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All righty, guys - I've officially decided to jump in on the February challenge. Given the events in January, I wasn't sure if I was going to participate, but fuck it. I need this community, and the battle log just isn't the same. So, building off of last month, here are the goals: Quest 1: Continue attending Crossfit 3x/wk. The last week of this challenge is also the first week of the Open, in which I am participating. Yay. | STR +2 | DEX +1 | STA +1 | Quest 2: It's probably a good idea to get some kind of exercise in everyday in addition to CF. Therefore I'm going to start small with a mini workout that I can do as soon as I'm out of bed or home from work. (in no particular order) :30 Plank 20 Goblet Squats 15 KB high pulls 10 Turkish get ups (5 per side) | STR +2 | DEX +1 | Quest 3: It's time to up the protein with a daily morning shake. Thanks to my CF buddy, I have a good recipe to start me off and a brand spanking new tub of protein powder. This will be super easy to set up the night before, so all I will have to do is dump it all in the blender, mix, and pour. | STA +1 | CHA +1 | Man, this is so true...totally thought mine came without a scoop and started using my scale... Quest 4: The main focus of this challenge - working on getting my nutrition sorted via meal prep. I used to do this every week, and then I fell off it. I'm going to start with just preparing breakfast and lunches every Sunday, with dinners planned but not cooked until needed. It's probably going to be close to the same thing every week, but it's something. | CON +2 | Quest 5: Journaling at least 5 days per week. In order to stay sane and keep myself afloat, this is going to need to become a habit. Get my thoughts and events from the day down on paper and out of my head. Length of time spent writing and length of entry do not matter. | WIS +2 | CON +1 | Quest 6: Finally, keep up the Domestic RangeringTM. I'm going to keep with 15min/day, but I also want to incorporate two 1hr blocks of time to scrub down the bathroom and kitchen. | WIS +1 | It's the month for ALL the cleans: Crossfit cleans, cleaning up my nutrition, and doing actual around-the-house cleaning.

The title of this quest has a dual meaning: I want to take advantage of the last few weeks of the September-October challenge as a warm-up for the following one, but at the same time I want to learn to appreciate the early part of the day. I have a schedule that's preposterously full of stuff (full-time job, music lessons, dance lessons, band rehearsals and concerts) and once I'm finally home it's hard to summon the energy -- or even find the time -- to work out. Years ago, however, I had very good experiences working out on my way to work. I want to try that again, at least one or two days a week. I also have at least one weekend morning open, sometimes both. Main Quest: Start getting up earlier so that I can exercise when body and mind are rested and fresh. Subquest #1: Increase barbell squats to 125 pounds (currently 95) for one set of 5 reps. Subquest #2: Increase bench press to 100 pounds (currently 75) for one set of 5 reps. (I've lifted my goal weights before, but it's been a while -- Nearly 20 years. I'm older, but am I wiser? Only time, and the weights, will tell.) Subquest #3: Recalibrate my eating habits to make sure I'm getting at least some protein at least 4 times a day. Side quest: Make this hectic life of mine more peaceful whenever and however possible. That could mean uncluttering and simplifying my personal space, clearing up old projects before starting new ones, trying to figure out how meditation works, and/or not causing trouble on the Internet at 3:00 in the morning. Scoring: A for reaching the weight targets; B, C, D for each 5 pounds below the targets. +1 or more STR points. A for achieving 3 morning workouts a week, B for 2, C for 1, D for working out only later in the day. + to CON and STA as appropriate. A for getting quality protein 4+ times a day; B, C, D for 3, 2 or 1 servings. +1 or more CON points. Making any meaningful progress on the side quest: +1 or more WIS points plus CHR or DEX points if applicable, based on what activities (or inactivities) I opt for. This quest will continue into the next challenge period, with levelling up at that time.

Hello all! I wake up at 5:00 AM, throw on clothes while half asleep, and 10 minutes after my alarm goes off I am warming up for my workout. Since I am beginning a new program to get me to a 10K (currently run over 3 miles/5K every other morning), I would like to know if anyone can recommend some nutrition tips for morning workouts. My New Years Resolution is to stop eating 2-3 hours before bed, I have done very well so far. Boredom eating is a problem of mine. Having said that, I have noticed that my workouts are suffering a little because basically I am hungry. Any ideas?????

Hey all, About six months ago, I started getting up very early to go workout in the gym. Even though I tried to compensate my sleep time by going to bed earlier, I found myself getting sick a lot more often (just colds). It became bad enough that I really had to stop waking up so early and working out. All the weight came back, but I am motivated to give it another go. I am worried about getting sick all the time again. Do you think I was getting sick because of the early rise? Any suggestions for how to keep these “workout colds†(if that is what they are) away? I am usually a very healthy person and never get sick. It is really hard for me to workout after work, and if I go too late I worry I will not be able to fall asleep, so I don’t know another time I could hit the gym. Thanks all! Adam

Texwardo had a hankerin' for beef, beans, beer...anything tasty. Sitting at his desk all day, and snacking every time he walked past the chuck wagon, he put on a lot of weight. In the 25 years between age 30 and 55, Tex went on countless diets, losing 10-20 pounds each time. He always lost focus, quickly putting back on even more than he had lost. When Tex passed the 300 pound mark at one checkup, he said, "Enough is enough!" Tex finally got serious about losing weight. He bought a wifi enabled scale and started logging every mouthfull of food or drink with an app on his phone. Between February 2012 and April 2013, Tex lost 145 pounds. Tex started running in November 2012. Using a couch-to-5k program, he reached the point where he could run 5k without stopping. His first race was on January 1, 2013. Since then, Tex started using the Galloway run-walk-run method and increased his stamina. Between January and May, Tex ran an 8k, 10k, 14k, and two half marathons. Tex feels great at his new weight. However, his body has not caught up with his weight loss. His skin is saggy, and he has little upper-body strength. Tex wants to change that over the next year, building muscle while maintaining his current weight. He also wants to continue improving his running speed. Tex also wants to publish a book in 2014 on his primary area of interest, the people and machines that launched the missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s. Current attributes: Strength 1 | Dexterity 1 | Stamina 4 | Constitution 2 | Wisdom 4 | Charisma 3 Long-term goals: (1) Run a half marathon in 2 hours 10 minutes (2) Maintain weight at or below 160 pounds (3) Be able to do 90 crunches (4) Be able to do 75 pushups (5) Write a book on Kennedy Space Center facilities during the Apollo era, to be published in 2014 Goals for the current Challenge: (1) Run a minimum of 20 miles per week: +2 CON, +1 DEX (2) Start doing "The Morning Workout" (attached) 4 times per week - initially at 1 time through the routine each day, working up to 2 times per day by the end of the challenge: +3 STR, +2 CHA (3) Maintain weight at or below 160 pounds: +1 CON, +1 CHA (4) Complete the outline of my book and send it to three people to review: +5 WIS