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Time for another challenge: Lots of goals, probably too many.But the sun is shining, and I'm pumped and ready so let's so what happens: Thanks to @milythael for the challenge set up idea Fitness Strength: Exercise : Kettlebell press Baseline : can press 30# bell three times Strength goal: press 30# 4 times, 5 for bonus Plan; Follow ETK for presses with 25# bell, test with 30# on week 3 and 5 Award: 1 point for strength for 4 times, 2 points for pressing the bell 5 times Exercise L-sit Baseline ??? test and video on week 1 Plan Follow NF L-sit level 10 , 4 x2 seconds , 2 x a week, video week one and week five Goal: 2 x 10 seconds; Award: 1 point for Dexterity for at least one 10 second hold, 2 for 2 10 second hold Charisma: You may ask why running fits into Charisma, Because, in my mind , a Ranger should be able to run at least a mile. I want to not only be able to walk the miles, but run a bit as well. I'm slowly starting a bit of running. I did this a while ago , and dropped it.Now is the time to pick it up. It didn't work to do rowing as cardio, and do the volume I'm doing of pressing.. So running seemed like a good thing to take up.It's my third fitness goal, and it's also third in importance. If I'm tired, or pushed for time, this is the one that will be dropped. I'm not tracking it. Points are awarded just by pure how I felt it went, not SMART at all. Also, I'm re-reading Kelly Starrett's book Ready to Run, and trying to implement some of it. Exercise Jogging Baseline: 1 minute jog, 3 minute walking Goal; improve that Award; 1 Charisma Exercise Mobility work; spend 10 minutes a day doing mobility work award: brag about it here Preparing/Life Bible: keep up with Bible reading, memorize Ps 91:4 Goal memorize verse, keep up with reading Award: 1 wisdom Weekly plan; Each week (Sunday evening or Monday morning) I will write out the things I need to do to win the week .5 awarded each week for 80% completion Daily write out a plan no award, Food: I'm working on implementing the skills from the book "Eating Skills...." By Josh Harris Here's my plan for this challenge Implement my food values of thankfulness, mindfulness , and joy. My goal is to set out the amount of food I want to eat. Eat it slowly and enjoy it. and delay 15 minutes before having second. Most of the time I will have 3 meals and 1 snack. If I want seconds, or more than one snack I will; wait 15 minutes; during that time find something engaging to do (drink tea,read a book, do a chore, do something fun) Then I will decided if I want the food.Sometimes I will say yes, sometimes no. If I say yes, I will sit down and enjoy the food. Every evening I will write 1-3 sentences on how the plan went. Award for doing this about half the time; 1 wisdom. 80% of more completion = 2 wisdom

We're still in the week leading up to this and I am usually of the school of thought that says you should work through the off weeks, but I am definitely taking a week off to recover and aiming to be as fit as possible when the challenge proper starts. I'll come up with some goals later in the week depending what I can cope with. At the moment I'm not feeling bad at all *crosses fingers*, Mrs is a tiny bit worse but also not terrible and Flyer, as a teenager, shows no symptoms at all. For someone in my age group, sex and age I would have been at about 4% risk of death a year ago but all I have now is a slightly blocked nose, so the vaccine is obviously doing its job. Of course this is just a representation of what's going on in my body just now. The picture in the wider world is a lot different, so there's no room for complacency. We need to get the vaccines out to places that haven't been able to get them yet, as well as people who have become convinced that they don't need it or that it is harmful. I hope that doesn't include anyone reading this, but if it does... Please try and be this guy 👆 and not this guy 👇 So anyway, rest this week. Not leaving the house, obvs. Try and get some light exercise if possible but don't go mad with it, eat daily vitamin D, proper food, meditate, rest, read.

Some housekeeping before the challenge: I changed my icon. I needed something new that reflects the music implied in my name. What better than a singing Pokemon? The pic is of my new PopSocket, as the old one broke after 3 years of service. It felt especially appropriate as this is my favorite workout shirt: Since I've been running consistently, I'm adding the scouts tag. Hi Scouts! I'm Mezzo, 30-something mom of 2 (Pumpkin 3yo and Sweet Pea 9mo) building a new life in a new town with my husband, Bard. Current Major Goal: Run a 5k in 30 minutes. I want to watch through my Ghibli collection. They are comforting and I feel drawn to revisit them as it’s been years since I’ve watched any of them. ❤️ Maybe I’ll post some musings as I go... THE CHALLENGE: Move! This is a maintenance goal, basically continuing from last challenge. Workout 3x/week (pursuing ‘real’ push ups/ first pull up) I'm taking Week 0 off due to a stab wound on my hand, but I'm going to do the NF Bodyweight workout, but increase the difficulty of the exercises as I go. I'm lazy and don't want to program anything too complicated. Maybe next challenge I'll mix it up. Run 3x/week (pursuing 30 minute 5k) Bard and I are running a 5k on August 7 and I’ll do another benchmark at the end of the challenge to compare my splits and overall time. 😊 Stretch This is the new part… I haven’t been very consistent about stretching for my workouts or my runs. 😅 So I’m folding that into my routine, warm up and cool down stretches. Clean! After working through the mountain of chores last challenge, I’m resolved to keep things from spiraling out of control. I tested some ideas last challenge and this is what I landed on: Daily load of dishes: Unload in the morning, load throughout the day, run in the evening. Daily load of laundry: Wash in the morning, dry at lunchtime, fold and put away afternoon/evening Bonus: I really want an outdoor drying line. I may convince Bard to help me install one! Vacuum/Sweep main level floors daily Technically these aren’t new since I’ve been trying to do them the last couple weeks, but I want to get them firmly ingrained as habit. So they are part of the challenge. (Look at me trying to convince y’all that I’m not over-extending myself this challenge! Is it working? 🙃 ) Reflect! This challenge I celebrate my one year NF anniversary and my birthday. I’m in a reflective mood. I feel less like I’m drowning and want to start putting some energy into reflecting on my journey so far and how to move forward more intentionally. Be more deliberate in planning my life instead of letting it happen to me. I don't know what that looks like yet, but hopefully this challenge will help me figure it out. I'm going to reassess my Epic Quest. Bullet Journal AM and PM habit. I already use my journal sporadically throughout the day, but again I want to ingrain the habit. The journal is open at breakfast and I list out my day while drinking my coffee and then again after kiddos are in bed as I strike things off and record memories and do some reflecting. Or sketching. Or something that isn't endless scrolling on my phone. BONUS: Eat! I’m not committing to anything specific here. It’s more of a support challenge for Bard. He wants to cut carbs in August. I’m not interested in dieting with him but I do want to be supportive and am willing to try different recipes. To be honest, we’re in a food rut so shaking things up isn’t a terrible idea. Sweet Pea will eat anything I offer her, and Pumpkin is not great with change of any kind but he will try things if given proper space and gentle encouragement. We’re talked about smaller, more frequent grocery trips for fresh produce and less food waste. Meal planning and prepping Keeping track of what’s in the fridge via whiteboard, again to prevent throwing out food. Researching eco products, reusable wraps and silicone bags and such. It's a whole challenge in itself really. Which is why I'm not committing to it. We're just talking about it and maybe we'll do some beta testing. (I also really wanted to include the gif. 😊 Food always looks amazing in Ghibli movies) That's enough, right? Happy chellenge-ing my friends!

Ahoy! Late to the party, but better late than never, right? The optimism at the start of my last challenge quickly deteriorated into bad habits and unhealthy coping mechanisms as the stress of finals and studying for the bar was just a teensy bit more intense than I expected. Ok, it was way more intense. I was pretty miserable. But I dragged myself across the finish line and took the bar. And then the funniest thing happened. Instead of eating like garbage and drinking too much because I was stressed about the bar, I ate like garbage and drank too much to celebrate being done with the bar. So odd! Amidst all this, I weighed in at my heaviest ever, ran less than ever, was in a rough spot mentally, and just generally felt like garbage. So now that the bar is behind me, and I don’t start work at my firm for another 8 weeks, I literally have nothing else to do until then but focus on my own health. (Well not literally on account of being a father and all, but nothing academically or professionally.) Still going for simplicity here because I want to be successful also also because I fully expect to be short on free time when I start work and I want something easy to maintain. Goal 1: Exercise - Run on odd number days, any distance - Resistance band training on even number days - Rest on Sundays Goal 2: Food - Intermittent Fasting, eating window from noon - 8pm - No alcohol except for date nights with the wife Goal 3: Mental Health - 10 min meditation, five days a week - Intermittent Fasting on the phone, access hours noon - 8pm

I'm back. It's been a challenging year, but I'm working on looking forward instead of dwelling on the past. Goals are few and short with the hope that they will be achievable: Weight 157.5 .... I am using WW+ right now as my tracking app. The goal is to maintain a positive points balance while also tracking honestly. Do my first (since 1998) pull-up, following @Steve's pull-up progression plan. Finish my Run Across America Summer Splash with 150 KM That's it. Few bells and whistles. I'm getting ready to go back to teaching normal, in-person semesters. I still kinda freak out when an unmasked person gets within 6 feet of me .... so being in-person again this fall might take a little getting used to.

Greetings program! . . . wait Alright let's get to it! Goal 1 - RUNNING! Just signed up for the Oakland 2022 Marathon!!!! Got to figure out a training plan but first we have to keep the running habit happening We are looking to run 3 days a week with distances of 3 to 5 miles during the week and 5+ on the weekends. We are also signed up for a 5K on Sept 12th which should be a good test Goal 2 STRETCH To keep from having trouble running - we're going to try to do 3 days of yoga between the runs. This will likely be very low impact and boring yoga but still Goal 3 Training Plan To go with all this we need a plan, I'll be looking into what's out there and try to find what will work for us. Goal 4 Savings With our recent home purchase we are running low in our savings - so we'll be rebuilding that emergency fund while trying to figure out what's next.

I have struggled for years with depression, lack of self esteem, and lack of motivation but I am ready! I actually have exercised 3 days already! I have to exercise & focus even on days I feel really down..etc. Male Age: 34 Height: 5'1 Weight: 192 My main goal for this 5 weeks is to lose 10 lbs My ultimate goal is to be healthy, but also there is a walking track near me..I would like to be able to run around it without losing my breath. I am a little bummed that on Saturday and Sunday I exercised (30 min each on the bike) but today I weigh 192 lbs, I weight 189 yesterday morning. Though I did eat an hour before I weighed. 1. Exercise bicycle - 30 minutes per day. I have a stationary bicycle, I have always intended to "walk" for exercise but I always got sidetracked by either the weather (way too hot or way too cold), motivation, and how bad I feel. When I walk, my lower back hurts. The stationary bike is much better! 2. Box steps. I have a box which is 5 inches high, I plan to do steps. 20 steps per starting leg. Meaning I will start my ascension with my right foot 100 times, then start on the left 100. 3. Drink 20 oz of water a day. Since I am short, I want to first see how my body reacts to 20 oz a day. If I feel I need more I'll add later. I plan to try and cut out cokes during the week and have 2-3 on the weekends. My other favorite drinks are 2% milk and sweet tea. 4. Food log

Getting back to the grind so to speak... Goals are simple: 1. Keep my sodium to around 2000mg, I was never given an exact number but I am personally aiming to keep it below 2000mg a day, I will need to keep myfitnesspal tracking again I stopped recently but should prolly make sure I am still within my desired range. Max I am allowing myself a day is 2300mg. 2. Keep my anger in control, it has been bad and I need to curb it good luck me. Going to therapy for this. 3. Get more active, we bought the ringfit game for this, so hopefully I get around to doing it more and getting better. Go me?

Hello fellow challenge-goers! After taking a bit of a challenge break, I am returning for this new summer 5-week challenge. And this time, I am going to actually follow the instructions and limit myself to 3 goals. After having achieved some of my previous goals (wahoo!), these are next-level for me. I'm excited to be at a place where I get to focus on these, but they are also some things that have been pretty hard for me, especially the sleep habits, so we'll see how this goes. GOALS 1. GO TO BED! And in general, improve my sleep habits, including going to bed on time (goal: 11 pm), getting up on time (goal: 6:30 am), averaging at least 7.5 hrs per night, edging towards 8 if I can possibly make that happen, and keeping electronics out of the bedroom. 2. GET STRONGER -- In particular, I want to build upper body strength, and I have a goal by the end of the summer of being able to do 5 full-body push-ups and 5 pull-ups. (Is this impossible? I hope not). But I'd also like to just get better about prioritizing strength training. It's easy for me, as a runner, to be far too cardio focused, 3. MAINTAIN GOOD HABITS -- I have worked hard to build habits that have been serving me very well, and I want to keep them going. In particular, Healthy eating - including intermittent fasting (16/8), meal prepping, and food journaling + trying (still trying!) to increase protein intake to about 90-100g daily Fitness - including running and biking 4-6x/week (averaging about 20 miles of running, 15-25 miles of biking), with at least one rest day weekly Community support seeking - including checking into the NerdFitness forums and the Discord convos regularly I look forward to following others' journeys and tracking my own. See you on the road.

In the last few years I have a history of starting a challenge and not sticking to it. My last challenge was a part 1 of 2 to get back in shape to run an ultra marathon. Well that race was last weekend and I ran my ultra. It wasn't because I was good at following the challenge, but keeping up my run streak (today is day 416) and focusing on some longer runs to get ready to ultra. But I can tell I am fatter, slower and older than when I ran my last ultra 4 years ago. I want to qualify for Boston marathon someday (BQ - Boston Qualifier). I know the basics to get closer. So I will focus on those. Run more, speed workouts, strength training, cross training, and eat healthier. Goals Endurance: Run 5k+ every day Speed: Once a week interval faster than BQ pace and once a week tempo at BQ pace Strength: 2 strength workouts a week Cross Train: 1 cross train workout a week Diet: MyFitnessPal (MFP) all calories and daily weigh in

Oh god, is there a new challenge already? OK: Still trying to learn the dance from last time Choose a poem and learn it by heart Bike adventure - ride my new bike from here to Cambridge and back. Done! 10k run on the 23rd - be prepared! Then revert to one long, two short per week Eat sensibly - paleoish and use some sort of portion control That'll do.

Well here we are again, hoping this is not another case of insanity, doing the same things over again, and expecting a different result. I feel like I always start these challenges with the best of intentions to update regularly and keep with it, but it always fails for one reason or another. Usually it's the simple fact of trying to do too much all at once. So we're going to try things a little differently. We're going to give myself grace, and wiggle room, and we're going to keep it simple stupid 💋. I always feel guilty, because I want to cheer others on and check out their pages and keep updated with what's going on with everyone else, but I feel like thats where everything starts to spiral out of control; that guilt when I fall behind. So this challenge, I will be focusing on myself for the most part. If I have the energy to respond to comments, or follow other people's challenges, awesome! I'll do that! but, if I don't, that's perfectly fine, I really need to work on myself, and that's not selfish... that's just reality (I'm typing this just to remind myself. If you write it out, it becomes truth, right?) So my focuses this challenge will be as follows Fitness: I am working on c25k program, and am aiming for 3x's a week, but with how easily I've been getting overwhelmed lately, I am going to be content with as few as 1 run per week. 2nd Fitness: I will also be getting back to work on some bodyweight/flexibility work. I haven't decided if I will go back to doing core play again (since that's supposed to be a 6x's a week program, and that's just too much for me right now, and I don't know how scaling it back to 1-3x's a week will affect the effects of the program) or just work on the beyond flexibility, which will still work my muscles, just not quite as rigorously, and is a program designed for 3-5x's a week, so it is easily scaled back to a doable amount of times for me. So I'll probably be doing the BF, but it's still up in the air and I still have a few days to officially decide. I'll let you know when I make a decision, probably lol. Nutrition: I have started using an app called Eat This Much, which helps you plan meals based on your caloric needs and macros without me having to do all that math myself. The nice thing about this app is also that the meals are actually foods I regularly have on hand, and find delicious, and am not too scared to attempt cooking, and also the ingredients don't cost me an arm and a leg to get. So my plan for this challenge is to eat at LEAST one meal from the plan each day, but aim for 80% on target meals. I also have been using the Ate app to track my meals, although very sporadically, so part of this goal is also to log all my meals on the app. So what is all of this going to help me accomplish? Why would I put myself through all of this? (You may not be asking this, but I sure do some days... especially on run interval 7 of 8💀) The fast and loose explanation is, I would like to lose 100 lbs. The more nuanced explanation is: There are several things I really really want to do, but often times my body, and lack of stamina hold me back from doing them, like gymnastics, dancing, and running (which a newfound torture that I love ). There are also things that I want to do that my heavier body make more expensive and therefore unattainable, such as clothes shopping, or making my own clothes. Lastly, I really want to set a good example for my son of eating well, exercising regularly, taking care of myself, both physically and mentally, and just generally being a happy healthy adult. I want to show him how fun this lifestyle can be, and all the things you can do with a functional body. Alright, here goes!

Salutations and good health! I am pleased to have found the Rebellion after mourning the decay of Fitocracy for many years. I have been doing some kind of fitness activity for the past 15 years, but as an overweight office worker it is easy for me to fall out of shape quickly. Recently, the romantic siren call of the Triathalon has caught my ears and I am toying with preparing for one. I've never done a Tri before, and the last time I buckled down and did a training plan (6 years ago) I ended up getting freaked out after getting kicked in the head at a lap swim and yelled at -- if I can't be brave in the pool, how would I withstand Lake Michigan!? But I am a mom now and have taught my daughter that being scared is part of being brave, and so I am ready to try this again. Only ... I don't have a swim suit. Or a bike. And I haven't run a mile all year. Last summer I ran with a friend, but we did slow-paced intervals and I want to be a 30 minute 5K gal. So I'm basically re-spawning. My challenges three are for each aspect of the Triathalon.... 1) Run a 13 minute mile (I know I need a 9:30 for my speed goal, but I can do speed work later) 2) Buy a swimsuit (anyone have a recommendation for large bellies and long torsos?) 3) Save $50/week ($250 total) toward a new bike Here's a picture of my secret possum scarf -- a very expensive silk vestment I purchased to enchant my work day. It is like a cloak of invisibility for anxiety. On the outside I look competent, but secretly I am a shrieking anxious possum. I'm ready to possum-shriek my way through a triathlon! Or at least through the first baby steps of training! My name is Aubrey, but y'all can call me Aubrazilla

I am on a journey to relieve my stress. Whether it is from life or from work. Here is my quests. Eating more healthier: working on incorporating more healthier snacks and healthier foods in my diet. Food tracking: tracking my food to see what I have to work on more More workouts: getting off the couch and working out more. In the gym or at home. Study nutrition and fitness: to gain more knowledge to make my journey more easier and one day getting certified. Digital detox more Doing more relaxing things: after a stressful work day. Coming home to do a stress relieving thing to forget. Doing these things will one day help me rediscover my love for the wellness field and help me manage my stress. Equipment. Wellness planner Bullet journal Pocket notebooks The hero's journal Healthier snacks Workout equipment Tablet

Well,, after 3 rounds of steroids and antibiotics im on the mend and ready t get back in the saddle. So I had a really nasty bout of infectious bursitis that torpedoed my ability to lift or run and had me walking like Bob Dole. Now after enough Prednisone to lose a Kentucky Derby I am back. Struggling with some psychological issues as well. I don't like to make too many details public but the images I have been using in writing and art have been a dog running to the end of its chain and a emptied tube of toothpaste. Enough waxing philosophic its time to post some goals. Run 1x per week lift 2x/week track calories take meds Finish the Chicken run/coop

Only 2 goals this challenge! Run Never drink (alcoholic beverages) alone Well that's cheating! So i need rules: - Only drink when there is someone over that is also having an alcoholic beverage (excluding the wife cause she would kill me) - Run: 3 times a week minimum, 35K per week minimum

Greetings In this challenge I will be keeping it pretty simple Running/exercising: follow the training program I worked out in April up to the date of my 10k race, then come up with a new one. Eating: sensible eating at the start of May. Its my birthday soonish and I'll just eat whatever then and afterwards I'll go full paleo, no exception, no excuses, just lose some weight, fatso. Meditation: not really. I have a couple of weeks left on my subscription to the app. I'll be listening to the remaining courses but not planning to make meditation a big part of my life, just probably trying to explore the implications a bit more in my day-to-day. Or something. Dancing: starting out fairly easy: I'll practice some dance for 5 minutes a day - probably the running man just to get used to the leg coordination (I think that's what is going on in this picture 👆 right.... Right?) After the race I will go much harder, aiming to get passably OK at one thing (I am thinking the piu-piu dance) Not kelladactyl level good or anything but not actually shamefully shit. I'll settle for that. I feel good about this goal. I don't know how it'll end up but it'll be fun to try and I am going to throw myself into it. Ad Victoriam!

So 90 days ago in my mind I was thinking of doing an ultra next weekend (May 15). And while I could possibly suffer through one I am not quite ready. I haven't ran an ultra since summer of 2017. But May 10 at midnight I plan to sign up for an 8 hour race that is on July 24 (11 weeks out so end of next 5 week challenge if I counted right). It will be my first race in 20 months. Two weeks ago I was able to deadlift 282 lb and run 19 miles in 4 hours (without food or drink), and was farthest since 2017. If I keep on my current training path I should be able to do at least 50 km in 8 hours (with food and drink since it is a 1 mile loop course). I am 336 days into a running streak so that is like an easy goal at this point but still important to me Really my goals from last time are still a good fit for this return to ultra but cutting down on bike and lifting and adding back in calorie counting to maybe help cut out some of the crap I started eating again. Goals Run every day Run long every week (2 hours or more) Bike medium three times during challenge (1 hour or more) Lift 2 times a week Count every calorie consumed

Cheers, fellow nerds! This is my third challenge - this year, and over here on the NF boards. I’m slowly getting more comfortable with the format, though logging in regularly is still a challenge for me. 
 My first two challenges ranged pretty widely across categories - some nutrition goals, some exercise goals, some mindset and sleep goals. 
 Not this time! Nope, this time, I’m like Luke Skywalker piloting into a narrow canyon hoping to hit a tiny target to blow up the Death Star. This time, I’m going to turn my attention 100% to a 2-hour window every day when my healthy habits always fall apart: the period of time between 8:45/9:00 and 10:45 - midnight. As a working parent with a more-than-full-time job (and also now the homeschooling / remote schooling second job I never wanted), this is usually the first time all day when I have almost any discretion over my time. And this is the witching hour for me. 
 After I get my son to bed, usually by about 8:45, here is what I SHOULD do. • 8:45 - 9:30 - I SHOULD finish some tasks (kitchen clean up, personal email responses, bill paying, etc, or maybe work a tiny bit more). 
 • 9:30 - 10:15/10:30 - I SHOULD carve out some non-internet R&R time to wind down after a day of going hard at work and parenting: watch a little TV with my husband, read a book or newspaper, etc. 
 • 10:30 - 11:00 I SHOULD prep for bed, journal a bit, and then LIGHTS OUT. 
 
 Reality ? Instead, this is the time almost every day when I collapse into a heap on my bed, open up my laptop, and fall into my favorite internet black hole. Which then blows my evening habits to smithereens. 
 This is not a productive or particularly restful use of my time, and even worse, I tend to get sucked in to what I’m looking at and then I stay up late, and then I don’t get enough sleep or I can’t get up in time to exercise, and then I’m cranky and I make bad choices and I lose patience with my son when he acts up and EVERYTHING GOES HAYWIRE. Truly, so much about my wellbeing is better when I have a healthy late evening routine and then get the lights out on time. 
 So, that’s the goal.. That’s it. Establish a healthy late evening routine and get the lights out on time. That’s my whole challenge. Simple enough? 
 Problem is, I’ve tried to fix this before. And failed. 9:00 pm is the WORST time for me to try to exert even a little willpower to alter ingrained bad habits. It’s just my energy low point each day. 
 So, what I need are some new strategies. Here’s what I’ve got for the how of this challenge, but I reserve the right to change tactics if these aren’t working. 
 8:45 Big sigh. Whew! Sit down anywhere - truly, anywhere - that is not my bed. Aim for: couch? R&R - TV or reading time 9:30 Transition -- into tasks if you need to get these squared away 10:15 stretch, bed prep, journal 10:45 LIGHTS OUT This seems super-easy, right? But . . . so far I have mostly failed at it. But! Confidence booster! Running in the back ground of this mission is to MAINTAIN good habits built in previous challenges. I've made real progress on these. Nutrition: meal prepping, intermittent fasting, and food tracking / journaling have made enormous shifts in my eating and general health. Exercise: I'm running about 20 miles a week, biking 15-20, and getting in 2-3 strength workouts. My goal this challenge will be to MAINTAIN these good habits. So, I won't be tracking these here, but in my own spreadsheet I'll keep tabs, and I may comment occasionally about how these are going. But my confidence in shifting these habits is giving me confidence that I can do other things. Still: the Evening Routine Death Star is my major target. Here we go. May the force be with me. Week Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat 0 1 2 3 4 5

I did it! I finished law school! I want to feel: But I still mostly feel: I'm completely exhausted and feel kinda burnt out to be honest, but I'm sure that as I begin to catch up on sleep I'll be able to better process this accomplishment and feel gratitude for what this last three years has meant. The immediate difference, however, is now that I have some more time on my hands I can refocus on my health and running. Goal 1: Meditate 10 minutes per day Bumping this up to slot #1 this time. I have a new therapist that really emphasizes mindfulness practice. Which is great because when I do it I really feel the benefits. Goal 2: 10k training Haven't picked a race yet, but I want to get a 10k in this fall. Going to start training with this challenge. Start with 3x running per week, then start an actual plan at some point. Goal 3: Consistent Intermittent Fasting Lost this completely over the past few weeks. I feel so much better when I follow IF consistently, so I'm bringing it back. (Exception: I have family coming to town for graduation in a couple weeks, and most--if not all--bets are off. I'll try to be smart, but there's no guarantees.) Goal 4: Bar Prep I really want to get ahead of this before my kids finish school next month so I have more time with them later in the summer. Shooting for 4-6 hours per weekday, 2-3 per weekend day.

For years, I have wanted to join the Lift Heavy Run Long elite with a 400 lb deadlift and 50 mile run (https://www.liftheavyrunlong.com/50-400-club/). And for me ideally I want to do it on the same day, or lift before and after if traveling for a race. My combined PRs from years ago 282 deadlift and 99ish miles Within the last month 252 deadlift and 13.2 mile (half marathon) run Personal Milestones 267 deadlift and 16 mile run 283 deadlift and 20 mile run 300 deadlift and 26.2 mile run 334 deadlift and 50k run 367 deadlift and 40 mile run (I know a great race for this) 400 deadlift and 50 mile run First milestone should be accomplished this challenge and I think I should be able to get close to the second milestone this challenge too. It will be good progress for the personal marathon I am thinking about doing later in May. I don't mind pushing myself running as usually recovery isn't that bad, but with the deadlift I will just train and I will get there when I get there. I noticed last fall my biking fitness is severely lacking over how much I actually like to casually bike, so with the warm weather I want to get out and bike more. I also plan to run more with one of my dogs (she hates the cold and hot, so spring and fall are her jam). Challenge Goals Run every day Long run every week (2 hours+) Long bike ride every week (1 hour+) Lifting sessions 3 times a week

I've got a foot injury, so running will be minimal at best this challenge. I'll run what I can when I think I can do it without making things worse. In the meantime, I need to give myself some routines, in part to replace the structure running used to provide. I want to get started on something now, but don't really want to commit to 5 weeks of anything at the moment, so I'm going to try this for 2 weeks: 1. Strength training of some sort 3x/ week. I'm feeling motivated to do some dumbbell stuff, and I've pulled out a couple workouts to try. (2 pts each: 12 pts) 2. Back-focused yoga routine 2x/week. (2 pts each: 8 pts) 3. Saturday morning yoga class unless I have a good reason not to. (3 pts each: 6 pts) 4. Go outside and walk (or run) every day unless I really think it would be bad for my foot. (1 pt each: 14 pts) 5. Read 50 pages of the Spanish book. (2 pt/5 pages, 20 pts) 60 pts possible. If I get 54 pts, I'll buy myself a new set of dumbbells (either 8 or 12 lb...whichever seems like it would be more useful to add)...or if that doesn't seem too useful, I'll think of a treat of similar value. Other routines to focus on for this week... Up by 6:45 Drink water Ice my foot

EDIT: By popular demand I am changing my challenge to be about the 3 things most important to me (and my readers) right now: 1. Tats - I am getting my first tattoo and it is impacting my life in a big way as it heals and I continue to get it worked on. 2. Gaming - I am loving the heck out of Assassin's Creed Odyssey right now and it is my new obsession. 3. Ice Cream - I have a couple hundred dollars worth of ice cream that is prepaid and I need to eat it soon or I will lose it. I can't not eat it because apparently I don't even know what 'sunk cost' means Optional Side Quest - avoid misspelling anything that might make people think this challenge is about something other than the above 3 things Original challenge write up is below: ----------------------------------------------- Now's my chance, RUN! Those of you who followed my last challenge know that the biggest thing in my life right now is getting my first ever tattoo. It is a massive thing on my left shoulder that has already had 8 hours of work into it and I still need at least double that before it will be finished. This is going to be pretty much dominating my life for the next few weeks so I might as well plan this challenge around it. (Current tattoo progress in the spoiler for anyone interested) On the advice of my artist, I need to refrain from serious upper body workouts for the duration and at least a week following the completion, which means probably about a month or so. Given that most of my workouts consist primarily of heavy upper body stuff this means I am going to have completely revamp how I get my exercise in. I asked my artist about his suggestion for exercise for the next little while and his response was a shrug and suggestion that "maybe every day can be leg day". And while he isn't necessarily wrong, I am going to modify this to mean things that involve legs, which I am going to break into two main categories: Running: I have been working recently on getting my cardio endurance back up by running on the treadmill off and on over the last year or so. Now that spring is finally here, I can get out and run in the park again. My goal last challenge was 50km and I very nearly hit it without even trying very hard. This challenge I am going to raise the bar and aim for 100km. I probably won't get there, but that's why they call it a challenge Stretching: My last challenge had a stretching goal and I completely ignored it. This time I have much less of an excuse so let's see if I can actually stretch consistently for an entire challenge. Goal is 5 stretch session/week which comes out to 30 session. I probably won't hit this either but let's just call it a "stretch goal" Food: In addition to exercise, I also want to make sure I am getting my nutrition right so I am going to have to put together a menu for each week. I am tired of eating the same things over and over so I will probably do something similar to the 5x5 challenge I did a while back. I will aim to have a meal plan ready in the next few days [Meal Plan goes here] Personal Development: We all know that I spend pretty much all of my time not working out or cooking in front of the xbox. This is a brag, not a complaint Its a great life and I plan to keep doing it, but I also want to do other things that help me to develop other skills as well. For this one it could be anything from practicing the ukulele to reading books or even drawing. Goal is to spend at least 15 minutes a day on something other than gaming, 5 days per week. Will I actually do this or will it end up being my dump goal? Stay tuned to find out. The rest of my time is going to be split between Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, Elder Scrolls, Forza and my various D&D campaigns so expect to hear a bunch of stuff about that for most of my updates.

My Goals... My Goals Never um... Changes I'm a Mighty Mighty Man, I'm Young (ahem) and I'm in my Prime (cough, cough) Keeping it simple this time, sticking to what I need to do and what I've been doing, but doing it better. Not expecting miracles but aiming to get back to the level of fitness I had about 5 years ago, which seems achievable with some effort and consistency. Basically, be able to run fast for a sustained length of time, have some upper body strength, be able to do a bridge, and not feel like my belly is always getting in the fucking way. I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire Week zero is prep: fix my bike, review my morning routine, get the allotment organised, clean up my eating (which took a real nosedive towards the end of the last challenge) And then 1. They Call Me The Wanderer Move ever day, including at least one long run and two other runs per week 2. Hack, Whack, Choppin' That Meat Eat properly: porridge for breakfast and paleo for the rest of the day, no booze 3. Civilization? I'll Stay Right Here Carry on Meditating* This is becoming a habit now - I've only missed 3 days since the start of the year, I think. I'm still undecided about it though. I only really feel like about one session in five is effective. The others are just me sitting there thinking about stuff and not really engaging. I think I need to do more prep beforehand to get things out of my head - you know, make notes, turn the oven on for breakfast, drink something, that kind of stuff. So that I don't have so many distractions. I think I need to make this challenge period a make or break for this one. Either i find a way of making this more reliably useful or I give up on it and use that ten minute slot for things that are going to benefit me more. I still feel like there's something to be got out of it but that maybe it's not something I'm suited to and maybe I'm better off cutting my losses. Hm... *=now there's a Sid James/Kenneth Williams film I'd love to see

Back to basics. Nothing fancy. Totally lo-fi. (Challenge title comes from a line in this song, one of my perennial running mix favorites:) So yeah, a tongue-in-cheek dig at the self-important, well-to-do, esoteric hipsters of the ever-gentrifying Greenwich Village... I guess that's what passes for inspiration 12 months into this mess, but I'm going old school for my goals and my tracking system this week, trying all I can to get off my phone and onto paper. Running Keep making progress to 270 miles by July. I lost steam at the end of the last challenge, so now I need to log 59.5 miles by the end of this challenge to stay on track. That's just over 10 miles a week counting week zero; I can do that. I'll probably do 3-5 runs a week in the 2-5 mile range. Eating/Drinking Sub-goal A: When I do intermittent fasting, it really works, so I'll do it again. Back to doing it consistently each day, eating between noon and 8 PM, fasting the rest of the day. Looking for full compliance, will consider it a success at 90% (missing <4 days). Sub-goal B: No booze for the next 5 weeks. Adding this one because I've felt like shit the last few times I've had even 1-2 drinks. Again, aiming for 100%, will take 90% (sober all but 4 days). Meditation Renewed my Waking Up subscription last week, which means I've been at this off-and-on for over a year now. Using the motivation gained by having to shell out to renew my subscription to refocus on this goal a bit: just do some meditation each day. It'll probably be guided most days. Aiming fro 100% here too, but will take 80% (all but 8 days). Screentime This is my white whale this year. Started last challenge strong but need to bring it down more. My goal is no days with greater than 2 hours on my phone, and a weekly screen-time average of less than 90 minutes. Finally, I'm going old school for my tracking this go-round. I'll still have the fancy spreadsheets and whatnot, but I've made an insert for my daily planner to log each of my major goals. I'm tying to start my day with this at my bedside to orient my day. And this should keep my goals at the forefront: