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So here is a placeholder for the challenge. Basically, I am trying to slim down things. I am busy as all get out, I have no energy, PT has been making my knee hurt when it didn't before, and work is still crazy. So I backed the challenges down and am hoping to do just these jobs. If I can get this down, then maybe I can get better and get somewhere. So yeah, the whole challenge is do the things every day. Max number of things I need to do is 55 things, goal is to do 50 things since those HAVE TO get done. Here is to hoping I don't flake out and hide and say "Nope" when the answer should be "Do it." Oh and anything that is marked as green 1 under value HAS TO BE DONE, no excuses Nerd Fitness Challenge 9/7/2022 Day of week Day Goal Value Description Strength 1 Desk Push Ups 5 1 Raised Arm Circles 1 PT exercises 1 Calf raises 1 Backward Leg Raises Flexibility 1 Wrist Extension Stretch 7 1 Wrist Flexion Stretch 1 Meditating Groot 1 Toe Touch 1 Warrior 1 1 Cresent Moon pose 1 Ankle Circles Life and Family 1 Brush Yappy dog 1 Brush Ninja dog 1 Water Garden 8 1 Water Front beds 1 Spend time with Agents 1 One good thing 1 NF status update 1 Talk to Hubby Future Me Favors 1 Floss in morning 1 Take Morning Vitamins 1 Find one way I am not like mom 1 Read a book 1 Take Bloodpressure 12 1 Out of work by 5:30 1 Take anti-inflamatory med 1 Japanese practice 1 Check orders account 1 Nightly downtime 1 Floss before bed 1 Be in bed by 10:30 Daily Skirmishes against Chaos 1 Desk 1 Clean off file cabinet 5 1 Clean off tall dresser 1 Clean off nightstands 1 Clean off Dresser Campaigns against Chaos 1 Pick up one furtumbleweed a day 4 1 Empty out car daily 1 Pull one gross thing from fridge or cabinet 1 Purge 1 thing a day Walking 1 Walk 10000 steps 1 Walk 15 minutes a day 1 Walk 5 minutes at lunch 6 1 Walk 5 minutes in morning 1 7 hours with 250 steps 1 Walk to Mordor Fuel 1 No eating after dinner 1 Take Probiotic 1 < 4 bottles of tea 8 1 Eat something for Potassium 1 Eat dried Apricots 1 Eat Breakfast 1 Eat Lunch 1 60 oz of water Total Points Possible 55

My track record here speaks for itself. But I'm back again. I can't spend too much time here recounting things like a journal because #toddlermomlife Daily check ins only. I will not even think about keeping up with others. Sorry, but again #toddlermomlife So goals: Walk 5k steps a day, ideally including 30 min morning stroller walk with sidekick PT twice a week and daily exercises and ice at home IF 14+ hours a day MOAR veggies Do something that I enjoy, that's not a fracking numbing behavior. Bedtime is roughly 10:30 Other things: Shelf or other fabrication so laptop can be at eye level while I'm on the treadmill. Once built, CR watching limited to treadmill time or PT/ice time. Will be buying tablet and stand for treadmill. Plan weekend trip to state park for fall color hike. Plan/purchase costumes for Tiny Human. Plan/purchase costumes for self. Doctor appointments - GP for physical and bloodwork, also referral for hand pain - hand pain doc - psych for med check - counselor

It's been a while since I've been consistent and intentional with focusing on my health and fitness goals. There are many reasons for this - shoulder surgery this autumn, the pandemic, feeling guilty that I want to change my body even though I love myself, the list goes on and on and on....but I'm ready. I'm done wishing that I had started taking the steps to reach my goals. I'm done starting over again and again and again. I’m done letting other people’s opinions determine what I do, or don’t do, with my body. So, I’m using the time during this holiday challenge to hone myself for the new year. Challenge Quest #1: Paleo Prep I'm not as bad as I used to be, but still have a lot of room to improve. I am moving to a paleo approach to eating, so the weeks leading up to the first challenge of 2021, I will be cleaning things up to make the transition that much easier. I'm already mostly gluten-free but will be removing all grains, aside from white rice from my diet. I will also be removing added sugars, and mostly removing alcohol - I will be completely cutting out alcohol for the first challenge of the new year. Challenge Quest #2: Cardio I am so slacking here. Big time. I'll be bringing strength training into my routine with the first challenge, but I want to build up my aerobic fitness. I'm terrible about holding my breath when dancing and doing more intense cardio. I'm going to do thirty minutes of cardio everyday. This can be any kind of cardio - low-intensity steady state, HIIT, dancing, yoga, whatever. Just thirty minutes of getting my heart rate up every single day. Challenge Quest #3: Hydration I love drinking water! I really do. But I can be really bad about staying hydrated during the colder months of the year. I have a beautiful 64oz water bottle that I carry around my house with me, I will be aiming to drink two full bottle everyday. Side Quest: Physical Therapy I need to stay consistent with doing my daily PT exercises for my shoulder. I've been slacking a bit, and I can't do that. I have a lot of exercises to choose from, but I need to do at least ten minutes every day. I'm getting started a bit late, but better late than never!

Hello Nerds, annyshay here! Back again for another challenge. I'm not going to make too many tweaks to things at the moment because they're honestly going really well. I want to maintain my momentum. For those that don't know me, I'm a thirty-something single lady that who lives with an orange tabby named Dragon in the Northeastern US. I've been a member of the Nerd Fitness forums for many years. Along the way, I met my health coach, Amy Clover, who has been helping me move past dieting and performance health based on external metrics to focus more on the way that I want to feel and building habits that support that. I'm going to go back to the elements for my challenge this time, with a heavy emphasis on those in Avatar: The Last Airbender (lovingly referred to in the future as ATLA). Earth - walk at least once a day Air - intentionally seek out support Fire - PT exercises Water - cook 1-2 times per week

I had surgery on my spine ( slipped disc/paralysed right foot) on June 5th and am recovering well. last challenge I beat the "pain dragon" with the druids. I meditated, wrote, lost weight, cooked and prepped healthy keto foods. Movement not possible pre surgery. Now its time to get back going. Right now I am able to walk more than 4000 steps with breaks and am pain free. The next weeks I will experiment with my own personal rehab program, supported by my neighbor who is my PT as well. Im a cello-teacher and writer and will also level up on the time I spend with research for book #2. To help my spine I need to lose some more weight. As a 52 year old (queer) woman I feel its not about what my body looks like ( that's fine ) but about what my body can do and will be able to do as I keep aging.My dog has been very patient with me but enjoys the walks we could restart since last week. My long-term goal is to hike/run? longer tours in nature with the pup. I joined this guild because I also want to do bodyweight/strength stuff again. (was heavily into CrossFit for a couple of years) Starting out with stretching and PT stuff for my back and stomach to help my spine longterm. Since Im in recovery I can't predict the condition I will be in during the next weeks. Therefore I will adjust my goals weekly to make sure the goal is neither too hard nor too easy. Here are my goals until Sunday 21th. : food: cook and prep healthy keto meals. eat 2 meals a day. veggies are your friend! drink 3 liter of water/coffee/zero sugar drinks/ tea daily movement: complete 21.000 steps until Sunday 21th 8pm. breaks are your friend. careful with your foot! wait bodyweight stuff until you are ready! nothing this week practice sitting, starting with 15 mins and going to 20 mins without break life: complete 3 hours of research for your book this week don't cancel any Cello students because you don't feel like getting dressed I will post often and will read what you are up to as much as I possibly can! ❤️

Howdy ya'll, It is I, the frenchiest fry...except that I'm American... ANYWAY I recently enlisted in the Army National Guard, and I was wondering if there are any specific/special workouts and programs I should be doing to prepare for both Basic Training and the training in RSP. As always, thank you guys! -Katie

My last challenge didn't go so well. I have been having health issues for a few years. Ranging from pretty mild to only feeling ok 2-3 days out of 4 weeks. I am doing much better, but I still have issues and no real path on how to get better. Have you ever read about the psychology study were they put a person in a room with buttons then hook the person up to electrodes and then they shock the person randomly? By the end of the experiment most people come out swearing they found some complicated elaborate combo to stop/slow the electric shocks. Though really the shocks are just random. I sort of feel like that is what is happening to me. I do somethings that seem to help me feel better, but then later it seems to have no effect at all. Haha. Diet: This isn't exactly planned out. I think I will aim to hit low carb macro. I'm not really sure what to do. I have been doing keto, but it is driving me crazy and it seems like that isn't necessary. However I do feel the need to get back on for at least 6 weeks. PT: I went to my first PT appointment last week. My plan is to do exactly what the PT says. He wants me to stop lower body exercises so we can make progress. Right now I have 4 exercises to do daily. Next week I will most likely get more. Run: I was told I was allowed to run provided it didn't make things worse. My goal is to run once a week. I am hoping for twice a week, but that might be too much right now. To-Do List: I have been trying to catch up on things around the house. I will have to think about the point goal. I have run out of things which fit the old scheme I have been using. So I need to find other things I can throw on the list, change the points per item, or drop it to a 75 point goal. Really I have so much to do I don't know how there aren't more items on my list. PT is the core of the fitness part of this challenge. I was told to stop leg stuff for now, so it will be interesting. I was told I could run though. I don't really like running, but I guess I need some sort of cardio. Right now at my gym we have been doing arm stuff once a week so I think I need to figure out some other arm or core stuff another day of the week. Or maybe the PT will be enough down the road?

At my old school, we just did gymnastics and ate doughnuts all the time, but now I've got the chance for a fresh start and I am going to use the opportunity to just do better: better for my body and better for my personal growth. But, obviously still having fun in the mean time. I mean, I hear there's a kegger on Friday and I bet the cool kids will be there. 1. Homework -Do prescribed physical therapy exercises as they are recommended -Lift 3x per week I want to work on all sorts of fun things (start going to the ninja gym! back twisting on tumbletrak! back handspring series! take a circus class!) but need to get my shoulder straight first. Lifting can be done without compromising it, I am pretty sure, so I will take my PT recommendations in stride and keep trying to get workouts in in the mean time. 2. Bagged lunch -Track daily caloric intake for a few weeks -Only weigh once weekly -Stop tracking if I get weird or crazy about it I've got some new muscle (dude, my legs are insane this year) to show off and I want to lean out a bit for #croptopseason 3. Shut up and drive -Practice driving 4x -Possibly schedule road test, if cannot schedule road test before permit expires, plan to get a new permit Stop procrastinating and do the work. Schedule times to do this. 4. Stop being a slob -Floss at least 5x per week -Callus care at least 1x per week -Moisturize face at least 4x per week All of these are things I do with lighter frequency, so this should just be a nice step up towards doing more things for myself.

Hi, I'm Raptron! I do gymnastics, lift weights, and occasionally succeed at doing other fitness things. I like to eat a lot and do a lot. It's gymnastics competition season in my neck of the forest, so getting my condition up to par for grueling 90 second routines is vital. I also am dealing with a couple of rough spots on the injury front and a bit of a fluffy waistline for #noshortsleotardseason, so doing my PT and eating more veggies will be vital. It's almost Valemtime's, so let's do the Cupid Raptron Dino Shuffle. 1. To the Right -Cardio conditioning 2x per week 2. To the Left -Big ass salad: Buy ingredients for one type of BIG ASS SALAD each week (inevitably will make more than one of these from the ingredients just as a result) 3. Now Kick -Ankle wobble board/balance work 2x per week -Shoulder PT 2x per week -Schedule a massage to focus on problematic left scapula area 4. Walk it by Myself -Make progress on some of my 30 by 30 goals. (I have until Jan. 2019 but should get cracking!) Specific goals I plan on working on this month: *Make a cheese at home (more complicated than paneer): I think I am going to make mozzarella! I will have to buy rennet and citric acid before Feb. 25 when I plan to make cheese and then actually do the making. *Start a journal-journal (not bujo or dream journal): set up a journal that I already have purchased specifically for this, set reminders in calendar, write in it 3x over the challenge *Write the semi-serious but mostly not serious Guide to Daydrinking: Work on it 2x over the challenge

Jumping in mid-challenge. I'm going to throw down my basic goals for the month here and try not to fret about how disorganized I'm being (but secretly actually fretting about it). I had some progress during the last challenge (going to Muay Thai 3x a week now, yay!) and some setbacks (screwed up my glute med so I can't do half the stuff I want to do, boo!). So I'm just going to maintain as much as I can of what I was already doing, with an emphasis on actually, you know, *achieving* the other goals. Mostly that means prioritizing because I suck at that and end up chasing after whatever shiny urgency flits across my field of view. Because productive procrastination is my forte! too...many...rocks!! Exercise Muay Thai 3x/week - this was achieved last challenge, I'm just going to keep it up. A little PT each day - because if I don't fix this &$^%# glute I can't *do* any round kicks, or slapping knees, or most of my conditioning drills for Muay Thai, so ya, I'm motivated. Diet 6-8 glasses water a day - I don't really need food goal. I've been doing my tracking and protein and whatnot for so long it's second nature now. But I have slipped on hydration. Life Coding - OMG I just need to do this already. 15 minutes a day. Which is a laughably small amount but I just need to kick my own butt into gear on this one. Priorities, people. Declutter - I need to toss, donate and sell stuff. Preferably sell, because the hubby and I have gotten serious about paying off our debt and have a plan in place. But every bit extra we can bring in helps. And that's it. I'm going to keep cutting down the number of goals each challenge until I finally get a working baseline. I am a bit dense and it takes me a while to get the whole 'start small' thing, but eventually I'll beat my head against it long enough to drive the point home!

Adding rep cycling to my program hasn't burned me so far, so I'm going to keep doing that and keep trying to be conservative. I'm not going to make a goal for it this time, though. The main thing getting in the way of my lifts right now is some nagging lower back pain when I squat and do a few other things, so I'm going to try to fix that. Going light didn't seem to work, and taking a break from lifting didn't either, so I think my next step should be seeing a doctor. Goals See a physical therapist. I'm aware of one nearby with a sports medicine focus, or I think just any old doctor with expertise in sports medicine would probably be sufficient as a first step. I've been putting off making an appointment for awhile, because I hate making appointments. In order to complete this goal, I have to actually go to a doctor's appointment before the end of this challenge. Do mobility work at least 4 days a week. I changed up my routine in the last few months, and what I'm doing now seems to be no worse than what I was doing before, so I guess I'll stick with it. Get to bed by 11:30 pm at least 5 nights each week. Probably not tonight. Work on SICP for at least an hour and the half over at least 2 days each week. This was my goal last challenge, and I got pretty close to it. I need to spend more time than I have been if I want to consistently make headway, but I think I need to build up to it gradually.

The last challenge got me finishing old projects and starting a new trade: thermoplastics. I've figured out that I do best when focusing on one thing at a time (freaking, surprise there, eh?), so while I still am allowed my 4 hobbies, each one will have one focus only. Sewing: Finish the blue skirt, then start another pair of work pants. Exercise: Solidify PT and Kenpo practice. Languages: One module of French or Russian per day, maintain Japanese at lunch. Thermoplastics: Make a new bracer, practice painting on the prototype. For a lot of my life, I would try to get into everything, and ended up not finishing much and feeling overwhelmed. Throw it all out, start over, cycle continues. While doing grad school on top of a full-time job, I found out I get a lot more accomplished by limiting myself to 4 hobbies (gardening is on hold til spring), and having one thing on my "To Do" list per day. If I get more done, great, but there's no pressure to do it, so I'm more willing to work on it. I still want to do everything, get into everything, learn everything, but I can't argue that I've accomplished a lot more by focusing on one thing to completion. Sewing is pretty straightforward - finish one, start the next. I've let PT slide a bit lately, and my body forcefully reminded me that that's dangerous. I'm going to try changing from a M-Th workout schedule, with PT on the weekend, to a split week schedule with PT mid-week and on the weekend. Kenpo practice is a goal of 10 minutes a day, fit in wherever possible, and no pressure if not. Similarly, I've not been keeping up on French and Russian, so one module a day, maybe 5-10 minutes. Thermoplastics is the fun part. I made a prototype bracer, to see how it's done, and I was pretty happy about how it turned out. There are a couple bubbles and rough patches, but I thought they'd be covered over by priming and painting. I was wrong: Don't get me wrong, it looks spiffy and I'm proud of it, but those bubbles on the top and middle layers bother me. I was trying out different heat settings when I made those layers, and they got too hot, too fast. If it was just that, I might try to ignore it, but there are some other issues that I think I can make better on a second go 'round. So, back to the crafting table!

Ends: Finish first pair of work pants Finish Halloween outfit/ work skirt Beginnings: Explore thermoplastics Try simple leatherworking Maintenance: Boot camp/ self-defense Physical therapy Languages This challenge is sort of in the middle of things for me. I need to finish up work pants (all hand-sewing left) and my work Halloween outfit (a button-down shirt, ugh) before I get to start fun new stuff, but I really want to be done by the end of the month, so I can start on new, fun stuff. I need to keep up the workouts, add PT back in (I thought workouts would be enough - I was wrong), and keep chugging away at my language skills. There are other, small goals in there, too, but these are the big ones that I need to keep focus on. Keep at it.

Hey crew! Your friendly neighborhood back flipper and weight ripper checking in. This month is very busy for me! I'll be out a bunch for the first two weeks of this challenge cycle but would feel completely adrift without my roots in my challenge here with the Assassins. I run with my own modified challenge time-tables sometimes, so that will be happening again here. I'll be going for 8/14 - 9/10, but obviously checking in here during zero week. Given my large absence during the challenge, @Grumble recommended a tourist themed challenge. I am embracing it, fully. Big things this challenge: 8/11 - 8/13: Tennessee for gymnastics camp 8//17 - 8/24: WA and OR for the total eclipse, visiting in-laws, checking out a couple of national parks, meeting up with my parents, etc. 9/1: Lady Gaga! (Not really important for the challenge time table, but I am just excited hahaha) 9/3-9/4: Falmouth, MA 9/10: 10K race in Salem, MA My usual travel mode: But for this challenge, I'll embrace the standard tourist look: Equip Slot 1: Socks with Sandals --> Preventative ankle PT exercises 3x per week Equip Slot 2: Fanny Pack --> Veggies 14x week again Equip Slot 3: Crumpled Fold-Up Map --> Walking/hiking 5 miles average/day over the course of the challenge --> Run 6x over the challenge (not including the 10K race on Sept. 10) Equip Slot 4: Oversized, Rarely Used, Expensive Camera --> Include a photo with each day's update! --> Cut my new floor music for the 2018 gymnastics season

Okay starting today, I am taking in the sights as I breeze into a new town of regular habits, creativity, and a stronger me! I'm looking for 75% success on all my goals! Goal 1: 6 cups of water per day - in meh/okay process Goal 2: PT 3 times per week (min of 15 minutes per session) (will take note of extra sessions as big wins) - in very minimal process Goal 3: practice guitar for 15 mins every day (following book - report on chapters worked and how it feels) - in pretty good process Goal 4: 30 minute writing sessions 4 times per week (free writes would be great - editing only after initial 30 mins) - not started yet Goal 5: Bonus Goal -- set up workout area and create workout program binder -- put it up and write it down!! Simple in detail, strong in desire, tiny steps expected!!

Hi Nerd Fitness, Well, I suppose it should read, ‘Hello Again NF!’ I left a few years ago, when life threw a few speedballs that had me thrown to the ground, crying, and lamenting the losses of my physical abilities. Most especially, I lost my ability to run. So, no more trail runs and working toward a good 5k time result. I also lost the ability to do Olympic lifts like deadlifts, squats, and presses. With these major changes came the depression and anxiety that kept me in a dark and hopeless place. I gained back 65 of the 96 pounds that I lost during my past challenges, between Feb 2013 and June 2015. I turned 50 years old with a new and worsened set of physical limitations. I have degenerative disc disease which includes: osteoarthritis throughout my spine and SI joints (along with my hands), one bulging disc, and mild to moderate facet disease in my neck, low back, and some in my mid-back spine. I am left with a small ability list. As I’m sure you can imagine ‘complaining’ and ‘giving up’ came easily with these physical changes. I find myself at a crossroads today. I can give up on trying to maintain the positive changes that I’ve been working on for the last year or so. I can continue to rely on ‘woe is me’ and ‘I can’t do ANY of that anymore.’ Or… as I am working on now, thankfully, is attempting to juggle the priorities in my life. I want to be consistent with my: at-home physical therapy routine, cooking at home, limiting sugar junk food intake, and creating art for expression, healing, and sharing. To succeed on my journey, I want to use all the avenues available and known to me. Hence, coming back to Nerd Fitness is essential to my journey. So, Hi NF!! I’m Back!! Cheers, Terinatum

Four years ago I started my first challenge here on NF. To my best accounting, this is going to be my 28th challenge thread. And for once, I think I'm going to keep it simple. Like, mostly one challenge goal per, well, goal. And I'm a fan of the Expanse series, just started reading Book 6, and the second season on Syfy is about to start. So it seemed like a good theme. That, and isolation in space doing weird things. Anyway. Meet The Rocinante: A Martian Navy Corvette class attack ship, less-than-temporarily borrowed by the central characters of The Expanse series. Those 4 crew members are the only crew who pilot the ship, though it's been known to take on passengers, willingly or otherwise. Each crew member has a primary job, and I figured I'd use them as guidelines for my challenge goals. Also because it just makes it more fun. 1) Holden The Captain of the Roci, Holden has a slight problem with keeping his mouth shut. He also often acts as the conscious of the crew, and holds them together more than they often realize. I'm using him to represent my self care this challenge. I still need to focus on it, but I think I need to be more open about it as well. I've not been well really since November, and either this month will make or break me in either direction. So selfcare blogging is going to be happening a lot. 2) Naomi Genius engineer and software writer, Naomi is the XO on the Roci. She has written miles of beautiful code and seen it all go to shit before. I'm just starting this coding thing and I'm about half way through my course, so I'll be aiming to do one Python lesson a day. Bonus points if I find a way to get some homework or something with an answer behind it so I can practice without going totally insane. (Or if we have programming Nerds who want to assign me a task in a bit and would be okay with looking over my code afterwards, also cool.) 3) Amos The mechanic on the ship, but also kind of the powerhouse. He is the attackdog of the crew, strong and able. I'm strong, but working towards being stronger. In this instance, I'm focusing less on the direct strength, and more on the feeding of the strength. I'm still working on eating well above what I've grown accustom to surviving on, and this goal is going to make sure I keep on that path for at least a bit longer. Eat according to how active I've been each day, and don't eat less than 2400 calories in the off chance I take a rest day. Take some progress photos each week. Bonus points if I can nail down a program that isn't SS or SL or 5/3/1 to help push me forward. 4) Alex Alex is the pilot of the Roci, and he makes her fly like no one else. I've been injured since early/mid-November, and have really been bad at doing the PT stretches suggested to me. So I'm going to make sure I do them every day, when I get up to fill my water bottle. That.... will make me do them a lot. But it's one of those "better to overload" things. TL;DR? 1) Holden - Selfcare once a day minimum, openly blog about selfcare and anxiety issues. 2) Naomi - One Python lesson a day. (Bonus of finding "HW" to get more practical coding experience.) 3) Amos - Eat according to my activity level and take progress photos. (One aikido class ~2700 calories, lifting and stairs ~3000, mix of aikido/Stairs/Lifting AT LEAST 3200 calories, no less than 2400 calories on rest days.) 4) Alex - PT stretches for my shoulder every time I refill my water bottle. I have very few major goals this year. The biggest is making sure I'm ready and uninjured by the April exam to test for 1st kyu. The second is that I lift, by December 31, a total of 1,000 pounds in my big three lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Benchpress). I'll need a 315 squat, a 445 deadlift, and a 240 benchpress. The only one of those that scares me is the squat, and I'm working on that. After that, I really just have a few go out and travel/adventure goals (Races and seminars and Nerd visits that aren't in Massachsetts/the Boston area), but those are on hold until employment happens and I have disposable income again. But in any case. Let's start 2017 with a bang, shall we?

This is basically a continuation of the last challenge, because not much has changed. My main focus in life right now is finishing and defending my thesis in February. Since that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for anything else, I just want to make sure I don't backslide and lose the progress I made over the past years. So, here are my goals: Goals: Flexibility: Finish off 30 days to splits (link). I'm on Day 23, so this should be finished by the end of week 1 at the latest. No followup. Strength: Finish PT (rotator cuff tear), discuss what to keep, moving forward. Keep at it. Cardio: Currently can run 40% of a 2-mile workout on the treadmill. Keep at it. Parkour: Once a week; keep at it. Diet: Stay within macros and calories; keep at it. Languages: At least once a week per language; keep at it. Thesis: Don't screw this up. Attitude: Don't get wound up; keep at it. The only changes are in the fist two. The flexibility challenge was interesting, but I think it puts too much focus on the hamstrings. I will keep a few of the stretches but I was making measurable progress with my typical stretch routine, so once it's done, it's done. I'll be finishing up PT for the torn rotator cuff this month; since the tear is manageable, I won't be doing surgery, but that means I need a solid plan on how to keep the shoulder strengthened for the rest of my life. I will discuss this with the PT lady, and continue doing it at home. I had a revelation at parkour this past weekend: the weight and cardio I do at home really is aimed at doing well in parkour (and life in general, but parkour is more measurable). I've been pondering how to add core and lower body weight stuff into the upper-body PT routine, but I'm not sure that weight training is the right answer. I have no problems climbing up and down, balancing, or landing properly in parkour - where I need to improve is jumping power. The vaults I can do are ok, but too low to confidently move to the next ones. Rather than struggling with more weight stuff, then, I'm going to add jumps: for now, just precision jumps and calf raises. If this seems to be helping, I will add more next challenge. In the meantime, sorry for the lack of theme,but here's my life in a comic. Can't wait for the thesis to be done.

Quick sketch of what I'm thinking of this challenge: It's going to be busy at work, it has the potential to be stressful, and I need to manage that: Sleep - check in with the Black Ribboners a few times a week, and continue to work on habits. I may start modifying wake up time, Cooking - eat some damn veggies (I've been slacking...made a huge amount of braised pork shoulder Sunday though, so I'm set for protein for the next several days). I have both broccoli and Brussels sprouts in the fridge though, so there's no excuse. PT - the shoulder is doing better, but still need to keep with the PT. We're on a 3 week cycle at the moment, since I just need to focus on the exercises I've been given. Continue the nerve glides throughout the day Do the full mobility work 2x per day. Do the band work at least once per day (it's supposed to be really easy, so if it feels good, can do more). Suburi, because, suburi Take, or at least plan a small road trip (maybe to the coast), because I have a new car (zoom zoom) to finally replace my dearly departed subaru. Retool my 401k - I was reviewing it the other day, and noticed there are some things I need to re-balance, and funds that I want to shift. So - research and update. I don't think it will take all 4 weeks, but I do need to set aside some time to dig in. Have fun - it's the holidays! (i.e, tap my inner Arch Chancellor).

Phoenix is probably my favorite character, so Imma channel her this round. Strength 2 NFA workouts + warmup/cooldown per week. I am still level 1, but I am going to bump up the difficulty of a few of the exercises as I can for this challenge. At 2 weeks, I'm going to try to beat General DOMS again. Total 8pts Cardio/Toning 2 classes per week - preferably 1 Zumba and 1 Pound, however that will depend on babysitter availability. I love having an excuse to get out of the house and get moving doing someting *other* than go for a walk. Total 8pts PT 3 PT leg exercises per week - not on class days. The knee I injured and ultimately needed surgery is not happy with my newfound movement. I need to get back into the habit of doing my band exercises to strengthen the small muscles around my knees so I don't reinjure myself. That would be bad. Total 12pts Food I am adding a goal of 1 serving of fruit per day with a minimum of 5 per week. Total 20-28pts Random Bonuses Since the Cardio and PT aspects focus so much on my lower body, I'm going to give myself bonus points for any upper body workouts I do that aren't a part of the NFA ones. This may include a random set of doorway rows, stair push-ups, baby presses or curls, or anything else that's just a standalone arm exercise. Not more than 1pt per day None of the at-home exercises (NFA, PT) take a super long period of time, so I just need to willpower myself to take care of it when baby naps those days. Everything will be logged in my journal (new journal coming soon because I wanted to give the dot-layouts a try for ease with design and trackers and whatnot, so pictures forthcoming!)

Partial place holder while I contemplate an interesting, um, contemplation. How to be like Nobby Nobbs, the only citizen of Anhk-Morpork who had to be certified as actually being a human. Nobby Nobbs, who does tricks with the boils on his face. Nobby Nobbs, who was watched by generals to see whose uniform he was wearing because that was the winning side...regardless of which side he started out on. So...some contemplation. For those that are scratching their heads, he's a side character through out the Discworld series, but a prominent and occasionally complex one, often the comic relief and the occasional sly asker of questions, and occasionally a reminder of both the common-place and the pathos that is part of being alive. While I work that out over the next few days, along with details, elements of the challenge will include: - Continued work on more and better sleep, as part of the League of Temperance. Ve shall be stronk! Ve shall overcome ze vak...ze ze vake...ze va.. ze v-word! Ve shall haf cocoa, zer singsongs and zer tasty buns. - Following my PT's instructions. I have been having some shoulder issues in the last couple of months, and hell froze over (and we had a windstorm) and I made an appointment with a PT to actually work on making it better. I have a set of exercises to do, and weekly appointments to check in (two more weeks for the initial period). Things are progressing, and we seem to be dialing in the issue(s). This will affect what I can and can't do for training in the short interim. - Suburi - this has been cleared, especially as it's slow, and not a hard stressor, and I just need to do it, dammit. - Cooking - healthy eating starts at home. - Dancing - we may have a lvl3 blues class, finally, assuming enough people sign up. The lvl 2 group going through this last time is pretty big and connected, so it might actually happen. - Work and stress management - Nobby is an expert at this, so perhaps I can learn a few things, if only it's to not be there when the thing happens, and to never let yourself be volunteered. Beer may be had, especially if someone else pays for it.

Terinatum steps forward into the present and onward to small future moments. Goal #1 : drink water - ultimate goal is drink up to 9 cups per day The present day goal is to keep ahead of my Dr Pepper intake. I want to drink 20 oz of water for every 8 oz of soda. My goal is to drink no more than 2 - 8 oz cans of Dr Pepper each day. I will list my daily intakes of both here at least three times per week. Grade: A=80% of goal reached (on average per week) STAT bonus = +2 CON Goal #2 : Relaxation - stress reduction "Gots ta chill, babygirl." I can do this for at least 15 mins per day. It can be: a walk in the park, literally not figuratively; Listen to music and meditate or chair dance; free write about anything; or work on house design. Grade: A=5/7 days on average (per week) STAT bonus = +2 CHR Goal #3: Healing the Body - my body gets priority This is going to build up each week. Week One: evening prayer for healing during sleep. Let my brain know that it needs to work on clearing out my body. So Brain, please do not throw a bunch of swirling words and images at me while I try to nod off. I will comment on whether I prayed and how I felt in the morning. Week Two will incorporate a morning prayer for efficient use of food for the day. Let my brain know that my body can talk and tell me what it wants. Listen and Act. Week Three will add an afternoon quiet sit to reflect on the day so far and see where energy needs to be cleared out or added in. Week Four will be me starting up my Tai Chi Yang style long form again. As long as I do some, I don't care how long or how much I re-learn. Starting the habit is all this is about. Grade: A=5/7 days on avg (per week) STAT bonus = +2 STA Goal #4 Go to Community Fitness - work the program I have started this and it's going fairly well. I will comment on: my activities; emotional well-being; keeping the focus on me and not become an unneeded leader; and how well I'm doing with my homework between classes. Grade: A=??? STAT bonus = +2 STR Okay, that's how it stands atm. We shall see where the day takes us.

I'm Raptron. I do stuff. I have pretty good workout habits, but there are always new things to fix or tweak, so I keep my head in the challenge game. My general objectives will still be trying to get under the iron 3x per week while also doing gymnastics 1-2x per week, but those are not fun or interesting goals, those are just life stuff. In addition to that, I've created some things I'd like to make sure to work on during the next four weeks. Tracked {Challenge Objectives} Boulder 5x over the challenge Walking with disadvantage (ruck) 3+ miles 4x over the challenge PT or glute work 12x over the challenge Write out tentative meal plans per half-week, so 8x over the challenge These are the goals I'll actually grade the challenge on. I've been working out in the bouldering gym to lift but have only used my new climbing shoes just the once (terrible!), so I will make explicit the need to actually get on the walls. I'm also signed up for a GORUCK in November, which I guess I should actually do at least a few things to prep for... It's far enough away that I'm not going to focus too much on it, but just get used to time under weight again. My back and hips continue to be an area of concern, not because they are acting up, but because they could so I want to nip those issues in the bud and keep them from recurring. My final goal is because summer is hectic and crazy and fun -- while I love that about my life and my schedule, I've let it get in the way of planning out dinners and lunches, which has led to wayyyyy more spending on food and less nutritious meal choices. I can fix it! Bonus {Life Objectives} Make dentist appointment Make gyn appointment Make dermatologist appointment Re-dye hair Get my bangs trimmed Just stuff I've been neglecting. The start and end of this challenge will be tricky for me -- I'm flying back from TN from our gymnastics retreat late night this Sunday and then Sept. 7 - 11, I'll be in North Carolina for my friend's wedding festivities. The weeks in between are mostly free of other travel obligations, so I should be able to buckle down and nail my goals.

The title may change, but as you may have surmised from the tags... I hurt my back again. Same thing. I'm an idiot. This is why you DON'T stop doing your PT exercises when you feel better people. *smacks self on forehead* So now I must stop being an idiot. For zero week, PT every day. And NO LIFTING. 3 sets of 10 of whatever I can do daily (ab tightening while laying down with knees bent, ab tightening while doing bridges, ab tightening while doing supermans) Glute stretches in the morning Glute stretches in the evening Pigeon pose in the morning (1 minute each side) Pigeon pose in the evening (1 minute each side) (I tried to make this a song in my head and failed epically lol) There will also be graduate school drama and venting I am sure. On that note, I'm pretty sure I have another sinus infection (doc apt today). And there may have been a paperwork issue with the thesis defense and I may have to change the date. AGAIN. To the day I was supposed to move to NJ. Of course. Also, my advisor had like a million more edits when I saw him in person. Why he couldn't email me this, I have no idea. Themes.... I'm taking suggestions! The gif is from AC Syndicate, which I have started but not finished. I don't want to use it, because #spoilers. But I like that gif

The Work Hi everybody! I'm Teri and I'm a NF-aholic. I've been on the wagon a bit these past few months, but I can't help it, I'm back! I need accountability and a place to write out how I'm doing. And having you all as my witnesses is very comforting and it keeps me connected to people. Many of you know, I'm going through some serious crap. I have divorced my parents (Wednesday) and the fallout (not the game unfortunately) is yet to be known. I beg empathy from you so that I may get through whatever comes and keep myself safe and cared for before others. Okay, except maybe B as he's basically my boy (nephew through ex). And he's no boy, he's 29!! Okay! I have spent the last year moaning and groaning, for good reasons mind you. But it's time to move forward, however minutely, and make progress on my habits. I have made so many decisions these past few months that my head wants to pop off just for a breather. But alas, I haven't found a cure for getting my head back on so I am left with only head-staying-where-it-is options to cool my beating migraines and frayed nerves. These goals are not new or unknown to me. I have wanted these things for a long time. I have done well with water before so that is a hopeful front runner in this challenge. I hope it gives me incentive to push forward on the others. Small exercises know as PT are things I've never invested myself in enough to gain more than a rudimentary benefit from. I do just enough so I can get back to running and my deadlifts. Well, time has been reaching for my heels and has managed to trip me up enough that I cannot progress without making PT my main goal. I need the muscles in my buttocks to engage when I walk and do stairs. I need my erector muscles in my back to protect my deteriorating spine. And I need to find a solution to my heel pain. When I get these into a daily routine that doesn't hiccup more than it runs smooth, I can work on running the trails. Or at least walk without pain for more than a half mile. Self care habits come and go depending on my mood. Well, that needs to change. I need to be in tune with my body's needs so that I don't skimp on caring for it. I'm not looking to be perfect, just more or less in the zone. My VA application is to get more coverage for my back and neck. As I am getting older, more things will go wrong with my body as it breaks down and I want to be cared for as much as possible. Goal #1 Drink water!! avg 7 cups per day -- 80% for an A (+3 on STA) only water counts Goal #2 Do the small exercises!!! avg 4 times per week -- 80% for an A (+4 on STR) pool, gym, or at home for min of 30 mins Goal #3 Make the self care decisions!!! avg 2 per day -- 80% for an A (+3 on CHR) teeth, shower, dishes, cook, skin care, etc. Life Goal Finish VA comp App!!! all or nothing -- 100% for an A (+4 on WIS) all evidence logged and app sent to VA Okay, ONWARD!!