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It's been two years since my last challenge, so I was pleased to log back in and learn about the 10th anniversary! Looking forward to checking out everyone's challenges Two years ago I started getting coached remotely in olympic weightlifting. At the same time, work got kinda crazy, so I didn't have the energy to do NF challenges as well as my lifting program. But now I am back with a new challenge! And I have officially made myself a Warrior instead of a Ranger! I am still prioritising weightlifting - my 3rd comp is on the final day of this challenge YAY - but next year I'm hoping to shift focus more to strongwoman, as that was why I started learning the olympic lifts in the first place. So my main goals on top of weightlifting 4xweekly are to drop my bodyweight a little and work on grip strength. (I have extra tiny hands...) A post with my quests to follow shortly

Hello everyone! So excited to be back with the Rebellion and doing these challenges again. I tend to take about 4 or 5 attempts at things before they actually stick but you know what they say, try try again and all that. This month's challenge will mainly be focused on nutrition. I am going strict paleo. There, I said it! On my last thread I talked about how I feel like I am no longer just a beginner. I've been working on myself for long enough and seen changes in myself often enough to want to kick things into high gear. I currently possess the body that I thought I never would have when I wasn't even that much heavier. I can see muscle definition in my arms and I'm on top of my diet to the degree that I'm no longer sick all the time. But I want more. And I don't want to half-ass it. I would like to whole-ass it. Because there are people out there who look amazing and do amazing things and it's just occurred to me that with enough training and dedication I could possibly be one of them! A truly shocking realization. The same one which prompted me to apply for a theater program. Because up until recently I thought becoming an actual paid actor was about as likely a career as unicorn breeding. But somebody's gotta be an actor, why not me? If somebody can go from 25% body fat down to <20% body fat, why can't I? So I am hereby declaring that I am no longer simply a beginner and am capable of more drastic and difficult challenges. With that in mind, here are my goals for this challenge: Exercise Crossfit 3x a week. Strenuous exercise class 1x a week, could be lifting, gym, zumba, body combat or another crossfit class. Just keeping it diverse and interesting. Diet Follow a strict paleo diet for this month. Drink only water or tea. Giving up peanut butter (you will be sorely missed). Level up your life Learn to play one new song on the piano. Let the pain begin.

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Snatch Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Snatch lifts (that been reported) on the Nerd Fitness Forum organized by Sinclair Total. For more information about the Sinclair Coefficient, go here. Please note Sinclair is not meant to be mix genders so there is a male and female Leaderboard. Also, I know Sinclair is supposed to be for an Olympic Total, but we figured there would no harm in using it individually. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system Olympic lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted in a 1 Rep Max (or 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Sinclair Total). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). Note: leaderboard only shows in your web browser and not on tapatalk

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Clean & Jerk Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Clean & Jerk lifts (that been reported) on the Nerd Fitness Forum organized by Sinclair Total. For more information about the Sinclair Coefficient, go here. Please note Sinclair is not meant to be mix genders so there is a male and female Leaderboard. Also, I know Sinclair is supposed to be for an Olympic Total, but we figured there would no harm in using it individually. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system Olympic lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted in a 1 Rep Max (or 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Sinclair Total). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). Note: leaderboard only shows in your web browser and not on tapatalk

"What once was, matters not. What is, is of up most importance." I'm late to the party for this Challenge, but I figure better late than never. For those of you who didn't see my introductory thread, it can be found here: But to give you the cliff notes version. At one point not to long ago I was in the best shape of my life. During this "Origin Story" I dropped my weight from 242lbs (5'9") all the way to 189lbs in approximately six months of eating healthy and working out. I then took a mysterious side road that lead me on a journey of eating whatever I wanted, and not working out. So I am back at 239lbs as of this morning. Time to "nut-up or shut-up" and get shit done again. See the original quote for inspiration! I am keeping these challenges simple to start, and considering there are only 2 weeks left in this challenge cycle, it will prove a good starting point leading into the next stage of warfare. Challenge #1 - Move heavy shit... quickly! Attend Crossfit Classes 3x Week Challenge #2 - Stop eating trash, you're not Oscar the Grouch! Keep anything classified as junk food to less than 3 instances a week. (Chips, cookies, fast food, etc etc) "My inner wolf shouts to be set free once again, and I will not disappoint."

So, it’s challenge time again, and I did not complete the last challenge because of reasons. But, it’s Lent which is a time of making space and such, and I have a much easier time giving up things during this season for whatever reason. So, enter the de-CRAP-tastic challenge! Goal 1: Decrapify my home Let’s be frank: I buy too much stuff that I end up not even using. I have an amazon box still unopened in my house. So, for Lent, I am going to challenge myself to remove 40 bags of stuff in 40 days. I get Sundays off [because they’re not in Lent, do the math, how cool!] or one day of the week of my choosing = 4 points per bag -> 160 points possible Goal 2: Refrain from buying MOAR CRAP that ends up in my home Until Easter, I will not buy anything that isn’t essential to my survival. This includes food/perishables and paper products. This does NOT include: - purses - makeup - starbucks [when not going out with friends] etc - breakfast sandwiches [i work from home] - the next doodad or gadget I must have I’ll put everything I want on a wishlist [which helps my family with birthday gift choices next month], and at the end of the challenge, I’ll evaluate what items I still want and which ones I didn’t need to buy in the first place = -1 point for every $1 I spend extraneously Goal 3: Reduce crap in my diet I really resonated with raptron’s realization that it is easy to make myself do the things I don’t want to do versus getting myself to NOT DO things I want to do [like eat ice cream]. So, I’m going to focus on the things that I can add to my routine, and not the things I should cut out from my routine. The daily checklist: + Eat protein at every meal + Drink 100oz of water + Eat 5+ cups of vegetables + Log what I eat BONUS POINTS: + MOVE everyday (mobility, walking, workout) + Mindful eating (chew your food slowly, get away from the TV) + Sleep 7-9 hours = 184 points possible [not including bonus] Goal 4: Clear out the mental crap I use the internet WAY too much, and I mostly am sucked into a time vortex which doesn’t do a lot for me, and just leaves things piling up. Also, I have a lot of crap that runs through my head and I don’t take enough time to brain dump it. To wit, I shall: + Turn off the internet at 7 pm every day [2 points per day] + Write a reflection / lessons learned on the day [2 points per day] = 184 points possible You’ll notice I don’t have any specific lifting goals - this is because I’ve gotten into olympic lifting and love it and it’s actually not an issue with willingness to go to class or my personal coaching. I never thought I’d be in a position to say that regarding exercise, but it’s true!

Hello fellow Rebels! I think I'm going to try to start 2015 off on the right foot by holding myself accountable for a full challenge. I'm really terrible at finishing challenges, so my first personal goal for 2015 is to ACTUALLY FINISH this challenge. I have four simple goals this time: Fitness Goals 1. Track all of my training and food intake into my pretty new journal. (It's all pretty and official and stuff) 2. Do 20 minutes of cardio (elliptical... ugh) 3x per week after training. Life Goals 3. 30 minutes of crocheting or personal reading 3x per week (no textbooks). 4. FINISH THIS CHALLENGE See? Easy and attainable goals! I'm really excited to be back in the game. I am hoping to kick off 2015 right with this challenge. Sorry about the short intro to the challenge... Gotta get back to work!

Totally bailed on the last challenge...oops. Moved into my first home with my fiance, plus Christmas...so yeah. Anyway, I'm back on the wagon, so let's do this! So few things first - I am super close to passing my minimum skills in roller derby and being eligible for games. Goal: Pass my minimum skills! Last challenge my partner started taking me through some olympic lifting moves, and this challenge I'm wanting to build on that learning and increase the weight lifted. However, we're in the process of buying our own gym equipment and our gym memberships have lapsed, so it may be a little while because I can begin strength training again. Therefore this challenge is going to focus more on eating right and doing a little exercise every day as opposed to big lifts twice a week. Quests: 1. Eat less processed food [WIS & CON] - basically eat fewer frozen pizzas and take aways. We're properly settled into our house now, it's time to start planning meals again. 2. Do yoga every day [sTR + DEX] - yeah so we started doing yoga together, and are currently doing Yoga with Adriene's 30 Days of Yoga. We've just done day 3, so we'll see how it goes! I'm hoping this will help with core strength and balance/flexibility which are all essential for skating 3. Go to every Wednesday practice [sTA + STR] - I'm only letting myself off once and thats the last week of the challenge because I'm in Leeds thats day on training & it's my dad's bday that day & my bday the day after xD. Gotta work on them skillz! So that's it...hopefully I can do that. Oh! Life quest: Life: Decorate the living room/dining room & buy a fireplace (and maybe get a pet) [CHA] I'm hoping we'll get our home gym sorted during this challenge, so maybe I'll be lifting some I can at least hopefully start using the kettlebells we've got!

Well, since I'm TERRIBLE about starting challenges and not finishing them, I figured I'd start my own little thread here for somewhat regular training updates and chatting with mah neeeeeeeeeeerds. I love you guys! What to Expect: Sporadic training updatesOccasional ranting or ventingMaybe a few useful tips for trainingUpdates on my next adventure, going back to school!Pictures of cats More to come very soon!

GUYS! HEY GUYS! I LOVE YOU!!! First, results! Snatches: 81x - Threw this one completely over my head. I was a little shocked at how light it was and just threw it a little past center and lost it behind me. 81 - Solid. 84x - This one started about an inch too far in front and I just couldn't finish my pull. Dammit. I shouldn't be making these mistakes and I should be snatching 90. I calmed down for clean and jerks, but also watched Holley Mangold manhandle 104kg. Oooooh. Myyyyy. GLOB! Clean and Jerks: 100 - Easy. 105 - Easy. 108 (PR!) - Took a little walk with it, but I had it locked out overhead, so I knew it wasn't going anywhere. 110+ coming very soon. PR TOTAL: 189 All weights in kilograms. For pounds, multiply by 2.2. I promise I will get you pictures and/or videos when I get them. The hookgrip guy is already on his way to China, so I don't know when he'll have his stuff ready. My Nerd Fitness family showed me so much love and support this weekend. I want you all to know that I thought about my fellow rebels all weekend! I knew you were watching, and I wanted to make you proud! I cried when I read all of the wonderful things you said while watching me! THANK YOU SO MUCH my rebel friends! Nerd Fitness is what got me into weightlifting in the first place. It all started with that awesome article about someone that is not only my hero, but now also someone I consider a dear friend, Staci! You all know the one: Meet Staci: Your New Powerlifting Super Hero I am working on a proper write up, but just know that this is where it all began. Thank you Staci, and Steve, for all that you do for us self-proclaimed nerds, geeks, and dorks. I wear the Nerd Fitness name proud and am a true rebel at heart. And thank you again, my fellow rebels! I just can't say it enough!

Today I matched my old snatch max, 40 kilos, for the first time since I've been lifting again. And then I did it twice more! Three good reps at my PR. This is a significant weight since it lets me use the big 10-kilo bumper plates on a 20-kilo barbell instead of the flimsy 10-pound bumpers and a bunch of little plates. The big plates are much nicer to work with (and safe to drop, saving my lower back!) but they seemed so intimidating. Now that I've done it, I feel so eager to add more weight! I think I can make some significant strength gains in the next few months.

Hello Warriors! This will be my first warrior challenge and I am very excited to be picking things up and putting them down! Here are my goals: 1. Complete Oly lifting intro classes (3/6 already done) and design/begin oly program 2. Finish my 5k series (all Fridays in April, 2 down [44:12, 39:07] 2 to go) get time below 35:00 3. Keep up with clean eating and logging food (weekends optional) and keep taking body measurements 1x/week 4. Go to yoga at least once a week and try at least 2 strongman sessions Life goal: Keep a gratitude journal, write one thing per day - this will probably be my hardest goal.

If you have a spare hour or so this is an interesting interview with British Olympic weightlifter Zoe Smith She talks about the Commonwealth games, injuries, training, making weight, all that fun stuff... (Mods feel free to move this to a more appropriate forum!)

WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?! Is Angela The Geek back??? Well... kind of. I'm going to use this challenge to try to get back into my groove. I need to be accountable and I want to interact with all my favorite nerds again. I'm following Nightlight's lead and doing an informal challenge. No grading. It's just easier to get back in the groove this way. I do have goals though! I spent the last part of 2013 in a general funk. It was just not a great time for me or the people around me. BUT, I do not wish to dwell on that! ON TO 2014! This year will be different. This year will be amazing from beginning to end. I DEMAND THAT IT IS! Let's start... Goal 1: Get back on the competition platform My big goals this year for weightlifting are to compete in the A sessions at Nationals and the American Open and to total over 190kg in a meet by the end of the year (this was my 2013 goal before I hurt myself). My current best meet total is 177, with a 76kg snatch and a 101kg clean and jerk. This challenge will include two meets. These will be my first competitions since Nationals in July 2013. First meet: January 19 My goal for this meet is to get a total. That's it. I'll be in the middle of my training cycle for the February meet, so this is just to see where I'm at and get a total. Second meet: February 16 My goal for this meet is to go 6/6 and to make 90% of my best total at 160kg. This is really nothing spectacular for me, but I need to have an ATTAINABLE goal, so this is it. I'm hoping to hit much bigger numbers in the following months. Goal 2: Consistency in training I have been slacking with my training and I need to knock it off. 4 days a week, no excuses. I mean, I was doing 6 days a week before, so this should be a piece of cake. My planned training days are Mon/Wed/Thu/Sat. There shouldn't be much deviation from that. Goal 3: Be happier I just want to be happier. I want this looming cloud of sadness to finally dissipate. I have a feeling getting back on track with my training will help that because I was the happiest in my life when I was lifting consistently and always proving to myself how strong I am. What I do on the platform has a HUGE impact on the rest of my life. It just like to remind myself how awesome I am. Goal 4: Accountability Gonna try to keep this updated much better than I have in the recent past. I miss my nerds and you all keep me going... I need this, so I'm going to try to post more. Here it goes... I'm back in the game and ready to rock! Watch out 2014! I'M HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!

I took the last challenge off because I was too busy living my life to come online and participate here. Things have settled down a bit so I'm back into it! Goal 1 - Weight loss (CON 2 | CHA 1) So I don't fit into my uniform that I'm expected to wear in the last week of this challenge... My quads and hamis are too big, so I'm hoping with a bit of fat loss they will fit! * Lose 3kg * Goal: 79kg * Stretch goal: 77kg (5kg loss) Goal 2 - Running (DEX 2.5 | STA 2.5) I used to be a big runner, but after an overuse injury I threw it all in for strength training and CrossFit. I have a thing coming up in 3 months where I'll be expected to do HEAPS of running and I don't feel like I'm mentally or physically ready for it. Sure, my fitness is there but I really hate running these days! So... Back to the grind. * Run 3 long runs per week * Run 1-2 sprint sessions per week * Track speeds with Polar HRM (GPS) * Goal: 2.4km in 13 minutes Goal 3 - Oly Lifting (STR 4) I have hit a wall with my lifting recently. Partly because I'm not fueling my body like I used to so that I can lose some weight, but also because my upper body strength isn't where it needs to be. My upper back and my catch position are a bit weak so I need to work on that. * Develop upper body strength and stability (snatch press, DB strict press, OHS, snatch balance) * Develop back strength (Pendlay rows, snatch deadlifts, pull-ups) * Goal: Snatch 50kg * Goal: 3 extra strength sessions per week Goal 4 - Clean up (WIS 3) I will be moving in 3 months so it's time to get rid of all this crap I have around the house! Seriously, it is beyond ridiculous how much ONE person can own! I think I need to have a garage sale. * Goal: Pack all unwanted stuff into boxes * Consider garage sale

Hi everyone. Could you have a look at my most recent Clean and Jerk/Snatch? I was working up to a max for each, I hit 190 on the C&J which was a 5 lb PR for me. I did it twice, it felt a little like my arms weren't locking out, but you can't really see it in the video. My snatch was horrible today, I feel like I keep losing it in the front. It looks like I'm not using any hips/legs to do the snatch and my arms are bending a bit early. I couldn't hit 135 on the snatch (I had a 150 snatch on Monday, when I did it before the C&J), so I backed off the weight and started power snatching. I worked my weight up to 135 and missed 145 a few times. I put my heaviest lifts for each in slow mo as well, to get a better look at them. Any suggestions on where I can improve? Video I also can't seem to get it to embed, any know how to do that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWrB9r02Ik8

Hey hey, just starting a post thread for my battle log. I'm currently on the starting strength program, using madcow programming. Current maxes Squat - 265 x 5 Bench - 195 x 5 Deadlift - 295 x 5 Press - 135 x 5 Monday 19th Workout Squat - 135 x 5, 165 x 5, 200 x 5, 230 x 5, 265 x 5 Bench - 100 x 5, 120 x 5, 145 x 5, 170 x 5, 195 x 5 Instead of just cleaning, I did some hang clean technique drills to work on my form a bit. I did a hang clean from mid thigh, just below the knee, then from the ground using 95lbs, 115lbs, and 135lbs for 2 sets each. I'm having a bit of trouble with my hip drive on the heaver weights, I can't seem to get the bar moving fast enough. It's possible that I was just starting to get tired since it was near the end of my workout though. I also did two sets of 1 arm rows using 40lbs, for 20 reps and 2 sets of 10 dips. I felt pretty good afterwards, getting the dips was tough for me, I could barely do 3 of them a couple months ago. Progress!

Ok heres were i post my goals for the next challange Ok First off Backpacking Lets start reasonable I want to go on at least one excursion with a full multi day load even if its only a one day trip to prep myself for thru hiking ie month long hikes. Part of this will be learning how to pack for a thru hike and going on day hikes at least once a week kind of like rucking. Secondly I want to keep doing at least one GoRuck Challange every 2 months to culminate in a Heavy. I might also do a light every two weeks. Thirdly I want to work on my general physical preparedness ie metcon. I want to get my Metcon totals down for some of the named workouts I will use Murphy as my bench mark "Murph" Run a mile 100 pullups 200 pushups 300 air squats Run a mile 20 pnd body armor on the whole time. Goal is a 30 minute total Fourth Goal Oly and Power lifts i want to get better accross the board goal is at least a 135 pnd Snatch and Overhead Squat. Will work at least once a week on these lifts Lastly Personnel Goal keep working on Fire Management Bachalors and do so those with a High GPA. How i will do this is making sure to do my work as early in the week ie Sunday and monday once assigned to leave the week open to work on my physcial goals Ok wish me luck its alot but here we go.

I have completed a couple of similar challenges (2 Whole 30's and I Whole Life Challenge) during the last year and think challenges like this are a great way to move along my path to being the healthiest I can be! I am almost 50 and am so glad I have found crossfit and paleo eating in the last year; I haven't felt as fit since my 20's! I'm looking forward to exploring Olympic Lifting during this, my first Rebel Challenge.

I should start by saying that I'm a Ranger. Well, a Warrior trying to disguise herself as a Ranger! But really, my strengths are in lifting and I really feel like focusing on what I love this challenge - Olympic lifting! Main Quest: To get body weight Olympic lifts! (Obviously this is a work in progress!!) Current body weight: 86.6kg/191lbs (14/9/13) Height: 183cm (6'0) of freaky femurs and positive ape index! (Being all limbs makes lifting a rather interesting adventure!) Current PRs: Clean & Jerk: 60kg/132lbs Clean: 65kg/143lbs Jerk: 65kg/143lbs Snatch: 45kg/99lbs Bench press: 50kg/110lbs Deadlift: 102.5kg/226lbs Back squat: 77kg/170lbs Front squat: 65kg/143lbs Goal 1: Get Rid of the Dead Weight! (CON 2 | CHA 1) I have been eating Paleo for a long time now, but have let a few not-so-favourable things back into my diet. Nothing too horrid in the scheme of things, but my nutrition hasn't been optimal (read: full of sugarrrrrrr) and all it has been doing is supporting the extra body fat that I have. So, I'm going back to basics this challenge! It's Whole30 time again! So that means - * Whole30 for the entire challenge* Attend Whole9 seminar * Read the following books - - It Starts With Food - The Paleo Solution - In Defense of Food - Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It* Drink 2L water per day* Log all food End of Challenge Goal:* Drop 3kg Goal 2: Olympic Liftinggggggggggg! (STR 2 | DEX 2) I LOVE Oly lifts. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. It's true... I have the t-shirt! * 3 Oly lifting sessions per week - 2 individual coaching sessions, 1 extra (self-driven or WOD) * Focus on The Outlaw Way lifting drills End of Challenge Goals: * Snatch 50kg/110lbs* C&J 70kg/154lbs (may perform as individual lifts) Goal 3: Shut Up and Squat! (STR 3.5 | STA 0.5) The major thing holding me back with my cleans is my front squat and my back squat is pretty crap for my size as well. I had a knee injury earlier this year, so I wasn't able to squat for quite a while but things are back on track now so I'm gradually building my strength and technique. I am currently half-way through the Hatch squat program and will hopefully finish with enough downtime to re-test my back and front squats before the end of the challenge. * Complete Hatch squat program End of Challenge Goals: * Back squat 80kg (though a body weight squat would be amazing!) * Front squat 70kg Fitness Side Quest: Sleeeeeeeeeeeeep! (CON 2)Nice and simple, but oh so important! * Sleep >=8 hours per night. End of Challenge Goal: I'll allow 2 nights of <8 hours sleep. Life Side Quest: Get Your Stuff Together! (WIS 2) There is so much paperwork lying around in my study, it is beyond ridiculous! So this challenge I am going to file it all away and get into a habit of filing things as they come in. I also think it's about time I went through my old paperwork and got rid of the stuff I don't need anymore. Okay, so it's not quite that bad...!!! * Organise paperwork and receipts into folders* Sort old receipts and paperwork and discard if not required* Submit tax! ugh! End of Challenge Goal: * To have all paperwork nicely filed away and sorted * Tax submitted Alright, let's do this!

This is probably an obvious question but I only just used chalk for the first time the other day and I'm not sure about it. When I should be using chalk? All the time? Just for heavy lifts? Only on hot sweaty days? I've had no issues so far lifting without it but I am noticing I'm starting to get callouses at the base of my fingers. Will chalk help prevent that?

Hey guys! Guess who's back to have some fun and get ready for the USA Weightlifting Senior National Championships! Well… I honestly was not planning on Nationals this year because I didn’t think I would qualify, but I managed to do it! This means I have some serious preparation to do for the big event. I want to be in top shape, both physically and mentally. I won’t be able to make any goals related to programming since my coach sets that up for us. However, I am hoping to hit some awesome PRs in the coming weeks. I’ve been chasing an 80kg snatch and a 110kg clean and jerk for a few months now, and I can feel that they are close. As for my other goals, I’m going to be focusing on eating and sleeping. Two things that I haven’t done great in a while… Here we go! Goal 1: A warrior needs rest to be strong! I need to be getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep per night. No excuses. This means that on practice nights, I need to get home, eat, and wind down as soon as possible. Bed time will be 9pm on weeknights, since I get up at 5am. On weekends, there will only be a set bed time if I have to get up by alarm the next morning. Grading: 7 nights/week with 8+ hours of sleep = A 6 nights/week with 8+hours of sleep = B 5 nights/week with 8+ hours of sleep = C 4 nights/week or less with 8+ hours of sleep = F Less than 8 hours of sleep on any practice day = half grade penalty Goal 2: A warrior needs to eat good to be strong! For this goal, I am focusing on limiting my carb intake. I will be doing a carb night program, where I am restricting my carb intake to fruits and vegetables during the week, with one night of carb overloading. Grading: 7 good days/week = A 6 good days/week = B 5 good days/week = C 4 or less good days/week = F Goal 3: A warrior needs to PROVE their strength! I gotta get me some new PRs. I just finally hit a 76kg snatch, for a 1kg PR, after over 2 months without a PR on either lift. I was getting really hung up on not making new PRs. It was really starting to bother me! Well, now I’m ready for some more, so I can feel more confident pulling some big numbers at Nationals. My current PRs are: Snatch: 76kg/167lb Clean and Jerk: 105kg/231lb Goals: Snatch: 80kg/176lb Clean and Jerk: 110kg/242lb Grading: 80kg snatch and 110kg clean and jerk = A 77+kg snatch and 106+kg clean and jerk = B 77+kg snatch OR 106g+kg clean and jerk = C No PRs = F Bonus Goal: I gotta read more. I have not been reading much at all lately and I kind of miss it. If I can finish one book during this challenge, I will allow myself to bump up one weekly grade for either goal 1 or 2. The USAW Senior National Championships are July 25-28, in Ohio. As of right now, it looks like I’ll be lifting on Friday, July 26. I feel like if I do well on this challenge, I will have myself set up for success at the meet. I am nervous, but very, very excited to be achieving one of my weightlifting goals so early in my career. I'm going to track my progress in my log book and update this thread as often as possible. It feels good to be back on the boards! More to come later, my friends!

I made some massive gains with my lifting last challenge after increasing my Oly lifting sessions with my coach, including adding 20kg to my squats after returning to leg training post-knee injury! Hopefully this challenge my leg strength will continue to improve! Most importantly though, I have a big ticket item that I really want to cross off my list - my first strict pull-up! I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I would love to get one before my 30th birthday, which is a few days after this challenge finishes. The clock's ticking! I'm still pretty far off getting one, but I'm a big believer in setting challenging goals! If all else fails, I could always lose 10kg... That'd make it easier on my arms!!! Starting Stats Age: 29 Sex: Female Weight: 82.5kg (181.8lbs) Height: 183cm (6') Body fat: 28% (DEXA) Starting Attributes STR 20 DEX 12.5 STA 13.25 CON 9 WIS 12.5 CHA 5.25 Current Skills: Push-ups: 15 strict Pull-up: 1 kipping pull-up; 5 strict (2nd lightest band) Pistol squat: 1 riser + medicine ball Air squats: 40 unbroken with full depth T2B: 1 Double unders: 27 unbroken 1000m row: 3:47 500m row: 1:41 Wall Handstand: 2:00 Deadlift: 100kg (220.5lbs) Back squat: 70kg (154lbs) Front squat: 65kg (143lbs) Overhead squat: 37kg (81.5lbs) Power clean: 55kg (121lbs) Clean: 55kg (121lbs) Power snatch: 39kg (86lbs) Snatch: 35kg (71lbs) Strict press: 40kg (88lbs) Push press: 50kg (110lbs) Push jerk: 50kg (110lbs) Jerk: 55kg (121lbs) Thruster: 45kg (99lbs) Bench press: 45kg (99lbs) KB swing: 24kg (53lbs) KB snatch: 20kg (44lbs) Goal 1: Lift All The Things! (STR 4.0 | STA 0.5 | CHA 0.5) - Deadlift >= 110kg (242.5lbs) (+10kg) - Snatch >= 40kg (88lbs) (+5kg) - Clean & jerk >=60kg (132lbs) (+5kg) - Squat >=75kg (165lbs) (+5kg) - 1 strict pull-up - Heavy squat sessions twice per week Goal 2: Need Mad Skillz! (DEX 3.5 | WIS 0.5) - Attend PT twice per week - Practice gymnastic skills 3 sessions per week - Continue 50 days of double unders - 35 unbroken double unders Goal 3: Work hard, breathe later (STA 2.5 | STR 0.5) - Continue 50 days of pull-ups/push-ups - 1000m row =<3:45 (-2 seconds) - 500m row <1:40 (-2 seconds) - 2.4km run <14 minutes (-1 minute) Goal 4: Downsize My Life! (WIS 2 | CON 1) - Clean out each room of the house including the garage (one room per week) - Sell or throw out excess items * Bedroom * Spare Bedroom * Study * Kitchen/Dining * Loungeroom * Garage Other Goals - Whole30 for the entire challenge (currently Paleo, but I've let a few processed Paleo foods in that I'd like to get rid of) - Log all food - Unplug! <4 hours per day in front of a screen while at home - Get more sleep! Minimum 7 hours per night

I've been back in the gym for almost 4 months now, and I had been wavering back and forth on what I wanted my focus to be. Then in the previous six-week challenge (my first) I saw my snatch increase by 4.5 kilos in about a month--probably the fastest I've ever progressed on that lift! It reminded me how much joy I get from Olympic lifting. I'm actually thinking I may start competing again in the fall, if circumstances allow for it. Thus, my goals for this challenge will be focused on getting me competition-ready. 1. Increase my total. At the end of the last challenge, my best snatch was 38 kilos. I hadn't been clean-and-jerking at all for those six weeks, but I did one clean-and-jerk workout last week to get a sense of where I am. I got up to 49 kilos! One kilo below my old PR, so that was pretty cool. So that means my total right now would be 87 kilos, at a body weight of about 61 kilos. For comparison, my best during college was 82.5 competing at 58 kilos, and my high school best was 80 kilos at a body weight of 53 kilos. (Note the depressing lack of improvement in college.... What the heck was wrong with me?) My goal for this challenge will be a 96 kilo total. That will probably work out to a 42 kilo snatch and 54 kilo clean & jerk, but if that's off a couple kilos each way, I'm still good. This isn't a particularly ambitious goal compared to how I've done so far, but goal #2 may make it difficult. Grading: 96 = A 94 = B 92 = C 90 = D 87 = F 2. Get back in my weight class. My days as a 53 kilo lifter are long behind me, but I should be able to get down to 58 again. My weight has crept up a bit while I wasn't lifting, and it's crept up a bit more now that I am. If I'm going to compete again, I'd like to get below 58 kilos (127.6 pounds) and stay there. For this challenge, I'm aiming for 125 pounds at the end of this challenge, with non-extreme cutting practices allowed at the end. As of this morning, with no cutting beforehand, I'm 134 pounds, and I've been within a pound of that either way for the last month. I'm going to weigh myself and record it every day, but I'll only record it here once a week. My scale does body fat too, though I'm not sure if it's accurate. Today it says I'm at 23.3%, which seems in the right ballpark if I compare myself to pictures. I don't think it's accurate enough that I should obsess over it, but I will record it once a week to see if it's trending up or down. I'm going to record calories in a journal and probably here. I'm tentatively going to aim for 1400 Calories a day--possibly a bit more on lifting days and a bit less on non-lifting days, with one day (probably Saturday) around 1800. I'm imposing a few absolute rules--no soda, nothing from the vending machines at work, no coffee shop treats or meals out during the week. If I do any of those things, I have to record it here. More generally, I'll try to eat fruit for desserts, minimal bread and pasta, and tons of vegetables. Grading: 125 = A 127 = B 129 = C 131 = D 133 or higher = F Now, I am putting sort of a kill switch on this goal. If I get halfway through the challenge, I'm not losing weight, and my lifting totally sucks, I'll give up on this goal for now and just work towards being the strongest 63-kilo lifter I can be. If I'm doing well on the weight loss but not the lifting, I'll keep trying with both and hope I can maintain a lighter weight later while focusing on the lifting. I know strength gains are harder to achieve while losing weight, and so I'm trying to prioritize not getting discouraged or miserable over this. 3. Dead lifts! I've been loving the brute-strength work in general since I've been lifting again. My general plan is to focus on one strength lift at a time (not totally neglecting the others) while my main focus is the snatch and clean & jerk. This time around, it's dead lifts! I hadn't ever really focused on dead lifts until a month or two ago. So far, I've gotten up to 215 pounds for one rep. I'm setting a goal of 240 for the end of this challenge. Again, I'm not sure how well this will work along with the weight loss, but I'm optimistic. Grading: 240 = A 235 = B 230 = C 225 = D 220 = F My general workout plan is as follows: Tuesday: Snatch (doubles or triples), squats, deadlifts Thursday: C & J (doubles), squats, deadlifts Saturday: Snatch, C & J (work up to a heavy single on each), squats Squats will mostly be front squats, and I'll add in some chin-ups and accessories as time allows. 4. Read all the books! All the books I'm in the middle of or have checked out from the library, that is. Some of the ones on my pile have been there for months now, and the boyfriend's starting to complain about the book-moat on my side of the bed. (Seriously, it's a trip hazard.) Here's the list I need to get through. Grading: A for getting through everything, and I drop a letter grade for each one I don't finish. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking Complete Poems of Catullus Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories, Bram Stoker Early History of Rome, Livy Female Masculinity, Judith Halberstam The Game, A. S. Byatt Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis, J. K. Rowling trans. Peter Needham The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins Persuasion, Jane Austen Rickover, Francis Duncan Skeleton Crew, Stephen King Small Gods, Terry Pratchett Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame I'm partway into several of these. I think I have about 3500 pages of English left and 250 pages of Latin. Should be possible in 6 weeks.

Hey everyone! I'm back again for another go! Really looking forward to this challenge. Last challenge, I hit two of my goals and completely ignored the other two. So I'm looking to take some responsibility, and get an A on all 4 this time. I'd love to post some funny pictures/videos, but I'm at work right now and just trying to push through the last half hour. Humor will have to come later. I'll keep this quick and to the point since I don't have a lot of time, but check back later to see my random side. Vitals: Gender: Male Race: Human Class: Ranger (Level 4) Prestige Class: Firebreather Height: 5'6" Weight: 155 lbs Goal 1: Mobility WOD Everyday CON+2 STA+1 I had this one last challenge, and started strong. And completely stopped before it became a habit. It's just one MWOD a day, but it will help so much. Goal 2: Squat 250 lbs 5 times STR+2 STA+2 I'm still doing the 5/3/1 program. The most I've done at 250 is 3, but last week I was able to get 240 x 6. By staying on track, I should be able to get this by the end of the six weeks. Goal 3: Snatch 135 STR+1 DEX+2 CHA+1 I'm in a gym without bumper plates or oly stands. So this one will be tricky. I can do light weight for high reps, but I've been hesitant to go heavier because I can't bail. And I can't guarantee I'd nail it if I went for it now. I'll do snatch balances to get used to the heavier weight overhead, and to get used to the proper position. I can do 95 lbs 12 reps unbroken, but when I get to 135, it just seems so much heavier overhead. Practicing should help me here. Goal 4: Do Taxes WIS+4 If I haven't done my taxes by the end of this challenge, I'm in trouble. I just need to take an afternoon (or even a morning) and crank them out. They usually take me a few hours, so I always put it off. I just need to get it out of the way. Wow finished with 5 minutes to spare. I'll be back later. Good luck everyone!