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Hi. I'm going to vague post a bit for now, and I apologize, but having thought about what I want I basically have to conclude that I don't really have the time to explain everything in detail. The very short version is that I've spent the past week thinking about what I want for this challenge and concluding that I've got a lot of interconnected problems that may require some relatively drastic solutions. I'm tempted toward drastic changes now for the first time in a long time, not because my life is particularly bad right now but because I feel a pretty profound sense of disconnect between where I am now and where I want to be in terms of my health and personal development. The good news is, moving on from my situation doesn't really require any sudden dramatic shifts. Slow and steady and consistent change suits my temperament better, and I can get after it. Having got the heavy movement (my strength and conditioning) dialed in for the most part, it's time for me to turn to two other kinds of movement: daily movement, or Mobility, and martial arts, or Play. These will be my goals for this challenge. Goal 1: Mobility I don't like how sedentary I've become. It's bad for my waistline and for my mind, and I need to set a boundary for myself here to get up and move. The standard of 7,500 steps is a little too drastic right now for me to take, not because that much walking is hard but because that much walking is long. There is one way to get that many steps a day though in a relatively short amount of time: the Dreaded Running. Which I'm not convinced is a good short term idea to just jump into, but I think in the long run would actually be very beneficial for me. That's probably more Epic Goal than anything, but the first step (hah!) toward that is carving time out of my day to get away from the job and move. So, goal is to get a half hour every day of walking. That's it. Goal 2: Play You ever have friends who were your enemies? I'm kind of there now. I have a lot of wonderful friends whom I love very much and whose lives I want very much to be a part of, but they're getting in the way of my mat time and so I'm becoming less and less the person I want to be in order to be more and more the person I think they want. There is a solution to this, and it's one I've been holding off on because I don't think I'm worthy of it, but avoiding it isn't making me more worthy of it, so I'm just going to have to do it, and that's this: I need to make a point of doing noontime classes for martial arts whenever I can. The one day I've been doing it consistently, it's been good for me because I get to honor both my obligations to myself and to others. I need to do that more. Along with that, Goal 3: Study Dedicated study of what I learn. Detailed notes on the things I'm taught so that I can keep engaging with what I'm learning and internalize it better. And... yeah. That's that for now.

Hi! So this past Tuesday, I had something of an epiphany. I went home to help my dad out with some chores about the place. Nothing strenuous in particular, but it reminded me of an old guideline from Simple and Sinister about testing yourself against unusual and unorthodox demands every now and again. This has always worked out for me to being a matter of serving others somehow, because everyone needs help with moving their couch. I found that I missed the program a great deal. I've also been working on losing some body fat per the latest iteration of Berkhan's Leangains protocol, which is basically all protein all the time. He's suspicious of "fuckarounditis," or trying to train everything and ultimately training nothing. My latest measurements indicate that I'm actually gaining fat on this protocol right now, and that's a matter of compliance more than it's anything else. The past month has been remarkably social, and I've not had all that much opportunity to be compliant. I can't do anything about the social component beyond damage control, but I can do something about my training, and I think it's worth it. New plan is to hit S&S on as near to the daily as I can. GB training is going to be broken up some as a result - no more core movements and one upper-body movement per day, plus one leg movement and 1-2 days of handstand work. Reason being that GB's protocols call for integrated mobility, and in their core series they all ultimately work out to having a lumbar flexion component that Pavel warns against. S&S in its current iteration fortunately can make space for this - once I get back to lifting the 32, the recommended days drop off from daily to 3-4 days per week, and I can return to core training then. In the meantime, the work I'm doing will build me toward a Hollow Back Press, and a Straddle Planche, which are non-flexion core strengtheners which would be good to have a base in by the time I get to the point that it matters. Fortunately, everything should work just fine, I think. The past few days have felt pretty good in terms of me getting what I want. Now the trick is to work in qigong and stretching, which I think I can do as long as I'm focused properly on it. So here are the challenge goals: Goal 1: Train Bit of a gimme, but consistent logging is good for me when I make changes like this, so I can confront myself and be honest about what's happening and whether I like it or not. Goal 2: Meditate This fell off in the past week. Dedicate 10 minutes a day to relaxing my mind. This feels like something I can get after now, but I'm reserving the right to adjust if needed. Goal 3: Write This fell off in the past week too. No excuses, and the good news is that when I've done work, it's been good, deep, structural work. I've been figuring out what kind of cast of characters I need and who they are in relation to the structure of the story, which is good to do. Now I need to keep going. I don't really know how to quantify it at this point beyond "just sit down and do the thing," but I think I can do it. And, yeah. I've been writing down what I do on the mats afterward and that alone has been helpful, but I've had a hard time with actually doing the homework of reviewing videos and taking notes. This could be better. Just a matter of making time, really. Can do. Will do? That remains to be seen. But, uh, yeah. T-minus a couple days. Let's go.