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Hello everybody and welcome! The next six weeks kind of look like a break in the action. Here they are: W0 - Week ending June 11 - Last week of BEBOP. (Broki's Evil Bulgarian Olympic Program) W1 - Week ending June 18 - Olympic Meet. W2 - Week ending June 25 - An entire week off! W3 - Week ending July 2 - New Program starts! W4 - Week ending July 9 - New Program..... W0 - Week ending July 16 - VACATION! Most likely the new program will be a Hybrid Weightlifting / Powerlifting program, unless Miss Broki Trollsforeva somehow manages to talk me into skipping the CNF PL Competition. I do not know the details of this program, but any guesses what nationality inspires this programming? Needless to say, the XCOMmies did not die in the last Challenge Cycle. They just got caught up in some time warp, typically caused by some massive explosion. They will see action again one day. Before we know it, we will be back to the grind! Meanwhile in the gaming world, so many of today's games are do the quest, then go up a level. Then do the next quest and go up another level. In a lot of old-school games you had to grind your way to the next level. Find enemies you can defeat. Kill them. Go up a level. When they are too easy, you find tougher enemies you can defeat. Kill them too. Go up another level. Eventually discover clues to lead you where you are supposed to go next. These were the days before the Internet. No place to go for a walkthrough. Figure everything out on your own. The game manual was actually worth reading. After several months or so, a clue book would come out and that would pretty much tell you how to solve everything. Now of course, we have the Internet and can look up walkthroughs for these old games and read up on the best strategies to break the game. So that is what we will try to do. Who ever imagined the grind would be a break in the routine? This cycle, I chose an obscure title perhaps nobody has ever heard of. (I never heard of it until I saw it on GoG and decided it sounds fun and will give it a try.) EDIT: It looks like I have to get my own darned picture. You start with a party of six and you wander around aimlessly in a mostly abandoned castle. It is old-school dungeoning. There is no mapping function. You have to draw the map on graph paper. You wander around aimlessly until you get a random encounter. Then you beat up the beasties and move on to the next one. Of course, I will name these toons after XCOMmies! (caught in that time warp?) So how does this game work? Hmm. Let's see how I can recycle the goals from the last Challenge and make them look like new goals...... A. Wander around aimlessly until a clear direction appears. A good map always helps. Goal 1: Follow the final week of BEBOP, then Competition Week, then Rest Week, then obtain a New Program. It sure sounds like wandering around aimlessly until a clear direction appears, doesn't? B. I did say you have to draw a map. There are key spots you have to return to on a regular basis. Eventually it become familiar and you know it like the back of your hand. Yup. You guessed it! Goal 2: Keep Tracking Macros and Weight We have about five months worth of data. Still wandering around aimlessly. No weight goal. Pretty much maintenance. Calorie goal. Hmm. We can make this a little more interesting, since this is easy enough. So we will add a couple of things: a. Give the Weekly Range along with the weekly average. Say Average week. 3400 Calories. 2500 to 4000. The goal is to decide on what is reasonable. b. Veggies! Find ways to include more of them! Fresh or relatively fresh is ideal, but difficult to execute at the moment. Most likely starting with canned. Add to report. C. I also said monsters and bad guys appear at random and you have to fight them. So..... Goal 3: Fight! The next big battle is on June 18. This time I think I am shooting for: Snatch 60 / 65 / 70 kg (PB on video is just over 65 kg.) Clean and Jerk 85 / 90 / 95 kg (PB on video is about 92 kg.) The openers are subject to discussion. The final number is YOLO. One important thing to note is the units are kilograms and I can ask for any integer number. D. Don't get killed! Of course! Goes without saying! Goal 4: Stay Healthy! Overhead Press pounds x (0.96 + 0.03 x Reps + 0.01 x Sets) expressed as a percentage of 150 pounds = Shoulder Condition. Push Press pounds x (0.96 + 0.03 x Reps + 0.01 x Sets) expressed as a percentage of 200 pounds = Shoulder Condition. These numbers have been getting better! After the PL meet on April 23, any pressing motion was a hard pass and Dumbbell Push Press started with the Hot Pink Dumbbells. Mobility has also been improving. E. Granted, I have trouble actually playing through these games. I suppose I have more fun just playing around with them than actually finishing. Still, it is fun to play along. Goal 5: Adopt a Toon! True to XCOMmie tradition, there is no choice. At least this time, we can be Equal Opportunity. However most likely I am shamelessly playing favorites. It is probably going to take me the entire week just to roll these toons. (Shamelessly high stats.) They are still getting XCOMmie names. (...except they are subject to 8 character length or so because.... old school) It looks like the last time I dabbled in this game, I played: Males: Dwarf, Hobbit, Dog-like (Dog-like is most likely spoken for but subject to change.) Females: Human, Elf, Cat-like (Elf is pretty much spoken for because I owe somebody a favor.) I might play first come, first serve, otherwise. Or shamelessly play favorites. ---------------------------------------- TLDR: As for the Challenge - not much new here: Follow the program as it comes in. Track minimum and maximum macros for each week. Track vegetables and find ways to add them. -------------------------------------------- EDIT: Changed Title to "Wandering Aimlessly." 6/7/16

Taekwondo is a relatively new martial art from Korea. There are five main Korean dojang, and after the Japanese occupation of Korea, a council was formed to try to unify the schools in 1955. It was then that the term Taekwondo was coined. Tae = Hand or fist Kwon = Foot or kicking Do = Style or way. I have heard of three federations of Taekwondo. WTF - World Taekwondo Federation (Olympic Taekwondo) ITF - International Taekwondo Federation ATA - American Taekwondo Association Taekwondo has a strong emphasis on kicking. The theory behind this is that the legs are the largest of the limbs, has the greatest reach, and can deal the most damage. From my experiences, Taekwondo has a lot of similarities to Shotokan and Wado-Ryu karate. I took a few classes in Wado-Ryu and found that a lot of the forms/kata were the same. I would consider Taekwondo a pretty flashy martial art and because of this Taekwondo can be seen in a lot of fight choreography. Uhh, feel free to discuss, ask questions, if I can, I'll try to answer.

Over the break I've realised that I lost my balance and focused too much on work the last few months of the year. It's been to the detriment of my health so the first quarter of this year will be a re-focus on the things that are important to me. I'll be re-establishing routines (a highly underrated tool) and putting myself first. Every January I stop drinking for a month and this year is no exception. It might seem a hardship but it's actually a relief to not have to make the decision, it's no thanks for the next 28 days. I have a massive 5 week holiday lined up in July/August, at the moment I'm looking at getting one of those weeks away on a luxury live-abord surf boat in Portugal. I want to be in unbelievable shape for that and will be using it as my motivation over the next 6 months. But 6 months will be done one day at a time starting with this 4 week challenge.... Goals: 1. No alcohol 2. No processed food 3. 1 hour a day of 'exercise' Bonus: Every minute of exercise buys 2 minutes of video game time. Finding an hour a day to do some sort of physical activity will be harder than it sounds but I'll be training twice a week with my coach over the next 4 weeks and have committed to walking the dog at least 4 days a week, that'll be a good start. I'm also hoping to get back to squash but we'll see, I still have a whiplash injury hanging around. Inspiration: What are you waiting for? Are you boring?

Hi All! I recently got the bug to compete and decided to sign up for my first USAW weightlifting meet. It's scheduled on November 8, so I have a few months to prepare for it. Anyone have experience with oly meets? Any advice for a noob to the meet scene? Thanks! Nicc

Challenge 14 I turn 40 during this challenge so this one will be about reinforcing some healthy habits and putting some structures in place to cope with entering my middle years. Some things are getting harder as I get older, recovery in particular so I'll need to focus on mobility more. I still have a bum wrist which does rule most lifting out but I'm getting around it with lots of leg work and it's slowly improving. Goals: 1. Don't look into the light...[DEX 3] I spend way too much time on computers and TV. - Maximum 1.5 hours a day of either surfing the web or watching TV. Using PC for work stuff doesn't count. 2. Lift [sTR 5] - 3 times a week 3. Eat (well) [CHA 2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ctTQeTPILI8 - Full Paleo 3 days a week 4. I like the way you work it [WIS 5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KL9mRus19o - I'm working on a plan for a small side business to earn some extra cash and keep me sane, goals for this -- Finish prototype -- Finish cost model -- Launch website

Keep forgetting my PR's so I'm going to log them here: Movement: Back Squat Weight: 105kg Reps: 1RM Date: March 2014 Movement: Back Squat Weight: 107.5kg Reps: 1RM Date: Aug 2014 Movement: Back Squat Weight: 121kg Reps: 1RM Date: July 2016 Movement: Front Squat Weight: 90kg Reps: 1RM Date: July 2014 Movement: Front Squat Weight: 90kg Reps: 1RM Date: August 2015 Movement: Front Squat Weight:110kg Reps: 1RM Date: May 2016 Movement: Front Squat Weight: 90kg Reps: 3RM Date: 20 Jan 2016 Movement: Power Clean from Hang Weight: 80kg Reps: 1RM Date: July 2014 Movement: Power Clean from Hang Weight: 75kg Reps: 2RM Date: July 2014 Movement: Clean from floor Weight: 75kg Reps: 1RM Date: 30 July 2014 Movement: Clean from floor Weight: 80kg Reps: 1RM Date: May 2016 Movement: 2km row Time: 8:29 Date: 11/08/2014 Movement: Deadlift Weight: 140kg Reps: 1RM Date: May 2016 Movement: Deadlift Weight: 110kg Reps: 3RM Date: 05 Sept 2014 Movement: Zombie Squat Weight: 95kg Reps: 1RM Date: 22 Oct 2014 Push Press Weight: 70kg Reps: 1RM Date: 2 June 2016 Movement: Metcon: 2km run, 2km row, 2km run Time: 22 mins 33 secs Date: 25 Jan 2015 Movement: Bench Press Weight: 80kg Reps: 1RM Date: June 2016 3RM Bench Press Weight: 65kg x 3 Date: 25/05/2015 Fran (Rx) Time:11:32 Date: May 2016 Helen (Rx) Time: 14:42 Date: May 2016 Double Unders = 33 in a row June 2016 Movement: Back Squat Weight: 130kg Reps: 1RM Date: 1 May 2017

18 weeks until the big day when I turn 40, that's 126 days, 42 of them are in this challenge and I'm gonna make them count. Main Challenge Goal Cut 1.5% Body fat Goal 1 (DEX 2, CHA 1) Track calories more than half the days this challenge (22 or more), aim for a calorie deficit of 750 a day. Goal 2 (STR 5) No more than 3 alcoholic drinks at one time. I've tried lots of methods to be able to drink during a challenge without going over the top. The main one that works is zero alcohol but I'm trying again with a new variation. This is a based on an article that says research shows that 3 beers doesn't affect strength gains or recovery, so backed by some logic hopefully I can stick to it. Goal 3 (DEX 5) 10 mins mobility every day this challenge. No excuses, it's only 10 minutes. Side goal (DEX 2) Swim 3 times during challenge ---------------------------- Every time I try to get my pullup and overhead work progressing I do really well for about 2-3 weeks then I get injured. I've finally strung these events together and learnt my lesson that I must do some mobility work and settle for some slow progress if I want to make gains on overhead work without getting injured. It's only taken me 18 months to realise that I'm coming into this challenge with some problems with nerves in my neck and some weird tingles in my hands at times. All a result of taking on too much snatching and kipping too fast. So I've done no overhead work for a week now and just been cleared by the physio to do some strict press at 20-30 kilos as part of my rehab. I still find it weird that I got really excited when he said that. Since I started crossfit 2-3 weeks ago I've realised that I can't be good at everything all the time. I've been mulling over dropping one class and using the time for something I want to improve for myself. But what to focus my efforts on? I was thinking hey I'm good at squats and I like squats, maybe that's the thing to do....but finally I think I need to confront my weakness and do some slow progression on strict press and general shoulder mobility. It's pullups and overhead work that are holding me back from getting competitive beginner times in crossfit benchmark WOD's and I want that to change. I've also been secretly coveting a muscle up before I turn 40 but haven't told anyone. There I said it. Yikes! Lower body fat means less lard to get up above that bar so I have plenty of motivation to track calories, let's get to work.

Hi! I'm Anthony, or Oly when gaming and being part of the internet. Oly is short for Olympic, and Kurt Angle is (or was) my Olympic Hero once upon a time. I guess I never grew out of the self-given gaming persona. Oh, and Bards are awesome (do they have a NF profile?!) so I play as Olybard too. Phew! Now that that's explained! I've been following Nerd Fitness for about a year. I've always been heavy, except when I was a little kid. I just dinged 30 years old, and I'm a simple guy from Rhode Island that works and plays in front of computers too much. My weight has spiked drastically in the last six months, so I'm finally taking some steps to introduce myself to the community and get some support and motivation. Any Nerd Fitness members in the RI area? I grew up playing with Legos and Nintendo, probably taught myself how to read playing the Dragon Warrior games on NES before Kindergarten, then grew into Final Fantasy on SNES and picked up fantasy novels (Terry Brooks, Stephen R. Donaldson etc). I was a well raised nerd for sure! In my adult life, I focus on MMORPGs and online PC games; currently, the Wildstar beta, plus some Diablo 3 and League of Legends. I'm 5"10 and 300lbs; 40lbs were gained in the last six months alone. My goal is to get down to 200lbs, and the lightest I've been was 225lbs when I was around 25 years old. I dunno what my race would be; half-orc? I don't think I'm too ugly though. Maybe a half-giant, just short. Class? I'm thinking a mix of Scout, Ranger and Monk. I love Vibram Fivefingers (my one pair has seem better days) so my easiest form of exercise has been walking/running, cardio stuff. I also watch UFC and love boxing, wrestling, etc. so I'd love to learn how to kick some butt before I get too old. I guess my character template is still being rolled, but I'd love some feedback! Finally, I would love to go to Camp Nerd Fitness this summer. I figure this gives me four months to get motivated, introduce myself to the community, and hopefully be another Nerd Fitness success story that also makes it to camp in September. Thanks everyone for reading my introduction! This seems like an amazing community and Steve is an incredible resource and inspiration himself.

Late post, but better late than never. Wasn't sure if I wanted to do a challenge but realized I need the accountability and the peer groups on this thread really help me out. lift maxes as of now---->goal in 6 weeks (listed favorite to least) Snatch- 115lbs----->135lbs Powerclean- 150lbs----> 165lbs Deadlift- 270lbs 1RM-----> (300 is within my reach!) 285/290lbs Front squat- 175lbs----> 190 Back squat- 210lbs----> 210 x4 (been my goal forever) or 220 1rm reasonable lifting goals considering I'm going to be travelling alot/starting a 6 days a week/60hrs a week hard labor job soon. relocating and need to find a new gym/routine. but goals are low to stay reasonable eats- continue to eat well, clean as possible, no processed food/sugar/grains as much as possible. rice/oatmeal is allowed. and popcorn. gotta have my popcorn. macro's are not SOLID but more of a guideline. my last challenge I did well and I am adjusting accordingly. 1/2-1 gallon a day water workout day- 2000cals carbs- 245g fat- 35g protein- 145g rest day- 1500cals carbs- 130g fat- 55g protein- 145g again, no ,math involved so rough estimates. still trying for that 6 pack, chicago/the holidays didn't help, but still trying life goal- continue on the limiting drinking had 1 beer in the last 9 days (yay) -offer to be DD every time applicable -allowed 2 days at home drinking / month -considerate about amt drank while out w/ppl and not DDing (aka drill, unit parties, etc) -overall, just try not to drink alot happy about my 1 beer, it was out at dinner last night. I'm not saying I am an alcoholic/was one, but I relied on alcohol too much to numb myself/my problems, so this is a big step. how- track daily written journal of food, water, what i ate closest to bed (if/when a night terror occurs, possible correlations), if pills were taken, exercise max's of the day and away!

I already do ALOT but it's time to do MOAR! But sometimes less is more.....so I'm going to do more of less things. Main Quest: Attain 12% BF at least once. Challenge 7 goals: Goal 1 - Physio recovery exercises - 6 days a week, no excuses. (DEX 5) I injured my shoulder last challenge, it's not 100% but it's much better. The physio has identified the cause as postural so I need to strengthen some muscles with exercises and adjust my posture, particularly my shoulder blades. The exercises take me about 15 - 20 mins a day and I didn't do them last week hardly at all. There are no excuses, if I don't do them it's because I'm being lazy. Feel free to call me out on this. I will not get better if I don't do them. Goal 2 - Do a thing twice a week (WIS 1, CON 2) Do something extra twice a week, this could be swimming, squash, badminton, surfing, scuba, an extra walk, whatever I feel like but I have to do something extra at least twice a week. Goal 3 - 50% Paleo (CHA 3) I want to lose some body fat before I go on holiday to Hawaii in December. History shows the best way to do this is to integrate some Paleo meals. I'm going to shoot for 50% this time, that's 10 main meals a week. Side Quest: Relax and be Positive. (WIS 2) I visited an old friend for the weekend during one of the between challenge rest weeks, while I was there I realized I am overloading myself with worry and stress. This is partly due to going the whole year without a holiday and partly just because I tend to push myself by being concerned about things. This challenge I'd like to try to relax more and not sweat the small stuff so much. I can do this by being more organised, re-making my time management plan and 'working the plan'. Life is good, time to relax into it and enjoy. Here we go for the final push of 2013, 4 weeks to Hawaii

Main Quest Attain 12% body fat once. Starting Stats: Weight: 81.4kg Body fat: 19% Goal 1: Feed the beast the good stuff....and know it [WIS 2, CON 1] I need to experiment with calories and macros to get to a level where I can continue to lift well but not put on too much fat. It's been creeping up recently. I'm terrible at tracking food and calories, I just don't do it and don't enjoy it but I need to suck it up and get on with it if I want to achieve my main quest. - Track all food. - Eat 80% Paleo - Aim for 2500 cals a day (169g Protein, 206g Carbs, 111g Fat) - Aim for minimum 1800 cal a week worth of exercise. (3 lifting sessions with accessories and 3 walks should easily achieve this) Goal 2: Prepare for Hawaii [CON 2, STR 2] I'm going to Hawaii in December (OMG!), I want to be able to feel strong and confident in the water. - Swim once a week - Surf once a fortnight Goal 3: The elephant in the room [CON 2, WIS 2] I drink more alcohol than I should and it makes me fat. I've tried to tame this in various ways almost every challenge so far, the only thing that has worked has not been drinking at all. Last challenge I went 6 weeks without alcohol, during the rest week I've had it most days. Time to try another approach. - No more than 5 units of alcohol in any one day. - At least two alcohol-free days a week. 100ml wine = 1 unit 1 bottle full strength beer = 1.5 units 1 bottle light beer = 1 unit Fitness Side quest: [DEX 4] Mobilize 4 times a week for 15 mins. - Create a mobilization routine to follow - Follow it 1RM PR's. Back Squat: 90kg Clean: 65kg Strict OHP: 50kg Strict Chinups: 10 Strict Pullups: 8

I'm looking for some advice on adding some intense cardio to my week. At present I am eating well, 70-80% Paleo, non-paleo is to help me with carb shortfalls. Lifting 3 times a week: Mon: Back squats, Upper body work Weds: Cleans, Push Press Fri: Front squats, DB rows and DB press Other days: Walking and once a week swimming. As you can see, not much cardio, although I get out of breath supersetting my weights and a fit test on a running machine tells me I'm "above average". I love squash and used to play amateur comp at a low level (bottom division but I don't care I enjoy it so much). Last week on Thursday I played squash for the first time in a long time (18 months or so) and it took me about 5 days to recover and feel normal again. I was totally exhausted for the first 2-3 days. I didn't lift on the Friday as I was too tired, lifted on the Saturday instead. Even though it knocked me sideways I really had fun playing and my lifting has seriously improved my fitness and my game, I destroyed my opponent as I was no longer held back by my fitness level, it came down to strategy and technique. I don't think I've ever been in that position before. I found it inspiring enough that I am considering playing competition squash again, there is an over-35 comp on Tuesday nights for us old folk . I also used to surf and am planning to get back into that one morning a week, probably Sunday for about 2 hours. This is preparation for a holiday to Hawaii in December where I want to be capable of catching a few waves. However, I am really enjoying my lifting and that needs to come first, I don't want it to be held back by Cardio work. I was so tired from the squash last week that I'm concerned I will not recover quickly enough to perform well at my lifting if I take up squash again. Does anyone have any advice on: - Will intense burst cardio hold back my lifting? - How to recover faster? - Do you think I would get used to the extra cardio work?

I'm taking the plunge and buying myself a set of Olympic plates and a bar. I'm buying the plates through my local crossfit box but they don't sell the bars. Now I'm trying to understand why there is such variation in the price of the Oly bars? A couple questions: 1. Is it worth paying double for a bar to get one with needle bearings instead of bushing? (I've only been lifting for 6 weeks) 2. Any ideas why these bars: http://www.cyber-market.com.au/olympic-bars-c-45_74.html are so much cheaper than these bars: http://www.muscledriverau.com.au/Pendlay-Nexgen-Bushing-Bars_c_8.html or these bars: http://www.rogueaustralia.com/bars/ I've read up a little and can understand the difference in cost between bushing and bearing bars but I don't see why the Cyberfit are so much cheaper than the others. Is this an indication of a great deal or poor quality? I have their power rack which is very good quality and I'm very pleased with. Thanks Dominic

So this is what the Strength Guild looks like...I like it It's been a long time since I last lifted, but I remember really enjoying it. My problem has been that we moved away from my gym, and I just haven't got one nearby that's worth the price of admission. I'm thinking it may be time to start putting together a home gym. For now, all I really want to do is deadlifts. I've got a decent bodyweight training reperatoire going, but I haven't found a good replacement for the deadlift.On top of this, i really can't afford to go all out with squat racks, bench press rigs, etc. I just want to keep it simple, with the option to add equipment as time goes on. What I'm wondering is, what type of bar/weights should I get? I've looked around a bit, and can get a 'standard' 7ft bar, or I can get an Olympic bar for a lot more money. Are there brands you'd recommend, or that I should steer clear of? Do you think it's worth the investment to get the bigger bar/weights, or is a standard bar sufficient? If it helps, the last time I did a deadlift, I was pulling 100kg...that was after a few months training, so I think I can probably go a fair bit more than that. This is offset by the fact that I'm primarily a runner, so I'm not looking for huge gains here, just an increase in leg/core muscles. I look forward to hearing your thoughts...