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Edit: Based on my New Years’ food resolutions, I’m gonna be making a lot of Mac n Cheese this year. Probably none this first week, but keep an eye out for the first attempt circa 01/07. So I’ve added a bonus goal in addition to the 5 main ones I started this post with! Alright, here goes first challenge of 2018. Everything will start Jan 3rd, my first full day back in Dallas. Clearly I'm getting a little stir crazy staying with my parents in that I'm already typing this up - will add a theme and gifs sometime before the 3rd as well. Hit target calories and protein, every day: I want to hit the ground running with my physique goals (specifically, post holiday cutting) as soon as I get back home to TX, so starting on the 3rd I'll aim to hit the calorie and protein goals I set for myself every day - this is going to be most challenging when traveling to Houston for practice, but I'm planning to start buying groceries when I'm in Houston so I have access to plenty of veggies and lean protein while I'm there. Sleep 8+ hours a night, 6+ days a week: I need to refocus on sleep for my recovery - really let this one slip over the last 3 months or so. Time to start tracking it and get the number back up to optimal for me. Get pre-gym morning routine down to about 15 minutes: Part of a broader plan to optimize my work day routines so I have time to train in the morning, work a full work day, teach and practice in the evening, and still get plenty of sleep (and occasionally socialize somewhere in there, too); morning routine will ideally just be making my bed, mixing PWO, swishing some mouthwash, popping a couple pills, and grabbing a breakfast I can eat in the car en route to gym. Theoretically, should let me wake by 6:15, be in the car by 6:30, be at the gym by about 6:45, and finish a decent length workout at 8 to be at work by 8:30. Do your scheduled workouts, adjusting as needed: I have all 5 days of the work week scheduled for an ideal setup, and if I need to shorten it due to national holidays, etc, I'll prioritize things from top to bottom, conveniently: Mon - Upper body lift w/ HIIT finisher Tues - Lower body lift w/ HIIT finisher Wed - Gymnast stuff, plus full-length HIIT session (20-30 mins) Thur - Pilates plus steady state cardio Fri - Gymnast stuff, plus full-length HIIT session (20-30 mins) Start tracking how focused and productive you feel at work: Simple 1-5 on each, assigned at the end of the work day. Won't do anything with the data yet, but getting it is the first step to look at patterns. BONUS GOAL: Make one (or more) Mac n Cheese recipe and post the results here Let it be known that I wanted to chuck a #6 and #7 at the end of this list, but stopped myself. Just barely.

Let's do this. Actually, I'll be doing something a little different this year. I'm leaving behind the tradition of using the beginning of a new year to tackle existential threats. I’m starting with a side quest. Late last year, around September or October, I signed on with a small publisher to illustrate a children’s book. It’s a passion project more than anything, but I do have official deadlines, one of which I’ve already missed. I got an extension, but now that we are beyond the fun of the holidays and into the bleak and awful portion of winter, it’s time to hunker down and work. I’ve got about 2 months to complete it, so I’m hoping to do line work this month and coloring next month. Diet and exercise will still play a major role in my achieving my long-term goals, and will still be part of my challenge, but won’t be as intense of a focus. I’m hoping I’ve built enough routine and discipline that these will be the easier of the goals. I’m keeping this simple, just going to post with updates whenever I can. The reality is, my diet and exercise are working. But they are working very, very slowly compared to my relative patience. I'm hoping to "set it and forget it" so to speak, by checking the boxes and not paying too much attention to the scale or the mirror for a while. Challenge Goal 1: Complete line work Current Line work completed: 2/22 pages Weekly Line work goals 1/2-1/8: 6/22 1/9-1/15: 10/22 1/16-1/22: 14/22 1/23-1/29: 18/22 1/30-2/5: 22/22 Challenge Goal 2: Juggernaut (4x-week) Challenge Goal 3: Eat well and track

Hype died last challenge, so I'm carrying on with out it. Discipline will suffice and thrive where hype failed. Nothing has changed on goals. 1. 8 lift days. I am a person who lifts twice a week, using the juggernaut program as a guide to get STRONG. This has not changed. 2. 6 Yoga Days. I am a person who does yoga to get and stay flexible. This promotes anti-fragility and prevents injury. NF yoga is awesome, and I noticed some progress in the last challenge. This stays. 3. 6 Walk days. I am a person who goes on walks for physical and mental health. I live next to an awesome trail. It's beautiful and lined with live oaks that are going to stay green all winter. It is energizing for the body to walk, it is energizing for my soul to walk among such beautiful trees. I am a Ranger after all. 4. Cooking. I am a person who cooks and eats Paleo. Twice a week I allow myself to vary from this. This is the most important goal for getting my waist down to a healthy level. I'd really like to get my weight down to 245 by the end of the year. I am at the bottom end of pre-diabetes and want it gone by my physical in March. I had allowed 3 variances in the past, it was too much. I also track what I eat on MFP. 5. Domestic Rangering. I am a person who keeps his home clean and neat. I do laundry and clean the place regularly. Trust not to hype, it has forsaken these lands.

Themes are great when you can think of one. I'm working on being functional at 95. In order for that to happen I need consistency now with good habits. Therefore instead of focusing on not having a theme, I'm focusing on NOT GIVING UP. To be functional at 95 I need to be alive at 95, that means a healthier waistline, physical strength, and mobility. My goals support this. I am a person who does things. 1. 8 lift days. I am a person who lifts twice a week, using the juggernaut program as a guide to get STRONG. This has not changed. 2. 6 Yoga Days. I am a person who does yoga to get and stay flexible. This promotes anti-fragility and prevents injury. NF yoga is awesome, and I noticed some progress in the last challenge. This stays. 3. 6 Walk days. I am a person who goes on walks for physical and mental health. I live next to an awesome trail. It's beautiful and lined with live oaks that are going to stay green all winter. It is energizing for the body to walk, it is energizing for my soul to walk among such beautiful trees. I am a Ranger after all. 4. Cooking. I am a person who cooks and eats Paleo. Twice a week I allow myself to vary from this. This is the most important goal for getting my waist down to a healthy level. I'd really like to get my weight down to 240 by the end of the year. I am at the bottom end of pre-diabetes and want it gone by my physical in March. I had allowed 3 variances in the last challenge, it was too much. I also track what I eat on MFP. 5. Domestic Rangering. I am a person who keeps his home clean and neat. I do laundry and clean the place regularly. That's it. Success is the accumulation of the consequences of good choices over time. It's time to accumulate. Bonus gifs since I haven't added any yet:

Planned goals (copy and pasted from last challenge thread): Sleep like it's your job: I am so much more pleasant, productive, and energetic when I consistently get ~8 hours of sleep; this year I've really discovered that it's a cornerstone habit for making good choices throughout the day Fuel like an athlete: Eating veggies, fruits, and plenty of carbs will be a cornerstone of my athletic diet; don't need to track but do need to find some way to ensure I'm eating a proper diet (likely will be number of fruit / veggie servings consumed) Work like a boss: More subjective than past work goals, but I want to hold myself every day to a standard of delivering results like I already am at the level I'm gunning for in the next promotion cycle Recover every day: no matter what it is, I need to do something for mobility's sake every day - can be stretching, dynamic mobility work, foam rolling, ankle rehab exercises, foot stretching, etc. Well-rounded every day: Carve out 10-15 mins every work day for language practice and carve out time for two mental toughness workouts (for dance and work) and a short bit of prayer. Yes, this goal is a lot, and it'll probably take more than one challenge to get all of them regularly happening daily.

Goals to be added later. But basically, I'm trying a shiny new program (Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training) and I'll be aiming to find maintenance or a slow bulking calorie intake over the course of the challenge. Also will be tackling work goals and things to support my development as a dancer. Goals are now added!!!! Be a real adult: Clean my apartment 1x / 3 weeks (wash countertops, sweep, vacuum, mop, and all those other things I appreciate when they're done but don't do very often) Sleep 7+ hours every night Serve all food into a bowl or plate (using rational judgment to follow the spirit of this one - so I'm not going to make myself spoon out peanut butter to then spread it on crackers, cause that's ridic; but I'm also not going to let myself sit down with a spoon and a jar of peanut butter and call that acceptable) Work like a boss: Stay focused for the duration of every workday (gentle grading on this one, but tougher than last challenge) Keep a warm, confident aura throughout the workday (I've gotten feedback I come across as prickly, which I don't hear at all from folks outside my work life) Do something for personal development every day (currently experimenting with timeblocking / planning each day at the start then holding myself to that schedule - so far it's been pretty effective) Train and Eat like an Athlete: Track all foods, log the calorie totals and weights into a google sheet I'm building to help me find maintenance calories - continue to eat near maintenance once found Follow the lifting program - 5 days a week, MT RFSa (will write up more details in a separate post...later) 3+ solo dance practices every week - these don't necessarily need to be highly physical reps - I'm currently spending a lot of time writing out my routines and all the quality details I know need to go into each step; unsurprisingly, nerd me should find this highly useful for then putting more quality into my dancing more consistently Stretch every night - at least two different stretches (currently playing around with two separate stretches for increasing my foot point and getting my feet to roll towards my inside edge - I naturally roll to the outside of my feet which is bad for aesthetics and function as a dancer) Be a well-rounded human: Do something social every week Duolingo language practice 3x / week Rewards: 90%+: 1 new pair of workout shorts (all of mine are perfectly functional, I just like the feel of new stuff that's a good length for lifting and has pockets) 95%+: New dress shirt and polo from athletic fit menswear company (State and Liberty - one of the first places I've found that explicitly designs for a V-shape torso; haven't tried them out yet but have high hopes)

Jon Firestar Channels the Speed Force! My Name is Jon Firestar and I am not the fastest man alive! Actually I am pretty darn slow but I am getting faster and I am gaining more endurance. So my new challenge is going to focus a little more on running goals. There is still going to be lifting and I'm still trying to lose weight but I am really motivated to focus on running a the moment and I want to take full advantage of that! Why am I Running? It is worth mentioning my immediate and mid term goals that my training is focusing on. In the immediate term I've got an beer festival OCR coming up on Week 3 of the challenge Barrel of Laps with totally awesome @Jarric and the OCR Hero @Charlie_Quinn. I cannot wait! In the longer term I've got a Half Marathon Race coming up in the beginning of September so this can be considered as the first part of training for that race. A few weeks later I've got a Spartan Beast, which is about the same distance albeit a lot of Spartany. I will be switching my training to be more focuses on the Spartan towards middle of August but for now my main focus is the half marathon. Run All The Miles: Run 100 Miles. Simple mileage goal for the 6 weeks of the challenge. Averaging about 17 miles per week. I've got a stretch goal of 120 miles. To CQ, this is me throwing down the gauntlet Run With Intent: Two 'quality' runs per week. I went into detail about this last challenge but it boils down to this. My two longer mid week runs on Tuesday and Thursday will be quility runs. The intention is to have Tuesday be for a Threshold workout. Either a 20 minute tempo run as part of a longer easy run or as four five minute threshold intervals with minute breaks between. Thursday will be an interval day. I'm going to continue my current rotation of hill repeats and 400 meter intervals, one week hills the next 400 meter intervals with some easy warm up and cool down miles. There will also be a long run at the weekend for 2 to 2.5 hours (about 10-12 miles). Be Strong! I'm going to continue to work on my lifting. I've not cleaned up my spreadsheet yet but I will do over the next few days. I am paring down my lifting routine a little bit. This is partly to allow more time to run and partly because I don't think all of it is useful. I'm focusing down a little more. Lift 3 days per week. Eat Sensibly Mainly just a continuation of my 2600-2700 calorie goal which should lead to continued weight loss. Gotchas! There a couple of things that are lurking around the corner that will increase the challenge of this challenge somewhat. One I've already mentioned. Barrel of Laps is an OCR, it is also a beer festival. I'm going to say right now I don't intend on being 'good' over that weekend. Beer will be consumed in abundance and food will probably not be great either. I'm comfortable with that decision. A week Friday I've also got another big party. Next week is going to be very challenging for the goals I've set myself. Friday is going to involve travelling, a work conference. Free food, an open bar, a late night out with the boss and others. The next day I'm going to be much worse for wear and I've then got to travel back home. Sunday I'm going to see Spider-Man with some friends and somewhere in all that I need to find the time and energy for a 10 mile run. I'll work out some kind of scoring mechanism later

Jon Firestar Back to the Grind My creativity has taken a bit of a hiatus so not much of a theme this time round . I'm just ready to keep things simple and get down and dirty with my training! Coming off of my race at the weekend I've felt a surge of new motivation. I don't have anything in my calendar until the epic cross over event that is Barrel of Laps a couple of months away but that might change at any moment! Last challenge was pretty rough and full of ups and downs. I want to say that this coming challenge is just going to be back to the normal daily grind after running 3 races, getting sick and struggling with recovery last time round. Everything is back to normal for this challenge, except for one small detail. On week 4 this challenge, my job changes. My promotion finally goes through on June 19 which begins a big change and a new chapter in my professional life. So part of my challenge this time round will be rebuilding and maintaining consistency. Due to sickness and how closely packed together my races were I lost a lot of my consistency and my aim is to jump right back in the deep end with it. Reign in the Food If I’m honest. My food has gotten out a little out of control over the last couple of months. I want to reign this right in so that I can get back to cutting. The goals here are simple: Record my food in MFP. Actually keep it up to date and accurate The calorie target is 2600 - 2700 erring towards the high end. This should be enough to produce a modest calorie deficit but may be subject to review depending on the numbers. Go Faster, Go Further! Tough Mudder showed up some of my weaknesses. My sprint speed is pretty dire. I’ve not trained it at all so that is not really a surprise. So part of my plan going forward is to include some real speed work into my routine. I’m unsure of the best way to achieve this so I’m going to go back to my original plan that never happened and rotate the speed day with my hills day. Now that the weather is getting nicer I want to start exploring further afield for new and interesting trails to run. The countryside around me is full of hiking routes and big hills that I want to explore. This probably won’t happen every week just because of time but I’ll make it as an extra. Run 3 Days per week: Tuesday: easy 3.5-4 miles with 4xstride intervals at the end. Thursday: sprint intervals/hill repeats increasing the interval count with each week from 4x to 8x Saturday: Long run 6-12 miles. Additional Goals: run at least 50 miles and 1000 ft of climb over the challenge. Twice go further afield to find new trails. Sign up for the Maidenhead Half Marathon Get Strong, be Powerful High volume lifting woot! AKA Fear of the DOMS. Running through the 10s phase of the juggernaut program. Also increasing the volume on some of my assistance exercises. More pushups, more dips, more pull ups (hopefully). The aim is less variety and more focus on the things I want to work on. Moving my body weight around space is vital to my OCR goals so there is going to be an emphasis on some of the bodyweight movements. I’m also going to focus more on conditioning. My shoulder is still a tad bit tender from my run in with TM last month and I’m a little wary of adding impact this week but once I’m happy with it I’m going to start adding many, many burpees. Lifting 3 Days per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 2x sessions of conditioning per week Additional Goal: work up to sets of 20 burpees by the end of the challenge -- That’s it. Keeping things simple this time round. I’m removing all the convoluted scoring from last session and returning to my previous health system. There are a total of 64 total points to to hit for the whole challenge. I want to aim to achieve at least 80% of that score this gives me a beginning HP of 50. Each missed item will result in the loss of 1 health. If I hit zero I fail. There is no healing during the challenge. Unlike the scoring with my last challenge this will eliminate the whole getting killed based just on two bad days. If I hit all of my additional goals. I will buy myself a new pair of road running shoes.

I'm having a little drama trying to figure out the best next step for me program wise. Ideally, I want something that doesn't grind me into the ground quite so much so that I can use the additional recovery for met-con style work (I'd like to add fitness and leanness to my still growing strength profile for several mostly personal reasons). From what I gather, the juggernaut method looks like it'll be the right fit for the purpose of allowing extra recovery, except its a 4 day a week program, and that doesn't really fit with me being a shift worker. Just wondering if anyone has any experience, or knowledge of whether the program can work as a 3 day a week program (and just shift the 4th session on to the next week)? Also, I currently squat and bench 3 days a week, and deadlift twice a week, is the likely drop in frequency going to cause too many issues? Or will it all just sort of balance out in the end? As a side note, I'm competing in May and will then likely have around a year before I compete again to try and actually change weight classes and get generally fitter. So, if the frequency thing is only an issue for those prepping for a meet, this would likely be the best time for me to drop that back.

Jarric: As Yet Untitled So for those of you who may not have seen this, there's a show on British TV called Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Wikipedia link) in which Alan Davies sits at a round table with 4 guests (mostly comedians) and shares stories and talks nonsense for an hour, with no agenda, no plan, just having a chat. At the end of the hour they pick a title for the show based on what they've talked about. I've only just discovered the show and love it, so in the interest of sharing stories and talking lots of nonsense for this challenge I want to do the same - at the end of the challenge we'll pick a name for the challenge based on what's happened this month. Format! Last challenge (which I will go back and wrap up soon, promise!) fizzled out a bit at the end, so I'm jumping straight back in and making this one a 5 week challenge. Building on my 2017 road map and my last challenge the goals will be similar to last month, with a few minor tweaks... Goals! Move! - 15XP What? Exercise every single day. Why? Working towards my OCRs this year, and I find I work better working every day than trying to have rest days. How? Follow Juggernaut lifting plan MWF and Runkeeper sub-55 minute 10k plan TTSS. I'm rolling the 4 days of lifting over three days (until I become ruler of the world and make standard weeks 8 days long), so if one week is Monday Bench, Wednesday Squat, Friday OHP, then the next week will be Monday Deadlift, Wednesday Bench, Friday Squat. Make sense? The running program is a faster version of the 10k plan I ran last year (and briefly injured my hips on), and I rather enjoyed it so I'm trying it again. Snooze! - 10XP What? Don't hit snooze! Why? Because I set that time for a reason, and I need to remember that! And I don't like rushing (more than usual) in the morning. How? On weekdays, when my alarm goes off at 05:30, get up without hitting snooze. Track! - 10XP What? Track calories every day Why? Because I've lost sight of quite how much I should be eating, and I want to find that again. And it wouldn't hurt to lose the barrel I'm carrying around my waist at the moment either! How? Track calories using Fitbit (and best guesses where necessary) every day. No target amount until I work out how generous Fitbit is being with the calorie burn. Budget! - 15XP What? Stick to my weekly budget Why? Because getting out of debt and saving is one of my main goals for the year, and ultimately because I want to own my own house before I reach retirement age! How? Every week I have a weekly budget of £80 for random sundry expenses (this feels like far too much, but whatever). This doesn't include groceries, work travel or exercise expenses, or bills/rent which come directly out of my account. Basically it's food and drink out and random stuff. And to get us going on the random chat, and icebreaker (I may do a few of these): Icebreaker: Have you ever won a trophy or medal? So for me, I won a couple of trophies when I was about 14 in a pool competition. Run by a caravan park in Wales. I think as a way to shift off-season tickets. But it was the start of something and I've had a string of pool and snooker trophies since, so I have fond memories of it .

Grinding; Small Stones (Stones: a few KCAL a day / that extra microplate or rep / ingraining solid habits) Longterm goals / Main-quest / The Mountain What: Drop in BF% Why: Walk around comfortably without clothes What: Get “bodyweight-fit” Why: Be OCR-ready / Satisfy RangerBrain™ What: Drop below 74 kg (163 lbs) Why: Be ready for PL-beginners-meet Remember the past: track to be able to see progress. Plan for the future: Think up and work out solid long term and short term goals Live for today: Have fun, to keep going Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come: : (What will tomorrow-you say about this?) Challenge goals: DIET: (If i have to decide whether i should eat/drink it, than i shouldn't) Primary objectives Daily KCAL limit: 2000 made up of: 30% Carb / 35% Fat / 35% Prot Clean eating, which means, No: deepfried / candy / cookies / dessert Clean drinking, which means, No: beer / soda / diet soda But to “live for today” if the occasion requires it, adapt, but make it a conscious decision Secondary Objectives Tracking, by doing daily weigh-ins and plan with MFP before major meals For accountability, keep the spreadsheet and your challenge updated (If choice is needed think about the long-term-goal) EXERCISE: (Growth = Pain + Recovery) Primary objectives Juggernaut based training: 3 times a week according to *schedule Running: 3 times a week according to the *rules Secondary Objectives Tracking, on paper during workout and/or digital on the challenge For accountability, keep the spreadsheet and your challenge updated Organize all the previous lifting data in a new spreadsheet *Schedule Juggernaut Days Mo We Sa Mo We Sa Deadlifts/Lower Back LB DL LB DL LB DL Squats/Pull- or Chinups PU SQ SQ PU SQ SQ Benchpress/Overheadpress OHP BP BP OHP BP BP *Rules for Running Before DST (March 26) Run every Tuesday / Friday / Sunday Add ½ KM every week After DST (March 26) Run every Sunday / Thursday Add 1 KM every week Add bodyweight specific workout on Friday I know this means i will be running for the whole of this challenge, just putting it here for future reference, but as always will adjust as needed. (every (even small) step(s) gets you closer to your goal) I have laser-focus at the moment. So i’m taking this opportunity to engrave it in stone. All the quotes mentioned are something i need to be reminded of every once in a while to keep focus. The last week of the previous challenge and 0-week have been a beta, for this concept, and have gone extremely well. This major “fix RangerBrain™” has also awakened my “join Crossift-box feeling”. But the boxes are all far out, and i cannot prioritize to the extra money at this time. But i aim for a WOD on friday when i adhere to my running rules and go from 3 to 2 sessions a week after DST. Next to all this i have this creeping feeling, that doing the juggernaut workout and running 3 times a week just isn’t enough, i mean doing only 0.5-1 hour (running) or 1-1.5 hour (lifting) for a total of 6 days a week feels a bit like trying to become an olympic athlete without doing the work. Anyone relate? I know this is basically like asking if any of you Rangers has RangerBrain™. Still i’m curious if someone has the same issue. Everybody have a kickass challenge!!! !!! SHOWTIME !!!

In honor of the new season of Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia starting this month I decided to do my theme based on my favorite show! Juggernaut 3x a week If I hope to one day be like the Golden God Dennis then I have to keep up my lifting. First Goal is to finish out strong with the Juggernaut program that I have been following. I am on my last phase and I want to finish strong. Yoga 2x a week I want to get some awesome moves and flexibility just like Sweet Dee. I want to keep working on my flexibility and I know that the yoga really helped balance out the aches and pains from the last few months. Read 2 books Like Charlie I could definitely benefit from learning how to read more. I want to keep up my reading spree so I want to finish at least 2 more books by the end of the challenge. I have a few in mind and I will post about which ones I start reading. Sweet Skillz Study Study 5 times a week for at least 20 mins I need to hone my computer skills in order to perform all of the Ocular patdowns required for my job. I am studying a few things in preparation for an upcoming job interview and hopefully job. I am learning more about Linux and Bash scripting. I am also jumping in and learning HTML5 and CSS coding so that I can get a lil bit of coding under my belt. If everything goes well then I might jump back into Sec+ or Linux plus as well. Save 200$ Frank is the money man, unfortunately like Frank I have been burning through the cash. After the holidays obviously my bank account is crying. So my goal for the end of the month is to save up 200$ and catch up on bills.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. CTHULHU!!! This challenge I am going to work on my inner Cthulhu and destroy everything!!! Goal 1: Strength Cthulhu is obviously a giant destructive force that leaves others quivering in its wake. So I am going to continue my Juggernaut training. I will most likely scale this to at least 2 times a week due to the holiday craziness and a need for a stronger focus on other areas. Juggernaut 2X a week min Goal 2: Malleable Anatomy Cthulhu is a shape shifting giant mountain full of slimy goodness and tentacles. I am going to pick up some more yoga this time. I have a few yoga videos in mind and my goal is Yoga 30 mins 3x a week Goal 3: Madness Manipulation Cthulhu is sleeping in his sunken city but he is also manipulating the dreams of others and it is said that the ones unlucky enough to see him will plunge into madness. I am going to focus on channeling a little of my own madness and practice drawing more this month. My goal is to practice at least 30 mins 3x a week. Bonus points for Cthulhu fan art Goal 4: Mental Manipulation Cthulhu can also read and manipulate the mental functions of others. So I am going to share in this like minded state with joining the Discworld reading book club here on NF. This month we are reading Guards! Guards! It will be our first one so feel free to jump in here:

Hey everyone I am back for round 2 of Juggernaut. Last challenge went really well and I hope to keep that momentum going (lol Juggernaut pun). This time I am going to use the anime One Punch Man as my inspiration. For those who haven't seen it, it is about an average guy who just happens to be the strongest person in the known universe so inevitably he destroys every monster and villain he comes across with one enormously powerful punch. The show is hilariously ridiculous but I like the way Saitama handles himself and is always one the lookout to find harder villains to fight. Goals: Strength - Juggernaut Saitama is the world's strongest man, in the show he states that he got that way from regular strength training that he stuck to for years without quitting. I am going to go into the next phase (phase 5) of the Juggernaut PL program. I have been following a 4 times a week routine with 2 major lifts for each day. Training - Linux + Saitama was so busy fighting only the toughest monsters that he never learned the basics of what it means to be a real hero. I have been so focused on just getting through the workday that I have neglected training my mind and skills to move up. I am studying for my Linux + certification. I am currently reading the Linux + study guide (1K pages). I am going to make it a goal of finishing at least 1 chapter a week of reading. Distance - Hiking Not only is Saitama incredibly strong but he can cover vast distances with ease. Last challenge I found myself wanted to hike more so I am going to stick with what I like. the goal is hiking at least 2 times a week. Funds - Budget Heroes receive funding from the hero's association for the deeds they do. My goal is to put a little aside each week to start saving. The goal is $200 by the end of the challenge unless there is an emergency. I am going to try and stow away 50 a week but I might just pull 100 from each larger check. So that's it!

The challenge title is probably going to change, but it's the first title that popped into my head, and it really made me chuckle. I promise I'm a grown woman in her 30's and not a 12 year old. I'm skipping zero week, so I guess here goes! Goal 1: Continue the Juggernaut, 3x per week Keep on keepin' on. I'm on Month 2 (8's wave) Week 2 (Intensification Phase). This month's wave starts at 65% of training max and ends at 80%. Goal 2; Track all of the foods - HONESTLY. Focus is on my weight cut from 185# to 175#, currently 182#. I don't have a calorie goal but I'm going to be mindful of the fact that 2000=maintenance and 1800 would help facilitate the cut going faster. I can only learn from my food tracking if I do it honestly, so if I eat 45 tortilla chips, put in 45 tortilla chips, not 1 serving, which is 7 chips. :sobs: You can add me on MFP and hassle me if you wish, PM me for my username. I will be weighing in to my challenge on Mondays to keep the weekend accountable. Goal 3: Drink 125 ounces of water per day. I downloaded the Plant Nanny app and I don't want my plant to die. I expect to pee a lot until my body adjusts. But then I'll get in extra steps walking to the bathroom, bonus? I keep putting water in my goals and then I fall off the wagon. So this one needs to stay for at least a few challenges until I make it a habit. Bonus 1 time goals: Switch out DB bent over rows for barbell rows so I can make proper progressions. Try this for a month and see how I like it. As some of you know, I haven't worn make-up for like 12 years. Last month I started wearing mascara to work. I need to start looking more professional and AWAKE in the office as I get older. I need to pick 1-2 more things to add to my routine. Suggestions encouraged! Finish sewing my medieval brown dress by the end of the month for an event the weekend of Aug 26. Plant carrot seeds and 1 other fall crop into the garden. This means I need to suck it up and harvest the beets which seem to have stopped growing. It's not a goal but I'm going to keep trying to do the circuit class 1x week and yoga class 1x week. Juggernaut Info: I had to put it at the end otherwise it spoiler'd the rest of my post.

I'm pretty psyched to start an intermediate program, as you probably guessed, the Juggernaut Method by Chad Wesley Smith. Link to his website I definitely need the volume work and not to be wrecking my body every workout. It's not a peaking plan, but I'm not competing. Goals: 1. Do the Juggernat 3x per week 2. Track all the food all the times LUYL Goal: 1. Stop eating lunch over my keyboard.... the 'u' key is starting to stick. I'm going to run it as is the first time through for 4 months. Based on how it goes I will either run it again but increase all the percentages by 2.5% or I will find a new program. I have a feeling my body needs something like this at the moment. You recalculate your maxes at the end of each month during week 3 based on your working weight x reps, so I'll be able to monitor my progress as I go along. The writers also recommend the inverse Juggernaut where you for example would do 10 sets of 5 instead of 5 sets of 10, but I'm not interested in having 3 hour sessions.... I'll maybe consider that in future runs of the program. I bought 1.25# plates from Rogue Fitness, so for my upper body lifts I can calculate increases by 2.5#. Instead of each main lift 1x per week I'm running the program as follows: 3x per week lifting sessions Day 1: Bench, Deadlift ( + Row, Leg Curl, Curls, Leg Ext) Day 2: Bench, OHP, Squat (+ Pull Ups, Hypers, Leg Press) Day 3: OHP, Squat, Deadlift (+Rows, Hypers, Dips) So all main lifts plus rows get hit 2x per week, despite being a 3x per week plan. My squats need more work than my deadlifts, so they get to come before deadlifts on day 3. Other shtuff on other days: hiking, cardio, archery, yoga, glute band work

Wanted to make sure that everyone saw this. A whole week dedicated to squatting from the guys at Juggernaut Strength. Get to Know Squat? Day 1 : 7 Habits of Highly Effective Squatters How I Built My Best Squat Ever - Split Squats Day 2: How I Built My Best Squat Ever - Front Squats Day 3: How I Built My Best Squat Ever - Low Bar Good Mornings Day 4: Squat Technique With Team Juggernaut Day 5: How I Built My Best Squat Ever - Safety Squat Bar Squats The Greatest Squat Article Ever!We've been sampling these guys all week and as such, I don't feel bad at all linking to the advert they posted offering even more in-depth articles and detailed programs. It is available to all JTS members for something like $7 a month. Yes, it's an advert. But still, I love squatting.