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Hey crew! Your friendly neighborhood back flipper and weight ripper checking in. This month is very busy for me! I'll be out a bunch for the first two weeks of this challenge cycle but would feel completely adrift without my roots in my challenge here with the Assassins. I run with my own modified challenge time-tables sometimes, so that will be happening again here. I'll be going for 8/14 - 9/10, but obviously checking in here during zero week. Given my large absence during the challenge, @Grumble recommended a tourist themed challenge. I am embracing it, fully. Big things this challenge: 8/11 - 8/13: Tennessee for gymnastics camp 8//17 - 8/24: WA and OR for the total eclipse, visiting in-laws, checking out a couple of national parks, meeting up with my parents, etc. 9/1: Lady Gaga! (Not really important for the challenge time table, but I am just excited hahaha) 9/3-9/4: Falmouth, MA 9/10: 10K race in Salem, MA My usual travel mode: But for this challenge, I'll embrace the standard tourist look: Equip Slot 1: Socks with Sandals --> Preventative ankle PT exercises 3x per week Equip Slot 2: Fanny Pack --> Veggies 14x week again Equip Slot 3: Crumpled Fold-Up Map --> Walking/hiking 5 miles average/day over the course of the challenge --> Run 6x over the challenge (not including the 10K race on Sept. 10) Equip Slot 4: Oversized, Rarely Used, Expensive Camera --> Include a photo with each day's update! --> Cut my new floor music for the 2018 gymnastics season

Noddy has a mission. She needs the money to buy proper gear, so she definitely needs to solo the dungeon alone. She's always been a lone wolf. It has prevented her victory many times, but she really has no other option as LFG failed miserably. But this time... this time she'll reach victory! Here's for her main quests: Learn skill Firestorm Noddy needs to be fit so she can learn the two component spells and launch them into one powerful magic attack. Hit the gym at least 2x week; Eat BLE modified version + record it on MFP; Make notes of weight and body measurements. Gather relics from the trophy rooms The dungeon has several bosses and trophy rooms. Noddy has to collect relics from all of them and sell them later to make money. Plan at least 1 weekend in a different country; Plan visit to Portugal; Check nearby heritage. Form a guild of allies Although she's gonna solo the dungeon, Noddy needs allies on the outside, to help her with new adventures. She really needs to start being a better friend. Speak with friends; Plan days out. Reach current gold cap Noddy had a lot of gold saved up but spent it all on a new mount. So now she needs to do it again to buy new gear and possibly a house in the not so near future. Save for new gaming laptop; Start new extra savings account to buy a house. So... let's see how this goes since it'll be my first challenge ^^ I'll probably check in weekly since I already have my grinding log in which I put my foods and exercise for accountability purposes.

Hello folks! I'm back. I don't have a fun theme, but my overall theme for this challenge is consistency. I, um, missed my last meet because I got stuck in NJ after a work trip (there was "weather"), so I'm feeling a little.... lost. I started swing dancing on Wednesdays for cardio, because I got tired of trying to make running work. Still hiking with @Taddea Zhaan as often as possible. I am currently on Week 2 of my after-meet lifting program, and I'm having trouble just... doing the thing? I took like 3 weeks off lifting after I was supposed to compete, and I'm really struggling with integrating it back into my schedule. So this challenge will mostly be about "Did you do the workout?". Work travel is always a problem. Depression is still a thing, as always, so I need to keep doing the things that help with that: -taking walks -journaling -the outdoors -being social -lifting (it really helps! when I can convince myself to do it!) So, consistency! I'll be experimenting with different ways to arrange my weeks, different ways to journal, and different ways to be efficient at work. As long as I try, there is no fail, just figuring out what works best for me Quest 1: Do the workouts. I used to be really good when making plans for a day building in workout time on the days when I knew I was lifting. I need to do that again! Realizing at 9pm that I was supposed to lift does not a happy Elvie make. Schedule workouts like everything else! Quest 2: Journal! This ties into the scheduling aspect of Quest 1. I really want to experiment with different ways of keeping weekly/daily/monthly? journals so that I can look back over time. was thinking a monthly spread, then a weekly, then a daily? The challenge is going to be getting it all written out in something like a bullet journal - I may create some things on my computer that I can print instead - that may in the end be better for me. Then I can just print and go! So I'm going to try to put some thought into this through the challenge. If I try something, I need to keep a record of how it works for me so that I remember for the following experiment. Quest 3: Every morning at work, write out the three most important things I need to get done today. I'd like to then do those first, but even just writing out my top priorities for the day will be super helpful.

Welcome to Northman's Weekly-Daily Workout Log. Here I will keep track of my bodyweight workout progressions and nutrition goals. Status Update <Space for status update. How ya feelin' bud? You okay?> Weight Current WeightGoal Goal (Gain/Cut) - Calories - Macros (Carbs/Prot/Fat)Routine Exercise - Sets/Reps

Don’t call it a comeback~ ( Hey Noctis took like 10 years ok, I’ve only been dormant for a few months. ) NERD FRIENDOS!!! Hello, it is me, your caps lock hyperbole Ranger, coming back from a short hiatus of Doing the Thing on my own to continue Doing the Thing here, with you, better, harder, faster. It’s good to be home. <3 ANYWAYS in true Shaar fashion my quests are quite customized to my current Obsession du Jour - HEH you thought it was gonna be FFXIV, right? Or maybe Persona 5?? Aaactually I had this challenge written up for a few months ago but I never used it, and I’m still over the moon for this stupid game, so I’m gonna roll with it and jump back in head first with my wonderful Chocobros to lead my way. EYES PEELED, MOUTH CLOSED LET’S DO THIS. __gladiolus amicitia______ less bitching, more killing. Gladio is the king’s shield and bodyguard. He’s also my favorite character - tough as nails, he takes no shit (and has no qualms telling you how he really feels), thrives on the fight and never hesitates to be the first into the fray. He also reads in the car and does one armed pushups at camp and loves being outdoors and has a gruff sense of sass-mastery and LOVES CUP NOODLES (I’m sure they’re great for macros maybe ok). He definitely fits into the ‘protector’ trope which I also feel I fall into, so that’s probably why I like him best. He’s also HELLA STRONG and I need to tighten up my lifting routine. SERIOUSLY. I’ve been struggling lately with a decent weight loss and eating to support my new status quo, and it’s been shaking up my lifting routine. Right now I’m looking to stick in the gym at LEAST twice a week without burning myself out. A - 2+ lifting days weekly B - 1 lifting day weekly F - Get rekt kid ____ignis scientia______ you can remain awake long enough to eat. Ignis is the chief strategist of the royal family and is Noctis’ personal advisor and right hand man. He’s fills out the ‘brains of the party’ role really well, and having grown up alongside Noct, has assumed a sort of caretaker position towards the prince. He is also your designated driver for the majority of the game and cooks up some MEAN ASS FOOD when you camp, and also discovers lots of recipes along the way. Ignis goes hand in hand with Gladio here (teehee); I need to start logging my food again. Not going to work towards anything numbers-wise, just track, and see where I’m at currently, and where I can improve. A: 7 days a week within tracking parameters B: 6 days a week within tracking parameters F: 5 days a week (or less) ___prompto argentum_____ i’m toootally into chocobos!.... don’t take that the wrong way. Prompto is Noctis’ best friend and the fun-loving life of the party. He loves chocobos, puns, shootin’ things, and most importantly, taking pictures. Prompto takes lots of candid shots of your journey that you can save and share and it’s pretty much the best thing ever. HE’S SO ADORABLE AND HAPPY BLESS HIM Here is my social quest. POST HERE. I’ve fallen off the forums a bit but I realize how much I’ve missed hanging with you guys, you are my friends, and that means the world to me. So; be present. A: Post 5+ times weekly B: Post 3-4 times weekly F: Dude where are you? ___noctis lucius caelum________ no time to stop. we keep moving. Noctis is the main character and playable hero of the game, a prince that’s on a road trip with his friends/guards/groomsmen to go get married and have adorable hijinks with on the way. He really grows into his role and starts to shoulder more and more responsibility along the way; eventually through the storyline he begins to collect the Royal Arms, a variety of weapons used by kings of old. For this challenge I’ll channel Noctis to be my “collection crew” - to keep track of the little things and my weekly to-do lists to make sure everything gets done. This list will be a hodgepodge of things I will assign myself at the start of each challenge week, so it will change weekly and will include but is not limited to - multiple mobility sessions, epsom salt baths, mental check-ins, cleaning/organizing, and other tasks that pop up and need to be dealt with. A: Weekly tasks completed B: Over half of weekly tasks completed F: Less than half of weekly tasks completed PHEW OK I THINK I'M READY!! Onward to greatness, teamwork styyyyle!

This is what happens when you have been reading both American Gods and Norse Mythology. You start imagining you can rock it with the Norse Gods. Also it helped me limit what I wanted to do. Kinda. Overall, my goals and Big Why have been wobbling for a long, long time when it came to things outside of the dojo and the mat. I am starting to think up new Whys and that's allowing me to hone in on goals a bit more than I've really been able to in a long while. The very-much-reduced stress level of mine has been a huge help, and how conveniently work is located to everything in my life is also kind of amazing and helpful. 1) Feast of Valhalla: Mostly Primal eating, with Intermittent Fasting on Social/Provided food days. So I've been working on dialing my diet back in. Partially this is because with a new job, I can afford to go out and be social, and also because I'm now introduced to so much extra food at work. By and large that last part is still not terrible - of all the places I've worked this place has the healthiest food options. Couple of sugary granola bars, but I actually need the carbs at this point, and snacking on one or two isn't terrible. And once a week they provide lunch (yesterday was delicious Indian food), which so far has only been pizza once. Aim is for like, 85% Primal-approved things most days. Days where I know I'm going to be social or provided food I want to fast a bit in the morning just to offset that stuff. Though my current workout routine "fast" should probably be in quotes, since I'll drink a protein shake post-lifting I think. 2) Gaze of Odin: Track all food and exercise. Take Progress Photos once a week. Odin sacrificed his eye to gain wisdom and vision. I need to take a bit of a step back and track things a bit more diligently again. The food I've always been good at, but I also usually skimped adding in the exercise I did, because hey, bigger deficit to work with, amirte? Turns out that's a terrible idea. I spent the last 9 months working towards being okay with eating more food.... by eating a bit too much food. I'm ~10 pound over where I was before Camp NF, and definitely much softer in areas I don't want to be soft in. So I set my MFP to a BMR of 2400, and will track my exercise. I am allowed a deficit of only up to 500 calories per day. Any larger deficit and I am required to eat something. Going over is actually also okay. If I need the food I need the food. The fact I'm okay with regularly eating 3,000 calories and feel okay with that should be seen as an amazing feat for those who've seen me wrestle with my weight and worries about getting fat again. But I've been feeling good the last couple days in this dry run of mine. So I'm feeling hopeful. 3) Might of Thor: Alternate twice-a-week and four-times-a-week lifting routines. Clearly Thor has the muscle, even if he doesn't have many brains. So I am kind of cheating here I guess. I was gifted two different lifting programs specifically for me, both of which take into account aikido AND November project. One is twice a week, for my classical Monday-Friday lifting plans. The other is a 4-times-a-week deal, because at the time I wasn't sure how terrible traffic was and if I would just decided to get a gym membership near my work and then just lift early in the morning to avoid traffic. Turns out traffic isn't terrible, but I've been doing the 4x week program this week and I don't actually mind it that much. That said, I can see myself burning out, which is where the rotation comes in. The 4x week lets me work on volume and conditioning. The 2x a week is more full body. Also the 2x a week allows me two days of sleeping past 0530, which I kind of like. It also means I won't feel crazy if suddenly I have to miss a workout. Hell, the way the workouts are planned, if I can only make 3 on a 4x week, I can always do two of the 4x workouts and then one of the full body ones. Lots of flexibility that I can play with. 3) The Plots of Loki: Adulting Duties and Chores Declutter the apartment, 5 minutes per day Get car serviced/fixed Get car inspected Set up an instagram for the dojo Get at least two postings done on IG for the dojo Write up a proposal for a Beginner Aikido Seminar series course for the Dojo board Dinner with the work team at the Boss' house (7/12) Good Riddance bye Party for BigM (7/15) Probably some other things I forgot, but may or may not update The plotter and schemer of the Aesir, multiple plots always running through his life. Loki just gets into trouble, but has been known to be surprisingly helpful to his adopted family. He is chaos, but a chaos that gets thing accomplished. I'm keeping this list small, but I have some big stuff things that NEED to be done by the end of the challenge. Notably I want to rip my apartment apart and declutter it, and I need car stuff done. So, those get the top of the list. And so there's that. An actually fairly simple challenge for me. Time to rock this World.

This challenge will mostly be about getting back into my regular routine after it was disrupted by, among other things, preparing for 2 different competitions and going on vacation. Goals Fix my squat form. I want to get where I can do a set of 5 and be confident that all of my reps will keep the bar within an inch or so of my mid-foot. Do yoga twice a week. I've had this goal for a few challenges now, but I haven't quite made it an ingrained habit yet. Get in bed by 11:30 pm at least 5 days each week. I'm tempted to say every work night, but sleep is actually something you can catch up on from day to day. That being said, this resets every Monday at midnight. Borrowing missed milestones from future weeks has not worked out well for me in previous challenges. Work on SICP for at least 30 minutes on at least 1 of Tuesday or Thursday each week. No borrowing from week to week. Hopefully, this considerably reduced goal will help me get into a routine with this.

I’ve got my first 10K smack dab in the middle of this challenge. I will be attempting to prepare myself for this hell so here's the plan: lift 3x per week run/hike/cardio 3x per week - first two weeks will be running then the last two weeks will be any cardio i want burpees 3x per week: 20 per session yoga 60 mins per week stay within 2000cals per day or 14,000 cals per week life things to keep in mind 7/7 & 7/8: Wedding party duties for SO’s brother’s wedding 7/15: Gansett 10K 7/16: Dad’s bday brunch and Kevin Hearne 7/21 – 7/23: Saco River camping and canoe float 7/30: Garbage and Blondie

I'm so excited for a 6 week challenge! And I have so many ideas for my narrative that I'm pretty excited to write, so I'm actually coming into this challenge super energised and ready to get going. Technically, I'm starting my weeks on Sunday, so I have to back-log from Sunday 25th, but still! And since this time around Rhovaniel is going to be searching for her (and my) role models and inspiration, I have no remorse in posting this: Anyway, goals for the six weeks: Lifting: 3 workouts a week I will probably continue a little longer with my sort-of Stronglifts workouts, until I reach a point with OHP where I can do Juggernauts properly and not need to use dumbbells. Hopefully, the transition will occur at some point during the challenge. Running: 3 runs a week in the format of 2 sprints and one longer one. In addition, I want to try and push the longer one just that little further each week. Just slightly, so my ‘I don’t wanna brain’ doesn’t throw a tantrum. Maybe a half kilometre each week further. Starting at 5km. Macros: Track macros (TDEE -10%) 5 days a week I’m not good at pre-planning. The night before tends to be the norm right now, but so long as it gets done I’m not pushing this point too much. The goal is simply to eat to my macros – and post them on here daily for accountability – 5 days out of the 7. I say only 5 because this is still a pretty new habit for me and I want to go slow. I’ll do my best to make at least one of the non macro days still track-able, but eating to my TDEE, or maintenance macros, rather than -10%. I have no real idea if -10% will help me lose weight, but it’s what my body accepts (I get too hungry and eat ALL the things when I try to restrict calories too much) so I’m going with that. Mental Strength: Meditate or work on some form of mental resilience once per day. 7 days a week. This is the new habit I want to build, because I think taking the time out of my day to mentally decompress will help me maintain my mental strength when I need it to. I feel pretty good right now. But sooner or later, things are going to happen that’s going to test me. I want to be ready for that day, and be better able to weather it. Rewards are not going to be tied to narrative this time around. I liked the format, and for the most part it worked so I will probably go back to it at some point. But it also took a lot of time, thinking of different outcomes and how they might relate to each week, etc. And it doesn’t really work so well when I’m keeping the goals so simple. So, narrative will hopefully just be a minimum of once a week, and instead I’m implementing some loot goals (not arbitrary, I’ve been wanting some for a while): LOOT Perfect Week: New ¾ length (or ½ length) workout bottoms or top. I currently have two bottoms and maybe three tops that are in constant rotation through wearing them and laundry so it would be nice to have a few extras! Perfect Challenge: New trainers I really do need a new pair of trainers since I discovered that the ones I use for the gym are way more comfortable than the converses I used to live and die in. So, that’s the motivation for getting it all right this time around. But I also accept that I have not previously completed a perfect challenge, and, whether I like it or not, I do get de-motivated if I realise early on I can’t achieve anything and that becomes a slippery slop, so: Non-perfect week but with 3 or less missed goals: Half-point towards the loot. It means I can’t get the workout clothes of choice that week, but I’m halfway there, so if I have another non-perfect (but still 3 or less missed goals) then I do earn it, as if it were one perfect week. Non-perfect Challenge but with 15 or less missed goals: Not sure on this one, since I don’t intend on having loot goals next time around. I’ll think on it.

I've been away for a little while. Mostly busy with work and the like. I also might be doing this challenge injured so will likely have to mix it up slightly. I decided to do a black widow challenge this time around, mostly so i can post pics of Natasha's (Scarlett's) hotness Challenge Goals: In honour of Scarlett's thighs and ass this challenge will revolve around legs, it's basically leg month Mobility. I've been neglecting my body slightly, so mobility exercises need to happen 3 x per week. Stretching and yoga can be alternated. Lifting. These exercises will focus on legs; leg extensions, deadlift (if my arm will be okay and not to painful to do this) & squats (zombie, front & dumbbell). 3 x per week. Core. I really really need to do some core exercises, my tummy is getting flabby and core work will help with my horse riding. Bike Commuting. I finally got new tires for my bike and have been trying to commute to work when possible (i.e no storms or suffocating heat); when possible use the bike and ditch the truck! Language. Being a spy is hard work, knowledge of multiple languages does make it easier. So Romanian practice and learning at least 5 x per week. By the end of the challenge i hope to have gone through the next 10 pimsleur lessons and be done with all 30 they offer. I've been keeping a very simple bullet journal for a few months now to keep track of habits and such. Keep doing this & add more habits, like regular clean up of my house etc.

It's been a long time... Too much has happened in the last...18 months to even try to condense it all. To sum it up; put on 10kg, became sedentary, have a very stressful job. Time to fix things! Quest One: Lose weight - My final goal is to get to 60kg. I'm currently at 72.4kg having lost 2kg since rejoining this site - Whole30 Weekly shopping lists & meal plans - I want to make Wednesday a shopping day and food prep day because it's my day off Practice a Whole30 diet 5 out of 7 days, to keep it sustainable longer term Quest Two: Make time for me - I often feel switched on at all times, like I don't have any down time, I need to make more time for me! - Cycle to my parents Linking in to weight loss too, I'm a big cyclist; mountain biking and road cycling! It takes me 30 minutes to cycle to my parents, I should do it more often, and give myself an hour to just be mindful Quest Three: Remove work stress - I'm a pharmacist, with my own branch. I have a manager, but I feel lately our roles overlapping, it's too much for me right now. - Stop getting involved in patient conversations unless asked! - Learn to delegate - Stop answering the phone! I feel like my quests overlap a lot, the cycling will not only help me take time for myself but it will help with my fitness too! I'm going to keep cycling in general, plus going to the gym at least once a week, but they don't make up part of my main goals for these four weeks

So, I skipped last month because I was starting to burn out on tracking ALL THE THINGS. So I tracked mostly none of the things (kept up with weight lifting tracking tho), and now I'm a little more refreshed after vacation (and a little over sugared tbh, 'cause birfday). And now I want to solidify some progress! Fun stuff this month: - I'm doing Aerial Silks for the first time on the 22nd! I'M SO EXCITED - PixelPop festival is at the end of the challenge. I don't have a booth this time, I'm going to go JUST to go! Fitness So, when I started at the Academy I was kinda miffed that rangering was "running AND lifting!" And I was all "Meh. I don't run." I later understood rangering is actually ALL THE THINGS, and also ...I started running Schedule: Sunday: PT Weight lifting Monday: Run Tuesday: Weight lifting Wednesday: Run Thursday: Weight lifting Friday: Run Saturday: Rest (or something) Goal for weight lifting: I'm aiming for intermediate levels according to this. Right now I'm at 210lb on deadlift, 170lb on squat, and 85lb on bench. So bench needs to come up to get an intermediate level. I want to get to competition levels, but I don't know if I'll actually compete or not. S: Increase bench M: To at least 100lb A: Yup R: To get into intermediate level T: In the next month We've been watching a lot of One Peice lately, Zoro is my fav Goal for running: We're planning to do a 5K in late September, and need to start ramping up our training! I'm basing my speed off my husband and he's not doing super great (his endurance started super low though), so I want to be encouraging but I don't want him to get frustrated. S: Increase run time M: Sustain two 10 minute runs A: Maybe? R: To prepare for the 5K at end of September T: In the next month Fun fact: I'm Haku. Food We're in a bit of a budget slump, so more eating at home is better. I'm learning how to bring lunches to work! That makes me an adult, right? I've also stopped tracking my calories and trying to learn more mindful eating. It's a little scary, but I have some good habits in place (no more than 10g sugar per hour, protein primary, carb secondary, fats on gyms days, yaddiyadda). So seeing how that goes. The plan: Lunch: Bring food to work 4x per week Dinner: Have dinner at home 3x per week (I haven't been tracking this so much yet) S: Increase food prep M: As above A: Yup R: To better my food intake and budget T: In the next month Current cooking skill: Probably won't burn down the house Looooife I'm taking Japanese, but we're on break! So I need to practice, because we're increasing in difficulty after summer break (read: kanji!). I'm also helping out with multiple events at the Japanese Festival labor day weekend, and desperately need to practice Rakugo! The plan: Practice at least 2x per week (at least once Rakugo and seiza, at least once terminology and kana) S: Practice Japanese - rakugo, seiza, words, kana M: At least 2x per week A: Yup R: To have a solid foundation of my Rakugo story, feel comfortable in my kana and words, and seiza for 20 minutes (or die trying) T: In the next month Rakugo! Bonus gift for seiza:

June 26, 2017 Weight: 342.6 Bench Press: 95 - x6, x6, x6, x16 --> 105 Barbell Row: 95 - x6, x6, x6, x9 --> 105 Squat: 135 - x10, 145 - x4, 155 - x3, 165 - x2, 175 - x1 --> 155 Vertical Pulls: x13, x14, x16 Thoughts So after a lengthy absence from training I have returned to lifting, I will be using the Beginner Powerbuilding Program because I feel that I want to build up a combination of size and strength. I am starting weights relatively low to give myself a chance to ease back into training. The workout felt really good, the hardest (mostly mentally) was the AMRAP set of squats to get started with the squat progression.

I can't find my old log, so I'm starting a new one!

that is how i prefer to enjoy a spartan sprint OCR. with naked friends. i took about 5 days off everything and am ready to jump headfirst into zero week in order to start preparing for the spartan on june 17th. 24 days. totally enough time to prep. GOAL 1: need to maintain (or perchance lose some?!) weight to be able to handle the BW work. stay within 2000cals per day or 14,000 cals per week GOAL 2: i love lifting. lifting is the best. lift 2x per week GOAL 3: going to be doing spartan workouts 5x per week from the couch to spartan sprint program GOAL 4: get that conditioning burning. burpees 3x per week: start at 15 per session for the first 2 weeks. 20 per session last two weeks GOAL 5: don't get twisted. yoga 60m per week similar stuff as before. i think my summer challenges get repetitive because i have so many short vacas that throw a wrench into things like calorie counting. so i keep needing to have the same goals, which is fine! just repetitive. don't give up on me yet, folks! life things to keep in mind 5/28 & 5/29 – Boston Calling and Memorial Day 6/4 – Mom’s bday 6/10 – Vag Mons performance 6/17 – Spartan 6/24 thru 6/26 – Provincetown vaca

This challenge is going to be a bit of a regrouping challenge. I spent last challenge with the druids - developing good sleep habits and learning some yoga by doing 30-60min of yoga videos every day. It went really well, and so now I feel like I can stop focusing on sleep for a while (finally!) and I will wind back the yoga so I'm doing a more sustainable amount (short sessions 5x a week). It is surprising how much extra flexibility I have already! I also know my strong points and weak points now. So my yoga for this challenge will be targeted - my shoulders are really bad it turns out (previous job + powerlifting would have caused this), so I will focus on those muscles and do some rolling with a cricket ball too. Quests for this challenge: Complete all planned fitness activities Improve food prep skills *Bonus for fun* Work on epic quest / lifestyle design Quick overview, I will flesh out the details a bit more for each quest in my next post ps. I am a bit of a lurker on other people's challenges - if you are working on something similar let me know, I will come have a look

Hi guys! So this is going to look almost exactly like my last challenge! But with Lord of the Rings Gifs! We are still building the habits. Aka, they vanished during zero week, so there is more work to be done. Though to be fair to myself, last week was INSANE. Quest 1: Eat Breakfast (aka channel my inner hobbit) Every morning I'm at home, must finish breakfast before I leave the apartment (or between the apartment in my car - can't get into my car until the food is gone) - I'm adding the car part because I have to wait for two separate elevators between my apartment and my car so eating while waiting for the elevator is acceptable to me. I would very much prefer to eat at home though - I'm going to get bonus points for eating before leaving apartment. Quest 2: Jounal (this is basically a journal, right?) Either do it (accomplishments, things I'm grateful for, freestyle or list of feelings I felt that day) or consciously decide not to do it. Either is fine, but I need to think about it! It really seems to help me process my day. I'm actually attending a yoga/journaling workshop this Sunday, so hopefully I'll get some tips and tricks! Quest 3: Self-Care (unrelated but fantastic gif) To be documented in journal usually, when I journal. I really liked something Taddea posted about boring self-care and I liked that a lot. I really liked making self-care in general consciously part of my day in the last challenge, it really helped keep me grounded. Other things: I'll be lifting, eating, sleeping, kicking ass at work, going to therapy, etc as usual. Going visit a nerd this upcoming weekend, we may lift together! Would be super fun. I ordered both a sunrise alarm clock and a happy light with some gift money so that was nice. Oh and I've been doing the dating thing. Let me know if you want to hear the horribly punny tinder messages I have received. Oh, and my meet is July 15th so that'll be fun Meet prep FTW!

My husband and I just moved to Madison, WI for work. Would love to meet some other Nerd Fitness members!

Main Quest: Pass my Transfiguration class with an Outstanding mark. (Drop body fat% and show off some toned muscles, possible because of my newbie gainzzz???, also maybe become an Animagus because why not.) Quest 1 – Transfiguration 101: Lift weights 3-4 times and do 1-2 yoga sessions, per week. Quest 2 – Don't disappoint Oliver Wood by falling off my broom: Work that core everyday to have perfect balance during Quidditch. (will follow Neila Rey's Core Challenge for 30 days, then the 5 minutes plank challenge for the remaining days of the challenge.) Quest 3 – Help out with S.P.E.W.: Only one meal will be eaten in the Great Hall per week, the rest of the food has to be cooked by myself to help the house elves and we all know they don't like processed stuff. (No takeouts, as few processed food as possible. Only one meal allowed per week to be bought or at a restaurant, and it has to be enjoyed and a wonderful experience to make it worth it. Butterbeer totally counts.) Life Quest – Do your homework and don't slack: Create my routine in the morning; Meditation.Writing ~500 words while drinking my cup of tea and breakfast. I'm really looking forward to getting stronger alongside you guys! Who else is a Potterhead around here?

Hi gang. Going to give it another try here. I hurt my back so I'm on a healthy dose of steroids right now and no lifting. Honestly should probably be on light duty at work so the next week should be interesting. Goal 1) This was supposed to be following the nifty new lifting program my new rugby s&c coach gave me. Instead for now it's going to be mobility work to loosen up the problem muscles in my back and hip. 3x per week. Once my back is happy again it will go back to lifting 3x per week. Goal 2) Follow the eating plan that goes with the new lifting program remembering that I'm focusing on progress not perfection. Goal 3) Keep up with the Rising Heroes missions a little bit better. There are some good ones for this week on mindfulness and positive thinking. Both areas I can improve on. I'm sure I'll be full of witty comments later but right now I'm just full of prednisone. Translation...my eyeballs feel hot. I will get around and check in with all of you soon as I'm feeling a bit better!

Jon Firestar's Epic Boss Battles! The tiny fire burned dull in the oppressive room eating away at the oxygen in the room. The smoke rose in small whips disappearing upwards into the pitch black above their heads. The group huddled around the flame. Sweat beading on their heads. It was hot and dank this deep. Whoever had built these halls had taken no thought on how air would flow this far down in the earth. Four of them, two men and two women clad in rough leather garments. Pieces of armour, leather metal and mail strapped to their hard bodies. Weapons lay close at hand, swords axes and bows. They had made it. For weeks, they had dived this dungeon. Travelling ever deeper fighting their way through ever more fearsome and dangerous foes. The small stew pot hung over the flames bubbling away quietly. There was some risk to cooking here. Quite a big risk but they had talked it over and each of them had decided it was worth it. A shrill scream echoed in the distance and Tila grabbed her bow and moved to her knee. Her hood fell from around her head revealing her dark hair in stark contrast to her bright green eyes. Every muscle in her neck was tense. Alyce, hadn’t moved but her hand clasped over the hilt of her greatsword. “It’s too big to get in here.” She said. Her voice cutting the darkness like a knife. Tila relaxed a tiny bit and put her bow down. “It isn’t the only thing down here,” she said quietly. “We’ve not seen anything in days,” Erran said. The large man shifting quietly. His soft-spoken voice didn’t match his huge frame. “We keep hearing them though,” The final companion said. Dori a smaller man. Short and balding. Two curved swords and a crossbow all hung on his back. Alyce climbed to her feet her long flame red hair hung against her hard, muscular frame. “Erran’s right,” she said. “The trash is dead. We’ve slaughtered our way down here.” .”us“We’ve cornered them,” Dori continued. “They are hiding from “No,” Errin said. “They are waiting for us to come to them. They don’t fear us but, if we can take the small one down fast, they will know they’ve got something to fear.” Tila sighed. “Let’s eat and sleep while we can. We’ve still got to get down there and we are going to need to be as ready as we can be when we do.” As if on que the scream echoed out again. Full of rage and sorrow. ---- No rest for me. I could use some week 0 hype but I've a lot of stuff going on the next few weeks and need to start right now to achieve all my goals! What follows is sort of long and detailed because its not so much one thing I need to keep doing for 4 weeks but a strategy to get through the next 5 weeks. So I've hidden batches to keep it looking less intimidating! This challenge is marked by three epic boss battles, or two mini bosses and the main boss. The main boss is Tough Mudder May 7. #nervousexcited The two mini bosses, one which is 100% certain and the other I’m about 90% sure I’m gonna do are two separate 10k Races, the first one, which is already paid for is the Saturday of week 0 (22nd of April) and the second one is on Sunday 21st May (which is technically next challenge but the new boards won’t be up before I run it so I’m counting it in this one). So two weeks either side of Touch Mudder. Thoughts on my first 10K race : Tough Mudder is a different beast. It’s a long slog that will see me waiting in queues with intense pushes of energy to move through obstacles and a twelve-mile-long run (and I’m informed that it will involve some nasty hills). It is Tough Mudder and I don’t care how long it takes. I care that I make it so my plan is to take it slow and steady like I would with an easy training run. I’ve taken a couple of days off work after the event because I’m sure I’m going to want to spend at least one day sleeping it off! Again, I’ve not got a clue at how it is going to affect my body. This is where the big dramatic changed to my lifting and running schedule will come in both in the week prior and after to this Run. Finally, there is the Royal Berkshire 10k. Which is a fast-flat course at the end of May. If I miss my time in my first race, I am certain I can make it here. Outside of injury (or if I really am struggling to recover from Tough Mudder but it’s long enough after I’m sure it’ll be fine) I plan on running this race too and because of the kind of course it is I really want to PR my 10K while I’m at it By the time I get here I’ll already have a better idea of what I need to do leading into the race and what I need to do the week after the race so I’ve less thoughts on this than the other two… The Convoluted scoring system: The whole scope of this challenge is action vs recovery. For everything that costs fatigue I need to do something to recover. Using my HP system here is how I’ve worked it out for the next month. I have 10HP only and I need to keep the bar above 0 or I fail. Each of my recovery items will restore 1HP up to a maximum of 4 per day. The point of all of it is to encourage me strongly to actively work on recovery! If I miss any of the events in this challenge, even the one I’ve not confirmed yet, I lose 20HP and cannot recover so die right away. If I get injured the challenge is over anyway so it isn’t excused by injury. The two 10K races each cost 5HP. Tough Mudder instantly costs all my remaining HP. Reducing me to zero. That is to say, I’ve got to do something on Tough Mudder Day to encourage my recovery and two somethings if I want to be able to miss gym on Monday and survive. Being above or below my calorie goal by 100calories on any day will cost 2 HP, hitting it dead on will cost 0. Each workout I hit will cost 3HP, but if I miss one it’ll cost 5HP. On a good day I will be in surplus but the races will leave me with a deficit to make up. Run towards Danger! Short version: Run 3 days per week with an easy run, some hill repeats and some variation of the long run. Long long version for those interested (if anyone with more experience has anything to add/change/critique I'd appreciate it ): Strong Enough to Fight! Similarly, my lifting program is going to have some dramatic changes for the next few weeks: Week 0: Realization phase of the 3s wave of Juggernaut Week 1: Kind of a weird week where I don’t want to start a hypertrophy phase but also don’t want to spend several weeks deloading so I think I’m going to go ahead and test my 1 rep maxes because I’ve not done that properly yet. Week 2: Full deload protocol leading to Tough Mudder. Week 3: I uhh dunno. I’m either going to dive right in with the 10s Phase of Juggernaut or I’m going to spend a second week deloading. I think it is important that I get back into the gym asap after Tough Mudder. Whether that is the next day or a couple of days in I can’t say right now. Week 4: Week 1 or 2 of the 10s Phase of the Juggernaut Program. Provisions: For the duration of the challenge I aim to hit maintenance calories. I am going to need the fuel to drive my body to do the stuff I intend but I don’t want to start putting on weight. Even if some of that will be muscle. So I will keep track of my food and drink still. Health Potions! Rest and recovery are things I don’t do well enough. I want to be diligent this challenge because I’m going to need all the recovery I can get! Roll and Stretch: I’m actually really good at doing this stuff on days when I’m at the gym and I suck when I’m not at the gym (i.e. after a run). The goal is simple. Go through my foam rolling and stretching routine after every workout. Sleep: As many already know, I don’t sleep well but I don’t do myself any favours either. For the duration of the challenge bedtime is 9:45 and my shutdown is at 9:15. Misc Stiff: Anything else I can do to help recovery. Can restore a maximum of 2 HP per Day: includes ice baths, meditation, cold compress and icing, Epsom salt baths, naps, compression and anything else that seems right if I come across it (I'm open to suggestions!)

I've been stuck at a plateu on my deadlifts for a few weeks and the weak point is not my body: it's my grip. So, I went and I got myself some basic lifting straps and googled how to use them. I tried them out this morning and my question is: how do I use them? I couldn't get the straps to either get tight or grip the bar so I was pretty much just lifting with a nylon bundle in my fist. I did get it to finally get a grip but only on the hand where I was wrapping the straps around the bar with one free hand so... one handed lifts only?

despite the name of the challenge, things are actually going fairly well this year, fitness-wise. and now i kind of want to play basketball... overarching goals? i'd like to reduce body fat, get stronger, and compete in a powerlifting competition this year. Goal 1. Nutrition carry over Make at least one fun recipe each weekend I’m home (that’s 3 this challenge) Pack enough snacks for work For the weekend I’m away, 30 burpees new stuff No work goodies 3 out of 5 work days per week (12 goodie-free days) No alcohol March 21st through April 13th… this is a spur of the moment new flexible goal. we’ll see. If anything else it’ll make me count my drinks consumed during this time frame. Goal 2. Cardio 10 cardio sessions. 2-3/week. Goal 3. Weights 12 weight-lifting sessions, 3/week. currently working through 5/3/1 Goal 4. Yoga At least 60 minutes/week, 3 days/week (240 mins; 12 days) let's get after it

Leaves rustled in the wind and birds called in the canopy. The group of rangers crouched silently in the undergrowth watching the caravan creep forward along the road. The four wagons moved slowly, their wheels creaking under the combined burden. The empire guards marched in formation on either side. Ridged and upright their armour gleaming in the sunlight like so many diamonds. Not a sound passed between them except the occasional shouted command from the captain at the head of the group. The guards were a distraction as were three of the four wagons. They were laden with sweet treats and treasures. They would be missed the most in the empire markets but the thing that had the attention of the rangers was the fourth wagon. Unlike the others, it wasn’t destined for the markets. It was also the reason for the heavily armed escort. The wagon wasn’t brightly painted like it’s peers but instead a drab brown of scuffed wood. Any colour had long ago peeled away. There was the odd discoloured splotch that stained the old wood. Blood, vomit or some other bodily fluid, Jon reasoned. The wagon was a box of steel and wood. Completely encased but with no windows and a single door of thick wood and bound iron. It was locked tight. Inside were citizens of the empire selected for re-education. Some of those had been members of the rebellion. Some just dared voice their dissent. All got the same treatment. Jon cast his eyes around his companions. Women and men of the ranger’s guild. They were a varied bunch. Big, small, large and narrow. Some built for speed, some for strength some for endurance. Some, all of the above. A flash of red caught Jon’s attention. It was the man they had followed on this raid. The red was the signal. Around him came creeks as the group pulled the strings of their bows and then twangs as the arrows were loosed. The attack had begun. --- I really struggled on my last challenge. After about week 1, I completely lost all motivation to keep going. I’m still not sure what exactly caused the switch but I was able to keep going and maintain my momentum and got through with a success on my sheet. I gradually came out of the funk by week 4 and I’m overall happy with my progress during that time. So, the theme of this challenge is to strike out. To keep things moving along a little. To swap things up each week with my workouts and to keep myself accountable. I’m still trying to make sure I don’t overwhelm myself like I did at the beginning of the year (and that is probably a leading cause of my issues last challenge) but I do find that I do better with more specific and active goals. Food and Water If I am honest this is where I’ve really been struggling to maintain control. I think that in part because I’ve been in a calorie deficit for the best part of a year now and part because my workouts are so much more intense it is making it hard for me to maintain. I need a little more focus and a little more discipline to make it through. I use MFP but unlike most I tend to use it plan my meals rather than log what I’m eating. I plan a week in advance everything I intend on eating. I need to be much more disciplined in logging any extra calories so that I have an idea. Goals: Meal plan and stick to the plan 34 Don’t add extra calories without logging 34 Log my water intake and get at least 2 liters per day 34 Exercise As of writing I have just under 8 weeks until Tough Mudder!! And I want to incorporate a few more sport specific items into my workouts. Essentially, I want to add more conditioning into my strength days and some body weight stuff into my short runs. The additional stuff is going to be a little random to add a little bit of interest to my workouts. I’ve gotten into a routine of doing the same stuff over and over and I kind of don’t like doing that for long – Rangerbrain so mix it up. I’ve stalked the OCR badasses out there and read a whole bunch of stuff. I need to think on how to actually implement it. So I am going to experiment this week a little if I am able. Goals: Strength workout 3 days per week – conditioning circuit 1-2 times per week Running 3 days per week – added bodyweight training mid run 1-2 times per week. On both accounts I’m only going to score against 1 added activity each week. I may adjust Workout Plans: I’ve been using the Juggernaut program for my lifting. I really like the program for the main lifts because it offers steady progress without demanding too much. Monday: Squat and OHP Wednesday: Deadlift Friday: Benchpress Running: I’m currently aiming to hit 18 miles per week across three runs. I’ve come to the realisation that my long run on the weekend may sometimes need to take backseat to life and I’m not to beat myself up for not running 10 miles on Saturday if I have stuff to get done over the weekend because that run really takes it out of me. On those occasions I am going to aim for 10K instead because that is a run I can do without the rest demand that comes from 10 miles: Tuesday: Easy 4 miles Thursday: Speed/Hill work – I’m going to focus on actual speed work on these days with sprints and hill repeats rather than temp runs. A couple of easy miles as a warm up/cool down included. Saturday: Long steady run. Steady 10 miles or 10k depending on the circumstances. It should be noted that every 4th week in my program I go into deload and I drop back volume and intensity on both my running and my lifting for that week. Domestic Rangering I’m adding this here because I find that when I have it in my challenge I hit my list more often In short I have a short todo list in my journal for my domestic rangering and if I hit it I keep on top of all the things rather than playing catch up. Sunday: Laundry, Kitchen Monday: Landing Tuesday: Kitchen Wednesday: Laundry, trash and hall Thursday: Bathroom Friday: Kitchen and stairs Saturday: Bedroom and Laundry Scoring: I’m going to keep up with my health bar idea: I have a total of 195 points to hit. I want to be good at least 80% of the time. This means I can drop a total of 39 points. This represents my HP, the goal is simply to keep the bar above 0 for the challenge. Disclaimer: I am going to start this challenge right now but I need to point out that I have come down with a case of the plague It is a bit of a head cold right now and, if I don’t feel any worse, it shouldn’t stop me doing anything on my list. If it does get worse then I may need to make allowances for this week.

Brutal Bears Downs Wailing Caverns Intro/Explanation: Week 0 Lady Anacondra Week 1 Lord Pythas Week 2 Lord Cobrahn Week 3 Lord Serpentis Week 4 Awaken Naralex Goals and Prizes