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Alright Warriors, here I am! Fresh out of the Rebels! I am ready to use what I learned as a Rebel-noob to take this to the next level. Main Goal: (Ongoing) Get down to 220 Lbs. Haven't been there since I left the Army Bootcamp. I know it's feasible, and I know it will be tough, BUT I have good mission goals to aid in getting there! Once I get there, I will reward myself with the best Suit Imaginable, the Seersucker (complete with bow-tie and either Suede or Saddle Shoes)! Mission Goals: StrongLifts 5x5: (+STR[#]) I will be strength training on M/W/F (continuation of schedule from last challenge). I have used the calculator on the SL spreadsheet to determine a higher starting point than beginners, but nothing way out there. This give a total of 18 total training days for the challenge.A: 17-18B: 15-16C: 13-14F: <13, I don't see this happening, but you never know what could happen over the course of 6 weeks!Form Check: (+DEX[#]), (+WIS[#]), (+CHA[#]) Need to post form check videos on Squats and Deadlift. As someone who has had 3 back surgeries (2 @ L4-L5 (Fusion), 1 @ L5-S1) I need to be ever vigilant in the performance of all my strength training. Squats and DL is the arch-nemesis of my back. I have been performing them for the past 10-12 weeks, but with relatively low weights. With SL, I know I will be moving on up, and need to be careful. So I will rely on my fellow Warrior-Nerds to hold me accountablePass/Fail--Must post before and after type videos in order to pass!Cardio: (+STA[#]) Minimum 60 minutes per week outside of SL days. Currently SL is easy enough that I am knocking it out in about 20-30 minutes depending on the day, so I am doing 30 minutes (at least) of cardio on those days, typically the Elliptical or the Precor Stride Master (both knock about 500 calories off in 30 minutes for me)Get outside: (+CON[#]) Some level of "play" must be done outdoors each week! I have two boys (6 and 1) and the older is really into getting outside and doing things! I love it! He and I hike Burke Lake Park, Climb on whatever we can, play Frisbee, football, soccer, basketball, tennis, swim, swing from the trees, playgrounds, whatever we can! This will give me some Vitamin D, and restore my sanity! Pass/Fail grading system on a weekly basis(EDITED / DELETED) Log Food Intake: (+CHA[#]) I have been consistently dropping weight almost every week, but I want to start tracking my food intake! This may prove to be the hardest goal to attain this challenge...but that is why it's called a challenge, right? I have chosen to reward this goal with Charisma points due to the "HONESTY" factor. I have to be honest with myself, and ask "Is it worth it?" before eating something! I am eating mostly paleo but allow myself some exceptions (beer) occasionally (I am talking once every 3-4 weeks), and I don't really eat bread products anymore either (I turned down cake at my 1 year old's birthday cause it didn't look good)!Use MyFitnessPal to track food during weekdays. Need some help on the grading system here...weekly reflection maybe???My inspiration all along has been my family; I have a great wife, and two wonderful boys! My oldest even did a modified version of the PLP-60 with me last challenge which was amazing! He is so competitive that he can't let me do anything athletic without trying to do one more than me! Also, I need to get off these pesky medications (high Triglycerides, Low HDL cholesterol...needs to be higher). I went for a screening in April, and made HUGE strides, but just missed the mark on the HDL. Gotta stay on for another 6 months then re-assess! I still need to figure out my point breakdown for each of the goals, but that will come soon enough! No side/life quests this go around...not that I don't have stuff to do/work on, but I haven't thought about that yet...and don't want to over-burden this challenge and burn out, since I am still "new" to this type of structure! Stats and weekly progress will be posted in Post # 2 each week. Let's get Strong!

I'm not writing it up here. I actually have it on a poster in my office where I cannot lose sight of it. I currently spend a stack of my time in the office working late, trying to get everything sorted out before our big factory move at the end of the month. So without further ado, here is my challenge:

So with my last challenge I did not do as well as I would have liked, health and personal setbacks stepped in and made me face reality and I discovered I am only human...dammit!! One issue I have is I go to school online, I am a horrible procrastinator and need to make this a priority...I will have my master's degree in December if I can get through this, I am tired of putting it off until the weekend every week because I can always find something else to do instead. My life goal this challenge is to do some homework every night after work and working out, even if I do not get everything done before the weekend I will at least not be rushed to get it all done. c25k, I am restarting this from week one and am going to do it three days a week! BBWW, restarting this as well, at least 2 days a week...or an alternate form of exercise 2 days a week... Sticking with Paleo because it works for me and I have never felt better!! My goal before this challenge starts is to find somewhere that my girlfriend and I can meet up at after work to do the c25k...because after we get home it's all over...We found a spot 'off the main drag' that we can come home, change clothes, and head out to without fear of being run over... Mini Challenge questions follow... Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? I believe it is, my overall goal is to fit into the wedding dress of my dreams...I know that will not happen in 6 weeks, but I have over a year to get there! Do your 3 main goals all build towards it in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Two of the three are, the other one (life goal) is to help me with time management, which I struggle with. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them? I think they are realistic, if I commit to doing them! Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€? A – C25k, 18 workouts (3x week - 6 weeks) B – Skipped 1-3 runs C – Skipped 4-6 runs D – Skipped 7-9 runs F – Skipped more than 9 runs A – BBWW, all 12 workouts B – Skipped 1-2 workouts C – Skipped 3-4 workouts D – Skipped 5-6 workouts F – Skipped more than 6 workouts. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? Then just like last time, I'll revisit and revise them then. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Passover, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those? The only one that may be an issue is going to my son's graduation May 23rd, and that will just entail working out around it Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? N/A Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them? I do, just have to make sure I do them and not meld with the couch after work! (until homework time!) Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? Pretty much all main quest focused