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Red1263 coming in and out consciousness, he hears voices... he thinks. "Hey!... I think he's de..." "... yeah? What ever gave you that idea?" "Well, he fell..." "Yes! When he fell through the ceiling!... Just grab wh... and go..." "Uhhnn... Who dat? Who dere?" "Whoa! He's alive!" "Ahh!! Run!" Red1263 struggles to get up, searching for his sword. "I'm... I'm still alive! Where are you?" His vision starts to get clearer. "Ohhh... My head... Lousy Gravity Knight... Where did he send me?" He scans his surroundings, there's no one there, but Red1263 sees himself in a winding, but narrow tunnel. "Huh, weird. I could've sworn I heard other voices around me... I guess it must've been the wind." "Heh, Idiot! There's no wind down here." "SHHH! Shut up you idiot! He can hear us!" "I can hear you! Show yourselves!" Red1263 started doublechecking his gear, he noticed his Crystal shard collection. "The shards! My Sword! Thieves! I'll find you! You can't run from me" "Quick! Run!" Red1263 only barely saw movement but it was enough to see which direction and give chase! The tunnel's twists and turns doesn't let Red1263 see whom he's chasing, but he can tell there are two of them. The chase lasts a few minutes until he gets to an opening. He stops, scans the area. 'They're here... I can sense the shards... they're close... I think...' Suddenly there's a flash out of the corner of his eye, something swipes at him! "Whoa!" His legs get kicked out from underneath him, causing him to hit the ground, he instinctively rolls away and jumps back to his feet. "Attacking me from two sides, eh? Smart." The battle continues for a few minutes until a distant boom caused all fighters to stop in mid action! "Uhhh... Please tell me that was you." "No... Was it you?" "Uhh... heh heh, ahh, no. Was that you?" "SWEET CID'S BEARD!!! TALKING CATS?!" "Crap... he saw us." "What do we do?" BOOM "That... doesn't... sound good..." the three of them say as they turn to see what was the source of the sounds. What the three didn't realize was that the opening was home to a former sleeping Giant Centipede! As they're running, Red1263 decided that this was an excellent moment to ask the other two cats some questions in a calm manner, whist running for their lives, "Give me back my stuff!!" "What stuff?!" "Yeah! We didn't steal your stuff!" "I know you have the shards and my sword! Give it back so I can fight this thing!!" "Your sword isn't going to do anything to that thing!" "You idio--" "HA! I knew you had my stuff! Now give it back!" "OK OK We'll help you if you can get us out of this!" "You have to give me your word! Otherwise no deal!" "Fine! I give my word! We'll give your stuff back if you can save us!" "Deal. But I'm going to need your help!" "Let's do this! It's all about outlasting the creature. Pushing yourself when you're really not wanting to!" "That's great! Because I really don't want to!" "Just follow my lead!" * * * So life became rather hectic for me lately (hence my absence about 2 challenges ago). But the goal of this challenge is one word: Discipline. I give in too easily to not working out or studying because of a minor setback. Some of these goals are a checkmark everyday, while others require focus and persistence. All of them reflect (in my humble opinion) an act of discipline that I can practice. Bruce Lee once said, "the Successful warrior is the average man with lazer-like focus." This is going to be my Mantra for this challenge! Challenge Goals: 60 Push-ups everyday Read/Study for 30 mins everyday Reach 5 Pull-ups without breaks Live with Aster and Iris* *So one of the things that been the cause(s) of the hectic-ness of my life, is the simple fact that I have adopted 2 kittens: Aster and Iris (pics coming soon). Both currently around 10 weeks old, I'm going to learn how to take care of them and try to establish something of a routine with them as well as maintain my sanity with work, studying for boards and being on-call.

Let's go back to January 2019. I weight 94.6 kilo and getting heavier. So it was time for a change. I ate less, mostly cutting out snacks and lost weight. 1st of July I weight 92.1 kilo. I had been lower, but the last two months was gaining again. Also I wasn't really happy with the progress anyway. I attempted IIFYM and pledge to do that for July. However as I had to eat more, I got more and more hungry. (How's that for a twist, eating more made me more hungry and miserable). Come August my BF and I did a lot of research and were ready to take on the next challenge. My weight was now 91.4 kilo. We decided to go low-carb. At first aiming for no more than 100 grams of carbs. Half way through August we easily could stay below 50 grams. We learned a lot. Managed a lot. And we're going strong to this day. I'm currently weighing 83 kilo give or take. At the start of December I was 85.1 kilo. Even the holiday season can't ruin my progress anymore. I feel the best I've felt in a long time. So in 2020 I'm going to continue and smash more goals! I want to lose another 10 kilo, but that's no longer really the focus. That'll happen on its own. Also the centimetres are more important to me now anyway. I'm losing those too! So for 2020 these will be my goals! Health 1. Cycle 100 km 2. Do 10 real push-ups Relationship 1. Spend more meaningful time with BF 2. Give my attention to BF every day Discipline 1. Disconnect from technology every day 2. Meditate every day Career / Education 1. Learn how to manage my time 2. Learn how to create better photos For January these are the habits I'll be working on. 1. Meditate every day 2. Do 1 push-up (any progression) every day 3. Be in bed by 10 pm before every work day 4. Fast till 12:30 pm every work day 5. Read every day 6. Take my medication every day Let's go

Hello all! Sliding into the challenge a week late, again. A lot has happened in the past 3 weeks: between going to a wedding, packing up, moving, buying and building furniture, work, and all sorts of stuff, I didn't really plan out a challenge until like... yesterday. The good: I am about 95% moved into my new apartment! There are some small things that I need to get from my parents' house still, kitchen stuff, mostly. (My roommate and I don't have a microwave, so I'm bringing my old university one back with me!) I'm keeping up with my mobility training as well as my Polish practice. The bad: My knee is still painful at times and because running and even walking for extended periods of time still hurts, I haven't been able to run anymore. I still need to get to the doctor's-- I just need to fill out the paperwork. Work has also been stressing me out lately, because I have so much to do and almost no time to do it! Because I'm the "pretrial and arraignments" attorney, I'm in court basically from 9-4:00. Not counting the hour lunch where I get some much-needed socialization with my coworkers (and even then, there are days where I do work at lunch), I get maybe an hour of desk time a day. I've actually started taking work home with me so I can do legal stuff in comfy sweats on my couch or at the kitchen counter. I actually wrote an 17.5 page motion and memorandum over the weekend. 7 pages Friday night, 7 pages Saturday morning, and another 4 over the course of Sunday evening and Monday evening. I need to figure out how to find the time to get things done so I'm not at work from 7:30 a.m. until at least 5:30 each night! It probably won't happen, but it's stressing me out that I have so much to do and no time to do it all. And that brings us to this challenge. Despite my knee being injured, there's still plenty of things I can do! Perhaps this challenge would have been better off in the Rebels' territory, rather than here in Ranger land, but I like y'all too much to want to leave! My overall focus is "recovery." Hence the title of the challenge! I need to do recovery work-- not just my knee, but also in other aspects of my life! I want to recover my workout habits that have basically dropped out of existence over the past month, and I want to do some emotional/mental/spiritual recovery as well. I'm trying to split this into 3 parts: Mind, Body, Soul. We'll see how it goes! Mind: - Keep practicing Polish every day-- either Duolingo or Rosetta Stone Mini Task: redeem that Rosetta Stone groupon I got for my birthday! - Read at least one book this challenge. I just started reading Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda, so that's going to be my book to finish this challenge Body Just because I can't run right now doesn't mean I can't do things! I can still do upper body stuff. I let depression and a bad mindset set me back with push-ups and pull-ups, and while I can't do pull-ups right now (a hex bolt for my pull-up bar got lost in the move! And I don't want to use it until it's 100% secured because I don't want to risk it, and me, falling), there are other things I can do! - Do push-ups training 3 x a week. My goal is to get back to 5 sets of 15-20 knee push-ups by the end of the challenge. Today's sets were 7-10-10 - Do handstand training at least 2x a week. Didn't do any today or yesterday, but I will try to do some tonight! - Keep up mobility training every day. I'm hoping to make mobility training a more regular thing in my life. I like doing it in the morning as a good start to my day! - Mini task: Fill out the new patient paperwork and drop it off at the doctor's office so I can go get examined and get a referral to get my knee looked at! Soul Work has been getting overwhelming and stressful, so we're going to do some self-care work this challenge! - Journal: yes, I keep saying it, but it's actually helpful when I actually do it. The goal: journal 2x a week - Knit: it's something relaxing to do that's not work, and I can sit and watch TV while I do it. That totally counts as me time, right? - Cleaning: a clean home is a happy home! Spend 5-10 minutes a day tidying up somewhere in the house. - Find a place: I'm hoping to start regularly attending services at my local Universalist Unitarian Church! I was raised Catholic, but somewhere along the way, I realized Catholicism just... isn't a good fit for me. Because of that, I've really struggled to find a home for my spiritual practice, and I think it's been leaving a hole in my life. Praying at home is one thing, but... having a place of worship with other people is something that I did love about Catholicism. I just don't feel at home in the church anymore, though, so that's why I want to find a new space! And after doing some research, I think UU might be a good fit-- I agree with their basic tenets and principles, and I like the mindset that some aspect of truth can be found in every religion. Unfortunately, can't go this weekend because I'll be going home to visit my family (where I will inevitably be dragged to Catholic church for Sunday, or maybe Saturday, services despite the fact that I do NOT want to go!!). But hopefully starting soon I can make this a regular habit and join in the community there. Okay, that's all for now, folks! I'll check in soon.

Hey, I'm Daniel and if you haven't followed me before, my standard intro is in the spoiler: My newest destination in my nomadic life is Montenegro, the beautiful ex-Yugoslav country of 620,000 people. Picture in the spoiler of the area I'm staying My plan while I'm here is to do two things: learn enough Machine Learning techniques to get a respectable performance in a data science competition hosted by Kaggle.com do lots of Assassin fitness Goal #1: productive routine: some of the 16 days I'll be on day trips to other places, but I need 12 days where I do all of the following: Wim Hof breathing (5 minutes of total retention minimum) cold shower (okay it's boiling here so it barely counts) 2MP of fitness training (those are Mad Hatter points, and 2 means a moderate workout and 3 are a serious workout) actually 3 MP of fitness training 3 hours of focused work on the Machine learning project actually 5 hours of focused work 4 portions of fruit/veg So most of this challenge will be over by 9th June! So compact For every day where I do all of that I get 0.50 points. If I have a day where I do only 5 of those 7 things I can get 0.25 points. Max points: 6.00 Goal #2: achieve great things: setting some goals... finally do a muscle-up (I've been trying for years!) (1.00 points) run a mile in 05:50 / 05:42 / 05:35 / 05:30 (previous record 05:56) (0.25 / 0.50 / 0.75 / 1.00 points) do a set of 40 push-ups (not during Wim Hof retention) (0.50 points) find more paid remote software work (0.50 points) submit a solution with a score of 0.700 / 0.780 / 0.790 / 0.800 in the Kaggle competition (0.25 / 0.50 / 0.75 / 1.00 points) half-write / completely write a Coding course for my summer school (0.25 / 0.50 points) Lots of this is very ambitious, but that seems fair for a shorter challenge like this. There are 4.50 points available so I can get the maximum score without doing everything. Max points: 4.00 Good luck everyone I start tomorrow. CHALLENGE TRACK (updated end of June 4th) productive: day 1: 1/7 => - day 2: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 3: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 4: 5/7 => 0.25 points day 5: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 6: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 7: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 8: 3/7 => - day 9: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 10: 5/7 => 0.25 points day 11: 5/7 => 0.25 points day 12: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 13: 7/7 => 0.50 points day 14: 3/7 => - day 15: 4/7 => - day 16: 7/7 => 0.50 points achievements: score greater than 0.700 in Kaggle competition => 0.25 points ran a mile in 5:50 (o.e.) => 0.25 points planned half the Coding course => 0.25 points did a bar muscle-up => 1.00 points total: 7.00 points

The seas are finally calming down after a hectic few weeks, and it should be smooth sailing for now! I am really lazy to set up a new challenge, though, so I'm going to keep it simple. #1 Practice Mindfulness I will find small, simple, and concrete ways to include mindfulness in my days. The challenge is to find one new thing to practice every week, and by the end of the challenge, I will have 4 new tools in my toolbox. I will probably get the tools from my university's stress management course Week 1 Deal with the annoying coworker by shifting my own attitude - check Week 2 Practice intuitive eating Week 3 Week 4 #2 Push-Ups I'm going to practice push-ups according to startbodyweight.com 2 to 3 times a week. Before the flu season, I managed regular push-ups, but now I went back to doing variation number 4: Three quarters push ups + 5s eccentric push up. I managed to rebuild a good base for new progressions during my previous challenge, and I'm ready to train and eat like a mean machine again!! Starting stat: 6 - 5 - 5 ** progression during the challenge** End stat: ooohhh uuuuUUU who knoooows??? ** That's it, folks. We know that I don't like tracking goals like "read 10 pages every day", no matter how fun my tracking system would be. Now I just need to write down my mindful action of the week once a week, and that's it! And you know that I looooove tracking the push-up progression, so that's not even gonna feel that tedious. I love to see that number going up We may have a dash of murder, because I'm an assassin, after all. I may slay a couple of taste buds with new, tasty recipes! Haha! Let's gooo!

In case you are new to my thread, my main deal is distance running. This time around, I'm just trying to slog through some base miles in these winter months. I'll be traveling in early Jan, so I'm going to use the first week to just do what I can and test out a couple goals (see below). Most of them will start on Mon Jan 8 and run 4 weeks. 1. Run 100 miles. I'm going to try to do the "Winter Warrior Challenge" again this year, running outside at least 3 miles every day. I might run into some roadblocks early in the month with travel, so I'm not making that an official NF challenge goal. I have lots of plans for how to structure these miles during the week, but I'll keep it simple here. This challenge fits my larger 2018 goal of "Continue to maintain distance base, building toward 2 fall "A" races (to be decided)" 2. Push-up progressive. I've made up a bunch of complicated rules to make this into a game for myself: -It will start on Jan 8 with 10 push-up negatives. I'll add one each day (11 on Jan 9, 12 on Jan 10 etc) - I can do full push-ups, and they count for 5 (!!!) negatives each. - I have to do a total of at least 10 (full + negatives) each day. So if I owe 25 pushups, and I do 5 full pushups (counts for 25 negs), I still have to do 5 more negatives to fill the set. - I can get behind and make them up (not recommended, but allowed). I can get ahead by up to 40. - If I can't do pushups due to an injury, I can substitute elbow plank. 10 second hold for each negative. This is only allowed for injury. This goal is mostly for fun! 3. Read "On Managing Yourself." I've read this before and found it helpful. I'm gonna re-read it and then get rid of it. This is a continuation of getting rid of things littering my bookshelf. This fits my larger 2018 goal of "Taking control of my own time and energy" 4. Aim for 5-star mornings. Rate each weekday morning, one star for each behavior: - Set up coffee maker and make lunch night before - Get out of bed by 6:30 - Start running by 7:15 - 3 stretches after run: modified down dog, piriformes, hip flexors. - Do my "house elf" chores before leaving the house (dishes, tidy living room, dining room table clear, bed made, no clothes on floor) These fit my larger goals of "Taking control of my own time and energy" "Improve mobility/flexibility in hips and hamstrings" and "Continue to maintain distance base..." I'm not going to set a threshold for success on this one since it's new. Maybe I'll add one later in the challenge. Bonuses: Yep...I have a bunch set up for myself. One you've heard about before is the "sushi list". I have a list of ~10 chores. When I finish it, I treat myself to some carryout sushi. Sushi is actually seeming less appealing in the deep winter, so I may substitute Thai or Indian carryout. Same idea. First week of Jan: I'll try to run every day, but it won't count toward the 100 miles. I'll try to get 10 pushup negatives a day, but it doesn't count toward the progressive. I can start reading that book whenever I want. I'll be traveling, so the morning schedule won't really apply.

I have lots of good reasons to go into the Navy: I want to see the world, I want to be able to call myself a veteran, I want to get an edge applying for federal jobs, and I want help paying for a masters of social work and to take spanish classes. I've been a retail pharmacy tech for 5 years and have grown to really, really, REALLY hate the field, mostly because of the poor pay and instability. Things will be running smoothly, then all of the sudden, I'll get cut to 10 hours a week and I have to job hop. I often work clopenings, so I get anywhere from only 2 to 12 hours a sleep in a night and I have a big belly because I live on fast food and comfort eat a lot. I've recently cut out sugary drinks from my orders, but I still have a fast-food diet because I never have the time or energy to cook. I'm 40 pounds overweight and am not sure where to start, but I know I need to meet all requirements for a medical waiver to even be considered for the military, especially a selective branch like the Navy or Air Force. Army isn't out of the question, but I am drawn to the Navy and Air Force first, and especially the Navy. My mother had me on ADHD medicine and antidepressants as a teenager, and I'm paranoid that if I lie about that, I'll be caught, but I also know I'll need approved for a waiver if I disclose that information about me. I'd really like to lose 40 pounds in 4 months, and be passing at least the minimums expected for Navy boot camp, but the better I can be, the better chance I'll have of getting a waiver. As for a class, I think either Ranger or Scout lends itself to the workouts I'll need to increase my strength and endurance, but moreso endurance. If there is any other information I left out, I'll be glad to fill you in if I ask. I'm glad to be here, and hopefully, I can get out of this career field I hate and into something better. (In case anybody is wondering, I am a man.)

Main Wolverine’s goal: being The Wolverine. Fight. Train. Expose yourself to cold. Eat like a horse. Breath. New stuff Handstands!

Helloooo there!! My third challenge as an Assassin begins Last challenge was slightly underwhelming, yet overwhelming. I was physically sick, then itsy bitsy depressed, and now I'm ready to start a new little chapter in my life. I created the Fox-Box during the last challenge: it's a box with journals, stickers, and all sorts of items that make me feel positive. I also found a base for my self-therapy: a combination of logotherapy and working on my life traps. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling very hopeful about the future, and leaving the past behind seems easier with all the possibilities that are ahead of me. This challenge is all about picking myself back up after feeling depressed, and of course, GETTING THEM PUSH-UP GAINZ!!! 1. Re-calibraining This goal is all about changing. Re-calibrating my brain, if you will. I have lived with pretty toxic thoughts, and now those thoughts have been making my life more difficult than it needs to be. I'm continuing with the self-therapy, and now I have a new tool: affirmations. I started using this technique last week, and it just works for me now. If there's something I can't change and I feel bad about it, I tell myself, "I'm fine with this". And then I start coping with it. That's to put it simply Look at all these lovely affirmations. After feeling lost and numb for a long time, I'm now creating myself anew. I love this feeling of change happening, and I am letting go of what no longer serves me. This goal is just the daily habit of using the tools I have, and journaling. I'm thinking of planning more Introvert Pampering days so that I have enough time to chill. 2. Food! Whenever wherever When I was depressed, I didn't have much energy to prep proper meals. I'm getting better now, and I want to start getting my veggies and healthy carbs back in. I'm using affirmations here, too: "I am not a person who eats chocolate". "I do meal prep, and enjoy as much healthy food as I need and want." I know that I don't need to count calories or be too cautious about what I eat. It's about balance: listening to my body, but also using my knowledge to pick the foods that make me feel good. 3. Push up! This is it! I'm back! I am going to train push ups three times a week, according to the program of startbodyweight.com. I am currently at the three quarters push-ups + 5 seconds eccentric part. Last workout, I did 5 - 5 - 5, so next one will be 6 - 5 - 5, and so forth, until I hit 8 - 8 - 8. With steady progression, I should get there by... let's see... by November the fifth? That's possible, but I am not stressing too much about it. I'd like to get to 8 - 8 - 8 by the end of this challenge REWARDS?? My challenges always lack rewards... I think the goals themselves are rewards, but hmmm. I need to think of something. Like a massage? ** That's it. Let's have ourselves a good challenge! I am happy to be here with you all

There’s absolutely no need to painfully inject adamantium into your body to get that beautiful, totally shiny, unbreakable adamantium skeleton you’ve been dreaming of, you can build it yourself in the comfort of your own home… yes, you can, really, no pain. Well, some pain may be involved. But not much… How much, do you ask? Hmmm, do you see that barrel full of icy water, my dear? Just get in and we’ll talk… Main goal. Complete the Wim Hof course, so as to become The Wolverine. Starting the challenge at week 5 of the course – it doesn’t seem to involve moving to Svalbard yet Thinking on how intense this is going to be from now on, points are going to be generous here. Same as last challenge, it is an all or nothing goal, I do it or I don’t do it. 2 STR 2 DEX 2 WIS 2 CON Second goal. Exercise. Anything that helps to become The Wolverine, counts: self defence, running/sprinting, dead hangs/pull-up prep, push-ups, abs… 1 STR 1 DEX 2 STA 1 CON Third goal. Don’t throw everything in the trash. I’m getting back to work in a few days, and there is big danger here of getting overwhelmed. I am quite active at this moment, with plenty of exercise, the WH course, music practice and so, and soon my free time is going to be reduced. The goal will consist on being attentive and see whether I need to reduce my activity, by how much, and how much time it takes to adapt myself to the new routine. 2 WIS If I succeed in finishing the course and I get all my points both from the course and the exercise goals, stats will change and I will start at Level 0 as The Wolverine, won’t be a Wood Elf anymore.

Helloooo, Assassins!! I’m Ensi, and this is my first challenge in the Assassins squad. You can read more about my past in my battle log, but for now, let’s focus on where I am, and where I’m going. I’m recovering from disordered eating that was caused by my feelings of worthlessness. Eating was basically just an obstacle course I had to get right every day, and I was avoiding carbs with a very vague plan (“as little as possible is good”). I’m currently practicing intuitive eating: I respect my body and my hunger, and find other ways to deal with my feelings. I don’t count macros or calories. And I love carbs. As I’ve started to eat more carbs and other foods, my energy levels are waaaaay up, I recover from exercise faster, and I've gotten stronger. After a long stretch of low-carbing and not seeing results, I’m now very excited about bodyweight exercises and calisthenics, and I want to keep working towards becoming a kick-ass librarian who can parkour to the books that the customers want to find Which brings me to my current situation: I’m a librarian working on my University degree. I’m very nearly done, but I’d love to keep studying communications and information systems for a while longer. I’m very interested in linguistics, computer science, information sciences and literary theories. Problem solving is my favourite aspect of my work. I also love art and drawing. Sometimes I write. Goal #1: Push-Ups Push-ups are something I’ve always wanted to get better at. I’m going to practice knee push-ups 2 to 3 times a week. My humble goal is to advance slowly: even one push-up more than during the previous workout is awesome. This would amount to 8 to 12 more push-ups this month, and I could progress to regular push-ups later this autumn! Rock this goal: practice knee push-ups 2 to 3 times a week Push-ups on 6th of August: 10 - 9 - 8 - 6 = 33 in total Goal #2: Treat Yo’ Self… Yo’ Self. Eat Like A Grown-Ass Woman I was first going to make this goal about learning how to make my own sweet protein bars, but on another thought, it makes me focus on snacks instead of having proper meals. During my recovery, I've noticed that eating a hearty breakfast, a filling lunch, and an energizing dinner is the base of my new way of eating So, more real food, less fake substitutes! Rock this goal: stay mindful, practice intuitive eating. - plan ahead proper lunches and dinners Goal #3: Hustle On It’s scary to finish my studies, and my stress coping strategies could be better I’m currently reading a book about stress management techniques, and making plans for the rest of the month, and next semester. I’m going to finish the first draft of my master’s thesis this month, and send it to my instructor. I’m going to tie up all the loose ends I have considering my studies. My current internship ends at the end of the month, and after that I could get a part-time job there. I’d like to keep studying communications and information systems for another year, but I’ll see what life has in store… ** Here we go, fellow Nerds! I'm excited to see how I'll do in Assassins Have a lovely challenge! Current stats: age: 26 height: 170 cm weight: I don’t weigh myself, because it could trigger disordered eating again. Let’s say that I weigh 10 knee push-ups? OK. I’m gonna get as heavy as I can by the end of the month.

As @deftona said in her new challenge, it is about seeing just how much progress I can make in such a short time frame. I found this very inspiring the moment I read it, and decided to go for it too. Then, this challenge is about making the most of the summer and working hard to improve myself. There is maintenance: everyday meditation, eating lots of freggies, daily music practice. There is consolidation and improvement: cross country run, parallettes and floor work, self-defence, sink push-ups. There is novelty: stop visiting my favourite news site to stop being so angry and frustrated; taking all my supplements everyday (recent events at home have caused a huge rise in anxiety). And even one old friend: icelandic. How will this work? Simple enough: For the next 6 weeks, I will give myself permission to rest when needed but also will give the best of myself when I am active. And this is a long challenge, so I go back to a 15 points reward system. Everyday meditation: +2 WIS Lots of freggies and supplements: +2 CON Daily music practice: +1 CHA Cross country run: +1 STA Parallettes: +2 STR Floor: +1 DEX Sink push-ups: +1 STR Self-defence: +1 DEX ; +1 STA Stop reading the news: +2 WIS Icelandic: + 1CHA I need at least half the points to achieve level 23.

I finally got there. It's taken about 3 months but I just got 1 set of 10 push-ups !!!

This is not a themed challenge. They have their place, and I will probably return to them in time, but this one is about self-discovery just as much as self-improvement. And for that, I think I need to take a step back from themes, or creating goals with characters like Aragorn in mind. I don’t wish to sound self-centred, but I do wish to increase my self-confidence, self-believe and self-worth. Goal the First: A healthy body to nourish a healthy mind - Two Stronglifts workouts a week. Include assistance work like push ups and planks - One dedicated bodyweight workout a week to build strength in exercises like push ups. I hate not being able to do full ones. - Running twice a week. Now that I’m considering running a 10k with a friend in July for Race for Life, I need to increase distance. Not sure how that will work yet. Maybe a 5 k run a week and one longer run, edging up the distance weekly? Not too sure yet. Goal the Second: A healthy body needs healthy food Simple. I hate MFP. Just… I can’t. I won’t. I don’t know why, I just don’t log. I may log breakfast, sometimes even lunch. But it’s rare I actually log everything and that means it doesn’t work for me. The plan, therefore, is not to count calories, or even macros at this stage. It is simply to be mindful at mealtimes, with no distractions if I can help it (TV, Work, uni) and to follow a nutrition plan I got from Break Point. - Follow Nutrition Plan 7 days a week (they include a ‘cheat’ or variance’ day) - No distractions at meals, be mindful of both what I’m eating, when I get full and portion control. Goal the Third: A healthy mind to nourish a healthy body - This one I don’t know what to do with. I’m edging towards visualisation, meditation and trying to revive my journal. The aim, whatever I do, is to ease the pressure off myself about the future, and what I am going to do. I just need to take some time daily to figure me out. Basically, relaxing. Breathe. Recalibrate. Deliver (a Break Point mantra I’ve taken particularly to heart…) - 15 minutes daily working on whatever I need to to get my mindset right.

For those I haven't met yet, I used to work at sea, exploring weird places. Now I don't, though I still do marine sciency things for a living. It's been a big change for me. I'm trying to cope. This challenge finds me reaching for a new plane in my training*. I'm running in a half-marathon during week zero, and I logged a lot of miles during the last two challenges to prepare. After the race, I want to keep up with the running enough to keep building endurance, but I also want to scale it back a bit so I can focus more on other things – namely improving flexibility and strength. To do that, I'll be mostly continuing where I left off last time, just shuffling the focus a bit. Now, on to the goals!! Run 80 miles. I'd like to hit this running only three days a week. The general idea is to do two short weekday runs of 5 miles each, and one long weekend run around 10 miles. If I can keep the injuries at bay, I'll try to do the long runs on trails, because the woods are awesome. I've mentioned the desire to add some speed training, but as yet I don't have a plan for that. I may work it in at some point, so look out. Push-ups 480 total, 3x20 sets, 2/week. I've done pushups to death in previous challenges, to the point I was losing interest. The spark has returned a little lately, so I'm gonna keep this one around, with some changes. I've wondered what the differences would be doing lower numbers over many days versus high numbers only a few days. So instead of doing 20 push-ups 6 days a week, I'll try doing 60 push-ups two days a week. Think of it as an experiment. Yay science. Yoga 32 points, 2pts/session, 1 pt if it's half ass. This is an increase over last time, as I should have more time to commit to it. I will hopefully expand and diversify my regular – admittedly brief – usual routine. Bonus - Last time, I was unexpectedly challenged by an online friend with a pose I was totally incapable of -- Crow pose. I pushed myself to work on it, and totally surprised myself by actually doing it. This really excited and motivated me, so I'm going to work another difficult-to-me "challenge pose" into the mix, unscored. This time will be Camel pose. Unlike Crow, I've worked on this one a bit already, but I can't quite do the full pose yet, and I've been wanting to work on back bends anyway. Perfect excuse, right? Mindful Movements Weeks 4, 5 and 6 of the program. This is the Elements program from GMB, which I started last time. It didn't get the attention it deserves, so with the race training over, I really want to spend a lot more time with this. The program aims to develop strength, flexibility and motor control, but I've gotta put more into it to get more out of it. Plus, I think it's really cool what I'm learning to do. That's it, this time. My free time is still really limited, but I want to try to make a few new friends along the way, so I hope to see you out there! *Speakin' of new planes, enjoy a little ditty on me. No charge. Steam Powered Aereoplane, Robert Earl Keen, Happy Prisoner, 2015

Hello all, Somehow I didn't quite make the last challenge <hangs head in shame>. I did my first half-marathon on 8 May and, whilst I have certainly run and trained since then, it's all been a bit unfocused. Time to home in on my goals with surgical precision again! This time last year, when I had yet to discover NF, one of my key goals was to complete a half-marathon, and now I've done that, thanks in no small measure to you lot. My main other goal is to be able to deadlift my own body weight (currently about 57kg). I'm a bit skeptical about this but am going to give it a try anyway. Doing the half-marathon training did mean I lost a bit in terms of strength, especially upper body and arms, towards the end, but I've made some gains again since then. So, my goals for the challenge are: Keep average steps per day above 10,000 and, as part of that, keep running a minimum of 9 miles a week. Walk up to my office at least once a day on working days (it's on the sixth floor). Push-ups - I suck at these again now! To work up to doing 20 proper push-ups by the end of the challenge. Track my food on at least four days a week. I gave up tracking when I was doing half-marathon training because I was just ALWAYS hungry. Now I need to be a bit more focused again. I am resolutely ignoring the whole concept of an adulting goal, because when you've got three teenagers, one with special needs, and ageing parents, one of whom is very ill, then frankly you are doing adulting whether you like it or not. So - adulting as necessary, but having fun as much as possible when it isn't! Doing the half-marathon was just loads of fun, actually. I need more fun, definitely! Great to be back! Off to catch up with everyone else now!

I'm terrible with challenge themes. I love what other people come up with, and admire their creativity, but I'm never happy with my own ones. Anyway, straight to the point: My goals for this month: Goal #1: Food Log For this challenge, I'm not setting up any specific restrictions because my mentality has changed since I slayed the demons from my past (AKA visited my old university as some of you might remember from last month). I used to be a binge-eater. Then I stopped binging, but I was still addicted to junk food (sugary things, to be specific). Last month I promised myself "2 clean days a week," which meant I would avoid any kind of junk food (healthy snacks were okay) on those days. I kept my promise, but I always thought I'd take advantage of the upcoming zero week and have no clean days until the real challenge starts. Well, it's Tuesday and I'm not craving anything because I have no restrictions. Instead, I ask myself "You are allowed to have an ice cream, or a piece of cake, but you're strong enough to make a better choice today, so why not just make it?" I wonder how many "clean days" this mentality will earn me, so I'm just going to track my food for a month. I'm just experimenting here. Goal #2: Strength Training 2 times a week. NFA Bodyweight level 2, the usual stuff. I'm planning to lower the elevated push-ups even further. A real push-up is sooo close, I can feel it! Goal #3: Hola-hooping Now this is new! I realized my core needs a bit extra work, so I decided to buy a hula-hoop! I've never tried it before, not even as a kid, so I don't know what to expect. I've ordered it this afternoon, should arrive on Thursday so I can test what kind of routine will be reasonable before the challenge officially starts next week. I'm thinking at least 5 minutes everyday. After all, I got nothing better to do this summer. Life Goal: Master's Thesis I know, I know. Schools out for summer (insert the related Alice Cooper song here), but I just want to get over with this blasted stuff already. The sooner, the better! My plan is to finish the close-reading of at least one book by the end of the challenge. Wish me luck!

Hello all, Somehow I didn't quite make the last challenge <hangs head in shame>. I did my first half-marathon on 8 May and, whilst I have certainly run and trained since then, it's all been a bit unfocused. Time to home in on my goals with surgical precision again! This time last year, when I had yet to discover NF, one of my key goals was to complete a half-marathon, and now I've done that, thanks in no small measure to you lot. My main other goal is to be able to deadlift my own body weight (currently about 57kg). I'm a bit skeptical about this but am going to give it a try anyway. Doing the half-marathon training did mean I lost a bit in terms of strength, especially upper body and arms, towards the end, but I've made some gains again since then. So, my goals for the challenge are: Keep average steps per day above 10,000 and, as part of that, keep running a minimum of 9 miles a week. Walk up to my office at least once a day on working days (it's on the sixth floor). Push-ups - I suck at these again now! To work up to doing 20 proper push-ups by the end of the challenge. Track my food on at least four days a week. I gave up tracking when I was doing half-marathon training because I was just ALWAYS hungry. Now I need to be a bit more focused again. I am resolutely ignoring the whole concept of an adulting goal, because when you've got three teenagers, one with special needs, and ageing parents, one of whom is very ill, then frankly you are doing adulting whether you like it or not. So - adulting as necessary, but having fun as much as possible when it isn't! Doing the half-marathon was just loads of fun, actually. I need more fun, definitely! Great to be back! Off to catch up with everyone else now!

Gonna keep it simpler for this one. I'm back at sea for I don't know how much longer yet, and I've got other areas of life that need more attention right now. Run 30 maintenance miles. Yep, that's all. I don't have any races to train for at present. I don't know where I'll be besides this boat or, ocassionally, Dutch Harbor, Alaska. I just can't look forward to the treadmill right now. So, I'll just do a little bit as I feel like it, or when I get the opportunity to get outside. Push, Pull 720 Push-ups 24 Pull-ups This is the same as the last couple challenges for push-ups, and seems to be a good number to challenge me, so I'm sticking with it. I'm stepping up the pull-ups because I started to improve, but feel like I have slipped a bit. Since I have abandoned the crunches for now, I'd also like to look for some other good core exercises that are less taxing on the back. Yoga I've been doing some yoga on almost every challenge so far, but it's been pretty unadventurous. That's OK, because I'm really just learning. Now that I'm getting better, I'd like to put a little more effort into it and expand my repertoire. So for this challenge, my goal is to pick or plan a short new boat-friendly routine each week, and work on it at least two days. 2 points for a complete week, so the goal is 8 points. Strength Strength workouts three times a week, as before. Without a serious running goal this time, I can focus more on this one. 2 points per workout, so the goal is 24 points. Side challenge Relax and read more – I've earned it. One of the things I accomplished last month was renewing my old library card. Even though it's from a city I don't spend time in anymore, I can use it to check out kindle books online. Extra bonus-fun points for everyone if I can make it through four. Picture from my run this morning, because.

Main Quest: My main quest for this four weeks is to solidify my daily habits/routines. A couple of things have thrown them off and it's making it difficult to get everything done. I've been keeping up with my challenge quests, but a lot of the typical household stuff isn't getting done. Or if it does get done, I end the day feeling cranky and exhausted. I spent the last week of the last challenge really concentrating on the routines and things were a lot better. I want to get everything back into being a habit and then I'll work on adding/increasing/changing my exercise or diet goals. Quest 1: I'm going to continue doing S&S 5 times a week for this challenge. I will also continue to work on progressing with my TGU's and swings. Measurement: A = 18-19 workouts, B = 15-17 workouts, C = 12-14 workouts, F = 11 or less workouts Quest 2: I'm also going to continue to work on push-ups, pull-ups or planks for 5 minutes, 6 days a week. The only difference here is that I want to keep up with exactly what I accomplish in those 5 minutes so that I can better see my progress. Again as much of the 5 minutes can be rest time as I need. Measurement: A = 22-23 times, B = 19-21 times, C = 16-18 times, D = 13-15 times Quest 3: I really liked the 10,000 step weekly average. It keeps me moving a good bit, while still giving me flexibility in when I get the steps. I'm going to continue this as well. Measurement: A = Average 10,000 steps all 4 weeks, B = Avg 10,000 for 3 weeks, D = Avg 10,000 for 2 weeks Life Quest: Since I'm working on routines, I'm going to change this quest and use it to focus on my morning routine. That is the most important of my routines, so making sure I complete it will do the most good. I'm not going to list what I do in the morning routine because it changes depending on the day and is boring anyway. I can miss twice during the challenge, but no more than that since I'm working on making this a habit. Measurement: A = 24-26 times, F = 23 times or less I'm also keeping the money jar going this month. It's a good way of helping me avoid junk food without causing my inner two-year old to rebel. Again I'll be putting $1 in for every kettlebell workout and 5 minute push-up, pull-up or plank session and $7 for every week I average 10,000 steps. I'll take money out (and put in a different jar for savings) for eating junk food.

Hello everyone!! Last challenge I came back from a little break and rocked it the first three weeks. Then I got a cold. A big, bad cold, which tried to throw me off my path with bone-rattling cough-attacks and and make me lose my breath by stuffing my raspiratory system with evil, clingy balls of snot. But, no more!!! I'm recovering, gaining back my strength and will continue on the path I have chosen, no matter what kind of bacteria and viruses nature throws at me. Mwaahahahaha!!! ... sorry... got a bit distracted there. Anyways, the thing is, last challenge went great and I think I will continue doing what I've been doing. I've tweaked my goals just a little bit, but all in all, I'll just keep swimming. Here's what I'm up to: Goals and motivation I want to get fit and healthy and strong. Not necessarily in that order. But I'm on a quest to become a better me and part of that is sorting out my diet, using my body in other ways than sitting in front of the computer and getting my life in order. One of my long(ish)-term goals is to finally be able to do a real push-up (I'm at 4-5 knee push-ups right now), another is to find a (second) job. I also want to fit into some clothes I bought back then. I want to be able to run again without getting knee pain and/or out of breath too easily. I want to have the energy to do the things I love and the money to afford them. So, without further ado, here's my challenge No. 5 Quest 1: healthy dieting habits I've made a habit of drinking enough water/tea and avoiding refined sugar and white flour. I won't track the latter anymore (got that down), but I'll try to improve the drinking even more. Last challenge I added "more veggies" to the list, which I'll continue this time. I have noticed that on some days I eat only musli and sandwiches (whole-grain, but still) so this challenge I'll try to eat at least one "proper" meal everyday. Proper means: I cooked it (not necessarily on the same day) and it is not a simple thing like fruit salad, porridge, a sandwich or something like that. Just a regular meal like my mom would have put on the dinner table. drink at least 2,5l of water or tea every day (+1 bonus point for every extra 2,5l/week, -1 bonus points for every day I drink less)have one "proper" meal each day (+1 bonus point for every extra meal, -1 bonus point for every day I forget)eat more (cups of) vegetables than the week before (+1 bonus point for every 2 extra cups/week, -2 bonus point for each week I fail)eat some sort of veggies with two meals every day (snacking counts as a meal) (+1 bonus point if I eat veggies with every meal, +1 bonus point for each day I forget) Quest 2: get moving, get strong I do enjoy physical activity, just not all kinds. Last challenge I got very far by aiming for 3 sessions of some sort of sports (running, swimming, rowing, badminton, workout, whatever), depending on what I feel like. I will continue playing badminton once a week and will try to get back into running (my knees have been acting up the last time I tried, so I'll take it slow). I will also try to get in bodyweight workouts regularly. I will track my progress in a seperate spreadsheet. Yoga didn't go too well last challenge but I know it's something I enjoy once I get into it, so I'll aim to do some sort of practice every day. And I finally want to reach that "one real, proper push-up" goal, so I'll try myself at knee and/or incline push-ups everyday. I like the idea of doing AMRAP, so I see where that'll lead. I don't know yet if that's too much, so I'll adjust accordingly. do some sort of fitness activity 3 times a week (+1 bonus point for every extra session, -1 bonus for every one I forget)do at least 15 minutes of yoga every day (+1 bonus point for every extra hour, -1 bonus point for every day I forget)do knee/incline push-ups every day and track how many reps I can do (+2 bonus points for each week with consecutive better reps, -1 bonus point every day I forget) Quest 3: getting my life sorted out There's a lot (read: A LOT) of stuff I could put on here, but I'm going to focus on the things I want and need to do the most. Top of the list is getting a job. I currently work 2 days a week and while that pays the bill as long as nothing unforseen happens, it's really not a reliable option for the future. I've finally, after a lot of struggling, started sending out applications last challenge and I'll continue with that in the current one. I will also continue reading up background information for my current job and doing office work for my father's business (whenever there is things to do... I might have to adjust the target there). And since I continue to put some of my money into singing lessons, I will make the most of them by practicing in addition to the weekly lessons. send out 2 applications every week (+2 bonus points for every additional application, -3 bonus points every week I send less)take time for singing 4 times a week (this includes lessons) (+1 bonus point if all of these are at least 40 minutes, -1 bonus point if I do less than 4 times)read for work longer than the week before, measured in minutes (+1 bonus point for every extra hour, -1 bonus point if I do less than last week)do office work for 6 (?) hours every week (no bonus points here, since this depends so much on the workload)kitchen counter zero every night before going to sleep (+1 bonus point if I do this perfectly for a whole week, -0,5 bonus points if I do it first thing the next morning, -1 bonus point for every day I don't do it at all) Okay, now to the thing we all know you've been waiting for: my new and fancy pretty purple spreadsheet!!!! *sparkles* (now with automated progress percentages, automated ratings, automated gradings and automated color coding) Phew!! There's still the whole "making my home comfortable" business, so I have another huge printed spreadsheet on the wall next to my computer with all the household chores. No grading here, I just want to check off when I do something to get a feel for how often I do stuff and eventually figure out how often I should do stuff. I've neglecting this a little bit, so I'll try to get to it daily. As well as my financing spreadsheet where I write down what I spend. I'll also try to follow the 52 weeks home organising challenge as loosely or closely as my timetable allows. Aaaand I'll update a list of one-time things that I want to do during the next 4 weeks. Like my taxes. Or throwing a birthday party. So, there's lots to do, but last challenge showed me that I'm well up for it, if I set my mind to it. Which I have! I'm pumped, I'm on point, I'll rock this, I'll... Have a successfull challenge, everyone

Now that we have prepared for the worst, I'm going to try to avoid it! Last month was my first challenge back and it was clear that I was out of the habit of...well basically everything. I'm stuck at home without a gym membership, which is a new situation for me, so I need to revamp my fitness (and life) habits. Quest 1: Workout 3 times a week. Easy to say, harder to accomplish. Doesn't matter what it is, I just have to get off my butt and do it. Hopefully this will be a MWF thing. Let's get serious [+2 STA] Quest 2: Complete the Bloglates 30 Days to Splits progression. It looks like this challenge is only 26 days, so I'll get started tonight and compress the first few days so hopefully I'm hitting Day 30 on the last day of the challenge. I'm also going to get starting measurements for all my splits this weekend. I'm so jealous whenever I see people do the splits, especially straddle! [+2 DEX] Quest 3: Pushups! I like the progress I saw in this last round, so I'm going to continue this challenge. Week 1 Monday I'm going to start off with 1 pushup, Tuesday I can choose to do 1 again or move up to 2. By Sunday I should be doing 5. Week 2 I'll do 6-10, week 3 11-15, week 4, 16-20. I get one day off a week. I think I'll just document this using a number of days tally and a current number of pushups counter. Gotta work on those pecs! [+2 STR] Quest 4: Alcohol restriction. Same as last time, 7 drinks per week. I need to work harder on building this habit. [+2 CON] Quest 5: Make myself feel pretty! I think I got makeup and dressing like an adult down, but I need to figure out something to do with my hair! Each week I will try a new simple hair style (probably from the freckled fox) and try it at minimum two different days, posting results here. [+1 CHA, +1 WIS] As long as I avoid any of this we should be fine. Bring it on challenge! Stat points added, and for grading I'll just do each week as a Y/N grading, each worth 25% within each quest, I need to get over 60% overall to level up.

Hello, I am SaltyDragon, a friendly sea-going serpentine creature who just completed his first challenge in December. After reading lots of challenges in lots of guilds – along with much indecisiveness – I have decided to post my next challenge here with the Scouts. Many of you seem to be somewhat like minded with me and share many common goals, as well, so I hope that I can fit in here! For this, my second challenge, my theme is "embracing the weather." I recently learned of a winter challenge event (unrelated to NF) where the objective is to get outside and participate in some kind of running/walking activity every day in January. My work schedule doesn't quite allow this, so I'm not joining the official event, but I thought, "Why not bring it to my NF challenge?!" It sounds like fun to me, and I'm also doing it as moral support for someone I know participating in the formal event. So, Quest 1, here are the rules: Whatever the weather, go outside and run three miles every day. Exceptions? OK, if the conditions are seriously trecherous or downright dangerous, one mile is acceptable. Same goes for serioius injury or illness. But barring truly extrordinary circumstances, I have to make the effort. This is the main component to my challenge. I'm on the Oregon coast most of the time, moving to Seattle by the end of the challenge, so cold and rain will be the biggest factors. Snow and ice are still possible, though. Because I have a few sea days scheduled (24 hrs or more working on a boat), I know I can't hit 100%, but I'm gonna give it my best. Quest 2, stay in shape: Do push-ups, at least a few, every day. When you live on a boat, space limits a lot of your excercise activities. Push-ups though, you can find a way to do somewhere, even when getting tossed around in all but the nastiest of seas. So I'll do, let's say, 800 push-ups by the end of week 4. Quest 3, stretch it out: 30 min stretching routines at least 3 times a week. I stretch a little bit following every time I run, but I know I need to expand my routine. I'm also attempting to learn some yoga, so I may count some of that as well. Thanks for reading – feedback is welcome. I know we are a few days into the challenge already, so I'll be posting some progress results soon!

10 proper form push-ups. Soooo happy!

It’s been a little while, but I’m back! Last year, I hit a few of my goals (100 kilo dead lift, stringing together double-unders…), but missed others. I have yet to hit a #200 back squat, didn’t finish my Toastmaster’s CC, and can’t do a muscle up. So, here is my revised list for the next year: Muscle up, #200 Back Squat, get in half-marathon condition (by August), and defeat Cindy. The push-ups in Cindy destroyed me a few weeks ago, and when I looked up my time from a year ago I saw that they were my weakness then too. I’m gonna beat my weaknesses! Also, I want to get lean this year. Last year I improved my body comp significantly. The flubby area at my lower ribs got thinner.I’ve been (too) lean before, thanks to OCD-like monitoring of every g of fat I ate and exercise bulimia. I’d like to do it differently this time. I posed the question in another thread, how do you know what your “ideal†weight is? I figure that mine is somewhere around 130-135. If I hit #132 by May and am still lifting and running, that will be success. To put it in perspective, I ran the LuLuLemon ½ Marathon in 2013 at around #155-#160. I am currently getting back into running after dealing with some patellofemoral pain (“runner’s kneeâ€) and at ~#142. Imagine running 13 miles without those extra #15 hanging around! Okay, down to the business of this challenge. My goals are: Do 100 push-ups a day, 5 days a week. If I up this every challenge for the next few, Cindy and I should be back on speaking terms. Average 10k steps/day (70k/wk) as tracked by my FitBit. I find that my new walking desk helps mitigate my munchi-ness when I’m working from home and allows me to get the bulk of my “steps†in before dinner. Also, I have always found that when I walk after meals - including breakfast - I tend to slim down. I know that correlation does not equal causation, but this will be another data point to add to my other experiences. Run 5mi/wk + YOGA on running days. I have new shoes and no excuses. That 1/2 marathon is going to be here sooner than I know! The regular stuff I enjoy - hiking, CrossFit, lifting, etc. will continue as usual. I have one trip planned for later in the month, but otherwise I'll be in my "eat good food, get good sleep" home routine.