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I realized when putting this together this is the last full challenge of the year...anyone else not ready for that? So...the challenge, which hasn't changed a whole lot...My inconsistency is consistent My main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good (to me) naked. I'm in a struggle with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. I don’t want this to be a focus for the rest of my life, I want to build some habits/routines so it becomes second nature and I don’t have to think about it. I also want to be around to watch my grandkids grow up and be able to do things with them, as well as things I enjoy as I get older, and I enjoy a lot of things! I work from home as an accountant. I have a full time job and a few side gigs, making sure I have enough movement in my day is important because it's very easy to lose track of time and I feel better when I move more! The Struggle is real! I'm going to take the time to do what I need to do, also making sure I get enough off-time, put in the work and effort that hopefully will lead to lower numbers on the scale as well as other health markers that are important. So I needed another G word because Guitar was not, and likely will not in the foreseeable future, happen…I do enjoy reading, and journaling, and often don’t take the time to do that, so ‘glancing’ at a book or journaling will count towards that. The Struggle... ( S )teps - ( T )rack - ( R )est - ( U )pdate - ( G )o - ( G )lance 5x week - ( L )ift 2x week - ( E )xercise (treadmill) 3x week - Done - 🌈 Not Done - ⛈️ I want to get my granddaughter's item I've been crocheting since before Xmas, finished. Yes, I’m still working on it. I have zero week to get this done because I will be seeing them in Oklahoma week 1. I want to get my bicycle fixed (tires are flat, not a tough fix) and take advantage of the bike trails around this area at some point when I have time. Pool and paddleboarding will wait until next year when it warms back up. My personal life is improving. I am doing my best to keep doing the same…therapy is a big part of this, journaling is another part. I'm going to continue doing this, as well as working on getting back to me and what I need in my life. Upcoming Items 10/22 - WINE Stem 5k 10/23 - 10/26 going to see grandkids 10/27 - 10/29 birthday weekend ride 11/23 - Thanksgiving 5k 12/16 - Reindeer Run 10k

GONE TURBO This is my second challenge in my return to NF. I decided to take a break from NF while I sorted through the pandemic, teleworking, and virtual relationships. It was a good plan, because each day presented new obstacles and challenges while navigating to best ways for finding time and space for fitness and karate training, adjusting to maintaining healthy meals at home, and staying productive at work and in my different self-development programs with the myriad of distractions. Planning a 4 week challenge would have been impossible, because I would be course correcting daily. I took my time and built new routines understanding that they may be temporary. Over time, I developed my new normal with virtual and hybrid Toastmasters meetings, virtual gaming with friends, moved to a new gym, and working a hybrid schedule for work with some telework built in. Some things have been able to return to normal such as karate training, DnD, visiting family and friends, and working on-site but with known risk. The biggest change came in July when I launched my own website: Journey2U.org . I started a blog and coaching business to help others. It is in it's infancy, but it is a project I have been dreaming of launching for a very long time. Having it out there, I am living that part of the dream and building a new future for myself and others. With all these changes, it feels like I am not just in a new world, but like I am playing a whole new game. I'm taking a page from the movie "Wreck-It Ralph". I've Gone Turbo jumping games. So now, here we go with another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge. As a Ranger, I tried to Do All The Things in World 1, my first extended stay at NF through 22 challenges where I learned how to develop and pursue health and fitness goals utilizing daily, weekly, and monthly routines. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a better focus for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in an Epic Boss Fight slaying some mighty big life goals. In World 3, I hopped over to the Assassins and continued to develop my fitness, getting my body in the best shape of my life, even with the Degenerative Disc Disease, Arthritis, Disc Fissures, and more. Through physical therapy exercises and karate, I have maintained my core and back muscles to ease the pressure off my spine, but in the end I defeated World 3 by transforming my life into a new form. With chiropractic care healing my spine, reaching the high ranks at karate, blazing through the new Toastmasters education program called Pathways, and working to complete Novice rank at IJRS, World 4 was something new everyday. I have moved over to the Monks to reach for more diversity in my workouts and culture as my physical and mental training focus has been more on my karate training. As I actively took on more responsibility of coaching, mentoring, and teaching in all aspects of my life, I formed a different me on World 5. Now, I have Gone Turbo into World 6. Every day, I just keep on L-I-V-I-N: fighting the good fight, lighting it up, and leveling up my life!  Challenge Lesson: "Relearning" I like themes so I'm going to continue with my karate dojo's creeds. The next one is for our Green belt rank. The creed is below: At Green belt, my dojo requires students to attend spar once a month. This is to introduce them to spar at a point where they have gained basic skills and need to start applying the skills. Students are also allowed to sempai classes at Green belt, though it is not required until Purple (3 belts higher). Here is where they start to learn basic skills in teaching. Teaching is not an easy task, because all students are different. Teaching is also easy, because you are essentially regurgitating what you know. If you listen to your own teachings, then you won't learn anything new, but you will solidify your understanding and enhance your recall of the information. This is what the creed means by relearning. Relearning is just practicing, or getting more reps. It is nothing special, but it is rather important when you want to build muscle memory or you want to improve your recall of information. The second aspect of this creed is to point out that discovery happens when you are silent and listening, because your brain can digest information and take time to wonder about it. You learn new things in your silence. If you are talking, then your ears will miss things. If you are talking, then your brain is focusing on things you know about. If you want to learn something new, then your first action is to ensure you remain quiet, so your brain can focus on new thoughts. These concepts are pretty straight forward for an adult, but for kids, they need to hear it, say it, and understand it. We have many young students who like to jabber all class and they struggle to pick up new information. Part of learning martial arts is learning discipline, where discipline applies to controlling yourself in all sorts of ways. Quieting the mind and focusing on what is important in the moment is one of the hardest lessons for young students to learn. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no end in Jedi training for every light cast a shadow somewhere. Instead, it is a journey of self-discovery and compassion for others. World 6 Level 4 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - Run twice a week. Include sprints and distance. Get on the treadmill if I have to. I may have to throw the stationary bike in every once in a while to reduce impact. STA +1, DEX +1 Walking: Fortify the Spine - 10+ min with good posture, daily. Do some stairs too. CON +1 Exercise: HIIT, Weight Lifting, and Bodyweight - 20+ min twice a week. STR +1, STA +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - Daily exercises. Focus on hips, hams, and splits. DEX +1 Karate: Training and Practice - Three classes a week plus every spar class I can attend, practice for 20+ min twice a week. DEX +1, STR +1 DIET: Lean Body - I need to lose some weight, which starts with what I eat. 5+ cups of fruits and veggies. Cut down flour and corn based carbs at lunch and snack time. Fill up on spring mix. Time to start tracking the weight loss and body measurements again. 163.2 lbs yesterday. CON +1 LIFE: Write for Journey2U.org website, Facebook, and blog every day. Publish a blog article once a week. WIS +1, CHA +1 Record gaming videos. Practice editing and publish videos. Record speeches and talks to build a Vlog library. Find a time to live stream on a schedule, even if it is just once a month. WIS +1, CHA +1 Epic Quest - Complete something EPIC! I want to be able to look back at my four week challenge and say, "that was the challenge I did X". My challenges tend to be a lot of the same old. I've given myself plenty to improve in small steps, but I also want to see big strides in the things I've been working on. What box can I check? What have I been procrastinating? What am I focusing on? WIS +1, CHA +1

My goal is to definitely chatter in here on a daily basis. Even if it's to say "Hi! I took a nap today!" or that I managed to finish four loads of laundry when I'm not posting things about the gym/working out/general health hubbub! So, back in February, my Step-dad and I joined our local gym. Since then, we were going every other day. I did skip a few days because 1) I wasn't feeling all that great mentally or physically or 2) I was feeling lazy. Lately, I have been far more diligent at pushing myself to go. Even if I'm feeling mentally exhausted or gross, I go because it actually makes me feel better. Much of my first month was cardio on the treadmill. Walking for 20-35 minutes and I liked it! Then I decided to do some weight training on the various machines they have there. I LOVE that. So, I'm going to find a happy medium as we are talking about working on going every day. Which I believe means I would do weight/cardio/weight/cardio throughout the week, or weight/cardio/cardio/weight. I think. I do know that tonight I am going to do some cardio because my muscles are ACHING after probably overdoing it the other night at the gym. Here is some info that I have either written down or recorded: February 3, 2018 Treadmill Work 199 calories burned 35 minutes 0.8 miles February 9, 2018 Treadmill Work 133 calories burned 25 minutes 0.63 miles February 12, 2018 Treadmill Work 136 calories burned 25 minutes 0.7 miles February 17, 2018 Treadmill Work 227 calories burned 35 minutes 1.17 miles February 19, 2018 Treadmill Work 154 calories burned 25:04 minutes 0.74 miles February 22 Treadmill Work 242 calories burned 35 minutes 1.06 miles February 27, 2018 Treadmill Work 229 calories burned 35 minutes 1.23 miles March 6, 2018 I want to note that some of the weight amounts may not be correct as I did not realize the weights have an adjustable handle to set it to 0, 5, or 10 lbs on top of what you have the lock bar set to. Therefore, these could be greater, equal, or less than what I wrote down. I also did not realize how you should set the weights when doing these as this was my first time going through them. I'm better informed now, I hope! 10 10lb leg extensions x 2 10 75lb seated leg curls x 2 10 10lb seated leg press x 3 10 75lb back extension x 2 10 35 lb chest press x 2 10 35lb pull down x 2 10 140??lb seated leg curl x 2 10 75lb calf extension x 2 10 35lb shoulder press x 1+5 Treadmill Work 78 calories burned 13 minutes 0.38 miles March 7, 2018 10 leg extensions 130lb x 2 10 seated leg curl 130lbs x 2 10 back extensions 180lbs x 2 10 seated leg press 130lbs x 2 10 calf extensions 130lbs x 1 10 calf extensions 180lbs x 1 March 10, 2018 10 pull down 75lbs x 1 10 pull down 85lbs x 1 10 pull down 90lbs x 2 10 chest press 75lbs x 2 6 shoulder press 20lbs x2 10 triceps press 210lbs x 2 10 bicep curls 85lbs x 1 6 bicep curls 85lbs x 1 10 row 75lbs x 2 10 seated leg press 140lbs x 2 My Step-Dad and I have become a great gym team and I'm really enjoying it!