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INTRO 'Olo, you lot! Welcome to my quiet little corner. I am Haniya (pronounced Hun-nee-yah) a Nerdy, Sporty, DND[currently watching Critical Role]loving, Comic book enthusiast with a penchant for arts, Video games, Books, Disney movies, music and Mystery Murder shows [Stranger Things, Sherlock, Killing Eve, The Umbrella Academy and Elementary anyone?] also Neil Gaimann because good omens is a fantastic show and is worth fangirling about. Today I have entered as a ranger to challenge myself. Hopefully, my experiment will help me build my habits and my body. I feel like my true self best fits in this sneaky, lean, strong and dangerously cool class because strength and stamina are the two things that I ideally want and we all wish to master. Hence, here I am and here I go! BACK STORY TIME: WE all know how our health is the MOST important thing in the world--physical, emotional and mental as well--especially when you've been obese half your childhood. Its hard to get back on that health horse when like half of your house hold isnt primed for it at all. Regaining my good healthy self has been a massive struggle, no less a bumpy roller coaster ride of high and lows. Well, I've been at it for quite a while with the NERDS--actually listening and enjoying the company of the people--thus, naturally, I come running back to thine fine health, happiness institute of fittitude! [Gedit] Even though i hate typing, i do try to update as often as I can. Well, anyways! I live in Pakistan (south east asia) where carbohydrate is as important and as common as air and I am not joking! OUR DIET AND CUISINE IS JUST FULL OF IT AND EVEN IF YOU TRIED, YOU JUST CANT SHAKE IT OFF AND IGNORE IT! BUT. I. WANT. TO. CHANGE. MYSELF. I DON'T WANT TO BE ADDICTED ANYMORE AND THAT'S MY MAIN MISSION HERE! BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY! I will go slow this time and not overwhelm myself as much as I am prone to so I'll just go over the basics of my mission. Cus. I. Can. And. I. Love. To. Sound. Very. Official. OH, SHALL WE MOVE TOWARDS MY BASE OF OPERATIONS?! *drumroll* OP 1: Take control of the wheel, agent! As the new agent of SHIELD, it is your duty to physically take care of what you put in your body. Filling in the shoes of Natasha Romanoff is going to be a hard job, recruit, so I suggest you take those shoes seriously and work hard! *There we go, guys. Big shoes to fill* So, clean eating and portion control is the key. Refined sugar and fried stuff is your ENEMY. IT'S YOUR HYDRA! You must defeat the bad side! *telegram* Recruit! We are not that cruel, you know, so we are allowing you a two day cheat treat. Aren't we cool?! Of-course, we are, we are SHIELD! OP 2: Find the lost Tomb of Rorustan You want to be the next Lara Croft? You want to go on adventures and move mountains like her, yes? Change the course of time and history like her? Then, you got to train like her! Her strong and Charismatic body took years and years of hard work and perseverance! Can you keep up? *CanI?* Journey to the lost tombs, human and bring forth power! My objective is to run and do body weight exercises (darebee and skipping rope) 3-4 times in a week with two days rest period. Walk for 20-30 mins daily. CAN YOU HEAR THE SPIRITS TALKING? YES! I DO! I CAN HEAR LARA CROFT! MASTER, I CAN HEAR HER WHISPERS FROM THE INSIDE, SPEAKING OUT TO ME (awksslipawaytoyonder) OP 3: Bend it like Korra! Before she was the avatar, Korra knew nothing of her powers and how to control them but with the help of her teachers and peers, she blossomed into the strongest being we know today! Want to Bend it like Korra? *Heck Yeah* then you must dedicate some time to your education; to learn and grow like the avatar. Daily one or two videos that'll inspire you or give you knowledge about the world and beyond. Study spanish: Duolingo and Memrise streaks, audio lessons from Pimsleur and YouTube video lessons. Dont forget to make notes in your notebook. Meditate to calm your souls. A clear and tension free mind is a happy mind! TAI CHI PRACTICE! Watch David Dorian Ross videos and practice along. New videos everyday to build your 103 long form practice. OP 4: "Be as flexible as Kamala Khan" SUPERHERO BY DAY, REGULAR GAMER CHILD BY NIGHT! Balancing your hero and human life takes a lot of work but you have to do this in order for the world to make sense plus, fun time is fun time! So, here are my humanly duties towards a good future:- Journal writing: habit tracking, Spanish progress and recording my days key features as bullet points to make my life easy Updating nerd fitness with my journey in the form of ratings A-F [A being super awesome and F Epic Wamp] and supporting new people and their journies! *POWER RANGERS, METAMORPHOSIS! Oh, wrong fandom* Read more books by adhering to the 50 books a year challenge: Give 1-2 weeks maximum to my current read by reading everyday for 20-30 minutes Focus on your hydration: Minimum 6glasses to up to 8 glasses. More water! LASTLY NEVER GIVE UP! Speaking of giving up, we all need some kind of push on our behinds, right? That's why I have certain ideals. Certain role models that I look for inspiration and motivation when I am feeling particular down in the ditch. These forces of good are there when i need them the most, to guide me through my epic quest I call life. Someone who I want to be: Inspiration Dice I have so many role models that I look up to! People who have proved to be gigantic and so bad arse--who don't need to be reminded of their worth! People who are amazing enough to inspire and motivate us all to follow our dreams and challenge our limits. They teach us that being kind, resolute, strong and brave--in the face of danger--is the most noblest of things you can do. So, so talented, so powerful and so stupendous. I want to be them and I am honoured to call them my idols: Lara Croft, Black Widow, Korra, Ellie Goulding, Aveline De Grandpre, Aloy, Merida, Captain Marvel, Avatar Aang, Dr 13 and Yasmin Khan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Jim Kwik, Shuri, Okoye, Kamala Khan etc. I am not promising here but i will try to keep you guys up to date with my daily shenanigans and what-nots. Apart from that, I want to THANK you for YOUR precious time! And I might need you guys to help me with this challenge because my focus on them has been very rocky but I am ready to CHANGE MYSELF FOR THE BETTER! I SWEAR ON MY PRETTY LITTLE HANDS THAT I SHALL TRY MY HARDEST! *CUE RICK ROLL SONG* p.s: i love DND even though i am a complete beginner so talk to me about it or if you are looking dnd players then lets band together! I am all for an epic dnd session!

Oh hai guys. I am back. I sort of took off into the abyss and made like an invisible person. Contain yourself. I know this return thrills you. @Ceasefire came back this go, so I am, too. I am going to try at least. I have another half marathon in October, so here we go with training again. Four simple goals: Earth: Earth is a grounding force. I need to keep my core and cardio training up, so once a week I will complete a 30 minute Les Mills BodyCombat track to further my half marathon training. I will also lift heavy things with Les Mills BodyPump once a week. Strength training, ftw. Water: Is flexible and understanding. I live by the 80/20 rule with food. Be your best 80% of the time and the 20% you aren't doesn't matter as much. It's not an excuse to slack, it's the reality of being someone who lieks to go out to eat with friends and who really likes beer. I will food journal on YouFood daily to track this goal. Fire: Is full of energy - it destroys as well as heals. I will run 3x per week. Sounds easy, right? But these low mileage early weeks can get boring. I hope that keeping up here will help me focus and not find excuses to not run. Air: Is peaceful and patient. I need to be nicer to myself. So each check in, I will have to come here and write something nice about myself. Something I accomplished, something I like about me... Anything positive. We're going light and easy on the return.

I recently listened to a great Art of Manliness podcast, in which Chris Duffin described what I think is the best explanation of “core bracing” I’ve heard. I am very interested in learning more about his Kabuki Method. My goal this challenge is – every single time I pick up a weight, I am focusing on my breath, my diaphragm, expanding my obliques, and engaging my lats. Here is how my idea of “bracing” has evolved over time: In the beginning… What is bracing? A few months later… Oh, so you mean suck my belly in? For years after that… Oh, you mean just take a deep breath and push my belly out? Last year: Valsalva maneuver! Now: I need to improve mind-body connection for every single muscle between my shoulders and my butt. Continuing my usual workout routine: 1. Olympic weightlifting 3x per week (MWF) 2. Bro-building 2x per week (mix of powerlifts and accessory movements on TR) 3. Strongman event training 1x a week (SATURDAY!) The only kink will be the very first week I am competing in a weightlifting meet April 10th. After that I’ll be back to my normal routine. Continuing my usual eating routine: 1. No real restrictions 2. I track everything when I remember to (I average about 2500 calories a day) 3. A challenge or two ago my goal was 100g protein/day, so this time upping it to at least a 110g/day (averaged by week) Bonus points: 1. Doing all of my back pre-hab exercises each week (glute bridges, planks, and that thing where you twist side to side with one leg crossing over) 2. Any day my Fitbit tracks 5 miles walked or more (I currently average about 4mi a day) 3. Actually reading and learning about the Kabuki method

Hey all my warrior buddies! I am excited about this new 4 week business. In the long term, I am training for several strength sports now. I am excited about competing in a large Strongman competition in June at the Naturally Fit games. I am training to do an olympic weightlifting meet in April, and I am planning to do at least a few Highland Games for fun this year as well. Like any good earthbender worth her salt, I need to focus on building strength, lots of nutritious food, and maintaining a focused mind. Earthbenders are most powerful when they are literally well grounded. 1. MUSCLES! My current regimen is basic strength training 3x week, olympic lifting 2x week, and playing with strongman implements on Saturdays. Goal is to continue attendance and slowly improving (5RM, 3 RM, 1 RM, technique and form). 2. OM NOMS! I go back and forth with how much My Fitness Pal helps or hurts my nutrition goals... I think for the next 4 weeks I'm going to focus on recording what I eat daily, but only for the protein numbers. Goal is to eat ~100g a day, at least 700g total per week. 3. SANITY! I love training, but I am also a wife, a daughter, a friend, and a student. I don't want to spend so much time playing with weights that I neglect my other responsibilities. Goal is to continue getting my homework done and completing all my pharmacy school responsibilities. If this starts to slip I need to be willing to scale back gym time. Good luck everyone this February!

Hey all my buddies! My goal this challenge is to continue pushing forward with the good habits I've developed over the last 2 months. Balance strength training with conditioning, good nutrition, and sleep. Boring and simple - but there will be lots of Korra / Avatar pictures! 1. Strength Training Continue workouts, at least 3 hours per week. Can be Stronglifts, Oly lifts, or Strongman movement training. 2. Conditioning Continue workouts, at least 3 hours per week. Can be Crossfit, jogging, rowing, or other met con. 3. Nutrition Continue hitting dem macros - average within 10% over the course of the week. Calories 2392 Carbs 255g (43%) Fat 88g (33%) Protein 145g (24%) 4. SLEEP! Average at least 7.5 hours a night per week. I'm kickstarting this weekend by competing in a local highland games for the first time!

A few weeks ago my husband made me watch Legend of Korra with him, and it turns out it is pretty fantastic and I'm super getting into it. She really reminds me of the Buffy. Young and headstrong, fish out of water, one of the few of her kind, has to run around fighting big bads while also finding her own identity. So she is the inspiration for this challenge as I attempt to master the four elements. 1. Earth – Strength and Power Goal: Continue linear progression (5x3) weight training 2x a week, plus Strongman Saturdays 2. Air – Cardiovascular Endurance Goal: Jog/run a total of 6 miles a week, walk at least 26 miles a week 3. Water – Flexibility and Recovery Goal: Complete a 30+ minute Daily Burn mobility or yoga workout at least 3x a week 4. Fire - Nutrition Goal: Eat at least 100g protein 5 days a week, stay under 2000 calorie goal 5 days a week I am competing in a Tough Mudder on May 2nd, and a Strongman competition on June 6th. My measurement of achievement will be successfully completing the entire TM course and getting a score in every event at the SM comp.