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Suddenly the machine was wobbling... In a few hours the shops out there were expecting deliveries, and they weren't going to arrive. The government couldn't sit this one out. A city like Ankh-Morpork was only two meals away from chaos at the best of times. Every day, maybe a hundred cows died for Ankh-Morpork. So did a flock of sheep and a herd of pigs and the gods alone knew how many ducks, chickens and geese. Flour? He'd heard it was eighty tons, and about the same amount of potatoes and maybe twenty tons of herring. He didn't particularly want to know this kind of thing, but once you started having to sort out the everlasting traffic problem these were facts that got handed to you. Every day, forty thousand eggs were laid for the city. Every day, hundreds, thousands of carts and boats and barges converged on the city with fish and honey and oysters and olives and eels and lobsters. And then think of the horses dragging this stuff, and the windmills... and the wool coming in, too, every day, the cloth, the tobacco, the spices, the ore, the timber, the cheese, the coal, the fat, the tallow, the hay, EVERY DAMN DAY. And that was now. Back home, the city was twice as big. Against the dark screen of night, Vimes had a vision of Ankh-Morpork. It wasn't a city, it was a process, a weight on the world that distorted the land for hundreds of miles around. People who'd never see it in their whole life nevertheless spent their life working for it. Thousands and thousands of green acres were part of it, forests were part of it. It drew in and consumed... ...and gave back the dung from its pens and the soot from its chimneys, and steel, and saucepans, and all the tools by which its food was made. And also clothes, and fashions and ideas and interesting vices, songs and knowledge and something which, if looked at in the right light, was called civilization. That's what civilization meant. It meant the city. Was anyone else out there thinking about this? Was anyone important thinking about this? Suddenly the machine was wobbling, but Winder and his cronies didn't think about the machine, they thought about money. Meat and drink came from servants. They happened. Vetinari, Vimes realized, thought about this sort of thing all the time. The Ankh-Morpork back home was twice as big and four times as vulnerable. He wouldn't have let something like this happen. Little wheels must spin so that the machine can turn, he'd say. But now, in the dark, it all spun on Vimes. If the man breaks down, it all breaks down, he thought. The whole machine breaks down. And it goes on breaking down. And it breaks down the people. Terry Pratchett, Night Watch My machine is wobbling, and little wheels must spin so that the machine can turn. Right now, it all spins on me. If I break down, it all breaks down.

(I made a joke about looking cool while walking away from the tractor tires I was flipping for a conditioning workout on Saturday, and a friend photoshopped some explosions for me. It is AWESOME. Hahahha.) Hi Assassins! It's Raptron, your somewhat lapsed gymnast GL who is still lucky to be able to lift and otherwise leave the house. This is going to be a pretty straight forward challenge unless I wind up going wild on the TBD goal below. I could try to bring back more intentional hand balancing practice, start trying to regain some flexibility, order takeout less... there are certainly many things I could chase, I'm just not sure what is going to really draw me this time around. 1. LIFT: get stronger 3-4 times per week ( 💪) 2. RUN: run 2x per week (I keep failing here!) 3. BIKE: bike 1x per week as a way to get somewhere or just for fun (winter is coming) 4. GYMNASTICKY: train gymnastics related skills and abilities 2x per week

Last challenge went pretty well, mostly. I gotta work on chilling out. I’ve been somewhere between frustrated. And raging mad with work stuff. I have been cranky with everyone around me and that’s not cool. It’s gotta change. Goals: 1. Sleep 2. Manage anxiety and mental health. This has been going through the roof. Largely due to overwork; I took my first days off since the beginning of March and they weren’t even PTO. I just didn’t work from wake to sleep over the weekend. 3. Stay home and social distance but work outside on my suburban homestead developing my orchard trees and bushes, the veggie plots, and the flower corner. 4. Make working from home look good to my company; maybe they will still let us work remotely after all this is over 5. Enjoy quality time with the kids and with Jessie, including figuring out a way to have us time without grandparent help or the ability to go somewhere. 6. Keep exercising. We started the 21-Day Fix Real Time from Beach Body together and today is day 9. It’s been fun and good conditioning. I do miss the barre workouts though. 7. Help educate the kiddos. I’m in charge of Rex’s work, Jessie is in charge of Woody (the more work intensive kid) and we sort of share Bo Peep. 8. Ensure the passing of up-to-date and accurate information online. May the Fourth be with you all.

Hi! I'm Raptron, your friendly neighborhood flipperdoo. I competed in my 3rd powerlifting meet a couple of weeks ago and got my big 300# squat finally, hiked a mountain (or what passes for one in New England), and did some sporadic traveling last challenge. With the meet out of the way, I don't have any excuses to stay in what passes for one rep max shape. So, here we are! I don't really have a theme, I just like alliteration. Maybe I will be rewarding myself for doing the things I already plan to do with the things I'm already planning to buy myself during the post-Thanksgiving sales. MAYBE THE REWARDS WERE THE FRIENDS I MADE ALONG THE WAY -- YOU GUYS!!! D'AWW. Soooo, what are we working on? Well, how about we pick some adjectives I want to describe me by the end of this challenge? 1. Competent Practice new floor choreo outside of the gym 2x per week Run new floor routine in practice at least 1x per week, even if it's just part of it Vault 3x over the challenge Back handsprings on balance beam every practice 2. Fit Conditioning-focused workout 1x per week (can be an add-on to a lifting workout, but must be REAL EFFORT) 3. Steady Hand (or other) balancing practice for funsies 2x per week -- random partner acro or pole classes also count! 4. Profesh Apply to 5 new jobs THAT ACTUALLY APPEAL TO YOU per week HMMMMM, this might be a bit too much. Maybe it's just enough! TUNE IN TO FIND OUT!

Hello, long time lurker here. I could write an essay on everything I've done and not done for health and fitness up to this point but this will be the time when I get it right and stick to a plan - no more flip-flopping. Goal wise in my head I may see myself becoming a Peak Human, but in reality I will settle for a functional strength that will allow me to handle any situation that comes along and keeps me healthy enough to keep up with my growing kids. My weight isn't too bad now - I've got 5 stubborn inches around my waist that I haven't been able to shift in years, but I've managed to clean up my diet pretty well and I've been steadily losing 0.5-1lb a week over the last month; comfortable, sustainable baby steps. It's my strength and conditioning that remain a problem. I am very weak, have no stamina, and I've struggled to find a program that I can get on with and that fits with my (extremely) busy life. I was recently working on Starting Strength - I have good form with the lifts and even though I'm on slightly restricted calories was hoping to exploit "noob gains". That didn't work. I stalled pretty easily at below-novice loads and found once again that the gym environment just doesn't work for me. Then on this forum I saw a mention of Pavel's "Simple & Sinister". A kettlebell program that can be done at home, is scalable and works around hectic schedules. After a tonne of research and reading the book twice I feel positive about it and I've just bought some kettlebells (8KG for my wife who will be joining me, 12KG for my getups and 16KG for my swings). Whilst this should improve my general conditioning, mobility and strength I'm aware it won't necessarily work miracles by itself, so onto my question for you, fellow rebels: I have signed up for a 10KM Rough Runner (obstacle course) next April and I want to be in the best shape I can be by then. Aside from running, do you think this routine will be enough to get me there or will I need to do more as I go? If I had the time I would concentrate on achieving Program Minimum (32KG one-arm swings and getups) before introducing other exercises but that could easily take me the whole 8 months to the event. I will focus on it exclusively for the first month or two but feel I need to add more before then; specifically some pushing and pulling strength (I'd love to be able to do a pull-up again). Any suggestions here? Running in itself will be a big hurdle. The last time I did any serious running I did a number on my knee which even after surgery and a year of physio was never completely pain free until recently (squats ftw). Based on last year's course the longest stretch between any two obstacles will be about 3.5KM, so while I may need some endurance I won't need to be in form for a continuous 10KM. I will be starting some gentle training on a nearby field 2x a week for a few months to test my knee out, and I'll be getting a gait analysis done this week to see if I have any foot issues. Do you think this plan will work? Did anyone try S&S from a similar state of unfitness and get good results? Thanks in advance!

Gymnastics season continues! This time... WITH A VENGEANCE... and ice capades?!?! I'll continue to strive for 2-3x per week of lifting, 2-3x per week gymnastics, and yoga 1x per week. More weeks will probably shake out to be 3 gymnastics/2 lifting than the other way around, which is good for the season. BUT, that isn't the goals. That's just like... what I do because I like to do it. What are my GOALS? Okay, well this is what is going on -- Upcoming Events: 2/16 - Local gymnastics meet 2/22 - 2/24 - Vermont gymnastics weekend w/a meet on Feb. 23 3/9 - 3/12 - LA trip w/meet on Mar. 11 3 meets! With that in mind, most of my focus will be on improving my gymnastics routines and skills over the next 4-5 weeks. Beyond gymnastics, I'm going to tackle a bit of financial reprioritization. I've spent a lot of money in the last couple of months with the holidays, moving-related expenses, and front loading some of my travel purchases into the start of the year. But, my #1 extraneous cost category is food and drink (you don't even want to know how much I spent last month). Meals out and/or 4+ hours of $12 cocktails... add up to a lot. And while I generally love and cherish these experiences, they can take a bit of a break this month. Because there are two trip this challenge, I'm going to focus on reducing that spend during everyday normal time. Finally, I uncovered my journal from when I was 13-14 and I talk a lot about how much time I spend writing for recreation/personal entertainment. I do only a little right now in the form of poetry mostly, but I'd like to get back into it! I have a lot of "what's the point if it's not going to be good/no one is going to read it" feelings about it now that I apparently didn't have back then. I'd like to tap into that self-assurance that any use of my time that pleases me is a good use. 1. Upgrade season Must practice 2 of the 3 at each gymnastics practice on beam - front walkover + round-off on floor - fhs front pike front tuck on bars - free hip into flyaway on high bar Vault once per week Spend time on active splits drills once per week 2. 5s isn't conditioning like 10s is Conditioning focused THING 1x per week 3. Food and beverage maximum Do not exceed 6 dinners/lunches/2+ drink "meals" out between Feb 11 - Mar 8 Cap of 1 breakfast pastry per week 4. Write Set a timer and write 2x per week -- can be characters/story for D&D, poetry, or a new project!

Let's keep this challenge a bit simple this time around too. I'm coming off of my powerlifting meet this past weekend and starting the slow ramp-up to gymnastics season. I want to be a bit more deliberate this time around to make sure I get in good shape without compromising myself with injuries. My first gymnastics meet isn't until December 8 (and we are usually about 60% ready by December) so I'm not in a big rush to go all out just yet. My stamina is in a bad place, so I'm going to add that in to get started. The pulling goal is because I've been neglecting them all year and I think I might be back in a place where they'll be helpful to bring back into my routine. House decluttering is because now that it's getting cooler outside, I'll be home more and having so much STUFF in my field of view stresses me out. Heart rate raiser Run stairs or go for a jog (or other cardio activity) 1x per week Don't fall to your death Chin-ups or pull-ups 2x per week Exorcise the house Throw away clutter from one room per week (bedroom, bathroom, office, and kitchen)

Hi, I'm Raptron! I do gymnastics, lift weights, and occasionally succeed at doing other fitness things. I like to eat a lot and do a lot. It's gymnastics competition season in my neck of the forest, so getting my condition up to par for grueling 90 second routines is vital. I also am dealing with a couple of rough spots on the injury front and a bit of a fluffy waistline for #noshortsleotardseason, so doing my PT and eating more veggies will be vital. It's almost Valemtime's, so let's do the Cupid Raptron Dino Shuffle. 1. To the Right -Cardio conditioning 2x per week 2. To the Left -Big ass salad: Buy ingredients for one type of BIG ASS SALAD each week (inevitably will make more than one of these from the ingredients just as a result) 3. Now Kick -Ankle wobble board/balance work 2x per week -Shoulder PT 2x per week -Schedule a massage to focus on problematic left scapula area 4. Walk it by Myself -Make progress on some of my 30 by 30 goals. (I have until Jan. 2019 but should get cracking!) Specific goals I plan on working on this month: *Make a cheese at home (more complicated than paneer): I think I am going to make mozzarella! I will have to buy rennet and citric acid before Feb. 25 when I plan to make cheese and then actually do the making. *Start a journal-journal (not bujo or dream journal): set up a journal that I already have purchased specifically for this, set reminders in calendar, write in it 3x over the challenge *Write the semi-serious but mostly not serious Guide to Daydrinking: Work on it 2x over the challenge

Edit: Based on my New Years’ food resolutions, I’m gonna be making a lot of Mac n Cheese this year. Probably none this first week, but keep an eye out for the first attempt circa 01/07. So I’ve added a bonus goal in addition to the 5 main ones I started this post with! Alright, here goes first challenge of 2018. Everything will start Jan 3rd, my first full day back in Dallas. Clearly I'm getting a little stir crazy staying with my parents in that I'm already typing this up - will add a theme and gifs sometime before the 3rd as well. Hit target calories and protein, every day: I want to hit the ground running with my physique goals (specifically, post holiday cutting) as soon as I get back home to TX, so starting on the 3rd I'll aim to hit the calorie and protein goals I set for myself every day - this is going to be most challenging when traveling to Houston for practice, but I'm planning to start buying groceries when I'm in Houston so I have access to plenty of veggies and lean protein while I'm there. Sleep 8+ hours a night, 6+ days a week: I need to refocus on sleep for my recovery - really let this one slip over the last 3 months or so. Time to start tracking it and get the number back up to optimal for me. Get pre-gym morning routine down to about 15 minutes: Part of a broader plan to optimize my work day routines so I have time to train in the morning, work a full work day, teach and practice in the evening, and still get plenty of sleep (and occasionally socialize somewhere in there, too); morning routine will ideally just be making my bed, mixing PWO, swishing some mouthwash, popping a couple pills, and grabbing a breakfast I can eat in the car en route to gym. Theoretically, should let me wake by 6:15, be in the car by 6:30, be at the gym by about 6:45, and finish a decent length workout at 8 to be at work by 8:30. Do your scheduled workouts, adjusting as needed: I have all 5 days of the work week scheduled for an ideal setup, and if I need to shorten it due to national holidays, etc, I'll prioritize things from top to bottom, conveniently: Mon - Upper body lift w/ HIIT finisher Tues - Lower body lift w/ HIIT finisher Wed - Gymnast stuff, plus full-length HIIT session (20-30 mins) Thur - Pilates plus steady state cardio Fri - Gymnast stuff, plus full-length HIIT session (20-30 mins) Start tracking how focused and productive you feel at work: Simple 1-5 on each, assigned at the end of the work day. Won't do anything with the data yet, but getting it is the first step to look at patterns. BONUS GOAL: Make one (or more) Mac n Cheese recipe and post the results here Let it be known that I wanted to chuck a #6 and #7 at the end of this list, but stopped myself. Just barely.

Hi, I'm Raptron! I do... a lot, but this challenge will be an important pivot from the path I've been on preparing for my first powerlifting meet (Dec. 2) to getting back into gymnastics competition shape after a year off of competition. While I've been continuing to go to practice and work on my skills, my ROUTINES are sorely lacking in endurance and polish. My gym is closed during at least a week of December PLUS traveling for the holidays puts a kink in things, but that is no reason I can't work on my weaknesses outside of the gymnastics gym as well. SOOO, let's get our Sonic the hedgehog IRL back on. 1. Interval Training *2x per week: any kind of tabatas, sprints, stairs, etc. 2. Preparedness *Beam routines every gymnastics practice *Floor routine run-throughs at least 6x over challenge *Vault 4x over challenge *Bars 4x over challenge 3. Flexibility *Active flexibility work outside of gymnastics 2x per week 4. Brain Power *Read at least 2 books

Hi I'm Raptron. I do stuff. This upcoming challenge, I have a good amount of travel planned (Maine for Memorial Day weekend, lakehouse in the Poconos in a couple of weeks, work trip to Long Island, and NYC for Pride!) so keeping on top of my workout schedule will be a bit trickier than normal. None of these goals are new goals, but not all of them are easy for me (see: cleaning + running blahhhh) so they're back in the rotation! 1. Bumble butt Glute accessory every lifting workout 2. Balancing on a flower Balance work 2x per week 3. Search for nectar Run at least once a week (NP counts!) 4. Keep a tidy hive Dishwasher stuff 2x per week Pantry deep clean

I just want an excuse to dump random GIFs of my favorite drag queen, Katya. But anyway, I'm Raptron. I do gymnastics, lift heavy shit, and sometimes sign myself up for weird endurance events even though I don't like training for them even a little bit. DOING them is always fun, but it's proooobably less fun if you aren't physically prepared, right? 1. Be the person that you don’t think that you have the time to try to figure out how to be even though you can’t, but you want to. *Run 2x per week *One must be 5+ miles! 2. Why try new things when I can try... nothing? *Conditioning circuit 1x per week (CLIMBING WILL COUNT IF I EVER CLIMB AGAIN) 3. I don’t know anything about science other than it’s really good for you *Eat for ligament and tendon health with the following... *Cruciferous veg 5x week *Walnuts or pumpkin seeds 3x per week *Fatty fish (sardines or salmon) 2x per week 4. Home is where the dumpster is *Run the dishwasher every Wednesday *Deep clean all cabinets/drawers in the kitchen because DOWN WITH PANTRY MOTHS! But yeah, the next 4 weeks are going to be focused on getting ready (and #stayingready) for the Bone Frog Tier-1 race I'm doing on May 20 in western MA. Of all the obstacle course races I've done, this one is by far my favorite, but I only did the 9 mile distance last year and this year I am doing the 11 mile one. Which isn't ALL that much more distance, but last year it did involve going up the steepest face of the ski mountain twice rather than once... soooo it's a lot of the hard stuff packed into one tight little area. Let's go!

I am a loon in a dino suit and leotard. I AM A PRODUCT OF ALL OF MY ACTIVITIES AND CHOICES, and by golly there are plenty. I lift, I do gymnastics, I technically have access to bouldering and rock climbing but rarely partake BUT COULD, I ruck, I reluctantly run sometimes, I bake, I drink, I dance, I socialize probably too much. I do all of these things and all of these things have an impact on who I am and what kinds of physical performances my meat sack I call a body will be able to achieve. I am going to make the choice to focus on the following in the next 4-5 weeks because I want my meat suit to be able to do well in a 12 mile obstacle course race in May and I've heard tell it's smart to train for your goals. 1. Endurance Conditioning 2x per week 2. Anti-gravity Pull-ups or chin-ups 2x per week 3. Joy Play 2x per week, can take the form of yoga flows, arm balancing, handstand work, splits training, or other interesting human body engagement 4. ...Wisdom? Something Important at Least Spend <$200 at restaurants and cafes (Not including travel for Nationals)

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Last few challenges have been switching focus towards getting ready for first OCR that was supposed to be in June. But we are taking a bit of a detour on the route to Sparta(n) and making a pit stop in New York. Over the last challenge, it was determined that the Spartan will now be my second OCR as I registered for a Warrior Dash in NY at the end of May(Thanks @RedStone ) Road Trip upcoming! So goals are going to be similar to the last few challenges but adjusted and simplified a bit based off of prior lessons learned and accounting for a slightly shorter schedule before my first OCR. Also, seems like after finding the above GIF, I've been in a Wayne's World mood so at least this post turned into an impromptu Wayne's World gif party! Nutrition Goal 1 - Continue the cut Track food and eat within cutting calorie goal 6 days per week and last day within maintenance Seeing good success on new calorie intake. Cut from 330 to 319.7 during the last challenge. Hoping to keep up this pace (2lbs per week) which should still be possible at these weights. 6 days per week on macros and one within maintenance in order to keep a bit of sanity on weekends. Goal 2 - Hit protein macros Meet 225g of protein 5 days per week Readjusted macros using the new IIFYM calculator during the last challenge and it gave me much more manageable macros, namely 225g of protein instead of nearly 300g. Making sure I hit new macros 5 days a week as an addition to the above cut goal that has a focus primarily on calorie intake. Goal 3 - Waterrrrrr Drink 100oz of water per day Continuing this trend...this time more focus on the weekends which were the only times I was playing catch up or missed anytime with this challenge last month. Exercise Goal 5 - Conditioning Do two conditioning sessions per week Really liking the KB Fit classes on Saturdays so will continue doing those. Getting other cardio/conditioning sessions can be varied week by week though so need to get a little better grip on whats going on. I dont really want to restrict myself to a set schedule but I do want to make sure I map out my weekly plans and get two good conditioning workouts in. Goal 5 - Strength Do two strength workouts per week Favorite part of any challenge...not much of a stretch goal but just want a place to track workouts and make sure that I dont slack on the lifting front. Goal 6 - Mobility Do three mobility sessions per week Knees and shoulders have been feeling better with the little bit of mobility work I have been doing recently. But in general, since cancelling ROMWOD a few months ago, I've been failing with getting any mobility done. So adding in a couple of days of mobility to hopefully help recovery time and improve some of the issues that I have been having with knees specifically. CHECKBOXES!!! Goal 1 - Food ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 2 - Protein ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 3 - Water ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 4 - Conditioning ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ Goal 5 - Strength ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ Goal 6 - Mobility ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐

So here's the thing... I'm a bit paranoid about getting murdered. Young lady in today's society? Not the safest. So I started listening to a podcast called My Favorite Murder - which hasn't helped. But it also made me realize that my entire fitness regime is essentially about "Staying Sexy and not Getting Murdered". Goals: 1) Stay Sexy - 3 Workouts that are not Krav Maga per week (conditioning, running, climbing, weight lifting, pilates, dance, etc). 2) Don't Get Murdered - At least 2 Krav Maga Sessions per week 3) Here's the Thing... Eff Everyone - Can't move on or up without studying. At least 3 hours of studying per week (French, LSAT, or other intellectual pursuit outside of work) 4) Get Bendy. - Flexibility work at least once a day. No time limit but have to do something. 5) Get a Job. Buy your own stuff. Stay out of the forest. Collect some flags. - To Do Items (FYI - there's a lot of references throughout this challenge that may seem weird but come directly from Georgia and Karen - the hosts of MFM. I highly recommend listening if you are at all interested in true crime stuff.)

Hey folks, I live in SF (the mission) and I'm looking for an accountability / training partner in the area. I had been lifting and training with them 3+ days a week and it was great, but then I moved. I found that having someone to train with made me stick with it, and made me push harder during the workouts. It's hard to give 50% when you make a commitment to someone to bust ass. I train Muay Thai, which is my motivation to get into shape, but there is hardly any strength training involved. I would love to get together and lift a couple times a week, and I'd be down to get some pads and do some boxing drills if you're looking to do cardio. Anyone interested? - Eric

This will be my training journal. I have some minor experience in different sports from ages ago and did some physical training, but didnt do anything worth mentioning for the last two years. Age: 27 years Height: 180 cm Weight: 88 kg Sex: male First goal is to start exercising regularly and gain some strength, endurance and flexibility.

Kai's Ranger Training Lab Notebook Page 1: Introduction Hi there everyone! Here I am going to be chronicling my ranger training to get into tip-top shape that fits the agile and strong class. Here is the data you will find posted here in my lab notebook. - Experiments and Data - Daily Intake Log - Daily Workout Log - Weekly measurements and pictures Experimental goals include the following - Lose Weight (Current goal - 50 lbs in six months) - Make changes to dietary intake a ) Wean self from drinking pop. b ) Titrate portion size c ) Obstain from eating fast food which contradicts weight loss d ) Learn to eat healthier foods - Increase exercise load to maximize metabolic rate a ) Perform cardiovascular training every other day when coming home from work. - Increase conditioning and strength a ) Intiate NF Beginner Bodyweight Workout Program (3x a week)

As soon as Rue left Myrik started his preparation to get the scale and get out from under Tevoks thumb. His knowledge for the Jedi Runes allowed him insight into which path to take and how to prepare for the traps and hazards he might face. Myrik begins his training by reaching out to an old friend. She is was a contortionist in a traveling circus and now teaches a eastern practice of flexibility. Goal I: Maintain or get better I will continue my tracking of workouts and weight on a daily basis. My current weight crept back up a little this past week, im currently sitting at 207 LBS and want to see this number down around 200 again so I will start tracking my food intake once again. Below are my current training maxes for my exercises that I do regularly. Chin-ups - 7 Pull-Ups - 3 Squats - 20+ Assisted pistol squats - 7 each leg Bulgarian split squats - 15 per side Plyo Pushup - 10 Diamond Pushup - 15 incline push ups - 10 Jumping squats - 5 Burpees with jump tucks - 10 I would like to bump all of these up 2-5 points by the end of the month but will be very happy if I can get my pull ups to 5 and chin ups to 10. Every week I complete my tracking 100% is worth 100 points, That means tracking Food, Workouts and Weight everyday for the week. I will use my tracking spreadsheet, the forums and My fitness pal for the tracking. Goal II: Conditioning redo Need to get back in the habit of running or biking or something to get my endurance up. My new fitness tracker my wife got me for Christmas will help me with my endurance. It has a built in feature that shows target heart rate zones based on the my rested heart rate and has a vigorous activity tracker that is set at 150 minutes a week(checked Vivoactive and it's 150 minute so its updated). My goal is to hit that 150 minute activity a week and , run, roller blade, or bike 30 minutes a week. Every week I am able to complete this is worth an additional 100 points. Goal III: Get Flexible I want to get more flexible. I want to stretch everyday in some way shape or form. Yoga, static stretching, dynamic stretching or some combination of these I want to do at least 10 minutes a day. I will track this on my spreadsheet and it will be worth 100 points a week.

New (well, old, but you know what I mean) Agent of the Resistance checking in. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me! Check out this mission briefing I got. How can I say no though, amirite? The Resistance needs me. Lemme know any ways I can help, my fellow Agents! For the Rebellion!

This challenge is going to be sweet and simple. Welcome! Looking at my Withings scale app, I have put on 15.9 pounds in the last 5 months, but really the last 3 have been the killers. Back in August, I was dropping in the single digit 300s with a low of 308lbs. Now my weight has crept back up into the 320s with a high of 328lbs. Clothes are starting to tighten again and I am pushing closer and closer to numbers I never want to see again. I really want to do a Spartan Race or GoRuck event in the Spring or Summer and weight is playing a big factor in my preparation for either of those events. Time to reverse this trend and start bringing that weight back down. The overall goal for this challenge is to cut that increase over the last few months in half which means an 8lb cut over the 5 weeks. At my body size, that should be perfectly reasonable and will bring me back down into the 3-teens range and I have a stretch goal of returning to 310lbs. Forgot to weight in this morning with my rush to work so will update this with starting values tomorrow. Last challenge, I spent some time getting off of a strict diet template and getting back into logging my foods. It was not be best effort at this and I intend to right that this challenge with set goals and numbers that I played around in the past. For this challenge the goal is to eat an average of 2600 calories a day. That should be a significant cut from what I estimate as maintenance(3100-3200). I think having this as an average will be a little more flexible as I can adjust as needed especially around special events and weekend social stuff. Luckily the next few weeks leading up to Christmas seem to be pretty calm. Also, my eating goes much better when I meal prep on the weekends. Much less likely to grab junk if I have brought good stuff with me. This is a fair warning: prepare yourselves for some serious food porn and meal prep on here/instagram. I will also share recipes upon request when I have them...most of the time I wing it so I can give a best guess. Workouts have been solid so there wont be much change from the past few challenges. Try to get in twice during the week for crossfit/bootcamp style workouts and then a few added sessions on the weekends when free. Not going to track this as closely this challenge because I have confidence that this is not an issue but will update workouts here still(maybe a battle log to clean up everything). Simplifying this goal to being active 4 days a week so if I only get in to lift twice then I need to do something else to stay active(ski season is upon us now so there will be an increasing amount of that coming up). So without further ado, here come the checkboxes! Food ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Zero Week MFP Tracking - Avg Cals: 0/2600 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 1 MFP Tracking - Avg Cals: 0/2600 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 2 MFP Tracking - Avg Cals: 0/2600 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 3 MFP Tracking - Avg Cals: 0/2600 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 4 MFP Tracking - Avg Cals: 0/2600 ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Batch Prep Each Week Weight ☐ Net Loss Zero Week ☐ Net Loss Week One ☐ Net Loss Week Two ☐ Net Loss Week Three ☐ Net Loss Week Four Fitness ☐☐☐☐ Zero Week Activity ☐☐☐☐ Week One Activity ☐☐☐☐ Week Two Activity ☐☐☐☐ Week Three Activity ☐☐☐☐ Week Four Activity

Myrik returned to the ruins to test the “gift” from Tevok. Upon entering the room he was attacking in before the presence was nowhere to be seen. Have the free time to scout around Myrik discovered 3 paths to take from the alter room. Each path was marked with a different rune. Myrik recognized all 3 for the runes from the Codex. The runes represented different beast and in that instance Myrik knew which path would lead him to his goal. Myrik decided before venturing down the tunnel he should prepare a little more and reach out to his mage friends for more information on the Scale and the ring now branded to his hand. Goal I Be Creative I want to be more creative whether it is reading, writing, drawing, or anything that gets my mind going besides gaming. My goal is 30 minutes a day of any combination of creativity. 10 points a day this is completed (270 points) Goal II Conditioning I need to improve my endurance so once a week I will work on some sort of endurance training. Zombies! Run, HIIT training, Jumping rope etc. 20 points a week (80 points) Goal III Inversion Continue working on my handstands would like to get to 20 second free handstand by the new year. Practice daily for at least 5 minutes. 5 Points a day this is competed (135 Points) Bonus objectives: 20 points per completion 1) Finally build my Jump box 2) Draw a mock up of the tattoo I will probably never get. 3) Finish The Father You've Always Wanted (only 5 points) 4) Clean and organize my garage 5) Design swing set for kids 6) Design back deck and submit to HOA. Not including Bonus points the maximum points I can earn this challenge is 485 points. To allow my self some room for error in the I will use the same scoring scale as last challenge. 300 points earns one nerdy reward 400 points earns one nerdy reward plus one fitness reward 500 points earns two nerdy rewards plus one fitness reward 600 points earns two nerdy rewards plus two fitness rewards 650 points Special reward of my choice.

*Trigger warning: this post contains imagery and concepts that can be disturbing to heavy lifters – calorie deficits, sets with more than five reps, and cultivating inner calm. Care – with the holidays doubling down on normal stress and getting settled into a routine after all the moving; self care is a priority this season. I’ll be yammering about daily care activities like meditation, quality sleep, and mobility; weekly chiropractic visits and the occasional leisurely smoke. There may be high handed criticism of the odd novel or two that I’m reading. Who can know? Cultivation (of the self) – instead of being an awkward synonym for self-development, chosen to allow an alliteration of c-words (okay, mostly that), I’ll be posting about my efforts to cultivate and explore some fledgling interests including dog training (I have a tiny dog with massive dreams), German practice, creative writing, and a non-fiction reading list that’s been kicking my butt lately with the move these past weeks. Wendler’s 5-3-1 is first on the list, but some fun historical criticism theology, and post-structuralist philosophy is in there too. Conditioning – short on time, as always, I’d barely managed to make room for main lifts + accessories this last month, but now with a more stable schedule, I’m chasing the golden snitch of conditioning again. Circuits, sprints and other non-warrior stuff will get talked about here; and any lucky followers get to hear me complain about it. Daily MFP logging (same username as here) with initial CI target of 2000/2200 gross for rest day/gym day, 200g of protein and <=100g carbs. A few parties are on the schedule and I’ll aim for moderation, but we all know it’ll be a caloric reenactment of the red wedding - I’m okay with that.

Second verse same as the first! Well, almost the same at least. My GORUCK event is on November 11. I would like to not feel like dying during most of the event, so that is what my training plan is geared toward in the next few weeks. Goal 1. Condition 8 conditioning sessions prior to the GORUCK Goal 2. Ruck 4 stadium runs, hikes, or weighted walks that are at least 3 miles prior to the GORUCK Goal 3. Diaphragmatic Breathing 20 diaphragmatic breathing sessions, try to create a habit around bedtime. Goal 4. Clean 20 sessions of 20 minutes of cleaning or tidying related activities While Goals 1 and 2 will be finished by the time the challenge is half over, that is ok! I am looking forward to the event being over before it has even begun... hahah! Once this training chunk is over, I think I want to focus on lifting and yoga balances/movement control. So by the end of the challenge, I hope to be on track with a new lifting program. For the cleaning, I may try to follow some kind of online step-by-step thing like Flylady or take parts of different things to try to get on track. If I work to spend more time making my home into a place I actually want to be, maybe I can actually feel a bit more relaxed when I am home instead of feeling kind of stressed by all the mess. PLAN October 24-October 30: 2-3 conditioning sessions, 2 ruck, 1 gymnastics practice October 31-November 6: 2-3 conditioning sessions, 2 ruck, 1 gymnastics practice November 7-November 13: 2 lighter cardio/conditioning sessions, 1 light ruck or long walk, no gymnastics November 14-November 20: consider starting a lifting program! lift 2x and yoga 2x, gymnastics 1x November 21-November 27: lift 3x, gymnastics 2x, yoga if there is time