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Excited to report that I survived the Newbie Training Ground with 42 days of consistent posts and am moving on to the next challenge as....RANGER!!! This is my class until I hit my 50lb weight loss goal and one more step closer to my goal of ultimate awesomeness. Full official Ranger challenge post here: On to the good stuff, getting this second challenge party started... Day 1: Weight: 213.4 lbs Sleep: 7 Hours Bed Time: 9:00pm Water: 1 Gallon Meditation: 10 min evening meditation Mood: Quite the weekend, feels like I need a weekend from the weekend, but here we are and on to 2nd challenge prep. Meals: 8:00am - Coffee 9:30am - Greek Yogurt, granola, grapes Almonds, coffee 12:00pm - Egg Whites, tomatoes, Toast 3:00pm - Cheese stick, dates, crackers 5:30pm - Chicken, pasta, veggies 6:30pm - Soda 9:00pm - Scoop of PB & Milk Workout: Rest day Notes: So for a rest day, not exactly restful, was running around with work, toddler wrangling and errands all day. Hopefully tomorrow will even out enough to get a quick workout in, time will tell. Now to continue my day of running - straight to bed... Motivation Music for the Day:

Excited to begin my first non-newbie challenge! There was definitely a lot of tweaking last time but feel like I learned a lot. Biggest challenge last time was either overdoing it or too much rest leading to tweaking an old back injury or just being very very grouchy. Main change is I’ve decided to hold off on running until i can lose some more weight. I was starting to hit some decent distances but my knees were definitely paying the price. There will be time enough for that later but for the time being kettlebells, bodyweight exercises, sleep and lots of water are going to be the primary tools for this challenge. Level 2 Challenge Goals: Diet: -Eat breakfast daily @ 9am -Chicken or fish once a day, red meat once a week. Fitness: -3 Ranger Workouts/Week: Currently an interval based routine of 300 reps of varying KB & Bodyweight exercises per set. Life: -In bed @ 9pm every night. I didn’t do weekly updates last challenge but going to make an effort to do it this time around. I will continue to shoot for daily posts on the Battle Logs and already have my first post up: Also expecting the arrival of our second kiddo, Little Ms. ReturnOfTheDad, next week. Incredibly excited about that and also know that with all the craziness of new baby, consistency is going to be a critical ingredient to my sanity. Will have more posts on the BeastDads thread in the Parenting Forum. Many challenges on the way, ready as I’ll ever be... Let’s do this!!!

New challenge. Starting Early. 1. Part-time Wasteland Walker Limiting my Fallout time. Fallout ends at noon. Even on weekends. Can't be babysitting settlements all day. 2. Quest Log part 2 Now that the whiteboard has been established, I'm incorporating Sunday chores in there, to include assignment list, meal prepping, training updates, and FB scheduled posts. 3. Atos I pretty much put the minimum in the Program Minimum (Simple & Sinister). Now I'll add another day, following Atos kettlebell complex from Hector's Kettlebell Workout Snacks. It's a total of 12 sessions for 4 weeks, and I'm giving myself a week of a buffer zone. Onward...

Grandkai Gets-up & Swings into Action! Goal 1: Simple & Sinister 6x a week I want to do more with my kettlebells & after listening to the audio book for Simple & Sinister i decided to do this. 5 sets of 10 Kettlebell Swings & 5 sets of 1 Get-Ups per arm. 6 Times a week. Goal 2: Pull-ups & Dips I want to also get better with Pull-Ups & Dips, 2 exercise that give the most bang for your buck. So ill be doing the "20 Pull-ups in 6 Weeks" program/challenge & the "150 Dips in 6 weeks" program/challenge. 5 sets of X reps in each program/challenge 3 Times a week. Mini-Goals - Pick my teeth everyday before bed - Eat an apple everyday - Find some new recipes - Dedicate 2 days every week for Twitch streaming So that are my goals for this challenge. Mostly fitness but with little nutrition/health goals as well. Time to get fit for spring

UPDATED. So things are neither terrible nor great. This challenge will be focused on resuming workouts as that is the big one. Workout stuff: 5/week Complete pushup challenge: just completed day 9 (15 pushups). I had missed a few. Do a matching number of goblet squats with a kettlebell: 300 Bronze, 350 Silver, 400 Gold for Shotokan's challenge Stretch and foam roll Bonus: get the stupid pullup tower assembled Not exactly a full workout but the basics. I'm leaving Thursday and Friday out as they are tightly scheduled and I'd rather try to get to bed than include this. Food Stuff: 6/week Continue with limited sweets: dark chocolate, sweetened Greek yogurt, a bit of honey in oatmeal with tart fruit, or low sugar homemade muffins But not all of them in a day and smallish servings of any of them. A full sized big dark chocolate bar still counts as a big treat. It's fine to have an extra treat one day per week :-) This worked well last challenge and my weight is trending back down. Sleep Stuff: 7/week Either read or music daily before bed. Or meditate/journal. Relaxing stuff only. Vacation Stuff: To do list Book hotel Book flights Train ticket from Ottawa to Montreal? Slightly reschedule vacation time check out other things to do in Montreal Borrow a friends theft-resistant purse* Budget some spending money *Mostly to make assorted people feel better.

A dragon is attacking the monastery! Monks -- TO ARMS! [ ███████████████████ ] HP 1426/15,000 ============================================= WEEK 1 DAMAGE DEALT: 3,237 CRITICAL HIT!! ============================================== WEEK 2 DAMAGE DEALT: 2,636 ============================================== WEEK 3 DAMAGE DEALT: 3,539 ============================================== WEEK 4 DAMAGE DEALT: 4,162 ============================================== The dragon flees for its life, but may return one day to threaten the monastery again! Welcome to the March-April kettlebell mini-challenge! The rules for playing are simple. Each week on Sunday, check in with how you did on your kettlebell goals, and the boss's health will be updated to reflect the damage! Don't have a kettlebell? No problem! Do goblet squats or TGUs or deadlifts with a dumbbell! (We do NOT advise using a dumbbell for swings!!!) Values are: Kettlebell Swing --> 2 damage Kettlebell Deadlift --> 5 damage Goblet Squat --> 7 damage Turkish Get-Up --> 10 damage Let's go get 'em, Monks!

The last challenge was kinda mushy... I was sick for a few days, wen to a conference and got sick again at the conference. And even apart from all that I wasn't as sucessful as I wanted to be. So, the goal for the next five weeks will be to do more or less the same again with some small changes. In week 0 I will take it easy, in particular with working out. After playing for over 170 hours -- and not being remotely close to 100% -- the theme will be... Rare Blades of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 I'll be taking quest from four Rare Blades -- not necessarily my favourites, but I wanted to stay spoiler-free and it doesn't really matter after all. (Design-challenge for the next time: Build quests around the field skills of the Blades.) Mythra's Quest: Write/work on the introduction of my thesis. (Open goal.) Write one page about each of the four ideas I have for my thesis. There are two parts of my PHD thesis I can reasonably work on. Firstly, the introduction. Here I have to write about a few different things and stitch them together in a meaningful way. There is no clear goal, hence I won't aim for any amount of output. But I'll track the number of pages I've written to get a sense of progress. Secondly, I have four different ideas/approaches, which are more or less independent from each other, which I have to flesh out. Writing a page about each of them and how they could/should work seems like a good start. Poppi's Quest: Work out 2 times a week. Go running once a week. Read Simple & Sinister. Working out is still my number 1 priority this year. But after being sick for effectively 10 days I feel super sluggish. So, the goal is to actually do the workouts no matter how intense they are. Firstly, two workouts a week which may include Yoga, bodyweight training or bouldering. Secondly, I want to run more. But as it is something I always struggle with, I aim for once a week. As spring came crashing down on us here in Munich, I have no excuses here. Thirdly, I want to start kettlebell training and, thus, I will read Simple & Sinister. And after watching a few YouTube videos I'll probably start by incorporating one or two kettlebell exercises into my workouts. I want to start slow, as I still have many back problems. Dromarch's Quest: Track calories and macros 7 days a week. Stay below 2400 kcal 5 days a week. Meditate 4 days a week. I still struggle with my diet. In order to get back on track I will do a little bit less and focus more. Firstly, tracking is the key, as always. Secondly, I want to stay below 2400 kcal and to see whether that's enough to start losing weight again. My TDEE is around 2300 kcal, so this goal should be a good start. I will also try to reduce carbs as much as possible, but I won't focus on that. Thirdly, I want to and need to re-start meditating. Before getting sick it went reasonably well, however, I did it not often enough. It seems to help, so I want to prioritise it more. Pandoria's Quest: Practise the guitar 3 times a week. Draw something 3 times a week. Read 150 pages. As usually, I struggle with my hobbies. I try to do less in order to achieve more. Firstly, I still want to learn a love song on the guitar to play for my girlfriend. And playing the guitar has also a similar effect on my mind as meditating. Secondly, I realised last challenge how much I enjoy drawing again. So, I want to do that more, too. In order to focus my creative energy, I will try to work on a short comic called Hellgirl. The basic plot is that an old knight rescues a baby from a monster. He then finds out that the baby is the daughter of the devil and he starts a journey to hell to bring her back home. I won't put too much effort into this, since I don't want to stress myself. But, whenever possible, I'll draw something relevant for this story. Thirdly, I want to finish Die Donau -- a book about the historical and cultural impact of the river Danube. I have about 300 pages left, but I aim low with 150 for this challenge. And now... Let's go to Elysium together!!

I'm not doing an organized, graded list of goals. With a nice theme. It just won't be possible. Here's a whole list of the crap I'll be doing this challenge. Working 30 hours a week 12 credit hours in school Practicing Flamenco guitar studying spanish studying mandarin hitting the gym (cardio, kettlebells, weightlifting) eating paleo-ish publishing a journal article (leftover from grad school) painting prepping for a journey overseas I guess I'll at least organize these somehow, and Oh shit, maybe there's a theme after all, with goals named for famous Chinese sages. Goal 1, Sun Ssu Mo -- TCM Paleo. Sun Suu Mo was a Taoist sage whose main claim to fame were his writing on Traditional Chinese Medicine, and much of what he wrote concerned how the diet affects the balance of chi. All in all, the dietary aspect of TCM seeks to balance out elements, and the result is a well-balanced variety of foods, which is the same finding that modern/Western biology based nutritional science has come to... go figure. I'm going to brush up on my TCM. I had a phase in college where I was obsessed with Traditional Chinese Medicine so I have a few books, including a cookbook with a big ole reference describing how foods fit the elements and such. Getting familiar with this may also help me understand the foods I eat when I go to China. Basically, it's paleo with rice. Most of what I eat now is meat, veggies, and rice or potatoes. And, I'll play around with trying to balance elements in my meals. (but without forgetting macros). I'm going to allow variance on this for breakfast, because right now I'm not sure how to comfortably avoid bread at that meal. Everything that I can cook myself from scratch is pretty much acceptable. And stop eating donuts you fool! Goal 2, Ta Mo -- Exercise and Discipline Ta Mo was the Chinese name of Bodidharma, the wandering Indian yogi who travelled to China in introduced Shaolin monks to yoga and founded Chan, aka Zen, buddhism in China. Basically, as a yogi he believed that physical fitness provided the foundation upon which one could build a practice of mindfulness and spirituality. He was known for enduring extremely long periods of meditation. He is said to have cut off his own eyelids so that he wouldn't fall asleep during mediation. He preferred to meditate in the caves surrounding the Shaolin temple, and when a fellow monk asked him about what he focused on, he said he would "listen to the ants' screaming." Exercise and discipline. Go to the gym. I'll repeat last challenge's goal. 1/week is passing, 2/week is good, 3/week is great. Goal 3, Kong fuzi -- Be Rational and Responsible AKA, Confucius. I actually don't know that much about Confucius. And I just spent a few minutes on wikipedia and I have a lot to learn. But basically, what pops into mind (other than fortune cookies) are notions of being rational, responsible, and dutiful, etc. So this goal is just about doing my research on how to make this voyage to China happen and work on being responsible about it. The whole ESL teacher in China thing can be either my downfall or an opportunity for positive change and self-improvement, or I can just go to China and hide from my personal problems by drinking shit tons of baijiu and fucking around for years. Make a thoughtful To-do list of things to do to get to China and make this an adventure of self-improvement. Goal 4, Lao Tzu -- Learn the Way Yeah. yeah... supposed, but probably mythical, founder of Taoism. Taoism is all about understanding, accepting and adapting to the Tao, the way, and trying to live by it. Keep studying Mandarin and Chinese culture so I'll be able to adapt and roll with the punches while I learn a new culture.

Grandkai Going Hybrid Assassin: Part II So this is Part II of my Hybrid Assassin transition. The last one went okay.....(check my review HERE). So this challenge i'm going to start with Part 2 Goal 1: Kettlebell Strength & Bodyweight Skill I'm going to use a mix of Kettlebell and Bodyweight workouts. With Kettlebell i'm going to use a workout plan by Onnit Academy to build my strength and endurance. Thats day A and on Day B i'm going to mimic those movements with bodyweight exercises. Goal 2: Run More Last challenge i wanted to run a lot, didn't happen. So the goal this time is get back into running, despite the cold weather. I'm aiming for 2-3 times a week. Goal 3: Handstand Direct copy from my last challenge, made great progress (got a minute Headstand) and getting close to a Handstand. So i'm going to train everyday switching between handstand & headstand. I also have some side-goals for this challenge, not as important but would be fun to get really into regularly: - Post everyday a basic list of my progress (to improve posting and checking the forums) - Update my Character Sheet (do you remember your Character Sheet?) - Start a new Daily Battle Log & post a new Epic Goals for 2018 list.

Grandkai Going Hybrid Assassin: Part I In 2017 i used mostly bodyweight exercises and i mostly used the Start Bodyweight Program. Great program, i've seen great progress but doing only bodyweight has become a bit boring to me. So for 2018 i'm going to become a Hybrid Assassin. Goal 1: 6-Week Hybrid "Athlete" program; I'm going to use two 6-week Hybrid "Athlete" programs which have Kettlebell training, running & bodyweight training. So i'm set for the next 3 challenges Goal 2: Run faster Upcoming Sunday (December 31st) i have my first 10K race and i'm aiming for a time under 1 hour. After that i want to train to be able to run a faster 10K, so that i can have a faster time for my next race that's in April. My goal is to run the 10K in 50 minutes in April. Goal 3: Handstand Last challenge i got some good progress on a handstand and i want to continue that progress in this new year. So i'm going to train everyday switching between handstand & headstand. Side-Goal: 100% Gaming Spiderman Shattered Dimensions I still like playing games and trying to get them to 100%. This time its going to be Spiderman Shattered Dimensions

Hello all! I've been away from here for a while, but need to get back on track. I figured that you folk could probably help me with that. I started my first challenges with the Monks, but life has conspired against my martial arts practice (turns out that two hours of commute after work with a six year old doesn't work well). So one day I will return to Kajukenbo, but it's not in the cards right now. On the bright side, for Christmas I got a shiny new kettle bell, pull up bar, and gymnastic rings. Here's looking forward to some positive life changes in the new year. Big picture target: lose 60 pounds Right now I'm tipping the scales at 245. Not the heaviest I've ever been, but getting close. My goal weight is 185. Here is how I'm planning on doing this... Simple and sinister: let's use that shiny new kettlebell three times a week And since you can't outrun your fork: Intermittent Fasting 5 days a week. In October I had experimented with skipping breakfast and eating between 1pm and ~11pm (so it's not quite 16:8) and found myself doing well with it. I'm going to reimplement this during the weekdays and not worry about the weekends (we usually eat late morning on the weekends anyways). Miscellaneous Life Goals: Get better at brushing and flossing. Brush twice a day, floss once a day. I've been avoiding going to the dentist because I know I will get scolded for not brushing and flossing as well as I should. Declutter the house: We have too much crap around the house. So let's work on reducing this by finally selling my hockey gear. I haven't played in over 10 years, so it is time. If anyone needs a set of goalie pads on the cheap... Thanks for having me here. I'm looking forward to a fresh start in a New Year. TLDR: GOAL: Lose 60 pounds STEPS: *Simple and Sinister 3x per week *IF 5 days a week *Brush 2x and Floss 1x per day *Sell Hockey Pads

Elastigirl sits at the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the cool water. It’s been a long summer of chasing villains and saving the city, and she is glad to finally have time to relax. I could just sit here all day, enjoying the sun and people watch, she contently thinks to herself. BZZZZ- her wrist watch vibrates and screeches. She closes her eyes, and ignores it. She’s chased all the villains away, really what ever it is can surely wait. BZZZZ BZZZ BZZ, it blares again, then flashes the code 911. Alert now, she sits up and looks at her watch, reading the rest of the text. Calling all Superheroes! Godzilla rampaging through our downtown! He’s destroying everything in his path! People are fleeing in terror! Urgent help needed or we will all die! Without a second glance back at the pool, Elastigirl, rushes off to save her city. She is a superhero, and saving people is what she does. My challenge this time is written as a boss battle. I need to get enough hit points to destroy Godzilla and save my town. I will have a short break as I take a long weekend to go on a camping adventure to see the solar eclipse. 1)Last challenge I made a list of things I wanted done by summer end. I successfully completed some, and worked on others Some of them I'm having a bit of motivational problems, so I'm assigning points. Goal: summer stuff Work on Hawaii scrapbook 2 HP each day I work on it- 30 bonus for completion Spent time on Algebra 2 -2 HP each day I work on it- 30 bonus for getting to chapter 5 Planning Disneyland trip 2 HP each day Camping trip 2HP each d 2) Deadhang 60 seconds a day- can be done in sets 25 point bonus for 20 days 3) Morning Routine and Experiment I'm going to continue my morning routine of reading the Bible and praying first thing. Last month I experimented with working out after breakfast. I'm going to try that again. But, I'm doing a different workout, so it may not work as well. Either way, I'll workout before computer time, because that just works better. No points for this. For the Bible, I have a big point reward at year end, and the other stuff I want to leave room to see what works Win Points: 0-45 points Lose- City destroyed- Elastigirl has to clean up mess- spend one hour cleaning garage 50-74 points – Godzilla is hit in the head and dazed. He’s been slowed down, but it will take more to take him down: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Sea-Tragedy-Whaleship-Essex-ebook/dp/B000OZ0NWQ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&coliid=I3OKRJE0CI7P4I&colid=2FXN9I8R0TTC&qid=&sr= 75-100- -Godzilla has been seriously wounded. He is strong though, and refuses to give up. Though he can not do much damage, he still continues a feeble fight.prize https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IVJK8JK/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I22MUGLSIR9NPT&colid=2FXN9I8R0TTC 100+ KNOCK OUT! Godzilla has been knocked unconscious and the threat is no more Prize https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Tropical-Floral-Graphic-T-Shirt/dp/B071DM4GY3/ref=sr_1_14?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1503701144&sr=1-14&nodeID=7141123011&psd=1&keywords=moana+t+shirt+women Other stuff: I'm going to be working on my Simple and Sinister goals with the kettlebell, and going through GMB's Element program. I have an accountabillibuddy for the Element's Program, and the deadhangs. The accountabillibuddy group for the deadhangs is a continuation of the pushup one last challenge, where we did pushups every day. Some people are doing daily push ups, and some are doing daily deadhangs. The link is in my signature for both.

Foundation Re-reinforcement Building up from my previous challenge, I continue my mission to get my shit together. Life feels out of hand, and if you're balancing this much crap on your rickshaw, you better first make sure that (1) your bike works, and (2) you can ride a bike. And so onward with life maintenance--a continuation of my previous challenge and the one before that. SLEEP - I've noticed that it's pretty hard to make a dent on one end of the sleep equation, so I'm looking to make adjustments to the other end--the wake-up. Dr. Jeffrey Durmer from The Doc & Jock Podcast emphasized the importance of a wake-up routine. I'm looking to first establish a consistent wake-up time (possibly 0900) and something physical to do (perhaps a wall handstand or a Turkish Getup). I seem to have been oversleeping a little lately. AIR - Headspace has a bunch of packs. I finished Foundation previously and now am looking into finishing 3 of the Sport packs. I'm thinking at hitting one either first thing in the morning, or right as I come back from work. I'm still not expecting much out of it; just building the habit and the skill. FOOD - Family needs food as well. I got a whiteboard and will experiment with writing down the week's menu to eliminate decision-making. Side Quest: Quadruple Bs BJJ - 2-3 days Barbell - Muscle Clean, Bench Press, Muscle Snatch, Squat Bodyweight - Handstand, Straddle Planche, Manna, Front Lever, Arch Rocks, Tumbling Bells - Armor Building, Long Cycles

Oh right these things start on Sunday now So! Hello again everyone. Hope things have been awesome. I spent the past couple weeks just chilling and not making a topic because I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Or, I knew, but I didn't know how to articulate it. Mostly, I've just been watching myself and seeing what works and what doesn't, what is right and what is wrong, and simply striving see things w/o any sense of judgment. I've made the terrible but necessary decision to suspend TGUs for a while because I can't find a way to do them that doesn't bugger up my elbow. Oh, to be clear, I've really refined the movement a lot in terms of how I load and unload the bell onto my body - the arm I pull with and how I let it fall off of me - but like I said. Anyway I do it causes the golfer's elbow to get upset. So, I have to let the loaded version go for a bit in favor of the shod version (read: doing it with a shoe to keep the mechanics I've learned integrated in the system). Because frankly there's value in that. Elements of the TGU show up in newaza, and there's no reason not to keep practicing how to get up off the ground. Interestingly, I've found that after refreshing myself on how to do inverted rows in the GB style that it made my elbow feel better. It's probably something to do with the fact that I'm only doing it once a week and allow for loads and loads of rest in the meantime. The only way I was able to learn all this was to relax my grip on what I thought I had to do and to be honest with what was helpful to me and what wasn't. So, the theme of this challenge is to simply relax into my life and let happen what will. GOAL 1: MODIFIED S&S I can still swing. That's good news. I've concluded that this ability to swing is what's really made me into a beast that can go from strength work to fighting work to running work to helping someone move without any real trouble. I'm still on track to go for the 88, because there's no reason not to unless I hurt myself. The only catch is, I can't do TGUs with any weight right now. So, modify it. Goal is to take steps toward 100 swings in a row w/ the 70. Once I can do that, then move on to the 88. In the meantime, keep practicing those good mechanics w/ TGUs - pull with the opposite arm, keep the loaded arm socketed in the shoulder, and let the bell shoe slide off when I unload. GOAL 2: SATURDAY I've been going to the dojo pretty consistently and I've got a feel for how things work there. Now I know that if I want to go to randori, I'm going to have to hit up Saturday classes. This is not so bad, but I've a tendency to squander that day. But there's more going on than just judo. Work has offered overtime as well, meaning I can hit time and a half. That's not insignificant and I can make a big dent in my caseload if the building is open. The only way I can take advantage of either of these is if I get the eff up on Saturday mornings and don't stay up late. And to be frank about it, there's no percentage in it anyway. Going to bed earlier just makes me more rested and happier with life in general. The goal is to get to bed at the normal bedtime - somewhere between 2300 and midnight if not earlier - and to be constructive with my time. GOAL 3: CLEAN I let my foot off the gas with this goal. Need to put it back on. Get that last corner cleaned up. There's no need for that stuff to be there. And then... gulp. The storage unit. Dad's been hinting at me that I need to get that cleaned up anyway, so. GOAL 4: WRITE AND LEARN Duolingo put in a Japanese mod. I'm so freaking stoked. Study on casual 5 minutes a day. Also, need to keep working on the story and writing scenes. One a day. No excuses. GOAL 5: PLAY THIS FREAKING GAEM Okay, so. I got into this game. It's called Cross Code. It's really, really good. Think Seiken Densetsu/Secret of Mana IN SPACE, with a physics engine to boot. Oh, and I don't know if you can tell from the trailer but it's Dark Souls-hard. I'm not kidding. Reviewers have noted the exact same thing. The combat revolves a lot around noticing enemy tells and countering them proper, but that's not easy when you're swarmed with enemies and they all have different tells. But it's a game, and I enjoy it. I want to find some time each week to keep playing it. Even if it's in beta and unfinished right now. It's that good. And... yeah. That about does it for me this time around. Let's go to work.

Foundation Reinforcement In fitness, where people seem to have trouble with starting out the most is staying the course. Building a foundation is slow, boring, and unrewarding, but to achieve long-term success one must stay the course. So continuing with my previous challenge, I shall be monitoring pretty much the same goals, but with a little more intensity and virtuosity. AIR - breathe and meditate. I'm coughing-up the $13 for a month of Headspace (mostly because I like the structure). Maybe throw a nauli practice in once a week, because if Rickson does it, why not? I think the biggest thing that's blocking my motivation to meditate is the fact that I only do it because I've been told I should. I haven't really read compelling papers and articles on what exactly it does and why I should be doing it. I guess I can use this to reflect upon how a lot of people view exercising. FOOD - track calories. I'm trying to climb up a bit in weight, and if I don't eat mindfully I tend to forget altogether. Goal is to log a minimum of 2500 calories daily because #MassIsInSession. Sunday meal prepping does seem to make everything easier, particularly preparing breakfast shakes for the week, because in the morning that one extra step could be the deciding factor between staying on track and just having Oreos. SLEEP - get to bed earlier. Might be tough, since I'm working and training nights (which means I'll have to go to more BJJ morning classes), so I'll have to take some notes. Week 0 goal is 2300, then slowly move that back as the month progresses. The 56 weekly hours seem to take care of themselves. Side Quest: The Trifecta Barbells, Kettlebells, and Bodyweight--the StrongFirst trifecta. I will be utilizing each for my extracurricular S&C. BJJ - 3 sessions a week or more Barbell - Dan John's Minimalist Training Bodyweight - Planche, Manna, Handstand, and the One-Arm Chinup work. Kettlebell - Andrew Read's mass-building program. Also, Getups. *seems like a lot, but I'm calculating my S&C will consist of 2, maybe 3 days.

What do you mean I haven't done a Dresden Files-themed challenge yet?! This must be remedied immediately! Harry Dresden is one of my favorite fictional protagonists--and probably many of yours as well. For me, he's right up there with Cordelia Naismith-Vorkosigan (and of course her son Miles), William T. Riker, Wesley Wyndham-"Badass"-Price, and a couple others. So, let's look at the theme for this challenge: FORZARE! After I (hopefully) remove the car blockade from my brainpower this week, I plan on beginning to train up this summer. I want to push the boundaries of my fitness level to places I didn't even achieve last year. I've been training Kung Fu, but I have not really been putting in the true discipline required to become an actual monk... which I have decided I really want to be. However, life can't be all physical training. Especially for me, because my brain just doesn't stop. So, I thought I'd pick a theme that still requires a lot of training and discipline, both physical and mental, to achieve top performance. So, the next four weeks are going to be laying the groundwork and building up some REAL FORCE. I need to build up three things over the course of this challenge. 1) STRENGTH. It's time for some foundational strength training. For me, this is going to be kettlebell-based in addition to my regular Kung Fu training. After a conversation with Sempai @Kishi in my last thread, I've gained some new insights into my past mistakes with this particular item. I really think it's the right thing to supplement my martial arts, but I need to do it right and stop hurting myself/making myself sick by overtraining. So we're going to be doing some nice light play with the kettlebell these next four weeks, really starting to build the all-around strength that a wizard/monk really needs. When you're trying to escape a giant chlorofiend like the ones in my backyard, it's good to have the strength & stamina to actually outrun them if you can't beat them outright. 2) FLEXIBILITY. Much of my martial arts is currently limited by my tight, tight muscles, ligaments and tendons. My flexibility has improved markedly over the last two years, but I'm still constrained by my legs particularly. If I want to land those tornado kicks and start looking really good with my Northern Shaolin style, it's time to really stretch out and start getting myself toward real flexibility. After all, how am I ever going to PARKOUR!! like Harry without being able to actually get my legs up over the obstacles? 3) MENTAL DISCIPLINE. This is required for both wizardry and ass-kicking, both of which Harry is particularly good at. Continuing from last challenge's theme, I'm going to continue meditating until I'm comfortable with 10 minutes at a time again. I've been doing well at 5 and it even seems a little short, so moving toward 10 is really where I want to be now. Also, it helps my sanity, my mood and my concentration. BONUS: Read The Illuminated Mind when my wife is done with it. This is a textbook on meditation and neuroscience, and so far my wife is giving it high praise. I'm looking forward to learning more about the science of focus and concentration.

Zero Week: Looking to see what works. Continue with GB Foundations, and hit Swings and Getups with volume waving. Try to finish off Mind Tools. Get some studying in.

March 16- April 11 There are no more villains in Metroville. Metroville is once again a quiet town. Which is good, unless of course you are a bored superhero. The Incredibles haven’t had a mission in a long time, and while they are happy that their town is safe, they feel restless. Sitting at home, watching the Avengers for the 5th time, Mr. Incredible sighs. He remembers fondly the days he and Frozone would go out chasing the bad guys. Elastigirl swtiches between staring at Facebook and watching the movie, daydreaming about the time they took down the Omnidroid. They are startled out of their daydreams by a knocking at the door. Wondering who it could be at the late hour, Mr. Incredible makes his way to the door. Before he has time to answer it, the door opens and in walks Frozone. Before Mr. Incredible even has a chance to ask why he is there Frozone excitedly proclaims “Are you all ready for a mission or what” Mr. Incredible slaps him on the back, “You came at the right time buddy” Elastigirl nods and says, “Slow down, let’s hear about it first, “ Frozone grins, “Well I was just sitting out home minding my own business...” “Uh, huh’ Elastigirl skeptically says Frozone continues, “Well, I may have, ahem, access to a top secret Villain scanner, and I may have heard that over in Centerville, there is a Super Villain going by the name Red Ghost who is terrorizing the town. The police are unable to stop him. And there are no heroes protecting the city. Guess that leaves us”“ Mr. Incredible looks at Elastigirl, “Sounds like the town needs our help” Elastigirl grins, “Guess we have a mission” Challenge Points: Less than 30 points- Red Ghost is able to defeat the Incredibles and destroy the town 60 points- the Incredibles are able to hurt Red Ghost, but he is still damaging the town 80- Red Ghost is severely hurt, however , he can still heal and come back to work his destruction 120 points- Red Ghost is defeated 150 + points the town is very grateful, gives them the key to the city, and asks for their future help in protecting the city Challenge Goals 2 points per day for each goal,5 points for 5 days completion Drink Water- 64 oz a day Morning Routine Read Bible Kitchen tidy Drink water Start 9:30 Mobility Squat 3 min Life Bathroom painted- 20 points Bathroom accessories bought- 20 points Scrapbook planned- 10 points 10 pages in scrapbook – 10 points Try new food- 5 points Make a new recipe- 5 points Finish 14 Days Mobility Prescriptions- 20 points 6 pull ups- 10 points Invite someone (non family or game night) to dinner – 20 points Something out of my comfort zone- 10 points Notes: My husband has off the first week of the challenge. We are going away for a few days, and then going to work on our bathroom remodel. Not going to bother with keeping score that week. Vacation food I will enjoy, and do my normal. That is, enjoy the food but don't eat like an ass. Plan is to do some geocaching, and lots of walking. More details on my workout plans and food thoughts:

The town of Metroville had been peaceful for many years. The Incredibles had destroyed the Omnidroid and rid the town of Syndrome, Mr. Incredible’s Nemesis. One quiet day in the town, the ground suddenly shook so violently that people and cars were thrown everywhere. From deep beneath the ground came forth the Underminer In a terrifying voice he boomed, “Behold the Underminer! I am always beneath you, but nothing is beneath me. I hereby declare war on all peace and happiness. Soon all will tremble before me. People fled in panic. Was the town of Metroville doomed? The Incredibles heard of the danger to their city. Quickly they raced to the scene, ready to battle the villain. Elastigirl is ready to fight to save her town. Every 50 points is damage to the Underminer 50 points damage= barely scratched him 100- Underminer is wounded 150- Serious damage to his Underminer Machine 200- stunned him, he is dazed and confused, barely able to fight 250- knock out blow- The Underminer is defeated 300- Not only is the Underminer defeated, but any other would be villains are so terrified that they leave the city. The Incredibles are given a hero parade and the city calls an official holiday, naming it Incredible Day. The Battle Plan: Knock The Enemy Down 1 pt. per item per day: bonus of 3 points for each item that is successfully completed all week Track 7 days a week Eat at a deficit with MFP- · Guestimates when eating out are fine · Two free meals a week that I don’t have to track Drink 64 oz. of water 6 days a week All in a Day’s Work, Fighting Villains is just normal routine for Elastigirl Morning Routine: 1 pt. per item per day: bonus of 3 points for each item that is successfully completed all week Drink 12 oz. water- Read Bible Kitchen Check meal plan, see what needs to be thawed or pre-prepped* (new item) Start workout by 9:30 (5 minutes grace given for point) – if Mon-Thursday are success than the reward is a half hour later start on Friday Super Power: Elastigirl uses her elastic ability to help defeat her enemies -1 pt. per item per day: bonus of 3 points for each item that is successfully completed all week Mobility work 10 minutes 5 days a week Mobility squat 2 minutes a day · Reward is mobility item to buy Life Scrapbook finished 30 pts Bathroom finished- 30 pts Couch shampoo- 30 pts Bible Reading on target for month- 30 pts Adventure- 2 pts each, can be done multiple times Working toward items on life list Cold shower Work out outside Run Epic Quest items Try new food Make new food Geocaching Plan vacation for March Ruck Walk at night Walk before breakfast Walk in the rain Specific detail on fitness plan in spoiler tags

Hello everyone! So I kinda just gave up on having a January challenge. My mom was in town for the first week, and then I got sick for another week, and then work got crazy because someone took medical leave, and the idea of writing a challenge just started stressing me out, so I decided to give myself a cycle off. Unfortunately, I took the cycle off from basically all fitness stuff, so I really need to get back into it; my body is unhappy and so is my mind. I liked my points format last time, so I'm trying it again, only I'm adding in negative points as well, to up the difficulty level. I'm also running this one Sunday-Saturday, since I'm going out of town the last weekend of the challenge and I want all the time I can get, also this will motivate me to get moving tomorrow! Things that can earn me points: Doing a workout (S&S, yoga, long walk/hike, exercise bike, etc) +2 Doing my evening mobility routine (focused on hips and spine currently) +1 Logging into NF and posting on my thread and one other (gotta get back in the habit) +1 sweeping the kitchen floor (a new habit I want to build) +1 no alcohol day (I have a bad habit of a daily beer/glass of wine) +1 standing for at least 1 hour (cumulative over a day) at work at my standing desk +1 Reading (and understanding) one page of math (I'm working on a new project with a new mentor and I want some motivation) +1 Doing an adult thing I don't want to do (can earn one per week, last time this got me to get a lot of stuff done!) +5 Things that will lose me points: going over my calorie goal for the day -1 watching a youtube video (this is a bad habit I have and there are much better things I can be doing with my time, like reading math, or listening to my backlog of podcasts, the one exception will be if I'm reading an article that links a video and I want to see that video as part of the article) -1 Points goal/reward If I earn 150 points over the course of the challenge, I can buy the fancy tea maker thing I want, guilt-free. (I've been debating it for a bit, but the cost and guilt from not needing it have held me back) Let's do this! I have no theme, so I'm going to go with cute animal gifs, those are motivational.

January challenge : Moana Finds Her Way A long time ago, demi-god Maui attempted to steal the stone heart of the goddess Te Fiti. Maui was attacked by another god, and lost the stone in the ocean, where it lay for a millennium. Moana, daughter of a chief, was chosen by the gods to return the heart stone to Te Fiti, and remove the curse that was put on her island when it was stolen. In ages past, Moana’s people were navigators, but now they are afraid to sail. In order to save her people and island, Moana, needs to learn to sail, find her way across the ocean, convince Maui to help her sail across the Pacific Ocean to find Te Fiti, battle the Lava demon, so that she can return Te Fiti’s heart and save her people. Goals: Sail across the Ocean:Drink 64 oz water (herbal or decaf tea count) 6 days a weke Learn to navigate: Morning Routine: Bible and prayer time, kitchen clean up, drink 12 oz water, start workout at 9:30. Bonus, if I do complete this task Monday –Thursday then on Friday I can start at 10:00; 5 days a week, can do make-up burpees 1 per every minute late Find Maui :Mobility work : foam rolling 10 minutes a day; 5 days a week Boss Battle: Fight the Lava Demon: Looking back at last year, I was super happy with my fitness and the goals I met there. The other goals on my epic quest were less satisfying. Some of them I may have met, but didn’t record. Others I simply forgot about. So I updated my Epic Quest, printed it out, and placed it in my bathroom. I've made a challenge journal, where I am put my Epic Quest and January's challenge. That way I can see them, and also have a fun record of my progress. I I can put my challenges there, which will make it easy to keep track of. My boss battle will have items from my Epic Quest, a few domestic rangeri things and an adventure list. To complete the boss battle I will need to fill in 30 squares. I can color in a square by working on an item from the Epic Quest or another item from my adventure list. The Domestic Ranger things I want to accomplish Hem drapes Shampoo couch Paint bathroom Get scrapbook ½ completed` Adventure List: Snow shoeing Work out outside Cold shower Organize bookshelf Journal Ruck Gold level daily dare Epic Quest List Hem drapes Get up as soon as I wake up before 7:30 9:15 or earlier start workout Anything creative Paint bathroom Scrapbook January gameboard I also game-ified my epic quest by assigning levels as I do things. 100-200 xp Learning the Ropes, 201- 399 points Fight off bad guys 400-499 points Rescue Mr Incredible 500- 699 Beat Omnidroid 700-780 xp Save the City 781+ Save the World. I put my Epic Quest in spoiler for space. I just noticed I forgot the travel xp, so I need to add that sometime soon.

Placeholder, because I have a marathon [I did not train enough for] in three days. Goal is to finish my GymnasticBodies Foundation One course (because I've been slacking on my Hollows) while working on those elusive Handstands and some Tumbling (both modules I also purchased). My gym membership just ended and I'm going full-Assassin this challenge. BUILDING THE ASSASSIN BODY Log GB exercises (foundation core and upper body, handstand, and movement) once a week, kettlebells once a week. SKILLS BJJ twice a week, 21-day Dry Fire Practice modules. CHARM I joined the 30-day Art Of Charm challenge, and I have 10 modules to complete in it. LIFESTYLE Slowly working on becoming antifragile, and I'm starting with getting rid of trash around the apartment.

While I was still sleeping this morning, my husband placed our Christmas table runner on the table, with our advent wreath in the middle. It was one of the first things I noticed when I walked into our kitchen. I thought about how excited I am for this Christmas season. Yes, sometimes it can be busy, and cold, but I love so many things that go along with Christmas. I love shopping for gifts (online in my cozy hobbit home) baking treats, going to parties. I decided why not have my challenge be a Christmas theme? I'm making a fun game board, because I really enjoyed that last time. Goals are pretty much the same. This week is a practice week, and I start next week. I'm only setting up my game for three weeks though. Hubby is off the week between Christmas and New Years, so I have no plans to track food and get things done in the morning, or much of any goal type stuff. Christmas Joy Challenge Christmas Presents: Track Food 5 days a week; Drink water 60 oz of water a day, eat to around 400 calories over maintenance , more at parties probably Trim the Tree: Do 10 minutes of mobility work 4 days a week; I would like to eventually do it 6 days, but for now I'll try to make 4 a habit Light the Candles: Morning Routine; Read Bible, Drink 12 oz water, kitchen, start at 9:30 Adventure List : To complete the levels I will have to do a certain amount of these ( 2 week one, 3 week two, 4 week three) I can fill them in before I hit the week if I do them bake cookies/ make special food Bullet Journal December Christmas shop fun Christmas outing I plan shampoo couch gymnastic Stretching routine give to a charity Details on my workout plan in spoiler tag Edit: I changed the title to something that sounded a bit more like a game. I may change it again before the challenge start,

Hello All! I'm trying something new this challenge (inspired by @ixaera, as many of the things I do are ) My mother is visiting the last week of the challenge, and with holidays etc, my schedule is not fully predictable, so my standard weekly goals I don't think will work, nor will they be rewarding. So I'm trying out a points system. I want to earn 100 points this challenge (I reserve the right to revise this goal if I need to, because I'm not sure how this points thing will go). I'm starting points earning immediately and running it through the end of the challenge. So I need to average about 25 points a week, but I definitely want to front load that so I have a holiday cushion So I have a series of things that will earn me points: Working on yoga poses/transitions for at least 10 minutes for the pvp: +2 Simple and Sinister: +2 Sticking to my calorie goal (or at most 50 cal over): +1 Squatting training from Move your DNA, at least 10 min: +2 Adulting task (only earnable 1x/week): +5 Mobility work before bed: +1 So I'm keeping it basic, we'll see how the points go! Tomorrow I'm going to attempt my first adulting task, negotiating with the internet company

I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was I believe that I am ready to be my very best. I know what makes me feel and look my best, I just need to follow through. I'm taking my pokemon with me to give me some inspiration and companionship along the journey. ____________________________________________ Bulbasaur: 4 servings of fruits and vegetables every day Squirtle: 3 cups of water/herbal tea every day Charmander: Keep the metabolism fired up with 10k of walking/rucking every week Pikachu: 5 days of real sun or electric sun lamp (20 minutes) Gym Battle: Train for the Rainbow badge by completing 10 kettlebell workouts (following "Enter the Kettlebell") Pokemon Coins Bonus: No grains = 1/2 a coin Low sugar = 1/2 a coins 5 Coins = 100 PokeCoins on my PokemonGo game