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During the last challenge I noticed that I crammed all the reps towards the weekend. I was doing multiple 10km+ rucks back to back which I noticed took a toll on my feet health once Monday came around. Just as well on the weekends I was pushing out 150+ pushups per day. Thus this challenge is all about doing the absolute minimum every single day! Everyday the goal is to achieve: 1 pull-up ( I don't have a pull-up bar, so get to look for one of those out in public) 10 push-ups 10 ab exercises, ideally dead hang knee raise, but sit-ups/leg raises also work 10 air squats 60 seconds squat holds, it is harder than perceived 1 mile ruck, which fits well with finding a place to do a pull-up For each failed exercise, 5 times the amount needs to be done as a payout. Not getting the ruck miles in nor the pull-ups will probably be the harder achievements, because I physically have to leave the house. In worst case I will have to 30 ruck miles and 30 pull-ups on Sundays. As a secondary goal: at least achieve 25 ruck clicks ideally 50 ruck clicks *1 click = 1km Starting with the challenge on 8. Feb, 2021.

I had a bad day. I feel like I suck at my work. I don't know why I feel like this these days. * sigh Oh well... Hello to you! I am LucentFrost, and 443 days has passed since I joined the Rebellion. My last challenge was last October 2016, and I didn't get to report since then. Now, I want to be an active member and do my duty to level up my life everyday. Doing the challenges and hanging out in the forums were one of the many best things that has happened to my life last year. But at my current state, I forgot why I started this journey in the first place. I just remembered that I was more productive, focused, and present everyday doing my goals and assessing my progress. With my absence from the rebellion, I still have many things that I want to do, but I don't do them because they are all fragments in my head. I can't see clarity, and so I'm confused and paralyzed. I hope by coming back, I won't be as confused as of the moment, and be more enthusiastic in living my life everyday. I just feel that everything I do has no meaning anymore. And as an individual that is driven with a WHY, it's dangerous for me to say those things. I tend to not care about anyone or anything. Whether it be hurting other people's feelings, being negligent with my health, or as far as abandoning all my responsibilities as an adult. I also don't have any confidence in myself. I feel like I am not good at anything, and thus, I don't wanna try on the things that I feel are difficult for me. I really want to change this mindset. And so, here I am, posting my first ever battle log for this year. What I will be doing: * Right now, I want to review the things I've done in the past, and reassess my goals and dreams in life. Maybe I will make it as a challenge, or just post it here on my battle log.

My current goal is to lose 50 lbs, I'm down 100 since March 1st 2017. Here i will basically log my workouts and how well i think i did on my diet. So lets start with today. Exercise 60 Min exercise bicycle i do this every morning unless i'm on vacation without a gym. Usually i play some battlefield 1 while doing this ( really makes the hour fly) I plan on doing a workout tomorrow so stay tuned to see if i fail that Diet If i say it here i will stick to it so i can go ahead and post it and keep on track. Breakfast 6oz milk, pure protein bar snacks (throughout the day) 1.5 cups of mixed fruit (grapes, strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe) , 6 oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt, fresh mixed veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower) Lunch grilled boneless skinless chicken breast Dinner Baked tilapia, roasted veggies (carrots broccoli)

I'm currently 118 Kg, my current goal is to, eventually reach 100 Kg, so there's a lot of road to cover. I've never tried a Daily Log, so let's see how this goes. I'll try keep editing whenever I eat or exercise something. Currently I'm travelling for work, so the exercise may be a little more hard to achieve (need to travel every day). However food is "simpler". Exercise None Food Breakfast - Bread with butter and orange juice. - TNT so I don't sleep on the road (will change back for Coffee or Chimarrão, a local pick me up herb tea) Lunch - Lettuce - Beet - Tomatos (2 slices) - Skirt (small portion) - Beef (small portion) - Natural Sausage (small portion) Dinner - Shimeji Snacks - Salted nuts

Well, I've been failing pretty badly. I think maybe I need a daily check in of just anything. The plan is to just post anything once a day just to keep me thinking about progress and not get caught up in backsliding too much. I had another battlelog and I just didn't really post to it Hopefully this will be better. Doesn't matter if I slip up...well it matters. But, my only goal is a daily post. That's it! Until my birthday. See if that makes a difference So...that's about 149ish days from right now? I'll have to consult an online timer

For this year, my daily battle to make my life better. Rise and shine - Bed at 10, up at 5. The hour I've have alone if I get up early has become the most precious part of the day. Bed - making my bed every day Yoga - Nerdfitness Yoga early in the morning. Writing - Either writing my journal or a story. Meditation - at least five minutes, I tend to get bored. German - doing German on Duolingo Garden - do something in the garden Shower - One of the things that I skip when I feel bad Cleaning - do something in the house Reading - read 15 pages a day Piano - practice for at least 15 minutes every day. Movement - move my body around while taking the dogs for a late night walk.

16:365 And a new year, and some small daily things to make my life better. The big stuff I am leaving for the challenges. It worked well last year, and this year it should be better. The idea is not to crush everything every day, but just to do something every day that will make my life a little better. Tiny little habits. 1. Rise and Shine Get up every morning before 5. Something I've been doing for the past few months, it really helps to exercise in the morning. 2. 750 words Write 750 words every day. This could be anything, journal, stream of consciousness stuff or whatever. It takes around 15 minutes, I've been slacking on this during the holiday but will get back to it. It is also a good way to practice my touch-typing skills. 3. Cleaning. Do a little bit of cleaning every day. I've been working on minimalism for a few years now, and it is easy to just keep up. 4. Make my bed. This is easy. The difficult part is getting the dogs to stay of the bed in the morning so that I can make it. 5. Gardening. A little bit in the garden every day. 6. Meditation. This is very much a habit at present, so I am going on with this 7. Movement. This is in addition to exercise. While walking the dogs I've got a little arm swinging, leg swinging routine that helps a lot with stress. Rating Gold star for all, silver star for most, red star for some. It is very much a subjective rating system, but I like it. And this year I am giving myself permission to skip any of it on Sundays and Social days.

Diet Drink tea when I first wake up instead of soda. Drink more water during the day. -Note: My average drinks consist of only Dr. Pepper and maybe one to two small glasses of water each day. Fitness Complete the NerdFitness Bodyweight Workout at least 1x per week. Level Up Your Life Write 1000 words a day at least 3x each week. Smoke at most seven cigarettes a day instead of nine. Epic Quest One day I wish to become a Personal Trainer and/or a Fitness Instructor at a Gym. It is my heart's desire to help people better themselves. I want to teach them how to train and teach them how to love doing it. First things first, though, is that I need to get in shape myself before I help others get in shape. I also need to learn the very skills I want to teach. I also want to become a power lifter some day. I am saving up for any and all equipment I will need and/or a gym membership. (Sadly gym memberships are very expensive around here.) I don't know anything about it; not the lingo, nothing. But, I am studying and I figure I should work on cardio first anyway.

Hi All! It's time for Round 3 of our PVP using the daily dares over at darebee. Every day, they post a bodyweight exercise challenge that usually only takes a couple of minutes to complete. This is an open PVP, so anyone can join at any time. It's a great way to try out a bunch of different bodyweight exercises! If you decide to join, declare what rank you're aiming for and sign up on this spreadsheet. Then, just keep track of how many dares you complete throughout the challenge. You'll get 1 point per dare and 1 point for each extra credit challenge. You must complete each dare on the day that it's posted for it to count - no going back to make it up if you forget! If you're not sure about what counts for the dare or extra credit, post here and we'll rule by what seems to make sense to the most of us. Because this is meant to be a challenge with a wide variety of exercises, we will not allow easier variations of the dares. Some days you might not be able to do an exercise, and that's ok! The person with the most points at the end of the challenge will be declared the Daredevil! Leaderboard Rocketbikeninja (67 points) - May 2016 Challenge is our current reigning Daredevil. Geek On Fire (53 points) - April 2016 Challenge Ranks Titanium: 60 points (30 days of dares + 30 days of extra credit) Gold: 45 points Silver: 30 points Bronze: 15 points Custom: A custom goal of your choice. Just make sure to state your specific target in the spreadsheet. We're starting the PVP in Week 0, but you should be able to achieve any of these ranks even if you don't join us until Week 1.

Leaving Torquay He shifted the paper and secured it under his left arm as he reached for his passport and ticket from an inside pocket. Not that he was using a passport; he had become obsessed with knowing its absolute location at times. He had left the cottage after ten that morning and he suddenly became acutely aware that his holiday was finally over. A former colleague at London had told him once that associates received at least six weeks of leave in their offices, and more as needed, between assignments. He noted mentally to mention it over tea with Hastings when he got back to the Lisbon office. He dreaded immediately the inevitable physical assessment that was coming soon after arriving back to the offices. He had indulged on this holiday and the last few 'off' periods. He recalled that his jacket had grown tighter. His weight had been creeping. Well, no matter, the measurements would be taken, and then some crude remark regarding his "discipline" from Barnes. That he didn't prefer Barne's or was "not fond" of Barnes is the civil way to construct it he supposed. No matter what you called it, it was the situation; and the exact reason why Hastings assigned Barnes to his physical assessments. He boarded the ferry and found his compartment warm while he took the seat. "On the way to Spain", he said out loud, and chuckled a bit. The girl said her 'good morning' and offered an assortment of the expected cakes, scones, crackers, among others. He considered for a moment and thought of Barne's smirk: "No thank you". He returned his gaze to the window and thought.

Hey all, I've been lurking around NF, but haven't spent a lot of time with the forums. I'm looking to kick up my daily quests with some accountability. For this challenge, I will be setting a series of dailies that I will need to complete, well, daily. I track my life in my blog, and my habits in HabitBull. I think this will add another layer of accountability because I know you're all watching! Tracking my food daily, without exception - If I bite it, I write it (tracked in blog) Stepping up my physical presence by committing to activity 6x per week (tracked in HabitBull): 3x Strength Training (30-60 minutes) - Tracked in Leiah Sky's Epic Spreadsheet of Fitness (to measure +STR) 3x Yoga Session (30 minutes) - Tracked in Leiah Sky's Epic Spreadsheet of Fitness (to measure +DEX) Rise and Conquer - I will be waking up 5 minutes earlier, every day, for the next 12 days, and then will continue to wake up at 5:00 AM every morning so that I can conquer my quests early, while I still have the energy, because I am so not the type of gal with energy after 6:00 PM (tracked in HabitBull). I will check in at minimum on a weekly basis to talk about my challenge, what I have accomplished, and what barriers I discover. Happy questing! AGD2 (Aka Leiah Sky)

So this is it – the beginning. Although actually, everyday there is a beginning, a middle and an end to something. Anyway, it is the start of me being here, pursuing my current goals, trying to become the person I’d like to be. The status quo: I am currently about 10 kg overweight, with about 10 to 15% excess body fat. I have an issue with my self-image, self-imposed pressure and loneliness, resulting in a strong tendency for emotional eating. Fixing my diet without overdoing it is quite hard for me. I suffer from slight hypothyroidism that is sometimes hard to get controlled, which often leads to dizziness, weakness and depression. Allergies and some food intolerances complete the picture. Another thing I struggle with is relaxing and be easy about things. I stop having fun when I feel I HAVE to do something instead of CHOOSING to do so. I am shifty, headstrong and sensitive and need to live in balance with my intuition and instincts. What I like: - running, hiking, swimming, biking (except in winter) - ballroom dancing, archery, skating (I suck at the latter) - yoga and meditation - singing, drawing, books, movies, games and podcasts and cooking the BIG WHY 1. SELF-CONFIDENCE: I want to be proud of myself. I want to feel like someone who could impress others, or someone who might be capable to be a hero if I'd have to be one. Also, I want to live a lifestyle that makes me feel secure by knowing that I choose wisely. 2. ATTRACTIVENESS: I want to buy various clothes, not only those that hide my stupid body the best :-/. I want to recognize myself in the mirror. I want to wear a swimming suit or attractive underwear without any second thoughts. 3. CARELESSNESS: I miss the way I felt when I was so fit a few years ago. I want that feeling again, lighthearted and simply fine with who I am, never being afraid of being judged by others. 4. FAMILY AND FRIENDS: I want to feel at level with my friends or old classmates. Especially my sister - I don't want to feel second class anymore every time I am with her. I cannot get closer to her as long as this stands between us. And she sets the standard preeettty high! Also, all my family is constantly talking about their fitness classes and I don't want to feel so left out. 5. HEALTH: I don't want to feel controlled by any sickness, nor struck down with any of the symptoms. No pain, no sadness, no weakness. 6. SKILLS and TRAITS: I want to have skills and traits that I can say, represent me. I want to be elegant, gracious and have the petite body my build is actually structured to have, I want to be cat-like, a little mysterious, strong and most of all: free and full of emotions. Who I want to be: Just recently I realized, being shifty isn’t bad at all. It means, I am curious, that I value freedom and do my own thing. It means I am versatile, giving my body and mind always new challenges, and that I am open to new ideas and impressions. I can imagine myself roaming around the city, doing whatever I feel like to do, taking a nap when I am tired, going for a run if my feet won’t hold still, lazily sipping on coffe while drawing a picture for hours, trying to do things I suck at simply for fun, or being grumpy and chill out. If I follow THAT ideal, I MAY do anything, instead of HAVING to do any of it if I don’t feel like it. Challenge #1: Reduce my body fat percentage to less than 30% until end of April 1) not eating any sweets/unhealthy snacks during lent 2) 2 workouts a week 3) one nap a week (at least 5 min) 4) one yoga session a week (at least 5 min) 5) try out archery this year DONE!

I never managed to complete my first 6 week challenge last year due to failing my exams and pushing everything aside to prep for the resits (I passed btw!). So now that I'm in a better place and not so depressed, I've decided it's time to stop wallowing in junk food and get back into gear with baby steps whilst still keeping my grades as my focus. The thing I struggle most with is food. Like many people here, I love the taste of all foods that are unhealthy. I tried the paleo diet for two days and I guess the transition was too abrupt, but it was horrible. Growing up with strong flavours with heaping amounts of salt, sugar and rice, I can safely say that diving into the paleo lifestyle was doomed to fail. So baby steps starts with simple goals. I won't start with exercise, because I know my diet requires the most work and the phrase "you can't outrun your fork" is gospel around here. I want to sort that out first. So in 7 days, I want to proudly say I have achieved the three following goals every day: 1. Avoided the traditional midnight junk food binge at work 2. Say "I don't eat [insert unhealthy food here]" instead of "I can't" or "I shouldn't", in particular I want to avoid cakes, chips, overly processed meats (frankfurter sausages and salami are great examples), pies, biscuits and chocolate drinks. Considering I don't eat them much (maybe 3-4 times if they're available) it shouldn't be too hard to do. 3. Reduce my portion size by NOT seeking second or third servings of my meals. (and not grabbing the extra large plate from the cupboard and pile that up instead) I'll keep track of any problems I meet whilst trying to achieve these goals here each day, along with how I overcame them or how I plan to eliminate that problem in future so it doesn't happen again. As with NF's post on willpower, these goals are really going to challenge that. As baseline, I'm currently BMI 27.5 (female who doesn't do a smidgeon of exercise). I aim to be BMI 20 as is appropriate for my genetics. I am aware that I shouldn't put too much stock into BMI considering it can be inaccurate with regards to muscle mass, however considering the distinct lack of muscles that I have right now and my focus on fixing my dietary habits, I'd say it's an accurate enough tool for me right now. I will change how I measure my progress once I start adding in exercise to my goals.

I have now done quite a number of 6-week challenges. They have mostly been marked by being fundamentally boring, which is not necessarily a bad thing but I love the creativity that others bring to their challenges and threads, but also wildly inconsistent. Even though my past challenges have possibly had more downs than ups, I at least feel that I am trying to get somewhere. Having let myself slide of late into a place where I am inactive and lack goals it is high time to start doing challenges again and getting myself moving. For this challenge I am not going to reinvent the wheel, in fact I expect my challenge to be somewhat boring - although hopefully in a good way as I intend to aim for consistency. With this in mind my goals will all involve small daily actions. Goal 1: Get up to my alarm every day - goodbye to snoozing. Goal 2: Move daily - This can be any sort of exercise. Goal 3: Study German every day - even if it is just a little bit! Goal 4: Tidy - I hope that trying to keep control of my mess might positively impact my general feeling of organisation. Whilst I hope that I will be able to do more than the bare minimum, my emphasis will be on small wins, so nothing is too little.

so the last challenges haven't been so good, I kept making excuses and virsa versa. So its time to make some small changes. Lifestyle goal: Write a daily post on this topic (can use the time i have in the train in the morning. Fitness goal. 1: Make a small movement session in the morning before school or lunch break at school: I arrive around 35 min before the class start every morning at the university, so I want to use the time better. the last two days I have used in the small gym before classes and I tend to keep that one going. 2: Daily Head to toe stretch I just need to do it no reason not too. 3: Daily upside down time. Even if its just a single attempt. Need to get my habit back. as you can see, small easy manageable steps .

Yesterday, I joined this site, made my first challenge post, and became determined to start anew. Today, I'm putting that into action. It's not even 9am and I can already cross off some of my goals for the day. At least one fruit or veggie: check. This morning I had a banana on the train, and then got an omelette with cheese, mushrooms, spinach an onions with homefries at the cafeteria. Water intake: almost done my first bottle (16 oz.) Taking the stairs at the subway station instead of escalators: check. Hoping to notice a difference in how I feel based on what I'm eating.

William smiled as he looked over his latest email from his handler. They were impressed with the patience he had shown in removing his first mark and were ready for him to move forward. The next one they wanted him closer though. They wanted to see how he could do if he had to be close up with the hit. His handler told him the information would be dead-dropped within a day or two and he would be sent the location. He knew that this one would take more subtly. Now all he had to do was wait. (Goals for this challenge) (100 push-ups/Sit-ups in a single session) Currently at 4 sets of 25 (improve free-running skills) Training progress on Kong and Side jumps Training on Wall Run and Cat (10 miles running, at least 3 times a week) (must be running, not walking) Can do it walking, but running still a challenge

Late Bloomer here! WYOGIRL Starting today 8/5/2014 need to have daily accountability created point system to help MAIN QUEST lose weight to #180 (17#'s) GOALS excersise 2x a week log in daily eat paleo way MOTIVATION not feel bloated all the time LIFE QUEST emotionally at peace with self My accountability point system 34 days left of challenge x 10 points a day) = 340-350 total challenge points for complete success logging in daily- 2 posting daily- 3 eating complete paleo daily-5 excersise-5 bonus points **on a side note, I will be logging in daily to myfitnesspal to track my food, this is just for me to see how well the paleo living is doing health and number wise** Grading system A= 350 total points...join the next step up in the challenge series B= 340 total points...do another newbie challenge C= 330 total points...re-read, re-write and re-focus on goals, do another newbie challenge Starting numbers weight 197.5 waist 46" breast 45" NO WAY!! Im a block!! EEEK... don't look at the pics unless you have a strong stomach!! sorry but I need the motivation!! Get ready for lots of blah..blah..blah.. that's the way I roll

And he stepped out on to the road...

Hello! I'm new here, and I wish to take advantage of the opportunity offered to me here to maintain my commitment to getting healthier. A bit of background first: I'm a 30 something Canadian female who has decided to change her life for the better. I've begun my quest to eat healthy and work out regularly. I am beginning with the Angry Birds workout and I also walk 1,8 mile every morning. So here are my statistics so far: Workout: Angry Birds Level 1, started Monday November 4th Squats: 31 in 3 sets Push ups (wall): 43 in 2 sets One arm rows: 30 in 2 sets (10 lbs, upgrading to 15 lbs) Plank: 25 secs., 20 secs. and 15 secs. 60 seconds total. Workout: Angry Birds Level 1, Wednesday November 6th Squats: 50 in 3 sets Push ups (inclined): 19 in 3 sets (my arms just gave out and I hurt my chin. Ouch.) One arm rows: 37 in 2 sets (15 lbs) Plank: 27 secs., 21 secs. and 18 secs. 66 seconds total. So, improvement all around, except inclined push-ups are way harder than wall push-ups. Any suggestions on what I could do to increase the strength in my arms? They are really weak. I think I did a better warm up this time around though. Well, that's all for now. I think I'll stick to the 15 lbs weights for the one arm rows for now. Next workout is Friday. See you then. Silver.

YOUR QUEST, Should you choose to accept it; No Jiggly Stomach. Also known as Teagarden's Quest for Self Acceptance. MISSIONS that you should complete to achieve your objective; (1) Thou Shalt eat no processed food that comes in crinkly bags (or other wrappings) (2) Thou Shalt commence bodyweight training at least once a week, twice if the opportunity presents itself. (3) Thou Shalt continue yoga classes (with a vengeance) AT LEAST once a week, but 3 times if the opportunities present themselves. (4) Thou Shalt follow the teachings of Steve of Nerd Fitness as if you are a hardcore religious type and worship the internets he writes on. Complete your quest by: 6/1/2014 (gives me 6 weeks, good practice for later challenges, no?) Adventure Journal, Day One. 26/11/13, 8:56am. Location: The southern coast of Western Australia. Starting Stats: Rebel's Name: Teagarden Gender: (F) Height: 167cm / 5ft 5in Weight: 68kgs / 150lbs Race: pudgy fleshling Human. Profession: none Downfall: Late nights, sleep ins and lots coffee. Level: 1 ----------------------------------------- Teagarden vs the Beginner's Bodyweight Circuit ----------------------------------------- Almost Successfully completed 3 rounds of the beginner bodyweight training! 20 squats 8 Knee Pushups 20 lunges 10 dumbell rows with 6kg weights. 20 second plank, and 30 jumping jacks. x3 times. ACHEIVEMENT EARNED: complete your first workout: 1/1 Reward items: +1 Strawberry Blueberry smoothie with almond milk. +1 body full of sore muscles tomorrow morning. Feel the burn! Breakfast was Espresso coffee and banana. Lunch was sweet potato tart with big side salad. Dinner was homemade chicken burgers; except I cut the burger in half and filled it with salad instead of using that stack of white bread over there! Woo! Tomorrow should be a quiet day on the battlefront, just a day shift at work then home for dinner. I will probably be suffering from today's workout so tomorrow I'll let them rest.

Mission: Get in the right physical shape to handle at least weekly practices in heavy armored combat with my local group of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). That means I will not fit in the stereotypical monk mold that I have seen here at NF. Less this. More this. During the last half of my previous challenge I floundered pretty badly, because I did not have a clear motivational mission, and also (probably mostly) because I had a really bad time at work, that bled into my personal and fitness life. I think I have my life a little more balanced now, and I will be going back to something that has worked for me in the past: daily tasks. 1. Every day, at least twenty minutes of exercise. Examples: body-weight circuit training, sledgehammer HIIT, or running, with hiking no more than once per week. I plan to specifically get my shoulders strengthened to handle holding up my shield and sword for long bouts. 2. Every day, only eat foods that are intentional (that is, planned) rather than impulsive (that is, driven by emotion or temporary craving). So a treat is all right, if it is something that I planned at least a day in advance and preferably have with other people. 3. Every day, carve out some personal time for meditation/prayer/scripture study. I did this in an earlier challenge and I miss the clarity. I have an application on my phone to help track, and I plan to post here near-daily. Thanks for reading.

Nourishing Mind, Body and Soul Mind WIS +5 (1 each) Read or knit daily 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F I signed up for 100 books to read for the Goodreads 2014 challenge. It was kind of on a whim, but it will push me. I am not really going to be hurt if I don’t make this, but I have noticed that when I make more time for reading or knitting that I am more calm and centered overall, so this is a good way to relax and reward my mind. Pay on one debt item a week 6-7 A; 5 B; 4 C; 3 D; 0-2 F Financial worry is soul-crushing. I recently read a report on the effects of poverty sapping nearly an entire standard deviation from a person’s intelligence, and I can completely believe that. While my children and I aren’t living in poverty as yet, I do worry, and I would like the mental peace that comes from knowing I am taking care of us. Two classes a week 12-14 A; 10 B; 8 C; 6 D; 0-5 F I’m enrolled in the paralegal program at a nearby university. Attending class is the single most important factor in ensuring my success and retention of the information. Homework weekly 12-14 A; 10 B; 8 C; 6 D; 0-5 F I have to make the time and priority to complete my homework for the classes. Currently I have a 4.0, and I would like to maintain it. Weekly (probably Monday) cleaning 6-7 A; 5 B; 4 C; 3 D; 0-2 F This might seem odd as a Mind piece, but keeping my home clean is more about remembering to do it than anything else, and thinking about how it can best be supported so that when I find the time to do the chores they are as simple as possible. Body DEX +5 Water 2L/day 2L A; 1.5-1.99L B; 1.0-1.49L C; .50-.99L D; 0-.49L F Walk 5000 steps daily 4500-5000 A; 4000-4499 B; 3500-3999 C; 3000-3499 D; 0-2999 F I was tempted to increase this, but then I looked back at the last six weeks and realized that I worked like a dog to get to this point, and it would be a real success if I were able to maintain it. So five thousand it is, and we’ll see where that gets me. Abs of Doom Daily (with a rest day every fourth day) 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F Last challenge I was doing the 30 Day Abs Challenge and once I got about halfway through it I was completely wiped out, and had hit my limit. It’s ok to have limits. That doesn’t mean I should quit or give up, it means I should stay at the limit level and keep at it until it’s not the limit any more. So here’s to that. I’ll keep a track of what I do, but I’m allowed to repeat the number that I do each day. It doesn’t have to be more than yesterday all the time. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be as many as the day before. It simply has to be. Nightly sleep 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D I need to take care of myself by making certain I'm getting enough rest. If I'm worn out and exhausted, I can't be a good student / parent / friend. I need to be in bed no later than midnight, with 11 p.m. preferred. I am hoping the meditation routine will dovetail with this. Nightly Floss Routine 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F Soul CHA +5 Daily mindfulness from Living Your Yoga 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F Dishes Daily (usually at night before we go to bed) 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F Daily quiet time (probably after yoga) 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F Weekly cooking (probably Wednesday) 6-7 A; 5 B; 4 C; 3 D; 0-2 F Nightly Meditation 40-49 A; 35-39 B; 30-34 C; 25-29 D; 0-24 F Bonus: Mind, Body & Soul -- Spa Day & hot oil treatment for my hair: +1 to everything. Weekly article on food and home 6 A; 5 B; 4 C; 3 D; 0-2 F +2 WIS Private goal: + to everything 1008-1000 +5; 750-999 +4; 500-749 +3; 250-499 +2; 100 - 249 +1

This is to serve as my daily diary as I make myself battle ready to reclaim the depths of Moria from the creatures that now dwell there. A few starting figures: I'm 178cm (about 5'10") and weighed in this morning at 138.4kg, so morbidly obese. I'm also weak and feeble. And the main reason I describe myself as a dwarf is a naturally stocky build and short stumpy legs (as well as a fondness for single malt scotch and naturally brewed ales). So I have to make myself combat ready. I will be doing this to start with by completing almost entirely bodyweight workouts, then transitioning this into gymnastics training combined with lifting heavy. ill have to pay for a gym membership to get the lifting done though. First step for now though: 1unassisted pull-up and 1 unassisted chin-up. Day one of this quest has good reasonably well, I kept my diet clean (so far) and I managed to complete my first basic bodyweight workout. All I have to say about that is: I hate lunges. That and Steve is clearly a sick sick man to come up with that workout. Tomorrow is a cardio day. Have to figure out what that means on nightshift, but I'll see how it works out.

First So, this is the first blog I've ever done. Hooray. In this blog I shall endeavor to record my experiences, concerning my physical and mental fitness. I may not write every day, but I will post at least three time a week. Sometimes, I may just record what I ate or what exercises I did, perhaps I may write some of my more motivational thoughts down here. Other times, I may simply complain, vent or otherwise whine; this is OK. The reason this is ok, is because I will not allow my lesser impulses ( i.e laziness) to determine my fate, physical or otherwise. Although I have tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle before (and failed), I believe that by sharing the victories and the hardships with people (i.e You) will provide the motivation to continue until the healthy lifestyle practices become just another part of my life. Right now, I'm doing pretty good. This is to be celebrated for the time being, but the true tests lie ahead, and frankly, I'm excited to begin. I've started this blog immediately after joining with the current six week challenge, as a member of the Assassin guild, and I will also be writing in that blog, concerning the challenge. The Thread is titled ,"The Bishop Begins", and will be available on audio book as soon as I figure out how to use iTunes Garage Band (just kidding). Alright, introductions are over, so let me tell you about today by first telling you about yesterday, which has its roots in last Friday. The day before today, I, being of sound mind, decided to begin the six week challenge offered here at NerdFitness. Why you ask? Because this past Friday I was utterly humiliated at my friends' gym. Granted, we went there at 8pm and there was almost nobody there (thank the good Lord God Almighty), save two tired souls at the treadmill area, but the embarrassment I suffered was not from the ridicule of strangers or that of my friends; no my fellow rebels, it was worse. You see, I've never been much of a weight lifter. No, martial arts and gymnastics have always been more my speed, but lately I've been feeling a desire to expand my horizons. This led me to go with my friends Rick and Bob (whose names have been changed to protect the innocent, and such...)to workout with them at Ricks' gym. To make a short story short, I found my upper body strength totally inadequate. I could barely bench 120lbs, only curled 25lbs and couldn't do a single push-up; not one push-up. Do not misunderstand me, I'm not saying that those in and of itself are shameful numbers; if you are a beginner or injured and recovering, then great. What progress you make is worth celebrating. But I've been in shape before; I've been at a place where 35-40 push-ups was in my warm up; where I'd bench half my body weight plus half. Yet due to neglect and poor diet, I have been reduced to this. It was then I decided to change. Since September I have been cleaning up my diet, cutting out grains and sugars, but I made the decision to not workout because...well.. I needed to see a low number on the scale. I needed to know I could make progress, and that number made me feel like I was making it. I went from 228lbs to 214lbs from then until now, but I sacrificed my strength to do it. By not working out, I grew weaker and further away from my true goal (which is a strong and fit Bishop) for the sake of seeing a number. But after Friday, I made another change. I decided that the number wasn't that important. I decided that maybe I wanted to be better and not just feel better. I want Strength, not some number some people said I should have. I want to be Powerful, not thin. And really, I want to be the Best Bishop I can be Right now. So, this past Sunday, I worked out using a Modified version of the Basic Body Weight circuit found on NerdFitness. The only change I made was to add a deadlift. After I warmed up for ten minutes with martial arts, I hit the workout. I only had the stamina to complete two circuits, and with many short breaks, but I did it. I used about 75lbs for my deadlifts, but my ankles are too tight to give me proper range of motion, so I think I'll stick with body weight exercises for now, while I stretch them out to where I can do proper lifting form. I also only performed five good push-ups, which is better then Friday, but I have much room to grow. Today, I am very sore, but I've been here before; I can't wait to go where I haven't. More to come soon.