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things I learned last challenge: * I need to refresh on the bodyweight stuff. running is an easy exercise for me but I *know* that I can't overcardio myself, I need strength. my body is great at building muscles, I need to help it to succeed. * I am not very diligent at doing my -UPs practice, and if I really want to get to a pull-up in 2015 I need to crack down. * apparently I really can exercise 2-3x a week and eat at 1800 calories (ish) and I will lose weight. that's good news for the future! I'm glad that maintenance is higher than 1800 calories. * that thing where I kept doing tae kwon do and boxing and weapons routinely because I love them - that thing worked. I super love them still. ONCE AGAIN I have an awkward challenge. I'm going away for 2 weeks on the motorcycles! yay! but happily bodyweight exercises are my friends when I'm traveling! Goal 1: ROMANCING THE BODYWEIGHT Girl, you need to practice your -ups. You clearly didn't do them at all last challenge, but yet you insist they're important? Girl, just. Girl. 3x a week bodyweight workouts. not just the -UPs, but also the BUTTS. [[<--laughing hilariously at myself over here.]] Weeks 1 and 2 - while traveling - things like push-ups and squats and jumping jacks and handstand practice. don't sweat the full 20 min. workout concept, but do the activities. Weeks 3 to 6 - do a full bodyweight workout, either beginning bodyweight progressions or the NF Academy bodyweight routines, 3x a week. I know it's not popular opinion around here but running counts as bodyweight too - I know it's cardio, but you're propelling your body with just your body. that counts, totally! 2x a week running. (weeks 1 and 2 1x a week is ok.) The thing about the running and bodyweight is that if I am structured about it, I can fit in 2-3 miles and follow it with bodyweight. it doesn't have to be 5x a week exercise. make sure you're smart about this, girl. Goal 2: BE A REASONABLE EATER I'm going to be on vacation for 2 weeks, and I'm traveling to The Land of Cheese and Beer. I'm not going to let the silly fact that I hit my totally arbitrary calculated goal weight freak me out. I'm going to track all the food I eat, and I'm going to be smart about meals and snacks and protein so I don't get hangry, but I'm also going to enjoy The Land of Cheese and Beer. BUT WHEN I'M BACK. Stick with regular deficit programming but I am permitted to eat back exercise. Instead of managing on a weekly basis to hit goal, do this daily. Goal 3: PARTICIPATE! every challenge I see these mini-challenges and I'm super excited by them. every challenge I get pretty close to participating, but I never do consistently. when I do jump in those crazy overzealous assassins have managed to hit all the points already and I'm like: um, oh, hi. I shouldn't let that stop me, I should be overzealous too! I don't do stat points, but I will count as one of my goals participation in the mini challenges (and I really hope they work out with my vacation for the first 2 weeks!) LIFE GOAL. HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE Honestly, I thought about taking a pass on this one. I can't even remember exactly how long the construction has gone on in my house but I'm pretty sure it's 10 weeks now. 6 weeks without a bathroom, a week of mess and quiet, and then 3 weeks (ROUGHLY? is there even any point to counting any more?) of total disarray and disruption in the kitchen and the dining room. the living room is unusable because all the things from the other rooms are in there. we have to move plastic sheeting when we want to use the stove. it's just RIDICULOUS. but in general, this is what I want: I want to read books and garden a little (just a little, mind you) and motorcycle and plan camping trips and cook delicious foods when my CSA starts. how about I just plain have a beautiful life, and tell you about it here? ************** I had secret big plans that weeks -2 and -1 would be good substitutes for weeks 1 and 2 in the challenge (when I'm traveling). BUT ACTUALLY I am too tired this week to do anything fancy, it turns out. fancy like exercise. I am actually at my wits end this week with the house. I am emotionally and mentally and physically exhausted. but week -1, though, that week I can start ramping up. I'm going to start tracking everything here, as per normal habits.

OUR HERO HAS VANQUISHED THE COLD HARSH WINTER. it's definitely spring. the garden needs gardening and the motorcycle is on the road. and with the changes in season comes a simultaneous CHANGE IN BUSINESS LEVEL. y'all, I'm so glad that the snow is gone but I am starting to feel very threatened by the spring. like, there is SO MUCH GARDENING TO DO. DOES OUR LAWNMOWER EVEN WORK? I am so busy! so I am setting up the most boring challenge ever and you will all just have to keep in mind: all the sparkles come from ME. I have no fancy pictures, I have no flashy gifs. I HAVE NO SHOWER RIGHT NOW IN MY HOUSE. all I have is my list of things that need doing. so what's that list? GOAL 1. KEEP BUSY. (as if there were ever any chance of me not being busy.) it's important to me to stay active and keep doing workouts. last challenge I figured out that I'm pretty comfortable doing 4 workouts a week, plus my tkd Saturday. So! I will keep it up. 5x a week activity. one of those days can be tkd. anything goes: running, bodyweight, stretching or yoga, weights. just. KEEP BUSY. a busy lifestyle is good for you. I really want to keep focusing on getting to my -UPs. I have been having a hard time this last challenge because my elbow got so super sore! (it's still sore! waaaah!) so I am going to dial this back to a more progression oriented approach. I'm going to start with the Start Bodyweight Training - I'll work on progressions #2 and 5, for pull-ups and push-ups. I want to do this 2x a week. maybe I should do it more, but for now 2x a week should give me plenty of time for my elbow to recover (HOPEFULLY). GOAL 2. EAT RIGHT. y'all know I'm a daily weigher and a calorie counter. I think I'm at the point in my weight loss journey where I need to stop eating back my exercise. Last challenge I did a good job of staying within budget INCLUDING eating back exercise. This time, no eating back. * with the exception! of my crazy dojo days, and I can eat back like, 3/4 of my calories from any exercise that is 600 calories or greater. I think that's fair. Honestly, I need so much more protein and fat when I work out a lot. I'm also hoping that spring will bring hiking, and that would be a 600+ calories day too. there is ONE WEEK that I will not worry about this goal -- this week. I will do my best, but my birthday is on wednesday and I'm traveling with friends to Portland OR on Thursday through Monday. I want to eat all the delicious food while I'm away. so, I'll do my best to be smart about my choices and portion sizes. GOAL 3. SELF-CARE = FOSTER SPARKLYNESS Clearly I am running on fumes. I don't have a shower. I have to go to the gym or the office early or my mother in laws every day that I want to get clean. I have work and family commitments. In order to keep myself sparkly and not feeling despondent I need to take care of myself. These are the self-care things I am going to do: * acupuncture - every 3 weeks. this is covered by flexible spending. it's good for me. it will likely really help my elbow, among other things. * chiropractic - at least every 1 1/2 weeks. maybe every week. again. good for me. I've got a sore hip and arm from driving a lot for work. this is my recovery. * massage - one of these during the challenge. again, covered by flexible spending, and good for me. my muscles are a disaster (especially hamstrings and calves) and this has been very helpful for me. * ride the motorcycle as much as possible to work - this is fun for me! I need to do it! I also need to figure out how to do this while also going to the gym. that's part of the challenge. * take a bath in my new bathroom as soon as it's done (I am hoping there's just 2 more weeks on the project!) - there has to be some reward! get some nice smelly bath bombs or something from lush so I can break the tub in properly. * hey read books. no requirement, but hey, read books. LIFE GOAL. KEEP CRAFTING. this went super well last time. I love making things! I need to keep it up. so, as I said last time: weekly crafting is required. I've got knitting and spinning in progress right now. I'll take pictures and share it with you. hopefully this will also lead to me finishing the closet. I made HUGE progress on the closet last time, and I would love to finish it up. so. I need to stay on track, but I also need some space to wrangle a little more peace and order into my life. I know this is a lot of stuff, but the routine of the exercising is important to me, and the eating, well, that's mostly dialed in right now. hopefully goal 3 will be easy and profitable. profitable in SPARKLES.