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Once upon a time, there was a zombie named pbandbrains who was very tired of her brainless existence. She wanted to become more than a zombie. In fact, she wanted to become human again. She had tried before and failed, but this time was different. So, she took the first step towards reclaiming her humanity. Main Quest Keep a routine; healthy eating and regular exercise. Goals Humans are mobile, zombies stumble around. Complete one hour of walking/running every day. A: 7x/week B: 5x/week C: 3x/week D: 1x/week F: 0x/week Humans are strong, zombies' arms fall off. Complete 30 minutes of strength training 3x a week. A: 3x/week B: 2x/week C: 1x/week F: 0x/week Humans eat plants and quality meat, zombies eat brains. Eat Paleo six times a week. A: 6 days/week B: 5 days/week C: 4 days/week D: 3days/week F: 2 or fewer days/week Motivation It's been some time since I posted a challenge in the Adventurers thread. I spent a couple challenges over with the Rangers, but then I fell of the radar and made lots of bad health decisions. Eating poorly and reducing my exercise time has had a terrible impact on my depression which has been super hard for me, but also been really hard on my fiancé. I owe it to him and to myself to get back to a better place. Oh, and I'm totally over the taste of brains.

Anybody else going to the Roanoke Zombie 5K in October? It's going to be my first 5K.

So, I'm going to do a Tough Mudder.... It seemed like a good idea at the time, signing up when I was a bit fitter than I am at the moment, I got injured, I put on weight....this story has probably been told a thousand times, Well, I still have this entry - I am going to do it but I do need to train... I'm going to need to learn some parkour, I'm sure as heck going to need to get stronger, I need to be able to run...not least to escape the zombies THEREFORE! Main quest challenges: Decrease bodyfat percentage to 30% or below. Because it's really difficult to climb walls, hang on monkey bars or climb whilst carrying extra. I am at around 36% now, using body measurements so I feel this is quite a challenge but hey, if it was easy it wouldn't be a worthy main challenge. Maybe. WHO KNOWS!! It's worth giving it a go anyway. To do this my three goals are: Gym at least thrice a week. Workout will be the dumbbell division workout from the Nerdfitness strength training handbook, and I will continue this workout for the whole challenge. I will aim to increase the weights of the dumbbells with each workout. In addition to the above. I will do some other form of exercise at least twice a week. This could be Zombies, run! Could be hiking / kayaking or digging...just some form of exercise. To eat well.. By this I mean aiming for 1700 healthy calories a day. Life Quest: To sort out my stuff. I have boxes of things that have not been unpacked in at least two moves! I will aim to sort or tidy for at least 15 minutes a day, or to sort through at least two boxes a week. And perhaps the most important question of all: What's my motivation? Well, I feel that my weight is not effecting my health but I don't like what I see when I look in the mirror!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUNiazZ5fj4 As the cold winds blow and winter's chill fills the air, strength, endurance and courage are needed to survive the harsh conditions of the north. Only through diligent training can one ensure survival through to another summer... This challenge we're doing something a little different. For one, I'm starting a new workout routine - Stronglifts 5x5 - as well as looking to focus more on life changes rather than fitness ones. Simplification is key here. Simplification and minimalism. Main Quest: Drop to 6% BF, 32" waist. I was working towards reaching this before this challenge, and came damn close, but not quite. So it continues to be my main quest, with a slight upgrade. I fit into size 32 pants (measuring tape still says 34" though), but I'm looking to get muscle definition in my abs, so that's the update, right there. Six pack, or whatever... In order to hit this goal I am driving forward with several sub goals, which will be worked into this challenge. Run a mile in under 7 minutes. Steadily increase my Squat, Deadlift and Pull Ups in weight and number. Do Salmon Ladder Pull-Ups. Because... seriously. So where are we going this challenge? Let's see... Quest 1: Be strong like the bear... [str] I started Stronglifts 5x5 last week, so technically I'm going into week two. The goal here is to get in three workouts a week through the entire challenge. Simple enough. However, in order to successfully make it through, I also need to have the weight increases expected through Stronglifts, which is 5 lb per lift per workout, and 10 lb each workout for Deadlifts. Do able. Quest 2: Be like a leaf on the wind... [Dex] I have been neglecting my stretching and yoga post-workout, doing only 5 minutes or even none on occasion. So this challenge, I need to do 10 minutes of yoga/stretching every day - in the morning on non-strength training days and after my workout on the others. I have a routine I go through 4 times, so this should be easy, I just need to stick to it. Quest 3: Be still like the pool... [Wis] Another thing I've been neglecting is my mental state. While I am happier and healthier than I've been in years, I still have been avoiding meditation and other mindful activities that used to bring my joy. So for this challenge I propose that I meditate once a week, and write in a journal twice a week. That is all. If this quest is successful I may increase the frequency in the future. Life Quest: Simplify, minimize [Wis] My quest to get rid of extraneous belongings and empty my house of boxes continues from last challenge. I was highly successful but there is more to do! So this continues, with the goal being get rid of at least one box a week. However, in addition to boxes I have begun examining my video game collection critically. I own a significantly higher number of games that I have never played that ones I have. so for this challenge I will attempt to play through several of them. I'm in the process of playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow on xbox, F.E.A.R. on PC and Super Mario 3D World on Wii U. I plan to beat all of these games, and start Dishonored on 360 and F.E.A.R. 2 on PC before the end of the challenge. Fitness Quest: Trudge ever onward [Con] As winter has arrived, travel becomes harder, harsher and more inconvenient. This never stops a Ranger though. I need to continue walking and moving around outside, completing 50 mile of walking before the end of the challenge, as well as some running and other efforts. So those are the goals for this challenge. Hopefully, they will make me healthier, happier and wiser. Let's start 2014 on the right foot.

Hi there! My name is Wren. I’m 25 and married with pets. I live in the desert of the Southwestern US, and am in school full-time working toward a BS in Elementary Education. I'm training with the rangers this challenge because it seemed to fit best with my goals. I’ve been on NF since the end of August this year, and completed about half of my goals in the last challenge. Hence, level 1.5 instead of 2! However, in that time I did manage to lose and keep off about 5lbs and 5% body fat. So that’s something. Anyway, I’m back again with some new goals and new ideas for my crazy busy schedule. This time around I want to make my goals more well-rounded in the direction of a healthy, balanced life. Instead of only focusing on exercise related things. I’m also changing the way I grade myself. I’m setting the exact numbers out now and will be grading based on total points at the end. Something new with this will be bonus points - real life extra credit! I will keep tally on this post for easy reference. One thing I am keeping from last time is prizes for myself. I didn’t earn any last time, and that’s ok. I like having a tangible reward for completing specific goals. Measurements related progress and/or reward are just too subtle to motivate me well. I’m also trying to focus more on habit-building, rather than measurements. I’ll be working these things into my schedule before the official start of the challenge to make sure they are do-able. (Separate tally sheet for that here.) If they need tweaking, they shall be tweaked! Motivation The zombie apocalypse! Ok, maybe not literally, but I am obsessed with zombie movies and tv, as well as camping and bushcraft type stuff. So it fits! I mainly just want to get stronger, and feel better. I can tell a huge difference in my energy levels and mood when I eat right and exercise often. I also want to tackle the Continental Divide Trail one day, bow-hunt, and generally be up for intense physical activity. Challenge I'm a Zombie Outbreak Survivor this challenge. Our group spreadsheet is here. Diet I was doing great in this department, at first… Then I fell off the paleo wagon completely and have not managed to really get back on since. So I’m going to start with something that is not too strict, and that I hope is manageable with my limited free time to plan and cook. I chose to set this goal up by meal, because I’m bad about skipping meals. So it should have the added bonus of encouraging me to start eating enough, as well as eat right. 2 paleo meals per day [+ 3 CON, + 1 CHA] 1 - 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 1/2, 0/2, 3/2 (14/14) 2 - 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2 (14/14) 3 - 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2 (14/14) 4 - 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2 (14/14) 5 - 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2 (14/14) 6 - 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/2 (14/14) Bonus points for remembering to log food for each day in my battle log! Awarded weekly. BP – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (6/6) 75-84/84 = A 67-74/84 = B 58-66/84 = C 50-65/84 = D <50/84 = F Prize: Any outcome within an A range gets me a potato ricer. Flexibility I love me some pilates and yoga, even if I’ve been flaking out on it a lot lately. Time to change that! This time I’m including at-home routines, as long as they reach at least an hour in length, in case I just can’t get to scheduled classes. 2 stretching routines per week [+ 2 DEX, + 1 STA, + 1 CHA] 1 – 1/2 2 – 2/2 3 – 2/2 4 – 2/2 5 – 2/2 6 – 2/2 Bonus points for walking to and from class! Or the equivalent distance if doing them at home, for each routine, awarded weekly. BP – 0/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (6/6) 11-12/12 = A 9-10/12 = B 7-8/12 = C 5-6/12 = D >5/12 = F Prize: Any outcome within an A range earns me a new fancy, full-support sports bra. Strength This is a difficult area for me, so I’m going to be pretty loose with it. A workout = a run of a mile or more, a 3-circuit BBWW, or an equivalent combination of other things yet to be determined. 2 workouts per week [+ 2 STR, + 1 STA, + 1 CHA] 1 – 1/2 2 – 2/2 3 – 2/2 4 – 2/2 5 – 2/2 6 – 2/2 Bonus points for remembering to walk the dog too! At least 5/7 days per week, awarded weekly. making time for homework and keeping up with my study schedule. (Mental strength!!!) At least an hour per day and 4/7 days per week, awarded weekly. BP – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (6/6) 11-12/12 = A 9-10/12 = B 7-8/12 = C 5-6/12 = D >5/12 = F Prize: Any outcome within an A range and I will buy myself an NF t-shirt. Life Goal I did pretty well in this category last time, when my goal was selling and/or getting rid of stuff. To the point where I don’t think I have enough stuff left to repeat it over a six-week time period again. So I’m going to go in a different direction. I’m going to go with house chores and maintenance, woohoo! It really needs to be done, and is the only “extra†thing I want to think about making room for right now. Especially with finals' cram-time and Thanksgiving falling into this challenge. It's going to sound like a lot, I know, but most of this stuff I’m actually pretty good about. I’d just like to get some structure in there and make sure not to forget anything. 1 vacuuming, mopping, laundry cycle, appliance dusting, bathroom/kitchen scrubbing, and garden check per week (7 items total, hypothetically 1 each day) [+ 2 WIS, + 1 CON] 1 – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 0/1, 2/1 (7/7) 2 – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (7/7) 3 – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (7/7) 4 – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (7/7) 5 – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (7/7) 6 – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (7/7) Bonus points for remembering to completely dump the litter boxes each week! BP – 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 (6/6) 37-42/42 = A 33-36/42 = B 29-32/42 = C 25-28/42 = D <25/42 = F Prize: Any outcome within an A range and I’ll buy myself this camp water filter. Grand Prize Lastly, if I manage to pull off an overall A from the final tally, I will get a NF hoodie. I’ve been chasing this hoodie since last challenge. I’m determined to earn the damned thing eventually! 135-150/150 = A 120-134/150 = B 105-119/150 = C 90-104/150 = D <90/150 = F Looking forward to meeting the rangers and watching everyone's progress over the next few weeks!

So... I hate running. I despise it. It makes my man boobs hurt, BUT I have found a way to make it all fun and worth while. ZOMBIES! I use to do a human vs zombies game with a bunch of friends... and strangers...and i was in really good shape and i was healthy, but after i moved and became homeless for a year or two i let myself go... it didnt help that i dated a girl who decorated cakes... but knowing that zombies motivate me i downloaded Zombies,Run! I love it. the story is great and it gets me moving and motivated. if any of you dont have it i reccomend it. I have never been excited to run before now. But i am training to be a runner and getting ready for the apocalypse and the color run. hopefully not in that order. wish me luck!

Urban Ranger Quests Challenges☐ Spartan Sprint - Sat. February 8th, 2014. ☐ Phoenix Go Ruck Light - March 22nd, 2014.☐ Tough Mudder - Sat. April 5th, 2014. ☐ Boston Go Ruck - Fri. May 23, 2014.☐ SF Go Ruck - Fri. July 4th, 2014. ☐ Camp Nerd Fitness - Thu. September 18th - Sun. September 21st, 2014. ☐ Hike Grand Canyon - Fall, 2014. ☐ Run For Your Lives - TBD. ☐ Warrior Dash - TBD. Skills & Practice ☐ Take Urban Survival Course.☐ Take Wilderness Survival Course. ☐ Obtain Concealed Carry Gun License.Obtain​​☐ Purchase Honda Element. ☐ Purchase a gun. ☐ Purchase emergency rations. Future☐ Learn Basic Electronics & Electrical Repair. ☐ Learn Basic Mechanics and Vehicle Repair. ☐ Learn Basic First Aid. ☐ Learn Blade/Knife Self Defense. ☐ Learn To Pick A Lock. ☐ Learn To Capture, Gut, and Cook a Fish. ☐ Eat Paleo for 6 Months. ☑ Learn Basic Self Defense (Krav Maga). Ongoing. ☑ Purchase/create get-out bag. 9/8/13 ☑ Sell my car and purchase a bike for primary transportation. 3/22/13 ☑ Shoot a Gun. 2013 goal. 4/1/13 ☑ Purchase GoRuck entry. 3/23/13 Fitness Endurance ☐ Run 5k in Vibrams. ☐ 10 Consecutive Double-Unders. ☑ Run 5k. 7/16/11 ☑ Run 10k. 8/12/11 ☑ Run Tough Mudder. 1/14/12 ☑ Jump Rope Double-Under. 1/23/12 Strength ☐ Muscle Up. ☐ Deadlift 405lb (4 Plates). ☐ Squat 315lb (3 Plates). ☐ Bench Press 225lb (2 Plates). ☐ Press 135lb (1 Plate). ☑ 10 Minute Plank. 8/29/11 Health & Appearance ☐ 10% body fat. ☑ 82 days of Whole 30. 1/23/14 ☑ Fit into a medium T-shirt. 6/10/11 ☑ Fit into a 32 waist pants. 8/1/11 ☑ Paleo/Primal & 100% Gluten-Free. 8/31/11 Sport ☐ Try Archery. ☑ Try CrossFit. 4/2/12 NerdFitness ☑ Go to a big NF Meetup. 1/23/14 ☑ Meet Steve Kamb. 1/24/14 ☑ Win a NF Challenge. 1/20/12 Faith ☐ Read through Bible in one year. Life ☐ Purchase a Home. ☐ Release a professional music album. ☑ Learn Piano. 4/2/12 Finances ☐ Become financially and job independent. ☐ Save 6 months of life expenses. ☐ Pay off debt... again. ☑ Pay off debt. 9/31/11 ☑ Save $1000 for emergencies. 4/14/12

Ultimate Goal: Compete in a natural bodybuilding competition in 2015. Main Goal: Chest Development So as the title alludes to the main goal in this challenge is to make improvements on my chest. Over the last year I have made vast improvements on all my lifts except for my chest movements. If I am going to be a bodybuilder and be successful, I need to make improvements in that area. Goal 1: Complete 5000 pushups. This goal is not as much for chest development as is to prepare me for my next PRT in the spring. This will equal out to about 120 pushups per day. It may be more or less on a given day depending on how I feel and if I miss a day. Goal 2: Improve 5 rep max for bench press. My current 5 rep max is 245. I'm not sure exactly where I wanna be at the end but any improvement will suffice. I plan on finding a reliable workout partner for chest day so that I can make safe gains. Goal 3: Break the 500lb deadlift barrier. This goal is a reach but I figured if i write it, then I have to hold myself to it. From last challenge I improved my one rep max to 495, which was an actual pull not using a calculator. Right now, I am pulling 405 for 10 reps. So I figure if I dedicate some more time to it, I can make the necessary gains to break 500. We will see. Life Goal: Have at least 3 date nights with my wife this challenge. This time I will upload progress pics and maybe some workout videos for form checks.

Survival of the nerdiest! You know, a Zombie apocalypse might never happen... but if it does, we will be definitely ready! And what better way to prepare for the outbreak than training with fellow nerds cheering? That is why I formed this group, and I would love for you guys to join in the battle against zombies. It really doesn't matter what your fitness goal for this challenge is, as long as you're ready to have an awesome support team! As we've learned from movies, sometimes being the fittest is of no good use if you are not a good team player, so... NERDS OF THE WORLD, ASSEMBLE! Looking good and feeling great about yourself when looking in the mirror will be awesome, but being able to outrun a crazy "28 Days Later" zombie would be absolutely better! Besides we would totally outsmart them LET'S KICK SOME ZOMBIE ASS!!! Join the team here: Zombie Outbreak Survivors

So, I'm going to do a Tough Mudder.... It seemed like a good idea at the time, signing up when I was a bit fitter than I am at the moment, I got injured, I put on weight....this story has probably been told a thousand times, Well, I still have this entry - I am going to do it but I do need to train... I'm going to need to learn some parkour, I'm sure as heck going to need to get stronger, I need to be able to run...not least to escape the zombies THEREFORE! Main quest challenges: Decrease bodyfat percentage to 30% or below. Because it's really difficult to climb walls, hang on monkey bars or climb whilst carrying extra. I am at around 39% now, using body measurements so I feel this is quite a challenge but hey, if it was easy it wouldn't be a worthy main challenge. Maybe. WHO KNOWS!! It's worth giving it a go anyway.To do this my three goals are: Gym at least thrice a week. Workout will be the dumbbell division workout from the Nerdfitness strength training handbook, and I will continue this workout for the whole challenge. I will aim to increase the weights of the dumbbells with each workout. In addition to the above. I will do some other form of exercise at least twice a week. This could be Zombies, run! Could be hiking / kayaking or digging...just some form of exercise. To eat well.. By this I mean aiming for 1700 healthy calories a day. Life Quest: To sort out my stuff. I have boxes of things that have not been unpacked in at least two moves! I will aim to sort or tidy for at least 15 minutes a day, or to sort through at least two boxes a week. And perhaps the most important question of all: What's my motivation? Well, I feel that my weight is not effecting my health but I don't like what I see when I look in the mirror!

About four weeks ago I bought the Zombies, Run! 5K app I had been walking 2-3 miles three days a week and I felt good about it, but I could never motivate myself to run because I was so out of shape. Zombies has been really awesome and has made running fun while pushing me to keep training. I recently reached week three of training (I was out of commission last week due to a cold) and am happy to report that I can run for 60 seconds straight without keeling over dead. However, during week one, as I was still doing the 15-second sprints and trying to get the hang of everything, I noticed that my shins felt tight. It's not bad enough to be called pain, and it didn't make running more difficult, but I could feel that there was some strain in that area of my legs. I could only feel it when I was running, not walking, and there wasn't any soreness after workouts. I was cautious because I didn't want to injure myself, but I also knew that my legs could be feeling like that as they acclimated to this new exercise. I monitored it to see what would happen. After three weeks of running, it's still happening, to pretty much the same degree. Again, it's not painful and it doesn't affect my ability to run, but I'm a little worried that instead of being a sign that my legs are working hard, it's a warning that I need to back off or change something so I don't get injured. I thought it was just a sign of my legs getting used to the new movements at first, but I feel like it should have stopped or improved by now and it's exactly the same as it was when I started. I've read a lot about running form and I'm not the best at it (derp), mostly because I don't have anyone to look at me and tell me if I'm doing something wrong, so I don't know if this is coming from poor form. I'm wearing light sneakers that I've mainly used for Parkour in the past, and I've never had any foot/ankle problems with these shoes. They don't offer a lot of support, but I'm flat-footed and arches actually hurt my feet a lot, and I tend to go for more barefoot running styles. They've been comfortable and I'm happy with them because they give me a good feel for the ground and a good range of movement, but could that be the problem? I noticed it's more likely to happen when running on hard surfaces when when I run in the woods on dirt, so maybe it's just a ground issue? Any advice would be appreciated, but I'm mainly trying to figure out if this is something I shouldn't be worried about or if I should take steps to fix it so it doesn't get worse...

I am starting late but I didn't want to put it off any longer. My main quest for this challenge is to be able to run a mile without stopping to walk. My smaller missions are: 1.To run from zombies three times a week 2. To always use the stairs to escape the zombies. 3. To not let a noisy car attract the zombies and weigh me down when I could walk. My Life quest is to get A's in my college classes this semester.

Hi all! I understand there's already an ongoing thread for people that are already using Zombies, Run! or 5k, but I just wondered if there was anyone else out there who was starting up Zombies 5k? I've started it before, TWICE, but always gave up due to my horrendously low will power...even though I enjoyed it... weird. Anyone else thinking of starting it up for the new challenge? It would be nice to have some Zombuddies (hurrr) to go through it with?

In Which Devyn Gets De-Zombified (now in Comic Sans!) Last time we left our heroic hero, she was heroically fighting a zombie, heroically... And she died. HOWEVER!!!!! Some of you may wonder why I suddenly stopped posting during the last challenge. Yes, it's because I died. It's hard to post things online when your carcass is rotting. Now, I always thought being a zombie would be lots of fun, but it's not. It's boring. Zombies are stupid and slow and smelly and I miss being a kender. For weeks, I stumbled around the countryside looking for a way to reverse my fate when I came upon a wizard. It so happened that this wizard was an expert in zombies. (OMG WHAT ARE THE CHANCES??) He taught me how to slow the decaying process on my body and he also told me of a magical artifact that would bring me back to life and to the kender I was before. AND SO, THE SPECS... Main Goal: To stop being a zombie. 1. Core Strength: 5 minute plank (STR +3) 2. Limb Strength (to keep them from falling off): A pull up! (STR+3) 3. Detox: Whole30 (CHA +4) 4. Brain Training: Keep up with my studies (WIS +5) Quest My journey to find the magical artifact that will turn me back into a kender will be a hard one. Each week, I must face a different task that will bring me closer to my goal. I will win this thing! I will not live as a really boring zombie for all eternity. I will be me again! TO BE CONTINUED...

Only 46 days left before Halloween! Daryl Dixon is my favorite Walking Dead character, so I planned to dress up as the female version of him. Only problem is that I’m not zombie-butt-kickin’ awesome yet. Wait, this challenge ends a few days before Halloween? Excellent… Main Quest Look kick-a$$ in my Daryl Dixon costume: Forget you, Scale! For this challenge, I’m going to worry less about a number and more about how I feel. And if I end up looking super fine in the process, so be it. Goals Complete one hour of cardio every day: Walking, playing Xbox Kinect, doing anything where I’m getting my heart rate up. DEX 3 STA 3 Complete the Rebel Fitness Guide Level 4 Rebel/Renegade Workout three times a week: I don’t know why, maybe because it feels less directed, but I didn’t love using the Strength Guide. I’m going back to the last group of strength workouts where I felt successful. STR 3 Keep a food journal: While I can easily stay within an allotted calorie amount, I haven’t necessarily been taking in everything my body needs. I haven’t been getting enough calcium, for instance. Keeping a detailed food journal will give me a better sense of what my diet is missing and what I need to do to fix it. CON 2 Life Quest Have a Halloween party: My schedule and a slip back into a depression spell have prevented me from having people over and enjoying life. No more! I shall have a Halloween party and lots of fun. CHA 2 Diet Side Quest Try a new recipe every week: I’ve been really bored with food lately and I thought I would shake things up. WIS 2 Motivation I want to be healthy, happy, and confident. This is a step in that direction.

Chapter Two: A Tribute to Survival! They say I am just a few weeks away from taking on full-time Runner duties, but I feel like I still have so far to go. Finish this D: It's never finishing is it??? Challenge Theme Song: Movitvation: Mission Goal #1: Zombie Preparedness Training (+ 5 STA) Tribute: Grizzy, Runner5, Scurry, and all the other Rebel Runner 5’s I met last challenge out to save Abel Township I'm not quite able to run a full supply mission on my own yet, so I must continue my endurance training with Sam and the doctor. Complete week eight of Zombies, Run! 5k training app Continue with 3 runs/week for remainder of challenge Bonus Quest! 100 badass points: Run the “exercise trail†in Orphund and try each station. Completed! 100 badass points awarded Mission Goal #2: Bodyweight conditioning for better evasive maneuvers (+ 3 STR + 2 DEX) Tribute: Syren, bgvanbur, BarefoodDawsy, and all other Scouts who made a point to add strength training during the last challenge to improve their focus My running has improved, but running alone isn't enough to secure survival against a zom. Full body conditioning will assist me in headkicks, fence jumping, or pulling myself into a tree. Begin Convict Conditioning, 2 x 3 exercises a week Day 1--Pullup, bridge, handstand Day 2--Squat, leg raise, push up Bonus Quest! 100 badass points: Perform a freestanding head- or handstand by end of challenge. Completed! 100 badass points awarded Mission Goal #3: Reconnect with things that remind me I’m human, not zom! (+ 1 CON + 2 WIS) Tribute: MissMormie, Quentin, MirGSS, and all other Rebels who improved a fun skill, found something good, or did something fun last challenge Going out with Runner 4 reminded me that it's important to keep ahold of my humanity. Many of the other survivors at the base rekindled an interest or found time to be grateful in the past several weeks, and I should aim to do the same. Knit something: A new cowl for me Read a book: A Short History of Nearly Everything Bonus Quest! 50 badass points: Dancewalk on Hauptstrasse for 60 full seconds. Diet Side Quest: Slay the chocolate dragon! Max of one chocolate bar (or ice cream lollie) a week). Life Quest: Champion a cause for the survivors of Abel Tribute: Hammlin, 18ck, LorenWade, and all other rebels who make charity work an important part of Self Even with the runners going on daily missions, there is a lot to be wanted at the base. I will find a way to raise awareness and bring in more supplies for an important cause. (+ 2 CHA) Organize a donation drive for a charity meaningful to me. Bonus Quest! 250 badass points: Raise $500 USD for my cause Metrics and Pics! I'm still tracking my body changes on this spreadsheet. The link should take you to the Google doc. I'll try to take better quality pics this time around! Will have them up in the next day or so. Front... Back... Left Side... Right Side...

Main quest Be and feel mentally and physically healthy. Last challenge I had only two goals to make sure I didn't chew off anymore than I could take. This challenge I'll go back to three goals, slowly Run like a zombie If there's one thing that zombies are good at it's persistence. They just keep going and going and going. A bit like that bunny but with added blood and gore, which can only be a good thing. Basically this goal is the same as before. Run a minimum of two times a week, but aim for 3. Stick to the training schedule towards the 10k and try to get better over the course of the challenge. Current 5k time is 33:33. Current maximum distance at the start of the challenge should be 9.7k (scheduled for tomorrow). Eat like a zombie - weigh less than 75kg What do zombies eat actually if they can't catch humans? Mustn't be much looking at them. And not much will be my goal. At the end of the challenge I weigh less than 75kg. That should be doable as I'm now at 77-ish. I've tried paleo and other healthy eating type of stuff but I get completely lost in what might be the best food for that time. So, nothing complicated just calories. Bring on the sugar Plan is to aim for 1700-1800 calories per day, starting from the 28th of sept. Think like a zombie Zombies don't need crappy logic. If they need to get from A to B, there's no C, D, or McDonalds in their way. They just go straight and simple. I could use some simple in my thinking. My psychologist has tried to get me to do G-schedules before to fix my thinking (ie. find out where my thinking goes wrong and replace it with zombie-think) but I've struggled badly with actually doing them. Last challenge writing things down I was proud of daily worked really well, so that's how I'm going to attack the G-schedules as well. Write stuff daily. I'll write them down here if I need the accountability but as it can be very personal I'll start out by just writing it down for myself. Success is doing this 5 days per week. Doesn't need to be big, does need to be done.

Hello. I'm SkullHands, and I am a shape-shifter. A noob shape-shifter... A level zero. So far I've been able to change my appearance... but only for a short time before I shift back to my level zero form again. Main Quest Find my Ultimate Form! I want to be comfortable in my skin. This means that I will have lost weight, increased my fitness and be a happier and more confident person. I'm not going to transition from my current gelatinous, blob-like form to my Ultimate Form in one morph. I have tried and failed enough to know this. But what I will do is make small manageable changes in my life that will allow me to find it. I don’t even know what my Ultimate Form looks like, but I know what I need to do to get there... change. I've already made some changes that have got me on the path to my Ultimate Form. I decided to get involved in the forums about a week after the last challenge started. I'm too anal to start a challenge a week in – “I MUST do the whole thing! Or else it doesn't count!†I told myself. And for a week I told myself that I would spend time planning until this challenge started.Then I realised I was just collecting more underpants! So I set myself some goals to get myself started on the road to a healthier life – rather than waiting until this challenge. I did the following: · Go ‘cold turkey’ on the soda (I used to drink a lot) and chocolate/junk food (I used to eat a lot) · Start using my FitBit again and ensure I hit my 10,000 steps per day · Stopped buying my lunch and made it at home instead and started to reduce my portions in all meals By making these small changes I have lost 7kg (15.43lbs) in 36 days. Something I am really proud of. These are small changes. I know from past failures that I will quit if I try to change too much at any one time. So, on my quest for my Ultimate Form I'm taking it slow. Lots of little manageable changes. And you’ll see the same when you look at my missions for this challenge... they are not earth-shattering, but they are challenging and I am going to kick their ass! Mission One: Run three times a week following the Zombies, Run! 5K Trainer. On the first day of this challenge I will be up to W2D1. This means that by the end of the challenge I should have completed W7D3. Week eight can be my ‘victory lap’. If I have to repeat a day as I could not complete it first time that doesn't affect my grades as my goal is running 3 times a week. A repeated day is still a running day (plus... failures are opportunities to learn and improve!) Grading: A: 18 runs completed B: 14-17 runs completed C: 10-14 runs completed D: 7-9 runs completed E: 4-6 runs completed F: 3 or less runs completed Mission Two: Do the Angry Birds Workout Plan 3 times a week. This will be completely new to me, and is going to be a tough challenge. In the past my attempts at losing weight and getting fitter have only involved diet changes and cardio. I am really looking forward to doing this workout plan though. I have no set level that I wish to get to for each exercise by the end of the challenge, but I will track my progression in my challenge thread for all to see. Grading: A: 18 workouts completed B: 14-17 workouts completed C: 10-14 workouts completed D: 7-9 workouts completed E: 4-6 workouts completed F: 3 or less workouts completed Mission Three: Measure myself! I weigh myself a couple of times a week. But I know that the quick weight that I have lost with my small changes so far is going to slow down or plateau. I also know that it’s not necessarily all about the weight loss if you are building muscle mass. As such I want to track my measurements and take progress pictures... both of these I have never done before. These will be another measure of success and motivation for me besides just relying on a number on the scale. I really wish that I had started doing this earlier as I would have loved to see the change over the last 5 weeks or so... I will take my pictures and measurements on each Sunday of the challenge and post them in this thread (well the measurements anyway... not sure yet about posting the pics). I’ll post my starting measurements tomorrow. Grading: Pass/Fail. I either do this EVERY Sunday or I don’t . Life Quest OK... this is a tough one. I have about a million and one things that I need to work on. The biggie for me at the moment though is my work. At the start of this year I began a new role at my work that involved me dealing with a lot of stakeholders throughout the business. I suffer from crippling low self esteem and am a huge introvert. I have found the role very challenging due to this and other factors. What has been happening lately is that I have been letting all my projects slip and not working as well as I could as I have not wanted to ask for help or are too afraid (if that’s the right word) to approach the people I need to. This needs to stop. I will get on top of my work. I will be more organised. I will take chances. I will ask for help. I will stop procrastinating. I will accept that nothing I create will ever be ‘perfect’. I guess my Life Quest can be summed up as Work Better, Work Harder! Grading; This is a tough one to quantify success for. I think what I’ll do is reflect each day/week on how things have been going, what I’ve achieved and what problems I’ve had. Then I’ll grade myself on a “are things better or the same?â€, “how much better?†type of scale. This is much longer than I intended! Good luck to everyone starting the new challenge. Look forward to sharing the journey with you all

Greetings! Newb here, though I've been hanging around the site a few months now. I tried to do a challenge a few months ago and found it all too overwhelming and quit before the end of the second week, so I like the new simplifications and hope it helps me make it through the six weeks! Main Quest: Survive the looming zombie apocalypse My main quest is to be healthy enough and in good enough shape to deal with anything, including a zombie apocalypse. My fitness level is abominable, I have crappy eating habits and I haven’t worked out consistently in years. This affects how I feel, both physically and mentally, and the truth is I feel like crap. I turn 40 in May and am tired of constantly roller coasting my way through new diets and fitness plans. While I do want to change my body and my weight, what I really want is to change my life to one that is built around good health and habits and to maintain those habits permanently, and not just for a few months. And if it increases the likelihood that I can outrun the zombie horde, even better! Mission Goals: Exercise – go to CrossFit at least three times a week (four would be awesome). Food – stick to a mostly Paleo/Whole Foods diet that avoids processed foods and sugar (two cheat days allowed during the six-week challenge, but only after the first two weeks). Clean Routine – because you've got to look good when running from zombies – I need to take better care of my body in general, so I want to create better cleanliness habits: Wash my face and brush my teeth at night at least 5 nights a weekStop picking at my face (I know, gross, but I developed acne at 38 years old! It is hell, but I need to leave my face alone and not make it worse)Floss at least twice a week (sad, but the truth is I don’t floss and I have to start somewhere) Side Quest: “And now, the famous author Melissa Smith…†My whole life I have dreamed of being a writer, but I have never done anything to make that dream a reality. Genug! Now is the time to start making dreams come true! I need to write at least two hours a week. It can be creative writing prompts, short stories, it can even be research for a story, as long as it is something that moves me towards my dream!

For the record - I am fat, and trying to lose weight. This is my battle log. The Title of my battle log, is a line from the movie Zombieland:

Main Quest Train and prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse. Hydrate - If I have Coffee or energy drinks I must drink water also in a 1/4oz ratio of energy/water. Minimum water intake of 101oz. Other hydration should come from food. Ration - Track food consumption and caloric deficit. I have been mood eating, which I should not be doing. Optimally I want to switch over to Primal, however this is not a goal since everything is unstable for me right now and sometimes I have to eat what I can get. Defend - Make time not excuses for circuits. I have not been doing them because I'm not waking up before the sun kills all hope of a good outside workout. I need to get up early because I'm too tired at night to do them. I must work out a minimum 3 times a week. This is two hard days and one more gentle. I give myself room to change my sets, depending on weather. It's smack in the middle of Monsoon Season here. Pulls ups, Pushups, Core, flag practice. Squats, handstand, grip strength, core, flag practice.End Goal for circuits: Human Flag - This goal stretches outside of challenge, but is what I’m working toward. Challenge goal is just to stay active. Continue to wake up early and do a routine of sorts. If I can do the human flag hopefully I can hold myself out of Zombie reach? Life Quest Prepare - Where I normally only had a 3/4 item 'to do list' I've let get into 20-30 items where I have pushed tasks off to the last minute. I must be able to mark 2 things off either my work, personal or home lists. Side Quests Wit - Read 60 minutes a day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qc8fqaRy8II Motivation

The Challenge Concludes! The sounds of helicopters, sniper rifles, and the gate's cranking mechanism have become everyday background noises. Another six weeks have passed since the Zombie outbreak breached the Swiss boarders. My family and I have survived, but not without our share of hardships and grieving. Still..in the past six weeks, many great transformations have taken place. Greatest of all, perhaps, is my new role as Runner 5. Abel Township has officially taken us in, and in return for safe boarding I train with Doc three times a week and go on supply runs. Sam and the doctor have also started sending me to outlying settlements for information. I have made myself an asset to these people, and my family is safer for it. In the coming weeks, my training will come to an end. I will be a full-fledged members of the Abel Township Runners--scouting for intel, retrieving important supplies, and always, always keeping one step ahead of the Zoms. Mission Goal #1: Zombie Preparedness Training (+ 5 STA) Complete week six of Run, Zombies! 5k Training app I did not complete week six. In fact, I just completed week five today. However! I am pretty darn proud of myself for getting back on the wagon after a hospital stay threw off my momentum halfway through the challenge. Yeah, I took a 10 day break, but 3 of those days I was kind of not allowed to leave a very small area. The other seven days, I was adjusting to a new medication. There is some big win here. I did not let life deter me, only detour me. Grade for Goal #1: 83% B+ (+ 4 STA awarded) Mission Goal #2: Hone Scouting Skills (+ 1 STA +3 DEX) Locate three geocaches aka “safeholds†and leave a sign for other survivors I let bad weather, house organization, and other adventures get in the way of this goal during the last couple weeks. I really enjoy it though, and we still have plans to go out on my third planned geocaching adventure. Now, if someone could convince Swiss weather to conform to my needs...that'd be great mmkk? Grade for Goal #2: 67% C+ (+ 1 STA + 1 DEX awarded) Mission Goal #3: Monitor food rations (+ 3 CON) Keep a food log for duration of challenge This was going pretty well until I was hospitalized. Not logging for several days in a row, even doing my backlogging after I got home, threw me off. Then I started eating chocolate. And this week, I started drinking wine. And I just hate logging. But I realized some poor eating behaviors that come along with not logging, so I will get back on it for now. Blugh! Grade for Goal #3: 67% C+ (+2 CON awarded) Life Quest: (+ 2 CHA + 1 WIS) Increase communication abilities with local survivors This quest. Biiiiggg ol' fail here. Because....I specifically said "study time." I learned some really important things, though. Things like, I learn German better when listening to the radio, talking to people at stores, or reading through the sales ads. That stuff just sticks for me. I am handling all sorts of actually important stuff with a much better understanding of the language. And it isn't because I spent 1080 minutes in front of my computer doing lessons. I did 400 minutes though. And you know what? I'm giving myself an extra 500 minutes for all the conversing and reading I did in German this challenge. I think that is pretty damn fair, especially considering just being around people I know and love makes me so nervous and terrified I want to vomit and die. So. Yeah! Actually, I'm giving myself full credit. Grade for Life Quest: 100% (+ 2 CHA + 1 WIS awarded) TOTAL POINTS AWARDED: 11/15 OVERALL GRADE: 79% B NEW klaymates: Level 3 Half-Orc Scout STR: 2.5 DEX: 4.5 CON: 6.75 STA: 6.25 WIS: 7.75 CHA: 6 Before & After Pics: Check out how my measurements changed in this body changes spreadsheet on Google drive. Sorry the after pics are so huge. I didn't feel like resizing and all that jazz D:. Front...I'm seein' it! Back...more seein' it!!! Left Side...big difference, but my hernia D: Thinking I might need to talk to surgeon Right Side...recreating my silly poses = hardest part of challenge (I wish) Tummy Close-up...the skins become sadder. Thanks giant babies! Other stuff worth mentioning.... Went gluten-free!Lost 6 kilos and 26 cm!Bought new skinny jeans!Ate lots of chocolate!Got my mojo on (a big deal after pushing a 10 lb object out of the unmentionable zone)!Danced in the street like a fool for tweenagers!Discovered a med class that seems to control stuff and things much better (so far)!Signed up for Hammlin and Pixie's Virtual 5k!Had a blast doing the mini challenges (thanks Q)!

It's been a while since my last challenge, which thankfully was for awesome, life-leveling-up reasons (I bought my first house! Holy crap, I own a house), but I've also been, shall we say, not entirely consistent in my pursuit of my other major life goals, like training for the impending zombie apocalypse. So, this challenge is for me all about getting back into the swing of things in preparation for my next big adventure, which is... Main Quest: Run a Half-Marathon Outrunning the undead hordes requires some serious endurance, since they may be shambling, but they can shamble for a looooooong time. Someday, I'd like to be able to run an ultra, but that's a ways off yet, so my next big endurance goal is a half-marathon. Specifically, I'm planning (barring disaster and/or injury) to run this half-marathon, which is near where I lived during high school and manages to run past or through nearly every place I used to hang out at as a teenager, including my parents' old house and the street my high school was on. I figure nostalgia is a good motivator (I'm seriously considering loading my phone with some 90's grunge rock, too, in case I need a pick-me-up along the way), plus I know where the good donut and ice cream shops are along the route are (I kid...probably). Mission 1: Run, then run some more (+5 STA) Because the walking dead don't need rest days. Like I mentioned, I've been really inconsistent about my running the last few months, partially due to the move, partially due to the tendon I strained while moving, and partly because once I stopped running regularly it was easy to make excuses to skip more runs. So, this is all about getting back into the habit of running more frequently without increasing my weekly mileage too much. Therefore, my goal is to run easy runs 4x a week. Depending on how I feel, I might start upping the mileage of my weekend run toward the end of my challenge, but at least for the first 3-4 weeks, I want to keep my runs under 3 miles. Mission 2: Eat some produce, fool (+3 CON) If my running has been inconsistent lately, my eating has been unspeakable. Suffice it to say that I now have a comprehensive knowledge of Krispy Kreme's summer "salted caramel" menu and I'm pretty sure the guys and the indie pizza joint by my new house all know me by name. Drastic changes have never worked well for me, so I'm going to start simple and take Matt Frazier's suggestion of having a smoothie and a salad every day. Everyone knows it'll be all canned veggies after the Z-outbreak, anyway, so I'd best eat some fresh ones while I can. Mission 3: Pull your own weight (+3 STR) Being able to run from the Z's is all well and good, but it won't save me if I find myself faced with a chain-link fence that I'm too weak to haul myself over. Plus, it turns out strength training plays a significant part in improving running form. Double win! Of course, like everything else, my strength training has fallen by the wayside. Way way by the wayside. I wasn't even the one who carried my free weights to and from the moving truck. So, once again, back to basics, and I'll spend this challenge doing Steve's Beginner Bodyweight Workout 2x a week. Life Quest: Got a story? Write it down (+4 WIS) If there is one thing I've learned from listening to We're Alive! multiple times through while waiting for the last season to start airing (four more weeks!), it's that it's important for people living through the end of civilization as we know it to tell their stories. Of course, the zombies haven't actually overrun the world yet, so my story is currently pretty boring. But that doesn't mean I can't make stuff up! Besides, that half-finished novel on my hard drive is looking pretty sad and neglected, so my goal is to write 500 words, six days a week. All of my other goals, I'm planning to do straight-up percentage-based grading, but I want to do this one a little differently. A (full points) = 500 words a day for an average of 5.5+ days a weekB (3/4 points) = 500 words a day for an average of 5+ days a weekC (1/2 points) = < 500 words a day, but still writing an average of 5+ days a weekD (1/4 points) = writing any amount an average of 4+ days a weekF (no points) = writing an average of < 4 days a weekMotivation To survive the zombie apocalypse and help rebuild human society, duh. But also, my husband and I are thinking we'll be ready to start having children in a couple years, and I want to be the healthiest I can be before getting pregnant, be able to run and roughouse and play with the kidlets when they arrive, and set a good example for them both in terms of healthy living and setting and accomplishing epic goals

So, I'm using the Zombies 5k app trying to work up to achieving my main quest goal of being able to complete the Marines Physical Fitness test with maximal scoring. I've been working on continuously being able to run and the other day during all of my free form run portions of my training session (Week 3 Workout 2) I ran for the entire time . I was happy so wooooot!

Tayrey was there when the world changed. The trouble was, she didn't know what to do about it. A spacer like Tayrey, usually she'd be up and gone before the first signs of trouble, into the black expanse of sky. You try getting a spacecraft to fly true now. Hell, even the hovercars have had all their fuel cells torn out. Tayrey's stuck. She's stuck, and for a while it wasn't even all that bad. Holed up in a cushy library, she did, looked out from her high windows at all the terrors and read up what she could on how to take them down. She's resilient, is Tayrey, though she doesn't know it. Her mind's strong, even if her body's - well, we'll get to that later. The problem came when the supplies ran out, 'cause she had all the best information on how to run for more, ways round the demons and the zombie horde - oh yes, it's that kind of crapsack world our protagonist finds herself in, and maybe she herself has just worked out that she's not just a supporting character. Tayrey, This is Your Life, broadcast over the entire datanet in full technicolor, maybe, if there was anyone left to watch. Anyway, she knows exactly what to do, but there's parsecs of difference between knowing it and doing it. Tayrey's been sat up there so long in her safe haven with her digibooks that she's gone soft. Weak. And maybe her old injuries are giving her more trouble than they used to, 'cause she's not fifteen any longer. She outran the temporal cops, once, went into hyperdrive for hours at a time and came out without a scratch, but now she's got to be careful. Especially now it's not a matter of buttons and levers but shifting her own meatsack if she doesn't want to be left behind. And the truth is there are stranger things in this run-down world than even our Tayrey knows about. Things you can't see, that creep up on you. If she's going to make it at all, she'd better do things properly. MISSION: Collect supplies. Fight the monsters along the way. Don't get killed. Create healthy habits to use as a sound basis for further self-improvement. OBJECTIVES: 1. Locate the uncontaminated food supplies 1. Eat at least 80% Primal 2. Avoid the roaming packs of zombies 2. 30 minutes cardio-based exercise (dancing, jogging, etc) 3 times a week 3. Fight and defeat the Demons of Sloth. Don't drop the supplies! 3. Get stronger! Dumbbell session 3 times a week, plus knee push-up challenge and stretching. BONUS OBJECTIVE: 4. Don't lose hope. There are monsters that you cannot see, more dangerous than those you can. Don't let them latch on. 4. Meditate for ten minutes daily. Cultivate serenity. Read on for more of Tayrey's post-apocalyptic adventures. Does she have what it takes to survive?