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I'm taking week 0 to reconsider all of my health goals, so this will be a work-in-progress post to mark what I've come up with so far before posting my goals for this challenge. First, a recap: September - October 2015: Rest and recovery from injury. November - December 2015: Start BBWW and walk-at-home again. January: Improve cardio/BBW to pre-injury levels. February: Posture, attitude, and start Parkour. March: Pushups, pullups, re-injury. April: Recovery, pushups, pullups, begin walking outside. Considering two injuries in the past 8 months, I'm making good progress. I've had a lot of fast beginner gains, and now it's time to knuckle down and just keep at it. I did let pushups slip last month by overdoing planks and handstands for the mini-challeng. Since I did improve in those two areas while not losing progress in pushups, I'm not going to view that as a loss. Moving forward, then, I want to focus (long-term) on: Pushups and pullups. These translate directly into improvement in parkour, which relies heavily and upper body strength. Walking outside. Specifically walking. I don't want to feel pressured into running - just get outside and move my body on a regular basis. Personal fun goals: Handstands. I don't know why these make me happy, but they do. If something works, go with it! Parkour. Again, it makes me happy. I need to keep it at my speed though, and not try to push too fast and re-injure myself (again). Things I don't want to focus on: Food. I've got good habits and typically come in slightly under, with some days way under goal. Check in now and then, but I'm not going to stress on this. Measurements. I've been doing measurements 1ce a month, this year, and it seems to be going well. Slow and steady improvement without obsession. "Should"s. Blame this on a lingering tendency toward perfectionism and competition. "You should run, not walk." "You should go to class every week." "You should eat less/more/paleo/vegan/etc." "You should be progressing faster." No. I should be listening to my own body and going at a healthy and sustainable rate, rather than listening to my criticism and pushing to injury or anger. I'll add checking my assumptions to my monthly measurements. To be continued.

I might still be working on this a bit, but here is my new challenge! I tried to make all the quests support each other - running counts as outside time, outside time counts on my to do list, etc. Also, my to do list is flexible enough that I can adapt for anything that may come up - as long as I plan it the night before it counts. Quest 1: Get Moving! I will continue working towards a pull-up three days a week. And I will be adding in couch to 5k. Tentatively, I will be running on T, TH, Sa and doing bodyweight progressions on M, W, F, with an extra rest day on Sunday. Quest 2: Be Productive! I will create a daily to do list (trying out some apps along the way). I will earn 3 points for making the list and 5 points for using it as a schedule for the day. Each task I cross off my list earns me points - 1 point per 5 minutes spent on it. *80 points = 100% Quest 3: Get Outside! Everyday I will spend at least 2 hours outside. My focus during this outside time will be gardening, but running and other activities also count. To account for springtime weather, time over 2 hours on another day can help make up missed time on rainy or windy days. Only time missed due to weather (or unavoidable commitments) can be made up. Quest 4: Simplify! Decluttering, reorganizing, and generally heading towards simplicity and less stuff. Task points will be a flat amount, as opposed to time spent, since this will encourage speed rather than overthinking and dwelling. 5 points per task. *Daily goal is 5 points. Make-ups allowed by doing extra on other days. Quest 4: Craft! Do at least one task daily to prepare for upcoming craft fair. *pass/fail - progress made or not made To pass each quest I need at least 85% success. 1 day per week is a rest day and doesn’t count against my score - it doesn’t have to be the same day for all quests. Rewards: TBD

Alright! New term, new challenge, new home! Well, I've still seven weeks before we even get the place, but it's a pretty big deal. I'm going to keep this challenge pretty short this time though. Exercise: Grease the Groove: Pull ups and dips have been added to my routine, but they are not proceeding as quickly as I would like. And, on my pull ups, I'm not quite getting to the bar. I feel like I'm getting the full range of motion in my elbow (i.e. I can't flex my arm any more). Maybe I need to widen my grip a bit to allow my back to move more. (Maybe I need to film it?) Plan? Grease the groove. Pull ups and dips before and after every sword class (which means I need to go twice a week), as well as at the gym (now that I have time for three days a week there too). Rest Days: 2 (separated) sets of Weeks 1, 2: 3 Week 3: 4 Week 4: 5 Gym days: 2 sets of 5 (or exhaustion) 1 set to exhaustion If I start the challenge this Saturday, that gives me five days a week, for four weeks, so twenty days. Standard school grading on this then. I need to be getting my chest to the bar each time by the end of the challenge! Diet: Frutta ed Vedura: I did alright last time. But this time, more! I need to get a couple servings of fruit and at least one of vegetables every day. Also strict school grading here! Maybe I should make some carbonated fruit like in this gif. Life: Rasettare: We're moving and I need to get rid of stuff. So, this is a checklist of things to pitch (or give away): Clothes: I've a fair amount I don't wear anymore. Maybe I can get some dough for them too. Comics: Get rid of those extra books that I have lying around. Find some I don't care about and sell them/get store credit. Something! Papers: Clean up desk, get rid of papers that are lying around. Notebooks and Sketchbooks: Pitch old school notebooks. Find something to do with that multitude of sketchbooks I have. Games, CD's and DVD's: get rid of cases of the ones to keep, and get rid of ones that I don't want. Get storage materials for the GameBoy and DS cartridges (recommendations welcome) Toys: Try to see if I can part with any of the toys we have. (Probably, but also probably not much) Additionally: add to Delicious Library all the media that I am keeping. Bonus points: Creatività: I was really wanting to create after C2E2! So, I need to draw or write or practice ʻukulele more. Ideas to kick this off would be appreciated,

Fitness Goals Starting weight: 210 lbs Maximum set strict pushups: 20 | Challenge Goal: 60 Maximum set strict pullups: 7 | Challenge: 15 Current squat PR: 205 | Challenge Goal: 225 My current schedule to maintain: Crossfit 4x weekly Ultimate frisbee 3x weekly Minimum of 60 pushups/day (including CF/warmups) Minimum of 15 pullups/day (including CF/warmups) Current eating habits that I want to continue: Succeeded in cutting sugary cereals entirely for over a month (and now it feels like why would I ever eat those? Gross!) Intermittent fasting many days from 6pm-10am (not strict, just not eating after dinner/before workout) No sugary treats in over a month (Except for stupid apple pie on easter...) Alcohol calories down to less than 500/week Levelling Up Life Goals STRETCH! Still semi-fitness, but this is the only thing I am not happy with my consistency on. I want to stretch before and after workouts, AND intermittently through the day.

Hey guys, Which are your favorite Pull Up variations? I found those (https://www.instagram.com/p/BEGZDhGM29x/) to be very helpful for me, even though I'm still struggling to do The Typewriter correctly without dying in the process What are your recommendations for upper body building? Thanks! Milly

No Fear of the Setting Sun The icy water felt like a million tiny knives against the skin of his face and yet there was something invigorating about it. Little more than a boy, he stood by the stream as tall as he was, discretely watching the seasoned men around him take care of the camp chores. It was his first expedition and, in fact, the first time he had been that far from the farm. “Com’ here, boy!â€, Halfdan called him to the center of the camp. “I’m gonna teach you how to set up a smoking rack†Eager to learn from the Jarl’s man he walked to the fire carefully staging a careless attitude… he didn’t wanted to look like an excited little kid in front of that group of explorers, hunters and warriors. “That’s a quick learner right there†said the man as the boy finished lashing the spars. “Alright, will you teach me to use a sword then? You said you would!†The flourishing young man gave place to the kid in him once again. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. This again? I already told you: Once you learn how to use that empty head of yours; once you acquire some shade of bloody discipline… then and only then I will teach you to fight. Now, get to work or you’ll fell the back of my handâ€. Halfdan had a really short fuse. He was a good man, but the pain made him a taciturn fellow. Old battle wounds ached all over his body, but worst was the pain of his soul… some nights he could still hear the screams of his wife and see the raging fire, the lifeless eyes of his son. Back in the farm the fire was always crackling, but there it was his job to start it. Halfdan taught him how to do it, as well as how to build a tripod and tan the skin of the deer the hunters brought from their expeditions. “I’m acting like a child. I should be grateful for Halfdan’s lessons†the boy thought while preparing a stew of freshly gathered roots and some meat and bones. Definitely not feasting material, but anything’s better than starving. He left the stew to cook and went looking for Halfdan to apologize, but the man was nowhere to be found. He headed towards the river and walked downstream. There lying on the dirt was a small pouch. He crouched to get hold of it and suddenly a hand covered his mouth and Halfdan’s voice whispered on his ear “don’t make a sound kid. The forest is boiling with Kandajarâ€. He was talking about the native inhabitants of the land. They used to be pacific people who lived of the land and made those forest their home, but when the settlers began to occupy their lands hostilities began and disputes over hunting game or women quickly became a blood feud that transcended time. Generations where born and passed away and the origin of the enmity was forgotten. Only the hatred remained and now the Kandajar were after the tracks of the trading party. The boy and the man rushed back to the camp to warn their men but the natives were already there. Fur clad figures flooded the campsite as wooden clubs clashed against round shields. Warcries, screams of pain and terror filled the air. Steel axes and swords cut through the fur sending Kandajar to their gods at the same rate that wooden clubs sent warriors to meet the Allfather. The boy thought his first battle would be a glorious event, where he would prove himself to his comrades but there he stood, confused and terrified, at the edge of pissing his pants. An enormous hand shook him back to reality. “Run kid, hide!†Halfdan crushed a Kandajari’s face with his shield and finished him up with a thrust of his sword. The boy ran towards the tree while smoke filled the air: some trees where catching fire. He took a last glance over his shoulder. Halfdan was surrounded by enemies, swinging his sword with absolute mastery, striking fear into the Kandajar’s hearts… dying a warrior’s death. Halfway to the top of the hill he stopped running. “Halfdan! I left him there, he could still be aliveâ€. As foolish as that thought was, it expressed how much he looked upto the seasoned warrior. The boy unsheathed his knife and turned around to face the campsite. A fur clad figure came rushing from the bushes and bumped into the boy. They rolled on the ground throwing punches and kicks at each other. The Kandajari’s warpaint rubbed off against the boy’s clothes revealing the face of a 12 o 13 kid, the same age as the boy who now was being choked to death by the Kandajari lad. The savage fingers were like hooks around his neck. His lungs burned and his vision blurred. He was going to die at the hands of a wild kid… and then he remembered the knife. His hand was still clinched around the knife’s handle. With the sick rage of desperation he frantically stabbed the Kandajari on the side, the ribs, and the belly. The kid dropped dead upon him but the stabbing didn’t stop. After what seemed like the hundredth stab, the boy slipped from beneath the dead body. There, covered in blood, alone, he cried. Tears rolled of his eyes for he knew that there was no returning home, Halfdan was dead and soon he would be too. So much for the glory of the first kill. It was all a lie. Once he ran out of tears, the truth stroke him like lightning: He was on his own. For the first time in his life he was on his own and whether he lived or died depended entirely on him. “Time to be a man. Alright, think… we reached an outpost two days ago. That’s it! If I can survive and march two days to the outpost I might get to tell the tale†suddenly he realized he was thinking out loud. He assessed his possessions: A knife, a whetstone, flint and a steel striker. He seized the Kandajari’s blood-stained fur clothes; they would be of much use at night. The first night was cold and it took his full effort to get a fire burning. The boy munched a few berries and fell asleep by the fire, wrapped in furs, smothered by fear. Fear of the Kandajar, fear of wild beasts, of the dark. He woke up at dawn and resumed the march. A constant feel of being watched was making him more and more paranoid. A stick broke somewhere behind him. The boy was trembling. A muffled sound of metal against metal. Enough. He started running blinded by fear and his stalkers race after him. The warcries of his pursuers put wings on the boy's feet as he sprinted through the woods. He reached the edge of the forest and slipped on a patch of naked stone causing him to fall downhill into the rushing river. The kid was dragged by the current and hit his head against a floating piece of wood. Many hours he lied unconscious on the river bank, until the kick of a heavy booted foot awakened him. There stood a tall man, his torso covered in leather armor, carrying weapons and a shield. “Get up lad†the stranger offered the boy a callused hand. “Attacked by the Kandajar, weren’t you?†The boy told the man about the events of the last few days and even if he didn’t knew the stranger; he had to get something out of his chest: the fear. He told the man about the fear he felt at night. The stranger gave him a lupine look, “How old are you, kid?†“I’m 12 sir†the boy answered. “Twelve… If you start training now, we’ll be on time to get you initiated before you are too oldâ€. Only then did the boy notice the other men, carrying similar armor and weapons.â€You’ll travel with us!†the kid was in no position to reject such an offer â€Just stay close to me, in case one of my comrades turns… we’ve got a full moon on the way†“Turn?†the boy asked. “You’ll see soon enough†The enigmatic stranger showed a grin for the first time. “Name’s Ragnar by the way… cheer up, lad you’ll be safe. We’ve got no fear of the setting sun†Before he became a wolfwarrior, the main character of my challenges (the kind of man I strive to be) was just a kid who was lucky enough to run into the right mentors. But let’s cut the boy some slack. If he didn’t had the basic survival techniques taught to him by Halfdan, he wouldn’t have made it through the woods. And that will be the special aspect of this challenge. GOALS Do some research on survival techniques and try one each week - (15%)Practice pull-ups and chin ups every day following a GtG plan. - (15%)Eat Paleo every day with just one weekly variance (add description and/or picture of every meal) - (45%)Keep on practicing my bodyweight skills at least twice a week - (15%) SIDE QUESTS Perform an action in relation to reenactment each day - (5%)Stuff to Do Lists(this time the number of items may range from one to four) - (5%) Last challenge I fashioned a list of rewards depending on my score. In the end, despite of having earned the new pack of plates, I won't be able to buy them because unexpected expenses left me with less money than I had thought. So option 2, pull-up bar it is!(and "the primal blueprint" for kindle 'cause is not that expensive) REWARDS A- Full sirvival Kit B- Fire Starting Kit C- New spice rack to upgrade my batch cooked meals with.

I start here, but for me this challenge will cover until the end of March. I will be visiting my family in the coming two weeks, and some adjustment is needed while there. The idea of this challenge is to put back in my life some basics skills and routines to keep me healthy and happy on the long run. No big things, just small changes. The execution started Monday, but writing it down requires always too much time Food basics: cut the starch (and make french fries?) I'm getting a beer belly, without even drinking beer! I know that most of it comes from too grains in my diet. I know that they are my weak spot. So, time to clean up my diet a bit, doing the simplest adjustment I can do max one meal per week based on cereals or potatoes, two while with my familymax 2 slices of cake while with my familyConsidering how I eat, with the above my diet will be again somewhere around 90% paleo Monk basics: art polishing My karate, as every complex skill, needs constant practice, so I redo the 10-minutes skill work: kata, kicks, drills... Ok, not basics in the general sense, but once you scale for the experience calling this "basics" makes sense 10 minutes of skill work. Pick one theme and stay on it for 10 minutes: one kata or max 2 drills/combinationsEvery day, with the exclusions of the time with family Strength basics: Tiramisù The literal translation is "pull me up". So, basic body-weight strength training 5 minutes handstandalternate pushups / pull-ups, following any 100 program (just to get some progression and motivation)stretch my chest and shoulder (soften those scars)The above happens every day. When with family only the stretches will happen. Stamina basics: Athlete's feet (I can smell it!) The step counter I gave myself is a great motivator and I want to keep it flashing happily do the daily "magic" 10000 stepsEvery other day when with family, daily otherwise. Since the weather is particularity wet, the challenge is to do most of it at work: walking meetings, take proper breaks from the screen, use the coffee machine or toilet on a different floor (no elevator, of course!). Small things to stay active and distribute the movement throughout the day Tracker and old style points later on Edit : tracker available (still incomplete)

While I know New Years Resolutions are, at best, poor goal setting form, and at worst, a self-defeating waste of time, boy I am I ever a sucker for a fresh start. It's totally arbitrary and illogical, but I figure that I might as well harness the excitement, eh? I decided to look back on the last few New Years. Back in 2013, I started the year at 169 lbs. Right before my first NF challenge. Whoa. I've been doing this for 3 years. And while in those three years I have not quite had the revolutionary success that I dreamed of... well, I've started each New Year a little lighter than the previous one. 2014 was 158lbs. 2015 was 156. And I rang this year in at 153. It's not much, but it's in the right direction, at least! And I'd rather be flirting with the 140s than the 170s. Of course, it's not all about the weight, now is it? I've made some incredible friends on these boards. I've fallen in love with Kettlebells, and my overall fitness level is so much improved. I can definitely still do a chin up, and almost do a pull-up. I freaking biked to work more days than I didn't last summer (after basically not using a bicycle since I was a child), and plan to beat that this year. 2015 wasn't the best year of my life. I lost my brother-in-law, and my Grandad. December ended on a particularly bad run, and depression and anxiety were edging in on me. But I am turning this new leaf with a vengeance. I want to be athletic. I want to be muscular. I want that incredibly adorable black skirt I bought to FIT. And goddamn it, this is the year. Goals: Workouts: Back to the usual schedule. Kettlebell classes start up again this week. I got a couple workouts in over the holidays, so at least I won't completely die this first week back. Kettlebells 2x per week Additional workouts 1x (NF Yoga) A : 12pts B : 10pts C : 8pts D : 6 pts F : <6pts Eat Good Food: Mostly Paleo, if metrics fall in line, I'm likely doing ok. 1300-1800 calories Carbs: <100g, Protein: >80g 1 point per item per day. Target 18 points per week. A : 72+pts B : 66pts C : 60pts D : 54pts F : <54pts Pushup/Pullup Work: I wanna be a badass. And being able to do this stuff is a prerequisite, I'm pretty sure. I can do like... two, maybe three pushups in a row. Right now I can do one chin up, maybe two in a row when I'm feeling particularly beastly, but not regularly. I can barely do one pull up from standing (ie, not full extension). 3x per week: 4 sets of max pushups (start with regular, go to knees as needed) 3 sets of 10 eccentric pull ups. Continue with random chin ups and pull up as I pass the bar in the hallway. A : 12pts B : 10pts C : 8pts D : 6 pts F : <6pts Life Goal: READ. I've been seriously missing out on reading lately. Part of it is that I'm just so awful at returning library books that I am scared to check them out in the first place. But I just straight up need to get better at that. My mother in law also has a pretty decent library that I have at my disposal. I usually just read books I've already read before to get me to fall asleep at night... and while I don't think there's anything wrong with re-reading, I'm a bit pathological about it. Therefore I'm stipulating that I need to read books that I haven't before. Once I get into a book, I won't have any problem reading it often, I just need to get one! Read 5x per week. No time limits, no certain amount read, just do it. A : 20pts B : 16pts C : 12pts D : 8pts F : <8pts A'ight. Let us do this shit.

Legend of a Banished Man **this challenge features Rurik the wolfhunter from Urban[Wolf] by our own Wild Wolf** The forest was throbbing with the sound of animal nightlife. The noises made by bugs and the nervous wondering of rodents bared witness of the never sleeping force of wildlife. The warrior listened to this medley of sounds like it was an orchestra playing just for him. Sitting on a branch, resting his back against the trunk of the tree he began to fall asleep. He had strapped himself to the tree to avoid falling over if he tilted to one side or the other while sleeping. The last thought that crossed his mind was of gratitude for the ongoing summer that allowed him to safely sleep in the wilds. He opened his eyes. Something was off. Judging by the darkness only a few hours had passed since he fell asleep. There was still plenty of work to do for the night inhabitants of the summer forest. Yet it seemed like the forest itself was holding its breath. The warrior loosened the straps and searched his surroundings with an axe in one hand and a saex in the other. The shield was still tied to the tree… The Saex or sax is a big knife/small sword tipically used by saxon and germanic people He smelled the man in the way wolves do before hearing the steps on the soft leaves that covered the ground. He jumped to a lower branch and instantly to the floor, landing right behind the stranger. “You are too far from the main road to be just passing by†the warrior said as he pressed the seax against the man’s back â€I’m no brigand nor am I a murderer but I won’t hesitate to kill you, so don’t give me a reason†“oh, but that’s exactly why I’m here…†the warrior noticed the chainmail under the man’s cloak â€...wolf!†The man suddenly turned around hitting the warrior in the face with the back of his fist. The warrior backed off and raised his guard. The man ditched the cloak and stepped directly under the moonlight that made it’s way through the roof of leaves. The tall bearded man was wearing a mail hauberk and carried no shield, only an axe. And it was no wonder for it was the most ridiculous axe the wolfwarrior had ever seen. Ludicrously oversized and clearly to heavy to be wielded properly. One thing caught the wolf’s attention the most: the axe was double bitted. A waste of good steel. Obviously he had no idea of weapon handling or he wouldn’t be carrying that abomination. That man probably was the son of a lesser noble who fancied himself a werewolf hunter or an adventure-seeking merchant who got scammed by a weaponsmith. A hauberk “Go home lad, I take no pleasure in killing sheep†“Sheep? Sheep?! I’m Rurik, you beast! Remember my name for I’ll be the one to send you to Hell†“Alright...Rurik… tell me mate, how exactly are you planning on sending me to the cold embrace of Loki’s daughter?†the warrior found Rurik’s confidence entertaining. “With this!†The hunter cleared the 2 meters between him and the wolfwarrior in two steps and swinged his axe with lightning speed. So fast that the warrior could barely lean back to avoid being beheaded, but an inch of his beard was severed right away. Clearly that thing was sharp. Rurik kept on swinging that monstrous axe like it weighed nothing and the warrior just kept dodging and dancing to avoid the deadly double-bitted head. Suddenly his back hit a tree. There was no place to go and the axehead was traveling through the air aimed right at his forehead. As the wolfwarrior dodged the blow the axe got stuck in tree behind him.“It’s now or never†he thought and took a swing with his axe at Rurik’s head. The hunter dodged the blow but the warrior was already backswinging and the butt of the handle caught Rurik right in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Although the wolfwarrior raised his guard again, Rurik didn’t move at all... He was unconscious. “Glass-jawed bitch†muttered the werewolf as he sheathed his axe and seax. “let's have a look at thisâ€. He ripped Rurik’s axe out of the tree trunk. It was at the least 6 times heavier than his own axe. He walked towards the fallen hunter and as he raised the weapon overhead for the finishing blow, Rurik opened his eyes and swept the werewolf’s legs in a swift motion. He felt like he was falling in slow motion “I can’t believe I fell for thatâ€. His head hit the ground and the oversized weapon flew out of his hands. Rurik was frantic: “you filthy beast, you can’t kill me! I was banished, cursed until I end every last one of your kin, and by the gods, tonight I’ll be one wolf closerâ€. And so began the axe dance once again, but this time the horn of Ruriks battleaxe drew a cut through the warrior’s tunic and into his flesh. This dance kept on going for what it seemed like an eternity and the wound was not healing. He had to turn, there wasn’t a choice. The hair began to grow all over his body, and his clothings teared as the shape of a humanoid wolf began to replace the human. “oh no, not tonight†growled Rurik as he jumped at the lycan. The hunter’s bare hands grabbed the transforming man’s throat but it was too late. The giant claw knocked him to the side and the whole beast followed along. Now the lycan had the upper hand. The blows did not manage to spread Rurik’s ribcage open due to the high quality riveted chainmail but the sound of the ribs cracking was perfectly audible. The warrior was in a frenzy. All of a sudden the attack lost some of it’s drive; stunned, the werewolf stared at his chest: all around his wound, the werewolf fur was falling off, showing bare human skin. Just Like that he turned back to human form… it wasn’t just a heavy axe after all. Rurik stood up with the torn chainmail hanging from his shoulders. He was in such a rage that with a firm pull, opened the few rings that held the mail together and grabbed his axe. The wolfwarrior was almost naked, only half his trousers and pieces of his tunic remained, let alone any weapons. He raised his fists and prepared for a final stand. The ulfhedinn intercepted the rushing hunter with a jab and a cross to the face. Rurik, with a broken nose and blood coming out of his mouth, kicked the warrior to the ground. He was just too weak from the blood loss. He landed on something hard. It was his seax! The hunter went for the killing blow but the warrior had already raised the short sword with both hands runing him through. Without a second of waste the ulfhedinn stabbed Rurik a second time causing him to drop the axe, which he grabbed and with a last effort sunk on the hunter’s back down to the handle. Despite of his injury, the wolfwarrior parched up his wound, reached for the spare clothes on his bag and left the forest behind. The sky was still dark when a banished man rose from the dead once again. “Fucking Wolf, that was my good hauberk…†Rurik muttered while sheathing the axe that not long ago was stuck on his back â€...you are gonna pay for this†In order not to die at the hands of the hunter, the Ulfhedinn must be quick and dextrous. For that reason, this challenge will focus on practicing my handstands and elbow lever as well as box jumps. As some of you perhaps remember, I've brought iron back into my life on the holiday mini, but I have not been serious about it. in this challenge I'll install a mandatory lifting day a week.I'll be adding some sidequests tomake sure I get sh*t done. GOALS Practice handstands, elbow lever and box jumps 4 times a Week(log every session on thread or it will not count for progressbar)Lift acording 5x5 plan every thursday(also log every session or it will not count for progress bar)Eat paleo with 2 weekly variances(log comosition or pic of said meal or it will not count for progress bar) SIDE QUESTS Practice 5 min a day with the didgeridoo and not more than 5 minutes.Build one or more of this home gym improvements(did I ever mention I'm DYB bitch, lol)​Medicine ball(10%)T handle(10%)Squat stands(40%)Bench(40%)​Make a daily "Stuff to Do" 4 item list, post it on my thread and do the stuffSo, every item on the "goals" list is worth 15%, 15% and 55% respectively and the "side quests" represent 5% each. According to this set up, all individual results are considered as non percetual results(a.k.a without the %) so that they yield a numbre between 0 and 100. Rewards will come depending on the final outcome. A= 100 - 90 B= 89 - 80 C= 79 - 70 below those values... I simply don't care REWARDS A- New pack of plates for the barbell B- Pull-up bar for the door C- Kindle version of "The Primal Blueprint"

I can't be the only Assassin who has tried to engage in bodyweight training, gymnastics, or other shenanigans somewhere that seemed safe... and wound up ripping the molding off an overhang, breaking a table, or (most recently) knocking a thermostat off a hotel room wall while kicking up into a headstand. (It was an old-style mechanical thermostat. Thankfully, I had a screwdriver and could reassemble it, mostly. It seems to work fine but I had a spring left over. ) Anyway, I rarely wind up working out anyplace that is actually intended for working out. I always check my area and test things for sturdiness, but every so often something isn't as sturdy as it seemed, or is a lot closer to my feet than I intended. So I was wondering if anyone else had fun stories about pulling bookshelves down onto themselves or otherwise unintentionally breaking things in the pursuit of fitness.

I'd like to get back into the challenge thing, but goals are amorphous/nearly nonexistent at the moment. This'll get filled with something at some point, probably? A silks routine to this song must be created. If my silks gym ever opens back up again. Things: Get stronger for return to the silksPull upsToes to Bar progressions Get bendier Straddle drills (on the ground for now, in the air some magical day)Backbends Have some fun HandbalancesPartner acro stuffClimbing gym Eat better MOAR proteinFEWER junky snacksMOAR water

Many heroes have a history or family legacy that they must overcome. The Skywalker family seems destined to flirt with the Dark Side. Spiderman had to live with the guilt he felt after his uncle died. Natasha Romanov was taken from her family and raised to be an assassin. Few heroes seem born from easy circumstances. They all - we all - have things we need to overcome before we can be the heroes we dream of being. Me??? At my daughter's wedding, I was reminded of my family's destiny. As my last living aunt looked at the unfortunately overweight bride, she commented that every woman in our family ends up being fat. With a knowing look and resigned sigh, she looked at me and said, "Just wait." And I shook my head and replied, "Not happening." But it is a fact that my family of origin had terrible health habits, and I sometimes slide into them. This year's goal really is to continue with the progress I've made so far here at Nerd Fitness and accelerate it .... hitting some milestones and enjoying a lighter, stronger body by doing some of those fun runs and obstacle races. Frankly, committing to doing a race where I have to climb over things is scary. I hate heights. I am not very strong in my upper body. And I'm not very graceful. This is going to take some work over a year or two. Goals for THIS CHALLENGE 1) Tame the Sweet Tooth I generally know how to eat well, but I have a hard time stopping once I start eating refined sugars, refined carbs, or wine. For this challenge, I will be intentional and enjoy (in moderation) one evening when I can have dessert and a glass of wine or two. But 6 days out of 7 will be focused on whole grains, proteins, vegetables, some fruit, and avoiding sugar in all kinds of things (like so-called energy bars). 2) Get Over That Wall I'm still working on regaining the ability to do a pull-up. At the moment, I'm doing lat pull-downs and want to get strong enough to do 10x70, 10x75, 10x70 by the end of the challenge. I can currently do 65 pounds for most of three sets, but I'll need to work on my hand strength as well as arms and shoulders. How to get there .... by strength training 3 times each week and trying to increase weights each week. 3) Find Balance Last year, I was literally dreaming of doing a crow pose. Why? No clue. But I also want to be able to do a handstand. So, I'll be working on these two progressions through the year. For now - I need to work on wrist flexibility!!! How? Working it daily with the GMB folks. 4) Keep Moving Finish Season 2 of Zombies Run 5) Push Boundaries In college, I very much wanted to go to Greece during a January interim. But I didn't have the money. 34 years later, I have saved up enough to go on an alumni trip (organized by the same professor!!) - probably in January or June 2017. But I like to be able to understand the local language and read road signs. So .... my goal this year is to learn modern Greek!!! I had studied ancient Greek in college; so the alphabet isn't completely foreign, but I have a lot of learning to do. I got a book and audio set for Christmas and will do a lesson per week for each challenge. At 46 lessons, that should work out about right with the challenge schedule. Theme??? I'm kinda waiting to find out more about the new epic quests and such. I'm tempted to go back to a Star Wars theme. That's where I stared with Nerd Fitness, and I have a lot of history in Star Wars RPGs as Chris-Tien Jinn, the Jedi Master. Stay tuned.

OMG everyone hello again. I havn't been around in a zillion years. Actually something like...13 months. I've spent the entirety of this year and part of last being horrendously sick. I was bedridden for several months, couldn't even lift my cup to take a drink some days. But HURRAH: The doctors finally found out what was wrong, i had two surguries, and now i'm as good as new! Well..... .......Sort of. I went from being slightly overweight to being drastically underweight, lost all the limited muscle I had, and my cardiovascular endurance is about -30. So this short challenge is about starting to rebuild, and i'm basically going from the ground floor. I wish i had been able to do it in a much healthier way, but at least now I don't have to lose the last few pounds of fat before really focusing on building muscle. It can all just be one process. Goal 1: Go from 2 sets of 10 to one set of 20 assisted pull ups I'm not sure if this is feasible or too much, but pull ups actually seem much easier than they did pre-sickness. Probably because i'm 20kg lighter (and i've gained 15kg since i was at my sickest.) I don't feel maxed out at ten, I just kind of....get bored at that point? I don't know. I'm certainly tired but pull up number 10 doesn't feel like my last ounce of possible energy. I've been doing two sets of 10 every morning with three elastic assistance bands. When I hit 20, i'm going to go down to two assistance bands and start over. I've gone from (barely) one set of one pull up last month to two sets of 10 now. I'm going to use the Pavel pull up program, which has worked very well for me in the past, so for instance, tomorrow I will be doing: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and then wednesday 10, 9, 8, 7, 7 and thursday 10, 9, 8, 8, 7 I'll do them all in a group or grease the groove method, whichever gets them done that day. Goal 2: How about we don't skip leg day? I have always had proportionally weak lower body compared to my upper body (before being sick,I could ALWAYS do one pull up, even if i hadn't been working out or practicing at all, but couldn't stand up correctly from a squat while wearing a backpack sometimes.) My goal is to do squats or walk up and down the stairs with my weigted vest at least 3x per week. Stair walking works on cardio too, so it's a nice double whammy Goal #3: Food is life. Say it with me. Food? IS LIFE In an effort not to lose anymore weight and to put on muscle, I've got to eat more. This has been an ongoing struggle for a long time, i was only overweight for a very short period of time, most of my life i've been in a fairly unhealthy low bmi range. I still get sick to my stomach a lot, so i'm going to take baby steps and not focus on a lot of calories just yet, but on improving my food CHOICES during this mini challenge. Goal: 50g of protein a day. Life goal: Memorize 8 ASL words 8 because that's 2 per week of the challenge This is for several reasons: 1. I have a friend of a friend who is deaf, I would like to be able to communicate with him better 2. One of my best friends is learning sign language to teach in it, and I'd like to support her and help her practice 3. Another big development since last posting: I've been diagnosed with an autisim spectrum disorder. This explains so much about various things in my life, one of which being that i get sensory overloads where I can't really talk. I have discoverd, however, that i CAN sign or write things. These havn't happened hardly at all in years but i've been in a very stressful situation lately and i've had three in the last two months. My mother is on board with learning a few signs so that i can explain what's happening, as this has been a major arguing point and she just gets mad at me and louder when i'm having an overload, which only makes it worse. Grading: 20 pull ups, 12 leg days, 20 days >50g, and 8 words learned = A 16-19 pull ups, 11 leg days, 15-19 days >50, 7 words = B 12-15 pull ups, 10 leg days, 10-14 days > 50, 6 words =C Anything less = F

I was in rut and I decided to change my body and outlook on life a little over 2 years ago. I've always been a go-getter but I got complacent and down-right boring (not to mention overweight). I've always loved and admired bad-A heroines---starting with Scout in Charlotte's Web (she is a little known bad-A) to Michonne from the Walking Dead, Vin in Mistborn, Katniss, Arya. The list could go on and on. So naturally I've always wanted to be physically strong, so I chose strength training for my transformation. I didn't know where to start so I starting researching. I found a great book at the library (a real book with paper *gasp*) called Strength for Life. That gave me the basics of strength training---push vs. pull muscles and a weekly routine. But my attention span is the equivalent of a squirrel's so I really needed motivation and some goals. I decided that I wanted to do a pull-up. I was always that kid that just hung on the bar when we had those fitness tests in grade school. I couldn't fathom pulling my ENTIRE bodyweight up by my arms. I also wanted to show my kids how to set a goal and achieve it. Back to my research, I came across "How to do a pull-up finally!" here on this seemingly nondescript yet awesome website. By nondescript, I mean all of the other websites had these gorgeous "fitness models" who (IMO) had no idea what it was like to birth 3 kids, gain a preposterous amount of weight, and try to lose it ALL while trying to have a life---that's obviously not NF. I'm not knocking gorgeous fitness models but at that time, I wasn't trying to hear how I can get my "bod" back in 3 weeks. I don't like gimmicks. Actually I hate gimmicks. I like step-by-step real, proven plans with real goals that real people have used. Believe it or not them internets don't always tell the truth. So I found this site and I was HOOKED. This site and Steve's fantastic blogs helped keep me motivated and I killed my goals---like murder/death/kill killed. I can do 7 pull-ups now. My PR is 10. I lost 40 pounds, dropped by body fat percentage by like 15-18%, I started my own consulting company, and most importantly, I showed my kids that goals are reachable in areas other than Call of Duty. My son used 20 seconds of insane courage to dunk the basketball for the first time. Unfortunately, I've been silent here on Nerd Fitness forums. My apologies. I'm sure I'm not alone in silently supporting the rebellion. But this is me taking off my cloak and openly declaring myself a Rebel (specifically a Warrior/Assassin). What's good?

I can currently do 11 chin-ups and no wide-grip pull-ups. I binge about every three days. I haven't told anyone other than my partner in love/crime about my eating disorder. Thus, the QUESTS: Quest #1: Own the Iron Gym -15 chin-ups -3 wide-grip pull-ups Quest #2: Beat the Binge -got at least one week binge-free Quest #3: Build a Team -hang out with one new person -tell one person who is not my grrrlfriend about my eating disorder Reward: I get to order these zombie workout leggings from Iron Fist.

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. It's a time that I spend like Janus - looking both back and forwards. Thinking about what I've accomplished and using that reflection to plan out the new year. Unlike most of the population, I do pretty well at keeping "New Year's Resolutions" because I have a plan. And I have this group to help encourage me to follow through. (Thank you!) Prior Years2013 - The Return of the JediI stopped GAINING weight and starting working up to running and doing strength training again. Really, I’d let all workouts and sports slide since about 2005 (when the Temple of the Jedi online group that I had run imploded and I lost my confidence and focus). I didn’t run any of obstacle course races that I planned that year, despite Cline's excellent coaching. In fact, I didn’t run any races at all that year since I kept spraining my formerly-broken ankle. But I kept recovering and training. I didn't give up - and that was a major accomplishment. I had gotten heavily into emotional eating and lots of wine while working on my doctorate - so this was a watershed year for improvements in my diet. I wasn’t perfect (I still struggle with eating and drinking when stressed), but I woke up and started making better choices most of the time. I probably improved my BF %, but I wasn't measuring it yet. 2014 - The Quest for the Mal RavenneThis was a good year. I lost 14 pounds and dropped from 37.33% to 33.5% body fat during the year. I can now run a 5K straight. And I am able to do pull-ups with only 1/2 of my weight in assistance on the pull-up machine. I deadlifted 85 pounds for the first time. I have been much better at eating healthy foods, drinking water, and cutting WAY back on both coffee and wine. I think I am finally turning my life around and setting a good base for getting BACK to being the person I want to be. Weight at start of 2015: 167.1 lbs and body fat % ~ 33.5%. I’d been down to 165, but it bounced back up over the holidays. I will have to be really very good the rest of this week in order to win my t-shirt at the gym!!! Overarching goal for 2015: weight <= 149 lbs and body fat % <= 31%, although I certainly hope to do better than that. I’m setting monthly milestones instead of challenge milestones right now. I can figure out the goal weight for each challenge from that. How will I do it??Running: increase my long run from 3 to 5 miles each week and continue 5K race training as in 2014. I've been pretty steady in the running/cardio category, but I also now have a full-time job again and will need to adjust. I am thinking that I may actually become morning runner again. Strength training: prep for OCRs based on Fitocracy’s Tough Mudder training guide and a gradual progression of some basic strength training exercises. Strength training is one of the things that I really don't tend to enjoy, but I like the results. It will be a lot of upper body work and basics like deadlifts and squats. But also things like planks and Jacob's Ladder and climbing at the local climbing wall. Oh yea, I also hate heights. Better get good at burpees. Eat like I give a f*uck: IIFYM + Loseit.com Premium + Thug Kitchen cookbook. Seriously, my daughter gave me this cookbook for Christmas, and it is a fun read. But it also has great recipes for making basics (like ketchup) from scratch so that you have healthy alternatives for most things. The cookbook is vegan - I don't intend to go completely vegan, although I never had a weight problem when I was a vegetarian. I honestly don't think GRAINS are the problem with the US industrial diet. Refined foods - especially corn syrup are. Yes, throw things at me for blasphemy, but I'm going to focus on cooking up a good omnivore diet that focuses much more on vegetables and whole grains than meat ..... and in true Rebel fashion, we'll see what happens. Supporting GoalsHave an adventure every weekDo one each of these:Charity 5Ks (TBD)Mother's Day Walk (2 miles)Bubble Run http://www.bubblerun.com/events/minneapolis/Color Run http://thecolorrun.com/twin-cities/Light Run http://www.torchlight5k.com/page/show/502315-event-infoZombies Run TBDWarrior Dash https://www.warriordash.com/location/2015-warrior-dash-minnesota/Spartan Sprint TBDTough Mudder https://toughmudder.com/events/2015-twin-citiesArcheology/Ancient History trip .... MAYBE. This is a stretch goal because of the new job. I need to do the cruise and possibly a wedding this year; so I'm not sure where another vacation will fit into 2015.Cruise to AlaskaHiking the local trails, especially the Superior Hiking TrailIngress!!!Geocaching100 geocachesHide cachesTravel bugs Overcome my two left feetI am generally clumsy and have been since I matured quickly and young. Karate classes helped me improve greatly - and I want to get back to feeling like I move easily and gracefully through my environment again. Wear contacts - peripheral vision really helps me, but I have trouble getting contacts that I can use day in and day out. We never can quite get the fit and the prescription right. Yoga - I had been dreaming that I was doing the crow pose. Why?? No clue. But I'm interested in doing hand balancing, in large part because high school gym class was a nightmare that I'd like to overcomeDance classesMartial arts classesParkourClimbingHandstands!!!(Re)build a baseAfter moving, it takes a while to figure out where everything goes. A lot of my basement gym stuff got tossed in a corner - it's time to find places for all of it and start using it. Also ... other tools need to be purchased. I really like LoseIt's minimal frills interface and vetted nutrition information, and since I'm tackling the difficult task of losing weight while building muscle, I need to pay attention to intake and macros.Pullup bar installed (Thanks to hubby, this one is done before the challenge starts!)LoseIt! premium membershipClean out and organize the kitchen - then use it!Make my own sandbag(s)750words.com?Basement workout areaGarage gymAgility training locationObstacle training locationParkour trainingGet my mojo back This goal has "underpants gnome" written all over it. I know it. But a BIG part of being fit - for me - means winning the HEAD game as much as fixing my kitchen or creating a workable exercise plan. I KNOW how to be fit. I have been very fit at different times in my life, and then something happens, and it all falls apart. So, my first challenge goal will be to put myself on the couch through writing 750 words PER DAY, exploring what factors support and which factors derail my healthy lifestyle. 750 words per day (http://750words.com/???) “on the couch†and see what comes up in terms of goals and barriersOther challenges .... TBD

Hi everyone First challenge as an assasin, I'm really excited to join you guys, one of my long term goals is to achieve the muscle up. I like hiking, bouldering, mountain biking and rocking the shit out of my guitar and mic. my motivation comes from an almost 3 years long battle with weight, I've lost almost 30 kgs in the course of those 3 years with ups and downs but I'm still dropping weight, I'm also getting married this october and hell yeah I would like to rock some kind of abs during my honeymoon, beside I made a promise to my girlfriend (my nutritionist, how convenient right?), I told her I will look like mother effin THOR (chris hemsworth, she loves that guy) by december 2017 jajajaja very long time I know but that is one hell of a body. Word on the street is that your mini challenges are awesome so I'm really looking forward to them, i hope I'll be up to them. I'll keep my main quest as in my past recruit challenge. so here are my goals and stats. CURRENT STATS: Height: 1.87 m Weight: 88.6 kg Body Fat: 17.7 % MAIN QUEST: Drop to 15% body fat for October (my wedding and honeymoon) GOAL #1: Drop to 16.5% body fat at the end of the challenge GOAL #2: Get from 6 pullups to 8 pullups GOAL #3: Keep my lifting weights and increase them if its possible, I will set a 20 lb increase goal. Squats: 150 lbs DONE Dead lift: 130 lbs Bench: 130 lbs My diet is a paleo based with milk and it hovers around 1800 and 2000 kcal daily and involves a very special relationship with beer jajajaja I have quit on it for a time now but I do love a beer, I've even brew some myself. I will try to keep myself away from beer as I've been doing so far but I cant promise anything Thanks guys

Hi all! I'm Natalee, a new assassin and I can't wait to get stuck in with this coming challenge! After my first challenge I kind of... let myself go a little bit, with this I realized just how important it will be for me to continue this until this new life of fitness becomes a part of myself and not just something that I want to attain. As I am writing this I feel as if I conceived last week, I hope that this isn't the case and that my body is just topsy turvy at that moment, and that I'm just over thinking this situation. At present my LO is 11 months and I believe that by the end of this challenge he will be walking all over the place. I have not been focusing on diet, and by the end of the challenge I hope to have incorporated a a more wholesome diet. At present I eat what I can, when I can, I want to control this a little more by the end. I'm really looking forward to all that will unfold over the course of this challenge. This will be a good one. Challenge Overview Quest One: My name is Stronger. In the pursuit of mastering myself strength is imperative. During this six week program I will be following a program created by myself which will be outlined once I've fine tuned it. I will be overhauling the routine every two weeks, just to switch things up a bit. Quest Two: I'll be Flexible The ability to be flexible both of mind and body. One of the first things my first challenge reminded me of is that there are many ways to get to a destination. Can I get my splits in 6 weeks?... I don't know. But I don't think that that is how I want to quantify my goals. Although I will use this to see my progression. It won't be my focus. My Flexibility plan will be outlined below also. Quest Three: Finding Balance Achieving a freestanding handstand is definitely something I want to do this time around. I also want to play around with planches, I'm going to figure out where I am, and we will see where I can go during the course of this challenge. Life Quest I want to become less of a backseat rider on this forum and engage a whole lot more with other Assassins and encourage other people in their challenges.This challenge I want to do 10 minutes of Bible reading everyday (at the very least), I'll meditate on whatever it is that I happen to read throughout the day, but I really want to get those 10 miniutes in.Take care of me - I neglect myself so much, during the course of this challenge I want to engage in a few little things that will help to relieve stress and also keep me looking good. Namely to give myself a foot scrub once weekly and get my hair done biweekly.

Good morning I've been doing bodyweight for 4 months with great result, it has helped me break my 22% bodyfat plateau and now I'm battling with 19%, I keep making adjustments to diet and i still making progress although is getting harder but still moving forward. last week a gym open a block from my house at a very low price and I've been thinking about doing some barbell workout and keep doing bodyweight I like bodyweight very much, what I think is the following, please tell me what you think. Monday, wednesday and friday - GYM focus on squats and deadlifts tuesday, thursday and saturday - BODYWEIGHT focus on pushups, dips and pullups I'm concerned about resting and recovery do you think it is ok? Thanks

Hi All. So I had meant to post my new challenge earlier this week, but have not gotten to it until today because reasons*. So here it is. Some needs to be fleshed out a little further, and since I've lost most of this week I will probably do what I can and make next week my first full week. Dripping wet and gasping for air, Dantilla pulled herself onto the shore. The sudden heaviness of her body leaving the water made her unsteady and the waves of the lake tugged gently at her as she lay down to catch her breath. She'd made it. Home was just over that mountain. The mountain was not as she remembered it. It seemed a little taller, a little craggier, and a lot steeper than the grassy, forested incline in her memory. She laughed at the realization--she'd always seen it from the other side. Challenge: 1. Climb the mountain Rock Climbing once a week Black Widow once a week (+biceps and rows) (get up to 4 sets by end of challenge) Dedicated strength training once a week (routine TBD, but will involve lat pulldowns) Goal to be able to do chin-ups 2. Retrace my steps Keep up with swimming 2x week for 30 min...get up to 40 min by end of challenge 3. Remember to heal Keep up with physical therapy exercises: Stretching/foam rolling 6 days/week, strength 3 days/week LQ. Think of home 1 hour a week of prepping my music room for a total redesign. Sorting/cleaning/organizing/drafting *My spouse got hit by a car while walking on Tuesday. He's going to be ok, but it's been a rough few days. I am honestly very grateful that he is doing so well because it could easily have been a lot worse. I honestly credit NF for part of that, since he is in much better shape now and we believe that contributed to his resilience.

good morning guys I started doing bodyweight 3 months ago. I started with NF beginner bodyweight routine. I want to improve my pull ups, when I started I was able to do 3 series of 2 pull ups and after 1 month I got to 3 series of 4 pull ups, but since then I haven't felt any improvement, do you have any recomendation on how to improve my pull ups? I have improve my pushups, plank time, squats, but my pull ups are kinda stuck. thanks

Is there a workout which works the same muscles as pullups and bench presses if I don't have a pullup bar or any equivalent (including for rows) and the heaviest dumbbells I have weigh only 10kg? I have access to either two 10kg dumbbells or 1 16kg one. I have access to walls and a mat, nothing else. It might be a stupid question but I had an operation I on my face which doesn't hurt in the slightest but makes me look a bit like I stuck my head into a fire for a few minutes, it won't be visible within a week but I'm far too shy to actually go to the gym for the next few days.

Who will take the Iron Throne next? Only the fittest Houses in the Seven Kingdoms can rule – and survive. In this pvp, all participants will belong to a House, as evenly divided as possible. Your goal is to have a successful attack on another House, while successfully defending against any attacks on your House, ultimately hoping to bring down the enemy House’s castle walls. We will use the 4 basic categories of bodyweight exercises (back-specific exercises are bonus as explained below). Upper pull and leg exercises are attack, and core and upper push exercises will defend. Upper pull (archers) attack ---à Core (shields) defend Legs (cavalry) attack --à Upper push (pikes) defend Back Exercises: rebuild castle walls If the attackers exceed defense points in an area, excess points are subtracted from one of the walls. Only 1 wall can be attacked per week, no matter how many Houses attack a single castle. Partially destroyed castle walls may be rebuilt with 2 back exercises for every 1 wall point, but the ENTIRE team must do the same number of sets of the same exercise. If some team members do more, only the lowest number done by a team member counts. To simplify things for the first week, we might just start with 2 Houses unless we have a lot of players join. Rules: - Each weekend (or at the end of the previous week), do a 1 minute AMRAP for 1 bodyweight exercise in each category (see tips below). Points are based on the total number of reps for the week, divided by AMRAP. This helps even the playing field for diverse fitness levels (idea borrowed from the Quidditch Pushups PVP). - To keep the liklihood of fatigue even, reps for both legs or both arms are equal to 1 rep. For example, if I do pushups, 1 pushup = 1 rep. If I do 1-arm rows, 1 row with my left arm, + 1 row with my right arm = 1 rep. Same would go for leg exercises: 1 standard bodyweight squat = 1 rep, but if I am doing pistols, 1 pistol with left leg + 1 pistol with right leg = 1 rep. - For holds, the "AMRAP" is the number of seconds you held until fatigue/failure. Points are determined by the total number of seconds held for the week, divided by that initial "to fatigue/failure" hold time. - Battles are run from 12:01 am Monday – 11:59 pm Saturday, Pacific Standard Time. Any reps not entered in the spreadsheet OR posted to the board by 8 am Sunday, Eastern Standard Time will not count. :-P - If you have something come up for a week and need to take a break or drop out, post and let us know so we can give your teammates a “CPC.†-If there are more than 2 houses playing, choose which House you are attacking before 6 pm Eastern Standard Time on Sunday. - Each House’s castle has 4 walls. Each wall begins with 50 points. Only 1 wall can be attacked per week, no matter how many Houses attack a single castle, or how few points a wall has left. - Partially destroyed castle walls can be rebuilt by coordinated numbers and type of back exercises. All team members must agree on the exercise, and do the same number of sets. A single set should be determined as the average of all team members' AMRAPs for that exercise. If teammates all do different numbers of sets of the same exercise, only the lowest number counts. - Castle walls that are breached (reach 0 points) cannot be rebuilt. - ANY variant of bodyweight exercise for the appropriate category is fair game, but use the same exercise for each category for the entire week. Some suggested variants are below. - This PVP is open to anyone in any guild, even new recruits. Tips: - AMRAP = As Many Reps as Possible. This means to set a 1-minute timer, and see how many reps of that exercise you can complete in a minute. Take as many breaks as you need to, but only count the total number of completed reps when 60 seconds is done. - Choose a level of each bodyweight exercise that is challenging, but not so hard that you can only do a few in a minute. - I strongly recommend that you take at least 1 break day in the middle of the week’s battle. Alternating days (or alternating exercises each day) can help prevent overtraining. -PVPs are not meant to take the place of your regular challenge. Hopefully, this will support your challenge. But if it does not and you need to choose, we understand. - If you do combination sets of exercises, such as regular pullups followed by assisted pullups, deal with them by doing an AMRAP for each before the battle starts, and use the ratio between them to convert the assisted reps to regular reps. As far as using the spreadsheet goes, it is more work on you, but it would work like this: - Set an AMRAP for both the full intensity and reduced intensity exercise. Enter the AMRAP for the full intensity exercise ONLY on the spreadsheet.- Calculate the approximate ratio (number of reduced intensity reps that equal one regular intensity rep) using your AMRAP. For example, if the regular pullup AMRAP is 5, and the assisted pullup AMRAP is 15, then every 3 assisted pullups equal 1 regular pullup.- Each day, track the number of each exercise separately. Convert the assisted reps into regular reps, then enter the total on the spreadsheet under reps.- The spreadsheet calculates the points automatically. Some Suggested Bodyweight Variants for Each Category Yes, other exercises in these categories work, too. Legs: Squats, Bulgarian Split Squats, Pistol Squats, Step-ups, Lunges Upper Pull: One-arm rows, bodyweight rows, pullups/chin-ups (negatives and assisted count, too) Upper Push: Incline pushups, standard pushups, decline pushups, military presses Core: Hollow Hold, bicycles, crunches, V-ups, tuck-ups Back: Bent-over Double-arm (or wide-grip barbell) rows, arch-ups (aka superman), hip extensions/bridge, alternating Superman, alternating quadruped Google Spreadsheet for the battles I know this is a complex PVP, so take some time to review the sample battle and ask any questions before we start on Monday. Remember: Winter is coming. We need to be ready.

Alright Challenge 2! I'm so excited to start this up, especially since I get to be with the assassins this time around! I've been thinking for a while about what my goals will be and I've finally settled on some good ones. So last challenge I worked on core strength, flexibility, and cutting down on sugar. It went really well and I made a lot of improvements in those areas but I still really need to work on flexibility more sooooooo... Goal #1 Do something everyday to increase my flexibility whether that be yoga, stretching, foam rolling, massage, etc. Last challenge I just did yoga, but this challenge I didn't want to limit myself so I'm giving myself more options that will all help me with my goal of gettin all flexy. -I'll be grading myself as such A: Stretchy times every day (42 days) B: Stretchy times 6 days a week (36 days) C: Stretchy times 5 days a week (30 days) D: Stretchy times 4 days a week (24 days) FAIL: Stretchy times 3 days a week or less (<18 days) Goal #2 Work on increasing my pullups/chinups reps. I really want to be able to do 10 pullups at a time as well as 10 chinups at a time. I currently can do 3 consecutive strict pullups and 4 consecutive strict chinups. I think increasing my reps to 10 by the end of this challenge might be a little ambitious but I'm going for it anyways! As long as I'm able to increase my reps a little I'll feel like I've accomplished something. -I'll be grading this as A: 10 pullups 10 chinups B: 8 pullups 9 chinups C: 6 pullups 7 chinups D: 4 pullups 5 chinups FAIL: I don't increase my reps at all Goal #3 Run, Becca! Run! So I'll be running a Tough Mudder in the beginning of May with some friends. I'm really excited but it's a 12 mile race so I have a lot of training to do especially since I missed 2 weeks last challenge due to a sinus infection. My goal here is to run 3 times a week, whatever distance that may be to help build my stamina for the race. -Grading: A: 3 or more runs a week (>18 runs) B: 2 runs a week (12 runs) C: 1 run a week (6 runs) D: If I can't run during the week for whatever reason I'll at least try to get some walks in (any # of walks) FAIL: Lazy bum no runs or walks Life Goal I'm a graphic design student and I absolutely love it! I enjoy being creative and making new things but sometimes I lack the consistency to get a lot of work done, especially side projects I want to do other than my class assignments. I want to work on consistently doing something creative everyday so for my life goal I want to do a small sketch everyday. It can be anything at all but I just want to get into the habit of drawing/creating every day. -Grading: A: Sketch-a-day (42 sketches) B: Sketch 6 days/week (36 sketches) C: Sketch 5 days/week (30 sketches) D: Sketch 4 days/week (24 sketches) FAIL: Sketch 3 days/week or less (<18 sketches) During this challenge I'll also be tracking my food to keep my eating in check and experimenting with counting macros. I haven't dialed in what will work best for me so I'm not making a challenge goal of it but just wanted to throw it out there that I'll be working on this as well. The LOOTZ I think I'm gonna go big or go home for prizes this challenge. I've been really wanting to get a new tattoo so If I get all A's my reward will be to get the tattoo! If I don't get all A's but still complete the challenge and put in a good effort (aka don't completely give up on anything) I'll get the Fitdeck core/bodyweight/stretch bundle. If I give up on anything I'll get NOOOOTTHHIIIIIINNNGGG!!!! So that's my challenge, I can't wait to get started! Taken 2/24/15- 152.3 lbs Also taken 2/24/15- 152.3 lbs. I'm especially excited to see how my back looks after this challenge with all of the pullups I'll be doing!

Nerds! I feel like I've found my people. This is my first post and my first challenge - of hopefully many. Backstory I used to be a fit guy but for the last few years, I've struggled to find that fire. I'm plumper and softer than I've ever been. And depressed. So I signed up for a year-long coaching program to help motivate me. This coaching program has some great things to it, but I feel like I need an online community to keep me accountable or to just share my struggles and completed levels. My First Challenge 1. Lift weights at least 2 times a week. My coach has written up an awesome workout for me, but it's six days a week. I just don't have that much mojo yet, so I'm making a compromise. 2 days is a good start. 2. Outdoor endurance activity/HIIT workouts at least 2 times a week The weather is starting to get beautiful in Utah, so I'll be doing more hiking and biking. I'm also loving Insanity:Max 30 workouts, as well as George St. Pierre's Rushfit, so I'll do these workouts when I don't have time to get outside. 3. Follow the habits outlined by my coach This involves all sorts of things, but I have to check in every day on a web site and record if I followed my habit or not. The first few habits, I nailed 100%. This last habit, to eat lean protein with every meal, I'm at 50%. This will soon be near 100%. 4. Continue visiting Shaman to help boost WIS I'm late, but I can run! One Newbie Question: Is this where I log everything? Or do I start a separate Battle Log and just update this occasionally?