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Combat roll - a white water kayak term for successfully completing an Eskimo Roll under duress in a rapid (as opposed to flat water). I'm into white water kayaking which gets harder to do every year (I'm 55). My MO is generally to spend 4 months getting in shape (flexibility, drop wt to 164, general strength conditioning) in preparation for kayak season which starts around mid-April for me (when there is still ice on the banks). In the Jan challenge my wt dropped from 176 to under 173, then if Feb it went from 173 to 168. During those 2 challenges, I also increased my flexibility through stretching and general strength through wt lifting. Main quest for this challenge: Round out my kayak season prep w further wt loss, increased back strength, and improved cardio. Goal 1 - Big 3 - Same as Jan and Feb, no need to change what works. Protein shake for breakfast everyday, salad 6 days/wk, and exercise every day. I've yet to fail at these this year Exercise will consist of any one of the following: A) Wt lifting 3/wk + 14 stretching exercises - B ) Core + flexibility - 5min tread + 4 core exercises (lying crunch, seated ab machine, decline situps, machine twist, back bends) + 14 stretching exercises. Add 1 set of pullups which might only be 1 rep. C) Sport - type depends on season but I like variety (indoor wall climbing, kayaking, hiking, skiing) D) 10 freebody squat placeholder - a couple times a month life throws a curve that takes up all time so I use a placeholder which consists of just 10 freebody squats. It has no significant physical benefit but is just to remind my brain that exercise is now a daily habit. The salad will count as completed on the 1 day/wk I don't eat a salad as long as it is the only day I did not eat a salad. Goal 2 - Back strength focus during everyother wt lifting workout My lifting routine for Feb was: 5x5 cable pulldowns 5x5 bench 5x5 shoulder press 20 sitouts 1x10 plate lift/press/reverse curl 15 stretches. Kayaking (and pullups) require a lot of back work. So I'm changing my routine to: On strength w/o days, alternate the following 2 routines: Routine 1 - same as above. Routine 2: - starting Feb 28 Cable pulldowns 4x5x77.5, 1x5x120 Bench 1x5xbar&95, 3x5x120, 1x5x135 Seated low cable row 1x10x60, 1x10x75, 1x10x90 High machine row 1x10x90, 1x10x180, 1x5x180 Pullups 1x2 EZ curl bar 1x50 15 stretches Goal 3 - Wt loss I don't usually set wt loss goals, preferring to set the goal as diet changes. But I need to drop 4 lbs this month to reduce my stomach slightly more (stomach fat reduces the ability to roll well). So my goal is for my 3day average to drop 1lb/wk. Goal 4 - Cardio improvement - NOS NOS stands for NO Smoking. I intend to quit this month. The first 3 days is the most painful so I got a prescription for Wellbutrin and you take that for a couple weeks before quitting to diminish the side effects of quitting. So I have to quit at some point during the 3rd or 4th week. There, it is stated, and therefore it will be. I'm not into failure. Edit: Goal 5 - Add floor straddle progression to core w/o's Read this on starsaparts thread yesterday where there is a link showing how to do it. Awesome core exercise. Added this on 3/3. Edit Again: When I did this the second time, I noted some pain in lower back. The next day the pain was more intense. I've noticed this on stretches where you bend the spine and now make sure I don't over bend the spine. So I am dropping this goal from the list. Grading: I'm not into the "well at least I tried" mindset. I'll be grading each category weekly. If I missed any category on any day, the week was an F. If I kept every category, I got an A. Pretty simple.