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Happy Spring, nerds! My plans for this challenge changed last night because we decided to postpone our California trip to September. So instead of frantically trying to get my barn ready for my horses before I head west, I can take a more relaxed pace as I continue my tour through the D&D classes with the Wizard class! And holy cow are there a lot of spells, guys. I tend to stick to the martial classes when I play, and now I'm remembering why. Even trying to limit myself for this challenge, I may have chosen too much, but I don't think it's as much as it looks like, and if it does end up being too much, I'll adjust. But for starters: Subclass: Bladesinging I shall continue with the music of the iron with my 3x5 push/pull split. I think I may sub out chin ups for dumbbell rows for now, with one set of AMAP chin ups just to keep my hand in. I am going to shoot for 2 workouts per week, and since I can pretty reliably get a weekend workout in, that means I just need 1 workout during the week, which sounds very reasonable. Spellbook: Writing What else would a spellbook be? I've been neglecting my novel and I want to get back to drafting. For this challenge, I'm more concerned with redeveloping my habit of regular writing than I am with actual output, so the goal is to write for 20 minutes/day, 5 days a week. I'll mostly be doing this on my lunch break, playing catch up on the weekends for days I have plans during lunch. Cantrips: Daily Habits I need to get a little structure back in my daily routine, so I am going to bookend my days with 2 cantrips, which I've found enormously beneficial in the past when they were regularly established habits. Prestidigitation: Make the Bed Messy bed, messy head and all that. There really is something about making my bed first thing in the morning that sets my whole day up for success. And it's a really easy, simple thing to do, I've just gotten away from it. So, time to get it back. Shape Water: Skin Care I'm not always very good about removing all my makeup and moisturizing at night, and not only is it rough on my skin, it also leaves my day somewhat incomplete. So 9:30 every night, I'll do my full skin care routine and put myself in the right frame of mind for a nice, restful night in my neatly made bed. Spells: Misty Step I had planned to pause my cardio goal, but that's when I thought I had a cross country trip in my near future. With that postponed, I can resume my goal of running a 5k again this year. The goal for this challenge is 3 cardio sessions a week, and at least one must be a run. Private Sanctum The clutter has gotten out of control, guys. And I keep making the excuse that I have an apartment's worth of stuff shoved into one room, but it doesn't matter, I can't deal with it anymore. And I haven't rolled any dice for this challenge yet! So each day I will roll a d20 and clean for that amount of time. Contrary to how I did my dice rolls last challenge, I can fulfill minutes on later days, but only within that week. So if I roll high on a busy day, I can make it up later, but once Monday rolls around I'm starting over with a clean slate. Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion Even though I'm not nearly as crunched for time as I thought I'd be, I still need to get my barn done. I'm planning on going on a church retreat in the middle of June, so I'd really like to have my horses moved in by Memorial Day to have a couple weeks to iron out the wrinkles before I go away. That should be easily doable, but when I start trying to project too far into the future with this barn, I get myself overwhelmed and confused, so I'll be sharing goals in bite-sized chunks here. So, it looks like a lot, but subclass and cantrips are somewhat established habits that just need a bit of reinforcement and spellbook is for fun, so it's really just 3 major goals. But like I said, I'll adjust if I start to go under. For zero week, I'm not going to track much or get too worked up about getting things done. Just going to start picking away at the clutter and my barn goal for the week is to get the fascia board up on the lean-to.

Happy New Year, Rebels! I will be challenging myself to give attention to the four aspects of my own activities in the same way that my story needs to have some balanced perspective of its four protagonists. Barbarian/Ekaterina: ⚡🌩🌥☀ I need to be doing my bodyweight exercises because I want to continue improving my strength before the time comes for my efforts to be rewarded with my original long-term goal of buying a bike. Ranger/Varsha: 🌳🌿🌱🍃 I need to keep a daily activity level going as well so it's not as hard to get up and do my exercises on my body weight exercise days. I know I don't want to walk, but maybe I can do more GMB movement exercises to improve my mobility. Wizard/Paige: 📚📕📖📋 I have written a book that must undergo my own scrutiny and revision before it's ready for sharing with outsiders for spotting problems I'm too close to see. I want to use the first long weekend to read it for the first time like a reader who's seen nothing but a back-cover synopsis. Fingers crossed that I'll find a lot to love about it. 🤞 Artificer/Alidavai: 🛠🔧🔨📏 I have crafts that are partly done, and I want to give them time and attention in order to make progress and potentially finish them. This includes the rainbow scarf which now has about 75-80% of a skein left to add, the next bite of my pixel quilt for which I need to prepare the four nibbles' pieces, a drawing of Ekaterina that's been waiting nearly three months for me to continue coloring it, and a Vox Machina puzzle I got for Cidran that I suggested we should do together the next time the table gets cleared. I want to pick up one of these tasks every night instead of getting stuck on my phone. I've got four emojis for each so I can attribute a rating of 0%, 50%, 100%, and 110% when I go above and beyond. (Why are the barbarian's emojis stormy weather? Because she's a storm aura barbarian! 😃) That sums up my goals for this challenge. I'm excited about this, and hope my guild choices inspire others I've seen use these five-week challenges for non-athletic goals. 😉 Thanks for your company and support in this coming year! Sincerely, Maerad

Hello everyone! I am Aquarii, your resident element of chaos trying to learn how to become an element of controlled chaos 😂 For those of you who don't know me, hello! I love seeing new faces around here. For those of you who already know me, I am sorry. Jk. Welcome back, my wonderful friends. The last couple months have been pretty crazy. At the start of the last challenge, I left my job due to the environment spiraling into something very toxic. I have yet to find a new job, but I do have an interview coming up in a few days, and it happens to be for a place I would really love to work with, so fingers crossed there. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with bipolar II (probably, the jury is still partially out on that one) and have been on a journey to better understand and manage it. Last week, my apartment management decided to inform me that they are raising my rent by about 15%, which serves to motivate me that much more to get a new job position and get out of this place. Anyway, on to the reason for the title of this challenge. Over the last year, the style of fitness that I choose to do has been changing. Avoiding gyms for Covid forced me to focus a lot more on bodyweight workouts with very minimal weight, and I have found that I much prefer working with bodyweight, calisthenics, and bands instead of iron and heavy weights. It just fits a lot better with my interest in functional fitness. Once I am back in a position with a little more disposable income, I would like to start taking a few dance classes again. And, my partner and I have decided that we want to get into martial arts as a couples' activity. He has always had an interest in martial arts, having done some as a kid, and I have always wanted to learn a martial art. So, it seems like a perfect way to increase our fitness while learning something fun together. I don't know if we will be able to join the dojo or if I will be able to get into a dance class this challenge, but at the very least, I want to focus my training around preparation for it. Improving joint stability, range of motion, and muscle/cardio endurance are all going to be a big part of my training this challenge. Because my fitness is going to be heavily centered around bodyweight training and martial arts prep, it seemed like a perfect time to multiclass outside of my little corner of the forums. If you all have any recommendations or tips, I am always open to your advice and ideas. I only have a minimal idea of what I am doing, so I will take all the help I can get. Anyway, challenge goals: Bladesinger - Martial Arts, Dance, and Bodyweight Training - (STR) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 3x/week with focus on joint stability and muscle endurance - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga and/or stretching 3x/week with focus on flexibility and range of motion - (CON) Stamina: 20min+ walks/jogs 3x/week with focus on improving cardiorespiratory endurance Bladesinger - Mental, Intellectual, and Passion Training - (INT) Intelligence: Read 6 books - (INT) Intelligence: Complete 6 modules of Health Coach certification course and study for Nov. Personal Training exam - (CHA) Charisma: Choose one performance-based activity (music, dance, or acting) to practice at least once per week - (WIS) Generativity and Legacy: Watch a documentary each week on a topic related to minimalism, protecting the environment, society/activism, etc *Note: If you are interested in learning more about my leveling system above, check out the full leveling map in my Battle Log.

I don't really have time to write an RPG backstory for this theme, but maybe I will add that later. Anyway, I am combining my two longest running and/or recurring themes in this one: the bladesinger and the phoenix, both of which I relate to so strongly. I will pretty much never say no to a theme involving a Phoenix. When I first started using the forums, I even had it as part of my username. Anyway, life has been kind of crazy. Well, a lot of crazy. My dad was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, which has brought nothing but bad news the more tests they do, most of my family got covid (not me, I was not around them), I was diagnosed with bipolar II when I got locked into a not so fun mixed episode that involved lots of insomnia (which required starting a new medication and treatment process), things at work kinda started to spin out there for a second, and the crazy amount of stress and instability made my long-standing body dysmorphia worse, which started triggering old eating-disorder thoughts. So, I stepped back from fitness and anything related to diet, which I have just recently started getting back into over the last week or so, now that I feel like I am in a good mental place to re-engage. And, I started my new medication, which thus far does seem to be helping quite a bit. And I made it through both of my covid vaccines, though the second vaccine did knock me out for a day or two. And things have settled down at work and my working relationship with my boss is actually much better than it was prior to all of this. So, everything kind of crashed and burned, and now I am rising from the ashes like the true phoenix I am, haha. I am fairly behind with a lot of my goals for this year, but I finally feel like I am back in a place to seriously commit to building consistency and sticking to a real schedule again. These goals are going to be a little different from my previous Bladesinger challenges, because some things I have to focus on catching up on (due to external deadlines), and some areas will just take some work to rebuild the routine I had before, so I am setting the bar a little lower in those areas for this challenge. Bladesinger - Phoenix Edition - (STR) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 2x/week - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga and/or stretching 2x/week - (CON) Stamina: 20min+ walks 3x/week - (INT) Intelligence: Read 7 books - (INT) Intelligence: Complete 8 modules of certification course - (INT/CHA) CPR/AED Certification: Register and completed certification by end of challenge

Once, an elven lord, desperate for a child of his own, turned to drow worlock when all other magic failed to help his wife concieve. The powerful drow gave the elven man what he wanted...or so he thought. When the child, concieved out of dark magic, began to grow older, the elven couple noticed a strong power, a strange darkness to their child. When they took their young daughter to an old, scholarly wizard, his prognosis was dire: the girl was touched by the hand of Darkness itself, a force that would consume her before she reached adulthood. If she tried to contain it, it would poison her from the inside out and take her life. If she released it, it would spell destruction for everyone around her. The distraught couple searched high and low for a way to spare their child. No one was willing to make an attempt at breaking the spell; no one knew if such a thing even existed. As the elven girl approach adulthood, the elven parents had nearly lost all hope when they came across a Bladesinger master. He said he could not heal their child, but if they entrusted her into his tutelage, he might be able to spare her life while protecting her from others. So began the arduous training of the young elven lass. For years she has trained in the shadowy, quiet forest, honing her skills and her magic. Only with extreme discipline, careful precision, and the best of the arcane spells can the darkness be funneled and released in a safe and productive way through bladesong. Now, her years of an apprentice are drawing closer to an end. With continued training, she will soon be a master herself. But the training does not end there. The darkness is ever present, waiting for discipline and vigilence to desolve so that it can take hold and bring destruction. Bladesong is not her profession, it is her life-blood. Alright everyone, time to dive right into the next challenge. I don't really plan on taking a week zero, because I have lots of momentum going from the last challenge and want to continue with it. I may go a little more lax with nutrition goals during week zero, but only because my birthday is this week. BECAUSE it is my birthday, do not be surprised if things get a little contemplative/reflective around here. Challenge Goals: Body of a Agile Swordswoman - (STR) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 3x/week - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga and/or stretching 3x/week - (CON) Stamina: 20min+ walks 4x/week - (CON) Nutrition: Avoid processed sugar 6 days/week - (CON) Hydration: Drink 64 oz of water per day Mind of a Scholar - (INT) Intelligence: Read 6 books - (INT) Intelligence: Complete 5 modules of certification course - (CHA) Career Knowledge: Complete Digital Marketing Course part 3 - (INT/WIS/CON) Focus: Meditate 6 min per day, 5x per week Upping the difficulty a little bit from last challenge, but not much. Just want to make it slightly more challenging to keep it interesting, without making it overwhelming.

Stagnation is Death Annals of a Bladesinger A haunting melody weaves its way through the quiet forest. An alien in her homeland with a mind touched by the hand of darkness, the elven wizard hones her dangerous dance, ever vigilant, ever mindful. She practices her art not just for the protection of her people, but to soothe her tormented soul with the meditative, otherworldly whistle of bladesong. Journey to Bladesinger Master 2020 Stats: STR 10 || DEX 11 || CON 11 || INT 15 || WIS 16 || CHA 12 2020 Level: Bladesinger Apprentice Goal Stats: STR 14 || DEX 17+ || CON 14 || INT 18+ || WIS 18+ || CHA 14 Goal Level: Bladesinger Master Bladesinger Apprentice - Trains under a Master. Must demonstrate above-average intelligence, and wisdom to be accepted into training for a wizard, must show some promise in dexterity to be accepted by a bladesinger master. STR 8 || DEX 10 || CON 8 || INT 14 || WIS 14 || CHA 8 Bladesinger Knight - Able to train and fight independently. Must demonstrate above-average mastery of dexterity, and very high intelligence, and wisdom. Strength, constitution, and charisma must be high enough as to not impede progress. STR 12 || DEX 14 || CON 12 || INT 16 || WIS 16 || CHA 11 Bladesinger Master - Can train an Apprentice. Demonstrates exceptional abilities in dexterity, intelligence, and wisdom. Above-average abilities in strength, constitution, and charisma are required to perform at this level. Goal Stats: STR 14 || DEX 17+ || CON 14 || INT 18+ || WIS 18+ || CHA 14 Bladesinger Leader - Can serve as leader to other Master roles. Demonstrates all the abilities of a Bladesinger Master, with higher charisma for leadership qualities. Goal Stats: STR 14 || DEX 17+ || CON 14 || INT 18+ || WIS 18+ || CHA 17 How to Level Scores based on max 20 system, current list only filled to requirements for mastery from current stats, does not include information prior to or past current and master stats Strength (STR) - Calisthenics and Iron STR 11: Plank 1min, 4x13 Pushups, 4x25 Crunches, 30/20 bodyweight squats, 2x20 tricep dips, 2x30 one-leg calf-raises STR 12: Plank 2min, 3x15 Pushups, 3x30 Crunches, 2x40 15lbs one-leg calf-raises, DB Bench 30lbs, DB Squat 50lbs, Deadlift 40lbs STR 13: Plank 3min, 3x20 Pushups, DB Bench 40, DB Squat 60lbs , Plank 3min, DB Deadlift 60 STR 14: DB Bench 60, DB Squat 75lbs , Plank 4min, DB Deadlift 80 STR 15: DB Bench 90lbs, DB Squat 100lbs, Plank 5min, DB Deadlift 100 Dexterity (DEX) - Flexibility, Agility, Balance, Coordination DEX 12: Eagle pose, Warrior III, Hands flat on floor in waist bend, Baby Crow pose DEX 13: Front and side splits, Crow pose, complete NF Yoga DEX 14: Crane pose, Wall handstand (1min), start martial art or agility training DEX: 15: Flying crow pose, 8-angle pose, dragonfly pose, unassisted handstand (1min+), 1 year of martial arts training DEX 16: Level 5: Dophin Push Up Challenge DEX 17: Black belt in a martial art DEX 18: 3rd degree black belt in martial art AND first degree black belt is second martial art Constitution (CON) - Stamina, Endurance CON 12: Complete a 5k in under 45 min CON 13: Complete a 5k in under 35 min CON 14: Complete a 5 mile run in under 60 min CON 15: Complete a 10k run in under 60 min Intelligence (INT) - Academia and Language INT 16: Personal Trainer Cert AND Health Coach Cert INT 17: Complete a Master's Degree program AND reading intermediate reading level for 2 forgeign languages INT 18: Complete a PhD INT 19: Research published in 5+ academic journals INT 20: Research published in textbooks and taught in classrooms Wisdom (WIS) - Generativity, Activism, Social/Environmental Awareness +Be a founding member or leader in a non-profit organization +1 Teach a skill to at least 10 people (OR) mentor at least 10 people +Teach a college course +Create a college or arts scholarship fund +Convert >90% of Beauty, Cleaning, and Meal Prep products to reusable/recycleable/eco-friendly Charisma (CHA) - Leadership, Social, Performance, Confidence CHA 13: Perform a leading role in a community/unpaid show (OR) 1k sub on social (OR) Manager 1+ employees (OR) Promote to SR/Lead position CHA 14: Perform as a supporting role in a paid performance (OR) direct a community show (OR) Manage 10+ employee team CHA 15: Perform as a leading role in a paid performance (OR) release a music album (OR) 10k subs on social (OR) Manage 50+ employee team CHA 16: Publish best-seller (OR) 10k subs to a blog (OR) 100k subs to social (OR) Run a business of 100+ employees CHA 17: Performance award (OR) 100k subs to personal blog (OR) 1mil subs to social (OR) CEO of 1,000+ employee business

Hey Scouts! I took a long break with the Rangers while feeling very down and out about the job rut I was in. I have since acquired new employment, and will be moving this weekend. In the midst of all of the change, I am going to get back into my scouting roots. My scouting is a little different as a swimmer, but still aiming for distance while constantly adding improvement on speed Since this is about the 5th challenge of 2017, I think I might have a plan for success. By my count, there are 37 weeks left of 2017. By the end of the year my goals are: To be active for most of the day To kick my habit of buying and eating processed food To learn to relax and de-stress In order to get a little closer to those year goals, I am going to take a stab at the following for May: Swim 1 mile each day Aim for 30-minute mile by end of May Ditch my Starbucks Habit Stick with Homemade French Press and Home Cold Brew Practice Guitar daily Play Everything is Wonderful by Everclear to the end by the end of the month

Well, I think we've known each other long enough fellow Nerds, that I can tell you about one of my OTHER 'on again/off again' hobbies. In this case, I'm a fan of magic tricks, magicians, and the like. I'd LIKE to make this a hobby that's permanently 'on'. Amongst the particular books I have include 'Thirteen Steps to Mentalism', 'The Royal Road to Card Magic', 'The Expert at the Card Table' and 'Bobo's Modern Coin Magic'. Along with a suitcase of individual tricks I've purchased over the past few years. In any case, 'accountability' is an excellent way to develop a habit. So, my question here: How can I add this element towards my goal? Some of the books end chapters on specific sleights with tricks that can be accomplished primarily using that sleight. Should I make a 'wizard log' similar to the battle log? I am not what you call 'self motivated' so the accountability system built into the site seems my best option. On that note: ...General 'Magic Nerd' thread, too?

This is the scout side-challenge. Each week, starting on Monday, a mini-challenge will be posted with a little bit of story (for those who want it!) and some extra challenge goals for the week. If you want to join in, you're welcome to, but please don't feel you have to, especially if you are new to Scouting or if you already have a full set of activies and don't want to be distracted. There will usually be two goals - one involving exercise and one that's a bit more of a lifestyle thing, so you can choose your own particular torture activity. The first week will be a warm-up. After that, there will be attribute points awarded according to a super-secret algorithm encapsulated in a miraculous spreadsheet (I hope I'm not building this up too much...). There will also be inventory items (thanks for the idea Skywalker!) Intro: I don't think we're in Nerdfitness Any More... Well, this weather's been pretty strange, eh? After braving floods, the polar vortex and bushfires in the last challenge, you woke up this morning to find the entire scout encampment had been caught in a twister and deposited in a strange new world full of bright colours and little smiling people who are singing songs. Now they are singing "Ding Dong" and something about a witch being dead, whatever that means. They shake you by the hand and present you with a giant lollipop. Don't worry, though, it is a special paleo lollipop, made of bacon. But not everyone's pleased to see you. Just as the celebrations are in full swing, there is a swirl of bright red smoke and a very cross-looking green lady appears and begins berating you about something she says you've done to her sister. You go around to the side of the building and find this shocking sight: Crushed under the weight of the falling house is a pair of legs in stripy compression socks and wearing a pair of beautiful, sparkling ruby vibrams. As the witch moves towards you menacingly, her wand at the ready, there is a flash of light and another witch appears, this one dressed in a lycra technical ballgown and state-of-the-art streamlined, yurbud-equipped tiara. With a wave of her wand, the legs curl up and shrink back beneath the house. Where did the ruby vibrams go? Well, they're on your feet of course. And by some hard-to-explain good-witch magic, there is now a pair for every scout! You don't hang around to find out what's going on. The little people are singing again now "Follow the yellow brick road!" they chant, and you do. The voice of the good witch calls after you: "You'll need those ruby vibrams to carry you to the emerald city. Look for the Whizznerd. Maybe he will help you find your way back home!" Challenge Spreadsheet - > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArOj1gu3Mp3IdGZPSV8xd3lpWmdUMTJPSnhtdGJzNHc#gid=0 Week 1 -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44752-side-challenge-the-whizznerd-of-oz/?p=911273 Week 2 -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44752-side-challenge-the-whizznerd-of-oz-week-2-posted/?p=927208 Week 3 -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44752-side-challenge-the-whizznerd-of-oz-week-3-posted/?p=939030 Week 4 -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44752-side-challenge-the-whizznerd-of-oz-week-4-posted/?p=948797 Week 5 -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44752-side-challenge-the-whizznerd-of-oz-week-5-posted/?p=957031 Week 6 -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44752-side-challenge-the-whizznerd-of-oz-week-6-posted/?p=966152

Rincewind is best at running for his life. So am I - basically. I do endurance running. But I am pretty weak and I struggle with establishing an exercise routine (and sticking to it) to become stronger and more agile. - So today Rincewind is starting to learn some spells and write them into his magic book. - Will the worst wizzard on earth discworld finally do some magic? This is my first challenge - and I'm pretty late. So here are my small goals for this week. I will give 1 attribute point for each goal - hope that is acceptable? 1) Exercise routine [WIS +1] Write an exercise routine for 3 days strength and 3 days running. 30 to 60 minutes each. Has to be fun. Has to include a lot of variation. Has to be combined with music/youtube/etc to be fun. Consider doing it outdoors. 2) Nutrition plan [CON +1] Create a basic nutrition plan with 5 meals / day. Has to be 100% vegetarian and 80% vegan meals. Eat fresh plants every meal. Consider aspects of paleo. Plan protein consumption. 3) Make it real - make it easy. [WIS +1] Do at least 1 set of exercises w 5 reps following the newly-written routine (1). Eat 5 meals a day (2). Observe my nutrition habits. Take notes. Collect ideas how to make changes. What can I do immediately? What has to be planned? What would be the easiest way to get there? Communicate changes with my wife. 4) Build a support group. [CHA +1] Get in contact with at least 3 people who share my visions. 1 Has to be closer than 10miles to where I live. Los geht's!