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I have been playing a lot of Overwatch lately and can't stop thinking/dreaming about it. SO... Let's make it my themed challenge this month! D.Va - Gaming 100% Uncharted 4 and Collect the 5 dragons in DragonVale Genji - Agility Practice yoga on off days and stretch until splits (front ways, both legs) are obtained Symmetra - Knowledge Read 30 mins a day and finish two books this challenge Zarya - Strength Green Arrow workout MWSa and Handstand progression everyday Lucio - Music Learn all the words to a tough song. Mercy - Spirit Read at least one chapter of the Bible a week and continue to go to church every Sunday Winston - Health Have one side of fruit or veggies with lunch and dinner Well that's it! I may have bitten off way more than I can chew.... but oh well. Live and Learn. Here's to my second EVER 4-Week Challenge.

Balsquith - Dragon Slayer I love following-along with themed challenges but have never braved one myself, so this will be a themed challenge for beginners (read: slightly half-hearted). I have recently started reading an excellent book by Markus Heitz titled ‘Die Mächte des Feuers’ (something like – The powers of fire), which is set in 1925 in a world just like ours with the big difference being that Dragons have survived and are not very likeable. The book follows the dragon slayer Silena, a descendent of Saint George, who works for the church to hunt dragons. For me the big catch here is that I will be trying to read this book in German. Over my past few challenges (and in my life in general sadly) I have been somewhat lacking in motivation and drive. Therefore for this challenge I will be introducing something external to fight against (rather than myself!) – namely dragons! So for this challenge I will be Balsquith Dragonslayer, from the line of Saint George, dedicated to hunting down the terrorising beasts and bringing peace and harmony to the land. In order to keep myself entertained I have scribbled down some rules to make the challenge much more complicated than it should be – hopefully they will keep me engaged! I will be facing 4 dragons in this challenge, which are largely the same goals as in my previous challenge, I figured that a budget dragon would mean instant death for me, so he gets to sit in his cave a bit longer! Dragons 1. Sirath the somnolent – Getting up to my alarm (Health = 50pts) Getting up to my alarm = Success Delayed but still got up = Parry 2. Bredolth, bane of the Morning – Morning routine (existing routine + daily German study cards) (Health =30pts) Reviewing for at least 5 minutes = Success Reviewing at least 1 card = Parry 3. Tavorth the unbending – Evening routine (existing routine + stretching) (Health = 30pts) Stretching routine from GMB 'focused flexibility' = Success Any other stretching effort = Parry 4. Cenolth the abeyant – Exercise/injury rehab (Health =40pts) Either crossfit upper body session or injury rehab (leg) = Success Any other 'exercise' = Parry Hero Balsquith Dragonslayer – Starting health = 10pts Rules I will fight all dragons daily with the following combat rules: Success – Dragon loses 1 health point Partial success – Parry, no change in health points Fail – Balsquith Dragonslayer loses 1 health point Bonuses for chains Chain (7 day+) => Success = 1.5 points Chain (14 day+) => Success = 2 points Chain (21 day+) => Success = 2.5 points Bonuses for completing all daily tasks Frenzy (4 tasks/day) => Success = 1.5 points Wrath of the Gods (4 chain tasks/day) = 3 points Recovering health Reading ‘Die Mächte des Feuers’ = maximum 1 health point daily Healing potion => In dire need I have a list of unpleasant tasks which I can complete = 5 health points

I ran as an Assassin in the last couple of challenges, but it's time to check in with my Scout side this time. The Assassins are a high-octane bunch and I love pushing myself over there -- the Scouts are a little bit more low-key, and I think I need a little of that this time around. Well, the summer is almost over, and for teachers like me, that means it's time to take off the rose-colored glasses of vacation and turn toward new students, new co-workers, and my new job. I pushed my boundaries pretty far with my last challenge, so this challenge is about casting those gains and accomplishments in bronze. I don't want to lose the progress I've made or the momentum I've established, but things are going to be different as I get back to work -- so rather than work on doing more, better, faster, I need to maintain and shift my focus to my new job. So I'm setting a couple of job-specific goals which are of course non-fitness related. Specifically, I need to read some plays and prepare some lessons in preparation for teaching all-new theater classes at the school I'm headed to. Which is exciting! But intimidating, too. Of course, I've still got my eye on fitness, too, partially because my runs have been better than ever later and I want to maintain that, but also because I still have Savage Race to prepare for (September 24 here in Atlanta, WOO!). So: some simple running and body weight workouts every week, with my focus on maintaining if not actively improving. Finally, I'm still working on writing and getting published, so the third leg of my challenge will sit there. That means continuing to write every day and to send my completed work out. Goals, then! Goal A: Read at least 6 One-Act plays before school starts (Aug 1), prepare unit plans for the first month (at least) of class by the end of the first week (Aug 6). So this one will be done before the challenge ends, but that's okay! I need to read a few dramas and a few comedies, and I especially need to make sure to spend some time doing in-depth stuff with my introductory classes, since they'll need the most structure: I can always do scene studies and monologues with my more advanced kids. Goal B: Five workouts per week. Of those: three runs, with at least one of those a long run of 5+ miles every weekend (Savage Race will be a 10k or so after all), and at least two body weight workouts per week. Bonus points for doing some of my running barefoot. Bonus points for doing more with my rings, because rings are awesome. Goal C: 500 words/day on the current project, 4 submissions of my completed novel to literary agents. Same challenge and same goal as last time, because what I need most in this area of my life is consistency. Sometimes the simple challenges are the best. Get it, scouts!

Overview / Motivation: I feel like I've been turning the corner and rediscovering a level of fitness that I can feel good about again! With that said, I am shifting from surviving the island to escaping the island for this challenge and will be going for all 5 weeks! I'm preparing for my trip with my wife to Nice, France and therefore am kicking it up a notch and working through the Body Beast Lean Beast phase mixed with NerdFitness Yoga and running. On the non-fitness side of the house, I want to work on my mental state more, and dig into Simon Sinek's book, "Start with Why." I've been wandering a bit in my day to day professional life with an unclear 'why,' and I have a growing desire to do something in the health and fitness space - a huge departure from my existence in government contracting thus far. Therefore, I want to better explore my "Why" to start to figure out what drives me and find a path that I can truly be passionate and excited about. While that journey will require more than reading just this book, I feel it will be a good start! Main Quest (revised for 2016): Hit the following benchmarks in strength and stamina: Bench Press 250 lbs. Squat 250 lbs. Complete 20 Pull Ups Reach 180 pounds (Complete!) Side Quests: Average 5 Weight Training Sessions / Week Points Potential: STR +5 Grading: A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% F= Average < 80% Complete 1 - 2 Mile Runs per week Points Potential: STA +2 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70% Average 3 NerdFitness Yoga Sessions / Week (Use any video) Points Potential: DEX +3 Grading A= Average > 90% B= Average > 80% C= Average > 70% F= Average < 70% Life Quest: Read & Explore Simon Sinek's "Start with Why" Points Potential: WIS +5 Grading Pass / Fail

No one...no one's ever made that joke before, right? I started CrossFit a couple weeks ago, and so far I'm really enjoying it. I've always wanted to play around with different ways of getting stronger—barbells, kettlebells, bodyweight...—but it's been hard to know how to try them all out in the context of consistent strength training. I know some people wouldn't necessarily call CF consistent strength training, but it's what I'm looking for right now—an equipped place I go to at predetermined times where someone has already done the programming for me and is there to help me with any doubts and encourage me to push past roadblocks. (It's even better because at the time of day I go, I'm either alone or one of two or three people, so I get a lot of attention from the trainer.) I'm still at a point where the warmup already somewhat wears me out, so by the time we get through mobility and strength the (super scaled) WOD can be pretty tough, but I'll only get stronger by continuing to go and push myself. Even with this big new workout, though, I don't want to stop running—but I need to scale it back if I want to be able to keep up with both things without risking injury. At least for the duration of this challenge, I'm going to do just one mile three times a week (with the third run occasionally being replaced by a longer run with my running group). With the warm-up and cool-down walks, it's still something that will get me out and moving for a bit, but it's so short that it'll be hard to find excuses to not go out and just do it. I'm also hoping to see my mile time improve over the course of the challenge. On Tuesday, it was 10:55. Can I get it to below 10 minutes?!? I'm running in my local park with some ups and downs, not on a totally flat track, so this won't be scientific, but I'm looking forward to seeing some progress. My two other goals will be pretty simple - 1.5 liters of water a day (even more important now that I'm working out more and the weather's getting warmer) and finishing a book by the end of this challenge. I've made a conscious decision to not focus on food too much for this challenge, at least at the start. Long story short, I just don't have much spare brainpower and time to spend on it right now. I'm still going to make an effort to make more good decisions than bad ones, but I'm not going to set any rules for myself for now. My boyfriend is talking about eating a lot better, so I'm hoping that he's serious about it—that would help a lot. He makes delicious salads. I have another trip during this challenge, a long weekend in London with my boyfriend at the end of the third week to go to a conference and celebrate our five-year anniversary. Trips tend to throw me for a loop. I'm hoping this one doesn't! It's relatively short, and I don't think I'll have to go too crazy preparing beforehand and catching up afterwards. I'll have to adjust the number of times I work out that week, since I'll only be home Monday to Wednesday, but otherwise...it should be okay...?!? To sum up: 1. Go to CrossFit three times a week. 2. Run one mile three times a week. 3. Drink 1.5 liters of water a day. 4. Finish a book by the end of the challenge.

Main Quest: Get below the obese weight range, and hit a 200 lb deadlift, 150 lb squat, 100 lb bench press, and 75 lb overhead press. Motivation: Move my body like I want to, and feel good about the way I look There are several things I want to do physically that are really difficult because of my size. I want to do eagle pose in yoga, but my thighs get in the way. I want to climb pikes peak and sprint really fast, but I feel like how heavy I am really slows me down and makes this more difficult. I want to do a pull-up, but my strength to weight ratio is not great enough. Most of these will be easier the stronger I am and the less fat I have. I also would really like to look good in cosplay sometime. Last Time on Adventures With Grizzy: New Home, New Habits Set up most of my living space in my new home! Cut out my soda habit once and (hopefully) for all! Exercised every single day! Approached my previous PRs on the deadlift, squat, bench press, and overhead press! Tried yoga and decided to make it part of my routine! Started tracking my food again! Started eating more vegetables! Lost 6 pounds! This Episode I'll be trying to surpass all of my previous PRs by at least 10% and weigh less than when I started the challenge. I would be pleased to drop under 200 pounds of bodyweight. I've gotten really close to the point where in previous cycles of lifting, I have stopped because it got really, really hard. I want to push through those walls and get stronger while continuing to drop some fat. So I'll be focusing on lifting, proper nutrition, and other exercise that doesn't inhibit my recovery. I would also like to keep up the good work from last time, so despite them not being part of this challenge, I'll report any slip-ups with soda and take measures to actively integrate vegetables into my life. Stats Sex: Female Height: 5'5" Weight: 204-ish; fluctuates Squat: 120 lbs, previous PR 130 lbs Deadlift: 160 lbs, previous PR 165 lbs Bench: 80 lbs, previous PR 85 lbs Overhead Press: 63 lbs, previous PR 65 lbs Goals Complete 10 or more lifting Sessions I can't get stronger if I don't make an effort to get stronger! Details: Starting Strength Allows for up to 2 days rest between each session Grading based on percentage out of 10 Strategy: The best days for me to lift are Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday due to fuller schedules other days of the week. So I'll start out doing Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. I've found recently that I occasionally need more than one rest day between sessions in order to have adequate energy and not injure myself, but beyond 2 rest days is normally just me getting lazy, so even if I'm busy I NEED to lift after 2 rest days. Loot: A punching bag for a grade of A A pull-up bar for a grade of B Track food, keeping a caloric deficit and a higher level of protein If I'm going to gain strength and lose weight at the same time, my diet should be tuned to support this. Currently I average 1548 calories a day, which could be a little higher for my height and weight, and 80g protein per day, which I want to increase. Details: Weekly caloric intake average of 1500-1750 Weekly protein average of at least 100g Grading based on average of % differences from goals Strategy: I really like big dinners, so I've been successful in lowering my calories limiting breakfast and lunch to less than half my daily caloric intake, which allows me to have a dinner which I find satisfying. I've been incorporating more protein-dense foods into my breakfasts to help with my protein intake. Yogurt or a green smoothie with protein powder mixed in is usually what I've been going for, and on occasion I'll have some kind of eggs. I'm working on cuttin out more grains from lunch and dinner in order to make room for more protein. This has involved slowly developing an appreciation of salads over sandwiches or lettuce wraps over buns or zucchini noodles over penne. Loot: A new pair of pants for an A. A new t-shirt for a B. Active recovery with walking and yoga To burn more calories and get better recovery, I want to do some exercise everyday that won't detract from my lifts. Details: Do either the morning mile or at least 20 minutes of yoga daily Grading based on percent of days I did at least one of these Strategy: I'll do one of these in the morning before work, while my SO is in the shower. The timing works out really well, since all of them take 20 minutes. Loot: A craigslist treadmill or yoga mat and yoga towel for a grade of A. A new pair of sneakers for a grade of B. Life Goals Finish 4 books I have an overall goal of finishing 52 books this year, and I've been slacking on my reading the last month or so. But I love reading! So it's time to pick it back up. Details: The New Evolution Diet by Arthur De Vany Deadline by Mira Grant The Book Theif by Markus Zusak Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson Grading based on % of books finished Strategy: Deadline is an audiobook, which I've been listening to whenever I go for a walk alone and frequently at work when I have something mind-numbing to do. Finishing this won't be a struggle. I'm less than 100 pages from finishing The New Evolution Diet, and I can finish it off with just a few reading sessions during breaks at work. I actually will probably be done with this before the official start-of-challenge. I'll need to put more effort into finishing the last two, just because they are longer and I'm not far into them. If I can set aside 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night, I think I can finish both of them by the end of the challenge. Loot: A new comic book collection book for an A. A new single issue comic book for a C. Break the Reddit/Imgur habit I'm sad to say I'm addicted to Reddit and Imgur, and I don't derive much enjoyment from it. I want to quit. Details: Every time I open a reddit or imgur tab out of habit, I should quit out immediately and record that I went to the website. If I decide not to quit out, I need to record the time I start, when I stop, and the number of pages/posts I look at. This will be pretty hard to record accurately, which I'm hoping will motivate me to avoid it just so that I don't have as much to track. Loot: A movie date if I have stopped visiting both sites by the end of the challenge. Mini-Quests Schedule a consultation for my wisdom teeth Do registration for the cars Walk or bike over to my friend's house Take some progress photos and find previous photos for comparison Finish 30 days of yoga from Yoga With Adriene Finish the 30 day squat challenge Do 50 consecutive squats Go a full day without using the internet Clean out my home office Try one class each of these kinds of yoga: Mindful Resilience, Mat Pilates, Restorative

It's been a good few months. I've made challenges and succeeded at most of them (still trying to get those splits!). I'm training for a race, never thought that would happen. Queenie's looking amazing, so now I'm just waiting for her to drop down dead(she would totally do that just to spite me). And I'm going away. On a plane. Without parents. For the first time. In less than a week. Barring the runs, which I absolutely intend to continue whilst away(I mean running on the beach, that's an experience right?!), I'm gonna take the next four weeks easy. Focus on relaxation, and eating right, and just chilling out. And what better way to chill out than to abandon the world in favour of a fantasy one? Enter challenge Bookworm! Main Quest: Read 4 new books in 4 weeks (18XP CON+2) -Buy 4 new books (18XP STA+2)] Yes, I'm totes using this as an excuse to get new books. Why? Because I love buying new books. I love the book store. I love the comfy chairs in the bookstore. I love the zombie section of the book store. I love books. Books!! -Read in different places, gardens, fields, beaches, in a tree, etc.. (16P WIS+1) I used to just read in bed, but I kept falling asleep. As this is quite a sedentry challenge, I'm going to make a point of exploring new places to read. Though, going on holiday will defintely make one week easy! -Occassionally read out loud (16XP CHA+2) If I'm reading, I'm not socialising. I'm terrible at talking. I flub my words so bad people often think I'm drunk. It comes down to being very shy and quiet, then getting braces and learning how to talk around them whilst getting into my drama class in high school, then getting them taken off 5 years later and having to learn how to talk all over again. Talking is difficult. Let's practice without the pressure of actually having to talk to people. -Focus on running and healthy eating when not reading (16XP STR+2) Still training for this 5k. I can't afford not to, I want to do well. Or at least just do it. And my diet's gone out the window recently due to lack of money. So let's work on those things. Side Quest: Teach Hutch a new trick. (16XP, DEX+2) He hasn't learnt a new one since BANG, and that was a while ago. I'm off to town tomorrow while Honey's at the vets, 1) to try and keep my mind off it, 2) I need more shampoo and conditioner, and 3) to buy these books. BOOKS!

Wow. What a wonderful ride it has been over the last few years. I am absolutely impressed with the difference small changes over time have wrought, and I feel as though I am standing on the peak of a mountain, valleys, streams and waterfalls around me, held by the love of the universe. And the way before me shows higher peaks yet, beautiful vistas for the journey, and I face them with strength and serenity. This challenge will encompass summer, with all the strange and delightful and at times surreal energy that comes along with an abundance of sun. Summer classes run from 20 June - the end of July for me, and I’m looking forward to a whole new kind of development. My focus is on the weekly accomplishments: Lead Development 2 books 2 TED talks Create 501c3 paperwork EIN Articles of Incorporation Offices Bank Account Newspaper - possibly next challenge, but lay the framework here Live Hike Acupuncture Yoga therapy Library Day Market Day Love the support of a daily routine In bed at 10 Out of bed at 6 Spend nothing, because you have everything Gym Walking Speak Out Response article Response Paper for Andy Response Paper for Jenny Tweet for Justice Tweet for Community Paper: The Power of Pamphleteers Mental Health Article Financial Freedom Article

So, a few years ago, before this series became a TV show on HBO, a friend of mine told me about it. I thought that it sounded interesting, so I bought the first book. I completely fell in love and got the next three books. There are a few characters that I love, and thusly a few that I love to hate. I finished the first three books rather quickly, stopped reading for a little while so that I could get some Christmas crafts done, and then picked up the fourth book once the holiday season was over. The problem now is that I am having a hell of a time getting into A Feast of Crows. Did anyone else that read this have this problem? I am thinking that it is because GRRM is neglecting a few of my favorites and talking about a whole set of new charaters that we don't know up to this point. I am like okay dude, I don't give a flaming rats butt about these new people, what about the people that you made me fall in love with? Where are they? What are they doing? Also, I am a huge fan of series since I tend to "inhale books" as my mom says, so single novels are just gone too fast and I am sad that I don't get to read about my dear friends any longer. So any series suggestions are also greatly appreciated. Thanks and happy reading!

Ha! What are the odds? I was going to challenge myself to a nice, cosy, solo adventure using my character sheet, and just happened to be planning to start it tomorrow. My boyfriend has just joined the rebellion and in solidarity (and because I've been needing a refresher anyway) I'm respawning from scratch. That's right - my stats are going back down to big fat zeroes. And that's pretty representative of how my health has been - until a week or two ago I was the heaviest I've ever been. Scary... it kinda snuck up on me. My big why: I want to be the most evolved version of myself. I used to base my big whys on appearance or feelings, but I think this one actually encompasses it. Like a pokemon, or a superhero, or something, I want to push myself to be as strong, as healthy, and as awesome as possible. Evolution doesn't happen overnight but bit by bit with slight mutations - as I add new habits, I'll mutate into the badass I think I am on the inside. Cleaning out the batcave has seen my mom and I get rid of all sugary food in the house. I've also held back on restocking the diet sodas in the fridge. I've been trying to drink only water, and I've been cooking all my meals mostly because I'm house sitting, home alone, in the middle of nowhere and I am still a bit scared of driving in this country (Mauritius) so I only really venture out when I run out of vegetables or feel like swimming in the ocean. Since my parents left last Saturday I have had only ONE meal I didn't cook myself! That's amazing; I was, previously, ordering takeout for lunch and dinner every day. Hence being the biggest I've ever been. I've also hired a personal trainer who comes to my house every week, makes me sweat buckets and pushes me further than I think I can go, and then I repeat the workout I do with him two more times before the next session. So, being a lowly level 0 once again, I'm focusing just on three goals: 1. Eat only food I cook myself. This will save me money and stop me from going to restaurants. It's also a fun challenge to make them as low carb as possible - I've recently discovered zoodles and am in love with them. 2. Work out 3 times a week, including the personal trainer session. The workouts include a lot of strength training, because I want to learn how to do it on my own with good form. We also do a lot of composite movements and bodyweight training. I also walk the dog every day (or rather, he walks me). 3. Read for at least 3 hrs a day. I review books over on my blog, and I've got such a massive backlog of books that they keep expiring, which means I have to buy them. So I'm trying to get through the 10 overdue books as quickly as possible, and then I need to get through all the non-expiring self-published books that nice authors have sent me. Eish. So, I absolutely HAVE to increase my reading time. No more TV! Oh, and although these goals are pretty basic, I definitely class myself as an adventurer because I love scuba diving, geocaching, and trying out new kinds of exercise. Next month I'll be heading to Dallas to visit my boyfriend where I aim to try as many new things as possible, including a burlesque class, a human-sized maze, a marching band show, and more. Here are some photos of previous adventures: In August I'm moving to China! Currently learning Mandarin in preparation. This is where I'll be living: Nerd stuff: I am a whovian, cross-stitcher, book worm, former mathlete, casual gamer and scifi nut. I like science, history and gadgetry. I'm in the academy, and am too active for my own good in the women's fb group. And this is the me I want to get back to (but with less mud): Allons-y! Additionally, I'm joining Sylvaa in the #LoveMe challenge.

No one...no one's ever made that joke before, right? I started CrossFit a couple weeks ago, and so far I'm really enjoying it. I've always wanted to play around with different ways of getting stronger—barbells, kettlebells, bodyweight...—but it's been hard to know how to try them all out in the context of consistent strength training. I know some people wouldn't necessarily call CF consistent strength training, but it's what I'm looking for right now—an equipped place I go to at predetermined times where someone has already done the programming for me and is there to help me with any doubts and encourage me to push past roadblocks. (It's even better because at the time of day I go, I'm either alone or one of two or three people, so I get a lot of attention from the trainer.) I'm still at a point where the warmup already somewhat wears me out, so by the time we get through mobility and strength the (super scaled) WOD can be pretty tough, but I'll only get stronger by continuing to go and push myself. Even with this big new workout, though, I don't want to stop running—but I need to scale it back if I want to be able to keep up with both things without risking injury. At least for the duration of this challenge, I'm going to do just one mile three times a week (with the third run occasionally being replaced by a longer run with my running group). With the warm-up and cool-down walks, it's still something that will get me out and moving for a bit, but it's so short that it'll be hard to find excuses to not go out and just do it. I'm also hoping to see my mile time improve over the course of the challenge. On Tuesday, it was 10:55. Can I get it to below 10 minutes?!? I'm running in my local park with some ups and downs, not on a totally flat track, so this won't be scientific, but I'm looking forward to seeing some progress. My two other goals will be pretty simple - 1.5 liters of water a day (even more important now that I'm working out more and the weather's getting warmer) and finishing a book by the end of this challenge. I've made a conscious decision to not focus on food too much for this challenge, at least at the start. Long story short, I just don't have much spare brainpower and time to spend on it right now. I'm still going to make an effort to make more good decisions than bad ones, but I'm not going to set any rules for myself for now. My boyfriend is talking about eating a lot better, so I'm hoping that he's serious about it—that would help a lot. He makes delicious salads. I have another trip during this challenge, a long weekend in London with my boyfriend at the end of the third week to go to a conference and celebrate our five-year anniversary. Trips tend to throw me for a loop. I'm hoping this one doesn't! It's relatively short, and I don't think I'll have to go too crazy preparing beforehand and catching up afterwards. I'll have to adjust the number of times I work out that week, since I'll only be home Monday to Wednesday, but otherwise...it should be okay...?!? To sum up: 1. Go to CrossFit three times a week. 2. Run one mile three times a week. 3. Drink 1.5 liters of water a day. 4. Finish a book by the end of the challenge.

Welcome back! I have been watching this show Penny Dreadful and it has inspired me to do a horror themed challenge. I am going to theme each week after a different classic monster. I think it will be fun to read into and play with each classic creature (not to mention keep the ADHD happy with changing every week). So here are the bare bones of what I plan on doing: 2X a week Current workout weights: DB deadlift 3x10. 150#(75# DB each hand) Alt DB curl 3x10 40# DB Skull crusher 3x12 75# DB 1 arm rows 3x10 55# DB DB bench 3x10 50#DB each hand I plan on increasing these weights by the end of the month (safely) 1X a week Again I am going to stick with the Turbulence 500 routine because it is a good supplement for the muscles I miss during my lifting sessions. I am going to allow for 1 gym day to be replaced with one 500 day a week. 50 Prisoner Squats 50 Pushups 25 Jumps 25 Stability Ball Leg Curls 50 Stability Ball Jackknifes 50 Step-ups (25 reps per side) 25 Pull-ups 50 Forward Lunges (25 reps per side) 50 Close-grip Pushups 50 Inverted Rows 50 Squats 25 Chin-ups Language: Well my Spanish and Sign Language(ASL) learning has been half-ass'd at best so I am going to go for 5X a week with at least 20 mins of practice a day. I am going to alternate weeks between Spanish and Sign Language to keep it fresh. Ways that I will be practicing: Spanish telenovella method and movies Sign Language cards and videos Practice with family Spanish and Sign Language Read one classic horror book a week: I have been a little slacking lately and I would like to read one classic book a week that coincides with the theme of the week. Minis: I am also apart of Wolf's and Rurik's minis so that will add a lil extra fun each week Wolf : El Tiburon One of the bosses of the Cartel Rurik: Character Name: Volki Rurik's Roughnecks or Big Bad: Roughnecks! Class Role: Engineer\Demolitions expert Appearance: 6ft 200lb Mohawk covered in tattoos Weapons & Inventory: Explosives of every shape and size. Proficient with a shotgun and loves knives Background: Missing more than a few screws in his sanity (most likely knocked loose from failed explosives experiments) He has what some would say a "twisted" sense of humor but he is well meaning and loyal. His low brow sense of humor and questionable moral compass are balanced by the fact that he has a PhD in Explosive Engineering. He is an ex-bad guy and came over to the Roughnecks after he was betrayed. He is along for the ride and will do what it takes to see the OpFor turned to ash.

With the return of Game of Thrones, I dedicate my challenge to every warrior’s favorite character The mountain. My goals are to eat, train, and sleep like the mountain to prep for my push-pull competition, which JUST SO HAPPENS to be the last weekend of this challenge. https://www.facebook.com/events/1531902903773755/ (If anyone is interested! I happen to be the only female registered thus far, easy way to lock up first place. Haha) https://www.buzzfeed.com/andyneuenschwander/the-mountain-from-game-of-thrones-revealed-his-diet-plan-and?utm_term=.ce2vemVvA#.sxqY8pdY3 http://www.gq.com/story/game-of-thrones-the-mountain-workout Now that my hip is feeling good and I’m back to moving without pain it’s going to be easier for me to get my workouts in and start getting my mind right! (and my food right!) I'm going to continue to post my workouts in my BATTLE LOG but might x-post here. I might also post gymnastics fun here, because who doesn’t want to learn about cool shit that I’m doing in gymnastics. Expect this post to be full of copious Game of Thrones spoilers and me fangirling over the Mountain. 1) Train like the Mountain I have training programmed out through the 24th with 9 sessions between now and then. Also have 4 gymnastics sessions between now and then (will be 5 adding in the following week). The goal is to complete all of my training sessions, but also be PT focused. Complete all training sessions and all gymnastics classes. Scale back if I need to. Do my prescribed stretches/therapy and/or foam roll 5x/week. 2) Eat like the mountain (Rollover from last challenge) My nutrition is still all over the place. If you’ve been following me, you know that this is a thing I've been struggling with. Injuring myself and spiraling into emotional eating did nothing to help the problem. I need to cut a little to make 132 class by my competition. If I don’t, no sweat, I’ll compete at 148, but I should be able to if I reign in the diet a bit. My challenge is finding BALANCE between tracking compulsively, yet still eating enough to fuel my body and my workouts. If I don't track, I don't eat enough or eat in proper ratios. Especially fat, I am ALWAYS low on fat, it's just so much easier to eat proteins and carbs! I also binge eat, so my calories will vary from 1400- 3100 over the course of a week; which is unhealthy, inconsistent and unsustainable! Last challenge the goal was to focus on the weekend, and I didn’t find any real improvement by focusing on that. This challenge the focus will be meal prep and trying to get back to a carb cycling type of diet. Meal prep: Ensure I always have protein sources prepped and available for lunches and dinners (aka meat). 1-2x/week prepping should be sufficient. Do that carb cycling thing again: Track my macros. Aim for P/F/C = >135/~70/[<100/~180/~250] based on that day’s activity level (rest=low, gymnastics or cardio=medium, lifting=high). Doesn’t have to be perfect, just try. Start up the creatine again. This fell off once I injured myself. I was having issues with it, mainly digestion and headaches. This leads me to believe I’m not drinking as much water as I should be. The goal is to drink at MINIMUM the half gallon of straight up water a day, in addition to any teas, coffees, diet sodas, etc I have throughout the day. Take creatine daily. At least half a scoop, more if I can tolerate it. Drink half gallon of water daily to ensure maximum pumpitude. 3) Sleep like the mountain I don’t usually have a problem with going to bed or falling asleep, but I have issues with waking up in the morning. Goals will reflect me waking up and getting a good start to my day! Similar to what Thor does! Phone doesn’t get charged in the bedroom. Must be charged outside of the bedroom so I don’t wake up and check social media in bed forever. Must actually get up out of bed to turn my alarm off and start being productive. Eat breakfast. Every day. Before I leave the apartment. (Before the move I was really good about this! Now that I have a more lenient start time at work, my habits have fallen apart) 2 days/week cardio and core in the morning. Preferably non training days to avoid multiple showers. A third cardio and core day should be done, but not necessarily in the morning. Life Goals for this year will be COMPOUNDING as appropriate. The idea is to produce HABITS! 1) Don't be a hoodrat (challenge 1) Look fabulous. Take selfies. Post here for everyone's pleasure. 2) Don't get too fat (challenge 2) Crushed this goal last time at 1x/week so I’m going to up it! Walk or bike to work. 2x/week minimum. Note: This goal is highly dependent on my hip and it’s continued healing. If I am having issues, I will nix it. 3) Read (challenge 3) Although I pretty much nixed my last challenge from the beginning, the reading stuck around. Continue reading at least 3x/week. 4) Don’t be a hermit (challenge 4) Weekends I have a terrible habit of laying on the couch watching Netflix and doing housework all weekend. It’s rare if I see sunshine. I need to do SOMETHING that involves leaving my apartment on non-work days. Go to the store, go on a date with Mr. J, go to the gym, nerd meetup for tea, or just go for a walk or bike ride. Just something so I don’t fall into that deep red glow of Netflix that is so comforting. Leave my apartment on either Saturday or Sunday. With the eventual goal of making this both days.

Welcome welcome this is my ... 14th .. er 15th challenge so I'm just saying I might be out of ideas ... here have a laugh Alright enough of that, let's get to it! QUEST 1 - Refocus! Of late I've gotten seriously off track on food'ing and boozing! Time to clean the diet back up and talk with the wife about adjusting all the things we've gone wild on. A - 5 bad meals a week - this includes boozing and eat out B - 6 bad meals a week F - 7+ bad meals a week QUEST 2 - What am I doing here? Feeling sort of lost around here ... so I'm going to try and be active on Scout threads and posts as much as I can! A - 3/week talk in 3 scout threads! F - less than that QUEST 3 - Kettle bells a kicking So I've got kettlebells ranging from 10 to 60lbs my Tuesday/Thursday workouts are mine to plan... so I need to make kbs a priority. A 8 KB workouts B 6-7 KB workouts F less than 5 KB workouts LIFE QUEST - Read More I'm seriously behind on my reading ... both for fun and professionally. Before this challenge is up I want to finish the book I'm currently reading - Kill Switch (Joe Ledger #8) by Jonathan Maberry - and start the next book in my queue - Priest (Ratcatchers Book 1) by Matthew Colville. A Finish book and start new F ... obvious.

Last challenge was my most successful so far, and I noticed how quickly I went from super productive to hardly productive when I let things go a little last week. Maybe I'll be a little more adventurous next time, but because it worked so well last time - and because I'm going to have a week of chaos (checking out Poland!) in the middle of this challenge that would normally throw me for a loop if I tried to be more ambitious - I'm going to follow the same method (with almost the same goals) this time around! That is, I have some framework goals: Open my planner, check it, and plan my day every morning. Every night, check my planner again, write down any tasks or other things I forgot to note down during the day, and think about my plan for the next day. Stop using the computer at 10 p.m. at the latest on weeknights (Sunday to Thursday nights). No bread or added sugar (honey and fruit are okay) until after work on weekdays. (This one won't apply while I'm in Poland.) The idea is that these framework goals will help me accomplish some/many/all of my bullet point goals. I'm mostly not being strict with myself about "do X activity Y times a week" or anything here - instead, being a little more deliberate about how I spend my time overall should naturally lead to accomplishing things. Here are my current bullet point goals (pretty much all of them repeats/continuations from last challenge): Complete another 30-day pushup challenge (currently primarily knee pushups). This challenge build-up is a little more intense than the previous one, so at some point I might have to either do some windowsill pushups as well or switch back to the previous challenge's structure. For now, though, let's see how this one goes! Currently on day 8. Continue running at least three miles three times a week (except for Poland) and start going to the more serious running group again. I tried the group out a couple months ago but couldn't keep up with them. Over the last several weeks I've been working on my stamina by increasing the distance until my first/only walking break and I'm currently up to 2.5 miles. Shortly after coming back from the trip, I'd like to do the whole three miles without any breaks, at which point I should feel comfortable trying that group again. Finish at least one book. Recently started a David Sedaris book - a quick, easy, fun read that shouldn't be too hard to finish over the next few weeks. Also started listening to the audiobook of The Goldfinch without knowing what it was about or how long it was. Turns out it's super long (34 hours!), so I can't promise I'll finish that one by the end of this challenge, but I'll do my best! Be reasonable about food. The fourth framework goal will help with this, and I'd like to continue making vegetable soup at least once a week. Already made broccoli soup this week! Finish a translation project for a friend. This is one of the goals I didn't make much progress on last time. Keep the house in a reasonably clean state. I'd like to get it pretty clean before we go on our trip so my boyfriend's mom doesn't feel like she needs to clean the place when she comes to take care of the cat. And then...ideally...keep it pretty clean when we're back! Be better about bureaucracy. Organize paperwork and stay on top of recurring and one-time deadlines. Organize a big event for my running group. Sigh. This one's not going to be easy - a lot of relying on other people and fidgeting nervously while I wait for them to get back to me. Let's go!

What awesome books are you reading/have you read lately? I'm reading "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler. I also just finished "The Intern's Handbook" by Shane Kuhn. Super awesome if you like thrillers/suspense.

- - - - BEGIN MISSION - - - - - Mega Man -- --- New robot masters have initiated war against the Rangers. You must train yourself to battle these robot masters and prevent destruction to the land. - - - - - - - - - - - - Sea Level, reporting again for my second assignment with the Rangers and my third challenge of the year. Thank you, Rangers, for the hospitality. I think I've found a good home here. This mission is mostly a continuation/leveling-up of my goals. Apart from my general workout goals, I'm planning on stretching out my numbers by the month rather than by the week. Here are the bosses I'll be facing this month: GUTS MAN Guts Man is the strongest of the robot masters. To beat him, I must activate my own strength by practicing four strength workouts per week. This could include weights in the gym or bodyweight at home or in the park. WOOD MAN Wood Man is the master of vegetation and plant life. To conquer Wood Man, I will eat green vegetables for 18 days this month. GRAVITY MAN Gravity Man can control and manipulate gravitational forces. I will resist Gravity Man by practicing hand balancing for five minutes 20 times this month. Hand balancing may include Crow and variations, Elbow Lever and variations, and Handstand and variations. BRIGHT MAN Bright Man utilizes his massive light bulb to produce blinding light. I will absorb and use his power to provide illumination for reading for 30 minutes 18 times this month. Let's get to it.

Even though the last four week challenge is not completely finished yet, it's almost time for the next one yet. In this challenge, I want to give a meditation routine and a lifting schedule a chance. As is more common than I like, I'm on the brink of depression and during this challenge I will still be "in between" mental health care professionals, being diagnosed with autism only in the past autumn. I can still function, but getting off my chair and doing something constructive is very hard most of the times . Virtually all my goals during the challenges here are for my mental health, not in the least because exercise works as an anti-depressant very well. I climb twice a week, commute by bicycle and walk during my lunch breaks. Still, I felt that I should exercise MORE last challenge, so I want to add weightlifting twice a week as well. I have decided on using the Greyskull method, which is a very flexible program that includes the main lifts and lets me add plenty of accessoiry exercises to fit my needs. Furthermore, I started a mindfulness course from a book that is targeted at people with autism. I'm not sure yet if I like it, but it's much better for me than most online mindfulness/meditation resources. I want to continue trying it out for at least 2 more months, to see if it has any effect on me. I do believe it can help most people feel less anxious and more relaxed, and I hope that I'm one of those people . I also hope it might help me with my restless legs, but for now I have to stretch them out every day and hope for the best. This challenge is complicated because I will travel for work during my second week, so I won't be able to lift and climb then. I have no idea how much privacy I'll have, so I also don't mind if I won't be able to do yoga then. Anyway, my goals for this challenge are: Mindfulness: meditate at least 6 days/week. Week 1: body meditation (focus on the most uncomfortable spot in your body for a short amount of time).Week 2: breath meditation (observe your breath)Week 3: listening meditation (observe the sounds around you without judging/making a story out of them)Week 4: seated meditation (no idea what that is yet)I have audio guidance with all these forms of meditation. The goal is to try them all out and see which I like, so that I can maybe incorporate them in my daily life later on. Lifting: lift on Monday and Friday every week except for the second week. On Monday, I want to do at least the bench press and squats, together with a core exercise and a vertical pulling exercise (lat pull down, chin up, pull up).On Friday, I want to do at least the overhead press and deadlift, together with a core exercise and a row variant.Stretching: stretch calves and quadriceps every day. Really, this is the only thing that seems to work for my restless legs. My doctor and PT could not find anything last year, it's just stress related . Oh well, the stretching takes only a few minutes a day, but it's easy to forget. Yoga: do at least 45 minutes of yoga per week except for the second week. Last challenge I did at least 2 videos on youtube per week, this challenge I'm increasing it a little and will probably go for a long and short yoga session. 3 short sessions are okay as well though, as long as I do at least 45 minutes in total. I want a little extra focus on core work, since that will probably help me most in becoming a better climber. However, flexibility and (hand-)balance are also not very well-represented in my current plan, so I won't decide on a focus on beforehand, it will just have to follow my needs for that week. Also, I would like to extend these goals to the challenge of April. I'm already missing a week of this challenge because of travel, and 3 weeks is just too short to build any habit. 7 weeks is slightly longer than the old format, which worked quite well for me. There's plenty of room for fiddling in the current formulation, so I won't have to adapt anything for a second challenge (I hope ).

I am really, really bad at remembering to set up my challenge for these new, shorter challenges. I'm interested to see what comes of the surveys! Hopefully I'll be able to clean this up a little on Thursday. Sparks joy. (Again.) My goal is to get the boxes of things I plan to donate OUT of my house at the end of this challenge, so every category that might result in donations has to be sorted through and boxed up. I want my yoga room back! Use the KonMari method... electronics [5]cats and garden [4]games and toys [4]photography [4]yoga/fitness [3]Schedule a donation pick-up. [5] Builds a Bridge For this challenge, I've decided to dedicate a little more time to backbends, including cobra, bow, bridge, wheel, camel, and king pigeon. Three yoga sessions featuring backbends each week. [25xp] Exceeds Expectations Due to a bit of a reading slump, I fell one book behind on my Goodreads challenge, and would like to be one book ahead by the end of this challenge. (I am currently halfway through the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the workbook below.) Be at least one book ahead at the end of the challenge. [25xp] Is a Social Caterpillar. Continuing from the last challenge, I'll be finishing up the social anxiety workbook. Complete the last four weeks of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness. [25xp]

Pre-Challenge Spiel So my previous challenge was meant to reset my body and my mind for the upcoming year. It did that to an extent. It forced to make more time for myself in my busy (and getting busier) schedule and also to really focus on what I am putting into my body. I have upped my water intake significantly and aside from slipping up on a business trip week, did not drink alcohol for the whole month of January. I feel pretty great and refreshed and am so ready to start hitting things hard again! But going hard is uh... hard. For those of you who haven't been following me, I had a hip pre-injury (not quite an injury but a pain that told me to stop what I was doing and figure it out or an injury would basically be guaranteed to happen) and got pretty freaked out about it. My sister has serious hip problems (she is 20 and has already had to have hip surgery) so I took this very seriously. I figured out my issues were a result of glute amnesia - my glutes were not doing the work they were supposed to during DL and squats, and allowing my hip flexors to do all the work. Hip flexors are tiny muscles, they are not supposed to be taking on so much stress! But my glutes just werne't firing. I essentially put a halt on my lifting program and spent the last 6-ish weeks (basically ever since the end of the challenge of 2015) doing connectivity drills I learned at Camp Nerd Fitness from the lovely Kate Galliett and also some other glute strengthening isolation drills I found online. I also began doing a lot of core exercises to help protect my lower back from the same fate. Apparently lower backs are over acheivers too. Plus, core strength = better everything so why not? Anyway, I'm now feeling pretty confident with my glute amnesia being banished (I notice them firing when I walk and go up steps and basically do anything, and I even had a dream about squats where I noticed my glutes activating properly so they've definitely finally decided they want to do some work) and it is time for me to return to Strong Lifts! I'm going to have to deload a bunch, but I am so pumped to get back at this. I am also taking 2 classes as well as working full time. Typically I take one class but this semester I decided to really lean forward on my degree. Wow was it a lot more to take on than I expected. Basically, between beginning SL again, wanting to maintain my occasional glute activation drills an dother mobility drills, continuing to make sure my core gets some love, keeping up with my classes, my job exploding more and more and wanting to keep up with you nerds as much as possible because you are THE BEST I need to seriously work on my time allocation. Unfortunately I do not have a time turner to get more hours from my day. I know what I need to do, and what I want to do. I have the motivation and the habits. What I need to do now is take both of those and be flexible with my schedule in order to get in everything I want. So this challenge won't have very complicated goals from the outset, but each week will be treated individually depending on what I've got going on, work travel, homework, etc. I'm going to continue with the Fly Lady baby steps as well and hopefully finish out all 31 by the end of this challenge but if I get held up on a specific day again that's fine. I want to integrate this into my life slowly so it sticks. I'm currently on day 15 - and have been for about a week now. Main Goals 1. Every Sunday or Monday I will post my schedule for the week to include major items that may affect my productivity on a given day for the next seven days (ie - class) and what I will be doing for each of those days BROKEN DOWN BY THE HOUR. This sounds crazy, I know, but I only have a few hours between when I get home from work (6PM) and when I need to get to bed (9/930PM) so I truly need to plan out how to utilize each of those minutes to get the most done I can without trying to do too much and blowing my bed time. Non-work days are a bit more flexible but I still want to list what I want to do on those days. This includes homework, cleaning tasks, meditation, reading, and of course work outs. 2. At least 3 times a week I will update my thread on my status of if I hit my to-do goals for each day. 3. Each week I need to fit in a core work out and a glute drill workout. This can be the same workout. (I won't do this if I don't make it a separate goal). Food Goal 4. Continue to not eat dairy. 1 minor slip up a week is allowed (ie some melted cheese on some meat. Eating 1017 cheese cubes from an appetizer tray does not count as a "minor" slip up). Life Goal 5. Sleep at least 7 hours a night. No on average, but actually legit, 7 hours a night. This will prevent me from expecting too much of myself in (1) and (2) above. My final grade will be based 20% on the success of each of the above. Planning, execution, special work outs, dairy consumption, and sleep. Goal 2 (posting updates) will be half based on posting 3x/week and half based on actual completion of my schedule items. I'm aware this is going to be quite the strict challenge with no bells and whistles but I needs it. Bad. SELF DICIPLINE FTW! Also, I've made the commitment to watch through Xena. Girl power also FTW! I debated making this challenge Xena themed but I didn't have time. I'd rather spend my time making my rounds here than thinking up a way to make this challenge more themed....but feel free to post Xena gifs as they will bring me joy

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

Yeah Assassining isn't a word but whatever. I am so bad at Topic titles and it's better than Jonesy's 2nd Challenge. Haha. Sort of nervous to post here but here it goes. My name is Tiffany. My friends call me Tiff, Jonesy, Mrs. Bilbo Baggins, or Hobbit. This is my first big adventure outside of the Rebels or the Adventurer guild. Little backstory. I’ve been attempting to get healthy for the last 3 or 4 years. I have not been able to find something that makes me keep with it though and it’s starting to piss me off. I want to find something fitness related that makes me want to be active. I’m fitness shy and get incredibly self conscious when trying new things. I’d really like to be able to do a handstand or some of those fancy push ups and this “most of all we are determined to be the masters of our own bodies†is a huge reason why I gravitated towards the Assassins. Long Term Quest : Over the course of the next 2 years I want to lose 100-150lbs, become more flexibly and learn to do some awesome things with my body. Main Quest: For my second challenge, my main quest is to strengthen my body. I want to focus on doing bodyweight workouts, so hello Assassins! Exercise/Food Quests: 1. Go to the gym and do yoga at least 1 time each, each week. This is practically the same quest as last time but I’m adding in yoga as well. I want to start using my gym reimbursement for rewards so I need to keep at this. There is no good reason I should not be doing this!!! Gym : Elliptical + Stretching Yoga : Yoga For Beginners - 40 Minute Home Yoga Workout or something else if I find one I like better. Grading : A 4+, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0 Character Points : 25 points (6.25 points each week) 2. Do 2 bodyweight or resistance band workouts each week. TRACKING I have not done bodyweight workouts in a long time so I feel I will struggle with this in the beginning. Warm Up: 2 songs jog in place, 8 Stretches Your Tight Hips Are Begging For Assassins Workout - In honor of moving over to the Assassins guild! Resistance Band Workout 5 min cool down/stretching Grading - How many days I did bodyweight workouts during the challenge : A 8+, B 5-7, C 2-4, D 1, F 0 Character Points : 30 points (7.5 points each week) 3. Track Food everyday. Either write it down or input into Myfitnesspal. I need to get back into the habit of knowing how much I actually eat. I bought a kitchen scale and I’m going to see if measuring some of my food helps will controlling my intake. Grading - How many days did I track : A 25+, B 18-24, C 13-17, D 10-13, F 0-9 Character Points : 35 points Life Quest: 1. Knit at least 50+ rows My main life goal is to read 4 books a month and that won’t change but I have some additional life quests that I’ve been slacking on. I’ve been working on this scarf for my friend for almost 2 years. I’m so horribly slow and have other things to do that it gets pushed to the back burner. I am committed to finishing this damn scarf within the next few challenges. I won’t be starting ANYTHING creative like knitting or painting until this scarf is done! I’m so close too. If I end up finishing this quests early, yippie! Possible books this challenge : Night Seeker, Blood Rites, Parasitology Series, The Diabolical Miss Hyde , Black Widow, Fifth Grave past the Light, & Written in Red Grading : A 50+ or F 0 Character Points : 10

Character Name: Half-Blood Princess Race (if not human): Muggle-born Werewolf Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw Wand description: Mahogany with Mermaid-Scale core Patronus: Grey She-Wolf Mini-Challenge Lessons: Herbology: Make at least one slow-cooker meal. Bonus points if I make three. (#3) History of Magic: Study Spanish and make a list of words/phrases that may be useful in Mexico. Transfiguration: Focus on increasing flexibility and work towards touching my toes (#2) Defense Against The Dark Arts: Complete at least 2 Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels (to further research wereanimals of various types) (#1) The problem with owl post is that it's quite noticeable. When my Hogwarts letter arrived, so did a Werewolf. It wasn't her fault that she bit me. It was a full moon the night the owl arrived with my letter, and the werewolf had been chasing it through the forest that borders my family's land. I went out into the back yard to investigate the racket they were both making, and the werewolf was startled and nipped me. She returned the next day to apologize and teach me a potion that would keep me docile during the full moons. Apparently she'd learned the potion from someone named Remus. I was excited about starting school at Hogwarts and learning everything I could about this whole world I had never known about before. When I arrived the first night, all the new students were sorted into Houses. The Sorting Hat told me that I was both clever and brave, and would fit in with either the Ravenclaws or the Gryffindors. I think the hat decided on Ravenclaw because the thought of being surrounded by a bunch of brave people made me nervous. The Boarding School was a new experience for me, and so I made some goals for myself for the first month to stay healthy and organized: Goal 1 Stop reading by 10:00pm and go to bed. Wake up at 6:15am (instead of 6:23am) Walk to work every day - wear running shoes, carry work shoes Goal 2 Use the Gym every Tuesday and Thursday Hike every weekend Do yoga/stretches/foundation movement at home on "off" days Goal 3 Pre-cut veggies for morning/lunch Try steaming kale - anyone have kale recipes??? Make and freeze stew and chili at the beginning of each month

So this is my first time doing a challenge with the assassins and i'm kinda nervous. I'm a warrior by heart but for the next month i'll be doing some travelling and finishing up internship and moving back home so i won't be renewing my gym membership so I always wanted to try bodyweight training and build up some kinesthetic awareness and proprioception. I browsed the r/bodyweight wiki FAQ and decided to do their basic bodyweight workout which already has an app that can do tracking which is awesome. Goal 1 Workout at least 3x per week using the r/bodyweight app. Hoping to progress the most in being able to do a handstand. Goal 2: Sleep at least 7 hours on average per night. Tracking this using my sleep bot app. Goal 3: Walk at least once a week and sprints (hill) once a week. Tracked using zombie,run! and fitnotes. Lifegoal: Read every night for at least 10 mins. At least two of those nights being pharmacy related stuff. I'm becoming terrible at updating and following others so i'll hope to work on this too but no promises on the frequency. More updates will be done in my battlelog though.

Eat Clean: 1/4-1/12. Stay on Keto during work days. Plan out supplies for all meals. Non-work days will not be Keto, but will also not allow for junk food. No cereal, chips, cookies, pop-tarts, can teas, or can coffees. +3 to STA Weave Silk: I am still very, very new to Tai Chi, having only just picked up a step-by-step book, and watching a few videos on the background, history, and mentality of the forms. I'm really excited to try it out because it sounds like it will be good for me. I will begin daily practice, and see how far it takes me. +3 to DEX Make Things: There are a few fairly ambitious projects on my cosplay docket for this year. I intend to finish one complete outfit for this first challenge. Duelist!Utena will require only shorts and a jacket. I will need to purchase shoes and part of her armour. +3 to CHA Self Care: Something that's always been a struggle for me. This can be several different things, and I'm working on a list as I go. Cuppa Tea: brew, prepare, sit quietly until done. Bubba Baff: candles, salts/bubbles/bombs, book/magazine, Paige (if needed). Skin Care: face mask, moisturize, body moisturizer. +1 to CON Read More: Hi, I'm Ever, and I collect books. There's a shelf full of stuff I haven't touched, and have had several of these novels for far too long. I'll try to cover one book a week. (LifeQuest^)