Search the Community

My mother died in October (at age 85). My daughter got married in October, and she and her new husband are starting to talk about having kids. This has prompted some new soul searching on my part - and some thinking about what I want to accomplish in my life. And some thinking about what I want to BE as a grandma. (Disclaimer - my daughter is not yet pregnant and doesn't plan to have kids for 2 years, which gives me time to lose 40 pounds .....) I was a "cool mom." My daughter looks back on her childhood with fondness - at horseback riding and rock climbing and hockey and soccer and cheerleading and theater and Girl Scouts and videogames - and appreciates how she had freedom and support (I was involved in everything but cheer) to do a lot of different things. That kinda ended when she went to college and I began to slide into habits of an empty nester. I gradually started to internalize the messages that say "you shouldn't be doing that" or "you shouldn't dress like that now that you're over 40/50/60/whatever." Truth is, I want to have FUN and BE FUN. I want to be the grandma that shows my grandkids how to do cartwheels and handstands. Takes them rock climbing. Knows the names of all the constellations and birds .... and who will dig for worms, go swimming, take them hiking, and can help them find well-hidden geocaches. I don't want to be like all of the grandmas in my family (who are, unfortunately, sedentary lumps perched on top of atrophied, skinny legs) who sit around doing needlecraft, or bake a lot of unhealthy foods, or sit in front of TV or computer. I want to beat the expectations of my family and avoid the stereotypes of what a middle-aged woman does and how she dresses and acts. Specific goals will evolve over time, but .... there's the current list!!! Fitness Lose weight and gain muscle (127 lbs and 21% BF by May 2017 - when my daughter will graduate with her Ph.D.) Do a chin up unassisted (again) Do a crow pose Do a handstand Travel Go to Greece Go to Rome Go to London Do the Unexpected Blackbelt in karate Do a Zombies Run Do the ZR Virtual Race Volunteer as a zombie at a Zombie Run Do a bubble run Do a color run Do an obstacle course run Do a 5K Do a 10K Do a half-marathon Bike to work (at least during decent weather ....) Keep Learning Master's Degree Doctorate Learn modern Greek Get my Personal Trainer Certification Defeat the Fashion Police Wear tights and a tunic Wear tights with a skirt

Hi! I'm normally over at the Assassins, but due to being off for a while I need to get my general fitness back up to snuffs - and since that's kinda your guy's specialty I'm hopping guilds, from being over at the Rebels to kinda try to figure my stuff back out. Last challenge went fairly well for the most part, but I still have a ways to go on most of the same general lines - either a leveled up version, or the same with better consistency. Namely the running... (Any and all advice from anyone with experience getting stiff joints to cooperate and work again without whining - HALP!) Main Quest : reclaiming the health bar (again) : losing 80lbs to get back to a healthy weight - I'm currently 5'5, and 220 lbs; getting my mental health back under control between ADHD, anxiety and general stress; and trying to get my strength and flexibility back so my body doesn't constantly feel like it's falling apart. Sidequest 1 : Running from the Zoms - Running 3 days/ week, with the help of Zombies, Run! This one's basically just cut and paste from my last challenge over with the Rebels, since long story short I only got half of the runs done last challenge. I also want to track my endurance through this challenge, so I'll be taking a measurement of my single-wind endurance hopefully tomorrow to get a baseline and do the same thing at the end of the challenge, hopefully I'll be able to run a fair bit longer in one spurt by the end of the challenge. Sidequest 2 : Fueling the Fear - Still working on tracking my food and cooking rather than rushing out 'cause I forgot to have something readily available. This is getting a level up from last time: I'm aiming to get 6 days tracked on LifeSum per week and keep at least 5 of those close/just under my recommended cals on the app, and having a set time to make meals ahead for the week - probably monday after work. Sidequest 3 : Mobilization - It seems like every time my chiropractor puts one thing back in, something else decides to start hurting. He's been giving me some stretches to help with those that were in my last challenge and I did so-so on, but I'm going to add something that does a stretch and strength component to try to get my body to start working together again. Hopefully. I'm not sure if I'll do better with a pilates or yoga regimen, so I'm going to leave those open (or if anyone with more experience has another suggestion...) and say i don't care which one happens, so long as one of them happens 3 times per week. Preferably on the days I don't run. (stretches as normal will still be taking place around runs as well, these are just another level to that) Lifequest : I got a lot farther with organization last challenge, so that's taking a step farther - I need to make sure more of the things on my to-do list in my bujo get done, so keeping up in there daily is going to be part of this, as well as scheduling in there times to get pieces of my apartment organized - and getting them done. Hopefully that's not too big of a bite to take; I'm not planning to get the whole apartment spic and span, just getting parts done one at a time (not counting things that need re-done with some semblance of regularity like vacuuming or mopping)

Jon Firestar: Challenge of the Living Dead On an inconspicuous day near the end of 2017 the dead started to rise from their graves. Nobody could explain why they had risen. Was it a disease, the effect of nuclear radiation or was hell simply too full? Whatever the answer to the question the human race wasn't prepared for their own dead to rise up. Within weeks civilization had collapsed with disparate bands of survivors eking out an existence in the wilds trying to keep away from the hordes of walking dead! Welcome to the Halloween challenge! I love zombie movies so that is going to be the theme for this one. With survival of the zombie apocalypse at stake there is a lot of work to be done! Rule #1. Cardio In order to keep abreast of the zombie masses one needs a good cardio engine! You need to keep running to keep ahead of the zombies. Outdistance the Zombies: The walking dead do not get tired. One must be able to keep ahead of them over large distances to keep the advantage! Simple milage goal of 150 miles in the next 5 weeks. This is worked out from the intended milage over the following few weeks. Who Thought Fast Zombies were a good idea!? It turns out that slow lumbering zombies are not the only threat! Someone also had to go ahead and develop fast zombies. Got to run fast to outrun a fast zombie! Two Quality Speed workouts per week! (Tuesday and Thursday) So my running plan hasn't really changed for a number of months. I'm starting to ramp up the milage again but that will be done very slowly from now until the new year. I'm going to be starting a dedicated marathon plan in January but until then I'll keep up with my current cycle because it is working quite nicely. Strong Enough To Battle the Horde! In order to survive sometimes one must battle the zombie horde. If you are strong and well conditioned that fight will go a lot better for you! I'm back into the gym after nursing a shoulder injury though my Spartan Race. The shoulder feels good and so I'm now I'm going to be rolling back into the Juggernaut Strength Program: Juggernaut 2 days per week (Monday and Wednesday) With my goal of running more, bigger and better OCR races I also want to focus on movements and exercises that will aid me directly in that goal. OCR conditioning workout once per week (Friday) Short OCR focused Tabata workouts during my other strength days. Supplies! Getting food during the zombie apocalypse is a challenging and dangerous endeavour! In order to maintain the strength and cardio strength one needs to scour the land for the best and most nutritious food available! Eat 2600-2700 calories per day. Record everything on MFP, record and post for accountability I'm trying to knuckle down and get on top of my eating. This one is really self explanatory but very important. The most important part is that I want to make sure I record and state all the things to try and maintain accountability! Handle the Fallout! There are two races in this challenge. At the end of Week 0 is the Maverick Trail Race. This is a local 15K Trail race and should be lots of fun The Second at the end of Week 3 and is Nuclear Fallout, a 7K OCR. That also should be a lot of fun to tackle. I'm looking forward to both but I've got no intention of going hard on either. I'm looking to have fun and enjoy the company of a few of the most awesome Rangers in the UK.

Poked my head in at the respawn point a bit over a week ago, and have started tracking again pre-challenge, but the past few months have been... less than glorious. I've lost all of the progress I had made, and now need to reclaim those levels. So now that I've rather fallen off a cliff and faceplanted, I'm trying to stand back up, brush off the dust, and start climbing back up again. Before the mindless hoard catches me on the ground Main Quest : reclaiming the health bar (again) : losing 80lbs to get back to a healthy weight - I'm currently 5'5, and 220 lbs; getting my mental health back under control between ADHD, anxiety and general stress; and trying to get my strength and flexibility back so my body doesn't constantly feel like it's falling apart. Sidequest 1 : Running from the Zoms - Running 3 days/ week, with the help of Zombies, Run! I can't currently sustain a full half-hour run, but I'm running more of it than I was 3 weeks ago, so yay that's a start. Sidequest 2 : Tracking down food - Working on making sure I track my food most days of the week (sundays are slightly tricky on this, but I've gotten this started back up the last few weeks and it's becoming more reliable... slowly), and getting more food planned ahead so I'm not constantly running out to McD's or Taco Bell 'cause I don't have anything ready to eat available. Sidequest 3 : Mobilization - a LOT of my flexibility is gone, and my joints are really starting to hate me. Sitting on the floor hurts, and finding a comfortable position in any chair is getting harder. Part of that may just be that I'm getting old (I'm 28), but I'm pretty sure that poor muscle and joint care are part of it too - so stretches recommended by my chiropractor and shoulder band exercises are going into my "daily" column - this is the aspect I've been having the hardest time implementing on a daily basis. Lifequest : Organi... Orgami... being able to find stuff. 'Cause ADD and organization are the best frenemies of all time, I've always had a difficult maintaining a level of organization - which sadly, I need to some degree, or I can't keep my own thoughts in order, let alone get anything done. Right now I started using a bullet journal to try to get everything schedule- and note-wise somewhere that I can find them, and have been slowly wrestling with the hoard known as "my bedroom" and getting it sorted (I may have chucked several bags of useless or old crap last week) but it's still and upward battle against entropy in both cases. So having my room cleaned will be something I'm working on a lot on weekends and some nights after work, and continue using the BuJo steadily and keeping track of my tasks and notes are going to be pretty big things I'll be trying to do daily. I'll try to keep up on here at least 2-3x/week to give myself some external accountability, since it's nearly impossible to keep up with my IRL accountability buddy due to different schedules, and her also struggling to get her to do list done

Howdy Rangers! This will be my third challenge with the Rangers. For those of you who didn't follow my first challenge, this challenge will be written a little differently than most. The majority of the posts in this challenge comprise a story, written in-character by Ranger Five. In character posts will be in green. These posts make up the story. I'll be writing about a zombie apocalypse setting, with a lot of inspiration from Zombies, Run! the app, but my own plotline. So don't worry about spoilers outside the first mission. If I've done my job, you won't be able to tell what's from the app and what's not unless you go through the app's story yourself. Most of what I use from Zombies, Run! will be characters and the basic premise, not the story itself.The story began in Chapter 1: Rebel Five Outruns Zombies, continued in Chapter 2: Rebel Five Seeks Answers, and this is the third chapter. However, the previous challenges have a lot of words in them, so for people who weren't following along with it, I've written the story so far for you.The Story So Far: Cast of Characters: Ranger Five: Our protagonist. Hails from Mullins Military Base. Major de Santa: Leader of Abel Township. Samuel Yao: Radio operator. Runner Seven: Head of Runners. Ranger Nine: Head of Rangers. Monk Two: Head of Monks. Has been giving Five fighting lessons. Emily: Head of IT. Janine Myers: Formerly Abel's doctor. Turned traitor at the end of Chapter 2. Currently at large. Louis: Works for Janine's mysterious employer or colleague. Henchman. Now that we know the narrative, let's look at the goals for this month: Goal 1: Lift weights at the gym up to thrice per week, using the Stronglifts program. (Exception in Week 1, where I can only make it to the gym once) Minimum: 6 workouts. Solid: 8 workouts. Great: 9 workouts. Excellent: 10 workouts. Goal 2: Run up to three times per week. Minimum: 6 runs. Solid: 8 runs. Great: 10 runs. Excellent: 12 runs. Nothing new here. I'm dialing my running back to thrice a week to prevent further injury. I'll run 5 km thrice a week (two slow, one fast) for Week 0-2, then I'll up the slow runs to 6 km for the remainder of the challenge. Goal 1 remains unchanged except for my scheduling issue; why mess with something that's working. Goal 3: Stretch up to three times per week. Minimum: 6 sessions. Solid: 8 sessions. Great: 10 sessions. Excellent: 12 sessions. I've been neglecting my stretching recently, and there's no excuse for that. If I can't do it at the gym due to time constraints, I can do it before I run, after I run, or at any other point in the day. Three sessions a week is a good start. Goal 4: Write up to three story posts per week. Minimum: 6 posts. Solid: 8 posts. Great: 10 posts. Excellent: 12 posts. Due to my injury, I got out of the habit of a solid Tues/Thurs/Sat schedule for writing story posts last challenge. I'd like to get back to it; there's quite a bit I'd like to write about this month. The plot's continuing to heat up, so I need to keep the posts coming! Scoring system: Minimum = 1 point. Solid = 2 points. Great = 3 points. Excellent = 4 points. 8 points or higher, all minimums met: Minor reward, worth up to $30. 12 points or higher, all minimums met: Major reward, worth up to $100. The first story post, explaining Chapter 3's title, should be up tomorrow.

Last we left Red, He had just defeated the undead Samurai, and continues on his path towards the Temple of the Lich "Man, this pathway is taking forever! I shoulda made a left at Albuquerque! HA HA HA!" Looking around he noticed that there was no one to hear his joke, "... Oh right." As he pressed on, He heard something faint. He stopped to listen. "Huh, guess I imagined it." "Grrrggghh..." "There it is again! OK, there's something definitely out there!" Red looks around and sees a Zombie moving towards him, "Huh, that's odd." He quickly dispatched it, without a second thought. "Heh, is that the best you can do?!" He arrogantly shouts towards no one. Before he can take another step, another zombie rises from the dirt. Then another, and another, and another, and another! In a manner of minutes, an entire horde of Zombies are surrounding Red! Running out of space, he immediately comes up with a plan "OK, so Zombies are uhhh... slow! Slow swings, meaning openings! Openings in their attacks means I can attack back! Got it!" Sliprope Training: "Zombies always swing towards the head, so if I can learn to dodge that swing and attack afterwards I'll survive!" - Using one of my handwraps, I've managed to set up an interesting twist on the shadowboxing aspect of my workout. I will do 3 rounds of Sliprope training: Round 1: pure movement Round 2: Step-1-2 Punch combo, Step-1-2 Punch combo, Rinse and Repeat Round 3: Step-1-4 Punch Combo, Step-1-4 Punch combo, Basically, two swings with the same arm: one cross/jab, the other uppercut/stomach shot Side-to-Side Pushups: "I've gotta make some room before I get overtaken here!" - Keeping up with increasing the difficulty of my exercises, I'm now adding Side-to-side Push-ups to my routine. I only count 1 rep after going right to left, and left back to right. Less Xombox, More NF: "I can't let myself become a zombie! I have to fight that temptation to give in!" - I just recently bought myself an Xbox One Slim, and I REALLY like it, but I can't let it get in the way of my health and seeing you lovely nerds here! So only AFTER seeing all of the threads that I follow, and my exercises, will I allow myself time to play Xbox. 5 Minutes to Play: Another attempt to get myself to practice the guitar, except this time, starting small, 5 minutes of practice for 3 days (2 of the days will be on my days off, and the 3rd will be on a work day)

Hi folks, I'm another lapsed NF participant jumping back into the fray! Last time I struggled to stay on top of things, but now I'm feeling confident with a good set of achievable goals and a decent battle plan for overcoming expected obstacles. Diet: No more than one proper cuppa (that is, extra strong with milk and three sugars) per day. The ultimate goal here is to reduce my overall love/need for sugar by learning to enjoy less sugary drinks until my go-to cuppa seems just unpleasantly sweet. Track meals every day. Something I've struggled with in the past due to forgetfulness. The plan is to keep my tracking book in the car so I have to update it before I can go anywhere. Fitness: Don't skip a day! I alternate doing academy workouts with missions on Zombies Run. I've have failed this in the past due to my irregular work schedule and just plain forgetfulness, so I will overcome by planning ahead the best time to do my fitness for the day and then ACTUALLY doing it at that time. Complete at least one academy quest every week. I just love ticking off those quests! I've got a lot of minor ones I could easily cross off if I just concentrated on them properly rather than trying to do half a dozen at a time. Life: Daily tidy-up of my side of the bedroom. I tend to just let things get messy and do a big tidy-up when it got out of hand. It was fine when I had a whole bedroom to myself, but since moving in with my darling boyfriend I have less space to make a mess in, so even a small mess is very annoying! Good luck everyone

Greetings, Runner 5! Grab a seat, have a meal, take a load off! No zoms here! Welcome to the support group for all Runners 5. There are a lot of us, and a lot of first time challengers doing Zombies 5k. So let's support each other. Ask each other questions -- Maybe about that W2D2 glitch? All runners welcome here!! (Credit goes to Traxex for this introduction post)

Out of Character Post - Introduction Hi Rangers! This'll be my first challenge with the Rangers, and my second challenge overall. This challenge is going to be a written a little differently from most, so let's get right into it. The first thing about this challenge that's worth noting is that I'll be writing most of the posts in character. In character posts will be in green. Once a week or so, I'll be writing an out-of-character recap of the week, but outside that, I'll be letting Rebel Five take over. Fellow Rangers and anyone else reading are free to respond in or out of character. In character, this thread is Rebel Five's personal blog, and all out of character posts, including this one, don't exist. Your character can be anywhere from inside Abel Township (the main setting of the Rebel Five series) to halfway across the world; it doesn't bother me. As long as it doesn't directly contradict anything written down, it'll work out. Naturally, Rebel Five won't reply to OOC posts. But I might; you can call me Jay if you need to differentiate Jay the writer from Rebel Five the character. So I'm writing in character; but what will I be writing about? I'll be writing about a zombie apocalypse setting, with a lot of inspiration from Zombies, Run! the app, but my own plotline. So don't worry about spoilers outside the first mission. If I've done my job, you won't be able to tell what's from the app and what's not unless you go through the app's story yourself. Most of what I use from Zombies, Run! will be characters and the basic premise, not the story itself. Eighteen months ago, the world was overrun by a zombie plague. The plague came in two forms; airborne, and fluid-borne. Fortunately, a small amount of the population was immune to the airborne form of the virus, which spread across humanity with terrifying speed. Civilisation crumbled, society fell apart, and those who were left tried to scrabble together some sort of plan from the wreckage. Rebel Five, a soldier in the Australian army, has spent this time in Mullins military base. Being comprised largely of young, healthy people, Mullins had more people immune to the airborne virus than most, and they were able to contain the infected, removing them from the base and sending them out into the ruins. It was a dreadful time, but because of these decisions, Mullins was able to survive. It has ample supplies, since it was designed to cater to ten times the number of soldiers who now live there, but there aren't enough soldiers and bullets to make any sort of attempt at reclaiming the wilderness, or a large-scale attempt at fighting back. Rebel Five, like most of the soldiers, has done very little except exist over the last eighteen months. This is about to change. For those of you who've played Zombies Run, you know what happens next. For those of you who haven't; don't worry. As mentioned earlier, the first mission will be pretty thoroughly spoiled, but other than that, you should be right. If you're planning to go through the app someday and can't bear any spoilers at all, turn back. Alternatively, you could go download the free app, and play through the first mission! It's quite the gripping tale, if I say so myself. Goals: My goals and Rebel Five's goals are the same, though Rebel Five will have some in-character substitutions. These will be mentioned in the story by the time the challenge kicks off. Goal 1: Lift weights at the gym up to thrice per week, using the Stronglifts program. Minimum: 6 workouts. Solid: 8 workouts. Great: 10 workouts. Excellent: 12 workouts. Goal 2: Run up to thrice per week with Zombies, Run! Minimum: 6 runs. Solid: 8 runs. Great: 10 runs. Excellent: 12 runs. Goal 3: Keep up with my uni schedule. Minimum and above: All assignments done on time. Solid: All work done by the end of the challenge. Great: All work done at the end of each week. Excellent: All work done at the end of each day. (1 off day per week permitted) Meet at least "Solid" on all three standards: Some well-fitting shorts, usable for running. As above, plus two "Great" or one "Excellent": My choice of a heart rate monitor or a set of fractional plates. Currently I've just started Stronglifts, and I'm running 4 km (2.5 miles) 3 times a week. My best time is 5:11 min/km, setting me up for about a 26-minute 5k time if Zombies Run is accurate. I'll be checking for accuracy within the next week before the challenge begins, running a road that I know is about 4.88 km (3.05 miles). I live at house number 244, and in more rural areas, 1 number = 10 meters, so emergency services can find houses easily. So if Zombies Run says the run's between 4.8 and 5 km, that's accurate enough to go by until I do an actual race in November. Uni-wise, I'm studying Computer Science, and just entering my second year. Well, that's enough about me for now; let's let Rebel Five take over!

ZOMBIES ATE MY RANGERS CHALLENGE! For those that do not know, this was an amazing game originally for the SNES system in which you would adventure through levels 1 or 2 players and gain items/weapons while attempting to save your neighbors. You could die by losing health or by losing all 10 neighbors. I loved playing it as a kid and really need to put it on my retro pie when I get a chance. So I will start with 10 lucky Neighbors/Rangers to be saving. Neighbors: @raptron @Tanktimus the Encourager @DJtrippyT @Jarric @Lifter5 @WorldSparrow @Rinna @Artemis1 @sozzielou @Rurik Harrgath @Thom Ulfhedinn @Sloth the Enduring @Xena @mr_willes @maegs @Rebel Five @bker1370 How Rangers die, simple, I miss doing things I am supposed to be doing in my training and life. Groupings: pills/stretching - miss either each day 2 dead Rangers. lifts/pulls/workouts - miss any each day 1 dead Ranger. low carb/no drinking/correct calories - mess each day and 1 dead Ranger. daily habits - more than 2 missed 1 dead Ranger. So pretty much if I miss a day of taking my pills or stretching, I kill two of you guys. I made this one so harsh because it is so simple to do, there is really no reason to miss a day. Missing a workout, pull ups, lifting etc. One of you are zombie food. This is pretty simple to understand. Injuries will be given special treatment, excuses will not. Caloric intake. I need to lower my carbs to less than 100 per day(some special considerations may apply, not excuses). Absolutely no alcohol unless I am at a special event, and then keep it low calorie/low carb. My calorie limit is 2,600 per day, super heavy training days it may be slightly pushed up, but is not an excuse to go to 7k calories. Any of these messed up in a day results in a dead Ranger. My daily habits are pretty simple, things I should be doing any ways. I can miss up to 2 a day, special considerations when I have things like work all day then a late hockey game I go straight to. More than 2 missed in a day though and one of you guys die. Chores: none - 1 dead Pretty much get at least one thing off my chore list done per day at least. If I fail without a seriously legit reason then one of you die. How to earn bonus Ranger: 3 days of all dailies - 1 bonus Ranger 5 days of lift/pull/workout - 1 bonus Ranger 5 days of pills/stretching - 1 bonus Ranger I can earn up to a max of 20 Rangers. Bonus items: 5 guys cheeseburger 5 guys cheeseburger Chipotle bowl(no rice/wrap) Thai bowl(no rice, 4 buddies) Chipotle bowl(no rice/wrap) Thai bowl(no rice, 4 buddies) wings(3 wings) wings(3 wings) Wegmans Pizza slice Wegmans Pizza slice Pretty much for each bonus item task completed I roll a D10 and get the coresponding item. All food bonuses must fit inside of the intake criteria for the day(calories/carbs). Bonus items disappear once received and a reroll will be added to their slot. Bonus item tasks: Notch all posts on deck Finish all beams Finish framing Finish setting up filter Finish setting up 12 gallon Finish building 75 gallon stand Clean entire Nerd Room Organize minis Organize an entire set of MTG 7 days of healthy intake 7 days of exercise 7 days of stretching/pills SUPER MEGA BONUSES: Finish with X Rangers: 20 neighbors: Rib Eye/Shrimp and a nice low carb side, then go ruck 5 miles with 20lbs 15-19 neighbors: Go buy a new fishing rod/reel 10-15 neighbors: Have a nice dinner out wherever you want 9: Not amazing, Buy something small fish tank related 8: Not too good, open 2 magic boosters 7: Average, you get nothing < 7: You suck, go RUCK 10 miles At 30 lbs That is it, hopefully I can keep everyone alive!

Winter The apocalypse is coming. When? It is hard to say. I must prepare now as my survival is at stake. Over the next four weeks, I will begin my preparations. It is my goal to focus on speed, strength, and maintaining my sanity while I wrap up a few loose ends. Fortunately, I have been provided an additional week to adjust to my new training regimen. I will call this time of adjustment Week 0. I will record my training plan here so that I may revisit it to maintain focus when distractions work to impede my progress. May these messages act as a reminder to others that you must begin now. You must prepare for what is to come because it is coming whether or not you are ready. Training for the Apocalypse Goals Speed I have been working with the town of Abel over the past two weeks. They are training me so that I may replace the work of the old Runner 5 without meeting the same unfortunate fate. I have not yet missed a session with the doctor nor do I intend to do so. Goal #1: Continue with Zombies! Run C25K program. [Success = Continuing with program with no more than 2 days between sessions] Strength I am a student of NF Academy. As a member of The Academy, I am provided with strength training drills. I had a successful several weeks of completing the exercises as described, but I have let my schedule slip. In order to learn from the masters, I must follow their advice. Goal #2: Continue with the Nerd Fitness Academy training routine and advance to level 3 [Success = 3 days per week of bodyweight training and advancement to level 3 before the end of this training season.] Zombies do not limit their chases to level ground. I need to prepare for the possibility of being chased in stairwells. Goal #3: When leaving work, take the stairs down. Once a week, walk to work. Once a week, climb the stairs. [Success= Never taking an elevator down. Walking and taking the stair up once per week]. Sanity A nearby temple of Tibetan Buddhist monks have opened their walls to the public. There is a lot that I can learn from these wise men. As their student, I will learn to be mindful of my surroundings and to calm my mind. Goal #4: Once per week, visit the Kadampa center for a teaching or meditation. [Success = Going to the center once per week] A strong mind is a rested mind. I very much enjoy my time in bed, however that time can be better spent. As a former sleep professional, I will use my knowledge to ensure better sleep habits and develop a strong routine. I should appreciate the time that I have to sleep now. Who knows how long it will last? Goal #5: Wake up at 7am every morning in order to develop a good sleep routine. [Success = Beginning week 1, wake up by 7am every morning] Loose Ends There are things that I want to accomplish before the zombies come. Things that I have put off until now. Goal #6: Complete the following tasks. 1) “What inspires you?” 2) “Try a Nerd Fitness recipe” 3) “Break down those goals” 4) “Start your Epic Quest” 5) “Gimme the Loot” 6) “Customize your Batcave” 7) Make NF Character useful (and public) 8) Determine primary guild of choice 9) Complete Music in My Mind training materials 10) To be determined [Success = Completing above 10 tasks before the end of the challenge] Training begins now. Good luck and god speed. jessebel

Author's Note: There are a few spoilers for the first mission of Zombies, Run! in this challenge. After that though, I'm taking a lot of liberty with the setting of Abel Township, and making it my own. Think of it as AU fanfiction of Zombies, Run. There shouldn't be any problems with spoilers beyond the first mission, since the setting will be different enough that there'll be no telling which plot points are from the game or not, so any plot points should still come as a surprise. Dear Reader, The name's Rebel Five, apparently. The people of Abel Township call me Rebel because I've yet to pick an area of expertise, and Five because I took over for the old Five; Runner Five. How did that happen, you ask? Maybe I should start at the beginning. I was sent in from Mullins Military Base on a supply run, where I've basically bummed around living on MRE's for the last year and a half like everyone else there. We've got enough forces that we're not in any danger, but not enough to actually make a difference. It was pretty boring right up until our chopper got shot down. I know, right? Who could, or would, shoot down a chopper in this day and age? The zoms are the enemy, we're all in this together. Should be, anyway; in reality it tends to be every settlement for itself. Even so, we don't attack each other. It's just not done. Lack of co-operation is not aggression. Until now. I'm not sure why I'm writing this post, especially since the network's barely functional these days. I found this laptop in Runner Five's old place. That's where they put me, since I replaced the old Runner Five. I tell you, Five must have been one hell of a runner to be given something as valuable as this. I don't think the higher-ups remembered to grab it before they put me in here. I'm not going to be correcting them, either. It even has the internet. It's pretty awful these days though. Samuel, our radio operator, says it'll probably take hours just to send this. I think I'll use you to keep track of my goals. That's something my sergeant always tried to drill into us. It's easy to get into a survival mindset, where you're just trying to tread water and maintain ground. The problem is, if you do that, you end each day no better than when you started, and when something goes wrong, you can't make that ground back. Or you get deeper into the water, or something. I never paid much attention, but now that I'm on my own, it seems comforting to at least hope there's someone out there who's got it all figured out, and piggyback off what they said. To be honest, she was probably treading water just as much as the rest of us, but let's just keep that between us, shall we? So, how can I make sure I'm not just treading water? Fortunately, Abel's given me a list of standards to work towards. Everyone contributes here. I'd bet my laptop that whoever's in charge here, or whoever calls the shots in this area, was military once. It all feels somewhat familiar. Almost like home. Goal One: Strength train with gymnastics rings. "Why don't we have any free weights here?" "Well, Five, why don't you go get some for us? There's an old gym about eight k's from here. Barely touched. Just go grab one of those 20 kilo barbells and run it back past the zoms. Then when you get killed, maybe the new Rebel Five won't ask stupid questions." - Ranger Nine. (He's not the friendliest, but he's pretty jacked, so maybe these rings are useful after all.) Standards - Minimum: 6 workouts. Solid: 8 workouts. Great: 10 workouts. Excellent: 12 workouts. Goal Two: Go on supply runs, at least 3 km each. "Everybody runs here, Five. Unless you're disabled, or crucial to the continued running of the township, you run. Without supplies, Abel Township's dead in the water. Runners are just the specialists, who do the dangerous missions. Everyone else does supply runs or training exercises." - Runner Seven. (Head of runners. Unofficially, he claims.) Standards - Minimum: 6 runs. Solid: 8 runs. Great: 10 runs. Excellent: 12 runs. Goal Three: Work on programming for an hour each day, starting next week. "So, Five, I heard you're good with computers. Is there any chance you could go on over to the old computer lab? Well, it has four computers in it, does that count as a lab? I'm not sure...anyway, it'd just be great of you if you could give it a look. Our head of IT, Emily, says that they're getting some parts shipped in sometime this week and could use some help with something when they get here. Wait, can you be a head of IT if there's nobody under you?" - Samuel. (Radio operator. Chatty bloke, but I like him.) Standards: - Minimum: 9 days. Solid: 12 days. Great: 15 days. Excellent: 18 days. "All that said, Five, do right by us, and we'll do right by you. We keep the best stuff we find for our most hard working people. And we don't just hoard it for the fastest or the strongest either. It's all based on your personalised standards. Anyone who does their job well gets some of the entertainment we work so hard to find. Exceed expectations, and you'll get some of the stuff we find that make us better at our jobs." - Runner Seven. Meet at least "Solid" on all three standards. Reward: Access to a game from Abel's collection. As above, plus meet "Great" on two standards, or "Excellent" on one. Reward: A pair of specialised running shoes. So that's basically my plan for the month. Run, train, learn my way around Abel Township and the surrounding area. I don't think Mullins is going to send a chopper for me any time soon. I sure as hell wouldn't, if I were in their shoes. At the very least, until the route can be confirmed safe again, there's no way home. It's over forty k's from here...no way could I run that far, fast enough to evade the zoms. I don't know if anyone here could. Runner Seven says they're relentless, and some of them can be very fast. But even the slow ones never get slower. They just keep chasing you down, mile after mile, until you drop. And 40 kilometers is a long, long way. Rebel Five, signing out. Author's Note: I've decided to mess around with doing some posts in character, and some posts out of character. The whole thing'll be explained out of character in the next post.

Welcome Fellow Survivors! The road so far: You can read the full story in all it's typo glory here. (I swear I will get around to editing it some day...) When Captain Lars (Call Sign: Sparrow) was invited to take place in 'Project Hometown', he never thought he would be activated. After all, it was a contingency, and contingencies don't happen. At least not to this degree. Project Hometown is a federal program in place to insure continuity of the US Government in the eyes of the survivors of any catastrophe. Each of the continental states were given a coordinator, like Captain Lars, and a number of pre-positioned supply bunkers, to help maintain stability after a nation wide disaster. However, not even in their darkest thoughts did they see something like the FURY bacteria, which quickly infected the majority of the United States. The bacteria eats away at your mind, causing you to loose most higher functions and often become a violent sociopath with zero regard toward self preservation. As the bacteria burns it's self out, your mind is left a shell of it's former self. So far the infected have shown tendencies to hunt in packs, use simple tools, and even stalk their prey like a wild animal. Our heroes fear how else they might adapt and evolve. When Captain Lars excited his bunker he soon met @Rurik Harrgath, and they quickly because comrades in the battle against the infect. When faced with a horde of infected, they feared their doom but were saved by @Wild Wolf and the 113th Cavalry from the Iowa National Guard. While Lars was first glad to have military assistance in his mission, he quickly discovered (with the help of @Raxie) the commander of the cavalry unit might not have the protection of civilian survivors at the top of his priority list. On top of all this, Lars has a nagging thought in the back of his head. The coordinators were intended to be autonomous and equal to each other, but at the last second the coordinator of Colorado was promoted to Major and placed in charge. To make things worse, the highest known politician in the line of succession, is also in Colorado. With all this in mind, Lars wants to get the supplies out of as many bunkers as quickly as possible - in chase Acting President Briggs decides to change the plan. It is much too easy to save yourself and you friends at the cost of people you don't know. In an effort to gain the cavalries' cooperation, Captain Lars and his team conducted recon on the small town of Kingsley, IA to investigate a strong hold of survivors led by @Geek On Fire. Lars discovered that while they had exploited refugees passing through, they felt that it had only been done out of self preservation. It is difficult to draw the line between altruism and pragmatism, and Lars doesn't yet know where The Geek falls, but for now they have become uneasy allies in the fight for survival against the infected. Source Material: Based in the world of the book "The Remaining" Want to be part of the story? Join Here! The Rules: I follow in the foot steps of the greats before me in believe of the connection between the body, the mind, and the soul. I call these The Soldier, The Scholar, and The Sage. For the duration of the challenge I will have primary goals based in these categories. On top of that, the participants of the story will have two bonus quests from each category each week. They can be done within three days (72 hours) of their posting. The Soldier will be posted in RED. The Scholar will be posted in WHITE.(ish) The Sage will be posted in BLUE. Our success (or failure... but that won't happen...) will be judged in 'survivors'. We are starting with 50 survivors in Kingsley. My weekly performance in the primary challenge will net us +/- 5 survivors. Our performance in the bonus quests will net us +/- 1 survivor each. Performance in the ranger miniquest, or any other PvP/PvE Co-Op missions will also net us +/-1 survivor. Lastly, my completion of the 'big three' items on my to-do list will net us +/- 1/3 a survivor. I know what you are thinking... one third a survivor!? How gruesome! But hey - math and stuff, ok? If I do something especially note worthy, it will be deemed 'above the line' and give us +2 survivors. If I do something despicable and shame worthy, it will be deemed 'below the line' and cost us -2 survivors. Main Challenge: The Soldier: I will conduct strength training for at least 30 minutes three times a week. I will conduct cardio training for at least 30 minutes three times a week. I will experiment with healthy cooking once the first week, twice the second week, ect. The Scholar: I will study for 60 minutes four times a week. The Sage: I will meditate for at least 10 minutes six times a week. Conclusion: My last challenge was done in full on fake it 'till you make it mode. Hence the typos in the story, and all that. So get ready for me to take it up a level! Maximum Effort! .

Brutal Bears Survives the Zombie Apocalypse Prologue: So, I am coming over the rangers for the first time; I never thought I would be here! I have traditionally been a warrior, but life has been difficult. I work 70+ hours a week managing a drug treatment center (and my cell is the emergency line), I'm a full time college student, and I don't get much "free time". I have recently had a lot of fun jogging, because I just love to get outside and sometimes I just can't get to the gym. I think I would like to try some unconventional training, like mace training at some point; but, this challenge is just to stay balanced and keep things fun. I would like to make a zombie survival challenge based of the great app "Zombies, run" this time and see what happens... so Rules: If the health of Abel hits 0 I lose. I will roll a D20 each day for damage and various workouts help heal build up the town. Health can not exceed 25 The Goal: Survive 5 weeks of the Zombie Apocalypse Abel Township Health (19/30) Missions

We open on our hero, JulietKitsch, battling a voracious horde of demons. She has fought such creatures before - but now, her life depends on it... About Me: Very tall, very plus size. I have had (moderate) success in weight loss before, but nothing has ever stuck. I'm dangerously close to hitting a new high weight, which would put me at 200 pounds to lose. That's pretty scary to me. I just celebrated my 29th birthday, and I'm about to cross into a threshold where the weight will be even more difficult to lose. The time is now. Strengths: Funny, smart, dedicated to everything but her health, caring. Good dancer. Weaknesses: Fast food. Fast food. Um, fast food. Challenge #1 - Getting Started 2/9 - 2-28 Level One Rebel STR 0 :: DEX 0 :: STA 0 :: CON 2 :: WIS 0 :: CHA 0 Main Quest: I want to be a mother. Right now, I am not in a place financially or health-wise to do so. I will be a single parent, so I need to be financially secure before caring for a child. Main Financial Goals: 1) Live in a 2 bedroom condo or apartment 2) Have $10,000 in liquid savings 3) Be credit card debt free Main Health Goals: 1) Run a 5k 2) Lose 100 pounds 3) Break my fast food habit (3 months fast food free) Main Life Goals: 1) Keep my apartment clean (3 months straight) 2) Achieve tenure at a teaching job 3) Become a foster parent (probably providing respite / short term homes) 4) Be ready to have a child (pregnancy or adoption) Challenge Goals: I am starting simple, especially since this is such a short challenge AND I'm joining late. Me: I'm the type of person who has trouble organizing myself and making healthy choices. +1 CON 30 XP :: Financial Goal: I will eat lunch at school (school: salad bar or turkey sandwich, or bring from home) in order to save money and eat healthier. +1 STR 50 XP :: Health Goal: I will work out at least 1x a week in order to improve my strength and develop a healthy routine. +1 CHA 20 XP :: Life Goal: I will spend 5 minutes organizing my desk area every day in order to create more organization at work. +1 STA 20 XP :: Health Goal: When I walk the dogs, I will walk them down to end of the road and back in order to increase my steps and health. + 1 WIS / 50 XP:: Lent: By the end of this challenge, I will have achieved 7 consecutive days of no fast food.

Journal Entry: 1/04/2016 The outbreak was quick. People got sick before they really even knew what happened. Military bases were hit first, all that the governments could figure was that the zombie apocalypse was brought on by biological warfare. It was all very hush-hush; if you weren't in the brass then there was no way that you could know what would happen. Civilians who lived outside of the base were the ones who felt the worst of it. It only took a week before something bit me. --- Hello, lovelies! I'm back from a long, long hiatus and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. New year, way to start fresh, right? I figured out how much I missed the Nerd Fitness community and, while having a huge conversation with the girlfriend, recommended the forums to her. So! It seemed a little silly for me to not do something that I very clearly love that does not take up terribly much of my time. The premise of my story arc for this challenge has to do with the lovely zombie game that I played with Eskcanta the last time that I did this. Basically, I am running this story like it is part of the zombie apocalypse. The new year started off in your standard biological warfare setting and the virus has spread throughout the area. The various challenges and goals will all be framed through this lens and will have a surviving the outbreak feeling. I am taking a brief step away from the standard high fantasy writing that I did in Phoenix Ascendant, though rest assured! I may post some fun stuff for my badass Dwarven Cleric/Adventurer self. It will just be bonus content. And now! The goals: Fitness Goal: Persistence Predator: Walk for 30 minutes every day I recently took a look at the ol' phone-based pedometer and found out that I do not do anything that even remotely resembles walking. Being outside in the sunshine makes me feel good, plus actually walking around really makes you feel like you accomplished something. (Even if that something is walking down your block and then walking back.) PASS: A: All week (7 days) B: 5x-6x per week C: 3x-4x per week D: 1x-2x per week FAIL: No walking whatsoever. None. Zilch. Nada Lifestyle Goal: People = meaty water bottles: drink 32 oz water daily Okay, so water consumption is a big deal for me. When I stopped working in the office (which was both good and bad. My hair stopped falling out though! Yay me?) I stopped drinking as much water because I stopped drinking water when I was bored. So, I find that I spend my day in a near constant state of dehydrated. I gotta be nice to my innards. PASS: A: Drink 32 oz water per day B: Drink 31-24 oz per day C: Drink 23-16 oz per day D: Drink 15-1 oz per day FAIL: Jeez, did you even drink water today? No water is a complete fail Lifestyle Goal: Better than brains: Cook 4 meals at home per week Has anyone been going through their budget before and found that they spend insane amounts of money on eating out? I do. Well, I did. I don't anymore because I'm a liiiiiittle broke right now. My at-home cooking has consisted of frozen pizzas and pudding (so... so much pudding o_o). Do you know how many calories are in an entire box of pudding? Do you know how easy it is to eat an entire box of pudding? In order to survive my brokeness with my waistline intact, I've concluded I want to start cooking. PASS: A: Cook 4 meals at home per week B: Cook 3 meals at home per week C: Cook 2 meals at home per week D: Cook 1 meal at home per week FAIL: No meals at home? Seriously? Not even a frozen pizza? caveat: If I am making a pre-made meal (like a microwave dinner or a frozen pizza) that counts as 1/4th of a meal. It fulfills the actual letter of the challenge, but not the spirit of the challenge. Personal Development Goal: Survivor Story: Journal every night There is a lot of therapeudic benefit to journalling. It helps you get your feelings out and sometimes you need to work through what you are thinking and feeling on paper. While this is great and allows me to talk to my friends, there is also a benefit to having something personal that is just for yourself. I have so many cool journals that I love that I would love to actually get some use out of. So hopeful to actually get down to the business of writing and processing. PASS: A: All week (7 days) B: 5x-6x per week C: 3x-4x per week D: 1x-2x per week FAIL: Not a single entry this week, sadness. REWARD SYSTEM: Just like in school, we are grading this on the 4.0 system. No challenge has more weight than the other, so we are going to be working on the cumulative GPA on this. I'm also going to give myself a stat upgrade at the end of this challenge, but the upgrade will be listed later because I don't know what will be worth what. 4.00: CONGRATS! You busted tail and can now go buy the big fancy FitBit you had your eye since the room mate got one. Equivalent to $100. 3.50-3.99: Cash reward of $75 bucks to do with as you see fit. Maaaaybe put it away for vacation? Maybe buy some more books? Who knows what you can do, but it's aaaall yours 3.49-3.00: Cash reward of $60 bucks to do with as you see fit. 2.99-2.50: Okay homegirl, you tried. Cash reward of $50 to do with as you see fit. 2.49-2.00: You gave it a good try! Cash reward of $30 + $20 of fancy food items 1.99-1.00: Just the $20 in fancy food items. You tried a little, but you really didn't give it a good faith effort. 0.99-0.00: You... uh... get a ribbon for participation?

My Mission: To create a maintainable fitness plan and get back to my pre-summer weight of 145. Summer is full of fun, beer festivals, and food. I have been able to stay within about 5-7 pounds of my goal weight (which I achieved back in May), but I’d like to quit making excuses and make fitness a habit again, rather than relying on my revved up metabolism to keep me in check. Kaio-Ken… TIMES TEN! (Goal 1) Workout 5x per week for 30 minutes or more. This worked out really well in my last challenge, so I am doing it again. Instead of feeling pigeon holed in one program, having the ability to realize it’s gorgeous out and I’d rather go for a bike ride is important to me staying on track. It brings the enjoyment back to fitness again. And that will keep me stable much longer than feeling trapped by constraints. I would like to work toward a balance of cardio and weights while training for a 10 mile in October. It’s Over 9000! (Life Quest) Continue paying off credit card debt and saving for the future. With plans for baby on the horizon, this is getting even more serious and more important. Goals this go around will be: - Pay $100 off on both credit cards per month ($100 a pay period to one card, and then $100 to the other the next pay period). - Put $100 per pay period into a savings account - Cut back $150 allowance per paycheck to $100 and LIVE WITHIN THAT RANGE. It’s okay to say no. You’re so totally allocated right now. Get used to it. KAKAROOOOOOT!!!!! (Goal 2) Core work 3x per week You've got to have a strong core to do all the yelling Vegeta does... And I need a strong core because I don't really have one. I plan to try to get 10 Min Abs in 3x per week, or supplement with other core workouts. Eternal Dragon, by your name, I summon you forth, Shenron (Side Quest) One Cleaning Project a Week I can’t gather Dragon Balls and wish my house clean. Believe me, I've tried. I’m starting a list of projects I will work on throughout each week to slowly chip away at all the projects I need to take care of that have been driving me NUTS. Take garage sale labels off of four boxes of books to bring them to Half Price Books for resale. Finish revamping and organizing the craft room. Take donation boxes in the garage to Good Will Organize brewing kit (under stairwell and in sunroom) Clean the freaking master bedroom already! Complete ALL laundry in the laundry room and put it all away. Buu Turn You Into CANDY! (Goal 3) Eat out only once per week and stay as clean as humanly possible. I realize I can’t eat clean 100% of the time, and that some restaurants are pretty clean as is. I want to be as aware of what I choose to put in my body as possible. My goal remains the same from last challenge -- one meal out per week.

To my fellow Assassins, If you are reading this, well...you're probably stuck in this little room with an excessive amount of walkers against all four walls. You see that window up above you? Use a wall run, grab the sill, do a climb up, jump across to the fire escape. Sounds dangerous? Think I'd rather let parkour kill me on a supply run than walkers. If I made it, you'll see a crude drawing of an Assassins Creed jacket on the wall. Maybe'll you see it on the way down. Maybe you'll be the one to scratch out my masterpiece. But whatever you do, don't be scared. You're pretty screwed either way you go in this world. Just keep moving forward. Oh. And hope you learned something from all those parkour videos I'm assuming you watched before the world went to shit. Ciao. ------- Welcome to my...not sure what number challenge this is actually but it's a challenge nonetheless and I'm back with the Assassins squad! Due to my current obsession (and serious withdrawal) with the Walking Dead, that's the theme for this here 6-week challenge of mine! Hope you enjoyed my survivors' note, now onto my quests and the like! Main Quest: Prepared for the Apocalypse We don't know when the zombie apocalypse is actually going to descend upon us. So I'd like to take this challenge (and perfect timing of the Walking Dead spinoff starting) to try and make sure I'm well prepared. Quest 1: Queen of Supply Runs Thanks to the sudden uprising of ravenous dead people, supplies are pretty scarce. You had a lot of people trying to stock up or do supply runs just like me. However, supply runs don't always go very neatly nor leave the runner with much life in them. (Haha, get it, I made a funny. Life undead, you get the joke, right? ...moving on.) The thing about being good about supply runs is getting from point A to B quickly, foraging what you can carry and then getting back from point B to A. The e best way to do this? Some good ol' fashioned parkour. It also comes in handy for making quick exits. A = Training sessions 2-3x a week B = Training session 1x a week C = Training session every other week. Quest 2: Don't Stop Running Do we call them walkers? Yes. Does that mean they walk slow? No. A crowd walking will slow down a runner no problem. The solution to this problem? Be faster than the crowd so as to not get caught up. Or the group of Hunters that want to use you as a decoy. Oh, and of course, be able to run for a while - you're gonna need to put as much distance as possible between you lot. A = Complete 6 weeks of Zombies Run! 5k Training App B = Complete 5 weeks of ZR!5k C = Complete 3 weeks of ZR!5k Quest 3: Advanced Melee Fighter Guns make quite a bit noise, no matter how effective they are. Noise attracts walkers. Translation: use weapons that don't make a lot of noise, like crowbars and bats. Or a katana. Katanas are nice too. And to be able to swing them repeatedly for extended periods of time, I'd better be comfortable throwing my weight around! THE FORCE WILL BE WITH MY BAT. A = Complete NF bodyweight circuit 3x a week. B = Complete NF bodyweight circuit 2x a week. C = Complete NF bodyweight circuit 1x a week. Side Quest: Scenic Route Won't Kill You. Just because the world's overrun with ravenous decomposing bodies doesn't mean it's not a beautiful sight to be found. There are pretty scenic routes one can take here and there. A = Take one picture of beautiful scenery 3x a week B = Pictures 2x a week C = Picture 1x a week Motivation: The zombie apocalypse is going to come as a surprise...I will be ready!!

EmbracingChaos walks through the deserted city streets; luckily, there are still two hours left of daylight. Zombies have the advantage once the natural lighting is gone, so it's best to be someplace secure by the time the sun sets. Sunlight reflects from a nearby store window and fills his vision. He quickly lowers his gaze to restore his ability to see. Surprised, he walks toward the abandoned store. It's pretty rare to find a glass window intact! Perhaps this store hasn't been ransacked yet, he thinks. He kicks the wooden door that previously served as an employee entrance. The frame snaps and the heavy wooden door smashes its way inside. Racks of clothes occupy the interior. Excellent, he thinks. He looks down at his stained, torn, and altogether destroyed set of clothes. Definitely time for an upgrade. Just as he prepares to enter the store, a snarling, blood-covered face jumps from the side of the doorway out at him and snaps its teeth viciously. EmbracingChaos takes several steps back, raises the metal pipe in his hand, and prepares to do battle. Two more zombies rush out the doorway to join the fray and EmbracingChaos's heart sinks. He now realizes his only option is to run. One zombie would have been easily dispatched, perhaps even two, but three of them would test his limits. He turns away from the group and prepares to run. It's been a long time since he has had to run from a group of zombies. Since he typically only scavenges in the day, the zombies usually don't present much of a problem, nor have they traveled in groups. The pudge that has gathered around EmbracingChaos's midsection shows the good fortune he has grown accustomed to. Will he make it out alive? Goal 1: Average less than 1700 calories per day each week Goal 2: Average at least 150g of protein and 42g of fat per day each week Goal 3: Walk at least 5 miles per week, with at least a 35 lb. weighted backpack, at a 6% incline, and at a speed of at least 3 mph Reason: Told myself I was bulking and did my first three challenges as bulks. Went from about 11% body fat to about 18% body fat; I'm now about 16% body fat. I would like to get back down to at least 13% body fat by the time this challenge is over. Trying my first challenge as a Ranger now, since I think I care more about keeping my body fat low while I try to put on muscle rather than doing the traditional bulk/cut cycle. I primarily just lift weights nowadays though have done quite a bit of running in the past... perhaps at some point I'll add some running back into things.

Fasten your seat belts. This is going to be a bumpy ride. 1) Sunday, Tuesday & Friday progress through Zombies, Run! 5k trainer. (3 days/week) [+3 STA] (10 points per run) This is actually starting 5/26. I am skipping the first day because I've done it a million times. So we're starting today so I can finish before Otakon. 1) Go to the Gym Monday & Thursday for 30-60 minutes of strength training. (2 days/week) [+2 STR] (20pts per workout) 2) In July when the Kickboxing place opens (and If I still have my job) Monday and/or Thursday go to a Kickboxing class after work. The goal is to strength work out twice a week and hope one is kickboxing eventually 1) After runs, Sunday, Tuesday & Friday 20-30 minutes of yoga/stretching. Focusing on hips. (3days/week) [+3 DEX] (5 points per yoga) 2) Saturday, I will go to Gymnastics or Yoga depending on how my wrist feels. They are both between 9am-1pm (1day/week) [+1 DEX +1 STR] (5 pts per class) 3) Work, after running and leg day, on splits for at least 15 minutes, focusing on middle splits. (4days/week) [+1 DEX] (1pt per split per day, left, right, middle) Open Middle Split PVP with Assassin Ladies! Food. This has to change somehow. Its not meals that mess me up, its the between mealtimes, after mealtimes. I snack bad. 1) 2 paleo meals a day, been proven fairly easy over the last 6 weeks... (14meals/week) [+2 CON] (5 pts per meal) 2) No more than 3 non paleo snacks a week. This INCLUDES Winesday. Save em, make em delicious. Remember, crackers suck. (3/week max) (0 points awarded on snacks. Allow up to 3, start docking 3 points per over-snack, its basically undoing most of a good meal) Lastly, life goal. I have a feeling I am going to be fired shortly. 1) Work on 1 portfolio thing a week (1 thing/week)[+1 WIS] (3pts) 2) Apply to one new job every other week... and follow through, please.(1 app/week)[+1 CHA] (2 pts) Time to nut up or shut up! Overall Goals Lose 10 lbs by July 24th Starting Weight - 135.4 lb & 25%BF Goal Weight - 125 & 18%BF lb Goal Physique: Fit WomanMain Goal: TransformGoal Weight & Body Fat: 125 Lbs. & 18% BFTotal Body Composition Change of: 10.4 Lbs. Lost & 7% BF LostFor Bodyfat Measurements At Stake: +3 STR - +4 DEX - +4 STA - +2 CON - +1 WIS - +1 CHA Rewards:A (90-100) - Assassin can always use more Combat Pants B+C+D (152 Free shipping! +25 class)B (80-89) - This awesome workout Shirt C+D (85? +25 class)C (70-79) - I want these booty shorts a stupid amount +D (40 +25 class)D (65-60) - Intro to Arials Workshop ($25)F (64-) - $177 into savings (all reward total) Measurements: Updated 6/8 Neck: 12" Waist: 27" Hips: 35 3/4" Thigh: R: 23 3/4" L: 23 3/4" Weight: 134.0 lb BF%: 22.1%

Prologue The worst happened. We thought we were safe, we thought the thing we feared the most would stay in the realms of science fiction. We were wrong and we were so unprepared. The world as we knew it ended. It happened so fast, no one was ready. Not many of us survived the bombings. Some people were lucky enough to make it to shelters in time before the bio-chemical attacks started. Some weren't so lucky. We thought we were safe in the shelters but we had no idea the horror that awaited us on the outside. Not everyone hit by the bio-chems were killed; some survived, but they can no longer be classed as humans. Some call them mutants, some call them demons, abominations. I call them zombies. My name is Charlie and I'm a Ranger in the squadron for Compound 3, one of the last human settlements left. Our job is to defend the people and the compound from the nightmares outside and to scout the wasteland for supplies. We are soldiers, protectors, the last line of defense. This is my diary, my story.

apfelstrudi and the path to deadliness - pt 1: Arya I made it my goal to be deadly by the end of the year. As with every good progression, we start with baby steps - one skill at a time. I've moved to the rangers for this challenge because, while the world is still my playground, I'm focusing less on that and more on learning new skills and being all over the place! My spirit animal for this challenge is going to be Arya (can you guess the skill yet?). She's a tiny weakling that's proven to get more and more badass. I'll try and channel her throughout this challenge. Mission 1: Work out. It doesn't matter what type of workout I do, but I want to work out every. single. day. This doesn't have to be a big, well-rounded workout. It can be something as simple as a 5 minute jog around the house or some relaxing yoga before bed. But I need to stop being a lazy bum. There are a few weekly goals to cross off my list of things I want to incorporate. They're split into easy, medium and hard to reach. So instead of saying names of people I want to kill in my sleep, and on every other occasion, I'll be saying the following: Running: 5k 10k 15k Burpees: 200 500 700 Squats (can be with or without weight): 200 500 700 Crunches: 200 500 700 Mission 2: Work on a skill This is where the theme comes into play. In order to get deadly, I need deadly skills. And while I'm great with an embroidery needle, I need the kind of needle Arya has. The deadlier one. I AM SO EXCITED RIGHT NOW. My skill shall be sword fighting. Which, I guess, is enough reason to be excited. But get this! I was talking to this guy on OkCupid that I'd just met, we'd exchanged maybe 2 messages, and I asked him for zombie survival skill ideas and then explained stuff and used swordfighting as an example AND HE IS TAKING ME TO A SWORDFIGHTING WORKSHOP FOR A FIRST DATE. How epic is that?! Sword fighting is my skill now. Over the next couple days I'll be building a makeshift dummy and figuring out where I put my wooden sword and then it's on. ALL the yays! Mission 3: Adventure it out Adventure is my thing. I want to bring back my weekly adventure. I've had loads of fun time spent with friends lately, my social life is incredibly busy and I love it, but it's been more of a "let's hang out on the couch and watch movies/cook something/maybe hook up/go to the spa" type of deal and while I guess some of them can be fitnessy or adventurous, it's not the type of adventure I want. I want to bring back my weekly adventure. Doesn't have to be sunday funday, but there needs to be adventure! Arya's been through lots of adventures. Most of them involuntary, granted, but whatever. She's always found a way to make it work for her, and look at her current adventure! Mission 4: Even it out Because my social life is so busy, I've been slacking on my workout. I've also not taken proper care of myself. I'm not getting nearly enough sleep and I never really have any time to myself, because there's always people to visit and things to do and I love being around people. So I'll make it my mission to have one evening that I don't hang out with people. This sounds so easy but is so hard for me. Because it's hard to evenly distribute my time between my friends, and I just really like dropping in on people after work, or going out for dinner or drinks instead of just going home. But I've been spreading myself too thin, and I know I need the time to myself. Me time is something that Arya could probably use as well. Maybe she'll get some this season, who knows! I'll definitely be working on it for her.

Ultimate Quest: Survive the Zombie Apocalypse (Last Updated 5/9) NECESSARY SKILLS :: I will be focusing on... STR: Fend off zombies with brawn Goal: By 12/15, be able to do 10 push ups in a row. STA: Outrun hordes for long distances Goal: By 12/15, be able to jog a 5k. DEX: Be agile enough to cover rugged, varied terrain effortlessly Goal: By 12/15, be able to do a cartwheel. CON: Have the supplies and means to equip myself Goal: By 12/15, move out OR have $3k towards a down payment WIS: Be wicked smaht. Because zombies are dumb. Goal: By 12/15, have 10 hours accrued for teacher recertification. CHA: Charm the pants off of handsome survivors. Steal their shit. Goal: Be in a relationship OR have gone on 10 dates (different men okay) May/June Mini-Goals (Worth +.5 each) Goal 1 :: Working towards STA Running will not happen overnight. I need to start small and work my way up to jogging, and then eventually running. Go to the gym an minimum of 2x a week.Do five "exercise miles" a week (hiking, treadmill, etc).Buy a new sports bra.Go hiking 5x.Scale a mountain trail. Goal 2 :: Working towards CHA I am a very outgoing person, but incredibly guarded when it comes to romance. Call it self-preservation from my experiences as a chubby middle school who was already topping six feet. I need to soften my Amazonian armor if I truly want to give love a chance. Send 10 messages on dating sites.Arrange 4 dates.Go out with someone I normally wouldn't go for.Ask out someone I meet (friend, acquaintance, whatever).Attempt to pick a guy up at a bar/restaurant/in public.

It's inevitable. Zombies are coming. Between running with zombie moans and podcasts about rabies and conspiracy theories on my headphones I'm 100% sure of this now. So I better get down to it and start preparing. And to fully prepare, I'm enlisting in the AZAM - the Anti Zombie Army of Madness aka my very own bootcamp. I'm getting help from my friends and other sources and it's going to be epic. My next challenge will have a lot of things happening in my life that may help or hinder me and I'll have to find a way to work with and around that. For one, stud muffin is leaving May 2nd. He has a tremendous impact on my life in terms of motivation, adventure and accountability and I'm going to miss him like crazy. Remember how I first told you guys about him like... 2 or 3 challenges ago? Who would have thought it would ever come to this, huh? As I am writing this, I've got almost a full month left with him before he leaves for 9-10 weeks. He'll be back for a short while after that but it'll be rough. As of this moment, we've done an awesome 5k mud run together, have signed up for the Spartan Race in Munich that's on April 18th (so just after the start of the challenge!) and he's forced and helped me through many, many workout related but also emotional things. I'm incredibly grateful that he's part of my life and will be even after he's gone. There's also school & work. I'll have some exams coming up and while I'm currently at the start of a 2 week vacation, that's gonna be over when the challenge starts. I definitely do have to do some studying while I'm at it. Social life of course also mixes into it, but I've found many great people that I can spend time with WHILE working out so I don't foresee that many obstacles there So let's get down to it! MAIN GOAL: Survive basic training/get ready for the zombie apocalypse When you train to survive, there's a few things factoring in. Goal 1: Zombies, Run! Running is obviously one of the most important skills you need for the apocalypse. If you can't run away from them, they're going to eat your brains and I do very much enjoy my brains. So the running continues. Be it with the 5k trainer or the normal Zombies, Run app or with the help of the awesome races I'll be running doesn't matter. So long as I can be out there with the wind on my face and my heart beating fast and sweat running down my skin, I'm happy, and the zombies will be sad. This is all that counts. As for races, here's the current schedule: April 18th: Spartan Race Munich (5k mud run) May 17th: Urbanian Run Frankfurt (5k city obstacle run) May 24th: Viking Heroes Challenge (5k mud run) I'm concentrating on 5ks this year and I hope to add a few more over the course of the year but I think for this challenge I'm good. As a bonus I'm going to try and make a reward wall in my room. To hang my medals, race bibs and other paraphernalia to always remind me of how awesome I am and what I've managed to survive - also to scare off the zombies. They're not even gonna want to chase me when they lay eyes on that wall! Ha! Goal 2: Zombies, Work it! Sometimes running fails. And even if it doesn't, living in a post-apocalyptic world is going to be rough both mentally and physically. The mental things I don't need to worry about right this moment, but the physical things could definitely use some training. So this is where I'll build my workout. It's a work in progress as of right now and hopefully I'll have rewritten this part by the start of the challenge. I'm planning to find short workouts as well as longer workouts that I can just do without having to make up my mind before working out and thus losing precious time just bumming around on Youtube. So stay tuned for adventures in zombie strength training! Zombie sit-ups FTW! Goal 3: Zombies, Die! This one I'm super freaking excited about. I was talking to my friend Shred (the guy who ran the beer obstacle run with me) the other day about survival training and combatives and he actually sat down with me and made a plan for a bootcamp of sorts. I'll be learning lots of awesome stuff from him, he's gonna chase me across fields, up and down hills and through my house and it shall be epic and exhausting and so much fun. Quick overview: Kill zombies inside my house: - identifying and avoiding danger areas - clearing a room - clearing a corner Kill zombies in the wilderness: - proper use of cover and concealment - movement under direct fire Avoid being killed by zombies with mortars: - move under indirect fire Avoid being killed by zombies in hand to hand combat: - foot trap - attacking the eyes - pushing the core - throat stomp Keep yourself and your friends alive (medical): - stop the bleeding - transport a casualty - breathing - hypothermia prevention It will be both knowledge and actual physical stuff and I'm super super excited for it. I'm going to run around forests and fields making a fool of myself and getting workout, what could be better?! Diet/Life Goals: There will be none for this challenge. As pointed out above, there's going to be some difficulties in my life over the course of the challenge. Apart from that I really love my life the way it is right now. I'm doing alright with the diet and I don't want to overburden myself. There will also be no tracking. I'll wing it and get in as much as my life allows and be happy with that!

Hi all! I'm JetsterJay, a new recruit brought here thanks to SunlitSapling and PrinceRobotCat (whose challenges you should also check out!). I've just started getting motivated to get fit and lose weight again, and thanks to a really great group of friends I am the most on track I've ever been To keep good habits going, I wanted to shamelessly steal SunlitSapling's checklist format to make sure that this fitness kick is more than a kick! I think if I can keep going for six weeks on top of what I've already done, I'll be sweet. Most of what I'm doing centres around the ZombieRun 5K training I'm doing (currently on week 3!) so after I tossed around ideas for a theme I realised that zombies was kind of a logical one. Core Missions: Things I must do every week OUTRUN THE ONCOMING HORDES: Do the ZombieRun 5K Training/ZombieRun program 3 to 4 days a week (alternating). BECOME A LEAN MEAN FIGHTING MACHINE: Train with BodBot workouts every other day to cover what cardio doesn't. PROPER RATIONS: Start tracking what I'm eating every day, and make better - more informed - choices about what I cook/eat every day. I got 'EasyDietDiary' app today to help me start tracking this, and I'm aiming to be on target by week three of this challenge