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And thusly it was spring. I emerge from my winter 'bulk' feeling disillusioned with my gains and ready to change things up. Its a bit of the same, a bit of some new, in four weeks, I'm gonna do some stuff: I still want to run 5k. I was pretty damn close last time around. My leg, while not entirely normal, is healing, and I want to 3 miles with it. I still want to deadlift 315. This time I want to do it without a belt, and definitely do it with proper form. I want to hold a 3+ second freestanding handstand. A second or two is a fluke. I aim to finally get some handstands in my life. I want to shed at least 3 pounds. My winter and vacation weight is beginning to show and slow me down. I feel the yearn to unite my slightly newfound strength with slightly less mass. I want to publish 2 awesome tracks of music. I aim to put out an EP or something this year. I'm going to need some awesome tracks, so I'm going to finely hone 2 tracks in this next month. So yeah, its gonna be great, fantastic even. Lets go!!

For those following along I have two main goals for 2017 and each of my challenges will be based on them and build on the one before it. Body recomposition. Get under 183# and stay there, while also getting tough as nails. Be awesome at my job. Be the one that people say “she gets shit done.” New addition to this visual image: be a productivity ninja! My theme for this challenge is “YEAR OF THE MOUNTAIN GOAT”. Strong, flexible, resilient, tough climbers. To achieve body recomp: I need to be strong, flexible, and disciplined! I want to climb mountains in my fitness. And I need to work on my mobility to get there. Inflexible mountain goats fall off mountains. To achieve my work goals: I need to be strong, flexible, and productive! What do lazy mountain goats get? the bottom of the mountain. And I want the panoramic top of the mountain views. I want to climb mountains at work. Challenge Goals Fitness Goals: 7x per week: Daily mobility, defined as doing at least 3 stretches/holds per day (Repeat from last month. I’m still working on this.) 3x per week: Review my squat form notes before every workout (Should be easy…) 3x per week: Tracked in 5 min chunks, do 15 minutes total of abs/glutes per week (New goal, I will have to work on this.) 2x per week cardio: 1 hike and 1 other cardio per week. If weather dictates I can do 2 random cardios, but only if weather says so. If I want to be a mountain goat I must HIKE! (I have been doing the 1x week hike, so I’m building on that with 1 extra cardio, no time goal at this point for either, just build the habit.) If I’m smart, I would try to do all 15 min of abs/glutes before or after the 1 cardio session at the gym. Work Goals: These compound each challenge. To achieve my daily work goal I must do all three. Maintain a daily to do list (January) Use last 30 min of each work day to catch up on any old emails I have put off. (February) Spend at least 1 hour per day on focused work. No task hopping! Do each task until done. FOCUS. (NEW) Gardening Goal: Do weekly care of houseplants and work plants, track with other goals as 1x week goal Bonus Mountain Goat Checkbox Goals: [ ] By the end of the challenge: Go to the thrift store to look for new cubicle decor. Bought workout/hiking stuff instead. [ ] By the end of the challenge: Create a visual map of my work projects / responsibilities. [ ] In the last two weeks of the challenge prep garden beds for spring seeds Tracking notes:

If you have never seen Stephen King's cocaine inspired masterpiece "Maximum Overdrive." You really should. It is next level bonkers. If you don't enjoy watching terrible movies but like making fun of them "How Did This Get Made?" did a great episode about it. Bonus points for Andy Daly involvement. The goals this time around are: 1. Nutrition and Recomposition I hired a nutrition coach at the beginning of February to help me lose body fat and drop down a weight class. I started at 224, which represents the heaviest but also muscliest I have ever been. I would estimate about 38% BF based on tape measurements. Today I am 213 and I have lost 1" off my hips and 0.5" off my thighs. I am very happy with that progress. Long term goal is to compete in the 198 weight class, so in terms of nutrition plan I just keep eating what she tells me to eat. 2. Hypertrophy Mesocycle I am going to compete in a PL meet June 17th (also my 5th wedding anniversary, husband has mixed feelings about this). Starting a new 12 week prep cycle so the first 4 weeks is hypertrophy city. I have the next month planned out as 65-80% range with lots of reps. I am well aware that actual muscle growth while on a cut/recomposition/deficit will be minimal. If I can maintain my strength and still hit the same numbers after dropping 2 weight classes I will consider that a smashing success. 3. Pharmacy Career Goals I found out yesterday that I did not match with any residency programs. This really bummed me out because I liked the places I interviewed with, and I thought they liked me and would rank me high on their list of candidates. Alas, only 60% of candidates will be accepted to a program because there are 7000+ people fighting for 2500 hundred spots nationwide. The good news is there is a "Phase 2" second attempt for all the people like me to match with a program with unfilled positions. There are 140 spots left. So there is still a chance but the odds are even worse. And we have 3 weeks to scout the remaining options and submit all our application materials again. So yeah.

I'm having a little drama trying to figure out the best next step for me program wise. Ideally, I want something that doesn't grind me into the ground quite so much so that I can use the additional recovery for met-con style work (I'd like to add fitness and leanness to my still growing strength profile for several mostly personal reasons). From what I gather, the juggernaut method looks like it'll be the right fit for the purpose of allowing extra recovery, except its a 4 day a week program, and that doesn't really fit with me being a shift worker. Just wondering if anyone has any experience, or knowledge of whether the program can work as a 3 day a week program (and just shift the 4th session on to the next week)? Also, I currently squat and bench 3 days a week, and deadlift twice a week, is the likely drop in frequency going to cause too many issues? Or will it all just sort of balance out in the end? As a side note, I'm competing in May and will then likely have around a year before I compete again to try and actually change weight classes and get generally fitter. So, if the frequency thing is only an issue for those prepping for a meet, this would likely be the best time for me to drop that back.

The Ghost returns! I'm not super active around here as much anymore, but thought I'd still drop a meet report. F TL;DR: Went 7/9 (again) (failed 3rd squat and deadlift attempts (complete fail)), left some pounds on the platform but still set some 4 PRs. Amazing experience for my first meet and reinforced my stance that everyone who ever thinks about doing a meet, competition or race should just do it. PLAN YOUR WORK. WORK YOUR PLAN! TRAINING & MEET PREP: Going into this meet I ran Candito's 6 Week Strength Program, which has been amazing. Prior to that I ran Layne Norton's 13 Week PH3 program which was sweet. Decided to do this meet 6 weeks out, when @miss_marissa told me to just do it. This was my second powerlifting meet, first with AAU. Training went amazingly, especially squats. Bench, as always was a little rough. Deads weren't feeling great either. But overall, all lifts weren't on the decline and I had no lingering injuries or aches & pains. Here are my squats leading up to the meet: As you can see I was feeling strong in squats, which is by far my best lift. MEET: This was my first meet with a 24 hour weigh in, first meet I had to travel and sleep at a hotel for. The original plan was to feel like a bad ass and ride the motorcycle 2 hours South from Vegas to Laughlin, but the wife put the kabosh on that when weather reports were expecting 45-50mph gusts that weekend. So (no thanks to myself) I played it smart and drove down in the car. The day of the meet was a bit long, as anyone who has competed knows. Rules briefing was at 830 and then the meet started...the weightlifting meet. Didn't realize WL would be going first before PL. It's always amazing to see the skill, coordination and grace of weightlifters, but I was mentally amped to start lifting a lot earlier than I would get to. I had been worried about making weight as a couple of months ago I was push 200lbs and debating if I should just cross the border and see how big I could get. The "diet" was relatively simple; cut out beer (6-12/week), cut out fast food, cut out cookies and snacks. That got me down to the mid to high 180s, and then a week out I started to waterload, and water loading SUCKS BALLS. Drinking gallons of water is just not fun and causes so many trips to the bathroom and a few 90mph trips on the highway to avoid pissing myself. Thankfully, I easily made weight coming in at 178.6lbs on that Friday. After I weighed in and got checked into the hotel, I made a dash to the casino buffet and drank & ate ALL THE FOODS. So many carbs were consumed and everything was heavily salted to replenish all the stuff I had been peeing out for the past 5 days. SQUAT: Warmups for squat started while the WLers were on their 3rd snatch attempts. Training at a gym with typical plates in pounds sucks when doing a meet in kilograms. Warm ups were rough and I couldn't take the jumps I normally do because of lifting brain and having to accommodate other lifters as well. The most stressful part for me leading into a meet is picking my attempts. Again @miss_marissa gave me advice to just be conservative with my attempts and I chose not to listen. I really wanted a 435 squat and based my attempts on that goal. Opened at 175kg/386lbs and that felt smooth and easy enough. This was a meet PR, as my best squat last year was 374 or so. Once I racked the bar, any nerves and butterflies instantly disappeared. But as I did for my first meet, I got in my own head when going up to the scorers table to make my second attempt. The plan was for 185/408 or being conservative at 182.5/403, but ended up at 180 and this is where the wheels wobbled. Second attempt was 397 and felt pretty okay. This was another meet PR. Third attempt was 187.5/413 and the wheels fell off. My issue, I think, was not staying on my plan and then not just staying off of it. I should have just stayed conservative here and got a clean lift. Hopefully I will be better at the next meet. Tied for best raw squat at 180kg. BENCH: Warmups for bench was fast...because I'm weak and use light weights. I went 3 for 3 here, which as an improvement over last year where I missed my second attempt. No bench video because poverty bench can't afford recording devices. Opener: 95kg/205lbs Second attempt: 102.5kg/226lbs Third attempt: 105kg/231lbs (Meet & Overall Pause PR) DEADLIFT: Deadlift warmups did not feel especially well due to abnormal warmups. Opened at 375lbs just to make sure I got the first attempt easily and didn't bomb out. Second attempt there is no video but hit 185/408 which is a meet & overall PR. I was a mess. Chalk covered hands and baby powder covered forearms and thighs, I'm the weakest cheater. Third attempt was conservative at 187.5/413, but was a miss. Back started to round and I think I just gave up. RESULTS/WRAP UP: Went 7 for 9 with two complete misses. Ended up getting 4 PRs. Increased my total by 30lbs and increased my squat PR by 20lbs or so. Didn't do nearly as well as I wanted to, especially on squats. Not sure how I placed, as the results are not out yet but I think I came in 4th overall, with the top lifter have an equipped squat and deadlifts in wraps and ended up with a medal. RANDOM THINGS: Masters and youth lifters are still and forever will be the coolest lifters at any meet. 74 year old, 70% blind lifter set a couple of bench world records. 12 year old did the weightlifting meet and then came back and deadlifted. And a 14 year old set multiple world records for all 3 lifts. I was not thinking about competing or seriously lifting weights when I was that age, I was out doing things 12-14 year olds should not be doing, but none of them involved setting records. One lifter flew in from Nigeria to compete, thought that was crazy. Had the day not been so long, I would have participated in the MAS wrestling competition that was held right after MOVING FORWARD: Again I was really happy with this meet experience. I was looking at doing another meet in September that would be more local so the family could finally attend, but that has been pushed up to July. The Sept meet is AAU Worlds and is capped at 300 lifters, July meet is capped at 50. It would seem cruel to have anyone not into lifting sit thru that long of a meet. So the plan is to have a fuck around bodybuilding deload (starting today), run Candito with low training maxes and then run Candito with more accurate maxes.

So last challenge I think I finally started getting things figured out... I also found out last week that I have not lost any strength, and have in fact gained some, and I am down 7 inches total since the start of the year. Part 3 is going to change some things up a bit, since I no longer have to embrace my hellish workouts because both my trainer and I hated them. Goal 1: Keep With The Check Boxes Aim to do better than the previous week (until I consistently hit good marks each week). Sundays will not count, that is my "no fitbit" day. 2. Meal Planning For The Win 30 days of healthy lunches, and 30 days of planned meals (Blue Apron Dinners from Wed-Fri acceptable). - Have first two weeks planned out before official start date of the challenge - Finish 1 other weeks planning each Sunday - 1 "F'it" or dinner out meal per week acceptable - Actually measure food 3. Solidify A Workout Routine I tend to fail at consistency lately when it comes to workouts, I normally get at least 3 days in but I would like to make sure I am getting in 5-6 days of activity weekly. 3 weight training days, 1 accessory day, and 1 "whatever I want to do but I better do something day" minimum per week. Life Goals! - I got the shirts (though some are still on back order), this month I have to get them printed or at least have a print shop to go to once the T-Shirts are in. If I get that done quickly enough, I need to set up a photo shoot by the end of the challenge, and start getting our stuff put on the site/social media. - Curtains! Since I didn't do that last challenge. Lets Do This!

I am looking for some shoes for powerlifting and I am running into a lot of conflicting information. I am looking for a single shoe for all three lifts because I don't want to have to haul around different shoes on different days; not to mention the added cost of buying multiple pairs of shoes. I want a flat bottomed shoe with minimal toe to heel rise and stiff soles. I have tried on chucks and they just don't fit. The toe-box is not big enough for my foot and I am a weird size for them (11's are too small, 12's are comically big, 11.5's are nowhere to be found minus taking the chance and ordering them online) Any advice or suggestion is greatly appreciated!

Starting weight baseline: 198 lbs. CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Metrics CrossFit Athlete profile: https://games.crossfit.com/athlete/602549 PRELUDE: 2017 has been an interesting year so far and turning 30 last autumn even more so. Shortly after the new year’s start I received some delightful advice from a certain Rangerly chaplain about taking time to work on myself no matter the state of affairs in my life, and even though I’m living on my own terms again, there’s no better time than the present to follow through on that transformation. Though I might be starting late (or early, depending how you look at it), it feels good to be focused and on the rise again. This challenge is dedicated to Rurik working on Rurik. BLOOD & IRON ALCHEMY. MyFitnessPal tracking 5 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] 4 CrossFit classes per week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] 3 Supplementary workouts per week: ☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] Retest two or more CrossFit metrics: ☐☐ NOURISH THE MIND / BE MORE HUMAN. Mindful Moment before meals [Challenge Total: __ ] Try to visit Rurik’s Happy Place™ daily: ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ 3 sessions of “something resembling meditation” per week: ☐☐☐ GET SHIT DONE. Post a daily challenge update at least 4 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐] To-Do list… ☐☐ Debt Management. ☐ Skin Care 101: have moles looked at/removed. ☐ Read: Pending ☐ Oil change. ☐ Make insurance claim for car tire. ☐ Have wheel assembly repaired before it falls off and I die in a fiery car crash. ☐ Finish V-Day prep. ☐ Drop off my donation shit. CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: Hearing the call of duty once more, I drag myself from the morass of a dingy hotel room in a forgotten third world country (read: new apartment in the same old city I've come to love) and rise to the demand again... What started as an endeavor to motivate myself toward a more inspired and considerate lifestyle and daily routine strangely, as it so often does with me, became so much more. Where once I’ve derived motivation from marauding vikings, barbarians and warrior dwarf archetypes or relentless tomb raiders and methodical operatives, ultimately I’m just Rurik. So my challenge inspiration is just that... me. Even if I like to think of myself as a modern viking, a little something like James Bond meets Conan the Barbarian. Life is too short but I can’t forget there's always time to make meaningful and impacting changes on my health, body, and spirit; not only for those people in my life who are most important but also for myself. It’ll be a process, one I’ll have support and encouragement through, but ultimately a journey more important to me than anyone else. It's Boom Time™, motherfuckers.

1. FIGHT OWENS BROVATAR KORRA FIGHT! Continue following training program for powerlifting meet March 18th, 2017. I am now in week 9 of 14. Stick to the program! But also doing a Strongman competition for fun February 25th LOL. My PL coach is nonplussed with this decision, but also hey I'm throwing all these weights around to have fun and who the fuck cares as long as it's still fun, right? It's not like I've got sponsorships on the line or anything. After doing a Strongman Saturday last weekend I was hooked all over again. Also winning first place would not be too shabby. I would earn an invite to USS nationals! 2. NEW DAY NEW WAY! For now I am going to keep logging weight and macros in MFP, and stick to overall calorie goal. Will hopefully be updating this soon with more details as I am currently seeking out the services of a nutritionist that provides meal plans. 3. PR CITY Someone did this last challenge (sorry I forgot which warrior!) and I liked the idea so much I'm stealing it. Goal is at least 3 PRs per week. "PR" could be for reps, for volume, or just trying a new exercise. (If it is the first time you try it, it's a PR!). Also I just love Charlotte Flair. 4. Climb that Career Ladder! Time to finish pharmacy school! Only three more months, woohoo! All my residency interviews are now complete. I'll find out on March 17th if/where I was accepted. Talk about a crazy headspace the day before a competition. Thems the breaks. Goal is to not slack off, gotta still study for my licensure exam.

2017 Lifting Competition #1, The Amorous Assessment of Anatomic Artillery! Awhile back, forum member Andy Gates came up with the idea that we do a virtual power lifting meet where everyone tests their 1 rep maxes in the big 3, and we compete for bragging rights. It was such fun that we decided to make in an official Nerd Fitness forum activity that we do every 4 months or so. The competition will be held from February 11th through February 26th. During this time, test your 1RM in the powerlifting lifts (squat/bench/deadlift) and/or in the Olympic lifts (snatch/clean and jerk) and post them in the SCORING SPREADSHEET. The highest individual and total powerlifting Wilks scores and the highest individual and total Olympic Sinclair scores will receive championship titles to be defended during the next virtual competition . The powerlifting and weightlifting lifts may be done on different days so that people who want to participate in both can put their best foot forward each time, but all powerlifting lifts need to be done in a single session and all weightlifting lifts in a single session according to the rules below. Before you do your attempts, you may enter your name, gender, and an estimate of your body weight in order to sign up and declare your intent to compete. Do not enter any poundages for any lifts until you do them! This sheet is for results, not planning purposes. Just enter the 3 attempts in the attempts columns, not the "best" columns, placing an "x" next to any lifts you fail. The sheet will do the rest of the work. We're using kg, so just multiply by .454 if pounds are your arbitrary mass measurement unit of choice. The sheet includes calculations using the Wilks Formula for the powerlifting section, so we can judge across sex as well as weight. The intent of the Sinclair score the way we are using it is the same, but for weightlifting.Everyone is welcome here, of all classes, abilities, and levels of fitness. This is all for fun and the major reason we track it is so we have a record that you can come back and check your progress against later (ok, and bragging rights). Reporting is all on the honor system, but videos are encouraged!The Prizes: Each individual with the highest individual lift scores for their gender will receive a forum title declaring them as the champion of that lift, which must be defended at the next virtual meet in order to be kept. The individuals with the best weightlifting (PTE, explained here) and best powerlifting (highest Wilks) across genders totals a t-shirt from the NF store, once it reopens, in addition to titles. The Defending Champions are: NF Powerlifting Champions: NF Women's Power Lifting Champion- Tankweazel [451.81] NF Women's Squat Champion- Tankweazel [163.86] NF Women's Bench Press Champion- Tankweazel [112.81] NF Women's Deadlift Champion- Spezzy [182.71] NF Men's Power Lifting Champion- Juni0r83 [329.28] NF Men's Squat Champion- Juni0r83 [121.16] NF Men's Bench Press Champion- wildross [93.64] NF Men's Deadlift Champion- Gainsdalf [146.01] NF Weightlifting Champions: NF Women's Weightlifting Champion- Miss_Marissa [73.70] NF Women's Snatch Champion- Miss_Marissa [36.87] NF Women's Clean & Jerk Champion- Miss_Marissa [36.87] NF Men's Weightlifting Champion- Rurik Harrgath [228.70] NF Men's Snatch Champion- Rurik Harrgath [96.44] NF Men's Clean & Jerk Champion- Rurik Harrgath [132.22] Powerlifting Rules: You get three attempts in squat, three attempts in bench press, and three attempts in dead lift, in that order. Standards are page 17-20 of this, but minus the judge participation. You must do all 9 attempts within the same workout. You're doing this on your own, so you're expected to judge yourself. You can also take a video of the attempts and post them here for us to judge (I usually do). The best result from each of the 3 lifts is added to your total. If someone squats 240, 260, and 280, only the 280 is added to their powerlifting total. Weight on the bar can not go down for a given lift, only up. I can not attempt 280, fail, then attempt 240. So pick a weight you know you can do for the first attempt on each lift. You may compete in any of the individual lifts and not do others if desired, but you're BIG 3 total will be 0. There must be at least one successful lift in each of the Big 3 in order to have a qualifying total. Weigh in on the morning of your lifts. This is the weight you use for the competition. Generally the rules details would be IPF RAW, which means no squat or bench suits, no knee wraps; belts and wrist wraps are fine.Weightlifting Rules Weightlifting competition runs in the same fashion as a powerlifting competition. You get three attempts to establish a max snatch then three attempts to establish a max clean & jerk. Again similar to powerlifting, the weight on the bar can not decrease but you can repeat a weight after a missed first or second attempt.All lifts must be performed from the ground - no hang or blocks - and the lifter must demonstrate control with the barbell fixed motionless overhead before safely dropping the barbell. Some of the other rules directly correlate to executing the lifts safely so here's a few automatic "red lights". No part of the lifter, other than their feet, can come into contact with the platform at any time. The bar can not make any contact with the head or neck (other than the front rack during the clean). See also: no egregious press outs. During the clean the elbows may not contact the lifters knees or legs. Costume rules should follow the raw powerlifting guidelines. Complete weightlifting rules can be found HERE.Tips & FAQ: This will be updated as questions are asked USE A SPOTTER AND OTHER SAFETY PRECAUTIONS- We don't want anyone getting hurt. Use a spotter, preferably 2 (one on the each end of the bar) and safety bars on squats and a spotter on bench. Take long breaks between attempts of the same lift so that you take each lift fresh. Lift order for powerlifting is squat attempt 1, squat attempt 2, squat attempt 3, bench attempt 1, bench attempt 2, bench attempt 3, DL attempt 1, DL attempt 2, DL attempt 3 Lift order for weightlifting is snatch 1, snatch 2, snatch 3, clean & jerk 1, clean & jerk 2, clean & jerk 3. Take a weight on the 1st attempt on each lift as something you know you can get, such as what you can typically do for 3. and go from there to ensure you post a total. Especially if this is your first time, chose weights you are confident in and try to complete all 9 attempts. This will help build confidence for future lifts and competitions. If you participate in an organized competition within 2 weeks of either end of the competition dates, we will generally let you count those weights for this competition. Future comps will be at the end of challenges 5 and 8.

Given the new movie is out and I walk through the streets in which its set every blinking day, figured it was time for a Trainspotting challenge... Plus an excuse for a lot of Ewan McGregor pictures (Kevin McKidd and Jonny Lee Miller are also acceptable). I've got just over a week until my first comp of the year and I'm currently recovering from a nasty hip flexor strain, so lots to talk about. Choose Lifting I'm training four days a week with just a couple of sessions off for the comp. I'm doing okay-ish with hitting the heavy singles but the volume is intimidating at the moment. Currently sitting on the couch with epic DOMS after sessions Tuesday and Wednesday. Anyway, the goal is two-part. 1. Don't psych myself out of lifting weights because I think they feel tough when the video shows they're moving fast. 2. Do my fucking accessories Basic training week structure is generally Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (or similar) with the current programme looking like this: Day one - comp squat and bench plus accessories Day two - comp deadlift and bench variation plus accessories Day three - squat variation and comp bench plus accessories Day four - deadlift variation and bench variation plus accessories I often split off the accessories into a separate session if I finish late. For comp lifts, I work up to a heavy single (RPE8) then volume, variations I work up to reps at RPE8 (varying numbers) then back off sets. Choose meat and veg and eggs I'm not going paleo or any such thing but I've signed up to Avatar Nutrition so I'm trying really hard to hit my numbers. I won't do so on the day of the comp, but will try to hit my numbers. They may change each week so this week's is: 1971 calories, 213g carbs, 55g fat, 156g protein. That'll get updated next Wednesday. My goal is to get down to c.61-62kg then reverse diet so I can stop having to stress about making weight and be a bit leaner. Choose life Given I have a tendency to sink into lifting obsession, I need to do other stuff too. I took up skating again at the beginning of January so I'll aim to make it to skating once a week other than next week. Do at least one 60 minute session of yoga. I haven't done any in ages. Play Zelda on my SNES. Play some more World of Final Fantasy. Take Grant out for brunch at least once. Go and see T2 Trainspotting.

Hey ya'll! First time on the challenges, long time lurker of these amazing forums. Just gotta say you all are super motivating and the way people encourage others to do cool stuff around here is really uplifting. Ok, enough of that, Its time for a challenge! In 4 weeks, I'd like to get some things DONE: I want to do 5 towel pullups. Done, and now I guess I can crush things with my super hands. I thought I was decent at pullups, but I like, can't hold onto a towel. I want to get strong and do that. I will fast til noon every weekday. When I eat, the real hunger starts, and the floodgates open. Lets keep busy and focus on food for later in the day, yeah? I want to run 5k. Not a 5k mind you. 5k distance. This is mostly contingent on my leg fully healing, as I'm still feeling the aftereffects of overuse from last fall. I want to run again. I will finish at least two books. Easy and done. Moved on to more. Fahrenheit 451 anyone? I've got a stack of books by my bed, and they need to be devoured. Between the bus and bedtime, I am going to crush this. I will talk to my boss about the future. Done, and now the future is less murky, yay! I have a contract job. That contract will end this year. I am scared of the future, and of talking to my boss. I have to get strong and talk about the future. I'm going to deadlift 315. Done, now to do it again with even better form. I've been chasing this for years, stymied by leg injuries and poor form. I'm going to get there in 4 weeks . I will finish my 3d environment. I fancy myself an artist, or at least, my art school degree tells me I am. I still do some 3d art on the side, and I've been noodling on an environment piece. I'm going to finish it in 4 weeks and its going to look awesome. I got a bullet journal and aim to plan out every week and be all productive and stuff. Its gonna be great. Heres to progress! Go forth and reap the gains.

On the agenda for this challenge: Dog sitting three lovely dogs from Feb. 19 - March 9 Continue preparing for my return to England for a PhD Hopefully get my passport and visa back so I can schedule my flight Goal 1: Sleep hygiene Screen curfew at 8 pm (7:30 pm if I still need to shower before bed) all the nights. Meditate for 10+ minutes before bed 6x/week. Exception: *After* I get ready for bed, I can Skype my boyfriend for a total of three hours past my curfew, summed over the week. Watching a show/movie with him during this time is allowed, but other internet browsing is not unless it's something that needs to be done for my return (e.g., paperwork for our flat). Each curfew infringement past 15 min --> I have to subtract one hour from that extra time with my boyfriend. Goal 2: Food prep Prep my food for each day the day before at least 6x/week. Bonus: prep for 2-3 days at once so I only have to meal prep 2-3 times/week. For me this means 1. Portion out my meat (and cook more meat if I need to). 2. Weigh and microwave sweet potatoes. 3. Cook free-choice veggies. 4. Optional: portion out some coconut oil. 5. Bonus: add food to MFP once it's portioned out. Goal 3: Mobility Mobility? What's that? Recently I haven't been doing any mobility outside of my gym sessions, which is suboptimal. Spend a total of 1.5 hrs/week on mobility (yoga, stretching, foam rolling, lax ball work, etc…) outside of gym sessions. I'm allowed to multi-task when working on mobility (what do you mean it's weird to foam roll while Skyping?) LUYL Goal Work 15+ hrs/week. Work = finishing school paperwork, reading the literature in my field, working online courses, learning maths, organizing my research-related papers and notes, conversations with my supervisor, etc. Ideally I'll work up to 20 hrs/work, but I'm not going to stress about hitting that number since I'll also have the dog care as a job (+ house sitting for my mom who is also on holiday until March 1). It's been a while since I've completely aced a challenge, so it's past time to break my streak of mediocrity. Towards this end, I also have an unofficial goal to post my workouts and regular updates this time around! And maybe one day I'll be properly active on the forums again...

Hi, I'm Steph. I just joined the academy as I simply can't do this on my own. My relationship with food and myself is horrendous and needs fixing - so I thought I would start a thread to be accountable. Following the mindset module in the academy here are the first things I've been considering: I was trying to write my why statement and started writing words to help me construct it, the list of words is this: embarrassed, ugly, tired, bad role model, weak, unhealthy, PCOS, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, migraines, lazy. So yeah.. that's super positive... I don't have diabetes, heart disease and I haven't had a stroke, but my Dad did at 57 (which he was not expected to live through, but made a miraculous recovery and made it to a medical journal). WHY Statement I am embarrassed to get up each morning and get dressed in clothes that fit me extremely poorly and don't look good. I don't present a good role model to my daughter (who is 2 today), I don't present a confident, beautiful, happy wife to my husband, and I don't present a professional woman to my workplace. I am always tired, and I often fall asleep on the sofa in the evenings which isn't making the most of the time I have with my husband and doesn't give me time to keep our house clean and tidy. My training is sporadic and does not allow me to meet my lifting goals. It also neglects other aspects of functional fitness that I would like to posses - being able to run, being flexible, being able to do things without pain. My nutrition is beyond terrible and is resulting in weight gain, and a worsening of PCOS symptoms. At some point I would like to get pregnant again, but this won't happen if I continue down this path. My health WILL deteriorate if nothing changes. So something must. Goal Setting: My future self I am someone who cooks healthy meals for my family, and has a selection of pre-made foods in the freezer for when time is tight I am someone who is "functionally fit" and can try out any exercise/class/sport without fear I am someone who strength trains 3 - 4 times a week and can squat 100kg, deadlift 120kg and bench press 60kg I am someone who has their PCOS under control through diet and exercise I am someone who wears a UK size 12 I am someone who goes for walks at the weekend with her family Healthy Loot ideas Weightlifting belt Knee sleeves Fractional plates New gym towel New tikiboo workout leggings New yoga mat New charm for my charm bracelet Next steps Setting up mini quests to achieve the big goals above Taking starting pictures and measurements Reducing sugar in my diet

Hi All So I’ve been on NF since August 2013 and refrained from creating a Battle Log. Had the mindset that no one would want to hear me gloat, bitch, whine, have highs and lows. So I just kept track of all my info on my work computer…we update the operating system and I lose all my info and tracking. Not only will this be great to keep track of everything, but it’s less about who will read it and more about having something else to stay accountable to. Quick back story; I am a 25 (soon to be 26) year old male who just moved out to Chicago from Philadelphia/NY with my girlfriend. I started on my quest almost immediately when I moved, thinking new job, new place, new lifestyle. I was doing a version of the NF Barbell Battalion and SL5x5. Then I got hurt dum…dum…dum. And felt sorry for myself and completely stopped for almost 2 months. But now I’m back! Current stats: Weight - 174lbs Squat - 180lbs (5x5) Bench - 150lbs (5x5) OHP - 95lbs (5x5) Deadlift - 185lbs (1x5) Enough with this and onto the Daily Battle Log part.

I'm going to keep the legend thing going until I am one. Just so you know. And then I'll be The Legend of Hellda. And that will be cool...but I suspect never enough. In here I'll keep a log of my training; lifting, derby, gym or otherwise and probably some general day to day musings. I'm not an avid food log keeper because of a long history of eating disorders but I guess there will be some mention of food etc in here too. Oh, and self care stuff, because that's important! Anyway...today was a rest day, I have killer DOMS after the training session with Special Sundae yesterday, I've felt grotty all day and it was my nephew's birthday party. Tomorrow is Sunday. On Sunday's we skate This is from yesterdays session:

I have worked out consistently in the past and I loved the feeling of being strong and able to accomplish whatever is asked of me in my life. However, life happens, and I've dropped the ball on being consistent with both food and exercise. That stops here. This past weekend I was encouraged by my brother and sister-in-law to join them at a strongman charity competition they are going to in April. I love to lift, especially the feeling of strength and accomplishment that comes whenever a challenge is met and overcome. Since this competition is about 2.5 months away here are my general goals to help me get there: 1) Go to the gym 3 times a week to lift. 2) Walk at least 15 minutes every day. 3) Focus on recovery on non-lifting days. 4) Focus on nutrition and hitting my macros consistently (167P, 209C, 80F). I started this log after I started doing the work, so here is what I've accomplished so far this week. Monday, Jan 23 Lifting - Squat (5x5 75), Bench (5x5 55), Row (5x5 70) Accessory work - Weighted Hypers (2x10 10), Weighted Situps (4x8 10), Tricep Extensions (3x8 15) Nutrition - 152P, 143C, 75F Tuesday, Jan 24 Walked dogs 1.13 miles (22 min) Nutrition - 91P, 218C, 57F Wednesday, Jan 25 Lifting - Squat (5x4, 3x1 75), OH Press (5x5 45), Deadlift (1x5 125) Accessory work - Pull ups (3x10 Assistance level 16), Barbell Curls (2x8 35), Sit ups (3x8) Nutrition - 172P, 205C, 68F

I'm jumping in late with a three week challenge! A lot has happened since I disappeared from the forums in October, so let me explain… At the end of October I went to Wales and England to visit my friends for a month, which was spectacular. What I didn't say in my last challenge was that I was working on obtaining a PhD studentship back at my former uni in England, because life is short and I'd rather be in the UK. Studentship and funding have been obtained, so I'm England-bound at the end of March! And this also happened in England in November: Another reason I can't wait to return! GOALS 1) Track food on MFP 6-7 days/week. I'm still following the autoimmune paleo protocol, though, minus a few reintroductions, so no peanuts! 2) Sleep hygiene: Screen curfew at 8 pm (7:30 pm if I still need to take a shower before bed) Meditate every night before bed 3) Get 50,000+ steps/week LUYL Plan main daily activities (appts, work, lifting, Skypes, etc) for the week on Google calendar, tweaking throughout the week Work at least 15/17.5/20 hrs/week for challenge weeks 2/3/4 respectively (work = applying for visa, uni paperwork, reading papers, online courses, self-guided study, chats with supervisor, etc.) Misc. things to do by end of challenge: Apply for my visa. Read up on and try out the gymnastics rings my boyfriend got me for Christmas. #BestBoyfriendEver Write up an intermediate lifting program, with room for ring work.

Hi all just discovered this community and it looks pretty neat. Im a fledgling powerlifter in the 198lb class with 375/240/430 currentmeet lifts as of December. Just looking to get stronger and meet like minded people.

I've been spending a unreasonable significant chunk of my winter break playing Alienation. I chose the Tank class (naturally) and since I've been enjoying it so much it is the theme of my challenge! Goal 1: Follow 12 week training plan gearing up for powerlifting meet on March 28th The tank class must be powerful! Luckily this is all worked out already. Just gotta follow the program and hopefully earn a new big three total. And no extra work. Trust the program! And you coach! Goal 2: Continue Eat To Perform nutrition program, logging macros daily I'm not clever enough to tie this into health and XP pick ups. Goal 3: Increasing steps I need to create a bigger calorie expenditure deficit, so I am going to be running around the map to finish more side quests and teleport to all the UFOs I can find. All that running around should work out to about 9,000 steps daily. Goal 4 Life Quest: Residency Interviews Now that all the applications are submitted, I have to be prepared by reviewing my CV, practicing questions, and buying a new interview outfit. OMG I am dreading buying an outfit. There are no suits for women with traps and delts! I must tear through this challenge like a plasma shotgun tears through a horde!

He I'm now. From the Netherlands and own a gym. I just enrolled in my first powerlift meet! And I'm planning to get a powerlift girls team going at the gym. Underlying thought I have an auto immune disease and want to show the world that we can do stuff!

My challenge to myself for this next cycle is to work on bringing up my weak points and focusing on things I've been neglecting. I feel like in order to take my lifts to the next level I need to do the following: 1. Put more emphasis on back development. A. Include horizontal rowing exercises in at least two of my training sessions per week. (typically on my bench press day after my main sets) B. Work up to being able to perform 15 dead hang chin ups per set. C. Include farmer's walks and shrugs at least twice per week. (On squat day and deadlift day after the main sets) D. Include lower back isolation work on a GHR at least once a week. 2. Bring my Hamstring and glute strength up. I've always been a quad dominant squatter and deadlifter and my posterior chain is lacking. A. Perform hip thrusts twice a week. B. Perform RDL's and good mornings once each per week after squats and deadlifts. 3. Fine tune my sumo deadlift form. I tend to set up with my shoulders fwd of the bar which causes the bar to drift fwd as soon as it breaks the ground. A. Utilize and practice Chris Duffin's deadlift setup cues. B. Keep my weight low enough to ensure I don't revert to my old habits just to complete a set. 4. Maintain good warm up and mobility habits. A. Ensure I go through a good enough warm up to prevent any new injuries when lifting heavy. B. Continue to improve hip mobility in order to achieve better leverages. I am new here so I just want to say hi and I am really excited about this forum. I've needed a community like this for a long time.

I thought it might be time that I actually started a battle log for my workouts rather than boring everyone in challenges by wandering off topic. I have a couple of competitions coming up, although I'm waiting to hear about sponsorship subsidies before putting in my entry forms (or next week, whichever comes sooner). For anyone who hasn't come across me before, I took up lifting in April 2013, started competing in February 2014 and I'm heading to my first national championship in September 2014. I don't eat clean. I stress out about the scale (it matters that I stay in my weight class). I post way too many Instagrams of my food and my ass. Don't follow me if any of those bother you. :-D (Second one is February 2013-July 2014 as I didn't have a side on picture from January 2013.)

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Front Squat Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Front Squat lifts (that have been reported) on the Nerd Fitness forum organized by Wilkes Points. For more information about the Wilkes Coefficient, go here. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system power lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. You can report a weight in a set that you've done. - You will only be given credit for the weight you lifted in terms of the leaderboard (i.e. if you did 100kg for 5 reps, you'd only be given credit for 100kg on the leadreboard). That said, if you provide a set with reps, I will calculate the an estimated 1RM for you. Just check out that column after I get the entry updated. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted and number of reps (typically your 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Wilkes score). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). Note: leaderboard only shows in your web browser and not on tapatalk

I think this is my 3rd Daily Battle Log throughout my time here on NF. I am coming off an 8 week hiatus, or mental health break, just saying life got hard, shit got left gathering cobwebs and functioning to a level of breathing, keeping kids fed, clothes got washed, the rest is just a blur of WTF happened? So here I am starting over and giving life a go and getting fit and mentally healthy again.