Search the Community

^^ Yep. _.-*-._.-*-._ Goal: Find balance between Twitch, Voice Acting, and Life This means: Stream M (12-7ish), Tu (10-4ish), Th (12-7ish), and F (1 start time) || Get in Gear for the Next Tier Tu after stream, W at 12, F before stream || Church Sunday Mornings Goal: Eat healthier and be healthier This means: No fast food unless with gift card, grocery shop every week for fresh fruits, and be in bed at 1:00am Goal: Work out like One Punch Wo-man This means: Do 10 pushups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats, and walk to get the mail each and every day. Goal: Platinum LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Cause you can. _.-*-._.-*-._ To help me on my quest: I have goals/rewards with Habitica.com, I'll be giving daily updates to you all who follow/read, and I'm not going to tell people about this IRL cause that gives the immediate satisfaction without actually doing the things I've set out to do.

You know when you load a game you haven’t played in forever, just to find out your game save was deleted/corrupted? That’s me right now. I joined NF a loooong time ago, before I was active military, weighed 165 and was squatting 180 with ease. Now after five years or so, getting my DD214 and being hit with crippling depression because of multiple deaths in the family, and being lost after ETSing, I’m back in the gym. My girlfriend keeps me motivated and, being my first time in the gym after a year, my body is sore and oooooh I miss it. Lets consider this a restart instead of a respawn, because I’m currently 225lbs and squatting 80 with max effort. Hopefully by Spring Break (girl and I have South Padre Island plans), I can be back to around 190lbs, with planned meals and two-a-day workouts mixed with weekend hikes! Being that I haven’t been involved in the fitness community for a while, what are some good post-workout supplements? Proteins, BCAA’s, etc., suggestions please!

RESPAWN, this happened on 1st of January... Why so long to announce it well here my story.. So I looked at the date I first signed up its been 6 years and I'm no physically fitter or healthy. Oh I've done a few mini quests updated my profile but never kept it up. ive gained a few healthy habits from the years of Nerds Fitness, FOOD , I no longear go near the vending machine, or sweet pudding at work.. and at home I've got healthy cook book and ignore pasta, rice and potatoes .. Now juicing Exercise , I will cycle to work in better weather ,, it's icy and cold.. but I've got ride of all my gimic stuff and now own just a two kettle bells, a step stool and resistance band.. But then Death ,,,,, GAME OVER!!! New 2018 I'm not dead yet but this time I'm saving my life, im Growing up I'm 40 in May.. time to say good bye to slowly dieing old me and Hello weakling respawn me. so my proclamation hah yeah right !! So I've lost weight I'm now 13st1 I was 14.3 (whoop). Sword and shield training 3x a week (kettle bell).. no planed day just three workouts. Bow and agility training, (resistance band,,, flexability workout/bodyweight) three times a week.. provisions (Food) No canteen food , homemade lunch, homemade juice, homemade meals .. thats it nothing more yet.. I'll write my story and aims in the battle log,,

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... Episode VI RETURN OF THE JEDI After many months away, Starstuff has returned to the planet of Challengeooine in an attempt to free herself from the clutches of the vile gangster Melancholia the Butt. Little does Starstuff know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new motivation-sapping space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Bleh Star. When completed, this weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of Rebels struggling to restore adventure, happiness, and improvement to the galaxy... This will be my first Challenge in a year. While I've been away from Challenges and the forums, I haven't been idle. I've been doing Rising Heroes missions (for anyone who might be thinking of joining, it's super fun), running virtual races for the Hogwarts Running Club (also super fun), teaching my pup to be a good running buddy (he is the best running buddy) and writing (started editing my novel and added almost 25k words to its sequel!). And, much to my delight and surprise, my husband has started exercising and cleaning up his diet (that setting an example thing? turns out it actually works). But things have been really rough the past month, and I could use some Rebel support to get back on track. Those of you who remember me might also remember that my husband and I have been trying to conceive for a couple years. After much poking and prodding, very few answers (according to all tests, there is nothing wrong with either of us, fertility-wise), and a number of "some studies suggest this might increase your chances" lifestyle changes, I finally got a positive pregnancy test at the beginning of December. And then I miscarried a week later. It sucked, you guys. On top of being physically and emotionally taxing, I wasn't allowed to run or take baths (my go-to stress relievers) for a couple weeks, and my hormones were a mess, putting me on this awful emotional rollercoaster. I was so stressed that I didn't really even enjoy The Last Jedi the first time I saw it (don't worry! this was rectified on repeat viewings). But I'm physically recovered now, my hormones are back to normal and I feel like myself again, and I'm ready to get back to actually, you know, living my life and being awesome. Goal 1: Escape the sail barge It's hard to escape a dangerous situation without strength and agility, which means I need to get back into my regular exercise routine, so my goal here is to walk or run every day, and complete a strength training workout 3x a week. Goal 2: Try a little help from your friends Sometimes, our friends have habits that we think are weird, but they turn out to be really effective. My husband has been doing keto for the past several months and having great success with it. I recently read a meta study showing that women eating low-carb diets tend to have an easier time conceiving and another study suggesting that moderate-to-high protein diets encourage increased ova quality in women. And I've read that some ultra-runners have had a lot of luck going low carb, too. That's enough to convince this carb-lover to at least give it a try for a few months, so my goal is to eat less than 40g of net carbs a day and get a minimum of 25% of my calories from protein. I still have some prepped meals that don't fit these guidelines, though, so my goal for the first day is to finish the last of my prepped meals, and then I can start with my new eating guidelines tomorrow. Goal 3: Reject the Dark Side With all the stress I've been under, I need to engage in some serious self-care so as not to slip into unhealthy coping habits. My goal is to practice yoga or meditate every day. Length doesn't matter, so long as I'm taking time to relax and center myself on a daily basis. Life Goal: Study the ancient Jedi texts That novel I started editing last year? Well, I need to finish it. One of my goals for the year is to edit a chapter a week (with breaks for Camp NaNoWriMo to work on drafting the sequel) until I've got a draft ready to send to beta readers, so my goal for this challenge is to edit five chapters of my novel. And because I like showing off pictures of my dog, here's Finn enjoying the new year at the dog park:

It's time to kick the bad habits... and become a Superhero. "Life doesn't give us purpose. We give life purpose." 100 Days x 3 Daily tasks = Superhero Training. Strength and Perfect Form Task one: 10 pushups per day. Back straight, arms 90 degrees Be Aware of Your Surroundings Task two: Eat Veggies and Fruits Do Your Best Task three: Finish Mum's Birthday Gift Record/Edit a chapter of HP1 everyday Bonuses: 3 Bottles of Water 1ch Reading 120 Minutes of 'Animation' "You're much stronger than you think. Trust me." I totally didn't steal this from @Mr.Six

(note - I randomly signed in to my 750words account and had no idea what to write, so this is what happened. From there, I decided that I'm keeping a diary and will turn it into a daily log here.) I'm feeling kind of lost and confused, so I'm going to write to help myself figure it out. What do I want? I want to be healthier. I want to lose weight. I want to be strong. I want to look and feel sexy. I want to be better than I am. I feel like a lump right now. Kind of meaningless. That sounds super depressing. I don't think I'm depressed? I'm not sad. I'm pretty happy, actually. I think I'm in a good place in my life overall. I have a great job, good friends. Just stuck. Like I'm in a wide open field and could go in a lot of directions, and I'm being really indecisive about which one to chose. I don't think I've ever been good with too many choices. I need a to make a plan, or plans, and stick to them. So let's start that. What did I want? To be healthier. Very broad and lots of ways to do that. Everything that follows that pretty much pertains to being healthy. Let's break it down into categories that I can break down even further. Food. Exercise. Mental. Hygiene. Beauty. I'm going to include beauty in there because I want to. Food. Let's be honest - I've been eating like shit lately. Christmas and New Years have come and gone. I've been eating what's convenient, what's easy, what's tasty... and to be honest, none of it's been particularly healthy. Nor nutritious nor good. At some point, for a brief period of time, I adopted the idea that "food is fuel" - food is meant to just power my body and help it do incredible things. That didn't last too long. I do need to change that. I am worried about about food. After really starting my migraine meds, it had decreased my appetite so much that I was barely eating, and I needed to force myself to eat. I didn't like that. I'm starting back up on them again, and I'm afraid. But maybe I can use the lack of hunger as an opportunity to get back into the "food is fuel" thinking. Without hunger overriding my brain, I can purposely make beneficial and healthy choices. I want to look into to whole foods and less processed crap. I think strictly limiting myself will send me on a dark path, but if I take my inspiration from Whole30 and Paleo plans, I can learn good and healthy habits. I'm going to ask my NF ladies for recommendations on blogs or how-to books for healthy and whole eating. No scare tactic books. None of that Netflix drama documentary series crap. I'm not interested in the scare tactics of it all. I need to start reading ingredient labels and understanding everything as well. Exercise. I gotta become more active. I have become a lump. I sit on my butt from the moment I get home until I go to bed. I sleep until the last possible moment in the mornings. I work a pretty sedentary job anyway. I don't want to be a lump. I want to be a badass! Planks and Darebee's Hero's Journey. When I was doing planks every day, it was pretty easy to see my improvement. And that was really inspiring. It was great to challenge myself to hold it for just 5 more seconds, just to beat yesterday's record. And my core is my weakest area by far. Not that I'm super strong anywhere anyway, but I'm definitely lacking in the core. So, planks! And I successfully did two whole days of Hero's Journey before... but I saw other people's progress and journeys and it seemed really interesting. So I'm going to do that. I'm going to challenge myself to complete it. I can do it. I believe in myself. And when I do, I will get myself an awesome tank top. Mental. I need to figure out what's best for my mental health. First I need to figure out what's lacking. I don't have a straight answer for this yet, and that's okay. I think this is the sort of glue that holds everything together, and once I start taking better care of myself in specific areas (like above), I'll automatically strengthen my mental health too. Or I'll need to work on in separately as well. I don't know. Part of this will be keeping this kind of diary/blog thing. A way to track my progress in life. Hygiene. I feel like using the word 'hygiene' as a goal implies that I'm dirty...? But meh. Since coming off birth control, my skin has been like "oh hey, acne is great, let's do this all the time!" I guess I either developed not so fantastic face washing habits because I didn't particularly need them and now I do, or I'm shit out of luck in the hormone department anyway and this will all be futile, but hey lets try it anyway. Beauty. This also feels like a dirty word. But I feel like I haven't put my best foot forward lately when it comes to making myself look awesome. I want to spruce up my wardrobe. I want to learn how to style my hair better. I want to do my makeup regularly. I feel kind of stale, and I want to feel fresh. So I broke all this down during the course of the day. While working, I kept coming back to this and adding ideas. I took a few things out here and there, but I mostly added. I also went back and started planning what I'm going to be doing in the food and exercise sections. I ordered a kick ass notebook to be tracking my exercise journey and that should be arriving next week. But I'm going to be starting tomorrow. In rereading what I've written so far, I recognize that this has started out fairly depressing sounding, but it eventually took on, or at least I hope it took on, an air or hopefulness. Because I feel more hopeful. I feel like I have a plan. At least an idea of where to start. And that's exciting! Tonight I am going to clean out my fridge. I'm going to make a meal plan of what I'll be eating for the rest of the week, including lunches. I'm going to pack my gym bag and make sure my headphones are charged. I'm going to head to the gym tomorrow morning and WORK OUT AND CRUSH IT. And if I can't crush it, at least I'm going to do my absolute best.

I don't even know when was the last time I wrote on this board, nothing shows up in "what I follow" meaning it's been over a year and honestly that isn't too terrible surprising. I'm not 100% sure even when I joined. So I'm not 100% sure when I fell behind the promises I made to myself. I know I was getting on board with it back in 2016, to the point my body was rebelling! I was so sick most of the time! It was a nightmare, and sadly my employeers totally agreed and had to let me go. So while I gave into my body's want of junk food for comfort, I also got my old job back and was supporting both my fiance (at the time, now just significant other) and myself. It was enough to drive me into the arms of my paranoia, anxiety, and depression. All lovely symptoms of my childhood PTSD reacting to my worry about all the uncertainty. To be clear, I don't know of any other way to be, but I'm working towards not having it in such a negative fashion in my life. Those feelings exist and are real, but they're just knee jerk reactions to things and most likely not true. Probably. LOL Anyway. During this stressful time I gave in and started playing otome games on my phone. From there I fell in love with one in particular "Guard Me Sherlock" and realizing there wasn't a blog dedicated to it I started one. From there things have spiraled..... in a good direction. Since starting that blog I have: Reconnected with an old best friend, she and I maybe DON'T talk to each one day every two months Started writing more than I ever did when I was in school for writing Found that writing was more effective for dealing with stress and my mental health Discovered my real writing process Been offered a job writing a visual novel game for an 'in the works' visual novel company (may not make any money depending on how well the company gets off the ground BUT HEY!!!)[also note that the job was offered because of my fanfiction, cool right?!] Become haunted by the characters I love so much from these games that they are almost constantly fidgeting in the back of my imagination and making comments about what's going on. (Hey I'm not hallucinating, my imaginary friend's are just active.) I've also co-created a character with said friend and her story has people actually and continuously concerned for my health because if I go so do my stories and the characters I work with. Slowly I'm also getting better at talking with people, mostly online, but I'm working towards getting over the idea of "I can't talk to them because I'm bothering them" mentality. You never know until you hit send. However... somethings have come up.... Carpal Tunnel Shortness of Breath My half orc body is able to take the mild electrocutions and keep going, my human heart but not recover as fast Carpal Tunnel How happy Vegetables make me when I can actually get them in my diet The fact that my own imaginary friend's are concerned Carpal Tunnel Okay so the main pain is carpal tunnel... meaning that there are times when the characters are loud, but I can't write it down. Doctors are saying 1. change your job and 2. lose weight. Okay so I got point #1 in the works, company is moving me to a different location that should be easier on my body.... but that means #2 is waiting in the wings, tapping it's foot, and constantly checking it's watch. The universe may have been dropping hints that it's time for a change for a while, but I've given it the barest of acknowledgements... now it's given me these fantastic things. Working towards being a storyteller, a bard. However it now seems that if I don't start making changes I'm going to lose the things that I hold dear. My current goals: More Sleep/Better Sleep Getting outside and walking more Having a set writing schedule Stretching More variety of foods Long term goals: Muderella Half my tops being stuff I made Having my writing out there for people to see Feeling comfortable in what I wear Having a decent collection of recipes I don't mind sharing I've spent so much of my life scared, worried someone was going to kill me, worried that people didn't like me, believing that there was nothing to like at all. And as one of my new friends have told me, "You remind me of MC". And honestly I think it's about time I let myself be the MC of my own story. There's so much more to say but... I could probably write a novel on the insanity lol TL;DR Carpal Tunnel is threatening to take away my writing which is really something I cherish, love, and is good for my mental health. Gotta change my lifestyle if I want to keep it at bay. TOP 5 THINGS THAT MAKE ME NERD OUT: Pokemon Otome Games D20 Modern/D&D Voltron Gravity Falls/Mysteries in General

But rises again harder and stronger. This is my first GOT themed challenge! I'm at a low point of my life. I just got fired, which means I have to go back to the job I recently quit (if they'll take me back). Also, I'm running out of ways to deal with my anxiety, going out with someone new (which increases such anxiety) and with a lot of things in the air. I'll be focusing on respawning, and rising harder and stronger than ever. Goal 1: Rising Harder and Stronger I recently made an investment in myself. I signed up for a new gym, an expensive one, but near my house and with everything I need to get stronger. My goal here is simply to go there at least 3 times a week and get stronger. I was tempted to change again to the warriors but that would clash with another of my goals. Goal 2: Trust the Maesters' Advice. I'm running out of tools to deal with.... everything. So my second goal is to seek professional help. That means therapy and nutritional help. Since this sounds very simple, I guess it'd evolve over time: attending therapy sessions, following the nutritionist advice and sticking to a meal plan. Goal 3: I demand Trial by combat. I've been neglecting my training lately. What are our guild words? We are Monks. We're not lifters, we're not runners. We do not plow the fields or toil in the mines. We fight for what is ours. My goal is simple: Do not skip any training session. Goal 4: You're the Lord Commander of The Night's Watch... So, Command. I've been neglecting the guild for a long time. My goal is to be here, stay here, lead from the front and provide a mini-quest for the guild each week. (Brace yourselves) I can't promise I'll be every day in every thread (that's for The Three-Eyed Raven @Kishi) but I'll be focusing on embracing my leadership qualities and lead with confidence and example and stay here and fight with my brothers.

Nascence: (Noun) A coming into being; a beginning. Introduction: I'm back. It's been a while, so allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Richard and I'm a newspaper editor who loves hip hop, board games and hiking. (For my origin, check out my battle log.) I'm a wordy person, so here's your spoiler warning that I tend to ramble quite a bit. I used to go by EternalJourno, but I renamed myself a while back as Rey of Light. Rey is Spanish for king and obviously a play on the word "ray." The idea was to rebrand myself as a being or force of light and positivity, which has been hard to incorporate into my life lately. I've been dealing with depression and anxiety, but I finally started seeing a therapist and psychologist a few months back to get the help I needed. I took a break from the forums and I've been struggling to regain my discipline and willpower. A foot injury slowed me down significantly, so I haven't been exercising, which intensified my depression. And my emotional state has led me to eating a lot of junk food. As a result, I'm practically back to square one. Last year I lost 40 pounds. At this point I'm nearly back to my starting weight (I've gained 30-35 pounds back). I realized that without the accountability of the forums, I've allowed myself to stray too far from my goals. It's time to get back on the right path. My therapist recently said I'm in my own head too much and encouraged me to find something to help me take my mind off things. She mentioned video games, which I moved away from for many years. I figured I'd give it a shot and bought the game Journey for the PS3. I had always been attracted to the art style but didn't really know much about it. It had been recommended as a chill game. My first time playing was (and subsequent plays have been) an incredible, beautiful, emotional experience. I've been obsessed with it for the past week or so, and it has given me inspiration to move forward with my life's journey. The game is designed around the hero's journey, which Steve Kamb is also obsessed with. The game begins with a traveler waking up in the desert and gradually learning about his history and how to use his abilities — a sort of birth or rebirth. Your quest is to reach a mountain in the distance — and along the way you may encounter random companions. Once you've completed your journey, you are taken back to the beginning to start anew. I feel like last year was my first journey. I made a goal of losing 40 pounds and learned many new abilities to help me reach the mountaintop. However, I allowed myself to fall back down, so here I am again wandering in the desert, having lost my scarf and my ability to fly. No longer can I do pushups and pullups with confidence. No longer can I walk long distances without feeling sore and losing my breath. It's time to take baby steps to learn how to redevelop my willpower and discipline. I will once again reach the mountain (and beyond) with the help of the knowledge I gained on my first journey. And I'm back to the forums to connect and reconnect with new and old companions. Main Quest: I strive for the Triforce. I will build Power (physical health/lose weight) via good eating and exercise habits. I will achieve Courage (mental health/self confidence) through therapy and other potential means. I will exercise and cultivate Wisdom (knowledge/art) by devouring books as part of a balanced diet and reinvigorating my love affair with writing. Quest 1: Complete my assigned Bodyweight exercises three times a week and complete a cool down afterward. I update these on my battle log if you want to see details and follow along. A = Complete workout/cool down 3 times a week. B = Complete workout/cool down 2 times a week. C = Complete workout/cool down 1 time a week. D = Complete 0 workouts/cool downs in a week. F = No physical activity. Quest 2: Walk every day with my dog Booklet and complete a cool down afterward. I usually track these with the RunKeeper app on my battle log as well. I'm also tracking my miles on my Walk to Mordor. A = Walk/cool down 6-7 days a week B = Walk/cool down 4-5 days a week. C = Walk/cool down 2-3 day a week. D = Walk/cool down 1 day a week. F = No walking/cool downs. Quest 3: Drink less alcohol (If I do drink, I will stick to low carb cocktails). A = Have no more than 3 drinks per week (add a plus if only low-carb cocktails). B = Have no more than 5 drinks per week (go up a letter grade if only low-carb cocktails). C = Have no more than 7 drinks per week (go up a letter grade if only low-carb cocktails). D = Have no more than 9 drinks per week (go up a letter grade if only low-carb cocktails). F = Anything more than that (go up a letter grade if only low-carb cocktails). Quest 4: Cook paleo meals more often, eat out less. If I do eat out, I will find healthy/paleo-ish options. A = Eat out no more than 2 times a week. B = Eat out no more than 4 times a week. C = Eat out no more than 6 times a week. D = Eat out no more than 8 times a week. F = Eat out more than 8 times a week. Life Quests: Perform "Awesome Hour" every night before bed and learn to better care for my mental/emotional health. This means powering down without screens. I will stretch my foot, meditate, read a book, color and/or write. I will also update my journal with notes about good things from my day and positive things about myself. Motivation: Originally, I wanted to look good in order to build confidence so that I could learn to live life to the fullest, but I realize I've been looking at things backward. The truth is I've put too much focus on my physical attractiveness. I want to find love, but I know I need to love myself first. I need to build self-esteem, take chances and stop holding myself back in order to live life to the fullest.

Hi, I'm Brittany. I previously tried to complete challenges as a Rebel and quests as an Assassin and couldn't keep up with either. I was diagnosed as an adult with ADHD and hooboy, is it ever in charge. I'm floundering on day-to-day stuff and it seems like what I really need is to be able to better balance myself. There is a lot of data supporting mindfulness and meditation as a tool in the toolbox for controlling ADHD symptoms so I'm really hoping this works! A little about me: By day, I work in data analytics and by night, I wrangle a toddler, a husband and two cats. At 32, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but "barely keeping my head above water" ain't it. 1. Yoga - Attend a weekly yoga class to help reduce tension and regain mobility in back/shoulders. Heavy modifications as necessary to minimize pain in wrists/shoulders. 2. Reduce clutter - Twice a week, find one spot in the house and declutter. "Spot" means a space that is at least one foot by one foot. It can be anywhere in the house that strikes my fancy. 3. Journal - Write down one thing I want to remember and one thing I don't want to remember but probably should remember because it builds character. Do this everyday to make up for faulty short term to long term memory dump. I would also like to start a meditation habit and welcome any tips/apps/Youtube channels that have helped others build their own habits.

JessOfAllTrades Builds I believe the last time I was here was before the school year started (or had just started). So here I am, end of November and past the first marking period, and I feel like I'm still just getting started getting into the swing of work. This school year has been rough, to put it simply. I am holding up okay, but I know I need to do better if I am going to get through all of this nonsense with my physical and mental health intact. And truth be told I'm tired of being tired and sick all the time, because it leaves me with little energy or creative thought to work on the areas of my life outside of work. And I am not just my work. Some basic information for people who may not know me - I'm a 31 year old school counselor who struggles with depression and ADHD. I'm planning a wedding, which is stressful but pretty cool, and I eventually want to get my professional counseling license and use my gaming interests for the greater good. I host a pub quiz once a week for fun (but do get paid, which is nice). Exercise-wise I've tried a little bit of everything and generally find weightlifting to be my favorite thing, but even that is situational, as is my general joy in activities. Right now I have a lot of big goals, but need to do some building in order to have the resources and capacity to work on those goals. So that's the focus this challenge - small stuff, but important stuff needed to get to those bigger goals. And each goal will have a reward because I am a simple creature driven by want and desire of stuff/experiences/things. Goals: 1) Re-Building/Rehabilitating The Body So these past few months have been incredibly light in the gym-going department. I was struggling to get into a routine that worked for me, so I kinda just stopped. Despite the fact that my partner got a gym membership we haven't been very good at holding each other accountable. So right now I'm going back to just focusing on me, and finding something that works and helps my body feel less like a train wreck. I can't take classes at this time, but there's a lot I can do at home while I use my gym time to explore options and potentially work towards aerial silks (there's one of my bigger goals). Daily: - Stretching/Mobility/Flexibility work Super important to be flexible and able to move if you wanna do aerial silk work. And, you know, good for life. So I'm going to do this everyday. My pre-challenge assignment is to find a stretching routine I like and can accomplish first thing in the morning when I wake up. My alarm goes off at 5 but I generally do not get moving till 5:15, so let's use those 15 minutes. Weekly: - Get to the gym Seriously, I'm paying for this membership. I need to go. For now the goal is to get there weekly, but more often would be preferred. Reward: Aerial Silks Intro Classes (80% or higher on dailys, 70% on weeklys) Every time I consider signing up I balk at the cost and time commitment (most places that offer the classes are a bit of a drive for me). If I can meet my daily and weekly goal here I will sign up. 2) Building Fueling Habits Ah food. My weakness, my one true love, we have such a complicated relationship. I have this tendency to do really well for a week or two and then I let it go and get discouraged. At least I've managed to work off some of the fluff I gained over the summer? I still would like to get rid of more fluff, and in general I'd like to fuel my body in a way that helps me, instead of binging on crap and letting my emotional health serve as my excuse. Not to mention I'm getting to the age where I need to be a little kinder to my body because I no longer have an iron stomach. So while there is a LOT to do here, let's focus on some basics: Daily: - Track your food - Eating veggies - Packing lunch (work days only) I do well with food tracking, generally, and I need to do better with getting at least one serving of veggies in. And I have to bring lunch to work, because when I forget lunch I either don't eat (and am thus super hangry) or I go out and make bad food choices. Weekly: - Cook a meal Yup. Just one. More ideally, but again, building small steps. Reward: ??? (80% or higher on dailys, 70% on weeklys) Um. I'm not sure actually. Maybe I'll think of some fun baking implement like canoli shapers or something like that) 3) Building in Self-Care Routines I know I need to do this self-care thang. The Mighty had this fantastic article on self-care and how it isn't always about treating ourselves, but rather sometimes it sucks and it means being a responsible adult and taking care of our shit. And that's really hard when dealing with the malaise that comes with depression. So this goal is going to be about creating routines that will help me, even if I don't want to do it sometimes. Daily: - Morning Routine - Night Routine - Reading before bed (instead of interneting - Work nights only) I am guilty of sometimes just falling into bed without doing simple things like cleaning my makeup off. Also, I've missed my evening skin routine the past two days. Routine is good, and even though my nights can be unpredictable, I need to take the time to do some simple things. And I need to cut down on my screen time. Weekly: - Skin/Hair pampering (masks, or other more in-depth treatments I don't use daily) - Take care of nails (cutting, shaping, polishing) Winter is coming and that shit is harsh on my skin and hair. Also, my nails aren't in great shape since I keep forgetting to paint them (only thing that keeps me from biting them). I got a wedding in less than a year and I want to look and feel my best. Reward: Bullet Journal supplies for 2018 (80% or higher on dailys, 70% on weeklys) I have supplies to make do for now, but new stuff for a new year is an awesome incentive. 4) Building stepping stones to a better life Gotta make some progress towards my bigger life goals. There's a lot of little stuff that needs to get done, so let's get to work. The big areas right now are making my living space bearable (cleaning is one of my weaknesses), getting job applications done before county-wide interviews begin (we have two levels of interviews in my state), continuing progress on the wedding stuff (we're doing good so far, but gotta keep going), and of course I need to focus somewhat on current work stuff because I am rapidly falling into compassion fatigue/general apathy and that does not look good when job searching. Daily: - Unfuck Your Habitat mini challenge - 30 minutes of work-related frog-eating Weekly: - Progress on job applications - Progress on wedding planning - Unfuck Your Habitat full challenge Reward: Hair-cut/High lights (80% or higher on dailys, 70% on weeklys) I mean, I need the haircut, but I've been debating balayage for a good year now. That shit is expensive, so if I can succeed in this challenge I will go for it.

Hi, everyone. I'm a couple of days late, but hoping to join in this challenge as a sort of first timer. I've been lurking on NFR for a while and have tried creating forums and participating, but...life issues always seem to get in the way, and I can't seem to make progress on my fitness. I want to change that. I don't want to dwell on all the problems, but I have a lot of family stuff that takes up time, a hostile workplace that I can't leave just yet, a really horrible battle with depression, and a habit of letting go of self-care when I am depressed, anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed. I am the heaviest I have ever been, and so uncomfortable in my own skin that I just want to escape myself most days, but I haven't given up. None of those things are good reasons for being in this shape. So, here I am, hoping to respawn, reboot, re-commit, and do it right this time! I don't think I've ever really completed a challenge that I have tried, not properly, not in a meaningful way. So, that's my main quest, here: getting into a fitness routine and seeing it through to the end of the challenge period. Another day, another page of the diary, right? Quest: Complete the Challenge without giving up after a week or two of effort! Goal 1: Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. Goal 2: Prepare my own meals instead of eating fast food. Goal 3: Spend at least 30 minutes a day on managing my stress/wellness. I'm going to track these with a simple binary: 1 point if I do it, and 0 if I don't. That means I can earn 78 points, if I start today. I don't really have much in the way of a character, but if I can survive the first challenge, I will develop mine further for the next one! Also, I am not sure if I'm navigating this forum correctly, and would be grateful for some pointers, if anything seems wrong or weird.

Hello! I'm kuawen, and this is my first NF challenge. I'm new to NF:RH but I'm not new to diet and exercise. Ten years ago, I lost 100lbs through diet and exercise alone. The problem is, over the past year, I've gained it all back. What happened? Well, I'm not 100% sure. I've continued to exercise and eat right, but the weight keeps piling on. So, after seeing a number of doctors that couldn't give me any answers, my family and I moved to Los Angeles so that i can be seen by one of the country's top endocrinologist. In the meantime, while I wait for test results to come in, I've got a shiny new gym membership and I need to keep my healthy lifestyle going, so I figured I'd start a challenge! I know we're in the in-between weeks for them, but I saw @Hazard post saying we could start one at any time. My main quest? I'd like to call it my life quest, is to lose 100lbs *again*, but that's not gonna happen in a month, so I'll start out with something smaller: 1) I am committing to meet my trainer twice a week for the next five weeks. 2) I am committing to do strength training three times a week for the next five weeks. This is a hard one for me, because along with gaining weight I've been losing muscle, and I need to work to keep what I still have (which isn't much). I'm going to ask my trainer to show me how to do body weight exercises to start, before moving on to the machine weights. 3) I am committing to do cardio a minimum of three days a week for the next five weeks. I love taking classes, especially zumba and swim aerobics, it's a matter of getting my butt out the door to go do it. I'm also wanting to start doing cycling classes again, so that'll be a sub-goal within this goal. Can I add more quests? 4) I am committed to eat no more than 1400 calories per day for the next five weeks, and to consume at least 4 glasses of water (that's 8oz each) per day. I keep a food and water journal on sparkpeople.com and 1400 is what my doctor feels I should stick with. I'm purposely not setting a weight loss goal, just because I know it's going to be an uphill battle no matter how hard I work. I want to lose 10% of my bodyweight to start, which comes out to 28lbs, but that's not going to happen in a month. But some weight loss would be nice. I think that does it! My journey to becoming a gym rat again begins first thing tomorrow.

I am Odinson_Rising, and I truly feel unworthy. The path is rocky and sometimes treacherous, but the challenges and obstacles in my way should provide opportunities for improvement. Should. Right now, I'm having trouble framing my challenges in that way. It's important for me to acknowledge that struggle to myself because I don't believe I'll otherwise be able to overcome it. I will overcome that struggle. Here's what I've been doing: I start with a decent breakfast, if I eat at all. Today's was 3 eggs w/ 2 sausage patties and some cinnamon stewed apples - like super chunky applesauce. So good. But I'm extra tired today, so I wander down to the hospital cafeteria for some sugar free energy drinks. Not ideal, I know, but there you go. Upon grabbing my drinks, I notice cheesecake and chocolate glazed eclairs. Me: Mine. Also Me: Wait, what? I don't really want these things. Not only are they instruments of sugary sabotage, but I'm not even hungry! I ate three eggs and two sausage patties; how much room can there possibly still be? But I want them. Oh. Well, in that case, carry on. Lets go get physically uncomfortable at work. So what happened to the 250-pounder who, despite being mostly unprepared, gutted out a Tough Mudder and stomped through the Electroshock Therapy obstacle with arms outstretched instead of running and dodging? Where's the guy who studied for, and earned the CompTIA Security+ certification without classes or a study partner? Where's the tutoring superhero who had a reputation for learning content on the fly and paraphrasing it in just the right way that it could be understood by whichever student he was helping? What happened to him? I know part of the answer to all of that. I can identify a handful of critical moments, when a decision or action changed my course, and moved me away from that guy. They moved me away from who I want to be. Now it's time to take action, make use of that knowledge, and get back to work. I need to find that guy and get him back in the mix. This is zero day. Today, I will identify a handful of goals, flesh them out, break them down into subquests where possible, and begin to formulate a plan to get from here to there. I will also take my before pictures, although I don't plan to share them, unless I find there's a pressing reason. Let's go to work.

My City of Ruins: A select few of you may remember me. I came, I did some challenges, I dropped some weight, and then life started life-ing me and I disappeared. In early 2015, I weighed 255 lbs. I joined a gym, started eating better, found NF, and in around 18 months, I'd just about scraped under 200 lbs, got myself a nice suit, and life was going... better. But interest started to flag, and a combination of work-related stress, family dramas, injuries, illness and dark depression took hold, and I went under the ice for a while. It started with some niggling aches and pains, which, after an extended period of doctor and hospital visits, were diagnosed as calcific tendonitis in the rotator cuff, and bone spurs in the neck. As I attempted to get those under control, my wife lost her mother, and my own mother's dementia gradually progressed. She suffered a series of falls and spent a large chunk of the early part of this year in and out of hospital for weeks at a time. We're getting some support with her care now, which is helping greatly, but the dementia is only going to worsen as time passes. With all of this in the background, I completely neglected my own well-being, quit exercising, ate like crap, didn't look after myself mentally, and spiraled into a dark place. I could feel my health worsening as my weight increased, to the point where everything was becoming uncomfortable, and I felt constantly sick, tired, and sore. At the end of July, I made the decision to rejoin the gym and go completely cold turkey from my arch nemeses, chocolate, cakes and fizzy/energy drinks. On my first visit back to the gym on August 1st, I weighed myself. 257 lbs. Back to square one, literally. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $100. The Rising: There have been two weigh-ins since I rose from the ashes. September was 248, October 244, meaning 13 lbs lost, against a backdrop of having my car smashed and written off, and picking up some bumps and bruises and a mild case of whiplash in the process. Gym attendance hasn't been quite as consistent as I would have liked, but forcing myself to go even inconsistently is better than where I've been. Other than a two-day spell where two of my kids had back-to-back birthdays, the food choices have been pretty solid. I managed the best part of ten weeks completely cold turkey, had a treat around the birthday bashes, and resumed progress afterwards. The goal is to get back to completely cutting off chocolate, cakes and fizzy drinks between now and Christmas, and then take it from there. Further On (Up the Road): And so, we beat on, boats against the current. There's no grand theme, no complex strategies, no delightfully colourful spreadsheets (this time, but they're itching to make a return), just some simple goals. Get to the gym, three times a week. This goal should now be a little more attainable for me, given that a couple of changes to my regular schedule are in the process of happening. As of Sunday, my church has switched to Saturday evening/Sunday morning services, which means not having to rush home on Sunday afternoon and do a quick turnaround to get back at it on Sunday evenings. Gym goal is to keep pushing the cross trainer level up, notch by notch. It's currently sitting at 20 mins at level 12/13. I'd like to get that up to level 15, and start working on building up a second run to end each session. During my first run on NF, I was starting and ending with 20 minute runs. I can get back there. Food goals, see above. My only restrictions are cutting out the chocolate, cakes and fizzy drinks. Other than that, I generally can be trusted to eat sensibly. Mental goals: stay positive, stay connected to my friends here, stick to my daily bible reading plan. The rest will take care of itself. What's coming up in this period? We're entering a busy new season in church again as we prepare for our annual giveaway, which of course means the return of the panto. SGFS regulars will know that I regularly get roped into performing in the shows, and this year will, I've been informed, be no different. Over the past couple of years, I've played (off the top of my head), a hyena sidekick in the Lion King, Augustus Gloop (Willy Wonka), the Tin Man (Wizard of Oz), Anger (Inside Out), Shere Khan (Jungle Book), Cogsworth (Beauty & the Beast), Mr. Potato Head (Toy Story), a couple of World War 2 soldiers, a Jersey Boy doo-wop singer, and a granny tranny in a Queen "I Want to Break Free" tribute. This year's panto has just been announced, and it's Shrek. No idea who I'm playing yet. Secretly, I'm hoping Fiona... Now, as a wise man once said, "Let's go to woik."

Yo Aloha Hola Oy! I am baaaaaack! I had a baby 6 weeks ago, and am feeling that it is time to respawn! I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and meeting new ones as I work to get healthier and hopefully get some of this baby chub off. I hope to feel more like myself by the end of his challenge, since having a baby definitely changes your body and how you spend your time. Due to some health issues, I wasn't able to workout almost at all my last trimester of pregnancy and with all my food aversions returning the last few weeks, my nutrition wasn't all that great either. Like, I can make macaroni and cheese without looking at the box kind of healthy. My newborn should basically be made up of macaroni and pop tarts. Fortunately, she's made up of squish, snuggles, and cute stank faces instead. A brief introduction about me: I joined Nerd Fitness last year and was active on the boards for a few months until I got pregnant when I had zero energy for anything besides the bare necessities. I am a chemist by trade. I love reading, podcasts, hiking, and binge watching shows. My personality is a cross between Leslie Knope and Linda Belcher. I have a broken sesamoid bone in my foot that makes some exercises difficult, and I'm working on finding exercises I enjoy that don't exacerbate the pain. I love sugar toooo much. I'm a hyper emotional person, made even more so by all those new-mama hormones. I struggle with trichotillomania, which means I sometimes pull out my eyelashes when I'm anxious. Basically, I have a lot to work on. I have a tendency to use a lot of gifs and memes from whatever show I'm watching at the moment. Currently, it's Bob's Burgers. I organize my life via bullet journal. And I apologize in advance for how much I talk about my baby, cuz I'm low-key obsessed with her and all her baby-goodness. Now enough about me. ONTO THE FUN PART. Nutrition Goals: -Each breakfast MUST have protein (egg white oatmeal, scrambled eggs, protein shake) -Lunch MUST have a serving of veggies -Log everything I eat on MyFitnessPal I've noticed that if I do these three things, other healthy habits fall into place. Fitness Goals: -Go on a walk with husband and baby 3x/week (this is usually ~2.5 miles) -Exercise at least 2x / week, 3x if baby naps well (this will usually be spinning for 15-20 minutes followed by NF yoga but will possibly incorporate pilates and Cassey Ho workouts off YouTube) because having a baby really messes you up! My body is so so weak and wiggly and odd shaped now! I need some muscle and to get moving again. Good luck all! Let's do this!

Well, I guess this is a respawn. I've generally been sliding a bit for the past few months, and then the last month hit me with end-of-school, convention prep, travel, and a nasty sickness that made working out extremely difficult, plus some bad nutrition advice that I didn't identify and stop in time. Went to the doctor's last week, and when they closed the door, the full-length mirror on the backside showed me sitting slumped in the chair looking way too out of shape and unhappy. So, time to respawn. The biggest problem I see is all the preconceptions I have from the past few years: things that I thought worked but apparently didn't, and how to separate them from the things that I thought worked and did. I suppose I should also figure out what my goals really are, and what, realistically, I can expect to accomplish. I want to lose some fat, but I don't want to "be skinny," I want to be strong. So should I focus on putting on muscle? Lose fat first, then add muscle? As I've been easing back into working out (2 days cardio, 2 days weights, 1 day of PT (resistance instead of weights) plus a self-defense class), I've found my calorie intake going up. I know it probably should, since I'm doing more, but it's very frustrating that hunger goes up before boy fat goes down. You've got all this extra stored energy, body, wtf? Anyway, enough complaining. I started tracking food last month, through all the sickness and travel, so I might as well keep it up as I get back into fitness. I'm hoping to be well enough to go to boot camp next week, and I believe they've got personal trainers there to give advice on weightlifting. Goal by the end of the month: Drop 1% body fat. Let's go.

(badelynge: collective noun for a group of ducks on the ground) I wandered off and has no good excuses. I let most things slide: the diet, the strength training, the mindfulness. The one thing I kept up with was running. And yesterday, October 7th, I ran a 5k. Granted, it took 39:25 but I did it! All of a sudden, I'm motivated again. Time to re-spawn. I'm not sure if I delete past entries or not. I'm not very proud of my half-assedness the first time around. But I'm feeling good and ready to fly, so here we go (again).

Fu*ked up last few days, dad brought a meth junkie prostitute home to live here (im paying rent) told me his pill junkie pot head friend is moving into my room w me, and because I told the tweaker I knew she was on meth and knew she was doing a lot more than housework to pay the rent... ive got 3 weeks to find a new place when studios only come up 2x a month and they are 1,400+ to rent with 100 applicants going for each of em, and a bad root canal, and trouble at work, and a $400.00 speeding ticket... this last week just sucked, ofc I went off diet too. Im so on edge I'm snapping at friends, and cussing out strangers hoping they start a fight... Grrrrr.....

Hi guys! It's been a long time... I'll make a quick recap of the last couple of months. First, CrossFit got way too expensive to be economically sustainable so I had to quit my box. I drifted aimlessly for a while, looking for a new gym that was close to the office and affordable. In the meanwhile I kept on training Krav Maga twice a week as usual. After a rather depressing month, I gave up on trying to find an affiliate with a reasonably affordable full pass (I work in a really expensive part of town). Just when I began looking for a regular gym, one of the Team Leaders at work told me he got a memebership at a really fancy gym only three blocks from the office. Through a Union discount he was paying half the price... close to the office and really affordable, it was what I needed. I joined the gym with thedame discount and engaged in a bodybuilding style routine while my TL-now-gym buddy got acquainted with the big lifts. Two weeks ago we started a linear progression program as layed out by Brian Alsruhe in one of his videos. So far it has been great. I still train KM and mess around with some mace movements on the weekends. It's really light, fun stuff So for now my goals remain: - Lift 4 times a week - Do one conditioning/cardio workout a week - Attend 2 weekly KM classes - Practice mace movements once a week -Eat like a grownup(enough protein, around 2100kcal, booze no more than once a month, no flour/sugar/etc.) I've been away from my Internet home, but now I'm back to being a Ranger

Hi guys! It's a new challenge, a new season of life, and a new opportunity to grow into myself. I know I have a lot of potential for cool things, and I'm owning that here in this challenge. I'm owning the fact that I'm not where I want to be; I'm owning the two sub-par jobs. I'm owning the nervousness about being done with college. I'm owning the bad choices I made before. I'm saying that I'm ok and the strength within me will always be greater than the challenge before me. I'm new to the Rangers and proud of myself! The theme for this challenge is strong starts and new beginnings. We're keeping it simple and treating it like the epic undertaking that it is. Missions: 1. Keep a food log of every meal eaten during the week 2. Do the workouts for Gym 3A and Gym 3B at least once a piece each week 3. Drink 3L of water every day First summit: Until I find paid internships, apply for at least one full-time position in my town doing work relevant to my skill set I hope to get to meet a bunch of you and run at your side. If we're being honest, I operate best with accountability and I'd love to find that here and be that for someone else. See you in the woods!

What happened? How did I get here? Well... ...well, I left my old working place, and got a better job. was not easy, but did it! my wife got her big promotion, and now is a big boss at work! we got a loan from the bank and have bought a french car. I call him Red. I started doing a lot of additional work in local community , teaching kids to role play. ... and I really really tried to have my own dojo, but it went bust. I put op the posters monthly, I invited people regularly, I made ads and stuff, I paid the gym on time (and my friend the gym owner was more than cool about it), worked hard there 3 times a week, even if alone. and all I achieved to do is to attract two high-schoolers (a dude and his girlfriend). then they broke up, so she stopped coming. then he stopped coming too. ... later on I have discovered that he is a juvenile delinquent who got into frequent fights and was under police monitoring, that he came up from a broken home and that in the small time that he has spent in the dojo, he was actually getting better in other aspects of life, but then he had to move to another city. so my dojo had no students, and we closed down. I live in a small town where only interests for martial arts are by kids (karate, judo, taekwondo ), teenagers (MMA, boxing, krav maga, BJJ), and are all focused on competition, and, since my club did not provide that, I was not as interesting and went under. ... I wallowed in my disappointing for a bit, but decided that I got another experience, and went on with my life. My working schedule was still intense. I discovered a local tai chi school in the nearby school gym, and went for it. It was cool and I learned a lot. To do tai chi from my perspective was illuminating - each graceful movement is actually a fighting technique intended to strike, take down, hold or brake your opponent(s) - yet it looks so graceful and tranquil. I did that for a year, and then it was summer brake, and we had no classes up until this fall when they are starting again. ... by then, I have put on the efforts to find a better job, got it, finished my resigning work period in my old work, and started anew on the new place- a new kindergarten. working hours are better, collegues are okay, kids in my group are okay. and also, as I have mentioned before: I started doing a lot of additional work in local community , teaching kids to role play. doing this with my friends from a local community center. trouble is, I fell off the wagon. Still have my mourning routine workout, but have neglected my food choices, my martial arts workout, and I'm getting low-spirited. I have to begin again. and again. and again. and like phoenix, rise from "the ashes" of my procrastination, and again sail the skies. As soon as I find the answer: Why does the phoenix chase the sun? It is in his nature.

*stumbles out of bushes, covered in leaves, and shakes off the black dog that's chewing on my leg* >.> Well. Uh. <.< Oops. Nothing's really up except that I got Lost™ and find myself back at square one again. Haven't been keeping up with anything, really. Got...pretty bad for a bit. But that's been enough and it's time to get going again. Admittedly I no longer- for a while now -have a big, clearly-defined "this is what I'm working toward" because from a purely realistic standpoint I don't know. None of what I used to want makes sense anymore for a bunch of reasons (a lot of which is probably just the Whatever talking) so I'm just trying to figure out how to do the best with where I am and wait and watch for a purpose. Just yesterday, I did a bit of remodeling on my NF Character and came up with a loose outline of what to work on. the first sort of "quest line" is for the most part set up, but instead of jumping right into that I'm just going to play the tutorial with basic basic basic Challenge. (especially since I'm. Late. ) Considering myself currently at Level Zero, will move up to Level One on successful completion of this challenge, and from there get started on the real work. Using the suggested beginner format, Goals: Diet - At least four (B I G) glasses of water per day. At least one actual meal per day. 'actual meal' being defined as "eat a vegetable, dammit. you like vegetables." Fitness - One workout of choice per day. Weighted? Bodyweight? Shadowboxing? Anything goes. JUST! DO! SOMETHING! Life - Clean House as much as within my ability. (just. clean whatever I can clean as best it can be cleaned. Try not to throw away everything I own in a fit of passion.) Paladin Mini-Quest - Instead of using the nighttime hours to think about everything ever, the time prior to falling asleep is now designated prayer/meditation. It doesn't seem like enough, but. I would like to actually win Round Zero. In Other News: ASJFKAGHJ THE LION KING IS IN THE STORE. QUIETLY AND WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE FANFARE BUT IT'S IN THE STORE. AND PART TWO. MUST OBTAIN THE PRECIOUS. Played with MS Paint: must still learn how shading works on the computer and um yeah. :3 I guess my end-date will be the 15th?

Been on again off again here for years. Time to give it a go again. My goals for this go round are fairly simple: food, walking, and tracking. 1. Food. My husband and I are taking the kids to Disney World in October. We've been before and I've been getting fatter each trip. Last trip the rides were tight and I've put on about 25 lbs since then. Thus, I need to lose a bit of weight so I can fit on the rides. I've a friend who's going low carb keto and she says it's been working great for her, so I'm giving it a go. From now until October 14th (when we leave for our trip) I'm going to stick to a low carb diet. I started this morning. 2. Walking. Disney involves a LOT of walking. Each trip we walked 7 to 12 miles a day. We've been three times, and the day with the least amount of walking we did 6.8 miles, then my phone died, as it was tracking my steps we likely did more than that. The day with the most walking we did 15 or 16 miles, I forget exactly, but that was one day only. On average Disney has us walking 12 miles a day. Yesterday I walked for 30 minutes and got out of breath. I can't do that at Disney. I need to get back in the habit or I'll be in serious pain when the trip rolls around. Starting today I'm going to walk 30 minutes a day on Tuesday and Thursdays. Saturdays my husband, the kids, and I are going to take a long walk in the park for at least an hour. We've two kids, ages 8 and 5 going with us. In the past we rented a double stroller and pushed the kids around. This year our oldest daughter will be walking and we're only getting a single stroller. We will let the kids swap out from time to time, but our oldest is getting too heavy to push. Thus, we all need to get in the habits of long walks. As we get closer to the trip we may increase the walk time. We don't want to push our daughter too hard, but we need her to be ready for the trip. We only get the kids on weekends (I'm step-mom and they live with their mom and step-dad during the week) so they won't have to go on walks every day. 3. Tracking. I'm going to make myself log how I'm doing every day. I find that when I don't make the daily posts I tend to slip and get off track. So I should be here each day to at least post photos of what I'm eating if nothing else.

Hey Guys, I haven't done a challenge in quite a while, although I'm pretty excited to get back to it and lift heavy shit. I've been playing a ton of Dungeons & Dragons lately, so I'm going to go with a viking theme. They're strong badasses, right? A bit of history: I will be doing a keto diet based off of Mark Bell's advice and running the 5x5 program from keto gains (basically ICF 5x5 with fewer accessories). For pretty much my entire lifting career, my squat has lagged behind my bench and dead. For a long time, I was doing half squats and then started to focus more on form and ended up not making any progress. I'd go down and sit in the hole for a few seconds before coming out of the hole and really struggled. I'm going with a 5x5 program to help balance this out a little better and I'm foregoing my ego and starting at about 50% of my 5RM so there's room to grow while I work on form. Workout Workout A Squat 5x5 Bench 5x5 Rows 5x5 Triceps Extension 3x8 Curls 3x8 Workout B Squat 5x5 Deadlift 1x5 Press 5x5 Row 5x5 CG Bench 3x8 Curls 3x8 Cardio KB Swings 5x20 SS Cardio 20min Goals Strength. Squat 200lbs Physique. Lose 10 lbs Stamina. Do cardio at least 2 days a week Diet. Stick to keto diet 95% of the time