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Challenge goals coming soon...

Okay, so, I'm going to do a very extensive awesome write up, but I haven't gotten it done yet. So this is just a place holder. Woot, new challenge is up!

I haven't been happy with my progress the last couple challenges, no excuses. It's time to double down and get back to basics. I'm going to focus on Lifting, Running, Hydrating, and Recording. Main Quest: a ) Finish this challenge as intended. b ) Under 200 Lbs by 30th birthday (12/04/14) Mini Quests: 1. Workout more frequently [sTR +3] [DEX +2] 6am workouts alternating with running & lifting. Angry birds workout with added dumbbell workouts. Success is dependent on getting to bed early. A = 5 workouts B = 4 workouts C = 3 workouts D = 2 workouts F = <2 workouts 2. Hydrate [WIS +1] [CON +3] Drink 1+ Liters of water each day. Cut out all juice, booze, creamer. Coffee & Tea are permitted, but no more than 2 per day. A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days 3. Record Keeping [WIS +2] [CON +1] Track food/drink on MFP A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days 4. Clean house [CON +1] [WIS +2] All dishes done before bed + 15 minutes of clutter clean up. A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days Starting Stats Weight Waist Hips Chest Biceps Legs Calves Neck

Aaaaaand I'm back for another one! I'm feeling very good still about how I did last challenge, and am looking forward to accomplishing even more this challenge. So here are my goals for this one, shaking things up a little bit from the last 2 challenges... Goal 1: Lose pounds, body fat and inches Most of my past challenges, I've focused on one or the other of these individually. This time, I'd like to go for the combo! A win for me would be to see all three of these numbers go down, even marginally, this challenge. These may be a bit ambitious, but I'm willing to try to see where this leads. The good thing is that if 2 of these go down, they generally will be positively affecting the third metric. Starting weight: 186.4 lbs Max goal: 180.4 (6 lbs lost) Starting body fat: 26.86% Max goal: 25.36% (1.5% body fat lost) Starting midsection measurement: 38.5" Max goal: 37" (1.5" lost) Points available: 1 CON, 1 WIS, 1 CHA Goal 2: Gym time 3x per week Last challenge, this fell by the way side for the last week or two when I got sick, and I haven't been back since. But I've actually been itching to get back into the gym. I will be doing my regular routine of pushup training (wanting to work slowly towards handstand pushups), graduated pull-up training (hopefully finishing that and moving more permanently into full pull-ups and chin ups), and planking. I'm gonna shake up my leg routine, since I admittedly do not love assisted pistol squats, which is what I had been doing. So I'll be moving back into barbell squats. If anyone has any good leg exercise suggestions, body weight or otherwise, I'm open. Oh yeah, the one potential wrench thrown into this goal, is that the last 5 days of the challenge, I will be in India (part of a month-long trip). My intention is to keep up my normal workout schedule, which is why it would be helpful to have a couple of bw leg exercises I can be working on when I'm not able to do barbell squats. Points available: 2 STR, 2 DEX, 1 STA Goal 3: Supplement gym time with PLP I'm behind on my blog reading, but I just recently read Steve's article on PLP, and I got really excited about it. I started Day 1 today. Because I'm nowhere near being able to do 10 pull-ups, I'm doing the 1 rep on day 1 for each exercise and progressing from there. I have enough strength to be able to do at least 1 not so great pull up, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this helps me, in addition to the graduated pull-up training, be able to do more pull-ups with better form. Ordinarily, I would hold off on something like this until I was able to do them better, but this seemed like a good opportunity to get better at a skill I've been working up to for a long time. Points available: 2 STR, 1 DEX, 2 STA Life Goal: Back to Paleo Paleo during Lent completely rocked! Since then, I've been trying to keep my non-Paleo meals to 1 per day, which has helped me keep on track. But I have definitely noticed that my progress, while still being progress, slowed way down. I also like how I feel when I eat Paleo, which is much less sluggish, more energized and generally more healthy. Last time I tried to work in new recipes, which I had marginal success on. As part of this goal, I want to finish what I started and try another 3 new recipes. This goal will also be a challenge once I'm in India (Indian food is amazing!!), as Indians cook a lot with yogurt, and there will be many vegetables I won't be able to eat due to water conditions. Any suggestions here would be welcome as well. Points available: 1 STA, 1 WIS So there you have it! Feeling inspired and ready for this fight.

Goal 1 Continue bodyweight workout 3x weekly. Last challenge I put the L-sit as a goal, which I still want. Most of the workouts I did last challenge involved push-ups, pull/chin-ups and dips. I gained reps on all of them, and was very pleased with the way things turned out, especially with the dips. I want to continue my success by doing BW workout three times a week, with a goal of an L-sit someday. Goal 2 Learn Jitterbug Stroll I went swing dancing several weeks ago, as I am wont to do. I saw a group dance I don't know. I know Tranky Doo and two types of Shim Shams. This was the Jitterbug Stroll, and now I gotta learn it. I learned the Tranky Doo on a previous challenge, so this seems appropriate to continue the swing-dance-learning process! This goal will be a success if I accomplish the Jitterbug Stroll by the end of the challenge. Video will be posted. This is Jitterbug Stroll.... Goal 3 Paleo (!) Woah. I've been toying with Paleo for many challenges now. Couldn't seem to give up the dairy. But my aunt has been Paleo for many years due to digestive issues, and she recommended it for me since I have psoriatic arthritis - both inflammation and skin issues. My aunt swears by it, and she's talked me into it. The goal will be to go Paleo for 30 days. I began full Paleo, with no dairy, no grains, etc. about 10 days ago. I've already lost some weight. I don't really want to lose too much, though. Maintaining where I am would be great. So If I can keep with the Paleo foodstuffs for another 20 days, we'll be good. I'm looking forward to making cauliflower "potatoes" and "rice" and other goodies. Goal 4 (Life Goal) Routine, continued Last challenge I wanted to keep a routine. Particularly, I wanted to get up early, and do prayer time in the evenings at 9 pm. It went pretty well, and I want to keep it going. I've had an alarm set for a while at 5:30 am and 9:00 pm to get these done. I won't follow this routine on weekends, but work days, yes. This goal will be a success if I follow the routine on my week days. Let's punch it.

Main Quest - Do my homework! I have about 10 hours of aerial, contortion and acrobatics classes scheduled per week during this challenge so I think it’s fair to say I’m doing ok on the exercise front. But as fun as it is, in all honesty I’m studying too many subjects and I’m probably not necessarily progressing as well as I could. Especially since while I love attending the lectures, I’m a huge slacker when it comes to homework... This challenge I’m going to focus on simple things I can do to improve my work in the classroom. There will be a lot of homework, and I will have to make do without a time turner, but it’s the final spurt before school breaks for summer so I need to buckle down and get to work. For each completed homework I score house points for Gryffindor. For each day or week that I miss Slytherin will get the house points instead. Subject: Contortion (+2 DEX, +2 STR) Homework #1: Daily mobility work - This can include foam rolling, easy long hold stretches, hate stretches that I always avoid, extra work for my right (post-strained) hamstring and just playing with different movements. 0.5 HP/day Homework #2: Back strength - 2 additional back workouts per week. My back is bendy but very floppy. And if I’m not strong enough I’ll never be allowed to work on chest stands for example. 1.5 HP/session Bonus shiny goal: Right front split 5 HP ​ Subject: Aerial hoop and pole (+2 STR) Homework #1: Strength - Pull-ups and inverts is the assigned homework. I already do a lot in class, but one extra practice session will only do me good. 3.5 HP/completed session. Bonus shiny goal: Pull-ups 5 HP ​ Subject: Acrobatics and tumbling (+2 CON, +2 DEX) Homework #1: Daily wrist conditioning - I have a niggly wrist and need to make sure it can keep up. Conditioning can be any combination of juggling, stretches and dumbbell exercises, but it should be done daily. 0.5 HP/day Homework #2: Handstands - I’ve regressed a lot in my handstand work lately. I need to get that back on track. 6 days a week of handstand practice. If my wrist gets worse I can work my headstands or forearm stands instead. 0.5 HP/day Bonus shiny goal: 10s elbow stand 5 HP Side Quest - Prepare for OWLs (Ordinary Workout Levels) (+3 WIS) I much prefer training with a teacher and classmates, but soon the summer holidays begin and I will have to train on my own. Before then I’ll need to absorb as much knowledge as I can cross train and practice skills effectively. I will collect all exercises, warmups, stretches, progressions, thoughts and pointers in a separate battle log so I will be well prepared when time comes. Bonus side quest: Make a training montage Life Quest #1 - Plan summer holiday (+2 CHA) I have 9 weeks holiday this year and no clue what to do with it. I know, I know, woe is me. But really, I do need to figure out what to do, where and when and not leave it to the last minute and find I can get the boss’s approval or something silly like that. Bonus life quest: Harry Potter themed food porn. Boom! Challenge!

On my last challenge, I feel like a fell down on two of my goals because ultimately I was spreading myself too thin and not really focusing on what I really wanted to achieve in the long term. Whilst I will return to handstands at some point, I've decided to go back to basics with this challenge and really strip everything down. In essence, I'm going SPARTAN! It's going to be very simple: Diet Exercise Sleep. The agoge was the spartans training super harsh training regime. Whilst I'm not going to be putting myself through anything as crazy as some of their training techniques, I feel inspired to spend the next 6 weeks working on the very fundamentals of healthy living and cultivating discipline. My goals therefore are: Goal 1: More pull-ups. Last challenge I went from 4 to 7 using the 20 pull-ups programme. Whilst I never completed it as I repeated each of the first three weeks, I'm taking another stab at it. If I can add 3 to my personal record last time, I should be able to make it to at least 10 over the next 6 weeks. 10 full pull-ups in a single set by the end of the challenge is my target. STR+4 Goal 2: Healthy diet Previously I've done quite well in reducing my % body fat by being stricter with my diet so I'm going for this again. Sticking with the back to basics theme, I'm going to (or at least attempt to) cut out all junk food, unnecessary sugar and alcohol. I'm also going to try to stick to strict times throughout the day for eating too so I'll be less inclined to graze on whatever crap is lying around. I'm also going to keep more detailed body measurements too and hopefully use the body fat measuring techniques laid out in Waldo's Strength Unbound blog to see if I can get some more accurate measurements of my body composition. Everyday that I eat well, will be a day of success. Everyday that I don't will go down as failure. CON +4 Goal 3: Sleep I won't go into why sleep is great for your physical constitution here as others have said it better than I could but it is an essential component of creating a healthy body. Ideally I would like to be in bed by 10 every night but my attempts so far have not even been close. Therefore my goal will be lights out by 10.30 every night. STA +3 Goal 4: Team work. One of the reasons the Spartans were so effective as a military force was because so much emphasis was placed on working as a unit rather than as individuals. As they spent all of their time together, supporting and encouraging each other, they functioned as a whole and were stronger for it. I feel a lot of my success so far has been down to the support of the amazing people in the Rebellion and I want to repay that in kind. I'm going to put myself forward to be an ambassador for the assassins so that I can cheer along potential recruits but I'm also going to make every effort to show support for anyone else who wants and needs it. As well as subscribing to challenges of people who look like they have similar goals to mine, I resolve to actively support anyone who follows my challenge, anyone who asks me to follow them, and anyone who is recommended to me by someone else, regardless of their goals or guild. I can't guarantee that I will post something on everyone's thread every single day, and I'm going to prioritise those that look like they need more support than others, but I shall try my best to support everyone that I can.

Okay, so I didn't really complete my last challenge, so I'm going to just do the same thing again. Hopefully, this time I'm going to build enough bicep and back muscle strength to perform a pull-up. So, here's a copy and paste from my last thread: Training to be accepted as an Assassin’s Apprentice Main Quest: Complete 1 unassisted dead hang pull-up to be accepted as an Assassin’s Apprentice Goal 1: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Borrowing from Daft Punk, an assassin must be harder, better, faster and stronger than those around them. For this I must train to prove my worthiness. Train to be Harder and Stronger by completing 3 bodyweight strength-training sessions each week. Train to be Better and Faster by completing 3 running training sessions each week. Goal 2: Be Lean and Show Discipline An assassin must be lean and disciplined. To show my worthiness to these values, I must control my diet and restrict myself to 1 non-primal cheat meal per week with a total weekly calorie target of 11000 calories. I am permitted to ease into this goal however, and so long as the last three weeks of the challenge are kept at the target level I will have shown my self-discipline and become leaner. Goal 3: Demonstrate Patience and Flexibility An assassin is patient and flexible. I will show my worthiness for these values by completing a 10 minute stretching routine 6 days a week, slowly progressing this to a short yoga routine. Then, as my patience and flexibility improve, I will begin to increase the difficulty and duration of my yoga sessions. Life Quest: Allow the Mind to Flourish Assassins aren’t all just impressive feats of physical strength and endurance, killing people and wearing black. They are also who and rounded people. To do this I must allow my mind to do more than focus on becoming physically healthy, I must allow it to be creative as well. To achieve this, I will commit to doing 1 thing creative writing related every day. It can be as small as making a note on a post-it about a story idea, or scene I want to write, or as big as sitting down and smashing out 12000 words in a single day. Motivation: Well, I still don't have any of this... Apart from wanting to look something like this: Feel free to let me know if you think I'm insane, or boring for just doing the same thing over again, etc, etc, etc. Any feedback is appreciated.

Mweeheeheee~ finally I can take on a challenge in a guild! And not the one I first supposed. My ultimate fitness goal is to become a strong fighter (specifically boxing/MMA), but for that I need to get a good conditioning routine down. Training has some but not enough to really build strength significantly, and I’ve been barred from using the one barbell in the studio. But who really NEEDS equipment in order to get stronger, really? Besides, the agility gained from bodyweight strength exercises is bound to serve a fighter well… The Quest: to become truly independent in strength training – independent of equipment and people. I’m not hanging around the starting zone waiting for anyone anymore. Goal 1: Exercise away from the boxing studio, averaging at least once a week. Or, if I make it there more frequently than usual, do a full workout independent of instruction at least once a week. If it’s outside the gym, things such as sprinting sessions count as long as I deliberately go to do them. Then again, you can’t really not deliberately exercise, unless there are hungry lions involved… Scoring system: One grade down per week this is skipped. Stats: STA, STR Goal 2: Progress towards perfecting pull-ups, push-ups and pistol squats, through persevering in practice. The aim is to achieve each unassisted by the end of the challenge time, though that may or may not be feasible. I can already do strict pushups, so with them the goal is to work towards one-armed. Scoring system: out of 36. For each week, 1 point for each time I train for each of the above 3 exercise types. Aiming to do each twice a week. Stat: STR, DEX Goal 3: Get a handle on 'programming'. I really need to formulate a ‘benchmark’ workout to measure strength progression. This’ll need a little experimentation in pushing my limits and seeing what I’d actually want to make a habit of. Scoring system: a bit fuzzy, but a ‘pass’ if I manage to make a decision by the end of the challenge. Quality scores for exercise commentary, and repeating workouts with recorded changes. Stats: WIS, STR Life quest: Japanese study. As before, the one thing I can do day-to-day to know I’m moving forward in my long-term goals is to keep up language study. My life quest will continue from the last. Each day will have a score, averaging one point for 10 new kanji studied but taking into account other types of study or days where I did less but still something. Scoring system: a mark per day, non-integer Stat: WIS Motivation: In my Crossfit days, building strength was a relative cinch with plenty of weights and people to train with. Now, I’m on my own. I slipped up big time after moving country, giving up good habits one by one when I lost my support network. Then one January morning I looked in the mirror, and at the sight of the vague semblance of what was once ‘me’, I thought, “Never againâ€.

the25r is reborn, a spirit wandering the land. I've made it to a merchant ship and have set sail for distant lands. The journey is long, and I must be prepared for anything once we reach our destination. This is no time to rest, there is work to be done. Main Quest: To measurably improve both strength and muscular endurance. Goals: 1. Be a better sailor In WWII, my grandfather served as an officer in the US Navy, managing the physical fitness of the sailors during their long times at sea. He lead the exercising that took place on the ship deck and helped ensure the men were in fighting shape when they landed. He died before I was born, but by all accounts he was a remarkable man. This challenge is in honor of him. I'll perform the following PFT based on the WWII Army regiment and look to improve my standing. On this results section, 50 is a soldier in average shape. I will improve through bodyweight workouts and weekly heavy lifting at the gym. 2. Be a good teammate I signed up for the PVP Quidditch pushup competition for this six week challenge. Other people are relying on me, I need to show up big. It's a longtime dream to hit 100 pushups in a day. I will do that at least once in this challenge. 3. Locked and loaded I love the camaraderie of NF. I'll take that to the next level this challenge by doing the pistol squat mini-challenge with other assassins and posting weekly to the mini quest thread.

Background info/Introduction: Hello everyone, I'll go by Delta-Romeo-Sierra here. I've been checking out Nerd Fitness for a couple of weeks and have been inspired by the positivity of your community. I decided that this would be the perfect place to refocus on some of my fitness goals. I'm a professional and a college graduate who has spent several years trying to get myself into phenomenal shape and earn a contract to enter a special operations training pipeline. A few months back, my training really started to nosedive after I turned 31 and officially became too old to apply to the program. There are incredibly rare exceptions that can be made if you're able to get recommendations from operators already in the community (I should be able to do this), but you don't dare ask for such an exception until you can practically max-out every single event on their physical screening test. After turning 31, I realized that even getting a chance to join this community was unlikely, and I let it get me down. Soon, my training fell off and my sessions at the gym became sporadic and unfocused. I was probably even experiencing some mild depression. Right when I thought I couldn't feel any lower, I got bacterial pneumonia! It took me a full week to go see a doctor, a full week of antibiotic therapy, and about two more weeks before I could even walk a significant distance without going into a coughing fit. All told, about a month's worth of deconditioning set in. Now that I'm working my way back into shape, I've got a whole new attitude. I want to get so strong and so fast that the only way I get turned down for a contract is 100% because of my age. If I get optimum scores on every part of the screening test and still get turned away simply because I'm too old, then so be it. At least I'll have done everything in my power to succeed and I'll be able to move on with no regrets. To kick off my time at Nerd Fitness, I guess I'd better state my main goal/main quest for this first challenge. Main Goal/Main Quest: Perform 15 consecutive good form pull-ups (I can currently only perform 10, despite having a much higher max before I started slacking off and got sick). Plan: 1. Eat as close to paleo as possible in order to lose weight (thereby giving my muscles a smaller load to pull-up over the bar). 2. Use the relevant physical training guide and perform the recommended sets/reps of pull-ups 4 or 5 days each week. 3. Mix in short but high-intensity run and swim sessions to augment the weight loss I'm expecting from going paleo. 4. Keep up the new heavier weight training I've already got underway after reading articles on this site (respect, Spezzy!). A sincere thanks to anyone who read through this whole thing. I'll update daily with workout summaries, and will even post a video of myself performing said 15 pull-ups if I succeed in this challenge. Delta-Romeo-Sierra, out.

Whilst I was pretty happy with my progress on the previous challenge, I still have some loose ends to tie up so rather than doing anything radically different, on the whole I'm going to keep on pretty much the same course as before. Therefore, my goals are the following: Goal 1: bodyweight exercising 6 days a week BUT THIS TIME WITH ADDED EXTRAS!!!! (CON +3, STA +2) Working out 6 days a week focusing on just one specific exercise each day to condense the time requires really seemed to work for the last time- it was easier to get into the habit of exercising every day rather than every other day and by doing more workouts for shorter times, I got an extra 15-20 minutes in bed each day and felt a hell of a lot better for it. This time though there will be two slight changes: firstly, to increase my general flexibility I will be attempting to add some stretching to my daily regime especially ones that will help with that days exercise. And secondly... Goal 2: PULL-UPS PULL-UPS PULL-UPS! (STR +3) I can currently do 4 so I going to copy a goal from Nymeria's challenge and have a go at the 20 pull-ups challenge http://twentypullups.com/the-training-program/ . I'm not sure if I'll get to 20 pull-ups by the end of the six weeks but if I manage to stick to working on it 3 days a a week, hopefully I'll be able to make so e sort of progress. Goal 3: even more handstand training. (DEX +3) Last challenge I focused a lot on my crow stands and not nearly enough on the handstands. I really want to get to doing a 60 second wall handstand and to start working on getting a 15 freestanding handstand so, despite this being a goal for the third challenge in a row, I'm going to press on with this again. Goal 4: a quiet and tidy mind. (WIS +2, CHA +2) Primarily I'm going to be using Calm.com to do 10 minutes and restful meditation a day but also, as an added extra goal I'm going to be resurrecting an ambition from years ago and get back to constructing my mind palace. So, although the daily meditation is my actual goal, I may well be posting a whole bunch of stuff about learning the name of Shakespeare's plays in chronicle order and weird stuff about loci and mnemonics. I will explain more later.

Everything old is new again. I'll be revisiting some old goals which I've had success with in the past, and which have helped me succeed in other areas of my life (mostly in the Life Goal section). The 3 exercise goals are nothing new, but do contain some new details. Overall Challenge Theme: Be Consistent Goal #1 - Run Ok, so I'm getting really sick of this goal, but it's one I still have to stick with whether I like it or not. So, as usual, run 3x/week. Focus is on improving my 2k time to 10 minutes or less. Goal #2 - Strength This isn't so much an old goal as a continuously evolving goal. There are several things I do that fall under this umbrella. I'll post a tentative schedule at the end of all this, which will hopefully help make it seem a bit less crazy and overwhelming. Climbing 2-3x/week, as per usual. Other strength stuff 3x/week - consists of incline pushups, something core-related (either plank thingys or knees-to-elbows(ish)), Bulgarian split squats Pull-up practice 3x/week - consists of band-assisted pullups (with the smaller of my two bands), flex hangs at the top of the ROM Rice Bucket - Iron Fist Goal #3 - Stretching I'm terrible at this, but it makes me feel 81% better when I do it an 117% better when I do it regularly. Instead of 'just stretching', which I absolutely won't stick with, I'm going to give yoga another go. In the past, I've always (ALWAYS) hurt myself when doing yoga, which is why I've never really stuck with it, but, in an apparent attempt to disprove the theory that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, I'm trying again in the hopes that some routine will stick. I've picked a few videos from the Do Yoga With Me website which are in the 'Beginner Studio' and seem like they shouldn't be too intense (and therefore less likely to injure me). I'll also be changing this up by making it a morning thing. Not first thing, I really am non-functional until I've had a coffee, but it will be a post-first coffee, pre-second coffee thing. I usually spend this time doing absolutely nothing of any importance, and then wonder why I don't have time to do stuff later. I'm also shooting for this being a daily thing, but I won't fuss too much if I miss a day. I will make an attempt to fuss a lot if I miss 2 or more days in a row, though. Life Goal - Multi-Stage i. Sleep No TV and no computer after midnight on non-work nights, after 1am on work nights. I can be up past these times, but I must be reading (or possibly writing, if the spirit moves me), and I can only read magazines or short stories. Work towards my alarm set for 9am (currently set for 9:30am with at least 20 minutes of snooze indulged in). ii. Unplug Related to my stretching goal, but also to general time management, I aim to unplug myself a bit. I spend a lot of time in the morning wasting time on the computer. While I'm drinking my first coffee, I can do things like check Facebook and read my programs, but that devil known as StumbleUpon shall not be touched. After my first coffee, I shall stretch, and then during my second coffee I can have more computer. After the second coffee is done, I get my arse out the door. This will probably lead to me being on here less, since I also spend a lot of time lurking and reading, though it probably won't make much difference to my posting rate. iii. Adapt Day shifts at work screw with my workout schedule. As previously mentioned, I'm a not-morning person, so early mornings followed by 8 hours on my feet (not to mention dealing with the giant steaming pile of bullshit that is my workplace) leave me tired, hungry, and not even close to motivated to work out. So I will pay more attention to my work schedule at the beginning of the week and adapt my workout schedule as needed. I'll do my best to just rearrange things and try not cut anything out, even if it means climbing 2 days in a row. iv. Record I want to keep up with my goal of writing stuff on my calendar. It's not been overly helpful to me, but I also wasn't super consistent with it. It literally takes 10 seconds, so I don't really have an excuse not to. Potential Workout Schedule Daily - yoga/stretching Sunday - climb, pull-up practice, rice bucket Monday - run, other strength stuff Tuesday - climb, pull-up practice, rice bucket Wednesday - rest Thursday - run, other strength stuff Friday - climb, pull-up practice, rice bucket Saturday - hockey (and/or run), other strength stuff Comments/questions/advice welcome!!

First of all, I am The Beard. (Renamed from jwlynch00) Main Quest In order to continue my assassin training, I must become more stealthy! To accomplish this, my plan is to reduce my body fat composition to 12% by May 2014 through strength training (last measure was 15.5%). I won't be able to get it professionally measure until May, so the 12% is just a ballpark figure. Basically my main quest is along the lines of "look good naked". Goals: 1) If I am to be a good assassin, I need to improve my flexibility so I can easily move from place to place, dodge attacks, etc. My biggest one to improve is my "touch your toes" abilities. I still am feeling the effects of a knee injury I got when I was fifteen. As a result, the leg muscles that I use for movements like touching my toes are a lot weaker than the ones I use for, say, squats. To improve this, I'm simply going to do 15 minutes of whatever that stretch is every day, measuring how far I am from my toes at the beginning and end. Total days - 42 Stat points awarded if completed: +2 Dex, +2 Sta 2) For my body recomposition, I want to keep around the same weight I'm at (+/- 7lbs). To do this, my trainer suggested around 2100-2200 calories consumed a day and that has been working for the past two-three weeks. If I start losing weight consistently, I will up it as advised from there. Counting will take place Mon-Fri at the very least, though I will do my best on the weekends. Stat points awarded if completed: +4 Con 3) After developing my assassin skills from the previous challenge, I need to keep improving upon them. Thus, here are my plans for this challenge: a. Continue improving my handstand abilities by practicing them, and/or related skills, for at least five minutes, four days a week (the five days I did from last challenge was really strenuous, going to see how scaling it back goes). My current record for time held free standing is about 7 seconds, so we'll see how it improves over these six weeks! Total days - 24 Stat points awarded if completed: +1 Dex, +1 Str b. Continue improving my pull-up abilities by practicing them, and/or related skills, at least three days a week. Current record is 4 in a row, so here's hoping for improvement! Total days - 18 Stat points awarded if completed: +2 Str Life Quest I've applied to a graduate program in student affairs. My interview is sometime in the next month. The quest is to rock the interview and get accepted. Stat points awarded if completed: +2 Wis, +1 Cha Also, just because it's hilarious, here's a shark with a beard. LALALALALALALALA!!!!!

Whenever you need to make a lot of progress in a hurry what do you need? We need a montage. This will be a six week montage going from fumbling my way through my tasks to mastery of them. By April Sixth I hope to master my chosen tasks. Goal 1 Bodyweight Mastery The ability to have your body and your complete control is a hallmark of an assassin. I have a series of movements I want to perfect. This will build upon the progress of previous challenges. Handstands-I will continue my handstand work. I want to be able to hold a handstand for 60s with wall support and find my equilibrium to move away from the wall. Pull ups- I did not reach my goal last challenge but made good progress. I want to be able to do 5 pullups by the end Plank-I need to incorporate more core strength into my life. I will hold a plank for 60s minimum every days. I will be participating on the flexibility mini challenge since my mobility needs a lot of work Goal 2 Eat Paleo I have lost fifteen pounds so far in the last few months and need to push further to see the progress I want. More than just working out I need to eat better. To that effect I will focus on more Paleo meals. While working at camp I will workout prior to supper. If I am having a rest day I will go back to my room and do schoolwork for 30 minutes to an hour. I will focus on cutting back on sugary coffee and sweets. My suppers are generally my weakness. But I shall overcome. Goal 3 Focus on Schoolwork I am making good strides but I need to keep the progress going. I want to go on a 5 module a week pace. More? Awesome. Less? Not so good. Tracking. Goal 1 Plank Days 4/ 4 5/7 5/ 7 0/7 0/7 0/7 Goal 2 Paleo happy days 2/4 5/7 1/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 Goal 3 School Pace 7/5 1/5 2/5 0/5 0/5 0/5

The tavern was bustling with activity. Farmers and laborers, tired from a long day at their crafts, had retired to the tables to talk and joke over tankards of local ale. Most were burly men, naturally large because of the rigorous physical demands of their jobs. A few had a leaner look, and their eyes toldthat they were veterans of the Rakelian Regiments, former soldiers for the most revered human military machine in the world. Even from their seats, there was no denying the strength and determination that had been drilled into them. It was a harsh life, but none other offered a better way to show loyalty to Archon and country. At the back of the room, a man was seated a table, a number of parchments in front of him. He nursed a beer while the two Rakelian soldiers stood on guard behind him. Like the veterans in the tavern, their skin was decorated with signs of experience on the front. A soldier was not allowed duty back in Rakelis unless they had fought and proven themselves on the field of battle. The man at the table took several moments pursuing his papers before he sought to look up at me. He didn’t have to worry about his safety, the moment I started approaching, his guards had hands on their weapons and were ready to pounce on me. I was nervous, even moreso when he pulled a sheet from his stack and pushed it towards me. “I spoke with the clerks. You’re cleared of all charges,†he dipped his quill in the ink bottle and scribbled his name. Another dip, and he held out the feather for me. “Now, it’s your turn to pay your new debt.†I took the quill and signed my name on the dotted line. I didn’t feel the weight of the twelve years of my life I had just signed over to him and his men. I didn’t know what I was going to go through because of what I had just written down. I didn’t truly understand that I was going to go to war. The recruiter pulled the parchment back and placed it with the others. “Welcome, recruit. You start training tomorrow.†Hi guys, I’m Ben, and I’ve taken part in two challenges before this. I failed both, but recently I’ve gotten back into fitness (in an actual gym this time), and I wanted to give this another shot. I’ve changed quite a bit since my last attempt, moved into a dorm, made new friends, lost another, picked up a little more self-respect, and lost some weight. Over the past year I’ve dropped from around a 210 pounds to 170, mostly with dieting. Recently, thanks to some very fitness and health conscious friends, I’ve gotten back into working out. I’m a writer at heart, and in my last (failed) challenge, I attempted to have the journal follow a storyline. I still love the idea, so this one will have, roughly, the same idea. The tale features a pretty soft clerk joining the ranks of a fearsome military, and his adventures from training camp to foreign warzones. . Each entry will feature a bit of the fiction alongside my update on what real-life me is doing. If you’re into fantasy fiction at all, you might find it interesting. I’ll try to have my story correspond with the goals, but in the end, the main thing here is to better myself in real-life. Main Quest - Complete Training Camp I’ve always been lacking in physical strength, and while eventually I’d like to work on getting a six-pack or other things attractive people have, my immediate focus is to simply be stronger. Missions To complete training camp, all Rakelians must demonstrate they have earned the proper characteristics. Discipline – Without a doubt, the most vital aspect of the entire military, the foundation of it all. If the soldiers can’t follow orders and maintain ranks, they’ll crumble, no matter how strong each individual soldier is. Learning to stick to the orders given by officers is crucial. Goal-Workout at least three times a week . Strength – Armor is heavy. Swords take strength to swing. Bows require muscles to draw. A soldier is no good if he doesn’t have the strength to climb up a short barricade, to hold his shield high, or to deliver the final strike. Goal-Complete five pull-ups without a break Endurance-A soldier has to be march far if he hopes to meet the enemy, and his physical condition has to be strong enough so he’s not physically exhausted by the time he makes it there. Goal-Run a mile without stopping for rest. COMPLETE AS OF 3/9/14 Life Quest-As a former clerk, our hero has read quite the selection of texts. Considering he’s about to embark on such an adventure, it might be wise to write down his journey. Goal-Write 500 words five days a week. Motivation-I’ve always been weak, unfit, lazy, and I’m tired of it. I’ve seen two friends go through an amazing physical transformation in only a few months because of their dedication, and I know it’s possible. I’ve seen it done, and now I’m ready to do it.

Hello again! For this (my 4th) challenge, the main quest is still the same as before: getting healthy and strong. I'll still be working towards those pull-ups (ok, chin-ups first) 3x/week (Tue/Thu/Sat), and my basic routine will stay the same this time around: Bodyweight workouts on Mon/Wed/Fri, yoga class 1x / week. Goal 1: (Walk the) plank on non-BW days , 3x/week (+3 STR, +2 STA) If I can keep up the progression from the past weeks, I'll reach the starting point (5 x 8 negatives) for the Scooby "walk the plank" program during week #2 of this challenge. Yay! Since I need some rest between those sets, I'll continue doing side planks and wrist & elbow mobility during those periods. It has turned out to be a good combination over the past couple of weeks A: 3 WTP days / week => 18 WTP days total B: 2 WTP days / week => 12 - 17 WTP days total C: 1 WTP day / week => 6 - 11 WTP days total F: anything less If I miss a WTP day or two (I'll be traveling for a couple of days at the end of January, with no access to a suitable pull-up bar), I can try and make it up during the rest of the challenge to reach the desired total WTP days. Goal 2: Do at least 120 complete Turkish Get Ups OR 240 TGUs up to bridge and back in 6 weeks (+2 STR, +2 STA) I'm currently learning to do the TGU, and I find that practicing every day is both time consuming and also pretty taxing. I can't add TGU practice right after my strength exercises, so I will have to spread those out a bit. I'll only count complete TGUs, any other practice of specific steps will not count for the grades. Considering that my left knee is giving me increasing trouble right now, putting my weight on it repeatedly during TGUs seems like a really stupid idea. So, since the buggy thing seems to be set on being obnoxious, I'll have to revise this goal and simply leave out the parts where I put weight on my knees. The first part of the Get Up should be fine, up to the "bridge" stage (before I sweep the "off" leg under and behind, into what later becomes a lunge position). So on days when the knee is troublesome (or if the PT generally forbids putting that kind of stress on it), I'll just do the first half of the Get Ups - I'll just have to do twice as many... A: >= 20 complete TGUs / week, >= 120 TGUs total OR 40 half Get Ups / week, >= 240 half GUs total B: >= 16 complete TGUs / week, >= 96 TGUs total OR 32 half Get Ups / week, >= 192 half GUs total C: >= 12 complete TGUs / week, >= 72 TGUs total OR 24 half Get Ups / week, >= 144 half GUs total D: >= 8 complete TGUs / week, , >= 48 TGUs total OR 16 half Get Ups / week, >= 96 half GUs total F: anything less Goal 3: Have a closer look at my diet (+2 CON, +2 WIS) While regular exercise has not only become a habit, but fun, I think my nutrition could be better. I decided to start tracking at first. Just see what and how much I'm currently eating. I'm not confident that I can handle anything more right now, so tracking will have to do in the beginning. I'll decide how to go on from there after this challenge. In the past I have started several attempts to track, but I found it very cumbersome and usually gave up after a couple of days because I just couldn't be bothered. A: tracking 7x / week B: 5 - 6x / week C: 3 - 4x / week D: 1 - 2x / week F: no tracking at all Life goal: Finally get a good (!) job reference from my former employer (+1 WIS, +1 CHA) In our neck of the woods it is not only customary to get a reference from your former employer when you leave a job, but it is your legal right. I wouldn't care so much, if it weren't for the fact that many potential employers will take a close look at your references when they are looking for new hires. I would really, really love to finally check this off my list and just forget about the former job from heck. But I have been struggling with this for the past months. Not only did my former employer take almost six months (!) to finally get this reference done (they should have one ready on your last day of work!), it also contained formal errors, plus (adding insult to injury) - concerning some key phrases, or the lack thereof, it was a rather negative reference, and I believe I deserve a little better. I hate this haggling and I shouldn't have to do it, but I can't leave it at that. *sigh* A: formally correct reference with the additions I would like C: formally correct reference without any changes to the contents F: not an option. I need at least all the formal errors gone. Have a successful challenge, everyone! EDIT 07th Jan for the first Mini Quest.

A rabbi saunters up to the bar and gives it a chest-bump... Goal: 10 unbroken chest-to-bar pull-ups. Scoring: At the end of the quest, I will do one maximal set of chest-to-bar pull-ups. 2 points will be awarded for every pull-up starting with #6 -- so 6 is worth 2, 7 is worth 4, etc. This goal is worth 10 points, so more than 10 pull-ups is extra credit. Currently can do 17 kipping pull-ups, but haven't done any chest-to-bars. In WODs, I always scale to regular pull-ups, and it's time to up my game. Supporting goals, worth 6 points each (1 point per week): practice weekly by doing two maximum chest-to-bar sets, in either one or two sessionsweekly max set of strict L-pull-ups -- to develop strengthweekly 10 minutes of overhead mobility -- which helps my kip and shoulder range and thereby makes pull-ups easierSupporting life goals: continue to eat right, keep my weight below 175, continue to train 4-5x / week. These are now part of my baseline and thus aren't worth extra points. Grading: points will be totaled and divided by 28, the total number of available points. A+ -- over 100%A -- 91-100%B -- 81-90%etc.

Hi. I'm ytterbium, or Greg if you prefer, and I'm excited to get into the next challenge. (The first was really good, but the holidays/between-challenge time) hasn't been so good. My main quest: I've got plenty, but for purposes of this challenge (and probably the next couple), let's go with this: I've signed up for a Warrior Dash on June 14. I'd like to rock it. Unfortunately, I don't have any kind of a gauge for that time-wise. But at least, I'd like to do the race capably -- i.e., successfully running the full thing at a steady but challenging pace and successfully completing all of the obstacles. (If anyone wants to make time goal recommendations: I did a 5K run last summer in about 28:20. That race was pretty flat, whereas this one is supposedly "moderately hilly." I'm planning to be at least about 40 pounds lighter for the Warrior Dash than I was for the 5K. I'm hypothesizing 45 minutes as a goal time, but I have no clue whether that might be realistic or not.) My motivation: My nephew was born last year. I don't particularly want him to know fat Uncle Greg. More generally, I'd like him to look at me and my life as an example to follow. (Or at least learn from. I mean, I sure wouldn't wish the journalism major on him.) My goals for this challenge: These might change by the time the challenge actually starts, but my current plans are: 1. Perform 3 consecutive full pull-ups. I currently can't do any, but I'm close -- about an inch away from getting my chin over the bar. Since I've never done one successfully, I'm not sure exactly how far away from the goal I am. I have a feeling I'll either beat the goal by a lot or miss it by a lot. Grading: 4 points for strength possible. A: 3 pull-ups. B: 2 pull-ups. C: 1 pull-up. D: No pull-ups, but practice done at least 4 times per week. (I really don't have anyplace in my apartment that is suitable, but my gym does -- it's usually, but not always, possible to use them before classes.) 2. Reduce my reliance on packaged and restaurant food. These can both be tough for me -- I live alone, and eating leftovers day after day isn't a favorite activity for me. I also work at home, and sometimes I eat out just to stop looking at my computer for a little while. I don't think it's terribly realistic to eliminate these practices, but I can cut back. The specific goal will involve cooking from scratch at least twice per week (or 4 meals per week), not including breakfasts, and eating out no more than 5 times per week. Grading: 4 points for wisdom possible. A: Cooking from scratch 2x per week and no more than 5 meals out. B: Missing goals by 1 meal total. C: Missing goals by 2 meals total. D: Missing goals by 3 meals total. F: Missing goals by 4 or more meals total. This'll have to be rated weekly and then averaged over the time of the challenge. 3. Continue the dietary improvements from my last challenge. In that one, my (reasonably successful) goal was to cut soda consumption to one per day and eating only when genuinely hungry, rather than because I'm angry, bored, stressed, or just want something. For this goal, I'll update it slightly: I get one day of rational treating (i.e., having a frozen yogurt or a couple cookies) per week for each of these goals. [Days where I eat all the food or drink all the pop are not ok.] Grading: 4 points total possible, 2 in dexterity and 2 in stamina. An A means that I held to the 1 treat per week limit for each. B: 1-2 extras over the challenge period. C: 3-4 extras over the challenge period. D: 5-8 extras. Life quest: Significant book progress. I published a book in 2013, and I'd like for that kind of thing to happen fairly regularly. I've got one in progress, and I'd like to add at least 15,000 words to it by the end of this challenge. Grading: 3 points for wisdom possible. A: 15,000 words total plus at least 2,000 words per week. B: 14,000 words plus 2,000 words per week at least 5 weeks. C: 13,000 words total plus 2,000 words per week at least 4 weeks. D: 10,000 words total plus 2,000 words per week at least 3 weeks. Comments/suggestions welcome.

Main Quest Be able to complete the Marines Physical Fitness Test with maximal scoring. 100 sit ups in 2 minutes, 8 pull-ups and 4.82 km in 21 minutes (4:20 minute kilometer). Challenge Goals Goal #1: Row, row, row my boat DEX: 4 STA:1 I'm great at starting challenges late this month! At our local box they're having a virtual contest to see how many meters they can row compared to others online. I decided to follow it along in my own way and participate as a silent member. The challenge is to row 100,000 meters by the start of February. Since I started late I need to row 4,347 meters per day to meet the quota. Goal #2: Tighten my belt time CON: 2 WIS: 3 I want to bring a lunch to school everyday and try cut down on the amount of food I buy at the cafeteria. I didn't get as much OSAP as I thought I would so I need to keep my groceries under $25 per week and my entertainment funds under $25. I can do this, it's not giving into being lazy and packing a lunch. Goal #3: Pull myself off this plateau. STR: 3 STA: 1 Still working on pull ups, trying to get one unassisted before the end of the challenge. The arm routine I'm doing now has seen some great results so paired with the rowing and continuous work on them I'm hoping to make it there. Side Quest: Complete Marine PFT again WIS: 1

Name: Andrew Williams (Artinum) Race: Vinyl Motto: "Ummm..." Winter is coming, and not just for the House of Stark. It will not be long until I must hang up my trainers for the winter - running and icy conditions are not a good combination. With this in mind, now is not the time to seriously attempt the Rebel Running Guide (at least, not the running parts). As my last challenge collapsed entirely - depression and general upheaval both contributed to this - I've decided to return to the fundamentals, focusing on a few simple goals rather than something big and magnificent. As I'm not really doing anything that fits anywhere else, I've returned to the Adventurers. The Quest: Building Arms And Habits. Fitness 1: Pull-ups (5 STR) A while ago I managed the impossible and did a pull-up. Then other things got in the way and I somehow lost the knack. I've already started working on those reverse pull-ups and chin-ups again, and my goal is simple - to continue pushing on these, three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). By the end of the challenge I hope to be able to crank out at least one pull-up again. Fitness 2: Exercises (2 STR, 2 DEX) I've fallen out of practice with my exercise routine. This is bad. During the last challenge they became highly erratic, dropped to just two circuits rather than three and sometimes stopped altogether. This goal is also simple - to return to two sets of three circuits every week. The exact days will have to fit around other commitments. Diet: Building Up (2 STR, 2 CON) I've lost weight recently and my stomach has flattened a little more. Yay! But I'm worried I'm losing muscle as well. My pull-up failure seems to suggest this. It's time to reverse the trend - an average of 2400 calories a day and at least 100g of protein a day - preferably 150g. Life: Meditation (2 WIS) Something I really should do regularly and seldom do. Every morning I will spend five minutes in quiet meditation.

So this is my tenth challenge, which means I've had a lot of goals… some repeated, some totally failed, some awesomely successful. This time I'm using 10 as my theme, and I'm also trying to reclaim my free time - last challenge was eaten by an opera (heh, fun mental image!), but now the performances are over and I don't want to fall back into my previous time-killing, internet-surfing and tv-watching habits. GOALS: 10 pull-ups a day. Right now these'll happen in sets of 2, since that's how many I can do. There'll be a few days around Thanksgiving where I won't have access to a pull-up bar, so those don't count, but if I'm at home, I should be able to get these done. Every day. 10 handstands a week. Handstands are an ongoing goal of mine, and this seems like a good time to increase the volume of them, see if I can find the balance point a little more reliably. 10 minutes of art a week. This is a minimum, just to make me sit down and focus on personal art at least once a week. Being a graphic designer means I'm not always motivated to do my own art when I get home - but I love it when I actually do. I'm still climbing, swimming, and doing coworker workouts, drinking no more than 3 non-water drinks a week, and tracking macros/calories/measurements, but those aren't goals anymore, just stuff I do.

Well, here goes my second challenge (and my first as a full-fledged Ranger). It will technically be a five-week challenge for me, as I don't finish my exams until the 14th and so I will be using every spare moment up until then to cram! Main Quest: To make exercise a natural, joyful and intrinsic part of my life. I want exercise to be something I do instinctively, something I look forward to, rather than just another chore to be crossed off my to-do list. I know this may take a while, and that I may have to treat working out as chore initially, but hopefully these coming weeks can help me to take a few first steps along that path! My fitness goals: 1. Run barefoot for 20 minutes (STA - 4 points) I used to run barefoot back in high school, simply because I ran faster barefoot and found shoes so uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I have been wearing shoes to run for more than five years now and have completely lost the knack of landing on my forefoot and not my heel! I know it will take a while for my feet and calves to get used to the change in my stride so I plan on taking it very slowly to begin with. I don't expect to be able to go outside and run five 5k barefoot right away! I am planning to use the first five weeks of the couch-to-5k program that got me back into running initially, so that I can gradually increase the time I run for with breaks in between runs to walk. Grading will be as follows: A - 20 or more minutes barefoot (4 points) B - 15-20 minutes barefoot (3 points) C - 10-15 minutes barefoot (2 points) F - Less than 10 minutes barefoot (0 points) 2. Do pistol squats barefoot! (STR - 1 point, DEX - 3 points) I can do unassisted pistol squats wearing shoes with a low heel. Barefoot, I can do either box pistol squats or assisted ones (holding on the edge of a table for balance). The issue for me is not so much that my legs aren't strong enough, it's that I lose my balance at the bottom of the squat and fall backward onto my bum. Not so classy! Even a two-inch heel gives me enough of a boost to be able to perform them, but I want to improve my balance and flexibility such that I can do pistols in bare feet. Like a boss. Or should I say, like Al Kavadlo: Grading will be as follows: A - 5 or more barefoot pistol squats (1, 3 points) B - 3 or 4 barefoot pistol squats (1, 2 points) C - 1 or 2 barefoot pistol squats (1, 1 point) F - Still unable to pistols barefoot (0 points) 3. Do 10 consecutive pull-ups (STR - 3 points) In my first challenge I sought to make the seemingly impossible jump from 0 pull-ups to 1 pull-up. While I was unsuccessful in my attempt during those six weeks, I kept at it afterwards. My first pull-up happened only two weeks later! In the month and a half since then I have gone from 1 to 5 pull-ups, so I feel like 10 in five weeks should be reasonable. I really hope I am successful because that will mean I can do more pull-ups than my (male) gym-going mate who inspired me to try them in the first place! Grading as follows: A - 10 or more pull-ups (3 points) B - 8 or 9 pull-ups (2 points) C - 6 or 7 pull-ups (1 point) F - No improvement (0 points) Life-related "Side Quest": 4. Read the Bible daily (WIS - 4 points) I am a Christian and believe that spending time reading the Bible, meditating on it and praying are essential to maintaining a healthy relationship with my heavenly Father. That said, as with exercise, I often struggle to make time with God a natural, joyful part of my everyday life. I want to make Bible reading a habit. After all, "Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Tim 4:8) A - Bible reading 5+ times per week (4 points) B - 4 times per week (3 points) C - 3 times per week (2 points) F - Less than 3 times per week (0 points) My motivation: As before. To "run the race and keep the faith". I want to build habits that will stick with me through the rest of my life. After all, as FlyLady likes to remind me "Motivation gets you started but habit keeps you going". I was talking recently to a colleague about the concept of a "Life weight" - of maintaining a stable, healthy weight (plus or minus a kilo or two) throughout one's lifetime (not including pregnancies I suppose!) I'm not really sure whether the concept is a sensible one or not but I certainly like the idea of striving to maintain my current level of fitness into middle and old age. If I never allow myself to get "out of shape" I never have to get "back in shape"! My Weekly Exercise Routine: Monday - Modern Jive class (unrelated to any of my goals, but I love it, so I'm going to keep going!) Tuesday - Run Wednesday - Bodyweight workout Thursday - Run Friday - Bodyweight workout Saturday - Run Sunday - Bodyweight workout

. Sarrlac digestion Intermittent fasting: only eat in the five hours between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM -Studies suggest that intermittent fasting - independent of calorie restriction - can prolong life, though the mechanism is not entirely understood. The working theory is somewhere between "Maybe it's free radicals," and "Meh?" The results are fairly conclusive, though so I think it's worth a try. This also hopefully make me feel hungry before I eat, as I've gotten into the bad habit of never, ever letting myself get hungry. Grading: Fairly binary. Will detract points by percentage of daily calories consumed outside of hours. Sta +1, Con +2, Wis +1 Han Swolo -Continuing Rippetoe's Starting Strength 3x, a week. Looking to maintain mostly linear gains in strength. Starting at deadlift: 275, bench 150, shoulder press 115, squat 265 Grading: By days in which the full series of lifts are completed +1 str, +1 con, +1 cha Run, Luke! Now stand on your head. -More zombierun, 3x a week, even though it's cold. I have the North in my veins. -stretching: 15min in the mornings, focus on legs -50 pushups, 25 pullups in the morning Dex +2, Sta +2 --- Life Quest: Face the Dark Side I've spent too long not trying because I'm afraid that my best won't be good enough, and I can't afford to do that anymore, so for this challenge, I'll try to tackle that by... 1) Writing out my fears and the things that make me unhappy. (by Nov. 29th) (30%) 2) Figuring out what will change/fix those things. (by Dec. 6th) (30%) 3) Plan a process and begin? Grade by completion at each date. +2 Wis, +2 Cha I'll return to document as I progress. EDIT: Dec. 1st: Progressed well until Wednesday - turns out the hotel gym wasn't very well-equipped, so I swapped out Rippetoe's Starting Strength for a progression of bodyweight exercises. I can now do three one-arm pushups in a row on each arm with good form before I tank out, so I'll count that as progress. Stretching has been spot on; I'm starting to notice progress. Watched The Expendables 2 again; was disappointed by Van Damme's lack of doing anything cool. Diet didn't tank as badly as I feared it would over thanksgiving; my macros were around 40fat/35 protein/25 carbs, instead of 60/35/5, but that's still not up to snuff. As for the fasting, it was oddly successful, given when my family eats meals. I feel compelled to subtract points because of the sheer volume of food I ate. As for my life quest, I've got a good working theory; I think I'll have some ideas by the 6th. Eating: 75% Lifting: 100% Running/calisthenics/stretching: 85% Life quest: 100% Misc stuff: -weight went up 10(!) lbs. Forgot my calipers at school, so no bf% this week, but I'd estimate 16% -Benched 75lb dumbells this week -Got my workout playlist up and running; it's full of nerdy stuff.

Hey there, fellow assassins! Having taken a pretty casual approach to challenges for the last few rounds, I decided that's not actually working so well for me, so I'm trying the opposite technique - 4 tough goals that will take some serious work to achieve. My main quest is general AWESOMENESS. I want to be able to do anything I decide I want to do. I want to be strong, and flexible, and try new things with confidence. And all of that? Means I'm going to fail. I'm going to fall on my head while learning to do new things. I'm going to drop juggling props constantly. I'm going to fall off the climbing wall in new and different ways every week. I'm going to fail, and keep failing, until I succeed. Goals: 1. Backbend! Not something I've worked on before, but my flexibility will only increase if I push it. Right now I can hold it for about 2 seconds. I want to get a full minute by the end of this, and improve my form. 2. Pull-ups. I want to do 5 in a set. So far my best ever is 2, and that's on a good day - a not-good day means I can't do any. This requires a 3x a week pull workout, starting by using the 20 pull-up plan. 3. Climbing! There's a particular route at my gym that I really want to defeat - I can only go climbing once a week, so it may take me all six weeks (or longer!) to get there, but I'm going to do it. 4. Juggle 5 clubs. This is a long-term goal, but it starts here. I started doing four clubs last fall (during my second challenge here), and now that it's vaguely stable, it's time to work on five. These practices will likely involve more time picking up clubs than actually throwing them, but just getting the five in the air is a start. I'm still swimming regularly, doing a full bodyweight workout 3x a week, limiting non-water drinks to 3 a week, and eating for a very slow bulk. Looking forward to the next 6 weeks!