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This challenge I want to take a step back from focusing on working out to see what kind of progress I have made. Some of the things I have measured before but others this will be the first time recording stats. I believe this will help me in the long run to A) address some weaknesses and know where I started. So to do this I will be focusing on 4 key areas: 1) Yielding Yoga (+4 DEX +1 STR) I have access to the NerdFitness Yoga program so I will be doing yoga at least 2x per week. I also will complete the flexibility benchmark both at the beginning and end of the challenge. I feel like some areas I am pretty flexible but others I am not so this will help to figure out where I need more work. 2) Running 'n Row (+2 STA) With the work gym being open, I have taken up rowing before workouts to help build up some stamina. I love just jamming the tunes and rowing for 20-30 minutes. My measurable here will be number of meters in 30 minutes. Right now my best is 6800-ish. I was going for 7000m the other day and it took 30:27 so I didn't look closely at what the exact number was at 30 minutes. Part 2 of this is that I have my Tough Mudder race at the end of week 2! Surviving that will automatically earn me 1 of 2 stamina points. 3) Body Bio-metrics (+2 CON) Right now I am hovering around the 180 mark. I have seen some progress recently from hovering around 185 so I want to keep the momentum going and get down to 175. I feel like the addition of rowing in the morning is going to aid greatly in this goal but we will see. I also want to do an update on my body weight calcs so I have a better idea of where I am at with that. 4) Power Posing for People (+4 CHA +2 WIS) The WIS component of this will be finishing How to Win Friends and Influence People. I started it last challenge but didn't finish. The other half will be working on posture, specifically around others to project more confidence and feel like others want to be around me more. I listened to a SpartanUp Podcast today on this subject and it encouraged me to pursue this more.

I have searched the web for some type of "objective" measurement as to what level my current fitness is at. So, i found this and like the way that it is set up, with 4 different levels. However, I think some of the figures are a bit "off". For instance, for a Level II (intermediate athlete) the person should be able to do a muscle up and 20 pull ups. In my opinion, that's pretty dang much. This should be seen in the context that they say that an Intermediate athlete: "All healthy adults can aspire to this level of fitness and should perceive these skills as normal." If I go to the gym, it´s few times I see someone crank up 20 pull-ups, let alone a muscle up. On the other hand, in the same way column, they have a 18 inch box jump which most people who go to the gym regularly can do without much troubles. All in all, I still think it´s pretty good with a few nice benchmarks, and I will aspire to get to (most of) level III within a year. What´s your opinions on these levels, and have you found any other similar to these, or do you just use your own?

When I started out with NF in December I made a pact with myself that I would actually set goals; for the last few years my time at the gym was measured mainly in vague "as long as I keep doing something and I'm sweaty and tired by the time I leave, that's good enough for me." I decided it was time to get serious, though, so the initial goals I set were as follows: 1. Get down to a 30" waist by Valentine's Day (yes, I was going to see a special friend) 2. Get waist back down to 28", about where it was in high school a mere 10 years ago 3. Deadlift my body weight 4. Bench press my aforementioned special friend... he's kind of a small guy 5. Do a pull up Obviously as I check these off my list I add new ones. I'm happy to report I accomplished #1 and I'm getting awfully close to #s 3 and 4, but I just busted out my tape measure and... 27.5" waist! WHAT?? Granted, I haven't eaten much today so my tummy is empty but still... dudes, I am so pumped. For reference, when I made these goals I was sitting at about 31.5". SO. PUMPED.