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I took the last challenge off, and am sliding back into bad habits. This challenge I'm going to track adherence to the No S Diet, and get back into stretching. I will not track how often I ride my bicycle, since it's a given at this point because I'll need the encouragement and will enjoy the visibility of how active I'm being! Fair warning: I am queer, agender, poly, and kinky. I will warn you if any content or links I share is NSFW, and put questionable stuff behind a cut.

Last round I had a delicious "un-challenge" that clearly showed me how much I treasure exercise and using the muscles and joiynts of my body every day. Really, if I do too little for just a few days I don't feel good any more and that is relatively new for me, but of course totally good 3x pole training per week are going well, but not enough (?!?! when did that happen??) Spontaneous craziness had me sign up for an aerial hoop course over the next 5 weeks as well as (meaning hoop class on Wednesdays and pole class on Thursdays, plus 2x training at home on the pole) I am both super excited for it and a little terrified. But I'm sure it'll be great fun But as I do need some form of exercise every day and maybe not always full, full power I decided to tempt myself with little goodies spread out. Thanks to the game of pawns mini from last challenge I learned that if I do little snippets of something spread over the day, I can do a lot more than I would have thought and that, too, does feel realllllly good. Sooo this time I will make this "un-structure" my structure for 5 weeks and see how I go with it. Hopefully I will grow with it, gain strength, balance and flexibility with it and let it all bloom into a luscious garden of human heaven on earth In order to plant this garden I will: A, loosen the soil (+ 3 STA) do anything that gets me to loosen up from sitting or standing too much such as jumping jacks, rope skipping, trampoline, non-habitual dancing, quadrupedal movements,... aiming for 90 minutes/week and ideally doing something every day B, plant the bulbs and seeds (+ 3 CON) do things that get my hands on the ground such as headstand, handstand, cartwheels (or attempts of them), down dog, crow pose,... aiming for 20 minutes/week and ideally at least 2 min a day C, let them grow (+ 3 STR) get them to go UP by doing things like pull ups, chin ups, leg raises, push ups, sit ups, bulgarian split squats,... will count in units, 1 unit being 8 pull ups, 10 chin ups, 15 leg raises, 30 push ups, 30 sit ups or 20 bulgarian squats each leg aiming for 10 units/week and of course ideally at least one day D, let it unfold and bloom (+ 3 DEX) this means stretching, either active or passive and relaxing into the stretch totally counts as well, point here is to give time - you can't rush the unfolding of a rose bud either - so at least 1 min per pose aiming for 30 units/week and ideally at least 2 or 3 every day E, give water and rest (+ 2 WIS, + 1 CHA) inspired by other's early up challenges and enough sleep during night hours I will go for 5 days/week of bed time before 10.30 pm and rising at 6.30 am or earlier also have been generously given some colloidal gold, which seems to be quite a powerful support for all kinds of good things in the body, so I'll see if I will turn into a golden dragon then and have a spoon full every morning before breakfast plus as plants like things really fresh, clean and pure I won't have any alcohol over this challenge either Plants respond very well to kind words and attention, so my bonus will be to feed myself with nourishing questions throughout my days: If I wouldn't HAVE to do anything today, what would I love to do? (and do at least one of those things, it IS possible any day!!) How can I be happy while this is in progress/while I do this? What do I want to celebrate first/soon/today? What amazing thing could happen today that I have yet no clue about? What am I excited about today? What would I love to have happening for me right now? Apart from this, I WILL keep up better with my updating *super determined* and have already printed a spreadsheet for tracking my gardening activities (thank you SymphonicDan and Elizevdmerve!) And I WILL lurk less in the shadows of your threads and speak up more, maybe dropping some magical flower dust while I am there What else... won't do any before and after pics this time, can do it next time again, it's not all that important. I can see that I am getting slimmer and stronger so that is what counts, I am happy. Oh, yes rewards! Depending how well I do on my gardening I can unlock different stats and eventually rewards as follows: A status reward 0 - 90 min done hard as rock 91 - 180 min for very tough plants only 181 - 260 min for tough plants only 261 - 330 min for pioneers of all kinds 331 - 399 min for bountiful mixtures massage from hubby (his suggestion, so yay to that ) 400 -450 min soil of Eden another massage from hubby B 0 - 24 min done scarecrow 25 - 40 min leprechaun 41 - 55 min bulb buddy 56 - 70 min dances with earthworms 71 - 85 min master planter new yoga mat 86 - 100 min rooted in heaven barefoot shoes C 0 - 10 units witch of the waste 11 - 20 units droplets of green 21 - 30 units sprouting strength 31 - 40 units fields of growth movie night out (for assassiny inspiration) 41 - 50 units fields of gold new pole shorts and top D 0 - 34 min broomstick 35 - 59 min bud baby 60 - 94 min blooming rose 95 - 120 min wind in the willows special body lotion (something yummy, not sure yet what) 121 - 150 min bendy as ivy extra spa day with hubby E 0 - 9 days sleepy and hollow 10 - 13 days breaking dawn 14 - 17 days morning glow 18 - 21 days morning star shine chocolate pralines (because chocolate!!!) 22 - 25 days shining bright restaurant night out with hubby For accountability and extra motivation I will put my stats into my signature, so you can all see right where I am at This program is quite ambitious for me at present, but that is deliberate as firstly I had a yummy unchallenge AND a lazy, laaaaaazy two week holiday just now. Secondly some of the rewards do cost quite a bit of money and I want to feel good having "earned" them. Last and foremost, I do want to get stronger, more nimble and keep a good balance overall and if I really do all these things, chances are gooood

So this challenge I'm focusing on two elements I relate strongly to: earth and water. It's kind of unintentionally gone Avatar-style as well because Korra and Toph are my inspirations for getting back to what I was once capable of. I miss my old beast!mode self, even though I appreciate the softer, kinder side of my personality that's gotten the entirely of my attention lately. Water - Observe and Heal I need to sit back, chill, and observe and reflect on myself if I'm going to learn anything. I'm keeping a daily journal that includes bullet-point notes on what I've eaten, how I feel physically and mentally, and if I've done anything noteworthy. I have memory issues sometimes so writing things down allows me to remember and analyze patterns. My legs and feet have been suffering lately so I'm going to work stretching and using a tennis ball on the bottom of my feet into my daily routine to get them back into shape. Earth - Go HARD I've created an excel document where I'm tracking my daily exercises. Every single day I must do at LEAST one push-up (any kind), one squat, and jumping jacks. High numbers would be great but this is an exercise in discipline and habit-building. I also want to walk between 5k-7k steps per day, as work has been making that more difficult again. Extras As my own personal mini-quest I'd like to finish four books between now and the end of the challenge. I can read a book a day so I have no excuses for this one. My friends and I are participating in our own personal "30 Characters in June" challenge, even though we started late. My goal is to have 30 new character designs created by July 1st! I'll try to update here more frequently than in other challenges and share successes that aren't part of the main quest as well.

This is an Open PVP. PVP Rules: To Join: Post a photo of you in your current best middle split with a ruler/meterstick measuring centimeters from pelvis to the floor.* 1) Participants must provide an updated measurement in centimeters every Sunday by 11PM, Honor system folks these images are too weird for weekly updates, we thinks. 2) Participants may work toward middle splits using any stretches 3) June 19th, Participants must post an "after" photo in their best middle split with a ruler/meterstick measuring centimeters from pelvis to the floor. Winner will be determined by amount of cm improved from starting point. 4) PLEASE, don't hurt yourself. Body says stop, you stop. Winner is the person who most improved from their own baseline, not necessarily who is the most flexible. *If working an over-split measure the height of the platform your feet can be on with your pelvis on the floor. Interesting things: - My Pinterest board on middle split stretches. There's also some cool inspirational pictures in there - This Article is particularly good. We may continue this competition until over-splits are possible, but at least until the end of the next challenge. Starting Photos & Baseline Measurements: 6/1 EveArgent - 19cm raptron - 9cm starsapart - 15.5cm sylph - 15cm Measurement Tracking: 6/7 EveArgent - 20.3 cm (+1.3cm) raptron - 10cm (+1cm) starsapart - 15cm (-0.5cm) Week Winner! sylph - MIA 6/14 EveArgent - 16cm (-3cm) Week Winner! raptron - 8cm (-1cm) starsapart - MIA sylph - MIA Mad Hatter - 11cm (New Challenger!) 6/21 EveArgent - 14.6cm (-1.4cm) raptron - 8 cm (holding) starsapart - 13cm (-2cm) sylph - Mad Hatter - 7/5 EveArgent - raptron - starsapart - sylph - Mad Hatter - 7/12 EveArgent - raptron - starsapart - sylph - Mad Hatter - Final Form & Measurements: 7/19 EveArgent - raptron - starsapart - sylph - Mad Hatter -

Hey guys !! FIrst thing first : Exams are a success ! I'll be a doctor !! (ok maybe in 10years+ but i'll be a doctor ^^) With that said let's dive into penguin mode : But, why penguin ? Well for those who followed me during my last challenge it's no secret that my wrists are not really usable right now (tendinosis LVL99 on both). So i'll try to keep moving without using them too much. Wich mean no (or barely) upper body work and lots of mobility. 1) Penguin slide his way to recovery : Each day i shall meditate twice : 2 sessions of 10min. One without any "gadget". The other with "headspace" that i'm currently testing. I shall also use contrasted bath on my wrists so that they can heal quickly. Add to that a minimum of 15min outside to get a minimum of vitD. Joker : I won't be everyday at home so when i'm not there i'll just have to do 1 meditation session and spend 15min outside. 2) The famous 6-pack penguin You tought that sliding everywhere and walking with a permanent posterior pevic tilt was easy ? Think again bro you need to train a lot for those !! So every Monday, Wednesday and Friday i'll do a core routine. I've got several goals : # 60s hollow body hold-> 60s superman hold-> 60r hollow body rock -> 60r superman rock *3 without rest # I've also been inspired by this man :http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/former-marine-george-hood-breaks-world-record-after-holding-plank-more-5-hours-335898 so i'll train up to a 20min plank. (sorry for not going for the record right now) NOTE : These won't make my abs more visible i know this, we're talking here about a challenge and a mental training, during such training the mind wants to stop every secs and you have to push it. 3) How about leg day ? On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, my legs shall be on fire. My main focus will be on the pistol squat wich is my goal by the end of the challenge, along with the shrimp squat. So here is the program for each session : - Scales - Pistol work - Shrimp squat progressions - Body rows (depends of the feeling, sometimes i feel that my quadriceps is the only part working so i add those) - HIIT (or not, depends of the feeling of the day, because conditionning is not my focus for now) 4) Story of a stiff ankle and tight hips Having goals is cool, reaching them is better. The fact is : you can have the strenght if you don't have the mobility you're just going to get stuck. So my mobility work will be focused on the lower body : Every day : limbering with Kit Laughlin stuff : https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mts On Monday, Thursday : Focused Flexibility from GMB On Tuesday, Friday : Contract relax from the same serie as above. 5) How about that 7 hours spent sitting ? After every half-hour spent sitting i shall do the following sequence : - 5 wall angels - 5 glute contraction - 5 squats - 5 shoulders rotations - 5 shoulders dislocations And because Steve give us some great insights that we should use : I'll squat, stand or do my wrists's contrasted baths each time i'll watch a video or a film.

After a restful period with the druids, Waanie longed back to her old home in the assassin's den. She missed the action, the weird movements and, mostly, the black clothes. The route she had taken from the den to her current home was just the easiest and most straightforward road. However, she had heard of many side roads. Some were said to be dangerous, some held beauty beyond belief and others even held treasures. Because the druids had taught here that she has plenty of time to get back, she decided to take some of these meandering paths. The first adventure she wanted to make was to climb the waterfall. Of course, she could walk around it, but the view was said to be amazing and there would be a treasure that only the strongest and most skilful climbers could reach. Quest 1: Successfully climb a top-rope route with difficulty 5b) I can now climb about half the 5a)'s, and most of the other half I can finish with one or two breaks in the middle. It's time to move on to more difficult routes, even though it's scary to start a new difficulty. In order to reach this goal, I will climb twice a week. If my partner is unavailable, I will do bodyweight training instead. Secondly, she wanted to see the dragon. Adventurers had spoken of a huge, dangerous and steaming beast that loved looking at tricks people could do with their body. She would even give them something from her hoard if she was sufficiently impressed! Since Waanie had learned some nice poses from her time with the druids, she thought this could be a great experience. However, she would have to learn some new poses to truly impress the dragon. Quest 2: Master the side-crow, the half-moon pose and the downward-facing dog Climbing basically covers my strength-work, but I want to learn more awesome things I can do with my body. I therefore chose an arm-balance, leg-balance and stretching pose that I do not manage to do yet, but should be able to master in a relatively short time. I will practice the balance poses twice a week, and the stretch five times a week. If I master one of the poses, I will replace it with a pose from the same category. Lastly, there were very wild stories about a big meadow with the tastiest fruits and vegetables anyone had ever tasted. However, only seasoned cooks were allowed to enter. If the warden would not like at least one of the dishes she brought, she would not be allowed to eat any of those great foods. Quest 3: Cook at least one meal with legumes and one dinner without meat every week Legumes are healthy and can be very tasty with the right spices. Meat is not very good for the environment, and there are plenty healthy alternatives. I'm not often cooking with legumes or without meat, so coming up with good recipes is the real challenge here. Hopefully, this will lead to some new quick and healthy recipes that I can cook regularly on weekdays. Will she be able to complete her journey?

If you pay any attention to my gif choices, you must have expected it. . . The Supernatural-themed challenge. I rewatch the episodes on Netflix all the time, and I always wonder how I would do as a hunter (in all probability, very poorly). But part of being a Rebel is learning to overcome fear and become antifragile, and there is nothing sturdier than the Winchesters. Of course, the best part of the show* is the music, so I chose four songs from the show (or tangentially mentioned - I guess Kripke couldn't get the rights to Led Zeppelin stuff) to represent my goals for this challenge. Ramble On – DEX 2, STA 3. One of dean’s favorite songs, and one of my goals. I love running, I love hiking and going for long walks. I just need to make sure these are a priority in my life. I’m not going to try for 10,0000 steps per day, but rather 50,000 per week. Running, walking, hiking, line dancing, whatever. Get moving. Ordinary biking will not count, but a dedicated bike trip that lasts long (say, at least an hour and a half?) will be included in “stepsâ€, converted with the LIVESTRONG method here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/187672-how-to-convert-exercise-bike-miles-to-steps/ . (This has been way too easy. So I am bumping the total up to 70,000/week, which is the recommended 10,000/day. I also need to run at least twice, because come on. Not sure about the numbers, but it will depend how far over my minimum I go, I guess.) Green Onions – CON 2. Moose gets big eating “shake it baby†salads and green smoothies! Loving my usual “eat greens every day†goal, but it’s too easy. So I will try to eat at least 3 servings of veggies per day, and track all foods using My Fitness Pal. Eye of the Tiger– STR 4. I would like to continue with both my BW practice and my dance practice, but scheduling time to do each 3+ times per week would leave me with no rest days. So this goal is an either/or instead of a both/and. I will “train†3 times per week – bodyweight and/or intense dancing. Intense dancing is defined as minimum 45 minutes, heart rate goes up, or difficult muscle work like floorwork, etc. Ideally, I want to do one pull up by the end of 2015, so bodyweight is going to help me with that a lot. (Edited end of week 2: to make sure I do more BW, I top out at 70% unless I do at least two BW.) (I swear this isn't the only reason I watch this show) Got My Wings – WIS 2, CHA 2. While the show itself is pretty agnostic in tone (which is quite a feat, considering the demons, angels, etc that people the whole thing), spiritual themes are central to the show, and none more so than redemption. If religious stuff bugs you, skip to the gif of Castiel speaking in iambic pentameter, just like an angel speaking English should. I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition. Mmmm, prosody. I am Jewish, and living in a place bereft of other Jews, except for my husband. As I live through my first ever Passover without a Jewish community, I realize how much I miss it. I can't make a Jewish community spring up in Shikoku, but I can reconnect to the observances of Judaism that I have let fall by the wayside due to absence. As i have made stretching and meditation into part of my bedtime ritual most nights, I find myself longing for more - more of the outside, physical observances that radiate inwards (lighting Shabbat candles, singing some of the evening service, covering my head when attending to my spiritual needs) and the inside, mental observances that radiate outwards, especially prayer and study. I am going to be realistic, which is a mitzvah in itself, since living life doesn't, and shouldn't. grind to a halt for the spiritual life (Judaism doesn't really have an ascetic tradition, we're more communal and in-the-world). I intend to continue my evening stretching and meditation, and add the Sh'ma and the V'ahavta, as well as keep up with the Parshah weekly – read section, read at least one commentary/midrash. (Also start the morning with the Modah Ani) Luckily, I already have my "Team Impala" playlist on my iPod! Challenges for this challenge: I have family visiting from the 24th to May 4th. However, this is my dad and his partner, so I will probably end up getting more exercise during their visit. We're planning on lots of walking, etc, plus a bike ride across the big bridge and maybe climbing the tallest mountain in Western Japan (if it is open for climbing). And i should try to remember Mothers' Day. And Coming off of Passover sometimes leads me to donut-and-pastry binge a bit, but I'm hopeful that having to track it in MFP will stay my hand at least part of the time. *Yes, even better than the very pretty (and only occasionally shirtless) men kicking demon ass.

In my past challenges, I thought that I had good plans in place and simple goals, achievable goals. For some reason, they haven't worked as planned and even though I always start off like gangbusters, around the third or forth week, it seems to fall apart. With that in mind, I am going to throw all the specific plans away and do the plan of no planning. Instead of being detailed and strict with movements and goals, this time is going to be do what I do as long as I do something. My goal of better kicks is still the main focus but it's time to take a different path to get there. 1. Kick every day No specifics here, just do some kicks every day. I can be 1, 10 or 100 kicks with each leg the only requirement is to kick every day. The kick doesn't matter as long as some type of kicks are done. 2. One exercise every day Again, no specific exercises but they have to be related to my hips, glutes, abs or core in general. It can be one or 10 but at least something. 3. Stretch every day A single stretch every day no matter how long it's held, dynamic or static or a full routine, stretching needs to happen. Life goal: Clear my head of what's not needed This is one area where I am struggling and doing something to help me get focused on what I need to focus on and not focusing on what I don't need to focus is becoming more important. Walking, meditation, sitting in seiza for a few minutes or breathing kata could be some of the things to help me get in or out of my head. There may or may not be more to come to the plan of no planning....

Hello there, brother and sister warriors! I was in the Assassin's Guild for the past few challenges, but have realized that I'm more of a warrior when it comes to fitness because I'm a big fan of weight-training. So I decided that I should go to the guild that encompasses my current fitness interests. I might return there one day, but for now, I hope you have room for one more! A little background: I'm a law student, with precious little time for lifting, but always carve out time to do so. I started strength-training in mid-January after almost a year of no strength-training after a lifting accident caused me to pop a knee! Yikes! But since January, I went from struggling to squat just the barbell to squatting 85 lbs. It's not super impressive, but it's more than I was ever able to lift while I was in college. I struggled to squat just 60 lbs back then. My gainz are small, but significant to me. I've taken 2 weeks off because I have a healing tattoo on my hip that made all lower-body movements difficult, but now that it's healed up I can't wait to jump back into training. Two weeks without squats make for two very sad weeks. The Challenge: I want to keep training and resume my previous schedule of lifting 3xs a week, but also incorporate more frequently and better quality stretching (on off days) and at least one cardio *shudder* session a week. Challenge 1: Lift strong, lift well. I only know a limited amount of lifts: bench press, dead lift, squat, bicep curls, and bent-over barbell rows. I do 5 sets of 5 for these exercises. I tend to switch between bicep curls and the bent-over rows, but do the first three every workout on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. My goal for the challenge: try to add at least another 20 pounds to each of my lifts. Current Lifting Weights: Squat: 85 lbs 5x5 Deadlift: 85 lbs 5x5 Bench Press: 65 lbs 5x5 Bent-over row: 45 lbs (just the bar) 5x5 Bicep curl: 50 lbs 5x5 Anticipated/Ideal Weight to Be Lifted by challenge end: Squat: 105 lbs 5x5 Deadlift: 105 lbs 5x5 Bench Press: 85 lbs 5x5 Bent-over Row: 65 lbs 5x5 Bicep Curl: 70 lbs 5x5 Challenge 2: The Dreaded Cardio (or... RUN AWAY!) I love Monty Python, and talking about running makes me think of this scene every time. I hate running, but lets face it, a warrior sometimes needs to run to the battle field once your horse takes an arrow to the knee cannot valiantly deliver you to battle. It's finally getting warm out, so I want to run outside at least once a week. Challenge 3: A stiff warrior is an injured warrior (stretch more!) I need to stretch more often. I always warm up and cool down after a workout, but I want to improve my range of motion and general flexibility, meaning that on days that I don't lift, I need to either go through a couple sun salutations in the morning, or I need to go through a full warm-up just to keep limber. Challenge 4: The Life Challenge I have finals in less than a month, and want to make sure I do as well as I can! This will come in two phases: Phase 1 is to get all of my outlines/flashcards ready by 25 April. Phase 2 is to study as much as humanly possible to make sure that I can do as well as possible. I need at least B+s in all of my classes this semester. Well, I'm excited to see where this challenge goes! I'm excited to be a warrior-in-training!

Never has this graphic been more true to me. I’ve been all lost and turned around somewhere in that clusterfuck of squiggles. I’m sure the vast majority of people here, and in the world in general can relate to the frustrations of plateaus and setbacks. I’ve let them get me down for far too long, and have fallen back into the old habits of trying to crash diet to get back to my lowest weight so I can go from there. The results have been exactly as you would expect. I’ve gained 14 pounds in 4 months from my lowest weight. However frustrating it is, it’s a good reminder not to let myself slip back into old habits. So what if my shorts are fitting a bit tighter. So if I haven’t run a ten minute mile in months. So what I’m the only person in my Exercise Science club at school who can’t do a pushup or a proper box jump. I’ll get there. It’s not going to happen today. I am where I am now, and I’m not going to be able to snap my fingers and put myself back where I used to be. It’s going to take some time. It’s a journey, an adventure. Not a race. I’m a freaking superhero when I let myself be. My name is Jess. I'm 22, and I'm on a quest to lose 100 pounds and get strong, fast, agile and healthy. As of this morning, I am 22.5 pounds down from my highest weight. And for this challenge (and for the rest of my life), I want to focus on my health first and weight second. Goals Eat Paleo (+3 CON, +1 WIS) I have a problem with sugar. I’d actually call it an abusive relationship with carbs. When I’m stressed, I can’t be bothered to cook, and end up eating terribly most nights of the week. I don’t particularly want to delve into it, but these last few months have been stressful. Now that things are starting to take a small, but noticeable upturn, I need to get my diet back under control. I’m going to go back to eating paleo, specifically minimizing my grain and refined sugar intake. I'm applying the two in a row rule to this one. Never miss two good meals, never miss two workouts in a row. So... Don't miss two Paleo meals in a row to earn an A in this category. Bodyweight Training (+3 DEX, +2 STR) I’ve been doing group fitness at my school Monday-Thursday before my classes, (Zumba twice a week and Body Sculpting twice a week) and I’ve come to learn a few things about my body. My balance is embarrassingly abhorrent. My legs are a powerhouse. My triceps have been horribly neglected my entire life. My coordination actually isn’t as bad as I thought it was. I have no upper body strength. My cardio stamina is rather impressive given the approximate extra 50-70 pounds of body fat I’m carrying. My spirit is far stronger than my body. I did a Spartan Sprint in February and absolutely fell in love with obstacle course racing. I’ve decided that in 2016 I want to try for the trifecta, and to do that, I need to train and train consistently. So here is my Level 4 Training: 1 Sun Salutation 30 ft Bear Crawl 4-10 Pyramid Pushups 20 Kettlebell Swings 20 Russian Twists 10 Burpees MAX Plank MAX Pull-Up Hang Do this three times per week to earn an A in this category. Increase Flexibility (+2 STA, +1 CHA) One of the things I mentioned is that my core stability, balance and flexibility are all terrible. I am so bad about not stretching after working out, and I pay the price for it every single time. The morning after is always hell. I want to make it a good point to stretch after every workout, and do some deep meditative stretching before I go to sleep. Hopefully this will alleviate the problem. Take some time out of everyday, even if it's only 5 minutes, to stretch, practice basic yoga, or meditate to earn an A in this category. Spend some more time outside (+1 WIS +2 CHA) I like being outside. Actually, I love being outside. And somewhere between being stuck between school and work and the gym and the library, I forgot how much I love it. I sat out on the lawn under a tree to do my homework yesterday instead of sitting in the library and it put me in such a great mood. I don’t want to forget how therapeutic the clean air and sunshine is. It’s good for my soul to be outside. Spend a cumulative hour outdoors every day to earn an A in this category. Motivation- (Same list from my very first challenge. I'm crossing things off as I complete them, and adding new ones as I come up with them) I'm tired of being fat. I've been obese since childhood and it sucks. I really love doing sports and outdoor activities, but my weight makes it really friggin hard. I want to be strong, energetic and healthy and active.I no longer want to be the obese chick in the Exercise Science department at my school.I want to be able to do recreational sports Complete Aug 8, 2014I want to be able to shop at normal clothing stores, wear shirts without sleeves and dresses without tights. Complete September 29, 2014I want to buy a swimsuit for the first time since the 8th grade. Complete July 5, 2014I want to learn how to dance without running out of breath halfway through a song. Complete April 9, 2015I want to be strong enough to do a cartwheel. It's a little silly, but when I was a kid, I got made fun of for not being able to do one. I want to run an entire 5k without stopping, and run a marathon one day.Join the ranks of the Spartan Trifecta Warriors I’m really excited that I got to cross off ‘learning to dance’ off my checklist this month. I’ve been taking a zumba class twice a week since mid-January. I wanted to quit after the first class I was so embarrassed of how bad my dancing was. But I paid $84 for it and was too stubborn to not get my money’s worth, so I stuck with it. Now, three months later, I can make it through the entire one hour class with only the 15 second breaks between songs for a breather. I can’t believe how naturally it comes to me now in comparison to three months ago. I look forward to it, and want to look into taking another Zumba class over the summer at another establishment since they don’t offer it at the college. Wow this was a lot to type. I want to note too that this is my one year anniversary from my very first six week challenge. It seemed like a great day to respawn. Go get 'em rebels.

Hello, Monks! How has your sleep been lately? Hopefully by now you all have started working on your habits and goals. On this first week of the challenge, we will work on changing our behavior from the very first moment we wake up. Most of us keep a love and hate relationship with the snooze button. The alarm goes off, our bodies are too heavy or too sore from training, our beds are extremely comfortable, or it is too damn cold outside. Here is the thing: The snooze button is a terrible way to wake up. Why do we punish ourselves by reliving that dreaded moment we have to get up over and over again as if we are trapped in an exploding T.A.R.D.I.S.? We all have amazing ideas for what we want in our day. We have things to do, goals to accomplish, quests to follow, dragons to slay and levels to level up. Stop hitting snooze on them. Why are you waking up? Why should you get out of bed every day? Why would anyone matter? Get clear on that; spend time there. That is your motivation. Tomorrow morning when you hear the alarm, you will come face to face with the force that is required to change behavior. You will be half-asleep. All the excuses will pop up, the same mental stories and lies – but you do not need to engage with them, or lie there in bed and argue with them. Use your mindful monk skills. Observe them and without judgment choose instead to focus on your why, on your motivation. This week, we are going to practice a new way of waking up. This short morning routine that includes some yoga stretches and meditation will be your new snooze button. Step 1: Good Morning Sunshine! Your alarm goes off. DO NOT hit snooze. Instead, you activate your body with a good long stretch. Point your toes and pull your arms back. Become aware of your body as you stretch. Become aware of all the parts touching the bed. Hold the stretch and breathe as you count to 10 in your head. Step 2: Hip Joint Stretch Pull your knees up towards your chest and hold. You will feel the stretch in your hip joint – where we often hold a lot of discomfort. Hold the stretch and breathe as you count to 10 in your head. Step 3: Spine Stretch With your shoulders pressed flat on the bed – twist one leg over the other to stretch and awaken the spine and hold for a slow count of 5 for each side. Step 4: Side Stretch Ready to get up? This is for the side of your torso and up through your arm. Keep your bottom on the bed and gently stretch as far as it feels comfortable to the sides – without lifting your sit bones off the bed. Hold the stretch and breathe for a slow count of 5 on each side. Step 5: Sitting Stretch It is time to get out of bed! With one leg folded over the other, feel a great stretch from your backside along your hip and side thigh. If you feel a persistent pain in this area, or suffer from sciatica – you may want to spend a little more time here to release the tension. Step 6: Feel Grateful! It is the beginning of a new day and you have successfully accomplished your first side-quest. Stand up straight and strong. Place your hands together. Take a deep breath and smile – this will actually trigger emotions of happiness. You are ready to go out there and do something epic with your day. If you are trying to incorporate a workout or a meditation practice into your day, this may be the best moment to do it; this little routine is a great way to ease into the habit. There are 6 stretches in this routine which can be completed in just 60 seconds. Feel free to adapt them -- you can make it longer if you enjoy it. Practice the routine before sleeping tonight, so that in the morning you can get right to it Your challenge this week is to practice this stretch routine each morning. As final word, I have a question for you. When you stand up and smile, what will you be thinking about? What is making you happy? Rise up, monks.

Friends, Rebels, Countrymen, lend me your ears; I came to create good habits this day! The sloth that doth do infect men's minds grows near, When mighty warriors forgo their training, And do nothing! So let it be today, That this Assassin picks the route that calls-- The way of the Spartan. Okay, I tried. I'm a huge Shakespeare nerd, and Marc Anthony's speech in Julius Caesar is a truly remarkable one. So, here's the thing. I've been planning on doing a Spartan race for almost a year now. I've found one that'll be near me in July. Yes, that's 5 months away. Yes, that's plenty of time to train. And that's the thing. I want to not just complete a Spartan race. I want to excel at it. Not win, but certainly not finish dead last. I want to make myself a real Spartan mind, body, and spirit. I was planning on training with the rangers or the warriors this time around, but... I realized that the Spartans, Leonidas's 300s, were essentially the most deadly Assassins in Europe at the time. Warrior discipline, Assassin skills, Ranger endurance. The best combo I can imagine. As such, I want to train for the next 5 months like a Spartan. Challenge 1: Warrior Discipline I'm a huge fan of Xena, Warrior Princess. If I could turn into any fictional character, it would be a tie between Xena, Wonder Woman, or Black Widow. Xena's incredibly strong, and has incredible physical discipline that comes as a result of her warrior ethos. If I want to run a Spartan race, I need to be strong like Xena and adopt her warrior ethos. My goal: strength-train three times a week. I can do three basic exercises: bench press, deadlift, and squat. I do sets 5x5, and want to slowly work my way up. I'm currently benching the bar+10 (55 lbs), deadlifting bar+15 (60 lbs), and squatting bar+15 (60 lbs). By the end of the six week challenge, I want to be able to bench 75 lbs, deadlift 90, and squat anywhere from 80-90. Challenge 2: Way of the Assassin (Because who doesn't want a gif of Ezio jumping as Assassin motivation?!) Assassins are agile, strong, and disciplined. I'm going to channel my inner Assassin that's been sluggish because of the cold lately and turn her into a Spartan machine. I'm planning on working on bodyweight as well as lifting (on the same days, because I try to keep all of my workouts condensed). Specifically, I want to work on my upper body, because I am terrible at push-ups and can't do a pull-up. So I'm going to train my upper body to do these things. I'm going to work towards pull-ups by working on the monkey-bar set in my gym and by doing hanging leg-lifts. By doing hanging leg-lifts, I not only work on abs, but I also work on strengthening my grip and my bag and triceps. I'd like to be able to do a pull-up and 2x20 hanging leg lifts by the end of the challenge. Challenge 3: Ranger Endurance Aragorn can run and run and run and be awesome and become a king. And he's pretty awesome. I hate running, but if I'm going to become a Spartan, then I'm going to have to go running. The goal: go running at least once a week. Probably on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Or both. If I can manage it. I hate running. So much. But I want to be a Spartan and sometimes that means doing things I don't like. Alright! I can do this! Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!

Silent Jay's Beast Mode Challenge Overview / Motivation: Ramping up from my respawn challenge. Made some good progress over the past 6 weeks, but need to elevate to the next level and rebuild the fire inside. In life, I have been wound pretty tight over the past several months and need to channel the resulting stress, frustration and anger into something more healthy and productive. The biggest hurdle for this challenge will be the need to get the workouts in each morning since after work is a bit chaotic in terms of spending time with family, baby duty, and school. The weight training component will be based on the Body Beast routine – I think this goes a bit against what NerdFitness is all about in terms of more natural movements, etc., but personally I feel like I have been doing the same type of routine for so long that it is feeling a bit stale and I need to introduce a new dynamic. The 90 Day routine should provide more structure and accountability and help rebuild my routine. Main Quest: This quest will go beyond this challenge (and probably the next few), but my main quest is to hit the following benchmarks in strength and dexterity/stamina: · Bench Press 300 lbs. · Squat 300 lbs. · Complete 20 Pull Ups · Complete 20 Minutes of Hill Sprints (NerdFitness Academy: Ranger Quest) Side Quests: Average 4 Weightlifting Routines per week Points Potential: STR +5 Grading: A= Average 4 lift per week B= Average 3 lifts per week C= Average 2 lift per week F= Average 1 lifts per week Complete daily static stretching & 5 Lumosity Training Sessions per week Points Potential: CON +2, WIS +3 Grading A= Average daily stretching and 4 Lumosity Sessions B= Average 90 % daily stretching and 3 Lumosity Sessions C= Average 80 - 89% daily stretching and 2 Lumosity Sessions D= Average 70-79 % daily stretching and 1 Lumosity Sessions F= Average <70% daily stretching and 0 Lumosity Sessions Complete ’14 Days to 100 Burpees’ Challenge from the Coach App & Average 2 Heavy Bag Routines per week Revision: Dropped Heavy Bag Routine from 3x to 2x a week Points Potential: STA +3, DEX +2 Grading A= Average 2 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete Burpee Challenge B= Average 2 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 90% Burpee Challenge C= Average 1 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 80% Burpee Challenge D= Average 1 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 70% Burpee Challenge F= Average <1 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 60% Burpee Challenge Life Quest: N/A for this Challenge Points Potential: N/A Grading N/A Initial Stats (2/22/2015) Race: Human Age: 30 Height: 5’10†Weight: 184 BMI: 26.4 Body Fat %: 14.1% Waist: Hips: Chest: Bicep: Thigh: Calf: Neck:

Establishing a Baseline OK! I've done two challenges here so far and they've both gone fairly well. Not as well as maybe I'd like (or as I could probably do), but decently well enough. I've increased my strength over both of them, my hydration over the last one, and am working on my flexibility too. I did all of this because I wanted to get started and do things or I wouldn't get started or do things at all. Now it's time to get a baseline. Quest 1: Track all caloric intake and exercise. I don't know exactly how much I eat or how much the exercise I do affects anything. I used to think that food tracking was for weird people...but then I thought recently, "wtf, I AM A WEIRD PERSON." So it's time to get on the bandwagon. I'd like to know what I'm eating now so that in six weeks I can take a look at where I am and decide where I'm going. I can't really adjust my eating habits if I don't really know what they are, now can I? This isn't a quest to judge me for what I'm doing; it's a quest to get to know me. I will strive for these six weeks to not be harsh with myself for doing or eating what I normally would. I know that as a consequence of tracking my intake, some of it will naturally change, but that is not the point of this exercise. Grading: 7x/week = A While I'm doing that, I want to kick my workouts up a notch. I may not be completely ready for the Advanced Bodyweight Workout, but if I waited until I was completely ready to try something, I'd never go anywhere! Quest 2: Bodyweight workouts I can do some modifications to the ABW to more match where I'm at, but I think I'm ready to move on from the Beginner Bodyweight Workout. I've started seriously working on completing a pull up, and I can do 2-4 pushups on the floor (depending on the day/set). I can do deep squats too! One-legged is just a step away. My fiancé is even working out with me now, so this is extra motivation to not slack off. He may stay at the beginner routine since he just started doing this with me a couple weeks ago. Grading: 3x/week =A And what's a good workout without some flexibility? Bending and stretching and being able to move in many directions is an important component of future goals, so I'm keeping a quest from last time (assuming that's allowed!). Quest 3: Stretching and sleeping By far last challenge, consistently stretching was the quest I did worst on. Either I didn't want to in the morning because I was tired, or I forgot in the evening because I was tired. So this is a two-part quest. First part, I need to get to bed at about the same time every night, weekends included, so that I can get in the proper sleep cycles before morning. I already know that I need to be asleep before 10:30 in order to hit that spot. Second part, I need to get out of bed at about the same time every morning and do my stretching. It's a good way to start the day and, along with water, helps me feel more awake. Grading: In bed before 10:15p 5x/week = A Out of bed before 6:10a 5x/week = A I'm allowing myself a couple of days for wiggle room as I adjust to this two-part quest. They are graded separately, but I must pass both of them to gain a level. Finally, while I'm improving my body, let's also expand my mind! As I search for a new job, it's remarkable what skills recruiters are looking for these days outside of the regular what would be expected. It will be good to learn new things as well as add some skills to my resume. Life Quest: Coding Html is the code of choice in my field, it seems. Some of the bits on my company's website, as well as our e-mail marketing site, are easier to figure with some html knowledge. So I'll take these six weeks as a time to get a basic knowledge of html coding. I already have an account at CodeAcademy and had started one of their programs a while back. I will restart that program and progress as I gain confidence. Grading: 3x/week = A And now, to get at it!

The last few challenges, that didn't go so well, made me realize that I have lost focus on my main goal of improving my Karate kicks. It's time to go back to my roots and focus this challenge on making my kicks better. 1. Focus, focus focus on improving my kicks by kicking every day. If I want to continue improving my kicks and I really do, I need to kick more often. I need to do at least 1 side thrust kick and 1 roundhouse kick for each leg, each day. I know, anyone can do 4 kicks a day but I want to be able to do this every day and not have any excuses that I'm too sore or too tired to do them. 2. Work dem hips 4 times a week. Did I really just type work dem hips??? I guess I did. I need to have my hips and glutes working at peak performance. My kicks are always better when I work my hips and glutes and this time, I need to do some type of hip and or glute workout 4 times a week. This workout can consist of: The 2-minute workout for strong and powerful glutes or Cheechoe's awesome hip routine or Some evil workout plan of my own that includes lying side leg raises, glute bridges, band shuffles and other goodies to get awaken the hip and butt muscles. The nice thing about the hip workout is, every time I do Cheechoe's hip routine, I am also getting in my daily kicks! I like combinations! 3. Without the core, everything else falls apart right? 3 times a week. The hara, the center of the body or the core, no matter what you call it, I need some more so that I can move from it. Move from your hara my Sensei told me many times and push the knot of your obi forward. Needless to say, when I tighten my lower abs, my kata and kihon really improves. Not only does my posture get better, I move from lower body and not my chest and shoulders. What's the point you ask? The point is, I need to get my abs and lower back in better shape and I will work them 3 times a week. I am seeing planks, v-sits, cable crunches, dead lifts and other fun stuff happening with this part of my challenge. Life goal: Find some Zen! I really need to relax. I am letting too many things stress me out and I need to find some Zen to find my happy place. The goal is to mediate 3 times a week for at least 2 minutes but longer if possible. As always, this is subject to change.....

So here I go with my 3rd challenge, it doesn't feel like it's been that long yet. Basically I have trouble with my kicking height, especially on my right side ( non dominant leg). yeah... at least this kid got a little height So my goal starting this challenge is to improve the height and control of my kicks. And with no further ado, my steps to complete my challenge. Cheechoe's Game of Pain Alright this may seem a little ridiculous, but i've known for a while that I wanted to add cheechoes stretching routine to my daily routine. the goal here is to stretch out my hips so I have a little more flexibility which should help with both control and height. This might be a bit too much for me... Just sayin. Kicking it Up a Notch Again one more goal designed to help my kicks, this one is focused more on control than on flexibility, but it does help with both, what I am doing here is to practice all basics kicks 20 times a day ( double that for my non dominant leg ). I want to do these with moderate to slow speed to work on form and control. So that some day I can do this That... might take a while. Core-dinate yes, I know that was terrible lol but I liked it lol This goal is meant to focus on building my core strength, which helps with balance during a kick, this one is more for control as well, but hopefully they all work together to improve my kicks. Oh yeah I have to tell you what I'm doing lol The angry birds workout routine, I have been doing it for the second half of this last challenge, but wasn't pushing myself as hard as i could have. If only i could do stuff like this some day ( sooner than later lol) and finally Searching Up Above My life goal this time around is to reconnect with my faith, I have fallen away from it and I am not happy with that, so I will be reading my bible( at least 1 chapter) every night. that way some day I get the chance for him to say to me And that is something I want to look forward to Well that's my challenge feel free to comment ( but if you don't like it i'm sorry, or if you are not christian and are offended by my life goal that was not my intention).

Time for my 7th challenge already! Since my first challenge I've become stronger, got more endurance and increased my self-image. However, over the past few months my muscles became shorter due to all the climbing I do, so time for a stretching challenge! Waanie's stretching challenge Main goal: Become more flexible and work on a better posture. First quest: Do yoga every morning Just 10 minutes is enough, as long as I do something every morning. These will be my main stretching workouts. I started doing yoga every morning this week, and I feel like it is doable. However, we'll see what happens if I have to work early in the morning next week again. Second quest: Do posture exercises twice a week I want to do these exercises twice a week. The second half is glute- and core strength, and the second half is shoulder stretches. I won't have a foam roller available during the second half of this challenge, so I have to think of adequate exercises that replace the foam rolling. Third quest: Walk at least every hour when not asleep Sitting still for a long time is horrible for almost all muscles. So both at home and at work, I should make sure to keep moving. Getting a cup of tea, going to the toilet, writing on the white board are all viable options for this goal. I'm not sure yet which tool is most useful for this. I have currently installed workrave on my working computer, but I don't like it very much since I also do a lot of work on paper. Suggestions are welcome . The only exception I'll make are meetings for my work that take more than an hour. And that's it for now . I'll keep track of my progress in this first post. Week 1: Q1 7/7 Q2 2/2 Q3 7/7

Up, Up, and Away! For this challenge, I've been inspired by one of my favorite authors, Max Gladstone, (and all of you of course) to do a pull up!! I don't currently have a pull up bar (one of the few things I didn't get for Christmas) but that won't stop me! Overarching Main Quest: become quietly beastly. I have many things that I would like to one day do (parkour, MMA...) and those are my "tell everyone I want to do that" things. What I'd really like to do one day during conversation with friends or strangers is say "I can do x pull ups" or "I could probably bench you" or "I can deadlift x lbs" and have everyone look at me in awe. Quest 1: Do a pull up. In week 1, purchase a pull up bar. In weeks 2-6, begin assisted pull up/negatives training. I realize it may not be possible to get to a pull up by the end of six weeks. But I will at least train toward it, and consider it a win if I am consistent with my training. Grading: "consistent" training will come to 3x/week for 5 weeks = A Quest 2: Bodyweight workout. Continue with beginner bodyweight routine. Evaluate progress in Week 3 or 4 to consider moving up to Advanced Bodyweight routine. Grading: 3x/week = A Quest 3: Stretch every day to increase flexibility. Last challenge I wanted to stretch in the mornings 3x/week. That didn't really work out very well because mornings are a bit of a hit-or-miss thing. Some are great; some just aren't. So this time, instead of trying to just do mornings, I'm going to let myself stretch whenever: morning, at work, evening, whatever. As long as I get my stretching in, I will be happy. Grading: 7x/week = A Life Quest: Drink 2 full bottles of water at work. I have a feeling that I'm not hydrating as much as I should be. So I'm aiming to fix that! My water bottle holds 32 ounces, so I'll be aiming for a full 64oz by the end of each work day. I will drain one bottle then fill it up and count that way. Grading: 64oz 5x 7x/week = A (Edited this goal to reflect that it's hard to drink all my water at work and that I should have the whole day to work on it. Also wanted to extend it to the weekends because hydration is good.)

Main Quest: This quest will go beyond this challenge (and probably the next few), but my main quest is to hit the following benchmarks in strength and dexterity/stamina: · Bench Press 300 lbs. · Squat 300 lbs. · Complete 20 Pull Ups · Complete 20 Minutes of Hill Sprints (NerdFitness Academy: Ranger Quest) Side Quests: Average 3 15-20 Minute Weightlifting Routines per week · Will be based on core lifts (Bench, Squat, Deadlift and some auxiliary lifts) Points Potential: STR +5 Grading: A= Average 3 lift per week B= Average 2 lifts per week C= Average 1 lift per week F= Average 0 lifts per week Complete daily static stretching & mediation (Zen12 Program –12 minute guided meditations that I will listen to upon waking up or before bed Points Potential: CON +3, WIS +2 Grading A= Average daily meditation and stretching B= Average 90 % of both meditation and stretching C= Average 80 - 89% of both meditation and stretching D= Average 70-79 % of both meditation and stretching F= Average <70% of both meditation and stretching Complete ’14 Days to 100 Burpees’ Challenge from the Coach App & Average 2 Heavy Bag Routines per week · Still need to buy the heavy bag, but looking forward to working this into my routine as soon as it is hooked up! Points Potential: STA +3, DEX +2 Grading A= Average 2 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete Burpee Challenge B= Average 2 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 90% Burpee Challenge C= Average 1 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 80% Burpee Challenge D= Average 1 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 70% Burpee Challenge F= Average <1 Heavy Bag Workouts and Complete 600% Burpee Challenge Life Quest: N/A for this Challenge Points Potential: N/A Grading N/A Motivation: Returning to the Rangers from a good challenge with the Druids where I tried to get my mind right and a greater sense of balance. Helped me get my head around some new tools to keep a cool head and beat down some of the stress monsters. Now it’s time to start to work lifting and some endurance work back in. Focusing on shorter lifts to start as my schedule has crushed me recently have I haven’t lifted since my wife’s maternity leave ended the first week of October, 2014. Thought long and hard about Steve’s post on ‘respawning’ and feel like this is my opportunity to start small and rebuild. Initial Stats (1/5/2015) Race: Human Age: 30 Height: 5’10†Weight:184.5 BMI: Body Fat %: 14.1% Waist: Hips: Chest: Bicep: Thigh: Calf: Neck: 15

Main quest Be a strong bad ass and look killer in a bikini. Taking a challenge off has been helpful in a few ways – redefining my goals and looking at what I really want to achieve. I started here on NF just over a year ago. I was a bit disappointed to look back and think that there isn’t really anything specific that I have done in the last year that I can say “Yay! I achieved Xâ€. In the spirit of always growing, I do feel like I’m more awesome than I was a year ago, and that I’m armed with more knowledge too. I’ve definitely done some things I never would have over the past year if I didn’t participate in these challenges – especially completing my first whole30. One thing I found I’ve been lacking is specific fitness goals for myself. My post a year ago was that I want to reduce my bf%. That’s great, but I had no measure, no pictures, no big driving force. Upon (many!) chats with a good friend around here (Teros – honestly, I’m not sure how he had time to talk to anyone else, plus be the awesome guild leader that he is, with the amount of PMs we had flying back and forth! ) I’ve realized that yes, losing that fat would be awesome and make me happy, but it’s not a big driving force. When I was cheerleading in university, we would do fitness testing a couple of times a year and I loved feeling that strong, squatting my own body weight and more. My new main quest is to be a strong bad ass and look killer in a bikini. The strong bad ass is because I need to set specific goals to hit that will motivate and drive me. Right now, it’s the end goal of a pull-up. This is the ultimate in badassery. As far as looking killer in a bikini, this still keeps with the idea of dropping bf %, but I’ve taken photos to make it more measurable (I'm not brave enough to post them yet, but they exist, I promise). Don’t get me wrong, I look decent in a bikini, and I do go to the beach like that, but if I dropped just a little bit more body fat I would look killer I’m short, and so I know what is realistic of my body and what isn’t, so my definition of “killer†is rooted in reality. I was looking for examples of what my goal would be, but honestly, every picture I found was either some girl who was too skinny or too ripped. So I'm just gonna do me. My three goals to achieve my main quest are: 1. Whole30 – I have completed one and once I set my mind to it, it actually wasn’t that hard. It’s like going to the gym – the hardest part is deciding you’re going to do it and get your butt there. Once you’re there, you have a good workout and it was totally worth it. I haven’t been able to make myself commit again, and it’s been discouraging. For me, bad eating is a super slippery slope. It tends to be all or nothing. When I did the first one I saw major results – the overall shape of my body changed, I lost pounds, and I felt great. My boyfriend even said that I felt smaller. This one is 100% 7 days a week. Doing a whole 6 week challenge is 42 days, plus I started this on Oct 27, so technically my whole30 ends November 26. Another part of my reason for doing a whole30 is that I have psoriasis on my scalp, and I'm hoping that reforming my eating habits will help get this under control. 2. Bedtime routine – I have a few goals that I would like to roll into one, and luckily they work together. I would like to spend more time working on my flexibility, rolling with my foam roller and using my yoga tune up balls (amazing!!) and doing some meditation. Hopefully getting enough sleep too. Luckily it makes sense to do all of this at once/in combination. I might night get to EVERYTHING every night, but I want to make sure I do some of it, if nothing else a few minutes of meditation. I should be getting a book in the mail on this next week called The Role Model, which is very exciting for me, and should hopefully help keep me motivated. I would love to do this every night, but weekends might not be realistic, so I'm going to shoot for 5 days a week. 3. Rows – Here’s where my fit bad ass part comes in. I want to work on inverted rows daily as a progression to pull ups. I will do inverted rows daily, adding one rep/day with my TRX suspension trainer. I will be marking where my feet are (aka the steepness of my incline) and once I reach a certain number of reps (maybe 20?) I’ll move the mark so that it’s harder, and likely reset the number of reps down to 10. This goal is going to be 6 of 7 days a week. It's kind of like the PLP challenge (but just the one P!) so I don't see a problem doing it every day and giving myself one day off. Side/life quest – I plan to start working towards my CanFit Pro personal training certification at the beginning of December (when most of my fitness classes wrap up for the year). At that point, I want to create a timeline for getting my certification. Until I get the material though, I really can’t make a schedule for myself. Motivation is the part I always have a tough time defining. I have a passion for health and fitness and I just want to keep growing, learning and getting better, being better. I'm going to be a personal trainer to spread my love of fitness, and one day in the near future own my own fitness business and I feel it's important to practice what you preach, show people that' it's doable. I think it's important for clients to see that you're not perfect either. I will never be tall and thin, but I can rock what I have going on. It's always a journey, and different phases of our lives will require different things from our bodies and minds. Scoring: 1. Whole 30: 7/7 7/7 3/7 1/7 0/7 0/7 2. Bedtime: 5/5 4/5 4/5 1/5 1/5 0/5 3. Rows: 6/6 6/6 4/6 1/6 1/6 0/6

Due to less than stellar success on the yoga aspect of the previous challenge I hereby challenge Sloth-Like to a rest day yoga challenge. I figure by making it a competition we are both likely to actually do more yoga. As a matter of fact, any yoga would be more yoga. This PVP is for the duration of the current 6w challenge. The Rules:For any scheduled or spontaneous rest days, minimum of 15 minutes of yoga is required to count the day as a yoga day.For any scheduled work out day, if the workout is skipped for ANY reason, it is a spontaneous rest day and requires yoga.There must be at least 1 rest/yoga day per week. (You can not win by default by not having any rest days)No substitutions. Yoga on a workout day is just a bonus.At the end of the challenge, the rebel with the highest percentage of rest days when yoga was done is the winner.In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by the total number of minutes doing yoga. I have created this handy dandy tracking spreadsheet The prize - to be determined, if any.

Waanie stays balanced After a successfull challenge to keep myself from overworking myself, I will continue to focus on my mental balance. Furthermore, I started climbing with some of my colleagues, and I would really like to become better at that . The trick is to take good care of myself, both mentally and physically. A lot of exercise and mental strain is fun, but it can easily lead to injuries/illness. Therefore, I'm going to focus on keeping the balance . 1. Take some mental rest at least 5 minutes a day, 5 times a week This can be yoga, meditation, foam rolling, stretching or anything else that lets me be alone with my thoughts and relax. I had this goal last time and it helped me a lot. Balance exercises like the tree pose or crow pose also count . 2. Stretch after every workout Nowadays I climb twice a week, and I often forget to stretch after that. My muscles are starting to get shorter, especially my quadriceps. To keep my muscles long and recover faster, I must stretch after each workout I do. 3. Do two workouts a week that focus on core & glute strength While climbing, I use almost all my muscles, including my abs and glutes. However, these muscle groups are not trained enough to keep my posture good. To keep the back pain at bay, I will therefore do two workouts a week that focus on core strength and glute strength. If I feel up to it, I can also add other exercises to better my posture, but I must take care not to overwork some of my muscles. Planks and bridges will definitely be included . 4. Track my workouts I will roughly track my workouts. Not too detailed, but more things like "biked to work" or "climbed", just to see how much I'm doing and for future reference. At the moment, I think I bike around 100km a week, climb twice a week and take walks from time to time as well. We'll see what I really do in a week . Have a nice challenge everyone!

So I this will be my third challenge since returning to Nerd Fitness. I have learned a lot, met some awesome people (you know who you are), and all around have gotten back on track fitness wise. I have especially seen how much I have changed since the last time I used this site. While before I focused primarily on fitness goals, now they are such a big part of my life that it feels like cheating to include them as "goals". I have also learned a lot about what I need to focus on, so without further ado. Links to Quests Quest 1: Diet Quest 2: Maintenence Quest 3: Cardio Life Quest: Art, Writing, Word of the Day. Updates This section is all about updates, new goals, achievements, etc through the course of this challenge. Kind of like my epic side quests last time. So I will hopefully be joining a crossfit gym once I finish this round of YAYOG. Random Stuff... Side goals No games after 12PM (will be trying to push it back even farther)

Helloooo nerds! Don't mind me while I experiment with colours. If this whole rebellion isn't mad, crazy and weird enough for you and you want an extra portion, you've come to the right place! Trying to get bendy, strong and just a little more awesome? So are we! Are you an assassin or going to be one once you've finished your first challenge? Come join us while we share our madness, successes and get over our fails together! Sign up on the accountabilibuddy sheet and post a little intro here, I'll make sure your thread is up in this post for everyone to see - easy following and all that jazz! Let's see if we can do this together: Meet the crazies! Waldgeist's Endangered Initiation, Part I Mad Hatter and her Maiden Mission ApfelStrudi with Pudding arms begone, huzzah! Abtacha's Treasure Hunt continues! Bekah starts to build her castle Xerla is almost there Bagelyo gets a little stronger Milythael is regaining control Paradigm's Bikini Battle L_A_Malone: Demigod finds Camp Half Blood An inspired SkyeRose

Hi Everybody, I came back last challenge, after a long break. I succeeded; in the last challenge, rebuilding my healthy habits that I had let decay. I started my vitamins (everyday) again. I made strength training (3 X a week) a priority. I also made sure to eat right (paleo, and in a calorie deficit.) I am very excited to participate in this challenge and keep the momentum going. Goal: 1 Eat Right​This is absolutely critical to my success. I want to get into the 1XX's for my weight this time, and eating right is 80% of my weight loss. So I signed up a food delivery program, that delivers food to me that is paleo, and portioned out for me. Each meal is between 400-600 calories. I eat one for lunch and one for dinner. I supplement that with an apple for lunch and dinner, and for desert I eat a frozen banana dipped in dark chocolate (130cal.) This keeps me in the 1600 calorie range which is great for me to lose weight. If I eat extra food, or cheat I will come here and tell on myself. TL;DR eat my delivered food, don't be dumb. Goal: 2 Strength Training This has been a really enjoyable thing for me, It gives me incredible motivation. I started doing Strong Lifts (weight lifting program) last challenge and I love seeing the weight increase as I progress. I plan to continue that and I am still doing my circuit body weight work (after my strong lifts.) My body weight work is 10 Bulgarian split squats, 10 push ups, 5 pull ups, 15 leg raises, 10 back hyperextensions, I also throw 5 dumbbell curls (35lb) in. I then rest for a min and then repeat 3 times. I plan to increase intensity as it gets easier. I can add dumbbells to the split squats, do close push ups, increase reps etc. TL;DR Pick up heavy stuff and put it down. Goal: 3 Mobility This one is important My Dex is tied for my lowest stat for a reason. I have a hard time getting a proper squat grip on a barbell, and to be honest I'm just not flexible at all. I would like to change this, I know it can help prevent injuries and help remove some pain. I will do some mobility exercises I learned from the Mobility WOD website (which has become a paysite, anyone have an alternative?) I will also do some of my own stretching and mobility exercises to focus on the areas that I think will be most beneficial. TL;DR Become more like a rubber band Life Goal: Learn New Skills So yeah, I'm very happily married. Not looking for any girls, but I love the idea of learning skills. I haven't made a list of skills, I kinda want it to flow naturally from whatever is interesting to me that week. I plan to make them something I haven't tried before, and I want something tangible I can show after. Examples would be a new dance move, with video evidence or, locking picking successfully picking a lock, something of that nature. New things are usually scary to me, so hooray for getting out of my comfort zone. TL;DR try new things and learn stuff So that's the plan, now all I have to do is follow through.