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Hey all, I live at the beach but the water here is damn cold and Ive never swam in it. One of my big goals is to get a wet suit and do that. Ive lost 23 lbs now but Im still big, and Id get a lot of encouragement if I could find a suit or somebody who could make a custom suit. Anyone know anything about this?

Last time things got derailed p badly. My car was in the shop for eternity and life just keeps dishin. Ive been trying to keep busy. I was gonna do a theme but i couldn't think of anything lol. So my quests are p much the same as last time except for the project one. It just kinda kept me in a scatter so I'm changing it up. Goals 1. Surf 1x/wk 2. Pushups every other day. 3. Cook 1x/wk 4. Start YT channel. Most of these are self-explanatory. For the YT channel one tho basically i need to make and post at least 1 video by the end of this challenge. Bonus points for more vids. But we'll see haha. Wish me luck!

Part two of my extra-special Bodhi challenge, which is just like my first one but with yet more duuuuuuuude and an extra dose of West Coast. If you missed it you can read the backstory on it here, as I am just that lazy and I have two more episodes of Planet Earth II to watch. Fuck. This show was so good I lived in front of my television for a week. I even have the score on my phone. What a nerd. Challenge! Goal 1: Get to the Spiritual Side of it: Two challenges ago I started doing meditation and Wim Hof breathing exercises, preferably in the morning, either combined with or alternating with yoga. By the end of last challenge I got pretty good at it. I probably won't win any prizes, if there is even such a thing for meditation, but I find it helps me with anxiety and so I shall keep it up this challenge. I couldn't find any photos of Bohdi meditating so this photo of Patrick Swayze concentrating very hard on something just out of frame will have to do. He's so shiny. Goal 2: Get that Surf Body: Arrrrgh. This went... a little off the rails last challenge and I've gained back about 6 pounds. I just weighed myself yesterday and shark week is bearing down on me like a train, so some of that may be water, but mostly it's that my TIR* is just way too high, so I have to keep an eye on that. With that said, I have made some serious gains in the gym in the last 3 weeks - my thrusters (WHY are all crossfit moves so suggestive?) are now at 70 pounds for sets of 10; I'm still at 85 pounds with my (ahem) snatch, but I can now do a 65 pound snatch/overhead press combo, and I logged 99 miles on my bike last week (39 of which were a very hilly event ride that went really well; I did 39 miles in three hours 12 minutes, which considering the hilly course was great). So some of that weight may be gains. One can hope ;-) I have also discovered that I cannot do two workouts a day if I want to get anything else in my life done, because all I want to do between workouts is sleep. Goal 3: Traveling on the money, going where the waves are: From Bohdi 1: "I had plans for an ambitious cross country road trip this spring, but I changed my mind, and now I think I am going to go to Belize to go snorkeling, because it will be cheaper and shorter (like a week instead of a month) and I found out that there's a chance to see whale sharks there, which I'm kind of obsessed with. So goal #3 is to save up the money for that trip, even if it means selling everything I own that's not bicycle-related or my cat." Ha! I am nothing if not changeable, because I have revised that travel plan AGAIN. There were a ton of weird moving parts to the Belize trip, and it turned out I did NOT have enough flyer miles and would have to buy about $200 worth of miles, and I had to hit a certain time window to catch the migration of the whale sharks, and at a certain point I just said fuck it and I took a section of my original, epically over-ambitious road trip idea, and built a trip around that. So I'm going to California! This is not my photo, as I've only been to California once and that was to San Francisco for a week, so I didn't actually see anything outside the city. So I cashed in ALL my frequent flier miles today and got a ticket to Los Angeles for eleven dollars, and I'm going to Redwoods, Yosemite, Big Sur and the Channel Islands for 12 days. VERY excited. I cranked my ebay side business up again and over the last week and a half I made about $200 to put towards the trip, which is amazing ( I had some old hard drives left over from projects that made up about 80% of that money when I sold them) and I'm hoping I can make at least that much again from other stuff before I go. Between that, the flyer miles, a bunch of hotel points, and an air bnb gift certificate I got for christmas I'm hoping to cover at least half the trip expenses. Best of all I leave on the 18th, which is right as this challenge ends, so it feels like all my nutritional work and gym work and whatever will be building towards me being in really good shape for the trip, so I can hike, kayak, snorkel, wrestle great white sharks, whatever, and not be held back by my physical condition. I had a lot of different things the last half of the last challenge that got me really jazzed up and reinforced my Walter Mitty-esque goals to take more chances and start moving towards the life I really want to build for myself. Planet Earth II came out and blew my mind and got me really excited about filmmaking again; I had enough downtime to clear my own headspace to start thinking about projects I want to finish or do; a friend of mine started a really great podcast that made me want to start mine up again; another close friend who has a congenital defect in his foot ran a tough mudder and just beat it all to pieces. I also had a friend who's only 54 have a (mild) heart attack (likely brought on by a lifetime of eating doritos on the couch, sadly) and another who's much healthier but is still only 50 was suddenly hospitalized because his liver shut down for no reason anyone can seem to figure out. All of those things really got me revved up and so I am super ready for this challenge. THE FIRE IS LIT *Taco Ingestion Ratio.

Ta-da! I have shaken off my cold with copious amounts of Dayquil and hot baths, and I am here, with you my Ranger brethren, to take on a new challenge. Which will be not terribly unlike my last challenge, but hopefully more amusing, and with 37.9% more bicycles, since the weather is better. I had a very intense challenge laid out with a very serious VIKINGS ARE BADASS theme, but it's like 75 degrees and sunny and I'm down some weight and the Justice League trailer looks fucking great and I'm just kinda in a good mood this week, and it didn't feel like the right theme. So I changed it. And so I give you my new challenge: BECOMING BOHDI! Yes, I have designed my challenge around the greatest surf-riding savant of modern cinema. We have, after all, a ton in common: - passion for the nature and the sea - thirst for adventure and travel - perfect blonde highlights and slightly androgynous surfer-chick hair - urge to buck the system and travel light I mean, yeah, there's some sociopathic behavior and the whole bank-robbing thing, but I can't spell or resist cheese fries, so we've all got our problems, right? We'll just gloss over that for the moment and get to the challenge. 1: Get the spiritual side of it: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/45b03b32-d6e4-4c2f-a2d4-70fa90f4e922 I started meditating during my last challenge and doing Wim Hof breathing exercises, and holy cow does it make a difference. So goal number 1 is to continue meditating daily. 2: Get that Surf Body: Patrick Swayze had one of the all-time great physiques on this film and he apparently did almost all of his own stunts. I mean, he's not Jason Momoa or anything... ...but that's not the question at hand. Actually after looking at that picture I can't remember what the question was. I may need a moment. Okay, I'm back. I lost 1.9% body fat last challenge so my goal is to lose another 1% by challenge end. Which means no cheese fries. Sadness. I got a bike trainer - the Mantis has been on me about it for ages and I finally got a cheap one - so that I can do some indoor training, and I will continue to workout at the gym and post my workouts, if only because it's never not funny to say, "Today I worked on my snatch." I'm trying to do two workouts a day, but it's not like it's 40 miles on the bike in the morning and then heavy lifting in the evening. It's either a strength workout or the bike and then a walk or yoga or a spin on the trainer or whatever, something simple. Goal 3: Traveling on the money, going where the waves are: I had plans for an ambitious cross country road trip this spring, but I changed my mind, and now I think I am going to go to Belize to go snorkeling, because it will be cheaper and shorter (like a week instead of a month) and I found out that there's a chance to see whale sharks there, which I'm kind of obsessed with. So goal #3 is to save up the money for that trip, even if it means selling everything I own that's not bicycle-related or my cat. And that, actually, is it for now. Simple challenge for once. Bonus content if you're bored:

Main Quest: I've always struggled with fitness, especially in terms of running and endurance. I'm not very strong either. I'd like to change that and build some muscle while becoming more comfortable with running. I don't have specific main goal in mind besides just get more fit, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them. Missions: 1. Complete the beginner body weight workout 3x a week. (/6) [MWF] 2. Run at least 1 mile every day. (/36) 3. Bike to/from soccer field (5 miles total) and practice soccer for one hour 3x a week. (/6)[TTHS] Sunday will be a rest day. Life Quest: 1. Write at least 1,000 words for my NaNoWriMo novel each day. (/42) 2. Go surfing at least once a week. (/6) Motivation: I'm starting college in a month and I want create some healthy habits so I can be active and involved Grading: Everything will be graded pass/fail. If I reach each goal at at least 80%, I will consider this challenge 'successful'.

Hi my already favorite people!! This is my second challenge outright, but I have a habit of lurking. I'm breaking that habit now!! Based off Panczo's thread, I like the division of the different goals, so I'm gonna shamelessly copy him on his four points (and I'll update this with a photo later): 1. Philosohpy: "One thing at a time"- focus on the task at hand- I have a horrible habit of not being able to just do ONE thing. I feel unproductive only focusing on one activity. Movies drive me INSANE. "Good is the enemy of the great" -Voltaire - Don't half ass two things, whole ass one thing! 2. Nutrition: No mindless eating. If I get bored and snack-ey, meditate and drink water. Whole foods/paleo- my diet now, just strengthen and stick to it <3 No wrappers! 3. Fitness: Daily yoga- already my normal routine, but I can do more. Walks and runs! - building up my endurance and patience, don't get bored. Think and move. Swim and surf- I just moved to Hawaii from AZ, so being outdoors is a MUCH more pleasant experience now. I love the forest and have plenty of that here, and beach too! So that's that. My idols for fitness and philosophy, at least fictional character wise, are the elves in most fictional stories- tall, like the wind, graceful, natural-and Princess Mononoke, as close to a wolf as humans can get. I'll be cross training with the scouts and assassins, I think, at least a little, and have a definite interest in Monk for next time. I'm also a "professional" (pffft that word sounds funny) cosplayer and while most of my goals are simple self improvement, looking good in costume is a huge plus!! I'm so happy to be here with you guys!!

Main Quest Attain 12% body fat once. Starting Stats: Weight: 81.4kg Body fat: 19% Goal 1: Feed the beast the good stuff....and know it [WIS 2, CON 1] I need to experiment with calories and macros to get to a level where I can continue to lift well but not put on too much fat. It's been creeping up recently. I'm terrible at tracking food and calories, I just don't do it and don't enjoy it but I need to suck it up and get on with it if I want to achieve my main quest. - Track all food. - Eat 80% Paleo - Aim for 2500 cals a day (169g Protein, 206g Carbs, 111g Fat) - Aim for minimum 1800 cal a week worth of exercise. (3 lifting sessions with accessories and 3 walks should easily achieve this) Goal 2: Prepare for Hawaii [CON 2, STR 2] I'm going to Hawaii in December (OMG!), I want to be able to feel strong and confident in the water. - Swim once a week - Surf once a fortnight Goal 3: The elephant in the room [CON 2, WIS 2] I drink more alcohol than I should and it makes me fat. I've tried to tame this in various ways almost every challenge so far, the only thing that has worked has not been drinking at all. Last challenge I went 6 weeks without alcohol, during the rest week I've had it most days. Time to try another approach. - No more than 5 units of alcohol in any one day. - At least two alcohol-free days a week. 100ml wine = 1 unit 1 bottle full strength beer = 1.5 units 1 bottle light beer = 1 unit Fitness Side quest: [DEX 4] Mobilize 4 times a week for 15 mins. - Create a mobilization routine to follow - Follow it 1RM PR's. Back Squat: 90kg Clean: 65kg Strict OHP: 50kg Strict Chinups: 10 Strict Pullups: 8

I love that saying: "to pull yourself out of poverty, you have to work like a horse, and live like a saint." So true ! For me - thankfully - it's not poverty that I'm stuck in but just a work-related rut, and I have to work extra hard for three weeks to get myself out of it. So my main quest is actually my life goal: A I have to finish a paper by August 12th. It's something that I should have done months ago, but you know how it goes. It's not part of my current job, but lots of good things will happen if I manage to finish it, and lots of not-so-nice things and hard-to-repair difficulties will follow if I don't. So to do this, I will get up at 6 in the morning and work on it for three quarters of an hour every day (except Sunday). That should actually do the trick. I've been doing that for three days now and it works a treat. (BTW I think I should mention that this is actually an major effort for me, since I will of course continue to work full time, and be a mum-of-two full time, the rest of the time, at the same time. So this will be on top of everthing else that need to be done each day. Hence, work like a horse. I wouldn't want to be doing this for more than 3 weeks. ) B I'm doing a half-marathon in September and I'd like to improve my pace A LOT. Right now I can only just do a 10.30 min/mile pace on a 10K, which is kind of pitiful. I'd like to scrape at least 1.5 min (.5 min for this challenge) off my pace in the long run. To achieve this, I will keep to my running plan go running with the club twice a week do speed training on Saturdays (tempo runs one week / intervals the next) get my miles in on Sunday for the half continue my BW training - slimmed down a bit - with push-ups, planks, squats, and pull-up progressions in lieu of strength/cross training lose a bit of mass eating mostly paleo (with some dairy and beans) As you may have noticed my main quest / life goal is only three weeks away and I'll go on a (hopefully well-deserved) holiday after that - so I've decided to treat myself to surfing lessons if I achieve goal A. Obviously I won't go running with the club while I'm away, but I'll try and get my miles in anyway. So that's it ! Only two easy goals ! Yay for simplicity ! EDIT: I have adjusted this a little ... Everybody's cutting this challenge so why can't I, right ? Join in the misery ! Let's see how this goes. Stats: Weight 73kg / 159 lbs Waist 73 cm

I'm looking for some advice on adding some intense cardio to my week. At present I am eating well, 70-80% Paleo, non-paleo is to help me with carb shortfalls. Lifting 3 times a week: Mon: Back squats, Upper body work Weds: Cleans, Push Press Fri: Front squats, DB rows and DB press Other days: Walking and once a week swimming. As you can see, not much cardio, although I get out of breath supersetting my weights and a fit test on a running machine tells me I'm "above average". I love squash and used to play amateur comp at a low level (bottom division but I don't care I enjoy it so much). Last week on Thursday I played squash for the first time in a long time (18 months or so) and it took me about 5 days to recover and feel normal again. I was totally exhausted for the first 2-3 days. I didn't lift on the Friday as I was too tired, lifted on the Saturday instead. Even though it knocked me sideways I really had fun playing and my lifting has seriously improved my fitness and my game, I destroyed my opponent as I was no longer held back by my fitness level, it came down to strategy and technique. I don't think I've ever been in that position before. I found it inspiring enough that I am considering playing competition squash again, there is an over-35 comp on Tuesday nights for us old folk . I also used to surf and am planning to get back into that one morning a week, probably Sunday for about 2 hours. This is preparation for a holiday to Hawaii in December where I want to be capable of catching a few waves. However, I am really enjoying my lifting and that needs to come first, I don't want it to be held back by Cardio work. I was so tired from the squash last week that I'm concerned I will not recover quickly enough to perform well at my lifting if I take up squash again. Does anyone have any advice on: - Will intense burst cardio hold back my lifting? - How to recover faster? - Do you think I would get used to the extra cardio work?

Today is my Day 1, and I notice a lack of certain options for exercise. Back when I was in my physical prime, I enjoyed surfing, skateboarding, and kayaking. I would like to resume these activities (in addition to SUPing). Where do I fit into this program? I.e., is there a place for me (and others that do not specifically do crossfit, rock climbing, parkour, martial arts, running, or strength training) here?