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Oh right these things start on Sunday now So! Hello again everyone. Hope things have been awesome. I spent the past couple weeks just chilling and not making a topic because I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Or, I knew, but I didn't know how to articulate it. Mostly, I've just been watching myself and seeing what works and what doesn't, what is right and what is wrong, and simply striving see things w/o any sense of judgment. I've made the terrible but necessary decision to suspend TGUs for a while because I can't find a way to do them that doesn't bugger up my elbow. Oh, to be clear, I've really refined the movement a lot in terms of how I load and unload the bell onto my body - the arm I pull with and how I let it fall off of me - but like I said. Anyway I do it causes the golfer's elbow to get upset. So, I have to let the loaded version go for a bit in favor of the shod version (read: doing it with a shoe to keep the mechanics I've learned integrated in the system). Because frankly there's value in that. Elements of the TGU show up in newaza, and there's no reason not to keep practicing how to get up off the ground. Interestingly, I've found that after refreshing myself on how to do inverted rows in the GB style that it made my elbow feel better. It's probably something to do with the fact that I'm only doing it once a week and allow for loads and loads of rest in the meantime. The only way I was able to learn all this was to relax my grip on what I thought I had to do and to be honest with what was helpful to me and what wasn't. So, the theme of this challenge is to simply relax into my life and let happen what will. GOAL 1: MODIFIED S&S I can still swing. That's good news. I've concluded that this ability to swing is what's really made me into a beast that can go from strength work to fighting work to running work to helping someone move without any real trouble. I'm still on track to go for the 88, because there's no reason not to unless I hurt myself. The only catch is, I can't do TGUs with any weight right now. So, modify it. Goal is to take steps toward 100 swings in a row w/ the 70. Once I can do that, then move on to the 88. In the meantime, keep practicing those good mechanics w/ TGUs - pull with the opposite arm, keep the loaded arm socketed in the shoulder, and let the bell shoe slide off when I unload. GOAL 2: SATURDAY I've been going to the dojo pretty consistently and I've got a feel for how things work there. Now I know that if I want to go to randori, I'm going to have to hit up Saturday classes. This is not so bad, but I've a tendency to squander that day. But there's more going on than just judo. Work has offered overtime as well, meaning I can hit time and a half. That's not insignificant and I can make a big dent in my caseload if the building is open. The only way I can take advantage of either of these is if I get the eff up on Saturday mornings and don't stay up late. And to be frank about it, there's no percentage in it anyway. Going to bed earlier just makes me more rested and happier with life in general. The goal is to get to bed at the normal bedtime - somewhere between 2300 and midnight if not earlier - and to be constructive with my time. GOAL 3: CLEAN I let my foot off the gas with this goal. Need to put it back on. Get that last corner cleaned up. There's no need for that stuff to be there. And then... gulp. The storage unit. Dad's been hinting at me that I need to get that cleaned up anyway, so. GOAL 4: WRITE AND LEARN Duolingo put in a Japanese mod. I'm so freaking stoked. Study on casual 5 minutes a day. Also, need to keep working on the story and writing scenes. One a day. No excuses. GOAL 5: PLAY THIS FREAKING GAEM Okay, so. I got into this game. It's called Cross Code. It's really, really good. Think Seiken Densetsu/Secret of Mana IN SPACE, with a physics engine to boot. Oh, and I don't know if you can tell from the trailer but it's Dark Souls-hard. I'm not kidding. Reviewers have noted the exact same thing. The combat revolves a lot around noticing enemy tells and countering them proper, but that's not easy when you're swarmed with enemies and they all have different tells. But it's a game, and I enjoy it. I want to find some time each week to keep playing it. Even if it's in beta and unfinished right now. It's that good. And... yeah. That about does it for me this time around. Let's go to work.

Because there is never too much kettlebell awesomeness, I am starting up this group again. Nothing formal, just for people who like to play with kettlebells, or want to learn more. Share what you do, accomplishments, or questions. Several people are working on Simple and Sinister right now, while others have their own workouts, and some are competing. Since I started the group, I'll share what I am doing. I hadn't done anything strength training related until about 4 years ago, when I joined NF. I did some bodyweight stuff, then added in some sledgehammer training, and then started with kettlebells. Right now I am working on Pavel's program Simple and Sinister. It consists of two exercises, swings and Turkish get-ups. The Simple goal for a woman is to be able to do `100 55 lb. swings in under 5 minutes, and 10 35 lb. TGUs in 10 minutes. My personal goal is 44 lb swings and 35 lb TGU. After I hit that goal, I'll most likely switch programs for a bit, but I would like to eventually be able to do 100 55 lb swings. So this challenge I will work at building up to be able to do 5 (each side) complete TGUs with the 35 lb and decreasing the swing time with my 35 lb. The swings I had to step back, even though I had already hit the 5 minute time, I was really unhappy with my form. So, I worked on my form and am now working on the goal, while still maintaining my form. That's my story. Share what you are doing and your goals.

Hi everyone! I'm a longtime receiver of NF emails, but this is the first time I've actually gotten in there on the forums and decided to do a challenge. I'm a South Carolina native recently transplanted to Denver, CO. I'm a major nerd in the band sense and also in the foreign language sense, but I also enjoy fantasy, specifically LOTR and comic book movies. When I'm not music-ing or language-ing, you'll find me mountain biking, hiking, cooking, reading, or just hanging with my peeps. Main quest: Lose 5" total off my body measurements Goals for this challenge: take advantage of my kickass work gym and do kettlebells (Simple & Sinister routine) min 4x/week during lunch break turkish get-up with 35-lb bell by end of week 6 drink no more than 1 beer/week by the end of week 6 (I moved to Denver about a year ago and it is the beeriest city I've ever known!) make & bring lunch to work min 4x/week Side quest: Keep my house clean; specifically, make sure kitchen counters are clean and ready to go at all times (lunch prep!) and bed is made every day Motivation: I live in Colorado and want to be badass (read: lean & strong!) enough to do as much of the outdoor stuff (skiing, mountain biking, hiking) as I can cram into a weekend. Edited to add that I've been doing Simple & Sinister for a few weeks already and I've made it to the 26# bell on the TGU. That in itself is thrilling, but I've also seen some increase in definition in my arms and shoulders, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and that motivates me to see if I can make them slightly less fluffy so that I can really see definition! Recording of results: My S&S routine tracking can be found here. I may add my beer & lunch-bringing goals to that as well, just for ease of tracking. Reward: Two new pairs of pants for work. Happy quest-ing, y'all!

Elastigirl and Bewip are both charging toward the simple goals from Pavel's Simple and Sinister book. The goal is Simple: By June 15th ; Be able to complete 5 reps on each side of 35 lb(15 kg) Turkish Getups in under 10 minutes and be able to swing a 44 lb (20Kg)100 times in under 5 minutes. Bewip is going to do all his swings with one hand, Elastigirl is trying for two hand, and any one handed swings are just for super awesomeness.