Search the Community

Heya Nerdly People! My name is Rachel, code name "Spaerrow" because if I could have an awesome ninja alter-ego, that is what it would be. This is what I've been up to so far and who I am: I am 22 years old and I'm on my last year of school to be a High School/ Middle School English teacher. However, I'm a multi-faceted nerd. My students have been pleasantly surprised that I catch their Zelda references and can brag about my bow-aiming skills in Oblivion. I can beat my fiance' and his friends in Super Smash Brothers any day (not bad for a girl,) and I love books and all things literature. (Check out the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, you won't be disappointed.) I am also obsessed with getting healthy. I used to be a big girl. I got skinny the wrong way after discovering that I could control my weight. I got so excited and carried away with it that I was nothing but skin and bone with no muscle to my name. I took two jobs where I had tons of heavy lifting to do, therefore I became Wonder Woman. One job consisted of lifting furniture and the other consisted of lifting boxes and boxes of costumes (Halloween Store.) With a combination of malnutrition and lifting I developed a dehydrated disc that became cracked/torn and I was unable to walk for two weeks. My back has never been the same since. It's been over two years of daily pain and maintenance. I gained about 20lbs after transferring to the University and dropping my second job. It hurt to exercise so I didn't, and we all know how college eating goes. This happened for about a year. This June I became engaged to my best friend. He thinks I'm beautiful at any size (truly, not just him trying to help out my ego) but I want to look great for my wedding in less than 10 months. I began exercising, reading Nerd Fitness, eating Paleo (mostly) and I have lost a significant amount of inches and I actually have muscle!!! I am not where I want to be. I will never be stick-thin. I have wide hips and short legs and I'm ok with that, but I want to transform myself into the butt-kicking ninja I have always wanted to be. I know weight will fluctuate and if I keep on truckin' like I have then I will get to the body I've dreamed of, but I do NOT know how to help my back injury. It is better than it has been, but I really need advice on how to eradicate this persistent pain. I want to go hiking on our honeymoon in Colorado, I want to have kids, I want to play with them, I want to do handstands and jump over stuff, I want to help people move into new homes, and I want to grow old without being tied to a chair or a bed because my back won't allow me to live. So if you stayed long enough to read my story and you have some advice on how to heal this rusty old back of mine, or you want to talk about how awesome Zelda is, be my friend and talk to me! Peace out-- or whatever the kids say these days.

Albertigog reached up to get a jug from the top shelf. As he lifted it a sharp pain shot through his back dropped the just smashing it on the floor. "I see you're still smashing my kitchen up with that back pain of yours." Talo entered into to the kitchen, the baker now looking much rougher than when they had first met mainly due to him shifting rocks everyday without the luxuries that was used to. "Sorry it's still not fully better yet. I'll go get the brush" Albertigog replied sheepishly, especially after the damage he'd caused one night trying to keep himself from turning into the wolf. "Ok but first we need to talk, it's been several weeks and you haven't quite managed to settle in. You made a good start but then something went wrong." "I know, I'm sorry I'll get back on track." "Good, so you can start taking healing that back of yours a bit more seriously, you gave up and have been sitting around for a few weeks and it's not helped (Challenge 1). Also you've been sneaking more than your fair share of the sweet foods we have left, I'm afraid you going to have to give them up completely to make up for it (challenge 2). You also need to be getting up with the rest of us, I've been at the pass for 2 hours already today, you started well but got lazy when you stopped exercising (Challenge 3). Finally you haven't really taken to looking after the horses, maybe you'll be better at helping the people at the town hall keep track of what going on in the town (Life challenge). "OK, will do and I won't mess up this time." So last challenge started out so well, but after some personal circumstances occurred, I had a hell of a lot on my plate, and ended up so tired that I gave up on the challenge. So this challenge is very similar to the last one, with the measures of success slightly tweaked. Challenge 1. Heal and get strong To do this, I'm going to spend at least 15 minutes a day doing some yoga/joint mobility exercises, the focus being on my lower back. Each week I manage to do this everyday will count as one point. In addition to my mobility, I'm setting myself some strength challenges, each one being worth one point. 30 consecutive dead hang pull ups. 15 second handstand 10 wall supported handstand pushups 10 consecutive over head presses with 25kg I know the weight isn't much but as part of my strength training I'm working on my lifting form with light to moderate weights to ready myself and my back for some proper lifting in the future. This gives a total of 10 points 8+ = A 7 = B 6 = C 5 = D Challenge 2. No more crap This is nice and simple as I think I over complicated it too much lat time. Anything I deem as unhealthy food is a no no. Everyday I manage is a point, any day i fail is no point. As this is the 4th morning of the challenge, that leaves 39 points in total. 34+ = A, 31+ = B, 28+ = C, 26+ = D Challenge 3. Get up. I made this a bit hard for myself last time. So again scoring system is if I manage it it's a point for the day, if not no point. Ideally I don't want to be getting up after 7, and would aim for 6 everyday, but from my experience last challenge I'm going to listen to my body a bit more. Therefore I will set my alarm each night for a time I think is appropriate based on how tired I am. Life challenge. Record record record. This is the big change and the one I think will do me the most good in the long run. Every night before I go to bed I'll record my exercise, what I've eaten, time I got up, and other things I want to keep track of not relating to the challenge. I think this will help me massively in being productive in the future, and help me with improve my fitness. I'm not one for fixed workouts, I like to play more than anything so tracking improvement is difficult, hopefully this will help. I'm on holiday with lots of other people for a week during this challenge, so I'm expecting challenge 2 and 3 to get a battering that week. Wish me luck!

Ah, Frank Turner- just the musician a recovering workaholic needs. For those of you who did not follow my previous challenge, I am currently working on recovering from some nasty burnout. It's been a rough year and a half, but the last challenge was successful and I am on the way to recovering sanity and motivation, slowly but surely. Huzzah!!! Frank Turner's song "If Ever I Stray" is my general theme song for this challenge (look it up, it's a great song). For the sub goals, if I'm going to bail on follow through, I have to first listen to the corresponding song and then decide to skip it. Long term goal: be silly and badass, all at once Run 3-6 miles at a 10 minute milePull myself up over a wall without helpPerform a gymnastic routine that includes a backflip or something else springyTruthfully, I am nowhere near motivated enough to work on my long term goals, but I don't want to lose sight of them either. Building block goals (aka - challenge goals) "Reasons Not To Be An Idiot" - Get outside every day and hike/ explore a new outdoor location 3 times during the challenge Pertainable lyrics "so why are you sad at home? You're not designed to be alone. You just got use to saying no, so get up and get down and get outside"It doesn't matter what I do, but for at least 15 minutes each day, I need to be outside.Why? Because depression sucks and sitting in the sun helps fight it. Plus, winter is too cloudy to pass on good weather just because I'm in a bad mood. And I always regret not hiking - I love being in the woods, along the beach, where ever there is nature in abundance. "Photosynthesis" - work less than 41hrs each week and 10 hours per day Pertainable lyrics "I won't sit down. I won't shut up. But most of all, yeah, I won't grow up "Why? Because working more than 41 hours is stressful, I'm salaried and there is always more work that could be done, so why kill myself over it? And, it's summer! Sunshine is a limited commodity in the pacific northwest. Why waste It working indoors? "Love ire and song" - reduce negative/jaded thinking Pertainable lyric - the whole song (language warning)Why? I miss the days when working in a nonprofit was fun and fulfilling. and I realized last week that I spend a lot of time listening to bitter, burnt out people, which helps me not at all. Success = listening to this song twice a week, walking away from negative conversations and activity looking for good things at work at least once per workday

Oh Assassins my Assassins. I was happily and productively participating in my VERY FIRST CHALLENGE here at NF and rapidly achieving my goals of strength, endurance, and skill with an eye towards my main goal of being prepared for my third degree black belt when... A burly 15 year old (with a heart of gold and a brilliant smile) muscled me through a shoulder throw in tae kwon do class and I tore my ACL. oh that poor kid. oh, my poor ACL. Since then I've had to chuck what seemed like super achievable goals of running fast, doing lots of bodyweights, and practicing tae kwon do 3x a week in favor of ... not being blue, and doing as much as I can to stay active and mobile. My surgery is scheduled for June 19th and I'm going back to the same surgeon who did my left ACL about 8 years ago (I tore that one playing ultimate frisbee because I'm apparently a secret JOCK or something). So this challenge will have to be a little less structured in order to deal with surgery and the unknown immediate recovery period afterwards. MAIN QUEST: We can rebuild her. BETTER STRONGER FASTER. I don't know why I've managed to tear both of my ACLs (and NOTHING ELSE IN THERE, I'm super pro at tearing ACLs, apparently) but either I'm a super secret jock (seriously, unlikely), or maybe there was something wrong with my knees. my left knee has been BRILLIANT since the ACL replacement and I'm looking forward to the same amazingness moving forward. This is going to be at least a 6-month main goal. I won't count myself as fully recovered until I'm back at tae kwon do class and fully participating. that means jump kicks and twisting movements. I will be running again. I'll have full range of motion. I know I can get there, because I already did it once with the other leg. And because I know I can get there, I am feeling super aggressive about getting there as quickly and as strongly as possible. you know, within the boundaries of medical science, and with the care and guidance of my PT and physicians. Challenge goals! PHASE 1. Prepare to be the best patient ever. June 9 - June 18 My surgery is on June 19, which means I've got 10 official challenge days before the surgery to prepare, PLUS 5 more days including today before the challenge starts. Being the best patient means being fit and healthy and also not sad and discouraged. I said I was going to do this last challenge, but I totally pooped out in the excitement of a new injury. Right up until my surgery I'm going to do this: * pull-up practice - with the mid-resistance band, not the easiest and most helpful band like I've been using. * inverted rows * chair dips (we don't have dip bars at home, so I put two barstools together and do dips off of them. * and LEG LIFTS. you can never do too many leg lifts. this is medical fact. * the bruce lee abs workout, with a nod towards tae kwon do * week 1 (passive flexibility) of the assassins bridge challenge -- of these, I am confident my leg can handle cobra, camel, pigeon, seal, and shoulder dislocates. I will either do these all at once 3x a week, or every other day (split into abs/flex vs. arms/shoulders/leg lifts). I'm also going to watch my diet. I'm losing weight, and I want to keep it that way. keep tracking with LoseIt. PLUS GUYS, I am still taking my 3rd degree black belt test - but because I can't do any moves right now, they're testing me as an instructor, so I need to be boss, be assertive (I'm instructing/leading the test with some bossy 20 year old dudes), and make our students look really good while testing their competency. That happens on June 6. PHASE 2. We can rebuild her. WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY. June 19 - July 6 (subtext: don't be a mope) I'm going to be home and off my feet for a while. AT LEAST one week. more likely 2. Who knows when I can drive again, because this is my gas pedal foot. I really don't know what the specific goals are going to look like during Phase 2, but it will likely include: * I'll be working at home for a period of my convalescence, and I will need to be productive while at home. I'm not the best at working at home and I will need to do better than ever before. * watch my diet! continue tracking. I'm not going to stress out if I gain a little while I'm on my butt but I don't want to gain a whole lot. eating all the vegetables will help here. I'm going to take a few days after my surgery to flat-out-recover, but I will be back here on June 23 with a set of actual goals for the next two weeks. I'm hopeful that I can add in some stretching/range of motion exercises to this but right now I don't have enough info from my surgeon. PHASE 3. ACHIEVE (*ahem* start to achieve) TORSIONAL STABILITY. July 7 - July 20 I don't know what my PT is going to look like, but I'm going to work the pants off of it. I want to achieve torsional stability quickly, strongly, and safely. Again - I'll have to define this a little more carefully after I have my post-op surgical visit and meet with my physical therapist. Deadline of July 7 to come up with concrete goals. but it will certainly include: * watch my diet! continue tracking. I shouldn't be on my butt any more, so I need to focus on eating right. Plan on continuing to eat all the vegetables. As I'm expecting to be more mobile, I should start going to farmers markets and getting (all the) vegetables and eating (them all). LIFE QUEST. KNIT A SWEATER. With all the being at home I might as well do something besides reading YA novels and apocalyptic fiction and regency romances. Because as much as I can read all day long, generally on day two I need to take a little break, and knitting makes me feel better about watching TV. I have this sweater all ready to go: knitting needles, pattern, and yarn are accumulated. Just need to swatch and cast on. I keep telling people I'm a pretty fast knitter, but I just don't have the time to do it - now I'll have the time! so I can do this! Goals | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

I've been lurking/hiding/squirrelled away again. I've managed to let things get on top of me and start pushing me down. It's never a welcome feeling to realise that you've allowed yourself to dig such a deep hole without any means of escape. The past couple of months have been rough, physically and emotionally, and now that uni is done for the summer (kind of) I'm determined to get myself back on top of things. If this means digging myself back out of that hole with my bare hands, well, then that's what's going to happen. Somehow... I've gone all RPG (more so than usual, I guess) this time around, just for kicks. It's taken a lot of heavy borrowing from Morrowind and Oblivion to put everything together, and if you think it looks complicated on the surface you should see what's sitting in my Google Drive and a small handful of notebooks! I have too much free time now, also, I'm really enjoying it, so... why not? Goal One: Physical Recovery [+3 STR, +1 WIS] Skills in training - Unarmoured (combat), knife, restoration I wrote this down originally without splitting it up into three segments and it just got kinda weird and repetitive as I tried to explain everything. Essentially, I have damage that needs fixing before I can even think of hitting the big goals. Those of you that followed my last challenge will know that during what was supposed to be my epic expedition, well, things went very wrong and I ended up being carted off with a near useless right arm. After a trip to the doctor to confirm that my tendons are indeed unhappy, I've been issued some instructions to take care of it and hopefully bring myself through the worst and out the other side (with happier tendons!). The three segments of this goal are as follows: 1. Unarmoured - 0/100 Starting where I should this time, at the start. To fight in armour, no matter what kind, one must first learn how to fight without it. Knowledge is not enough, it must be backed with physical ability. To master the unarmoured skill, I must establish a light workout schedule that will not cause further injury, but will be enough to have an effective workout. To begin with, I've drawn up a battle plan that consists of two days bodyweight work and two days of yoga. Physio will be a daily thing. To be honest, I think the worst part about this will be getting used to limiting myself this much and not giving in to the little voice that tells me it can't hurt to do more. Now, this goal will be adjusted throughout the challenge. The doctor I've been seeing on this side of the country is amazing, and she's said she's more than happy to advise me. So I'm doing it properly this time! 2. Knife - 0/100 A knife is traditionally a light weapon, one that requires only a little strength to wield. Therefore, in order to progress with this skill, I have to keep myself from adding weighted exercise in for the duration of these six weeks. It will be strictly bodyweight only. As easy and as much a pain in the ass as that. ***except next to no push-ups to begin with, because ouch 3. Restoration - 0/100 The art of healing. Herein lies physiotherapy, something which I'm notoriously bad for ignoring, adjusting to something that I think will be better, or just forgetting. There are three rules I need to adhere to for this one, nightly massage, morning stretches, and the wearing of a splint for labour intensive days or the neoprene support for not quite so intense days. Goal Two: Flexibility and Other Fun Stuff [+3 DEX, +1 STA] Skills in training - Acrobatics, theft 1. Acrobatics - 0/100 Despite what the name implies, there will be no acrobatics for a good long while yet. This is where the yoga part goes, because let's face it, where would I be without it? I will not be working on arm balances, apparently you need two fully functional arms for that, but what I will be working on is balance and core stability. And stretching. Morning stretches to go with my morning physio, and night stretches to go with my night physio. Maybe it'll get me into some kind of routine that is conducive to actual sleep... 2. Theft - 0/100 ...I really wanted to find a way to work this skill into this whole thing, so I thought long and hard about what I could associate with it that didn't involve actual theft. In the end I came up with grip training. It's something I need to do quite badly, and what thief wouldn't benefit from it? (Right?!) Starting small here. The tendonitis isn't the only issue, there's also the horribly weak left hand to consider. The training will be incorporated into the BW days to ensure I don't go overboard on it. I've got a pair of those squeezy grip trainer things, one requiring significantly more strength than the other, so I'll start there. Goal Three: All About the Food [+2 CON, +1 WIS] Skills in training - Alchemy, illusion 1. Alchemy - 0/100 So being back with my parents and not having much input into the food bought is in fact weird. Sure, I now find myself eating better quality food, and every now and then I get fed a meal of immense proportions... Basically, I'm going back to the start with this one as well. The fasting thing I introduced a few challenges back is sticking around, no eating between the hours of 9pm and 11am unless there are exceptional circumstances, because that actually works for me quite well. The rest of it? Cooking. Actual cooking. I need to do this daily. And recording what I'm eating to figure out where the deficiencies are and how I can go about fixing it. Guys, I mean, my diet for the past two weeks has essentially been carbs. Not good. I even feel like crap because of it. So I'm getting myself back on track. 2. Illusion - 0/100 This is pretty much my promise to post food porn at least once a week! I linked up the illusion skill with photography, and while the main part of it will be explained a little further down, I'm making a little allowance for some decent food photography as well. Goal Four: Mind Games [+2 WIS, +1 CHA, +1 CON] There are no specific guidelines for this one, save this: Spend at least one hour a day on something that is purely for me, that will make me happy. I can't even begin to describe how much I need this right now. The past couple of months, well... They've really enforced that I need to get better at cheering myself up, at distracting my mind from issues for at least a little while. I knew this already, then I got a bombshell dropped on me that really lived up to the name and realised that my current system sucks and I need to build a new one. Never mind the almost failing third year/massive meltdown in from of the personal tutor thing, never mind crapping out big time on the expedition that was supposed to be one of my biggest achievements to date... Five days ago I found out that I have an older brother. ...and the rest of my dad's side of the family knew about this for years. Nothing like being the last to know, right? So, there's that on top of everything else, and I'll admit I am having a little trouble working through it. As I was going through plans for this goal, I actually realised how little I could do. I've found my old guitar and really want to learn how to play the thing, but apparently that would be a bad idea right now what with the wrist and everything. The same goes for knitting (!), drawing, and woodworking. To begin with I panicked, but I realised this would be a perfect opportunity to pick up some new hobbies. Besides, I can still read and pick up a camera! I'll find things to occupy my time, and I'm determined I'll be a happier person because of it. I will never stop using that gif... Things may or may not be tweaked before the actual start of the challenge, but for once I'm actually really happy about how I've gone about this. It makes sense to me, and as frustrating as it will be, I know starting at the beginning is going to work out for the best. I'll post some starting pictures and measurements on the Sunday or Monday, 'cause I haven't done that since my first challenge, I don't think.

I am going to start this battle log - but I am going to put here my previous battles. I need a place where I can put my story all in one place...which is what I think is the purpose of BattleLogs. But, here is one of my inspirations, sent to me by TennisGeek:

This is challenge number 6 for me. Truthfully the last two, even though the grade itself was not bad, really just wasn't great. Mostly this was due to an overall burnout due to a variety of factors (some physical, some more motivationally inclined). I felt like I was not focused. After consulting my coach, he agreed it was time to bring things down and take a short break from recomping. (At least 3 weeks.) That means that for the start of this challenge I will be in a recovery phase. It was suggested I bring up my calorie, carb and fat intake, drop my weights a bit and focus on well being over actual fat loss. So, I have decided to break this challenge into chunks, adjusting the goals as I go. I also thought that since my focus is on well being that it is an excellent time to focus on the basics. Simple, simple. Nothing complicated, nothing fancy. The first 2 weeks my goals will look like this: GOAL 1- Macros: I chose last challenge to take a break from following exact numbers. This had it's good points and not so good points. But, for this round I am going to be going back to aiming for more exact numbers. The biggest reason is because I am trying to essentially heal my body and following numbers helps give me more solid data to work from. Plus, if weight does continue to drop during the recovery my coach has suggested we raise things more. The numbers I am focusing on for now are: 1368 CAL/ 135 PRO/ 135 CHO/ 32 FAT I want to hit these within 100 points on the Cals/ 10 on the PRO & CHO and Fats. GOAL 2- Fluids: I had started doing really well on this and totally got out of the habit last challenge. I actually found that all I was drinking during the course of the day was a cup of coffee I sipped on or an occasional diet soda. And, I am aware that dehydration can have a negative impact so this is another important aspect to an overall well being and something I really have to keep practicing. The first two weeks I am setting a goal of a minimum of 64 oz. (the usual 8/ 8 oz) and my plan is to work up from there to a range of 128 oz by challenge end. GOAL 3- Workouts: LOVE, love, loved the Belly Dancing Lessons last challenge and practicing the yoga (which also helped the belly dancing) so those will continue. Workouts will be: Monday: Chest & Arms Wednesday: Legs Friday: Back & Shoulders Tue., Thurs.: Cardio/ yoga (most likely Bellyfit) Saturday: Belly Dancing Sunday: Off & Refeed Days Life Goal: This will be a continuation of the Clutter Project I started last challenge and will probably be an ongoing thing for a few challenges. A whole house/ whole life sort of undertaking. Grades for this first two weeks: A= 12 days (allows for 2 refeed days) B= 10 days C= 8 days F= less than 8 Hey Vilkacis, time to put down number 6! LET'S DO THIS! :triumphant: :triumphant:

Vengefulpear's Asgard Challenge Hello again! Ready for another challenge? I am! So you may remember the last mini-challenges we all rebuilt the Bifrost (well done by the way!) but I figured while all you Assassins go back to Midgard and move on with some training I'll stay up here in Asgard and recuperate with Odin and train with Thor! Main Quest: Recover So my shoulder still isn't fully recovered. And honestly, it's getting quite frustrating. I have a doctor's appointment later (update to follow) so hopefully the doctor will be more useful than the nurse who just shrugged and said "just rest it" because that was about 3 months ago. I really want this challenge to be the last one that I have to focus on recovery rather than rebuilding, but my methods are pending doctor-ness. I feel like Thor trying to escape from hospital but being dragged back for his own good... I'm also pleased about the fact the mini-challenge is pistol squats because I definitely want to do those Anyway, onto the goals! Goal 1: Eat Like A God Eat ~2000 calories per day and eat right! +2 CON +2 WIS This will be a pincer attack for diet, I'm upping my calories to 2000 a day because I'm going to run a lot more and I want to cut out sugar and head down the paleo path once again. So for this part one of the goal is 2000 calories per day (averaged for the week) and then also trying to make sure I eat as one would in Asgard, so lots of steak and vegetables with fruit and nuts but much much less cake, sodas, biscuits (damn you free work biscuits!) and things like that. Eat like a Viking basically. And I can live with And here is the ever present calorie PVP spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmtRMwoMwJORdG9zYkU1TVAtSkduTXhMUHZkaFdZYXc&usp=sharing BONUS OBJECTIVE: Eat fish 3 times a week Goal 2: Quicker Than Thunder Do sprint training twice per week as per programme and go for long runs too +2 DEX +1 STR I found an 8 week programme on bodybuilders.com which I think would be an excellent way for me to track and get better at sprinting, rather than just running up a hill until I get tired (which is current plan!) and I also want to run longer I think I'm up to 9 miles on my longest run so far. Let's see how far I can get! BONUS OBJECTIVE: Run a half-marathon just because you can! (13.2 miles in one run) Goal 3: Doctor's Orders [Get Better] Work up to full push ups and 3 strength training sessions per week Right, I'm going to the Doctor's tonight so this goal will be pending on what they say. The goal is basically to ensure my recovery is as quick as possible! So I have now been to the doctor's! She said that she can't give me anything or send me to a physio because it's been too long so I'm recovered enough that doing either of those won't make any difference at this point. Talking it through she was very keen to get me working out again (very very carefully) to strengthen up my shoulder again SO I'M ALLOWED TO DO RESISTANCE TRAINING AGAIN! My plan is to do crazy slow progressions starting with wall-push ups as part of the routine and using the dumbbells I have at home with maybe 1kg and do some shoulder exercises. Then I'll slowly work my way down the wall/stairs one I feel like I can safely do 3 sets of 8 push ups and the same for going up weights with the shoulder exercises. Charisma and Wisdom are attributed for this one because I will only consider it successful if I can do it without further injury. Key here is for care and making sure it's rehab rather than breaking me more. 4 POINTS TO BE ATTRIBUTED +2 STR +1 CHA +1 WIS So here, have some bonus gifs of Tom Hiddleston's Thor audition (And by that I mean audition TO BE Thor) Goal 4: Read the Library of Asgard Work towards writing everyday +2 CHA +2 WIS This doesn't have to be writing necessarily as I do have a book on writing poetry and a book on grammar, so if nothing else I can just read through those And I am not restricting myself to a time limit, this could be five minutes, ten minutes or three hours. It all counts! I'm looking forward to this challenge with everyone And one more gif for your entertainment:

I am thinking about trying Con-cret creatine. Has anyone else used it. I have read that this one is better because it doesn't require a "loading" cycle, and there aren't any adverse effects if you just stop taking it. Any thoughts?

First off, how cool is this site?! I'm pretty stoked about finding some motivation and support on my health and fitness journey. Not sure what guild I would fit best in yet. A little about me...I am a 31-year-old living in the Midwest. I live with my boyfriend J in an old house that is occasionally visited by a stray bat or two. We have one fur-child, a polydactyl cat named Hermes. I am in recovery from anorexia and bulimia and am learning to figure out who I am outside of these disorders. I grew up around weightlifting, as my dad was a competitive, Olympic-style lifter. My goals are as follows: Goal 1: Food is fuel As I continue down my path toward recovery from an 11-year eating disorder, my main focus is on learning moderation in my eating. I am weight-restored, but struggle to eat a "normal" amount on a daily basis--sometimes not eating enough, sometimes eating far too much. I know the best thing I can do for my health is to stop the food roller coaster and fight for a healthy calorie intake on a daily basis. I am a vegan, so I want to continue to eat a plant-based diet, aiming for between 1300-1600 calories daily. A: Between 1300-1600 B: -1 to 200 in either direction (from 1100-1299 or 1601-1800) C: -201 to 400 either direction (from 900-1099 or 1801-2000) D: -401 to 600 either direction (from 700-899 or 2001-2200) F: Less than 700 or more than 2200 Goal 2: Continue bodyweight and weight-training In the past month I have been working to get back to some light weightlifting. I no longer belong to a gym, so my workouts are done at home with dumbbells or with bodyweight. Pushups, tricep dips & skullcrushers, bent rows, squats (regular & sumo), straight-leg deadlifts, ab work. I lift four to five times a week and want to continue on this path. A: 5x/week upper/lower split B: 4x/week C: 3x/week D: 1 to 2x/week F: No lifting Goal 3: 30 minutes of cardio, 5x/week Pretty self-explanatory. I usually do speed walking, running stairs and biking. Mostly steady-state with sprint intervals, occasionally. Tried my first tabata workout today and realized I am still far too out of shape. Ha! A: 5-6x B: 3-4x C: 1-2x D: None Goal 4: Maintaing smoking cessation I quit smoking on March 5, 2014, so am nearly seven weeks clean. This is either all or none. Goal 5: Life Quests Post in my personal blog 1x/week. Read at least a chapter a day of chosen book (Lately I've been struggling with concentration, so getting back to reading is a big goal of mine.) Again, all or none. Thank you all for having me! I am open to questions, advice and general banter.

Who knew Princesses weren't born with immunity to all harmful illness or disease? I certainly didn't. So enters the emergency surgery for an obstructed bowel that decided to come around on my break between challenges. Although, to be fair, my several weeks of discomfort in the last challenge's end were clearly indicative had I done something about them sooner. So here I am post surgery and another challenge has begun, clearly there will be no fitness goals to speak of, other than increase activity gradually as tolerated. But the diet...ohhhh the diet! After no food for 9 days, it seems logical to only reintroduce things I am trying to eat, rather than things I will have to cut out later. My body makes life easy for me like that! So we have diet goals, rest goals, continue the reading goal. All starting once I get home from the hospital. Challenge Goal Recap: 1. No gluten, dairy, sugar, allergens or artificial ingredients in my diet...and KEEP IT THAT WAY! 2. Menu planning and cooking for said diet to cement changes for harder times. 3. Firm Bedtime of 10pm 4. Read Book 8 "The Path of Daggers" and continue "Meditations from The Mat"

Hello everyone! So this is my first official thread in the Rangers. I seem to identify with them most, as I find an importance in general, all-around fitness and not just focus on one thing. My first NF Challenge went really well (found here) and I can't wait to see what I can do in the next 6 weeks. For those of you who followed me the last 6 weeks, my goals this time around are gonna be similar. For those of you who are new, HI!! Main Quest: Maintain my Health - Last challenge, I spent 6 weeks getting my activity levels back. After a debilitating knee injury in 2013 (that still flares up occasionally) and medical issues in December - I needed to regain my fitness & health. I now walk (or run if the knee can take it) at least 2 miles a day, can easily perform strength workouts and in general feel healthier. So, its my goal to maintain this and see continued progress. Supporting Quests: 1. Nutrition has always been a challenge of mine, so I think its time for it to take center stage. I can easily do my workouts, but nutrition is always a tough one to stick with 100% of the time. I'm going to use the next few weeks to really make this the most important aspect of my overall training. Healthy Foods = Healthy & Strong Ranger I normally eat "mostly" paleo/primal. After years of tweaking my diet, I figured out that gluten causes me more issues than benefits, so I've recently started to eliminate that (which is easier said than done for a reformed carb-o-holic) and will continue that in the upcoming weeks. To keep things interesting, I might try playing around with changing my food around to keep me from getting bored (i.e. low carb days VS higher carb days) 2. Maintain My Current Activity Levels - I currently walk at least 2 miles a day with 3 days a week of running (in the 3rd week of the C25K program at the moment), so this one will just be to maintain it. I also want to add in some cardio cross-training to get myself more versatile - so boxing & kickboxing classes at my gym will probably be in my future 3. Strength Train 3 days a week - I've come up with a lifting plan and will be doing this on Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays (due to my school schedule - this is what its gotta be). Its kind of a bastardized, messed up version of StrongLifts. I will use my ending lifting numbers from last challenge to start this one - should be super fun Just like last challenge: I'll give myself 33% a day for each of my workouts (2 miles/Cardio and strength training) and 34% for my food. I'll add them all together and get a percentage out of 100% - at the end of the Challenge, I'll have a solid average for how I'm doing. And on days that are Rest Days from Strength training - I shall default to the 33% as long as I hit my other goals. As far as food goes, I'll consider that a "34%" if I stay on point, eat healthy, with no processed junk foods or excess sugars. I will take my "before" measurements & progress pictures later this week (I'll coincide them with my "ending" measurements from the last challenge) so that I have something tangible to track numbers & progress. I've had issues in the past with the "neurotic scale tracking" and so I'm really just focused on getting healthy & strong and will use my workouts & measurements to track my positive changes Side Note: I'm not sure how to do the Real Life Role Playing stats & stuff, but I'm gonna try to figure it out in the next few days so that I can get that updated as well

Vengefulpear Eats Senzu Beans in the Medi-Chamber! Welcome back to another awesome challenge my Assassin friends Some of you may know that my shoulder is all messed up right now (well not that badly, but it's still on the mend) so this time around my challenge is going to be based around recovery, the final stages of slimming down and life goals! This year was supposed to be the Year of the Dragon, so I went with a Dragon Ball Z theme for this! Rather than just kicking some dragon bottom... Damn you shoulder! My main quest for this challenge (hopefully it wont last any longer than this challenge) is to fully recover and slowly build myself back up so I don't do myself further harm. Anyway! Onto the goals! Goal 1: Eat Senzu Beans (Like a good Assassin) Lose 6lbs +2 CON +1 DEX Starting Weight: 152lbs Last time I had the same goal and managed to smash it! Yay! So this time I figure I'll do the same, as 6lbs is a good amount to lose in 6 weeks. I am getting close to where I'd like to be I think, I'm certainly nearing where my lean body mass used to be. I know that I will have lost muscle whilst not being able to workout as much as I want because of the stupid efficient body. Damn you shoulder! *shakes fist* Now that I have successfully eaten a certain amount for a challenge, I'm going to add on to that to eat right. That's right, upping it to Hard difficulty! So here's what my dietary goals to achieve my 6lb weight loss are this time: Eat 1850-1950 calories per day average (see calorie PVP)Eat 80% paleo (Minimum 5 days per week)Bonus Objective: Eat 100g protein per dayThe bonus objective is there to hopefully minimize any more muscle loss that might occur. Hopefully with paleo that will happen anyway but we shall see! As per usual, I'm going to throw out the calorie PVP for anyone who wants to track their calories The rules are simple, track your calories and see if you meet your target as an average for the week, whoever does or is the closest is declared the winner. And the overall awesome-person/winner is whoever had the most weekly wins! So I'd be honoured if anyone wants to join me https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmtRMwoMwJORdG9zYkU1TVAtSkduTXhMUHZkaFdZYXc&usp=sharing Goal 2: Run Snake Way +2 STA +1 DEX +1 CON Run 650,000 miles, kidding! Actually; Run 2-3 times per week and do interval/sprint training 1-2 times per week Again this will be building on the success of my running goal from last challenge, although I do realise that some of that was down to be not being able to do strength training on its own so I just went running instead. I went running 3-4 times per week last challenge, mainly going for 5km runs and then some longer ones at the weekends. Now I want to add in speed training to help my stamina, fat loss and speed. To make sure I don't feel like I have to go out all the time and just run, I'm lowering the goal of normal slower runs to 2-3 instead of 3-4 and then adding in the interval training at 1-2 times per week. If I keep up with what I was doing in the last challenge then I should be able to achieve that no problemo. Goal 3: Stretchy Stretchy Stretch or practice yoga every day +3 DEX +1 STR This goal is subject to change. But I will stretch and/or start yoga to try and keep myself limber and help along the recovery of my shoulder. Also if my shoulder keeps giving my grief after a couple of weeks of the challenge then I will be off to the doctor so this goal may change to reflect what they say. I'm pretty new to yoga and things so any suggestions on this front would be appreciated Goal 4: Study like Gohan Work on life goals at least 1 hour per day +2 CHA +2 WIS Maybe not just like Gohan, but the boy did study hard! I want to add in this because I do want to kick my writing up a notch this year and we've all got loads of things we want to be able to do but never seem to get around to (right... Right?!). So I want to do them rather than just diddling time away on my computer of an evening not doing a lot. Life goals include but are not limited to: Writing, learning a language, researching for writing, studying on writing, practicing my guitar, meditation And to be clear for my own benefit, practicing Smite does not count as a life goal. Bonus points for hitting 50,000 words written towards the book (I'm on about 8,500 now so that might be a stretch but if I actually sit down and write instead of just splooping paragraphs out every now and again I should be able to do it) That's my challenge, then! I wish everyone the best of luck, I'm sure we can support each other and make sure that everyone achieves the very best they can I look forward to it

Blah blah blah torn acl blah.. I'm going to try to focus on non-injury stuff here, and if you really want to follow the injury rehab, go to my daily battle log. For the time being, my Main Quest and Motivation are the same: rehab the damned knee and do it right. Try to stay sane and productive while riding on the rehab road. I'm not even going to think about my real quest and motivation until I'm over this roadblock. I am, however, finally at a point where I can actually make plans and set goals, rather than structure my life around regaining some sense of normalcy and reducing stress. 1. If I can't go down, go up (Pull-ups): I may not really be able to work my lower body, but the upper body is all mine. I'm going to get back into the swing of things with the 20 pull-up challenge training program. The plan calls for 3 sessions each week, so the grade is # of sessions completed/18. I was at about 5 pull-ups per set before getting hurt, but I haven't done much in the last 6 weeks, so it'll be interesting to see how this works for me. 2. Get a grip (Rice Bucket): I may not be allowed to climb, but I can still work at and preserve my grip strength. The goal is to do the Iron Fist Rice Bucket workout twice per week. Grade is the # completed/12 3. Compliance (rehabilitation) - Do everything I'm supposed to do and nothing I ought not do. I'm at a point in the rehab where it's easy to try to push things, because you start feeling much better and much more capable. I'm also at a point where the rehab starts to get kind of boring. So, this goal is just a reminder that I need to fully do my physical therapy exercises each day (which will be easy), and that I'm not allowed to do anything outside of that unless I've cleared it with my physical therapist (which will be harder). So far, the only extracurriculars I'm permitted to do are: upper body or core stuff not using the legs at all, light cycling on a stationary bike, short distance walking on safe terrain, and walking in the swimming pool. That's it. The grade for this will be a daily pass/fail out of 42. Life goal: Piano I took lessons for 12 years as a kid, but since then, I've been much more sporadic in my practicing. For 10 years, my wrists were frequently sore from hapkido joint locks, and then my hands were sore and blistered from climbing. Now that I can't climb, I'm free to get back into the swing of things with my music. I have a tendency of sitting down, playing for a couple minutes, and then deciding that I'm "not feeling it" or that my fingers are "too uncoordinated" that day. But, if I make myself really warm up, things tend to go well. So, the goal is to play a minimum of 10 minutes each day, in the hopes that I'll warm up into it and play for much longer. The grade will be a daily pass/fail out of 42. Ungraded: Balanced strength: Horizontal and vertical push as well as horizontal pull a couple times per week at the gym, to keep things in balance. My pull strength is significantly stronger than my push, which could lead to imbalance issues if I don't address this. Diet: Be more mindful of what I eat. For the last 2 months, I had enough on my plate and didn't choose to add any food related stress. I still want to keep things low stress, but I want to be much more mindful of clean eating and less snacking.

I'm going into my last two weeks as a college athlete. It's exciting but also a bit sad because I had a lot of fun fencing for my college the past few years. My goals this challenge will reflect grinding out the last two weeks of competition, then finding a way to wind down from the season and recover from the effects of training hard. I'll also be focusing on eating healthier (because I've honestly sucked at that lately) and adapting to a new, self-motivated routine. Main Goal: Build a routine 1) Eating - Create a daily/weekly meal plan. It's okay if I eat out but I want to track that I'm getting enough protein and produce and cut down on the grains. I know on the average day (especially off-days and competition days) I'm not eating enough to sustain the amount I'm training. +2 CON, +2 CHA, +1 WIS 2) Walking - I have a fitbit, which I have been ignoring lately. Want to average at least 10K steps daily, with the goal of increasing to 15K steps at least 5 days a week. Walking is awesome and good for you, and hopefully the weather will transition to being warmer which will make walks even better. +2 STA, +3 CHA 3) Work-Outs - Need to do some thinking on this. I need something active to begin after season ends, but I also should take some time to recover. Most of the workouts will likely focus on general fitness maintenance and a lot of stretching. So maybe yoga, swimming, etc. +2 DEX, +2 STR, +1 STA

Thread for recording my rehabilitation process after a complete PCL tear. Background: I am a work-at-home software engineer living in Tokyo. One husband, one dog, one cockatiel. I was a few weeks into a few months of vacation to relax and do some study on MOOCs. I've been experimenting with the paleo diet since last December and joined the rebellion a month or two ago, but haven't really started doing regular workouts. My regular exercises consisted of walking/running with the dog daily and occasional short cycling trips. The fateful day: Mar 22. Saturday. I badly twisted my left knee on a ski slope. At first I didn't notice the damage. It wasn't until I put my left leg on the downhill side and tried to start, that I realized I can't put my weight on my left leg: I fell. After sliding down the whole slope on my buttocks (that was fun), my husband called the emergency for me. The nurse at the first-aid center applied a compress to my knee and advised to see a doctor. Icing would not be necessary, just don't warm it for now. During the rest of the day, while we went back to Tokyo on car, and until I got crutches a few days later, I moved around by hopping on my right leg. That night I applied taping around the knee to prevent unwanted motions and slept with the left leg in a slightly elevated position. Day 2: Mar 23. It was Sunday the next day and hospitals are usually closed. Luckily, there was an orthopedic clinic open nearby. The doctor checked the knee and advised me to go to a bigger hospital, where I can get an MRI scan. He drew some excess blood and fluid from my knee with a syringe, and gave me a referral letter for an university hospital. At his directions, I tried standing with my weight equally on both legs. Somewhat to my surprise, I could. To aid my body in coping with the injury, I decided to consciously up my intake of proteins: eggs, meats, fishes and whey protein dispersed across the day. Day 3: Mar 24. Monday. The university hospital had actually shutdown a few days ago, and was re-opening at a new location this very day. Luckily because of this, the MRI reservation queue was almost empty and I could get a scan on the spot. The scan indicated a complete PCL tear. If I caught the words it correctly, my knee flexion measured around 60 degrees (not sure where zero degree is on this measurement) and I had almost no problem doing a full extension. I have the choice to get a surgery or not. We'll see how the knee is doing after a month or so and make further decisions. I went home equipped with a long cast bandaged along the back of my left leg and a pair of crutches. Next Tuesday, I'll visit the hospital to get a brace fitted. I'm not despaired or anything like that at this point. Unbeknownst to me, I'd learnt how not to make comparisons with the past, the alternate future where I retained a healthy knee, and with other perfectly biped people. I can easily focus on what changes I can make about my current state, and not on what I can't change. But I do have small surges of anxiety from time to time. The dog doesn't like the crutches. She fled upstairs when she first saw me entering the room on it. It wasn't until the day after the next that she got accustomed to how it works and kept on lying down when I passed her by. Day 4-7: Mar 25-28. Tue-Fri. I decided on a routine to start working on my upper body and try to retain my legs' muscle strength. The goal is to end up stronger than before the incident. I try to put 50% of my weight on my left leg from time to time. I figured it's fine as it doesn't hurt. I'll have to check with the doctor on my next visit. Using the crutches is fun. As a programmer, I've always liked learning new things. These are the ways I get around the house now: monopedhopping: the most speedy but the most tiring.twist dancing: less tiring but slow.bipedmodified twist dancing: use the left leg as a support for better stability. less stress on the right leg than monoped twist dancing. can carry things with both hands tripedsingle crutch: only tried a few times when I needed to carry something with my hand. It's a little taxing on my left arm.quadrupeddouble crutch: moderate speed and energy efficient. only limited capacity to carry things around, but can be remedied with the use of a bag. a little cumbersome to stow and fetch the crutches.hands and feet: just like other animals. it's the most efficient as long as I'm on a flat surface. it really helps that I can put at least 50% of my weight on the left leg and I have the flexibility to touch the ground with my hand fingers flat and put weight on them. When I'm too weary to study, I listen to the BBC dramatization of "The Lord of the Rings", or read the "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. I feel envious of my husband who's going on a one-day cycling trip tomorrow. But I'm glad at the same time that I have an excuse to stay in bed all the time and study and do hobby programming.

Been gone for the past few challenges, but feel like this is the perfect time to come back. This is also my first time as a Warrior - spent all my previous challenges as a Ranger, but since I love picking up heavy things above all else, this is where I belong for now. Anyway, I'm starting off this challenge angry - mostly at myself. When I was first getting into weightlifting, about a year and a half ago, I attempted a front squat without utilizing proper form, and strained something in my back. It was painful for a couple of weeks but I've had it under control for the most part since then - trying to use good form, warming up/stretching, and so on. Well, stupidly, over the past few weeks I've been getting lazy about warming up/stretching, and let my form get a little more sloppy than it should. This past Saturday, at the end of a 135 Romanian Deadlift - the heaviest I've ever gone - I felt a huge twinge in my lower back, and for the past couple of days it's definitely been uncomfortable. Bending over, for example, is painful. So, all my previous thoughts for goals have gone out the window. Instead I'll try to take some inspiration from Batman - even he had his back broken and had to recover. Ultimate goal - get down to 22% bodyfat (currently at around 28%) 1st goal - Do all the stretches Got an appointment with the chiropractor today, and whatever the diagnosis is, I'll apply her advice religiously. I've also got Al Kavadlo's stretching book, and am ordering Supple Leopard today, and will focus on reading those and applying the stretching and recovery exercises they recommend. These are things that will probably need to be done everyday. 2nd goal - It's all about the diet Since I probably won't be able to do as many of the traditional exercises I was planning (heavy squats, deadlifts, etc.), and my ultimate goal revolves around leaning out, this means I need to zero in on my diet even more. The goal here is to eat paleo 90% of the time, with room for one cheat meal per week. 3rd goal - Incorporate more bodyweight movements When Bruce Wayne had to recover, he didn't have access to his traditional training methods, and he had to think about his back problems. So he used bodyweight exercises! I've been getting closer and closer to being able to do chin-ups, so I'll continue to concentrate on those, along with pushups, planks, and so on. If I'm told by the doctor that weighted squats and deadlifts are out, I'll focus my work on pistol squats. Life goal - Don't stress That's pretty much it. I'm bummed about the fact that I probably won't get to move heavy weights, but this whole challenge is focused on keeping recovery first. Someday I'll be able to go back to heavier weights, and being healthy is most important, so why stress about everything else? On any journey to better health I'm bound to hit a few bumps in the road, and the key here is to not let myself get completely derailed. The Bane of my back problems will get conquered as long as I work consistently at it.

Challenge 8 - the first of 2014 and time to get things back on track. I've been hampered with injuries the last 2 challenges which has halted my lifting progress and resulted in some fairly decent weight gain. I'll be using this challenge to drop the weight again, recover properly and prepare myself for the year ahead. I turn 40 this year and I want to be in unreal shape for that. Main Quest Attain 12% body fat once. Starting Stats: Weight: 86.6kg Body fat: 20.7% This challenge is going to draw on the the successes of last year's 7 challenge's. I've decided to re-visit the goals from my previous challenges that I had success with and that helped me out the most so I have pulled 4 goals of of my previous threads. Goal 1 - No Alcohol (from challenge 1) (CON 5) Every January I abstain from Alcohol and this year will be no different. This is never easy but I have experience to draw on and I know I can do it if I am determined enough. Goal 2 - Sub 80kg (from challenge 2) (CHA 3 DEX 2) I know, I know, weight figures are arbitrary and the scale can lie but I know the score and I know I'm too heavy at the moment. I'm under no illusion that this is going to be a very hard target to hit but I want it badly enough to try my best. Goal 3 - No Sugar (from challenge 5) (CON 2) Well I thought I was doing no sugar in challenge 5, turns out my protein powder was a lie. I know this will be a tough one, I have been eating poorly for a couple months so there will be fallout from dropping this but I know it's worth it. Inspiration here Goal 4 - 80% Paleo - 17 main meals per week. (from challenge 7) (CON 3) Again what I thought was Paleo really wasn't due to my protein powder so I'm going to try this again. With work travel this can be tough but we'll see how I go. What nothing related to strength training or exercise? Not this time, it's all about body fat, body weight and changing how I'm feeling. I will be exercising but I'm not stating any goals around it, I need to get my diet sorted out as the top priority. Rewards: History shows rewards also work well for me. - If I go sub 80kg I will book my dream diving trip to the Yongala wreck.

So I am back at work and back at real life. Brazil was a blast, and although I didn't eat gluten free (please tell me how, when the Brazillians seem to worship at the alter of gluten), i ate as healthy as i could and i still managed to lose a ton of cms and kgs. I came back from holiday with clothes that don't fit me because they're too big now - story of my life at the moment, lol. I think i also melted some of it away, because of Rio's heat. I am not complaining mind you, because it's prepped me for my hot summer in Cape Town So as i'm literally starting this challenge mid way through week 3, i am doing a modified challenge and focusing on just getting back into the swing of things. Like getting back to eating better, getting back into gym and just finding a rhythm in my routine again. An easy challenge i know, but sometimes just building a base is a good restart. Main Goal (for the next year): Get in enough shape to complete the Cape Argus Cycle Tour in 2015. When i was in my teens i had done the Argus Cycle Tour religiously every year (making it 5 that i've completed thus far). It happens over the second weekend in March and is a 100+km cycle around the rather mountainous peninsula of Cape Town. Last year after being with NF for almost a year, i promised my cousin that for his 18th birthday i would cycle the Argus with him again. He reminded me the other day that it's his 17th bday this March Which means that for the next year my focus would need to be getting in shape to be able to make that 109km before the cut off time (7 hours). My best time while in high school was 2h54m but i just want to finish before cut off time this time around 1. Gym Routine (2 on, 1 off) - towards the end of last year, the general fatigue of a hard working year saw my gym activities take a bit of a nose dive. I was going as often as i could, but the willpower wasn't always there. I am just using the next 3.5 weeks to work out a routine that will work for me. I will be spending a lot of time over the next few months alternating between my apartment and JV's apartment, so i need to find a way that gym works for me. When we're at my place, it's pretty easy to just pop down to the gym at 5.30 as it's across the road from me, but it's a little more difficult when i stay at JV's place because the gym isn't nearby (although their building as a gym, i can't access it as a non-tenant). I want to get back into the routine of 2 days on, 1 day off. I don't mind what i do at the moment, but i need to get into a routine. 2. Cut down on the gluten again (70% gluten free) - I didn't do too badly while in Brazil on this, but it's hard to eat around the gluten. There's a padaria or pastelaria on every corner and i drank a shitton of beer (mmmmm, Brahma) - some days i just went without food cos i couldn't find anything not so gluteny. I didn't eat much in the way of snacky things (although i alternated happily between water, beer and soda - you had to keep well hydrated). I craved salad and meat like it was no one's business though and in my second week, i discovered a local churrascaria (brazilian BBQ) and I was in heaven. My diet however did lack a little on the veggie front. Since coming home i've done pretty well. I'm still teaching JV to eat out less, and he'd like to start learning to cook a few basic things so that all the homemade meals don't fall on me. 3. Intermittent Fasting (Mon - Fri) - i ate pretty sporadically in Brazil (and even since getting home). Dinner last night landed up being at 10.30 (that's late). So i want to get back into the routine of eating 12pm - 9pm again and train my body to adjust back to it. I will do IF Monday to Friday and be a little more relaxed over the weekends (i generally don't eat until a few hours after a workout so it should coincide nicely, but i need to build in wriggle room for those exceptions). And that's it. I am taking it easy getting back on the horse after my holiday, but still getting back on it Also for some of you who know Shoobie (another NFer) here's a pic of us before a night out at the Irish Pub. Edit: Anyone have any good training plans for long distance cycling. 13+months so it doesn't have to be intense or anything. I haven't done long distance, endurance cycling in over 10 years (and 60kgs ago), so some help would be appreciated.

Hey fellow Rebels! Sorry I konked out on my last challenge, my back ended up taking a turn for the worse. So this challenge is going to focus on recovery! Mission: Regain the use of my back in order to maintain a healthy body weight. Objective 1: Complete the beginner-body-weight-workout twice a week. Objective 2: Resistance band stretching every day. Objective 3: Drink at least 24 oz of water before breakfast every day. And my life goal: I just started a new job at a leasing center for apartments, so I'm aiming for a 95% on my call coaching!

...Science? Hey all, I just finished reading "The Protein Book" by Lyle McD. Great read! But in the latter part he mentions that strength athletes who waint to gain weight should generally avoid steady state cardio. And I recall from his website (www.bodyrecomposition.com) the same advice, but for HIIT. Now I wonder why is that? Is it always true? Obviously, both activities burn calories. Additionally, at least steady- state also utilizes BCAAs. But that shouldn't be a real problem considering that you can just increase daily caloric intake and consume an extra amount of BCAAs (e.g.through a whey shake) before training. Next, cardio also increases Protein synthesis albeit the outcome is different tissue (mitochondria vs hard muscle). But again, more calories and Proteins will take care of that. And additional protein stores in the body (very energy efficient ones even) can't be a bad thing, right? All right, maybe the additional exercise does hamper recovery and hence impairs the actual weight training? Ensuring adequate carbohydrate intakes during and after exercise should take care of that issue for the most part. I don't know about muscle tissue damage and as to how much impact it has on actual performance. Iirc it is even a potential stimuli for muscle growth. I don't know of any other issues that could influence recovery (or lack thereof) either. But consider that many athletes manage a high workload and frequency shouldn't be the issue here at all. Remember I'm talking about one hour (if at all) of endurance based training once a day, couple times a week. Am I just oblivious to something here ? Any explanation is welcome, the more sciency the better! (On a side note, does anyone know what impacts hiit training has on the body? In terms of what's going on inside of my body afterwards. Also complexes and field games.) P.S. Did I place this Thread right?

BACKGROUND: I have not been able to walk consistently for quite a while...since I messed up my knee on the recumbent bike in August(don't ask). It had gotten so bad that I didn't even go shopping with WildRoss, or even girl friends! (oh my!) My MO was to walk as fast as I had when I was doing 5k's and training for a mini TRI - and I would burn out, and hurt for days. I had been working on walking with a cart/buggy in stores, with that stop and start type of walking...but I had not tried a 'distance' walk. It was my goal to be able to walk 1 mile in 3 months(like, April) - trying to keep my expectations low. My goal this challenge was to walk w/o pain...or just to walk 10-15 minutes, even if I had to do it 5 minutes at a time! While reading some threads last night, I noticed one about I think, fasting low intensity activity to burn fat...to walk keeping the HR in the fat burning rate. The dog needs to bee walked in the morning.I am fasting when I get up.If I keep my HR in the fat burning range, I won't walk too fast.The dog will be very happy. So - I tried it..... Distance 1.18 milesTime: 30:59speed a little faster than 2 mph!!!HR started to lower(I need to work on endurance/HR because of the uber sedentary lifestyle).Dog (Gabriel) is VERY HAPPY! I WALKED A MILE AND DIDN'T HURT MYSELF!!! LOOK MA! NO CART/BUGGY! If I can keep this up, I can walk at the T4 meet up in Dallas!

MAIN QUEST My ultimate goal is to fit comfortably in size 14 trousers. But currently I have an injured shoulder which is weakened and lacks range of movement. Nothing to do with NF, I might add! This level of my life story is all about overcoming injury, maintaining my good habits and looking after myself. By the end of this challenge I will not be wearing any bigger clothes than I am now. MISSION ONE: 5 x 30-min workouts per week I have been instructed by my doctor not to lift heavy things and to rest my shoulder. Easier said than done to this warrior! I will still be working out using NF Academy workouts but will mix and match elements of the bodyweight, barbell and dumbbell workouts as well as the good old “fun cardio.†STR+2, DEX+2, STA+2 A = 25+ workouts B = 23 or 24 workouts C = 21 or 22 workouts F = 20 workouts or fewer MISSION TWO: LOG AND TRACK In order to maintain my clothes size (or even shrink it) I need to keep track of measurements. I will log my body fat percentage, body composition etc on my home scales weekly; my body size fortnightly and my food intake daily. Weekly and fortnightly measurements are mandatory so anything lower than 6 weekly measurements and 3 fortnightly measurements means failure. CON+2, WIS+1 A = 30+ logged days B = 28 or 29 logged days C = 26 or 27 logged days F = 25 logged days or fewer MISSION THREE: SELF CARE I am happiest and healthiest when I am clean, organised and engaging with life. I will develop a daily checklist to keep me on track as well as some kind of reward system. Things included will be at least one bath or shower every day and taking my meds regularly and on time. My checklists / rewards will be set and reviewed every 2 weeks for the duration of this challenge. CON+3, CHA+3 A = 30+ days with a complete checklist B = 28 or 29 days with a completed checklist C = 26 or 27 days with a completed checklist F = 25 days or fewer with a completed checklist MOTIVATION “Consider the consequences of doing nothing.â€

I already do ALOT but it's time to do MOAR! But sometimes less is more.....so I'm going to do more of less things. Main Quest: Attain 12% BF at least once. Challenge 7 goals: Goal 1 - Physio recovery exercises - 6 days a week, no excuses. (DEX 5) I injured my shoulder last challenge, it's not 100% but it's much better. The physio has identified the cause as postural so I need to strengthen some muscles with exercises and adjust my posture, particularly my shoulder blades. The exercises take me about 15 - 20 mins a day and I didn't do them last week hardly at all. There are no excuses, if I don't do them it's because I'm being lazy. Feel free to call me out on this. I will not get better if I don't do them. Goal 2 - Do a thing twice a week (WIS 1, CON 2) Do something extra twice a week, this could be swimming, squash, badminton, surfing, scuba, an extra walk, whatever I feel like but I have to do something extra at least twice a week. Goal 3 - 50% Paleo (CHA 3) I want to lose some body fat before I go on holiday to Hawaii in December. History shows the best way to do this is to integrate some Paleo meals. I'm going to shoot for 50% this time, that's 10 main meals a week. Side Quest: Relax and be Positive. (WIS 2) I visited an old friend for the weekend during one of the between challenge rest weeks, while I was there I realized I am overloading myself with worry and stress. This is partly due to going the whole year without a holiday and partly just because I tend to push myself by being concerned about things. This challenge I'd like to try to relax more and not sweat the small stuff so much. I can do this by being more organised, re-making my time management plan and 'working the plan'. Life is good, time to relax into it and enjoy. Here we go for the final push of 2013, 4 weeks to Hawaii

One of my favorite quotes of all time, BTW! Hi, I'm Captain Solo. For those I haven't met yet, I'm a US Army Veteran and a Wounded Warrior who is well on his way to recovery. Long story short: My back should be broken, but it's not. God is good. Situation: Nerd Fitness 6-Week Challenge! Yeah Baby! Mission: Continued recovery efforts, focusing on back and shoulder conditioning. Execution 1: Continue Bodyweight Workout every other day (attached for reference) 2: Yoga and Boxing every day 3: Find more gluten-free recipes (wife is alergic) Service / Support (Side Quests) Life: Land the job with H&R Block Fitness: Do a Handstand <how-to-handstand-better-than-luke-skywalker> Command / Control (Motivation): I was given a second chance. What will I accomplish with it? Lee's Bodyweight Workout.doc