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So i have just completed my first ever OCR. My training leading up to the event, plus post-race analysis, is detailed in my Barbarian Challenge training log. This log will pick up where that race ended. i do hope to do more of these events in the future, plus a smattering of 5 and 10ks, some powerlifting meets, some shooting comps, and whatever other epic adventures i may come across. So, here we go!

Yeeeeeeeeeep, it's about that time to kick off the Summer months with some fun and excitement. Upon special request from a few close friends, I will be doing a Mad Sweeney themed challenge over the next 4-weeks. Who is Mad Sweeney, you ask? Well he's a big ass Leprechaun who likes to brawl and perform coin tricks. Easily one of my favorite characters in the STARZ show, American Gods, based off the novel written by Neil Gaiman. If you really want to nerd out and find out more about Mad Sweeney, then you can view his complete history via THIS link. I've been on a roll lately with fitness and I want to keep up the momentum as we head into this upcoming challenge. I'm combining aspects of both strength training and body building by doing a strength week followed by 2 weeks of hypertrophy followed by another strength week. So far, this schedule has been working out perfectly. During my strength weeks, SW, I stay within reps of 3-8 and perform big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts and bench press. During hypertrophy weeks, HW, I'm within reps of 8-15 and working on "time under load" with a 4-1-1 cadence. Over the course of this challenge, I'll have 2x SW, 1x HW and a deload week. The deload week will start "Week 2" of the challenge and pick back up with a SW the following week. At 3 days a week with a bonus day for sprints/HIIT/Gaelic football stuff, That puts ,me at 12 WOD's NOT including the deload week. I'll scale back and only do 2x light lifting sessions that week just to give myself adequate rest as I head into the 2nd phase of the training. Things have started out nice and easy to make sure I stay consistent and the intensity will pick up after deload week. I'm drawing a lot of inspiration for my workouts from Anthem, an upcoming 3rd person shooter out of Bioware, the same company that made the Mass Effect games. I'm gamefying my life right now and embracing the Freelancer lifestyle! Lol. Oh, and who doesn't want their own Javelin mech suit? I thought I was excited about Destiny but MAAAAAAN.....I realize it's slated for a Fall 2018 release, but it's not too early to get a little hyped, right? I'm currently centering my training program around what I think the training program of a Freelancer Javelin pilot would be, lol. #Nerd Back to Mad Sweeney.. With Gaelic football pub league in full swing, I'm feeling like I need to exploit my Irish ancestory a little. I also need to budget better...especially since purchasing a new TV that wasn't in the plans. Aaaannnd, road tripping to San Antonio next weekend for Tank's wedding. Busy, busy! Just Pluck them from the Air Budgeting needs to be on point these next 4-weeks. With traveling next weekend plus general budgeting trends for gas/food for work, things could be a little tight and that's ok. I just need to manage me coins fer da important tings! Track the coins you save! Limit the Monsters I've gotten used to drinking Monster energy drink recently...specifically the yummy as hell, pipeline punch. And I'm not ashamed to rock that pink can anywhere I go. This. Needs. To. Stop. Maybe not completely, but definitely not daily, like it can be. Limit myself to 3x monsters a week. Become the Javelin In keeping with my Anthem inspiration, also, keep up with my training program. I didn't list this one first because I feel like I've got a handle on it right now. All I need to do is keep up the consistency 12 total WOD's/2x Gaelic Football Saturday's This is a Brawl, not a Pillow Fight! This goal is more generalized. Here falls the extra HIIT/Acrobatic stuff I want to do throughout the challenge. Shadow boxing, hand balancing, KB swings-basically all the stuff not added in with my WOD's. Get 2x "Extra Stuff" in each week. Bar brawls count for double... HAHAHA! This is going to be a fun challenge. I'm liking my goals and the impact they'll have on my daily and weekly routine. I'm very excited and honored to be in Tank's wedding and have the opportunity to meet other nerds I haven't met yet!! Next weekend will just be epic in general Shall we get started? Wolf

My last challenge went pretty well. And more overall goal of running faster than before was achieved. However, I want more. I want to run faster, yes. But, I've lost enough weight that I can actually start to envision my weight under 200 pounds. It's been 18 years since that happened. I probably won't make it this challenge (currently at 208), but I want to take a bite out of what's left. To do that, I'm going to recycle most of my goals and try out a different one on the nutrition front since that's the one part of the last challenge that needed lots of improvement. If it's working, why change it? So, the keeping on part: Goal #1: Meditate.Every.Day I missed 2 days last challenge and while that is SOOOOOO much better than ever before, I was so close to perfection on that goal and let it slip out of my hands because I was lazy 2 measly days. Not this time! Goal #2: Sprint twice a week. Sprinting seems to make me very hungry those days, but damn if it doesn't make me feel great afterwards. I feel like I accomplished something those days. So, I'm gonna have at least 2 of those days a week. Goal #3: Lift twice a week. My daughter likes lifting with me and its quality time I get to spend with her. If I can help gift her with strength that she can lean on in years to come, I will gladly do it. Now the tweaking it part: Goal #4: Keep a diet journal every day. I was not doing a great job with my IF last challenge, but on the last week I started logging my food again and a funny thing happened. When I had to write down what I was eating, I stopped just throwing crap down my pie hole. I had to make a conscious decision if that's what I wanted to eat or not. And that simple step, had me making better decisions. I'm still going to stick with the IF as it has helped in the past, but I'm not tracking that. I'm tracking what actually goes in my mouth. There you have it. Once again the stretch goal will be 5 pounds off the scale and a faster 5K run time than before. My run yesterday set the bar high for me on the 5K time, but if I beat it, that's another thing I can check off my epic list.

Well I am back for another 4WC(5WC)!! I decided to have a little fun with the theme and go with Sonic this time Each goal will earn me rings to give me power to fight Doctor Eggman. So here's the goals: STRENGTH:X30 a week Sonic has to be strong in order to power through all of Dr. Robotnik's robots! (Need at least 100 rings to pass) Week 1: Week 2: WEEK 3: WEEK 4: SPEED: X12 a week What Sonic challenge would be complete without sprinting?! I will be doing sprinting drill 6 times a week (Need at least 40 rings to pass) Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: MOBILITY: X10 a week Sonic needs to be able to jump, spin and move all at the speed of light. In order to accomplish this I need to get back in to using my foam roller 5x a week. I also need to do at least 10 minutes of yoga or stretching. (Need at least 40 rings to pass) AAAAAANNNNDDD thats it Side quest: Complete whatever craziness goes on in the Ranger mini:

Hey all! Really excited to have finished my recruit challenge and officially join the ranks Main goal: Lose 30 pounds. I have many main goals, though overall I'd like to lose the weight I gained from last challenge and then some. Quest 1: Bring my armor and hp to high levels. Take little beatings from attackers. (+3 CON) To achieve this, I'll replace junk food with healthier snacks. I bombed this last challenge as it was set for breakfast/dinner. I need to start smaller and just eat healthy snacks through the day. I'll keep up with good meal but I'll be focusing on snacks this challenge as that was my downfall. To grade this I'll focus on the times I do cave in to junk. A: 0-5 trash snacks B: 6-10 trash snacks C: 11-15 trash snacks Quest 2: Become more flexible and strong (+2 STR +1 DEX) Increasing my strength and flexibility for handstands and flagpoles are big goals of mine. This challenge, I'll be trying yoga, more specifically, power yoga. I'll spend 30min a day going through videos as well as progressing the crow pose (thank you Nymeria for your help!). I tried crow and I can hold it for a few seconds, so I hope to increase that each week as I get stronger on the holds.\ Since I'll be doing yoga daily, grading goes as follows: A: 0-5 days missed B: 6-10 days missed C: 11-15 days missed Quest 3: Be more agile (+2 DEX + 1 STA) For cardio I'll be getting back into an old favorite of mine: Sprints. Oh sprints sprints are a love hate. I'll ease into them since I haven't done them in a while, but I will do them 3x a week, with a rest day between. I will start with sprinting 25 yards, walking 25 yards back, sprint 25, walk 25, rest. This is one set. 3 sets each session. Each week, I'll increase sprint yards by 5 and reduce walk yards by 5. Should I plateau, I'll repeat the current sprint/walk ratio for an additional week, but I WILL complete the 3x a week. A: 18 sprint sessions B: 15 sprint sessions C: 12 sprint sessions Life Quest: Keep coding fresh (+3 WIS) I'm taking a semester off from school to reduce stress this fall. As a result, I won't be having any programming classes. I'll use codecademy to learn some new languages (html/php right now) and refresh my memory with languages I've learned (Java). Since it is summer and I'm taking this light, 30min a day daily. I think I'll do an hour next challenge as I get more accustomed to programming again A:0-5 days missed B: 6-10 days missed C: 11-15 days missed This challenge will be very exciting! First time yoga, learning poses, coding, sprinting, and ASSASSIN!!! Wait.... Ummm official greetings now? haha I'm Krazi3man. You can call me Chris if you'd like. Some goals, aforementioned, are to be able to do handstands and advanced calisthenics like dragonflags, flagpoles, pistol squats. I like watching action anime (naruto, sao, hunter x hunter, etc.) and comidies (HIMYM, Family Guy, etc. Crude stuff) I have a very wide array of humor, though dark and twisted make me laugh the most >.<) I like to read. I can be pretty anti-social but once I branch out and get comfortable, I'm pretty goofy and weird. I hope to be of motivational help to others in here Oh, and I wear black. I LOVE wearing black.

This will be my seventh challenge and in honor of that I'm looking back over my past six and pulling inspiration from them. Its a time traveling theme ... just go with it My six previous challenge have an interesting theme when you look them over. I'll leave the list under the . The theme is fairly simple ... I run, I bike, I do bootcamp/TRX, I try to limit booze, I do photography. This MIGHT have to do with my Scout philosophy. I mean really I keep doing the same ole same ole and expect to get different results ... I might be insane Well not really ... when I was marathon training - which was far more intense than any challenge I've done here - I got down to 210lbs though my muscles weren't what I wanted. So I'm hoping to land somewhere between where I am now (~235) and where I was (210) I think 220 or so would look good on me. I'm not looking to do another marathon but do want to hit that sub-2 hour half goal I was robbed of last year. Overall QUEST! Get to 220lbs with the muscles I want! You know while training for my fall half and being awesome for camp NF! Quest 1 I need to start getting miles under my feet. I'm going to shoot for 20 miles this time around. I'll allow bike miles to count though I doubt I'll do any as I just prefer running to biking. A - 20+ miles (+2 Sta, +2 Dex) B - 15 miles (+1 Sta, +2 Dex) C - 10 miles (+1 Sta, +1 Dex) F - under 10 miles Quest 2 I need to keep logging my food and adjust my intake to keep up with my activity. I'm going to borrow from shaarawy and focus on my protein intake. I'll be logging via MyFitnessPal and keep my fingers crossed. A - 90+ grams (+3 Str +1 Con) B - 80+ grams (+2 Str +1 Con) C - 70+ grams (+1 Str +1 Con) F - 69- grams Quest 3 Limit the boozing ... I keep trying and failing at this but dang if I'm not going to give it another go. Seriously booze is my enemy as I enjoy it and in a social situation I tend to have a drink or three too many. Time to summon the willpower! A - 5 drinks (+2 Sta, +2 Wis) B - 6 drinks (+2 Sta, +1 Wis) C - 7 drinks (+1 Sta, +1 Wis) F - 8+ drinks Life Quest Keep up with friends ... I'm failing at this as I'm being a bum. A - I hang out with 4 friends (+2 Wis, +2 Chr) B - I hang out with 3 friends (+1 Wis, +1 Chr) F - I hang out with less than 3 peoples

It has been a bit since I've been on NF. But I'm back in for the challenge! I will be dedicating this 6 week challenge to rounding out my fitness regimen to include areas that need additional work and practice. Currently I coach and train parkour 2-3 days a week. I also have been making an effort to train aerial rope basics 2 days a week. This free form training keeps me active and learning new things. Yet I want to see improvement in my flexibility and endurance, which are areas that my current activities do not address. To do so, I will follow this regiment for the 1st 3 weeks: Daily activities: Walk (as a warm up for stretching)Fascial release feet with lacrosse ballStretchWrist rehabSit cross leggedFull squat holds Stretching: Leg swingsBack mobilization using a foam rollerPlow poseCat and CowRag doll, straight back progressionDownward dog progressionsCalf StretchHamstring band stretch, using foam roller on lowbackQuad stretch on the ground Sprint training, 3x a week Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday jog or ride bikeleg curls 3x10, tighten posterior chainWall High knees 3x10~40m sprints x 10 Life Side Quest Daily: Rip 1 CD to my PC, I have to back them up.Watch one Ctrl Paint video

Challenge Goals: Nutrition- Eat Clean! I'm going for 42 days of clean eating. What does clean eating mean to me? Unlimited fruits and veggies, nuts, healthy fats, and full fat dairy in moderation. Organic or grass-fed meat when possible. That's the basics, obviously there's more to it than that. I've been doing really well so far, so it's not a drastic change but a continuation of what I'm currently doing. Fitness- Sprint! I'm going to 24 sprint sessions, which is an average of 4 per week. I also do one "long" run per week. Fitness- Bodyweight workouts! I'm basically following the convict conditioning program right now, and it's been almost 2 months, so I'm going to keep that going. I've failed a few challenges before, so my main goal this time around is to simply follow through, not just on the workouts and clean eating, but on keeping updated here.

Vengefulpear's Asgard Challenge Hello again! Ready for another challenge? I am! So you may remember the last mini-challenges we all rebuilt the Bifrost (well done by the way!) but I figured while all you Assassins go back to Midgard and move on with some training I'll stay up here in Asgard and recuperate with Odin and train with Thor! Main Quest: Recover So my shoulder still isn't fully recovered. And honestly, it's getting quite frustrating. I have a doctor's appointment later (update to follow) so hopefully the doctor will be more useful than the nurse who just shrugged and said "just rest it" because that was about 3 months ago. I really want this challenge to be the last one that I have to focus on recovery rather than rebuilding, but my methods are pending doctor-ness. I feel like Thor trying to escape from hospital but being dragged back for his own good... I'm also pleased about the fact the mini-challenge is pistol squats because I definitely want to do those Anyway, onto the goals! Goal 1: Eat Like A God Eat ~2000 calories per day and eat right! +2 CON +2 WIS This will be a pincer attack for diet, I'm upping my calories to 2000 a day because I'm going to run a lot more and I want to cut out sugar and head down the paleo path once again. So for this part one of the goal is 2000 calories per day (averaged for the week) and then also trying to make sure I eat as one would in Asgard, so lots of steak and vegetables with fruit and nuts but much much less cake, sodas, biscuits (damn you free work biscuits!) and things like that. Eat like a Viking basically. And I can live with And here is the ever present calorie PVP spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmtRMwoMwJORdG9zYkU1TVAtSkduTXhMUHZkaFdZYXc&usp=sharing BONUS OBJECTIVE: Eat fish 3 times a week Goal 2: Quicker Than Thunder Do sprint training twice per week as per programme and go for long runs too +2 DEX +1 STR I found an 8 week programme on bodybuilders.com which I think would be an excellent way for me to track and get better at sprinting, rather than just running up a hill until I get tired (which is current plan!) and I also want to run longer I think I'm up to 9 miles on my longest run so far. Let's see how far I can get! BONUS OBJECTIVE: Run a half-marathon just because you can! (13.2 miles in one run) Goal 3: Doctor's Orders [Get Better] Work up to full push ups and 3 strength training sessions per week Right, I'm going to the Doctor's tonight so this goal will be pending on what they say. The goal is basically to ensure my recovery is as quick as possible! So I have now been to the doctor's! She said that she can't give me anything or send me to a physio because it's been too long so I'm recovered enough that doing either of those won't make any difference at this point. Talking it through she was very keen to get me working out again (very very carefully) to strengthen up my shoulder again SO I'M ALLOWED TO DO RESISTANCE TRAINING AGAIN! My plan is to do crazy slow progressions starting with wall-push ups as part of the routine and using the dumbbells I have at home with maybe 1kg and do some shoulder exercises. Then I'll slowly work my way down the wall/stairs one I feel like I can safely do 3 sets of 8 push ups and the same for going up weights with the shoulder exercises. Charisma and Wisdom are attributed for this one because I will only consider it successful if I can do it without further injury. Key here is for care and making sure it's rehab rather than breaking me more. 4 POINTS TO BE ATTRIBUTED +2 STR +1 CHA +1 WIS So here, have some bonus gifs of Tom Hiddleston's Thor audition (And by that I mean audition TO BE Thor) Goal 4: Read the Library of Asgard Work towards writing everyday +2 CHA +2 WIS This doesn't have to be writing necessarily as I do have a book on writing poetry and a book on grammar, so if nothing else I can just read through those And I am not restricting myself to a time limit, this could be five minutes, ten minutes or three hours. It all counts! I'm looking forward to this challenge with everyone And one more gif for your entertainment:

I have a training drill where I need to switch directions very quickly at random intervals over a 3 minute time span. Works very well with a work out partner willing to clap randomly for you, but not quite as easy to perform solo. Does anyone know of tracks, online generators, or iOS apps that could help me with this? Thanks in advance

I was out for the last challenge but I'm back to be a bad ass. I did however set a few small goals I achieved, I started the 30day hard hat and have only missed 3 days due to my wife having eye and a dental appointment screwing my schedule. I watched 'Jiro dreams of sushi' and really loved the masters dedication to his passion. So I'm going to take a few ideas and perspectives from the 3 star chef and his attitudes to achieving success. 'Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honourably.' Jiro Ono If you haven't watched the film. Its brilliant. GO WATCH IT NOW!! Right... the important stuff... Goal 1: Lift and Sprint I follow the 531 program. Jim Wendler is awesome and I think his program is awesome. I've been looking at my heavy squat and dead lift form and they need adjustment so this new cycle is going to focus on touching up technique. I also have never done the conditioning component so I'm going to start sprints on my off days and continue to row as my warm up and cycle home and foam roll for my cool down. Goal 2: Preparation prevents poor performance 1 One goal I set in my off time was to start preparing meals at home for work and this is now week 3. I've been making stuffed marrow and paleo lasagne. Also we have been cooking a lot of good solid food at home that has been awesome for the body. For the next six weeks, planned meals and prepared lunches. Goal 3: Continue to develop mastery I'm a senior instructor in Rapid Arnis. Its pretty cool and I'm proud of what I've done. I do hold myself to some very high standards and I'm not building some of the habits I should. So in the morning I'm going to do 15 mins of stick, knife or empty hand work. Practice, practice, practice. Also I might be doing something incredibly cool and a great honour but also pants poopingly terrifying later in the month. Stay tuned. Goal 4: Preparation prevents poor performance 2: I always leave this... when it comes to work. Now though I'm going to fall in love with my work... again. I'm a school teacher and I struggle to keep work under control and struggle at times to keep it all in balance. Work needs to be done, that's marking, lesson planning, assessments, references etc. Plan it, prep it, do it. I'm going to simplify and prioritize. Though I am also going to step back from the noise, the drama and the little things and focus on getting the big things right. Essentially plan the big things and make sure I'm getting better at the balance so I enjoy my job more. And that's it. Comments, suggestions, support and advice welcome. All the best for your challenges and sticks up. Also anyone a war gamer/board gamer who's heard/tried Dreadball?

I decided against RPG for now because I'd like to focus purely on getting everything out of this challenge. I didn't do so well on my last challenge, so I need to get twice as much out of it this time around. I'm pumped up and just as excited about this one as I was on my first one. My last challenge involved freedom and enjoying life, but I realized that I don't work well in that type of environment. I can have structure (I actually LOVE structure) and still enjoy life. So this will be a hardworking, no excuses challenge for me. I will walk away from this challenge harder, better, faster and stronger. This Challenge's Theme Song: by Daft Punk (of course) Goal 1: Harder (+1 WIS, +2 CHA, +1 CON) Yes, it's Whole30 again. Why? Because it works for me. I like it and I really need to cleanse again. This time, I go all out. No exceptions. This will make me not only harder when it comes to food choices but it will undo the soft belly stuff I've gotten over the past few weeks. Goal 2: Better (+2 WIS, +1 CHA) This is the scary one. No internet. No Facebook, no Pinterest, no anything except Nerd Fitness (I gotta update) and for reference (like looking up directions to something). And no video games or TV. This is going to be incredibly challenging since I live on the internet. But it will make me a better person because I will be more productive and I will learn that I don't need to depend on the internet. Goal 3: Faster (+3 DEX, +1 STA) I'm a slowpoke. So, I'm going to work on my speed. What kind of assassin is slow? No kind, that's what. I'll be working on sprints on the treadmill (because it's a bagillion degrees outside) and I hope to increase my base running speed as well. ​Goal 4: Stronger (+3 STR, +1 DEX) Less than a year until I do the Tough Mudder in Austin so I would like to take full advantage of the situation. I will do the Tough Mudder Boot Camp that they have up on the site 3 times per week. This will make me much stronger than I am now and then I can move up from a Maybe Mudder to a Tough Mudder. Full completion of these goals will give me a total of (+3 STR, +1 STA, +1 CON, +3 WIS, +3 CHA, +4 DEX) Current Side Challenges: Old People Parkour Posse Assassins Mini-Challenge Bonus Song: by Kanye West ft Daft Punk (for the chorus) My ULTIMATE GOAL is to get down to a size 8. I was at a size 10 at the end of the challenge before last and now I've gone up half a size (not quite a size 12). I want to be a solid 8 by the end of this challenge.

********************************************** References / Sources of Information. Westside Barbell Conjugate Program - For Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri training. Gymnastics Foundation 1 Gymnastic Bodies - For Gymnastics work on Tues, Thurs and Sat/Sun Crossfit Endurance - For Rowing / Running intervals on Tues, Thurs to supplement training. Dangerously Hardcore - For how I will be eating to fuel this program. Carb Backloading. Eat to Perform - Another source of information regarding Carb Backloading and high volume training (specifically mentions Crossfit). Holocron - My collection of information surrounding training, nutrition (including supplementation) and health. *If anyone wants questions any aspect, fire away and I will throw a post up. ********************************************** Greetings everyone. After completing my first 12 week training cycle, I feel I have developed a good foundation of strength and conditioning. After taking a week of rest (with some weight sessions to keep away any muscle catabolism and hopefully and DOMS when I start training again!) I am ready to kick off phase 2. Phase 2 is going to focus on Gymnastic Strength Foundation training (see the references for Foundation 1 - Gymnastic Bodies), with some conditioning work placed on the back of it. The conditioning work will be in the same vein as Max Effort Black Box (short, intense, nothing over 12 - 15 mins). I will be keeping my Sprint training twice per week as I thoroughly enjoy it. Additionally, I will swith from Max Effort Black Box training to the Westside Barbell Conjugate training with my friend Matt. The reason for this is primarily because I am enjoying exercising with another person, plus I have started to get addicted to weight lifting after seeing the results from the previous program. However, the overall focus remains the Gymnastic Strength Foundation - or as I like to think of it, the 'Jedi movement fundamentals'. On days that I am not doing weightlifting (Westside) I will throw in some body weight training in the afternoon (this should occur Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays). My previous body weight training was all circuit work - I intend to mix this up and do some body weight exercise sets, focusing on hard exercise such as Pistol Squats, Handstand push-ups, etc. Therefore, a week of training will look something like the following... Sun - Westside Barbell Dynamic Bench Press. Mon - Gymnastic Foundation 1 with conditioning circuit, Westside Barbell Max Effort Squat/Deadlift. Tues - Sprint/Interval Training, Body Weight Training. Wed - Gymnastic Foundation 1 with conditioning circuit, Westside Barbell Max Effort Bench Press. Thur - Sprint/Interval Training, Body Weight Training. Fri - Gymnastic Foundation 1 with conditioning circuit, Westside Barbell Dynamic Squat/Deadlift. Sat - Rest - or Group Training (Circuit or Strength with some of the guys), Body Weight Training. Force Attunement - This is an indicator of how I felt prior to commencing the workout. The rating stretches from One to Five, each with the following meaning: Completely out of alignment. Almost no connection to the force. Training should probably be postponed. Difficulty in feeling the Force. Possibly tired or fatigued. Re-assessment of one's training supporting elements (Diet, Sleep, etc) should occur if a trend of this level develops. Normal connection levels. Considered the 'base-line' for Force sensitivity. Heightened connection. Above a normal level, resulting in increased optimism and feeling of well-being. Very strong connection. A feeling of almost perfect alignment.Nutrition - equally, if not more, important than the training itself is the nutrition. My target is 200g of protein each day, with Carbs dependent on the day. Fats will fill the remainder of the calorie intake (until satiety). Meals will remain High Fat/Low Carb throughout the day with Carbs at night. Breakfast is a non-event (read the Car Back Loading principle for why). Post work-out for the Barbell program will be Luecine and Whey Protein shake. Sun - High Carb night (~200g) Mon - Low Carb night (~50g) Tues - Moderate Carb night (~150g) Wed - Low Carb night (~50g) Thur - Moderate Carb night (~150g) Fri - Low Carb night (~50g) Sat - Moderate Carb night (~50g) ***** Starting Body Weight is 72kg naked (approximate) ****** Any and all information that supports this program can be found in my Holocron which I keep up to date with any new data I stumble upon.

http://youtu.be/2H3KhucexJE Anybody ever play Chrono Trigger? Just wondering. The last challenge went pretty well, but it also saw me get really humbled in terms of what I could do and what I could commit. I rediscovered the Primal Blueprint, and saw how I could use it to get really intense and really focused on my workouts, and make them short and effective, whilst at the same time freeing myself up to follow the diet properly and re-engage in martial arts. In the intervening period between the last challenge and this one, I have finally, finally gotten the WITS people to move forward on my certification, and with any luck I'll be certified in the next couple weeks. Happiness ensues. So. We have to have a challenge that puts all of these things together. I need to find my way back into the dojo. I'm already paying for it, so that's not the problem. The problem is that I need to make a habit of going, and of looking for opportunities to go. It's gonna be tough, but I think I have some solutions. Goal 1: Sprint Once Per Week It's finally spring time, and I've found a nice field to go running in on a day when no one else is doing anything. Go me. Goal is to go fast and hard, once per week. +2 STA, +1STR Goal 2: Lift Heavy Things 2-3 Times Per Week I've kept up with timing myself in my calisthenic workouts and it's official: these things are freaky fast. I've been completing them in less than twenty minutes. They're effective - I find myself dripping with sweat lately at the end of them, like it's a hybrid finisher slash progressive routine. And they're making me stronger - on a whim, I went to a gym with some friends of mine and decided to hit the bench press. I proceeded to bench 160 lbs for a 1RM. Given that my last 1RM was 135 lbs set about four years ago, I'm going to just assume that the cals work fine. +1 STR, +2 DEX, +1 WIS Goal 3: Martial Arts 2-5 Hours Per Week The Primal Blueprint calls for a solid base of low level activity, defined as kicking your heart rate up into the 55-75% range for two to five hours per week. It generally prescribes a pattern of movement, say, swimming or hiking. I enjoy those things very much, but my conditioning has got to the point where I can't just go for a walk and boost my heart rate up into that range. It just doesn't happen for me there. And besides. I'm a freaking martial artist. I should comport myself as such. Two to five hours per week on the mat should be plenty of time to practice, get the heart benefits, and give me some room to breathe if the friends decide they want to shanghai me for the weekend. +1 DEX, +1 STA, +1 CON LIFE GOAL: Write Your Story So, I realized something during Camp NaNoWriMo this month. I have seven novels lying around that I haven't bothered to finish. I don't need another unfinished story. I need to soldier through one and make it something worthwhile. But I haven't figured out how to balance that properly. I don't know how to balance new writing with old writing with submissions. Writing and exposure at this point is a one man game. But it all needs to be done. Week 1 is going to be dedicated to figuring out a system. The rest of the challenge will be dedicated to implementing that system. +2.5 WIS, +2.5 CHA One Last Edit! First Bodyfat Assessment done in a much more thorough manner due to having the day off. Diagnosis: 179.7 lbs at 19.3% body fat. This will be updated as time goes by.

This is my first foray into the ways of the ranger. (Stranger Ranger!) Having started off adventuring, I soon discovered that I truly was a master at none, and so began my life as a jack of all trades. That is why I have taken up the platypus as a symbol/mascot for this challenge. One, because we're both aussies! Two, they are fantastically diverse bits of everything creatures. Perfect for a bits of everything me. Speaking of which, I think diversity is healthy, and anything that gets put in front of me as a challenge is fair game. My challenges - personal, professional and otherwise have all made me who I am and I want to push myself further and take on new challenges. I think in the past I have always pushed my goals way too far ahead of my abilities, and this time I want to set more manageable and achievable goals. Walking Rangers need to do a lot of walking. Walking is definitely an achievable goal. I normally hit somewhere in the range of 6000 - 7000 steps a day. I count this using my fitbit (which has become an extension of my being). Day to day, I know I am not always going to hit my 10,000 steps - so my goal will be to hit 70,000 per week (so, a 10,000 average) over the course of the 6 weeks. Walking is man's best medicine. - Hippocrates Skills Ranger survive in the wild because they constantly learn new skills, improve upon their current ones and replace old ones with more effective ones. So in skilling up, I am proposing the following three goals: ...Learn a new skill - Chin up Platypi are not good climbers, but that's not going to stop me. However - first things first is to build some upper body strength, and to do that I want to do a chin up. Yep. Just one. If I can get a pull up out, all the better. Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. - Einstein ...Improve upon an old one - Push Ups I have had a love/hate relationship with push ups. And I want to do 'proper' ones - and never look back. At the moment I have been doing 5 - 20 incline push ups against my bathroom counter before getting into the shower each morning. My first 'half' challenge is to get to the same number of push ups - at a lower incline. I want to move from the counter, to the bath, with the intention of then progressing fully into full push ups. The only pushup you won't be able to do is the one you never do. - Gwen Ro ...Replace old ones with new ones - Running/Sprints In my past, I have done a lot of running. But I've now found more and more, that the idea of even trying to get 30 minutes so 'go for run' involves a 30 minute run, oh and 10 minutes at the start getting ready/changed, 5 minute walk to get to the park, 10 minute cool down, 5 minute walk back, all while trying to fit in dinner and.... its just not working. I haven't run/jogged etc in months. I need to find a more effective way of getting in some activity - so while I'm actively looking for suggestions, my plan at the moment is to get into sprinting. Yeah it'll still take me half an hour to get all the walking prep etc out of the way - but if I can get 10 minutes of sprinting and have that be as effective as 30 minutes of running, I can see myself more likely to keep it up. By changing nothing, nothing changes. -Tony Robbins Recovery I must accept that I cannot go on forever. There have been to many times where I have pushed myself too much. I've let my health suffer, my relationships suffer, and my sanity suffer. There has been too many 12+ hour days at work, too many 3am I'm still up's, too many sorry I'm really busy at the moment's. I want to learn how to take a step back, calm myself, recover properly. So my first step towards that is getting more sleep. And better quality sleep. So for at least 5 days out of the week, I want to be in bed by midnight. I can't help it when I actually fall asleep, but if I can get into the habit of winding down when I need to rest, I'm hoping the rest will fall into place. The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more. - Wilson Mizener Can't wait to take this journey with you all, and succeed as we continue.

The Six Week Six Pack Challenge I started a battle log, poorly kept already although it's been doing its job of haunting me and reminding me to push through on most days. I'll be using this challenge to motivate myself to get as close as physically (and healthily) possible to a six-pack by the end of the 6 weeks. I'm still working out who my PvP will be, but that should help as well. BACKSTORY Been on a plateau hovering between 165-170lbs for several months. Last year I broke into the 150's at a glorious 159 last year for the first time in my adult life, but then fell off the bandwagon. I believe that my six-pack weight range will be around 145. Abs are made in the kitchen, and the kitchen is my weakness. THE CHALLENGE #1 - Eating My Abs Away I'm going to start by generally aiming for high-protein meals, and attempt to stay between 1,350-1,500 calories per day. I will ramp up the calories as my training regime turns into more than a few sprints per week. Eventually, I'd like to begin removing gluten and sugar as well, but if I start too strong I won't stick with it the whole 6 weeks. #2 - Train Like You Mean It I've been really lazy and find it difficult to even set aside those 15-20 minutes for a decent workout. I have a general week plan mapped out in my battle logs here that I'll be working my way up to. I've been doing just under 1 mile runs 3-4 times a week now, so it's time to begin adding in actual bodyweight routines, heavy carries and the occasional hike. #3 - Assassin In The Mountains Living rogue in the mountains means that you don't have access to pleasures such as warm water. Cold showers. Every day. Every shower. The entire 6 weeks. THE GOALS I don't know that I can healthily actually be sporting a six-pack when this is over, but I think I can get pretty close. I will be tracking my results using three measurements: Scale (least important)InchesPhotos (most important) (I understand that the scale may not be the best measurement, but since I have the fat to lose and I won't be placing a huge focus on muscle gain, ideally I'll be in the range of 155lbs when this is finished.)

Hello to all at NerdFitness, my first reaction to finding this site is; why didn't I find this site sooner?! I'm a 24yo guy from Bristol UK, frequently practicing running, swimming, climbing, cycling, strength training, sprinting, bodyweight exercise, gymnastics, and circus skills, in no particular order. And like many of you, totally addicted to video games, films, and all nerdy goodness. Currently in good to v. good shape with goals of improving further, mostly reducing BF% and increasing lean muscle mass. I want to reach my absolute peak before I'm out of my 20s and priorities can "change", hah! If you're in Bristol and are reading this, PM me or reply, I don't bite Look forward to getting and giving some rockin fitness tips with you guys. -Jake