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Hello there! Alrighty, this is my second challenge and my goals are roughly the same. I had a one week break, since I started the last challenge late. In that time, I completed one more BWW (on Tuesday) and managed to up my OHP by two reps at 25 lbs. On Thursday I wrestled instead of doing my BWW, and on Friday I got to practice trips and throws with the family. My Dad and I are going to start training sessions again, as I still have a lot to learn and improve. I plan to keep him to it. In my previous challenge I mentioned that my friend had weights and that I was going to attempt to set up a workout schedule with him. In short, not the best choice for a workout buddy. I still want to try weightlifting, so when the family decides to get a family membership at the nearby YMCA, i'll be going there. My plan is to continue to improve my BWW until I can get my hands on some free weights. That should be some time next week. Then, I plan to follow the Stronglifts 5x5 plan. Of course, I also want to practice my martial art when possible. Main Quest (Loooooooooong Term) Get stronger and gain healthy weight. Still aiming for 180 lbs. Goals Practice Aam ka jutsu at least twice a week [DEX 2, STA 2]Follow Stronglifts 5x5 plan by going to the gym 3 times a week [sTR 3, STA 2]Eat an excess of healthy food (at least three meals a day; at least one meal with a good source of protein) [CON 3]Getting at least 8 hours of sleep (get in bed by 10 PM) [sTA 3]Other Goals and Stuff... Applying to as many applicable Web Development positions as I can findLearning Swift, so that I can create some apps over the summerP.S. I GOT TO CODE AGAIN ON SATURDAY AFTER NOT OPENING MY EDITOR FOR AT LEAST A MONTH. OMGFTWBBQ! It was fun. I may have (definitely) been suffering from code-withdrawals, as I don't consider the on-rails HW that I had to do for my C++ course coding. P.P.S. I added the New2Monk tag because I am a newbie, and i'm curious if my goals seem reasonable. Thanks for any constructive criticism! Thanks!

This is my second challenge, and my very first with the Monks. I'll be facing this challenge AIRBENDER STYLE! "Air is the element of freedom" - Iroh #1 Meditation So meditation is really important to airbenders and I'm going to give it a go. I'm aiming for about 5 minutes a day because I've never even tried this before. If I feel like it's going well, I might try for longer but we'll see, it seems like a good starting point. Measurement: A = 42 days (every single day!) B = 4-6 times a week C = 1-3 times a week Reward: A = +3 WIS B = +2 WIS C = +1 WIS #2 Fitness I don't think I'll be doing push ups like that any time soon, but I was getting on really well with the BBW in my last challenge. I had been skipping the dumb bell lifts due to not having anything to lift, but I figure that's a poor excuse and I need to get creative! I'd like to do the BBW at the very least twice a week, but maybe this time push it up to three times a week. Measurement: A = 2-3 times a week B = 1-2 times a week C = less than once a week Reward: A = +3 STR +3 STA B = +2 STR +2 STA C = +1 STR +1 STA #3 Diet Airbenders are vegetarians, I'm not that dedicated to the cause. I don't have a problem with meat, I have a problem with sugar. I need to stop snacking on chocolate and sweets all day and drinking sugary drinks. No more snacks while I'm working and I can drink water in the office too (we have a water cooler for gods sake!) I also need to be careful that I don't just follow this and then get home in the evenings and eat loads of crap. Measurement: A = Absolutely no snacking and only water every single day B = 1-2 snacks/sugary drinks a week C = 3 or more snacks/sugary drinks a week Reward: A = +3 CON B = +2 CON C = +1 CON #4 Life Even real monks traditionally have very few possessions. I'm not about to go and throw out all my stuff, but I recently moved house and I have considerably less storage space here than I did before. Over a month later and I still have boxes everywhere, I need to unpack and de-clutter. I'm aiming to unpack at least one box a week. I don't care whether I find a home for the stuff, sell it, bin it or give it away. It all needs to go somewhere and I want to be completely unpacked by the end of this challenge. Measurement: A = 1 box a week B = half a box a week C = 2-3 boxes over the whole challenge Reward: A = +3 WIS B = +2 WIS C = +1 WIS This will be fun ...

Main quest: Lose 10 cm from my waist. Mini quest 1: Consume fewer than 1500 calories (adjusted for calories burned during exercise) at least three days a week. Mini quest 2: Limit sweets, candy, or sugary drinks to three a week. Mini quest 3: Go to the gym twice a week and run, walk, do yoga, or do a bodyweight workout three times a week. Life quest: Read five books.

Introducktion: This is my first challenge with the monks. I got here, because I like fencing and fire spinning and I want to try out meditation some time to improve my mind. I need to get better in focusing on the important things. My next semester starts on April 13th, too, and I want to finish some of my studying goals this time. Last semester I wasn’t prepared for all my tests and postponed some of them. This time there’ll be no excuses. My semester ends at the end of July, so there will be two challenges to get ready for mathematics and arts. So I’ll transform into one of my most loved superheroes from childhood: Darkwing Duck. My battle plan says: Make some companionsDefeat the other criminals like Megavolt.Defeat Negaduck in the end.Life Goal: Prepare for the tests at the end of semester and transform myself into somebody I can be proud of. Quests for this challenge: Get some companions! No superheroes can defeat the evil without help. Darkwing Duck had a lot of friends. For this challenge I will proof myself worthy of such companions. Launchpad McQuack Did you recognize how many muscles Launchpad has? So to proof, that I’m a superhero, I have to keep on with my strength training. I want to improve my planks and push-ups further and increase the weight of the dumbbells I use for my Dumbbell Strength Training. For my last challenge I was doing this circuit three times: Dumbbell Squat, 3kg x 20 reps Kneeling push-ups x 10 reps Dumbbell Lunges, 3kg x 20 reps One-arm Dumbbell Row, 5kg x 10 reps Plank for 1,30 – 3,00 minutes (depends on my daily form) Jumping Jacks x 30 reps For this challenge I want to do this circuit at least two times a week and increase the weight steadily. Gosalyn Mallard She is an unstoppable bundle of energy and spunk. To make her my companion, I’ll have to build a lot of stamina and impress her sometimes. She also performed as Quiverwing Quack in some episodes, where she was able to shot bow ‘n’ arrow. So for this I’ll try to improve my fencing as well. Herbert "Herb" Muddlefoot Sr. is the the next-door neighbor of Darkwing Duck. Herb sells Quackerware (the Darkwing Duck universe's version of Tupperware) for a living. So I’ll be improving my diet for this sub quest. For the new semester I don’t want to eat at the cafeteria and prepare some food. And of course I’ll need a lot of Quakerware to store all these meals. Herbert "Honker" Muddlefoot Jr. “Unlike the rest of his rather dim-witted family, Honker is massively intelligent, and demonstrates a mastery of sciences more akin to a laboratory professor than an elementary school student.†(Wikipedia) So I hope He’ll be helping me to learn for maths and complete my portfolios until the end of July. I have to redo two Exercise Papers a week for mathematics to finish this one until the end of July. Side Quest: Morgana MacCawber I like her stile and she has a love hate relationship with Darkwing, so she will be a metaphor for my goals in arts. I want to draw at least one nice picture a week to gain back her love. Achievements:

Hello Monks! After taking over a year off from Nerd Fitness, I realized that I need support as I face my greatest challenge yet: the Krav Maga level 2 test. My gym takes belt tests quite seriously. I wasn't ready for the most recent test in February, but that may have been a good thing. It was five hours long and the final drill was to bear-crawl through the snow while being attacked by Disturbers. What are Disturbers you might ask? Hang tight, I'll explain in due time. Back story: You may have heard about Krav Maga. It may have been something like this: Regardless of what you might think, it's an awesome workout and tons of fun. If you want to know more, we made a pretty sweet video (I'm the biker chick in the black jacket) demonstrating the awesomeness of Krav Maga last year. I feel like I can safely say 'awesomeness' since The Awesomer featured it... Over a year and a half ago, I completed my first NF challenge that was geared towards passing the Krav level 1 test. I blew it away, met my goals, and tested up successfully. Then life happened... graduate school got crazy and I started working 10-12 hour days rather than staying sane and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Consequently, NF and I grew apart. Since I tested up in Nov. 2013, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't made any progress towards leveling up. Instead, I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water with my health and fitness goals; no where near the badass that I would like to be. Well, I will tread water no more! It's well past time that I leveled up. Join me as I prepare for to test up on May 30th. The Test: 3-5 hours total of good-natured hell with no more than the occasional 30-60 second break. Hour 1-2: Being driven to exhaustion with some combination of constant drills (hammer-fists as fast and hard as you can for 60 seconds, etc.), burpees, pushups, combative sit ups, sprints, holding plank position while being kicked in the abs, etc. Hour 2-4: Technique demonstrations, working through entire level 2 curriculum Hour 5: Final Drill... this always changes and is ALWAYS insane. One year, it was carry your partner while you swim/paddle across the Cape Fear river. As I mentioned for the most recent test, it was bear-crawling through snow while fending off attackers. You can't really prepare for this, you just have to keep moving and survive. I should also mention... at any time during the test, you can be attacked by Disturbers. These are senior students (at least one belt/rank higher than you) wearing masks (I prefer a purple lucha libre mask when I disturb for the level 1 tests) who can make you do situps/pushups/etc. and generally make your life hell at any moment. The bonus for the level 2 test is that they can try to black bag you, attack you, and/or pull you into an extended sparring session which you have to be able to fight off. The Challenge: After much thought, I've decided that to prepare for this boss battle, I really need to target 3 major areas: technique refinement, strength, and endurance. Goal #1: Technique Refinement Attend Krav classes 3x a week I know the entire level 2 curriculum, I just need to perfect things here and there. Goal #2: Strength 100 pushups, situps, or burpees every day I have no idea what crazy physical feats of strength will be required, but if I can bang out 100 pushups in a row I would definitely be in good shape for the test. I'll be starting out with 4 sets of 25 and ramp up the size of each set throughout the challenge. Goal #3: Endurance Run 4 miles a week I hate running. With a passion. Therefore, I should probably work on it a bit. I envision this as being a goal of running 4 miles total, so I could do 2 2 mile runs or a giant 4 mile run. If you'd like to follow along, I made a spreadsheet to track my progress.

ABOUT ME Apparently I've finished my recruitment, so it's time to switch "teams" and see how you guys are doing! I'm brand new on NF. Successfully completed my first challenge and even tho I'm not close to fighting I've always have a weakness for martial arts. Personally I have a Judo background, but got intrigued by MMA a few years ago. Living in Holland (yes, that's in Europe), the options of getting MMA training is limited to just a few schools, but that's all something for the future. Despite me losing quite the weight and fat in my previous challenge (due to semi-heavy training + change in nutrition), I'm far off from my target body shape goal. I've approximately another 14% body fat I would like to burn (currently around 29% ish) and would like to drop some weight while doing that if I can. Therefor, this challenge I aim to get fitter, get stronger and increase my mobility, so I get in a better shape so eventually I can focus on joining an MMA gym to start training. Might be useful to add that I'm not planning to actually fight or perform MMA, I would just like to train for it, cause I like the workouts, the sport and the level of fitness it requires. THE CHALLENGE Guess this is where it all comes down to, isn't it? For the upcoming weeks I'm planning to increase my strength, improve my physique and improve my mobility. How? This is how! Main quest – Become the 'fit' in 'misfit' Ultimately this is my goal, to look awesome. It's work in progress, but ultimately this is where I want to "end". As said: Being fit isn't a goal, it's a way of life. Won't rate myself on this one as I do not expect to make this in the next few weeks. However, improving my measurements, weight and reducing body fat would surely motivate me a lot! Sub quest A – Improve Strength! (+5 STR) During the upcoming weeks I'll focus on improving my strength by following the 5x5 Stronglifts program. I have started by tasting the weightlifting exercises for a few times now, to get my form as decent as possible, but there's still work to be done here (especially on deadlifts). I'll bother you guys with formcheck-requests and to whine about whenever I weren't able to make my 5x5 reps. Rate: A - 100% - in case I perform the exact 5x5 routine 3 times a week during the entire challenge. B - 75% - in case I perform the exact 5x5 routine 2 times a week during the entire challenge. C - 50% - in case I perform the exact 5x5 routine 1 time a week during the entire challenge. D - 25% - in case I perform the exact 5x5 routine for only part of the duration of the entire challenge. F - 0% - in case I don't 'downgrade' weight when I'm supposed to in any part of the 5x5 Stronglifts during the challenge. Sub quest B – Improve Physique! (+3 CON / +2 CHA) Started all of this on February 1st, 2015. I've decided that enough was enough and I measured a body fat percentage of 34,70%. For some that might be a huge percentage, for others not so much. Well, for me, it's quite a lot. I'm sick of it and doing whatever I can to get fitter. I've changed up my diet, work out a couple times a week and I want to see that fat disappear. Rate: A - 100% - in case I lose 2,5% body fat during this challenge. B - 75% - in case I lose 2,0% body fat during this challenge. C - 50% - in case I lose 1,5% body fat during this challenge. D - 25% - in case I lose 1,0% body fat during this challenge. F - 0% - in case I lose less than 1,0% body fat during this challenge. Subquest C – Improve Mobility! (+2 DEX / +2 STA / +1 WIS) During the 6 weeks I will do something to improve my mobility at least 5 (!!) times a week. This might include (but is not limited to) attending yoga classes, doing mobility exercises post-workout, doing mobility exercises at home, reading up on mobility articles to increase my knowledge. Rate*: A - 100% - in case I work on my mobility 5 times a week. B - 75% - in case I work on my mobility 4 times a week. C - 50% - in case I work on my mobility 3 times a week. D - 25% - in case I work on my mobility 2 times a week. F - 0% - in case I work on my mobility zero or 1 times a week. * Rating will be awarded on a weekly base. In case I make it 5 times in week 1 and 4 times the other 5 weeks, I'll be awarded as: 100 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 = (475 / 6) = 79,1% = B. Rating / When am I succesful Ideally I can earn 100% x 3 subquests. If I make it an average of 75% I'll consider this challenge a success. If I make less than 75%, shame on me. MY STATS MY PERSONAL RECORDS To be announced after 1st challenge day (April 13th, 2015)

Hello folks, First time out of the Recruit Forum and thought I would dip my toe into the Monk pool, test the waters. Main Quest: increase my Monk Mobility Measurement: by the end of six weeks, be able to hold a headstand in yoga for 15secs Three Goals: 1) lose another 10lbs [down to 170lbs], 2) increase my weekly yoga workouts to 1 hour daily, 3) increase shoulder and core strength so I have muscle stability. Side Quest: every week, research a different style of martial arts school offered in my community and ACTUALLY MAKE CONTACT with one of them by the end of this challenge. Brief Intro: started to serious work on fitness for the first time in my life last autumn and loving it. I am still at the n00b stage of the game, but getting used to handling the controls and learning the how this game functions. Been mostly working at losing weight, gaining body strength via the beginner body weight routine and yoga. Why Monks: I have always had a secret interest for martial arts, probably stemming from my closeted childhood obsession with the Ninja Turtles. But was always discouraged because "that's not for good girls to do, go read a book instead" *sigh*

So before I talk about my challenge I want to ask something as a new monk. I'm still deciding my rewards for last challenge, and I need to buy training gloves and a training bag for home use. I really like these beginner gloves: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FK1HZKC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A5X6NM59UFSU8 But I'm having trouble deciding on a punching bag! I'm gonna take muay thai and maybe some BJJ classes but in the future I might try different martial arts. 1) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EZWPM2/?tag=fightasf-20 2) http://www.amazon.com/Century-Versys-Fight-Simulator-10184B/dp/B00EUXR59M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1424711996&sr=8-4&keywords=century+wavemaster+xxl 3) http://www.amazon.com/Century-Original-Wavemaster-Training-Bag/dp/B0008G1OIS/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424711996&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=century+wavemaster+xxl What do you think is a good beginner bag? With the amount they cost I would want them to last a couple of years hopefully. --- On to challenge thread #3! Challenge #1: Body -Go to the dojo 2.5x a week, average Rewards: TBD Stats: +2 str, +1 dex, +1 sta, +1 con A: 2.5+ classes a week, 15 total Challenge #2: Social skills -Spend 30-60 minutes reading "Shyness and Social Anxiety System," and related ebooks. Finish shyness books, start Art of Charm. Rewards: TBD Stats: +1 con, +1 wis, +1 cha A: 3+ days a week, 18 total Challenge #3: Guitar -30-60 minutes of "Absolutely Understand Guitar" Rewards: TBD Stats: +1 sta, +1 wis, +1 cha A: 3+ days a week, 18 total -- Side Quest 1: 30 day plan for writing prompts -Follow coach.me plan to do daily journal prompts, become a better writer. Rewards: TBD Stats: +1 wis, +1 cha A: 5+ days a week, 30 total Side Quest 2: 21 day plan for building stronger connections for introverts -Follow coach.me plan to strengthen relationships Rewards: TBD Stats: +1 con, +1 cha A: 3+ days a week, 18 total

So, I stumbled in the last challenge; I aimed too high and faced (minor) injury and didn't complete any of my fitness goals. However, I did complete a life goal: I got an entry-level IT position. Over the last challenge, I was unemployed and therefore actually had gobs of time with which to go to the gym and my sword play studio. Now, however, since I am working full time (on top of a single class of graduate school), I have considerably less time. Therefore, I must use the time I have better, which is what two of the three of my goals for this challenge are. Included in the new job comes with better mood, as I really like this job and I feel that my life is finally going somewhere, which have been major contributors to my poor mental health over the past year. I've decided to take three different aspects of my physical self for my goals: Fitness, Health, Art. Thus: 1. Develop habits of going to work out: My current schedule is a little crazy, and it's only going to get crazier. For work (in River North, if you know anything about Chicago) MW is 10–18 and TTW, 8.30–16.30. And then I have class Tuesday from 18:00 to 21:15 in Lincoln Park, at least for the first four weeks of the challenge. Week five is spring break and then on week six, I'll have class in the Loop, Mondays and Tuesdays from 17:45 to 21:00 (Office hours may have to change then too). Otherwise, sword (and grappling) classes are offered Monday, 19:30–20:30; Wednesday, 19:30–22:00 and Saturday, 11–13. I also am hoping to get to the gym Mondays and Wednesdays before I have to be in at the office, since I have a little extra time there. So, now for the goal: Work out several times a week (up to five): S Work out a total of 30 times (five times a week) A Work out at least 26 times B Work out at least 22 times C Work out at least 18 times (three times a week) 100%100% 2. Practice better sleep hygiene: Staying up too late and not having a regular sleep schedule is probably one of the contributors to the weakness in my mental health and the irregularity of my exercise schedule. So, I need to work at having screens off around 21:30 and to be in bed by 22:30. Doing so should give my sleep better regularity, which means that I should sleep more and better and therefore be able to manage my time better. My biggest enemies to this are my graduate school courses in the evening and those late Wednesday Armizare Foundations. Hopefully, if I get the rest of the week in line, those will follow. (I know I'm thwarting this tonight by staying up late to make this post, but the challenge doesn't start until tomorrow, so technicality.) S Screens off at 21:30 and in bed by 22:30 a total of 30 times A Screens off at 21:30 and in bed by 22:30 at least 26 times B Screens off at 21:30 and in bed by 22:30 at least 22 times C Screens off at 21:30 and in bed by 22:30 at least 18 times 11.11%11.11% 3. Develop better sparring confidence: Every first Friday, the Chicago Sword Play Guild has their fight night. I've participated with one match each of the previous two. However, all the skills that I practice in class fall out of my head as soon as I don the gambizon. I tense up and have a harder time reacting. So I need learn how to relax and how to keep a hold on at least the basics. My biggest foes here are internal, both directly and indirectly, and probably both stem from my ADHD. Firstly, I've never had good twitch skills: I am terrible at FPS type games as the number of things I have to maintain awareness of usually is overwhelming and then my instincts are horrid. Being tense also makes one jumpy, and the flow and grace that gives one control is lost.Secondly, I am on an amphetamine derived stimulant as a treatment for my ADHD; one of the side effects is a reduced reaction time, which is essential for combat. My dosage of this drug when up just before the last fight night and I think that it may have adversely effected my performance. Hopefully I will get used to this dosage and be able to perform better at the following fight nights. Also, if I get my sleep hygiene in check, I should be able to spar with greater skill. Pass: Fight in two spars at the April Fight Night, one against an instructor, and once against one of my novice peers. In the peer fight, win at least three exchanges. PASSED I still don't have a grasp on the ability points. If anyone wants to recommend some distributions, please go ahead. I also may need a lot of cheering, especially as the busyness increases, to keep me here and to keep me on track.

WHAT'S UP MY NERDFITNESS PEEPS!!! BLACKTEZCA IS BACK AND ROCKING OUT WITH THE MONKS!! Man already the new forums are up! Awesome! Let's do this! I'm BlackTezca, you may remember from such topics as From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and my personal favorite BlackTezca's 1st Trial: Become an Artsy, Geeky Amazon. I'm continuing on my journey towards geeky, otaku, Amazon awesomeness and for this challenge (and the next since I plan ahead), I'll be with my martial art loving peeps. There won't be a whole lot of martials arts for this challenge, but you know what? So to reiterate my main quest: My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Not the theme for this challenge but I love the shit out of this image I did relatively well for my first challenge despite some minor setbacks, so my confidence (*cough* maybe arrogance *cough*) is super high! I originally planned on jumping straight into finding a studio and learning Krav Maga, but considering my trip (which cost me some major $$$$$$$$$$) and StillSkies 2nd challenge getting me interested in opening my mind to other martial arts, I'm pushing that off a little bit. Just a little bit; I still use kick boxing workouts for a bit of my cardio (especially combined with HIIT) and my Art quest is gonna be pretty fun . Now enough stalling! TIME TO REVEAL MY SIDE QUESTS!!! Side Quest 1: During my workouts, focus on upper body strength training for at least 20 minutes, at least 3 days a week. Details: I have strong legs, and despite my complaints about my back, I don't think my core is anything to laugh out. But I have laughably weak arms and I want to be strong all over. I have my dumbbells, I have my Fitness Blender, time to put more focus on my upper body and strengthen what I consider to be my weakest area Contingencies: I do downhill ski. The ski season is almost over. I have one more, longish, ski trip planned and downhill skiing does not really use your arms (unless you fall. Then your arms are most useful). I will try to get my upper body workouts done during the time before and after I return from my trip. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 3+ days a week ( 3 Str 1Sta ) B for mostly 2 days a week ( 3 Str ) C for mostly 3 days a week ( 2 Sta ) F for all else Side Quest 2: During my workouts, focus on core and lower back strength and flexibility for at least 20 minutes, at least 2 days a week. Details: I have mild scoliosis and I'm a code monkey. My job consists of programming hunched over at a screen and let me tell you that does WONDERS for my back health. I really need to work on this because over my last trip, walking a block or two started to really cause me pain and I don't like feeling like I'm 70 years old while still in my twenties (Actually, a relative in his 70s did not feel any back pain so boo to me). Contingencies: None because if my back hurts, even on my ski trip, I will be stretching the living shit out of it until it STOPS. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 2+ days a week ( 3 Dex 1Str ) B for mostly 1 day a week ( 2 Dex ) F for all else Side Quest 3: Eat vegetables with every meal, 6 days a week. Details: ARRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Noooo don't make me do this nooooooooo!!!!!! Okay...*deep breath*. It's not like I dislike vegetables, I just find them...hard to...put on my mind when it comes to food. Especially on the weekends. I don't buy them, I don't think about them all the time unless they are in my face or a little voice (or many voices, depending who follows this) remind me. So...I'm gonna...eat...vegetables in some recognizable form, preferably not covered in yummy yummy cheese (oh my Chicken Pepper Philly how I love you). Wish me luck guys. Contingencies: None really. I shall eat vegetables (not corn, nor a potato, nor a sweet potato *cry*) every meal, maybe even push myself to snacking on them*twitch*. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated (I hate you all) Grading: A for 6+ days a week ( 2 Con ) B for mostly 4 to 5 days a week ( 1 Con ) C for mostly 2 to 3 days a week ( .5 Con ) F for all else Life Quest: Pay down one credit card completely and lower the debt on the other credit card. Details: Like most people, I gots some debt I need to take care of. I'm not gonna pay that all down, but with the tax refund coming in, and my vacation over, I'm gonna need to focus on paying off my cards a little more than I have been. Contingencies: None. Tracking: I'll track this weekly here of course for my summaries and I'll be watching my credit card accounts. Grading: A for One card completely paid off and the other managed ( 2 Wis ) B for One card completely paid off, nothing down on the other ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Art Quest: Research at least 5 different martial arts and draw something (sketch, full painting, etc) representing each one. Details: I have been really touched by the comments my art has gotten here and the encouragement and support is super awesome. Some of you had hoped that I would continue it and this is my answer: Art Quests are here to stay. For every challenge I do, there will be an art quest. For this challenge, since I am with the monks and since I am holding off on a studio membership, I will research a martial art and not only will I do a short summary, I will also have an artwork attached to that summary. This will be fun cause it means drawing other characters, testing out new poses, etc. This will hopefully be done on a weekly basis. Contingencies: Ski trip, but surely I can post a decent sketch or make it black and white if I must . Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Grading: A for 5 martial art images and research ( 2 Wis + 1 Cha ) B for 4 martial art images and research ( 2 Wis ) C for 3 martial art images and research ( 1 Wis ) F for all else OMG THAT IS FIVE QUESTS! A little intense it seems but surely if anyone I can do it...I CAN! Starting Measurements: Date: 02/19/2015 @ 6 am Weight: 137.4 ***Body Fat***: 25.48 Waist: 24 Waist @ Navel: 26 Hips: 37 Neck: 12.5 Chest: 33 Left Bicep: 11 Right Thigh: 17.5 Wrist: 6 Forearm: 9 Yeah, I measured myself already. God I'm excited! I've been getting really happy and upbeat doing these. I'm gonna rock this out...LET'S GET THIS AWESOMENESS ON THE ROAD!!! REBELS! ROCK OUT!!!

So I have been gone from actively participating in the Nerd Fitness Forums for about a year. Things got tricky with tennis elbow and life in general. Now things are on the mend and it is time to get back into the swing of things, and time to move from Adventurers to Monk. In late 2014 my wife, my son and I started doing taekwondo. So monk makes the most sense. Main Quest: Defeat the Villain Within: Loose weight and be Be healthy Following the trend of SevenFootGeek I will theme around Dungeons and Dragons, but more the 5th edition. In that version you have proficiencies that can be acquired and an overall proficiency bonus. By nature I would have to call myself a chubby human wizard, but it is time to be more of a monk. I seek the following Proficiencies: 1. Proficiency in Dexterity Saves:I need more flexibility and to be more anti-fragile. This should be obvious given my brief sciatic pain, tennis elbow and recent back pain. So it is time to do stretches, maintenance therapy, or yoga type exercising 3 times a week. 2. Cooking Proficiency:To get back to my setup when I lost a bunch of weight, eat 4-5 cups of vegetables a day. To do that I need to find new ways to cook veggies. Try a new vegetable focused recipe each week. 3. Proficiency in Unarmed combat: Go to Taekwondo class twice a week and practice at other times. 3a. Bonus goal, make it to green belt in the challenge. There is only one testing day in the challenge so it may or may not happen by the end. 4. Proficiency in Organization: We moved in October and things are still horrendously disorganized. Pick a new room/area each week and spend time to organize it. (Likely in this order; Pantry, Kitchen, Master bedroom, Kids playroom, Bonus room, Garage) Images from Morguefile.com

Oh hai. This is my first challenge with the monks! And let me tell you, picking a guild actually gave me some serious anxiety and actually almost made me decide to skip the challenge. >.> Decisions? What are those? I’M NO GOOD AT THOSE. Ahem. MAIN QUEST: Get to my goal weight and be able to defend myself in the (unlikely) event of an attack. QUEST 1: Survive Larxene (+3 STR, +3 DEX) Whether it’s training with her as Roxas, or fighting her as Sora, Larxene is one tough cookie. And she’s fast. And probably versed in, like, the Heartless equivalent of Krav Maga. (No, seriously, you should have seen me trying to beat her the first time I played re:CoM. It was a massacre.) CHALLENGE 1: Within the first two weeks of the challenge, figure out what kind of disciplines I'm interested and request info from various dojos/clubs/gyms/whatever. PASS: Disciplines looked into, dojos/clubs/gyms/whatever info requested FAIL: Disciplines not looked into, dojos/clubs/gyms/whatever info not requested CHALLENGE 2: Once the above challenge is completed, go to classes at least once a week. A: 4+ classes attended B: 3 classes attended C: 2 classes attended QUEST 2: Help Sora Open All the Doors (+4 TBA based on classes taken) Sora and I are completionists, you see, and we know that sometimes opening a door equals finding a save spot and a treasure chest with a new card pack. And since my gym offers a bunch of classes, but the only class I ever attend is Zumba, I’m pretty much always using a Stagnant Space card. Time to use my other map cards. CHALLENGE: Attend one other class that is not Zumba once a week. If I find a class I like, then I’ll just keep going to it. If I find a class I don’t like, then I’ll try a new one the next week. A: 6 non-Zumba classes attended B: 5 non-Zumba classes attended C: 4 non-Zumba classes attended QUEST 3: Eat Seasalt Ice-Cream With Axel (+2 CON) Let’s face it, without Axel constantly shoving ice-cream in Roxas’ face, the poor Nobody wouldn’t have eaten a damn thing. And me and Roxas kind of have that in common…. CHALLENGE: Eat at least 700 calories before 5pm during the workweek. This should include breakfast, lunch, and at least one snack. A: 700 calories 5 days B: 700 calories 4 days C: 700 calories 3 days LIFE QUEST: Don’t Forget Xion and Namine (+3 WIS) Castle Oblivion kind of likes to steal everyone’s memories (for good reason), and let’s face it, Sora is kind of the black hole of hearts and memories. So, I need to sharpen my memory skills and make sure that I can get to floor 13 and remember who my somebody is. CHALLENGE 1: Take 1 practice GMAT test a week A: 6 practice tests taken B: 5 practice tests taken C: 4 practice tests taken CHALLENGE 2: Spend at least one consecutive hour a week learning Russian A: 1 hour B: :45 minutes C: :30 minutes Point breakdown: STR : 3 DEX : 3 STA : 0 CON : 2 WIS : 3 CHA : 0 4 pts tba REWARDS: A overall: Dinner at Texas de Brazil B overall: A nice new dress that fits C overall: A new pair of flats MOTIVATION: Hit that goal weight! Be awesome! Learn some zen because damn if I don’t need it. Don’t be afraid when I’m running on the streets because damn are people creepy. Before pictures: Measurements: Neck: 13.7 Chest: 38.7 Waist: 34.3 Hips: 42.2 Thigh: R: 24.7 L: 24.8 Calf: R: 16.3 L: 16.2 Bicep: R: 12.5 L: 12.4 Weight: 174 Dress/pants size: 10

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! This challenge is going to be SUPER SPECIFIC. After two challenges, I barely improved my push-ups. I could do 3x10 knee push-ups then, I still can't do a full push-up now (not even one, I tried xD). Sure, I do them much better now, fast and neat, I only really suffer for the last set, and I pretty much always have been skin and bones on my upper body. It's not so bad. Yet, I might be slightly annoyed. So I have only ONE goal for this challenge: do 3 full push-ups in a row. To be honest, I'll be pretty happy when I can do one. Also, my energy level is a bit low after the Holiday, so simple is good. I'm joining the monks because my goal is to get back to Kung Fu classes (as soon as my finances allow it). So right now, I consider myself in pre-training building strength and stamina can only help, especially focusing on strong arms and core (not that legs aren't important, it's just that they are always strong no matter what I do or don't do). And I'm sure I can find good advice for that in the Courtyard #3 CHALLENGE : 3 FULL PUSH-UPS IN A ROW 1. Strength and stamina => Push-ups 3 times /week. +3 STR => 30 minutes of cardio (aka walking at brisk pace) twice a week. +3 STA 2. Muscle Up! => Eat quality proteins twice a day (eggs, fish, meat or red lentils). +1 STR + 2 CON => Eat 1 paleo meal /day (one cheat day /week). +2 CON 3. Personal life goals => Save £50 /month +2 WIS => Apply to 2 jobs /week (or 8 /month) +2 CHA ---------------------------------------- Exceptions: - If I study 9+ hours in a day, I can skip a workout (until 22/01, last day of exams). - If I start a job that requires a lot of arm strength, I'll rethink my push-up goals. Bonuses: - 1 BWW per week +1 STR - 1 act of self-care per day +1 WIS ----------------------------------------- Let's do this!

Hello Monks! I recently completed my first challenge here on NF and decided to come join you all for this next one. Although I don't currently have background in ANY fighting style, that's what I'm working towards and I figured this was the best place for that! I'm still kind of a Baby Monk, but I am hoping to grow. My first challenge was focused on establishing good habits and proving to myself that I was capable of doing great things. I did pretty well (for my stated goals), but for this one, I'm increasing the difficulty and getting more specialized. Some of my missions are still Adventurer-esque so hopefully that's okay Main Quest: Cultivate a healthy level of self-confidence and appreciation! (aka Learn to love reflective surfaces.) --To me right now, this means getting fitter, getting stronger, and dropping extra weight. Mission 1: Track food in MFP every day AND stay within calorie goals for majority of days +4 CON --Food tracking >90% and calorie goal met >60% = A --Food tracking >80% and calorie goal met >50% = B --Food tracking >70% and calorie goal met >40% = C (will receive the lower grade if goal percentages are split) Mission 2: Complete modified BBWW/ABWW circuit three days per week +3 STR, +1 STA --18 bodyweight workouts = A --14 bodyweight workouts = B --10 bodyweight workouts = C Mission 3: Complete boxing style cardio workout at home twice a week +3 DEX, +1 STA --12 boxing workouts = A --9 boxing workouts = B --6 boxing workouts = C Life Mission: Practice an act of self-care everyday. +1 WIS, +2 CHA --I will be keeping track of these for my updates, but I don't think I will give it an actual grade—I don't want to get stressed out trying to complete it when it's supposed to be a positive, relaxing endeavor! I am coming up with a list of these now, but they are mostly small things to do/gifts to myself. **Final assignment: Research and select a boxing or martial arts gym in my area so I can take classes for the NEXT 6WC!** Rewards: All A's: Roots of Fight shirt A's and B's: Bento box set All B's: new sparkle nail polish Looking forward to starting this new challenge, and reading everybody else's!

Hi Monks, I'm Blair, I study Karate (Shito-Ryu Itosu-Kai), and I've been getting lazy. I completed my first challenge last May and then kinda lurked away for the rest of the year. I didn't go totally off the rails, though - I still walk to work almost every weekday, I still go to my karate classes twice a week, I still do bodyweight exercises, and I even took up running and stair climbing in the summer with a group of co-workers. The problem now is, living in the frozen north, no one wants to go running and stair climbing indoors can get boring, so many of our group members bail often. Besides, I have some specific personal goals that the others don't, so it's up to me to find other ways to motivate myself and stay accountable... hence, I am posting again. Main Goal I currently hold a brown belt but I may have an opportunity in June to rank for my Shodan-Ho. In addition to Karate I also study Kobudo, and have been taught everything I need to know for my Shodan... I just need to get good enough at it all. What I really need to do is start fine-tuning everything, to take it from "good enough" to "good," and hopefully even "better" someday. The part of my main goal achievable in the challenge time frame is to set up some daily habits and build some discipline. Goal #1 - Practice Karate and/or Kobudo every day This isn't intended as a workout so much as building a steady habit. Even if it's just running through basic waza for 20-30 minutes in the morning, it's something! What I really need to work on is remembering some of my newer kata (I had the incredibly embarrassing incident of blanking on a kata just before Christmas!) so I want to focus on that most days. Goal #2 - Increase my flexibility I wanted this to be food related but work plans have conspired against me. I know I can eat healthy while traveling, but I specifically wanted to push myself to cook more often - part of the 'daily habits' and 'discipline' idea. Anyway, now I am substituting it with a flexibility goal - Every day I'm going to do the hip mobility routine I saw linked in the Courtyard thread today. I anticipate agony for the first little while, but my left hip flexor is bothering me enough now that it's impeding my ability to kick or hold a proper shiko dachi, so I have to do something about it. Goal #3 - Get out of bed in the morning! The long dark winters are not kind to me. I just want to stay snuggled in the warm blankets forever, and by the time it gets light out I should already have been up for at least an hour. I need to earn money and get on with my life, and this morning battle with laziness usually ends with me having to dash out of bed, half-ass my morning routine, and rush to work with no exercise or food. So my goal is to get out of bed by 7:30 AM at the latest every weekday, and 9 AM on weekends. I know this is still considered late to some, but I live within a 15 minute walk of my office for a reason. Life Goal - Turn my apartment into something livable I have let my apartment turn into a quasi-stereotypical bachelor mess. It's not dirty - I do have standards - but there's too much clutter and not enough personal touches. It's not a warm and inviting place right now; I can't always relax and I certainly can't have people over. So my goal here is to make the place I inhabit a place in which I can live. I know this sounds kind of nebulous, but I do have some specific tasks in mind (this list is non-exhaustive): Replace my crappy vacuum with a more modern one that hopefully works betterBuy more shelving, specifically for my kitchen and storage room.Buy a couch (I know, how ridiculous to not have a couch for company...)Shred the piles of old papers I no longer needFile or scan the ones I do need Tomorrow is going to be a rough morning... Oh well, nothing worth doing is easy!

My previous challenge was indeed a challenge. Now I'm discombobulated. My self-inflicted physical and mental injuries have made me wary of what I am capable of, but the weirdest part is that I'm still going. Can chalk that up to my dragon half, I know. So here are the snippets from my previous post, here to take step 2. I don't want a lot, I just want to feel like I'm a strong woman. I want to be able to go to the beach and actually wear a bathing suit. Wear shorts and maybe a dress now and again. I want to feel like I have permission to take a run along the beach. I want to workout as I enjoy the feeling I get afterward. I want to know what to do and when, and how to do it properly. But it seems like it's a loss cause. I want to do a 2015 resolution but I don't think I should. I'm far too messed up mentally and physically to think it's going to be fixed in a year. But for this challenge I guess if I can lose 10 lbs by the end of it I'm happy. So same as before, just 10 lbs instead of 25. Workout 4 days a week: Monday upper body, Tues or Thurs cycle, Wed legs, Fri Upper and legs. Saturday and Sunday are both up to chance. I just want to get that down and maybe next time I'll go from there. I will also try to continue doing my meditations. So far it's only been about 10 minutes of real meditation, twice a week as I work from home Mondays and Fridays and during the week it's not easy to find a spot where I'm comfortable enough to get into that meditative state. I'll add the points later, I just needed to get this started and I really need to go meditate. Oh but I will add that for day 1, I did continue with my salad-for breakfast this time-and I did workout this morning. Upper body with resistance bands.

Intro Hey all! I'm madjoeybear and I love doing aikijiujutsu and shinkendo. I've been out of it for 6 years now though due to college and newly-arrived adulthood, and really want to get back into it. Main Quest To get my brown belt (san-kyu) Quests • Lift weights 3x/weekly for the next 5 weeks ○ +3 STR, +2 STA • Do treadmill walk/run intervals 3x/weekly for the next 5 weeks ○ +2 STA, +2 DEX • Go to classes at dojo 3/x weekly for the next 5 weeks ○ +2 DEX, +2 WIS Since all these are 3x/weekly for 5 weeks, they all have the same scoring: • A = 3x/weekly for 5 weeks or total of 15+ times • B = 2x/weekly for 5 weeks or total of 10-14 times • C = 1x/weekly for 5 weeks or total of 5-9 times • F = 0-4 times total Life Goal To level up my "Batcave" • Unclutter, purge, organize and clean ○ +1 WIS, +1 CON Motivation Want to regain any lost ground after so long away from the dojo (and show the guys what awesome looks like )