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Hi all. Callanthae here. I had a previous account on Nerd Fitness a long time ago, so I decided to skip the Level 1 Challenge and come straight to the Rangers. My challenge doesn't really have a theme, but it does have an inspiration. My favourite anime of all time, the reason I got into tennis, Baby Steps. For those who haven't seen it, Baby Steps is a tennis anime. What makes it so fantastic in my opinion is a host of factors: - Maruo Eiichiro, the protagonist, doesn't have impossible skills. He starts out as a complete beginner to the sport. While his eyesight and his studious nature are big strengths, they're strengths that need to be honed and trained to be of any real use. Because of this, we see his journey from the very beginning. - Maruo loses. Like...a lot. You really never know how any match, no matter how important or plot-crucial, is going to go. Maruo could easily lose at any time, and it makes it all the more thrilling when he wins. - The realism of the anime shines through in a thousand other small ways. The shots and feats of athleticism are almost never superhuman, they're very much achievable for skilled players. Maruo's a very analytical player, and you get to understand his thought process as he plays. When he ascends to a new level, it's never because of just "powering up" or "wanting it more"...it's always a result of some useful insight that occasionally even proves useful on the court in real life. You really feel like you're in a match, and you get an understanding of how strategic tennis really is. - Last but not least is the title of this challenge. "Baby steps to giant strides" sums up the mentality of this anime perfectly, and it's an expression that appears in Season 2. The protagonist doesn't have lofty goals...he just wants to get better at tennis, and over time, as he keeps working hard, he end up doing better and better in competitions. That's how I'd like to do as well. A series of baby steps that lead to giant strides as each one is steadily accomplished. Because of this, a week or two after I watched Baby Steps for the first time, I found a local tennis club and started playing. That was about six months ago. I now want to add in off-court training, getting back to running and lifting on a regular basis - and that's why I'm back. So, Baby Steps gets full credit for getting me active again, which is yet another reason I'm such a fan of it. Goal 1: Practice my serve twice a week. I don't think you're legally allowed to have a challenge here without at least one GIF. I already practice tennis with other people a couple of times a week, and on Fridays I compete with the juniors (12-14 years old). Being 5'4" and relatively new to tennis, I'm a pretty fair match for them despite being an adult. So that's 2-3 sessions a week already, and I need no motivation to keep attending them. However, sometimes you need to get some solo practice in and really drill something, and for me that's my serve. It lags significantly behind my groundstrokes, and I really need to dial in the new serve I learnt a few weeks ago - a solid pace on the first serve, and a spinning second serve that manages to be reliable without being easily attacked. My current first serve misses too much, and then I have a weak second serve with no spin or pace that's easily taken advantage of by better opponents. Goal 2: Lift weights at least twice a week. (Ideally 3x) For weights, I'll be following Phrakture's Greyskull LP variant. The Big 4 compound lifts, plus pulling added in as Pendlay Rows and Chin-Ups. (Assisted chin-ups for the time being.) I'll be tracking it using the Personal Training Coach app on Android, which has a bunch of workout templates, including the Greyskull variant I'm doing. I've started relatively light, but over the last couple of weeks the workouts have gotten harder. I'm still getting 10 reps on the last set for all the exercises except Chin-Ups though, so I've got plenty left in the tank. Over the next few weeks I expect that to change as the weights climb back up to my old levels of strength. Goal 3: Run at least twice a week. (Ideally 3x) For running, I'll be using Zombies, Run! to keep things interesting. For the first two weeks I'll be running 4 km (2.5 miles), and for the second two weeks, I'll be running 4.5 km (2.8 miles). At my peak I was running 5-6 km 4 times per week, but I went from 3 days a week to 4 too fast and got injured. I never really got back into it. The goal is to run at an Easy pace (Based on an estimated 27-minute 5k time from a recent max-effort run I performed) 2 days a week. On Saturdays, I'll be doing story runs, where I run faster. I allow the Zombies Run story to determine exactly how fast I do run, though I don't plan to run faster than Threshold pace (Comfortably hard) except at the very end of the challenge, where I'll be doing an all-out max-effort run if everything works out, probably a 5k time trial. I could fill plenty of words with various details, but I figured I'd leave it nice and short...and it'll give plenty of stuff to talk about throughout the challenge this way. Looking forward to the start of the challenge!

"For the Year is Long, and Full of Binges" Priority 1: No 70 course dinners I've been trying to lose weight via tracking Calories In-Calories Out (CICO) for the better part of this year, and have been failing miserably. Not because CICO doesn't work, but because I consistently undo my good deficits with binge eating. Since insanity is popularly defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, I'm trying a new approach for this challenge. I'm taking a mental health break from all the tracking: - I will not weigh myself during the challenge; -1 point for every time I do (if someone else decides to check my weight, like my fitness consultant through the health insurance program at work, no points will be held against me) - I won't track food using MFP or another calories tracking device; -1 point for every day I do - No overeating alone - I've chosen this as my first step towards overcoming my binge eating. I can't ban myself from eating alone entirely, because I eat breakfast and lunch alone at work during the week. I also think it's too ambitious to try to stop overeating cold turkey - plus, I don't see it as a long term solution - there will always be special occasions and family events to celebrate, and aiming for never ever eating more than my body needs sounds like a guaranteed way to fail. My biggest problem (in my mind) is secretive binge eating - for example, stopping at the grocery store on the way to work to buy a quart of ice cream to devour in the car. I'm hoping that, by allowing myself to eat as much as I want on the condition that I do it in other people's company, I can shake this detrimental habit. -1 point for every occurence of overeating alone; +1 point for every day with no occurences Priority 2: Dream like Arya Okay, so I know I'm not a warg and don't get to dream I'm a direwolf destroying my enemies, but that doesn't mean I can't benefit from getting a little extra shuteye. Last challenge, I managed to average exactly 8 hours a night (granted, with a fair amount of variation, but an average nonetheless). However, I still feel like I could benefit from more. I'm going to bump my average goal up to 8.25 hours a night, so 346.5 hours cumulative over the course of the next 6 weeks. Priority 3: Go to the Maester for healing I have mild cases of plantar fasciitis and shin splints, which seem to have the common cause of tight calf muscles. My goal is stretching two times a day - 1 - upon waking/before getting out of bed (either drawing the ABCs with my feet or pulling my foot to a flex using a blanket or towel. 2 - calf stretch (against the wall or similar) after exercise Priority 4: Study with Sam Last challenge I came close to meeting my goal of averaging 15 min/day. Seeing as how I was studying for longer intervals only once or twice a week anyways, I decided to set a weekly goal this time around of 120 minutes. Priority 5: Winter is coming I always struggle to keep up a high activity level when the weather starts to turn cold. I haven't had an activity goal the past challenge or two, but it's time to put one back in as a preemptive measure. I want to keep it flexible, though, so that I can spend time as I wish outside any day that the weather is still good. Here's a list of indoor and outdoor options; I will choose 1 everyday: Outdoor (preference - enjoy it while it lasts!): - Go for a walk/hike - Play a tennis match - Bike to and from work, or just go for a bike ride after work - Sprints/some kind of interval training Indoor - bodyweight exercises (ex: NF BBWW) - zumba DVD - DDR - Xbox Kinect or Wii game - walk on treadmill - stationary bike - dumbell workout at fitness center at work - large cleaning project - go wall climbing, to a trampoline park, to dodgeball meetup, or other random activity with boyfriend - stretching/yoga/taichi/other mind/body - if in need of rest day

♫ I wanna be the greatest master of them all! ♫ So you wanna be the Master of Pokémon! Do you have the skills to be Number one!? Quest 1: "Snorlax is fast asleep" Sleep like Snorlax. Last challenge, there were a few times when I got behind on sleep, and I found out how hard it is to stick to other goals when you're tired. So, priority #1 should be sleep. However, I know that life happens and I can't always control how much sleep I get in a specific night or what time I get to bed. Thus, my goal for the challenge is to average 8 hours/night, thereby accumulating 392 hours over the course of the 7 weeks. Points possible: CON - 4 CHA - 2 (because a well-rested me is a more pleasant me to be around) "Snorlax used leftovers!" No! You've had enough leftovers for one day, Snorlax! Which brings me to my next quest... Quest 2: "Ninetails used flamethrower!" Burn more calories than you consume like slim and graceful Ninetails. I should be getting my replacement Fitbit in the mail near the end of week 1 or the beginning of week 2. Until then, I'll have to continue guesstimating my calories burned. While I enjoy and want to continue a lot of summertime activities (tennis, biking, walking), I need to make other things a priority sometimes. That's okay, because I have control over the other side of the equation - how much I eat. Goal is an average deficit of 500 calories a day, so 24,500 for the 7 week challenge. Points possible: CON - 2 STA - 2 DEX - 1 Quest 3: "Its brain can outperform a supercomputer. Its intelligence quotient is said to be 5,000." Concentrate like Alakazam. Finish that darn FSA module! Goal will be to studay an average of 15 min/day, so 735 minutes for the challenge. Points possible: WIS - 4

Hey everyone, About me: First posting here, long time fitness/nutrition student and frequent athlete! I live/work in Denver, CO, and play tennis, throw discus, play video games, and chill out in my free time. I love playing tennis, but I know that my body fat and weight are seriously hindering my performance on the court after the 1st set, and I want to compete at a higher level and win local tournaments. I know there are an infinite number of resources about weight loss, but now that I've gotten the general principles down, I've run into some confusion given all the wild debating about nutrition and fitness, and I came to you rebels with the hope of helping me iron out a more solid workout and diet plan for myself. If there is something that I don't mention that will be helpful, or if I've brazenly violated a rule that I didn't read about, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! My stats: Gender: Male Weight: ~215 lbs. Height: 6'3.5" (I generally say 6'4" with shoes) Body Fat %: Assume 18-20% (Never had it measured, no idea how to without spending serious coin) Musculature: I've got a good volume of muscle all over under all this fat, and I want to *maintain it, not bulk up, while cutting fat* I can tell that I am really close to slimming as I can see great muscle definition when flexing, but it's so often hidden by a mushy layer of fat all over. Workout Schedule: Cyclic Day 1: Explosive leg workout (jumping bulgarian squats, box jumps, fast jumping jacks, etc.) Day 2: Upper Body (Pullups, bench presses, clapping pushups, bicep/tricep curls) Day 3: Run for 2 miles Day 4: Rest However, these are all morning-ish. In the evenings (say, 2-3x a week) I will either a) Throw the discus with my left arm, then practice serves with my right or Play a tennis match or hit Goals: Get to 15%-ish body fat, improve leg endurance/power and cardiovascular endurance (all for tennis) Diet: Calorie Intake: ?????? I've had calculators say 2100 BMR, others say 3000. I have no idea which way is up, down, or sideways, and it's frustrating the hell out of me for planning a deficit to lose weight! I can eat anywhere from 2200 to 3000, depending on how many carbs I chose to eat. Macro goals: <130g carbs, ???g Fat, ~150g protein (How much fat should I eat? I like to aim high, around 140g to stay up on calories) What I eat: Morning before work: 1 cup oatmeal, 1 large banana Throughout day at work: 2 cups tuna, some peanut butter, a protein powder+water drink after workout, bell pepper (still hunting for more foods to bring in and eat!) After work: 3 eggs, sausage or bacon, then it's a wild crapshoot as I'm out of ideas for the day This may be way too much info, but hopefully someone here can find the time/space to read this block of text and help a fellow athlete out!!!

Intro and Long-Term Goals I’m Presea, and this is my second 6WC. I am a 25 y/o 5’ 7’’ female, currently weighing 183.6 pounds (4/7/15). My over-arching quest is to lose weight, with an initial goal of 160 pounds, at which point I’ll reassess. For this 6WC, my goal is to lose 5 pounds. I live in the Midwest region of the US, and I have a desk job (actuarial work). I enjoy many types of exercise and feel better when I work at least some activity into every day. Edit: Starting weight morning of 4/13 was 182.5, so my goal for the end of the 6 weeks will be 177.5. Need to take measurements, as I haven't done so since the start of the last challenge (oops). Subquests (SMART goals that will help me complete my overall quest): Subquest #1: Control food intake. Last challenge, my focus was breaking my binge eating cycle, so I had a calorie limit of 2500. Although I went over that a few times, it was never a full-on binge (no secret trips to the grocery store to buy donuts or ice cream to later eat alone in hiding in my car). I believe I succeeded in breaking my binge eating cycle, however, I was not eating at enough of a deficit to actually lose any weight. I track food using MyFitnessPal and activity using a FitBit Zip. Over the course of the entire previous challenge, I ate 98,370 calories and burned 99,495 calories, meaning my total deficit was only around 1,000 calories for the whole 6 weeks. No wonder I hardly lost any weight. This time around, my quest each week will be to have a cumulative deficit of 1,750 calories = a total deficit of 10,500 for the whole challenge. Possible points: +3 CON +4 CON Subquest #1b: I believe protein and fat are keys to satiety. While I tracked my macronutrients during the prior challenge, I didn’t really have any goals for them. My averages per day were 180g carbs, 125g fat, and 143g protein. I’m going to aim for some small improvements this time around: >=150 grams protein/day, <=150 grams carbohydrate/day, fill in the rest with fat. Possible points: +1 CON I decided to remove my macro goals, because I'm honestly not sure I know what works best for me yet. I'm going to keep reporting them, but I'm only going to score myself on the calorie deficit since that's what counts in the long run. I'm going to try to include notes on energy levels to see if that reveals what the optimal macro balance is for me and my lifestyle. Subquest #2a: I’ve been tracking my daily step counts from my FitBit, and I feel that I have small habits like taking the stairs and parking further away down pat. However, I want to push myself to dedicate more time to go on walks. I’m a huge Tolkien nerd, so I’ll be tracking my walks against Frodo’s journey with the Eowyn Challenge. My goal is to make it to Crickhollow (73 miles – counting dedicated walks only, not other daily activity) by the end of the challenge. Possible points: +1 STA, +1 DEX Subquest #2b: The past two summers, I have ridden my 15 year old mountain bike to work (14.2 miles each way). Even though I take mostly trails to get there, they are all paved, so I feel riding a mountain bike is really slowing me down (I think my average time was around 1hr 30mins). Therefore, I am in the market for buying a road bike soon. I’m such a Tolkien nerd, in fact, that I’m going to have a second save file in my Eowyn Challenge game in which I will be trying to ride to Weathertop by the end of the challenge (241 miles). Possible points: +1 STA, +1 STR Subquest #3: I often have a hard time getting up in the morning, and I seem to be getting to work later and later. I used to get there around 7, but that has slowly crept up over the past 6 months to the point where now I’m getting there around 8:30. I have flexible work hours, so it’s not a big deal, just means I need to stay later – but I don’t like it. I think bettering my sleep habits will help, but I haven’t really been tracking my sleep. My quest is to track my sleep every day, so that I can set some good goals for next challenge. Possible points: +1 WIS Subquest #4: I got an A+ on my goal of playing tennis an average of 2x/week. I’m going to up my goal this challenge to an average of 3x/week. Possible points: +1 STR, +1 DEX Life Quest #1 – I have recently completed all my requirements for my ASA, so now I’m on to the FSA requirements. My goal is to complete one FSA module during this 6WC. Possible points: +2 WIS Life Quest #2 – Last challenge I completed the Pimsleur series for Japanese around week 4. Since then, I’ve studied zero Japanese and I’m not proud of it. My goal for this challenge is consistent practice – 30 minutes a day, every day. Possible points: +2 CHA I will attach an image of my grading spreadsheet later.

So I guess I'm not really new, because I've technically been a member for about a year. I just never got into the forums or challenges, and I haven't yet officially introduced myself. My name is Sarah and I just finished my first year of college. I'm really good about working out and staying active; I do crossfit, yoga, and occasionally play tennis. I hate running, but I'm trying to make myself enjoy it because I want to be a more well-rounded athlete. My real problem is eating. My boyfriend is literally the healthiest eater I've ever met, so I always ask him to help me eat better, but I just don't have the motivation for it. I love sweets and soda too much, which I know is terrible. For the upcoming six-week challenge I'm going to try to cut soda out (for the most part.) WISH ME LUCK Also, hit me up if you're looking for an Accountibilibuddy (if that's spelled right at all) and you're into strength training and/or crossfit! I love squats, cleans, and deadlifts. The heavier the better Oh also I'm in love with Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy. Han Solo and Peter Quill and Groot are my faves and I want to be Princess Leia.

Hello, I, TennisGeek took a off from previous challenge. And, I'm also late for this one too. Earlier this year, I had to go back to Japan for a few weeks to take care of my family situation. Well, my mom passed away in January. I'm sad but I'm over it because we knew it all along. She was 81. Nonetheless, I a little got out of whack. My weight is up to 168lbs this morning. Due to weather, my tennis club was out for like 2 weeks. I haven't played tennis for a while. I was not in mood to watch out for food or drink, after over 2 years of diligent MFP logging, I'm not keeping it up. Good news is that, the club reopens soon. Also, weather is finally starting to let up. It's still cold (we had another 2" snow. last night), but I cannot wait to go out and bike. I'd like to mount a nice come back, and want to feel a little better. Instead of going full speed. I'm going to do small, incremental changes. Nothing flashy, big changes. Goals 1. Keeping calories under 1,800. (which is my TDEE) and no food after 10pm 2. To feel better, stretch every morning for 5 minutes. 3. As weather gets nicer, go out and ride bike. I'd like to do total of 200miles or so, which is 40miles/week pace. This is a bit ambitious as I wouldn't ride right now. Roads are narrow, and snow banks are still too high. By the end of challenge, snow would be gone, and weather is manageable. Alright. Spring is coming.

It's clear that I suck at sticking to the regimen, and "motivation" sucks. I need to make things more automatic because I don't love any of work outs, diets, etc. Things I love - playing tennis, riding bike, eating good food, cooking relatively healthy, I have no problem with that. As a result, my body stays the same (pretty healthy), and not much of "maintenance" like crazy diet or exercise needed. Just auto-pilot the food and regular exercise and my body stays at 165lb with 18% body fat. The question is, how to develop the good habits that stick. I'm not going to say "I'm going to this for the challenge" any more. Trying to motivate myself does not work. Motivation always burns out and the result is that it's a waste of time. Well, I tried a few things and some did work, like cooking more often and cooking healthy. These worked because these are concrete actions. Also, when it's too much, I get demotivated doing things. So, instead, I'm going to do some game plan for something healthy that sticks. Right now, I don't have a plan. The goal of this challenge is to come up with plans and implement. # Sorry that this is going to be probably most boring thread in the NF challenge.

I need a place to keep track of my training log other than my challenges. It would be fun to keep track of my tennis matches I play too. I may not put in food log as I use MFP. All exercises are done in my basement with very limited weights or the locker room of my tennis club with body weight.

Hello, fellow rebels. I, TennisGeek, am feeling down. I became an empty nester, along with other life events, my energy is not there at the moment. So, I started the challenge late. And, that's a good reason to start a new challenge. I need to pick myself up. During last challenge, I somewhat let go some of control on food. Not that I ate terribly, but certainly I ate a lot more food and gained 4 pounds or so. In previous challenge, I basically laid low during the transition of my daughter. It's time to pick myself up. I think that the hardest is to find the motivation right now.Staying active is not a problem for me. I'm still playing tennis regularly. I'm still riding bike a lot.Last year, I had the drive to do more - such as strength training in the basement regularly.I cannot find that drive. What I've learned from previous challenges is, it's all about motivation. Challenges are good to break the ice for getting into something new, but to sustain, you need the motivation, you need the drive to do what I need to do. I can play tennis all day. I am happy to ride bike for long long distance - it's a challenge but I can do through the pains of sitting on bike all day. Bottom line is, I don't like to work out. I do like to eat. I lost weight. For the most part, I only need to maintain it. Right now, I cannot find reason or motivation to do more. Through the challenge, I am going to try to find groove. To not stress myself, I'll not count point. I'll let it happen as naturally and I'll use the challenge thread for my own accountability. I'll assess the challenge and decide whether or not it's worth the level up. The main quest Become the best tennis player I can be. Stronger, faster, flexible, resilient and awesomer. The Goals Exercise: More PLP - I am stuck at 44. I have to resume. Note that, I am doing this along with playing tennis regularly and bike commute. So, finding extra energy and time is not that easy. Whatever I do is a plus so that's what I'll report. Food:In order to lose weight, I'll eat the net calories of 1,600. MFP is my accountability. I've been a bit loose on this. I log everything, and every day, it's over calories. Life quest: I need to get out from the funk I have right now. I'm very snappy and less energy. I need something new to try - I will go to a rock gym at least twice during the challenge.I'll try to engage with fellow rebels more. It's been lacking and not helping me.I'll do something new. like I may finally join a gym. Change over ended. The chair ump said: "Time"

Hello, hello fellow rebels. It's me, TennisGeek, the man who is obsessed playing tennis. I do a few other things but it's all about tennis seriously. The main quest - I'd like to be the best tennis player I can be, but, sometimes the life calls for a break, just like any tennis match takes 90 second break every two games. This is my 3rd challenge as a Ranger, and 7th overall. This challenge is not a level-up challenge but I'll maintain the body until my kid starts college. It would be a bit of change in my life. Goals 1. PLP Challenge Continue PLP I started after the last challenge. Today (Friday) is the day 5. At the end of challenge, it's day 49. It's pretty scary. I'd like to complete PLP 60 or longer. 2. Longer Ride I'd like a bike ride more than 60 miles which is the longest ride I've done. 3. Better Food No more wheat flour. I can resist the pasta, but bread has been difficult to ignore.I'll allow myself once a week of beer, but no bread, pasta or any of baked goods. I'll get as close to gluten free as possible. 4. Life goal - sending my kid to college Enough said. 5. Side quest - playing in a USTA sanctioned tourny I've never played in a USTA tournament ever. I'd like to play one during the challenge. Let's play!

The main quest - The best tennis player I can be. First, I beat everyone in the tennis club. There is a town tennis torny (Arlington Tennis Open), and I'm going to play. That's July 11th. I'd like to do well in it. Last challenge was a fail. I think Goals 1. Stronger Strength training 3 times a week. Full score is 18. I need to keep the training simple however, because my priorities are life, tennis, bike rides, and training. I have to keep each session pretty short. STR+3 2. Faster I want to get faster with my bike ride. The best way seems to be to time the morning commute to office. My PR time from home to office is about 31.5 minutes, and I'd like to get under 30 minutes. The distance from home to office is about 7.3 miles. I'll keep track of every ride with Strava, and I'll post the time. At the end of challenge, I'll score depending on the best time. Scoring is one point per every 20 seconds improvement from 32 minutes, and 10 point is full score. 31:40 - 1, 31:20 - 2, 31:00 - 3, ... So, the full score means 28:20. This is going to be tough. STA+3 3. Leaner Obviously, not carrying extra fat helps playing tennis and bike ride. Right now, my weight is about 162lb (I'm 5' 9") and body fat % is probably 17%ish. The challenge is to hit the macros - carbs < 100g, protein > 150g. Every day, I'll score the result of MFP. Carbs < 100 - 1 point / day, Protein > 150 - 1 point / day. EDIT: For smart goals - I will give my self 20% wiggle room to claim half point. 100 < Carbs < 120 - 0.5 point / day 150 > Protein > 120 - 0.5 point / day EDIT2: Full score is 78, not 84 however, as I need one cheat day/week to reset my metabolism. So, it,s 84 - 6. (I don't care the calories that much as I exercise a lot.) CON+3 I want to do a life goal - becoming awesomer, but I cannot come up right now. I'll post/update the goal, etc. in near future. I'd also like to get back to spend more time with the NF forum. I was kind of disconnected last challenge and it did not help me motivated. I want to engage with more people here. Let's start the 2nd set in Ranger.

The main quest - Win a Wimbledon Championship. I know it's a rocky road. First of all, I have to beat the guy above. That probably means that I have to be way better than anyone in my tennis club which is already difficult. That means, I need power, endurance and time to practice tennis. Oh, right. I moved from Adventurer. Hey, every one! The goals: #1 Organize My Room completely You'd say "Huh?". But that way, I don't waste time anymore to look for stuff in my room. So, it makes time to play more tennis! In previous challenge, one of goals was "throw one thing away every day", and the clutter has been noticeably reduced. Now is the time to organize/label/catalog my possessions. To do this, I will spend 15 minutes every day in my room to organize. One of following tasks Label or bacode the storage containers Put things in a container and put entries into "Delicious Libraries 3" Throw stuff away. Count days I've done above tasks. 42 is the full score. WIS +3 #2 Improve Endurance I will ride my bike 10 miles/day. So, it's going to be 420 miles total. The award depends on the total mileage. The distance is logged by "Runtastic Rode Bike". 420 is the full score. STA +3 #3 Strength Training Since I spend many hours on tennis court, it's been difficult to train myself. Twice a week works for me. 12 is the full score. STR +3 #4 Life quest - Stay calm and play nice with my family Count days I did not annoy anyone in my family and do some kind of meaningful convo. Full score is 42. CHA +3 Side quest: This is as important as any other goal to me. It's been a long time I haven't gone to bed in reasonable time. Go to bed before 1am. Full score is 42 CON +3 That's it. Let's start the game!

Looking for local workout partners. I live mid-peninsula. I don't want to work out anymore. I had a weight plate come lose and give me a concussion. I would like a partner in fitness. Let me know if you are interested.

Hello! TennisGeek here. This is my 4th challenge. For first 3.5 challenges, I've put in a lot of work, time and effort into each challenge. I felt exhaustion just keeping up with my own challenge so I'm going to change the tone completely. For this challenge, I've decided to not put any stress on myself. My challenge is to simplify my life including the challenge itself. Main Quest: Becoming a Wimbledon Champion Goals: #1 - Sleep better. Don't sleep on couch. Count night that I went to bed. CON+3 #2 - Throw one thing away every day for the duration of challenge I want to clean my room, but wanting does not help. I will remove one thing from my room every day. WIS+3 #3 - Tennis strength training Twice a week. STR+2 Side/Life goals: #4 - Stay calm, play nice I challenge myself to not get frustrated about anything. Count days that I did not annoy my family. Exception is when I am not playing tennis very well and frustrated on myself - which is a healthy motivation. CHA+3

The time has come. The mission is to bash and chase away my most hated enemy. It has been compromising my health, eating, relationship and productivity. It's been really long time that I don't go to bed to sleep. For last two challenges, fixing up the sleeping was my side quest, and didn't do anything, therefore it cannot be "side" any more. I need a real attitude change about sleep. There are only 3 things that affect the body - food, exercise, and sleep. I'm doing fine with food and exercise, so the sleep has to be addressed this time. Main quest Goal #1 - Go to bed every night. No more watching Tennis channel and fall asleep on the couch. No more TV after playing tennis. Period. If I go to bed and not fall asleep on couch, I count it as one. A: 35+ nights., B: 28+ nights, C: 14+ nights, D: 7+ nights STA+2, CON+2 Goal #2 - Night time snacking. No more freakin night time snacking even if it's good kind of snacks. Every night I don't do night time snacking is counted as one. Exception is, after playing more than one hour of tennis in late night, up to two of followings is allowed for recovery: whey protein + half a cup of milk, a fruit, a hundful of nuts, half of sweet potato or equivalent of good carb. A: 35+ nights. , B: 28+ nights., C: 14+ nights , D: 14 nights WIS+2, CHA+2 Goal #3 - Stretching after every tennis and workout. Stretching is boring. I don't do enough, but it does not help the recovery. So, I'll force myself to do a decent stretching after tennis and workout. A: 90+% , B: 75+%, C: 50%, D: 30% DEX+2, CON+1 Side quest None this time. I'll focus on the main quest. Instead, I will do the exercise side quest. Life quest Nicer to my wife. It's a complicated long story that I don't want to get in. WIS: +1, CHA: +1 Exercise side quest 10x3 pull ups is the real goal. Right now, I can barely do 4 or 5, so being able to do 10x1 is already a great achievement. I'll do 30 pullups for every Monday workout. Usually, I need 6, 7, 8 sets to do 30. 30 pull ups in (STR+2, STA+2) A: 3 sets, B: 4 sets, C: 5 sets , D: 6 sets, F: 7+ sets Do workout twice a week. Since playing tennis is my priority, I'll do this something more manageable, once in a weekday when I don't play tennis and once on a weekend when I have time. A: 10/12, B: 8/12, C: 6/12, D: 4/12 (STR+1, STA+1) Award claiming: Since I don't like the quater point, I'll shift quarter point to something else. A - 100%, B - 75%, C - 50%, D - 25% With the goals adjusted, I meet the mini challenge #1, and will claim WIS+1

Main quest I don't want to be "skinny fat", and play better tennis. In the first challenge, I was able to get into the groove with my workouts, so I want to build the success on top of it. Main Goals: #1. Shave off another 2lbs of fat based on Fitbit scale. I average 5 days of weight x body fat % at the beginning and ending and see the difference. A: >=2lbs: A (CHA +3), B: >= 1.5lbs (CHA +2), C: >= 1.0lbs (CHA +1), D: >= 0.5lbs, F: >= 0lbs. #2. Strength training for tennis I play tennis regardless at least 4 times a week. (I already played 4 nights this week, not counting tonight.) It's been difficult to make the strength training priority, cuz when I wake up, some area of my body is always sore. But, I'll keep nailing it 3 times a week. A: 3 times/week (STR: +2), B: 2.5 times/week (STR: +2), C: 2 times/week (STR: +1), D: 1.5 times/week, F: 1.times/week #3. 50 pushups without break nuf said. The goal is set PRETTY high for me. Anything more than 35 is a smashing success. A: 50+ (STA: +3, STR: +1), B: 45+ (STA: +2, STR: +1), C: 40+ (STA: +1, STR: +1), D: 35+ (STA: +1, STR: +1), F: below 35 Side Quest: My sleeping before 1am in the bed has been a total failure in previous challenge. However, I kinda have a hunch about how to fix this. As in Steve's blogs, to change, I need to have a habit. For sleeping, it's about "no digital devices" seems to be the key. WIS, CON: +3 for establishing the routine and 80% success rate. WIS, CON: +1 for establishing any kind of routine. This has really big impact on my overall life, so give myself a big points if I can pull this off. Life goals: Nicer to my wife. It's a complicated long story that I don't want to get in. WIS: +2, CHA: +2

MAIN QUEST My life's goal is to win the Wimbledon. However at age 52, I don't think I can get there that easily. I need to level up my tennis game a lot to get there. For immediate goal, I'll start by beating everyone in my tennis club which is not that easy. In terms of weight, I've already gone down my weight from 188 to 163 in 4 months since May, but I can lose some more so that I can move quicker. Losing unnecessary weight also saves my knees, so it allows me to play longer better. The reasons I gained weight in first place were, A: I did not know what to eat. - ignorance. B: I had an illness and could not do much of excercise for 6 months.(Nov/12 - Apr/13) - sickness. C: I did not have much of self esteem to keep my shape in check. - motivation. I've been counting calories for half a year, paleo centric cooking for 2 months or so. The logical step is to get stronger, which helps my self esteem, and tennis game. I found NF while looking for strength training. Sub Goals 1. Body fat Reduce body fat % by Fitbit scale from 18.0 to 16.5%. I would like to set the weight goal, but if I'm going to do a lot of workouts, it's not realistic to have the weight goal. So, I'll take an easy route as the first challenge. Since I step on Fitbit scale every day, I can see its body weight and fat%. I know it's not very accurate but if I average the daily fat% every week, I'm at least comparing apples to apples. Current fat% is just about 18%. The grading - F: >=18.0, D: >17.5, C: >17.0, B: >16.5, A: <=16.5. 2. Workout Stronger body also adds power to my shots. I need regular strength training. A problem I have is that, the strength training makes me tired when I play tennis. I'm finding that, as long as my legs are fresh, I do OK playing. So, as long as I don't do many squats or lunges, I should be able to do workouts. So, the goal is: Come up with a workout routine (or routines), and record the results. It's different from the beginner's body weight workout because I don't want to do squats and lunges, but I need to do wrist curls, strenghthen rotator cuffs, and increase upper body (core and back) strength. I don't have a lot of clue to this, so, the goal is a combo goal, unfortunately. Also, the routine may change in the course. So, I'll record the frequency, not the progress of training. First, write down the workout routines that helps my tennis. And then, whatever that is, do workout regularly. Grading - A: 3 times a week. B: 2.5 times a week. C: 2 times a week. D: 1.5 times a week. F: less than 1.5 times a week. 3. Sleeping Oh boy. I have a long time issue with this. I have problem going to bed. I have a bad habit of staying up late. I'd be routinely up 'til 2, 3 or 4am, either watching TV or doing something with computer. I also conk out on the couch regularly rather than in bed. Around 3, 4am, I get up and finally go to bed. It's really bad habit. Until today, I also had to wake up in the middle of night to use bathroom because of my medication. Now, my medication changed and I don't need to wake up. I'll try to sleep better in general. My goal is: I'll be in bed before 1am. When I play tennis at night, I finish playing around 11pm, and then take shower and drive back home. By then, it's often midnight. If I do recovery nutrition, hydration, stretching (I'm an old man) and dental care afterward, 1am is almost the earliest I can be in bed. I'll give my self some slack for weekends. Grading - A: 5 times or more a week, B: 4 times a week, C: 3 times a week, D: 2 times a week, F: 1 or less. SIDE QUESTS I write software as my volunteer work for World Computer Exchange. (I've been volunteering for a few years now.) I need to work some more, particularly on documentation side. so that I can transfer my responsibilities to other volunteer workers. Right now, I'm the solo provider of disk contents for my chapter. I need to change the situation. I need to either write down, or train someone else to do what I do. MOTIVATION I'm hoping my work ethic inspires my family members to live healthier life. One of motivations is to make myself happy with my body. In turn, it should make me play better tennis. Maybe be other way around. Playing better tennis makes me really happy.