motivating things that I have ever experienced in my life. From then onwards working out became fun for me, I looked forward to every single workout that I was going to do. Fast forwarding to today, I can do 10 pushups, 3 chinups, I learnt how to swim and am improving it, deadlift 100kg and I aim to improve all of these figures. I currently weigh 72kg and am feeling better and fitter than ever. Targets: I aim to get my bodyweight to the mid-high 60s, be able to do 100 pushups and 10 pullups. I also aim to improve my running and swimming (CV fitness in general really) and last but not least keep putting on lean muscle. I really can't describe how grateful I am to all of you guys here in nerd fitness. Your success stories helped inspire me and still drive me to work as hard as I possibly can. Special thanks to a guy called Scooby1961(youtube), his workouts really helped me build strength and provided me with a vast amount of helpful knowledge and encouragement. That's all from me for now, have a good Easter holiday all. May the Force be with you!

Okay...I am 215 lbs with no muscle and only fat..my aim is to lose 20-25 pounds of fat in 2 months and gain muscle at the same time..after doing research on this site..I have made something for myself..beginner body workout one day and interval training the other...the thing is I have made a stupid bet of doing 150 pushups in a row and 250 sit ups in a row by the end of these 2 months..and so on the day of strength training I do as many "knee pushups" i can and try my way upto the real ones..the next day is a break and then the other day at first i do beginner body workout then pushups rest of the day with some situps..i m totally free but can only work at home..i can also get a punching bag if u think boxing can help or i can play basketball at my nearest court but i m very bad at this sport so its kind of embarassing when i play..Any suggestions guys???

Hello my fellow rebels! I finally completed a second challenge, and am on to my third, which is spectacular (huzzah!). My main goal is to make fitness a habit. I was doing fine when I started in August, but somewhere between classes and work last month I lost my way. Ultimately with this challenge I want to get one step closer to making working out and eating right second nature. I'd love for you to join my journey and see the progress I am trying to achieve on the way Here is my Main Quest: Get fit enough to be able to wear a size 12. I want to feel more comfy in my body, have more control of my muscles, and get fashionable while I'm at it My challenge goals are a little different this time. Last challenge I focused on doing a specific number of tasks a week, which was tough because whenever I missed something and couldn't adjust I felt down or lost focus. This time around my goals are overarching bars that I want to pass by the end: 1) 100 jump squats in two sets STR:3 STA: 2. My PB is 70 in three sets. Time to bring it to the next level A= 100+ in two sets | B=100 in three sets | C=100 in four sets | D=100 in 5 sets | F= >100 in 5 sets 2) Reach 195 lb. or less CHA: 3 STA: 1 Con: 1. This goal is particularly important, because I haven't been under 200 lb. in the longest time, since freshman year of college. By the time sophomore year ended I was 204 lb.. My highest weight was 218 lb., and most of the time I've been between 213 and 207. I weighed myself today I and now after focusing on eating better and working out (though I haven't worked out in 3 weeks), I am at 201.8 lb. with clothes on, the best weight I've been since sophomore year. My goal is to get under 200 lb., and to never see 200+ lb. ever again. A= 195 lb. or lower | B=196 lb. | C=197 lb. | D=198 lb. | F=199+ lb. 3 )Do an elliptical interval set of 25 minutes or more STA: 3. I haven't done Elliptical Intervals for a while, so I know I need some work. Typically I do 15-20 minutes of intervals on the elliptical. But I want to be able to do more. So 25 minutes is my goal A= 25+ minutes | B= 24 minutes | C= 23 minutes | D= 22 minutes | F= 21 or less minutes Lastly, here is my Life Quest: Save at least $500 into a separate savings account. WIS: 2. I have to start saving for summer school ($3000), in addition to a wedding since my boyfriend and I have been talking about it and I want to be prepared. So this will be my first step. A= $500+ | B= $499-$450 | C= $449-$400 | D= $399-$350 | F= $350 or less I think that about sums it! Let's get started

Gwen Stacy has been kidnapped, Doc Ock's got her. She's over on the other side of town (approx. 3.1 miles away). You're out of web, and lately you're not able to stick to buildings (also you're up to 200 lbs...WHOA). Doc Ock's got some new invention that's gonna turn her into some red head (named Mary Jane....NO!!!) if you don't get there in 30 mins or less (what am I? Domino's?). What are you gonna do? Good thing you spent the last 6 weeks training (OR DID YOU?!?!?!?!). Goals: Overall: Run a 5k (even if not competitvely, be able to run at least 5k) With all my goals I will only get RPG pts if I get an A on the goal (no partial credit) 1. Interval Training 3xweek - I have a gym membership (at least until September...curse those 6 month contracts), use it - STA (3) A - Interval Trained 3xweek - Can run 5k in 30 mins B - Interval Trained 2xweek - Can run 5k in 40 mins C - Interval Trained 1xweek - Walking/running 5k in 45 mins F - Inconsistently trained - Walk 5k (can do currently) in 45 mins 2. Track Food Eaten - myfitnesspal and also having to do for challenge at work (which is just tracking exercise and diet) - CON (2) WIS (2) A - Tracked food for 6 weeks of challenge B - Tracked food for 4-5 weeks of challenge C - Tracked food for 2-3 weeks of challenge F - Tracked food of 0-1 weeks of challenge 3. BBW 3xweek - HAVE TO DO THIS, I gained some strength over the last few weeks with what I had done before and moving over the last few weeks (WHY IS CHILDREN'S FURNITURE SO HEAVY????), I actually have some muscle tone in my arms and none of the flappy under arms, would love to keep this up and be able to fit into a smaller spidey-suit. - STR (2) STA (3) A - BBW 3xweek B - BBW 2xweek C - BBW 1xweek F - BBW less than 6 times (total) of challenge Life goal: Start a Book (that I haven't read before) and Finish it - WIS (3) A- Did it B - >1/2 - 3/4 way through the book C - >1/4 - 1/2 way through the book F - 0-1/4 way through the book My main thing I want this time around is sticking with the challenge. Last time I started out great and completly fell off. Thus I'm still stuck with the Blob (marvel.com/universe/Blob) body in the Spidey-suit... AND HERE WE GO!!!

In the vast, cold emptiness of space, drifts a ship. It has a strange shape to it, like a dinosaur holding a purse. Full of scratches and chips of something that may have been paint, a friendly spectator might call the ship vintage; an honest one would just call it crappy. It's a small space vessel, capable of transporting a few people at best, not nearly enough for a full crew. Inside, a lone figure lies in a pod that closely resembles a casket. There are so few lights, but the rays shed from the few remaining ones shine on the white, paper-like skin of the figure. Long, thin fingers twitch as the computer beeps and the casket opens, mist creeping out over its edges. The feet connecting to the floor carefully, tentatively are as cool as the steel underneath. Eyes bat, slowly, trying to find focus in the dimness. Even slower is the process in which the tiniest spark flickers inside the brain, catching on to the long-forgotten nerves, lighting up the supposedly eternal darkness inside the mind. When the realization hits her, she doesn't like it. She touches the ends of dry hair, presses on the squishy mass of stomach where no muscle can be found. Squeezes the eyes painfully hard as the hand rises at chest level, rests under the collarbones, confirming what she already knew. The eyes do not water up; there is not enough liquid in the body to spare. With frightening indifference, she makes her weakened legs walk her to the computer panel. Flips on the scanner, inquires the ship's present location and course. The screen displays a thousand suns, big and small; a field of stardust and asteroids; planets consisting entirely of rock and ice and boiling lava. But nowhere there is water, plants, fauna. No life. Not outside the ship... or inside of it. A frown pulls down the eyebrows. "Computer, what happened here?" Another bleep echoes in the ship. "Information unknown. Please specify." A huff emerges from the lips. "What is the mission of this ship and its crew?" "The mission is aborted due to the death of all its participants. The ship has been declared lost." "Then what was the mission?" "The mission was to save the world." She stands there for the longest time, gazing out into the passing stars. Brushes the fingers against the underside of the wrists where she cannot feel a pulse. There is so much the mind cannot remember. Perhaps it's a natural consequence, the order of decomposition - the most recently used brain cells are the first to go. "No." The head shakes, drawing unpleasant crackling noises from the unused neck joints. "Computer, the mission will be restarted." "Error: The mission cannot be completed without living participants." "There is one." She drops on hands and knees on the floor and lowers herself down even as the elbows tremble with effort. "Correction: there will be." Inside the chest, the heart expands and contracts, just once. But it's a start. ____________________________________________________________________ ...What? I saw people having these fancy narratives in their challenge threads and I wanted one too. I decided to start a battle log so I can keep track of my progress and stay accountable. It's a lot less tempting to skip a workout or eat crap when I know I have to announce my failings to the rest of the world. My challenge thread resides here. My goals for the current challenge, summarized, are as follows: Strength training 3x week Interval running 2-3x week Sleep 6+ hours every night Finish 3 essays from spring Measurements: Height: 163 cm / 5'4" Bust: 98 cm / 38.5" (Just curious to see whether this goes anywhere... probably not.) Waist: 78 cm / 30.5" Hips: 100 cm / 39" (The instruction is to measure the widest part, so should this actually read 'butt'?) Thigh: 61 cm / 24" Arm: 26 cm / 10.25" As you can see, I have trunks for thighs and stick for arms. There is not going to be weight listed - due to our very traumatic past, the scale and I aren't talking. I don't know much I weight, and I've made the decision not to care; visual inspection and measurements should be good enough to indicate whether I'm going to the right direction or not. I might post pics later, if I manage to convince myself that taking very unflattering half-nekkid photos of myself and posting them in the interwebs is a good idea in any shape or form. _______________________________________________________ 01/08/2013: Sleep: 8.5-9 hours + 0.5 hour nap (day off from work, I got to sleep in <3) Food: Lunch: 4 McDonald's Cheese Burgers (I know, I know... I spent the day running around the city center, I was so hungry and they're cheap.) Post-workout snack: protein shake Exercise: Interval running ~25 mins + ~45 incline push-ups + a few very sad attempts at pull-ups (= hanging on the bar for dear life without managing to move an inch) I did actual sprints for the first time today. Okay, I'm not fast, but I really ran and didn't just jog. The first couple of times went really well and I felt like Superwoman, but then it started getting to me and the sprint parts turned to jogging. My feet and legs felt fine, but my chest was all like "oh my god it burns, what are you doing, STAHP!" My thighs hurt now, though, so it seems it was a decent workout.

Like probably many people, I simply cannot run without my trusty ol' MP3 player. I started C25K and have been listening to DJ Beatsmith's podcasts, because I find the change of tempo and signals when to walk/run really helpful. (Seriously, I run faster to appropriately paced music, I've tested it. ) However, I'm starting to run into a problem: C25K is designed to make you eventually run at a constant pace, and I want to keep the interval aspect. And only the podcasts for the first few weeks are suitable to this, but it gets boring listening to the same mixes over and over. So, fellow nerds! Any of you know any other (free) music mixes suited for interval training? Something like 30-60 (or possibly 90) second of music with faster tempo and a few minutes in slower, alternating for 20-30 minutes. Personally, I'm into goth/EBM/synthpop/industrial, dubstep/chillstep and film scores as my workout music, but I heartily welcome suggestions from any music genre.

I'm not counting PE classes or other mandatory occasions here. This evening, for the first time ever, I put on my nifty new sneakers and went on a run voluntarily! Well, okay, I started the C25K program, so I was walking and jogging, but it's still both feet off the ground. I was really surprised by how well I did. I mean, I tried to monitor my form and I wasn't really hurting anywhere - when I've had to run before, my stomach's stung so badly I've had to quit. Maybe it's the body weight workouts I've been doing for the past two weeks or actually knowing how to run properly (i.e. not stomping on my heels), but I felt ridiculously athletic. And I actually liked it, which was the biggest surprise of all. I've never taken the time to familiarize myself with my new surroundings, so I just wandered around the neighborhood. I was in the middle of a road besides some fields when the podcast ended, so I cut through a trail I spotted and ended up in someone's back yard. I had to sneak out of there without anyone noticing me. Rogue XP? I also found a playground, which is awesome, because there's this upside-down J looking thing with bars in there that I can practice pull-ups with. I feel so pumped! I have to rein myself in to not go again immediately tomorrow, I don't want to wear myself out. (I also noticed I was really flexible afterwards, which was unexpected. I always stretch after my body weight workouts and haven't noticed much improvement, but now that I was stretching after the run, I was suddenly able to touch my toes again. Huh. Weird.)

This is my first challenge so I am really nervous and itching to kick some ass, thus I'll skip right to the important stuff 1) Get fit +4 STA +1 STR Ok, I know, 'Get fit' sounds vague and a lot like a BAD goal, but bear with me I'll elaborate. At the beginning of last year I've started doing judo again, after a 10-year break. It has been an absolute blast and I've really enjoyed it, but now I've gotten this "crazy" idea: to compete in tournaments again(quite a challenge as everyone in my age group has mostly 10+ years of competitive experience).So to this end I've started visiting other clubs, who are big in competitive judo in my area. Training there is really hard, even more for me as I lack strength,stamina, pretty much everything. This is exactly what I want to change. I have a judo specific fitness routine, but it completely kicks my ass, so after much deliberation I've decided to first build some basic fitness. To do this I want to utilise High Intensity Cuircuit Training(HICT), namely Tabata Intervals(sprint) and the Scientific 7-Minute Workout. Tabata Interval: I've done these before and the completely kicked my ass. So I'll add two rounds every week until I reach eight rounds.Scientific 7-Minute Workout: Every two weeks I'll add a repeat.Grading: I'll do these exercises 3x per week (Monday, Wednsday, Friday) and for each done workout I'll give myself 1 Point, so ideally I'll have 3 Points after a week. If I get 75% of the points I'll pass. +4 STA +1 STR2) Loose weight Kind of ambiguous again, but the details follow now. At the moment my scale puts me at 74.4 kg (163.7 lbs ) which means at a tournament I'd fight in the category of -81kg, but I want to fight at -73kg. So in the next six weeks I want to drop my weight to about 70kg(154 lbs). In a later post I'll elaborate how exactly I plan/do this. Grading: This will just be graded PASS/FAIL +2 CHA +1DEX3)Get better at gymnastics Often times in judo training we perfrom gymnastic exercises, stuff like handstands, headstands, cartwheels, etc. This being my third goal you can probably guess that I am not all that good at them, thus I want to improve. My goal in the next six weeks is to improve in three specific exercises. Handstand: I want to be able to hold one for at least 15 seconds.Radwende: For this one I didn't find a translation so I'll provide a link for it: Radkehre: Same problem as the one above: Grading: PASS/FAIL for each move +2 DEX4)LIFE GOAL I am a terrible student. I do pay attention during class (mostly), but then in the afternoon I don't revise nor do I do homework.To add to this problem I am terrible at binge learning and thus only write average to bad grades, which isn't the ideal state of affairs considering my A-levels are approaching fast. Thus I want to change this. Revision: For the first three weeks of the challenge my main goal will be to revise everything I have done that day in class. I get 1 Point for each day I manage to do this.Homework: Starting with week four my main goal will be to do my homework daily. I'll still continue to revise. I get 1 Point for each day I manage to do this.Grading: If I manage to get 75% of all points possible I PASS, if not I FAIL. +4 WIS +1 CHA At the end of the challenge I will count together all my PASS and FAILs and if I get 3/4 PASS I will consider this challenge a success. I will track my progress with Lift and , of course, this forum. I am looking forward to pass this challenge together with all of you

This is my first time doing a challenge under the assassin title (2nd challenge overall). I've pretty much fallen for parkour the way I fell for NF, and I am very loyal to my loves! Here are my goals: 1. Get to level 2 on my bodyweight workout. My level two is 2 sets of 15 reps of squats, pushups, and leg lifts. 2. Do a proper landing from 3 feet off the ground. I'm just jumping off the ground and landing now. 3. I'm doing interval training (walk/run). I did 6 rounds today, so I am aiming for 8 rounds without that "I can't go anymore" feeling that I had today. 4. Pick up after myself when I come home...yeah, my husband's complained about this one so... That's it!

Hey, everyone! I'm not really new to NF at this point, but I am new to the Ranger guild. I was previously training with the Assassins, but decided to migrate here for this Challenge in hopes that it might give me the kick in the pants that I need. I've provided the links to my previous Challenges for a little context... My First Challenge My Second Challenge Background Info (pasted from previous challenges): By day I'm a 23 year old husband and graduate student, studying to become a Family Therapist. By night I am working to grow the world's coolest beard and to become a better me. I have been hindered in the past by chronic lung illness (Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia - I have the lung function of an 85 year old). This will always be an issue, but it can no longer define who I am or what I do. It's time to break free from my sickness. It's time to become on the outside who I've always been on the inside. Check out this post for more info on PCD, the chronic lung disease I have. ... ... ... Fitness Goal #1 - Weigh in at 145 lbs once. (+2 CON, +2 STR) I've been underweight my entire life, so getting these last few pounds is important to me. The more muscle I have, the better my body can utilize oxygen, and the better I can breathe. I'll be using MyFitnessPal to track my caloric intake on a daily basis and will weigh in every Friday. I've had this goal in both of my previous challenges. It's kicked me in the face both times, so we'll see how it goes. Any and all advice/encouragement with gaining weight is appreciated! Fitness Goal #2 - Complete my assigned interval training schedule 3x/week. (+2 STA, +2 DEX) I am using this running schedule. I'm on Week 2, so in theory, I should be on Week 7 by the end of the Challenge, but I know not to push myself too much - it can be unhealthy for my lungs & immune system. I'll be using iSmoothRun on my iPhone to encourage me and keep track of my running along the way. Fitness Goal #3 - Complete a workout in the free weights section of the gym. (+1 CHA, +1 WIS, +1 STR) This scares the crap out of me, for whatever reason. I took a weights class in high school and have a decent idea of how to use free weights. I think they could really help push me over the 145 lb. mark (my first goal). However, I'm scared to death to use them. It's mostly the social aspect of it that brings up a lot of anxiety in me. So only doing one workout may seem too easy, but it terrifies me. This will likely be my most difficult goal to achieve. I'm not completely sure what my plan of attack for this goal will be, then, so any and all feedback would be appreciated! Life Goal #1 - Read 5 non-school books. (+4 WIS) This sounds psychotic, especially considering we have weeks in grad school where we read 400-500 pages, but it's a goal I've accomplished before and one I'd love to do again. I'll be reading 5 fiction books from my GoodReads to-read list, checking one book out from the library every 8 days (or so). I'm hoping to make the Rangers proud in my first Challenge with them. Thanks for reading and for your support!