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Hello Rangers! I'm returning to you to achieve one of my most desired goals: Main Quest: Do a push up! Work out: Do a push up work out three times a week. I'm using FitDaily Pushups as a starting place. STR +5 Track my progress: Once a week I want to weigh myself and take measurements. In addition I'm going to write down every work out I do. I'm going to weigh myself Tuesday mornings before breakfast, just to be consistent. WIS +4 No gadgets after 10:30: This is a repeat goal, but one that worked so well. I'm going to stop using my phone and computer after 10:30. CON +3 STA +2 Life Quest: Start a Spiritual Practice For this goal I'm going to start a spiritual practice, something small that I can do for five minutes everyday. To figure out what I'm going to read the book Imperfect Spiritualty and based on that book make a decision. WIS +1 Grading: A +90% B +80% C +70% Rewards: For every five successes in a row I'm going to give myself a small reward. I only need eight more small rewards to get a manicure!

As you can see from my topic title, there will be more of a story element to this challenge. Story element coming soon! ---------- Hi everyone! I'm back! India was awesome and very challenging. I came back with a greater respect for issues of social justice, and desiring my negative social footprint to be smaller than it currently is. I also came back about 8 pounds heavier (from around 187 to around 195) and about 2.25" bigger (from about 38.5" to about 40.75") around my midsection. Needless to say the food was amazing. I've spent the last 2-3 weeks bringing those numbers back down closer to where they were before I left. While they're not quite back to where they were yet, I have made significant progress towards that end. As of today, I'm down to 191.4 lbs and back to 40" around the ol' belly. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself! To that end, I want to keep that forward momentum going, with one or two tweaks. Here are my basic goals. I'll flesh them out more in a little while. Goal 1: Lose 3% body fat Start: 29.2%Goal: 26.2%Points up for grabs: 2 DEX | 3 WISGoal 2: Lose 1.5" from midsection Start: 40"Goal: 38.5"Points up for grabs: 1 CON | 1 CHAGoal 3: Complete graduated pull-up/chin-up training once and for all Points up for grabs: 4 STR | 3 STALife: Get rid of 50 lbs of stuff Points up for grabs: 1 WISBecause I normally weigh in on Fridays, my challenge starts TODAY!

5 "The Golden Power" in ancient Hylian literature, it is an omnipotent sacred relic, representing the essence of the Golden Goddesses who created the realm of Hyrule. Triforce of Power Exercise at least 3 times a week. Get strongerTriforce of Wisdom Pass my class on employment law figure out how to eat enough for muscle growth while on a budget Come up with healthy meals that are g6pd friendlyTriforce of Courage find better employment coaching my son's soccer team (1st and 2nd graders) The Plan Day 1: Biceps/Chest/Abdominals Day 2: Shoulders/Back Day 3: Triceps/Leg/Abdominals 2 exercises per part 60 seconds rest between sets 2 minutes rest between sections

Hi everyone! I'm new to Nerd Fitness, but I've been exercising moderately prior to joining the forums here - doing weights and cardio. Honestly, not pushing myself hard enough. Here is my info, followed by the workout I plan to do. Please let me know your thoughts. Age: 41 Sex: Female Weight: 257 Height: 5'3" Problems: Incisional Hernia. The trouble with this is I can do some ab work or full body exercises, but I cannot do an ab day. Doctor's orders. I have, however, consulted with my doctor about the kind of exercise I'm doing. She recommends that I work out with an abdominal compression band on (check) and has noted that weight loss is the best thing I can do for this kind of hernia. Goals: Primary: weight loss. Secondary: the strength to do standard push ups, chin ups, and pull ups. Here's what my current plan is: Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday: Beginner Body Weight Workout, modified to my ability level. The main modification is the number of reps per set, except for with push ups. These, I can only do inclined. Monday/Wednesday: High Intensity Interval Training Sunday only: Inverted rows - 2 sets of 10 with the bar set at a level that is challenging to me (cannot do these from the floor yet), and a third set lowering the bar to a level that is extra challenging. Overhead press - 2 sets of 10 at a weight level that is challenging to me, and a third set at a weight that is extra challenging. Thoughts? Suggestions? I have been doing back extensions, because they were recommended by a trainer at my gym. I'm having second thoughts about them. I know strengthening my back is important, but I always end up sore in a way that concerns me after I do them.

Ok, so life majorly got in my way on the last challenge. I moved, applied for school, work is a daily gong show. I foresee a shift change happening on this challenge so I will try and keep this simple and efficient. Diet-I successfully cut sugar out of my coffee, and I have been sticking to it, it's habit. I want to add drinking more water to my diet. This will help cut down calories as I will not be as hungry, and summer is coming quickly. We will soon be dealing with 100° temps, I will need to stay hydrated. No A/C at work. My goal is the standard recommendation of 64oz a day. I will count all beverages except coffee. I drink too much coffee, that makes it too easy. Also, coffee makes you have to go potty too often. +3CON Fitness- I want my pushup! I will have it. No more knee pushups though, I will find smaller and smaller things to do pushups on until I have one flat on the floor. +3 STR -I seem to have lost a lot of flexibility. I want it back. Also, my DEX sucks. I won't commit to a yoga class for this challenge because I have a feeling I will be changing work schedules. That just seems to set me up for failure. I will accept a yoga class as a day of stretching. I will work out a stretching routine and follow it 3 times a week. This way I will be able to tell if I am making progress. +3 DEX -I smashed a record on the rowing machine during the last challenge and damn did it feel good. I want to keep it up. I feel like I don't get much cardio in my life and I like the full body pull of the rowing machine. I will have my 2500m race sprint down to 12:00 mins. That is 1:06 off of my record time. This is going to be hard. +3 STA When I make it to 12:00 I am cranking up the resistance again. I already work at the halfway point on the resistance wheel. Life- Moving was expensive! Time to buckle down on my finances. I know that when I change shifts I will be saving big on fuel, but since I have no real insight on a set date for that, I am making a point to trim in some other places. I currently budget on 80$ a week for food. I usually have a bit leftover and I seem to have a lot of extra at home. I will cut that down to 60$ a week and any leftovers saved for a big pack of flank steak from Costco....noms!+3 CHA Lets do it.

Hi guys! So apparently it's not normal to be able to point the inner bend of your elbows directly out over your hands... I didn't realise that hyperextend-y elbows (and knees) was a normal thing, and I think it may be affecting my push up progression (the knees not so much.) That or I just have really sucky upper body strength (Also a possibility!) My yoga teacher pointed it out and I've since modified my positioning with my arms for things like Downward Dog and it's helped, which got me to thinking that it could be affecting my push ups also. Currently I can do 1x3 full push ups, but this hasn't changed despite probably 6 or so weeks of steady 3-day a week practice doing incline push ups on various surfaces. I have yet to form-check myself, so I should definitely do that when I have time, but for now I wanted to know; How bad is it for my elbows to be locking them out while doing push ups? (or while doing any movement involving straightening my arms for that matter) What can I do to stop it happening and / or remedy it so it stops happening one day? Cheers!

Slightly late posting this, but I started this challenge last week and haven't been able to get on the interwebs for a week. I'm following this program http://hundredpushups.com/ and I've downloaded their official app to track progress. I've also roped two mates to do it with me. Details: Name: Aaron Age: 35 Height: 195cm Weight: 115kg Main Goal: Complete 100 push ups Mission: 1) Follow the 100 Push Ups program for 6 weeks Downloaded the app and ready to go. Going to throw in the squat and situp challenges as well but push ups, being a great weakness for me, are the priority. 2) Continue to eat healthy My diet has been pretty great, I’m at the salad bar twice a day at work (where I live for 20 days of the month) and avoid the desert bar. Just got to be avoid snacking and take outs when I’m back home. Too many nice restaurants near me. 3) Running/Cardio off days The days I’m not body weight training Life Quests: Write every day Spend at least half an hour a day writing. I started and stalled out off Nanowrimo last November and I want to get back to and finish the book I started. Making a habit of writing alongside making a habit of training every day is the ideal side quest. I had this as part of my last challenge and didn’t take it seriously enough. Going to button down this time. I’ve just read Stephen Pressfields short book The War of Art so my creative motivation is at an all time high. Motivation: · Prove to myself I can do something I never thought I could

Assassins! Transform! This challenge I want to try and be as precise as possible and obviously transform into a meg-awesome-assassin-of-sexy-goodness-and-tasty-loveliness and what better way to do that than with the Autobots? And then I find out that there's a Transformers Comic Humble Bundle that starts today! Coincidence?! Yes! But a good one. (Oh and a Humble Bundle link! https://www.humblebundle.com/books?utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5254bede16-Humble_Transformers_Bundle_Presented_by_IDW&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_990b1b6399-5254bede16-95823309) I realised that I have the same kinds of goals pretty much every time Strength/Running/Diet/Writing.... and I'm cool with that So without further ado here is my Autobot/transformer challenge! Goal 1: Your Bullets Cannot Harm Me! My Muscles Are Like A Shield of Steel! Strength Training 3 times per week, with PLP training + 2 STR +1 CHA Pretty simple, do some strength workouts! I want to keep being careful with this one as ever but I'm up to pull ups and push ups and want to see how far I can get I'm trying to progress by one rep every time I do some training and that's going well. And I read Steve's article about PLP training and also TiberiusNightrise was doing it last challenge so that has piqued my interest! Goal 2: Chase Megatron! Run for pace twice a week and once for distance +3 STA +1 DEX Well not Megatron, my girlfriend.... She probably wouldn't like me calling her that But anyway, I'm running a half marathon literally the last day of the challenge so I'd best get practicing! My goal as it stands is to run my standard run (which is now 5 miles) twice a week for pacing and see if I can't do that in 45 minutes or less (40 would be awesome, but my legs aren't very long) and then slowly build up a longer run once a week, perhaps on the weekends if I'm not busy. Basically I want to run maybe a 12 mile run a couple of times in between now and the half-marathon. This goal is ongoing so it will be a combination of keeping up with the training and then I'll consider it a huge success if I can run the half marathon in under 2 hours! Goal 3: Only Eat Optimus Prime Approved Food, with added Energon! Calorie Controlled / Almost-Paleo Diet +2 CON + 2 CHA For this one, as I should be running a lot more I am going to up my diet calories to the 2000 range, going for 1950-2050 at first and we'll see how the weeks progress. I recently got a new phone plan with actual internets on it so I can update my eating via the myfitnesspal app as/when I eat, so no excuses! Bonus, I want to lower my carb consumption at the moment I'm thinking of up to 120g on days where I do a strength workout and then I also have a bit more carbs for the run which should follow the next day, and then 75g on days where I run. But we'll see how this one goes. Goal 4: The Knowledge of Cybertron Finish that book! +2 WIS +2 CHA Last time my life goal was based on writing which went really well at times and a bit badly in others, so averaged out to what I wanted This time around as I've been writing the book as a) practice for finishing/plotting/setting/characters etc and a birthday present for my girlfriend. And her birthday is in October! So I need to get this done! I want to just have the first draft finished up by the end of the challenge then might leave it for a week and then edit and whathaveyou, but that's for the future! And it also means that you guys might have to tell me which book cover looks best! Measurements will be forthcoming so I can hold myself accountable to moving in the right direction! Let's do this guys! Roll-out!

After digging around in my garage I found this old game about a genie assassin. Yeah, I think he is doing pull ups. Here is a run down of some of the goals of the game. If anyone have any cheats codes for the second goal please let me know. Goals: 20 Consecutive Pull Ups1 Muscle Up10 One Arm PushupsClutch FlagBack LeverGetting out of the security/law enforcement industry

Hi everyone! Thought I'd share! My goal, as you can see in my sig, is to do 50 push ups in a row. Obviously I want excellent form while I do these push-ups so I don't hurt my shoulders, so I've started working on quality before quantity and push up progressions. Last night I did elbows-in push-ups, 6x6, face forward and chest to the ground, body straight the entire time. I'm very proud of the accomplishment! I took video of the last set (which I almost failed), but it was too big to upload to nerdfitness. If you head to my Battle Log, I've posted a progress pic there of my Before and After from 8/29-9/7, so about a month. So...celebrating a month's worth of achievements! WHOOP! Also, Texas A&M smashed Lamar this past weekend (which we knew they would), so I'm rockin my Aggie swag!

I am determined to get my upper body and core muscles more kick ass so I can get more awesomer (technical term) at aerial. I especially want my climbs to get better and my hanging pike/ pike straddle inversions to get stronger and more controlled. These will help me with all other more complicated things in aerial as well. To do this I am going to: Pull up progression: 3 times per week. At this point I am doing lots of inverted rows and they are getting stronger. Pull up negatives and dumbell rows are also fair to work on this one and I will also count a lot of the stuff we do in aerial towards this. I'd love to get an actual pull up but it may take me more than one challenge to get there! Push up progression: 3 times per week. I do a lot of incline push ups, and I can do one or two actual pushups for this. I am going to count headstand work towards this as well and planks sort of work this too (I usually do all those in a workout anyway.) I'd like to get to where I can do a solid 25 push ups in a row (once again this may take more than one challenge but I am closer on this one!) CORE TIME RARRRR!: 3 times per week. I do lots of stuff for this: hanging pikes and tucks, pikes and tucks on my exercise ball, v-ups, seated straddle and pike leg lifts, etc. etc. I would ideally like to be able to do some of these more than three times a week. If someone has suggestions on how to do more strength training in a week without overtraining it would be much appreciated! Currently I give myself a day off between sessions, but I wonder if doing some shorter less intense sets a few times a week in addition to focused days would be doable? I am going to play around and see. Life quest(s!): Continue working on long-distance job search until I land a job and moveIn preparation for moving and more financial responsibilities: track spending for duration of challenge to get a firmer hold on where my money is going and areas for improvement. (I am going to officially start this on Wednesday when I can afford to get an app for this on my phone. Yay pay day.)I am also going to continue with my hiking 3 days a week-ish, but I'm not putting in a specific goal for that this time. I am so much happier after last round and really getting in consistent outdoor time!

Ok everyone I’m back and I’m ready for another challenge! Taking a break and switching up the way I worked out was a definite success. I finished my PLP challenge right before my big event and can definitely say I feel stronger than ever. Rolling with the success of that workout I’m predicting good things for the next 6 weeks, and hoping for GREAT SUCCESS for all of us. Since the last challenge I started re-playing my absolute favorite game ever, Fallout 2! I love the whole fallout series and have always been obsessed with the post-apocalyptic settings. In all the fallout games there are huge underground Vaults built all over America. Every vault had a purpose, or was set up as an experiment on its inhabitants. After a nuclear war these vaults started to open all over the country. In southern California there is a vault just outside the radiation from a nuclear bomb that hit the military and naval bases in San Diego. That is my vault and its purpose was to create elite assassins; trained to perfection and skilled in every way and the perfect person to survive the wasteland. I’ve been living in a vault my whole life and I need to get ready to leave this place. My goals should get me prepared for this new life and keep my healthy and strong as I adventure outside the Vault. GOAL #1: Rations (+2 CON +2 WIS) Once I leave the Vault I will need to learn to hunt and forage for my meals. I need to know how to eat and how to cook if I want to survive. No more processed Vault-Tec rations for me! That means I will focus on eating a paleo diet this challenge and I will use my crock-pot to make a big meal at least once a week. GOAL #2: Conditioning (+3 STR +1 STA) To be prepared physically I’m going to continue my PLP program. My goal is to get to 100 pull-ups, push-ups, and lunges by the end of this challenge. I started at 60 this morning which gives me only one chance to mess up for a day. GOAL #3: Water-Chip (+3 CON) One thing I will miss outside of the vault is our working water-chip. Unlimited water and plenty of replacements in case our water-chip malfunctions. I might as well drink my fill while I’m still here. So I will drink at least a gallon of water daily. LIFE GOAL: Discipline (+3 CHA +1 WIS) I heard the recent commencement speech for the University of Texas at Austin when I was first thinking about doing this challenge and liked the very first lesson in there. Make your bed every day. I’m going to try to keep my room clean and organized but I know I won’t be perfect at that. But I will make my bed every day for the next six weeks.

It's time to be an Assassin again! I am back and 99.23% recovered from all my ailments! So I'm ready to work my way up back to tip-top-assassin-shape! This means that this challenge my main focus and big ol' quest is to Goal 1: Muscles of a Ninja Warrior! +3 STR +1 DEX I haven't done a lot of strength training since I tore my shoulder so I'd like to start with 2 strength circuits per week and work that up to 3. And as a nice bonus I would like to be able to do a full set of full push ups and a full pull up by the end of the challenge. I'm not sure where I am at the moment, but I am going to be careful to work up to the full circuits so I don't worsen the injury as it's taken sooo long to get better! Goal 2: With the Speed of a Turtle! +2 DEX +2 STA Everyone knows ninjas and assassins are quick, Ninja Turtles are even faster! I've let my running go slightly these last few weeks due to illness and such but I'm back and booming! And I have a half marathon in a few months so I want to make sure I'm as ready for that as I can be! This goal is to run 3 times per week and bonus points for working my way up from the normal 5km runs I'm doing at the moment to doing a normal and 'easy' 10km run! Goal 3: Pizza, Pizza! PIZZA! +2 CON +1 WIS +1 CHA Okay, not pizza... Eating right! So the ever present calorie PVP is here, and as ever if anyone wants to join in please do! This time my goal is to eat at about 1900 calories per day, and I do want to try and keep myself as paleo as possible as I do find that gluten and breads makes me feel bloated. Success here will be measured on how close I am each week to the average calorie count, bonus points for paleo. Goal 4: Words and Scribbles +2 WIS +1 CHA For my life goal I'm going to try and keep writing. For now I'm going to say that I have to meet my weekly target for the amount of words that I write, which goes up by 100 every week (slow and steady right ). With week one my goal is 2400 words for the week, week 2 will be 2500 and so on. This tends to be either really easy or rather difficult as I only count the words I write for the novel I'm working on and not short stories, or mini-challenges, and I tend to either have a splurge of writing on it or wind up busy and distracted. So here's to consistency! Bonus points for this goal is to work through The Ode Less Travelled which is a book on poetry by Stephen Fry and to try a different form of poetry every week. Side Quest: The Cowabunga Factor! Make sure you're having fun! This sounds like a no-brainer, and it is! But I think that it can be easy to do the same things over and over and over again because you know, that's what you do! But if you're not enjoying it, what's the point!? We're all here to get fit and have fun doing it, and I want to make sure that my motivation doesn't flop around like a wet fish looking for yesterday's newspaper. No one wants that. I usually get that kick out of being able to do something I couldn't do last week, and there's a bouldering gym that just opened near my work so I might check that out too! And if I'm feeling super adventurous, maybe checking out fencing again, or historical fencing. We'll see! And if I achieve my bonus goals I might treat myself to some more RAM and a new graphics card! That's about it for now! I need to get to bed now, but I'll do a sweep of everyone's challenge tomorrow and say hi to as many people as I can

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So last challenge was a big learning moment for me. I learned not only how far my body is willing to go right now, but also the ways that my body responds to food. I've chosen to use the Bene Gesserit for my challenges because I'm a big Dune fan and I've always been enamored with their abilities. They are known for their excellent control of their bodies, down to the cellular level, to the point of stopping an infection in its tracks and determining the gender of their children. While humans do not exert that kind of control on their bodies (not yet, at least) I would like to gain some control of mine. To do that, I need to train my body and my mind, learn my body's responses to stimuli, and hone its skills. For this challenge, I will continue to focus on weight loss, proper eating, and honing my body into that of a Bene Gesserit sister (or a close approximation thereof). To do this I will 1. Do yoga three times a week to maintain joint stability and flexibility. 2. Train to do a real push up and a pull up. I will follow Scooby's walk the plank method (though slightly altered for me) to master the pull up and follow the 100 push ups program at different inclines until I am able to do at least 50 push ups flat on the floor. I don't intend to achieve these in 6 weeks, but work closer to them. 3. Continue to follow The Plan and introduce new foods once or twice a week and pay attention to how my body reacts to them. I also need to keep my life in order and my mind active. 1. One hour a day of study for my job 2. One hour of writing, minimum. (I'm about to sign a really important contract and this will be vital). I will do this either by writing in 15 minute spurts throughout the day or an hour before bed. 3. Read every night. I already do this pretty regularly, but I need to remember that this is good for me and gives my mind a break. 4. Knit or puzzles when stressed. I deal with anxiety on a regular basis, and this helps. It also keeps my mind agile. They're kind of like meditation. I know this seems like a lot, but I already do a good deal of this. It's mainly a reminder of what I should be doing and what I enjoy doing, what centers me the most when life gets busy or chaotic.

Up at 0400 this morning to run the 1/2 mile to meet a friend at the gym. She was late, but as I was already on a compressed timeline, I went ahead and knocked out 4 sets of 10 reps of wide grip lat pull downs cable on the cable station. In between each set I managed 10 wood chops at navel height for a total of 4 sets. She finally showed up and I finished out (I told you it was a compressed schedule :-P) with 1x 1 minute full plank, 25 free-foot sit-ups (ie, nothing to keep my feet down - really works the core), and 1 more 1 minute full plank. Then I ran back to get ready for work. I am sore now - and happy.

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

Kinda like... AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR! Or not. Here’s what’s up: I’m going to partake in the Gladiator Rock’n’Run on September 6th, 2014. I’ve gone back and forth on my commitment to this ever since I first discovered its existence a couple months ago, only to realize that I was going back and forth because I am scared. Scared that I will not do well, or that I’ll embarrass myself. Mostly scared that I’ll be competing alone though. (Anybody accessible to the Detroit area feel free to join ) Anyway, the time for scared is not today. My interest in an event like this has never wavered, only my commitment. Its time to straighten that out. Besides, what better way to get my friends and/or family to join me than by proving I am serious and just doing one?! So, I’m just gonna lay my plan out on the line, and begin rambling my explanations afterward. Goal 1: Feed the beast Calories = 1600/day [sTA 2]Protein = aim for 125g/day (I'm really aiming for 150g but 125g is acceptable) [sTA 1 CON 1]Carbs = try for less than 130g/dayGrading for each of these is going to be simply one point for each day/42 days total. Aim for lots of days. Goal 2: Sculpt the beast I have an aggressive workout plan. Here 'tis: Weekly Schedule:MONDAY – Strength workout followed by hill sprintsTUESDAY – Kickboxing sessionWEDNESDAY – Yoga with core and balance focus (like a rest day)THURSDAY – Strength workout followed by hill sprintsFRIDAY – Long runSATURDAY – Strength workout with core focusSUNDAY – Kickboxing sessionGrading is out of 42 days, point for each day I complete the scheduled workout. Aim for lots of days.Stretching and/or mobility work after each workout will get me... [DEX 1]Making gains of some sort during each strength workout will get me... [sTR 3]Progress with hill sprints will get me... [sTA 2] and increasing my long run each week will get me... [sTA 1] ... because endurance = winningEpic kickboxing sessions that include lots of technique and form practice will get me... [DEX 2]... because I hang out with the monks so I should be more monk-y Goal 3: Rest the beast Aim for 11pm bedtime – because sleep is nice. Most days 10:30pm works well for me, but too often lately I ignore the clock for no reason, which never results in a morning workout. Grading is out of 42 days, point for each day. Aim for lots of days. [CON 1] Goal 4 [Life Goal]: Entertain the beast Read all the things – this is meant to be a fun goal. I love to read. <<gross understatement. I will allow myself time to read anything and everything I want, as long as I complete my daily challenge requirements, including workout, meal prep, etc. I have fun reading to do, and also work reading to do, and I’m not going to specify how much of each to do. I’m hoping that by giving myself permission to read whatever I want whenever I want, I’ll not feel that feeling of being on a “diet†and only getting to read work stuff. There is no grading. It’s just for funsies. [WIS 1] Rambling Explanations: (because I said I would) Yes, my challenge is challenging. Here are some thoughts on that: ​I did a lot of reading (let's call it research) to prep for this challenge. I read blogs, books and articles to gather different perspectives on training, diet, motivation, etc. I always feel like I can't make up my mind on what I want to focus on for each challenge, which results in me hastily choosing a path, only to see a shiny new path appear before I've reached the end. As a result, I feel very confident with the path I've chosen this time, because I have a reason, a why, for doing each each thing.​One of the themes I've caught from some of my recent reading has been that people always want a quick fix, the best results with the least amount of effort. And while I realize that there is another end to that spectrum, of people going too hard too fast and burning out, I feel that personally, I ride to close to the "make it easy for me" line. I always have this goal and want to see that progress and want to accomplish these things, but I don't want it to be too hard. I seem to subconsciously subscribe to the view that there has got to be an easy way to do this, I just haven't figured it out yet. It's time to push myself outside of my comfort zone. It's squishy here, and I will remain squishy if I let myself remain inside my squishy comfort zone.​How will I find time for these workouts, and not burnout, if I do in fact manage to complete them all? Well, the subject of each workout is explained like so:​Strength workout follow by hill sprints = mainly the Beginner Bodyweight Workout, with slight modifications. But this will also include a specific focus on certain areas I feel will particularly help on the obstacle course. Hill sprints, because I've read numerous times that people wish they had done these before an obstacle course. So I shall. Kickboxing session = a nice long sweaty punchy/kicky fest, but also technique practice. I'll be viewing this more as a dojo visit, because I can't actually go to a dojo. I do apologize if I put off any of you Monks with formal training, but I simply cannot afford that right now, and I'd like to still do the best I can with what I've got, and improve my form and stuffs. Yoga with core and balance focus (like a rest day) = whatever I feel like my body needs, be it stretching/flexibility stuff. A take it easy kind of workout. Long run = self explanatory. Don't be mad when my long runs aren't very long. The race distance is 6k so that's what I'm working towards.Strength workout with core focus = insert core exercises in place of hill sprints. Not sure which will suck more the next day. I'll keep you posted. So stay tuned, but beware. There will be much complaining, so much soreness, very loud music, cold showers, and burpee hate. Maybe some food porn? Yes, I am a little bit crazy. To prove it, I will owe myself 20 burpees for each day I skip a workout. Shout out to the 13th letter.

Well, friends, the show is done, the set is almost completely down, and I'm absolutely wiped and in need of a break. But I'm going to try to keep health and fitness as a priority while I recover. Goal 1: Lose 6 pounds I was so successful with this goal last time that I'm going to try it again. And even though we're just about at the end of the Lent train, I'm going to attempt to continue on with Paleo the majority of the time during this challenge to help me continue to lose well. I will also be competing once again against vengefulpear (and whomever else wants to join) in his Calorie PVP! Starting point: 189.4 lbsGoal weight: 183.4 lbsPoints up for grabs: 2 CON, 1 WIS, 1 CHA Goal 2: Lose 1.5" from around my midsection This one so nearly happened during the last challenge that I'm going to attempt it again. Achieving this goal would make me thinner than I've ever been in my adult life, so that will be fun to achieve! Starting point: 39"Goal measurement: 37.5"Points up for grabs: 1 CON, 2 CHAGoal 3: Regular gym time Now that I theoretically have more time again and can get on a more regular sleep cycle again, I really want to get back to the gym. With losing pounds and inches, I've enjoyed being able to somewhat start to see more muscle rather than fat. Also, I want to increase my lean mass. My goal is to get to the gym again 3 times per week. Points up for grabs: 2 STR, 1 DEX, 2 STALife Goal: Try 1 new paleo recipe each week Because I've been working so much, I haven't had time for basic life necessities like grocery shopping and have been scraping by. Now that I'll have more time, I want to start getting out of my food rut/survival mode. The goal is to branch out and learn how versatile the paleo diet can be. Points up for grabs: 1 DEX, 1 CON

Strangely I haven't really thought much about what to do with this challenge. Other than further developing my healthy lifestyle. But then I have a Lit Review due Sunday. This is a first draft for this challenge. I want some ideas in place, and by writing something down I am starting the process. Goal One: Complete the Armstrong Beginner's programme. I want to start working towards my pull up goal. The advantage here is that it includes doing push ups, so I can capitalise on my victory from last challenge. I will add full burpees to this routine as well. One max rep set for now. I do believe there will be a pull up PvP, I will add the link here when it becomes available. Here it is I will keep doing my hammer routine and kettlebell routine once per week each as well. So that will equal five workouts per week. With the Armstrong programme being Monday, Wednesday, Friday. The kettlebell will be Tuesday and the Hammer will be on Thunresdaeg [Thursday]. The day of Thunar the Hammer wielding God. Strength +3 Stamina +1 Goal Two: I need to get that Bodyfat percentage dropping further. This needs to be done via diet. I need to get my daily carb intake below 40% and my Protein intake above 20%. I am not too worried about number of calories as much as I am about my macros intake. If I can change these two, I will have made some major alterations to my diet. Which will hopefully result in a drop in that body fat percentage. Constitution +3 Wisdom +1 More later. Later: Goal Three: I still need to focus on my studies, to not include them would be stupid [to put it bluntly] on my part. I will record when I have listened to my weekly lecture [online correspondence], when I have completed my required readings, and added to the online discussions. Wisdom +4 My Side Quest will be the RPG Fanatics campaign, along with the Rangers mini challenges. 3 points attributed to where I am most challenged by these.

Hey folks Ready for 6 weeks of pullups? Time for Armstrong! This challenge (starting 14th April 2014) a few people will be following the Armstrong pullup program anyone is welcome to join in and you can join at any point in the 6 weeks. Rules: 1. Test your max reps for pullups (and/or pushups) and post here. Deciding the PVP winners: Those doing pullups will be measured on two things: 1. Who improves by the largest number of reps in a 6 week period 2. Who can do 15 consecutive pullups at the end of the 6 week period (If you can do 10 or more already then who can do 18) If you can't do a pullup yet, you can follow the Armstrong Pre-Pullup Program Those doing the beginner program will be measured on: 1. Max death by pushups (1 then 2 then 3 then 4 etc. until you can't do any more) 10 secs rest for each rep in the previous set. 2. Who can do 15 Max pullup substitutes (as per what is listed in the armstrong pre-pullup program for substitutes) The prizes: OK time for some reverse psychology 1. Anyone that improves their max reps by 50% has to donate US $5 to a charity of their choice. 2. Anyone that can hit the 15 in the second goal has to donate US $5 to a charity of their choice. Come on you don't want to let your favourite charity down do you? Pull your finger out they need your help!

So that's pretty much the theme for this challenge. And it's as easy as every morning when i wake up i will do a 10 minute work out. Every morning - i get up at 5am during the week. My goal by the end of this challenge is press ups, crunches. I need to be able to do all three - i can't do any properly right now. I want to start Kick Boxing, yes i know i can go to kick boxing without knowing how to do these properly but i don't want to. I want to turn up and not struggle on the smallest of things. All going well by the end of this challenge i can start going to kick boxing at least once a week. So each morning i will do press ups, crunches, plank and one kettle bell circuit. Keeping it simple means starting at 1 press up, 1 crunch, a plank for as long as i can, and starting with 30 reps for the kettle bell. Each day i will add to it, when i can do 1 press up properly i will do 2, then 3... same with crunches. Planks will always be for as long as i can hold it. Each kettle bell exercise will start with 30 reps, the next time i do that same exercise 35, 40.... I will still go to the gym after work when i can, go back to my roller derby training, walk when the weather allows (becomming winter here now). I just won't be counting these against my pass or fail for my challenge. They are bonus. So that's my challenge this time. Keeping it simple. Building a habit so that i get to the point where i roll out of bed and do press ups, planks and crunches without even thinking.

Question! I've been doing modified push ups for about 2 months now and I find them too easy. However when I try regular push ups I can only do like 4 before I collapse. Is there an in between push up I can try? Or an easier way of getting into the form? Help please

Ahhhh, spring. The roses are blooming, and a new challenge approaches!

When our boss walked into the department meeting yesterday, the first think he said was "everybody, 20 pushups, right now." Ever hour, on the hour, we're doing 20 push ups. His reasoning was that we "need to get away from our monitors for a minute and move." I've been at work for 5 hours today, and so am up to 100 pushups in. Anyone want to join?