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"Alright, now go fix it!" Orthos pushes Red1263 into a cave and after he naivagates through it for sometime, he notices strange things around him. Rocks are starting to float? He himself doesn't feel anything different so he keeps pressing onward, making note that the floating rocks are getting bigger and bigger, until he comes across a chasm. In the middle of the rocky abyss, he sees someone floating on a platform , he's moving around, almost as if he's struggling. "Hello? I was sent here to help... you?" The figure sees Red1263 and then stretches his hand towards him, the figure says something but Red1263 can't hear him, after a brief moment Red1263 starts to float! "What the?! What are you doing?!" The figure's hands motion Red1263 to move towards him and Red1263 is pulled towards him at an accelerating rate! "You have to... Help me! Gahh-- It's... at... att.. Attack with Silent Cry! Gravity!-- No! Wait!" and with that incantation, Red1263 suddenly flies towards the ceiling! Crashing into the solid rock foundation, feels as if he is being squished underneath a giant's foot. "GAHH! What... are you... doing to me!?" "Land of Mercy, loosen your tight fists! Float!" The Figure chants! Suddenly the crushing force dissipates and Red1263 gently floats back into the sight of the figure. "I'm sorry. It's hard to restrain myself, I've been bewitched with a Confusion spell. You have to help me! Please! It's hard to... resist!" "OK OK! How can I help you? Just tell me what I need to do! And DON'T throw me again, or whatever it is you just did!" "Well, if I drain my magic and pour it into you the Confusion will e... err... Earth's Anger running through my arms! Earth Slash!" The Figure with clenched fists swings towards Red1263 causing his floating body to be launched into the wall! "Oh no! I'm sorry! It's just... I can't control myself I need to render myself unconscious! Quick! Take my Gravity magic!" Once air had gotten back to Red1263's lungs he was able to wheeze out a, "...I think I can help with knocking you out..." before feeling an unsurmountable power being transferred into him. Being engulfed in magic he's completely unprepared for, Red1263 feels his entire body grow heavier and heavier with each moment. He glances towards the Figure and sees that he's unconscious, his once red armor is now blue and... He forgot to tell Red1263 how to give him his power back! "Gah! I've... gotta... control this power... My body is... So heavy... I need to move! I've gotta over come this gravity pull! Goals! Pull-ups: "I know! I can get a grip on this power, this way!" Re-introduce Pull-ups on Wednesday when I'm at the gym; Endgoal: 5 Pull-ups consecutively Planks: "Gah! This power is pulling me to the ground! I need to hold myself against it!" Planks on Friday after the warm-up' Endgoal: 3 sets of 1 min plank Eating more greens: "Of course, I can just not weigh so much! Genius!" Salads and/or Greens with every meal! Endgoal: 10 lbs loss

I have gone back and forth probably about a million times on whether or not I wanted to do this challenge; obviously you can see which side won. Content Warning for depression and anxiety. Last challenge did not go well. Near the end of December, depression and anxiety hit me hard. Within a few weeks, insomnia set in and progressively got worse. By mid-March, I was so sleep-deprived I often felt sick and dizzy and was often terrified to drive because I could not see or react properly. I have dealt with anxiety for all of my life, and depression for about half of it, so those were not new, but I had never experienced insomnia quite to that level before. I have been working hard to try and manage my mental health in healthy ways (opposed to the unhealthy coping mechanisms of my past), but it has seemed that everything I have tried either did not work, or provided minimal or temporary relief. Over the last few months with the added insomnia, things spiraled and became crippling. I have refused to even consider taking medication for years and years, but a few weeks ago I finally reached a breaking point. I felt it was time to try it. If there is a chance it might help get my life back, I have to at least TRY. For those of you unfamiliar with anti-depressants. They are no quick fix. They often take anywhere from 4-12 weeks to start working fully...but the side effects tend to start overnight last for the first 2-12 weeks. I am now on day 16, so a little over two weeks in, and it has been a rollercoaster. Part of it has been physical - my side effects are mild, but still unpleasant. And some of it has been mental - I have always thought of myself as someone who "didn't need medication", and opening myself up to taking medication has been a journey. I still haven't told more than my husband and a friend about it, until now, of course. In some ways, taking medication makes having mental health issues feel more real. Mental health is still something I struggle to talk about, despite how much it has impacted my ENTIRE life. Anyway, this journey just so happens to coincide with a pandemic that is sweeping the planet right now, and like many of you in the US, I am under a shelter-in-place order. I have been furloughed by my company, which means I have been out of work for two weeks, and will be out for at least another week, maybe several more. As frustrating as all this is, it has at least given me some time to suffer through the initial side effects of the medication outside of the office, and more importantly, it has given me some MUCH NEEDED time to work on my mental and physical well-being. I would love to say that I have spent the last two weeks out of work just accomplishing all the things. But I haven't, and I have to keep reminding myself that is ok. It is ok that a lot of it was resting and just letting my brain be what it was going to be. It is ok that sometimes the most productive thing I did in a day was read for an hour and clean off the kitchen counters. It is ok that I have not been as active, productive, or creative as I wanted to be. Because the last two weeks have been a journey of off-loading my over-loaded brain. But, I am starting to feel a little better. Some days are still TERRIBLE, but I am starting to have more ok days again too. I am starting to have days where I feel more motivated and productive, more hopeful, more active, more myself again. And I feel like I am ready to try another challenge again, even if I am a bit late to the party. Goals: Physical: Plank for as long as you can at least once a day - starting time 50.9 seconds (4/4/2020) Stretch for at least 10 min, 4x a week Walk for at least 10 min, 5x a week Mental: Read 3 books to stay on track with New Year's goals The Dip by Seth Godin Daring Greatly by Brene Brown The War of Art by Steven Pressfield Emotional: Write down three things I am grateful for each day.

Weekly goals are better for me. I'm still wrangling my mental health, and today I even binged on 1,000 calories of chocolate. I feel overwhelmed, and although I want to 'make forward progress', I don't handle 'failure' very well. So. Refocusing. So, here is August-September's challenge: Each Week Averages Out At: * Some kind of business progress: course plan / client session / launch / resource made. (5 Overall) * Three Workouts a Week. Everything counts. (15 Overall) * Three Meditates a Week. (15 Overall) * 2,084 words written (10,420 Overall = 5 points) BONUS: Complete the #plankonitaugust challenge from the NFA Women's FB Group: a daily plank = 10 points Overall. FINAL SCORE / 50

I did it! I planked for 1 minute straight! I didn't even know it was a goal of mine, but I've been flagging in the time department and had to back down to 45 seconds because I couldn't seem to hit 60 seconds. But I just did it! I thought I was done, but just as I dropped, the 60-second timer went off. WOOT!

Hello! Anyone have a strong opinion on planking challenges? The one I'm working on goes from 20 seconds to 5 minutes over 30 days, but only allows for 4 rest days during that period. Obviously this is working the same muscle groups on consecutive days, but as it's strictly body weight exercise, I don't know how important it is to stagger these days. In this post, Steve says: "You don’t build muscle when you’re exercising, you build muscle when you’re resting. Generally I follow a pattern of strength training on one day, then 20 minutes of interval training on the next, then strength training, then interval training, and so on. You never want to do a strength routine two days straight (of the same muscle groups), as your muscles haven’t had time to recover." My question is, do I need to build in rest days every other day? One more very important detail: I'm doing these planks as reps, roughly one every hour for 5-7 hours while I'm at work. I'm not experiencing any discomfort or anything like that, but wanted to know what more experienced people think. Thanks in advance!

Overview / Motivation: Continuing on the same path from the last challenge since I am still seeing strength gains in my program. I ended up finishing Life as Sport during the off-week - I read through it start to finish and took notes, but didn't dig into any of the exercises. I wanted to run through it again, but actually stop to work through each of the exercises and build out the Life is Sport strategy and mentality. I think it will be very valuable for me. Looking forward to getting after it! Main Quest (revised for 2016): Hit the following benchmarks in strength and stamina: Bench Press 250 lbs. Squat 250 lbs. Complete 20 Pull Ups Side Quests: Average 3 Weight Training Sessions / Week Points Potential: STR +3 Grading: A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% F= Average < 80% Run 4 miles per week Points Potential: STA +3 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70% Average 5 Planks / Week - hold for 2:00 Average 2 NerdFitness Yoga Sessions / Week Points Potential: DEX +4 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70% Life Quest: Read & Explore: Re-read Life as Sport by Jonathan Faver & execute on all the exercises Complete Chapter 1-7 Enjoyment Exercise Chapter 2 Exercise - Review current goals Chapter 2 Exercise - Create my mastery map Chapter 3 Exercise - Identify my Power Values Chapter 4 Exercise - Complete Composure Experiment & Practice Chapter 5 Exercise - Complete Visualization Exercise Chapter 6 Exercise - Create my personal mantra Chapter 7 Exercise - Create my pre, during & post game routine Points Potential: CHA+5 A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70%

DAO Spoilers We saved the circle, big sigh of relief. I know Morrigan is not happy we saved it but we have our first allies! Wynne, the mage who helped us in the tower, has decided that life in the circle is not for her anymore and wishes to travel with us. Wynne’s alright and we can always use another to fight the darkspawn but she’s sort of old so I worry about her. She has some mad skills with magic though so that will help. Wait what... Once back at camp, Alistair suggested we go to Redcliffe for support next. With Loghain spreading lies about the Grey Wardens, we will need a powerful noble ally. Alistair seems convinced that Arl Eamon will be that ally. Redcliffe Village PT 1 - Gaining allies #2 I swear everywhere we go something is wrong. This can not be a coincidence! Redcliffe seems to have a problem with waves of undead attacking them as the sun goes down. "Walking corpses? Do you think it's something in the water?" - Leliana. The villagers have not heard anything from the Castle and fear the worst. I don’t blame them. Being the helpful bunch my traveling companions and I are, we’ve decided to stay and help out. We also need to get into the castle and this seems to be the only way to do it. "These people don't deserve what has happened to them. We must get to the bottom of this." - Wynne Help Redcliffe Villagers : Not everyone can fight and those who can, don’t seem to have the weapons to do it. Redcliffe Village’s mayor, Murdock, has asked that we help get the villagers prepared for a long night of undead battles. We will need to get weapons for those who can fight & food for those hiding in the Chantry. Food Quest: More protein : over 50g of protein (5 out of 7 days = Collect 1 supply bundle of food per week) Life Quest : No credit card spending & make payments: Villagers can only be helped if I don’t use my credit card. For every credit card purchase, 1 villager doesn’t get helped. Villagers helped goal = 25 (weapons) Take back Redcliffe & get into the Castle (Each week will have a different focus): Exercise Quest: 2 Cardio & 3 BWW Getting to the Core of the problem: Exercise Quest: Plank progressions everyday Front Plank (On Elbows) Plank (Push Up position) Side Plank (Elbow/Knee position)

Overview / Motivation: Keeping with the Arrow theme, now that I've escaped the island I am making my way home. Getting off of my 'island', I really want to explore my mindset and start to shift my perspective to one of positivity and optimism. I'm too good at letting the little things get in my way and ruining my view of situations. I don't want to be an energy vampire - I want to be an optimistic and charismatic person. As a result, on top of focusing on health related quests, I also want to keep digging into the mind and mental state and grow from that perspective too. I'm actually writing this up a week late since my wife and I just returned from our European Vacation. It was relaxing, but also had an unfortunate level of stress as well. We left for Nice, France a day and a half after the Bastille Day tragedy and I personally couldn't quite get my mind to fully relax until over 1/2 way through the trip. We almost considered cancelling the trip, but I am happy we decided to not let the fear around what happened stop us from going on our adventure. We did go on a run together while away, but I will be starting from a bit of a deficit going into week 2. Main Quest (revised for 2016): Hit the following benchmarks in strength and stamina: Bench Press 250 lbs. Squat 250 lbs. Complete 20 Pull Ups Side Quests: Average 2 Weight Training Sessions / Week Points Potential: STR +3 Grading: A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% F= Average < 80% Complete 1 - 2 Mile Runs per week Points Potential: STA +5 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70% Average 4 Planks / Week - hold for 2:00 Points Potential: DEX +2 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70% Life Quest: Read & Explore: Ryan Holiday's 'The Obstacle is the Way' Robin Sharma's "The Leader Who Had No Title" Points Potential: WIS +5 Grading Pass / Fail

In this Fallout themed challenge, the Wasteland Scavenger (that's me) must scour the wasteland for supplies, and be ready for danger at any moment. Though danger seems to have a (rather convenient) habit lately of regularly stopping by every Sunday. The simple version: Repair weapon condition by completing workoutsRegenerate action points by eating proteinCollect water by drinking zero/low calorie beveragesScavenge ammo by doing choresSneak up on enemies by holding planksDefeat the weekly boss and live to scavenge another dayThe complex version [edited Jan 09]:

Let's jump right into this thing! 2016, prepare to be rocked! Mercilessly! Quests: So I'm working towards a goal of doing my first pull-up. I want to become master of my body, and how my body moves. In my mind, pull-ups are the next step. Towards that end: 1) Push-ups. Real ones! Let me just copy a little block from the wrap-up of my first challenge, since I feel I covered the situation well there: So originally I wanted my goal to be 15. I've decided I don't have a good way to measure that, so I'll do this instead: My goal for this four weeks is to do at least 1 push-up a day, a real one, and try each day to do one more than the previous day. I have altered this goal slightly: My goal for push-ups for this four weeks is to do at least 5 sets of three elevated push-ups and attempt at least 1 floor push-up. (Thanks to Joshua T. for the elevated push-up suggestion!) I feel this is really an "easy" goal, but it'll be hard for me to do really. I've been trying, and even one real push-up is a total struggle for me anymore. I want to change that. (Suggestions for other ways to help build my strength to help with this goal are more than welcome, and completely appreciated. I won't learn trying to sort it all out on my own.) 2) Real food! Woo! Since I started living on my own for college, home cooked meals have been few and far between. I've stuck to mostly microwavable food for a long time now, with the (admittedly and thankfully rare) trip to a restaurant. (Not counting the work cafeteria as a restaurant.) My mother and I agree this is likely why I feel like shit off and on. Time to fix that. My goal here is to cook at least one home cooked meal a week. This will get me started on the road to home cooked meals every night, without overwhelming me. I figure weekends are the best time to do this, since I'm really learning to cook at the moment. (Yet my youngest brother is amazing at it. So much for the "Girls are great cooks" stereotype!) I think this will help with my feeling sick a lot, too. I think the pre-made microwavables I've been eating are largely what's making me ill. 3) Planks! I've come to find I really enjoy planks. I get a great sense of accomplishment when I do planks. Thanks to the assassin bootcamp mini-challenge I took part in over the break, I broke my longest plank record and made it to 45 seconds, and have been able to do so decently consistently. I want to keep pushing that limit, go for more. For this reason, my plank goal is to do at least a 45 second plank every night and each night try for at least 5 more seconds of plank. And to help me with this, I have my cuddle monster: Meet Umbreon, my three year old baby boy, and my adorable little workout pest. (He's certainly not a helper!) I've discovered that he actually does help with planks. Without knocking me over, he'll walk up while I'm doing planks and rub against my face. Takes my mind off the difficulty and helps me get more time. And totally not cheating because I'm still holding the plank! Distractions are an assassins best friend, when used appropriately. (And kitties are such amazing distractions. 4) Life Goal: Write every night to help relieve stress. So I've remembered lately what I did to help keep my sane during my fight with depression in high school: I wrote. I enjoy writing, no matter what it is. An essay, just whatever pops into my head, a story, lyrics to a song I'm listening to, anything! I've decided I need to get in the habit of doing this again, and my roleplays don't count. (There's too much discussion going on for me to get immersed in the writing.) To that end, my life goal is to write every night, one page if hand-written, and two pages if typed. Preferably, I'll do this not long before bed to try to help me relax to sleep, but if I get really stressed during the day I can do it whenever, so long as I get at least one written or two typed pages. Why so low a page count per day? Because there are days I'll have trouble finding the time for this. I want it to be continuous, uninterrupted time to help with the immersion I mentioned. The stress-relieving effect comes from getting out of my mind for a bit, and to do that I need to be immersed. A page should at least help me relax if written (There's something really soothing about the feel and sound of pen on paper. (And yes, I write my stories in pen. Yes, I am crazy. Thanks for noticing!)) and two pages should start getting me immersed if typed. Update schedules: I intend to update every night when I get home. (Work blocked Nerd Fitness, so I can't on lunch. Boo.) I found this to be a good way to keep my mind on target during my last challenge, so I'll stick to that this challenge. At the end of the four weeks, on the last day of the challenge, I intend to do a write-up of how I feel this challenge has gone, what I did right, what I could do better, what flat didn't work, and my thoughts for the next challenge. This seemed to work well for me last challenge, so I'll stick to it. As my beloved mother always tells me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

This PvP was spurred by a bucket list goal of Paul's (to do a Spartan Plank...aka. plank for 300 seconds straight) and I want to be able to do Chatarunga Dandasana and have a lot of strength to gain to accomplish that, so we decided to do this PvP. We do want to open it up to anyone who is interested too. Here is video on how to do a plank: http://youtu.be/TWpbe9nRySc Here is a 30 day schedule for those of you who are capable of that...I know that for me, it will be a much longer effort than 30 days, but I will use it as a progrssion guide. Let the Planksanity* begin!!!!! *term coined by SilverRapier, a fellow Rebel

I wasn't going to post yet, but you all got me motivated. So here it is...my first challenge as an Adventurer! I'm trying out a theme for the first time, so be gentle with me! The best part of Pokémon was always the training, so I'm taking a leaf from their book. Main Quest: Improve my posture (Also keep losing weight, but y'know, themes.) I’ve noticed that I can’t sit up straight properly when I stick my legs out in front of me on the ground, which is kind of embarrassing. I feel like basic human anatomy should allow me to sit up straight. Motivation We had a health fair at work last year, and a chiropractor was doing this fancy electronic back scan that had a proper name I don't remember. To my surprise, I had the honor of the worst back of anyone she analyzed that day! Apparently my shoulders are really tense and hunched and my lower back is very fatigued (*coughgargoylecough*). So I think strengthening my core will make a big difference in both improving my posture and my general wellbeing. Goal 1: Become a Plank Master - 4 plank sessions/week - 2 STA I used to be amazing at planks. I’d just drop and do planks all the time because they were fun and I was good at them. So to get my plank groove back, I want to do planks four days/week (1 regular plank, and a side plank on each side). I’ll start at 60 seconds total for each type and work my way up to three minutes each. If I hit that, I’ll start one-legged planks. I'm not counting the planks in the BBWW towards this total. Pikachu...doing the best plank his little Pokémon anatomy will allow. Goal 2: Yoga Yoga Yoga! - 3 yoga sessions/week (with one focused on back/core) - 2 DEX I find myself sitting up straighter after even one yoga session targeting the back and core, so I want to see how committing to it regularly can help me. I’ll do three 15-30 minute sessions per week, with at least one specifically targeting the back/core. Part of training for the Pokémon League is making sure you stay limber. Goal 3: Muscles - 3 BBWW (or 1 BBWW and 1 bootcamp class) & 3 10-minute core workouts - 2 STR 2 STA In my last challenge I did the Beginner's Bodyweight Workout twice a week, so now I think I’m ready to increase that to the recommended three times per week. I can also replace two BBWW sessions with a 1 hour bootcamp class when those are available to me. In addition, I’d like to get in three short core workouts per week. I have three (~10 min) core workouts to choose from - a clip from a retro workout video, a beginner Pilates workout, and a routine I remember from school, so I can vary it as I go. This shouldn't be too hard to squeeze in in the morning before work. Psyduck is psyched. Goal 4: Posture Training - focus on only posture for at least 1 minute/day - 1 CHA 1 WIS This one was inspired by Ferngirl’s advice last challenge about how she improved her posture. I’ll spend some time every day, whether that’s one minute or twenty, focusing on nothing but my posture. I’ll sit up straight in a chair or do the standing exercise Steve describes here. For healthy Pokémon, good posture feels like floating. Reward Sitting up properly would really be its own reward, but maybe I’ll buy myself a proper desk chair instead of the cheap fold-out chair I’m using at home now. Then I can sit properly instead of hunching over my laptop at the coffee table!

I took a break, got back on track, and now I'm ready for the kick up the butt that I need. I'm heading over here to the Scouts because this time round I'm doing more riding/running stuff, particularly hashes, cycling and walks. SMART goal: I want to hit 75-8kg by the end of the challenge, on my way to squeezing into my wetsuit at my upcoming family reunion. Because... My oldest sister was put up for adoption as a baby, and she tracked us down somehow (despite us moving to another country more than 22 years ago) and I'm going to meet her in person for the first time in August, and I want to be at my best when I do. To measure my success or failure - I have a particular pair of jeans that I want to fit into, rather than obsess over numbers. It's achievable, if I stick to my goals. Goals: 1. Complete the Darebee Hero's Journey (I'm 38% of the way there already - why fix what's not broken?). After that, complete a Neila Rey/Darebee workout every day for the rest of the challenge (balanced out with leg days, arm days, core, rest/recovery and cardio day), or start another one of her programs... I'll decide when I get there. (STR +3, DEX +2) If I miss a day, I must make up for it the next day. 2. Go on every hash during the challenge, regardless of illness, hangover or weather. (CHA+2, STA+3). They happen every second Sunday. I may flip a coin for the running or walking trails, but must jog at least 1/3 of the walking one, and run as much as I can of the running one. PASS/FAIL. This will probably be easier if I stop drinking, which comes into goal number 3. 3. If it's not paleo, don't eat it. Stick to the diet, drink lots of water or tea. No ordering take out. No fast food. No bread. No ice cream. No beer. Concession: rice (half a bowl) is OK if inescapable, because this is Asia. (CON+2, WIS +2) Measuring: logging food with a weight watchers app. 6 cheats allowed before failure. Water is being logged with plant nanny. Bonus Quests: 4. Early to bed, early to rise. Go to bed before midnight and wake up at 9am each day. (This is early for me, because I work from 2pm to 8pm) (CON +1) 5. Couch 2 5K (zombies) I'd like to start this again. Now's as good a time as any. (+1 STA), pass/fail for completing the at least 4 weeks during this challenge. So that's it. Let's do this thing.

Hi everyone! My lower back is bruised, I'm 99% sure it's because of an intensive plank workout I did yesterday (pushing my arms forwards as much as possible) which made me work that area quite intensively, I did 4 sets of 30 seconds with 1 minute breaks between sets. This morning my back was hurting, when I looked in the mirror I had dark bruises all the way down my lower back on both sides. I found this quite worrying, so I have a few questions: -Is this normal? I assume that it just means I worked too intensively which I'm not too worried about since it's the first time it's happened in that area. -What can I do to fix it ASAP? -What should I avoid doing in the future? -How long should I wait before doing the exercise again? Do I have to actually wait until the bruises are completely gone? I should probably mention that I ate quite a lot of garlic with a meal yesterday, and I've read that garlic thins the blood which makes bruising easier, I also get bruises very easily in general, my forearms are usually spattered with yellow after a karate class even if I don't remember any impacts on them. Thanks in advance for any help, Pierre

Well well well, we meet again. Having fought my way through the first challenge, I find myself standing in front of the most secretive and most shadowy guild hall in our humble Nerdville. It seems like a million eyes are watching me from the shadows. I knock on the door, and it opens. I'm ushered into a dark room, and handed a file. "This is your target." To complete my mission successfully, I will need the strength and stamina to physically confront them, the dexterity to escape, wisdom and charisma (and linguistic skills) to blend in with the locals. Main Goal: Build Strength and Flexibility, and Consistency Goal 1: Bodyweight training 3X per week STR 2, DEX 2 I will be doing the BBWW or a HIIT Neila Rey workout if I'm short on time. Goal 2: Daily Yoga 30 minutes of Adriene Mishler or Erin Mott's youtube yoga. (For the second week of the challenge I'll have no internet, so I'll just improvise with whatever I can remember). DEX 3, CON 2 Goal 3: Daily Plank (yesterday's plank + 10 seconds) My ultimate goal is 5 minutes (in this challenge). STR 1, STA 1 Life goal: Daily activity on Lang-8. 1. Study Korean for 1 hour. WIS 2 2. Correct someone's English post. CHA 2

I found this link to various challenges - superheroes in anything tend to grab my attention -- but what amazingly grabbed me more than Bruce Lee was the Five Minute Plank Challenge neilarey.com/challenges.html Is this humanly possible??? I am only a lowly starting noob and such a feat for some reason causes my eyes to go wide. Even more strange is that a dark evil part of me says "LETS DO IT!!" but my health-conscious savvy says "After you can make it to 15 seconds without swearing" What level fitness should one be to attempt this? Has anybody done it before??

Red and King Cecil journey forth to find themselves in a castle full of dark energy, the same dark energy that the Dark Knight was emitting. "So... Really, was he really supposed to be smo--" "For the last time, I don't know whether or not he's supposed to be smoking!" The two open the doors and King Cecil once again was shocked to see the person standing before them. "Hello, dear brother... oh, I'm sorry, I should rather say, King Cecil!" "But I don't understand, how could..." "Enough! Can you overcome me?!" BOSS BATTLE!! Red draws his sword. "Who is this guy?" Cecil too shocked to speak, instinctively draws his sword and finally replies, "My brother, Golbez." "Let us start... No mercy. Gravity!" With a wave of his hand, a black spheres of energy encase both Cecil and Red "GAAHH!!" "AARRG!!" "Ha ha ha, Haven't you realize that there are callings greater than Justice?" As they were both writhing in pain, the spell suddenly dissipated! "What?!" "You were careless!" a voice cries out. A man in black leapt from a window and landed between them. "I-impossible!! You were slain!" "I am my own Judge... and executioner! Come you two, we must finish him off!" Cecil and Red stood up, "OK... So who are you?" "Heh, can you not see the resemblance? I am Golbez, Cecil's brother!" Red looks at Cecil, giving him a confused look, "OK When this is all over and we're still alive, Someone has got some explaining to do! HIIYAAA!!!" (new) BOSS BATTLE!! "Fools! You need not hurry towards Death!" "He's just as strong as ever... Err, you are! I can still feel his gravity attack" "We must pool our strengths in order to defeat this imposter in a combined attack! You, Red! This is what you must do in order for us to defeat him!" You have to be as strong as a Lunarian! If you can achieve 20 Pull-ups then we stand a chance to defeat him! Str +2 Sta +2 You also have to remember what Cecil and Fusoya taught you! You have to maintain the strengths of the Past! Keep doing 50 Pushups each time and achieve 3 min planks! Str +1 Sta +3 "Grr... Why do my legs feel heavy?" "It's the Gravity spell, You have to overcome it with force! You must do Lunges and Squats with the added weight (like that of a backpack from the last challenge) Str +2 Sta +2 "So how exactly can we combine our attacks?" "Simple, we all must focus on the same thing, a cause or some battle cry!" "How about a Sonata?" "Yes, that can-- Wait, what?" "Then I'll master what I've failed to learn! The Moonlight Sonata!" Wis +2 Sta +1

MAIN QUEST To obtain the goal I set out to accomplish when I was 16. I want to get down to 137lbs and feel good when I see myself in the mirror. I want to accomplish this before my 24th birthday. (January 10) GOALS 1) Work out 3x a week (or 3hrs a week) A: Work out Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday - for 3 hours total B: Work out Tuesday, Thursday & TBD day - AND/ OR for 2 hours total C: Work out Tuesday, Thursday & TBD day - for undetermined amount of time D: Work out 2x in a week - for undetermined amount of time My plan this time is to complete the BBWW as well as my own 30 day Little Black Dress (LBD) or Plank challenge. I also want to try to run more. I was doing really well last challenge and then I kind of fell off near the end and only stuck to my 30 day challenge, then I ended up injuring myself and slowed my roll again. I hope to accomplish this and lose more than 5 pounds this time around. +2 DEX +1 CHA + 1 STR +1 STA 2) Drink Mas Agua A: Drink 5376oz in 42 days - 128oz/day, 896oz/wk B: Drink 4480oz in 35 days - 106oz/day, 747oz/wk C: Drink 2688oz in 42 days - 64oz/day, 448oz/wk D: Drink 2240oz in 35 days - 53oz/day, 374oz/wk F: Drink 1386oz in 42 days - 33oz/day 231oz/wk Last challenge I know I increased my water intake, but this challenge I have a gallon water bottle that I take with me everywhere and I plan to consume all of its' contents every day. I will use my kitchen scale to determine how much I drank every day if there is any left over by the time I go to bed. +2 CON +1 CHA +1 STA 3) Eat better. A: Paleo B: Home cooked every day, mostly vegetables, no bread C: Home cooked every day, smaller portions & with salad D: Home cooked at least 5 days +2 CON +1 CHA +1 WIS LIFE QUEST "Become an advanced DT/Sports/Therapeutic Bodyworker who is healthy and plays the role of a model therapist. I want my clients to take what I say seriously and feel confident that I know what I’m talking about when I recommend certain stretches/habits because I look fit and healthy." This life quest still applies. However I will be adding more specific goals to this. I have a deep tissue massage book and an anatomy book that I need to start reading again. LQ Goal A: Read a section of both books every day B: Read a section of either book every day (alternating books) C: Read a section of either book at least 5 days a week D: Read a section of either book at least 3 days a week F: Read any less than or equal to 2 days a week. +3 WIS +1 CON MOTIVATION My dresses are collecting dust in the closet because they're too snug Looking good GREAT in less clothing or & no clothing Finally accomplish the mission I set out to do 7 years ago I want to turn myself on when I look in the mirror Can't let my best friends get sexy without me And let's be honest, I wanna look damn sexy for my boyfriend current weight: 174.1 lbs goal weight: 137-145 lbs waist: 34" hips: 44" bust: 40.5"

The Ranger Guild Leader looked at GoodDoug. It had been rough, but he could see that the half-ogre was better off than he had found him weeks ago. It was a hard decision to keep the half-ogre back and focus on simple training, but it had been worth it. He now loked to have the strength and discipline needed to see this to the end, whatever end there was. The efforts of the guilds was showing, the influence of the corruptor was being pushed back here in the North, but reports were coming in of more insidious threats down south. The ranger guild leader would have to head down there to try and push that back as well. But he knew that GoodDoug was the key to ending the Corruptor. "Follow your instincts, trace the source of the corruption in you to find the Corruptor. Then, do what you have to do." "I intend to. And thank you for the time and training. I'll need all the discipline I can muster." GoodDoug shouldered his gear, then took out and inspected his shiny sword. It seemed so long ago that he had joined the Rangers, he hoped they would want him back after this mission was done. GoodDoug headed off, he knew what he had to do. == I took last challenge off, I needed a break and knew that it would have been folly to try and do a 6 week program at that time. I think the break did me well. I know what I want to focus on... and focus is the key word here. Rather than try and do too much, I am going to focus on a couple of things I need to get better at. Diet: My diet didn't completely go to hell, but I have been allowing myself too many cheats. The holidays are never helpful, and I'm glad I was able to enjoy some of the treats, but it is time to knuckle down and do the right thing. I'm going full primal, aiming for 90% compliance most days. That means no grains or legumes. I also need to stop drinking so much sweetened coffee. That will be the hardest part. I will limit myself to only one cup per day of sweetened coffee. I can drink unsweetened... but only one can have my customary teaspoon of honey in it. Along with that I will do IF on days that I workout in the morning. That means not eating until after my morning workout on days I work out. Compliance is 90% primal 6 days out of the week (80% allowed on the 7th day to account for going into work) and not eating breakfast until after workout on days I workout. I will also use the scale to measure this. I know, the scale is evil, yadda-yadda. But it works for me. I want to see a positive change on the scale, getting back under 200# and under 23% body fat consistently by the end. That is completely doable. Think of it as using a tool of the Corruptor to fight Corruption's influence. Sta +2 Con +1 Wis +1 Cha +1 Discipline: During my hiatus, I did the 28 day headstand challenge. Having one thing to focus on every day really helped. This challenge, I will do headstand practice every day as well as plank practice every day. That means every day, hardhat style. I will get a calendar and mark off every day I do both. I will never miss two days in a row and will do it whether I have time or not. (but really, it should take 5 minutes so there is no excuse) Con +1 Wis +4 Dex +1 Maintenance: Rather than focus on working out, I want to focus on habits and diet. So I will have a simple and doable workout goal for this challenge. I will run twice a week and lift once a week. If I do more, great! But I will not do less. Str +2 Sta +2 Life goal: Many of you may know that I am an avid gardener... well, I was and want to be again. Last year I let myself get distracted and my garden didn't happen they way I wanted it to. This year I am going to do it right. I will check my seedlings and garden daily. I will also get my old beds torn out and new ones in by the end of the challenge. Success will be determined by having new beds in and having the kale, lettuce, spinach and beets I started this past weekend in the ground and thriving by the end of the challenge. Finally, I want to make sure that I keep up with all of my friends here in the Rebellion. I've gotten so much form all of you, I want to make sure I am giving back.

Hi all, I'm hoping you can help me out with some plank/core trouble I seem to be having. Doing planks is super hard for me and I don't know why. I get all tremble-y almost immediately, and for some reason, it hurts my abs. Some background info: - After browsing this forum, I can see we're not too fond of sit-ups, but sometimes they're programmed at my box, so I have to do them. And I'm *really* good at sit-ups (legs in the "butterfly" position). I also have zero trouble with GHD sit-ups. - I also don't have any issues with back extensions. I can hold a Superman for awhile with no problems or do a ton of back/hip extensions off the GHD. - I can deadlift 220, and don't have any issues with pain (soreness, yes, but pain no) after doing a bunch at say 135. Coach says my form is really good too. - I'm 5'7" and 170lbs, so while a bit overweight, I don't think it's so much so that that is where the issue lies. So back to the planks. I'm keeping a flat back, not arching, not sagging, slightly hollow hold. But it *hurts*! (not in a super sharp pain way, or I'd just stop. I just feel like I'm going to cramp up, and I feel like if I breathe then I'll loose my position cause my abs will give out). Should I maybe work on a different exercise to strengthen that lower core more first, then try and come back to the planks? I also know that people here aren't a fan of holding a plank for a long time just cause, but it's still my goal to get to a 2 minute hold. Help! Please! Thanks! Pic of form below.

FITNESS As part of my Operation: Middle-Age Extension, I have three specific fitness goals for this six-week challenge: 1) Move my 8 rep bench press set from 135 to 170 -- that's a little more than five pounds per week. STR 4 | 170+ A 160 B 150 C 140 D 2) Move my unassisted pull up from (sometimes) one to a consistent four. STR 2, CON 2 | 4 A 3 B 2 C 1 D 3) Move my plank from being inconsistent 30 seconds to three minutes, to a consistent two minutes. Closer to washboard abs. STA 2, CHA 2 | 2 A 1.5 B 1 C <1 D All of these goals will require a consistent dedication to a workout program and a good diet. So I will not add any diet goals this time around. LIFE I have a collection of "everys" here. I will collect every receipt for every purchase. At the end of the challenge I will post my expenditures so I can find out where my money goes, cause baby, it's not staying is Savings. I will train handstands every day. Thanks for the inspiration for that, Steve. I will get up when the alarm goes off every morning -- 5:50 on weekdays, 8:00 on weekends. WIS 3 Get online more often to support my fellow Rangers. That seemed to be a challenge for me last time.

Mini-Challenge #2 - River River! We love River. But look at this ^^. How much strength and flexibility is necessary for this type of movement. What do we need to do to be like River? We need flexibility and core strength. Your challenge: Part 1) 10 minutes of mobility or stretching per day. Today - Sunday. Part 2) Accumulate X minutes of planks: Beginners, or those new to planks, aim to accumulate 2 minute per day. Intermediates, try to accumulate 3 minutes per day. Advanced Rangers, try to accumulate 5 minutes per day. ** You decide what level you're at. If you want to go even further, try to accumulate your time without breaking the time up throughout the day.

Ohkay, super new here... Had a variety of things I wanted to focus on, but had to tailor it to the access I have to equipment and what I can probably realistically manage in this first 6 week challenge. Can always ramp things up in the next one. GOALS 1. Planking -progressive program of 3/day planks, starting Day One on 30secs and building up to Final Day on 3:30. 2. Bench Press -current 1RM 65kgs. Want to boost it to 70kgs. 3. Pull Ups -improving my strength to achieve on Final Day 3x Unassisted Widegrip Pull Ups. 4. Squats&Lunges -take my program to 100 Squats & 100 Lunges (30min Time Cap) @25kgs. .Reason for plank goal: I believe in a strong core, and it will help with my pelvic stability, which I need to work on before I can properly Oly lift heavy. .Reason for bench press goal: I think it would be badass. Original goal was 75kgs (bodyweight) but raising my 1RM by 10kgs in 6 weeks might be a little bit ambitious.... I'd like to achieve all of these goals if I can rather than over-face myself. .Reason for pull up goal: Also badass. I can sometimes do 1 super-fugly leg-flailing pull up. I want to be able to do 3 really nice legit ones by the last day of week 6. .Reason for squats&lunges goal: While I can have fun going heavy with bench press, I have discovered (from my stint at crossfit) that I have extremely flexible hips, coupled with a hyper-mobile joining of the hips to the spine, which is currently not completely in balance and the surrounding supporting muscles are not working insync as well as they should. I was advised by my osteopath that I should avoid heavy lifting, but should keep squatting and lunging and so on, focusing on beautiful execution above all else, to help the muscles lengthen/tighten/adjust and so bring my hips back into the alignment that will allow for good strong even positions in weightlifting. GOAL NUMBER 5 I have been in a relationship that has turned toxic. I want to achieve 6 weeks of Cold Turkey No Contact with the other person, to give myself a reasonable chance at becoming strong again, and to remain strong in the face of any further dealings with them. Things got way off the path of being happy together, but there is an almost 'addicted' element to us that makes it hard to break free, and it's become impossible to work anything out that feels okay to both sides... I will not go back to that amount of sad, over and over again. While I don't feel like I can legitimately say "I want him out of my life for good", I can admit that I need some serious Me Time, and that he does too... I want to do that with as much determination as I will put into my other goals. From the end of the 6 weeks, I will see where I want to go from there. We both have a lot of things we need to work on, in order to be in a relationship together once more... Wish me luck, this one is the scariest challenge, to me...

No, I don't have an amazingly awesome introduction like some of the kick-ass ones I've read already, and I can't zoom out enough to make this like a game quite yet (I'll get there... my background story for my half-orcishness is already written ;D)... but I'm really getting serious about this... and for me, getting serious is something to take note of. > SO LISTEN UP FOLKS! < Goals: Fitness: Perform the Beginner Body Weight Workout (BBWW) 2-3 times per week. a. Complete 3 BBWWs per week for all 6 weeks (total of 18 workouts) and gain the achievement “Fitness Achiever (Rank 1)†(yup, just like in WoW! They motivate me in-game, so I'm going to steal it for my life!). Awards +1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON, +1 CHA (for being that awesome) and earn an A. b. 17 to 12 workouts will award +1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON and earn a B c. Anything less than 12 will earn an F. Fitness: Hold a plank for 20 seconds (may be modified if 20 seconds is too easy) a. How? I will work my way up in my BBWWs from the recommended 15s to 20s by gradually adding a second per week. b. Wait, is this really going to be challenging? YES! :’( c. Holding a plank for 20 sec in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd circuits of the BBWW will award +1 STR, +2 STA and earn an A. d. Holding a plank for 20 sec in the 1st and 2nd circuits (but not the 3rd) will award +1 STR, +1 STA and earn a B. e. Holding it for 20 sec in just the 1st circuit will award +1 STR and earn a C. f. Anything else will be an F. Diet/Fitness: Avoid dairy (including cheese), grains and commercially processed foods from waking through at least 5pm (normal dinner time). Goal: 100% Paleo when I’m eating on my own. a. How? I will eat only veggies, fruit, lean meat and nuts at work (brought from home - if I forgot to bring anything, then I will make it a fasting day at work). b. At home I will make a conscious decision about everything I put in my mouth with a focus on staying as Paleo as possible. If I can possibly avoid it, don’t eat it! c. I will also document my diet on my thread to stay accountable. d. Awards: A/B/C for 2/3/4 meals non-Paleo at dinner. Automatic C if I eat non-Paleo at work (exclusion: Jan 21st for my b-day). Life Goal: To get back to my metal weaving roots and complete an average of 1 project per week (6 projects in total). I shall post pictures of the final products as proof (location of pictures to be determined [FB,Etsy,here,etc]). Here are the projects in random order: * Make something substantial out of the stainless square rings. (bracerlet, necklace focal, earrings, etc). * Complete an adult sized chainmail necktie (and have someone who isn't my husband model it) * Make something awesome from the purple Wal-Mart beads I’ve been avoiding using. * Make something for Lindsey. (SS2018 bracer? stretchy colorful bracelet?) * Complete at least 3 more ring size swatches (with label-tags). * Finish photographing my jewelry and complete the set-up of my Etsy store! (I know it’s not making anything, but this is chainmail-related enough to count.) a) Either I do this or I don't. Failure of any sort (except in the event of injury) will result in an F.And there you have it! Thanks for looking and have a nice day.