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So I'm only going to be around for half of this challenge (the first 3 weeks). Then the night of August 15 the boyfriend and I are flying to Scotland and aren't returning until September 4. It's going to be a really epic vacation, I'm so freakin' excited. There are a lot of physical things that we're going to be doing. One is we are going on a 2 day snorkeling trip to swim/interact with seals and basking sharks!! I'm so beyond excited. Then we are going to climb Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK. It's not that tall compared to some other mountains, like Kilimanjaro or even Macchu Picchu, but it's weather is really unpredictable so it can be kind of dangerous. We are also going to be doing a ton of little hikes (or hill walking as they call it over there) and walking around and finding standing stones in the middle of no where and such. Lots of physical activity is the moral of the story. So my goals this challenge are purely surrounding that, and using these last 3 weeks to train to do all of this stuff as best I can. I'm already in good shape and can swim and hike, if we left tomorrow I'd be confident I'd be fine. I just want to get as much prep work in physically so I can be as comfortable as possible on the trip, minimal soreness, and hopefully little to no swimming embarassment. Anyway, on to the challenge... Michael Rennie was ill the day the earth stood still, but he told us where we stand. On our feet! Ben Nevis Training: 2 x a week I will do a Zombies, Run work out to improve my stamina, and 3 x a week, I will do moves from the Backpacker's Magazine Hiker workout: --Downhill Lunges --Lateral skip --Downhill Steps --Shin walk --Ankle Golf Ball Roll Don't Dream it. Be it. Shark/Seal Swim Training: Twice Once a week I will do this beginner swimming work out. I know how to swim to not die, but my freestyle definitely needs some work and I'd like to get it to the best I can before swimming next to these graceful creatures. (Had to change this from 2x a week to 1x a week because my gym is too freakin' expensive lol) Eat nutritious high protein and swallow raw eggs. Try to build up his shoulders, his chest, arms and legs. Strength Training: 3 x a week I'll be working phase I of this pull up progression (because I finally got resistance bands yay!) and 2 x a week I'll do the BBWW, these two overlap so I won't be doing the rows in the BBWW, and just subbing that days pull up progression plan instead. One day a week I'll just be doing the pull up progression. I'll be tracking my progress in all of these things for the first 3 weeks, and then I'm off! My thread will time warp to September 4th (or probably 5th since I doubt I'll post the day I get back). Then I'll post if I succeeded in my challenge of summiting Ben Nevis and swimming around with the sharks! Points are as follows: Summit Ben Nevis: +3.5 STR +3.5 STA If there is inclement weather and I can't go all the way to the top, I will at least to to what's called "half point" where this is a cool little lake. I can get 1 point in STR and STA if I do at least that. Swim with Sharks: +3 STA +3 DEX +1 CHA The charisma point is because I think swimming with sharks will totally add to my coolness factor. Oh, here's what a basking shark looks like (note the snorkeler next to it for size): And that's it! I'm going to continue with yoga and cleaning and eating well, but they don't really directly relate to the challenge and they're pretty much habits by now so I'm not including them here. Side note: I've been going to shadow cast performances of Rocky for a few years and I am totally in love with it all... recently I went to a new venue for it in Philly and it was one of the best I've seen yet. It's still super in my head from that performance last weekend plus I'll be time warping away from this challenge halfway through so it fits. Hope there are some other Rocky fans here