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Far too long have my physical goals been so subdued that their back burner status has brought my boiling blood to merely a simmer! There have been excuses regarding creative endeavors, holiday festivities, significant loss of loved ones, and taking time to feel human in between the chaos. Well, now it's time for me to step into the chaos and attempt what I have never attempted before. What if I did all* the things? *We know I have too my hobbies to attempt doing "all the things" with any hope of success, so let's clarify: What if I did all the exercises? That's right, folks! Step on up to witness the audacious performance of a person whose athletic track record is not quite abysmal. She will attempt keeping track of not one, not two, not even three, but four (yes, you heard me - four) different exercises (well, technically three, since stretching isn't...). Yes, indeed, FOUR ATHLETIC GOALS! *dramatic pause for a smattering of concerned applause* I consulted with my husband, and he has not convinced me otherwise, so I shall now elaborate upon my goals: 1. Every day upon turning on my phone I will first click the Hinge app I installed to do a 15 minute stretching session paid for by my medical insurance (I installed it on Saturday on a whim thanks to the mailing they sent me). 2. Every other weekday (preferably before I turn on my phone so I can't get distracted after completing Hinge), I will do NF Beginner Bodyweight exercises. (I did it yesterday, and boy do my shoulders hate me already) 3. Every weekday evening (except Wednesdays due to game/paint night), weather permitting, I will go on a bike ride. I am happy to say Cid intends to join me on these. 4. The stretches. All the stretches. The ACNH warm-ups before NFBB exercises, the full stretches after either of my strenuous exercises, the leg stretches Ever taught because the biking is gonna kill me otherwise. Just stretching always so that my muscles know I am the one in charge here. I have no idea how well this is going to go. 😂 But the fact that I started Monday without writing up this challenge to tell you has me on the edge of my seat, excited to try, while also terrified of my precocious audacity.

I have been absent due to some real life issues and such but I am back Since I have been away I have gotten braces on my teeth. 2nd time I have had them. Overall Goal: Lose 40 lbs by June 9th Challenge Goal: Lose 5 lbs 1. Walk 30 minutes daily 2. Drink 20 oz or more of water each day 3. Body Stretches; each morning and night

Hi! I'm normally over at the Assassins, but due to being off for a while I need to get my general fitness back up to snuffs - and since that's kinda your guy's specialty I'm hopping guilds, from being over at the Rebels to kinda try to figure my stuff back out. Last challenge went fairly well for the most part, but I still have a ways to go on most of the same general lines - either a leveled up version, or the same with better consistency. Namely the running... (Any and all advice from anyone with experience getting stiff joints to cooperate and work again without whining - HALP!) Main Quest : reclaiming the health bar (again) : losing 80lbs to get back to a healthy weight - I'm currently 5'5, and 220 lbs; getting my mental health back under control between ADHD, anxiety and general stress; and trying to get my strength and flexibility back so my body doesn't constantly feel like it's falling apart. Sidequest 1 : Running from the Zoms - Running 3 days/ week, with the help of Zombies, Run! This one's basically just cut and paste from my last challenge over with the Rebels, since long story short I only got half of the runs done last challenge. I also want to track my endurance through this challenge, so I'll be taking a measurement of my single-wind endurance hopefully tomorrow to get a baseline and do the same thing at the end of the challenge, hopefully I'll be able to run a fair bit longer in one spurt by the end of the challenge. Sidequest 2 : Fueling the Fear - Still working on tracking my food and cooking rather than rushing out 'cause I forgot to have something readily available. This is getting a level up from last time: I'm aiming to get 6 days tracked on LifeSum per week and keep at least 5 of those close/just under my recommended cals on the app, and having a set time to make meals ahead for the week - probably monday after work. Sidequest 3 : Mobilization - It seems like every time my chiropractor puts one thing back in, something else decides to start hurting. He's been giving me some stretches to help with those that were in my last challenge and I did so-so on, but I'm going to add something that does a stretch and strength component to try to get my body to start working together again. Hopefully. I'm not sure if I'll do better with a pilates or yoga regimen, so I'm going to leave those open (or if anyone with more experience has another suggestion...) and say i don't care which one happens, so long as one of them happens 3 times per week. Preferably on the days I don't run. (stretches as normal will still be taking place around runs as well, these are just another level to that) Lifequest : I got a lot farther with organization last challenge, so that's taking a step farther - I need to make sure more of the things on my to-do list in my bujo get done, so keeping up in there daily is going to be part of this, as well as scheduling in there times to get pieces of my apartment organized - and getting them done. Hopefully that's not too big of a bite to take; I'm not planning to get the whole apartment spic and span, just getting parts done one at a time (not counting things that need re-done with some semblance of regularity like vacuuming or mopping)

Full Blog Post here: https://airawear.com/index.php/blog/shoulder-stretches/ Hey guys, I just published this article about shoulder stretches you can do anytime (very work-friendly!) but I wanted to share a short-and-sweet version here for you. You must be either a young kid or a truly healthy person to have never gotten stiff shoulders in your entire life. Unfortunately for most of us, we don’t fit the above bill. That includes me, and probably you too. Maybe right now your shoulders are stiff. Tense. Sore. Rounded and hunched even. Or maybe yours are like mine, creaking and clicking every morning. Just like rusted joints that haven’t been greased in a while. And if you didn’t get those stiff and sore shoulders from injuries or working out… You probably have been hunching horribly while working overtime for 2 weeks straight. Meanwhile, lazy cats like me get them from lying on the bed sideways, binge watching The Walking Dead on a laptop. What happens here is that we adopt awkward (sitting) postures… Developing unnatural tension in the upper back. What truly matters here is getting rid of those aches and pains. There’s a gajillion moments where you don’t really have a convenient solution. You know, when your partner isn’t around to rub your shoulders. When you’ve hit the weights 3 days ago but the ache still lingers. Especially when you just need that dull, jaw-clenching sensation gone… Before your irritability hits the roof and you murder 7 soon-to-be ex-coworkers. Let’s work on getting rid of the stiffness and aches in the shoulders. 1. Back Scratcher | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Raise one arm above you, placing the hand behind your neck area. Use your other arm to grab your elbow, and gently pull it inward for 15 seconds. Repeat for other arm. 2. Reverse Prayer Pose | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Try to bring your hands behind your middle back. Slowly clasp your palms together, bringing in from your last finger to your thumbs. As your palms come together, push your chest out a little and squeeze your shoulder blades. 3. Standing Wall Stretch | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Find a wall and stand at an arm’s length away from it Press your palms against the wall at shoulder height Without moving your palms, lean your upper body forward as if you were making it parallel to the ground 4. Corridor Stretch | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Find a wall, corridor, or pole and be at one arm’s length away. If none are available, proceed to find another person for support (don’t forget to seek permission first). Grip one arm on the surface Turn away from the surface and hold the position 5. Cow Face Pose | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: If you aren’t flexible enough to reach for your hand, grab something elongated (e.g. ruler, towel, stick) Place both arms behind your back – one from below and one from above shoulder level As far as you can, reach for both hands to touch each other If you’re using a stick, use your free arm to grab the other end of the stick Repeat for the other side by switching your arms 6. Sitting Cat and Cow | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Adopt a upright sitting position Curve your back inwards as far as possible, with your head looking towards your belly button Your shoulders will be pulled forward at this position Arch your back outwards, with your head looking skyward or even behind Your shoulders will be pulled backward at this position 7. Dipping Stretch | GIF Step-by-Step Instructions: Grab the back of your chair support (or the edge of the arm support as seen in the gif) Bring you butt to the edge of the seat, or as far from the back as possible Let me know if this is useful to you guys! Would love to hear whether it helped you If you want more stretches, you can see them in my blog post here: https://airawear.com/index.php/blog/shoulder-stretches/ Cheers!

I have tried for a long time to get healthy and fit, but I fail each time :/ I usually try to workout with squats, push ups...etc but my body can hardly do that so I will start off with stretches for my body and neck to make me feel stronger and more able to do more advanced things. I am ready to do this! Monday here I come! 1. Walk 30 minutes each day 2. Neck and body stretches every morning and night.Various stretches in addition to; wall sits, planks,calf raises, and glute bridges. <-- I assume those can be done everyday. 3. Drink water with every meal

After a long bout of depression really weighed be down for several years I am ready to commit 100% to getting in the best shape I can be, especially since I am inching toward 30 years old! I would not say the depression is cured but I know getting in shape will finish off the amount that is left.I will go ahead and start this challenge on the 22nd! 1. Walking 30 minutes a day 2. Body stretches every morning and night I have a list of stretches for arms, legs,neck, and body 3. Workout, each morning. I will have 2 separate sets of workouts Life Goal: Cpap use each night, I have really slacked on this so I will do better!

Okay so my last challenge got derailed with my kids getting sick. I hung in there however and scraped by with a few points. This challenge will be a continuation from the previous one with some slight variations. Goal One: Gardening - Stamina I still need to maintain and grow my garden. Late spring means lots of mowing, I also want to ramp up my vegie garden so it can produce more food for my family. I hope to get at least an hour per day in the garden. Excluding watering. I have roses flowering in the rose garden that we can't see because of the weeds. I need to clean that up. The lawn is getting out of hand and in some places is well over a foot in height. Scoring: HIT: 5-7+ hours/week +3pts BLOCK: 2-5 hours/week +2pts DODGE: 1-2 hours/week +1pt MISS: 0-1 hours/week 0pts Goal Two: Morning stretches - Dexterity One of the parts that I struggled with in setting up my routines in the last challenge was doing my stretches in the morning. this will be the key focus of this challenge. I want to focus on stretches as i am suffering from stiff and sore muscles and joints. If I don't get on top of my stretching I will be in real trouble. Scoring: HIT: 5-7 sessions/week +3pts BLOCK: 3-5 sessions/week +2pts DODGE: 1-2 sessions/week +1pt MISS: 0-1 sessions/week 0pts Goal Three: Strength training - Strength With the realisation that I hate walking up and back I have decided to refocus on my strength training which has lagged somewhat. I want to rebuild my strength up to what it was a year ago. Then exceed it. I will allow a bit of flexibility here, with three workouts that will challenge and build my strength. First the trusty NF Basic BodyWeight Workout [bBWW], this has been a mainstay of my time at NF and has always helped me and it works. Second a combo sledgehammer kettlebell workout, because they are cool and I love swinging both around. Third a Hiit Burpee routine, because burpees. The important thing here is to get three strength training sessions in per week, any combination of the three options I have listed. Scoring: HIT: 3 sessions/week +3pts BLOCK: 2 sessions/week +2pts DODGE: 1 sessions/week +1pt MISS: 0 sessions/week 0pts Goal Four: Getting on top of stuff - Stamina, Charisma, Wisdom Our home has sort of fallen apart because of illnesses and stuff happening. Time to start getting things back in order. For me that means my shed. In Australia a man in not a man without his shed. How he sets it up and what he does in it is not so important, it is his domain, retreat, den, cave, and right now mine looks like a rubbish dump. Considering I have a small altar out there makes things even worse. How can i Honour my Gods, Ancestors and the Land Spirits in a dump? Fecking disgusting and an embarrassment. Also general housework, Bec does by far the lion's share in keeping the house clean, I want to step up my game here and do some more around the house. Like gardening this will be a time spent doing stuff goal. Exclusions are cooking and laundry as I already do the majority of the work here. Scoring: HIT: 5-7+ hours/week +3pts BLOCK: 2-5 hours/week +2pts DODGE: 1-2 hours/week +1pt MISS: 0-1 hours/week 0pts I will award the points for each goal with my weekly wrap up, then divide the total by 6 to reach my score for the entire challenge. I have three leftover points which I will give myself for various bits and pieces during the challenge. At the end of this challenge I will have been with NF for two years. I actually joined up midway through the november challenge in 2013. I think I will need to do a review for my time with NF, the highs and lows and the wobbly bits inbetween. Something to ponder over.

Here at La Maison de Anything, November has passed, and not without its usual catastrophes. An impatient woman ran a red light, striking Ifrit in his Smart car. He was lucky enough to escape with severe bruising to his shoulder, elbow, wrist, and ribs. The muscles in his back may have torn. (The clinic hasn't said so yet.) Ifrit also just started a new (full time, off schedule) job, so he needed a car, immediately. We spent a day shopping around, and found Red Sonja. She has heat seaters, good giddyup, and not bad mileage. In the upcoming weeks, Ifrit will go to small claims in order to have his car and injuries covered. We obviously expect to walk away with millions. Now, in an attempt to turn the corner on this month, I'm working on going back to keto almost full-time. I like the food. I like that it forces me to cook for myself, which is often more time devoted to any sort of self-care than I might do, normally. One minor complication has been Ifrit's schedule. He currently works 45 minutes away, so even if his store closes at 9, I don't see him until nearly 10. This has not been good for my sleep schedule. If his shop changes, the sleep goal will also change. Winter also means that my poor scooter has been put up for storage in the back corner of the garage. This means I'm often walking home from work, but I also lose the 'meditation' time that those daily rides gave me. So, on days where I'm not coming home from the bus stop, I'll commit treadmill/podcast time once I'm home. Eat! Stay on Keto below 50g of carbs each work day. Aim for <100g carbs on days off. Cook at least once a day, even if it's just eggs for myself. NO MORE: chips, cookies, cereal, juice, canned tea/coffee. Sleep! I will have a 'tea and quiet time' alarm for 2230. Ifrit is often home a half-hourish before this. If we are sitting and talking, that's fine. NO MORE SCREENS. No, Ever, not even TsumTsum. Hopefully bedtime will be 2330. Walk! Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are my bus days. I walk approx 15 mins to the station, and another 10 home. This is enough time for a NightVale episode. Tuesday and Wednesday, whether I took the car or Ifrit picked me up, I will go walk on the treadmill for roughly the same amount of time. If this means I watch 2BrokeGirls as motivation, that's okay. As this isn't a full challenge (but I will complete this for the month) I don't think I'll assign any points. This is mostly about getting back to a healthy routine.

I have never been able to sit on my heels. Ever. I've been a ballet dancer, a practitioner of kendo and yoga, and I've never been able to sit on my heels. Even at my most flexible. Now I am young and female, so the answer does not lie that way. Better yet, I've found what appears to be a solution, I just want to know if anyone has tried something similar and how often. Other options are also welcome! Shril p.s. I can touch my toes, Penny. Just not my sit bones to my heels.

Objective: Build up a better self-image to help boost confidence and motivation. Hopefully to gain better mental health and positive attitudes towards exercise, diet, & life. Quest 1: post daily affirmations, in any form (picking something I like about myself or posting a motivational picture or quote). It will be a big challenge for me, I am a very negative person. Quest 2: Daily morning yoga and/or Piriformis muscle stretches and/or meditation. Going back to a staggering-type challenge, waking up 5 minutes earlier. Then I will increase by 5 minutes each week. My herniated disc has healed but having troubles with piriformis muscle. Chiropractor gave stretches I need to do every day. Quest 3: Frequent journaling. I have gotten close to pinpointing the sources of my depression. Journaling has helped me notice triggers and realize which emotions are a result of other emotions. Quest 4: Daily belly to spine posture practice, as recommended by my chiropractor. Gotta strengthen my deep inner core. Life goals: Set up doctor, dental, and hair appointments for myself and my kiddo.

Hi guys This challenge for me (my second, just moved up from recruit!) is about losing as much fat as it is possible to lose in a sustainable manner. I weigh 172lb, and according to my estimations, I should weigh no more than 156. I have made a huge impact in my fitness level by taking up jogging, but I'd like to start branching out, as well as generally doing more. I also have huge issues with coordination, posture, flexibility etc, and if these got improved along the way, it would be a great thing. Last challenge I aimed fairly low, as I wanted to really make sure I would stick with it. This challenge I'm aiming higher! Anyway, my challenges are as follows: Main Quest: To weigh no more than 156lb Quest 1: Food I want to follow my complicated food and drink plan, which consists of this: Monday and Tuesday: <1900 calories. No alcohol. Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun: <1900 calories which may include up to two UK units of alcohol. Friday (date night): < 2400 calories which may include up to six units of alcohol. NB if I stick to diet and exercise plans and at week three have lost less than 3lb, I will drop to <1500 and <2000 respectively. Also, not doing paleo as am veggie. Measurement: A= ≥ Stick to this strictly throughout all 6 weeks, B= Up to 6 days where I didn't stick to this overall. C= Up to 12 days where I didn't stick to it overall. Reward: A = +2 CHA, +2 CON, +1 STA Quest 2: Exercise. Follow my complicated routine of: Every week 1x 1.5 mile run 1x 3 mile run 1x 5.6 mile run 1x 20 minutes boxing 1x Yoga 30 mins 1x core bag work out 1x sit ups and stretches (warm up, down, energising and posture stretches) 1x NFBWW 7 x toe touchers 7x (press ups to failure x3) Measurement: A= Do all of these things each week, B = Do at least seven of these things each week, C = do at least six of these things each week. Reward: A = +1 STR, +2 STA, +1 DEX, +1 CHA Quest 3: Balance Stand on one leg (my right) during the time it takes to boil the kettle EVERY TIME. Stand on one leg (my left) after flushing the toilet during the time it takes to stop Measurement: A = Perfect, B = Follow to at least week 4, C = Follow to at least week 3. Reward: A = +2 DEX Life Quest: Code for ten minutes at least five days a week and at least one hour on one day. Measurement: A = Perfect score, B = At least four days of ten minutes and at least 30 on one, C = at least three days at ten minutes and one at twenty. Reward: A = +3 WIS

I just started training for a 5k for this challenge. I'm using the Zombies! 5k app, so I don't have to plan any runs myself. What it doesn't give me much guidance on is stretching. Does anyone have a good, simple, short list of must-do stretches for after a run? Right now I'm just sort of vaguely stretching out my legs in half-remembered things from who-knows-where. I need things that are simple to understand and simple to execute, so that I don't get too overwhelmed.

Any recommendations for stretches for after a workout or a cool down routine or does everyone just stop lifting and head to the locker room? I found with running that I need to stretch or do something otherwise I end up hurting my back. Any good resources on how to do stretched properly?