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How does the repetitive movements in swimming affect muscle imbalances and lead to poor posture in swimmers? What are some specific exercises and stretches that swimmers can do to improve their posture and prevent injury? How long does it typically take for a swimmer to see improvements in their posture with these exercises and stretches?

This new challenge is all about exploring the habits I’ve been working on since I respawned here back in November. A little poking, a little prodding, and not being afraid to see what happens when I shake up the habits I have to make something new. Habits I’m bringing over from last challenge: 🌟Only eat take out or at a restaurant if I am with other people or involved in some kind of social event. This wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and I feel so great knowing I can go into a kitchen without blowing something up. New habits to form and challenges to take on: 🌟 I’ll be keeping up with my yoga practice, going at least five days per week. However, Mondays will be dedicated to learning crow pose. I’ve found some videos that will hopefully help me on this journey. Even if I don’t fully accomplish the pose, I at least want to start to learn something new and grow from there. 🌟 Posture. I have terrible posture and with my TMJ problems getting worse, I think my body could benefit from me caring a bit more about how I sit. If there’s one thing I’ve discovered as I get help dealing with my uncooperative jaw, it’s that everything is connected in so many subtle ways. It’s been so interesting to see how the neck/back/spine has been impacting my jaw, and I want to see more progress there. Plus, maybe it will give me a confidence boost, and I won’t say no to that. 🌟 Meet my My Fitness Pal calorie targets…most of the time, and continuing to track no matter what. I don’t want to be unreasonable, because that sounds like the quickest way to failing and ending up back where I started. I have some good food habits and some bad ones, and I want to eat better over all and lose weight, but I also want to learn what works while not totally removing the enjoyment from my life. Grabbing pizza and a drink on the weekend with friends is not off limits. The goal it to simply keep track, and not overdo it with the mindless snacking/stress eating/boredom-work-from-home-cupboard-adventures on a daily basis.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay through 22 challenges. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. In World 3, I continue to develop my fitness, getting my body in the best shape of my life, even with the Degenerative Disc Disease, Arthritis, Disc Fissures, and more. Through physical therapy exercises and karate, I have maintained my core and back muscles to ease the pressure off my spine, but in the end I defeated World 3 by transforming my life into a new form. With chiropractic care for my spine, hitting the high ranks at karate, starting the new Toastmasters program called Pathways, and working to complete my Novice training at IJRS, World 4 feels like something new everyday. I just keep on L-I-V-I-N, fight the good (and healthy) fight, and level up my life! Challenge Lesson: "Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it you'll never make it through the night." Hope is something which comes and goes. Like motivation. Or passion. Or love. Each of these need attention to be maintained or it will fade with time. Motivation needs to be refreshed. Passion needs to be re-energized. Love needs to be nurtured. Hope needs to held close to the heart. Hope is attached to these other concepts (motivation, passion, love) as well as others, like dreams, beliefs, etc. Hope is a theme in The Last Jedi and will lead to the epic conclusion in Episode IX. In health and fitness, hope is part of our goals. We hope to our plans work out and we meet our goals moving closer to our dreams... When things go off the rails, our goals are obstructed or appear to be out of reach, those are the moments when hope is most important. It has to be held onto through those moments, return with you to the drawing board, and make it to a positive achievement. Hope in something better is what can get us back up after a failure. If we let even a little hope go, then it can all slip through like sand in your hands. Maintaining hope is best done with priorities. We prioritize our lives by what matters to us. Most of us would say that family is our number one priority. Tie your hope for your goal to your number one priority, then it will never fade. My hope is to be a Jedi who influences the world to make it a better place for my children and their children to inherit. That drives me to coach, mentor, and teach others. It drives me to make changes in my life to be a proper role model for everyone who may look up to me. Another hope I have is to maintain a healthy body so that I can take care of my family, and give them as much joy and happiness as I am able. My back injury made me grumpy and sedentary due to pain and discomfort. I committed myself to fixing it. Part of that was financially through doctor visits, physical therapy, chiropractic care, and a spinal injection. The other part is making changes in my daily life to correct poor posture and spinal issues through exercise, diet, and better sitting practices. Hope is your life line. Without hope, your life may be lost. Keep that life line strong with prioritization. With hope, you will always be rescued. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 4 Level 4 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 320 min total, 80 weekly. STA +1, DEX +1 Walking: Fortify the Spine - 600 min total, 150 weekly STR +1 Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 240 min total, 60 weekly. STR +1, STA +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 560 min total, 140 weekly. DEX +1, STR +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 800 min total, 200 weekly. DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track lunch portions for 24 of 28 days. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly for 24 of 28 days. Cut out the crap. Eat salads, not burritos. Eat fruit, not cookies. Eat carrots, not Cheez-Itz. Eat less, not more. TURN UP THE HEAT! TURN DOWN THE EAT! CON +4 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete 60 Hours of various Chores and Maintenance, with at least 15 hours each week (reducing for the school year as I need time to help the kids with homework). Chores and Maintenance are the following areas (goal hours for challenge Dishes (10) Laundry (8) Cooking/Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming/Trash/Other (20) Yard Work (4) Animal Care (32) Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance (8) WIS +1, CHA +1 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($294.35 carried over) REWARD: For each week in which I complete 17 or more hours of Chores and Maintenance, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE: For any week where I complete less than 15 hours, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD: $5 for each Personal Project hour (Epic Nerd Camp, Extra Life, Jedi website, VHS-to-DVD conversion project, etc) CONSEQUENCE : Lose $10 for each week without a Personal Project hour. REWARD: $50 for each completed IJRS lesson. CONSEQUENCE: Lose $20 for each week without completing an IJRS lesson. REWARD: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSEQUENCE: Lose $5 for each day without fasting. REWARD: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSEQUENCE: Lose $5 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. REWARD: $2 for each morning or night of brushing and flossing. CONSEQUENCE: Lose $2 for each morning or night I forget to floss. Lose $10 for NOT flossing for the full day. BONUSES: Life: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training (mentoring, reading/writing, charity, meditation, IJRS lessons). $2 for each hour working on Toastmasters including meetings. $2 for healthy grocery shopping or healthy meal prep. $2 for each Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance hour. Workout: $5 for each cardio session over 30 min $10 for doubling any weekly minimum PUNISHMENT: Lose $10 each day with weight above 149.5 lbs. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any day. Lose $5 for each morning not weighing in.

So I have a horrible posture. Also, I want to get hench. Before I get hench, I need to fix my horrible posture. My first hurdle, which I seem to have tripped on and fallen on my face, is my pelvic tilt. There are many videos on YouTube that have seemed to help many people, but I just can't do what they ask me to. For instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp8KPPffIJw If you skip to around 5:30, he asks you to tilt your pelvis forward. I just can't do that, I don't know why. Do any of you have any workarounds to this problem, or maybe any tips? It's my first time actually trying not to be fat. The losing weight part is actually really easy, I've lost around 3 kg without really trying (I did some push-ups/sit-ups/stationary bike), and I stopped for a month and I'm still losing weight. I haven't really changed my diet, but I guess the weight loss has to do with an increased metabolism. I'm 15 if that's somehow relevant, but anyways, thanks in advance!

In my past challenges, I have focused on goals for each week or even days at a time. For example, 50 katas a week or 10 kicks a day for five days and it seems that I do good for a week or two or three and then it goes downhill. Seeing how those challenges have turned out, this time around I am going to focus on goals for the entire challenge instead of daily or weekly goals. Since I couldn't really find any gifs of JCVD that fit my goals, him kicking the bad guy from Timecop seems appropriate. 1 - Kettlebell with kicks workout - 14 times Since the kettlebell with kicks training is going well and I am seeing great benefits from it, the new plan is get in 14 kettlebell workouts in four weeks. I would like to do this workout every other day and if I see myself falling behind, I can always catch up. 2 - Karate stance training - 10 times One of the most important things in my Karate training is great stances and I know that they have to improve if I want to be competitive again. My stances are lower than they have ever been but moving forward without bobbing up and down and keeping my posture has eluded me. The plan it to do katas while focusing on the moves between the moves and time on the floor is the only way to improve them. 3 - Mobility or Flexibility - 10 times I feel a little more sore than usual with the cold weather lately and I know that some focused mobility and flexibility training will help counteract the problem. I have a lot of programs to choose from and getting them in before doing the stance training should help that too. Extra Credit - Write four blog posts I am still behind on my writing but the old flame is starting to flare again. Four blog posts isn't much but it will end up being more than I have published in the last six months.

HAHAHAHAHA. It was worth tendonitis just to get that challenge title. So, for those folks who’ve lost track at home, I’ve been having some tendonitis issues in my left knee for a few months, and mid-August I tweaked it really badly and I think it’s developed into ITB syndrome, so I’m spending this challenge doing rehab work and not inflicting any more damage. While I’m at the knee rehab, I have a couple of other nagging issues that need fixing, so I’m going to go for the three-pointer and include those in THE REHAB CHALLENGE. My twelve-step program: Rehab One: The Knee I have what I have self-diagnosed as an ITB injury, so I’m doing the following things to repair and rebuild the tendon: - I’ve pulled all the squat and squat-like movements out of my workout. This means no back squats, no wall balls, no thrusters, no box squats, no rower if I can avoid it. Sigh. So depressing. I can still deadlift, though, so I still have a reason to live. - eat soup once a day, for the collagen, to help rebuild. I’ll start making my own again (bone broth) and eat Mexican Chicken Soup and Pho at my favorite dives as often as possible. *nerd note: the homework I’ve been doing indicates that vitamin C improves collagen & protein uptake, which I found very interesting given that it’s traditional to squeeze a lime into Pho, which is my very favorite thing. Likewise for Tortilla soup, which is also my favorite thing. Actually I think we can all just agree that food is my favorite thing. I’ll be squeezing lemons and limes into all my food is the important bit. - Add abductor work to my workout. Leg lifts! So very, very Jane Fonda. Working abductor muscles should stabilize my knee joint and increase my hip strength, which in turn strengthens the joints below. I bought a resistance band in a particularly eye-searing shade of yellow to help with this. - exercise micro-bursts: This basically means that 3 times a day I grab the little 10-pound barbells I keep in my office and do some OH press, bicep curls, etc for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. There’s some studies that indicate this increases the body’s output of growth hormone, which in turn helps with healing. http://www.gnolls.org/191/walk-it-off-sally-why-exercise-helps-speed-injury-recovery/ Rehab TWO: Blood Pressure My blood pressure is high. I check it fairly regularly at that machine at the Publix, and it runs pretty steadily at 160 over 80. That’s officially hypertension, so unless I want to go on the medication merry-go-round, I need to get it down, stat. I also had a point this summer where it spiked to 190/80 for a few days and I nearly checked myself into the hospital because I was sure my brain was going to explode, but I may have just eaten an entire bag of teriaki beef jerky right before hand so I decided to wait and see if it normalized on its own (I cut all the salt out of my food too) and it did. But it’s not down enough. - Lower salt intake (obviously). Salt free seasoning, no bacon. I’ll have to make my own soups as much as possible because my GOD commercially available soup is salty. I checked a beef broth package in the store yesterday and it had 893 mg sodium PER SERVING. How does it even stay suspended in the liquid? Does it just precipitate out to the bottom and that’s why you have to shake the box? - Drink more water: I ashamed to admit that I drink almost no water. I mean it not like I'm doing shots of Early Times instead, I just tend to drink coffee all day and forget to drink water, and I drink soda with some of my meals. So I’ll switch to exclusively water and only one coffee a day. - Meditation: I had a really good run with meditation for a while but I stopped over the summer. It’s time for it to come back. Calming, lowers tension, blah blah blah. - Add potassium: There’s some studies* that show increasing your potassium is just as important as decreasing your sodium, so I’ve switched to a “Lite Salt” that’s higher in potassium and I’ll eat bananas and potatoes as my preferred carbs, as they’re high in potassium. Finally, an excuse to have baked potatoes every day! - Forest Bathing: okay, this is fucking weird, I admit, but APPARENTLY it’s a thing. You just go out and sit and look at nature, and it’s supposed to be very calming and can lower your blood pressure and tension. The Japanese are all about it. It’s probably effective just because you get away from your goddamn phone for twenty minutes but at this point I’ll try anything. https://www.outsideonline.com/1870381/take-two-hours-pine-forest-and-call-me-morning Rehab Three: Posture I have really bad upper-body posture (kyphosis) from too much time on the computer and phone. The bike probably aggravates this. I swear my head is about three inches in front of my shoulders, like a swaybacked horse. - Yoga, especially stuff that will work that posterior chain. The bike training program I use (Sufferfest) has a yoga program built into it that’s specifically for bikers, so I’ll use that. I already do yoga periodically so I just have to remember to do it. - Trap work and core work: I have a phobia of making my traps larger as they’re already big, but I’m going to work some trap/upper back exercises into my routine and see if I can strengthen/straighten that upper shoulder/lower neck region. I also almost never do core work, so that goes in too. It can take the place of squatting (sob) - I might not get this far, but I may make myself some sort of standing desk. Better for your back and all that. So that’s it! I actually started some of these things last week so I have a little bit of a head start, but I think you’re supposed to be in rehab for 45 days anyway so I don’t feel bad about it :-) I know it sounds like a lot of things, but some items overlap - like dropping squats and replacing with abductor work, or yoga and meditation - and some are just a matter of replacing things once, like buying the “lite” salt and some salt-free seasoning mixes. I’ve already weaned myself off soda (and had a headache for three days) so drinking more water is sort of automatic. (Although I may spend more time peeing.) Eating soup is easy, since I kind of live to eat anyway. The hardest things will be remembering the “micro-bursts” of exercise and the forest bathing. I’m glad mosquito season is over. So my knee has been bad, but when it comes back, you'll know, know, know... By the way, Amy Winehouse looks stoned to the cats in that video. How did we not know she was on drugs? * “God,” I hear you saying, “enough with the studies already!” Nerdbrain. Sorry.

Full Blog Post here: https://airawear.com/index.php/blog/shoulder-stretches/ Hey guys, I just published this article about shoulder stretches you can do anytime (very work-friendly!) but I wanted to share a short-and-sweet version here for you. You must be either a young kid or a truly healthy person to have never gotten stiff shoulders in your entire life. Unfortunately for most of us, we don’t fit the above bill. That includes me, and probably you too. Maybe right now your shoulders are stiff. Tense. Sore. Rounded and hunched even. Or maybe yours are like mine, creaking and clicking every morning. Just like rusted joints that haven’t been greased in a while. And if you didn’t get those stiff and sore shoulders from injuries or working out… You probably have been hunching horribly while working overtime for 2 weeks straight. Meanwhile, lazy cats like me get them from lying on the bed sideways, binge watching The Walking Dead on a laptop. What happens here is that we adopt awkward (sitting) postures… Developing unnatural tension in the upper back. What truly matters here is getting rid of those aches and pains. There’s a gajillion moments where you don’t really have a convenient solution. You know, when your partner isn’t around to rub your shoulders. When you’ve hit the weights 3 days ago but the ache still lingers. Especially when you just need that dull, jaw-clenching sensation gone… Before your irritability hits the roof and you murder 7 soon-to-be ex-coworkers. Let’s work on getting rid of the stiffness and aches in the shoulders. 1. Back Scratcher | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Raise one arm above you, placing the hand behind your neck area. Use your other arm to grab your elbow, and gently pull it inward for 15 seconds. Repeat for other arm. 2. Reverse Prayer Pose | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Try to bring your hands behind your middle back. Slowly clasp your palms together, bringing in from your last finger to your thumbs. As your palms come together, push your chest out a little and squeeze your shoulder blades. 3. Standing Wall Stretch | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Find a wall and stand at an arm’s length away from it Press your palms against the wall at shoulder height Without moving your palms, lean your upper body forward as if you were making it parallel to the ground 4. Corridor Stretch | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Find a wall, corridor, or pole and be at one arm’s length away. If none are available, proceed to find another person for support (don’t forget to seek permission first). Grip one arm on the surface Turn away from the surface and hold the position 5. Cow Face Pose | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: If you aren’t flexible enough to reach for your hand, grab something elongated (e.g. ruler, towel, stick) Place both arms behind your back – one from below and one from above shoulder level As far as you can, reach for both hands to touch each other If you’re using a stick, use your free arm to grab the other end of the stick Repeat for the other side by switching your arms 6. Sitting Cat and Cow | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Adopt a upright sitting position Curve your back inwards as far as possible, with your head looking towards your belly button Your shoulders will be pulled forward at this position Arch your back outwards, with your head looking skyward or even behind Your shoulders will be pulled backward at this position 7. Dipping Stretch | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Grab the back of your chair support (or the edge of the arm support as seen in the gif) Bring you butt to the edge of the seat, or as far from the back as possible Let me know if this is useful to you guys! Would love to hear whether it helped you If you want more stretches, you can see them in my blog post here: https://airawear.com/index.php/blog/shoulder-stretches/ Cheers!

As Zeroh celebrates not being a tree anymore, a hooded figure approaches them. "I need your help. Yes, it's urgent. No, I don't have time to explain." And with a puff of smoke, everything disappears. "Welcome to Hallowtowne." "Thanks, I guess..." "I don't have much time to explain. My father, the mayor, has gone missing. Why he would wander off during the busiest and most important time of the year is beyond me. But I need you to impersonate him." "Impersonate?" "Correct. We are in the midst of Samhain preparations and if anyone suspects anything has gone wrong, it could spell disaster for the coming year. Surely you understand how important this is?" "But..." "Now, drink this. It will give your skin a wonderful green pallor." "Green?!" "Of course! What other color would a zombie be? And these papers. They have everything you need to know. What else... Ah! If anyone suggests that you're acting a tad peculiar, blame it on your brain rotting." And with that she disappears as mysteriously as she appeared. Zeroh sighs, and flips through the papers. Page One: The Zombie You have become a little soft around the edges. The mayor is decidedly not. To impersonate him, you need to start tracking being mindful of what you eat. [Daily Goal: Eat 1800 +/- 100 200 calories (+1 point) AND 100g of protein (+1 point)] [Daily Goal: Mindful of food choices (+1 point) AND mindful of eating habits (+1 points) Page Two: The Witch-in-Training Maribelle is in charge of the food and potions. Unfortunately, she is a horrible cook. Fortunately, she is slightly better at mixing potions. You are to assist her in her training, and make sure she doesn't blow too many things up. [Daily Goal: researching (30mins) OR cooking (1 new dish) OR reading (1 hour) (+1 point)] Page Three: The Headless Horseman's Head Harold's body had a minor disagreement with his head, and subsequently rode off in a huff without it. Make sure Harold keeps up with his meditation practice so he doesn't loose his mind while he waits for his body to come back. [Daily Goal: meditation (10mins) OR reflection (5 minutes of writing) (+1 point)] Page Four: The Black Cat Salem has been neglecting her feline duties. Accompany her during her physical training, and make sure she isn't slacking off more than she should be. [Daily Goal: Exercise session OR Stretching session (+1 point) AND stay hydrated (+1 point)] Page Five: The Scarecrow Sonny has been fawning over one of the other scarecrows, but he won't even give him the time of day. Help Sonny become a better scarecrow so that he may impress his crush. [Daily Goal: Mindfulness of posture (+1 point) AND upkeep of appearance (+1 point)] Page Six: The Skeleton Skelly is in charge of the upkeep around Hallowtowne. They are also in charge of the decorations and other preparations for Samhain. But with the backlog of requests, this is just too much for one person. Do everything you can to make sure the town is ready in time. [Daily Goal: Chores (+1 point)] [Weekly Goal: Halloween Prep Assignment (+5 points)] Bonuses & Penalties TBD Bonus points will be awarded for the following tasks: drinking 1 liter of water (+1) unpacking, 30 mins (+1) sewing, 30 mins (+1) posting daily update (+1) posting weekly round-up without story (+2) posting weekly round-up with story (+5) And points will be subtracted for the following: eating/drinking junk (-1) buying junk (-5) Ranks S = Above 100% (Challenge Reward) A = Above 80% (Page Rewards) B = Above 60% (Pass) C = Above 40% D = Above 20% E = 20% and below Rewards Earning an A rank on a page unlocks a page specific reward. Earning a S rank on the challenge unlocks the challenge reward. Points are tracked on a spreadsheet that automatically calculates the current rank. Challenge Reward: The Serenity of Suffering (new Korn album, coming out on Oct 21st!!!!) Page One: New asexuality ring Page Two: Spice rack Page Three: Headphones Page Four: Water bottle Page Five: Pomade Page Six: Coloring book

Hello people! First of all, a little introduction. I've been training in martial arts and working out in general from a young age, but right now and for the next few months, I won't be able to either enroll in a gym or a MA class (I've trained in Taekwondo/Kickboxing so far and I won't to mix it up with new MAs), so whenever I don't have access to machinery, I design my own home program. I am 177 cm tall and weigh 75 Kgs. Unfortunately, the only equipment I have is a pullup bar, a few lady weights up to 10 Kgs and my knack for invention. Last week, after I told my GP that I had frequent tension headaches and tight neck muscles, I had some X-rays done, which showed a small sideways deflection of the cervical spine. My doctor is not that concerned, but she says this is due to tight chest muscles and bad posture, as I also have a slight forward neck and rounded shoulders. This came to no surprise as I over-emphasized pushups over upper back exercises in the past. After this diagnosis, I designed the following program, both to regain my fitness (exams, you see!) and remedy the issue: Mon (Core Workout): regular crunches, bicycle crunches, lower back extensions, reverse crunches, oblique side bends Tue (Upper Body): wide grip pullups, dumbell side lateral raises, dumbell overhead presses, dips, bicep curls, tricep extensions Wed (Cardio): martial arts practice, jumping jacks (the rest of the days repeat this, Sundays are rest days) As you can see, my upper body program is lacking. I eliminated pushups on purpose for the time being, and only included chest workout in the dips. I stretch every time before I workout, by the way, and even added a few yoga exercises to stretch my neck muscles. What I lack information about is how to strengthen the muscles opposite of the chest (I think they are called the romboids but I'm not sure) so that my shoulders move a little to the back. Bent-over rows seem to fit the criteria but I don't have a dumbell heavy enough (and it's difficult to hold more than one) to effectively do the exercise; 3 Kgs feel like air. Also, I can't move my bar lower to do inverted rows because it has already damaged the door frame. I was thinking about maybe suspending two ropes from it and doing inverted rows like this, but I don't know about its effectiveness. Any suggestions will be appreciated, thank you!

I am continuing with my agile self-improvement processes, rather than setting up-front several so-called SMART goals - a system which I think has quite a few weaknesses! The term "agile" is borrowed from software engineering, rather than the exercise idea. I am definitely not physically flexible - but we will work on that... My current status is as follows: STOP: looking at newspapers' websites - CHARISMA - HABIT making strangers' problems my own (particularly, trying to give advice) - CHARISMA - HABIT crossing my legs/hooking one leg over the other - POSTURE - HABIT buying sweets and chocolate - PHYSICAL WELLBEING - HABIT START: doing one gluteus medius strength rep per day - POSTURE - HABIT keeping fresh water in fridge - PHYSICAL WELLBEING - HABIT find & watch youtube video on progressive muscle relaxation by Wednesday 13th - PHYSICAL WELLBEING - TASK KEEP: clearing down to-do list - MAKING SPACE - TASK catching up on sleep - RECHARGE - HABIT noticing tension in shoulders and try to relax them - POSTURE - HABIT correcting posture when pushing pushchair out & about - POSTURE - HABIT correcting posture when doing the washing up - POSTURE - HABIT I have plenty more things lined up on my backlog but I think this is more than enough for now! I have been & continue to check off several Q2 (important but not urgent) tasks for my overall wellbeing/maintenance. I am hopeful to start a tai chi, qi-gong and meditation course this week but am waiting to hear back from the instructor. My pillars continue to be: Charisma, Posture, Physical Wellbeing, Recharge & Making Space (previously Decluttering).

I think SMART goals aren't necessarily great. You have to guess for a month what you think you might be able to accomplish, and it's very easy to set yourself too much or too little to do, and then get impatient for the next challenge to start so you can go afresh. My approach this challenge will be: work out what the next best 5% (or 1%) improvement I can make to my life at this point deduce a corresponding mini habit work out how to integrate this mini habit into my existing habit cycles once I have successfully integrated it & feel confidence that it's under my belt, move on to the next 5% (or 1%) improvement The last line means I don't have to set upfront some artificial timeline of when I think I might get to that point: I can it when I'm ready. So my 5 pillars of improvement this month are: 1. CHARISMA Next 5% improvement: When people (who aren't immediate friends/family) ask me how I am, reply with "fantastic!" "brilliant!" or similar. Although as I'm incredibly sick at the moment, I think I can get away with "I've got bronchitis, but otherwise fantastic!" until I stop feeling deathly lousy. 2. POSTURE Next 5% improvement: When I bend over to pick things up, do a squat down (bending knees and hips) rather than bending my lower back to do so. I think someone in my earlier life must have said something untoward about my bottom sticking out because I've been very conscious of that for no good reason, so I wonder if that's why I've developed a bad habit? In any case, time to change! 3. PHYSICAL WELLBEING Next 5% improvement: Search the internet for vitamins that are in a form easier for me to take (e.g. chewable vegan, or liquid with a pleasant flavour). 4. RECHARGE Next 5% improvement: Rest a lot to get over this chest infection. 5. DECLUTTERING Next 5% improvement: Tidy/organise the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

In any good alliance you need to be able to relate to, and understand your allies. Khajiit and Bosmer, working together. Apparently not as different as they look! This round I want to do a few things that involve more body-weight fitness, natural movement, and general health maintenance as I continue my board-study preparation. My goals will largely be focused on balance and getting needs met more than trying to make leaps and bounds in upping any strength metrics or something. Struggling to keep focused and on task is hard enough given I have to study for between 10-12 hrs a day/7 days a week. Oof. >.< This will have a little mix (some may share an assassin-y vibe or druid-y vibe), but I am still with you guys! Check on my updates/ramblings here: Khajiit Lady Log Task #1: Integrating in Grahtwood: Improvement on posture, movement, general body conformation Elven Posture because computers too long is bad! Do these exercises at least x1/day Natural Squat - do for increasing increments (can be split into multiple segments) Week 1 = 10 min a day Week 2 = 15 min a day Week 3 = 20 min a day Week 4 = 30 min a day Go on a walk all days not going to the gym at least 20-min each day (x4-6 walks/week) Plank 1 min each day Task #2: Keeping up in Greenshade Maintaining stamina and strength Gym x3 a week 15 min cardio (minimum) x3 sets of 2-3 weights (overhead press, dumbbell rows, bench press, deadlift, squat, curl all acceptable) 1 min dumbbell plank rows Task #3: Staying Sharp in Malabal Tor Staying on-task with studying and preparation; maintaining good mental health and well-being Awake by 7:30 AM; Asleep by 11:30 PM Mindfulness exercise (do in morning or before bed for 5 min) Reach at least 75% water consumption on Plant Nanny ~~~~ 5/09 Pre-Challenge Check In * Task 1: Did well with walking (did not miss a day that whole week!) and did a decent job doing my squat-sits. * Task 2: Only did Gym 2/3 of what I should have, which I'll amend in the coming weeks. * Task 3: Need to be better about the sleep/wake stuff. Really a struggle for me, as I finish studying between 10-11 PM at night, and want to do something else before sleeping. I also tend not to actually start working on study stuff till 9AM (after waking at 7)..which might help with that. Need to focus more earlier! Also need to be better about my water tracking. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sat Sun Task 1 Activities Posture - Y Y Y x x Squat - 10 min 10 min 10 min 5 min x x Steps/Walk 5177 steps 4713 5723 4003 3170 5249 5277 Plank - 1 min 1 min x x x x Task 2 Activity Cardio (min) x 18:00 20:00 x x x x Exercise 1 x 8x3 squats 8x3 DL x x x x Exercise 2 x 8x3 DRs 8x3 OP x x x x Exercise 3 (bonus) x - x x x x Task 3 Activity Sleep/Wake Times - - x x x x x Mindfulness Y Y x x Y Y x Hydration Y 93% 97% 83% DNC DNC DNC * Also will include a goal for metrics on next round. 5/16 Week 1 Check In Did well on Going to the gym and getting my walking in! Struggling to maintain all of the things, and to record adequately. I am going to stop making the plank a part of this and I think for now will give myself a break on sleep schedule because it keeps changing depending on my needs. Too many things to do this challenge To address the recording gaps I am going to start doing DAILY logging on NF via my battle log, so that might help? Also keep open my excel sheet so I can easily access it. Also started a sheet to track my weigh-training progression will let you know how it looks at the end of the challenge! Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sat Sun Overall: Task 1 Activity Posture 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 Squat 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 Steps 5191 731 4945 4436 4760 10074 1008 4,449.29 Plank 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 Task 2 Activity Cardio (min) 17:00 x 18:00 x 18:00 x x Exercise 1 8x3 SQ x 8x3 squat x 8x3 OP x x Exercise 2 8x3 OP x x 8x3 SQ x x Exercise 3 8x3 BP x x 8x3 DR x x Task 3 Activity Sleep schedule 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 Mindfulness 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 4 Hydration DNC 74% DNC DNC 88% 65% 76% 0.7575 5/23 Week 2 Check In 5/30 Week 3 Check In 6/07 Week 4 Check In

*peeks in* oh dear... Ive really let this go to poop I'm a first year medical resident in my mid-twenties in WA, studying and seeing patients. I am also a big fan of Elder Scrolls, Star Wars, Game of Thrones/ASoIaF, Animorphs, Outlander, Star Trek (TNG), and various other scifi/fantasy themes. Ping me if you play ESO! I would love to adventure with you. I'm also now into DnD5e and currently play and DM. I've fallen off the bandwagon here at NF a few times, but always worth it to try again and try to be a physician who is doing their best to practice what I preach, in a way! [[[ May 28 - June 24th Challenge ]]] LEVEL 1 - Basic Instincts Diet (pick two) Drink 1 bottle/glass of water in the AM and PM Eat one full, prepared and cooked meal with protein and vegetables per day Fitness (pick one) Complete the NF bodyweight workout at least 3x a week Go to a yoga class Level Up Your Life 5 minutes meditation daily Go on a walk OUTSIDE 3x a week ================================================= My OG Character who I think I ought to retire given how much I'm back to Level 1: Level: 4 | Race: Khajiit | Ranger STR: 6 | DEX: 5 | STA: 5 | CON: 6 | WIS: 14 | CHA: 4 Challenge 1: Step one to Escaping Dragons Challenge 2 v2.0: Getting back in the saddle Challenge 3: Getting to the Core of the Matter Challenge 4: Climbing the Ranks Challenge 5: IN PROGRESS (current) =================================================

For this next 4WC I am going to be spending one more month nailing down some good habits and foundation strength before I switch back to lifting weights more heavily. Goal 1: PowerYoga\Flexibility training 4X a week To be a true Shinobi I need to flexible and able to move my body with complete control and fluidity. Goal 2: Water!!! at least 100oz a day can have one cup of tea or coffee a day (no energy drinks) A Shinobi's body must run at optimal efficiency I need to flush out the amount of crap I have been eating and drinking...sorry NOS energy drinks we must part ways... Goal 3: Posture. A Shinobi is mindful of himself and his surroundings at all times Not really quantitative just need to remain mindful of the way I sit and walk because I slouch waayyy too much and it isn't helping my back and neck any. Goal 4: For the Clan I want to make it a family habit for me, my wife and our two kids to go for at least a 10-15 min walk everyday to unwind. We used to go for walks all the time and now it seems like we spend a lot of time inside watching movies or messing with our phones. So I want to bring back the family time and get our asses outside again. Also I want to plan 1 family night a week where we either go out somewhere or we have a game night or something fun. Goal 5: Foam Roller Simple roll it out at least 10 mins a day, mainly my back. Goal 6: Lifting Make time for at least 1 day a week where I can throw some stuff around. It is more of a stress relief day than a GAINZ day Goal 7: Walking In order to be a good Shinobi I must be able to travel long distances and build up the legs. I must walk for at least 30 mins 3X a week, preferably outside but I will allow some treadmill time. SO there we go. Now lets do this

Despite 2016's determination to start on a bad note, I'm going to try this whole "if you can't change your circumstances, change your attitude" concept. A fellow rebel pointed out that I was being kinda hard on myself for not being a smaller size and hitting more goals, despite alternating between lifting weights and being heavily injured for most of last year. Upon buying clothes that fit what I am, instead of what I want to be, I realized that my attitude wasn't the only thing out of whack- my posture had actually been affected by crap attitude and crap clothing as well. So here's what I want to fix: Posture: Stop slouching when sitting. Posture: Stand centered, weight on both feet, toes forward rather than splayed out. Attitude: Stop taking temporary setbacks as personal failures. Attitude: Stop being depressed about numbers. Strong and lightweight are not mutually compatible. Obviously, there are a lot more attitude/expectation issues that I need to fix, but that's going to be a long-term thing, and I think this is a good start. Now, how to make these measureable? Posture - sitting: Keep tally how many times per day (at work only) I have to remind myself to sit up straight. Posture - standing: Make a conscious effort to fix this every time I stand. Check natural posture in the shower, weekly. Attitude: Replace last month's workout routine with last year's as my base-level comparison. Keep tally of temptation to compare myself to ridiculous idealized goals. Attitude: Weigh/measure once at the beginning and once at the end of the month. Shift focus to how I feel, not what the numbers are. Keep tally of negative feelings toward personal numbers (weight, clothing size, etc). So the goal will be to reduce the number of tallies for each of these, and have better posture in the shower (most relaxed stance) at the end of the month. Oh, and life goal: own the Intro to Parkour class I'll be taking this month. I'm beyond excited about this.

Hello everyone I'm a freshly baked assassin, ready for my first challenge of this year. I have a big talk to give in week 4 of this challenge (3 weeks to prepare, that is) - well, okay, in the grand scheme of things not all THAT big, but it's exiting and new for me and there will be a lot of people listening who potentially know way more about parts of the topic than me, and this as a lot of potential to go both great or become a giant mess. So, I'll put all my energy of the next weeks into making it great! Or, as good as I can, at least. That also means that I won't have time to update here much (or talk to people, probably - I'll become more social when this is over ), but I'm still up for this challenge! Quest 1: Posture workouts In order to at least look confident during my talk, I'm going to work on my posture (which is pretty slouchy right now and has always been...). I'm going to do a 30 minute workout of all the important muscle groups three times a week. Since I'm also going to Aikido practice two times a week (which includes pretty core-heavy warm-ups) that should be a good amount of exercise. Quest 2: Stretches This is also posture related: I can't even make my lower back have the proper amount of arch when I stand up because my hip flexors are too tight. My neck muscles have improved during the last years, but there's still lots of potential. So, I'm going to do a 10 minute stretching session (of hip flexors, quads, chest and neck) every day. Quest 3: Aikido When I'm stressed with work, I'm prone to skip practices, so I challenge myself to not do that and turn up to 2 Aikido classes a week and learn as much there as I can. This is important not only to not get out of shape too much, but also because Aikido never fails to re-center and destress me. There are so many great lessons there that can be applied to the rest of life just as well... Spending some time there will likely improve my talk preparation, too ^^ Life quest: Prepare for the talk Putting this here so I can come to the forums to complain when I have a freakout Grading (for quests 1-3): A - 100% (12 posture workouts, 6x Aikido (last week I'm away), 28x stretching) B - 83% (10 posture workouts, 5x Aikido, 23x stretching) C - 67% ( 8 posture workouts, 4x Aikido, 19x stretching) Okay, it is set. The game is afoot!

Like so many other mathematical words, adaptive also has a meaning in normal english: characterized by or given to adaptation. Thank you google. Fortunately, a few definitions later it basically says that it is something that can be modified . Currently, I'm suffering from a depression with exhaustion as my biggest symptom. I have no idea what I'll be able to do each week, so I'll have an adaptive challenge. I usually exercise a lot (cycling ~45-60 minutes a day, walking ~30 minutes a day, c25k twice a week and climbing once or twice a week on average), so I don't need more general exercise. However, I do need more energy, a better posture and to stay injury-free. I also want to be able to do some awesome tricks in the future, like a freestanding handstand, a nice bridge, a pistol squat on each leg, one armed push ups, etc. So my single quest for this challenge is: Quest 1: formulate a subquest for each of the following categories every week on Sunday or Monday: a. Posture b. Stretching and yoga c. Push-ups, glute strength and core strength d. Adulting e. Fun Note that I did not include a full strength program, that's because I train my pull-muscles and legs with climbing already. I need stronger glutes to compensate for my quads and calfes, my knees are already starting to hurt because my glutes are not strong enough at the moment. I will use this week to set a (simple) base. Subquests for this week, starting tomorrow: a. Posture: do 3 sets of 5 shoulder rolls during the day, every day of the week (0/4) b. Stretching: do 3 different stretches every day of the week, the stretches must include a calf stretch and a quadriceps stretch (0/4) c. Determine which push-up and plank level of startbodyweight I should start with and do one extra set of push ups and planks. Complement each workout with 3x5 glute bridges (0/2) d. Clean or tidy at least 5 minutes every day, not counting the dishes (0/4) e. Bake a no knead whole wheat bread (0/1)

Back with my first challenge in a while as i need something to keep me accountable trying to form some new habits At first glance this isn't going to look very warrior-like, however i am still lifting 3-4 times/week, a habit which is fully ingrained now, and i think there must be other warrior folk who could benefit from similar things (who couldn't?). I foam roll and stretch after each session, everything here is in addition to that. Back story ======================================================================== I keep getting injured (shoulder and back). I don't like it. It's screwing my progress. Its miserable. It hurts. My posture is whack (non-official diagnosis). I started a thread with helpful stuff here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/70646-counter-desk-job-program/ Big things a-happening ======================================================================== Finishing job (desk, boo) 5 days before end of this challenge, prior to emigrating 1 month after (hello America!) My stag-do (bachelor party for the US folk) is 3 days before the end of this challenge. I hope to be improved, if not fully better by then so i can enjoy whatever activities come my way. I have a wedding in a week or so, that will likely be an "eat/drink like an asshole" time, which i'm allowing. Main goal ========================================================================= Improve posture, be more flexible, have better mobility, fix injuries, prevent injuries (those are all one thing!) Tasks ========================================================================= 1 - Do SOMETHING from the above thread every single day. Trying for 10mins/day outside the gym. 2 - "Don't eat like an asshole" - I think it was Curl Brogo who came up with this phrase, apologies if it wasn't. 3 - Resist the temptation to go back to squats and deadlifts too early. Other than doing SOMETHING every day i have no real specific goals. I don't see how i can have with these. As always, suggestions welcome. Please prod me if it appears i've fallen off the wagon.

The further i go in lifting the more i realise what a number a 15 year desk job has done on my body and posture. I'm slowly coming up with a bunch of moves that i try and fit in every day in order to counteract what some people are calling a modern day cancer. I was just wondering if anyone else had any suggestions of good things to add, and for what? What i've got, broken down into problem categories is below. These are in addition to a balanced lifting routine.... Rolled shoulders/kyphosis --------------------------------------- Face pulls Band pull aparts Shoulder dislocates Handstands (jfreaksho) Scap dips (get in a dip position, and push your shoulders down as far as you can, away from your ears, with straight arms) (jfreaksho) Scap pushups (similar, but from a pushup position, and horizontal instead of vertical) (jfreaksho) Inverted rows (jfreaksho) Anterior pelvic tilt --------------------------------------- Glute bridges Quad stretch Hip flexor stretch hollow body holds or planks (jfreaksho) General mobility ---------------------------------------- Caveman squat Caveman squat pushing knees out with elbows Foam rolling Thoracic bridge (this really fits into all categories, i also want to work up to the thoracic bridge flow) http://phraktured.net/starting-stretching.html(jfreaksho) http://phraktured.net/molding-mobility.html (jfreaksho) Kettlebell hardstyle swing and get-up (Machete) Books and resources ----------------------------------------- Becoming a Supple Leopard - Kelly Starrett (500+ pages) Free+Style - Carl Paoli (400+ pages) Simple and Sinister - Pavel Tsatsouline (100 pages) (Machete) MobilityWOD principles (hour long video) - Kelly Starrett (Machete) https://youtu.be/3WOpb8PrrSc http://www.mpcalisthenics.com/stretching/the-7-stretches-of-highly-flexible-people-2(BaconHunter) Basically, lets throw ideas around and get our modern day selves fixed! Cheers

So, I've got a big butt. And because of my poor posture over several years from sitting on the side of my bed or leaned over a desk playing video games, I've got something called a "Lower-Cross Syndrome" that makes my butt look even bigger than it already does, and makes it a bit more difficult to get proper form when doing things like squats. What are some exercises that people recommend for solving this issue?

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!

Goals 1. Posture I've realised that if I want to get anywhere in life, I need to sort out my posture as a keystone building block. Other important things like confidence and professional, relationship and personal success hinge on me standing tall, as I currently project totally the wrong image. I have to do everything to make this a #1 priority. I need to introduce more cues to remind me to check and modify my posture. I need to up the physio's exercises to more than once a day. I need to introduce further stretching exercises to improve my posture. I will brainstorm a list of reasons why I must absolutely make a breakthrough on this, NLP-style. 2. Reduce Sugar Digestive biscuits, dried fruit & fresh fruit are okay. Cakes are allowed once in a while (max: every 1.5 weeks). The ice creams in the fridge are also allowed when weather permits. Otherwise, I should seek to minimise any sugar intake. 3. Make Progress Towards Passing Driving Test Pass theory and hazard perception test. As I'm unable to practice outside of lessons, use visualisation exercises to improve my technique. 4. Advance To-Do List Will put to-do list items here later...

--Challenge 18-- I'm going to P all over this challenge No not that P, this P! Goal 1 - Posture I got hurt in a car accident and the physio has advised me to correct my posture. It seems to be working but I need to keep my focus on it. I'm not sure how I will measure this yet.... Goal 2 - Paleo Carry over from my last challenge, slightly amended to 6 days of full paleo per week. Goal 3 - Programming It's looking like my whiplash recovery is going to take months rather than weeks. As I am limited in what exercise I can do and I can't play squash I've decided to do a more conventional lifting program with gradual progression. I'm going to setup a program for lifting 2 days a week with a third day of PT with my coach doing whatever he prescribes. Bonus Goal - Photo Take a weekly progress photo

So, I’m just a little excited for the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in a matter of weeks! As I was going back over some old 6 week challenges, I was reminded of Steve’s blog post about the Avengers from 2012. This led me to some of his other posts about becoming a superhero: How To Become A Superhero In 4 Easy StepsHow to Create Your Own Super PowerCombining my excitement about Age of Ultron with my desire to be a superhero, I shall become tenaciousglee: The Skinniest Avenger! Before I can take my place among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, I need to hone my body and skills to be more like them. As such, here are my goals for this challenge: Goal 1 - posture as straight and true as Hawkeye’s aim As most desk jockeys do, I often find myself hunched over my keyboard, or sometimes just beating my head against my desk. I also find myself slouching when I stand, so I want to improve my posture. I am going to attack this goal by completing daily posture exercises (tracked on HabitRPG). Hat tip to Phayze for the exercise suggestions and push to join HabitRPG.I also recently discovered the site Bony to Beastly, where they are all about fixing posture to improve not only your appearance, but also your muscle-building ability!Goal 2 - the neighborhood friendliness of Spiderman While I would love to crawl on walls and swing between buildings, that powerset still eludes me. So how does a non-web-slinger get around the neighborhood? Walking! My reason for making this a challenge goal is to build the habit and also because walking is a good way to burn calories without catabolizing my precious muscle. I’m stealing a page out of Waldo’s book for this one. He always seemed to walk regardless of whether he was bulking or cutting I’m going to track my steps with my UP by Jawbone wristband with a goal of 30,000 steps per week. It’s a little over 4,000 steps a day, but I’m still a desk jockey and trying to start small to build the habit. My plan is to either walk 15 minutes on my lunch break, or potentially after work with the kiddos to boost my numbers.Goal 3 - the genius-level intellect, mystery-solving ability, and body recomposition powers of Ant-Man/Giant Man/Hank Pym My longtime goal has been to pack some muscle on my skinny frame and that’s not about to change. I’ve been trying to eat above maintenance calories for the last few months, but I have been slack about tracking my calories. I’d like to pack on 5-6 pounds over the next six weeks, so that means 500 extra calories a day, or some variation to get to a surplus of 3500 calories per week.As for imitating Hank Pym’s intellect and mystery-solving ability, I’m going to continue to analyze the data I’ve collected over my past 19 challenges to look for patterns of what worked and what didn’t as I tried to gain weight or get lean. I’d like to have the ability to know what needs to be done diet/exercise wise based on my goal at any given time.Goal 4 - the indomitable spirit of Captain America I’ve been fighting a bit of burnout at work and it carries over to my home life as well. I’ve been working on a project for almost 18 months now and we’re already 3 months past our original Go-Live date and struggling to pin down a new Go-Live date. There are a lot of reasons to be stressed out.So my goal is to shift my focus from things that are stressing me out to things that make me happy. My plan is to list at least one thing by the end of the day that has gone well, either something positive at work, or something that I enjoyed about my kids or my wife that day. I’ll be tracking this in HabitRPG as well.I’ll be working out 3 days a week, following a modification of the Avengers workout from Steve’s article. I’ll do the A and B days on Monday and Friday, with a bodyweight progression day on Wednesday. Trying to keep everything simple: push, pull, legs, core. On a final note, I'm succumbing to peer pressure from my last challenge and posting this in the Assassin's guild instead of the Rangers because so many of my NF buddies are now Assassins. I'm looking forward to seeing what all of you are up to this challenge!

In my past challenges, I thought that I had good plans in place and simple goals, achievable goals. For some reason, they haven't worked as planned and even though I always start off like gangbusters, around the third or forth week, it seems to fall apart. With that in mind, I am going to throw all the specific plans away and do the plan of no planning. Instead of being detailed and strict with movements and goals, this time is going to be do what I do as long as I do something. My goal of better kicks is still the main focus but it's time to take a different path to get there. 1. Kick every day No specifics here, just do some kicks every day. I can be 1, 10 or 100 kicks with each leg the only requirement is to kick every day. The kick doesn't matter as long as some type of kicks are done. 2. One exercise every day Again, no specific exercises but they have to be related to my hips, glutes, abs or core in general. It can be one or 10 but at least something. 3. Stretch every day A single stretch every day no matter how long it's held, dynamic or static or a full routine, stretching needs to happen. Life goal: Clear my head of what's not needed This is one area where I am struggling and doing something to help me get focused on what I need to focus on and not focusing on what I don't need to focus is becoming more important. Walking, meditation, sitting in seiza for a few minutes or breathing kata could be some of the things to help me get in or out of my head. There may or may not be more to come to the plan of no planning....