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This challenge has perfect timing for my situation. I am, since Friday, the proud owner of a termination letter, effective June 30th. While I am grateful to the Swiss unemployment system, which is very sturdy, I am prone to pursuing the wrong priorities. I am, for example, at risk of trying to get above and beyond in my current (destructive) job instead of focusing on searching for a new one that fits my expectations. This challenge will be my dashboard for the coming times. I'm not starting my quest as a naked lvl 1 commoner. I am TOUGH! Among the qualities that allowed me to last 5 years in that position are that you'd have to physically tackle me to take me down. I am celebrating 9 years of tanking through infinite waves of adversity under showers of "friendly" mortar fire, I know how to use my shield and I know better than to stay stuck in one place. I'll crawl if I have to, but I'll move toward the target inch by inch until I'm there, and then, I'll go for the next one. Getting back up one more time than I fall is a way of life for me and that makes me invincible. There are one off, monthly, weekly and daily tasks that I must perform in order to succeed. I'll complete the list as I think of more things. 3 main categories : finding new employment following a lifestyle/workout plan developping self employed activities Pursuing self employment is the perfect cover for any hole that may appear in my résumé, so I am not under heavy time pressure: quality trumps quickness, I want to find the first ever job I'll join because I am genuinely attracted by it and not because I am fleeing the destructive culture of my previous one. One off : Register to the unemployment office. Check back with reality : make a list of people to call and ask for feedback about the time they've had working with me. let them know I am available. if the feedback is positive, ask if I can use them as reference. Write a prototype of work certificate I would like to receive. Decide how I want to handle my time off during the last two months and get in touche with "HR" to discuss it. Go through my phone contact list and clean it from any junk. Check the requirements for the Mountain Leader certification and craft a plan to get there. Get in touch with the Social Security office, charged with registering self employment status, check if I have to register or can pursue some activity while being unemployed. Update my profile on our professional association's website. Craft a website for my activities. Get domain names for my website. Set the website up. Monthly : May-June : send 4 applications per month. If still unemployed after that : send 10 applications per month. Weekly : Check sites/newspaper for job offerings. Go groceries shopping. Batch cook 2*6 meals. Do my laundry. Go on the vineyard 1/week, do whatever needs to be done there or just enjoy the time if all is done. Daily : Workout or run (on alternate days). Eat two meals. Sleep 7h (go to bed by 10:30, no screens). Week 0 looks like that : Send application 1 Monday : Running Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Tuesday : Workout 1 Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Get proof of residency from the Municipality Call person 1 Call person 2 Check Newspaper 1 Wednesday : Running Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Call person 3 Call person 4 Register to the unemployment office Thursday : Workout 2 Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Call person 5 Check Newspaper 2 Friday : Running Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Saturday : Workout 3 Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Groceries Sunday : Running Eat meal 1 Eat meal 2 Go to bed by 10:30 Batch cooking Vineyard Let's do this and enjoy every part of it.

Howdy folks! Long time no see. I guess I've finally reached the limit of how much stress and being backed into a corner I can endure and I lashed out at work on Friday. This is not acceptable. I don't want it to happen ever again. So it's back to basics. This is one of these dry, checking boxes, types of challenges. There is a lot of venting that needs to happen but that is not what I want to happen here. This place is for focus. I am not planning on taking energy to actively try to answer comments, this challenge is specifically to give me leeway not to care and focus all my resources toward recovering and rebuilding my mental health. While I thank you deeply for the support you have provided so far, and for the support you may provide going forward, you should not come here with expectations. My goal is self-reflection and self-tracking. 3 areas of focus : Mindset Rest: take out my sleeping bag, go somewhere remote, sleep. No computer, no phone, no internet, just an alarm buzzer in case I need it. Checking time for this is 10 pm. Protect your time: take 30 minutes for myself in the morning at work and freeze the Wednesday morning to work on my own projects. During those hours, I don't exist. No phones, no emails and most importantly, no interruptions from coworkers. To enforce this, earbuds will be on during those times. This will be communicated in no equivocal terms on Wednesdey 2nd, morning. Checks : [ ] went out by 10 pm [ ] took my 30 minutes of freedom in the morning [ ] worked on my projects on Wednesday morning Eating Cook and eat every morning: 1 croque-monsieur, 1 egg, 1 mug of coffee. Cook and eat in the evening: stir fry of vegetables and potatoes, 1 meat. Drink herbal tea instead of coffee during the afternoon, at work. Checks : [ ] ate breakfast [ ] drank no coffee at work this afternoon [ ] ate dinner Exercising Alternate between core exercise days and running days. Practice low effort pseudo tai-chi as warmup-cooldown Checks : [ ] did exercise today [ ] did practice some pseudo tai-chi And this is it. Start date is tomorrow, I'm off to gear on and fill my pantry today. Be great and overcome.

I am second guessing myself a lot, these days, and my mind is all over the place, saturated. I can't seem to take hold again (which is explainable, since I've gone through crisis mode dealing with the state of my town's infrastructure during stormy weather last week, but not satisfactory). I want to change that. I have no path forward as of right now. This challenge is about figuring it out, then taking it into motion. Edit: Alright, picking a theme actually gives me a framework to work with: Week 1 is looking around and just trying to understand what's going on. Week 2 is applying one small change and seeing if it sticks. Week 3 is remodeling and setting myself up for a win. Week 4 is taking charge and getting things done. Week 5 is getting rich and famous from such a highly publicized success story.

Howdy friends? I've been a busy lad these days and haven't taken the time to formerly launch this challenge, even though I'm informally kind of doing it already. Life is its usual hectic broth and it's time for me to learn to create boundaries and make them stand. Crafting a bowl for the broth, if you will. I have two weeks of holidays ahead of me, so this is the perfect time for this though, as I am still a baby padawan in the subtle art of not giving a fuck, I've foolishly scheduled a few work meetings that should help make projects that weigh on me move forward. The important thing here, I think, is to acknowledge that I am untrained in the art of setting boundaries and that I am on a path to learning. Learning can only occur if I take things seriously and put real dedication to getting better at saying no. On a parallel track, I've collected good ideas in your challenges and am finally giving in to making this kind of more of a game. It seems to be working so far but this is also a work in progress. Objectives There are things I can't accept as being tolerable anymore: prioritize sleep. Get to bed before 10 pm, sleep with the windows open. eat! Two meals a day, carbs, meat, veggies, at a minimum. Breakfast is a bonus (looking forward to some Englishlike breakfasts these coming days). replace coffee with herbal tea. 2 mugs of coffee a day are ok. And there are the things I reall need to put forward for once: learn German through Duolingo (courtesy of all of you who spoke about it in your challenges, know that you have helped this chap. ^^ ). Not being fluent in German is being a burden on my career path, time to change that. practice regular exercise via Darebee's Hero's Journey (idea courtesy of @Scaly Freak, we'll see how this goes). Updates will be mainly my framing of the hero's journey, starting now: I have never been someone for training. I was more of the chosen of the gods kind, the one they would both laugh at and support, to keep him humble. I'm not used to making decisions, I am mostly a tool with a purpose. A good tool, good at its purpose, handled by proficient if sometimes joking hands. I bear a curse: the one that everything that can go wrong in my life without breaking me will go wrong. I also bear a boon, the one that everything that absolutely must work out always does and, somehow, I always find the resources, will and skills in myself to move forward and succeed. This time was no different. I was not ready but I was prepared. Somehow, my life had lead me to this, got me barely prepared, just enough to succeed if I stuck to it, not enough for anything on the way to look easy. I was level I, no one but a commonner. And the wilderness is calling. I grab my backpack, only a few things in it. The ones I need. A frozen wind comes whipping on my face. I look up, open my arms and laugh: this time as well, I am not alone. I nod to acknowledge the presence who watches me, laughing. Once again, I will be her comedian and we will work together to make the play worth watching. From now on, I know. I am a handful of hay tossed around, but a fun one to watch. My domain is the unexpected, the turnabout, bad or good, that comes when one isn't ready for it, and the unbelievable strenght of the one who rises through it. I am a paladin with dirt and the unforeseen as my armor. A Paladin of the Impromptu.

Hi there! I'm keeping this very simple because there are a very few metrics I need to make important in my life and pretending I'm tracking them tends to make that happen. I want to teach myself to be kind to myself, to forgive me when I don't reach the targets I set, to learn to set appropriate targets and not to settle for bad when I miss one of them but to still consider myself a good person, worthy of things like sleep and food. They may evolve but my metrics for this challenge are, at this point: Go to bed by 9:30 pm. Eat 2 meals a day. Drink 4 half-bottles of water a day while at work (the goal is to keep me away from the coffee machine). Don't work more than 9 hours a day at work so as to have time for other things. Go out and have a walk/exercise 1/day. Going to the vineyard and having a beer qualifies for this. Time to get some food and take note that none of what I think I have to do this night matters and I can go to sleep at 9:30 and be fine (and even better off for it). Have fun and take care of yourselves!

Well, let's do this! I had sort of planned great intentions for this year, most of it will probably happen in a messy way, but it will happen nonetheless. I am not ready for this, but few have been the times when I've taken the luxury to take the path I was ready for. Balance, to me, is more of a dynamic thing than a static one: not staying long enough on the crumbling part for it to crumble under me. I can do it. I don't have the energy for either grand or many things, instead, I will focus on one single habit, the one that truly matters: Go to sleep by 9:30 pm, wake up by 4:30 am. That's it. Most other things will sort of fall in place as I hop on my merry way, oriented chaos is kind of my thing.

Doing a continuation of my 2nd challenge. Can't wait!

Doing a continuation of my first challenge: more details soon! 🥳 thanks for hosting another challenge!!

Hello, I'm Sarah! I just started a blog titled, "salads, stretching & sensibility," to help me take a more kind and (hopefully) sustainable approach to healthier eating and fitness habits. Starting this blog inspired me to come to Nerd Fitness to encourage more, but kind, accountability towards my goals. My main goal with all of this is to kindly observe and document my commitment to eat salads and stretch on a consistent basis. I say consistent because it's gentle language that doesn't make me feel like I'm pressuring myself to strictly have a salad or stretch on a daily basis. I want to build my habits right, not fast, because 'fast' often leads to self sabotage for me. I've also been reminded of the times when taking care of my health was second nature, thanks to my past involvement in high school sports. So with that community spirit in mind, it only made sense to partake in this five week challenge. I'm looking forward to getting to know this community more (heard great things about it years ago) and hopefully making life-long friends! 🥗🙆‍♀️💚 W.L.K. Sarah

"Denn wer nicht kämpft hat schon verloren; nur wer fällt steht wieder auf." "Because the one who doesn't fight has already lost; only he who falls down gets back up." "Once more onto the breach, dear friends!" Life feels like a circle, a diamond soul, a tempered mind. Iron turning into steel, steel honed to perfection, "vorwärts immer, rückwärts nimmer" (always going forward, never back). When you are lost within the fight, it all can feel like it's not worth it, at times, yet, we keep going, as the tide slowly builds up. We become stronger and get better at the game of life. We gain confidence and become better human beings. The pressure never drops but we adapt, we grow from each blow. We forge onward. I forge onward. I will not let apparent pullbacks pull me down. I will trust my vision and keep pushing, riding the waves until I reach port. I am not drowned. I'm in the game. And I'll reach port. Finding Home Budget for home improvements then search for my next home. Make no compromise, it has to have space, a modern kitchen and an amenable bathroom. Once I get there, don't give up on it but take good care of it. Keep things bare but ordered, clean regularly. It has to be a haven for my people too. Spirit of the Wild Pursue my hiking guide training courses. Achieve the 4 days of internship required. Build a website to gather and crystallize people around the idea of being one within nature, a part of the whole. Take people out, build resilience, thrive through survival. True Strength Master my time and schedule. Set up dedicated moments to work out, find a place to shower and have a nourishing breakfast, keep work clothes there in order to be exercise ready when outside of work. Rest 7h a night with quality sleep, let go of worries and empty my mind. Practice Taiji. Wildfire Be unstoppable, roam free, find unexpected ways, find stability in momentum, raise from ashes, fall and stand up.

Hi there! I'm terrible at following plans, yet I terribly need one right now. I tend to view our capacity for action as being fueld by 3 jars: availability (time) energy (mental and physical) finances The three are linked together, they can supplement or drain each other. I tend to identify the main draining factor in my situation as the financial one, though, using my job situation as a catalyst, that tends to affect my availability and then, through poor life hygiene, my energy levels. Right now, I'm overwhelmed and don't know what to do so the point of this challenge is to figure it out. I'm going to do some reading, I'm going to try to implement a few things and, at the end of it, I want to have come up with a comprehensive plan that spells "care about your energy level first". That means I won't worry about getting fired (it may happen and it may not). I won't worry about people having to postpone their construction project and potentially taking us to trial. I won't worry about my ex landlord once again postponing fullfilling his obligations and keeping money that he has agreed to free up and that I need for my peace of mind. I won't worry about having no more holidays until the end of the year. I won't worry about my reputation going down due to me not being able to perform properly at work and that closing the doors I need to escape this situation. I won't worry about filling applications and staying at the top of my game for fear of loosing the opportunities I have until my batteries get fully depleted. I won't worry about any of that because, you know what? My batteries won't get depleted, and that means I have time. My batteries won't get depleted because keeping them charged is going to be my single point of focus. Razor sharp, wet stone on steel. This challenge is all about designing the blueprint, but getting the blueprint done also means testing prototypes: I'll have to go through what I want to get into motion later in order to see if it works. Easy to identify areas that should get focus are: sleep food hygiene physical exercise keeping a bare but functional home cultivating friendship setting and protecting out of network time getting in nature Now, here are the things that are cluttering my mind: things to do at work and the impact they may have on other people's lives how I'm getting trapped and the more time passes, the more my options close up the state of my vineyard, slowly turning into a jungle the state of my house, that I can't seem to keep decluttered, ever (it's very small but even then, I should be able to keep it in a working order) my former landlord, may he be living interesting times internships I have to do in order to finish my hiking guide training courses I've written it here so I can forget them. It's now stored in several databases, so it can get out of my brain. I don't really know what to do, because to get where I want to get, I'm afraid I'll have to just let go, and letting go is not something I'm used to doing. I guess I'll start by reading and, just to prove to myself that I'm dedicated to this, enforcing a "no network" area past 10 pm, along with a non-negociable sleep time of 7 hours a night. Tonight is going to be tough already... I'm welcoming all ideas and inputs, I know many of you have already faced/are facing similar conundrums. I'm currently thinking about sacrificing part of my financial stability to come to enlist a NF coach into helping me unravelling the secrets of being one with the universe. My old mind is fighting against it, arguing that I have accepted to be in my situation specifically because it was leading to a point where I could get in a safe financial place, that the tables are finally turning and that now is not a time to give in to my usual habit of finding a new skills building expense to put on the menu everytime some cashflow gets freed. I may act like my usual self and give up 3 days into the challenge, though I will try hard not to do so. First focus to reach freedom is to stop caring about everything in my job, and not care at all about targets people set to me. That means not giving a shit about what other people, including my boss and the citizens of our town think about my performance. Tough call. Edit: ok, I know I won't manage to hold the sleep goal. That one is, for me, too tough a beast to tame at the time being. Here's my single point of focus for the week, following admiral McRaven's advice: Every single morning: make my bed

Balance, in my life, has always been that elusive friend watching you from afar, giggling as you struggle, giving you a mischievous nudge when all goes well but also lifting you up in the darkest nights, when a rain of thin and sharp icicles pierces your heart. It is the fox from St-Ex's Little Prince, waiting to be befriended but running away when I try too hard. This round, I'll keep coming to see it every day, at the same time, and we'll see if we get closer by the end of it. I've got intermediate life goals: Be at home. I've gone from crappy appartment to good appartment with crappy landlord to crappy appartment for way too long. If I'm ever going to find balance, I need to be a master of what gets in my kitchen and in my washing room. I want to find pleasure in cooking and showering again, that means choosing the exact appliances I am willing to use. I'm tired of bowing under a ceiling too low and having meals cooking either too quick or too slow and I think I'm ready for choices and consequences and not having anybody to blame for my housing problems but myself. The goal is buying a (small) flat. For the first time ever, I've got a positive budget balance and I'm able to save. My net worth is above 0 (yay!) so I can work toward a down payment. That's a twelve months goal, I've got a progress bar and a preplanned path: Get ready for Space! So, that's silly but during my studies and since then, I could always picture myself as a resources manager/cartographer. This is one of the paths were my life is leading me so, why not try for it in Space? The ESA is recruiting, giving me a shot at just that. I'm not making it a life goal and won't cry a tear if I'm rejected right off the bat but I'm still going to lie down, take a good aim and shoot my bullet. I must: take a medical exam. write down an awesome résumé. write down an even more awesome cover letter. get in shape. Keep on hiking I'm still planning to fulfill my hiking guide course and get ready to launch some survivalism seminars (survivalism in the broader sense as in, surviving in nature, of course, but also building the confidence to say no and make choices, building toward financial independance, stress management, relationship management and others). For that, I need to: register to the hiking guide association and get the proper insurance. get a proper first aid kit. accomplish 2 internships. build up an internet site. put together a first hike - target is an historical themed hike somewhere in the neighborhood. get clients. start hiking. Longer term goals like building relationships and actually living a balanced life will come later. For now, I'll focus on that. That means: Daily eat 2 meals (1 pre-cooked, 1 cooked). drink 1l of water (water bottle at work). sleep with the lights off and the windows open (no duration target). Every other day go out and get a small workout. Start with 4x5 squats, push-ups, hollow-holds, inverted rows. Workdays get to work by 6:30 am. Week 0: registering to the hiking guide association. get the proper insurances. get the first aid kit. Week 1: get my résumé ready. Week 2: medical exam on May 19 - 2 pm. get my cover letter ready. Week 3: finalize my postulation application for the esa. Week 4: get in touch for my internships. Monthly: follow my IPS, save and build the downpayment. Stretch goals: go to the vineyard, relax, have a beer, make sure it doesn't turn into a jungle. declutter the house. start working on the internet site. hike. This calls for a different kind of theme music: See you all on the way and may Balance watch your path. It's got room for more friendships than one.

Hi! Feels good to be back. Long story short, life's being a battlefield and I'm trying to push on under the storm. I'm a wee little bit under PTSD (or rather during trauma stress disorder) so I'll try to keep things focused and bare. Main goal is to change job with the added constraint of it being either a pleasant one or a highway toward financial independance. I've got a road map: Let's get this done. Have fun!

‘Cause we’re not jingling all the way anywhere this year. Is it Deep Holiday Season again, already? This year has seemed interminable - and yet quick; but like it’s barely happened? Let’s get an early review in: Jan - Feb: “Normal” life; a fair bit of travel, too many nights and weekends spent eating and drinking allthethings in preparation for my local bestie skipping off to a different desert. Mar - July: Fortress of Solitude life - yoga where I had the band with for it, kicked creative projects into high gear sparked off by Animal Crossing and coloring on the iPad. Ate like a college student for the most part. August: Lockdown lite and kicked yoga into high gear with walks to and from despite it being surface of the sun hot - I was just happy to be outside and moving my body in a way that felt nourishing. A return to not eating like garbage. September: Quarantine for reals and a wrist (re-re-re) injury; back to doing what I could as far as yoga was concerned. Kept up the healthy eating and was 100% tired of French fries at this point. October - November: A great groove was found with my Zoom yoga classes; most week I was able to fit 5 in. I had a bad week or two with anxiety and body freak outs, but overall some solid progress to be had. December: Hoping for the same. This year, I’m actually looking forward to staying the course as it were. The Holiday Season is always kind of wonky for us - if we’re Stateside and we travel, it’s either for Thanksgiving or early December and that’s always stressful. If we’re left to our own devices, it’s either travel for pleasure around my birthday and Chinese food + a movie on Christmas; or it’s lots of little get-togethers with friends and possibly a big blowout brunch on Christmas itself. This year, we aren’t able to travel anywhere so we are doing a birthday staycation (hence the dunes part of the challenge title), and we don’t feel like joining the masses for a big brunch blowout. If we congregate, it will be with 1 other couple. And that’s okay. Every year, this time is a whirlwind and it’s Really Frickin Easy to absolutely go off the rails when it comes to my own fitness and nutrition goals. Some years I manage to keep my proverbial shit together, but not the past few. This year will be spent focusing on other things. I’ll be spending this holiday season keeping the habits going that will fuel future-me, instead of creating a situation 2021 me will have to dig herself out of. If we choose to celebrate with back home family via Zoom, great. If not, that’s fine too. We have games for our NYE game night right here to mark the end of the year in our own style. Holiday Bash NF-Style Goals Betcha didn’t think I’d say nutrition. 🤣 I’m going to continue to build on my last couple challenges here - continue to MFP track daily and report weekly without judgement, continue to post a daily log, continue to post daily pics, and continue to do what a can re: portion sizes, meat consumption, garbage consumption, and veggies. Movement. This month is going to be kinda wonky with Zoom classes - Hopefully by Week 1, schedules will have settled out and I’ll have figured out what I’m doing and who I’m paying for the privilege. Feed Your Mind. Continue on with 1 Skillshare course a week + ongoing crafting project(s). Feed Your Family. Continue on with doggie enrichment and training. Feed Your (potential) Future. Continue learning how to grow readership with the blog and figuring out if monetization is something I want to pursue. Mini Challenges. I know there will be mini challenges. I have the bandwidth to participate this year, whatever this may bring - Be it internal or external, Bring It! Come on Squatmas!

A collection of tips and tools.

It's time to challenge this up! Aw yeah! Who IS STARTING A WEEK LATE? Honestly, I really don't care when I start. I mean. Today. Today is a good day to start. You guys are already on your journeys and THAT IS OKAY. WE ALL GO AT OUR OWN PACE, JANET. I've spent a lot of time here on NF reflecting. Searching within myself for meaning and trying to find inner peace and life balance and all that crap. 2018 was a crappy year. It pushed me so far out of my comfort zone and I REALLY ate a lot of feelings. But I also talked it out a lot with a therapist, friends, family. And I discovered something really important; this truth that I didn't want to face. I don't have the answers. Not only do I not have the answers, I don't really have a question. I mean. I have nothing. I don't know what's going to happen next. I dont' know what I want, and I really don't even know if I'm going to put ketchup on this burger.. No. I do know. Ketchup is going on the burger. With all this nothing flying around, I realized something else too. I don't have to know what's next right now. I don't have to know what I want from life, and I don't owe anyone an explanation for it. I feel like I'm actually in a pretty good place right now, even when it's not so good.. (GET IT? GOOD PLACE?! NOW ALL THE GIFS HAVE EXTRA MEANING!) So this is my intention for 2019. I'm going to visit each guild and explore different workouts without expectations or prejudice. And I'm going to start here at home with the Druids, then move from there. Indeed. Because the truth is, I'm in midlife crisis, and it's way too early to be here. So I'm late to the challenge and early for the mid-life crisis. Awesome. For this challenge: Yoga. 1x a day. bonus for 2x a day.. Eat more veggies. At least one a day to replace the large quantities of cheese. Or at least balance out the cheese. Embrace something creative each day. Maybe a craft. Maybe a drawing. Maybe writing. Whatever. Just have fun with it.

12 Week Hypertrophy Quest Quest Goals: 1) Increase Muscle Mass 2) Decrease BF% 3) Increase Strength In All Lifts Overview/Details Each working set should be performed to near failure with 12 being the most reps you should perform and 6 being the lowest. This workout utilizes supersets.Take a 1 minute break between each superset. Supersets are grouped by letter before them. See Quest Objectives for context. Increase weight on each set by at least 5lbs. Increase weight from week to week as well. By the end of the 12 weeks, you should be 10lbs+ stronger in many lifts. This program can be repeated with endless variation. If you begin to plateau, seek ways of making the workouts harder. An example could be adding some dropsets. SPLIT CHEST/BACK SHOULDERS/ARMS LEGS Quest Objectives: Day 1: Chest/Back | Warm-up 5 minutes of cardio A1) Bench Press 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working A2) DB Row 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working 1 - 2 minute rest B1) Hammerstrength incline Chest Press 3x12 working B2) Hammerstrength lat pulldown 3x12 working 1 - 2 minute rest C1) Cable Crossovers 5-7x12 working C2) Reverse Flye 5-7x12 working Day 2: Active Rest | Start with 5 minutes of cardio if you normally don't do cardio, and add 5 minutes to your average time of the cardio you do regularly. Increase total time by 5 minutes every other week. By Week 12 you should be doing 30 extra minutes of cardio. For the sake of this program, cardio is considered 150bpm+ for the whole session. Day 3: Shoulders/Arms | Warm-up 5 minutes of cardio A1) DB Shoulder Press 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working A2) Standing DB Curl 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working 1 - 2 minute rest B1) DB Front Raise 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working B2) Tricep Extension 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working 1 - 2 minute rest C1) Reverse Flye Machine 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working C2) Barbell Curl 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working 1 minute rest D) Skull Crusher 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working Day 4: Active Rest | Do the same amount of cardio as you did on your first active rest day this week. Day 5: Legs | Warm-up 5 minutes of cardio A1) Squat 2x6 warm-up, 3x12 working A2) Leg Curl 1x6 warmup , 3x12 working 2 - 3 minute rest between A and B B1) Leg Extensions 3x12 working B2) Standing Calf Raises 3x12 working 2 - 3 minute rest between B and C C1) Weighted Walking Lunge 3x12 working C2) Lower Back Extensions 3x12 failure Day 6: REST Day 7: REST Let me know what you think below!

When people talk about stress management, I get this image in my head of a man or woman sitting in a bar after work, her suit jacket draped on the chair and sleeves rolled up as he says confidently "I manage the stress department. Those guys are killing it!" and takes a confident swig from their glass of whiskey, neat. I don't like whiskey, and I look terrible in suits. Stress is significantly impacting my well-being. Last night I was awake for 4 hours. I have panic attacks, and while I'm usually a stress eater, lately, I've lost my appetite, and feel too upset to eat. I really need to work out some self-care stuff while life is pretty stressful. My dad is getting blinder every week it seems, my parents are talking about moving in a year, and I need to find a new job, a house, and try to lose 100+ pounds so I live long enough to enjoy those things. The future is uncertain, and I'm ill-equipped to manage on a daily basis. This is my challenge: To live life with all its messiness without losing my mind. Because it's not going to get better for a while, so I need to create mental and emotional space and tell the little screaming person in my head that things are going to be okay. 1. Develop a bedtime routine. I don't have any routine before bedtime, and I often go to bed feeling like the day is incomplete, which wakes me up in the middle of the night. I think a consistent routine would help cue my body into "go to sleep, dammit" and I can stay asleep if I'm falling asleep more contentedly. 2. Make 5 mistakes a day- This is more of a mindset goal. When I'm working at the library, mistakes are okay, and I joke to volunteers and co-workers that the day isn't complete until I've made at least 5 mistakes. I say this to comfort them when they make mistakes, or if I'm having an off day. I'm just going to keep embracing this until it sinks in. 3. Meditate- Taking some time to sit in a quiet space, and being able to say "For the next ten minutes, I have nothing to do, nowhere to go. This is my time to just be." 4. Plan my day and stick to it. I really like the planning set up I had started last challenge of Fitness, Hobbies, Life Chores, and Work. But I often let Fitness and Work slide down the tubes and focused on hobbies and life chores. Which is funny because if you look at my bedroom, you'd never know I clean.....ever.

Today they are moving my grandfather into hospice care. In the next few weeks, I'll be attending a funeral, my annoying uncle will be here, my aunt may fly in and my mother will be sad, mad, and many other things. I will be tired, and I will want to over-eat, drink too much and become anxious and self-destructive. So this challenge is simple. Be kind to myself. Instead of eating and drinking my feelings, I'm going to go for walks, play the ukulele and journal. I'm going to eat healthy foods that will make me feel better, and I will give myself permission to walk away from my family when they are overwhelming me. Self-healing, not self-destruction. I'm going to go eat some fruit now.

Bye Weeks Challenge Goals Quest One - Try something new Cooking! I love cooking and am always looking for new things to try so this goal is 1 new recipe per week. Quest Two - Mini fitness goal Changed to one extra day of weight training. So Weights 2x a week: Tuesday and Sunday Quest Three - Unadulterated joy Reading for pleasure. I don't do this regularly enough . It always makes my day better so 30 minutes of reading per day. Continuing with meditation also falls under this goal. Life Quest: Finish Papers before June 3

I’ve been thinking about this challenge and Feelings and well..I’m ready to take care of myself. So let’s dive in! The plan of action Follow the PCOS diet, which is basically a Paleo Plus (whole grains included) it’s a low inflammation diet and it’s really great for me. But I’m gonna give myself 2 meals a week to add something not on the diet. Because macaroni and cheese. As I move forward, I can trim it to one meal a week, then just to special occasions only. Practice yoga 4 times a week. I’m physically weak right now, and yoga will be a great step back into getting stronger and stretching out sore muscles. Eventually I can add weight lifting and body weight exercises. walk 4 days a week. I learned a lot from my last challenge. So to help me reach my walking goals this time, I’m joining planet fitness for ten bucks a month. So even if the weather stinks, I can walk on the treadmill.

Welcome to the Druids' Grove. Feel free to pull up a log and have a seat by the Southern fire pit, or practice with the yoga and tai chi group on the grass by the creek to the east. If it gets too warm, there is pool at the bottom of the waterfall to the west. The grove gets thick and a bit dark towards the North, with many a stone nook that is ideal for silent meditation. Tell us, dear traveler, what brought you to the grove, and what do you hope to find while you are here?

I took a break from challenges for a while. It was a really great time away for me to really wallow in a fantastic existential crisis. I got swept up in trying to be perfect, and live perfectly, and SO MANY RULES. It wasn't fun. It became really unhealthy, self-destructive and it's hard to improve your life when you really hate the way you live it. Soo.... here's a baby Moana! OMIGOSH SHE'S SO ADORABLE!!!! I had to make new long-term goals, but also I realized that the weight of a BIG goal is too much, and that it's okay to have a challenge that is not really about those goals. I just want to remember that this isn't drudgery, or a quest to be perfect. I just want to live my life and be okay with who I am and love those near me. And laugh more. Basically, I want to be Moana's Grandmother someday So back to the challenge goals: Goal 1: Spend 15 minutes dancing every day. Doesn't matter what kind of dancing. Just dance. Goal 2. Spend 10 minutes stretching and quieting my mind. Goal 3. Don't try to be perfect. Missed days are okay. Just celebrate something good about that day and move forward. Here we go!!

Welcome to the Druids' Grove. Feel free to pull up a log and have a seat by the Southern fire pit, or practice with the yoga and tai chi group on the grass by the creek to the east. If it gets too warm, there is pool at the bottom of the waterfall to the west. The grove gets thick and a bit dark towards the North, with many a stone nook that is ideal for silent meditation. Tell us, dear traveler, what brought you to the grove, and what do you hope to find while you are here?

Welcome to SPRING! As we stretch out of the darker season, let’s join together in gratitude. Science has shown that being actively grateful can have tremendous positive effects on our health and well being, and the more we study gratitude, the more benefits we find. The basic takeaway is very simple: Be thankful to be happy. “People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.” Being thankful, genuinely grateful for what we have, has an immediate and profound impact on our sense of well being. It even helps increase our financial balances, by making us less inclined to spend. “Grateful people report themselves as being less materialist and less envious. In particular, grateful people report being more willing to part with their possessions, more generous with them, less envious of the material wealth of others, less committed to the idea that material wealth brings happiness. Apparently, material success is not a very important factor in the happiness of highly grateful people.” Robert Emmons, author of Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, shows that simply keeping a gratitude journal—regularly writing brief reflections on moments for which we’re thankful—can significantly increase well-being and life satisfaction. Let’s focus on gratitude this spring, and find balance at the equinox. Want to join in the fun? Post something you are grateful for and why it matters to you. Start today, and post at least one thing. Aim for one thing a day, but don’t let a missed day stop you from coming back and posting. Keep track of how many posts you made by number each successive post. We’re going to do this for the coming three weeks, so add the suffix “/21” to each number, so that we can keep it in context. I’ll post prompts along the way, but listen to your inner voice. People report that the continuity of gratitude and the depth of emotion are the real key to success here. So post away! At the end of the mini-challenge, we’ll talk about what you noticed, and what these insights have led to, if anything. !