Search the Community

Last challenge I rekindled my love for poledancing after the mess that was 2020 and finished my first semester of physiotherapy school. This challenge I want to deepen this connection with my chrome lover so I can finally feel strong like my true Norn self again. This will be a topic in my life until the end of August, when I will dance with my beloved bellydancing group in a probably very badass Viking themed choreo and I absoluteley want to look and feel the part. Hence: Project "Shieldmaiden". This time it will be a real CHALLENGE as well. School starts again at full force on Monday, also two weeks ago I started working in my sparse spare time (10h a week), so it will need a bit more planning and discipline to achieve anything these next few weeks/months. My goals are: 1. Be wise like Raven: Keep up with the good school work (this will always be top priority for obvious reasons^^). 2. Be strong like Bear: Do one (or more) movement things a day. Best case: Pole and stretching. Worst case: 15 mins of stretching. Bonus: walks. Also there will be bellydancing classes that also count since the endgoal is a bellydancing choreo. 3. Be strategic like Snow Leopard: Still go to bed at a reasonable hour (10-11pm-ish) and plan the following day before heading to bed. I will have a lot more early school days than last semester (that means: leaving the house before 7am - that is super early for me), so I need to keep my bedtime rather strict. * 4. Be loyal like Wolf: Try to keep up with my friend's challenges and post something at least 3 times a week (trying to be reasonable here xD). So more of the same things I did in the last challenges (sorry ), but with a new endgoal, a higher difficulty level and a slight Guildwars 2** theme. ^^ So grab some ale, my friends, sit by the fire and tell me of your heroic deeds!! *** *ahem, totally not posting this challenge thread at 1am or something... Oops. It's ok, I still have one day to get back to my usual sleep schedule. xD ** Yeah I know, Norn and Vikings might share some similarities, but are different things and neither do a lot of pole dancing, but it's my challenge and I get to do what I want with it. *** Or don't. I don't judge, you can also drink tea and sit there in silence if that is what you prefer.

I'm not new to NerdFitness, but I am new to the forums. Back in May, I started taking pole dancing classes, which remind me of how much I actually like being active when I find something I enjoy. After pole dancing for about four months, I realized I actually want to look like I pole dance. So yeah, I'm vain. But this motivation works for me. I have about 74 lbs to lose, and at 2 lbs a week, if I don't plateau, or gain any weight *fingers crossed* I can have that off by my birthday next July. Current habit changes I'm working on are only drinking water, going to pole classes four times a week (not that hard, I love it, just have to fit it in with my work/family obligations), and cutting out carbs for one meal a day. The last three weeks I've been pretty good about water, I only lapse about once a week, which I'm taking as a victory. The hard part is the carbs, because I eat every meal with people, and they ALL comment anytime they notice me eating something "abnormal," or just slightly different than I normally would, and it sort of puts me off it because it draws attention. I know I just need to get over it, but I'm such a socially awkward introvert, that for me, that's a lot harder than it sounds.

HAI GUISE! A quick introduction: I've been multi-classing this, that, and the other thing all my life, but I've been more of a druid at heart on the NF forums so far. Or at least I've been trying to be, in order to 1) turn my mind into something that isn't a pack of cats on PCP, and 2) to generally improve my mental health. 1 is an ongoing failure, but 2 has improved tremendously over the last year and a half. tl;dr, my physical health/habits were/are pretty good, but my mind ones were shitty, and I was doing Druid-ish challenges in order to fix the imbalance. So, why am I here now? Okay, it's story time. Some time ago, I decided to try a weekend pole dancing Boot Camp weekend class. It was incredibly fun, and I considered joining the studio where these classes took place on a part-time, one class per week basis. There was absolutely no way that I would register with the full-time package, though, because I had very little free time and wanted to save money. The upcoming pole competition was even more out of the question, for the same reasons. And then... Pole coach: "You did really well at the boot camp! You should compete at _____ :D" Me: "Ok!" Then that competition happened, and the pole classes (full-time, because why not) continued. I'm also a member at another gym where the owner and coaches will design your workout plan and help you get better at whatever you want to. The training is in a small group setting, which is essentially not-1-on-1 personal training. Since they can tailor your workout to whatever sport or activity you want to focus on, I figured "why don't I ask them to tailor my workout to the pole fitness/art classes so that I can get better, faster?" And I did, so now I'm seeing results and progress a bit faster. This is in addition to the coach at the pole studio having competed professionally for a long time. She knows the ins and outs of the sport, such as which moves should be taught first in order to make learning any future moves easier, and which competitions are worth going to, etc. Long story short is that I'll be competing at a fairly high-level competition at the end of March. If pole fitness/art was a MMORPG, one could say that I've been getting power leveled like fucking crazy. Anyway. The big thing holding back my progress in this sport/art right now is flexibility. My flexibility isn't too bad, but it needs to be better. Like, full splits (both forward and sideways) by November. NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING, RIGHT? But now that I've signed up for this, I have no choice but to do it. November is quite a while before March, but there also needs to be time for choreographing, practicing, making a costume...yes, costume, because this shit is like cosplay, gymnastics, and dancing all mashed into one sport and IT IS FUCKING WONDERFUL. I figured that, since my goals are specific to a more Assassin-y sport, I should do my challenge here this time around. Also, the mini-challenges look like an absolute blast. Goals: 1. Stretch every morning and night. (After my workouts, too, but I'm not counting that since it's already a habit.) Splits flexibility is going well. Shoulder flexibility is fucking shitty. Need to work on both. 2. Hydrate. I won't fuss about specific volumes and measurements because that shit's annoying, but I will make it a point to have 6 average-sized cups of water while I'm at work. 3 . Stop being stressed. Saying this is as fucking useless as telling someone who's depressed to "Just cheer up :D" though, so instead I'll de-stress by getting three massages during the course of this challenge. I was only going to have one challenge (stretching) and if items 2 and 3 fall by the wayside then so be it. Hydrating and stressing less both help increase flexibility according to some articles, so attempting them can't hurt. These things will also help with general well-being. Only the stretching goal will be graded. WEEK 1: X X / X X / _ X / _ X / _ X / _ _ / X _ (X/14) WEEK 2: _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ (X/14) WEEK 3: _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ (X/14) WEEK 4: _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ (X/14) TOTAL: XX/56 Misc. bullshit below: - The original class I wanted to pick on NF was Wizard or Sorcerer, but those didn't exist, so instead here I am! All the things! - I use the word "fuck" a lot, among others - This thread will likely be cluttered with trivial (but entertaining) bullshit - ...and workout-related complaining - ...and cosplay-related complaining - I will try my best to post images and videos of pole art/dance shenanigans - There will be 5 or 6 days of dead time (Aug 31 to Sept 6?) in this challenge thread while I'm away at FanExpo, but I'll still stretch during those days - Items may be added to or removed from this list at any point

RESURRECTION ; Brings a dead ally back to life with 35% health and mana. Cannot be cast when in combat. Let's just say the less said about the year the better. Also let it also be known that Hormone BC Pills suck. Badly. Like side effects up the wazoo badly. And over using your wrists/twanging your shoulder. That sucks too (fun to do though, games + drawing + pole + work ). Currently I'm averaging 2-3 pole classes per week (minus sickness) since I did a soft reset in September offline. Gymnasti-Pole (gymnastics type stuff), Stretch (think yoga with splits work at the end) and usually a class (I bumped myself down to 2/3, was at 4/5 ready to go to 6/7 before needing to lay off the wrist in June/July). There's theraputty thrown in a couple times a week for my hands and chiro visits as well (bout monthly now vs 3x week). GUARDIAN SPIRIT Heals target for 40% of maximum health. Add an extra pole class or strength session each weekI love pole classes. That's the "exercise" (read fun hobby) that gets my blood pumping. However, I've lost progress while I laid off the wrist to let it heal and I was having problems with some moves before since some stuff wasn't strong enough (which is why I put off advancing to 6/7). So I want to either add another class (meh not really unless it's Boot Camp) or do a strength session each week to help. Adding an extra anything over my pole classes has been a challenge before to get consistently sooo.... Baby steps y'all. Baby steps. PAIN SUPPRESSION Reduces all damage taken by a friendly target by 40% for 8 sec. Castable while stunned. Add an extra stretching/yoga session each week that includes some splits workOne of the things I wanted this year was to get my splits. Since I kinda sabotaged myself (BC pills/wrist) I've lost a bit of progress (but not that much). I also need more stretching to help promote healing/reduce stress. So again with the Baby Steps. We'll add one session per week, be it yoga/stretch or roller/ball and splits work at the end. MINDBENDER Creates a Mindbender to attack the target. Caster receives 0.75% mana when the Mindbender attacks. Lasts 20 sec. LOG THAT @!%~ ONCE AND FOR ALL-Sigh- So I hate keeping workout logs. Seriously. Hate. Keeping. Them. But if I want to see progress in the other two quests, it might be best to start keeping a log. So here's the thing. Even if I only write a log in my small book once a week about what I've done, it's better than the last... forever-ish. It's an improvement. So let's do that. Hopefully start with that Gymnasti-Pole warm up tonight... that thing kicks butt. CLARITY - LVL 100 Priest Talents Clarity of Power - Find a place to put a pull up bar or my pole upClarity of Will - Fill the rest of the Moleskine with drawings by Dec 31stClarity of Grace - Homemade Presents / Get them done earlyLife Goals! Gotta have 'em. First two are things I've been meaning to do for awhile, but adulting and blah-ness took over (and I didn't make them priorities). And like last year, I would love to do crafted gifts for my co-workers/buddies. I'm thinking more of the food variety (jalapenos infused tequila anyone?) for this year (with diy beauty stuff for the young teenage cousins). And now it's listed somewhere else than my head so I HAVE to do it. MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To regain control and not let the crazies affect me. To be ME. The best me EVER.

So last time my challenge got almost completely derailed and I didn't lose any weight at all... (See trainwreck here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/70676-lydiajaybird-gets-back-up/) I might have even gained some, I've been scared to weigh in, so I don't really know right now. I was doing alright, then I had a bad week, and then my state (SC) got wrecked by the storms and flooding, and my life was crazy and ugh. I tried to keep on keeping on, but I didn't do too well, and my lack of results shows it. But life is calming down now, so I just need to refocus and I'll be fine. So now for the important bit - my quests for this challenge! Main Quest - Lose 12 Pounds I need to weigh myself before I can put a number up there, but I want to get back into the 160's! Last challenge my goal was to get to 165 - what I weighed before I broke my foot - but I have to admit, that was really ambitious... I would've had to lose 12 pounds. So maybe calm down, recognize that slow progress is better than no progress (which is what I had last challenge) & just shoot for at least 169. Goals 1. Exercise - Run three times a week, and pole three times a week. I used to run MWF, but my pole classes are Wednesday, so I think I'm going to run TRSa instead. Then Monday can be upper body day for pole and Friday can be core/lower body day. 2. Rise and Shine - Wake up with my first alarm!! I've been getting worse and worse about this - It's to the point that I have incremental alarms set for a few hours before I finally get up. And of course, if I don't wake up on time, I don't have time to exercise before work! So one of my goals this challenge is to GET UP at 6:00am M-F and 9:00am on the weekends. 3. Keep Calm and Keto On! - My roommate has gone from being somewhat unreliable at cooking to COMPLETELY unreliable. I can count on one hand the number of times she's cooked in the past month. So I just need to plan and cook for myself... which will only be difficult because my roomie refuses to believe she's not doing this diet anymore... Everytime I mention that I'm going to the grocery store or try to cook for myself, she gets offended. So that'll be awkward to get around. Also, I'm changing my carb intake. With her, I did 25 net carbs or less a day, but you really only need less than 50 net carbs to stay in ketosis. So to make it easier to find yummy recipes (since I am simply not as good a cook as her), I'm going to aim for that. I've got ketone test strips, so I'll be able to tell if I can't stay in ketosis with that many carbs, and can adjust accordingly. [1645 calories or less, 50 carbs or less] Life Quest Become Desirable! No, not romantically/sexually desirable (I've already got a boyfriend, I'm fine in that department) - desirable for employers! I've been trying to get a job with my shiny new degree since I graduated in May, and I'm getting NOWHERE. And since the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, I'm going to change my approach. I'm going to keep applying places and networking, of course, but I'm also going to try to add to my resume. For example - the temp agency that placed me has lots of online courses for their employees where you can learn new skills. And I can always go to the bookstore and get one of those [sKILL] for Dummies books. So everytime I can add something to my resume - I earn a Life Point, which will be extra credit added to my final score. This means that this extra credit won't be limited by the number of weeks, so I won't be tempted to not do anything just because I already did one thing earlier that week. (Which is what happened last challenge... Oh, I'll apply NEXT week - I already got my Life Point this week.) Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 182.8 Waist: ? Hips: ? I need to weigh & measure... I'll edit all these before the challenge starts. Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Life Points are unlimited extra credit that can be added to my final score! My final grade will be the average of all six weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. Up till now, I've always said I only needed a C to pass, because that's a passing grade in school. However, even in school, I never felt like a C was an acceptable grade; and last challenge I technically passed, but I made no progress and I didn't feel good about it. So I'm making it more difficult to pass. This might mean I'm just going to fail myself out and will need to ease up next time, but it might also mean that I'll work harder to get there. Exercise - percentage of completed workouts. Rise and Shine - percentage of successful wake-ups. KCKO - 1 point each day for meeting calories and another point for meeting carbs. Total points/Total possible for the weekly grade. Exceptions - If I'm sick or injured (please noooo not again!), then workouts are excused. Motivation As for rewards, I've got money now, so I'm gonna go pretty hard on these. I'm going to reward myself with something big (and undecided, I'll edit this later) if I pass the challenge AND have at least some progress. It's okay if I don't make it all the way to 169, so long as I've improved. And for each week that I make an A, I'll reward myself with something too! At the start of each week I'll post what the reward will be, and will use that to motivate myself to DO AWESOME. Not just good enough to pass and claim the big prize, but AWESOME. HONORS STUDENT LEVEL AWESOME. DEANS LIST OF NERDFITNESS.

Hi everybody, I'm LydiaJaybird. You can call me whichever part of that you prefer. This isn't actually my first challenge, though... About a year ago I did a couple challenges as ElfiKay - got up to running nine miles a week - but then I broke my foot. For a little while I tried to keep up with my diet and some non-foot-related workouts, but my foot took a long time to heal [and gave me a couple cruel periods of false hope where I thought it was better and then it got worse again... even got put back in my boot in February] and I lost heart. Stopped coming on here, stopped trying to diet, gained a bunch of weight, and got pretty depressed. Eventually my foot healed all the way back up and I was able to start running again this summer! But I had trouble keeping up with my runs, so I've come back to you lovely people with a new account. During that whole messed-up foot time period I made a couple attempts at different low-impact exercises to stay in shape - pilates [got bored], rock climbing [discovered a fear of heights... while 80ft up a cliff], and pole dancing [LOVE ITTTT]. So now I have a new passion - very similar to my old passion, actually. I danced [ballet, jazz, hip-hop, etc] until partway through college, and quitting is one of my biggest regrets. So now I have dance back in my life and I couldn't be happier about it! Due to a bunch of stuff that'll take too long to get into, I actually had to quit classes, but I've got a pole in my living room now, so I can still workout on it and practice. Yay! So now for the important bit - my quests for this challenge! Main Quest - Lose 12 Pounds I've managed to drop most of my broken-foot-moping weight, but not all... Right now I'm 2 pounds above what I was when I started in the forums last year... 12 pounds above where I was when I actually broke my foot So, I want to drop the rest of that weight. It's a lofty goal - I'll need to lose 2 pounds every week - but I think I can get there. Goals 1. Pole Dance - Do two strength workouts a week on the pole and practice tricks at least one other day. I've already figured out an upper body workout for Tuesdays, and a core/lower body workout for Thursdays. I'll use Saturday for that extra practice day. I'm also going to try to start recording my practices so I can see what I need to work on and see my progress. Assuming that I don't look like a harpooned whale, I'll post those here for accountability and moral support (I'm super critical of myself when it comes to dance... I need to make sure I don't beat myself up too much over not being good. Calm down, me, I've only been doing this since January!) But we'll see, hahaha. 2. Run - Run three times a week, using the return to running progression that my physical therapist gave me. 3. Keep Calm and Keto On! - My roommate and I started the keto diet together a couple months back and I love it. We plan our meals and get groceries together - then she cooks and I do the dishes. And she's an AMAZING cook - everything she makes tastes like Jesus himself blessed it. The only pitfall that keeps tripping me up is that she isnt very reliable... On the weekends in particular she's more reliable at being unreliable than anything. Which is incredibly frustrating because she doesnt share the spices part of her recipes with me (she generally just makes it up on the spot anyways), just the ingredients that have nutritional value, so if I try to make them myself it tastes awful. Also, I generally won't find out that she's not making a meal until it's past time to eat, so then I'm really hungry and end up just eating whatever I can get my hands on. So I need to start being prepared to cook meals for myself on short notice. I figure if I keep some extra eggs and frozen vegetables in the fridge, then I'll always have a quick, keto-friendly meal on hand. If anybody else knows some fast and easy keto meals that I can throw together last minute when Roomie falls through, please let me know! The gradings for this goal are to stick to my calories and keep it keto, no matter what. [1645 calories or less, 25 carbs or less] Life Quest Work towards Employment! I graduated this May... but I can't get hired. So I'm a part-time cashier. [it's not a problem of qualification, I graduated as an honors student with a double major in International Business and Management and a double minor in Japanese and Portuguese. 3.5 GPA couldve been higher, but thats what I get for studying two languages.] But I've got to keep trying. I keep hinging on opportunities that seem like they'll turn into something, and then when they fall through, I haven't applied to anything new in weeks. Ex. I recently interviewed at a bank, and have a company that's emailed me asking for an interview, and out of positivity/confidence in one of those positions turning into something, I haven't applied to anything in two weeks. So I need to make sure that I'm constantly working towards getting a job, not just sitting around waiting. Every week, I need to be able to list concrete things I've done to try to get hired until I receive a job offer. No more twiddling my thumbs while I wait for responses. Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 177.6 Waist: 30 Hips: 42.5 Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Each week I get the chance to earn a point of extra credit by completing my Life Goal, so that's up to six points of extra credit possible! My final grade will be the average of all six weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a C (70%) to pass the challenge. Pole - percentage of completed workouts/practices. Running - percentage of completed runs. KCKO - 1 point each day for meeting calories and another point for meeting carbs. Total points/Total possible for the weekly grade. Exceptions - If I'm sick or injured (please noooo not again!), then workouts are excused. For rewards, I'm a little bit torn. Last year I rewarded myself with workout shirts/games, but right now I don't know if I can afford to do that. With my current situation, I'm on a very tight budget to avoid bleeding money from my savings on a monthly basis. I'd love to say that I'll buy myself some pole shorts or a new workout top, but I just dont know that I can afford it. I'd say that another good reward would be to let myself ask a weekend off to go hiking with Andy, my... uh... romantic interest? I hate modern dating..., but we're not allowed to ask off Fridays or Saturdays. Those are truck days. I could always completely cut extra spending during the month (what little I do... >.<) and use that to buy something? Idk, what do you all think?

Mad Hatter does stuff Thoughts on this and the previous challenge behind the spoiler. Feel free to skip ahead if you want to go straight to the good stuff. For this challenge I’ve decided to just do stuff. I don’t have any particular goals reeeally (even if it looks like it) and I’m just going to do whatever I feel like for a while. As long as I put in work and it’s useful stuff it’s all good. Goal #1 Train hard, stick to my priorities and have fun Even though I do best with focusing on one, at most two things I’m not going to to do that. I’m going to do all the things and have some fun with it. I will however try and focus my energy on the things I want to progress the most at and see what happens. A Handstands: TBA after workshop A Contortion: Get started with backbends again. No particular goal except to do my strength exercises 2x/week, at the very minimum B Rings: Follow the program. It’s designed with 3 training days/week but 2x/week is fine C Pole: Try all of the intermediate moves on SV (except climbs and spins because of space restrictions) C Climbing: Chill out and have some fun, instead of going crazy. Grading: Have I done what I could/what I “should� Y/N Goal #2 Keep the black dog at bay I can feel this winter is going to be a tough one, so I’m going to try and do my best to avoid ending up in dark places. Sun lamp - not sure it actually works that great but I might as well use everything in my arsenal Vitamin D - again, not sure how well it actually works but I’m sure I’ll need it soon enough even if I don’t notice anything Eat 3 proper meals - skipping meals generally doesn’t work for me so I need to make sure I eat and don’t wait until my head’s spinning. Max 1 junk serving - quite generous but I’m including booze, snacks I don’t need and any sort of trigger food. Social events don’t count. 20 min walk - normally I walk loads, but when it gets cold I get a bit meeh. Plus being outside is good. Move! Spend a few minutes relaxing in the morning and evening Leave work on time - I’ve been super focused and absorbed into my work lately, which is fun and I’ve been really productive. But it’s also quite mentally tiring so I need to stop working overtime. Keep the new flat shiny Don’t disappear on NF Grading: Points out of 10 per day Goal #3 Learn some skills I’m going sit down and do something, anything with my hands (no, that doesn’t count you pervs), even if it’s just doodling in the margin or play with LEGO for 1 cumulative hour/week. Tiny, tiny goal just to get me started. Grading: Pass/Fail

I wasn't going to do a challenge this time, because I get so down about challenges so often but I just need to suck it up. Suck it up, do more conditioning and stop being a f*cking wuss about it I hate doing conditioning work and will wuss out of it even in pole dance classes. I just need to suck it up and do some, because it will make me a better lifter in the longer-term. The aim is to do something three times a week. Probably forcing myself to do burpees after a session but entirely open to suggestions (with the caveat that I won't promise to take up any suggestions). I'll allow conditioning sessions thrown at me in pole class to count. Scoring: A - 18 sessions B - 15 sessions C - 12 sessions D - 9 sessions F - 6 sessions or less +2 STA +1 CON +2 DEX Suck it up and teach lifts the way my examiners want me to I'm doing a fitness instructor course and I had my free weights training day today and I really loathe how they want me to teach lifts, but I have to just suck it up and do it their way even if their way is stupid. This one is just a pass/fail based on whether I pass or fail the course. +2 WIS +1 CHA Suck it up and keep moving For those of you who don't know, I've had an ongoing glute and lower back issue since December. It doesn't stop me lifting, but it's painful at times when I'm not actually lifting. It's a right bugger for pole dancing, as it has made some moves really difficult. I need to stick to doing some sort of mobility for it once a day and trying to work in what my physiotherapists have told me to do (some of it is still appropriate, some less so). Yoga counts for this, as far as I'm concerned, but usually still have to sit on a lacrosse ball before or after! A - Erryday physio/mobility shizz B - 5/7 days per week C - 4/7 days per week D - 3/7 days per week F - 1-2/7 days per week +2 DEX +1 WIS Suck it up and help someone else on their way Pick two recruits who want to be warriors and support them during their first challenge. Post regularly on their challenge threads and try to be helpful. A - Posted on each of their threads at least twice a week B - Posted on each of their threads at least once a week C - Posted on each of their threads at least once a fortnight D - Posted only twice during the challenge F - Not found anyone or posted anything (Whilst I'll try to be helpful, it may just be prompting them to come back and finish the challenge if they disappear.) +2 WIS +2 CHA ETA: My current weekly schedule looks a bit like this: Monday - Ashtanga yoga Tuesday - Lifting Wednesday - Pole dancing Thursday - Lifting Friday - Hot vinyasa yoga Saturday - Lifting Sunday - Pole dancing

Priscillia Keeps It Simple Don't worry, we'll get to the dragons next time (I hope)... I'm not feeling very creative in the challenge front, all I want is to cement some stuff from last challenge and take advantage of the gorgeous weather while I sort through some life/adulting crap. For the Soul Take a walk, run, bodyweight workout, play in the jungle gym, just SOMETHING outside once per week 'Cause being cooped up inside sucks. It's actually pretty and decent temperature wise, so I want to go outside. It'll also bring back some habits from a previous challenge last year (before the snow really hit). For the Mind Daily Meditation (1-5 minutes, preferably first thing in the morning) Try to be positive I found that daily meditations (esp in the mornings) have made my work days so much nicer. Unless I'm doing a yoga class with meditation time, this is EVERY DAY. I will also try to be positive about stuff, because the other people I live with aren't. Also because when you're being positive it attracts opportunities (this one won't be tracked, but I feel like I need to at least write it down to slooooowly start). For the Body 1 soda at home per week max 1 treat from the work kitchen per week Drink tea like a madwoman (okay, and water ) I've realized last challenge that I don't drink much soda at work (in fact it's tea, hot chocolate (if I'm on a bender) and mainly water) so I won't preoccupy myself with that. Work treats in the kitchen are a different story. Same for soda at home, though I now have this 2L ice tea (like, made with loose leaf teas) jug at home I'm digging. Boss Battle: The Garage Start going through storage stuff in my Dad's garage I'm going to be moving out sometime this year (I hope), so I need to get rid of stuff that just doesn't mesh with me any more. I also need to find out what I DO have so I can cover more bases. MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To regain control and not let the crazies affect me. To start the next chapter in my life on a good base to build upon.

THE DARK LADY PRISCILLIA Will become a total BAMF in life and profession. 'Cause BAMFs are awesome. WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE Where curses get thrown like candy (but we don't eat those, though we could steal them from little kids to make them cry...) and minions fall down like the cannon fodder they are! CrucioImperioAvada KedavraMinionsDistopia CRUCIO +2 STR +3 STA Pain Tolerance for pole classesLeg Raises on non pole days (might add different things later)I shall learn to love the pain! ALL THE PAIN! So during pole classes/Jams, the goal is to tolerate the pain for a few more seconds every time UNTIL I GET IT. IMPERIO +3 DEX +2 WIS Daily Relaxation (Yoga, Meditation, Trigger Ball/Roller, Stretches, Bath)Theraputty (3-5x per week) (just upping the amount since I'm doing more pole)The Imperio curse makes you feel like you're floating on air, it relaxes you immediately... To help force my will upon the meager peasants I need to learn to control myself, and my stress first. Hopefully it'll also keep more cannon fod-ahem- minions, alive. AVADA KEDAVRA +2 CON +3 CHA Defeat the Sugar MonsterWeek 1-2, 3x per week allowed MAX at homeWeek 3-4, 2x MAXWeek 5, 1 ONLYBy week 6, NO SODASSame for treats in the work kitchen...Those damn Light Wizards keep eating all these sweets and are corrupting my minions (who are hiding amongst them!). DAMN THEM. So I shall lead by example and conquer their stupid Sugar Monster. Because I'm a Dark Lady. And I'm a BAMF (or at least one in training). (yes, this is soda at home, treats at work. I'll work on soda at work later... and then get back to the grains) MINIONS MINIMIZE! Sell/donate/get rid of things you don't need!Sort through paperworkI'm going to be moving out sometime this year, so I need to get rid of all my useless minions. They're not worthy of knowing the location of my super Dark Evil Fortress of Doom. BUILDING MY DISTOPIA The location of my super Dark Evil Fortress of Doom has not been chosen. I need to continue to build my business foundation to create my fortress! Continue business development for an income property. MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To regain control and not let the crazies affect me. To start the next chapter in my life on a good base to build upon. ... now I need to add some Bellatrix gifs later

Tracking on enemy target has been lost. Ground-based recon is required. Begin landing sequence. MAIN MISSION To create and enforce good habits that will help me reach success in my life and in my profession. CHOZO RUINS This mission will focus on progression and maybe exploring different ways of doing them. We will be focusing on 3 things listed in my 2015 bucket list; splits, pull up and cleaning up the diet. We'll be continuing to follow Samus Aran (of Metroid fame) as she lands on Tallon IV and explores the Chozo Ruins during this challenge. Boss: Flaahgra Morph Ball Acquired Charge Beam Acquired Missile Launcher Acquired Incoming scan data. Fluid patterns analyzed. Main Source of Toxins in Ruins detected in Sunchamber. BOSS : FLAAHGRA +3 CON +2 STA 4 days/week No Grains Last challenge I did 4 no grain days a week (minus one slip up and a week that was a freebie due to meetings). I'm going to continue with this, because I honestly felt so much better on the weeks where I was careful. The first week is a freebie due to circumstances (I'm at a 3 day workshop and either they're giving lunch, or I'm making lunch for 2 with no fridge/microwave), but you bet I'll still try to get it down. I may add new recipes in, depending on how busy I am (and if I get that spiralizer for veggie spaghetti). MORPH BALL ACQUIRED +5 DEX Splits 4-5x/week I've tried to add this in at the end of last year, but was way over my head. So I'm going to do just the splits for this one. CHARGE BEAM ACQUIRED +5 STR Pull Up Progression 4x/week (or every other day) 2015 is the year I will get THAT DAMN PULL UP. But unlike last year, I'm going to be pro-active about it. Sure I've gotten stronger with the pole, but chasing after a pull up will make me stronger AND will help with my pole progression! So we'll start with dumbbell rows and see how that progresses. MISSILE LAUNCHER ACQUIRED MINIMIZE! Sell/donate/get rid of things you don't need! Sort through paperwork Recycle electronics Another goal for 2015 is to move out (for the last time). I've gotten better (somewhat) at not buying stuff I don't really need (helps that I don't have much room) but I do have stuff that I'm not using any more. I've also gone through quite a bit of paperwork in the interim between challenges, but I'd like to get through some more. And I'd like to get as much sorting/organizing at home done. This is not graded. MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To lose weight to make learning new moves easier and fit in my old clothes. To help control my crohn's. To stop collecting underpants and ACT on my dreams. To enjoy life and keep momentum! To be the best me I can BE!

Hello! This isn't my first challenge (though it is my first as an Assassin) but I failed miserably on my last one and disappeared for a while. Now I am respawning and getting back in the game! I've been doing pole dance classes for over a year now and I've really plateaued when it comes to improving even though I still love it. I got my own pole for Christmas which is going up as soon as I move to a place that has room for it (hopefully by March). In the meantime I need to get to classes more often to make sure I'm building those muscles and practicing. I have climbed to the ceiling on the pole before but I've gained weight and lost muscle since then and I want to get that ability back. Do to the fact that I don't go into work until 2pm my sleep schedule has gotten really screwed up which is why I am giving myself a bedtime and wake up time for weekdays. Fitness Goals for the Challenge: 1. Go to at least 2 pole classes a week. More would be great if my schedule and level of bruises can take it, but I need to go to at least 2. 2. Fireman Climb all the way to the ceiling in pole class. 3. Head to bed no later than 11:30pm on weekdays and get up no later than 9:30am. Life Side Quest: Enter Writing Contest. There are three to choose from and I haven't picked one yet, but I want to enter at least one contest. I have so many more things I could add but I will save those for the next challenge.

Unidentified distress beacon has been tracked to a derelict space vessel in orbit above Tallon IV. MAIN MISSION To create and enforce good habits that will help me reach success in my life and in my profession. FRIGATE ORPHEON This mission will focus on preparing to assault my strength/flexibility goals (pullups, deadlifts and various pole tricks), assaulting my diet and keeping sane while preparing for the holidays and the release of a new xpac (WoW). We'll be following Samus Aran (of Metroid fame) as she explores what's left of the Space Pirate Frigate Orpheon above Tallon IV during this challenge. Scan Space Pirate Logs Boss: Parasite Queen Escape! Gold Quest / Varia Suit Malfunction SCAN SPACE PIRATE LOGS +2 WIS Read Starting Strength (400 pages) Prepare Log to track progress (for SS and for measurements/etc) Removed I'm at the point in my pole classes where I feel like I'm not getting stronger as fast as I would like. Or in other words, I'm impatient. However I want to read the book first to understand what the heck I'm doing and why. BOSS : PARASITE QUEEN +4 CON +1 STA 4 days/week No Grains Track Carb Intake Last challenge I read The Primal Blueprint. I'm not sure I can delve in 100% living where I do (my family loves their breads and constantly buys some. This isn't a problem when I live on my own with the exception of take out). So there are only 3 days a week where I can have grains. The other four are no grain days. The second part is not graded, but I'd like to track my carb intake to see the difference between grain/no grain days and see if I can keep it in the PB range automatically after. I believe a mostly primal diet can only benefit me after the experiments I did last challenge with eating. ESCAPE! +3 DEX +2 CON Splits 2x/week Removed Theraputty/Wrist stretches 5x/week (bumped from 3 on Week 3) Massage Roller/Ball 2x/week Removed We're not practicing splits as much in class (probably because we don't have enough time before next class) so I'm taking maters into my own hands. Cannon. Whatever. Speaking of hands, my wrists, fingers and forearms on BOTH arms are not too pleased with me. Right hand is normal with drawing and gaming. Not both. So I bought some theraputty (thank you for mentioning them sylph!) so let's escape this situation. GOLD QUEST / VARIA SUIT MALFUNCTION +2 CHA +1 WIS Pay off last 2% of Gold Quest Completed Dec 9th Make Gifts Pretty self explanatory. Pay off the rest of the Gold Quest and make gifts for the holidays. Samus does lose her upgrades and Varia Suit as she's escaping Frigate Orpheon, my equivalents are simply the gifts I'll be making MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To lose weight to make learning new moves easier and fit in my old clothes. To help control my crohn's. To stop collecting underpants and ACT on my dreams. To enjoy life and keep momentum!

Hi, My name is Belles and this is my first challenge. I have been doing pole dancing on and off for a while and I am quiet interested in doing things that will increase my strength and flexibility so assasin is the path I have chosen. I have signed up to the aca So just as my partner found nerd fitness and we decided that it would be a good thing to do, we also found out that I am pregnant. As of today I am nearly 13 weeks pregnant, for the first couple of weeks after signing up to the Academy I did well, but then some of the lovely side effects kicked in and I have been lacking in energy to the point where some days I fall asleep on the train after work. Main Quest My main quest is to be fit and healthy during pregancy and to be able to recover well after having the baby. Objectives: Slowly start getting back into a routine again, where I am exercising 3/4 days a week, even if it is just going for a walk for 30 minutes. Stop eating junk food (again) I generally don't eat lots of it, but have been using my pregnancy as an excuse for junk. I need to cut it out again and stick to a healthy diet for the good of me and the baby. Be doing regular pilates classes again by the end of the six weeks Life Quest: I recently completed my cert 4 in fitness and would like to be able to help women with pre and post natal exercise. I will continue to do research on courses available, and work towards becoming a pilates instructor

After falling prey to a poisoned elixir, the assassin known as Priscillia reappears from the shadows. As the assassin walks down the path, admiring the trees, she notices a few leaves changing colours. The wind rustles them silently, bringing a chill upon the assassin. Shivering slightly, she purses her lips in discontent. The seasons are changing and with it, she knows, her mood will follow the temperature, which will only follow one direction. Down. And with that, she knows it will become harder for her willpower to overcome her mood. She considers the progress she has made since beginning her journey in earnest, despite the pitfalls encountered, and comes to a conclusion as she flips her daggers eagerly. This time she refuses to allow the affliction to affect her as it has numerous times before. As the assassin ponders a way to finally defeat the affliction called hibernation, three monsters appear further down the path. All three leer at Priscillia threateningly. Taking a good look at the three monsters, Priscillia grins. Well, this may just be the answer I'm looking for, she muses. MAIN QUEST To create and enforce good habits that will help me reach success in my life and in my profession. This Challenge will focus on things that affect me as the weather changes (sleep, time outside, procrastination levels) and on preparing to assault my diet/workouts so that I can keep momentum as it gets colder. VS. The Snooze ButtonVS. The Roller FrogVS. The Underpants GnomeGold Quest VS. THE SNOOZE BUTTON +3 STA +2 CON FAILED Out of bed on weekdays by 7am +3 DMGOut of bed on weekdays around 6am (bonus attack) +3 DMGOut of bed on weekends by 10am (bonus attack) +3 DMG[progress lime]59[/progress] I'm waking up naturally before my first alarm, but with how cold it's getting, I'm just curling up in my bed for awhile. I've fixed up going to bed earlier (thank you f.lux!) and the naturally waking up part, so now I need to focus on kicking my ass into gear earlier in the mornings. When the snow hits, I need to be out and shovel snow. I want this out of the way NOW, long before the snow hits. VS. THE ROLLER FROG +3 CON +2 STA Use Vibrams and get used to/start jogging/running in them +3 DMGUse Massage Roller (or the ball) +3 DMG[progress lime]40[/progress] I got vibrams on sale (the colour reminds me of frogs) since I've been doing pole/bbww barefoot. I like it better than running shoes, so I got the vibrams for when I start lifting again. I need to get used to running in them too. It's still nice enough to walk around in sweaters outside, so let's take advantage of it before I'm stuck on a treadmill due to weather. I found I haven't been using my massage roller much lately either. I'm already doing yoga and we're doing splits practice in pole class, so I want to make use of this tool that's gathering dust. VS. THE UNDERPANTS GNOME +2 WIS + 3 CON Read Starting Strength, Primal Blueprint and Research (steal the underpants)Create battle plan based on what I learn (extra attack points) (not sure how much DMG it should cause)Record Intake log (broken habit) (attack mode)(for everyday) +2 DMG[progress lime]48[/progress] Reasoning; Collecting underpants and then using them I've had SS and PB since the end of July but have put them off so far. I want to make them a priority (and maybe a few other underpants related to them)(like making Kefir). This part is stealing back the stolen underpants from the gnome. Next is creating a battle plan once I have my underpants. And recording my intake log since that habit broke down while I was recovering from Crohn's during my hiatus last challenge. This should also help, since I eat my heaviest meals during the colder weather seasons (summer is all about the salads and eating light for me normally). GOLD QUEST Ongoing gold quest - Have all debts paid at the end of 2014. That means my car (progress in % bar in my signature) and my student loans (expected date OCT 2014). I should have finished this last month, but I went over in June/July/August due to not budgeting properly (pole classes, tea, clothes, eating out). Doesn't matter, still getting done early! And I CAN PRACTICALLY TASTE IT MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To lose weight to make learning new moves easier and fit in my old clothes. To help control my crohn's. To stop collecting underpants and ACT on my dreams.

Welcome So this is my second challenge! Hurrahh! And I admit that I did not go so well on my first one - Challenge 1 But it's all about learning and I'm super excited to go again As you know my #1 Main Goal is to compete in a Pole Competition by the end of the year. I'm still so nervous about this! And my Minor Goals are: #1 - Perfect my Invert #2 - Be able to do a Jade Split #3 - Perfect my Shoulder Mount #4 - Be able to do a Handspring (Please see link above to my first challenge to see video examples of each) Now, I am doing this very similar to my first challenge by breaking them all down in to smaller parts. Last challenge I was supposed to be working on my inverts but got very sidetracked and only completed things to a C (which was a pass but I am not happy with that). This time I am still working on my inverts but I'm going to be focusing on my flexibility rather than the strength side of things (this will also help with my Jade Split). And I'm going to do a different way of grading. And this time I will actually post pictures.. I promise! Although I'm very nervous about everyone seeing me... So for this 6 week challenge this is what I'm going to do: Each week I will have a choice of workouts I can do and each of these exercises will contribute to points 1 - Yoga (Flexibility & Strength/Bodyweight) 1 - 5 points (20 min session) 2 - Cleo the Hurricane DVD (Flexibility & Strength/Bodyweight) 2 - 20 points (Splits and legs workout 1 hour) 3 - Conditioning Exercises (Strength/Bodyweight) 3 - 10 points (10 min session) 4 - Pole Classes (Strength/Bodyweight) 4 - 10 points (1 hour workout) 5 - Walking (General) 5 - 5 points (20 min session) And the more points I get the happier I will be ;P haha. Well, really, I have decided to reward myself once I set a goal on how many points I need to get. I will be starting this week as well as I figured I might as well not wait! I will also use this week as a benchmark to how many points I will need to collect to get a reward) So seeing as my benchmark week left me with 85 points I figured that I should be aiming between 90-100 points if I want to improve what I have set out to improve. And I need to get my A into G on the weekends! We had a long weekend which always throws me out of routine, but that is no excuse! I need to get moving if I'm going to get anywhere near where I want to be!!!! I will reward myself with new pole gym clothes once I hit 250 points (I will let my 85 points count towards this as I did move and that is better than nothing!) Benchmark Week Monday - 1 x yoga + 1 x walk = 10 points Tuesday - 1 x pole class + 1 x walk= 20 points Wednesday - 1 x pole class + 1 x walk = 20 points Thursday - 3 x walk = 15 points Friday - 1 x walk = 5 points Saturday - I was a lazy beached whale = 0 points Sunday - 3 x walk = 15 points Benchmark Week Total: 85 Points Week 1 Monday - New episode of Game of Thrones left me seated most of the day = 0 points Tuesday - 1 x walk + 1 x pole class + 1 x conditioning = 25 points Wednesday - I needed sleep this morning so no yoga yet this week :S Will update today's tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to squeeze some yoga in! Edit - I did my yoga last night before bed! + 2 x yoga = 10 points Thursday - 1 x pole class (It was a conditioning class and was super hard so I'm giving myself an extra 10p for how sore I'm feeling today lol) + 1 x yoga = 25 points Friday Saturday Sunday Week 2 -Space reserved for point count- Week 3 -Space reserved for point count- Week 4 -Space reserved for point count- Week 5 -Space reserved for point count- Week 6 -Space reserved for point count- Total:

Hello I am Toni, a 22 year old Australian receptionist who is addicted to Pole dancing (Fitness, not stripping! All you dirty minded people ;P haha) I know I am posting two weeks late but I was a chicken and only posted my first entry on NF yesterday.. So here we go: My Major Quest: - To compete in a Pole Dancing Competition before the end of 2014! (I am nervous just writing this!) Minor Quests to get me closer to my Major (please note: this list will probably grow as I tick others off!): (I have put the videos in spoilers as it may offend some people..) - Perfect my invert so my legs are straight (will involve lots of stretching as will most of these lol) Please note: Invert performed at 1:48 - videos are not me! - Be able to do a Jade Split (or gain the splits) Please note: the video is of a Jade Split tutorial - Perfect my shoulder mount - 1.15 on the video. Currently I have to tuck my knees up before extending my legs but I can now get my legs on the pole And last but not least (although definitely the hardest!): - Handspring! (4 seconds to 6 seconds on the video) As you can probably tell I have a long way to go! But I know where I'm going and that's the main thing Even my minor quests aren't really minor... Now, because I have only started this challenge thing and everyone is already two weeks in I will adjust this accordingly. For this block I will make it so it covers these 4 weeks and then the 6 weeks following so I will stay in the Level 1 challengers. Is that alright for me to do? It's hard being a newby.. haha So for this challenge I will be working on my inverts And how am I going to do this? 1. Increase my weekly poling from 1 to 3 night/days a week - I already do 1-2 pole classes a week but I need to keep it consistent and add in an extra. So Monday nights, Wednesday/Thursday nights & Saturday morning will be my pole exercise days 2. Create a habit of ensuring I condition before I start each session - focusing on my inverts more than my shoulder mounts. I already do this before my Monday night class, I arrive half and hour early to warm up and do my conditioning exercises 3. Stretch, stretch and more stretching! This is a difficult one for me as I am totally unflexible. I can't touch my toes when sitting or standing. I can touch them when stretching for side splits though so I am making progress. I will be aiming to stretch every day for this if I can remember. Any stretches which will help my progess will be greatly appreciated!!!! And how will I track my progress? Pictures and videos! Am I allowed to post pics and videos? If so, I will be doing one of each weekly - I might need a reminder as I do forget things very easily. This will be starting today/tonight when I go to class (I probably won't get around to posting them until tomorrow). Grading: 100% A = Practicing 3 x a week & Stretching 7 x a week and showing I can invert from knees with straight legs and pointed toes! (I always forget to point my toes haha) 80% B = Practicing 3 x a week & Stretching 5-7 x a week and showing I can invert from knees with pointed toes 60% C = Practicing 3 x a week & Stretching 4-6 x a week and showing I can invert from sitting with pointed toes and can touch the ground behind me 40% D = Practicing 2 x a week & Stretching 3-5 x a week and showing I can invert from sitting with pointed toes 20% E = Practicing 1 x a week & Stretching 2-4 x a week and showing that I can invert from sitting but it's not super pretty and I forgot to point my toes I believe a Pass to me would be a C, and even then it will involve a lot of commitment. When I post the videos I would love if everyone can look at my toes and judge me on my pointing skills lol. I probably won't be able to tell too much and seeing it from someone else's perspective will help a lot! This sounds like it's going to be challenging for me to stick to this for longer than four weeks so if anyone wants to hassle me to make sure I'm doing it & if anyone wants me to hassle them please feel free I will be attempting to post daily (not sure where to post this, please point me in the right direction!). Please let me know if there is anything else I need to add!

Hey all! My name is Toni or tigs/tigger (whatever suits you better!) I am a 22 year old female (had to add female as most people may think Toni is a male name!) from the great country of Australia I am about 176-178cm tall (5'10'' ? I don't really know exactly) and I weigh about 73kgs and am looking for some support to level up my life to be the best I can be. I'm not focusing my goals on losing weight (I know that I will probably gain more weight with muscle mass than anything) but I am focusing on the quest I have set out for myself below- My major quest: - To compete in a Pole Competition by the end of 2014! Minor quests to help me achieve this goal: (I have put the videos in spoilers as it may offend some people..) - Perfect my invert so my legs are straight (will involve lots of stretching as will most of these lol) Please note: Invert performed at 1:48 - videos are not me! - Be able to do a Jade Split (or gain the splits) Please note: the video is of a Jade Split tutorial - Perfect my shoulder mount - 1.15 on the video. Currently I have to tuck my knees up before extending my legs but I can now get my legs on the pole And last but not least (although definitely the hardest!): - Handspring! (4 seconds to 6 seconds on the video) As you can probably tell I have a long way to go! But I know where I'm going and that's the main thing Even my minor quests aren't really minor... Pretty much, I'm here to make some awesome friends who can support and help me along the way & I'm here to support and help others too! If you're in QLD Australia feel free to send me a message as it would be cool to hang out with someone who has fitness goals and we could work to something together I also don't know where to go to next when I finish this post.. any help would be greatly appreciated!