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Whew boy, Christmastime is over and the New Year of 2016 has begun, the challenges resume on my birthday, I'm checking out two new arts, AND confronting a new dietary restriction. Yup, this is gonna be quite the wild ride here with the Monks once again. Let's jump in, shall we? Breath of Fire 4-style! Ryu/Fou-Lu (STR+1,DEX+1) Ryu and Fou-Lu are two halves of a whole--products of a failed god summoning trying to right the imbalance created by their "birth". Each has a very different agenda for what to do when they reunite, however, and they aren't about to see eye-to-eye anytime soon. The clash of the ages by a fragmented god will change a world forever. (Also, I'm going to say it, I was sad there wasn't a more amiable end for them...I like Fou-Lu....) Unlike Ryu and Fou-Lu, my aims aren't so disparate. I have one goal that I'll approach from two different directions: lifting form correction and mobility. These two halves will unite to give me greater ROM in my hips and hopefully address the issue of the slight but persistent knee soreness that has haunted me off and on lo these many months. Note this means I will be tackling hip flexibility/ROM only--consider this a trial run for reintroducing some stretching to the lineup and what better way to start than on the area at which I am weakest? Lifts and mobility logs shall be found here--I'm taking a step back on the weights as introduced in my battle log as a mercy step for poor recovery via mediocre sleep and the unknown territory introduced by my altered diet. The Mission: Take my lifting game to the next level by tackling trouble spots and increasing ROM in one area: hips. Do this by keeping knees shoved out during the lifts at all costs and employ three different stretches three times a week: hip opener, w-sit and kneel, and the forward fold.These three maneuvers will attack each angle of hip movement succinctly. Fix my knees - 3/wk - shove those knees out on squats Flexibility - 3/wk - Hip Opener: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPuGRbznCSc - W-sit/kneel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIz1F_lH5LA - forward fold [lifting log] [mobility log] Grading: Fix my knees - 3 = A, 2 = C, else F Note: effort grade--I don't expect every rep will be solid gold Mobility - 3 = A, 2 = C, else F Note: Do all stretches or it doesn't count Cray (STR+1,CON+1,CHA+1) Cray had a pretty crummy job from the very beginning of BoF 4. His princess girlfriend-of-sorts, Elina, disappeared while on a goodwill trip to another country and it's up to him and Elina's sister Nina to find her. Also, he's the leader of a nation in his own right. He has a sword to deliver, and a crashed hovercraft derails the trip right from the start. That's a lot of responsibility, and most of it is far from pretty. So I don't have any princesses to save, but what I do have is a lot of minding what I eat and how I sleep. As long as I don't keep waking up in the middle of the night due to itching (Food/contact allergy? Just plain old dry skin?), I feel I'm good on minding the sleep front. No, this time it's all food, all the time. I'm going to have to find a new maintenance weight, sadly, because I'm not sure I will ever be able to hit my old macros while restricted from dairy. Oh, that's right, I haven't summed up the complication to my food goal this challenge: I have been having some seemingly unrelated symptoms for several months now: digestive upset, difficulty using the bathroom, rash, and itching. They're really put a cramp in my life, as you might imagine. I don't know exactly what made me wake up to the idea that this was dietary related and specifically an allergy to dairy products, but since I've almost completely quit ingesting the food group, all my symptoms have greatly reduced. It's not perfect yet by any means, the itching and resultant sleep deprivation is the biggest issue left to resolve due to the impact it will have on day-to-day life once we return to work. The Mission: Responsibility. Maintain weekly average macros in pursuit of epic recomp action...or at least to control weight loss and regain stability. Sigh. My sensitivity to milk is going to make this much more...interesting, shall we say? Effectiveness will be tracked via regular measurements. Symptom management will be logged here also just to help see how good a job I'm doing at not triggering whatever is the enemy. Measurements - 2/wk - log Wednesday weight, Sunday weight+measurements Maintenance - P/F - log macros daily [insert target macro breakdowns here] Grading: Effort grade--pass or fail based on whether I log or not. Scias (DEX+1,STA+1,WIS+1) Scias is a mercenary with great blade-wielding skill. He becomes tangled up with Ryu and Co. and decides to forsake his contract for aiding the dragon god and his friends in their quest to deal with Fou-Lu and his empire. Simply put, he is an excellent ally in a fight, and good-hearted. Not so good with words. I am contemplating taking up BJJ or Aikido. I have tried BJJ as of this post and soon (January 6th) have my first aikido lesson. This quest is to pick at least one of these arts and give it my all alongside lifting and Shinkendo (SKD). This is completely new territory and I look forward to share my flailing with you all. The Mission: Progress in my art. Put in the effort. SKD - 3/wk - class, review class material BJJ/Aikido - 2/wk - classes Grading: SKD - 3 = A, 2 = C, else F BJJ/Aikido = 2 = A, 1 = C, else F Ursula (STR+1,DEX+1) Ah, Ursula. She is a practical one, granddaughter of an Imperial general, she joins the group under tense circumstances and, for reasons that change as the story progresses, leads Ryu and Co. to the heart of the Empire--Fou-Lu. Guns are her forte. She's proud, but she doesn't make it a liability when she gets captured by Ryu's friends. Guns...are not my forte. Nor is keeping my nails trimmed. Bah. Ursula would know to keep her nails well out of the way of her grip! Speaking of grip, mine also needs work. Let's keep working on the grip as well. I have a neighbor ready and willing to teach me the finer points of marksmanship, no excuses not to keep nails in good order, and a few good exercises to work the old grip strength--chins and double overhand deadlifts! That's right, the chin-ups are coming back, too! The Mission: Support my other quests with hand-related care + self-defense 101! Firearms - 2 Firearms training sessions during challenge Nails - 1/wk - Clip nails Grip - 3/wk - DOH Deadlifts @ max effort, retest on intensity day Dead-hang Chin-ups working up to 2x4 Grading: Firearms - 2 = A, 1 = C, else F Nails - P/F Grip - 3 = A, 2 = C, else F Starting Stats: Weight: 112.4 lbs Waist: 23.0" Hips: 31.0" Biceps(L/R): 10"/10" Forearm(L/R): 9.0"/8.9" Thighs(L/R): 19.7"/19.9" Calves(L/R): 11.9"/11.8" That's all, folks!

So….it’s that time again, guys and gals. Fall is in the air, the holiday season is just around the corner, a new challenge is up and ready to roll...oh, what’s this? I’m not in the Assassin’s Den anymore, I’m standing in a strange...courtyard thing. Huh. Well, there’s that. I feel introductions are in order, as this is my first foray into the mist-shrouded lands of martial arts-dom. I am a 28 year old tiny tank who lifts like it’s going out fashion whilst dwelling with the Assassins and living the dream of being a true Warrior by way of the Monastery. Can a tank be a Monk? We’ll surely find out. I come here humbly to ask for the assistance of those who know the spirit of martial arts and have lived this dream a long time before I even thought about pursuing it. * coughs * All that is to say this is a new thing, halp plz. Yoga is as close as it’s gotten as of a month ago and...lolnope. For first challenge with the Monks, I’m going for a simpler format while getting a feel for this new training that also cements what I already know are Things to Do. Those who’ve followed me in the past will be well familiar with the drill in that respect LOL. And with that, let’s get right to it! CYAN - SHINKENDO - (STR+1, DEX+2, WIS+1) If only I could have the sword skills of Cyan...I aspire to fight with such skill and honor as a man who knows loss and presses on to save the rest of the world from Ruin in spite of seemingly having nothing left to live for. Shinkendo is my art and I have a whole three classes under my belt, it is once a week each Saturday morning bright and early. I will be practicing at a minimum twice a week. Additionally, I will be posting my lifting exploits here, which includes the technique specific addition of grip-work to help bring my forearms/wrists/fingers up to snuff. Can’t be wielding the bokuto with wussy fingers. Shinkendo practice is defined as working weak links and reviewing material for 15 minutes as of Week 0 - time will increase as I adapt Grip work is defined as follows: - I will take the deload opportunity to start afresh with Double Overhand Deadlift grip for as long as I can manage it at 3x3 - Plate pinches for time, baseline as determined by Week 0 - Dead hangs for time, baseline as determined by Week 0 The grading: Shinkendo - 4/wk - 4 = A, 3 = B, 2 = C, else F Grip Work - 3/wk - 3 = A, 2 = B, else F - failure to complete one aspect of grip work is failure to complete any grip work EDGAR - MOBILITY - (DEX+2, CON+2) Ah, the King of Figaro. Figaro Castle is known for one big thing: Mobility. Its ruler is an engineer of remarkable skill in creating Tools that own the competition. Seriously. Just try going up against him. Yeah? Didn’t think so. This quest is all about the mobility. Here I will record daily adventures PVC and ball rolling, stretching, and all things rehab. This includes what I’m mobilizing, the custom patented Hit Parade (what’s sore, tired, hurt, cranky, broken on my person), with special focus on the Migraine Report to help me figure out what/when/where/why they are occurring. This is a serious mission to resolve a 3 year mystery! Don’t ask why I waited 3 years to fix this, I haven’t a clue, either. But this ends now! The beginning of each week, I will re-evaluate my situation re: systemic tightness and fatigue. I suspect I have worn something out or knotted sufficient muscle up that I'm fighting dysfunction under the bar and during regular life. If I still hyperextend after these issues are addressed, I will need to implement remedial work to correct this: - reset squats to empty bar (Cyan) - BW squats - Dead bugs http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/dead-bug - Planks - Leg Raises No grading necessary for the aches/pains journaling, I have already committed it to routine. The grading: Daily Mobility - 7/wk - 7 = A, 5 = B, 3 = C, else F Hit parade/Migraine Report - NA Bookmarking this for http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/70717-urgan-storms-in-with-section-9/?p=1681892'>future reference. SABIN - DIET - (CON+1, WIS+1) You can’t expect to kick ass without serious dedication to the proper diet...EATING (almost) ALL THE THINGS. Sabin knows this all too well--even on a ghost train, one must take great care to consume the proper number of calories. Suplexing a train requires a lot of a person. I’m on a recomp roll, and I want to continue the trend of eating at maintenance to see how far I can carry it. For me, this looks like a target of 2500 calories on average (a minimum of 2250 calories daily will be necessary to make this happen). All other macros will be logged as follows: Calories/Carbs/Fat/Protein Running Avg of Calories Sugar can take a flying leap this challenge, I am not concerned with it this time. I want to try to get as close to 2500 I can average out to see if I gain at these levels. I may adjust the target mid-challenge, this is fine, the only thing I must do is log the macros. The grading: Maintenance - P/F - Either I log my macros or I do not. There is no partial credit. GOGO - MIMICRY - (CON+2, WIS+1) The master of mimicry: Gogo is a mystery by and large, but what isn’t a mystery is how useful he/she is on the battlefield simply with the ability to copy the previous action, no matter how esoteric the technique. Nothing esoteric here: I just want to repeat prior challenge goals of enforcing a workday curfew and weekly measurement scheme to track how well my Sabin goal is working. Bedtime is at 10:30PM Sunday - Thursday; Wednesday I take my weight, Sunday I take weight and measurements. The grading: Curfew - 5/wk - 5 = A, 4 = B, 3 = C, else F Measurements - 2/wk - 2 = A, else F TERRA - CLEANING - (WIS+1, CHA+1) Terra begins the game with all the questions in the world about herself, and few answers. As the story progresses, she fears and doubts herself, but searching deep within she discovers who and what she really is--a hero fit to save the world from Ruin and Kefka for both of her peoples. I am not wracked with doubt, but I am riddled with closets full of stuff that is poorly organized and junk that shouldn’t even be in my life if I’m really honest. This quest is all about clearing out all that is unnecessary from storage. Any recess with junk in it is fair game, but the main targets this challenge are the three closets attached to each bedroom in our house. Pretty simple, right? The grading: Cleaning - 3/challenge - 3 = A, 2 = B, 1 = C, else F Starting Stats: Weight: 111.0 lbs Waist: 23.1" Hips: 32.0" Biceps(L/R): 10.3"/10.1" Forearm(L/R): 9.3"/9.1" Thighs(L/R): 20.0"/20.0" Calves(L/R): 12.0"/11.9" Sounds good to you? Let's do this thing! Setzer, take us out!