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Sometimes we fail to see the forest for the trees....I was taking to much time looking at trees to see the obvious...huge thanks to @DarK_RaideR to pointing out that a battle log may work better for me in keeping up on here...I had one previously but it was dated and no longer fits...so this one is shiny and new! For those new to my saga, I've been here for over 3 years now (January 2, 2014) I've been a Ranger (and everything that entails) since the big restructure of 2016. I am <95% Paleo in my style of eating, because I have RA and it makes me feel better...I'm slightly addicted to 5k's, and am discovering that weight lifting can be a lot of fun if I take it slowly and don't aggravate my neck injury. I'm an accountant and work for a minor league baseball team in Florida, which is every bit as much fun as it sounds So I have a spreadsheet for tracking purposes (may look very familiar to some, )...if this works for you as well feel free to borrow my sheet (file/save copy into Google Drive I think...) and tweak it to fit your needs My overall, far reaching, want to accomplish this year, goal is to lose 40 lbs...at the very minimum I want to look good nekkid In my opinion, not anyone else! To work towards this goal I'm going to go to the gym 3x a week, or if I'm not able to do that I will do an alternate workout (such as hitting my step goal, bike ride, bodyweight workout...etc) I was aiming for 5x but that was stressing me out because I was not always able to accomplish it due to life/work commitments! I re-worked the routine I worked out with the trainer to come up with to fit into the new goal...I may also add tracking at some point to see where I'm hitting with calories if results are not forthcoming. Sleep is a struggle for me, I rarely get 7 hours a night and this makes a huge difference in my energy, not to mention my pain levels if I don't...I'm going to try and do better with this... The last one is NF related, I am tired of going weeks without checking in on here, so I'm going to make it a point to not only be on here, but post somewhere on here at least 3 times a week to keep myself accountable...I did better with my goals when I was doing that, and I enjoy supporting and encouraging others

After going AWOL for nearly all of the last challenge, I've realized something that I've well... um... realized before. I simply cannot take on too many goals at once. At least, not yet. I've regained a few pounds and haven't exercised a bit in weeks, due to my "all or nothing" mentality. I have been in a major rut since the previous challenge started, and I am back now to break myself out of it. My challenge this time around will be to: Get Up Early I need to get up at 5:30am in order to complete goals 2 and 3 plus shower before my 3-year-old son wakes up in the morning. GOAL: Wake up at 5:30am Monday through Saturday. Exercise - Couch to 5K I once was an avid runner, and I hope to become one again. I recently picked up a book called Slow AF Run Club by Martinus Evans, and in it he talks about completing 8 marathons and many more shorter runs at more than 350 pounds, albeit slowly and at the back of the pack. He encourages everyone to take up running, no matter their size, and I'm super-inspired! The last time I tried running (I still have my fairly new running shoes from that attempt back in November 2022), I gave up because I got winded so quickly. However, I was trying to run at the pace I used to run at when I was much lighter and in better shape. Huh! I wonder why I was so out of breath!? /s Anyway, I'm going to start run-walking and get myself to complete my own 5K challenge (not an official road race) within this 5 week challenge. Even if I stop for walk breaks, I'll still consider it a win. GOAL: 3 walk-runs a week. Exercise - Strength Training Something that is important for my middle-aged body and will be even more important as I get older is to have a strength training routine to prevent osteoporosis. It's also important, I think, for cross training as I embark again on a running journey. GOAL: 3 full body circuits a week. Hydration - Drink More Water GOAL: 3L of water daily. I truly think that I can accomplish these goals and am excited to get started! I'll definitely need some peer support, though, so please cheer me on if you're reading this. Thanks!

It's still cold at night, but at least some of our days are warmer, cherry blossoms are blooming, daffodils are starting to bloom, and I have a bit more energy than in the dark days of winter. Goal#1 Food- track protein; aim for 120 grams of protein per day. Also keep practicing eating skills: chewing food well, putting food down between bites, pausing before eating extra snacks, enjoying what I'm eating and people around me Goal #2 Start my morning with 20 oz of water before I workout This is a good start to the day, and will help me to remember the rest of the day to drink too Goal #3 Strength Keep up with my workouts; Right now I can do 10 reps of goblets squats at 20LB, by challenge end I want to do 8 reps with 25# I can do 10 reps of #30 for rows, by challenge end I want to be able to do #35 for 8 reps Habits I have that I want to maintain: Keep up with Bible plan move every day for 30 minutes (walking , gardening, GMB, rowing, whatever it counts) Write on my weekly /daily planner sheet Life stuff: buy end table for guest room (third times the charm right? I've had this goal for three challenges prep garden bed for planting look into hiring people to move old desk out of office, buy new desk plans for finishing up backyard project

Look at me posting on zero week! I want to focus in and start this challenge now, because for the last part of the challenge, I will be on vacation. Goal 1: Looking cute in my shorts: We are heading to Arizona the last part of the challenge, and right now my shorts are snug, so I want to continue the leaning out progress I started last challenge. 1. Mindful habits; eat slow, pay attention to satiety, before I grab a second snack or seconds on food, pause, and think about why I am eating. 2.Track protein; aim for 120 grams a day 3. Weigh myself once a day, measure once a week, look at weekly average for weight 4. Drink water Goal #2 Get strong and fit I have a 4 day split, 2 days arms, 2 days legs. Also fit in rowing , walking, mobility, GMB as time and energy allows. I kind of would like to do a rowing HIIT interval once a week, but will see how that works with the 4 day split. Goal #3 Life 1) Last challenge, my goal was to work on finishing my guest bedroom. That did not happen. This challenge, I will choose a bedside table. Bonus, if I buy a lamp to go with it! 2) Read 2 chapters of Atomic Habits and work on the skills 3) Do the things I need to for vacation prep- first thing to do this week is make a to do list This week: I am going to track my calories in MFP. I did this for the longest time, and got really burned out. I felt like the only way I could maintain my weight was to do that, and I hated that thought. Now, I have practiced more skills to help me maintain, This week, I will track, just to see where I am at. I may choose to track to see if I can hit my goals for one or two weeks after that. Or I may not.

For Christmas, I received a new kettlebell and a pair of dumbbells! I asked for a 15 lb. kettlebell. I already have one, but wanted two of the same weight. I just got back from a spur of the moment mini vacation to San Antonio, and my head is still spinning a bit, but I decided to just put some of my thoughts out there. My ideal goal is to think it through all carefully, and roughly plan out some goals for the entire year, but that hasn't happened. So, here is my not perfect, but still doing something challenge. I may adapt it a bit later. 1. Fitness I wrote my own program - a first for me. It is more lifting weights than I have done before , and I'm excited. My plan is to have Monday be leg day, Tuesday arm, Thursday whole body. I'd also like to do some Literal Immortality workouts, some rowing, and walking. I'm not scheduling that. Part of it is weather dependent and time dependent. 2.Weight. I'd like to lose some of the extra pounds I've put on. In times past, I super focused on it, and calorie counting worked for me. But, now that just turns into a rebound of eating all the things. So, I'm trying something new. 1) Continue with the skills I've worked on before- eating slow, using my senses to enjoy me meal, having no distractions with snacks, balanced plate 2) Upping my protein a bit. I'm pretty good at this, but I'd like to see the effect on my hunger, if I focus on getting protein. The plan is to eat 40 grams at breakfast, and the day's total to be 120 grams. Some days it may be a bit more , some days a bit less. I can track on MFP, or in my head, whichever seems to be working 3) Measure: Twice a week take measurements. Some of the weight I've gained is muscle. Yay! Taking measurements helps me to remember this, and have a good way to track beside the scale. Weigh myself_ ideally every day, so I can see the trend, but at least days a week. I need to keep track of these measurements in Onenote 3) Last Year I read James Clear's books Atomic Habits. He has some great ideas, and at the end of each chapter, he gives some assignments, I want to do some. I'm not putting down a specific goal here, because I'm not sure how long it will take. But, at the end of each week, I want to be able to post on here that I have done something. 4) Re doing the guest room. I've been working on making my guest room pretty, and I'd like to do some on that this challenge .

Happy New Year folks! I completed a four week challenge over the festivities though not being great with foods, I kept up most of the exercises so am happy with that. I'm back up to 12 stone (was a few lbs under a month ago) but that's to be expected, and my main goals are to lose bodyfat and get stronger. THE CHALLENGE (running six weeks from today) Exercise: Run before work (M-F) up a nearby hill: 0.7m total with ~50ft incline Pilates before work (M-F) the Hundred with straight legs ribcage closure every 20 beats Weight training, 3x10reps of each unless stated: Monday PUSH: Bench press, Military press, Table dips Wednesday PULL: Gym ring pull up angled with bent knees, 3x 5sec Pull-up hold, Barbell rows Thursday LEGS: Squat, Lunge, Romanian Deadlift Pilates class Monday evenings - youtube class otherwise Walking: Office days: to the station and over the river at the other end (~2mile total) WfH and non-work days: 2 miles min, ideally in daylight Teethbrushing squat: held for 2+min Cycle once a week Foods: Tracking 1600 calories on mfp, days that may scupper: 8th January: Afternoon tea with the quartet 15th January: Burns Night evening That's it at the moment but I'm sure more things will come up! Other: Stop scrolling crap on my phone before bed Read instead! POINTS AND SCORING Complete all morning and evening workouts in a week (run, hundred, squat) = 100pts Complete all weight sessions and pilates in a week = 100pts Complete 2 miles of walking every day = 100pts for the week Cycle once a week = 50pts Any missed sessions, the week will be scored at my discretion based on how well I did otherwise. Max exercise points = 2100pts Under calories every day for a week = 100 points Under calories six days out of the week = 75 points Under calories five days out of the week = 50 points Day over 1600 but under 1700 = minus 5 points Day over 1600 but stayed relatively health = minus 10 points Day over 1600 and splurged = minus 25 points Two weeks under cals in a row = 50 bonus pts All six weeks under = 50 extra bonus pts Max food points = 900pts No phone scrolling before bed: 100pts for 7/7 days, 75pts for 6/7 days, 50% for 5/7 days Read instead of phone crap: 50pts for at least 4/7 days Two weeks in a row = 20 bonus points Max better bedtime points = 1000pts Total possible points = 4000pts

Oh hai there, how are you? I am very pleased that this got saved as a draft from yesterday! My last challenge was named incorrectly thanks to me not knowing how to find my historical info (oops) so correcting this to 21st. I successfully completed my last challenge with 85% and levelled up, woop! Main goals as ever: reduce body fat % and get stronger (should probably actually check my current bf%). I would also LOVE to be under 12 stone by the end of the challenge, currently 12.5. Existing good habits: Run before work (M-F) up a nearby hill: 0.7m total with ~50ft incline I've been switching to a short walk pre-hill which I'd like to not do Pilates before work (M-F) the Hundred with straight legs ribcage closure every 20 beats I'm happy keeping this as is Weight training, 3x10reps of each unless stated: Monday PUSH: Bench press, Military press, push-ups (elbows in, on knees) Wednesday PULL: Gym ring pull up angled with bent knees, 10x Negative chin-ups, Barbell rows Thursday LEGS: Squat, Lunge, Romanian Deadlift Pilates class most Monday evenings Walking: Office days: to the station and over the river at the other end (~2mile total) WfH days: 2 miles at lunch or after work Sat/Sun: 2 miles min Teethbrushing squat: Basically my evening teethbrushing I do a held squat for 2min I have also just got a bicycle, so would like to incorporate this! THE CHALLENGE Exercise: Pre-work run: move to cutting the 'walk' so my final week of the challenge is all run Pre-work pilates hundred - improve form Weight training - carry on carrying on Pilates class OR 1hr online makeup class during the week Evening squat: move to squatting lower and/or holding for longer Walk to the station and over the river every office working day (2 miles) Walk 2 miles every WfH lunchtime/after work Walk 2 miles every Saturday and Sunday Cycle at least once a week (any distance!) Foods: Continue on mfp tracking 1600 calories a day. From today up to 28th November I currently have the following things which are likely to scupper/lead to overeating: 24th Oct: Niece's birthday party, usually full of buffet food, cakes and biscuits (this will be tough) 31st Oct: Boardgaming at a friends, which usually involves takeaway - might be doable 6-7th Nov: I might be going away for the weekend, but as yet undecided so we shall see 10th Nov: Theme Park day - I'm hoping I can make a packed lunch and not buy snacks I think that's it. And I think all of these are pretty much manageable, except this Sunday where all the sugar. POINTS AND SCORING Complete all morning and evening workouts in a week (run, hundred, squat) = 100pts Complete all weight sessions and pilates in a week = 100pts Complete 2 miles of walking every day = 100pts for the week Any of the above missed get NIL PWA, but I can make them back for 75pts instead Cycle once a week = 50pts Max exercise points = 2100pts Under calories every day for a week = 100 points Under calories six days out of the week = 75 points Under calories five days out of the week = 50 points Day over 1600 but under 1700 = minus 5 points Day over 1600 but stayed relatively health = minus 10 points Day over 1600 and splurged = minus 25 points Two weeks under cals in a row = 50 bonus pts All six weeks under = 50 extra bonus pts Max food points = 900pts Total possible points = 3000pts

So for the next 2 weeks(9/11 - 9/25) I will be leaving sunny wonderful Florida to spend time at my cabins in Wisconsin. Highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. It is going to be quite the change. Goals for the challenge Workout of some sort daily 10k steps daily Eat whole foods(mostly paleo with limited dairy and maybe one whole grain serving daily). Two travel days are cheatish days(morning food and some beer). Also some freeze dried camping food reviews for content. I may choose to have whiskey once while up at the cabins but other than that strict. Daily hobby 50XP of Duolingo daily Read 10ish pages Post a picture of dinner Examples of WODs Ruck Run Circuit training Weight lifting Hobbies Minis Content creation(youtube videos and launch channel) Fishing Model rockets Building things(fish tank stand) Board games Currently also running a PvP warm up for Rucktober. I need to market Rucktober and get some sign ups. The PvP for the warm up is here if anyone is interested.

So since I am in a much better mental state these past couple months and have moved back into my house after the ex left I figure I can now focus on the next 5 months. I have a lot of cleaning/purging to do in my house of junk as well as clothes and kitchen things. I need to buy some more furniture and set some things up here and there. My back yard is an overgrown mess and the garden is a nightmare. The garage is ummm, did a hurricane already come? So I am going to set some 5 month goals in here and refer back to them over the next couple challenges as well as challenge goals and weekly goals moving forward.

Hi All, First time posting here. So I have found myself in a bit of a dilemma. I am almost 23 years old, currently weigh 86.1KG or 190LB for some of you and I am around 178CM or 5'10'' probably at 18 - 20% Body fat now. My relationship with the gym has been very complicated I have been on and off with it since I was 17, I would stop going to gym when I was happy with how I looked in the mirror and this has been going on for the last 5 - 6 years. So, I kind of know my ins and outs with it. I have had a good physique before around 10-12% bodyfat, but I recently let myself go for over 9 months now. I am looking for a quick fix to get my old physique back of which I had lost most of my strength and gained subsiquent amount of fat around my torso and legs. I just recently took up playing football/soccer 2 - 3 times a week and just got a gym membership again. What is the most efficient way to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously, I have done it plenty of times where I let myself go and I have this thing called beginners luck or what some people may refer it to as muscles memory. What sort of program should I follow, as in strength (3 - 6 reps) or hypertrophy (6 - 12 reps) or (endurance 12 - 15 reps), I used to just mix them up or have phases where I implement hypertrophy for the first 6 weeks and then do a lower rep hypertrophy around 6 reps to maintain my strength or muscle. Please kindly recommend what you think would be the most efficient way to reach my goals which is to get back down to 80KG and be around 10% Bodyfat. On a side note, I am a hard gainer for my chest it seems to grow really slow in comparision to other body parts of mine what would you recommend for this case. Also, would it be okay if I skip some leg days considering I play football 2 - 3 times a week and would like to have lean legs. PS - My body type is 63% Endomorph and 37% Mesomorph, so I tend to gain muscle easier than losing fat. Thank you and have a nice day. Many Thanks, Curiousconner

I've got my new routine from my trainer this week, and she's got me on pyramids! Eek! Essentially I'm doing simple lifts for legs, chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps, and doing single sets of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Week one is mostly me getting a feel for it, and figuring out where my starting point should be. I've got a couple of my exercises bang on first time (steady increases, and really feeling it on that final step), and feeling pretty pumped over the weight I managed to lift for those singles. My confusion is how much I should be looking at "stepping up" the weight by on each set, particularly for the larger muscle groups like my legs and back. The leg press and lat pull down machines both offer the options of 2.5 kg increments, but I feel these are too small and I'm potentially going to wind up either starting too low and never getting to a point where the top weights are really pushing me, or I'm going to start too high to compensate and wear myself out of the higher rep. Today it was definitely the former - I could have gone heavier. Does anybody have experience of this kind of training? Should I keep the low start weight and increase each set by more (such as 5kg increments) so as to really push the limits on those top steps, or just raise the starting weight? Are there advantages to either?

For the life of me, I can't think of a theme for this. Just another same-ol', same-ol' "challenge" to mark that I'm putting my time in to be a better person. Saw that sign at the gym the other day, and that's me, just paying rent on my health and mental well-being, and hopefully putting some down payments on a different career/ higher paycheck. State of the Hobbies: Languages: Daily F/R vocab, daily R grammar (new), bi-weekly R tutoring. Exercise: M/W/F weights, Tu/Th cardio and PT, Sunday PT. Cosplay: Winingas (leg wraps), helmet. Learning: Russian governance/ law class. Extras: Gardening: Add mulch to sheeting, cut back everything. Job hunt: Attend virtual job fair, put out applications. I am wallowing somewhat under a "what's the point of life" cloud. I have been an "I'm interested in everything, try it all" person for so long. I am working on calming myself down and focusing on hobbies I really want to get good at, but I find myself missing the "found a new thing to consume my every waking moment" rush. Not sure how to reconcile that.

Spring is coming, the robins are singing for the first time all year, and I’m getting fired up after a long, cold, lazy winter. Throwing my lot in with you crew of Rangers if you’ll have me. I am staring down a big birthday in a few weeks and if I can’t be at my fittest by then, I can at least do what I can to be at my fiercest. So, getting my bully back this challenge! Big goals: Stronger, leaner, focused-er. Challenge goals: Fitness: 2 weights sessions each week 3 yoga sessions each week 3 Couch to 5K sessions each week Food: Track each day in MFP Weeks 2 through 4: hit 200-500 cal deficit Focus: Check in here at least once a week Say no to things Music (practice piano, choir, choreo) at least a little each day

I have been planning on making a battle log for a while now. I have been in and out of the challenges for 3 or 4 years now. I have enjoyed them but I think for now I am done with them. I used to be bigger into lifting and rucking and then shifted into the world of IRONMAN. In 2017/2018 I finished two full IRONMANs struggled through a couple of GORUCK challenges and generally was not too happy with my fitness. This past year(2018) I have kind of been lazy and not focused much on a goal, I did a few sprint triathlons and a GORUCK light. For 2019 my new game plan is to hit the triathlon disciplines pretty hard while maintaining rucking and beginning a new linear lifting progression. In general I want to become stronger, fast, quicker, and improve my flexibility. I want to achieve a WOD daily with stretching. I have always followed a mostly 80/20 healthy eating regiment. I find this is not really good for me, I like to eat healthy during the week and then I would do an 80-100 mile bike ride on Saturday which would be followed by binge eating then usually a night of binge drinking. Sunday would be a "refeed" day. In order to really achieve what I am hoping for I need to follow a 100% healthy eating rule and maybe see it slip into the 99/1 range. I have a large amount of goal distances and weights I am shooting for. I won't post them until I achieve them. Same goes for other(mental)aspects of my year. For now I have a GORUCK light scheduled in two weeks, a tough/light in may, and a heavy in September. Tri's are just some sprints and a tune up half IRONMAN in march. I do want to get my "A" race sometime in the late fall for the half distance. I have no intentions of doing a full this year, that is for sure. I will post some book reviews as I finish them since I have reading goals as well as any other aspects of my hobbies that I feel like(gardening, cars, fishing, etc).

Goals: Thermoplastics: Finish breastplate, start sabatons if possible. Regular stuff: Exercise, languages, attitude awareness, food tracking. Extras (not necessary, but nice to do): Finish resume, start job search. Clean/ rearrange bookshelves and clothing. Sewing: start 4th pair of work pants, eyeball what will need done for the Thor costume. I'm keeping all the regular stuff that's become standard, day-to-day fare. I'm making solid progress on all fronts, so not changing what isn't broken. I'm making good progress on the breastplate for the Thor costume, but I also know that May will arrive sooner than expected, and a common theme I see in cosplay write-ups is last-minute panicked finishing. I've gone most of my life avoiding last-minute stuff, so I'm aiming to keep on top of this and have it finished at least a week early, a month early if I have my way. I've got the boots I intend to wear already soaking/ stretching so I can break them in beforehand, and I should be able to start first attempts at sabatons while they're still being worked. Current state of the breastplate. Couple extra things I'd like to get done, but aren't stress-worthy. The resume/ job search, definitely, but that's very much a thing to do as applicable job postings arise, so not going to put a hard date on it. Cleaning bookshelves and clearing out unworn clothes is important, but again, not by a hard date. The sewing stuff is an "as available" item, mostly as backup for current clothing and early prep for finishing cosplay. No pressure. I will probably be tweaking food intake at some point this year, but since I've only just gotten back to tracking it, I want a baseline first. I am seeing slow but welcome changes in my body, so don't want to make any drastic changes that I'll regret and regress on. Re-evaluation will probably be around mid-March, to see if I'll be con-ready by May. Gotta get them muscles showing. So yeah, not exciting, but just keeping things going. My one nod to the "new year, new you" silliness is that I got about a 3" patch on the nape of my neck shaved - the shortest my hair has been literally since I was born. I've never trusted a hair cut place to do it, because every single stylist I'd been to before had an immediate reaction of "your hair is so long and thick... let me cut it short!" and after 18 years of fighting my mother cutting my hair and "accidentally" cutting it shorter than I wanted, I am highly protective of it. I realized I'd been seeing the same lady for about 4 years now, though, and she does what I ask (even if she asked if I was sure a lot at first), so I took the plunge. She was super nice about it, showing me examples on her coworkers, and calling them back for a consult when she'd sectioned off the area to be shaved, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking. Glad I did it, now, because I no longer have wispies escaping ponytails and braids within 5 minutes, making me look like a frazzled fruitcake.

Background: Started with the NF BBWW in 2014, joined the rebellion with the Assassins in 2015, have tried many many things, but seem to be settling into weights since late 2017. Figured I'd check out the Warriors Guild and see what's up over here. Me: Used to be full throttle into everything, but age and finding niches have shown that focusing well on a few things is more productive and satisfying. I finished my Master's last year, and took a "refresher" course again over the summer, so I'm still sort of settling into "just" having an 8-5 job, rather than job and school and trying to shoehorn lots of hobbies into every second of spare time. Last year, after graduation, I pared my hobbies down to four: exercise, languages, sewing, and gardening. Then I got into thermoplastics, and tried shoehorning it into my restricted hobbies list by reclassifying "sewing" as "crafting," which really just meant I was overdoing it again. As we move into fall, I'm once again cleaning up and reflecting on goals and outlooks, and want to do a start-over. So... Goals: Exercise: Keep it up. Weights thrice a week, cardio/half-PT twice a week, full PT once a week. This is an established habit. Languages: Keep it up. I typically do Russian practice during lunch at work, Russian class via Verbling every other week, and maintain French via random articles and books. Thermoplastics: Started working on a female Thor cosplay ages ago (ok, ok, 8 months ago). Finished a bracer out of Worbla, waiting on not-humid weather to finish up Mjolnir, and started on a breastplate this past weekend. This had taken second place to sewing, but that's closed out so this is primary goal now. Shorthand: Something I've wanted to poke at for a while, and it's come up more recently, as I have to take more written notes for a new work project. Would like to do at least 5 minutes a day. Bonus goals: Not required, no deadlines. Nutrition: Tweak more carbs/fat into protein. Garden: Winterize the garden, plan a hands-off layout for next year. Wardrobe: Clean out, take stock, and sew or buy enough to make it through the end of fall and all of winter. (This is complicated by gains made lifting weights, which is a problem I'm happy to have). Clean kitchen/ cabinets: We tend to stockpile. Go through and make sure everything's still good, plan meals to use it. I realize my goals aren't exciting or innovative, but they make me happy so I'm sticking with them.

Hi, Monks! I have missed this place. Here's the deal: since we've last spoken, I got diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder, and have been instructed to avoid hitting, running, jumping, or anything that involves joint manipulation. I have had to regroup and figure out what I CAN do these days. So far: 1. My primary practice of kyudo is fine! Yay! 2. Aikido is out, so are pretty much all contact sports and arts. Taiji is fine. 3. Weights are the best thing that I can do and I should do them a lot. 4. Cardio has been super confusing. Now that I'm listening to my body, I have noticed that practically everything messes with my joints, even the low-impact activities. Cycling? My knees click and then are sore. Swimming? Shoulders and knees. Walking? Hips and knees and back. (Sleeping? My shoulder subluxes. Turning the steering wheel? My wrist pops.) So, I'm still exploring here. Additionally, I left the meditation community that I have been a part of for the last 10 years due to revelations of senior teacher misconduct. Like, bad, you guys. The departure has been tremendously painful. I am still committed to the Dharma path, but at the moment, I am practicing solo. For this four-week challenge, I'd like to focus on STR and attend at least two lift classes per week, with a max of four. Here's the stat breakdown: STR - two one-hour lift classes per week under adult (trainer) supervision. No olympic lifts. CON - as a side quest, look into all possible cardio options. DEX - no stretching. Yoga is dead to me now. I mean, for the last 7 years, I thought I was really good at yoga. Turns out my ligaments just don't hold my joints together and that's why I can contort myself into any weird-ass shape. Also, turns out that having poor-ass proprioception is a side effect of loose joints, and in fact, my dexterity is a lot lower than I thought. That's right, I'm an archer with shitty Dex. Let's hope I can use my WIS or INT modifier. WIS - still keeping up my daily meditation practice; śamatha-style, nothing fancy. I've been considering learning more about Zen, which I have always been drawn to, but have followed a different lineage. INT - I'm doing some Spanish lessons on Duolingo and keeping up on French. CHA - ~dump stat~ ~~ duuuuump stat ~~

So I signed up for a GORUCK Heavy in January. I need to get rucking, miles on my feet as well as build muscle while losing fat. For those that do not know what this is, here is the description from the website: So with a pack loaded with a 30lb weight plus water and food/gear we will travel around 40 miles in 24 hours. All lead by a special forces Cadre. Sounds fun right. Leading up to it I have a back to back regular Challenge and Light in October, as well as two sprint triathlons in September and October. Goals for this challenge: Get working out - mornings of weights and cardio(long or sprints), afternoons swimming for fun. Get my diet and food choices down. When selecting dinner think about the fact I will be working out in the morning. This includes drinking. Keep up my Duolingo(I try to finish two modules or crowns in French and Spanish during weekdays. On weekends just hit my 20 minute goal) Reading, podcasting, audible as usual.

Jumping straight into this so I don't lose all the good progress I made with my respawn last challenge. I feel like the warriors are a good fit for me at the moment as I play a full contact sport and am lifting once more. No other class is really ringing my bell right now Respawn Recap: TL;DR - I play roller derby, weight train as cross training, have some anxiety/depression Motivation issues, and really like food. New office job clashing with old brain habits. Previous Challenge Recap; This challenge I will just be following on from the last, working on some 6-month goals and making some new ones. 6-month goals: My goals this challenge are divided into pre-18th of August and post-18th of August as we have a derby bout on that night. Once it's over I don't have as many big derby things coming up, and I can focus more on other things. Like lifting, and jam skating. 1. WEIGHTLIFTING (Aim: get swole. Beat Bunbury. Squat an actual human. do a real pull up.) 2X week. 0 week will be the virtual comp. I'll smash that out probably tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wednesday. After that I'll be sticking with 5x5 because it's working for me and I don't have to think hard to do it. Pre-18th of Aug -- lift a little lighter and do some Sumo squats and Deadlifts to work on my inner thigh strength. Better inner thighs - better derby plow stops. Post-18 of Aug -- 5x5 as usual. Bonus: Try out Simple & Sinister 1xweek. I am intrigued. This may happen, may not. Definitely not before 18th Aug. what? why? I have found the best success with lifting weights for my self-confidence and general fitness levels, especially relating to hitting and being hit on roller skates. 2. SKATING (Aim: be fancy. Beat bunbury. chain some dance moves together) 2x week. Pre-18th of Aug -- backwards skating footwork practice. Backwards crossovers, lateral movement on toestops, smarty-pants footwork, d-cuts, backwards plows. Post-18 of Aug -- Jam skating. 1 new move weekly. why? I can't always make training due to my whack work schedule so getting more time on skates helps me think less about my feet when trying to do the strategy thing playing a derby game. 3. FOOD (AIm: drop body fat. Feel physically better by not eating crap) 5/7 days compliance. (1x total cheat day, one day's leeway in case of fuck-ups.) a. Slow Carb food (no white carbs, sugar, dairy or fruit) b. Eat mindfully during meals (no playing on phones, computers, etc. Bonus points for finishing after partner!) what? why? I am a guts. eating mindlessly no doubt hinders my attempts at shedding some fat and if I slow down and eat then I should feel fuller and eat less. And my partner mocks me for it xD Dairy makes me a bit ill so cutting that out has had to happen sooner rather then later. I just overindulge in carbs and don't feel full so eating less should help. Fruit and sugar are just a follow-on from last challenge's low-sugar quest. I read Tim Ferriss' 4 hour body and like the idea of doing less for maximal results. Good thing I like beans and eggs. 4. SCHEDULE-FU (Aim: Be a functional human being despite mental health problems. Thanks for the quest-name inspiration Juni0r83!) Schedule your week in advance. Also called time-blocking.1x a week spend some time looking at work roster and work around it. Schedule these things weekly: 3x15 minutes of decluttering 2x loads of laundry, washed dried & put away 1x load of dishes 2x Gym Days 1x food shopping day 1x food prep day 2x jam skating days 1x side hustle / marketable skills practice Schedule these things in to be done at some point in the next month: Get yo' boobies checked (Who has two thumbs and is at high risk for breast cancer?) Book car service (my handbrake went twang the other day. I would be more worried if it had been working beforehand! Also my suspension is shocking and my brakes need some love.) Fix your full iCloud problem Bathe the dog and trim her fur and claws. Chiro appointment The points are scored for actually scheduling this stuff. Do it or don't. Whatevs. What? why? I have a nasty habit of putting crap off when my mood gets low. if I can make more things ingrained habits I will do them even when depressed.

Hi, my name is Stoney and I’m a serial quitter and shiny-thing chaser. This is my umpteenth respawn here in the forums but fuck it, why not try again? I play roller derby* for my local team in a southern western Australian country town and while that’s been great for my general physical and mental health, I’ve hit a bit of a plateau. And I’m a total perfectionist so I always want to be the best at everything I do. Yay self improvement! That does mean however that I get unmotivated much too quickly and get distracted trying the Cool New Thing™️ that I think is going to help me reach my goals. Nerd Fitness has proven itself to me many times over to be a great place to sort my shit out and get back on track with the things I want to improve on so here I am! *jazz hands* I also fucking love food. That is a problem that is clashing with my new office job. So I’m back. Wheely shoes on and weight plates loaded. I’m gonna be skating and lifting and tracking some food and trying not to blow all my money on Cool New Things™️ - and I would really appreciate the support of this amazing forum. I have some goals planned for the next 6 months so once I get it typed up expect a contribution to the next 4-week challenge. *full contact sport on roller skates, bit like rugby on skates with a human as the ball

This challenge, I'm heading into the darkest forest to fight some serious monsters that threaten the nearby village... OK, it's not really like that. Actually I'd prefer a dark forest. This challenge I'm going on an eight day business trip to Las Vegas. I've got a three-day prep class there, followed by a crazy all-encompassing exam for a certification for work that I've been preparing for for YEARS now. Then three days at the trade show. I would rather fight monsters than have to figure out how to work out in Las Vegas. Seriously--it's usually 90 degrees at night in June, and I live in the mountains where it still kind of snows now and again. Not to mention the free meals at the trainings, the business lunches, the business dinners, the meals with sales reps who want to spend, spend, spend... Then, when I get back from Vegas, the very next day my family and I leave for Cozumel, Mexico, for seven more days in the sweltering (and HUMID) heat. I'll be scuba diving almost every day, which means I shouldn't exert myself too much when I'm not diving (decompression issues, and nitrogen dilution complications) or at least time my running for 6-8 hours post- and pre-dive. Plus, all-inclusive resort. Which basically to me means "all the desserts". My challenge this time around is to at least stick to a bare minimum of working out while out of town, while trying to maintain my sugar intake. I know I won't be able to keep my healthy vegetable intake like I did this past challenge, but I can at least focus on the sugar. So here are the specifics: 1. Run for it: at least three regular runs, plus one long run per week. 1 point per run, 2 per long run (6+ mi) 5 points/week -If I'm at a resort/hotel/casino and it's STUPID HOT out, I'm allowed to work out on the treadmill, spin bike, or elliptical, in which case 45 min constitutes a "long run". I'd go insane otherwise. -One run can be subbed for cross training on a bike. 1 hr = regular, 90 min = long ride. MTB or road, doesn't matter. 2. Banish sugar: No more than 10 tsp (40g) added sugar daily. Seems like a lot but it goes QUICKLY. 5 points/week, 1 point per day 3. Fiber: Try (do or do not, right, Yoda?) to keep my soluble fiber up. That means oatmeal, fiber smoothie, or at least an apple + a whole orange daily. 5 points/week, 1 point per day 4. Water: Drink the water. That's right, I'm going to start tracking water now. Decaf black coffee counts as water, as does plain decaf green tea (these are staples of my life). 64 oz/day, 5 points/week, 1 point per day. 5. Archery practice: Since I KNOW I can't do this weekly, it's going to be bonus points. Up to 1 bonus point per week. 6. Get on the bike: Up to 1 bonus points per week for riding to work, 1/2 point per day. 7. Weights: Up to 1 bonus point per week for lifting, 1/2 point per day. It's a complicated strategy but I think it'll work out OK. There's four main activities, and three bonus activities. The total would be 80 points, so I'll put 75 as a pass since there's still up to 3 bonus points per week. I didn't end up buying that recurve bow after the last challenge because, well, it turns out my compound bow either needs significant work, or it needs to be replaced. It is VERY old (15+ years, that's old for a compound) and I actually hunt with it, so I want it to be a) effective b) accurate and c) lethal. There's nothing worse in my mind than unethical hunting (ie, wounding or making an animal suffer). The point is, I might need to save my pennies to get a new bow, which will not be cheap. So, I put $200 away this month towards a new bow. if I make my challenge this time around, I'll put another $250 away. That gets me about halfway there

Lift weights “There must be someone strong enough to bear the weight of decisions.” —Commander Zavala Some kind of routine (likely will pick up the Viking routine I started with a challenge or two ago) to get me off my behind and get stronger. 3x/week. Period. Run "Survive. Sometimes when you just survive, everything works out fine" —Cayde-6 Treadmill or park. 1x/week minimum. Meditate or Yoga “Let me tell you what I wish someone had told me in my early years: embrace the stillness.” —Ikora Rey Sun salutations in the am, yoga class or youtube video, or guided meditation. 3x/week. --------------------------------------- Alternative title meaning: Not just a video game reference... For the moment, I've decided to step away from circus. I really have reached the plateau point where significant improvement from here will take a greater time and money investment than I am willing to put in right now (and to be honest, watching my classmates who do have this time surpass me stings a bit). It doesn't preclude me from going back to it some time in the future, but for now, it's not for me. Whether this means I'll be run out of the assassins on a rail remains to be seen. Job stuff is still a big question mark. House reno/junk purging is progressing nicely, though whether we'll stay and enjoy the fruits of our labor, sell the house and depart the state, or follow some other path remains to be seen. In the meantime, while I ponder the meaning of life, the universe and everything (whoops, wrong franchise reference), I'll re-solidify some habits and lift some heavy (well, heavy for me now) things. It's been awhile since I've done a themed challenge and I know there probably aren't many who know the Destiny universe as deeply as I do, but feel free to follow along anyway.

Increase strength and range of motion. Remove fat and get stronger, faster and more ninja like. A was a little late to post my challenge for May 28-June 24th but I do have one !!! Here it is. 1) FITNESS – I will follow my exercise program that is 6 days a week 2) Training- I will get in my martial arts training 6 days a week 3) Nutrition – I will hit my daily nutrition target every day on this 4 week challenge. 4) Life – I will grow a garden and spend 15 min every day focused on improving my habitat.

Challenges: 31: Apr '18 - Jedi belt, Mjolnir, work skirts 32: May '18 - Extra masters class, attitude 33: Jul '18 - Weird... NF lost this challenge. Started Mjolnir, extra masters class. 34: Aug '18 - Kenpo knives, Mjolnir 35: Sept '18 - Start Thor breastplate, poke at shorthand 36: Oct '18 - Halloween outfit, winterize garden 37: Nov '18 - Winter party outfit, maintain 38: Jan '19 - Finish Thor breastplate, redo resume 39: Feb '19 - Finish Thor sabatons, cape, skirts; book edit 40: Mar '19 - Finish Thor breastplate details, lots of other stuff, propose Got back late Tuesday from 2 weeks' vacation abroad. While it was lovely, it was disruptive to my hobbies and goals, so I want to get back on track with all of those. To Do: Garden: plant backyard garden, finish replacing beds in large garden, take down "greenhouse" under stairs, plant large garden. Sewing: replace Jedi under-belt, recreate green work skirt. Thermoplastics: finish bracer, start new Mjolnir project, finish/ make more practice knives. Exercise: resume weights, continue PT, institute daily kenpo practice. I am taking language practice off my mental list of things to track. It's a well-seated habit and I was easily able to communicate while abroad, so I am not going to stress about it. I was able to keep up with PT and cardio while abroad; now I need to re-establish weightlifting, and figure out how to add 10 minutes of daily kenpo practice. Otherwise, just keeping on, keeping on, working my way through projects. If I had to pick one "challenge" for this round, it would be to actually finish the bracers and the jedi under-belt wrap, and start on Mjolnir. That's my pass/fail.

So about 2 years ago I bought a 40# dumbbell set from a closing sports store. I've gotten lots of use out of them and I don't regret it, but my wife thinks we should upgrade to fixed weights which I think is a bad investment because we'll buy a lot of different weights for different things. Buying plates and assembling/disassembling dumbbells will be cheaper and more space-efficient. However, after doing some research on the CAP bars it looks like the "maximum weight" on these bars is 40#, but I don't know if that's a fail point number or just naming the weight sold with the kit. Do any of you nerds have experience with 1" bar dumbbells and the amount of weight you can put on them?