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"uhhhnnn..." "Sire! He's awake!" "Hmm? Well then, it appears Rosa's efforts aren't in vain, after all." "Who dat? Who's dere?..." "Easy, friend, you're among comrades." Red sits up to see who's talking, "Comrades?... GASP! My brothers! Where are they?!" Red looks around frantically. "Your brothers? I'm sorry, but we just found you, no one else... But there was a smashed teleporter." Red mutters to himself, "I hope they got away in time... Hey, who are you guys?" The guard steps forward "How DARE you speak to the King that way!?" "Heh heh, that's enough Biggs, he is a stranger to these parts, we can't blame him for not knowing who I am." Biggs clears his throat "You are in the Presence of the Lunarian King, Cecil Harvey, Lord of the Kingdom of Baron, Savior of the Blue Planet, Paladin King, Commander of the Baron Army, former Commander of the Red Wings." Red jests "That's a mouthful." "WHAT?!" The soldier exclaimed. "Ha ha ha! Yes, it is sometimes! You should hear the title of my friend, the King of Fabul, He's got belts in nearly every martial art! One time, he--" Another soldier runs in, "My Lord, we're under attack!" "Then we must go! To Victory!" He shouts as he leaves the tent, The soldiers rally behind him, "TO VICTORY!" they all yell, as they follow their King. "You stay here, Stranger!" Biggs shouts as he leaves. "Stay here? Yeah right!" Red says to himself as he jumps out of the bed In the Fog of war, Red sees the soldiers fighting against an army of monsters, his eyes spot King Cecil surrounded by monsters, and they're closing in fast. "I've gotta do something!" Red leaps in the middle of the battle! "What the--?" Cecil exclaims. "You're kidding me right? A Knight who uses a White sword? How can I not help you?" "Alright then, I must admit, your resolve is inspiring. Here, take this!" Red receives Echo Grass! "If you're going to fight with us, you're going to need to communicate with our scouts, just speak into it and they'll hear you." "Huh, thanks! Now, let's do this!" BATTLE!! "Are you alright? You're slower than you look." "Heh, Life has been interesting to me lately, but I'll be fine, I just need time for my body to remember how strong it used to be." "I see, well then, how about I help you? Using your Past, Present, and Future." "Remember your Past, the routine you used to follow!" I am going to workout three times a week, every week! I will be doing the Advanced Bodyweight workout given to us by Steve Kamb. 1 point per workout, 18 total; Points given: Str +2 & Sta +2 "Now face the Present at hand!" I am going to increase my shoulder strength. I am going to lift heavy things over my head in sets, Using my old textbooks and nearby objects, I'll be doing something like a Shoulder Press but holding for a set amount of time. Goal Time: 3 Minutes Weight: TBD Points given: Str +1 & Sta +3 "Get ready for the Futur--" "..lo? Hello?" "AHHHH!!! WHO SAID THAT?!" "... ahh... my ears... *ahem* Hello, This is Baron Scout, Cami. I've been informed to help you help our King." "Oh, right, The Echoy Grass thing!." "...*Ahem* Well, there are many obstacles and heavy objects ahead of you, you'll need to push them out of the way." "How many would you say there are?" "...43... 75... About 100 obstacles here that would require you to use upper body strength. Yep, you're going to have to attempt 100 Push(up)s." ​​Following this program: http://www.hundredpushups.com/ Currently at 30 Pushups Points given: Str +3 & Sta +1 "Hey! Focus! The enemies that we'll be facing are a difficult bunch! Each of them requires different means to defeat them! - This monster feeds off of the dirt and mold around us, to defeat it, we'll need to cleanse the area! (At least one cleaning activity a day.) Wis +1 & Con +1 - This foe feeds off of your mind, If you keep your wits about you, you'll be able to stave off his attacks! (Read a Chapter every Tuesday and Thurs; Book: To Kill a Mockingbird) Wis +2 - This creature uses a foreign language to cast spells upon the soldiers, if you can learn it's language you can interrupt the casting! (Study Spanish using Duolingo, a section every Monday, Wednesday, Friday) Wis +2 & Cha +1 "Huh, there's that music again..." "You can hear that? That song can decrease the strength of the Spirit beasts if you can find a way to amplify it, even if it's only a part." - (Play Moonlight Sonata part 2) Wis +2 Alright, So with this challenge, it's going to be interesting because of lots of Life things. My summer course is ending this week (thurs is my last day), my nieces start their school soon (Aug 11th and Aug 13th), Still looking for a job, Planning on going to University in the fall, and I still have visiting relatives that'll be here for about 2-3 weeks.

Points: Verbal reasoning every week:5 wisdom Minecraft programming at least once this challenge:3 wisdom Tap and modern practice maximum twice every week:4 charisma Running every week: 2 stamina. Parcour every week: 1 dexterity. This is flyer19, back and better than ever! I myself will be dodging zombies, and doing mind boggling puzzles. I will be doing the odd swim here and there, and even tree climbing and parcour! By the way this is Herobrine with the words NOOB and DEFEATED written all over him!

9.06.2014 The Main Epic Quest of Anna Laurentina da Mazovia, also known as Igi, chapter 2: Stamina Training The main objective of this challenge is to simply stay fit and physically active suring my vacation time. Therefore, I'll grab every opportunity to become a true Assassin - I plan to sail, run, continue my parkour-ing tendencies, swim, ride a bike and basically jump headfirst into every opportunity my life will offer, all for the sake of developing the neccessary strength and flexibility to really see the world as my playground. And I plan to have lots and lots of fun with it. It is, after all, the time of my grand four months vacations. However, not to get lost with an objective that is too vague and blurry, I've decided to focus on stamina. So, there are my goals for this challenge: Run at least every three days (if the weather doesn't allow it, then do rope-skipping) and increase the distance (or the skips) every time. Starting point: 0,5km.Do the Sun Salutation (yoga sequence) every morning.Learn at least three new firedancing moves.If at the end of these six weeks I will be able to run at least 2km, I will consider the challenge successfully completed and the goal fulfilled. Life Quest: Keep learning Italian on a daily basis and use Duolingo learning software every day. Health Quest: Replace all the regular oil in the house with olive oil. Additional objectives that I would like to fulfil over the course of these six weeks (not necessarily): - ride a bike for 30km, - go swimming at least five times, - buy a graphic tablet, - achieve a pullup. (When my arm heals.) I'm doing it, because: I finally have the time!Exercising makes me happy in a way that still feels completely foreign for me. I want to get to know it better.I don't want to waste a single day of my longest summer in life.I want to be worthy of the name Assassin.And the motivation from the previous challenge, because this is the same and I still feel this deep shiver of joy when I read this: I want to be a well-rounded, well-educated, fit woman full of life.I want to feel the freedom coming from running free and looking at the world as if it was mine to get and climb onto.I want to feel the joy of pushing my boundaries and achieving something I never have done before.I want to experience new things and enjoy life in its every colour and taste.I want to be a part of the Brotherhood, feel strong, happy and understood in my hopes and dreams.I want to make my Mentor proud.I want to look at myself and say, “This is the woman who has achieved something in her chase to freedom. This is a happy woman.†I am Igi and I will be an Assassin. I WILL be an Assassin.

The toe of my chucks made contact with a stone, sending it skittering away down the path in front of me. A chill wind pushed at me from behind; I hunched over a bit more, jamming my cold hands further into my pockets. Weather or no weather, I won’t be deterred from my walks. Taking alleyways, back roads, and the hidden footpaths of the moss junkies, I spent the last year winding my way around the deserted underbelly of my city. At the beginning, I avoided the lively upscale courtyards and the ghettos crawling with junkies with equal revulsion -- too many people, too much noise. I need solitude. My strategy took me to the edges where not even the social refuse cared to go. I explored the defunct docks, the boarded up mill, and the fire-eaten tenements of Broadpebble Road. Occasionally I encountered some other solitary soul, or maybe a small cluster of new rejects huddled around a barrel fire. Never two times, though. Days or weeks later, on my next pass through, I’d find the area empty once again. Either they moved on toward the more hospitable ghettos, or the bailiffs got them. Today I was exploring a new route through the deserted southeastern side of the city. Two decades ago this place was vibrant with merchants and artisans, the life-blood of my city. They kept us self-sufficient, creating all we could possibly need for food, fuel, household goods, and recreation from the materials gathered by workers outside the city walls. My city was a beacon to the surrounding territories, a shining jewel of independence on the banks of the Great River. The plague came slowly. A few merchants arrived at Mercy Hospital with ugly greenish-black boils, the like of which had never been seen before. The hospital found a treatment that seemed to work within hours, and sent the folks back to work. The next day, those people came back with more boils, oozing and raw this time, and more folks came in. The doctors and nurses kept trying to find a successful treatment, but each time something seemed to work, the affect was shortlived. Within a week, almost all of those who were initially infected had died. Despite the city’s ironclad policy about maintaining traditional burial ceremonies, those who died from the boils were immediately burned to ash and buried outside the city walls to prevent further spread. This didn’t seem to help, as more and more merchants and artisans in the Southeast District became infected, tried the treatments, and died. The city took drastic measures and put the district on quarantine; nobody in, and nobody out. Because the city could no longer rely on the district for supplies or food, the Mayor had to open up trade routes with three cities to the north of us. The rest of my city remained infection-free and survived, thanks to the generous trade agreements and low tariffs given to us by our sister cities. Within a month, the Southeast District was wiped out. The entire artisan and trade community was dead, and my city, once so self-sufficient, was now entirely dependent upon foreign trade for survival. Thinking about it now, an acidic chuckle rises up in my throat. We were so stupid. The city’s best scientists and doctors never figured out what caused the infection or why it ended so suddenly. Three centuries of medical advancement did us no good at all, because, as a cluster of independent researchers found out this year, the disease didn’t follow known biological infection patterns. It wasn’t actually an infection at all. It was magic. I know, I know. You don’t believe in magic, right? Neither did we. When the word got out, everybody said it couldn’t be. But the researchers had found the man who performed the magic. After a small demonstration of his abilities, he told us he had been paid, and that he had not been informed of the purpose of what he was asked to do. He told us that when he found out, he was so consumed with guilt that he surrendered himself and agreed to tell all in penance for his sins. The worst part is that this magic, which was used to poison the city-commissioned ink used only in the Southeast District to notarize transaction receipts, was brought upon us by none other than the three cities to the north. This discovery was made long after the plague had ended. By then we were so ensnared in rigid trade agreements that it was far too late to extricate ourselves. To this day, my city remains locked in forced trade with the three cities to our north, despite the now-open knowledge that it was those same three cities who conspired to murder hundreds of our own people. Rumor is that no one has been in the district since the plague finally ended two decades ago. I was only ten years old when the plague struck. I never saw anyone with the boils, but I heard such stories of them handed down at the Upper West marketplace that had been hastily set up to allow foreign merchants to sell us needed supplies and food. After the last merchant in the district had died, cleaners went in and scoured the area, removing all traces of the poisoned ink and papers. The man who made the magic created a neutralizer as his act of restitution. This substance was atomized throughout the entire district, where it was allowed to seep into the walls and floorboards of the buildings, into the panes of glass in the windows, and into the grime of the streets. Then the cleaners left, and the district remained boarded up for good. It stands as a constant reminder of what our sister cities, now our enemies, did to us in their greed. For the past two decades there have been near-constant rumblings of rising up against them to regain control of our economy, but so far no one has made an attempt. I’d been wanting to find an access point to the Southeast District for years. It was curiosity and some other, deeper pull that drew me to pace the edges of the city hoping to find a weakness in the wall. Last month, while traversing a narrow footpath nearly overgrown from lack of use, I found a gap. The ground had heaved up during the small earthquakes we sometimes get and the corrugated metal siding had pulled away from itself just wide enough that maybe I could get through. I didn’t try that day. I waited. For the past month I explored every possible route to get me to that same spot, at different times of the day, waiting and watching to see if anyone else ever showed up. Once in the foggy dusk a week ago I thought I saw someone a ways down the path, walking away from the wall, but I couldn’t be sure. I came back again and again, but never encountered that shadowy figure or any other soul. I finally decided it was time to make my attempt. That’s what brings me here today, walking down what used to be an alley between the textiles guild and the pottery guild. It was overgrown with weeds and the trash of two decades that had managed to blow over the wall. I expected to feel different here, eerie or spooked. Instead it felt like walking on any of my other quiet, overgrown paths. I turned a corner and walked out onto an abandoned street. I was deep enough into the district that I knew I couldn’t be seen from the guard tower on the far side of the city; the legislators had lamented publicly that the tower’s visibility was limited toward the southeast side, a fact that they claimed was a vulnerability to attack. Despite the cold wind, I felt my neck and shoulders relax and realized I had barely been breathing with nerves this whole time. My chucks took me forward until I came to a large, squat building at the end of the street. The windows were boarded up and the front doors were bolted with a huge padlock. The faded metal siding showed red rivulets where rainwater had rusted down the sides. I left the road and walked around the side of the building, trying to see through the grimed-over windows. Toward the back I saw another bolted door, except this one was made of wood. I’m no scientist, but I guessed that the wood was likely to be weakened by the direct sunlight and two decades of no maintenance. I lifted my chuck and pushed my foot flat on the door, beneath the handle. It creaked and shivered beneath my gentle pressure. I took a deep breath and kicked as hard as I could, and fell headlong inside when the door easily gave way. I sat up, brushed wood slivers off my knees, and looked around. The door behind me was mostly intact, though there was a jagged hole where the bolt had been. I would have to find some way to close it again when I left. I turned again to face the room. It was a very, very large room. Judging from the stacks of barrels and crates along the wall (these were what had obstructed my view through the windows earlier), this was probably one of the storage warehouses. In the back there were several horizontal metal rods, probably used for draping yards of textiles before cutting and bolting them for sale. The rest of the room was completely empty; either the warehouse had been empty before the plague, or the cleaners had taken a little “commission†for their work when they came in to scour the place. The floor was level and made of some sort of smooth stone. I dropped my bag, and the yellow wheel of one of my skates popped up through the bag’s opening. Oh, yes. I would make good use of this place. -------- I’ve sat out the past 2 or 3 challenges, and I am excited to get back into the game. I am tracking my goals on HabitRPG.com. My reward is that everything I do towards my goal gives me permission to funnel a certain amount of $$ into my California Trip Savings Account. There’s really nothing else in life that I want more than to go to back to California to see my brother again, so this has huge power as a motivator. Ultimate Objective: Develop derby skating skills enough that I can try out for the local roller derby team. What does this require? An improvement in all areas of fitness but especially core strength, leg strength, flexibility (particularly knees, ankles, and hips), endurance, loss of some body fat, on-skates drill improvement. What are the barriers? Current overweight, physical inflexibility, low stamina, habitual non-nutritious eating patterns, sugar addiction, low emotional resources, fear, anxiety, habitual internet use, staying up too late. Weekly morning workouts in the Southeast District: >>Two runs with yoga/cooldown: Weds/Fri (+2 STA, +1 DEX) >>Two bodyweight sessions: Thurs/Sat (+3 STR) <--every other week, the Thurs bodyweight session will be replaced by a Derby Lite: Off-Skates session. In order to get to the District to work out before work in the morning, I have to: >>Go to bed no later than 9:00pm / Wake up no later than 5:00am every day. (+3 WIS) --This will require use of ChromeNanny on my laptop to make social media and video streaming unavailable after 8:30pm. To fuel myself well and avoid hitting the wall during weekly derby skills training, I have to: >>Eat a seriously legit* serving of veggies at every meal, including brekkie. (+3 CON) >>Change my habit of buying something at the bakery every grocery trip, by buying something from the produce section OR Greek yogurt instead. When I am able to leave the grocery store without having bought ANY treats at all (produce/yogurt or otherwise) I get to put an extra $10 into my California Trip Savings Account. (+3 CON) *Seriously legit: a hefty pile of any of the following - beets, pea pods, brussels sprouts, bell pepper, carrots, broccoli, dark leafy greens, sweet potato (only on occasion), tomatoes, squash, etc. Not legit: a handful of frozen peas, a couple sprigs of broccoli on my pizza, corn in any form, etc. If it’s puny and I’m trying to persuade myself that it counts, it’s NOT LEGIT. Ongoing: Derby Lite practices - a 90-minute endurance, strength, and drills session every Tuesday night with my teammates. ------------------ Week 1 Check In Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

I honestly can't remember how many times I've been here, but I havn't been here in a while so hullo again! Big Boss: Ganon - The Legend of Zelda My main goal is to lose weight. Specifically, I want to lower my body fat % and have a more defined shape, show off my muscles instead of hiding them, you know? Gotta make some more muscles for that too I don't particularly care about what size pants I wear or how many inches my waist is, those are just methods to show that what I'm doing is doing something. I have a family-genetics related silhouette that I used to have that I'm trying to snatch back and it's getting closer every day. I'm going to recycle and repurpose some old goals because they're fun. The Science of Deduction - Sherlock I've been doing this one for a while now, at work I can now mostly determine what kind of person I'm serving and predict how their going to act throughout my serving them, which is cool as well as useful. I wish I could try to deduce their lives without pissing them off though, for some reason that seems impossible with the people I encounter whom may be having an affair... ;P So a continuation and a refinement of the skill set I already have, let's see if I can be able to deduce what kind of meal my customer wants before they've ordered by the end of these 6 weeks. Run. - Doctor Who The ground is a frozen racetrack of dangerous fantastic possibilities! Just gotta bundle up and go outside. 15 minutes per day outside time, 15 minutes running up and down the stairs inside. Inside running can be exchanged for outside play, but not the reverse. Total 3.5h/wk ~ 21h for the whole challenge. Water! - Ponyo Water is this super magical thing that I've been avoiding about half my life for some forgotten reason. I still occasionally struggle with accedentally dehydrating myself so the goal here is to get up to a maintain a healthy water intake measured by - ahem - dehydration measuring methods (urine colour). Basically the lighter the better. Stay in the hydrated zone for the whole of the 6 weeks!

Okay, I had to abandon the last challenge after a few weeks due to an injury, but this time I am back and I am going to finish. I am going to succeed, and I will keep a diet and exercise log here. Sugar is the enemy that I need to defeat, and she hides insides drinks and waits for me.... Sugar came back today despite my best efforts. I had 2 eggs with coconut milk, kale and beef mince for breakfast, but I went out for dinner and had a baked potato with beef chilli and then chocolate fudge cake AND a pitcher of cocktail for dinner Luckily, I followed dinner with a session at the gym and I lunged and did chest flys with heavier weights than I have ever used before (12kg total). I followed that up by burning 500 calories on the lateral something machine- I thought I was going to die and had to let go as my heart rate was so high that the machine was freaking out. Sugar is now on the run, but I will find her and I will catch her and when I do I will go all Liam Neeson on her ass. Tomorrow is a new day and although it will take every tool in my arsenal to succeed, I am sure that this is a battle that I can win. I'll post measurements and progress pictures in the morning. Goals! Challenge One- Liquid- Drink 4 litres of water a day. This seems like a lot but it stops me binging. Do or do not, there is no try, and this is an attainable goal, so I'm going to make it pass/fail, a pass being an A and a fail getting me no points. Challenge Two- Liquid- Seriously restrict my alcohol consumption and stick to Paleo drinks. This will mean one glass of red wine for pre-drinks and two shots of tequila in the club TWICE A WEEK AND NO MORE. I know this will be difficult, and so if I break it a few times I'll get a B, if I usually stick to these limits but go out more than twice a week I'll get a C, if I drink non-paleo drinks moderately I get a D and if I cut down my current consumption I get a D. Challenge Three- Air- I will get back into doing the splits. In order to do this I will do this video- three times a week. Challenge Four- Fire- I'm going to be strong and I'm going to conquer my fear of the weights room. I will lift heavier than I ever have before and I want to be lifting 25kg total by the end of this challenge. (I'm currently at 12kg). I will lift at least twice a week in order to achieve this goal, and once a week I will increase my weight load. ***BONUS CHALLENGE- Earth- I will do university work for four hours a day, because being fit will be a lot harder if I am un or underemployed after university. I am here to get a degree and so I can't forget the earthly challenges that I will face in my quest for greatness. I'm going to be twenty in a few months, so I need to grow up and start taking responsibility for my life. Wish me luck!

Hisme's Fight with the Chimera Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, but despite the challenges I have so far in my life been thankful for the monsters. Even though they are terrible they teach me important lessons. From the Siren of Shyness that I battled growing up to the Workaholic Witch that I struggled with one year in college, I was lashed, I rose up again, and I conquered. I was awesome. Then came the Chimera. The Chimera is a particularly terrifying monster because it's a mismatch of several other beasts. I've had smaller chimera enter my realm before, but once I glimpsed them in their entirety I always figured out a plan of attack that vanquished them. This one, however, is a very long sort of beast and I haven't been able to see in its entirety yet. So far the information I've gathered is the following: The Chimera is made up of a combination of Loneliness, Job Loss, Feelings of Letting Others Down, Unfitness, Loss of Control in My Life, and Self-Insecurity. The worst thing is some of these monsters I've beaten before, but they've now returned with a vengeance as part of this amalgam. To make things worse, for the first time in my life I was poisoned by this monster with the side-effect of Depression which, though minor, has negatively affected every aspect of my life. I've tried two Challenges here previously and the poison of depression that the Chimera forced into my veins caused me to do less than my best. But this time I have more determination than ever. This time I will win this 6-week battle and take a step toward winning this war against this Chimera. I know it may take me a few challenges to do, but I WILL do it. Main Goal for This Challenge: Win Back the Fields of Confidence (aka gain some of my lost self-respect and awesomeness so I'll have more "umph" in the next challenge) Quest One: Stronger Arms Punch That Chimera in Its Stupid Face (+3 STR) I started out with "do a full workout with pushups, squats, dumbbell rows, etc." my first challenge and quickly realized I could barely even do a pushup. It was discouraging. Challenge two I made a more realistic goal but the Chimera's Depression Poison hit and knocked me off my groove. This time I'm doing a tiny challenge, because if I can do this and then move up just a little but then eventually I'll develop both the physical and mental ability to continue becoming more awesome even if I am having a stinky day. By the end of the six weeks I will be able to do ten real (not knee) pushups in good form with extreme gusto and ease. I will train for this by doing as many pushups as I physically can in good form every other day, increasing by one every two "workout" days. Grading for quest one: A: Don't miss a day of pushups, able to do 10+ pushups as described above. B: Miss 2-3 days of pushups, able to do 8+ pushups as described above. C: Miss 4-5 days of pushups, able to do 6+ pushups as described above. D: Miss 6-7 days of pushups, able to do 4+ pushups as described above. Fail: Miss 8+ days of pushups. ******* Quest Two: Better Stamina Run Rings 'Round that Monster (+ 4 STA) I hate running because I'm so unfit it makes me feel pathetic, but I can walk. I aim to go on a walk (and/or dance) 3x a week. I've been doing this consistently for a couple of weeks now and I can already feel my stamina increasing (I no longer pant by the end of this one particular trail but am completely comfortable) so I want to keep that up. Grading for quest two: A: Miss zero days. B: Miss 2-3 days. C: Miss 4-5 days. D: Miss 6-7 days. Fail: Miss 8+ days. ******* Quest Three: Better Flexibility Able to Roll with the Punches without Hurting Myself (+1 STR, +1STA, +2 CON) I will stretch and/or do yoga for at least 15 minutes EVERY DAY. That's right. I can skip Sundays because I'm usually in a dress for church but besides that... EVERY DAY. This always makes me feel better for the rest of the day and makes me more willing to get up and make good choices while at my sedentary desk job. Grading for quest three: A: Miss fewer than 5 days. B: Miss 5-10 days. C: Miss 10-15 days. D: Miss 15-20 days. Fail: Miss more than 20 days. ******* Side Quest: Seek Another Kingdom (+2 WIS, +2 CHA) I lost my job just after college when the company suffered a huge financial loss and could no longer afford to keep me. It sucked, but at that time the Chimera hadn't entered the picture so I was fairly hopeful. Maybe this was my chance to start my own business, something I'd always wanted to do but had been to afraid to! I started freelancing graphic design and illustration from home and haven't been doing badly, but the poison has been hurting my business by making me too afraid and apathetic to care about getting new clients or marketing like I should. I also have realized that even though I'm an introvert I really like working with and around people and I'm lonely All of my friends live elsewhere. THEREFORE, I've decided to stop freelancing full-time and get a job at a design firm. In the next six weeks I plan to start the job application process. The goal here is to start the process of job searching, not to get a job, because that's not something I can totally control. Week One: rewrite and redesign resume. Week Two: design resume accompaniments (designers have extra stuff for resumes, BOO) and choose portfolio pieces, begin a list of potential jobs by adding 3 companies you intend to apply to Week Three: assemble portfolio, add 3 more companies to the list Week Four: finishing touches on portfolio and resume, apply to the 6 companies on my list Week Five: Apply to 3 more companies Week Six: Apply to 3 more companies Exceptions: If I get a job interview with any of the companies before the challenge is over, I can replace applying to another company with interviewing. Grading for side quest: A: Keep up with weekly tasks. B: Miss the equivalent of one week of work, essentially deleting Week Six. C: Miss the equivalent of two weeks of work, essentially deleting Weeks Five and Six. D: Get resume and portfolio totally done but don't apply to any jobs. Fail: Fail to get resume and portfolio done. ******************************* Skirmishes (these are other mini-goals and desires for my life that I have but that don't count towards my points): 1) Continue eating well and going gluten-free, try to eat less sugar. 2) Read my Bible several times a week, eventually every day. 3) Play with my little brother more often... he's always asking me to and I'm always too busy He won't be this little forever! 4) Call my out-of-town friends more often and stay connected with them. 5) Wake up early every day and don't lay around on the couch for hours - get started with good things immediately. 6) Get on and participate in the NF Forums more often so I can be held accountable and so I can see that other people are going through this journey too. I'm not alone.

So, I'm a pretty strong guy. My body has no problem mustering power for a big pull or push for a max effort, but get me in a workout and I crumble. I actually think my conditioning is getting worse, too. Today for example, I did a strength workout of 7x7 deadlifts at 375#, which is 75% of my 1RM. That smoked me. So, I had no gas left for the WOD: 25 rounds of 1 power clean, 3 front squats, 1 push jerk at 135#. The workout was capped at 20 minutes. I eeked out 15 rounds. Most of my gym's workouts are capped and I hit the cap most of the time. I'm a big guy so I modify most of the body weight movements, but should I do the same for the weight? I can do most workouts with the recommended weight. Would it be better to go lighter and build speed, or should I keep the heavier weight and keep plugging at the slower pace?

Air bending= Cardio/endurance Water bending= flexibility/agility Earth bending= weightlifting/strength Fire bending= nutrition/fat burning The Avatar's Progress (Spreadsheet) Book 0: Air Goal: Swim 1k < 25:00 (2:30/100m pace) [+3 STA] "But Drew," you may ask, "Shouldn't swimming be a waterbending goal?" Nope! Swimming is a tough cardio endurance activity. And if you're in the pool and don't have air, you tend to drown. Doctors have informed me that's bad. Starting ability: My last 1k swim time was 26:52. That was a month ago. How will I achieve greatness? Get to the pool; it's freaking summer! Swim Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays. This was originally a run goal, but my knees need a break; my run goal will reappear in the sequel. Grading: A: <25:00 B: 25:15-25:30 C: 25:30-26:00 D: 26:00-26:30 F: >26:30 Book 1: Water Goal: Stretch (static stretches, yoga, etc.) at least 4 hours a week [+3 DEX] Starting ability: I do yoga maybe 20 minutes to half an hour in the evenings maybe 2 or 3 times a week. I haven’t really been very committed yet. How will I achieve greatness? Attend a yoga class on weeks 1, 3, and 5 to get guidance from someone that knows better than I do; other than that, ½ hour at wake up, ½ hour in the evening 4 days a week. Grading: Each hour of stretching is 4 points. Max points in a week is 20. Points accumulate over the 6 weeks. A: >90pts B: 80-89 pts C: 70-79 pts D: 60-69 pts F: <60 pts Book 2: Earth Goal: Do a muscle up [+3 STR, +1 CON] Starting ability: I'm at 9 on both my deadhang pullups and dips. This was originally a clean & jerk goal, but my knees need a break. The clean & jerk goal will reappear in the sequel. How will I achieve greatness? Pullups and dips in the morning Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. Grading: A: Muscle up achieved! B: PUs & Dips > 15 C: 14-13 PUs & Dips D: 12-11 PUs & Dips F: PUs & Dips < 11 Book 3: Fire Goal: Reduce body fat to <10% [+2 CON, +1 CHA] Starting ability: Various calculators online gave me a median BF% of 13.3% based on measurements. How will I achieve greatness? Diet & exercise, friends. Drink only water & lots of it, stick to low glycemic carbs, and I need to up the protein so I burn fat and not muscle. Grading: A: BF<10% B: 10%<BF<11% C: 11%<BF<12% D: 12<BF<13% F: BF>13% Avatar state (Life Goal) Goal: Study for the GMAT at least 4 hours per week [+2 WIS] Starting ability: Math's great, reading comprehension's good. Vocab & writing are the neediest areas. How will I achieve greatness? Study an hour per night two nights during the week, and an hour a day on the weekends. Grading: 4 points per hour of study. Max points per week is 20. A: >90pts B: 80-89 pts C: 70-79 pts D: 60-69 pts F: <60 pts Currently training for: Brigade Combatives Tournament (late August)Warrior Dash (early November)I look forward to doing this 6-week challenge. I'll be in Disney World during week 6. That should make things fun & interesting. Don't expect too many barbells there. -Drew

The young girl staggered as a guard piled two bulky bags in her arms and strapped a third to her back. "You'll be fine," he said. "It is an honor to tend to the princess." The girl shook her red hair out of her eyes and smiled. "It is indeed, Marcus, and an even greater one to dance for her at her wedding celebration in just two moons." "It might be difficult, young dancer," he said, strapping on his swordbelt and sheath. "You have been trapped in a dungeon for six months with your father." "I will be ready for the challenge, and I will regain my honor and my father's freedom." Her skinny knees shook under the weight of the princess's luggage. "Although, that first mountain may be a mite troublesome." Marcus laughed. "I would help you, young friend, but I have to protect the princess and her royal buffoon--I mean, the scribe." He froze at the sound of a dry cough behind him. "Guard," the royal scribe said imperiously. "I believe we are ready to move. Have you counted the luggage again? I don't want the princess's dowry to come up short when we arrive at the castle." "Of course, sir. Everything is accounted for." "And the weapons?" The scribe squinted suspiciously at the young girl, who shrank beneath his gaze. "All accounted for, sir," Marcus said carefully. "Then get in position. We have to stick to a schedule." He shuffled away like a wrinkled stick drowning in his robes, with Marcus escorting him. Welcome to my challenge, all! These next few weeks I will be aiming to improve my cardio (a goal that majorly failed last time because I dislike gyms) and relieve the pain in my upper back through yoga classes. My last challenge failed pretty miserably because I didn't make a schedule. This time around, all goals will be based on my success in scheduling my workouts. Goal 1: Prepare to dance at the wedding party. I haven't danced in a long time, so I need to dance three or four times a week to be ready for the big party. If not, her father the king might imprison me again. In the second week of my journey, we will pass over the great mountain. I will not be able to dance, so I'll have to dance before and after our week in the mountain. For dancing on Monday and Thursday nights at 7, and Saturday mornings at 9, I will receive +3 STA, +1 STR, and +1 CON. A: 18 dances (3/week, on schedule) B: 15-17 dances on schedule C: 12-14 D: 9-11 F: 0-8 Goal 2: Stretch out my aching back. Carrying all this baggage really hurts! My upper back is stiff and sore. I will attend yoga sessions on Tuesday and Friday afternoons every week. Again, the second week I will not be able to. I can get extra points or make up sessions for attending Wednesday afternoon/evening Pilates or Yoga. For this, I will receive +4 DEX. A: 12 yoga and pilates sessions per week, on schedule B: 10-11 yogas C: 8-9 D: 6-7 F: 0-5 Goal 3: Don't Open the Box I'm carrying five bags filled with the treasures of the princess. I cannot open these bags--if I do, or if anything goes missing, the scribe will blame me. So I need to resist the treats: no snacks, no sweets, no nothing for six weeks. For this I will earn +1 STA and +1 CHA, because I can dance more (and better) without junk in my system or heavy jewels around my neck. A: The box stays closed. B: 1-2 treats C: 3-5 treats D: 5-6 treats F: 7 or more treats Goal 4: Outsmart the Scribe That nasty scribe doesn't trust me a bit with the princess's dowry. So, to make sure he doesn't try to put me back in jail, I have to learn as much as I can. I'll spend my time doing research on medieval weaponry. Again, I have to stick to a schedule, just like the scribe said. Week 1: make an annotated bibliography of sources. Find information I can use: books, internet sources, and more. We'll be looking at a broad spectrum of stuff here: types of weapons, how they are used, who used them, how they evolved over time, how they are are made, battle strategies, etc. I've found some cool resources thanks to some fellow NFers. Week 2: mountain. Not much is going to happen here. Week 3: Find an area of focus. This can be whatever I find the most info on or whatever I am most interested in pursuing. Start doing more work. Learn my weapons inside and out. Week 4: Zoom in on the area of focus. Hope to connect this to a greater aspect of research: historical significance of the invention of the stirrup, for example, would be a great thing to look into. Have this all figure out by now. Week 5: if I have enough substance to write a research paper, I will start writing this week. Week 6: finish writing. Goal: 8 pages. For sticking to the schedule planned, I will gain +4 WIS. I hope you will join me on my journey across the mountains. Godspeed to you all!

Hi all I'm new here. Been exercising now for about 3 months and I can already see and feel the difference!... for the first month I did long distance running AND free weights/body weights after... but the strength/muscle building was verrrry slow. I did not want to take away running from my regimen as i LOVE running... so I tried interval running instead of long distance and LO AND BEHOLD! my strength training improved. so what I'm doing now is this: Interval running for 15mins (increasing time or high intensity intervals as i improve) Body-weight training (planks, crunches, push-ups, pull ups etc... 10reps 3sets) barbell training (standing overhead press, barbell rows, squats etc... 10reps 3sets) I usually increase weight when the last 2 reps of the last set are no longer a "struggle" I like to mix and differentiate on my exercises. Still consider myself a beginner and trying to keep things interesting. I've lost about 3Kg already but more importantly I'm wearing smaller size trousers and my body is starting to look better! Please share your thoughts! Any advice you'd like to add? Should I change anything? Thanks! Bobzot

This Challenge's Theme Song: by the KillersBasically, these next 6 weeks will be a test of endurance. I have come so far in the past 2 challenges and I am pumped up for this one. I will be working on agility training after this, but I wanted to build my endurance first. So without further ado, these are the challenges that will help me beat Coryn Treeclimber. Part 1: Finish Training for Half Marathon (+3 STA, +1 CHA) I have to outrun Coryn so I will continue my training for half-marathon. The official race day is one week after the ending of the challenge so my completion of my training should coincide with the challenge dates. Part 2: Whole30...er 42 (+2 WIS, +1 CON) I did Whole30 last challenge and it was amazing. I learned so much and I lost a bunch of weight. This time around, I'm going to focus less on what I eat (since I've pretty much broken my bad habit of eating junk) and more on how I eat since I had trouble with snacking and mindless eating. This will help me to lose weight and I can use my smaller stature to move quicker than Coryn. I will have one exception to this and that's my birthday (March 31st). I firmly believe that my birthday is a good reason to cheat a little. Part 3: Push Ups (+3 STR) I did these for my first challenge, but I changed my pushups halfway through to knee pushups. Now I think I'm ready for the full push up challenge. I will do the 100 push up challenge. The pushups will help me get stronger and will help me to dodge those punches and grabs from Mr. Treeclimber. ​Part 4: No Complaining (+1 WIS, +4 CHA) This will be the toughest one of all. It's going to be pretty hard because I complain a lot. I will be using the technique by Will Bowen in A Complaint Free World. I know I can't go 6 weeks with absolutely no complaining, but I will do my best in this technique. The technique uses a bracelet to help remind me of my complaining, and wouldn't you know - the bracelet is enchanted. It boosts my speed and agility to help me outrun my enemies. But every time I complain, the bracelet falls off and slows me down. In order to get away from Coryn, I've got to have this bracelet on as much as possible. Full completion of these goals will give me a total of (+3 STR, +3 STA, +1 CON, +3 WIS, +5 CHA) Current Side Challenges: Old People Parkour Posse The Honorable Order of Rebellious Appraising Yeomen Assassins Mini-Challenge In addition to this, I will be going to gym classes. I'll be focusing on muscle endurance classes and yoga. Let the games begin!

After completing my first challenge, and finally successfully running a distance of 5k, I'm ready to step up my running training to the next level. Here are my goals for my second challenge. Goal #1: Run a Half-Marathon Starting Point: Ran 5-miles on 2/22 (~47:30 at an easy pace) How to get to 13.1 Do all of the following once a week: 1. Intervals - I love them! 2. Middle-distance runs 3 - 6 miles at a quick pace (this will be my weak point) 3. Long runs - 6 - 12 miles at an easy pace My stretch goal will be 1:37:36 (I want to beat GreenMatt's time on the Scout's Leaderboard) A sub-goal is to run a 5k in less than 20 minutes. GreenMatt is on the board at 19:44, so I'll try and beat that. Attribute Points: 5 STA Goal #2: Cross-Train Twice a Week Starting point: Occasionally use a stationary bike What kind of cross-training I'll be doing I'll be sticking to the stationary bike, and plan to do intervals of 30 seconds of sprinting and 4 minutes of easy pedaling 4x-7x This is also used to build stamina for the half-marathon goal Attribute Points: 3 STA Goal #3: Power-Lift Twice a Week Starting point: No experience with barbells Starting Strength Just started reading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, and it comes highly recommended by my brother as a great program for building functional strength. I'll do two workouts per week, likely on the same day as my cross-training. Attribute Points: 3 STR Goal #4: Write 15 Finance Articles a Week Starting point: I've written about 75 articles for the Motley Fool since the beginning of November. My work ethic has fallen off a cliff in the last couple months. When I first started, I was writing 3 articles per day. They recently gave me a raise, so now I have no excuse not to write as much as possible. I can earn a really great living writing 15 articles a week, setting my own schedule, and working from home, a coffee shop, a friends house, a foreign country, or anywhere! It's a really great opportunity, and I've been wasting it. Not any longer! I plan to write 15 articles per week, and will appreciate an accountability partner on this to make sure I get my work done. (Preferably someone with an interest in finance, who would actually want to read my articles.) So I turn to you, NF community, to make me do my work. Attribute Points: Not sure yet, please help me decide! I'll be posting a list of toys I plan to buy myself for keeping up with my goals soon.

Name: Roch Race: Behemoth Class: Adventurer Profession: Artisan Beginning Attributes: STR: 2 DEX: 1 STA: 1 CON: 1 WIS: 5 CHA: 5 Additional Physical Traits: Age: 28 Height: 6'2 Weight: 345 Goals: 1. Do at least one circuit of the Beginner Body Weight Workout every day Grading: A: Miss no days. B: Miss 1-5 days. C: Miss 5-10 days. D: Miss 10-15 days. F: Miss 15 or more days. 2. Build up to doing 3 circuits of the Beginner Body Weight Workout without resting Grading: A: By last day of challenge I complete 3 circuits without resting and with proper form. B: By last day of challenge I complete 3 circuits without resting and with decent form. C: By last day of challenge I complete 3 circuits and rest no more than 15 seconds between circuits while retaining decent form. D: By last day of challenge I complete 3 circuits and rest no more than 30 seconds between circuits while retaining decent form. F: By last day of challege I complete less than 3 circuits or rest more than 45 seconds between circuits, or complete with poor form. 3. Eat grains no more than 3 meals per week. Grading: A: Eat meals with grains 15 times or less. B: Eat meals with grains 16-18 times. C: Eat meals with grains 19-21 times. D:Eat meals with grains 22-24 times. F: Eat meals with grains 25 or more times. 4. Learn to play 5 songs on the concertina flawlessly. Grading: A: By last day of challenge I am able to play 5 or more songs with no mistakes or restarts. B: By last day of challenge I am able to play 5 songs with no mistakes and no more than 1 restart. C: By last day of challenge I am able to play 5 songs with minimal mistakes and restarts D: By last day of challenge I am able to play 5 songs with minimal mistakes and unlimited restarts. F: By last day of challenge I am unable to play 5 songs. Methods for Achieving Goals: 1. Pretty straight forward, "just do it" but more concretely: I plan to start with doing 1 circut each day (I have now for a week already so that is clearly achievable) right after breakfast with my kids. Thus far the only problems with that have been that my 18month old likes to climb on my back when I do my 15second plank, but watching her try to do jumping jacks later on more than makes up for it. 2. Each week I plan to add a circut (stopping at 3) if I can do all 3 circuts without resting I then plan to take things a little slower, and focus on form instead of just motoring through the exercises. 3. This isn't that big of a problem for me as my family and I have been doing a combination of paleo and Westin A. Price diet for over a year now. However, I still love brown rice, and quinoa with many of my meals, so limiting that will be somewhat of a challenge. 4. Practice every day after dinner as some family time, my wife loves to play the piano so its an excuse for her to show off while I bumble away on the concertina, but the girls are great because they are excited about music, whether or not it sounds like it should. I've been doing this for about a week now too, and I can already play Oh Shenendoh and Battle Hymn of the Republic with just a few mistakes here and there. What I really want is to be able to play some rockin 2 handed stuff. But I figure I'll save a goal like that for a future challenge, I'd rather set myself up for success (even if its a small success) than a fail at something grand.

Just signed up! My challenges are: - 3 runs (distance, intervals and tempo) each week, sticking to Furman paces (so no slacking!) plus at least 2 visits to the gym for cross-training - to shift the half stone I put on recently (intermittent fasting seems to do the job, as long as I train first thing on the low-cal days rather than leaving it til later in the day) - to build my mileage up to an 18 mile run by the end of the six weeks (I'm up to 13.5) as I've signed up for a 20 mile race and want to run a marathon or 2 this year. I've found in the past that my best running is on less mileage and more variety, hence gymming. I'm lucky to live just outside the Stoke area, so have good gym facilities and a local Parkrun every Saturday morning, plus lots of running routes through North Staffordshire countryside. I used to be a Personal Trainer/fitness instructor, so I know what I need to do. So, no excuses!