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Current status: still on Accutane, still low-key have a perma-cold, body is less achy, turns out that running in gross weather is my jam (wtf, self?) Keeping the same goals from last challenge. Accidental ASOIAF/Game of Throne theme #WinterIsHere Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 53 | STA - 54.25 | CON - 89 | WIS - 56.5 | CHA - 50.5 Waist 30.25" Belly 34.5" Hips 37.5" Thigh 22" Weight 162lb Body Fat 26.52% Goals Goal 1: Cardio Run 2x per week. Run outside as much as possible, if the weather is too cold then treadmill intervals instead. +3 STA +2 DEX Goal 2: Food Blah, blah, macros, blah. Variances twice a week, I'm thinking. Points I can get, cause fake internet points motivate me: - 2 points for being within 5% of my goals - 1 point for within 10% - 0 points for being out more than 10% I want 10/14 possible points a week +5 CON Goal 3: Sleep 11pm bedtime, follow my bedtime routine to help make that actually happen. Bedtime routine: get clothes/bag ready for the morning when I get home; do any food prep that I need to do while I'm making dinner; 10:20pm get ready for bed; 10:45pm in bed with a book/journal/etc +3 CHA +2 WIS Stuff and Things You have a journal. Write in it. Post here daily cause accountability and whatnot Also post in at least one other thread daily Do the Mini #TeamHawk #CA-CAW The Road So Far Week One Cardio 0/2 Macros 7/7 [didn't track Saturday/Sunday cause other people's home cooking] 11pm 1/7 Bedtime routine 0/7 Week Two Cardio 2/2 Macros 10/10 11pm 0/7 Bedtime routine 0/7 Week Three Cardio 2/2 Macros 8/8 11pm 2/7 Bedtime routine 2/7 Week Four Cardio 2/2 Macros 9/8 11pm 0/7 Bedtime routine 0/7

I'm carrying over similar goals from the last challenge. I don't have travel or anything planned that will disrupt my schedule in the way I did last challenge, so it makes it a lot simpler to plan out! So that means I have no excuses for not meeting my goals, right? Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 51 | STA - 51.75 | CON - 83.5 | WIS - 55 | CHA - 50.5 Weight - 164lb Waist - 29 3/4" Belly - 33 3/4" Hips - 38 1/2" Thigh - 22 1/2" Body Fat - 26.6% Goals Goal 1: Sleep Sleep is the foundation of everything, and it’s time that I buckle down and just do it properly. I know it effects my abilities mentally and physically, because I’m always tired, so it’s time to see what I can do when I’m sleeping enough. I wake up at 5:30am during the week (sometimes 6:30am if I’m extra tired), so that’s going to drive my bedtimes. I’m not sure how much sleep I actually do need, so I’m going to start with an 11pm bedtime (6.5 hours sleep) and see how that goes. If I need to, I’ll move it earlier in stages until I hit a good spot. CON +3 Goal 2: Cardio Yep, for some reason I decided to play a sport that’s cardio-heavy… So I have to do cardio between now and spring training, otherwise I'll die. I’m thinking 2x 5k, and 3x intervals/HITT/sprints. STA +3 Goal 3: Food Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it - quality variances only! Meal prepping is going to be a big part of this one. CON +3 Goal 4: Mobility I have 3 key lower body and 2 key upper body mobility protocols that have really been working for me. Ideally I would do all 3 lower body at a time, and/or both upper body ones, but it takes a bit of time to get through everything, so instead my goal will be to do either my upper or lower body protocols every day. DEX +3 Goal 5: The List WIS +3 Do some baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Do the mending Clean off the top of my desk and my desk drawers Work on to-read magazine pile Unofficial Goals Grease the Groove - use the damn pull-up bar! On Sunday I was able to do A Pull-up, I want to do more! More NF! Regular updates here and more keeping up with other people's challenges Remember to fill out my Pixel A Day tracker Be on time to Toastmasters Journal once a week The Road So Far Week 1: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 2/3 Macros 7/14 Mobility 4/7 The List - no progress Unofficial Pullups 1/7 NF 2/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Oct 26 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1/1 Mini - done Week 2: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 1/3 Macros 5/14 Mobility 3/7 The List - cleaned off my desk - now to keep it that way! Unofficial Pullups 1/7 NF 6/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 5 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1+/1 Mini - done Week 3: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/1 Intervals 1/2 Macros 9/14 Mobility 1/7 The List - nope Unofficial Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 12 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1/1 Mini - done Week 4 Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 0/3 Macros 8/14 Mobility 3/7 The List - lots of knitting! Unofficial Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 15 (currently caught up fully) On time to TM - N/A Journal 1/1 Mini - done

I'm carrying over similar goals from the last challenge, and adding a couple, and rearranging things a bit Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 49 | STA - 49.75 | CON - 82 | WIS - 55 | CHA - 50.5 Weight - 162lb Waist - 29.25" Belly - 33" Hips - 38.75" Thigh - 22.25" Body Fat - 26.45% Goals Goal 1: Sleep Sleep is the foundation of everything, and it’s time that I buckle down and just do it properly. I know it effects my abilities mentally and physically, because I’m always tired, so it’s time to see what I can do when I’m sleeping enough. I wake up at 5:30am during the week (sometimes 6:30am if I’m extra tired), so that’s going to drive my bedtimes. I’m not sure how much sleep I actually do need, so I’m going to start with an 11pm bedtime (6.5 hours sleep) and see how that goes. If I need to, I’ll move it earlier in stages until I hit a good spot. CON +3 Goal 2: Cardio Yep, for some reason I decided to play a sport that’s cardio-heavy… and then voluntarily decided to go play an even more cardio-intensive version of that sport on Thanksgiving/Oktoberfest weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving = beginning of October). So I have to do cardio between now and then, because in the last month and a half I’ve done basically none, especially compared to the amount I was doing from May-July between playing rugby, practicing rugby, and riding my bike to rugby. I’m thinking 2x 5k, 3x intervals/HITT/sprints, and 1x something else - maybe swimming. The weekend of week 3 and all of week 4 will be a bit different due to Thanksgiving/visiting Stratford/Ottawa adventures. STA +3 Week 1 Monday - weights/intervals Tuesday - weights Wednesday - Thursday - weights/intervals Friday - 5k Saturday - intervals Sunday - 5k/swim Week 2 Monday - weights Tuesday - weights/intervals Wednesday - 5k Thursday - weights/intervals Friday - 5k Saturday - intervals Sunday - swim Week 3 Monday - weights/intervals Tuesday - weights Wednesday - 5k Thursday - weights/intervals Friday - 5k Saturday - Oktoberfest rugby 10s Sunday - Oktoberfest/Thanksgiving Week 4 Monday - Thanksgiving [weights/intervals?] Tuesday - weights Wednesday - 5k Thursday - weights Friday - Ottawa Saturday - Ottawa Sunday - Ottawa Goal 3: Food Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it - quality variances only! Meal prepping is going to be a big part of this one. CON +3 Goal 4: Mobility I have 3 key lower body and 2 key upper body mobility protocols that have really been working for me. Ideally I would do all 3 lower body at a time, and/or both upper body ones, but it takes a bit of time to get through everything, so instead my goal will be to do either my upper or lower body protocols every day. DEX +3 Goal 5: The List WIS +3 Finish going through clothes/inventorying Left side of closet - upper and lower PJs Bras Shoes Outerwear Purses Do some baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through makeup Clean out espresso maker Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Update workout log from notes on phone Unofficial Goals Grease the Groove - use the damn pull-up bar! More NF! Regular updates here and more keeping up with other people's challenges The Road So Far Week 1: 11pm bedtime 0/7 Intervals 3/3 5k 0/2 Swim 0/1 Macros 4.5/7 Mobility 6/7 Pullups - tried to remember to do them, semi-successful NF - posted here or in other people's threads 5/7 days Week 2: 11pm bedtime 0/7 Intervals 2/3 5k 0/1 Swim 0/1 Macros 4/7 Mobility 6/7 Pullups 2/7 NF 4/7 Week 3: 11pm bedtime 2/7 Intervals 1/2 5k 2/2 Macros 4.5/7 Mobility 4/7 Pullups 0/7 NF 1/7 I think? Forgot about tracking this Week 4: 11pm bedtime 1/7 5k 1/1 (replaced with group training) Macros 2/7 Mobility 3/7 Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7

Here I am, fashionably late. Goal 1) Strength Training Right now I'm going to aim for 2x per week. Gym if possible, body weight if not. Goal 2) Endurance Training I need to work on my endurance so I'm going to aim for running or other cardio type activity 3x per week. Goal 3) Foods When I try to be really stringent about food, I do really well for a maximum of 3 days, then I go off the rails again. So I'm just going to focus on a more intuitive eating style. I know what's good and what isn't so for this challenge I'm just going to try to have more good days than bad days. Goal 4) Positive Thinking I got a brand new journal the other day. I immediately sat down and wrote a page about horrible everything is. It sort of hit me how self-perpetuating that is. By writing down all the things that are wrong, I'm reinforcing those bad brain patterns. So I'm going to aim to journal 5 times per week and focus on positive things that are happening. I'm still going to allow myself to chronicle the daily ups and downs but I'm not going to get locked into a litany of how stupid my brain is sometimes.

Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 49.75 | CON - 78 | WIS - 51 | CHA - 50.5 Weight 170lb Waist 30" Belly 33" Hips 38.5" Thigh 23" Body Fat 26.54% Goals Cardio I’ve got rugby practice a couple times a week right now, weather permitting, and 2 rugby games during the course of the challenge, so on weekends when I don’t have a game I’ll go for a run. And if practice is canceled due to rain I'll go for a run. Ideally I’ll be able to go over to the park that’s ~1.5km away (I think) and run the big hill there, but that’ll also depend on the weather (the area at the bottom of the hill, which also includes a dirt/clay(?) running track collects water like no one’s business when it rains). The hill isn't a sand dune, but it'll do! Not technically cardio, but I also want to make sure I get my 10 000 steps a day in - if anyone’s got a FitBit I’m down to do challenges! My name is also maegs on the app, my picture there is a hummingbird, but I'm not sure if you can search by username? It's weird... The url for my profile is https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KVHMR anyways Reading Read 2 books during the course of this challenge. I’m behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge so I have to start catching up! Knitting Work on Lambing Mitts and finish at least one mitt! Mobility Do eeett!! I have to do something each day. Sociable Unofficial goal - be more active on here, both on my own thread and on others' threads! To Do List Fix leggings, T shirt Organize kitchen cupboards Tidy living room - magazines, tray Tidy bedroom - grey drawers, closet Try on clothes from home Finish white skirt Shrink sweater sleeves Clean green purse Plan what to see at the Stratford Festival The Road So Far Week 1: Rugby practice x1 - yep Run x1 - yep Rugby game x1 - actually played 1 1/2 games this weekend! Steps - 7/7, averaged ~15380 steps/day Read - nope Knit - nope Mobility - 5/7 [Sociable] - nope! most of the time I was at home this week I was either sleeping or trying not to fall asleep Week 2: Rugby practice x2 - 2/2 Rugby game x1 - 1/1 Steps - 7/7 Read - got some reading in Knit - no Mobility - 4/7 [Sociable] - 4/7 Week 3 - concussion city, population me: Rugby practice x2 Rugby game x1 Steps - 7/7 Read - 2 books finished Knit - no Mobility - 2/7 [Sociable] - 0/7 Week 4: Rugby practice x2 Rugby game x1 Steps - 7/7 Read - 2 books finished Knit - no Mobility - 4/7 [Sociable] - 1/7

These are largely the same overarching goals as the last challenge, just adjusted for the month ahead. Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 47.75 | CON - 75 | WIS - 47 | CHA - 47.5 Weight 170lb Waist 30" Belly 33.25" Hips 38.75" Thigh 23" Body Fat 26.60% Goals Food Continue eating as per low-GI guidelines. Be stricter re: treats, things that are almost ok - this means better planning and sufficient snacks on hand. Allowed exceptions - but remember guidelines for socializing!: Friend’s bachelorette Post-rugby-games (x2 this challenge) - social-ing after games = pub food and beer Plan Carried over from the last challenge - I need to refine my goals/plan from my 2017 Roadmap. It's not specific enough about specific steps to take and mini-goals/smaller things on the way to the big goals. So I want to work on figuring out the specifics in a more detailed and organized way. Also apply lessons from The Life Changing Magic Of Not Giving A Fuck to help eliminate/prioritize goals. Cardio I’ve got rugby practice a couple times a week right now, weather permitting, and 2 rugby games during the course of the challenge, so on weekends when I don’t have a game I’ll go for a run. And if practice is canceled due to rain I'll go for a run. Ideally I’ll be able to go over to the park that’s ~1.5km away (I think) and run the big hill there, but that’ll also depend on the weather (the area at the bottom of the hill, which also includes a dirt/clay(?) running track collects water like no one’s business when it rains). The hill isn't a sand dune, but it'll do! Not technically cardio, but I also want to make sure I get my 10 000 steps a day in - if anyone’s got a FitBit I’m down to do challenges! My name is also maegs on the app, my picture there is a hummingbird Reading Read 2 books during the course of this challenge. I’m 2 books behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge so I have to start catching up! Knitting Finish the blanket I finished knitting during the last challenge - weave in the ends, wash, and block it. Remember to take pictures Start Lambing Mitts Sociable Unofficial goal - be more active on here, both on my own thread and on others' threads! To Do List Fix leggings, T shirt Organize kitchen cupboards Tidy living room - magazines, tray Tidy bedroom - desk, grey drawers, closet, dresser top Try on clothes from home Finish white skirt Shrink sweater sleeves Clean green purse Flats & dress for Britt's wedding Plan what to see at the Stratford Festival The Road So Far Week 1: Eat right (rugby) - done Plan - nope Rugby practice x1 - done Run x1 - done Rugby game x1 (preseason) - done Steps - 7/7 Read - nope Knit - nope [Sociable] - x4 days Week 2: Eat right - done Plan - a little Rugby practice x1 - done Run x2 Steps - 7/7 Read - nope Knit - a little [Sociable] - x5 days Week 3: Eat right (bachelorette + rugby) - done Plan - a little Rugby practice x2 - done Rugby game x1 (season opener) - done Steps - 5/7 Read - one book read Knit - blanket blocked [Sociable] - x2 days Week 4: Eat right - yep Plan - mostly done Rugby practice x1 - nope Run x2 - nope Steps - 5/7 days Read - a bit Knit - Lambing Mitts started [Sociable] - x1 day

Hi gang. Going to give it another try here. I hurt my back so I'm on a healthy dose of steroids right now and no lifting. Honestly should probably be on light duty at work so the next week should be interesting. Goal 1) This was supposed to be following the nifty new lifting program my new rugby s&c coach gave me. Instead for now it's going to be mobility work to loosen up the problem muscles in my back and hip. 3x per week. Once my back is happy again it will go back to lifting 3x per week. Goal 2) Follow the eating plan that goes with the new lifting program remembering that I'm focusing on progress not perfection. Goal 3) Keep up with the Rising Heroes missions a little bit better. There are some good ones for this week on mindfulness and positive thinking. Both areas I can improve on. I'm sure I'll be full of witty comments later but right now I'm just full of prednisone. Translation...my eyeballs feel hot. I will get around and check in with all of you soon as I'm feeling a bit better!

Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 41.75 | CON - 72 | WIS - 41.5 | CHA - 44.5 Weight 173lb Waist 31" Belly 35" Hips 40" Thigh 23 1/2" Body Fat 27.11% Previous Challenge Goals Sleep 10:30pm bedtime. Pay attention to the reminders on my phone re: getting ready for bed/getting to bed. Cardio Minimum 1 "long" (read 30 minutes/5kish) run per week + 1 intervals session. Extra is encouraged Reading Haven't been reading as much as I would like, so 210 minutes of reading per week (equivalent of 30 minutes/day) Mini Challenge Strength Feat - 1 extra lifting session COMPLETE Ranger Feat - start next knitting project. Minimum 120 minutes of working on it throughout the week. COMPLETE Distance Feat - 1 extra cardio session COMPLETE Recovery Feat - Go to a yoga class COMPLETE

I guess I'm doing 3/4 of a challenge this month. But that's okay because it's better than no challenge at all. I'll flesh out my goals a bit but I wanted to make a mark here while my mood was up and I had time. Gym) 3x per week, get back to my program Food) Eat reasonably. No calorie counting, no macros, nothing fancy. Just eat reasonably to promote my goals. Life) Plan things better. On Friday, plan the next week. Food, gym days, etc. Get myself organized and actually pack lunches and gym clothes and all my gear for rugby practice. For the last 2-3 weeks I've just been floating through life like a leaf in floodwaters. The chaotic life feeds the depression/anxiety which locks me up from being organized which leads to more chaos, etc. Gotta turn that ship around.

Time for bed, deets tomorrow Mmk, technically bedtime now but I should do this to so... Last challenge: didn't take holidays into account, didn't end up tracking food at all due to not making my food for probably half the challenge cause I was home, continued sleeping not-enough, etc. etc. So, time to try and do the things that I've been trying to do for ages? Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 41.75 | CON - 72 | WIS - 41.5 | CHA - 44.5 Weight Waist Belly Hips Thigh Body Fat Goals Cardio I have a 5k coming up in a couple months, so that and rugby starting up again are my cardio motivation. I should do a "long" (5k-ish) run once a week, and intervals once a week. Sleep This is the big one. Bedtime is 10:30, gotta figure out how to meet it. Mobility Gotta do this 5/7 days a week to keep my body happy Food Food prep + IIFYM are gonna be the order of the day here. Aiming for 5/7 days of IIFYM. Mini Challenge Week 1: You Must Gather More Resources Before we can begin rebuilding the Guild Hall, we need something to build it with. So for week 1 we will be quarrying stone, chopping down trees, and gathering dirt for mortar. This will be represented by several activities from which you can choose. Wood Choppers will represent cutting down trees and milling them. Kettlebell Swings will represent mining for stone. Shovelglove workouts will represent gathering supplies for mortar. We will track it by multiplying reps times weight. It would get to technical trying to keep the three separate, so any of the three, in any combination, counts toward the goal. Keep track of how many reps you do at each weight, and post your totals in the mini-challenge tracking spreadsheet. Week 2: Return To Base We have gathered all the supplies we need to re build the guild hall. Now we need to get them to the construction site. This weeks feat is a distance feat. We need to log 220 miles as a guild to get all the wood, stone and mortar supplies to the fort so we can use them. The barkeep is getting positively giddy with anticipation. Apparently the rubble we cleared from the old hall was organized in our absence, which means the new hall will be even bigger and more impressive than the last. Any mileage counts, whether its real world stuff or on some sort of cardio machine, just log your miles on the tracking spreadsheet. Count anything from 12:01 am Sunday morning your time to 11:59pm Saturday night your time. Week 3: Construction Commencing We have gathered all the supplies we need to rebuild the hall and transported them to the construction site. Let's build this thing! To represent moving the supplies into position, shaping them, and actually assembling them, we will work with over the head weighted exercises. By that I mean anything that involves moving something weighted over your head. That could be any of the Olympic lifts or their variants, over head press, push press, thrusters, squat thrusters, squat press, Turkish Get Ups, any of it. Again, multiply weight times reps to get yours score and post it on the tracking spreadsheet. We need 50000 lbs to finish. Week 4: Putting The Tent Away Well done everyone, we've got the project done on time and under budget. The only thing that remains is to give the guild tent a thorough cleaning before folding it up and putting it away one last time. That's right, it's time to do your Domestic Rangering feat. When you finish, put a 1 in the week 4 column by your name in the tracking spreadsheet. At least twenty of us need to get our feats done to get the tent cleaned and fully packed into the cart. To Do List 2017 Roadmap Mitts for Dad Kitchen Organize cupboards Work on Imagining Other Earths on Coursera Shrink sweater sleeves Stretch NY shirt Rugby team website/image gallery/design Account/password list Finish white skirt Drawing Change address Tidy Closet - started Grey drawers - started Bed drawers - started Clean green purse Get watch button fixed Living Room TV out Magazines - working through the stack Tray on coffee table (actually a trunk) Mending (socks + leggings) Send @Wild Wolf that prehab stuff (I promise I didn't forget - I scanned the stuff I had and then realized that it's not super helpful without visuals so I have to find videos/pictures to go along with it) The Road So Far Week 1: Cardio 1/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 4/5 Food 4/5 Week 2: Cardio 2/2 Sleep 1/7 Mobility 5/5 Food 5/5 Week 3: Cardio 2/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 3/5 Food 5/5 Week 4 Cardio 2/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 5/5 Food 5/5

December was a pretty good month for me. I think I've established the gym habit and I'm ready to increase on it this month. January is the calm before the storm. Rugby practice starts back up in February with matches happening March and April. I've got 2 airport jobs this spring. Airports are always more difficult than they really need to be. I'm also working on setting up a rugby tournament for the summer. I haven't fully committed to this happening but I have some more preliminary work to do so I can decide whether to jump into it or not. This month, I really have to get my food and fitness ramped up. After January I will be pulled in a ton of directions so if I don't have the habits pretty solid, I will struggle. Goal 1) Gym 3 times per week. Both lifting and bjj count towards the 3. *I changed this from 4 to 3 for realism. I got 2 per week in December, why jump so much and make it harder to succeed? I need success more than I need lofty goals* Goal 2) Rehab. I have a big case of gluteal amnesia that I'm working on with a trainer. I've already made progress but I'm not doing the things I'm supposed to be doing at home. I've got some pretty simple exercises that I'm supposed to do 3 days a week. Goal 3) Food. I just have to do it. I'm committing to primal. It's hard for me to commit because I know I'm going to struggle and be somewhat less than perfect. My wife lives on grains alone (not really but so close to really) so I know it's going to be difficult/impossible for me to do this perfectly. But if I shoot for perfect and land at 60% I'm still so far ahead of where I am now. If I don't try then I'll never know what adjustments I can make for success. Goal 4) Mornings. I suck at mornings. My goal is to be at work by 8 am each day. Eventually I want it to be 7 but that's too much of a change in one go since I'm also adding a primal goal which will require breakfast at home and a packed lunch most days. The only way I'm going to succeed at mornings is to leave all the guesswork out of it. Each night before bed I will lay out my work clothes, make sure my gym bag is ready if it's gym day and have food prepped as much as possible for the next day. My life is pretty chaotic and I'm tired of it. Tired of quitting, tired of chaos and tired of being fat. That's sort of the motto that got me through December so I hope it will carry me forward in january.

Good morning all! I'm staring 2017 in the face with cup of reheated coffee, cello music on Pandora and the knowledge that today is a good day to do something. My name is Vaereyes. I am best described as a veteran on the rocks with a twist of LGBTQ+ and a dash of Leather. (Sarcasm available free of charge.) I want to start better habits, and being an absolute geek I found Nerd Fitness a few months ago. I toyed with the idea of joining, but ultimately decided I wasn't ready. I've come back once more, with some small goals in mind. I've been playing rugby for about 2 years consistently, and I'm not strong enough to make a tackle or keep on a ball carriers heels as they make it to the try zone. This is due, in large part, to my give a damn being busted. (I'm so lazy, y'all. You don't even know.) I decided that this year I'm going to make that hit, and take someone to ground; and I'm going to channel my inner air elemental and beat that bitch down the field to do it all over again! I also started roller derby boot camp in July of 2016, and I want be proficient enough to make the team. My two epic quests, I suppose, are sports related. My side quests and minor plot points all revolve around establishing good habits. Once I get into a routine it's pretty easy to keep it, but it's the getting into a routine that takes effort! I'm looking to incorporate yoga for flexibility, sprints for endurance (I HATE DISTANCE RUNNING), and weight lifting for power. I think all of these things are going to be complimentary for my needs. I look forward to meeting all of you lovely NF humans! (I leave you with this gif of the fantastic Sam Riegel from my favorite show, Critical Role.)

Once upon a lifetime, I was a proper warrior. I worked out five days a week, was in the best shape of my life and was relatively healthy all things considered. Then fate saw to it that my path would change, and I took on a new life leaving behind my tools of warfare for ones better suited to education and cultural awareness. I want to get back to being that physically fit, so that I can once more meet my foes on the battlefield in combat. TL;DR: I used to be a soldier, was in smashing shape and then got out of the service. Now I play rugby and roller derby, and I want to get into good enough shape that I can be a contender in those arenas. Would I love to have the lean muscle mass of Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)? Oh sweet baby jesus, yes. Will I? Probably not. But I'd settle for some good exercises for cardio, significant lower body strength, flexibility and endurance. Help me formulate a fitness plan that isn't going to rule my life (workout 3x a week), and won't be daunting for someone who doesn't enjoy busting his bum. I've looked at roller derby specific workouts, but there's a paywall. *sigh* Stats: Sex: Female Height: 5'10.5" (That half inch matters, damnit!) Weight: 157 lbs Measurements: Not yet, getting a DEXA test next Saturday. Will update thereafter. Injuries: Knees prone to fits of "fuckoff!", and lower back problems due to rubbish posture. Exercise will help both of these things. Exercise preferences: Weight lifting, body weight exercises and yoga are probably all really good starts. I hate cardio to high heaven, but I know it's necessary. Also, as we've clearly illustrated with my choice sports, I don't have a problem taking a punch or throwing one.

I'll write out my goals and then write a bit about me, where I've been and where I'm going. All you readers can follow along and enjoy but all you non-readers can skip the wall of text that's sure to follow. My main overarching goal used to be weight loss. I still weigh 300 pounds (down from a recent high of 315 on Oct 24) but I've changed my theme from weight loss to improved performance. Weight loss will be a happy side effect. I'm a rugby coach now and still playing some. Even if I never play another game, I need to improve my physical performance so I can demonstrate things to my team. I also hope it will inspire some of the less fit girls as they try to improve. Goal 1) Go to the gym 3-4 times per week. I have to do 3 for the lifting program I'm following. The 4th is a cardio day that can either be at the gym or done from home. The lifting program is a slightly bastardized Stronglifts 5x5 with some rugby specific stuff added in. Goal 2) Food. My eternal Achilles' heal. I've eaten my pain for a long time and as someone with chronic and sometimes unrelenting depression, I have a lot of pain to eat. I'm starting small here. My only food goal for this 4 weeks is to track everything I eat. I automatically do better when I track. In January I will add a step. But this is such a problem area, I need to start small. Goal 3) My habitat. As I mentioned above, I'm in a constant struggle with my depression. My wife also struggles with it. As a result, our house sometimes isn't in great shape because we're both just too beaten up to deal with it. I used this goal once before in a challenge and it worked great for me so I'm going to start it again. I will do one thing each day towards tidying up the house. It might be a big project or it might be something as simple as making sure I've policed up the clutter on the coffee table. But I will do something each day. So about me...I struggle terribly with depression and anxiety. I'm actually considering seeing a psychiatrist to manage my meds instead of the family doc. I take 3 different medications and I'm barely hanging in there part of the time so I think it's time to bring out the big guns. I'm a rugby coach. Being a rugby coach has been a dream of mine for a long time but I thought that ship had sailed. I'm thinking about taking up bjj. I could write paragraphs about where I am but that would probably get old. Also, I'm not very good at posting lots of clever pictures and gifs. That's why I have you guys!

Welcome back for another episode of the exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge. Upon my return, I have decided to revisit some of my challenge themes to turn them into lessons as I had been doing more recently. I feel it is a good way to reflect on my own learning and progress to write about and share these lessons, but I also have another objective. I am cataloging these lessons in a document which is now up to 136 pages. The plan is to use this document as a reference for my personal Jedi training and to pass on for my Padawan training. It isn't just my Nerd Fitness challenges. It includes every Jedi-related writing I have done, training I have worked through, and documents I have collected (which are not protected but have sources noted). Challenge Lesson: "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship." -- Yoda, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back What my experience at Nerd Fitness has taught me is that there is always time, it is just a matter of priority. There is no to-do list too daunting, there is no bar too high, and there is no skill that cannot be learned. It takes prioritization, motivation, and determination. There will be failures along the rode, but those are learning opportunities. There will be obstacles in your way, but those are problem solving opportunities. There will be risks and consequences to the journey, but those are just costs for the reward. Size is just a measurement from a perspective. Find what aspect of you perspective the size is relevant to and change it. The size will change with it. Think of yourself as an ant. Everything human is huge or irrelevant to your life. Think of yourself as the moon. Everything on Earth is tiny and irrelevant to your life. Now, relate that to your goal. What are the things that make the goal appear impossible? How can you turn those things into something possible? Let's say you overweight and would like to be able to run a mile. You are 30, the last time you ran a mile was high school, and even then it was a chore. That goal looks enormous. Well, you can't do anything about your age, but you can do something about the weight. You can do something about your puny muscles and weak lungs. Pretend those obstacles are solved. Does the mile still look difficult? Now, take aim at the sub-goals you have: lose weight, gain muscles, build stamina. Find the aspects that make the task difficult. Of course, Yoda is speaking specifically of the Force and how it knows no bounds. Just as the Force has no bounds, neither should one's belief in it. Belief, creativity, passion, empathy, faith, ambition are just a few concepts which know no bounds. Artificial bounds in these concepts stunts growth and understanding. If you want to be enlightened, then find a path across any artificial bounds in these areas. Sometimes it is another matter of changing perspective. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 2 Level 7 Challenge: FITNESS: Work Up a Sweat - 600 minutes of conditioning training for the entire challenge. DEX +2, STA +3 The weekly plan is a minimum of two 60 minute tabata runs with Pokémon Go. These runs are to include at least 5 sprints of ~50 meters for increased intensity. It's getting cold outside, so I may move to a treadmill for a few of the runs. We'll see how it goes. I'll also have 60 minutes of racquetball on Fridays. I'd like to do some field or gym training for rugby, soccer, and football footwork and ball work, as well. Stretch and Strengthen - 600 minutes of exercises and stretches for the entire challenge. STR +2, DEX +1 The weekly plan includes 10 minutes of regular stretching each day, two 20 minute sessions of physical therapy exercises and 30 minutes of other strength training each week. The minimum leaves 40 minutes to make up by the end of the challenge. DIET: Weight Control - Lose 2 lbs by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 161 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. I tend to over eat at gatherings on the weekend. I plan to eat as little as possible at the next gatherings, Thanksgiving included. CON +3 Going to eat salad and veggies as much as possible with apples and dark chocolate as my sugary snacks. Avoid soda, ice cream, and potato chips. Minimize cheese and nuts. Most importantly, I have to continue to watch my portions. I cannot ever have two "large" meals in one day. LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete 28 Tasks or Projects from any of the following areas: Toastmasters Communication Practice, Toastmasters Leadership Practice, Webmaster Work, Jedi Training, Job Work, Charity Work, House Work, Yard Work, Animal Care, Home Renovation, Auto Maintenance, Family Activities, Adventuring (to keep it diverse, no more than 4 from any one category) WIS +2, CHA +2 I need to revisit my IJRS Jedi Training this challenge. It has been too long. Auto Maintenance will be important to get to before week 4 as we have a long drive for Thanksgiving. Same with any Home Renovation and Yard Work. Incorporating a reward and consequence has been really helpful, so I'll keep doing that. REWARD: For each week I complete 7 or more tasks, I will put $10 aside for buying something just for me. CONSEQUENCE: For any week where I complete less than 7 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. Major Dates: Nov 5th Extra Life Game Day, Nov 19th My Birthday, November 22nd-26th Thanksgiving Travel. Each of these weeks will need to be planned carefully to meet my goals.

Hello, I'm Némo, which American's can't pronounce so try "Nay-mo" and that's a girls name here (thanks Disney!) I signed up today, I was surfing around and got here as it seems to fit me a lot. I used to be a rugby player up to 3 years back, got VERY VERY ill lost +/- 17 kg of muscules ended up being +/- 55 kilo's with 168 cm. (that's 121,25 pounds on 5.5 feed) which is skinny but not bad. however I was weak and when I got better i gained a lot of weight. I'm now on 67.7 kilo's (+/- 150 pounds) I don't mind being 150 pounds.. but it's not muscles as before it's FAT and I feel the difference I don't wake up fit and I feel lazy and sleepy and crappy really. I want to change... but change is always difficult. if you didn't move for like 2,3 year after you moved heavily 6 days a week you get bored. I started playing A LOT of video games... and now.. I found this, how cool is that! anyway I'm here now, no plan plan so far, just looking around for the moment, I created my first challange here; looking into this accademy thing, but I find 150 dollar a lot.. so I need to over think this, I'm starting with this month of try-out. work out how the quests work etc. and then... when I get into the community more... I might acctually make a plan and make the change. When I stopped drinking (4,5 years back) I leared... "one day at the time" that how I'll approach this. I'll focus on one day at the time. and for the november challange... we'll see what happens next

“There is no one giant step that does it. It's a lot of little steps.” This time around I'm focusing on all those things that I'm terrible at doing... Previous Challenge Stats STR - 27.75 | DEX - 42.5 | STA - 33.75 | CON - 63 | WIS - 37 | CHA - 42.25 Weight 174lb Waist 30 1/2" Belly 34 1/2" Hips 39 3/4" Thigh 23 1/4" Body Fat 27.03% Goals You will go to sleep, or I will put you to sleep Bed by 10:30pm unless socializing +4 CON We must do the cardio. But we hates it! 30 minutes of cardio at least 1x per week +3 STA Long walk (1 hour +) at least 1x per week +1 STA Very important to stretch before chasing mailman Daily mobility +2 DEX Yoga class or video 1x per week +2 DEX Do all the things! Do Duolingo daily (30 points minimum) Write in journal weekly There's 4 days a week that I'm planning to do stuff, and three where there's potential for extra: +3 CHA Monday/Wednesday/Friday do/work on at least 2 things from my to-do list Tuesday/Thursday don't have to do anything unless there's no rugby practice Saturday is also dependent on when I get back from rugby and how I feel Sunday do/work on at least 4 things from my to-do list To Do List Plan going to the Stratford Festival Finish Reyna (pattern) Repot cactus Finish PHP in Codeacademy Finish CSS in Codeacademy Finish Finance for Everyone: Decisions on Coursera - one more part to do, it starts in August Work on Imagining Other Earths on Coursera Go through gift cards Shrink sweater sleeves Clean off desk/printer table/drawers (aka The Corner of Doom) - Started Clean out bathroom cabinets Review Epic Quest and 2016 Roadmap Update planner Update wall calendar Finish white skirt Officially change address (yes, I moved out of my parents' place 3 years ago, what?) And whatever else I think of! The Road So Far Week 1: Sleep 4/7 Cardio 1/1 Walk /1 Mobility 7/7 Yoga 1/1 To-dos 4/4 Week 2: Sleep 5/7 Cardio 1/1 Walk 2/1 Mobility 5/7 Yoga 1/1 To-dos 2/2 (was away Friday and Sunday) Week 3: Sleep 2/7 Cardio 1/1 Walk 1/1 Mobility 2/7 Yoga 0/1 To-dos 2/3 (away on Monday) Week 4: Sleep 0/7 Cardio 1/1 Walk 1/1 Mobility 5/7 Yoga 0/1 To-dos 2/4

Hello friends! I missed NF a lot but I think I needed a break since I had fallen in the habit of writing magnificent goals and not ever actually working on them. For those of you who are joining me for the first time, I have done some boxing but I'm currently an honorary monk since I'm not actively training a martial art. Right now I'm pretty active with my new rugby team. Last summer I realized that I was out of shape, about to turn 40 and would likely never play rugby again. Four days after my 40th, I got a message about a new team and would I be interested in helping get them started. I quickly went from "helping out" to "starting player". I'm hoping to transition into coaching soon. I still love playing but I really am getting kind of old and also really too out of shape. So that's why I'm here. As of right now, I need to keep playing since we need my experience and my brute strength on the field. (I AM the brute squad) Goal 1) Rugby practice 2-3 times per week. It will depend on how many practices we have scheduled. Goal 2) Gym 3 times per week. I'm doing rowing to build cardio endurance and strength training. Goal 3) Food. My eternal struggle. As usual, I know what I want to do, I just need to find the right way to structure it for a goal. I will get that sorted before the challenge starts. Goal 4) Rugby knowledge. I've got a level 200 coaching certification clinic on July 30. I need to make sure I'm prepared for it. This will include studying the materials, assessing my own strengths and weaknesses as a potential coach and coming up with a plan to improve my weak areas.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” My last challenge went pretty well, but petered out a bit at the end due to a lack of time/energy. So this time I'm simplifying things down to what I need to do to support my rugby/workout/work schedule and keep my body only-minorly-broken Weekly Schedule: Monday - Weights + Cardio Tuesday - Rugby practice Wednesday - Weights Thursday - Rugby practice Friday - Yoga? Saturday - Rugby game(s) Sunday - Rest Previous Challenge Stats Weight 166lb Waist 30” Belly 33” Hips 38 3/4” Thigh 22 3/4” Body Fat 26.75% Goals Sloth running team - let's nap instead! Bed by 10:30pm unless socializing Will run for pizza 30 minutes of cardio at least 1x per week The best ab workout is reaching for more guacamole Don't eat like a dickhead Eat out 1x per week max Do food prep on weekends Any yoga I do is hot yoga Daily mobility Yoga class or video 1x per week The Road So Far Week 1: Sleep 0/5 Food 5/5 Cardio 0/1 Mobility 3/5 Yoga 0/1 Week 2: Sleep 2/7 Food 7/7 Cardio 1/1 Mobility 6/7 Yoga 0/1 Week 3: Sleep 2/7 Food 7/7 Cardio 0/1 Mobility 2/7 Yoga 0/1 Week 4: Sleep 0/7 Food 7/7 Cardio 1/1 Mobility 2/7 Yoga 0/1

To not be afraid and to follow my heart If you’re going to survive on the ground you’ve gotta be in top shape! I’m doing a different points system this time around to see if that helps me stick to my goals. There’s 100 points up for grabs, and I can earn different amounts for each goal, weighted for difficulty. I'm counting stuff done from my to-do list in week 0, but all other points come into effect during the challenge itself, since they're tied to the number of days that I do everything. In addition to my goals, I want to start using Pomodoros again, as well as getting back to spending more time on knitting, art, reading, and journaling, and less time online. And I’m going to keep working on pull-ups! Of course, all of this is contingent on not having a heart attack while watching season 3 of The 100! Previous Challenge Stats Weight 162lb Waist 29.5" Belly 33.5" Hips 38.5" Thigh 22.75" Body Fat 26.76% Goals Shut Up And Drink I’m going to stick with the macros I worked out last challenge, with one variance day/week. That day will probably be Saturday, between eating for playing 1+ rugby game and then the post-game social. 2000 calories Protein 175g (35%) Fat 89g (40%) Carbs 125g (25%) 12 points up for grabs (1 for every 2 days, less 4 variance days) You Should Run Weekly 5k Weekly 1/2 hour+ walk 8 points up for grabs (1 for each walk/run) Who I Am And Who I Need To Be Are Very Different In bed by 11pm, every night. Socializing exemption is a thing. 56 points up for grabs (2 points for each day) 15% Concentrated Power of Will Daily stretching/foam rolling/lacrosse-balling. 16 points up for grabs (1 point every 2 days) It Won't Survive Me My to-do list, that is! 8 points up for grabs (1.5 points for each thing on my Clean and Tidy lists) Dailies: Morning prep (Food, clothes, gym and/or rugby gear) Duolingo Clean Under fridge Kitchen cupboards Windows Microwave Coffeemaker Dust Tidy Closet T-shirt drawer Wardrobe - started Bathroom Cabinets Corner of Doom (desk/sidetable/drawers) Floordrobe Bonus Points I can earn bonus points for doing things on my other to-do list, which is more random things that I need to get to at some point (1/2 point each), by going to bed before 10:30 (1/2 point each), or by doing extra cardio (1/2 point each) Points Tally : 74 Last updated Jun 12 Food 7 Run/walk 6 11pm 40 Mobility 10 Cleaning 7.5 Bonus 3 The Road So Far Week 1: Food - decided midway through the week to change my food goals and eat more carbs, even though I didn't make it official then. I definitely noticed a difference while I was playing on Saturday, so I think the higher carbs are here to stay! (these numbers also include variance sushi & beer) +3 15856/14, 000 calories Protein 845/1225g Fat 542/623g Carbs 1679/875g 5k 1/1; Walk 1/1 +2 11pm 6/7 +12.5 Mobility 7/7 +3.5 To-do list - got the microwave and under the fridge cleaned, picked up my floordrobe +4.5 Points 25.5 Week 2: Food - changed my goals without putting actual numbers to it, whoops. Ate pretty well except on the long weekend +2 5k 1/1; Walk 1/1 +2 11pm 4/7 +8 Mobility 5/7 +2.5 To-do list - cleaned out the coffee maker, 1 extra to-do list thing +2 Points: 16.5 Week 3: Food (only tracked 6 days cause long weekend) +1.5 14, 403/12, 000 calories Protein 646/750g Carbs 1600/1050g Fat 431/534g 5k /1; Walk 1/1 +1 11pm 4/7 +8 Mobility 5/7 +2.5 To-do list 1 and 2 extra to-dos +2.5 Points: 16.5 Week 4: Food - gave up on this partway through the week since it's really not working for me right now. I think I need to revert to don't-eat-like-a-dickhead due to a number of factors - the time it takes to weigh and measure and log everything vs. the amount of time/energy I have right now, and the amount of food that my body wants for the activity I'm doing. So these numbers are only Monday-Friday +.5 11, 518/10, 000 calories Protein 670/625g Fat 438/445g Carbs 1153/875g 5k 0/1; Walk 1/1 +2 11pm 6/7 (but a lot of socializing exemptions in there) +12 early bed +.5 Mobility 3/7 +1.5 To-do list - none Points 15.5

hey guys, i was wondering if you could help me build up a plan to train 3 times a week (monday, wednesday,friday) i also do rugby specific team training on tuesdays and thursdays and a game on saturdays. i would like to build lean muscle and loose fat (im also intending on starting the paleo diet) i currently am abit wayward with my workouts i sorta just do whatever i want coz i have no real structure to follow. i love the deadlift and would love to increase my 1 rep max (227.5Kg) any advice welcome thanks

A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. I’ve finally managed to get down to only having one job! It’s very exciting to actually have free time! And my weekends to myself! I’ve got some of the same goals in this challenge as in the last couple, but I’ve taken away my mobility and work ones and added in grease-the-groove and will be adding a stricter food goal than just “don’t be a dickhead” Previous Challenge Stats Weight 164lb Waist 30" Belly 34.5" Hips 39" Thigh 23" Body Fat 26.93% Goals Cadence to Arms I just got a pull up bar to put up in one of my doorways - time to really kick it into gear with moving towards my goal of being able to do a pullup! The plan right now is to (attempt to) do a pullup every time I walk by/under the bar. The way my apartment is laid out means that this should be a lot! I’ll keep track of how many I’m doing per day, and maybe set a number goal depending on how that goes. Walk Away Running and walking goals (still) here. I’ve discovered that I like running in the morning before work, it’s just getting out of bed that’s the trick! I’m going to try and do my weekly run in the mornings, and go for my walk on the weekend. Weekly 5k Half an hour walk once a week End of the Night Sleep continues to be an issue. I’m really going to work on it this time around 11pm bedtime Do morning prep immediately after work Computer off at 10pm & start getting ready for bed - turn off all the bright lights (kitchen, some living room), turn on my sunrise/sunset light in the bedroom Meditate at 10:45pm Reading, knitting, journalling, drawing, or listening to podcasts are ok after 10pm Socializing exemption still exists To help with this, I'm going to make sure I also wake up early on weekends. I'll set my alarm for maybe 7 or 7:30, and then I can stay in bed but I have to be awake. I'm still working on Saturdays right now (hopefully not for too much longer), so that I'll probably just apply to Sundays for this challenge. During the last challenge I needed the sleep more, and slept in late every Sunday, but in theory if I get my bedtime under control this can happen Captain Kelly's Kitchen The List will get finished! Tidying - things that I have to bung out and get organized Dresser - 1 drawer of T-shirts to go through The Corner of Doom - desk to be cleaned off, side table with my printer to clean off, drawers to clean out, stacks of paper to be gone through - Started Wardrobe - just have to get it organized, now that I have a stool and can reach the shelf in it instead of chucking things up and then barely being able to get them back down Bathroom cabinets - under sink and above toilet. Not too much stuff but needs organized and gone through Cleaning - it would be really awesome if I could get all of my cleaning done so that I can feel like it's done (for a while, anyway), instead of doing one thing and then trying to ignore the 5 other things that I haven't done Get all of these done at the same time Dust - Started, barely Sweep/mop kitchen - DONE 1-off stuff Fridge - DONE Kitchen cupboards Under/behind stove - DONE Under/behind fridge Windows Scrub down shower walls - DONE Minimizing One thing in, one thing out 52 things gone - /52 The Spicy McHaggis Jig Week 1 - Worked out some macros based on IIFYM and the "so you're trying to lean out while doing intense training?" that someone posted a challenge or two ago: 2000 calories Protein 175g (35%) Fat 89g (40%) Carbs 125g (25%) I also get one variance/week. I'll adjust these as the challenge goes on, depending on how I go. The Road So Far Week 1: Pullups - got the bar up (finally!) on Sunday morning, started working on them! Walk 1/1; 5k 0/1 11pm 1/7 - could be 2/7 if I get to bed early enough tonight Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - dusted the tops of the cabinets in the bathroom after getting a look at them while putting up my pullup bar. Cleaned/tidied the kitchen counters and the table, tidied the bathroom counter/shower ledge. Took out the compost and 2 lots of recycling. Floordrobe tackled and laundry away. Totals for week (this includes my plan for dinner but that's subject to a bit of change): 12619/14, 000 calories Protein 978/1225g Fat 607/623g Carbs 814/875g Week 2: Pullups - working on them! Walk 0/1; 5k 0/1 11pm 0/7 Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - Not a lot, got papers triaged in the Corner of Doom, cleaned the bathroom (including scrubbing the walls down), cleaned under the stove. Did a compost/garbage/recycling/shredded paper run. Food for this week wasn't great. A bit high on carbs and low on protein. Pretty sure that's attributable to me not being willing to even think about cooking on Wednesday night (0 energy) and having lasagna instead. Totals for week: 13, 885/14, 000 calories Protein 1006/1225g Fat 671/623g Carbs 1064/875g Week 3: Pullups - continuing to work on them Walk 0/1; 5k 1/1 11pm 0/7 Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - Cleaned out the fridge, did some shredding Food? - only tracked Mon-Thurs this week because I was travelling 7400/8000 calories Protein 501/700g Fat 406/356g Carbs 527/500g Week 4: Pullups - slacked a bit on this during this week. Was sore from rugby on the weekend, then was feeling sick, but I did some today! Walk 0/1; 5k 0/1 11pm 1/7 Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - nope. And the floordrobe has made a reappearance Food? 13, 672/14, 000 calories Protein 711/1225g Fat 738/623g Carbs 1082/875g

Okay, since week 1 is winding down, seems like I should post goals or something. I really hadn't planned for this one so my goals are probably not going to be all that SMART. I just had such a huge crash and burn at the end of last year. I just need to rebuild some habits and then really attack my long term goals once I get a plan going. The long term goal is to do the things I need to do to continue playing rugby into my 40s. The first 2 steps to that are to get my weight down and my cardiovascular endurance up. I also have a problem with glute activation so I need to work on that too. Turns out it's hard to push 1500 pounds of scrum off you when your glutes don't want to participate. Goal 1) I've got a gym routine that is Coach approved. I will do it 3 times per week. It involves weights and long, slow cardio. Goal 2) Attack the lazy glutes. I've got a routine set up to attack this whole area of my body. It's drawn from Joe DeFranco's Limber 11 and a website I found about hamstring dominance. I'm not sure how many days a week I need to be working on this. Will check that out. Goal 3) Food. Sigh. The neverending problem for me. For this challenge I'm going to work on getting back to tracking using MyFitnessPal. Just starting to track usually helps me cut down on a lot of stuff. I also want to work on identifying the triggers or habit cues that are causing my binges. That seems good for now. I need to take some new measurements. I haven't done that in a while. I know that my weight is roughly the same but clothes are fitting me differently so it seems like the fat is moving around a little.

“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.� It's been a busy month, and next month is going to be just as busy. I have some bad habits that are causing me trouble, and dealing with them will make everything a lot better. Mainly, I have to actually get enough sleep and get things done when I come home from work. I'm keeping the same goals as the last challenge, just reformatted/adjusted a bit based on what I did last challenge. 2 part post again, cause videos are fun. Previous Challenge Stats Weight 163lb Waist 29 5/8" Belly 33.5" Hips 38.5" Thigh 22.5" Body Fat 26.76% Goals Twist of Barbed Wire Mobility is my friend, and I need to remember that when I’m cursing my foam roller DEX + 3 Daily foam rolling/lacrosse balling/the stick-ing Keep On Running Running and walking goals here. Intervals aren’t a problem, but “longer� runs are. I also want the push to go for walks - gotta get to Mordor! STA + 3 Weekly 5k Half an hour walk once a week I'm So Tired The bedtime struggle continues. Made some progress last challenge, but fell back into my old ways of not getting enough sleep. CON + 2 CHA + 1 11pm bedtime Do morning prep immediately after work Computer off at 10pm & start getting ready for bed - turn off all the bright lights (kitchen, some living room), turn on my sunrise/sunset light in the bedroom Meditate at 10:45pm Reading, knitting, journalling, drawing, or listening to podcasts are ok after 10pm Socializing exemption still exists To help with this, I’m going to make sure I also wake up early on weekends. I’ll set my alarm for maybe 7 or 7:30, and then I can stay in bed but I have to be awake. I’m still working on Saturdays right now (hopefully not for too much longer), so that’ll probably just apply to Sundays for this challenge. During the last challenge I needed the sleep more, and slept in late every Sunday, but in theory if I get my bedtime under control this can happen No Scrubs I’ve got some tidying/organizing/cleaning to get done, so I’m going to chip away at it over the next month and hopefully get it all done! WIS +1 CON +2 CHA + 1 Tidying - things that I have to bung out and get organized Closet - figure out what to do with the stuff on the floor/in the back Dresser - 1 drawer of T-shirts to go through, gotta clean off the top as well The Corner of Doom - desk to be cleaned off, side table with my printer to clean off, drawers to clean out, stacks of paper to be gone through Wardrobe - just have to get it organized, now that I have a stool and can reach the shelf in it instead of chucking things up and then barely being able to get them back down Bathroom cabinets - under sink and above toilet. Not too much stuff but needs organized and gone through Cleaning - it would be really awesome if I could get all of my cleaning done so that I can feel like it’s done (for a while, anyway), instead of doing one thing and then trying to ignore the 5 other things that I haven’t done Get all of these done at the same time Vacuum bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen, stairs Dust Mop entryway (top and bottom of stairs), kitchen, bathroom 1-off stuff Fridge - Started Kitchen cupboards Under/behind stove Under/behind fridge Windows Handwashing Carpets - my vacuum doesn’t have a power head, gotta figure out how to clean the carpets. One isn’t bad, but the other one has a short ply and for some reason seems to attract and hang on to lint, hair, threads, etc., etc. like no one’s business Most effective way seems to be a combination of vacuuming and sitting on it dragging my hands across it to stir everything up. Kinda like the rubber-gloves-as-a-lint-roller trick? Minimizing One thing in, one thing out 52 things gone - 8/52

These challenges are just going to fly by. I didn't make enough progress on my goals last month to need to move on yet. The only difference will be no boxing since boxing abandoned me. Goal 1) 2 long walks/runs per week. I know there are lots of ways to work on cardiovascular endurance but my feet need to get used to pounding up and down the field so longer walks/runs it is. Might be inside on a treadmill or outside depending on weather. For me long is greater than 2 miles. Goal 2) Rugby 3 days/week. Practice is Monday, Thursday and Saturday. In the event that I can't attend a scheduled practice or we cancel for weather I will replace it with an hour of intense movement of some kind to mimic what I would be doing at practice. Goal 3) Eating. This is my eternal Achilles heel. Probably always will be. I'm continuing with the goal of eating breakfast at home 5/7 days and adding bringing my lunch to work 4/5 days. By not eating out, I am lowering calorie intake without thinking about it. Goal 4) That pesky morning routine. It's going well but it's only been about 3 weeks so I'm just keeping this as a goal for at least one more month. This month I'm going for the added bonus of getting up at 6:30 or earlier, because I can't keep getting up at 7:30 am. I need to be on my way to work by then.