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I feel like I should apologize up front because this challenge will be rife with images of shirtless Stephen Amell doing salmon ladder. If sexy half-naked men aren’t your thing, I’m sorry. Only not. I mean, really... Oliver Queen, a man who came back from an island with amazing skills, improved body, and a really bad case of caveman beard. He trained with functional movement that Assassins are so familiar with and his body became a fine-tuned instrument of awesome. Push the boundaries like Laurel [+5 STR] There was going to be a picture of Laurel here, but then I got distracted... Originally this goal was supposed to be all about kettlebell and trying it out, but due to unforeseen life circumstances I have no access to it. So, let’s do some other strength training: push ups! I did a challenge like this before but it fizzled out 2 weeks in because I didn't allow myself any recovery time. I will be smarter this time. Challenge: 100 push ups per day, 5 days a week. Score: However many days a week I get, that's how many points I'll assign myself at the end. Off days: Thur, Sun Have abs of steel like Sara [CON +4] I mean, g'daaaamn! I've always thought my core strength wasn't all that great, but clearly I had no idea how much worse it could get. After being away from kickboxing for the past 3 months, my core strength is mostly gone. It's been replaced with a horrifying gut. Let's fix that!!! Challenge: Do a core workout, 3 times a week (Tue, Thur, Sat) 4 sets of: 20 leg lifts 20 flutter kicks 20 sit ups 20 Russian twists (weighted, if I can manage) Score: [+3 CON] - 3 days/week [+2 CON] - 2 days/week [+1 CON] - 1 day/week Pull up like Oliver is watching [sTR +4] What was I doing again?... I've regressed a bit in my pull up work, though I have been doing a lot of TRX body rows. I am almost at the floor level! That being said, I need to get back to actual pull up work and doing negatives. Challenge: Do pull up training 3 days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) Sets will be 5x5 negatives. Score: [+4 STR] - 3 days/week [+3 STR] - 2 days/week [+1 STR] - 1 day/week Explore the world like Thea [WIS +3] Go outside, see fun things! Or something... Look at me, I'm attempting a life goal again! This may end poorly, but I refuse to give up on myself. I want to do something fun and creative once a week and I would like for it to be photography-based. I used to photograph so much, but it's kind of gotten by the wayside. I need to change that. Challenge: Once a week, go out and spend at least an hour look at the world through my lenses. Post at least one photo to my challenge thread. This will be hard, but I'll be glad I did it Score: There are THREE Sundays in this challenge, so let's do a point of WIS per day accomplished. Go the extra mile like Barry Allen Only, you know, I'm the one making it. Just like Barry isn't really part of Arrow Team, though he makes an occasional appearance, this section isn't really part of my challenge. At the beginning of the year I decided to challenge myself to a cheesecake a week and I'm doing well so far and here's the continuation: Triple chocolate Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Nutella Cheesecake I will try to post pictures, though I promise nothing

Checking in for my first challenge in a very long time! Last time I participated they were doing 6 week challenges! I have a tendency to overdo these so I think I will like the 4 week time frame better. I am currently working on the following Epic Quests: complete 10 full push ups, travel to far off locations to hike, complete a half marathon in October 2016. I am also hoping to dress in costume for comic con in March, and to help me feel confident, I am doing the 6 week get fit quick plan from the NF Academy. Since I have not had any trouble so far completing the circuit workouts, in fact I really really enjoy them, I am not including them as part of this 4 week challenge. I'm keeping this challenge focused on the things that I feel I need more help with. Fitness Quest: Increase morning walks to at least 30 minutes each time and increase frequency to 6 days/week (right now I am managing 5 days/week, between 15-45 minutes but mostly 15-25)Diet Quests: NO fast food. Period.Only have one dessert/sweet per week. Life Quest: Study world geography for 15 minutes per day. (I am working towards taking more exciting vacations to places I can explore and hike, and I feel that this will help me make decisions about where to visit.)

This first 4 Week Challenge will be pretty interesting. I had gotten pretty good at setting 6 week goals, let's see how I do with a four week challenge. This one may be extra challenging as I have a cold or something coming on. Went to bed last night with a scratchy throat, woke this morning with rapidly developing something. Not yet bad enough to call my medical team, hopefully I'll be able to hold it at bay. Epic Quest for 2016: Do a pull up all the way to my transplant scar. Main Quest for This Four Week Challenge: I've been offered a job as a Porter at one of the upscale Dallas shopping areas. It's part time in the mornings, and I don't have to be around people (kind of important as I don't have an immune system). My main goal for this challenge is to try and maintain my exercise routine while working. SMART Quests: 1. Push and Pull my own Weight: I can do one good pull up. By the end of this challenge I would like to be able to get in three pull ups per set. It has been awhile since I've tested my push ups. I'll do a test set tomorrow to see where I am at, probably around 15 or so. I would like to be able to do a good set of 20 push ups by the end of the challenge. Grading my success by the end of the four weeks. A = Complete at least three Tactical Hollow Body Pull Ups and 20 Push Ups. B = Complete at least two Tactical Hollow Pull Ups and 15 Push Ups. F = Anything less. 2. A Barbarian’s Got to do What a Barbarian’s Got to do: I will continue to perform the Simple and Sinister workout 5 times a week I need to continue to progress towards owning the Simple portion of the program. My time PR for doing 10 sets of 10 one handed swings with a 24 kg kettlebell is 9:25. My goal for this challenge is to compress that time to less than 7 minutes. Grading my success by the end of the four weeks. A = Performing 10 sets of 10 one hand kettlebell swings with a 24 kg kettlebell in less than 7 minutes. B = Performing 10 sets of 10 one hand kettlebell swings with a 24 kg kettlebell in between 7 and 8 minutes. C = Performing 10 sets of 10 one hand kettlebell swings with a 24 kg kettlebell in between 8 and 9 minutes. F= Performing 10 sets of 10 one hand kettlebell swings with a 24 kg kettlebell in greater than 9 minutes. 3. Mini Quests: For me, the weekly Assassin Mini Quests are an important part of these Challenges. I will continue to support the team to the very best of my ability during this one Each of the minis will be graded separately. 4. Stop Living Like a Barbarian: When I got sick we started using the office as a catch all room. That's were we kept the oxygen generator and my medical equipment. I ran tubing in hook on the walls to supply my oxygen wherever I was at in the house. The office is now a pit and really does look like some kind of Barbarian lives there. My goal for this challenge is to get it cleaned out, all of our documents organized and filed, and make the office presentable once again. Grading my success by the end of the four weeks. A = The office is clean and presentable, picture worthy. F = It's not. Reward for Successful Completion of This Challenge: My reward for the successful completion of this challenge will be a new Nerd Fitness shirt (once they become available) . Motivation: On January 1st, 2015 I received a life saving double lung transplant. I have to honor the family that gave me the gift of these lungs. On what is most likely the worst day of their lives they made the decision to help others. Words cannot express just how much my family and I appreciate this gift. They gave us a future. I need to take care of these lungs and this body to the very best of my ability. Here's to another awesome Challenge my Rebel friends! These goals may be adjusted based on how quickly I kick this cold/whatever. As I sit here typing my temperature is rising. First goal is to stay out of the hospital

☆☆☆ Challenge 3 ☆☆☆ • Collapsing to the ground with a thud, I let out a strained sigh, "Why, why did she find me and then let me go? I don't think she even followed..." my stomach growls in agreement. That pack had everything I thought I needed in it. Ideas, notions, even some books and now it is all gone. I ran because I thought I needed to but have instead found myself more lost than before. Finally I sit up, brush some dirt off my knees, and look at my dirty stone hands. These hands fold into weak fists, drop back packs, and tremble seemingly without reason. For a moment frustration overwhelms me, "What am I doing?" Shame stings me and I shake my head in disbelief. "No, I can't think like that." These hands create, hold others, and grip with intention. They may not be strong but they are mine. • ☆ Main story: Lose 90lbs Quest 1 Do Something: Physical activity 3x a week - Last challenge I learned I am a jerk to myself. So to prove I learned something, I have decided to ditch the daily activities and keep it weekly and vague to help accomodate my disabilities and special talent for getting ill. That being said, I do basically nothing so at this point ANYTHING is better than nothing. For fun I made a random exercise bag full of various exercises on folded bits of paper. Keeps things fresh. c: (09/12 +3STR, 07/12 +2STR, 05/12 +1STR) ☆ 100% earns me $10 towards my Bethesda wishlist Quest 2 Eat Better: 80/20 Primal and 100g carbs or less - I love primal eating but tend to suck at the carbs thing. So I'm aiming for 100g or less to help keep that sucker down. I tend to be very all or nothing when it comes to sugars so I am trying to learn balance. We'll see. -crosses fingers- (25/28 +3CON/+1CHA, 22/28 +2CON/+1CHA, 19/28 +1CON) ☆ 100% earns me $15 towards my Bethesda wishlist Quest 3 Keep Going Forward: Walk 25miles during this challenge - Originally I intended to beat my last mileage but then the challenges were changed to 4 weeks so instead I have combined my PVP goals and threw on a few extra miles. More specifically I am trying to assess my mileage so I can better execute this sort of challenge later. (20/25mi +3STA, 15/25mi +2STA, 10/25mi +1STA) ☆ $.20 per mile towards my Bethesda wishlist Current stats: X ☆Motivation: 1. I want to be a good example for my sisters and future children 2. To optimally manage my mental health 3. I want a healthy relationship with food 4. I want to be more comfortable in my skin 5. To be able to better participate in walks, hikes, and other outdoorsy things I once enjoyed 6. To be able to be pregnant safely and have the energy to play with my child (disclaimer: I have jacked up ankles and very literally weak core muscles that don't even activate properly when exercised, so if I got pregnant while being in my current physical condition I likely could render myself immobile) 7. I want to be able to protect myself (maybe rejoin the dojo) 8. To better my chances at having a long and healthy life with my loved ones 9. My husband 10. Myself • "I am here because I am tired of being held back by my body. I am rough stone seeking polish through trial and doing the work to get to how I want to be is what makes it valuable. I want to fight for myself and those I love and I want that dragon to notice me and tremble." Still exhausted and shaking, I stand up and lift my hands to the sky. It's time for a new backpack with new lessons and ideas. If I want different results then I must do things differently. Even if it means starting with nothing but these hands. •

Well, I wanted to try to continue story stuff, but the moratorium on spoilers at this point means that I can't risk it. Yet. I'll hold it until 1/18. Maybe in the meantime that'll help me figure out how to integrate storytelling with the epic quest. Basically, the epic quest this time is to spend the year more fully integrating martial arts into my life. I already do a lot of different training on a day by day basis, but I get a lot of different things from my sensei to do. And I want to take each of these challenges and just add one more piece to the puzzle to complete my training. Why? Reasons. I like the training that I do now and its ability to prepare me in general for a lot of different things. And I hate the feeling of being behind where I want to be in my training. I want to move farther along, and instead of flipping out and feeling like I'm stalled out, I'd rather be able to further. Since the best I know to do is to keep touching base, the most realistic way to improve is to give myself more things to practice daily. Yeah, it'll never get me a six pack or in the octagon, but the events of the past year have made such ideas seem small and unimportant. I have bigger fish to fry. So, starting point. While I was away, I managed to get to the point where I hit the Simple part of Simple and Sinister - full routine at 53 pounds. And I managed to lose 13 pounds of excess tissue last year by letting my training be my training and letting my diet be my diet and work in conjunction with it. The folks did their best to make me gain it back (Kishi, we don't think you have the weight to lose!) and they made a pretty valiant effort at it... but I still finished 7 pounds down. Measurements indicate it's a net loss of excess tissue, and not the lean stuff that makes me stronger and better. Very good. So, let's keep this simple. Continue GPP Training I don't do well training for fat loss or flashy, look-good-naked type goals. I do well looking to develop skills and attributes. GPP for me means continuing to work with the kettlebell I have until I can get a heavier one - crazy expensive, unfortunately, but that's what you get when you have to ship 70 pounds of metal. The other two parts of it are greasing the groove with pull ups and push ups, and working toward freestanding handstands and pistol squats. This isn't necessarily easy, but as a matter of practice it is pretty easy to do and keep up with day by day. Non-Write One Page Per Day Defined as 250 words per day. Pretty self-explanatory. But at the same time, I can't always write. I want to still do at least one thing per day to keep in contact with the manuscript and keep that thing going. Work Shadowboxing Back In to Rotation So when I was practicing with the kettlebell, it was easy for me to work shadowboxing into the routine. I kept myself fresh and if I got tired, I shadowboxed as a means to refresh myself. That's no longer necessary from a GPP perspective, though - I go from lift to lift super-easily. So the real trick is to figure out how to work this in elsewhere, which I mean to have figured out and running by the end of the challenge. 64 Fluid Ounces of Water Per Day Pretty self-explanatory. This is on top of everything else I drink in a day. Just to keep it simple. Okay guys. Let's get to work.

Getting ready for Memorial Day 2016 Hello! New to Rangers but not a newbie. I've been with the Assassins for several challenges. I thought I'd switch things up for the new year and try the Rangers in order to prepare myself for the Memorial Day MURPH. Last year I did the MURPH for the first time modified. I did ring rows instead of pull ups, box push ups (24"), and "wogged" the mile runs (my squats were RXd!!). It's been a year, I'm getting stronger all the time, so while I'm not ready for the body armor I am ready for banded pull ups, a lower box for push ups and to run the run. I have sort of a phased out plan in my mind that I'll roll out over the next 5 months but here's my base plan to get started: Prep for MURPH Challenge Fitness Quests 1. add 1x weekly run to my exercise routine (5 pts per run/20 total) This run is outside of whatever running I do at xfit. Plan to use c25k program to build endurance. 2. add 1x weekly CINDY to exercise routine (5 pts per CINDY/20 total) CINDY will happen outdoors at whatever park works into my schedule. Plan to be doing pull ups with a super stretchy band which is in the back of my car at all times and using park bench for the push ups. Diet Quest 3. return the 7 pounds I got for Christmas (3 pts per pounds lost/21 total) Joining the husband unit in his Dry January challenge should help as well as logging my meals on MFP to keep track of my carbs (@70g daily). Level Up Life Quests 4. practicar mi español! (1 pt per practice/20 total) I'm taking a beginner spanish class 2x weekly starting January 4th. Practicing spanish on the class days won't be a problem, it's on the other days of the week where I'll need to step it up. The goal here is to practice 15-30 minutes on those non-class days (5 days each week) para aumentar mi confianza de hablar español. 5. get to know the Rangers (5 points per mini-challenge completed/20 total) Jump in and join in on the Ranger mini-challenges. I really enjoyed the Assassin mini-challenges not just because they often complimented my challenge goals but because I got to meet so many cool people. Looking forward to a similar experience with the Rangers! So there it is! Hope my goals are Rangerly enough for a former Assassin For those of you meeting me for the first time I'm a 47yo SAHM living in beautiful Washington State with the husband unit of 21 years and our three boy children (16 yo twins + 12 yo singleton). For old friends, thanks for finding me and cheering me on!

This is still my over-riding goal. Top ten in the Wausau 24 - 6 hour category. In 27 years of racing I've never podiumed. I've been close, but I've never made it. Last year Wausua podiumed 10 people; I was 19th after a year of lackluster training. This is going to be my year. (Not me.) I have a busy, full summer of mountain bike racing planned. In order to do well, or even just survive it, I'll need to have a deep base of fitness. I'm putting in the work now, slow and steady style. A little bit every day will serve me better than big bouts of training followed by periods of sloth, which was my former habit. In order to do well at biking you need to bike. It's hard this time of year because I live in Minnesota. It's also hard to get riding in because my wife works evenings. I've tried doing GPP work over the winter with kettlebells and that works fine, but fine isn't going to cut it. Goal 1: Ride myself into shape. This will mostly, perhaps entirely, be on the trainer. Day 1: Intervals. Day 2: Slow and steady style. Day 3: Active Rest (Yoga). In order to keep biking I'll need a strong and sturdy body. I like, and have done well with, high frequency training. If one HFT program is good, two must be better. Both kettlebells and body weight training seems to make me more immune from injury. I'll be combining the Strength Aerobics variation of Simple and Sinister with PLP. Charles Bronson will be my spirit animal here. As an old man (50's) he got jacked in a lean and wiry way on a diet of push ups, pull ups, and plate push aways. Goal 2: Get jacked like Bronson 2a: Strength Aerobics variant of Simple & Sinister Day 1: 5 X 1/1 Turkish Get ups + 10 X 10 Kettlebell swings. Day 2: Long sets of singles of KB clean, press, & squat. Shovelglove may be substituted. Repeat until strong. 2b: PLP Day 1: Push Ups, one more than the day before. Lunges, one/one more than the day before. Pull Ups, one more than the day before. Repeat until jacked liked Bronson. Managing fatigue with two different training programs and riding might be a problem. The plan for both is to train every day, but I'll be playing this by ear. Minimal acceptable standard will be two days on, one day off. My old man back derails my training far more than I'd like (old injury). In order to keep it at bay I need to do a daily mobility circuit. I will add in a Yoga session every third day. Goal 3: Get Flexy Every day: mobility circuit Day 3: Yoga. My belly is trying to kill me. There is a list of foods that tears out my belly lining (dairy, coffee, sugar, deep fried anything, nuts and seeds). I've finally faced up to the fact that I just can't eat them at all anymore. I've been on a restricted diet for two weeks and it is going well. My belly hasn't felt this good in a year. Goal 4: Plate Push Aways. Don't eat the stuff I shouldn't eat.

Hi, I'm Terah, and I'm going to be an Elf Druid this challenge. It's been a year since I started here on NF, this is my 8th challenge. I've tried a lot of different things, learned a lot and met a lot of awesome people. Now I know what I want, and how to get there. I've made an epic quest that will be my guide this year. After being a recuit, a druid, an assassin, a warrior, again a warrior, an adventurer, going back to the assassins, I now decided to go back to the druids. I first left them because I didn't like that they didn't have mini's. But now the doodlies have mini's and that's enough for me. The new description of the duids sais "Each movement has a purpose, and that purpose is to further improve the dexterity, agility, and strength of the druid." And that really spoke to me. My training of choice is dancing, with some pilates and yoga on the side. Besides that I'm looking for more balance in my life. I'm hoping the duids will help me reach my goals. And why an Elf? I'm just a crazy hippie, and in my imagination Elf's are too Earth: Food On No S days 3 Meals a day, no seconds No sugar with breakfast S days 3 meals a day, no seconds Max 2 treats a day (a treat can be anything from a second serving at dinner, desert, or a cookie. It just has to be one resonable serving. For example just one piece of cake, not the wole cake) Fire: Fitness Work on my push ups and pul ups 3 times a week As discribed in my epic quest Water: KM'ing my home Spent 30 minutes each week KM'ing Air: Mental balance Create a to do list at least 5 times a week. Rewards: 90% 75%: Rituals bath oil 50%: Tea

Hello Warriors! I recently graduated from recruits and I am reporting for duty at Yoda’s Dagobah Training Camp: Some quick stats: I am 29 years old. Female. 5’11¾†(Can I round up?). Roughly 30-35% body fat. Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter nerd (to name a few). Currently obsessed with fairy tale characters trying to navigate life and magic in a small town in Storybrooke, Maine on Once Upon A Time. And now for my challenge…... Main Quest: ‘You want the [what I thought was] impossible’ …..to do one full and proper tricep pushup. Not necessarily the most Warrior or Jedi like of goals but for me it has long been a symbol of one of my greatest physical weaknesses and it is something I need to….and can...overcome. I started off last challenge being able to lower myself to the ground with control and have worked my way up to lifting my chest about an inch off the ground. Can I give myself a pushup as a Christmas present? I am going to try…. sorry Yoda DO. I want to be able to lift the stone with my mind while upside down too….but right now I will settle for deadlifting it. Quest #1: ‘I am looking for a great warrior’ So wars do not make one great, but I am pretty sure strength training 3x a week does. I am new to lifting and worked my way through the Barbell Battalion Level 1 of the Academy and have since progressed onto Level 2. I hope to be solidly into Level 3 by the end of this challenge. Here is where I am at so far (for my 5x5): Squat: 90lbs Bench: 65lbs Deadlift:115lbs (at a deficit….no training plates) OHP: Yeah….let’s not talk about that one yet…..working on the push press at 30lbs So this was not exactly on Dagobah…..but I couldn’t find the appropriate gif for this one….and besides running like a madman to scare off stormtroopers might be more of a life skill then swinging from trees and running around with Yoda on your back…..up for debate? Quest #2: ‘Through [running].....things you will see….other places’ This quest literally ran away from me at one point during my first challenge but I think I have a better set up now. I do enjoy running and I have gotten back into it after some fairly debilitating shin splints last year. Slow and steady progress is the name of the game here. So far I have worked up from run/walking 0.6km to 1.5km. My aim is to run/walk 2-3x a week and do my physio while increasing my distance at manageable levels (eventually working up to 5km). If I can’t do that third workout it is because I am doing something else that gets my heart rate up for at least 30 minutes. I don't want this challenge to interfere with my lifting, so I will be flexible with it as time goes on. Quest #3: ‘Hey, that’s my dinner!’ …. ‘How you get so big eating food of this kind?’ Although I consider myself to be a fairly healthy eater (not Paleo...but Paleo inspired? I love food), I don’t know much about nutrition when it comes to strength training and I do not track at all. My quest for this challenge is to work my way through the Nutrition Levels at the Academy in terms of tracking for at least 5 days of the week starting at Level 1. Also I want to take the time to learn more about nutrition for lifting so that I get the most out of my workouts, but at the same time I don’t want to go overboard and eat so much that I increase my body fat and outrun my fork (and here I thought I was so slow I couldn’t outrun anything). Life Quest: ‘Clear your mind of questions.’ ….. ‘Control...control…you must learn control….’ My last quest had me try meditating in the morning for 10-15 minutes 5x a week which I did pretty well on. I’d like to continue this quest to make it a habit and bonus points if I can incorporate some yoga too. Also just because this fit so well…. Bonus Side Quest: ‘Mudhole? Slimy? My home this is!’ Clean the dishes. Wipe down the sinks. Sweep…..no dust bunnies allowed this challenge! Looking forward to meeting fellow Warriors. My challenge was inspired by my fellow Recruit (and now Ranger) Marauder. I am going to leave any points for the time being and report my progress via the very addicting progress bars.

I've had a bit of trouble starting my thread for this challenge. The thing is: I have a long-term plan in place, but I couldn't think of a clever/interesting/pop-culture-referencing theme to use for this particular 6 week span. Then it hit me. Just stick with the plan! My overall goal is to add muscle to my skinny frame. My long-term goal is to put on about 10 pounds of muscle by my 40th birthday (Dec 2016). I have been working for the last 5 months to lose a bit of belly fat and achieve a "lean base". I have a new intermediate goal, which is to have a beach-ready body by the end of March 2016 when I am planning to head to Jamaica for a few days with several friends who are all celebrating our 10th wedding anniversaries. So, having lost about 12 pounds and 2 inches from my belly since May, my plan is to eat at maintenance for a month to let things stabilize and then start eating at a surplus in December and January to try and bulk up. I'll then probably go back to eating at maintenance or below for a few weeks before the Jamaica trip to burn any fat I pick up. Having laid that out, here are my goals for this challenge: Goal 1: Consistent strength gains on my "marriage" lifts I re-started the 242 Method of working out back in July, where I dedicate 2 workouts a week to 6 "marriage" lifts that I never stray from: Deadlift, Overhead Press, Dips, Squat, Floor Press, and Pull-ups. I split these over Monday and Friday and then have Wednesday to "flirt" with other exercises. It's been 4 months now and I've seen consistent progress in those key lifts without the program hopping that I used to do every 6 weeks. I want to keep making consistent gains by bumping up the reps or weight on each lift each week. Goal 2: Consistent progress on my bodyweight skills There are a few bodyweight skills that I've wanted to achieve for a long time. Pistol Squats, Handstand Push-ups, One-Arm Push-ups, and L-sits. I've worked on each of these at various points over the last 3 years to varying degrees of success. This time around, I'm going to dedicate my Wednesday workouts to progressing on each of these bodyweight skills. I've got a different progression for each skill: Pistol Squats - Neat StrengthHandstand Push-ups - Kinobody Bodyweight Mastery ProgramOne-arm Push-ups - KinobodyLeg Raises (as a precursor to L-sits) - Gold Medal BodiesGoal 3: Maintain (or decrease) my weight and midsection measurement As I said above, I've been working on losing some belly fat since the end of May and I'm happy with the level of success I've had. Even though I've still got another inch or two I could stand to lose, I'm at a weight that I consider about as low as I'd like to go. So, instead of just jumping right back into a traditional bulk (where I traditionally add an few inches to my waist) I'm going to take it slow and just hang out at maintenance for a month. As I look back at my last 3 and half years on Nerd Fitness, I've bounced around a lot - eating a ton in an attempt to gain weight, but then reversing course because I gained too much in my midsection. I've never really spent time at a consistent weight. I plan to accomplish this by bumping my daily calorie intake up to about 2000 per day, but I'll rely on my Jawbone UP tracker to keep a count of my steps and how many calories I've really burned. If I'm successful in maintaining my weight and waistline for a month, I'll shift into a calorie surplus. My grading will be a variation of a method I'm stealing from Raptron's challenge: Hitting my daily protein goal will be good for 1/2 a point.Hitting my daily calorie range will be good for 1/2 a point.Alternatively, I'll be weighing myself daily and taking a midsection measurement on Monday mornings.If my seven-day average weight is at or below my starting weight or if my midsection measurement is at or below my starting measurement, I'll get all 7 points for the week.Total of 28 possible points for November Goal 4: Average 7 hours of sleep a night One thing I'm told over and over again is that you need rest to recover and build muscle, so I'm making sleep a priority once again. I will aim for drinking a cup of Natural Calm and getting to bed by 10:30 on weeknights and getting up by 5 for my workouts 3 days a week. My Jawbone UP also tracks my sleep, so I'll just take an average for the week rather than grade based on number of days I hit 7 hours. Okay, so typing this all out has taken longer than I thought it would, so I'm going to spare you all my proof that these goals have been vetted against Steve's 9 Mistakes Skinny People Make Trying To Get Bigger. Let the challenge begin!

Third Challenge here on the forums first with the Assassins. The reason for the titlle is that Rock Lee is my favorite Naruto character and I find his story extremely inspiring.Now on to the goals Goal One A Shinobe has to be physically fit in order to carry out his missions. For this constent training is required. My goal for this challenge is to do something active every day exept Sundays. This can range from something as simple as a walk to a knock down drag out multi hour workout. Some sub goals I would like to reach are Three strength workouts each week with a focas on body weight Three cardio workouts per week Atleast one hour of martial arts practice per week Be able to do one arm pushups by the end of the challenge Be able to do one of my favorite bodyweight circuits 10 times through with no rest Be able to run for 20 minutes straight. Goal Two It is never known what a mission will entitle thus one must train for great muscular endurance as well as strength. This goal is to try to do 500 reps of a bodyweight exercise in a single workout over the fewest sets possible. The rough schedule for this is Week One. Squats Week Two. Pushups Week Three. Situps Week Four. Bench Dips(My triceps are my weakest body part thus I'm training them here) Week Five. Lunges(My triceps are followed closely by my legs) Week Six. Pullups(These are last because I have the most work to do on them) Goal Three With all the training and fighting a ninja needs to make sure his body is properly fueled. I'm going to try counting calories and hopefully be a bit more consistent with my eating habits since in my last challenge I would eat anywhere from 500(I forget to eat if I'm wrapped up in something) to probably over 10,000(It was my grandparants anniversary, we took them out to Golden Corral). Life Goal It's imperative that one be able to blend in and communicate wherever one may be. Learn two new words in Spanish every day. So thats my Rock Lee challenge. I'll post scoring and all later including a rough schedule. I've decided that if I score 90% or higher on all goals that I'll change my name on the forum since I've had some people tell me that my current one is hard to pronounce.

Hello all! My last challenge was my first, and I went down in flames. Well, it wasn't a total loss, but I didn't come close to my goal of losing weight (actually I gained a pound, LOL?). So here I am again, with the Rangers. My high school mascot was a Ranger, so it just feels right. About me: 36 (about to be 37) year old male. 5'7, 186 lbs at my last weight in. My frame is medium-ish, so 186 lbs makes me look a little too dadbod. I ain't looking for a six pack (although that would be nice), but I am looking to get down to 165. This challenge will help me with that. MAIN QUEST 1 During these 6 weeks, I hope to lose 12 pounds and get to 174 lbs. I will weigh myself each Wednesday morning and report back on progress. Steps 1) Keep a food journal on MyFitnessPal 2) Cut out sodas and sweets until the end of the challenge, with the exception being my birthday in August (gotta live a little) 3) Eat vegetables 4 days a week. And yes, I am that bad of an eater that 4 days would be an improvement. MAIN QUEST 2 Do 100 pushups in a row, without stopping. This has been a goal for years, and despite one attempt where I got to about 75, I haven't been able to do it. I am hoping to get to a new personal best at the end of this challenge and hit 80. Steps 1) I have the 100 pushups app on my phone. Do 3 days a week of sets on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. These are super basic but I am trying to really focus during this challenge. As I said in my last challenge: It would be AWESOME if anyone would want to help keep me accountable. And I would be happy to reciprocate, like checking in once or twice a week or something in your thread if you would do that for me. Not many of my friends are into fitness so it would be really rewarding to help someone along this path and get some help in return. LET'S DO IT!

(to be updated with specifics for scoring etc) Greetings and Salutatons. So. Here I am back again after a long haiatus. Since last october I've done embarrasingly little to keep myself fit and healthy. I've used injuries, illness, work, general busyness and moving house as excuses for inactivity and poor self-care. I've decided that my return will have me joining the ADVENTURERS for now. A focus on general health and fitness rather than specializing will give my body and mind the foundations they need. Main Quest: Slightly modified from previous 6wCs: Return to where I was a couple of years ago: Run 5k in under 30 mins, improve power to weight ratio so I can do a pull up and improve muscular/cardio stamina so I'm not out of breath after 5 minutes of longsword duelling. I think these are reasonable mid-term goals, achievable within a year. The first stage is to start shedding some excess weight. Goal the First: Eat the Right Food: Sounds simple but can be, and has been, oh so difficult for me. Willpower is part of it, avoiding having easy access to crappy food is another part. I'm keeping it simple and starting off small. I'll be making sure I have a filling, low carb breakfast most weekdays - Either a green smoothie or eggs, most likely. More veggies and salad with meals rather than carby stodge like potatoes, bread or pasta. Some rice is ok for now but not too much. Goal the Second: Build the habbit of regular exercise for it's own purpose. I do karate once a week and HEMA twice a week but I do precious little exercise outside of that. So I'll make a point of doing a specific workout twice a week. It doesn't have to be a massive undertaking and it will probably only be a 10 minute AMRAP interval circuit at first. I might even try to build it into a warmup for my Sunday HEMA sessions... Goal the Third: Practice: I feel that my Karate practice has slipped lately. I've been "phoning it in" to some extent and not really practicing outside of the dojo. I WILL practice my Katas two or three days a week, even if it's just a single run through of all the ones I know. Additionally, I'm going to learn three new katas by the end of the 6wC. I need to learn a few for my next grading so now's the time. Goal the Fourth (optional extra credit): To be determined... That'll do for now - this pot is as much a placeholder and self motivator as anything. See y'all soon (off to run through my Katas)

Aaaaah I do not have time to finish this right now so this is an in progress draft-y sort of thing with almost no formatting. Soorrrrrry. Will do later! In news... I HAS NEW JOB YOU GUYS!!!! I am trying not to go to nuts with goals since I know transitioning to new job could add to stress levels in and of itself (I officially start on the 15th but will have a few half days next week split between current and new department so that I can come back and train whoever they hire to fill my spot later!) Goals this round: GOAL 1, Circus abs, 3 times a week - I'd really like to actually increase to 2 circus classes a week I don't know when they are launching the new schedule that will supposedly have more night classes. For now Monday class plus two intense ab workouts at home per week will do just fine. And I'll make Friday class when I can but it tends to conflict with traffic as well as evening plans with work people. #commuterproblems GOAL 2, Pull Ups, I want to do them!, pull up work 3 times a week - Where I'd like these to be by the end of the challenge is: Part A. My progress on this seems to go slowly so if I can get to where I can do just ONE assisted pull up (not just an assisted negative) by the end of this challenge I would be thrilled Part B. Dead hang chin up with no assistance by end of challenge would be AMAZING, but I will settle for being able to do a set of 10 assisted chin ups (I can only do 2-3 in a row right now. If these were 10 dead hang and not from ground that'd be even awesomer!) Goal 3, Push up! MOAR PUSH UPs! push up work 3 times a week - By the end of the challenge I'd like to get to where I can do a set of 10 in a row (long term goal is 30, but I think that's going to take more than 6 weeks!) I can currently do about 5. My progress on these seems to go faster than pull ups so I will adjust this up if need be! Life Goals: DEBT PAY DOWN! - I'll be making more money now. I want to pretend like I'm really not making more money and pay down my credit cards first before fun timez! Re-arrange the bat cave - some serious decluttering needs to happen ya'll! MORE MUSIC - try to listen to new music once a week at least and try to make it to a concert at least every other month (pending I find ones I want to go to.) I already have Coachella tickets ready for next year and I will be doing Lightning in a Bottle again and I am going to Low End Theory Festival in August. Soooo if I don't find something for June/July I'll be OK with that!

Lucky Fire Dragon Spreads her Wings of Ease So, except for the lifting and rope skipping I did a LOT of exercise during the last challenge and while that felt super good and I do want to keep it up, I also feel like a little un-challenge (thank you Hybrid for inspiration on that one ) so that my easy-mode that has things come effortlessly to me doesn't come short either. So you could say I am levelling up my balance some more. Enjoying more strength mixed with soft relaxation to stay in tune with the flow of life and be open for opportunities of all the GOOD STUFF that wants to come my way. It is time for the dragon to soar on the winds of grace. In order to do this, I will: BREATHE (3 CON, 2 STA) - do fire breath or other breath exercises for at least 2 min/day on 6 days/week - get fresh air by spending at least 10 min outdoors/day on 6 days/week BONUS: get out of breath twice a week with skipping rope, trampoline, zumba or other SPREAD my wings (3 STR, 3 DEX) - stretching, yoga, or pilates for 15 min or more/day on 5 days/week - keep pole training up to 3x/week - strengthen wings with things from power-checklist or trying to, there are no must-dos here, just possible woot moments SOAR and let Grace carry me (3 WIS, 1 CON) - have 2 plan free afternoons a week - let things happen for me during my resting hours (salt baths, wet socks, write a God list in the evening, ask EQs, have dream assignments) - rave about my blessings every day BONUS: have a life unplugged by spending the first and last 30 min of the day each without computer (more is obviously better, but I might fall asleep pretty quickly, so I don't know if an hour is doable yet My LIFE QUEST is to get proof reading and editing done for book!! Yes, it's still the same book as I was translating two challenges ago and now it is time Rewards: If I do well with these I know I will have a sparkling, rocking time with this and after. Quest 3 is basically a whole reward in itself, I must just do it If I do very well (As and Bs) I will reward myself with a complete day without any work (when the book is done I can do that) as well as some delicious pralines, because mmmh chocolate If I ace all my challenges I will reward myself with the same plus an aerial hoop workshop at the risk that it might get me hooked to a new thing - ah well, no risk no fun Measurements and before pictures are here - let's go for easy cm loss and pretty shapes, wheeeeeeeee note that I am wearing my new pole shorts (brazil style) which I probably would have never dared a year ago current weight is 65 kg (this is a woot already!!) Power-Checklist 3 pull ups from standing (so far I can do 1-2) arrrrrgh so close!!5 pull ups from standing8 pull ups from standing1 full pull up2 full pull ups3 full pull ups 3 chin ups from standing (so far I can do 1-2)5 chin ups from standing ahahahaha, nope, still 38 chin ups from standing1 full chin up YESSSSSSSSS2 full chin ups3 full chin ups 14 push ups in one set (my pr so far is 13, at the moment rather 11)16 push ups in one set18 push ups in one set20 push ups in one set50 push ups in one workout (at the moment pr at 43)55 push ups in one workout60 push ups in one workout 150 sec plank (130 is pr so far)165 sec plank180 sec plank 3 sets of 5 leg lifts from hanging (can barely manage 2 sets)3 sets of 7 leg lifts from hanging3 sets of 10 leg lifts from hanging 3 sets of 3 knee tucks on pole each side (can manage between 1 and 2 sets now)3 sets of 5 knee tucks on pole each side3 sets of 3 swing mounts on pole each side (haven't tried yet in sets)3 sets of 5 swing mounts on pole each side hold wheel pose for 10 sechold wheel pose for 20 sechold wheel pose for 30 sec hold crow pose for 5 sec lol I wishhold crow pose for 10 sechold crow pose for 15 sec

Thus far I have managed to have 2 very successful challenges. I know that this system works for me so maybe it's time to start pushing myself a little harder and kick some serious ass. For this reason, I am making this challenge Buffy themed (and because everything is better if it's Buffy themed!) Main quest - to set a great example to my children This hasn't changed and it probably never will because it is perfect for me. My boys are wonderful but being a parent is hard work. Being a healthy parent is even harder but it's so important to be a good role model to children. They are my motivation. Goal 1 - Kick ass workouts 3 times a week (+3 STA, +2DEX) I discovered last challenge that I need variety in my workouts. Doing the same old stuff 3 times a week meant I seriously lacked motivation. I also discovered that I love to get my sweat on and work hard (contrary to what I would've believed) so that is my focus for this challenge. I'm going to be following the fighter's codex program on darebee.com. This is varied, focused on kicking ass and should get me nice and sweaty. Reward - being fitter Goal 2 - Stop binge eating (+3CON) I know I'm good at succeeding in challenges but I'm also very good at finding the loopholes to allow myself to be naughty. Initially I allowed myself a cheat day from my healthy eating plan but then I became a little ridiculous on that day. My focus for this goal is going to be on maintaining my current weight (10 stone 8). I will continue to count calories and I hope that now I'm allowed 2000 daily I won't feel the desire to binge and go way over. Reward - not being bloated Goal 3 - Complete 20 good form push ups (+4STR, +1STA) (I couldn't find a gif of Buffy doing push ups...wtf?!) This is an insane goal as I can currently only manage about 5 but as I said earlier, I've had great success in past challenges so why not push hard and see what can be achieved?! My plan is to work on them during my sweaty workout sessions but also try 1 day a week (probably Mondays) to do some on the hour, every hour and see where that gets me. Then on a Sunday I will do as many as possible to measure progress. Could be interesting. Reward - total bragging rights Life Side Quest - Have a kick ass wardrobe (+2CHA) With my recent weight loss, I treated myself to some new clothes but I still find myself wearing the same old hoodies every day. The sun is starting to shine (as much as it ever does in England) so I want to sort my wardrobe out and start wearing nicer clothes. The first step is to sort out which clothes are bloody awful (why do I even have these?) and get rid of them. Once that is done, I want to weed out the clothes that don't fit well and then I'll have easier access to all the nice things. Reward - Looking great Unfortunately I'm on holiday for the first week of the challenge so I'm intending to complete it in 5 weeks however I'm prepared to give myself an extra week to work on the push ups if needed.

The theme of my challenge for this round is focusing on fixing my bad habits! I've gotten so much better habit wise about a lot of things; now is time to refine and fix the things I know I am bad about! Goal 1, the ground is not the limit. the SKY is the limit: I have a bad habit of not working on my aerial skills up in the air. I'll learn something on the ground and then move on to something else and not work on getting it up in the air. My parameters for this are that I would like to work on at least one skill in the air once a week. (Doesn't have to be something big, just SOMETHING in the air. Even climbing up 5 feet and doing a footlock would be more than I do in the air at this point!) Goal 2, my right shoulder is a rebel. Get my right shoulder to behave! I have had a weird placement issue with my right shoulder for years from years of driving with it in a weird place. I know it feels wrong now when I do it but I need to get the correct placement ingrained in my body. It naturally is in the right place when I do an upper body work out, so for this: every day I will one set of some kind of push up variation and some kind of hanging and pulling exercise variation. It doesn't have to be with a challenging amount of weight or a ton of reps, just enough to get those muscles activated and remind myself about proper placement. Goal 3, focus on form The first step in forming new exercise habits is getting yourself to show up. I have consistently done that through my past challenges, so now I need to move on to refining form and technique. I have a few sub goals on this, and really the overarching idea is when I DO exercise, focus on at least one of these things once a week. (More realistically it will be more like 3 times plus a week, but I'd rather start small and give myself space to grow!) Things for this: in dance: focus on precision/nailing the small details in choreography, practice combinations outside of class more often in aerial: work on improving my inverted straddle, work on improving hip keys, and also working on really nailing how to do whatever new thing is challenging me on a given week Goal 4, Photographic evidence! I never remember to take exercise related photo and video of myself doing dance/aerial etc. At the very least I want to take a before and after picture! At best I want to start taking progress videos of aerial and taking video of choreography we are doing in my dance classes. Life goal: Focus on getting debt paid down Speaking of bad habits. I really really want to actually make progress on this. I have been unofficially working on this for a while, but clearly not really doing enough. Baby size starter goal for this one is no putting anything on my credit cards for the duration of the challenge. (OK. If an actual emergency happens and I need to do car repairs, that would be OK. And I give myself permission to put something on a card only if I pay it right back if I am at a sketchy feeling gas station or somewhere else I don't trust with my debit card.) I would also like to pay down my cards by at least $500 more by the end of the challenge. More would be even better!

Main Quest: to perfect the Beginner Body Weight Workout (BBWW). To do this, I will practice the BBWW workout 3x a week. Measurement: working out 3x each week: STA +7. Working out mostly 3x, but sometimes 2x: STA +6. Working out mostly 2x but occasionally 3x: STA +5. Quest 1: increase my plank time from 20 seconds to at least 35 seconds. Measurement: Increase plank time to 35 seconds: STR +5. Increase plank time to 30 seconds: STR +4. Increase plank time to 25 seconds: STR +3. Quest 2: Participate in the Rebellion. To do this I will update my challenge thread 3x a week and participate in the Guild Mini's. I may also participate in Accountabilibuddies and encourage new rebels. Measurement: Update challenge 3x a week AND do all the guild mini's: STA +3. Update challenge 2-3x a week and do some of the guild minis: STA +2. Update challenge 1x a week and not do any of the guild minis: STA +1.

Hello fellow rebels, I'm happy to be back after being m.i.a. for pretty much a year. This is my second try to complete my second challenge, out of the 3 challenges that I started in the past I only finished 1. Although I wasn't active in the NF community i still kept on exercising and somewhat half-assed my diet. I tried to do two things at once: loose weight and build muscle and it didn't work out for me, I just gained 3kg of probably 99% fat After reading the last NF Blog posts about how it's better to first focus on fat loss and then on building muscle I decided to come back to the forum and do just that. GOAL: weigh 54 kg / 119lb My weight this morning was 56,7 kg /124.7 lb but I came down with a gastroenteritis this weekend and I'm just back to eating normal (which is also why I'm starting late) and I wouldn't be surprised if my weight is up 1kg by the end of the week. Mission 1: Diet (4 CON, 1 CHA) Allowed foods: everything Paleo + the following foods in moderation: Dairy if full fat and natural, corn, green legumes, honey Off Limits: Sugar, alcohol, grains, soy, everything "low fat" or "diet", processed foods, fast food etc. I start at 100% every week and for every item from the "off limits" list I will substract 10%, 50% is the passing grade. Mission 2: Exercise (3 DEX, 2 STA) In the past I made the mistake of making this part to complicated, so this time I'll try to keep it simple: Exercise 6x a week between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the intensity of the workout (e.g. walking: 60 min, BBWW: 30 min), try to keep it diverse. Mission 3: Push ups (3 STR) Right now I can do one good push up before Ilet my knees drop, so I want to get to 2 sets of 5 push ups. Push ups will be graded by result at the end of the challenge. Life mission (2 WIS): Dedicate 4 effective hours every week day 20 effective hours every week to my Master thesis and job applications. Height: 160cm / 5'3" Starting weight: 59 kg /130 lb ------------------------->56,8 kg / 125 lb BF%: 32% (Navy calculator) ---------------------------> 30% Shoulders: 40cm / 15.7 in ------------------------------> 39cm / 15.3 in Arm r: 25,5cm / 10 in ------------------------------------> 25,5cm / 10 in Arm l: 24,cm / 9.6 in -------------------------------------->25cm / 9.8 in Waist: 82cm / 32.3 in ------------------------------------> 79cm / 31.1 in Hip: 94cm / 37 in ------------------------------------------>93cm / 36.6 in Thigh r: 56,5cm / 22.2 in--------------------------------> 55cm / 21.6 in Thigh l: 56cm / 22 in ------------------------------------->56cm / 22 in Calves: 34cm / 13.4 in ----------------------------------->34cm / 13.4 in Week one: Diet: 80% Exercise: 3x out of 4 active (non sick) days: 100% Life: 0%, outch. Mini Challenge: 201 Mountain Climbers 1STR Week two: Diet: 40% Exercise: 100% Life: 67% Mini Challenge: walked 12 km, 1 STA Week three: Diet: 80% Exercise: 100% Life: 72% Week four: Diet: 40% Execise: 50% Life: 57,5% Week five: Diet: 60% Exercise: 86% Life: 35% Week six: Diet: 0% Exercise: 66% Life: n/a Challenge wrap up: (details) Diet: 50%, (2 CON, 0,5 CHA) Exercise: 85% (2,5 DEX 1,5 STA) Push ups: 85% (2,5 STR) Life: 45% (0,5 WIS)

It’s time to turn it up a notch. My last (un-)challenge worked out phenomenally in unexpected ways. Not only have I had a great, awesome, epic time the last few weeks, I’ve also fallen back in love with fitness. Specifically running. God, have I missed running. I’ve spent a long time thinking about how to set up this challenge. I’ve looked at what has worked for me and what hasn’t, and I’ve made a plan! Achievements work for me. They work much better than rules or numbers. My most successful challenges were those that made me go for shit and not do a certain thing X number of times a week. I like to accidentally clutter my challenges. I feel like I have to put everything I do into my goals and it’s silly. So I’ll be doing much more than what I challenge myself to do and we’ll see how that works out. I like turtles. So for this challenge I'll have goals, they will be rather broad. Within these goals, I'll have certain achievements I can collect along the way. Please feel very free to add achievements if you think of some that I have missed - I like being challenged by you guys. Enough planny shit, here’s what’s going down. I'm going to get fast and strong and eat and live. That is my main goal. And it is especially important in times like this. Unbeknownst to most, the Yeerks have taken residence not only on our planet, but inside many people's brains. It's time I got them out of there. Luckily, I am an animorph. Oh wait - you didn't know that? Well, now you do. Unfortunately there's only so many animals I can touch, and only so much that can be done in 2 hours (don't want to go down Tobias' road and get stuck, that'd blow!) so I've assembled a few animals in my basement to practice with. They shall help me fight off Yeerks. Every achievement unlocked while animorphed kills off one of the Yeerks. I plan to litter the floor with the bodies of dead slugs, yo. Goal Number 1: Run. Horses have always made me happy. Also when I googled animorph pictures and this showed up I laughed for at least five minutes and so I really had no choice but to get a horse and shut it in my basement and abuse it to run from zombies. I'm not a psychopath, I swear. Anyways, apart from the animorphing, it's simple. I want to run. I need to run. Running makes me happy. It makes me feel free and alive and gets rid of all sorts of things like crappy moods and tiredness. I want it every day all day. This goal includes everything run-related. Here's the list of achievements: - Finish the Zombies, Run 5k Trainer - Do an air drop mission - Do a zombie chase and don't get eaten - Run with another person - Run trails - Run through the city park - Run in a different place far from home - Run a 8 minute kilometer - Updated: Run 8 minute/kilometer average on a 5k run - Do 10 uphill sprints up that really steep hill and don't die - Run for 20 minutes straight - Run for 25 minutes straight - Run for 30 minutes straight - Find someone to plan an epic air drop mission with and do it - Run 35km in one week - Run every day for one week - Do a lunch break city run - Do a zoo run - Do an early morning run before work - Run through the rain Goal Number 2: Push it. Push it real good. Everyone thinks that kangarros are just great at kicking but psh you don't know the half of it. MY kangaroo is a total stud and animorphing into kangaroo form is going to be the best thing ever. The goal is to up my push up game. I recently discovered (and have been overjoyed about it ever since) that I can sort of do knee push ups. It feels like push ups are a thing that are possible and more recently I could sort of feel muscles in my arms - what is happening to me, am I stuck in kangaroo form? I don't know. But push ups shall happen sooner or later. Here's the list of achievements: - 1.30 min plank - 2 min plank - 2.30 min plank - 1.30 min elbow plank - 2 min elbow plank - 2.30 min elbow plank - 3 min elbow plank - 30 sec low plank - 1 min low plank - negative push up - push up - 10 incline push ups - 20 incline push ups - 10 knee push ups - 20 plank-to-elbow-plank-and-back-s - 30 plank to elbow-plank and back-s - try those spotted push ups Goal 3: Ditch the candy. And the take out. And stay the eff away from the bakery. This is going to be a tough one. That's why the third animal in my basement is a cat. Cats are picky f*ckers. They don't eat everything. And if they don't like something, they shove it away. Or kill it. Or puke on it. They're assholes, really. I need to be more asshole-y about my eating. I have tasted candy for the first time in years and the best example of how it has ruined me would be the evening that I spend spooning canned frosting with thin mints. It's bad. I love that I'm eating so much, I hate that there's so much junk in there. I'm also spending too much money on lunches that I can simply make at home. So that's the goal. Healthy eating. Pretty basic, right? (I'm typing this as I'm eating the last bits of the reeses heart that I got for valentine's day). Here's the list of achievements: - Prepare lunches in advance for a week - Make a meal plan - Have breakfast BEFORE leaving home every day for a week - Don't eat candy for a week - Don't buy any type of food (unless it's groceries. I'm talkig about the 'Oh I'm hungry I should get a kreppel) for a week - Stay away from the bakery for a week - Cook. Just, whatever. Cook it. Goal Number 4: Sunday Funday Who could be a better teacher to become a party animal than a pug? So much to learn from them. I like fun. I like being busy and never home and just out there. I also like my list of dares that I've not yet completed. There's a lot going on in my life that I could focus on, but as most of those things aren't really a challenge, I just love doing them, and I don't want to overburden myself and set myself up for failure, I'm going to keep this simple. No achievements to be unlocked (currently, I might work on something) but feel very free to dare me. My past sundays have been awesome. Truly awesome. Filled with adventures and amazingness and fun. I want to keep that streak going. Rest days are for the weak. It doesn't matter what sort of fun I'll have on sundays, I just want to use them and not let them slide by. There are too many things to be seen and done. Do you have any other achievements that would work well with my goal? Please share them with me and I'll make sure to add them! No grading. No stat points earned. No rewards. Actually, I might re-think that whole rewards thing. I like rewards.

I have no idea what challenge number this will be...maybe 6 or 7. I really don't know. But this is a new year and a new chapter in my life. Also the first with the Assassins. My 2013 to 2014 photos What I achieved in 2014? No longer addicted to Diet Coke (or fizzy drinks)Intake in vegetables has grown.I exercise (not consistently but I do exercise)What will I work on in 2015? Exercise consistently - get that pull up!.Finish workouts - no excuses.The sweet tooth monster. Quest 1: Complete my workout 2x a week / Complete my pull up progression 2x a week. I have scheduled in three workouts a week in the morning but sometimes my work hours make it hard to get in a third workout, due to early rises and late nights. Therefore aiming for two should keep my motivation high as a third workout will be a bonus. I also have dedicated sessions in the evening for getting my first pull up. Again subject to work I may not get all three in so I'm working for two a week. Quest 2: Yoga 4x a week On my 'off' days I am following Erin Motz 30 day yoga challenge on youtube. I am currently on day 4. Quest 3: Only water I beat the fizzy drink monster but have noticed I am starting to drink other sugary drinks - j2o's, capri suns etc. This is just as bad and something I want to fix. Therefore I am only allowed to drink water with the two exceptions below. I am allowed a small glass of orange juice or apple juice in the morning.I am allowed one non-water drink at a restaurant when ordering food. Life Quest: Learn German 3x a week I learnt German in school and kinda sucked at it - think the pressure of the exams was too much. But I like the language and want to go back to Germany again this year. So I need to brush up on my German. I will be using duolingo to learn and the idea is too spend 30 minutes a day (or one section i.e. Basics 1) on the site. I have been following a similar plan for the past two and a bit weeks and have refined my goals slightly for this challenge based on where I have struggled. So I think that's it for now. I don't believe I have forgotten anything.

I have always really struggled with push ups as my upper body strength is ridiculously poor. At taekwondo, we did them for early gradings and I was able to mash something together that resembled a push up. However, I now realise how poor they are and think I need to start from scratch. Basically, I have found that when I do a push up my nose goes down between my hands and I assume it should be my chest between my hands. This seems ridiculously hard so if so I need some help. Should I go right back to wall push ups and work on correct form? Are there any other exercises that will help strengthen these muscles?

So, at the moment, I'm following a bodyweight program that involves a lot of horizontal pushing. Lots of push ups, but also lots of burpees and sit throughs. Lots of movement that involves me supporting myself on the floor with my hands. And, well, my left wrist has taken to hurting. It's intermittent, but every now and again I'll just feel this pain in what feels like my palm leading to my left ring finger. It extends through the wrist and up into a tendon in my left forearm. Barring a broken wrist about 13 years ago, there's no real history of injury in the area or anything like that. When I put it through WebMD it diagnoses as a form of sciatica, and stretching my lower back actually seems to have made a difference in how it feels. I thought that was enough, but I just ran into it again today and so I want to throw it out there to the community to see if anyone had any thoughts on what I could do about it.

Just so all of you don't think I am any stranger than you already do, the title of my challenge this time is from an old song named KISS from The Art of Noise that was sung by Tom Jones. It has the words "I think I better dance now" and since I need to improve may stances for Karate, I felt the title would be appropriate. The main reason that I want to improve my stances is because I learned something very interesting at my last Karate tournament while watching all the older folks compete. Most of the senior (over 35 year old adults are called seniors in my club, which I am not too fond of but that's another story) competitors do not have good, low stances while doing their katas. Stances aren't the only important part for winning but if I can lower my stances and still move well, I think I can put a dent in the group of people that always place ahead of me. With that said, it's time to get down to business and embark on another six week journey of pain and suffering fun! 1. Stances the Tabata way three times a week: This is something that I worked on in the past but stopped doing for some reason. I have seen how much this can help after watching one of the kata athletes that I have been training do this and his improvement are incredible. Four minutes of stance training doesn't sound like much, right? I haven't figured out yet if I am going to work on one stance or multiple stances for the time but this needs to be done at least three times a week. My thoughts are front stance left and right, horse stance, back stance left and right and another horse stance and for the last two 20 second sets, one day cat stance and the other day cross leg stance left and right. 2. 1000 push ups a month and a little more: This is something that a fellow former Karate instructor and friend of mine suggested for his personal training clients. He started a Facebook challenge for all his clients and whoever else wants to do it, to do 50 push ups a day (in sets of 10 throughout the day) to make a total of 1000 push ups for the month of November. I should have started this a few days ago but I'm just lazy, like always but I still have 26 days anyway, right? Instead of doing only push ups, I am going to add side jackknifes, glute bridges and some form of ab work. The plan is to do 10 reps of each movement, do a Karate and Iaido kata and repeat for 5 sets. I did a test run of this workout tonight and it was done in well under 30 minutes including some time on the foam roller. 3. Improve my Karate - two parts = double the fun: Over the the last challenge, my overall Karate improved more than it has in some time. My kicks are better, moving from hips is better and my posture is better than ever before. These were all areas that I needed to improve on and I want to continue to step it up further. A. This time around, I am going to continue to do the extra Karate class at home but this time, I am only going to it once each week. Between the formal class, Iaido class, teaching three days a week, the dedicated kata session with my coach and trying to do the extra class twice wasn't allowing me to recover. B. More mobility and flexibility is needed. Doing Cheechoe's hip routine has been a huge help at improving my kicks. I am kicking higher than ever before and I was able to deliver my side kicks with power that I have never had in the past. With that said, I still need more improvement and I plan on doing Cheechoe's routine at least once a week along with Eric Wong's HFS routine twice a week. If I can find a Yoga routine that I can actually do, like the routines on doyogawithme.com, I would like to get in at least on Yoga session each week, no matter how simple. Life Goal: Over the last few months, my focus has sucked to say the least. Simple tasks that should take a short amount of time are taking me days to finish because I can't get my focus. I haven't been writing as much and it seems that my mind is always spinning in all directions. Because of this, I need to start meditating again. If I it's 5 minutes three times a week I will be happy but I really need to get my mind under control again so that I can make my life better and I hope that the mediation will help. Disclaimer: Like all of my challenges in the past, this one is subject to change at any time.

Hey... Um. I'm late joining. I haven't actually done a challenge since 2012 or 13 (Can't remember. I found the thread earlier, but I lost it again) Anyway! I have some pretty simple goals to hit by December 21st, which I have been working on all year, so I hope you can accept me into the assassin ranks. My motivational self-talk: I want to be stronger, braver, more energised and focused so that I can survive anything life throws at me and come out smiling, supporting those around me who need it, and working to change the world and make it a better place. I also need a wingman or two. I've cut myself off from people a bit lately. Home life is hard, I live in a shared house and I'm not getting on with my housemates at all. It's also a long way out of town, so it's easy for me to keep myself too busy working and being pointlessly busy to spend time with actual friends. So I have to work on that. My main quest: 1. 8 pull ups in a row. (up from 7, but I haven't hit that in a few months!) 2. 25 push ups in a row. (I'm struggling with 20 right now) 3. 5 pistol squats in a row both legs. (I can do 3, maybe 4) Method: Train at least one daily, allowing at least one rest day between. Possible skill points: 3 STR, 3 CON, 3 DEX Side quests: 1. Spend deliberate, dedicated time with at least 3 potential wingmen. Communicate with the NF Rebel Alliance - join in challenges etc. 2. Be able to touch my wrists to my toes with straight legs. Method: Stretch every evening. At stake: 3 CHA 3 DEX