Search the Community

Recently I was inspired by seeing a couple of snowshoe hares in the woods up north. They were between their summer and winter fur colors (as above), which I found fascinating. They are survivalists, enduring all four seasons in extreme situations, with numerous predators and competitors. They have to be highly skilled (and a bit lucky) to survive. But mainly it was their alertness and mindful movement that inspired me. They reminded me that I've really been neglecting quadrupedal (QM) in the parkour training. A major part of this challenge will be a constant reminder to myself to include QM practice in my training. Another major aspect of this challenge will be defeating urge to back down or give up. The past few weeks have been hard on my body, and I'm not entirely sure why. I suspect I have been fighting off an infection, one that thankfully I have shown no other symptoms other than fatigue. I suspect the road trip up north I took last weekend took its toll, so I might be feeling the effects of that as well. Lastly, I also suspect it is just the change of the season that's affecting me. It's dark for longer in the morning. Days start out cold, requiring a jacket, but quickly progress to short-sleeve shirt weather by afternoon. And there's the temperature in my car if it's been sunny all day. It might as well be summer. That kind of wild variation throughout a day really seems to play havoc with my body. It makes me not want to move or go out. It also makes my body take a little longer to recover from workouts. Because of this, I am allowing for a somewhat lesser quantity in my workouts for this challenge, in the hope that the quality of my workouts will not suffer, and so that I can maintain a level of consistency. Part of not giving up or backing down (for the long term) is knowing when to slow down or dial back just a little bit (in the short term) in order to endure. I think I am currently at a point where this is necessary. Part 1 - The Daily/ Weekly Tasks: 1. Practice parkour, minimum of twice per week. I will shoot for three times per week, as I always have, but I am giving myself permission to opt for twice per week when I feel it will be better for my body. On days where the weather doesn't cooperate, training indoors with bodyweight exercises will suffice. 2. Practice Quadrupedal Movements (QM) with each parkour workout. Especially work towards developing the QM gallop. This can be done indoors on days with poor weather. 3. As always, daily meditation. This has become quite old-hat, but it's worth mentioning because it's worth doing. 4. Compliment each mediation with yoga and/ or qigong. I find adding a little moving meditation to the sitting meditation is very helpful. 5. Remember to play and have fun. Mix things up from time to time. Play with "ninja stuff" like shuriken, bokken, and nunchaku (I have recently made a assortment of bo shuriken from 7 and 10 inch nails - they are quite fun). Part 1 - The Daily/ Weekly Tasks (REVISED 10/30/2017): 1. Bodyweight exercises, three times per week minimum. This will continue until I am feeling up to snuff to continue outdoor parkour training. I plan to use the "grease the groove" approach to training rather than a fixed number of sets and reps done in one sitting. I plan to alternate between pull-ups/ dips and push-ups/ bodyweight squats. More days of training may be added, if feasible. 2. Play with weapons! Three times per week. Because being a ninja is fun! Shuriken, nunchaku, bokken, unarmed (my fists and feet are weapons)...all of it is fair game. 3. Daily yoga, qigong, and meditation in the evenings. This helps me stay physically and mentally put together. The physical side may be dropped once or twice per week, if needed to recover from injury or soreness. However, I have found that in most cases even a small amount of yoga or qigong, even through injury, is more beneficial than 100% rest. Part 2 - The Bullet Journal: This is a brand new thing for me. I saw it advertised by Jonesy in the Assassin's Den. I figure it's worth a shot, as I could really use a boost to my list-making and overall organization. I have joined the accountability group for this. I have no idea what I'm getting into. That's ok. Here goes nothing...

I floundered a bit last challenge, since I was burned out and didn't have much direction. Now that I'm studying to be a full instructor at the parkour gym and may be helping with some stunt fighting classes, I have renewed my focus and motivation! So, on that note, it's time to become Immortal and enter The Game. Each goal has a target of 100 points over the course of the challenge. Goal 1: Fight! - Immortals need to be experts in combat to survive. Points toward the combat goal are earned by doing any of the following: -2 points for every 10 minutes of weapon training -2 points for every 10 minutes of shadowboxing -2 points for every 10 minutes of remembering and reviewing hapkido self defense techniques -5 points for every strength session that includes some sort of muscle up progression, some sort of hanging core work, HSPU progression, handstand holds, and grip training). Goal 2: Run away! - Sometimes, the best way to survive is to run away. Points for running away are earned by: -5 points for parkour open gym skills practice. Fast wall top outs, vaults, and other things = easier time fleeing. -4 points for actually working on swimming when I take the kids to to the pool -4 points for any jog of any length -4 points for any nature ruck Goal 3: Immortal Healing- I'm still having some knee issues, and I need to stay on top of my prehab. So, 4 points are earned every day that I do foam rolling and prehab. Goal 4: Seek Holy Ground- Immortals are safe* (more or less) on holy ground, so they can relax a bit. For me, this goal is about reducing stress. I earn 4 points every day that I take 30 minutes to just do something for myself, like yoga, reading, playing a video game, or whatever else might help alleviate stress. Goal 5: Become worldly - Immortals who live long enough travel the entire world. I will work toward worldliness and earn points by: -50 points: plan and take vacation up the Atlantic coast. -5 points for every chapter of Harry Potter that I manage to read in Spanish. Bonus: study the instructor guide and schedule my test. Hopefully, all of this focus helps me get my mojo back!

I'm not sure on goals yet, so I will edit later. BUT FIRST. YOU GUYS DID YOU WATCH ONE PUNCH MAN? because it is kind of the best thing ever. so for my training, I'm kind of going to mimic Saitama. Kind of. I mean, this sort of describes my REGULAR fitness routine, right? Quick intro! I'm karinajean, 38, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I joined the NFA in October 2013 and over the last 2 years I’ve gone from 206 to around 180. I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have an overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my stepdudes 1/2 time. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it. challenge back story I meant to get to a pull-up in 2015, but I didn’t try as hard as I should have. I’m coming out of a period of not being able to prioritize myself very well -- my husband was in school last semester and working full time, and he was taking 3 project classes and with his commute it was essentially a nightmare of him working on school all the time and me barely holding together everything else - wait, no. I did a damn fine job of holding everything together, but it was at the expense of my own things I wanted to do. He’s still taking classes this semester but he strongly suggests it will be different this time around and by gum, I’m going to hold him to it. At the end of last challenge I identified making my body a different shape as something I’d like - and that’s going to take a more purposeful approach to diet and exercise than I’ve been using over the last many challenges. But first, I need to get comfortable with my “doing things for me†routine. GOAL TIME PEACHES! GOAL 1: do something every single day! [except for one day a week. because I don't actually want to go bald] I’m not a nut, I mean, I’m not going to run so hard that my hair falls out or anything. but, I do need to do something just about every day. I’ve been watching the calories on my fitbit charge hr and the days that I just sit around? those are the days that I can’t eat what I want. constraints apply though! I do want that push-up/pull-up efficient movement at some point. so each week I must: run 2x do tkd as many times as I can get there practice push-ups 2x a week (counters, but try to work lower and lower) practice pull-ups 2x a week (assisted band, hangs, or lat pulls) bodyweight exercise 1x a week (age of pandora, most likely) my elaborate holiday mini-challenge list of exercises was good and in a pinch, this list applies too. GOAL 2: something about food! In as much as I have lost a bunch of weight and feel super good about my body size, it’s still a little mooshy around the middle and I would like to keep up the momentum of the last two years. So, still tracking. I’m keeping holiday goals of tracking every day and not slacking until the next day and trying to remember everything. also, no booze on “school nights.†this is sort of my first step towards some kind of cut next year. I’m also going to be paying attention to protein and how much I’m getting. I would like to get into the habit of getting upwards of 100 g but I’m going to use these 4 week challenges as stepping stones on the food thing, because I hate fiddling with food. GOAL 3: something about doing things for ME! I have been able to prioritize making time for exercise over the last two years, but for some reason I have a hard time prioritizing making time for me to do the other things that I love and want to be good at. this means things like knitting (and watching naruto) and getting my sewing space cleared out so I can make a few more skirts (I am totally out of skirts). I talk every year about planning a new recipe to cook with my husband on a regular basis and I rarely get to it. I need to apply the fitness tools that worked so well for me to the rest of my non-existent leisure time. SO. plan out each week when I’m going to *make time* to do a thing that I want to do. write it on my calendar with my workout plans, and do it. this is key: ASK MY HUSBAND to help do things that need doing for me, house, and family, even if it’s making a plan that we will tackle x nasty job on y day together. LIFE GOAL: figure out social media better for ME. I’m feeling torn by all my inputs, and when I think logically about what I gave up to exercise, it was internet time, really. I need to understand where my friends live on the internet (facebook/instagram/twitter/tumblr) and decide what kind of a presence *I* want to have on these places to share those friendships. If that means I need to instead make a point to have a non-internet relationship with people I need to make the time for that. All that said, I’m going to start slow on this one by taking a photo every day and posting it to my blog. because I like that darn thing, and I’ve been neglecting it for years, and I can do this for a month.

"Hither came Rurik Harrgath, wild-bearded and sullen-eyed, hammer in hand, a ranger, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the wild places of the earth under his booted feet… Passion tempered by Intellect, given life through Instinct." The MAIN QUEST: Build a life worthy of being called a Barbarian Ranger and everything that entails. In Dungeons & Dragons, the Barbarian class is capable of entering a Raging state that allows the character to endure more punishment and inflict more damage for a short period of time. Similar to those bouts of untapped strength and power unleashed by a Barbarian, I will unleash the fury within to crush my challenge goals and hasten my awakening as a paragon of savage glory, ever seeking to ignite reality full of passion, adventure, and excitement to bring myself closer to the life of a video game character, the likes of which you might find going about his business in World of Warcraft or upon the screen of a sword-and-sorcery action-adventure film. Thus, the Barbarian Ranger is born. Starting weight baseline: 188 lbs. Maximum pullups: 10 strict. Next goal: 12. Double-unders Combo: 22 consecutive. * * * CHAPTER I: Of the Far, Grim North (+2 CON, +1 DEX) Quest Description: "None may stand where titans have tread! Exertions that would otherwise kill another are but trifle inconveniences to you. Howl your war cry over the savage wastes and conquer the landscape as you would any foe! Fear not the rage within; let it control you while you reap through the blood of your enemies! You are beyond the mortal confines of mortal men..." Goal: To stave off weaknesses and enhance my natural toughness, complete a 5km ruck carrying my sledgehammer as an accessory. Additionally, achieve a rucking total of 40 kilometers over the course of this challenge, practicing Yoga balancing and flexibility alongside. Bonus Achievement: [Warrior of the North] (Complete a survival expedition - find shelter, start a fire, and cook a meal - while rucking in the wilderness.) CHAPTER II: Of the Muster at Greywatch (+2 DEX, +1 STA) Quest Description: “A paragon of primal fury, harness your wild rage to become a howling badass of death and destruction. You radiate bloodlust and fury and strike like lightning upon the Anvil of the Gods! You are more powerful than any foe! Your mere presence alone fills opponents with dread and causes them to shake with fear, hesitating before you in battle.” Goal: Like the savage berserker, I must relentlessly train to enhance my agility through dedication and perseverance, mastering my body with weekly drills to build a competency baseline in many skills requiring the body’s natural weight. Quest includes: Double-unders. Muscle-ups. Pull-ups. Ring Dips. Climbing. Bonus Achievement: [Heart of the Wolverine] (Ranger Yoga. Complete no less than 3 yoga poses in the wilderness.) CHAPTER III: Of the Warband’s Coming to Gabilzaramul (+1 DEX, +1 CON, +1 WIS) Quest Description: “Strike fast and violently, unleashing your terrible might upon your foes and deliver unto them a reckoning of blood! None shall stand before you! Move swift and sure like a wild beast through the Far, Grim North. Keen senses, swift motion, and flawless strikes; to the barbarian, weapons mastery is the key to survival.” Goal: No Barbarian Ranger is fit for battle without a foundation of weapons skills. Complete a weekly session of weaponry practice. Bonus Achievement: [The Fury Caller] (Complete four (4) sledgehammer, spear practice, or swordplay sessions after rucking.) CHAPTER IV: Of Ruin, Redemption, and Revenge (+2 WIS, + 4 CHA) Quest Description: "Yours is the Fury of the Mountain and its aid shall come to those who have earned it. Channel within you its terrible majesty, and call upon your great ancestors, for you are mightier with their ancient blessings within you! So does the savage wanderer returns hence from dungeons deep and caverns old to recuperate from his adventures, nurse his wounds, and enjoy the spoils of conquest!” Goal: Keep a running commentary on my daily activity, ranging from reading through gaming, additionally including any Domestic Rangering™ and nutrition compliance. Bonus Achievement: [A Dream of Victory] (Maintain more than 24/28 days within calorie compliance.) IN ADDITION to the main Chapter Quests, a running total of Experience Points is kept. Experience (+XP) is awarded for any effort that brings my real life character more in line with that of a Barbarian Ranger, specifically fitness activities and flavor achievements. Each activity awards +20% XP up to a weekly total of 100/100 Experience. See below for the full list. [Legacy of the Savage Wanderer] Achievement: Right-Click to open the Ancient Ironbound Chest… contained therein is a treasure much sought-after by mortal men and dragon alike, [Rurik’s War-Kilt of Primal Majesty]. It increases our hero’s stat points and attributes, experience gain, and awards him a legendary countenance so that all may look upon him in awe! Challenge Inspiration: Vikings, Barbarians, and other over-the-top manly tropes that carried me through childhood and continue to inspire me on my journey toward legendary greatness as an adult. We’re dialing the BAMF Factor™ to 11 here, folks! Over the following 4 weeks I will introduce a weekly barbarian mystic or warrior king who has inspired me at one point or another. Each of these has made me the man I am today and their indomitable spirits and iron wills shall aid me as I endure this arduous quest through the dark and frigid depths of winter!

Live for the Kill He catched up with them at midnight at a small farmstead near the mountains. It was too late for farmers to be awake but yet the light of the fireplace and a few oil-lamps shone clearly through the cloth –covered windows.†It’s gotta be themâ€. As he closed in, the wind carried the sound of drunken singing voices along with the smell of roasted pork. He grabbed his axe and shield and took a deep breath to calm his thoughts. “I will not turn this time. I shall strike with vengeance- man to man- and make them look into my eyes as they die†he told himself. Indeed, despite of being able to control his beasty side, he felt the need to deliver justice in a more refined way. Tonight it would be steel what torn his enemies apart, not claws. It’s only four of them. Four drunken bastards will not prove a challenge to the wolf-warrior. He walked through the door as if there weren’t four werewolf-hunters inside. -“I’ve been after your trail for a couple hours. For a group of hunters you are not very good at covering your tracks†he told the men- -“Who in the hell are you? Start talking before I slit ye’ throat!†one of them said -“It does not matter who I am. What matters is what I’m after: I seek the scum that ambushed my brothers on the fort south of here!†-“He’s a wolf! End him!†shouted the nearest hunter as he took a swing at the Ulfhedinn with his sword. The warrior dodged the blow and struck the man’s face with his shield, shattering the bones and sending him dead to the ground. He threw his axe at the next man’s chest, where it sunk deep. The third man was dispatched with haste as he clinched to the shield of the Ulfhedinn who then pushed the hunter along with the shield into the wall, cracking the hunter’s skull against the naked stone. The wolf warrior turned around to face the last foe. Surprisingly enough, both were unarmed. It all came down to fisticuffs: As they punched and kicked each other they eventually fell to the ground and wrestled until the wolf-warrior managed to climb on top of the hunter and pounded him with his fists. Each fist was a sledgehammer of anger, hatred and grief landing on the murderer’s face. He kept on striking after his hands began to bleed and well after his foe’s heart stopped beating. There, covered in the blood of his enemies, the werewolf understood that even if he killed the murderers who slaughtered his companions and brothers; justice was far from served. More and more of this werewolf-hunter bands were forming across the kingdom to chase and kill brotherhoods of wolf-warriors. He saw it clear then; stripped of everything he had, his family, his brothers. His life’s mission would be only one: cleansing the land of such murderers. From now on… he lives for the kill. Technical aspects In order to defeat 4 enemies without turning into a bloodthirsty beast, the Ulfhedinn has to be proficient in the art of combat both armed and unarmed. this challenge will be oriented towards martial prowess. S.M.A.R.T goals Not miss a single weapons-training within my reenactment group. Practice once a week with the punching bag and establish a “punching bag day†habit. Of course this should be accomplished along with my usual strength training 2 times a week and swimming 3 times a week At the present time, I'm really working towards getting in combat shape(or in overall shape for that matter)so I can prove myself on the arena and bring honor to my group. Besides the actual combat training, my mentor-in-combat-affairs Mario is helping me develop a "warrior psyche"; a state of constant defiance and fearlessness towards the adversary and towards life in general. This should prove usefull not only on the arena but in my journey to find my better self. I'll be going on a vacation next week but I've worked out in a hotel room before. The swimming part is not a problem: I may not have a pool at my disposal but I'll have an ocean to suit my needs. I'll be returning right on time for some punching bag sparring and some waepons training the day after. You could say I've got it all sorted out... providing I dont slack, give in to beer and pizza and ruin it all. So, wish me luck fellas, let's get this started!

This will be a multi-part challenge, spanning at least the first 3 challenges of the year. I'm keeping the first one simple, and will focus on some good foundational stuff. Like Lara Croft, parkour, climbing, combat, and outdoors exploration are all totally my jam. I even have a passing interest in ancient civilizations, and will likely be scrambling around some Mayan Ruins in the early spring. Main Quest: Parkour all of the things!!! Climb all of the things!!! Balance in mind-bending ways! Play with weapons! Look like someone who could compete on ANW. 2015 and how we arrived here: Major goals for 2016 My overly full schedule: Goals for this challenge: I'm keeping things very simple and foundational this challenge, as I already have an overburdened schedule. Goal 1 - Be agile like Lara (fitness) Lara can balance on challenging objects, pull up easily onto things, and perform flips without breaking a sweat. My goal is to collect an average of 10 minutes of skill work/day, the skill work divided between: Kipping pull ups, Rail walking, Front walkovers, Back walkovers, Forearm stand/scorpion, and weapons play. Right now, I can do kipping pull ups, but I get nothing at all from the kip as my technique is poor. But kipping is much more efficient in parkour and will also lead me to a muscle up much sooner. Forearm stand and scorpion will help with the core and shoulder engagement needed for handstands. Rail walking is important for parkour, and I constantly need to improve. I'll post a video of my current status with the walkovers. And weapons are fun! ungraded sub-goal: I'm horrible about prehab and foam rolling if I don't force myself to do it. So, the goal for this is to also average 10 minutes/day. Goal 2 - Proper fuel for exploration (diet) Surviving in the wilderness is impossible without proper fuel. This goal is simple: Track protein, and manage 110 g/day (I'm open to suggestions on the number. I weigh 145 lb). ungraded sub-goal: minimize soda and alcohol. Goal 3 - Stay mentally sharp in the wilderness (life) Lara had to be mentally sharp to explore, find new artifacts, do tons of parkour, and thrive in the wilderness. And this requires excellent sleep. For me, sleep is the foundation for improved productivity, good muscle recovery, and reduced anxiety for me. The goal is to set a solid bedtime routine, where I stop eating food after 8:30 pm, I drink some calming herbal tea, electronics are turned off by 10:00 pm, and I read after that until falling asleep. On weekends, everything can shift back an hour. The goal is 6 days/week of compliance with this plan. ungraded sub-goal: Make at least 2 animated graphics for Xcode apps. Continue working through tutorials and messing around with some of my partially finished apps.

What? Another turncloak assassin? Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I'm always looking for excuses to head outdoors for hiking, exploration, and other fun stuff. Plus, all of the parkour people seem to be here these days, so I'm going to Ranger it up for this challenge. A little about me: For each area, the goal is to reach 100 points over the course of the challenge. I'm expecting to do my usual parkour classes and climbing sessions during the challenge. But, I don't specifically get any points for any of them. Goal 1: Explore the area around the vault -hike on a trail that I've never done before (+20) (I love hiking, but I tend to go back to old favorites rather than try new things) -go climbing outdoors (+20) -attend an outdoor parkour meet up (+20) -go on parkour jogs of 2+ miles (+5 pts/jog) -go on a 2+ mile nature walk (+2 pts/walk) -go camping (+20) -go canoeing and fishing (+20) -collect new videos of doing parkour outdoors. (+5 pts/video) -do misc. outdoorsy stuff that seems to fit here (+? pts.) (new) -learn about the flora and fauna native to Shenandoah. Be respectful of the wildlife while camping. Try to identify plants and such while hiking (+5 pts) -learn to identify the local snakes, and learn about their behaviors (+5 pts) -learn about the native wildlife in Shenandoah 2. Avoid Rad Poisoning -only 1 alcoholic drink/week (mmm.. football booze) during the challenge (+5 pts/week with 0 or 1 drinks) -no soda at all (+5 pts/week) -try new recipes (+10 pts/recipe) (mmmm.. iguana on a stick) -do batch cooked meals in the crock pot (+5 pts/meal) -5 times/week, eat a serving of veggies first for evening snack (+5 pts/week) 3. Level up my game -be able to do Kong vaults with no hesitation (+20 pts) -learn a new yoga pose from the yogajournal.com Advanced Challenge poses (+20 pts) -30+ second rail balance or completely walk across the rails at the parkour school (maybe 25 feet long with turns). (+20 pts) -successfully land a lache that is far enough that I couldn't just reach and grab the next bar (+20 pts). -Climb a new route that is at least a 5.10+ (+20 pts) -Do something that absolutely terrifies me (probably from the parkour obstacle class). (+20 pts) -Weapon practice (+1 pts for each 15 minutes) -Progress through Age of Pandora. (+2 pts for every chapter finished) 4. Study the Big Book of Science: -swift or Xcode tutorials (+10 pts per non-trivial tutorial) -work through swift manual (+1 pt/10 pages) -complete non-trivial project Euler programs (+5 pts/program) (new) +1 point for project Euler program, but coding must be in Swift -resume Duolingo practice (+ 1 pts for every 50 XP on Duolingo). -make some sort of math education app for my kids to play with (+25 pts/finished app) -read (+5 pts/book) -do science experiments with the kids (+5 pts/experiment) 5. Keep the camp clean and comfortable: -Keep the house close enough to guest-ready that I never have to decline my kids' request to have friends over. (+5/week) -learn a new piano song (+20) -paint Russian doll minions (+5 pts/doll) - morning adulting before play - after getting kids on the bus, must take care of adulting tasks before hopping on the computer or relaxing (+5 pts/week) -uploading vacation photos and creating a vacation photo album for the kids (+10 pts). + ??? points for any other significant adulting, cleaning, or crafting related task. I'm sure things will come up during the course of the challenge, and I'll assign appropriate points to them.

[Why do I make these things so dagone long!? o0 -ed.] Main Quest: Become My Own Hero Motivation: Off-the-shelf heroes are cool and all, but I went a step further and created my own made-to-measure role model so that I’ll always have the perfect set of coattails to chase. While I’m emulating him, I’m also writing a novel about his adventures as an electrically superpowered government intelligence agent. This (somewhat underwhelming) challenge is designed to appease my inner Red Mage and even out my stats. If I can ace all of these missions and complete all 6 weeks of the mini then I will have a DEX and STR of 32, and all other stats at 30. Jack of all Stats, FTW! If you’re mostly here for what passes as my special brand of offbeat “wit†and/or amusing animated gifs, then please click the spoiler tag below. If not, then you’re in luck, because I’ve added a special feature to this challenge! tl;dnr EM Pulse: 10min Penmanship training 5x/week. Radio Telemetry: 10min Speed reading training 5x/week. Mission Flexibility: 5min+ Prasara Yoga 3x/week. Bleeder Resistor: 1 hour per week having fun. Coulomb Continuity: All battlelog goals met. Bonus Round: Participate in all mini challenges. Let’s get versatile! --- Week 1 so far: EMP: 0/5 Telemetry: 0/5 MissFlex: 0/3 Bleeder: 0 min Continuity: 0/5 Bonus Round: ??

Hi. I'm Nymeria, and I'm accepting my path as one of the shiny object chasing, Jack-of-all-trades, do-all-of-the-fun-things types of assassins. I climb multiple times/week. I also love power yoga/handbalancing, martial arts, playground parkour, hooping, rings, and other random fitness stuff I also NEED my soundtracks to operate in life. Whether I'm exercising, cleaning, taking a relaxing bath, or whatever, I need music to get into my groove. It's at times been a bit of a hinderance to me, since I can't handle a lot of exercise videos or classes where I have to endure crappy music and a teacher yammering on and on. (yoga stuff and hooping at 4x and 2x speed, because it's kind of boring otherwise. All of the indoor clips were filmed in the last week, and the outdoor stuff was from the autumn. It feels great to get back into the groove of posting training videos!) 2014 was a really rough year for me, both personally and fitness-wise. Very late in 2013, I had a catastrophic fall while climbing, tore my ACL, MCL, and broke 2 bones in my knee. Then I had surgery and spent the better part of 2014 dealing with physical therapy and rehab. I'm ready for 2015 to be an injury-free year, so I can focus on being awesome and not on just regaining ground. For my part, the "Awesome mix" isn't making a great playlist (although I'm always open to music suggestions. I gravitate most toward progressive metal stuff). Instead, it's the formula of eating habits, exercise stuff, and daily routines that help me achieve the things I most want. In this challenge, I'll focus a lot more on eating habits, since they got a bit out of hand over the holiday season. I also have gained about 5 lbs of flab over the last few months, and I really need to lose it. Goal 1: Awesome eating for an awesome life (diet). I don't do tracking, so instead, I'm using a point system to encourage healthier choices and discourage destructive ones. Goal edited, to make things simpler. I eat 3 meals/day, so... +1 point for any meal that is filled with wholesome food, veggies, proteins, etc. and only a very modest/minimal portion of carbs/starches. +1 point for drinking only water or tea in a day +1 point for choosing healthy evening snacks, like carrots and hummus, celery+peanut butter, or other veggies in the evening. I will permit myself to have a modest snack in each day and a small portion of a sweetened drink (like 4 oz of orange juice or lemonade). I'll also permit myself to have a beer on football gamedays for no penalty. -1 point for anything beyond a modest snack -1 point for caloric drinks beyond what was set forth ^^^ -1 point for unhealthy meals. Goal: 21 points/week. If that becomes too easy by week 3, I'll increase the goal. Goal 2: Batch cooking (diet) For me, bad choices are often made because I either let myself become so hungry that I want to eat NOW, or because I'm just feeling too lazy to cook. The solution for me is to batch cook something healthy, so I have plenty of leftovers to reheat. Goal: 6 batch cooked meals during the challenge (nominally 1/week). Goal 3: Shore up some climbing weaknesses (fitness - climbing) - I'm pretty comfortable with my workout routine, but there are a few tweaks that should help me progress faster. My raw strength is great, but my muscular endurance is fairly poor. This is a huge problem with climbing, where I'll climb beautifully for 2/3 of the route, and then I'm out of gas for the end. To fix this, I'm going to do some high rep, low weight work with DB rows, bodyweight inverted rows, grip training (focus on hanging loooong periods of time on some very easy grips, rather than short holds on really small ones). Goal: 2 sessions/week of the endurance stuff. Goal 4: Keep things fresh and exciting (fitness - yoga) This is a 2 parter. The first I'm shamelessly stealing from starsapart. 1x per week, I'll try a new pose from the Yoga Journal advanced poses blog. I would hate for yoga to become stale for me. The second part is that I'm toying with the idea of becoming a certified yoga teacher at some point. The problem is that I'm 99% a home practitioner, largely because I enjoy playing my own music and because I'm afraid that most yoga classes would be kind of boring for me. But, I need to suck it up and at least try out some classes for informational purposes, if nothing else. Before the end of the challenge, I want to attend at least 4 formal yoga classes at my gym. Goal: 1 new yoga pose/week. 4 formal yoga sessions/challenge. Goal 5: The boring, dreaded cardio (fitness - general) This one is simple: 60 minutes of pure cardio action. Whether it's HIIT style, cycling, jogging, elliptical, I need to keep my heart rate up there. I generally find cardio to be boring, but getting back into some cardio action would help me lose some flab, improve my stamina, put the finishing touches on my knee rehab, and would probably be good for me. So, I just have to suck it up and do it. I'm not counting lower heart rate cardio stuff for this goal, so no credit for hooping, walking, etc. Goal: 60 minutes/week. Yeah, this challenge isn't necessarily going to be fun, but at the moment I'm filled with ambition and resolve. I'd rather push myself and come up short than just do another space filler, coasting type of challenge.

The young girl staggered as a guard piled two bulky bags in her arms and strapped a third to her back. "You'll be fine," he said. "It is an honor to tend to the princess." The girl shook her red hair out of her eyes and smiled. "It is indeed, Marcus, and an even greater one to dance for her at her wedding celebration in just two moons." "It might be difficult, young dancer," he said, strapping on his swordbelt and sheath. "You have been trapped in a dungeon for six months with your father." "I will be ready for the challenge, and I will regain my honor and my father's freedom." Her skinny knees shook under the weight of the princess's luggage. "Although, that first mountain may be a mite troublesome." Marcus laughed. "I would help you, young friend, but I have to protect the princess and her royal buffoon--I mean, the scribe." He froze at the sound of a dry cough behind him. "Guard," the royal scribe said imperiously. "I believe we are ready to move. Have you counted the luggage again? I don't want the princess's dowry to come up short when we arrive at the castle." "Of course, sir. Everything is accounted for." "And the weapons?" The scribe squinted suspiciously at the young girl, who shrank beneath his gaze. "All accounted for, sir," Marcus said carefully. "Then get in position. We have to stick to a schedule." He shuffled away like a wrinkled stick drowning in his robes, with Marcus escorting him. Welcome to my challenge, all! These next few weeks I will be aiming to improve my cardio (a goal that majorly failed last time because I dislike gyms) and relieve the pain in my upper back through yoga classes. My last challenge failed pretty miserably because I didn't make a schedule. This time around, all goals will be based on my success in scheduling my workouts. Goal 1: Prepare to dance at the wedding party. I haven't danced in a long time, so I need to dance three or four times a week to be ready for the big party. If not, her father the king might imprison me again. In the second week of my journey, we will pass over the great mountain. I will not be able to dance, so I'll have to dance before and after our week in the mountain. For dancing on Monday and Thursday nights at 7, and Saturday mornings at 9, I will receive +3 STA, +1 STR, and +1 CON. A: 18 dances (3/week, on schedule) B: 15-17 dances on schedule C: 12-14 D: 9-11 F: 0-8 Goal 2: Stretch out my aching back. Carrying all this baggage really hurts! My upper back is stiff and sore. I will attend yoga sessions on Tuesday and Friday afternoons every week. Again, the second week I will not be able to. I can get extra points or make up sessions for attending Wednesday afternoon/evening Pilates or Yoga. For this, I will receive +4 DEX. A: 12 yoga and pilates sessions per week, on schedule B: 10-11 yogas C: 8-9 D: 6-7 F: 0-5 Goal 3: Don't Open the Box I'm carrying five bags filled with the treasures of the princess. I cannot open these bags--if I do, or if anything goes missing, the scribe will blame me. So I need to resist the treats: no snacks, no sweets, no nothing for six weeks. For this I will earn +1 STA and +1 CHA, because I can dance more (and better) without junk in my system or heavy jewels around my neck. A: The box stays closed. B: 1-2 treats C: 3-5 treats D: 5-6 treats F: 7 or more treats Goal 4: Outsmart the Scribe That nasty scribe doesn't trust me a bit with the princess's dowry. So, to make sure he doesn't try to put me back in jail, I have to learn as much as I can. I'll spend my time doing research on medieval weaponry. Again, I have to stick to a schedule, just like the scribe said. Week 1: make an annotated bibliography of sources. Find information I can use: books, internet sources, and more. We'll be looking at a broad spectrum of stuff here: types of weapons, how they are used, who used them, how they evolved over time, how they are are made, battle strategies, etc. I've found some cool resources thanks to some fellow NFers. Week 2: mountain. Not much is going to happen here. Week 3: Find an area of focus. This can be whatever I find the most info on or whatever I am most interested in pursuing. Start doing more work. Learn my weapons inside and out. Week 4: Zoom in on the area of focus. Hope to connect this to a greater aspect of research: historical significance of the invention of the stirrup, for example, would be a great thing to look into. Have this all figure out by now. Week 5: if I have enough substance to write a research paper, I will start writing this week. Week 6: finish writing. Goal: 8 pages. For sticking to the schedule planned, I will gain +4 WIS. I hope you will join me on my journey across the mountains. Godspeed to you all!