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Let's keep the music themes going eh? 8 weeks till Vacation, or 4/4! And I've set myself four goals to chart. I still haven't gotten my consistency underfoot, but I got really close to nailing it this last week. (Then had a really stressful weekend and by Sunday, I needed liquid courage and woops.) So, this challenge will be a continuation of trying to get my chops back. Figuratively. Exercise Goals - 5x a week. I do best with strength twice a week and random intentional movement on at least three occasions. Some weeks a third strength is fine, but I know I don't do well with 3x every week right now. Music & Art - I was able to get 4 sessions for each instrument in most of last challenge, and, since I want to improve my skills, I do need to aim for this kind of thoughtful amount of time spent. Monday's and Tuesday's work great for getting lots of music in, so do Friday's and Sundays. The rest of the days, if I just strum a bit before other commitments, cool beans. I would also like to get pencil to sketchbook again too, but no pressure on this. Food - Either track, or don't eat like an ahole. Pretty straight forward here. I know what I should be eating, and how much. Just need to do it. Socials & Self Time - I need to work on two things. Getting social and being with people, but also carving out time for myself to unwind and reflect. This can be tallied up in an easy, totally contradicting phrase. "Start saying yes -- Start saying no." Going to track on here, because that should have me checking the forums more often lol! Weekly trackers below. **ALSO! I want to start doing the recreate gifs thing, so look for that! EXERCISE 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 FOOD 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 ARTSY STUFF 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 PIANO 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 BASS 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 GUITAR 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 SKETCH/DOODLE

Assault on the Gloom Monster! - again I am quite literally, copying and pasting a challenge from October 2018, lol. Why? Autumn into winter is my most difficult time of year because the shortening days, the degrading weather and grey skies all weigh on me heavily. While I've never been clinically diagnosed with S.A.D. I would be surprised if they said I didn't suffer from it. Autumn and winter is brutal for me, yo. I cannot let the Gloom Monster derail me every year, so we are doubling the efforts to avoid the trap that will turn me into one of the Gloomfallen. RULE #1 - Consistency, not Perfection will damage the Gloom Monster! I've spent the last 4-6 weeks getting into a very good routine with strength workouts. I work out so that I am strong and physically fit enough to move through life in a way that allows me to enjoy a lot of things. I also know it is great for aiding the mood and guarding the emotions against attacks from the Gloom. Exercise at least 5x a week. Continue strength training 2-3x, fill in other days with any kind of non-laziness. Basically, anything 20m or more that has me up and about, can count for this. RULE #2 - To keep the soul healthy, the body must be nourished. I'm on a good streak with tracking my calories, and it is currently not causing me any rage, stress or tantrums. I have taken a couple months off of tracking. I've held the line with my weight during that time, but I would like to shrug off at least half of the pounds I put back on after hitting my all time low. I am going to start off this challenge with tracking again. Both because I think I need the refresher, and also because my sister will be tracking food again after meeting with a doctor about her weight gain. I'm hoping that I can help her by doing this along side her. If not, it's always a good re-focus for myself. Track Food in MFP 7x / week. Plan for 1 Fun meal / week. RULE #3 - A sharp mind keeps a sharp sword. So, this was mostly about art back in 2018. I've not done that hardly at all for the past year and it shows. As I had always wanted art to be a means of practicing "a thing I am not super good at, but will continue even thought it doesn't come fast or perfect" - I would like to get this going again. I almost always get re-inspired during Inktober. So I just need to make time for this. It will also include other creative outlets and anything that makes me put down the video games. Sketch a few times a week! 3x / week Reconfigure desk to set up an EASY tablet access point. D&D Prep 1x / week RULE #4 - Face fear, conquer lies. I don't even know how to quantify this, and that typically marks for a bad goal - but this is so dang important right now. Any ideas you all have on it, I am open eared. Some ideas floating to work on this are: Gratitude Note Daily Positive Body remark Daily Change 'doom' What If's to be a what if 'best case scenario'. Continue Devotions Find a small group / even if it's online to help me with faith side things. Side Goals for the journey: Really hone in on the budget app. Use it for every single thing purchased. Get outside, even when it gets cold and bleh. "Man's heart away from nature becomes hard." ~ Standing Bear (Read this at a N.P. once and loved it.) Recreate 1 movie inspired gif per week! See at least 4 houses to start getting ideas of what works and what doesn't taste wise.

My favorite class to play in D&D is a rogue. My favorite book series is about an assassin. My favorite tropes in anime / fantasy / etc, are the sneaky, do good from the shadows types. One of my favorite game series is Assassins Creed. Assassins are relied on to work alone, but they have a strong network of people supporting them with info, details, contacts and everything else. And my at work gym is off limits until we're allowed to break the "Firewall" between the warehouse and front office so... more bodyweight than not for the time being! We're going Rogue! Don't tell Tank I am here. [/looks around nervously ...] My goals will remain largely the same as last challenge. Honestly, despite the chaos, I did a ridiculously good job of still working out, eating healthy, counting calories and enduring. (Even dropped about 5lbs during the challenge.) The only bits that suffered last time around were art during the final week and the budget - which is all shades of different for the time being. And that's okay. {Headquarters of the 11th Hour; location undisclosed.} "You have been too long gone from our fold, Starpuck. Perhaps we should see if you are still worthy of being a part of this elite organization. You once held the title of the Unerring Bolt- that position has since been granted another. So here, take these blades. You will be required to prove proficient in dual wielding going forward. If you succeed in passing the Masters tests, you will become the Twin Blade." [GOAL ONE] Your Body is your Weapon - Make sure it is Honed I've been granted the following resources for my re-training: 50lb Dumbbell // 2 x 25lb Dumbbell // Pull up bar (door style, once it comes in and I get it set up) // 12lb and 15lb Kettlebell // Resistance Bands (Therapy Style) * Strength Train - 3X / Week * Move - 3X / Week Strength will be a lot of learning and advancing body weight options, and using the few weights I have to add some resistance to things. Move - let's be honest... I am pretty hooked on Beat Saber (dual wield connection see?) and I am burning plenty of calories with that game! Walks, maybe some Dance Central, and other options might come up, but the point is to just get the heart rate up and a sweat going. [GOAL TWO] Your Body is your Armor - Make sure it is Strengthened Food. Continue to track calories (as it has become an easy thing to do once more) and focus on putting nutritious things down the hatch. * Track Calories - 7X / Week * Matcha Daily - 7X / Week * Fruits & Veggies - Be Conscientious about focusing on these. [GOAL THREE] Work from the Shadows - But let the world see your good deeds. This will be about continuing to share videos, art, stay in contact, and possibly delve into Twitch Streaming. No particular weekly goals will be had here, just a list of things to work on and see what I can figure out. * Art Lessons 1X / Week * Art Practice 3X / Week * Continue to share Video Game videos. * Add more dialog to game play for content sake. (Hard with Beat Saber) * Get green screen sorted out and work on bettering light and recording options with that. * Get familiar with Roll20 * Do some live chat workouts with friends. * More to be added... Might be some project goals here once I get that sorted out. But let's not get crazy! Now then, time to find my old bunk room and make sure my hooded cloak is still in my chest...

Well, nothing is more inspiring than anime, amirite? With a new season of My Hero Academia released, I figure that'll get me all hyped for a new challenge theme. So without further ado... “If you wanna stop this, then stand up! Because I’ve got one thing to say to you. Never forget who you want to become!” -Shoto Todoroki Goal #1 Train Like Deku I often feel like I got handed the controller with the game difficulty set to extreme mode. If that's the case, then Deku started his journey on Nightmare mode. “I have to work harder than anyone else to make it! I’ll never catch up otherwise..." Consistent, intentional movement is essential for health, weight-maintenance, strength, and general ease of doing life things! With 6 years of NF experience under my belt, I know what works best for me based off past challenges. The new twist is to take it as slow as a I need it. Gains will come at their own pace. Doing the thing for the simple reason of "it's good to do it and my body will thank me" is enough. Track: Move 5x/week 2-3 must be strength days. Other days can be ANYTHING, even just a leisurely walk, or hike, or yoga/stretching. Goal #2 Be Cool and Composed like Todoroki (when it comes to food) I too quickly lose my composure when it comes to foods I like. I need to be more collected and thoughtful with it. Hah, every time I am about to go stupid on food, I will picture this look from Todoroki. “Get a hold of yourself, you’re an adult aren’t you?” I did very well last year Sep-Jan by doing two things. Cooking at my friends house for every night we had D&D or gaming, and making sure to then use those left overs on a subsequent night. And also calorie tracking. I don't feel I'm in the best place mentally to count calories again just yet, so we're doing a 1-2 week 'Don't Eat Like a Dick' mode of tracking food where I will update my daily meals and make mention if I went 'bingey' or not. If I feel like that is working and I see the first hints of progress, I'll stick with it. If it doesn't curb my game night fiascos, then weeks 3-5 will go back to tracking in MFP. TRACK: Keep a food log daily (concise/simple) If binging still a problem by end of week two, Weeks 3-5 track calories 6/7 days. Goal 3 - Create like Yaororozu! Keep up the creating of things. The more I work on it, the more I'll be able to create. "We should always start with the basics to develop depth of learning. We must strive to devote ourselves wholeheartedly." I love doing art. I've been on a great streak with #inktober - but I don't like putting in honest work sometimes... it's easy for me to look at a reference picture and just draw and tweak it for my own. I had been gaining progress and skill on drawing totally free form before I stopped going through the lessons and tutorials on Udemy. So, take Momo's advise here and get back to the basics. I have 3-4 courses I can work through and I want to do that and keep in better practice! TRACK : Maintain #inktober until the end of the month. Remaining weeks: 1-2 lessons/week; art practice /doodles 3X/week And that's it for hard goals. I've not completed a challenge in a while, so we're not going overboard with this. Food and exercise getting back under real control is the priority here. Art has been great for me mentally lately, and so that makes it on the board as well. I will probably set some weekly "to do" list type goals, and re-tweak finance stuff going into the new year, but these are the focus.

[Everything that happens in Dragon Age happens in Thedas, though there are some realms beyond it. It's basically like Middle-Earth in Lord of the Rings, or Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls. Fun fact: Thedas was originally shorthand for “The Dragon Age Setting,” and the nickname stuck.] And now you know where the name Thestas came from! "THE STArpuck Setting" see? (pronounced Thess-tiss) I'm super struggling to come up with a theme right now, though I feel pulled strongly to a D&D angle again. No doubt because this weeks art practice led to a sort of new subrace idea, which has me super juiced for all things creatively D&D-ish. I also am bored with my current 4 week/day/habit tracking method in my BuJo, so I think I might do a map tracker again. That was pretty fun. There are a few things I feel no longer need tracking, and that's hecka cool. There are also things that while I don't need to track, the visualization will keep me encouraged to keep at it. When it comes down to it, I just like coloring in little dots in my journal. This next bit of 4 weeks is going to be a challenge because, I am attempting to up my calories one more time (to true and proper maintenance) before I hop back onto the cut program starting in March. *GULP* I KNOW my weight might tick up a few pounds, but I should will NOT worry about that. So what am I doing here then? Exercise - 5x / week (No less than 2 lifting sessions per week.) Art - 5x / week (Going to try being less rigid on what TYPE of art happens, whether it be pencil sketching or tablet time... either counts.) Sleep Moar Better - 5x / week (Lights out, in bed, no screen on, by 11:20 on MTWFS - This allows me wiggle room on the two D&D nights per week that RUN until 11pm.) Self Care - 1x / week (Here's a new one! While I maintain myself fine, I don't ever get to pampering. This could be a night of fun sister mani/pedis, or a massage, or a bubble bath with candles and a book... something that focuses on luxury treatment for the Puck.) Selfie Sharing - 1x / week {An old one returned. In creative terms, I'm going to call this "Shattering the Mirror" because I see myself inaccurately right now. I've lost almost 20 pounds, I've trimmed and toned and strengthened, and I still see myself as really thick and fluffy in all my spots. I *feel* much better, but I can't break the visual hang ups. So I am going to force myself to look and see.) (Guys, what is the alt code for boxes, the ones below I stole from Rurik, and they make weird formatting!) Exercise ☐☐☐☐☐ Art ☐☐☐☐☐ Sleep ☐☐☐☐☐ Pamper ☐ Selfie☐ So, let's just get going then shall we? First thing we need is ... a character! Oh hello! What a cutie! Now... a name... (always harder) Sebastienne Delarieux (Tienne for short, Sebi to her closest friends.) And, finally ... an adventure... To the recipient of this note, whoever you may be, There is at your disposal, the opportunity to earn coin, prestige, even fame, should you oblige the offer herein provided. Take this signet ring to the city of Peramth, discreetly find entrance to the Gilded Cage, and present it to one Lady Nighthawk. She shall reimburse you kindly, and offer you your next task if you so desire. -V

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming to Bring You ... Something completely different from anything you have ever seen in a Starpuck thread. Guys... my friends introduced me to Bee & Puppycat, and The Bravest Warriors. I am so hooked it's not even funny; and so, I will use this challenge to proselytize further, these wonderfully bizarre and absurd shows, which I normally don't care for, but somehow got addicted to! Starpuck is... the bravest warrior! Why? Because we are full into the middle of winter, and she has NOT gained weight! She has in fact, held the line over the holidays, EVEN while increasing her caloric intake, and is doing all the things! YES! She must simply continue to maintain this epic show of determination and keep at it. So let's keep focused, shall we? GOAL #1 - Keep up the exercise habit! Move with intent 5x a week, get at least 2 lifts in per week. This is a doable number for me. Often times, I might get a 6th day in, but it's not mandatory. Sometimes my 6th day is just me running around, cleaning, organizing, cooking, etc, and that earns me a pretty good amount of steps, so that's cool too. I'd like to keep some focus on the strength training, because I get frustrated having to re-earn past gains, so that's why 2 a week is a must. I'd love 3 a week, but I notice better workouts when I get more rest days too. Still tweaking the approach! EXERCISE 5X/ WEEK GOAL #2 - Keep up the homecooking! ~~Don't stop, home coooking, hold on to that ... cookbooking?~ This slacked a bit over the holiday weeks because scheduling + parties and outings got so crazy. What that in turn accomplished though, was absolutely solidifying that I prefer home cooked food now. Like. All the time. 3/5 meals out made me super sick, and that is unfun. Along with this goal is to maintain the tracking, which has still been, absolutely no stress for me. It's really weird guys. Gonna keep rolling with it. TRACK DAILY 7X/WEEK HOMECOOKED 2X/WEEK (At friends.) GOAL #3 - Night time routine! Recovery happens during rest, muscles grow during recovery, therefore, I should get on with this proper rest thing! I already brush my teeth every morning and night, but I'd like to get into a solid and long lasting relationship with floss. It's very hot and cold for me, one minute we're in a great place in our relationship, the next, it's been weeks since we talked. (I know, gross...) I realize that flossing every night might be a big jump for me, so I am going to say 4-5x a MUST, but aim for nightly. I'd also like to take care of my face skin! So 4x a week, wash up and put on some nice nourishing night cream or something. Then! Bed time! Lights out 20 minutes before I want to be asleep. The goal is 8 hours of total in bed time, but on nights of D&D or what not, that becomes harder... so all OTHER nights, let's get it right. FLOSS 5X/WEEK WASH FACE 4X/WEEK BED TIME 11:20 3X/WEEK -- WITHIN 15m OF GETTING HOME ALL OTHER DAYS (Non gaming days, in bed lights off at 11pm, gaming days, in bed/asleep as soon as humanly possible after teething... NO SCREEN TIME after getting home!) GOAL #4 - Creative Outlets need Nurturing! I've been contemplating a hefty project, and one thing I know for sure is that I need to keep expanding those comfort zones artwise. That means, drawing things I suck at, and ending up with sucky drawings, that over time will improve - instead of just doing the things I have gotten better at already. Same old routine here. SKETCH DAILY WORK ON THE TABLET 4X/WEEK * ART LESSON 1X/WEEK D&D PREP AS NEEDED Other things on the list, but not tracked. 1. Keep up with the Scripture Memorization (We getting that rolling again guys?) 2. Keep up with the budgeting and house money savings. 3. Learn how to use my 3D printer and start printing awesome things.

STARPUCK STARTS A BRAND NEW ADVENTURE Sometimes it's just really motivating to start a brand new character. To have a fresh new character sheet, and shiny new pencils and new dice to get you rolling. I had originally started this thread out with comments about how my last year had gone, and how it had finished up, but then I stopped and said, "Wait... that doesn't matter now. What matters are the choices I make going forward and the effort I put in today and tomorrow and then tomorrow's tomorrow and so on." So just like you might learn a new thing about your favored class or character archetype every time you roll up a new one, I will take what I've learned playing through this game previously, and become even better at it this year! Declarations and overall goals listed behind spoiler. Food must be a focus, as it is probably my weakest point. The old adage of you can't outrun your fork is so true; and while I do active things - their purpose must no longer be 'to lose weight'. I do those things because of the other awesome benefits they provide. I also know what I can do to help make the food a smaller obstacle, but it takes planning ahead, and some substitution. In the words of our beloved Pike... Easy days/meals: Mon-Fri breakfasts and lunches at work. No problem. Moderately challenging meals/times: Homecooked meals on M/W. I can't control the ingredients/prep. T after dinner snacks while gaming. Dangerously challenging times: Th / Su gaming nights, weekends, especially ones with hockey games. Other Challenges: No room in the fridge for anything that would be 'mine' creates issues in keeping good options on hand. Solutions - Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead. - Research and prepare healthier snack options. - Cook on Sundays, for dinners on Tue and Thur. Plan of Attack / Food Adventurers only carry so many rations, so track what you are carrying! (eating). - I am going to track calories loosely, not because I am aiming for a certain point (I am) but because if I focus only entirely on good foods, and try to be mindful of portions, I sometimes end up eating far too little! You have to know what your doing in order to make any future adjustments, but the calories are being watched in order to fuel ENOUGH - as opposed to eating LESS AND LESS to lose weight. Heroes Feasts are only for those big moments. - Sometimes you do need to go all out on feasting, but it's not every day, and not for every potential battle you might get into. Enjoy the feasts when it is appropriate, but otherwise save that gem-encrusted bowl worth at least 1,000 gp. Basically, allow indulgences when it is appropriate. Eating out with friends is NOT an indulgence moment, that's a routine thing that happens, so eat like a normal adventurer on those days. Plan of Attack / Exercise Adventurers are almost always on the move. - Either walking from one town to the next, or delving into a dungeon or worse, they're no slouches. I need to keep up the daily activity. I work in a small office, but I am going to slowly try to build up and see what is a feasible number of steps per hour. Well, without looking like a bear pacing in its enclosure at the zoo. That gets weird. Strength training to keep me strong, and sweat-inducing movement so that I am able to flee without passing out when the odds are not in my favor. Not everyone starts off as a real adventurer... - Confession time. I'm not sure how much I actually enjoy the act of -doing- exercise. Sure, I am always pleased with the results; and my mood is often better after having done it than if I hadn't. But it's hard to be motivated for rewards that aren't promised after every mission. So, I take a page out of Taryon Darrington's book. Fake it till I make it. He was a total poser when he met up with Vox Machina, but by the end of his time with them, he was an official member, and not just a real adventurer, but a proper hero too! So I need to go along with the motion, until it becomes something that I truly seek out time and time again. Plan of Attack / Other Stuff "Yes! The PLAN!" Art and D&D work and budget stuff. I have taken a break with art, but am anxious to get back to it. Must remember to be patient with myself, and to start focusing on learning some actual techniques and perhaps how to better use my program. D&D prep comes into this category now, because I am really enjoying being a DM and it does require creative thinking and story writing. So, I'd like to put about 5-6 hours in a week of "creativity". The budget is going to be simple: Figure out where I can save money, how much I can save, and save it. Stay strict with my allowances for eating out or buying snacks for gaming (which will also help the food goal) and don't get willy nilly with the money. I am going to keep a notepad or digital note on hand, and every time I get the urge I want or need something, I will write it down. At the end of each week, I'll re-evaluate my need or desire for it. Some things might be legit needs like: Man this toothpaste tastes so bad it makes me not want to brush my teeth, I need a new tube. Other things might be, "I could really use dry erase markers for my DM'ing, but do I NEEEED them right now." I'd like to put another $5000 into my savings account toward Puck's Manor. I also want to go on a couple of vacations because travel is important to my soul. So I need to figure out a budget that does both. Oookaaay, well this got longer than I had meant for it to! Let's break it down into simple terms. Track my Rations Daily (Total Lots) [MFP] Prepare for questing every Sunday. (Total 5) [Cook on Sundays] Limit Heroes Feast (Total 2) [Two or less indulgences] Chase dire wolves for sport. (Total 12) [Get my sweat on, run, dance, hockey] Train like Grog. (Total 10) [Strength Training] Brainstorm, plot, create. (Total 24) [Art, D&D, Reading, etc.]

Welcome to the Rowdy Raven! Pull up a chair, hear a tale or two... or maybe snag a bit of juicy gossip. If you're looking for a good meal or a stout ale, you're in the right place. If it's riches, fame or glory you're after, well in that case... There's a fella upstairs; black cloak, thick beard and eyes that can pierce steel. He might have a task or two for ya -if you've got the skill to handle it. Years ago, a friend once told me: Stop just admiring all these awesome women characters you get so into, and be one for yourself. As I am still riding quite high on the RPG/D&D creativity wave, I thought; what better way to do that, than to create my own real world adventure to go on. Here's the next catch though... what is a tabletop adventure without a party? So I am throwing out my Looking for Group /yell and offering this. Having a hard time with challenges lately? Know that you want to keep up on NF, but updating your own thread is being a bear? Need a little extra motivation to remember to log in and poke about? Then come to the Rowdy Raven and meet up with a few other young adventurers that want to change the world- starting with themselves! I will be putting together an adventure to help motivate myself into becoming the hero I so often admire in my games, books, movies, and anime. Using real world goals to theme a fantasy narrative! I've no idea how well this will come together, but I am excited to venture out and become! "The table upstairs huh? Alright... well, I guess I should go see this man... Right. Ok. Going now..." "and... ok, going now!" "For real this time, I am heading up to talk to the man!!"

Jack makes a fresh start. Not going to lie; last challenge was more “Jack’s Lament” than “What’s This?” I should very much like to rectify this and rekindle my enthusiasm for the lift life and so on. I miss just being joyful about silly things. This goal is not really a SMART goal because I am leaving it loosely-defined. But, I am aiming to try some new (not fitness-related) things to breakup my concrete routine. Sally makes lunch. Hold the deadly nightshade and frog’s breath, please! Make 2 new recipes by the end of the challenge. Zero greets the (not quite) dawn. Oversleeping has been a thing as of late. I would like to wake up the way my dog does; OMG, YAY! YOU’RE AWAKE! LET’S DO THIS THING! Is that likely to happen at 5:45? No. But at least I’ll get my butt out to the garage and get some work done. Dr. Finklestein talks to himself. I, however, would prefer to talk to my fellow nerds. Post SOMETHING every day. (Usual apologies about zombie brain, weirder than usual, etc..) Oogie Boogie tries not to split a seam. Conditioning is still a thing I am in dire need of but don’t particularly enjoy. So, I know myself well enough if I don’t mention it here, it ain’t getting’ done. Also, less of this.. And, finish NBC puzzle. Rolling goals Devo Walking. 20 minute minimum. Bonus level: 8,000 steps. (Score / reward TBD) #Yoga365. (Almost there y'all!) Bonus level: 2 sessions/day. (Score / reward TBD) Don't forget front split practice!

Last challenge I tried to do some different things with my weekly calorie goals. Tbh, I haven’t taken those end of challenge measurements yet so I guess I don’t realllllly know if it worked but it doesn’t feel like it did. I swear I will be taking those asap*. In any case, I’m finally going to give in to doing different calorie numbers per day depending on my level of activity. Oh, I’m still trying to drop body fat % for anyone who is new to my threads. I am also trying to be okay with my body as it is. things like walking around the house in just a sports bra and shorts and catching myself if I’m getting down on body image. I have fluff and will probably always have fluff. I am 70# lighter than I was 6 years ago. It’s a two way street and I’d like my mind to meet my body in the middle, please. Maybe lose just a little of the fluff but still love the fluff that’s left? That works right? Well, here are the goals! Quest 1 *calorie goals: between 1400 and 1500 on days I don’t lift or cardio between 1600 and 1700 on days I lift or cardio on days I’m on vaca (june 30-july 4; july 8&9) I can have 2000 cals/day if I lift or cardio *cook 7 weekend/day off breakfasts and 7 lunch/dinner meals throughout the challenges *take measurements and progress photos for challenge end Quest 2 *complete 5 lifting sessions per week lifting 5x/week, on the 5/3/1 program Quest 3 *complete 30 minutes of foam rolling or mobility per week *complete one yoga session per week *complete 4 (at least 20 min) cardio/HIIT sessions throughout the challenge did i mention i love food? *edited to add measurements weight / BF% 2/6/16 – 164.4lbs 3/4/16 – 163.3lbs 4/2/16 – 162.4lbs / 30.05% 5/2/16 – 162.0lbs 6/9/16 – 161.0lbs / 29.75%

"Through strength, my chains are broken..." Goal #1 - Train the Body "Through Passion I Gain Strength" - Continue training for functional strength and general fitness and performance. Strength Train 3X / Week Move 3X / Week Hockey 1-2 / Week Goal #2 - Fuel the Body "Through Strength I Gain Power" - Continue data gathering to dial in my specific dietary needs. Fuss with numbers less; stop worrying about how many calories I am burning with every walk, run, hockey, session. Eat a predetermined amount of calories per day and see what happens. Adjust based off of results. Weeks Zero & 1 : 1600 calories / day Weeks 2 & 3 : TBD Week 4 : TBD. Goal #3 - Free the Mind "Through Power I gain Victory, Through Victory My Chains are Broken" - Build up my mental and emotional fortitude so I can more easily overcome fears and defend against negativity. Post a positive thought, comment, revelation about myself daily. Share a pic with a body positive comment 1X / Week Goal #4 - Express Emotions & Practice Passions "The Force Shall Free Me" - Do things that bring me joy and happiness. Explore my creative side and take pleasure in the journey of learning and progressing. Continue practicing art / digital art - aiming for 3X / Week Work on photography- trip coming up and I want to get some good pics. Extra Life Goal : Complete Apprentice Training I will be taking a trip at the end of July which I would like to attempt a mountain hike on. I am not great with edges when heights are involved, and this will be an 8 mile round trip hike, with an elevation gain of almost 3000' in the first 3 miles. It will also be the middle of summer, in the Chihuahan Desert. In order to prepare for this I am going to start doing weighted practice hikes. With pictures! Because that will also help my photography goal. A little bit on the theme choice... This past October, my Sunday night gaming group made the switch to Star Wars Force & Destiny. Now, if we go way back, you'll come to discover that Star Wars was my very first Nerd fandom as a child. At age 5, I wanted nothing to do with Barbies or dolls, but everything to do with getting those awesome speeders for my Star Wars figures and ... oh, the Ewok Village??! YES PLEASE. As I've been reintroduced to this world and its lore, I've found myself really drawn into it again. It may seem a little ... dark side, sure. But rest assured, I've no intention of blowing up planets or anything. I just need to embrace my emotions and follow my passions, and well, those fuddy duddy Jedi aren't into that sort of thing. I have a lot of negative voices in my life- many don't even mean to be negative, but I am surrounded by a chorus of 'For your age,' 'you're not so young any more', 'you can't keep doing this, you're pushing 40' etc etc. Then add in my own voice about how I should look, what size I should be, how I am failing this, or suck at that, can't do this. It needs to stop!! And, the Sith Code seems better suited to guiding my path in that endeavor.

April is here ladies and gents, and I didn’t even take a break so I’m late to the proverbial party, but not the actual party. Like seriously, this is me vs the party right now There will be copious amounts of gifs and memes this challenge, because I have an unhealthy habit of finding a meme to answer everything. Always. I’m only gonna apologize once, and that was it. Right there. Just now. I was also gonna do measurements today - but shark week showed up and bloated me up like a whale and I’m not eeeeeven gonna do that kind of damage to my self-esteem by taking measurements like that. Or worse, give myself an over-inflated sense of success when I measure later and its skewed like I puked up Veronica Mars. ANYWAY. Onward! Quest One: Eat This, Not That [No, not the books y’all] I don’t have the aversion to healthy food that the poor cat above does.. But I do have an aversion to eating the same thing every day. I hate it. It bores me, and it makes trying to prep meals in advance no bueno. Like super no bueno. I prepped a weeks worth of breakfast burritos and lunches this past Sunday and I’m so OVER the chicken and veggies I made. Just.. no. Burritos I’m still holding strong to though, I think because they warmed up way better than the chicken ever did. Nevertheless, I’m still going to try and prep my food ahead of time. I think instead of batch cooking, I might try to include lunch prep into dinner prep. I can still pre-make two or three lunches as ‘back ups’ but at least this way its more variety. Breakfasts I’m fine with, though I’ll probably do less kale this time. I hate it when I find a rogue stem in there. Blech. Quest Two: Make My Miles Matter Spoiler Alert: That’s a pretty accurate depiction of me running. This is a continuation of my last quest where I’m slowly rangering my way through the states and down to my eventual goal of the Grand Cayman. Still super stoked. Still making it count. But I felt like by the end I was earning way too many miles for what felt like not enough effort. SO to combat that (I started feeling like a slacker) I’ve decided to amp up the workout schedule to really earn my distance. Instead of 20 miles per completed workout, I’m only earning 10. I’m also changing it up from my Stronglifts program Monday/Friday and trainer on Wednesday to include 15 minutes of cardio at the end of each Stronglifts in addition to doing the WOD on my trainer’s website Monday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday (Tuesdays/Sundays are my rest days - due to other adult-y stuff I have to do). I still get credit for mileage on my Garmin, even though the bastardly device doesn’t log my cardio on the bike #HUFF Quest Three: The Purge Pt. 2 At the end of my last challenge, I commented that my mother-in-law was doing a purge on all my kiddo’s clothes. I thought that was a genius idea this time of year so I’m TOTALLY stealing it. Last weekend I did our clothes and her closet (she won’t even notice all the missing stuff tbh, except she can see her closet floor now). This couple weeks I plan on getting lots of my home improvement stuff done around the house - which coincidentally includes getting rid of ALL the things. Right now my goal is to complete the following: Remove the doors on my above the sink cabinets to paint and add hardware (getting a feel for the paint before I commit to re-doing my entire kitchen) Host two garage sales to clear out additional clutter Clear the front left quadrant of my garage so I have ample gym space again Repurpose the old swing set in the backyard into THIS Considering I’ve got a camping event I’m coordinating and it’s happening in the middle of May… I’ve got quite a bit on my plate but I know my brother and his girlfriend are more than willing to help me tackle the house stuff because it benefits them too Right now I just hope life goes like this And not this

*Wearing 'heavenly' wardrobe in the sky, Dave sup nods while holding a cell phone* *Stitch stomps and roars through the model town like a monster like a kaiju* *Donning a spicy brown mustard shirt and a cowboy hat, Gun Safety Dwight fires a few rounds towards the sky with his finger pistol as he rides his air horse into the conference room* *Kevin looks shocked and appalled with his jaw hanging down for a few seconds. He leans forward. "Are you kidding me!?"* *Chang taps his hand in the air. "I'll allow it"* *Michael and Dwight 'raise the roof' in Michael's office* *Jenko looks confused as he walks through the parking lot with a backpack slung over his shoulder. "I'm so confused right now"* *Ron looks around. "Oh, bloody hell, here we go"* *Sakamichi nods his head as he sings the Love Hime theme song. Zooms out as he notices a car right behind him, startling him and causing him to crash into and over the guardrail* *Dog squats on its hind legs in unison with its owner* *Dressed as Bert and Ernie, Troy and Abed comically nom on cookies* *Baby duck begins nodding off on a desk, but abruptly jerks its head and awakens* *Non-whimsical Troy and Abed non-verbally share their surprise in a normal way* *Parker turns her had as she says "I am so glad I don't live in the real world"* *Summer dances with Tinkle & friends in front of psychedelic background. As Jerry and Beth enter, the background changes and Summer is shown dancing on her bed with flashlights*

I'm back! that was quick. four week challenges and a shorter break will take some getting used to. for anyone just tuning in, i'm CM. i work full-time as an environmental insurance consultant, i get up early to get my lift on, and enjoy good food. i'm trying to bring my bodyfat % down by first cutting calories and losing some pounds which has proven to be difficult for me as i typically negate weekly progress by letting loose on the weekends. i'm am trying to change that. Quest 1 *complete 4 lifting sessions per week I’ll be sticking with 531 this challenge while I get into the habit of going to the gym 4x/week instead of my previously instilled 3x. This is in prep of doing something similar to gainsdalf for the March challenge where I’ll lift 5x/week and three of those times will be squats. Quest 2 *complete 25 minutes of foam rolling or mobility per week *complete four yoga sessions throughout the challenge *complete 2 cardio sessions throughout the challenge Quest 3 *keep carbs below 100g (+- 10g) for 20 days out of the 26 day challenge. *keep weekly calorie intake within 500 calories of 12,200 for the first three weeks, then 8,700 for the last five days. last challenge i ate an average of 1842 calories per day. this was above my last challenge's goal of 1800/day. but the difference isn't too bad and i didn't see the loss results I wanted so i'm going a bit lower this challenge. ~1742/day. not much since i'm also increasing my workout frequency. *take measurements and progress photos for challenge end since I have mine from this last challenge’s end that I can use for challenge beginning

Hey nerds, it's my first challenge in the last few months. I kind of took a break from challenges last year and just hung out in chat with my new BFFs. However it has a distressing lack of animated gifs. On the bright side I maintained my current level of fitness in 2015. On the other side, I maintained my current level of fitness in 2015! It's time to get serious about making progress. I'm committing to doing more challenges this year AND to stepping up my gif game. My goals are from my trainer. He says to stop being lazy and work out 5x a week. 3 lifting and 2 (trigger warning) cardio. Simple enough. Time for me to not be lazy. The workouts are simple and mostly focused around gaining strength in the most efficient way. Goal 1: lift 3x a week Day 1: Push day Day 2: Pull day Day 3: Leg day. 'nuff said I realize this is controversial, but I like a little cardio. Goal 2: Cardio 2x per week Also, apparently my lack of core strength is holding up my lifts. Core strength is important, for things like competitive grocery carrying: Which leads me to: Goal 3: Plank 3x 30s each day. Planking. Not for the faint of heart. Now we've reached the life goal part of the challenge. I'm obsessed with the idea of retiring early. That requires making sure I accumulate large files of money. I've got a great job, but would love to have some passive income. I can codez, so my 4 week goal is to make a really shitty app and put it in the app store, just to see if I can get anyone to download it. We'll see how that goes.

"Influenced by the sounds of the 80s, it was 40% written by Carl Burnett, 40% by Franklin Enea and a sweet, sweet 20% by William J. Reagan. When I hear this song, anything is possible!!" ~ Cyborg, Teen Titans Go S3E10 Starpuck needs to become her own epic mix of 40-40-20! 40% MENTAL - The largest factor of my success (or failure) is mental. I need to control my own rationalizations and use them for good and not for evil! 40% PHYSICAL - A plan without execution accomplishes nothing. The physical side of the challenge will consist of proper eating and maintaining an active, fit lifestyle. 20% FLEXIBLE - The ability to handle bumps along the way without giving up on the destination. (Even if that means taking a detour, that still, eventually, gets me to point B.) MENTAL GOALS 1) 15 MINUTES ME TIME! Set aside 15 minutes per day for quiet "me-time". I can /do/ things during this time (preferably something calm like sketching, reading, writing, praying) but it must be done as an intentional stepping away from whatever to-do list, errand or project I might otherwise be distracted with. 2) OBSESS LESS! I am taking a 6 week break from tracking my food and exercise. I know that my at work meals are spot on. And my home-cooked dinners are appropriately portioned healthful meals. My hurdle is, and has always been, social game nights and weekends. As for exercise, that's part of what needs to be flexible for me right now, so I do what I can, when I can. PHYSICAL GOALS 1) Move from Point A to Point B 7x/week. Walking is good stuff. It can be done on just about any occasion, mood, energy level or schedule. If I can get outside to do it, even better - especially as winter hits and S.A.D. starts to settle into my bones. If I want to run to get from one place to another? Go for it. The point is. Move. With my legs. Make Lady Legasus proud. (Hah, funny. I had this set as 70,000 steps/week, then realized I had to change it because I am *NOT* number obsessing... geez. Tracking obsession Starpuck? Ya think?) 2) Shoulder rehab, into strength training as permitted, 3x/week. I am still in the midst of my Physical Therapy for my cranky shoulder. The cortisone shot did seem to take a large amount of pain out of the equation, but certain motions and stretches still cause issues so Moe is working with me. I've not been able to do pushes for months, and she told me to quit my pull ups too until she fixes me. I meet with her 3x/week - so until I am 'cleared' for more than that, PT will be my weekly goal. This means that this goal ties into the being flexible side of things too. 3) 2 Frak It Meals / Week max. I am not now, or ever, going to be 100% perfect. So, let's just plan that I am allowed to say frak it twice a week. This will work great if I consider it as such; one game night I can cut free a bit, and one weekend hurrah out. Since I am not counting anything this challenge, I will use this as my means of getting the extra fun tiem foods under control. FLEXIBILITY GOALS When I have the time or desire... do the following: Work on drawing things. Work on writing stuff. Work on next year's vacation plans. Get more involved in church stuff / find a group. Play some video games (or Pretty Pretty Pegasus) Catch up on anime and tv shows. Chill out and cut myself some slack. So, that's the plan. It's kind of vague, and hardly has any proper goals - but, there it is. I should also probably try to keep up more in NF proper. I always do better when I am actively part of the community. >.> Funny how that works.

I have a tendency to want to restart everything once I screw up, fall behind, or space out on it. I've certainly done that over the summer this year in regard to my challenges and overall health and fitness goals. It's about this point that I would usually want to pull the plug, find new gadgets and gizmos and start over. Not this time my friends. This time I am going to continue with the characters I have, at the level they are, and keep playing. The great thing about NF (okay one of the many great things about it) is that I can look back at past challenges to see where I had my most success and what I was doing to attain it! So I did that! And... I also wrote down all the stuff that's on my mind that I want to do. Then I plotted it out on a calendar. How do I know that my best bod history was basically between April and August of 2013? I found this pic of me. In a box. And I love it!!! As far as I can tell by past NF notes and updates, I was around 142 here. But that's a sharp looking 142. (I haven't weighed myself in a while, but I think I am around 147, so not far off number wise, but way different shape wise.) I was able to look back and figure out what I was doing at this point. Running 3x a week. Strength training 3x a week. Eating really, really clean. So now I know what pieces need to be in this puzzle, it was just a matter of arranging them. Ok, and adding in things like, hockey, yoga, drawing, gaming, and other things. I also can take past experience to know that, I will NOT get a strength workout in on the weekends. Just never happens. I DO tend to be otherwise active on the weekends though, so no worries. Hockey season is starting up again, so I will have hockey at least once a week, sometimes three times a week. Taking that all into consideration, the plan of attack is this: Strength Train M-W-F (3x/week) Run T-Th (2x/week) Yoga T-Sa (2x/week) Draw M-Sa (2x/week) Hockey W-F/Sa/Su (1-3x/week) Gaming Th-Su (2x/week) Bible Study W (1x/week) Yes, yes it seems like a lot! But the strength training and running is always done at work, on my lunch hour. So the drawing, yoga, hockey and gaming will be my evening activities. If I go into it just knowing that on certain days, I do certain things, it takes some of the brain work away. I am also going to track my food, especially as I may cut out some of the processed grains and breads again. Last time I did that, I lost a lot of weight, but I also think I was eating far too little. I have a vacation that starts on, and lasts through all of week four, so that is going to be really hard. I think I'll just do my best, enjoy the trip, and not worry about it. I also need to think up a way on how to organize and track, and ... oh snap! I forgot about the other goal, lol. Back to budgeting. And with the idea of putting $300/month, physically, into the savings account. Alright, the morning is getting away from me, but I wanted to get this posted before I lost track of my thoughts. TL;DR GOALS SUMMARY Strength Train 3x/week Run 2x/week Yoga 2x/week Draw 2x/week Eat Clean/Track 6x/week Budget $75/week into savings. I'll spew brain vomit on this thread more later. I need fooooooood.

ANIME-KE IT SO! Another play on words, brought to you by Starpuck. Ok, so this is stretching it, but I wanted to keep up with gif filled anime themes for a while since they're still super motivating for me. What's better than an anime related, gif filled challenge? One that combines it with Star Trek! DUUUUUH. Ok, in truth, I do fancy some TNG and, confession time, my very first RPG video game was a Star Trek based one- and yeah so what if I read the Star Trek Novellas in junior high... I'm actually not THAT much of a Trekkie in all honesty. But this was too fun to say to pass it up. And since I am trying to make my budding health habits into life-long, no fuss-no muss habits, the catch phrase works. Are we going to get down to business, get the workouts in, and learn to eat healthy without having to think about it too much? Yes? Then Make it So! I have a goal for mid July, and I need to be consistent to make it. ALRIGHT THEN! SO NOW WE NEED SOME GOALS ... Ugh. This is proving really difficult this time around folks. I have come to realize, that my goals are sometimes hard to think up because I do not have a master quest that I am on. There's no end target in sight. No final destination. It's all about losing weight, being more trim, finding a shape I like, being stronger and in general, staying active. I mean, those are all nifty things, but I don't think I've gotten to the point of doing them just because that's what I do in life. So they keep ending up on my goal list. Over and over and over again. Activity Goal - This is hard. I know I get the best results from 3x / 3x on strength and running. Once I start up hockey again, I'll be skating 2x week potentially. Doing that, plus adding in 3 runs and 3 strengths means ... for one, I could use an extra day in the week, or two, I'd have to double up. Doubling up strength on hockey days isn't that big a deal, but hockey + running can be a chore. If I change my goal to simply "Be active 6x/week" I'm not sure I'll be consistent on the strength or runs... and then I worry about lack of progress, then I want to change things up to trick my body anyway, and I'm all GAAAAH! So. In the mindset that summer is here (not that you'd know it by the gray skies and 48 degree temps we just had all weekend) I am going to, for now, for sanity sake, say, Yes, Just be active 6x / week. Any assortment of things, but try to balance it all out. Food Goal - I guess things have been working? But not as awesome as they did in 2013... but I KNOW, (*pokes herself* "you know!") I KNOOOOW that I lost weight really fast in 2013 because I wasn't tracking my calories in versus out and was actually eating less than I should have been. I need to not let results encourage bad behavior. So. Since I'm already tracking food and that doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. (Hello 101 day streak.) And since I am eating far more 'IN' than out during the week. I think I should tackle two things. Weekend Food Monsters, and Variety. Going to try a rule of being allowed only 2 meals not at home per weekend. Yes this means 'quickie' McDonalds breakfasts on the weekends would count as one. If I want lunch out with family on Saturdays and dinners out with friends on Friday, that's all I get. The other side to this will be putting some time into creating meals I can take to work, that are different from the sandwich and cucumber deal I've been doing for five months. Prepare lunches ahead of time 2x per week. Creative Goal - Easy peasy. Don't give up on the art. It's good for me to slow my roll and do something that is not computer, game or tv related. I also enjoy it. And I may be able to get somewhat skilled at it if I keep it up. I've no interest in trying to make any money out of it. It's just a hobby. My main goal is to get good enough to draw up my tabletop group's characters as we play our various games. Body Love Goal - So last challenge, it was an awkward but, I think, beneficial exploration into the beginnings of accepting myself. Going to continue on with it this challenge with a slightly different twist. The camera can be an absolute a-hole- we all know this. This time around, rather than just grabbing the camera for impromptu snaps of me in whatever unflattering pose or angle I was in, I'm going to try and take pictures of me being active, then complimenting myself on what I see when caught in the act of doing what I LOVE to do. GOAL #1 - BE ACTIVE 6X/WEEK (Don't be lazy. Get to the job board and get moving!) Activity 6x/weekPull Up Work 3x/week GOAL #2 - FOOD FOR WEEKDAYS AND WEEKENDS! (Keep at it like Rin, and you'll get some awesome meals.) (Don't be like Choji on the weekends.) Cook or Prepare NEW things to eat 2x/weekRestaurant meals on weekends = 2 allowed GOAL #3 - KEEP DRAWING, DON'T GIVE UP! (If shy, adorable Madoka can bring her art to her friends, so can I!) Draw, for any amount of time, 3x/week. GOAL #4 - BODY LOVE, OWN WHAT YOU GOT (Gotta love a goal that allows use of an Ichiya gif!) Take and post an "in action" picture 1x/week

The downside to my latest anime binging, is that I've watched four whole series, a third or more of two more series, and a few episodes of even another series in the last 6 weeks. That's on top of keeping up with series that are really long and still going. How could I possibly find just a single theme for this challenge with inspiration like that? So instead, a conglomerate of awesome anime references, all in one spot, and with a fiendishly terrible pun/play on words. GIF IT MY ALL ... ANIME WIN! (20 bonus points to the first person to figure out the word play.) The best way to succeed is to use your own abilities to the fullest. ~ Yukio Okumura GOAL #1 - Run 3x/week* (Yes, this is probably what I look like when I run) Despite my usual aversion to running (it's haaaaard) - I have to honestly say that I feel great afterwards, I love being outdoors for whatever reason, and it does great things to my hips. That's three pro's right off the bat, with the only con being that it's hard. It's time I stop avoiding things just because they seem difficult and/or require me to step out of my comfort zone of quick and easy success. The asterisk allows me to count a hockey game as a run for the weeks that the hockey schedule may cause overlap. “Fear is not evil. It tells you what your weakness is. And once you know your weakness, you can become stronger as well as kinder.†~Gildarts GOAL #2 - Strength 3x/week* Simply put. In order to keep from losing your progress, and to see increase in strength and stability, this part of the routine must be consistent. What I would really benefit from is getting on board a program that already exists, that includes the things I want to work on. I have access to weights in my whse, so standard lifts are all good to go. I also really want to get up to 10 pull ups in a row some day. (I'm at 3-4 depending on the type of bar right now.) GOAL #3 - Eat for Health! (Track Daily) This one is hard for me because I am constantly panicking over the question of, "Am I eating too much, or not enough?" I MUST not let my slow progress trick me into eating less than my current numbers because, I DO get more powerful when I eat. You cannot ask your body to do more, lift more, run longer, while giving it LESS fuel. I'm not a Prius after all! So track 6+ days per week just like last time. Start getting variety into the week. After months of eating the same things for breakfast/lunch/snack and doing the same exercise, the body has learned what it can do with what it's given. So, let's get crazy. GOAL #4 - Keep Drawing 2x/week This went really well last time! Not only was I super enjoying it, but I found that it was a great way to calm me down at night. It was relaxing! And I feel like I am improving on it. Last challenge I ended up doing more than one drawing per week, but it was still often happening on one day. This time I'd like to increase the frequency in which I am drawing. (Also? I totally made that gif myself!!! I hope it actually shows up on the forums! Gif skills +1) GOAL #5 - Confidence and Love It's time to start telling my body, my body as it is RIGHT NOW, that it is my friend. It does some pretty amazing things, and in fact, has never stopped me from doing something. So why all the dissatisfaction? It's not only pointless, it's harmful. And it has to stop. So, once per week, I will post a picture of myself. With this picture, I will write something kind and positive about what I see. No negativity, no 'buts', no 'if only'. Just. Picture. Kind words. Done. Oh god, I can't believe I just committed to this idea. NOW THEN, LET'S DO THIS!

Main Quest: Body weight squatSanity Mini main quest: Be a quadzilla Background: Have made nice progress on both goals. Suffered major squat set back when I fractured my foot. Recently got my boot off so I'm rebuilding the ol' squat. Maintained a good level of over all strength where possible, but lost a lot of mobility and strength in some key places. Fixing that is priority numero uno. Goals: 1. Mobility - Always. Ankle, calf, and hip. Unjunk what the boot junked. 2. Accessorize - Front squats (squat!), hip dominant movements, single leg work. Anything that helps me get my body moving right again. Hips and various glute areas are not so much on board with proper squat movement yet. 3. Squat - Just squat. A lot. Still using the basic set up I had before, but adding front squats back in. 100+ is the goal. 4. Punch the clock - Just do it. Get in the gym. Put in the work. Remain consistent. Trust the process. /cliches **** My birthday is the first official day of the challenge and I will be out of town doing super fun things in celebration. Feel free to spam the hell out of my thread with silliness and happiness in the mean time. It IS my birthday, after all.

Helloooo nerds! Don't mind me while I experiment with colours. If this whole rebellion isn't mad, crazy and weird enough for you and you want an extra portion, you've come to the right place! Trying to get bendy, strong and just a little more awesome? So are we! Are you an assassin or going to be one once you've finished your first challenge? Come join us while we share our madness, successes and get over our fails together! Sign up on the accountabilibuddy sheet and post a little intro here, I'll make sure your thread is up in this post for everyone to see - easy following and all that jazz! Let's see if we can do this together: Meet the crazies! Waldgeist's Endangered Initiation, Part I Mad Hatter and her Maiden Mission ApfelStrudi with Pudding arms begone, huzzah! Abtacha's Treasure Hunt continues! Bekah starts to build her castle Xerla is almost there Bagelyo gets a little stronger Milythael is regaining control Paradigm's Bikini Battle L_A_Malone: Demigod finds Camp Half Blood An inspired SkyeRose

Hey everyone. It’s been exactly one year since my first challenge J. Back then I was just trying to do 10 push-ups in a row. Now I can do that with no problem. And I used to have designated cheat-days and now I am basically full on Paleo/Primal with allowances for the occasional indulgence. Oh and I also used to be 30lbs heavier, which is crazy. That is like having a backpack full of books strapped on me at all times. Insanity. I really hold this site/forum near and dear to me. I know I only communicate with all of you over the interwebs and not IRL but I still consider you all my friends and you all motivate me tremendously in my day to day life. Without the community some days I just would not have the will to push through and do my fitness related tasks. So I want to return the favor. After a year of fitness now my body/mind is at a point where it needs to work out every day. I am not a sedentary person and my muscles crave movement, so the status quo just isn’t cutting it anymore. I usually just do some activities that strike my fancy and don’t really progress into more difficult exercises. Well this challenge I want to button up and start to keep track of my strength progress and really make strides to do more “fun” and badass movements. Consistency is key. I want to be a role-model for those that might feel a little stagnate in their routines with constant work and effort we can achieve anything. I truly believe that. So my “spirit hero” for this challenge will be Captain America. I hope to be kick ass this challenge and motivate all the rebels as they motivate me. MAIN GOAL: That elusive pull-up. I know it will be a stretch to achieve it this challenge, but damnit if I’m not stubborn and determined. I held my bodyweight in the chin-up position last challenge and I made some small movement in the pull-up position, so let’s just aim for the stars and see where we land. When I do finally get this pull-up I will probably burst into a thousand stars. FITNESS: Follow the schedule and maintain consistency. (+3 STR, +2 DEX) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vKgApXwmoyaEh1ngfZ2RA-v3jzsaaK433Dux84SYAkE/edit?usp=sharing So basically what I did was create a super awesome spreadsheet of destiny. I’m trying to do BWW 3x per week while following the Zombie5k program. 6 days a week for fitness, 1 day for rest. This of course will need to be adjusted from week to week due to events and happenings in my life (going to Portland at the end of the month) so I’ll make a spreadsheet every Sunday and plan to follow it out for the following week. I created BWW idea from Steve’s article on How to Build Your Own Workout. This way I focus on every muscle group and also throw in some variety from workout to workout. And FINALLY I will be incorporating a dynamic warm-up (with lots of punching) and I’ll also be adding stretching after every workout. I’m going to try 5 minutes of handstand practice daily, because it’s only 5 minutes and this is a skill that needs more consistent practice. I’ve also been really curious about other forms of movements like hand balancing, rope climbing, gymnastics rings, etc. but this all fits on the “extras” side of things. GRADING A – missing 0 – 5 tasks B – missing 5 – 10 tasks C – missing 10 or more tasks SIDE QUEST: Run a 5k. (+3 STA) I should be able to do this within a few short weeks if all goes according to plan with the Zombie 5K trainer. If I accomplish this goal early I’ll come back and add a new goal to run a mile in a certain amount of time… or sprints… or something to the effect. GRADING Pass/Fail DIET: Limit carbs to 50 – 100g per day. Log food on MFP. (+2 CON) I loathe logging food, but it shows results when I do. So I’m going back to tracking carb intake and making sure I lie in the 50 – 100g range for weightloss (according to Mark Sisson). GRADING (not including Portland trip) A – miss up to 1 day of logging food. 1-3 days of going over the carb limit. B - miss 1 - 3 days of logging food. 4 -8 days over carb limit. C - miss 3 - 5 days of logging food. 8 or more days over carb limit. LIFE: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. (+2 WIS) HEY! Easy Cap. I struggle with adulting, as does my partner. We would rather play hours of video games than spend time doing stuff around the house, but when we actually do it and the house is nice and clean we are happier people. Soooo, I want to dedicate 15 minutes to cleaning per day. A little goes a long way. GRADING (not including time away, obviously) A - 15 minutes of cleaning each day of the challenge. B - Missing 1 - 3 days of cleaning during challenge. C - Missing 3 - 7 days of cleaning during the challenge F - Totally neglect cleaning and becoming a frat house. SIDE QUEST: Scheduling (+1 WIS, +1 CON) I like having things plotted out. I’m a busy person and sometimes I just don’t know where my time is going, so I want to be better at planning out my day and writing down what I’m actually doing all day. It’s one thing to plan the day and not do everything on you to-do. It’s another thing to actually write down “scrolled through Tumblr for 5 hours.” Daily. GRADING A - Scheduling each day of the challenge. B - Missing 1 - 3 days of scheduling. C - Missing 3 - 7 days of scheduling. F - Totally neglect scheduling and spontaneously combusting.

Main Quest: Body weight squat. Sanity. "But HOW can that be?! You're booted!" I'm sure you said. I am. It's true. This obstacle, though, is temporary. My goal right now is to maintain as much strength as possible while healing so that I can pick up as close to where I left off as possible. I learned oh so many things from my last injury and I will not repeat those same mistakes! Goals: 1. Don't eat like a jerkus. Pretty self explanatory. I've been eating like a butthead lately and since I can't work out nearly as hard I'm sure that'll come back to bite me if I don't cut it out. I know whether or not I think I'm eating like a jerkus so I just need to come here and tell you guys honestly if I'm doing what I need to do. The only thing I have trouble with is work numero dos. So many tasty treats. I need to stop. So I'll define only this portion of the goal: If I have a sugary drink at work I cannot have anything else. NADA. Got it, Self? Gah. 2. Armstrong Pullup Program Do it. It's a lot of work and requires an every day effort. Nothing would be cooler than becoming a pullup goddess while I gots da boot. So, do it. I'll check in daily with my push up totals from the morning. Usual workout logs will be here, of course. 3. Nix the sailor talk Gawd. I swear a lot. Way too much. I don't like it. So let's cut that down/out. 4. Live to fight another day Be a good patient. I was being a perfect patient. But now my foot feels A LOT better. So I'm taking liberties. That's not okay. So no more. Notes: Follow up and x-rays 9/18 - that marks the halfway point of my bootage.

I need some motivational gifs to get me back on track. Please to be supplying the funny?

My gazillionth challenge. Bring it on. Main Quest Body weight squat. Sanity. Goals: Squat: 145. That's 15 lbs in 6 weeks. Again, it's not ambitious but it should be do-able. Game Plan: Squat. 2x week, test adding FS back in on deadlift days. Accessory: Minimizing time in the gym was good in some ways but over all it left me underwhelmed. Time to forget that noise. Focusing on doing accessory work to address squat weakness. Aiming to find a nice middle ground. Game Plan: Add in some of my previously removed accessory work. Super set like a boss. Mobility: Increase it, efficientize it. I'm going to work on ankles/calves for squats, but also shoulders because they're a little wonky. I'm going to experiment with mobilizing every night and see if that helps reduce the amount of mobility I need to do pre lift. Game Plan: Mobilize nightly - 20 mins or less. At gym - post lift (I seem to get the most bang for my buck when I do this); Focus - Mobilizing what I just worked. At home - whenever as long as I do it; Focus - Goats (mostly ankles), anything I've been ignoring, my next day lift stuff. Simplify: Again, I'm just back from vacation. Again, I got way too burnt out leading up to it. In anticipation of vacation I didn't take any time off of Job 2 and that sucked. The simplifying from last time was mostly successful. I got my morning and night routine stuff down and it's helped a ton. I didn't do as well with the morning stretching. So, revisiting that. Game Plan: Reassess mobility and glute activation. Experiment with setting timer. Plan and put in for off days at Job 2. I didn't do a wrap up of my last challenge (1. because I was nerding and 2. because I don't really ever anymore), but the other stuff I was working on went really well. I spend the majority of my spare evening time reading now, instead on the computer (my pinterest account is getting dusty) and I've pretty successfully removed myself from the work drama. I'm not sure if it's just not being in it anymore or what, but it seems like there's less around now that I've made my stance pretty clear. Regardless of the reason, I'm happy(ier). Side Quest: Annoyingly private side quest is annoyingly private. But new goal is to do at least one thing for it weekly. I'll check in with pass/fail.