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Happy New Years, NF! I'm back. I'm fired up. And I'm taking on a persona that once struck fear in the hearts of monsters and men alike. Wild Wolf. It was a name that @DarK_RaideR helped me come up with years ago. And under this alias, I was in the best shape I'd ever been in. And I want to get back to those roots. Not only strong in body, but in mind. It's going to be tough but I play Life on hard mode anyways and if I'm being honest, I've been full of excuses lately. I've had "reasons" to not go to the gym or push myself. I've had "reasons" to half-ass my way through the daily challenges I face. But this version of me is not me at all. It's a ghost of what my potential actually is. And I'll be damned if I don't reach or grasp that potential and harness it to it's fullness! The last challenge of 2019 went well, I just didn't have time to update. Yeah, I wasn't completely perfect on my "no sweets" goal, but I was decent..lol. I worked out some, not a lot. But, I did manage to grab the Holidays by the reindeer reigns and sleigh Christmas break with the Wolfpack . (See what I did there?) Raise your hand if you've seen The Witcher on Netflix yet?? Raise your hand if you've played ANY of the video games?? Raise your hand if you've read the books?? Well I've done all three! The show...well it was nothing short of amazing. The game. Well, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is considered one of the best games in the last decade, maybe ever. And the books, well, they're are just as good. (Actually, the first book, titled The Last Wish is the book I was reading to Heather when she was pregnant with Violet. I know, I know...it's not super appropriate for a little princess, but she would have been a warrior. I'm sure of it!) I'm a fan, if you can't tell. And, being a fan, I consider myself a Witcher. Maybe not as hardened, experienced or badass as Geralt of Rivia, but this is a yet type of situation. And, this is not the end of my story, but the beginning. A story of trials. I story of battling personal demons. A story of redemption. And 2020 is the best time, dare I say the perfect time to become the monster slayer I was always meant to be. There's a lot that the show doesn't cover. Specifically being: How does one become a Witcher? Simple.The Witcher Trials. Trial One: Trial of the Grasses. Trial Two: Trial of the Dreams. Trial Three: Trial of the Mountains. But before these trials, there is The Choice. The Choice involves dietary changes and grueling physical training. Young witchers are taught sword skill, monster lore and herbalism. This... THIS is where my Witcher journey begins. Goal 1: Sword Skill A witcher is proficient with swords. Two to be exact: A silver one for slaying monsters and a steel one for slaying humans and non-humans. Geralt displays exceptional sword skill in both the game, the show and the books. He simple wields a blade like a true master. I want to follow in the White Wolf's footsteps and become a master swordsman. Sword Skill translates to gym time. I went on a 4 month streak of going to the gym consistently in the middle of 2019 and saw some fantastic results. Then I tweaked my elbow and fell off the map, losing a lot of the muscle mass I had worked so hard to gain. I'm not gonna lie...it sucked balls lol. Time to get back in the gym and build up that consistency once again. My new gym is a hardcore gym goer's wet dream with equipment I haven't ever had access too and I'm going to utilize it to my full advantage. The goal: At least 3 days a week. Shoot for 4. Utilize the weekend days as days off and time to recoup for the next week. I'm going back to a PPLFB method (Pull, Push, Legs and Full Body) split week. For each day I go, it counts for 1 point. Obviously a perfect challenge would consist of 20 points going 4 days a week. So this point totals will be broken down as: 20 points = A 18 points = B 15 points = C If I get an A, I get a GR or Goal Reward. This has yet to be determined. Possible Stat Points: +2 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA Goal 2: Monster Lore Half the battle is knowing thy enemy. What is my enemy? Procrastination, laziness, complacency. Really, anything that holds me back from achieving my goals and standing in the way of becoming the best ME I can be. Everytime one of my enemies succeeds in derailing me, I take away 2 points from already gained points. So, if I skip a gym day because I'm just being lazy, I take away from that weeks total points. If I decide to binge a bunch of chocolates then I take away from my eating goal. It's very simple. Study my foe. Learn it's weaknesses. And destroy them, one sword slash at a time. Possible Stat Points: +5 WIS Goal 3: Herbalism aka Diet Without a solid diet, all my hard training just won't pay off. IMO, diet is 90% of the success of your workout routine and I plan on this new year being devoted to eating healthy and fueling my body the correct way. According to The Choice, a witchers diet consists of mushrooms, mosses and herbs. The focus of this goal is getting in my veggies on a consistent basis. I tend to eat anywhere from 3-5 meals a day and I will get one point for each time I have veggies with a meal. A perfect day would consist of veggies at lunch and dinner with breakfast being a bonus. Points will look like this: 70 points = A 50 points = B 35 points = C Possible Stat Points: +3 CON, +2 CHA When you break down my challenge, it's actually pretty cut and dry. That doesn't mean it'll be easy. I need to be on the top of my game and your support is and will always be appreciated more than I could ever express. So, toss a coin to your witcher, o' valley of plenty, and let's do this! Wolf