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After an on-again off-again (mostly off again) love affair with fitness over the last several years, I feel I have finally found a fitness fellowship with the Rebellion! I have my Lvl 1/First Challenge posted in the newbies section, but wanted to take it a step further with a daily commitment to logging my progress and sticking with this by posting here in the Battle Logs. I feel like this is going to be crictical to help me make it through. Between my company undergoing a lot change, a crazy toddler, and a very pregnant wife, I have a feeling it is going to be the small daily commitments that make all the difference. Feel free to check back often, leave a tag and I’ll support you on your Battle Log as well. Glad to be shoulder to shoulder with you all in this and can’t wait to get going on my very first Challenge!!!

Gah, I'm late! Seeing as I recklessly abandoned my first 6 week challenge, it's time to try again; this time with a tangible goal at the end of the challenge. Main Quest: Improve strength and endurance for karate and lifting. As some may know, I'm in love with powerlifting and I also practice Shotokan karate. The two don't particularly go hand in hand, but they do complement each other. While I'm psyched I've gone from deadlifting 135lb to 205lb in less than a year's time, my squats fell prey to poor form and I'm not at all where I want to be for bench presses. Shotokan is all about strong, low stances and quick and powerful punches. Here's how I'm gonna do this:Dedicate 30 minutes each day to karate basics (kihon), focusing primarily on blocks and leg position, holding for 10-15 seconds each.Squat with purpose. While there's little more satisfying than driving up from a heavy squat, my focus here will be maintaining balance and form while driving up from the squat at about half my normal speed.Pass my karate exam on May 17, 2015! This is my end goal for this challenge. If I pass, this will push me into the intermediate level. If I don't, I'll try again during Fall exams .Life Quest: Memorize kihon (basics) commands in Japanese. Since this next exam will push me into a somewhat more advanced level of training, I'm expected to know at least some of the movement commands in Japanese. So why not study them all? In lieu of flashcards that I'm sure to lose, I'll use my nerdy know-how to build a electronic mini-quiz for myself. Maybe this will even morph into another side-quest where I actually fiddle around with my Raspberry Pi!Accountability: I plan to update this thread every Wednesday with my overall progress for the week and recap the previous Tuesday night's karate class. **Last Update: 5/20/15 (see comments)**

Main Quest: To lose 25 lbs and become stronger for karate. SMART Quests: Eat lunch at my desk each workday and use my actual lunchtime to take a walk outside, even during our cruel Chicago winters. Improve my kata speed and balance. MOAR SQUATS! Plan dinners at home at least 24 hours ahead of time so I'm not looking at a pathetically empty pantry and resign myself to a fast food dinner that I will regret whilst eating. Life Quest: Become less introverted, save more money and travel more. Motivation: Since May of 2014, I've started learning that I can indeed change who I am as long as I'm doing it for myself, because - as I have never believed in the past - I am worth it.

Introduction: I posted an introduction in the newbie forums, and I think it's a really fun look into who I am and where I'm at--it even includes pictures from our game-themed wedding. The thread can be found HERE. In a nutshell, I'm 27, overweight, and unhappy about that fact. Struggles include a "bad back" and lazy gamer tendencies. Main Quest: Lose 65 pounds overall, to make it to goal weight of 180. Quest 1: Pack a Paleo lunch 5 days per week. We eat out a lot, and eat quite a few carbs, and spend quite a bit of money. This should help with all of the above. Measurement: A = Packed lunch, 30 days, B = Packed lunch, 25 days, C = Packed lunch, 20 days Reward: A = +3 WIS, +2 CON, B = +2WIS, +1 CON, C = +1WIS Quest 2: Complete Physical Therapy 5 days per week. This is a recommendation to rehabilitate my back, so there's really no compromise, here. Measurement: A = 30 days therapy, B = 25 days therapy, C = 20 days therapy Reward: A = +3 STR, B = +2 STR, C = +1 STR Quest 3: Go for a walk, 15+ minutes daily. I'm fairly sedentary, so this will help start building the habit. Measurement: A = walked 15+, 30 days, B = walked 15+, 25 days, C= walked 15+, 20 days Reward: A = +3 STA, B = +2 STA, C = +1 STA Life Quest: Get out of debt Goal 1: Track expenses in YNAB every day Measurement: A = 42 days, B = 36 days, C = 30 days Reward: A = +2 CHA, B = +1CHA, C = +0.5 CHA Motivation: I'm tired of being ashamed of my body, and more-so, I'm tired of being in pain daily. Losing weight will help with both of these.