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hello! I need to get fitter over the next few weeks, going to roller derby try outs in the middle of May and I need to be in better condition than I am! planning on going to the gym 3 times a week. I have done this previously but ive been a bit lazy this year sadly I usually go tuesday/thursday/saturday because I have roller derby practice on wednesday and sunday, sometimes monday skating as well. I'll be starting this from next tuesday and doing these days for the next 4 weeks, other than next saturday because I'll be playing roller derby and on a coach all day but hopefully ill continue it through out the year and into the future. I usually do around 40 minutes cardio, 20 minutes of jogging and interval sprints on a treadmill followed by 10 minutes on a bike and 10 minutes on a rowing machine. after that I dont usually know what to do. Id like to continue this but do some weights afterwards, would a stronglifs style thing be ok after this? any advice would be appreciated

I was wonder what any of you guys that do roller derby recommend I learn before I even consider trying out for roller derby. Is there any drills I should practice? What is the practices like? What should I consider before doing it?

Hello fellow challengers!I have been lurking around Nerd Fitness for a while now, but I always had a fresh stack of excuses as to why I couldn't do a challenge. No more! This past year, I found my new passion in flat track roller derby. My Big Ass Meta Goal is to make it through my local roller derby league's Fresh Meat program and pass my black assessment (if you pass the black assessment you are eligible to be drafted to a team). The first part of the goal, and the focus of this challenge, is getting my butt in shape for fresh meat tryouts, which are happening sometime in February. The goals:Increase my muscle endurance, specifically my legs, and my core strength. Nail down my transitions and improve my footwork. Increase flexibility and stability with yoga, in order to minimize injury. The plan: Get my butt to every Rec league practice, open gym, and scrimmage (3+ days a week) (A-3+ B-2 C-1 F-0) Shoot for 3 more workouts/week. One should be yoga, the other two can be strength/endurance or skating. (A-3 (1 yoga) B 2(1 yoga) C- 1 F-0 ) I'm using Booty Quake's Standardized Roller Derby Fitness Test (http://rollerderbyathletics.com/fitness-test/) to measure my improvement over the course of the challenge. I will be keeping track of my workouts using my bullet journal and a public "shame calendar". My reward for hitting all 3 extra workouts is I get to drink (responsibly and only over the weekend)!!! My side quests include writing for 10 minutes ever morning and make one post to my blog.( A-6+days a week, 1 post. B- 5+ days a week, 1 post. C - 4 days a week, 1 post. F no post.) The second is sticking to my spending fast (Eliminating non-essential spending from January 1st-April 20th), with the goal of eliminating my debt faster. I did not come up with the idea, it was brazenly stolen from andthenwesaved.com. (A- 7 days no spending. Anything else is fail)

Round 2: FIGHT! Second challenge starting today. Been really excited about getting into this again. While my first challenge went well, I didn't have much time to write about it, so I'm not going to pretend I'll be any better this time. I'd love to get into the role playing story aspect, but for now I need to just focus on my efforts. My ultimate goal is to make the A team for my Roller Derby. I'm a rookie at the moment, and I have almost a year (December 2015) to get ready for A team try outs. I think losing some weight will help me greatly, so that's my first focus. My first challenge my goal was to lose 10 pounds. I lost about 5. I know why, it's because the steps I chose to follow to accomplish this weren't challenging enough to get me there. I feel it was far more important to focus on habit building, even small, simple habits, than to worry about the goal. I was successful in keeping up with all my pledged habits for the entire challenge, and that's my basis for moving forward to my second one. Build the habits, the goal will come eventually. I'm obviously going to build upon my habits for this 6 weeks and step up my work, so hopefully I will reach my goal. If I don't make it all the way, but still keep up with my efforts for the 6 weeks, I'll move on to the next challenge and analyse why those steps didn't get me there and try to adjust accordingly. So let's get stuck in. Overall Goal: Roller Derby A Team Goal for this Challenge: Lose 10 lbs Steps for this goal: 1 - Belly Dance Fitness Routine, 40 minutes, 5 Days a week. I'm an experienced dancer, I have the skill to do this, I just need to create the habit. 2 - NEVER MISS A DERBY TRAINING. Tuesday and Friday nights. Barring illness (not just feeling blah, but actual illness) or an emergency. 3 - No fast food. Period. Last challenge my step was to have no food deliveries, because that is a downfall for me. But that didn't stop me from driving or walking somewhere to get it. This was a slight deterrent, since part of the allure of fast food is you can get it delivered to your door while wearing pajamas. My plan is to rely on frozen food for the nights when I've had a stressful day and am not up for cooking. Is it healthy? Not really. But it's healthier than what I was doing. And slow progression is key, I'm not a person that can survive cold turkey without easy comfort food. I've tried and failed. Hoping these small steps will result in a greater permanent change in my diet. And now for my current stats: Weight - 181.2 lbs Arms - 12.5 in Bust - 43.5 in Waist - 38 in Hips - 46 in Thighs - 26 in Life Goal: Reading. I have a bad habit of starting a book, getting halfway through, getting excited about another book and getting halfway through it, then a third and fourth book comes along .... and I've forgotten where I left off in book 1. So, complete 2 books. Fiction/Non-Fiction. Fiction - Gardens of the Moon, Stephen Erikson Non-Fiction - How to Be a Victorian, Ruth Goodall I'm off to get my first workout in. See you on the other side.

Totally bailed on the last challenge...oops. Moved into my first home with my fiance, plus Christmas...so yeah. Anyway, I'm back on the wagon, so let's do this! So few things first - I am super close to passing my minimum skills in roller derby and being eligible for games. Goal: Pass my minimum skills! Last challenge my partner started taking me through some olympic lifting moves, and this challenge I'm wanting to build on that learning and increase the weight lifted. However, we're in the process of buying our own gym equipment and our gym memberships have lapsed, so it may be a little while because I can begin strength training again. Therefore this challenge is going to focus more on eating right and doing a little exercise every day as opposed to big lifts twice a week. Quests: 1. Eat less processed food [WIS & CON] - basically eat fewer frozen pizzas and take aways. We're properly settled into our house now, it's time to start planning meals again. 2. Do yoga every day [sTR + DEX] - yeah so we started doing yoga together, and are currently doing Yoga with Adriene's 30 Days of Yoga. We've just done day 3, so we'll see how it goes! I'm hoping this will help with core strength and balance/flexibility which are all essential for skating 3. Go to every Wednesday practice [sTA + STR] - I'm only letting myself off once and thats the last week of the challenge because I'm in Leeds thats day on training & it's my dad's bday that day & my bday the day after xD. Gotta work on them skillz! So that's it...hopefully I can do that. Oh! Life quest: Life: Decorate the living room/dining room & buy a fireplace (and maybe get a pet) [CHA] I'm hoping we'll get our home gym sorted during this challenge, so maybe I'll be lifting some I can at least hopefully start using the kettlebells we've got!

Last challenge I had just started my career as a pharmacist (baby pharmacist...give me another 40 weeks), and so it was all about maintenance. Building habits, getting into the rhythm of work, while also passing my level 2 roller derby skills. It was a whopping success This challenge is all about change. Main Goal: Lose weight (& pass level 3 min skills) It seems a little...simple. I don't have a target weight, but I am choosing to base my weight loss off my BMI. While I know it's not the most reliable marker of healthy weight, for someone like me who is more jiggle than muscle, it's satisfactory. Current BMI: 25.5 Target BMI: 23(ish) Starting weight: 69.6kg (153lb) Ideally I would like to get down to about 60kg. Whether I can do that has yet to be seen. And this is all part of becoming Rita Lin (my hopeful derby name). I need to lose weight, get fit, and pass through those minimum skills. Quests: Attend all Wednesday roller derby sessions - This is a given. It'll help me keep fit, lose weight, and get me towards becoming Rita Lin, that min skills passed skater.Pack a healthy lunch for work - I got into this habit last challenge and I did really well. I've also taken to having a protein shake at about 11am, as that stops me eating too much on my lunch. Lunch should hopefully be made up of pasta or salad, and one snack that should be either cheese or fruit. That's the idea anyway.Workout twice a week - incorporating both strength and cardio. This is open to interpretation. Ideally I'll go to the gym twice, as I've paid for membership, however I'm going to count Sunday skating sessions in this, and will also count them as my extra workouts.Throughout all of this I must also continue doing my physio every day. I'm hoping that I can succeed this challenge, because hopefully I'll be moving into my first house at some point in the next six weeks. Cross fingers it won't put a spanner in the works I'll post some before pictures tomorrow if i'm feeling brave.

Last challenge I focused on Roller Derby! I aimed to be better at my skills and to improve my overall knee health. The whole thing was a success I felt! This challenge I start my career as a pharmacist. I will be on my feet for 40 hours of the week, something I haven't done in about a year. It's going to be a shock to the system, and I need to keep focused and determined in order to not slack. Main Goal: Pass through my Level 2 derby skills and be working on level 3 by the end of six weeks. Fitness Quests: Attend all Newbie sessions - STA + CON After the 29th (when I'm on a course) - which are moving to Wednesdays. I'm going to be shattered, so it's going to take some willpower to get there. Any Sunday sessions will be a bonus.Pack my own lunch at least 4/5 days for work! - CON + WISThis week I've been working on easy healthy lunches that I can take to work - courgette pasta, normal pasta, salads. Workout 2/7 days and continue with physio 5/7 days - STROnce I get paid at the end of August I am planning on re-joining the gym (it may happen before hand) once I've worked out when I can guarantee I'll be going and such. Until then I need to continue working out at home and maintaining my physio routine.Life Quest: Save money for house - WIS + CHAMy fiance and I have been looking for a house for a while, and about a month ago we thought we had one secured but then it all fell through, so we're back to square one. We've got a few viewings this week so yay!This involves - taking my own lunch to work, not going out for my dinner, having cheap weekends out (we're heading to some English Heritage things over summer of which we're members so get in free, plus plenty of derby games which are about £5 each)Quite excited for this challenge. Only hope I can manage it.

Around eight weeks ago I started roller derby with the Middlesbrough Milk Rollers as part of their newbie sessions. I'm currently working through to pass my 'Minimum Skills' which is the minimum level I'm expected to achieve before I'm able to join the team and join in with the bouts. I'm not sure I've ever started something I love quite as much as this. It's painful and hard and tiring and I'm ruining my already crapped out knees, but it's amazing! Therefore, my goal this challenge is: Be the best gorram derby player I can be! I have four ways I'm going to do this. Fitness Goals: Due to vacations in the next 6 weeks I have a possible 9 practice sessions to get to (instead of 12). I intend to get to all of them. (STR + STA)Do 2 off skate workouts a week - focusing on strengthening my left leg in order to perfect right knee falls (STR)Do 3 physio sessions a week - my left knee is a little ruined, so I need to do everything I can to stop hurting myself any further (CON)Life goal: Study derby rules and attempt to pass minimum skills written test (WIS)Ideally in the next 6 weeks I would like to achieve the following of my minimum skills: Perfect my right knee fallsAchieve 27 laps in 5 minutes (I'm sitting at 22 & 3/4 without crossovers...)Be able to do crossoversGet faster at skating backwardsPerfect my plow stops & T-stopsThere are other things I'd like to get better at (giving hits, stepping and jumping) but those are what I'd really like to get ticked off in the next 6 weeks.

Originally this was going to be a non-level-up challenge. Because in the next six weeks I must revise constantly and sit my final university exams which will allow me to graduate and start my job as a pharmacist in July. That was until I decided to join the local Roller Derby Team...oops. Main Quest: Become the Rolling Pharmacist How am I going to do that? Revise. Every. Single. Day. (WIS)There are no ifs, ands, or buts for this one. I either revise every day, or I don't, and if I don't, I fail my examsThis challenge finished 3 days after my final exam, only in those last 3 days do I get to not revise, though even then, I'll be revising derby rules.Go to one skating session a week (STR + STA)My first Newbie session is this coming Tuesday (the 15th) from then I'll go every Tuesday (though I'm giving myself a pass for Tuesday the 29th because I have an exam the next day, so of course I'm not going thenAfter 4 weeks I may get invited to the Sunday sessions as well, at which point I really need to decide whether roller derby's for me and need to buy my own kit!Do one off-skate derby workout a week (STR)Lots of squats, lunges, crap like that basicallyThe ultimate goal is to pass my exams (results are out June 19th) and pass my minimum skills for the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) but they reckon that can take about 3 months. So in 6 weeks I want to be well on my way to doing it. I haven't assigned numbers to my stat points, because I've rejoined the RPG Fanatics Accountability group and I'll wait and see what stats they suggest from that then work around them

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

The clank of hammer on anvil and grunt of chains being pulled and weights being lifted filled the air as the ranger entered the forge. One forgemaster, a broad muscular man who’s face looked mored like a wizard with long white hair and a long beard came up to him. “Can I help you Brother?†“I’m here to help out and to learn how to be a warrior,†the warrior-wizard looked the ranger up and down, seeing his was tall and lanky and almost all his strength in his legs. “Are you sure?†“Definitely, I’m probably a ranger at heart but as you can see I need to hit the iron some,†“Excellent!†the wizard beamed before throwing a large hammer into the rangers hands, knocking him back onto his backside. “Get up, there’s iron to be worked!†-- (Yes that’s Gainsdalf cameoing, I hope he likes it) Former (and possibly future) ranger who’s here to do a lifting focused challenge. During my last challenge I really fell back in love with lifting and got into the swing of doing Stronglifts 5x5 as an introduction to lifting and my main focus for this challenge is to continue that. (By the time the challenge starts it will be 4 weeks down, 8 to go) My other love is roller skating for exercise, fun and often for roller derby. I’m taking a break from derby at the moment but my aim is to probably become a referee and some day join a men’s team. I love derby as a sport and I really love skating. Its fun and as someone with coordination problems it’s a real thrill and confidence booster. As the weather improves I want to go skating and exercise outside as much as I can, but I want to be in a better shape for it. So here is my first spring challenge. Fitness Goals Work the Iron: Continue Stronglifts 5x5. I’m currently doing strong lifts with two modifications. I don’t trust myself doing barbell presses without a spotter so I do dumbbell presses (both could be argued but I prefer dumbbell presses) and I add in either assisted pull ups (A days) or assisted dips (B days) to help with my upper body strength. This also covers going to the gym 3 times a week. +3 STR +1WIS Hit new heights: Get my 5x5 Squats above 60kg by the end of the challenge: This relates to stronglifts and I want to use it to bring my Squats PB above 60kg (it’s a long story why that specifically). If this is too easy I will revise this goal +2STR +1END Face your demons: Do 10 press ups every day: This is a matter of pride which I worked towards in my previous challenge but not there yet. I think just an attempt at doing press-ups every day will bring me towards being able to do them (that way I can do them outside when summer comes) +2STR +2END Life Goals Calm yourself: Meditate or at least relax for 10 minutes daily: I have a very busy jumpy mind, often to the point of anxiety and panic attacks and I want to make it a point to work on relaxing and calming my mind. If I don’t meditate, at least +2 WIS, +1 CHA And a final unwritten goal: Use the good weather, the night was dark and full of terrors but now spring is coming. Use it, enjoy it. I'm starting now, but marking myself from monday. Call it a rolling start. I shall now hand it over to Raw Heidi of London Rollergirls showing how excited I am

hello nerd fitness world - I'm katy and am new to this forum (which I realize is somewhat obvious since I'm posting in the "introductions" section). anywho. I am a 33yo female looking to find a new approach to fitness. I have always been an athlete, though that has tapered off as I've gotten older. I'd had gym memberships but I'd use them for a few weeks and then end up just being one of "those" members that really keeps the gyms in business (paying members that don't use the equipment). for the past three years, I have been playing roller derby. I lost a lot of weight and then fell victim to the "I'm going to do cardio for a zillion hours and then eat a piece of lettuce and call it a day" workout plan. surprisingly enough, I wasn't staying strong and I was tired a lot. oh, and hungry. so, after a few binge sessions followed by me feeling badly about myself and going back to the gym for hours at a time, it dawned on me that this wasn't normal or healthy. I needed to find a sustainable, reliable, effective, and efficient fitness plan. so, I did research, and 'nerd fitness' kept popping up in my search feed. I read a lot of entries and lurked on the forum a bit, and have come to really like the methodology and message here. so, here I am... hoping to make some changes for the better. while I have an overall goal of finding a better plan, I more specifically want to build muscle and endurance. roller derby is a fast-paced sport and while it does have a place for most body types, the position I play more often (and the one at which I seek to improve) requires a higher level of physical fitness. not to mention, we wear spandex leggings and damn if I don't want to look amazing in them. lastly, I want to start in on the paleo diet. I plan to give it a try for a month and record my meals and how I'm feeling. I've never really been on a "diet" before so I know I'll need support and accountability. not to mention, I'll need recipes. I love to cook, but since I am still new to the program, I'm learning what is acceptable and what's not and haven't done much in the way of paleo eating yet. so that's me in a nutshell. I'm looking forward to continuing to peruse the website and forum for more tips and inspiration.

hey! just wondering if there's any roller derby ladies here...we just got a team to our area and I have my first week of boot camp tonight! I'm super excited and super nervous and didnt know if there were any ladies here who do it and had tips, suggestions, things to expect...i'm not gona lie and act like i know anything about it lol

Ok first challenge to be started, hope i'm doing this right. Main Quest: to be more comfortable with who i am, being fitter, healthier and smaller. i have no goal weight but at least 30KG than i currently am. Mini Quests: 1: to continue doing BBWW three times a week, by the end of 6 weeks being able to do the full circuit 3 times 2: do cardio three times a week, at least 30 minutes each time 3: lose 10KG (22 pounds) during this challenge Life Quest: Start roller skating again, i belong to a club called Skate Collective, train once a week in a low contact derby league. haven't been for months. training should start again during january. no more excuses! it's fun and gets my out of the house. Points System: Each full circuit of BBWW is 1 point A full three circuits of BBWW is 4 points Each 30 minute cardio session is 2 points Each extra 30 minute cardio session is 2 points (on non cardio days) Attending Roller Derby training 3 points Reaching goal weight at end of 6 weeks 5 points Reaching goal weight by 11 Feb (when i'm getting my next tattoo) 5 bonus points ^ i wasn't supposed to book it until i got this goal weight but i've hopefully pushed it out long enough to complete the goal and i'm impatient. Grading: A: over 140 points B: 115 - 139 points C: 80 - 114 points D: less than 80 points looking forward to starting on Monday!

Hi Everyone I'm currently trying to summon focus and determination to get into a good fitness routine. apologies if anyone is friends with me on myfitnesspal (blunder_bolt) or posts on vegan bodybuilding as I may doublepost there. I'm 6'6 and 192lbs and this is a weight I'm happy with. However I'd like to have better muscular size and tone. The main focus of this is my arms as due to a combination of unfitness and developmental dyspraxia I have very thin arms and if I'm insecure about any body part, its my arms! I'm a keen skater and roller derby fanatic. I'm a trainee referee (Baby Zebra) for Severn Roller Torrent (Gloucestershire's roller derby league) and my long term goal would be to skate for a team (either travel to one or form one here). I've also rediscovered that I quite like lifting! I'm awful at it but it's my preferred form of excercise (outside of skating). It also allows me to work out my arms, back and chest, which are generally ignored by skating! I'd also like to focus more on what I eat with regards to fitness. I think I could improve my fitness a lot with a few changes to diet. I also want to cook more and more varied meals. I skate 2-3 times a week and am aiming to go to the gym 2-3 times a week . If I have any long term goals they are Perform a push up!! (doesn't sound much but I've never been able to do one due to poor upper body strength and general unfitness)Pass 25 in 5 (skate 25 laps or 0.9 miles in five minutes) I'll post photos soon, any questions? Any suggestions? this is a bit meandery but I wanted to get it all down.

Challenge 2: On the Road to Glory I’ve completed my first Challenge (after several attempts) and I’m finally going to attempt a ranger challenge. I’m looking to build my strength with the aim of applying it to the sport of roller derby, which in turn will involve skating as a cardio exercise. I figured fitness + applied strength=Ranger Life Goal: I shall be a novice no more. I shall become a Knight! Pass 2010 minimum skills. I am aiming to pass the minimum skills exam for roller derby (based on the 2010 min skills test). Once I’ve passed this I can start training to be a referee as well as scrimmage with other teams (which is good, as my local team is women only). I’ve passed half of this but the remaining parts include taking hits (for which I’ll need to get a low stance) Goals: Spring is Coming, be ready for it. Go to the Gym 2-3 times a week: I’ve paid for this membership, and want to get rid of it when better weather comes. I want to be in a position where I can take advantage of the good weather for fitness when spring comes. So use this time well. (+1 Wis +2Sta +1Str) Fight your weakness and Slay your Demon Be able to do one press up: This is a point of pride for me. I have always had poor upper body strength and was always embarrassed at not being able to do a proper press-up. Starting from knee-press-ups and using dumbbell presses, I will be able do to 1 full press-up, at least. (+3 Str +1 Cha) Even when changing direction, never slow your pace Perform 3 consecutive crossovers: Crossovers are my skating Everest. I find the whole thing really difficult but vital to keeping my speed up when going around the track. (Crossovers are bringing the right leg over the left, stepping across and pushing off with the right foot, bringing the left forward. I.e. stepping while turning). My skate name is “Blunderbolt†I want to earn the “Bolt†part! Similarly, I will focus my activities and exercises to make crossovers easier. (+1 Wis, +2 Dex +1Sta) Life goal: Tidy Home, tidy mind Spend at least 15 minutes a day tidying the house (Aim for 30). Put away clothes, put away books, wipe down a counter, whatever. Just pick away at it ïŠ (+3 Wis) I also want to maintain a good protein intake and make more meals from scratch but the above are my main goals. Wish me luck. Onwarrrrd!

I'm know I'm late to the 6 Week Challenge party, but as Steve said "Start today!" Background: I'm a new mom that is trying to get back in shape. When I was in high school, I was thin and did a lot of sports. All that changed when I graduated from college and had to move back in with my family. A year of mom's home cooking, a sedentary desk job, and too many MMORPG's took their toll. Eventually I got talked into joining my local Roller Derby team and got moving again. I made great progress and was a pretty good player, but then I decided to take some classes at my local community college to possibly help improve my job prospects. I had to quit roller derby but knew I would come back as soon as I completed my classes. Of course, life likes to throw the occasional curve ball and just as I was planning on returning to derby, my husband and I found out I was pregnant. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl about 10 months ago but have sadly had trouble motivating myself to get moving again. I recently returned to Roller Derby, but I'm worried that I won't be able to keep momentum. And so I have journeyed and found myself here, hoping that willpower and motivation of my fellow nerds will help make me successful. Stats: Age: 31 Ht: 5' 3" Wt: 170 lb Arm: 12" Waist: 40" Thigh: 27" Main Quest: -Defeat 5 Adipose (Lose 5 lbs) Missions: - Increase cooking skill to Apprentice Level (Cook 3 healthy meals/week) - Battle the tribe of She-Orcs twice a week (Attend 2 roller derby practices/week) - Choose and fight one additional battle per week: Gym Demon, Wheel Monster, or Evil Twin (go to the gym, ride stationary bike, BBWW) Motivations: Getting and staying healthy for my baby daughter. Loving my body the way that I used to. What I'm really needing is a team off ass-kickers to help keep me on my path. I respond well to small amounts of guilt and knowing that someone is looking over my shoulder helps keep me focused. I know I need to start small and be consistent. Newbie Mistakes I suffer from: Overeager Beaver Accountability Slacker Emotional Rationalizer "I'm too busy" Liar Help me, Nerd Fitness. You're my only hope!

"There goes King Clumsy" they laughed, "Bow down to him," every time I returned. "I'm going to be a Ranger," I would say, time and time again. "My name will be famous across the world, I'll be a hero of the rebellion" I would say. Then return back to the fortress time and time again. At the first sign of a steep hill or scary monster I'd return home. So I'll stay home, and train for anything the road throws at me. so see me in the courtyard training with sword and bow. See me lifting logs and breaking them for firewood. A winter of these things and I'll be ready when summer comes. Translation: I've tried and given up on challenges a lot of times before. I dont know why, maybe my targets were too high, maybe i set myself too many challenges. I think mostly I was expecting too much too soon. So I'm going to try again and spend winter getting into a good routine and be ready to take full advantage of next years good weather. Main Quest: Pass minimum skills, become a Majestic Striped Unicorn (Roller Derby Referee) Fitness Goals: Skate like a Girl!: Its sometimes awkward being one of the few guys in a roller derby league. I'm in post-fresh/ pre minimum skills limbo. It doesn't mean i can't use the time to practice. When I'm not in a drill and the track is free, get practice in. When I'm in the middle and just dropping out of a practice, use free space to practice minimum skills (I'm about 70% complete on them!) and when reffing, focus and don't be afraid to call penalties. Assesment criteria: Subjective. Eat well: I'm a bit of a greeny and am interested in low environmental impact diets. I'm vegan and try and shop local. Another way of improving this is to eat more whole foods. Nuts, fruit, seeds and so on. Less steps in manufacturing and shipping between me and my noms. Also leans in the direction of paleo (though I'm not going paleo as I'm Vegan and that'd be too limiting for me). Assessment criteria: 1/4 of food from base ingredients Build Strength: I'm unsteady on my feet and have pretty poor muscle tone. I think what would help me in skating is improving my core and lower body strength (particularly for good derby stance, which is a permanent squat) So I've rejoined my local cheap gym and intend to attend 2-3 times a week. I thought this might be a bit much, but I've worked out I don't get a huge workout at derby as I'm often on the sidelines reffing or observing. Assessment: Attend gym 2-3 times a week for 30 mins minimum Life Goal: Make and keep home tidy. I'm slowly making my way up maslow's heirarchy of needs, in a way. And I think making our home a positive place to live in and excercise in. Take time to clean up after myself, do a bit at a time. Assessment Criteria: Subjective Right then. Wish me luck. Skate hard, train harder.

Well, my last challenge, the theme of which was “Finish The Damn Challenge†failed pretty spectacularly. I finished half the challenge, basically -- which means I didn't finish the challenge. When the end of week 3 rolled around, it was like a switch flipped in my head and that was the end of that. So, what HAVE I done successfully? I continue to attend belly dance classes weekly. This group of ladies and our weekly class have become significant parts of my week now. I did finish reading “If You Had Controlling Parents†by Dan Neuharth. This book was really, really helpful.I flossed and rinsed a lot more often than usual; it hasn’t been daily, but it was daily for the first three weeks and then 2-3 times per week most of the rest of the weeks. That’s still a lot more flossing and rinsing than before the challenge. The past 8 weeks of my life have been the hardest I have ever encountered and have seen some major life changes. My family and I currently are not speaking, at my request; their behavior back in September was simply too hurtful and I could not go on pretending that nothing had happened, even though that seemed to be what they desperately wanted to do. Three days ago I mailed two handwritten cards: one to my parents, and one to one of my brothers. I toiled for many long hours, writing and rewriting drafts until all the vitriol was gone and all that was left was my sadness. I simply told them that I loved them, but that they had hurt me too much to go on without some sort of acknowledgement or amends, and that I would not be returning their repeated calls because the telephone is too vulnerable and unsafe. I invited them to open a new email exchange with me if they would like to try again from scratch. I sent the letters for me; the ring of my phone and the blinking voicemail light had become triggers, spiking my amygdala into fight-or-flight in seconds flat. I entered this situation with my family in September never wanting to hurt anybody; I tried my best to avoid hurting them but in the process I did not protect myself. Things have changed, and we can’t go back to the way it was. This is the new normal. I’m not harboring any rose-colored hopes that my letters somehow contain the magic words to make my family come around to seeing that I’m not an abominable snowman. The letter simply represents me walking away in order to protect myself. My body is wrecked. My sleep is nonexistant; at the time of this writing, I am going on three nights of horrendous sleep, with last night being the maraschino cherry on this sundae of suck: maybe 4 nonconsecutive hours of sleep. My eating is all over the place. Sometimes it’s emotional eating and sometimes it’s just exhaustion leading me to grab whatever’s handy. It's almost all bread, dairy, and sugar. SO many digestive issues. My physical activity, aside from belly dance and the occasional yoga session, has been nonexistant too. I feel very, very old. I actually thought I missed this challenge. I logged onto NF today to update my profile so that my NF friends would know that I am okay and just taking a break for a bit. But when I saw that the current challenge doesn’t start until tomorrow, I thought that maybe I will join in and try, try again. Oh, and I'm back with the Rangers; I started out a Ranger, and I think I will always be a Ranger at my core. Main Goal: Feel Better - Improve Sleep and Reduce Stomach Issues The theory behind the action steps: based on my daily patterns, sleep and stomach concerns will be best addressed by adding physical activity back into my day and by honing in on healthy meals while cutting back on the foods that I know I have a sensitivity to. By the end of the challenge, I would like to be off the sleeping pills and I would like to have no or infrequent stomach issues. Action Steps: 1. Complete an off-skate derby training (bodyweight) workout 3x per week 2. Eat one meal per day that is grain-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. 3. Belly dance: class 1x per week, practice session 1x per week LQ - Play more games: I love games, specifically tabletop games. Gaming is consistently one of the most successful and longest-lasting mood boosters for me. Tabletop gaming provides social interaction, gets my brain going, and uses creativity. And it’s fun as heck. I want to play games on at least 2 nights a week. SQ - attend Get In Gear Night at Derby Lite on Nov 19 with my friend Stacey. This is an intro night to Derby Lite, which is a roller derby-based group and fitness class. It can be just a fitness class, or it can be used as a training tool for skaters who want to try out for Maine Roller Derby, depending on the interests/abilities of the skater. The next session Derby Lite classes start in January. My derby training action step above is hopefully going to be a good way to tap into the fun of derby training while prepping for the weekly classes in 2014. I find I do best when my workouts are training for something, and I have to confess finally that I simply do not like running enough to keep training for races. I'm putting simplified updates below in this initial post, to hopefully counteract the tendency to stop posting completely around week 4. If I post full updates and interact with others on my thread, awesomesauce; if not, at least I can put the basic goal updates here. Nov 11-17 Derby Training: 1/3 training sessions Meals: 5/7 days with 1 meal grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free (mostly breakfasts) Belly Dance: 1/1 class, 0/1 practice session. Gaming: I lost count; played MTG most days. I'm going to say 5/7 days. Nov 18-24 Derby Training: Meals: Belly Dance: Gaming: Get In Gear Night: ATTENDED and omg it was so awesome you guys. Nov 25-Dec1 Derby Training: Meals: Belly Dance: Gaming: Dec 2-8 [in Austin 4th-11th] Derby Training: Meals: Belly Dance: Gaming: Dec 9-15 [in Austin 4th-11th] Derby Training: Meals: Belly Dance: Gaming: Dec 16-22 Derby Training: Meals: Belly Dance: Gaming:

Hi there, My fiancee very kindly bought me the Rebel Strength Guide today and I though I would dive straight in to the community! I am undertaking this challenge because I feel it is time to take control and to push myself. I have been going to the gym pretty regularly (usually 3 times a week) for almost a year and have been going to roller derby practice once a week since March, I try to walk to and from work every day and to eat healthily. Recently, I have noticed a plateau in my performance and want to push myself to be better. I have just been selected, along with many of my fellow roller derby rookies, to practice once a week with the league in addition to the usual rookie weekly practice. The league girls have passed their minimum skills tests and have completed in bouts against other teams. Being 5' 2'', 116 lbs and not as strong as I could be means that I am going to get pushed all over the track. I want to be a small, immovable object that other players bounce off when they try to block me. Two derby sessions a week is going to place alot of strain on my knees, which give me trouble due to a tight ITB in each leg, so I also need to make sure I take proper care of myself. In addition to this, I also want to challenge myself to be more productive and proactive. I am preparing to go though a huge career change that is leaving me overwhelmed, stressed, with little motivation in my current job and completely ineffective. I'm hoping this challenge will push me to make some positive changes. So, without further rambling, here is my challenge: Main quest: Pass minimum skills and join the roller derby league. NF Basic TrainingComplete stretches and muscle rolling set by physio therapist at least 5 days a weekGet a minimum of 7 hours sleep a nightLife quest: Complete one basic graphic design course and have somthing to show for itMotivation: I have cheated here, I have a photo and a quote. My motivational photo is of Suzy Hotrod (Gotham GIrls Roller Derby) from ESPN's 2011 body issue. To me, this photograph represents the dedication, will power and strength required to be an exceptional derby player, something I very much want to be. My motivational quote is from CT Fletcher: 'Don't look for an easy way out'. Pretty much all of this video motivates me to command it! There you have it! I'll post my body metrics, and maybe a 'before' photo soon. Good luck to the rest of the community with your challenges! Wheels

I'm a wishful Roller Derby girl trying to make that dream a reality. That and a deferred half marathon put me at the starting point of a daunting yet intriguing journey. I choose these goals because they scare me. And we should always do what we are afraid to do. At least that's what Ralph Waldo Emerson says. Cool cat. Main Quest: Get better, faster, stronger and start putting my body back into whack so that it is not susceptible to injury so easily. Main quest will be accomplished in the following ways: 1 Strength training : I have definitely caught the powerlifting fever. I will be tracking my every exercise in my "I lift things up and put them down" notebook. I have ambitions of deadlifting triple digits by the end of this challenge. 2 Improving Balance : Do my chiropractor-ordered stability exercises 4 times a week (to be tracked along with my strength exercises) 3 Flexibility : I'm notoriously bad at remembering to stretch before or after my workouts. I've had muscle/joint strains in the past due to this bad habit of mine. Super important for me to stretch after every workout. Life Quest: Finish designing and finally publish my portfolio website. As a graphic designer, the fact that I don't have my online portfolio up and running on the internet is nothing short of a crime. Six weeks is more than enough time to gather my necessary resources, hole myself in the library for an hour after work everyday or so, and get this monkey off my back. { Also, as a personal quest of accountability, I will be posting my workouts and stats daily on a blog I created just for NF challenges. Feel free to follow if you like. It's more of a way of keeping track of measurements and food for me, but I'll also post useful links to stuff I stumble upon since I'm researching a whole lot on powerlifting and the works. } I'm super motivated to take on my first challenge. I've been training regularly at a gym since April now, and between then and now have come across some speed bumps, as we all do in life. We can't forget ourselves and our health, especially when things get rough. Coincidentally, I've had a significant life event/family crisis this past weekend that has really shaken me, but I was so glad to still make it to the gym on Saturday. The heavy weights drove my focus away from the anxiety and uncertainty of what was happening in my life at the moment and had me focusing on not losing control of the 30 lb dumbbells in my hands. In short, weight lifting keeps me sane. What I'm most excited about in joining this challenge is the prospect of kicking my procrastination habit. In true nerd fashion, I think of this as moving away from the Dark Side, or any villainous situation basically. You know how villains just sit in their caves, poring over a blueprint, or a map, or some kind of battle plan, just scheming away, cackling and rubbing their hands together in sweet, evil anticipation? That's me. Poring over my to-do list, or my life goals. Meanwhile, the good guys are already jumping into action because, well, the city is in chaos, the Bat signal is in the sky – they don't even think twice about it. It's time to move. Jump in the Batmobile and save Gotham. Do work. Get s*** done! It's time for me to be a superhero.

Right: This is going to be horribly self indulgent, so be warned. I’m currently putting off/building up to writing an article I’m submitting to a magazine so here’s a warmup. I suck at keeping to stuff, I have no willpower and horrible organisational skills. Many of the latter springs from developmental dyspraxia which also affects fine motor control, balance and spatial awareness. So naturally I took up roller derby. Its possibly the worst thing I could’ve chosen, but hey, some mother******s are always trying to iceskate up hill. I love roller derby as a spectator and as a participant in the community. I’m currently studying towards my minimum skills and referee tests to be a referee for Severn Roller Torrent of Gloucestershire, England. It’s a big ask for someone like me but I never don’t like it. The problem with this is although it is great for my legs and core, it does nothing for my upper body (on which I have awful muscle tone!) so in between thrice-weekly practices, I’m going to try and work on my arms and shoulders a bit more, with the ultimate aim of being able to do a full proper push up (trust me, that’s bits) On top of all this, it’s a confidence thing. I am very anxious and often suffer from my anxiety. Exercise+Eat well= feel better. It also means I’ll do better at derby and that will improve my confidence too. Meditation couldn’t hurt either Day Minus 1: Per Dyspraxia Ad Astra Didn’t start well, dyspraxic organisation skills kicked in and I forgot to pack shorts and t-shirt for derby practice! So I had to go and buy some from the charity shop in the business park near where I work. This meant I couldn’t change my outdoor wheels for indoor as I ran out of lunch. So I decided I would skate from the bustop on my outdoor wheels. This was a mistake given the awful quality of the paths, In the end I walked half, got back on my skates and skated all the way to practice and straight in but was still late! I’m really pleased I even tried it and picked up some decent speed when the pavement was smooth. I didn’t want to go to practice, but put my hard hat on and go. (My helmet is a literal hard hat ) Practice was okay. Softer wheels were good for crossovers (stepping over in corners) but rubbish for stopping. I’ll stick to harder wheels for now! My positional blocking was okay but I kept getting pushed forward by the jammer. When doing a core warm up planking was harder than usual. However Squats were easier. I took hits quite well and even knocked someone down myself! I might have a few bruises today though Oh, I also ate quite well, carb heavy by most standards but I was short on time for lunch and dinner. This is all really meandering. I guess it wasn’t necessarily for you.

This is actually my second challenge, but I didn't successfully finish my first one [one of my goals just pooped all over all the other goals], so I'll join you all here for this one! Some of my goals will be similar to the first challenge, but the tough goal has been completed [finished all my papers for second semester and got acceptable grades!], so I have a lot more time to focus on them. Just got back from vacation yesterday, so I'm jumping in a bit late. We may plan another week or so somewhere, too, but I'll deal with that if/when it happens. Overall quest I'm fresh meat on a roller derby team and recently started serious powerlifting training [deadlifted 100 kg / 220 lb today, woo hoo!]. I'd like to start competing in both sports this fall without completely embarrassing myself. Our bout season starts in September, I believe - I'd like to be ready to play by then, or in October at the latest. There's also a powerlifting meet nearby in late September. I'm not expecting to be a star jammer or break any world squat records, but I'm looking forward to testing myself [and, in the case of roller derby, hopefully being an asset to my teammates] by competing. Goals 1: Lift. Stick to my gym's powerlifting training schedule of four times a week. 2: Skate. Skate at least three times a week. August is my team's month off, but those of us who are around will meet up a few times to skate/practice outside or in a parking garage, and I'd really like to skate along the ocean as much as possible. Some focus on minimum skills wouldn't be a bad idea. 3: Stretch. Do yoga at least two times a week and foam roll at least two times a week. 4: Clean. I'd like to get the house to a point where I don't freak out every time someone comes over on short notice, and my e-mail inbox and hard drives are a mess. I need to de-clutter, sort, and deep clean. I'd like to do at least one task every day that will bring me closer to physical and virtual tidiness. Method There are a lot of other projects I'd like to work on this summer in addition to the goals above - things like finally catching up on my blog, studying more Portuguese, reading some of the authors I learned about in the first year of the master's and preparing for the thesis in the second year... I've heard a lot about how you should only really have three things on your to-do list each day so you don't get overwhelmed. I'm planning to do that, but with a little bonus twist. Each night [or, at the latest, first thing in the morning] I'll figure out three tasks that absolutely have to be done - but I'll also add two bonus tasks. For each day I do all five tasks, I'll get a bonus point. For each day that I don't even do the three must-do tasks, I'll lose a bonus point. If, by the end of the challenge, I have at least 21 bonus points [that is, three weeks' worth, or half of the challenge], I'll get myself...some kind of reward! Right now I'm thinking maybe a kettlebell, but I'll keep thinking - suggestions are more than welcome!

So I'm squeaking in under the bar for the start of this this week. I wasn't going to participate as I was unprepared with all these things changing around here with goals and such like. MAIN MISSION: drop 10% body fat This will be ongoing, I expect it to take a few months obviously. I'm starting at basically 31% body fat, which is better than this time last year. I want to be strong and made of muscle and not just jiggly fat. I can see some definition starting in my legs and arms and I want more please, kthxbai. BUT WHY?! I went to roller derby practice today, and got to scrim (play against other girls) and have come out battered and bruised having been hit, fallen, and hit and skated my legs off. I am a newbie and I played against the big girls. And I am STILL on an endorphin high. Then I got a text from my coach asking if I was prepared to knuckle down and get through my minimum skills tests IN THREE WEEKS. I said yes. And here I am. So I want my body to perform better, as good as it can be. And hefting less of me around will aid that exponentially. To do this I will be doing derby/fitness related/diet stuff to LEVEL UP MY LIFE. HELL YES! HOW?! 1. Get up at 7am on weekdays and DO something productive before work: workout/walk the dog/prep lunch. I'm finding it hard to get my ass outta bed, and I'm wasting a good portion of my day because of it! +2 CHA +2 CON Each day I will record my get up time at home and allocate point accordingly based on percentages, rounded down to the nearest 0.5pt 2. Stop snacking on crap! Allow myself one item of "junk" per day - this includes servings of carbs. +2 CON Record my food in myfitnesspal, so I can be accountable for the stuff I put in my facehole. 3. Workout 5 days a week, either a run, or a strength workout (I have a PT workout, but I'm a bit bored by it, so I'm mixing it up with some of the off-skates circuits we do, and mixing lower/upper body and core, so I'm getting a full body workout) This is on top of my two days skating a week. Workouts can be short or long, just DOING IT is the key +3 STR +2 STA + 2 DEX Again, I will record this on my getup sheet (I'll make a little poster and stick it on the bathroom cabinet with a pencil by it!) and allocate point as percentage complete LIFE QUEST Read more! Try to fit in 30mins of reading for pleasure per day to help switch off my mind +2 WIS If I haven't finished Game of Thrones by the time this challenge is done I get ZERO. Simple. Also, I lost my way a bit last challenge, so I'm going to steal some tips from mrrrichpearson and put my goals as my lockscreen on my phone, and up around the house in places (along with: DERBY STANCE!!) so I cannot put it in a box on a shelf in my mind. OH YES GOALS YOU WILL BE OWNED THIS TIME. Yeah, so um. I think this might be my last adventurer challenge, as I guess I'm turning into more of a ranger as my goals and fitness progresses!

Epic Quest = Enrich relationships with the people I love. 1. Run a 5k in less than 45 minutes with my husband. My parents-in-law are also training to run a 5k for this challenge, so we can encourage each other and share ideas about training. My husband and I will train together, and we plan to run 2-3 times per week to build up our stamina and increase our distance to be able to run a 5k race before this challenge is over. (2 STA, 2 STR) 2. Complete a 6-week Marriage Fitness Program designed by my husband BigBen. We are happy, but are always looking for ways to enrich our marriage by learning new skills, having new adventures, and learning new ways to show our love for each other. (3 CHA, 1 WIS) 3. Learn to play three songs with my electric guitar by the end of this six week challenge. My husband is working on the same three songs, and is learning the bass parts for each song, and my father-in-law is working on the drum parts for each song. In six weeks, we should be able to jam! (3 DEX) Life Quest = Change TV time to workout time. Anytime I watch a TV show or movie at home during this challenge, I will spend at least half of the air time doing bodyweight workouts. (3 STR, 1 WIS) **I'm in the off-season for roller derby now, so I'm trying to find other ways to stay fit during the break. This is my third NF challenge. Bring it on!