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The end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 were very trying. The overload of emotional stress was overwhelming, and it took a lot to dig myself back out of the hole I was sitting in. I haven't quite reached the top yet, but I am getting closer to the opening. I am so happy to be jumping back into the challenge routine. I am keeping things very simple, but effective. Quest One: Eat Three Balanced Meals Every Day I'm really terrible at making sure I eat a breakfast and a lunch. I usually end up either not having breakfast and going right to lunch, or I eat a very late breakfast (brunch?) which means I skip lunch. By dinner time, I'm starving. This goes hand in hand, in my opinion, to making sure you're eating the right amount of calories/fat/sugar/etc. If you're not eating, you're not getting the amount your body needs, which doesn't help in the health and nutrition field. Did I have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day during the challenge? Yes or No Quest Two: Drink 8 Glasses of Water Every Day I had gone almost 300 days without drinking Soda until the second week of December 2015. I drank a total of five sodas, and I regretted it afterward. I felt so sick since I had not had any soda for so long. Needless to say, I have been successfully cruising along the No Soda road since then. However, I am not drinking nearly enough water, or I am trying to cram all glasses at one time in the evening. This should not be difficult because water = feeling good, no headaches, and no body aches. Among other healthy positives of course! Did I drink 8 glasses of water every day during the challenge? Yes or No Quest Three: Yoga for 10-20 Minutes I feel off my yoga train as well, which is very sad. I keep saying that I am going to get back into the routine, but I need to push myself to do it. I have been doing a lot of re-reading in the Academy, and I want to make this commitment to myself. I want to show myself that I am worth those few minutes every day. Even if it's every other day, I am allowed to take that time for myself to work on a better lifestyle. Did I do 10-20 minutes of Yoga for, at least, three days a week during the challenge? Yes or No Quest Four: 15 Minute Sketching To work on leveling up my life, I am going to take 15 minutes every day to sketch something. It does not have to be perfect or complete, but something will have to be on the paper. It can be anything! Rather than continuing to say I need to get back into drawing and art, I will do it.

Hey everyone—I’m Spalm (Sarah in real life!) and this is my first challenge. First post, even! I’ve been working on strength, mobility, and improving my nutrition since Jan 2015, which is also when I joined the rebellion. I REALLY like picking up heavy things and appreciate a good sweat sesh (HIIT and tabata, anyone?). I joined the rebellion because I really want to change how I approach fitness and nutrition. I want to get strong and lift heavy, which means eating more! Having been the chubby girl in the past, losing the weight, and starting to gain lean muscle, this is a totally terrifying concept that I’m ready to take on Main Quest Lift my body weight (squat and deadlift) —115lbs, here I come! Current stats: 100lb back squat, 95lb deadlift I'm gunna grow one. Quest 1 At least 3 lifting days/week, working to increase weight with each session - 2 squat + bench or press days -1 deadlift + bench or press day Quest 2 At least 2 days/week (1 day each) of: -Yoga -Kettlebell conditioning Quest 3 At least 2 days/week fasted AM cardio —yeah, yeah… this might go against my main quest a bit, but as I said, I like to sweat! Life Quest At least 4 sketches of anything, any size/week Motivation Someday I want to have kids and I want to be an awesome version of myself when that happens! This includes being able to drag the little beast(s) around (gracefully… because—muscles).

Alright Challenge 2! I'm so excited to start this up, especially since I get to be with the assassins this time around! I've been thinking for a while about what my goals will be and I've finally settled on some good ones. So last challenge I worked on core strength, flexibility, and cutting down on sugar. It went really well and I made a lot of improvements in those areas but I still really need to work on flexibility more sooooooo... Goal #1 Do something everyday to increase my flexibility whether that be yoga, stretching, foam rolling, massage, etc. Last challenge I just did yoga, but this challenge I didn't want to limit myself so I'm giving myself more options that will all help me with my goal of gettin all flexy. -I'll be grading myself as such A: Stretchy times every day (42 days) B: Stretchy times 6 days a week (36 days) C: Stretchy times 5 days a week (30 days) D: Stretchy times 4 days a week (24 days) FAIL: Stretchy times 3 days a week or less (<18 days) Goal #2 Work on increasing my pullups/chinups reps. I really want to be able to do 10 pullups at a time as well as 10 chinups at a time. I currently can do 3 consecutive strict pullups and 4 consecutive strict chinups. I think increasing my reps to 10 by the end of this challenge might be a little ambitious but I'm going for it anyways! As long as I'm able to increase my reps a little I'll feel like I've accomplished something. -I'll be grading this as A: 10 pullups 10 chinups B: 8 pullups 9 chinups C: 6 pullups 7 chinups D: 4 pullups 5 chinups FAIL: I don't increase my reps at all Goal #3 Run, Becca! Run! So I'll be running a Tough Mudder in the beginning of May with some friends. I'm really excited but it's a 12 mile race so I have a lot of training to do especially since I missed 2 weeks last challenge due to a sinus infection. My goal here is to run 3 times a week, whatever distance that may be to help build my stamina for the race. -Grading: A: 3 or more runs a week (>18 runs) B: 2 runs a week (12 runs) C: 1 run a week (6 runs) D: If I can't run during the week for whatever reason I'll at least try to get some walks in (any # of walks) FAIL: Lazy bum no runs or walks Life Goal I'm a graphic design student and I absolutely love it! I enjoy being creative and making new things but sometimes I lack the consistency to get a lot of work done, especially side projects I want to do other than my class assignments. I want to work on consistently doing something creative everyday so for my life goal I want to do a small sketch everyday. It can be anything at all but I just want to get into the habit of drawing/creating every day. -Grading: A: Sketch-a-day (42 sketches) B: Sketch 6 days/week (36 sketches) C: Sketch 5 days/week (30 sketches) D: Sketch 4 days/week (24 sketches) FAIL: Sketch 3 days/week or less (<18 sketches) During this challenge I'll also be tracking my food to keep my eating in check and experimenting with counting macros. I haven't dialed in what will work best for me so I'm not making a challenge goal of it but just wanted to throw it out there that I'll be working on this as well. The LOOTZ I think I'm gonna go big or go home for prizes this challenge. I've been really wanting to get a new tattoo so If I get all A's my reward will be to get the tattoo! If I don't get all A's but still complete the challenge and put in a good effort (aka don't completely give up on anything) I'll get the Fitdeck core/bodyweight/stretch bundle. If I give up on anything I'll get NOOOOTTHHIIIIIINNNGGG!!!! So that's my challenge, I can't wait to get started! Taken 2/24/15- 152.3 lbs Also taken 2/24/15- 152.3 lbs. I'm especially excited to see how my back looks after this challenge with all of the pullups I'll be doing!

So my centaur ears have pricked lately, noticing there seems to be a fair few others around who are picture makers - drawings, designers, character artists, illustrators, anybody who makes things appear in two dimensions is welcome here to train and practice! The thread title is taken from the NFer named Hulk In Nerd's Clothing, without permission (sorry, Hulk). It seemed to fit perfectly with my personal philosophy that art is nearly all about practice, and being able to draw is like a muscle: you don't just train it once, you have to keep it strong with regular workouts and consistency. You also need to think about taking enough art rest, and fuelling the art muscle with creative inspiration. If anyone wants to join in here, an intro might be helpful, explaining why you want to draw things, and/or what kind of things you like drawing, how long you have been doing it, and maybe what you want to achieve. It can be hard to pin those things down as art is such a broad area, but I think it can be worthwhile. How about we post some old stuff too - our favourites, our firsts, etc? Quick background on myself: I haven't got any qualifications, but I've worked freelance for 8 years doing fantasy portraits, illustrations and concept art. Including two published card games and, 3 book covers and a metal album cover. I've lately felt the need to branch out into comic books. I quickly realised my skills are not yet where they need to be to both tell a story and look good. So, it's back to basics for me, though I already have a deadline for February so it's a little too late to decide I need to start from scratch! Therefore, my art studies will be running alongside making a fully fledged comic book. Eep. My personal goal will be to complete at least 5 studies a day. 'Studies' is a broad term. I'm including the following: -> Life drawings (not just people - objects count! As long as its real and in front of my eyes, its from life.) -> Gesture drawings (very quick expressive line drawings, about 10-15 per page) -> Colour studies (can be anything, but with focus on colour) -> Black and white studies (can be anything but with focus on form and value) -> Master studies (literally copying a master artist's piece to learn from their techniques) So for example, today I had a busy day and the only time I got to sketch was in the morning at a work meeting. So I drew people's shoes, and some of the kids' toys that were lying around XD