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As a Texan enduring San Antonio Summers, I love fall for a lot of reasons, one of which is that the worst of the heat is over in September. I was also struggling to come up with a theme for this challenge, and it hit me, I LOVE PUMPKIN SPICE. Pumpkin pie is my favorite pie, and I love that flavor profile. I have already bought a pumpkin ale (Waiting to drink it) and two boxes of Pumpkin Spice K-Cups. The goals are going to stay pretty similar. 8 Lift days: I'll continue on with Juggernaut, Zero week will see me doing the intensification phase of the 8s. 6 Walk days: I struggled with getting workouts in on Fridays, which needs to happen in order to get six walk days in. As things start to cool off walking outside is even more enjoyable than it normally is. 6 Yoga days: Also didn't get all 6 last time due to not working out on Fridays. This time I can only use 3 sessions from the water series, the other sessions must be Fire, star, or the yin yoga from NF yoga. Domestic Rangering: I'm still being vague here, but clean the apartment once a week and continue working on decorating. Cook Paleo and no more than 3 variances a week. Soon I'll drop this back to two variances.

I'm only giving myself three daily 'jobs' this time around - anything else that gets done will be a bonus of sorts :3 1. Water Drinking - minimum three thermos-fulls 2. Exercise - at the very least a basic workout every day 3. Bible-Reading - One Psalm every day for now So...for now the rule will be to focus on those three things as an Every Day Definite, and then I think each day I'll pick out my top three tasks for that specific day. Currently Happening: Very vague meal-plan, I just have to force myself to actually prep and cook this week XD Got some sweet potatoes that I can roast to go with some onions and spinach, and I'll also use some in a lentil chili maybe with some frozen butternut squash I've been trying to figure out what to do with. I just picked up a couple bags of yellow split peas as well...those are always good. Oh! And the shop ran a nice special on applesauce, so now we have lots of that. So the food situation is pretty good 'til next grocery day. I'm slightly Irked because my articles of clothing are becoming increasingly Too Big. So??? Have to figure out how to work the whole eating + exercise thing to actually maybe gain some muscle instead of losing more. I suck at eating though. Less relevant but my friend got me into making Pinterest Boards a few weeks/months back, and making one for my NF Character seems to have sparked a little bit of an actual story that I'm thinking about exploring further at some point.

I’m back from my wedding, honeymoon, and time off, and it’s time to get back to business. I had stalled several times on my big lifts the last couple of times I tried 1RMs, so I am starting the Juggernaut program for my lifts. Because of the adjusting to married life, some of the more familiar goals will be slightly altered. Let’s get started Strength: 8 lift days. I’ll be following the Juggernaut program. Distance: 6 Walking days, minimum of two miles each day. In another challenge I’ll put that back up to including some longer walks. Yoga: Any 6 NF Yoga Workouts. In future challenges I’ll tweak this back to where it was. Food: Cook paleo with no more than 3 variances. I’ll drop it back down to two soon, but I’m giving myself some leeway to adjust to marriage. Tracking is a bonus, but not yet required. Domestic Rangering: There are two of us now, and we are still setting up the new place. I’ll worry about cleaning in future challenges and make the goal some time each week working on unpacking and setting up. Let’s get to work!

Well guys, the worst part of my job just kinda overlapped with one of my goals for this challenge, hence the title. Let me tell you, sacrificing those suckers for research is the worst. You expect Pinkie and the Brain, but really you just feel bad about yourself. So goal one: Begging Forgiveness for the Crimes Against Murine Kind. Last challenge, I started the habit of praying mindfully every day. Admittedly, this is a stepping stone to a sort of epic quest I have been wanting for a while. I am beginning the process of becoming Catholic, and I'm setting everything into motion by the end of Zero Week. So this goal is read the Bible Three times a week while continuing to pray. Not just small passages, but good chunks. I need to understand more, especially moving into this. It's also terrifying moving into this for me, even though I know it's what I want. Goal two: Gotta Save Dat Money Aside from generally appreciating the comedy rap genius that is 'Lil Dickey, I need to be more mindful of my spending. Grad school doesn't pay the best, and I see some expenses on the immediate and far horizons. So for this goal, I'm limiting myself to eating out twice a week (travel weeks, this may be a bit difficult, maybe 3 times a week). Finally, Continue Strength I need to round out this waving volume cycle and identify whatever changes or adjustments I'll need before the RCIA courses start after Labor Day. I'm excited to see if this program can actually deliver on the expected 10% increase on lifts. If not, I'll adjust it to focus only on squat and OHP, hitting bench and deadlift on the in between days. Also, sorry guys, I'm not cool enough (or creative enough) to them my challenges yet

On the last Friday of this challenge mi Prometida and I get the keys to our new apartment. I'll be moving in June 28th, she'll mover her stuff in on July 5th and spend a few nights with her parents. On July 8th, we get married. In addition to the normal goals, i'll be packing my apartment as we put the finishing touches on the wedding. As you might imagine, I'll be sitting out of the challenge that begins July 9th, but I'll be back after that one. Goals: 8 Lift days. Straightforward same goals here. 6 Walk days. One 2 mile walk, four 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk. 6 Yoga Days. I'll do NF Yoga Water A&B, Fire A&B, Star A and Yin. Domestic Rangering. Do Laundry, Clean Kitchen, and bathroom, and mop and vaccum once per week. I'll have the added bonus of packing up. The goal is to be mostly packed by the end of the challenge. I hope to get the kitchen and bathroom set up at the new place on the Saturday of the challenge along with my bed so I can start staying over there before the big move. Food: Still to cook paleo with only two variances per week. No bells and whistles, this is the time to focus and get stuff done. In other words:

Wait, wait, wait. I worry what you just heard was "give me a lot of bacon and eggs." What I said was, "Give me ALL the bacon and eggs you have." Do you understand? I have not watched Parks and Rec much, but I love Swanson. I'm still going to be focused on getting enough protein this challenge (target is 200g or more per day) as my body seems to like a high protein diet. The other thing that's changing is I will add a decluttering/minimizing goal to my Domestic Rangering this challenge. I have a huge pile of stuff to get rid of, so it may be more about getting that pile out of the apartment than identifying stuff to throw away/donate, but I'll go through all my stuff once again. I'll be moving at the end of the challenge after this one (to the apartment where Mi Prometida and I will live after the wedding), so the next challenge will involve packing for the move, this one is about having less stuff to pack and move. Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays or Tuesdays and Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Mobility: 6 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, one sessions each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star A and Yin. I like rotating the sessions because it keeps me from getting bored and Water A and B are shorter, it’s nice having the option to do them on a rushed day. Walking: I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be six walking days, a 2 mile, 4 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk are the goals. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. I will also go through all my stuff to identify things to de-own, and get the pile of stuff out of my apartment. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. I’m going to track calories on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. The goal is to track, when tracking I find I naturally keep myself on target. As mentioned above, I’m not going to make macros part of the goal, but I’m going to try and hit protein goals as often as I can, my body seems to like it when I do that, both with my ability to perform while lifting and with weight loss. 200 is a good goal. I'll consider 175 to 199g marginally acceptable, 200 the goal, and to actually hit or exceed the protein goal set by MFP for the day as a bonus. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 8 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire B | Star B | Yin Walking: 4 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | Minimizing | Get rid of stuff | Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

Last challenge I focused on high reps on my weights, I’m going back to my regluar periodization program for this challenge. However, my focus this time is on Protein. I changed my protein goal in MFP to account for a larger percentage of my calories. I tried out a protein powder and have used it often to help hit my goal. Doing that means even on rest days I’m shooting for at least 200g. I have found that hitting that goal even a few days a week has produced good results. It’s not going to be a formal goal, but I tod plan to be more mindful of my protein intake this time around. Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays or Tuesdays and Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Mobility: 6 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, one sessions each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star A and Yin. I like rotating the sessions because it keeps me from getting bored and Water A and B are shorter, it’s nice having the option to do them on a rushed day. Walking: I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be six walking days, a 2 mile, 4 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk are the goals. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. I’m going to track calories on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. The goal is to track, when tracking I find I naturally keep myself on target.As mentioned above, I’m not going to make macros part of the goal, but I’m going to try and hit protein goals as often as I can, my body seems to like it when I do that, both with my ability to perform while lifting and with weight loss. ETA: I think 200 is a good goal. I'll consider 175 to 199g marginally acceptable, 200 the goal, and to actually hit or exceed the protein goal set by MFP for the day as a bonus. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 8 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire B | Star B | Yin Walking: 4 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

Last challenge I stalled on several of my lifts while testing my 1RM. I think several things contributed to this. I’m cutting slowly, and that can affect progression on lifts. I’m overweight, so cutting is going to take priority, I’ll take the gains where I can, but my waist needs to get smaller for long-term health, and I decided last challenge I’m playing the long game from here on out. What has happened so far is I’m stable on weight with my waist slowly going down, which I will gladly take as long as it keeps coming. Another factor I suspect is needing more lifting stamina. Therefore I’m going to do something I’m not going to enjoy that will be very helpful. I’m going to do a full four weeks of 5x10 on my lift days. I do a periodization plan that has you test your 1RM every seven weeks. The weeks normally fall like this Week 1 5x10 Week 2 1x10 5x8 Week 3 1x10 1x8 4x6 Week 4 1x10 1x8 1x6 3x4 Week 5 1x10 1x8 1x6 1x4 2x2 Week 6 1x10 1x8 1x6 1x4 1x2 1x1(at current 1RM) Then you test. As I said, I’m gonna spend four weeks at 5x10 to build some conditioning that will build a base for the heavier weeks. I spent the last week of the previous challenge at a de-load 5x10, and I will spend week zero doing yoga and walking the whole time to give myself a rest. My goals are as follows Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays or Tuesdays and Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wednesdays or Thursdays. The change will be all four weeks will be 5x10 as discussed above Mobility: 6 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, one sessions each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star A and Yin. Last challenge I did Star B for the first time, I had to modify a lot more of that session than I did of Star A, so I’m going back to Star A for the time being to build some flexibility. I like rotating the sessions because it keeps me from getting bored and Water A and B are shorter, it’s nice having the option to do them on a rushed day. Walking: I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be six walking days, a 2 mile, 4 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk are the goals. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. I’m going to track calories on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. The goal is to track, when tracking I find I naturally keep myself on target. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 8 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire B | Star B | Yin Walking: 4 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

As most of you know, I got engaged last month. The wedding will be late June or Early July. I’ve been getting stronger and more flexible for over a year and a half since I came back to the forums in May of 2015. I got faster for a while, but I realized I don’t like running, so I walk, but there isn’t a good adjective to describe such improvements (walkier just doesn’t sound right). What I ate was a part of my goals, but it was always vague, such as paleo 80% of the time. What I discovered was that even with paleo I can still overconsume, so last challenge I started tracking calories as well. The goal then was to track two days a week, and I have done way more than that. What I eat is the last part of the puzzle, while I am more fit, I am roughly the same size with a bigger waist than is healthy. I’m not going to over do it at first, the goal will be tracking three days a week. The bigger change is that last challenge I decided I am no longer a fat person, and therefore I no longer do fat person things. I am a healthy person, and therefore I do healthy person things. I want my waist to be healthy (and smaller) for the wedding. I know I’ll be stronger than than I am know, because, barring injury, I’m gonna keep lifting. I’m gonna keep up with Yoga and walking. It’s time to focus more willpower on healthy eating. Here are my goals for the challenge: Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays or Tuesdaysand Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wednesdays or Thursdays. This worked really well last challenge so I’m going to leave this unchanged. Mobility: 6 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, one sessions each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star B and Yin. Last challenge I and the one before I did Star A for the first time, this time I want to try Star B. Walking: I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be six walking days, a 2 mile, 4 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk are the goals. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. I’m going to track calories on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. The goal is to track, when tracking I find I naturally keep myself on target. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 8 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire B | Star B | Yin Walking: 4 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

For the end of the year, I’m not going to change much. Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays and Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wednesdays. This worked really well last challenge so I’m going to leave this unchanged. Mobility: 6 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, one sessions each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star A and Yin. Last challenge I went from 8 yoga sessions to six to add two walking sessions, I’m happy with this balance. Walking: I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be six walking days, a 2 mile, 4 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk are the goals. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. I’m going to track calories on Mondays and Tuesdays. This is to warm up to tracking more regularly next year. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 8 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire B | Star A | Yin Walking: 4 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

Last challenge went well, so with a few minor adjustments I’ll be continuing with a winning formula. Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays and Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wednesdays. This worked really well last challenge so I’m going to leave this unchanged. Mobility: 6 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, one sessions each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star A and Yin. This went well last challenge with 8 but I want to free up some days for walking so I’m dropping two yoga workouts. Likely days for Yoga will be Tuesday and Friday. Walking: I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be six walking days, a 2 mile, 4 3 mile walks, and a 4 mile walk are the goals. I wanted to up this a little from last time to balance it with yoga.. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 6 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire B | Star A | Yin Walking: 6 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

Last Time: F A I L. Not sure what happened. Time got all scrambled again. Brain is a bag of fish. Started taking supplement, it hasn't helped so far but it might still do something. Options will be re-evaluated once the supplement runs out, according to the results. In the meantime, time to get up and try again. again. This Time: Unfortunately for everyone who knows me, I finally saw Captain America: Civil War. Have not yet stopped screaming about Bucky. My brother is probably going to punch me through a wall if he hears me say 'Bucky', 'Avengers', 'Civil War' or 'Sebastian Stan' one more time. Bucky Barnes, man. Most personally relatable character since Merlin. Also utterly heartbreaking and everything about him makes me want to cry. Also gorgeous. Currently at the forefront of my ever-shifting lineup of most favorite/pondered/analyzed characters. Largely due to being the most recent to grab my attention. (Note: if anyone wants to shriek and flail or even actually calmly talk about anything related to Bucky or Civil War or anything of that sort (hell we can even talk about Jefferson) please. I'm here fo dat.) Logical Course of Action: We bout ta do a Bucky Challenge. The Set-Up ____________ It's become apparent this week that I'm on unsteady ground and will have to shrink my theme to suit. Gonna run this Challenge in two sections; Maintenance and Missions. (ERROR: currently in a quagmire again, not sure how this is going to go, will edit this for better stuff once I no longer feel like crying hysterically for no reason)

Wow, the last four-week challenge flew by. That's probably a good thing, since I got back into the Nerd Fitness groove. I successfully finished a challenge, which was always a struggle. I got some good reading done. I got back into regular workouts. I ate out less. I did a lot of walking. It wasn't a perfect 100 percent, but it was a good improvement. The one thing I didn't do enough of was spend time on the forums and enjoy my fellow Rangers' good work. I'm hoping to change that this time. Enter: SEA LEVEL XIII: Back in the Saddle Most of my goals are the same this time around, since I want to keep consistent with last challenge. Here's what's up: 1. Do the Work. Bodyweight Workout 3x weekly. Last challenge the goal was 2x weekly, but I did 3x weekly on the last week, so I'm going to up the numbers. I can do it. 2. Get Inverted. Handstand practice 5 minutes 5x weekly. I saw the Beginner Guide to Handstands article recently. I tried handstand work in past challenges, but it was never consistent. I can spare 5 minutes 5x a week. Get to it. 3. Moar Vegetables. Eat a serving of vegetables at dinner 5x weekly. The veg is the toughest for me to keep with. 4. Get to Work. Walk to work 2x weekly. I really enjoyed my walks last challenge. 5. Brain Workout. Read for 20 minutes 4x weekly. Keeping with reading and learning new things. 6. Community. Post on my own NF thread and follow up on Rangers' threads 3x weekly. Gotta keep with the team. Let's punch it.

After over a year with the same goals, it’s time to change things up. For most of Zero Week I’ll be gone for CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMP! So I might change things some when I return. One of the biggest changes is I’m not going to run anymore. I’ve been slowly transitioning from running to walking anyway, so I’m just gonna run with it, or not, so to speak. I’m also lowering the number of lift days from 10 to 8 and upping the Yoga. It will still work out to 20 workouts in a 4 week cycle (before it was 10 lift days and 10 rund days). Domestic Rangering and Eating will stay the same. I’ve also bid farwell to the progress bars. They aren’t supported anymore, and until they are it’s time for something new. I will still keep track of my goals in the signature, however. Strength: 8 lift days. Pretty straightforward here. I will do Bench and Squat on Mondays and Deadlift and OverHead Press on Wedensdays. I had been doing Deadlift and bench on Fridays without the last set, but with ten lift days that worked out to every other Friday anyway. I have also subbed bodyweight routines or yoga on Fridays because I can do them from home. Now that I have Mi Novia, I want to be done with working out on Fridays by the time she’s free. I’m really not giving up that much here. Mobility: 8 NF Yoga workouts. I’ll do one session each of Water A and B, Two Sessions Each of Fire A and B, and one Session of Star A (attempted) and Yin. I’ve noticed it takes a little longer to recover from lift days, both I think as a result of being 35 and of starting to lift heavier. It was getting to the point where my gainz were stealing my cardio (I couldn’t run as much after a heavy lifting day). This should bring about better recovery and more flexibility, which is always important when working out to prevent injury. Likely days for Yoga will be Tuesday and Friday. Walking: While I haven’t run much, walking is still enjoyable. I have great places to walk, so it’s not hard to get out and do. There will be four walking days, a 2 mile, 3 mile, 3 mile and 4 mile walk are the goals. Depending on how that goes I’ll adjust for next challenge. I’ll foam roll on walking days. Thursdays will likely be the day I walk. Domestic Rangering: Still the goal here to do laundry, clean bathroom and kitchen and mop and vacuum once per week. Eating: I will cook paleo and only allow myself two variances per week. This seems to be working, the trick is not to use a variance to go crazy. (Will start tracking on Monday of week 1, Sunday I'll be flying back home and don't want to have to worry about Paleo in the airports. Here’s what I’ll use in the signature instead of progress bars. Strength: 8 Lift Days _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mobility: 8 Yoga Days Water A | Water B | Fire A | Fire A | Fire B | Fire B | Star A | Yin Walking: 4 Walk Days 2 Miles | 3 Miles | 3 Miles | 4 Miles Domestic Rangering: Laundry, Mop, Vacuum, Bathroom, Kitchen 1x Week LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK | LMVBK Eating: Cook Paleo with only two variances per week _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |

Greetings again, Rangers. I've been thinking about NF for a while, and I dropped in today (of all days), to find today was the start of another challenge. I find it hard to believe that I've only sat out one challenge. I've been gone too long. Over the last many weeks, things have gotten out of control: poor eating, gaining weight, staring at screens all day, little activity, etc. I'm pretty dissatisfied with my last several months. I thought I'd drop in to see what the next challenge schedule is, and it begins today. So there's no reason to wait another challenge to get goals put together. Today's the day to start. This isn't particularly a "Rangerly" challenge, but this is a more simple challenge to get me back to work. Here goes. Goal 1: Walk or bike to work 3x weekly. Goal 2: Prepare healthy meal at home 3x weekly. Goal 3: BW exercise 2x weekly. Goal 4: Read 20 minutes 6x weekly. I'll expand more in coming days. See you out there.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ~ Intro ~ *Third time editing this hoLy c r o w * What's Going On: We have one more possible help for the Bad FeelingsTM, but don't get to order until early October. I'm really hoping that it works. But this Challenge won't be about that. This Challenge is about trying to get better at living with the Bad FeelingsTM and managing them. Which I've been trying to do pretty much all year and so far, not so much. But I'm trying again because I understand there's a chance they might not ever go away, and I need to be able to function. So I'm re-visiting what I know helps a bit, and also giving some new things a try. The main goal is to hang on and be productive instead of floating in this interim of waiting for potential solutions. There's also heckofalot of school stuff right now. Which is added stress that won't dissipate until it's done, so I really do have to at least manage well enough to actually get some effective studying done. Um...it's basically guaranteed there will be a lot of back-and-forth in this thread from reasonably cheerful to mega-angst to "I-don't-want-to-be-here" and all that...I try to refrain from posting that stuff but sometimes it feels better to tell someone...still, will be trying to manage that better too now the Challenge has officially begun. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ~ Set-Up ~ Okay, one of the shows I've recently been sucked into is Voltron: Legendary Defender. A friend watched it with serious enthusiasm, but I thought it sounded corny and stupid even if the fanart she was posting was fabulous. Then an acquaintance started to watch it and complained for the first half or so of the series, but then her tone changed and before long she was really into this show an just completely won-over. So I watched it with my brother and we thoroughly enjoyed it, even if there was a nasty cliffhanger. Several weeks later, I'm being buried under plot ideas for fanfictions. Thought I had avoided that, but no such luck. Anyway, in Voltron, you've got your villain, Sendak, who takes over basically the entire universe and proceeds to rule for 10,000 years. After a certain point, all resistance stops and he's just left to do his thing. Then these five adorable Earth children rescue a guy who just got back from having been abducted by aliens, find a gigantic blue robot-lion, wind up on a foreign planet, find four more giant robot lions, and become the main resisting force against the villain and his army of really cute but also hideously evil minions. So we've got teenagers piloting colorful cats around space while they fight evil purple koala-cats. Sounds intense, right? These kids are called Paladins and, for the next four weeks at least, that's my class, too. Each Paladin has different skills, flaws, strengths, weaknesses...they also each have their own Lion that they can operate independently, as well as a unique weapon. The coolest thing, though, is when they form Voltron. It takes all five of them to do that, so if even one is missing, or out of sync with the others, it's just not happening. Similarly, it's going to take all of my goals working together to make any real, solid progress. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ~ The Challenge ~ Each week, there will be a new Villain to fight, each one stronger than the last. For every Task I complete, I earn Attack Points, which lower enemy Health. In turn, failure to complete Tasks earns Attack Points for the enemy, lowering my Health Points. There are also Bonuses to be unlocked, which will come especially handy in later Battles. Scoring: Task Completed = +1 AP Task Failed = -1HP Combo - two or more Paladins' full Task Lists completed. = +5AP per Paladin Form Voltron - all tasks complete. +25AP Bayard Bonus - Paladin's Bonus Task Completed. = +10AP Coran Bonus Quest - +10HP. Can be stacked. Paladin's HP are tallied independently. Voltron's is their cumulative total. HP does not reset between Battles, but may be recovered through Bonus Tasks. If a Paladin reaches 0HP, they are Unconscious until the next day, and a -5AP penalty is incurred. If all Paladins lose consciousness, Voltron falls and the Overall Challenge Score goes down. Downtime: Even Paladins of Voltron can't always be fighting Battles! Saturdays and Sundays are Permitted Rest Days. All non-essential Tasks are optional. There are Five Permissible Days of Weekday Leave which can be used at any time, but not consecutively. If by some miracle an enemy is defeated early, Idk man didn't plan for that. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ~ Goals ~ Keith: The Red Paladin. Guardian of the Spirit of Fire. Said to fight like a Galra Soldier, his Primary Trait is his skill in battle, and the fierce conditioning required. He will represent the 'Body' quests: Walk two miles Workout 100 oz water Track food Do not cause injury Bayard Bonus: Run One Mile Pidge: The Green Paladin. Guardian of the Spirit of Forest. Pidge's Defining Trait is her intellect, particularly concerning her affinity for all things technical. She will represent 'Mind' Quests. Study Math Study French Study Spanish Study Italian Study Code Bayard Bonus: Memorize Times Tables Lance: The Blue Paladin.Guardian of the Spirit of Water. *info* 'Spirit' Quests. Plot/Write One Story Plot/Write One Fanfic Practice Hobby Journal Yoga Bayard Bonus: Organize Writing Life Hunk: The Gold Paladin. Guardian of the Spirit of Land. *info* 'Soul' Quests. 5 Bible Chapters Time in Prayer Keep up with Friends Read "Do Hard Things" Practice ASL Bayard Bonus: Complete new SaltLight Routine. Shiro: *Image Later* Week One: Reading Challenge Week Two: Improve Handwriting Week Three: Improve Posture Week Four: Positivity Challenge Coran Bonus: Clean Bedroom Clean Kitchen Clean Bathroom _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Will finish later because I really need to get to work and also find some food*

Last challenge I defeated the Decepticons (and started dating my girlfriend, hereinafter mi novia). When I was a child, for two whole years the Transformers came on at 4pm. G.I.Joe came on at 4:30. I won’t be using bonus points like I did last challenge, but I will change the number of allowable variances per week on food down to two. This will be my final challenge this year before CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMP which will be during week zero of the next challenge. Gung Ho: Gung Ho was one of the strongest Joes, not surprising since he was a U.S. Marine. To be strong like Gung Ho I will get 10 lift days in during the challenge. Scarlett: None of the Joes were particularly fast, but Scarlett was always quick on her feet and defeated Cobra by having faster moves than any of them. To be fast like Scarlett I will get in ten run days. Roadblock: Roadblock could also have been the model for the strength goal, but he was a gourmet chef so I had to pick him for the food goal. As I mentioned above, last challenge I had a bonus goal of only using two variances per week and eating paleo the rest of the time. I was successful, and now I have set two variances per week as the normal goal. Mi novia is on board with helping me on the food goal, and we coordinate to use my variances. Duke: I return to using the leader of the good guys for the Domestic Rangering goal. Like most cartoons, the leader was my favorite character. To lead like Duke I will clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Lady Jaye: Lady Jaye was agile, doing all kinds of flips and rolls, and she had that nifty quiver of specialty Javelins. To be agile like Lady Jaye I will get any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Non Goal Related but necessary before Camp: Get Thor Costume Get Nerf Mjollnr to be Mr. Helpy Get stuff for Glow Party Decide whether or not I need new luggage and if so get som Here's All the GI Joe Intros 83-87 And before someone beats me to the punch, some of the PSA parodies. Second half

I want to turn it up this challenge, so I’m going to fight villains instead of emulating heroes. The goals are the same, but in order to truly win this time I need bonus points. What has to this point been victory will be required for a draw, and bonus points will be needed for true victory. I return to my favorite franchise, The Transformers, for villains to defeat. Ramjet: Ramjet was, unsurprisingly, a jet who liked to Ram into things. It took power for that ramming action to do any damage, as well as a hard head. He will be my opponent for strength. Again I will be going for 10 lift days, which is the minimum to break even. To defeat him I need to be stronger, so I need at least one bonus lift day. Skywarp: Skywarp was a Starscream clone with a different color scheme. Some exec wisely figured out that they could use the same molds for different characters if they made them a different color and gave them unique characters. I never could keep Skywarp and Thundercracker straight when I was a kid, and to this day I can’t tell which was which just by looking at them. Skywarp could teleport from one place to another. In order to defeat him I will need to be fast, so I can get to his destination before him. The goal is still 10 run days, but that’s just not to lose. In order to defeat Skywarp I need at least one bonus run day. Megatron: My other goals are really locked in well and more importantly the results from them have been forthcoming. Where I have been lagging is on waistline reduction. I have been successfully completing my challenge goals, which means I need to up my game in this area, which is why I picked Megatron for this goal. There is no doubt Megatron is a tough opponent, when he and Optimus went one on one it seldom ended well for either of them. I still need to cook paleo with only 3 variances per week. That will mean we fight to a draw. In order to win I need at least 4 bonus points, earned by turning in unused variances. I’m not going to try and do too much too soon, because that leads to failure. If it comes down to it I could always stay paleo while counting calories, but that is not a long term solution. Better to build habits of fewer variances, and the best way to do that is by making small changes. Shockwave: Shockwave was the guardian of Cybertron in Megatron’s absence, holding his post and doing his best to maintain the homeworld till energy was brought back to revitalize it. He also turned into a ginormous pistol. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. In order to win I need at least two bonus points, gained by either getting everything done on Monday or Tuesday instead of waiting till later in the week, or by going above and beyond the basic requirements. Ravage: This little bastard caused more trouble to the Autobots than many full sized Decepticons. Laserbeak may have been a better spy, and Rumble and Frenzy may have been able to cause earthquakes, but Ravage was so fast and nimble he gave the Autobots fits in combat. To beat him I need to be more agile. Any combination of Foam Rolling or NF Yoga Mini session 3 times a week for a draw, 3 bonus points needed for victory.

Sea Level. Back Again. I fell out of the challenges in the last couple months, and I have to get back to it. This will be a good one. I'm on two weeks leave starting July 17, just in time for the start of the challenge. I'm going to be on the road for most of that time, so this will need to be a challenge of simplicity--also to make it achievable. Goal I: Bodyweight workout, practicing push-ups, pull-ups/chin-ups, squats, and then some. 2 times a week Goal II: 10 minutes animal flow/hand balancing, 2 times a week Goal III: Eat a quality meal for dinner, 2 times a week. Goal IV: Read 20 minutes, 4 times a week. I'll expand this more soon.

Last challenge went really well for the first three weeks, and then some stuff at work really got under my skin. Some bouts of emotional eating combined with the long 4th of July weekend bumped up my weight by about a pound. I really need to take measurements because my clothes continue to get looser as I bike and run and walk. Mid-summer, like mid-winter, just doesn’t have a lot of events to look forward to enjoying. There are a lot of things happening near the end of August, but these upcoming weeks have the potential to really drag in the proverbial “dog days of summer”. And when I get bored, I tend to eat more than I should. When it’s hot and muggy, it’s tempting to stay inside and avoid any sort of workout. But not this summer!!! My main goal for the next challenge is to stay in control of my eating and keep in balance with my activity. 1) Plan meals, including fun foods and treats 2) Stay in points budget 3) Get 83 points worth of exercise each week (how many points does swinging a sword for a 1/2 hour get me??) Have some fun 4) Start archery (target) and practice on rest days 5) OCR training (Dirt in the Skirt round 2 redux) Summer ...... bring it, bitches!!!

This challenge theme is a nod to the fact that I FINALLY broke the plateau and started to lose weight again. So, I'm continuing the success strategies from last challenge but adding in some fun randomness based on the board and iPad game Galaxy Trucker. I'm also continuing (and pledge to do a better job of writing consistently) my RPG Jedi story. Given the amount of time I spend on the bus most days, I should be able to craft the day's activity and challenges into a tale worth telling. Goal #1 - Stick to my Smart PointsTM budget for each day and week This has generally been pretty easy, although some days, I am really freakin' hungry and there's nothing worthy of eating for a snack. The new Weight Watchers points system really rewards similar food choices to the NF or Primal diets .... but I like the clear budget numbers and the fact that nothing is off limits .... you just pay for indulgences. Sounds like life. Goal #2 - Finish C25K training program (again) I'm into week 4 in preparation for a fun run in July. Goal #3 - Round 2 of Dirt in your Skirt training program It's my adaptation of Margaret Schlachter's suggested program. It takes 28 days .... seems like kizmet. I'm increasing the number of reps for each body weight exercise. And I have made cards for each of the usual obstacles in a Warrior Dash. Between the 28-day program and my random daily draw, I'm be working up to facing the "gateway" OCR next year. My biggest challenge is - honestly - a nasty fear of heights. Goal #4 - Celebrate Summer Daily This is a quality of life goal and is a bit vague. Depends upon the day, what will speak to me of those long, lazy days of summer?? Reading on the porch, swinging in the hammock, getting on my bike, going for a swim?? I don't know, but I'll report and .... hopefully ..... remember pictures. Goal #5 - Keep on Truckin' MOAR RANDOM exercises tied into the RPG story. I am boarding a new fangled freighter, bound for adventure to assist on a nice, quiet blue milk run out among the stars. Week Zero (which we are in) involves repairing the ship and preparing to lift off. Then, the fun begins.

Two challenges ago I did a Thundercats theme. The SilverHawks are basically Thundercats IN SPACE! It’s the same animation studio, same voice actors, same formula, similar characters, a bad guy who transforms into a more powerful bad guy, with a cowboy colonel who flies a spaceship. What’s not to love? While Thundercats had more staying power and was probably the better cartoon, I do prefer the theme song from SilverHawks. As an added bonus, here’s the first episode. Steel Will: No surprise that the Silverhawk whose face mask is a football facemask is the strongest. Again I will be going for 10 lift days. For zero week I’ll be doing NF yoga when I would normally do lift day to let me recover from my gains from last challenge when I finally put the total of my big three lifts over 700 (got it to 715). Next on the horizon is 800. Steel Heart: Steel Heart is also strong, but I needed someone for the speed goal. 10 run days. At the end of last challenge I dropped plans to train for a 10k so I could focus on a faster 5k time. I’ll be working through a 5k training program on Runkeeper that will run through the challenge. Commander Stargazer: While Commander Stargazer’s upgrades are from a previous generation of tech, he sits around in headquarters so he might as well be cooking (plus I never liked the copper kid that much). I’m going to stick with my goal of cooking paleo and no more than three variances a week. Quicksilver: Quicksilver was the leader (despite the fact that he was a lieutenant and bluegrass was a colonel) and I usually pick the leader character for Domestic Rangering. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Quicksilver was my favorite, as I generally gravitated towards the leaders of these cartoons as my favorite characters. Bluegrass: Bluegrass was the pilot of the Mirage, the spaceship the Silverhawks flew in. He didn’t have wings, but he make up for it with a weaponized electric guitar, becuase 80s. Any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Here’s episode 2 so I don’t leave you hanging.

It's May, and unfortunately, I'm still up on that damn plateau. 164 pounds. Yes, my jeans are getting loose. (Go me!!!) Yes, I'm finding that I can trot up the stairs (with a pack on) instead of crawl up them (really, I never crawled .... just wanted to). Yes, I am attacking days with more energy and resolve than I have in oh, about 10 years. (And I warn people in my office that I AM A SHARK. They think I'm cute and energetic.....what do they know???) But sooner or later, that scale IS going to reflect the new reality. Or else!!! So, I need to exert discipline - train harder and sacrifice things that are holding me back. (Yes, I'm looking at you, wine and pizza. Don't think I didn't notice that you account for the majority of my calories each week.) I really need a big, solid goal to work toward that puts me back into the "training for" mindset: Warrior Dash 2017!!!! Soon enough to be serious, but far enough away to be feasible. I'm taking Margaret Schlachter (from Dirt in Your Skirt) as my Jedi Master. Her book is an easy introduction that is getting me started. There's probably better, more in-depth books out there, but I don't want to become an underpants gnome. I've got enough to get started and a year to work on upper body strength and agility. And mental toughness. Getting off the plateau (Get down to 162 lbs or less) It can be difficult to find your way down if you've lost the trail. Trust me, I get lost fairly often on hikes, and I know this to be true from experience. So, what's the plan????? 1) Use your body!!! 28 days of OCR fitness training, based on Schlacter's example workout .... which is mostly bodyweight training. That schedule includes rest days, and I've already planned out how to gradually increase the challenge over the coming year. Plus, it also involves preparing to run 5K, which will keep me in training to do fun runs, like the Color Run and a Zombie Run. 2) Embrace the obstacles in front (or below) you. Do obstacle-specific training. Every non-rest day. I'd randomize them, but I'll have to allow for passing on exercises that require equipment that isn't readily available on that day ... like the bouldering wall at the campus gym. 3) Keep moving!!! It's one of my favorite ways to tackle a dungeon. It's not efficient, but it eventually you will get out. Or die, which is another way of finding the way out on the corpse run. In this case, increase step count to 11K per day. And don't die. 4) Travel light. (That's what I'm trying to do here .... Didn't you see the goal above? Oh yea, I did see that. But do you realize that you're talking to yourself???? Must be the heat and dehydration. You better get off this plateau. Yea, like I'm not trying .....) Keep net calories at 1375 per day BUT distribute over 5 or 6 smaller meals each day. 5) Live off the land!! (Cuz there ain't much cake and ice cream up on that there plateau.) Increase protein. It's at 75 grams average right now, which is low for trying to build muscle. Aiming for 82 grams. I think protein powder is going to be my new friend. And low sugar jerky. And salad greens and carrot sticks. Cut out the wine, eat less pizza even on Friday, and fill up on fruits and veggies.

This will be the second Tranformer’s themed Challenge of the year, again based on my favorite Cartoon Franchise. This will take a look at one of the most popular sub-groups of autobots, the DINOBOTS! Someone took a look at transformers, which was already awesome, and said, “You know what? Kids like dinosaurs. Let’s make robots that turn into Dinosaurs.” That person was a genius! I remember in Kindergarten we identified Dinosaurs not by their species’ names, but by the dinobots they resembled. We, Rangers, now am look at goals. Sludge: Me, Sludge am, uhhh. What word for whan can lift heavy stuff? 10 lift days. Sludge was the strongest dinobot, but not the smartest. Me, Tanktimus will lift 10 days during challenge. Swoop: Me Swoop, really fast! 10 Run days. Swoop wasn’t the strongest, but being the only dinobot who could fly in dino mode he was the fastest. Me, Tanktimus am going to Run 10 days this challenge to fly like him, Swoop. I’m part way into a 10k in under 65 min plan on Runkeeper. Rucking or Parkour can also count for a run day. Slag: Me, Slag, love eating decepticons! Eat paleo with no more than three variances/week. Me, Tanktimus, am eating paleo except can up to three times a week eat-not paleo. Slag need eat many decepticons to have fire breath. Seriously, how can you have a dinobots theme and not eat paleo? Grimlock: Me, Grimlock say DInobots need tidy headquarters! Domestic Rangering. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Me, Tanktimus keep Tank cave clean and tidy to honor them, Dinobots. Grimlock was Me, Tanktimus favorite Dinobot, both because him, Grimlock am leader and because it easier to pretend to be T-Rex in Robot mode because can stand on two feet. Snarl: Me Snarl Super Bendy, can crush stuff with tail and spikes! Mobility. Any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Me, Tanktimus am rolling muscles with foam of doom, and do mini-stretching so Me, Tanktimus can be nice and bendy. Dinobots: Attack!

Sea Level back again, with my May challenge. My April challenge kinda fell apart mid-way through thanks to lots of travel, visiting friends and family, and primarily a lack of schedule discipline. Even despite a lack of stability in the routine, I've been very pleased with the progress on my pull-ups and chin-ups. They will be a big part of the challenge this go-round. This is a copy-and-paste from last challenge. I am eager to get back to work. But for now.... I: Step over to the Abdominator, and I will shout slogans at you! (Workouts) "Push! Harder! Go past the max! Reach over the top!" Simple: Do 3 strength-related workouts a week. Mostly this will be (has been) bodyweight work. Push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, and all that jazz. Last challenge everything got better, and I'm particularly pleased with pull-ups. So there will be a focus on pulling exercises with pushing exercises thrown in. A longer-range goal would be to get into weight training. Maybe this will be a mini-goal to read up and get some weight programming, without collecting too many underpants. II: Come on, boy, think of a plan! (Handstands) "Come on, boy, think of a plan" "I'm tryin' Dad!" At least four times a week, I will practice handstands for at least five minutes. A mini-goal for the challenge would be to get comfortable with a pirouette bail. III: Isometric Exercise--Care to Join Me? (Yoga/Stretching) "I was just...uh, just stretching my calves on the window sill. Isometric exercise. Care to join me?" I do a lot of sitting at home and at work. I will do 30 minutes of stretching and/or yoga three times a week. IV: You don't win friends with salad! ♪ You do(n't) win friends with salad! ♪ ♪ You do(n't) win friends with salad! ♪ ♪ You do(n't) win friends with salad! ♪ ♪ You do(n't) win friends with salad! ♪ You do win friends with salad, if there's meat involved . But in my case, I eat enough meat. The goal here will be to eat green vegetables three times a week. Let's punch it!