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If anyone is interested in the greater Boston area, a bunch of yogis are going to get together out on Castle Island to do a 4 mile run and then do some yoga on the beach. No experience required. Here is a copy paste of all the data from the facebook created event. Message me for further info. An invigorating 4 mile run around Castle Island, one of Boston's most beautiful waterfront spots, followed by a strengthening, grounding, and playful yoga practice on the sand to the soothing soundtrack of the waves...What better a way to kick off the official start of summer? Charles, Michael, and Braxton are joining forces to lead a powerful group of people through two powerful practices that will definitely ignite your inner strength and fire and start your summer off on the right foot. No experience with running or yoga are required, just a willingness to challenge yourself, have a little fun, and meet some awesome new people... We'll meet at 6:30 PM at the Castle Island Parking lot right in front of Sullivan's to kick off our run and then head to the shore for a 75 minute yang/yin yoga practice complete with a yoga nidra at the end (deep conscious sleep/relaxation). Optional food/drinks somewhere in Southie to follow. Good times for sure. You should definitely join us! https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/946538_4669069458547_1515161402_n.jpg

My first 6-Week Challenge!! WOO!!1! Let's get right into the weeds. Triathlon Training 6/Week – 4 STA, 1 DEX I have laid out a triathlon training plan for the next few months before the On On Tri on Hilton Head in October. I've already done a Sprint Tri with no training (DO NOT RECOMMEND), so I want/need to be ready for this one so I'm actually competitive. This involves running, biking, and/or swimming once or twice a day depending on the schedule. It may or may not have been shamelessly stolen from beginnertriathlete.com >.< http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=46 https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=a48bcm4eoiklm1f8tpcrbakvi0%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York Now, there is a time management challenge hidden in there as well. There's plenty of time to get the run and bike in during my lunch break, just gotta pull my head outta my butt and do it. On top of that, my only window for the swimming is during lunch, so I absolutely need to make it there on swim days. The training happens 6 days a week, so I'll hafta get my butt up and out the house on Sundays, oh boy... Weight Training 3/Week – 4 STR This one is SMART, but vague... Strength training is Greek to me, and I'm still doing research, so the goal here is simply me going to gym 3/week for at least 30 minutes each time. The exact plan will be made over the course of the challenge, but I need to get there and pick things up and put them down. Free weights only, no machines. Simple (to say atleast >.<) Eat Paleo 5/7 Days a Week – 4 CON Weekend splurges. That's it. I've been doing pretty good right now transitioning with that standard, now I want to be completely committed to 5/7. This is with limited dairy and liquor being ok during the week (Think a yogurt/smoothie, and a glass or two of scotch/whiskey/wine a day) Also, financially I cannot afford grass-fed-free-range-smog-free everything, but I can still do meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, and sweet potatoes. Mmmm, sweet potatoes. Dine Out 1/Week – 2 WIS I'm allowed to pay for food prepared for me once a week. Period. I work at a bar on the weekend, and I can usually get some free food there, so I will not count that (Don't worry, fancier bar, sweet potato fries, mmmmm, sweet potatoes). The goal here is to cut down the financial burden of eating out. I'm losing out on saving up for some of my life goals because of my eating out habit, which would be fine except for that whole father-of-a-1-year-old thing. I want to be an example of sensible spending and health for my daughter. And I want a race car one day dammit. So, final stat increase will be: 4 STR, 1 DEX, 4 STA, 4 CON, 2 WIS, 0 CHA = 15 Points! I also want to take the time to make my house what I want it to be. Which means organized and decorated. Cleaning up my garage and office will be my free time endeavors. Lucky Me! I have a broken 87 Mazda RX-7 that has been sitting in my garage so long that it's turned into a shelf. Bad car geek. I would like to have an environment where I can comfortably attack fixing the old riceburner so I can get it back on the track. This will not be one of my challenge goals, but it is something I would like to have started before the next 6-weeker. Measurements and pics to come. Semper Fidelis

Hey there fellow Rangers. This is my first attempt at a challenge and I'm fresh to the Rebellion altogether. I'm excited to hit the ground running (but not literally... that would hurt). Here are my 4 goals over the next 6 weeks. I welcome your feedback! Goal 1: A Ranger and his Ride I commit to bike to work everyday. However, to prevent setting myself up for failure and since I live in the beloved NorthWest, where it could literally rain in the middle of July, I provide myself an alternative; equivalent mileage. My direct one-way commute to the office is 7 miles one way, meaning 14 miles daily or 70 miles per week. +2 DEX +2 STA A = 70+ miles every week, totaling 420 miles over the duration of the challengeB = 60-69 miles per week, totaling 360-414 milesC = 50-59 miles per week, totaling 300-354 milesD = 40-49 miles per week, totaling 240-294 milesF = <40 miles per week, totaling less than 240 miles Goal 2: A Ranger and his Belly I commit to loose 2% body fat. This is approximately 5 pounds of pure fat. I'm currently 200 lb. & 22.3% body fat. My goal is in the 10% range long term, so if I can bring it down 2% in the next 6 weeks, I'm on my way. (Of note, I've already brought it down from 29.9%, when I was 232 lb. back in early January. Thank you Paleo!) I will use the following outlets to accomplish this goal and earn my attribute points: H.I.I.T. \ Tabata training 3 times a week My bike riding (see Goal 1) Continue my healthy 'JERF'*\Paleo-esqe way of eating (*By the way, in case you didn't know, JERF is a term Sean Croxton over at UnderGround Wellness came up with, it stands for 'Just Eat Real Food') +2 STR +1 CHA +1 CON A = 2.0%+ body fatB = 1.5-1.9% body fatC = 1.0-1.4% body fatD = .5-.9% body fatF = <.5% body fat Goal 3: A Ranger and the Hunt I commit to make and pack my breakfast and lunch 80+% of the time. The number 1 reason for falling off the wagon (for me) is lack of preparation, and so I wing it... And by wing it, I mean all you can eat wings. And since you're already going there, you might as well wash it down with beer, yeah? (Mmmmm, beer and wings for breakfast. I bet that would go well just before a bike ride, ugh!) I've decided that scheduling my food around the payday works best for me. I'm also a bit obsessive compulsive about some habits, so most of my breakfasts and lunches will look very similar, but thats OK, I will also (for un-awarded extra credit) be scheduling out my dinners with my wife. Since we have a 2 year old, that can be a bit crazy, but it is what it is. And there is definitely variety in our dinner menu! I will create, track and post status updates on this thread. Because I need to be somewhat flexible or I'll fail at this one, that is why the 80% rule comes into play for me. It allows for approximately 1 breakfast and 1 lunch a week for the unknown, although I'm committing to doing my damnedest to stick to the schedule and any alternatives will be still healthy choices. +3 CON +1 STA Goal 4: A Ranger and his School Books I commit to continued education; heathy education. Heck, I only found Steve and his Rebellion through this avenue. So I will continue to put forth an effort to stay 'in the loop' and I'm going to set some ground rules in order to get my attribute points. I will listen\read all of the following: Weekly Underground Wellness Videos, Blogs and Podcasts (Sean is such a stud and his book is AMAZING, highly recommend!) Weekly FatBurning Man Videos, Blogs and Podcasts (Abel's philosophy on life, health, fitness is right up my alley. And even though I'm very much a straight guy, I can't help but be a little goo-goo/gaa-gaa for that radio voice. HAHAHA He also has a book that is very very very very very well written and absolutely worth the few bucks investment.) Daily Pivots from Dean Dwyer. I've already committed to this by signing up for the full year. However, I haven't been great about listening to every one of them on the day I get them. This will change. And (of course!) stay plugged into any of Steve's NerdFitness Blogs\Videos\EtcHowever, I don't think just listening is good enough. My grandpa always told me "you only know something when you can teach it to someone else". So I also commit to sharing what I enjoyed, learned or need help with from at least 1 video, blog, podcast, etc every week. +3 WIS A = Viewed all blogs,videos,podcasts and wrote about or shared at least 1 a week with the RebellionB = Viewed all and shared at least 3 in totalC = Viewed all (and shared none, boooooo)D = Viewed 80%F = Viewed less than 80% (DOH!) Well, that's what I have at this point. I'm writing this post at the end of the first week, but that is just because this is when I've had the time to formulate how I wanted to present it (and get it posted). I've been keeping true to my commitments up to this point. Thank you for your support in advance! FOR THE REBELLION!!!!!!!!!

I am new at this, but getting it done before the deadline. Goal #1 run 50k in 6 hours at the Brazen Racing Dirty Dozen RACE in July. I believe this attainable, since I have done a 4:10 Marathon and and a 7:28 50K that climbed 7000 ft. It will be a big challenge, but attainable. I will run 5 days a week. Goal #2 lose 6 pounds. to get back under 200. After the Marathon in March and the 50k in April, I put on weight since, and need to log my food again to make sure I am getting enough calories and macro nutrients for the training, but not too much. it is easier to run when I am lighter. Ovo-Lacto vegetarian. Goal #3 Pay my taxes. Filed proper extension to do a re-fi, but now it is time to finish! Goal #4 cross train 3 days a week. 30 minutes. pushups, pullups, weights, planks and all the fun moves. -------------- OK all, Major Update! #1 My Main Goal of reaching 50K in 6 has been reached. I ran over 54 KM in 5:51. then 5 hours later I added another 5k for 37 Miles in the day. Give my self a Straight A on this one! #4 Been swimming and getting pullups done (see the pull up challenge) and a few weight sessions, but more like 2 days a week. since I was swimming a mile each time or more, I still give myself a B. (will focus on more days of cross training now, since I must break from running...) #2 No weight loss, but eating healthy, a lot of Kale + fruit +Protein Smoothies, felt great for my 50K effort. Have to give myself a a few days for the final grade on this. #3 still have time, now that number 1 is done, we will see! I wanted to thank the people who commented below, it really helped me feel good about the effort! and final update for this challenge. Goal # 3 Got the taxes filled in, sent to Accountant. YAY! that is an "A" Goal #2 dropped 4 lbs by end of Challenge. Give that a B-.... All goals worked on, feel pretty good about the whole thing!

If anyone is interested in the greater Boston area, a bunch of yogis are going to get together out on Castle Island to do a 4 mile run and then do some yoga on the beach. No experience required. Here is a copy paste of all the data from the facebook created event. Message me for further info. An invigorating 4 mile run around Castle Island, one of Boston's most beautiful waterfront spots, followed by a strengthening, grounding, and playful yoga practice on the sand to the soothing soundtrack of the waves...What better a way to kick off the official start of summer? Charles, Michael, and Braxton are joining forces to lead a powerful group of people through two powerful practices that will definitely ignite your inner strength and fire and start your summer off on the right foot. No experience with running or yoga are required, just a willingness to challenge yourself, have a little fun, and meet some awesome new people... We'll meet at 6:30 PM at the Castle Island Parking lot right in front of Sullivan's to kick off our run and then head to the shore for a 75 minute yang/yin yoga practice complete with a yoga nidra at the end (deep conscious sleep/relaxation). Optional food/drinks somewhere in Southie to follow. Good times for sure. You should definitely join us!

Sooo... I actually began posting a challenge thread a couple times, then didn't finish. Shame on me. Part of it I blame on being overwhelmed with the end of the semester, part of it I blame on general laziness and lack of inertia, and part of it I blame on my boyfriend. Fortunately, the semester is over and with Tough Mudder on the horizon I have gotten moving again. I'm even working on the boyfriend. I asked him to go completely paleo with me and he got all waffley/noncommittal-y. I got so discouraged I completely gave up on the entire challenge post I was writing. Boo on him for not being supportive, boo on me for not going through with it anyways despite him. Now I decided, even though I'm hella late, that I'm just going to post one anyways. I need something to keep me accountable. Starting May 2nd, exactly one month before I run Tough Mudder (June 2), I am abiding by the following rules: Rule ONE: Eating 100% paleo (or as near to it as possible. That shiz is hard!). Due to a couple events coming up, I'm allowing two necessary exceptions. The first is the day of Rugged Maniac (tomorrow!) because I think after running a 5k muddy obstacle course I deserve to indulge a little on beer and festival food. The second is my friend's wedding, which I am in. We are going out of town for the weekend for the wedding, and there will be much food, drinking, and debauchery to be had. With that in mind, I will try to make more intelligent food decisions while there. Sub-goal: Absolutely NO going out to drink for the month (with the obvious aforementioned exceptions). Having a drink or two with dinner at home is acceptable, since I don't do it every night and I rarely drink more than one at home before falling asleep. Also trying to restrict this to wine and vodka sodas. Rule TWO: Stick to the ol' workout regime. Mon/Wed/Fri run, Tues/Thurs/Sat weights Maybe Mudder Boot Camp. Sunday is rest. Added subgoal: Sub-goal: Rule THREE: Every day, do assisted pull-ups. No more wimpy noodle arms. Rule THREE: Time to activate beast mode and get outside my comfort zone. Initially, my entire challenge was going to be focused around beast mode, but obviously I have deviated. This goal was also going to be to sign up for and attend some type of martial arts class once a week, however money has gotten a little tight so re-vamping this one. New goal: Add one new bodyweight/calisthenic workout per weight day. It's about time I try something new and up my agility. Day one will probably be burpees, since I've never really done them as part of a workout. This sounds really simple, but doing new unfamiliar workouts is really difficult for me, I have serious anxiety about doing something wrong or looking like an idiot. I will probably start working through and learning the exercises from the Tough Mudder Bootcamp, although suggestions are always welcome. (Adding Maybe Mudder boot camp to rule two kinda negated this one.) Rule FOUR: I also have a lot of social anxiety, which I only seem to be able to overcome through alcohol. There has to be ways to meet people outside of work and bars, it's about time I learn. Over the next month I am taking part in at least two athletic events, and I need to start striking up conversations and making friends. One new friend per event is passing, with a bonus for keeping in contact with them afterwards. I need to surround myself with healthy, active people. So, better late than never, and I'm going to go ahead and run my challenge through to June 2, since I am not really officially participating anyways.

So this is my first challenge! Fitness related goals: 1. Run 5km 2. Keep my weight within 55-57kgs 3. Go to the gym 5 days a week Lifestyle goal: 1. Pay $1000 of debt In saying this, I do plan to develop muscle so if I was to go over 57kgs it would only be from muscle. I plan on keeping my eating clean like it has been for the past month (no junk food!) I have also attached a picture at the beginning of my challenge and will post a picture again at 3 weeks and at 6 weeks

Starting Stats: Name: KillerGriller Race: Fire Elemental Class: Scout Attributes: Strength (STR): 19 Dexterity (DEX): 13 Stamina (STA): 22 Constitution (CON): 11 Wisdom (WIS): 8 Charisma (CHA): 4 Total: 76 _______________________________________ Late to the party again I see…heh heh. I wasn’t sure I was going to participate in the 6 Week Challenge this round but I think it’s beneficial help keep me on track and motivated to train for my races. Speaking of races, there are two that I’m training for this time. 1.) is the 100km multi-sport race (MTB, trail run, kayak) I spoke about last challenge. The race isn’t until August, but time flies when you’re having fun and I want to be prepared for it so training begins now. 2.) I’m doing a Tough Mudder in May that I’d like to enjoy rather than suffer through, so lots of pullups and pushups to go with the endurance training....oh and hills and stairs too...(shudder) _______________________________________ 6 Week Challenge Goals Fitness: 4 runs a week - (+3 Sta) – I’m adding biking and more weight sessions for this challenge so I need to drop the frequency of my runs. Ideally, it’ll be 2 trail runs, 1 speedwork, and 1 midweek medium distance run. 2 workouts a week - Bodyweight (Pull/Chinups, dips, pushups, lunges, squats), AND/OR weights (+3 Str) – Since I don’t have a kayak (yet) I’ll be using weights to not only get stronger but also supplement my kayak training. For the sake of ease I’ll be counting actual kayaking days as weight workouts. 2 Bike rides a week - (+4 Sta) – My hope is to go for a long ride on Sundays then go for a short run as soon as I get back to work on transitions, and go for an easy mid-week ride when I can fit it in. There’s a local mountain bike race series on Tuesday nights that I may try and join as well but overall I need to spend more time in the saddle than I have been Life: Alcohol-free - (+5 Con) - No-Brainer…again. I MAY cheat after the Tough Mudder, but I’ll see how things are going closer to the event Bonus Items: - Try and get more sleep; in bed by 10:30 if possible - Rockclimbing 4 times over the 6 week challenge - Tough Mudder Toronto - Outdoor rock climbing trip over May long weekend - Refine training plan for a multi-sport race later this summer (nail down distance gains/rest weeks etc.)

6 Week Challenge Goals: 1a. Walk at least 1 mile every day and take feet photo at beginning and end. 1b. Incorporate No Need For Speed plan. 1c. Incorporate walks to library to donate items. 2. Go to gym at least 3 days a week. 3. Play racquetball at least 1 day a week. 4. Drink 2 Stanley bottles of water per day. 4/20/3103 EDIT: 5. No Plants vs. Zombies or Facebook for the rest of the challenge starting with Week 2.

Alright. Back story. My lady moved to Los Angeles about 8 months ago and I stopped taking care of myself. I haven't been in decent shape since college, and I certainly haven't done much (read: "anything") to stay in shape for several years, but for the past 8 months I've been particularly unkind to myself, so I'm kind of starting from less than scratch. I started running occasionally about 2 weeks ago when my roommate asked me to come with him and it made my lady incredibly happy. So am I doing this for me or am I doing it for her? I don't know, but at least I'm doing it. Let's rock. Goal #1: Run 7 miles a week. I'm currently at about 4-5, having started 2 weeks ago. I figure I'll miss some days just due to weather, being busy, etc., but if I average a mile a day, that's quite the improvement from 0 per day. I bike to work every day (7 miles round trip) so I also have that under my belt. I know that if I don't go first thing in the morning, I'll never go, which kind of leads me to goal #2. Goal #2: Get 8 hours of sleep at least 5 days per week. I have a day job and I perform and/or rehearse for various theatrical endeavors most evenings, so by the time I actually get home, I usually take a lot of time just to unwind and not be doing something for a little while. That, unfortunately, means that I stay up basically for the sake of staying up just because I've gotten home so late in the first place. I know there will be times when I just can't get a full 8, but I average about 6 right now and it sets the tone for the whole day each time that happens. It makes me miserable and just generally bummed about about where I am in life and where I'm going. Tired of being tired. Which leads to #3. Goal #3: Consume poison no more than 2 days per week. I'm an improviser/comedian, so rehearsals and shows almost always lead to bars. I have to accept that socialization is a part of what I do, and I'm really into microbrews, IPA's in particular, and I really enjoy having a great beer with fun friends, so I'm not looking to cut it out completely. I just need to stop myself from having it the 5-6 days a week a currently do. Now, I'm not saying I'm drunk 5-6 days a week, but I will have 1-2 drinks pretty frequently and I'll have more than that at least once a week. Rather than going cold turkey, since trying new IPA's is kind of a hobby of mine, I just want to limit it for now, mostly just to test my self control in the face of constant temptation. My office even has a "Beer Friday" every week in which I can drink on the job on the office's dime. No need for me to say yes to that. Life Goal: Save at least $350. I started saving money as aggressively as I can about 2 months ago. I had almost nothing in savings (not counting retirement funds, talking strictly rainy day money here) but I have almost no debt, so I wasn't in rough shape. I just never had any large amount to my name if I needed it. I set the long-term goal of saving $5000 in 2 years in a high-yield savings account I opened 2 months ago. For those of you doing the math, that's $208.33 per month, which I've been good about maintaining by using a very extensive Excel spreadsheet to track every single dollar and by making sure to put away literally any money I save on anything. Saved $3 at the grocery store with a coupon? Put $3 into savings. Biked to work? Put $4.50 (train fare) into savings. On top of that, I start each month by putting $100 into savings right off the bat which I kind of consider to be my ante up, basically just to ensure that I'm doing something at a minimum each month. It has been working very well, better than intended, so I figure I can push it a little harder. $350 in 6 weeks is a bit more aggressive than I have been, but reasonable enough that I can do it, especially if I stick to Goal #3. Rock and roll.

I'm looking to start the Couch to 5K in this new challenge and I'm looking around for a cool app to use. I really wanted to use "Zombies, Run", but part of my fitness goals is not to spend money. I know most people would just say, "It's only 3.99!!!!", but its kind of a principle thing with me. I can do this. I don't need to buy a bunch of shiny stuff to make it happen. Anyway, anybody have a good experience with a free running app? It doesn't have to be 5K specific. It also, doesn't have to be free if you just LOVE the one you paid for - let me know. I'll check it out.

This is my fourth challenge and I’m excited to officially make the transition from Adventurer to Ranger. Let’s get right to the meat of things… Fitness Goals 1. Run at least three miles, three times per week In my last challenge, I exceeded my goal and set a new PR (personal record) for the 5k with a time of 26:42. My 2013 goal is to run a 5k in under 25:00 so I need to keep my progress moving along. However, in this challenge, I want to run for the enjoyment of running. I’ll run three times per week without being too concerned with speed. DEX: 3 2. Do P90’s Sculpt three times per week I’ve always struggled with strength training since my body type is more geared towards aerobic exercise than weights. However, I’m committed to a more balanced regimen and for this challenge my strength training will come in the form of the Power 90 (P90) Sculpt exercises. To be clear, this is P90, not P90X. I did P90X a few years ago and my body is not prepared for something that intense yet. The idea is to get my cardio from running (instead of P90’s Sweat exercises) and my strength training from P90’s Sculpt exercises. STR: 4 | CON: 2 3. Run at least 7 miles at pace of 10:00/mile or faster One of my other goals for 2013 is to run a 10k race in 60 minutes or less. I really think I can do better than that. I can run 5 miles now at a 9:20/9:30 pace but I don’t like running distance. I want to use this challenge to get me up to 7 miles at a decent pace. I can then work on improving my speed. With my next challenge, I may try to do my 10k in 50:00 or less. This is a first step in that direction. STA: 3 Life Goal 4. Study Spanish 4x per week, have a brief conversation in Spanish at least twice per week, and read at least two children’s books en Español We’re taking a family trip to Peru and I want to be able to speak Spanish as much as possible during our time there. I believe this is a good way to start preparing. WIS: 3 Bonus Goals (but no points...) 5. Play guitar 5x per week I love my guitars and I love playing them. Unfortunately, my time to play gets set aside if I'm stressed (and just want to veg in front of a TV) or if I'm busy. I'm going to recommit to playing on a regular basis with this goal. 6. Meditate for 24 minutes at least 4x per week I’m pretty good about meeting this goal already but I want to keep it on my list so I’m accountable for staying active. Thanks for taking the time to read through these and I hope to have your support and encouragement along the way!

In general I'm still working at a number of the same goals that I was in my first two challenges. The details are evolving, and some items have been discarded, but for the most part I'm not taking off in any radically new directions. 1. Body Weight Exercises: I slacked off in this area last challenge so I'm making it the center of this one. For the most part I can do this routine without error. The key here will be consistency. I started doing this a few years ago to train up for the APFT (Army Physical Readiness Test) and it worked really well. The BS Squats are new, and somewhere down the line, it could be another challenge, I'll get them to Shrimps and then Pistols. Maybe I'll do Waldos, but not this time. Run 3+ miles 50 Push Ups x 3 sets 50 Front Crunches x 3 sets 50 Right Crunches x 3 sets 50 Left Crunches x 3 sets 50 Four Count Flutter Kicks x 3 sets 10 Right Leg BS Squats x 3 sets 10 Right Leg BS Squats x 3 sets My intent is to add squats over time to bring them up to 3 sets of 50. I do one set of each and then hit another round. If I need recovery time I can throw in an extra mobility drill between sets or rounds. If I need to up the intensity I can add more rounds and/or switch to more difficult variants. I took a video of this routine last night and was pleased with my form. I tried to upload it but the file didn't take. I figure I will do this again near the end of the challenge for comparison. Do this routine M/W/F. 2. Run: For the most part the footing is reliable again (snow and ice are pretty much gone) so running is back in the program. I don't really like running but it's pretty central to fitness in general and short distances are easy enough. Like the Body Weight Exercises, consistency is what I'm looking for. I'm not really interested in pushing any time cuts except those that happen naturally along the way. Right now I'm right around 8.5 minute miles when I'm running 3.6 miles. I had been toying with the idea of running stupidly long distances, but I think I'll put that one on the shelf. I did a test run today and hit muscle failure at 20 miles. I was sort of ok with that because it was twice as long as I had ever run before, but I still had to walk 2 miles to get home. The sweat and the temperature (27 degrees F) added a whole new dimension to that experience. Even that was relatively ok, but the six flights of stairs to get up to my apartment showed me the error of my ways. From here on out I will think twice, and twice again, before I do anymore suicide runs:) 3. Mobility: Every day. 4. Hike: Last challenge I started road marching to train up for the Nijmegen March in July. I'm going to be continuing this but backing off on the frequency to make room for the runs. I will do about an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I might add some longer ones on Saturdays. 5. Movement: This last week I tried some "dance" workouts with my Kinect. I discovered that I'm really clumsy. I figure I'll do at least an hour of this kind of stuff on Sundays. Timing and coordination aren't a central part of my goals right now, but I figure this kind of stuff will pay off over time in other areas. 6. Diet: Generally Paleo, but I'm thinking of trying to add back some grains on occasion now that I'll be doing more cardio. I've started a daily tracker just to see what's really going on. Wolverine's influence there:0 Also going to do a 7 day fast with Happienumber from 10-16 March for moral support and waist reduction. 7. Alcohol: Only on Fridays and Saturdays. Too many calories racing for my abs to drink daily. 8. German: I'll still be doing my daily lesson of German. I like to think of this as self inflicted torture:) Might not be doing it when the family is here because I'll be getting lots of real world practice. 9. Family: Regular calling, at least every weekend, but likely mid week too. Will have family here for a couple of weeks starting on the 18th, so I'm expecting to be reduced to the mobility and body weight exercises during most of that piece. Also the diet will probably be hit and miss as well. Knowing this in advance I'm not going to penalize myself for not running/hiking/dieting unless I completely descend into really evil food choices. I don't usually assign numbers in advance. Last time, at the end, I put a grade on each goal, figured my GPA, divided that into 15 and arrived at my total earned points. Then I assigned them based off of where they seemed to belong. The goals that are direct carry-overs from last time will receive the fewest points. Or not. Depends on what I end up struggling the most with this time around.

I am new to NerdFitness (this is actually my first post!) but have been reading the articles off my boyfriend's Facebook for awhile. I tend to overdose on fitness research when I get back into working out after a long break, so this time around I decided I should get involved. I'm back at the gym as of last week after a few months doing nothing (started school again and got busy--ick. Using winter break to get back into a routine I can carry into next semester). I started out at 175 lbs back in Aug 2011. I dropped to 145 lbs by Jan 2011. Since then it's been on and off involvement in working out and eating right, culminating in my current status: Starting point: Height: 5'6 Weight: 150 lbs Avg mile: 13 min Pull-ups: 0 1) Run 3 miles nonstop. [sTA +4] Currently I alternate days running and days strength training. I am trying to become a police officer and they put a lot of emphasis on running and endurance when it comes to physical training. I currently run 3 miles every other day (usually doing 1+ mile nonstop on the treadmill then alternating running/walking for the last 2 miles or so). Long term, I'm shooting for three miles in 30 minutes, but for now I think a good starting point is knocking them all out without stopping. 2) Be able to do a pull-up! [sTR +3] I've never had much upper body strength, but have always tried to include some strength training in my workouts. My new workout schedule is strength training every other day -- doing a full body workout around (mostly) compound excersizes with free weights/cable machines. (Chest presses, curls, tricep extensions, deadlifts, squats). Now I want to include one day of body weight calistenics (which should work great when my schedule gets busy again) in place of the weight routines. So one day of push-ups, squats (bodyweight), pull-ups and planks. At the end of the six weeks, following this routine, hopefully I will be able to complete a pull-up! 3) Eat entirely home cooked meals 5 days a week. [CON +4] I love eating at restaurants, and drinking (often in combination), but finding healthy eating options when dining out is difficult, and the whole practice takes a toll on my wallet. My boyfriend is an amazing cook and wants to go paleo to get in shape, so both to support him and get healthy I want to quit eating out as often (including brining food home from the restaurant I work at!). Gotta give myself a little wiggle room to indulge on occassion so I don't go crazy! We are pretty good at eating at home as it is when we try, so I think this is an obtainable, however challenging, goal. 4) "Level Up Your Life" This one is going to be harder to measure: any suggestions would be appreciated! Be a more positive and supporting influence in my boyfriend's life. (And everyone's, really). I have always been a pessimist and -- although I rather enjoy it -- my negativity can bring others down. I have managed to greatly improve my outlook on life and get away from complaining about everything without drastically changing the person I am and the things I like about myself. I find I still tend to be a bit of a nag and control freak, even so. My methods of supporting my boyfriend's dieting practices are to give him endless grief about everything (you ate wings and had a beer?! How dare you!) I realize it makes me insufferable to be around and isn't actually very helpful. So! My goal is to start giving him more positive support (and be more forgiving about the occasional misstep so long as it doesn't cause a landslide). We are neither of us very self-motivated people, so I do also feel it is very important to keep him on task.Ultimately, my goal here is to keep my boyfriend on the right track in a positive and supportive manner. [WIS +1, CHA +3] I'm excited to get started on this challenge, and look forward to all the feedback and support I hope to get from this community!

As I took the first step off of the mountain, I thought I could make it. Unfortunately I was wrong. This second mountain was bigger than the first, but I knew I needed to climb it. Let's do this. I was waylayed during the last challenge, but I completed it (barely). This challenge will be different. Since I don't have a gym to go to anymore, I'll do bodyweight exercises and use the limited barbells that I have. With no gym, I'll have to run more in order to prepare for the apocalypse. Now without further ado, here are my goals. Work out at least 30 minutes ever day: I'm doing P90X now and plan on doing the full 90 days. I know I can get results as long as I keep at it. +3 STR, +1 STA Run at least twice a week: I can't emphasize enough that I hate running. I know that I have to keep at it until I fall in love with it again. +3 DEX, +1 STA Eat more variety: I'm already eating at about 70% Paleo but I'm just eating the same simple meals over and over again. I definitely need new recipes. + 2 CON Meditate every day: My life is so hectic and I hardly have time for myself. I'm always helping other people. I need to take 10 minutes out of every day to just sit and meditate. No electronics. No distractions. +2 WIS Be positive: Although I am an extrovert, I'm starting to become more and more anti-social. I need to be more of a people person and be more positive about daily situations. +3 CHAI made a plan and I know that plans can change but hopefully I can make it through, Onward and Forward!