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>.> <.< Drink 1 gallon water Strength Train or Swim Practice Spanish

I've been on a roll since the holidays with my training and diet, so I'm hoping to use this challenge to reenergize myself to keep heading in the right direction toward my goal of 10% body fat/185 pound body weight. I currently stick strictly to my diet during the week but don't pay too much attention during the weekends. I'm not horrible, but there is damage being done that I'd like to clean up. I have several projects happening in my house that will need attention this year, so I'm including a couple of tasks that need to be done by March 10, which is our carpet installation date. I have decided to give (mild) minimalism a try, so I'm starting small and trying to reduce my wardrobe a bit. I don't know that I need 20 workout tees, hilarious as some of them were when I bought them. Finally, I have taken a couple of years off from performing a feature length comedy and magic show, but have decided to get back up on stage and do my thing in 2017. I have my new show written, I just need a venue and a date so I can motivate myself to start rehearsing. Specific goals are: 1) Track calories and macros on weekends. 2) Paint the wall that I forgot to paint and vacuum/mop the entire floor on March 9th to be ready for carpet installation on March 10th. 3) Create an "Essential Wardrobe List" and sort wardrobe into On The List/Donate/Discard piles. 3a) Donate/Discard anything not on the List. 4) Contact 5 venues for pricing and availability in October, and schedule site visits ASAP.

Ok, so I've really been trying to reign in the urge to do everything the last couple of weeks. I am usually pretty frugal, but I splurged and bought the Handstands & Rings Superpack!! This has not helped, haha... Work is busier, so I am getting more incidental exercise, plus summer is on its way. This means I really have to focus on adding things slowly... I've already had one injury - minor, overworked a muscle trying too many brand new things without enough rest. I want to do a sprint triathlon in late February. I completed a mini-sprint this year (Easter), training for that is what got me started with the gym habit But I'm starting from a low base, so I want to start training now to give me time to build up. Basically, the weekly program I planned out this morning is: One (short) session in each tri sport (swim, bike, run) "Starting Strength" lifts x3 Add an assistance exercise from handstand pushup skills to one of the weekly lifting workouts Mobility handstand exercises during lifting warm-ups *Optional* Handstand / gymnastic skills workout once weekly Last challenge I was doing the lifting x3 plus a gym skills workout weekly, so basically I'm just adding a little bit of tri training. Next challenge I'll have to work up to 2 sessions in each sport, that's considered the minimum recommended with the tri training programs I've looked at. I got away with less for the mini-sprint because the distances were so short. Up next, my actual challenge details! My fun points system from last challenge will return!

Questing Successes: A Reflection By my challenge metrics, I didn't go so great on the last challenge, but wanted to start this one off by reflecting on some of the crazy awesome stuff that I have managed since I joined up two challenges ago. The biggest one has got to be the body composition changes that I have tracked with sporadic measurements. First six months of this year, since I started going to the gym, I was eating like normal and using machine weights. I thought I had done quite well, since I did drop a fair bit of body fat (weight stayed the same), but I was a bit concerned about my waist, which wasn't changing. Well, I have been doing stronglifts since July and trying to up my protein intake. Not only is my waist now 7cm smaller, but I have also built measurable back muscle. My underbust measurement has increased 2cm! This might not sound like much, but I have a tiny ribcage, and this is the largest it's ever been! Plus it's also larger than my waist!!! (this has never happened to me before ) I’ve corrected my sleep patterns so that it’s easy to go to bed early now, though I’m still working on developing a relaxing routine before bed. I have tracked my food in MFP since I joined up here; though I took this zero week off as a break. I now have a pretty good idea of how my body responds to different macro and calorie levels I have also gone on three epic overnight hikes I’ve been batch cooking and taking healthy breakfasts to work on and off. This takes time to get good at, but I’m working on it. I’m also more active now, going on more regular walks and the occasional bike ride. How’s that for a positive start? In my next few posts I’ll try to tame my ranger instincts and flesh out a challenge I won’t fail

So last week for the second year in a row I got to spend an amazing 5 days (+2 extra in Atlanta) in the woods with THE MOST AMAZING NERDS ON THE PLANET! Camp was yet again one of the most mind blowing experiences of my life, and the things I learned and the people I met and reconnected with will stay with me always. There's a hashtag on social media we use #CNF365 to represent bringing all the goodness we got there into our every day lives. My goals this challenge, and until the end of the year, are to do this hashtag justice. October is also going to be in INSANE month for me. I'll be going to Maine to check out wedding venues, then traveling for work for a few days, and then going on a southwest vacation with Mr. Raxie to hit up some national parks, followed by hopping by Camp Ranger Fitness with Tank and Wolfie, and visiting some nerds in Austin and Dallas in the next zero week. So really, I don't have many "normal" days this upcoming month. It will be interesting. So I'm going to keep things kind of flexible as in I have to do things a number of times per challenge - not per week. I also realized at camp that part of my blah feelings lately have been that I have a great habit base set up right now for my work outs, and now that I've been doing it for so long I need something fresh and new. So I'm going to be forcing myself into doing archery once a month from now on (I LOVE ARCHERY I just never let myself find the time to do it) and also try to check out boxing at my gym which I absolutely fell in love with thanks to @Cheechoe and her amazing classes! I've never taken any fighting classes before but somehow after that first class I found myself taking kung fu, Tai Quan Do, and self defense. This isn't something I think will turn into my number one thing (I love lifting too much) but I definitely want to explore my options here at home with getting it in as a fun side activity! Maybe eventually even once a week. Here are my goals for the entire challenge this time around: 11 SL workouts 2 Boxing lessons 1 Archery session 4 mobility focus days (with brand spankin new Kate G stuffs for my hips and more ROMWOD!) 4 Zombies, Row! workouts 16 meditation sessions Start my travel blog I've been wanting to start FOR EVER. And add an entry about CNF 2016 that I'll share with you guys too! But here's my real goal this challenge, which isn't something trackable. It's more about attitude towards MY LOVELY TRIBE OF NERDS. So confession: when I first joined Nerd Fitness in 2013 I did my best to keep my real self separate from my NF self. I didn't post any pictures, I wouldn't tell anyone my real name, but I did make progress. Then in 2015 I started making real friendships with some of you guys, added some of you on facebook, and started really diving into the community. I signed up for camp, came back, and was like screw it I will add everyone on facebook and post pictures of myself here and I DON'T CARE. But a small part of me has still kind of been like, my nerd tribe is separate from my "real" life - if someone called me Raxie on my facebook page (outside of the camp page) I was like OH GOD WHAT IF MY COWORKERS SEE THAT... or something I honestly don't know what I was afraid of. But after this year at camp, and the most unbelievable trip to Hawaii earlier this year with other nerds I am finally ready to admit it. You guys are my tribe and my people - my REAL life people. And you all do nothing but support me and help me along in this amazing journey. So, I will keep these connections open and I will approach fitness with the attitude that I am doing it with this amazing group of people who can call me Raxie all they damn please - because you all have leveled up my life. Even those of you I haven't had much interaction with - you've helped this community be what it is AND THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'm going to start being more honest with myself this challenge about all of that. If my "real life" friends and coworkers aren't cool with me being me, putting my health and fitness first, and loving some amazing folks I met on the internet that's too damn bad. And that's freakin that. I think this attitude will also help me get out of my blahs, because it will help me be less self conscious about diving head first into fitness and all the stuff I have grown to love over the past 3 years being a rebel here. So yeah, here we go!

Last challenge went so-so for me. I have been doing really well in terms of continuing on with what habits I have built up for a while now, but I can't help but feel like I am coasting. I have 5 weeks to finish (i.e. start and finish) real training for the PL comp at CAAAAAAAMMMPPP! I've been powerlifting for almost 2 years now, but due to some unrelated injuries, some emotion stuffs, and a bit of just general slacking I have not progressed nearly as far as I would want to by now. I regularly deload or don't increase my weights when I'm feeling meh and just don't really push myself, in addition to cutting back from lifting 3x/week to 2x/week since I started a rowing program. I tried to ramp it back up to 3x/week last challenge but it just didn't work out because reasons. I also have been eating TERRIBLY. Well OK, not really that bad, but it most definitely cannot be classified as "eating clean" and I think this has been making my attempts at kicking more butt harder since my fuel source has been subpar. I even had a short moment of whininess where I tried to convince myself there wasn't enough time to train for the PL comp and I should just not do it. But that was brief, and I quickly convinced myself of otherwise. If it gets to be time for camp and I'm not feeling it, I'll assess the situation then. But for now I'm going to train HARD up until the last minute! How am I going to train hard you ask? I'm going to become a robot! Due to some budget constraints at work (which is paying for my PhD) I am not taking any classes this semester. I'm sad about it but I'm not going to let this extra time go to waste! I'll be using the bonus time during the day and weekends to hunker down and do what must be done like a well oiled machine. I will stop coasting, I will lift 3x/week again, I will increase my weights per my programming, I will not debate whether or not I will do these things on any given day because I am a robot and a robot doesn't question it's programming. I will eat clean food, because it is fuel, and that's what I need to keep it going. In short, I will get things done because I'm a Ranger and that's what we do. So, on to my specific goals. 1. Lift More & Lift More Often. Objective: Stronglifts 3x/week with prescribed weight increases (currently set to 5lb/workout but I do reserve the right to lower this to 2.5lb/workout at any point) Threshold: Stronglifts 2x/week with prescribed weight increases OR Stronglifts 3x/week but without the correct weight increase 2. Continue to be Rower 5 and Escape Those Swamp Zombies. Objective: Row 2x/week on the erg using the Zombies, Run 5k program Threshold: Row 2x/week on the erg, but one of the two times not being a ZR5K workout. 3. Go Hard Every Day. Objective: In addition to the 5 real workouts/week laid out above, have active rest days. This can be rucking, hiking, vinyasa yoga, ballet, swimming, a long walk, seriously anything that isn't just sitting on my butt. Only one of the two days can be restorative yoga/yin yoga. Threshold: Same as objective but both active rest workouts are restorative/yin yoga or something like it in terms of being not really that active. 4. Oil the Machine. Objective: Wake up with a yoga flow every morning. Anything more than 5 minutes counts. Also do a 15+ minute mobility routine every day before working out (i.e. immediately upon getting home from work). Mobility routines can be a long foam rolling session, a free ROMWOD workout (which I am debating subscribing to!), or something from Fit for Real Life. Threshold: Still yoga every day, but mobility sessions 5x/week only before "real" workouts and not on active rest days. 5. Fuel the Machine. Objective: Batch cook every week. 1 variance allowed per week. Also eat 100+ grams of protein per day. Threshold: Batch cook every week. 2 variances allowed per week. I'll be starting TODAY and making this a 5 week challenge. The only caveat to this is next weekend I am almost certainly going on a long weekend trip to NH to climb Mt. Washington. A lot of these goals won't be attainable on the trail or in camp, but as long as I don't eat terribly I'm preemptively giving myself a pass for those 3-4 days.

Time for my second challenge already! Very happy with how the first one went. First draft for this challenge (may change/refine during the week): Fitness - Walking - On non-exercising days I have to go for a walk, especially on my lazy weekend days when i avoid leaving the house Food - Meal prep - Cook batch food every weekend, enough to cover breakfast and lunch (one meal = minimum success) for the working week Fun - Violin - Must practice 10 min twice a week (Bonus reward = 3x week) Life - Book reading before bed 10 min (aim every night, 5x week minimum) Bonus Life - Clearing out stuff - pick a different area every week as a bonus. This shouldn't be difficult, I have been doing bits and pieces, but need the extra push to get them finished. Clothes (donate excess) Comics (put up on ebay) CDs (create digital copies, keep remainder in car for road trips) Whichever of the above didn't get finished during its week Reward: If I go above and beyond with violin and manage 3x week practice then I earn one month's membership to fiddlevideo.com If I succeed with the minimums of the challenge, I get to buy myself a phone stand to take videos of my lifting. (Yes, I know it will only cost me a couple of dollars, but it's still motivating )

Placeholder because Hawaii. I'm in it. Be back next Monday! Goals: Powerlifting something something Zombies Row and stuff NF daily (when not on vacation) Adult Ranger minis Catch y'all later nerds! sent from the depths of the Ionian Nebula EDIT: So here are my goals!

Respawning, Rowing, and Rangering The last challenge (and frankly the two before that as well) have pittered out rather pathetically for me. Some family drama I've been dealing with somehow morphed into my spiraling into a super-down-on-myself-really-dark-time, the likes of which I haven't had to deal with since high school. I've been treating myself so poorly, eating awful foods, not sleeping, not cleaning, not meditating, etc etc. Though somehow I've managed to continue lifting through this (I guess that habits locked in haha) which is a positive. I physically and mentally feel awful. Over the weekend I caught myself. I knew I was not doing well but I hadn't realized how much time had gone by since I started letting myself have "a break" from my routines. Then I ate 3 White Chocolate Linder Truffles (I HATE WHITE CHOCOLATE I THINK IT'S VOMIT WORTHY DISGUSTING WTF) just because they were there and I kind of saw what I was doing to myself and had a reality check moment. I realized how much I missed my nerds and how much I missed my routines and how I was totally making up my anxiety that you guys would judge me for falling off the wagon. So, I did an overhaul of my routine and my goals and instead of trying to distract myself from my problems (which is what I've been doing for the past couple of challenges causing me to ghost out) I'm going to use this challenge to gently ease back into things with super simple and straight forward goals, the number one goal being accountability and brainspace check-ins daily. So be warned, there might be a lot headspace stuffs going on here over the next five weeks! And then onto the fun goal! I have been trying to get through Zombies, Run! 5k for over 2 years. I just can't freakin' do it. I HATE running. I've gone through this a few times where I think once I'm fitter I'll try again, and maybe I won't hate it so much, and hit some in-better-shape bench mark and try again, and I just can't. I dread it. It makes me hate going to the gym or going outside depending on where I'm running. But over the last week I've discovered rowing! I know a bunch of rangers do it and I can't believe I haven't tried it before now but I LOVE IT! The main reason for me trying to get into running is because of how much I love the Zombies, Run! plot. Solution? RANGER THAT SH*T AND TURN IT INTO ZOMBIES ROW! I'm basically envisioning that the entire plot of Zombies Run is happening in a swamp, where I have to row away from zombies treading through the water, instead of running away from them. Kinda like this: but more rowing less poking with sticks. I'm going to start out with a 3 minute split time for "walking" and a 2:40 split time for "running" on a 4.5 resistance and see where it takes me. Maybe by the end of the program I'll have a halfway decent 5k race time! Right now I am slowwwwwwwwwwwww so I know even those speeds will be a challenge. I also want to make it a point to go outside with intention every day. It can be anywhere from 30 seconds and up, but I have to be outside with the intent of being outside, not darting between meetings, or running out to the grocery store. I will acknowledge that I am outside for a reason, because that is where humans are really meant to be, I will breathe the air, and I will take the time to enjoy it. I can expand this into a walk, a hike, reading a book outside, choosing to walk to a meeting instead of driving, whatever. Just something that isn't otherwise necessary and will bring me the happiness that being outdoors brings. TL;DR - GOALZ 1) Accountability: Post on this thread every damn day. EVERY DAMN DAY! Address what I've done (or haven't done) that day and my current headspace. This can be a quick "things are good" on tapatalk or a verbose essay about how I feel about my dinner (this probably won't happen). Maybe even a screen shot of my Google Fit profile from the day. I don't care, just something, every day. 2) Zombies, Row: Use the Zombies, Run app with the erg! 2x/week at minimum. 3) Find Joy Outside: Go outside with intent every day. Any amount of time will do, it's the intent that matters. I'll be continuing with my strong lifts, but I don't think I need to track that specifically. I'll probably mention it in my daily updates but beyond that I'm pretty locked in on that habit... considering it was the ONLY one I managed to maintain during the last few months of spiraling off the wagon. Also, as I am pretty excited about this and I'm SO READY to get the momentum going, I'll be starting this challenge during zero week and continuing on through to the end of the next challenge. Tally ho! Swamp zombies, here I come!

Well, I think we've known each other long enough fellow Nerds, that I can tell you about one of my OTHER 'on again/off again' hobbies. In this case, I'm a fan of magic tricks, magicians, and the like. I'd LIKE to make this a hobby that's permanently 'on'. Amongst the particular books I have include 'Thirteen Steps to Mentalism', 'The Royal Road to Card Magic', 'The Expert at the Card Table' and 'Bobo's Modern Coin Magic'. Along with a suitcase of individual tricks I've purchased over the past few years. In any case, 'accountability' is an excellent way to develop a habit. So, my question here: How can I add this element towards my goal? Some of the books end chapters on specific sleights with tricks that can be accomplished primarily using that sleight. Should I make a 'wizard log' similar to the battle log? I am not what you call 'self motivated' so the accountability system built into the site seems my best option. On that note: ...General 'Magic Nerd' thread, too?

Ah can't believe the new forums were up Monday and I haven't gotten this yet. I've had it saved in a word file since Saturday but I slacked on actually posting it. Soooo May’s challenge will be a continuation of April’s. I’m switching some of the finer points of the grading system around but otherwise it’s basically the same. I’ll be continuing on with my same story from last time, and I’ll be using zero week to post the plots I owed from weeks 3 and 4 of last challenge. It’s Once Upon a Time themed, which is kind of a huge guilty pleasure show of mine and full of kick ass female characters so obviously, it's perfect. For those just joining, April was a really tough month for me due to some family problems. But with some very sage advice and a bit of a kick in the butt from some awesome Rangers I decided to put it behind me and start focusing on myself. I can’t let other people’s problems affect my well being. (PS Did I tell you guys you’re awesome yet? WELL YOU ARE!) Each week I will spend percentage points of my completed tasks on progressing my character through my story. There are three types of points – chaining, combo and one shot. Chaining goals are things I want to do every single damn day. They gain momentum and are worth more the more days in a row I complete them (maxing out at 3 points/day). I can complete one combo goal per day and it will DOUBLE my chaining goal total for the day (this is a bit different than last time, instead of multiplying a specific chain goal they multiply my daily total, also I'm only allowing myself one per day to avoid trying to play "catch up" if I miss something). Combo goals are my workout goals more or less. One shot goals are unrelated to the other goals, and I can perform them any time during the week and are worth 10 points each (vs last challenge they were worth 3). My one shot goals are kind of random, but are mostly self-care and adulating based. A big change I am making from the last challenge is that all chaining goals begin anew on Mondays. Each week is a fresh start. Chaining Goals: (every damn day) Yoga & Meditate Follow the sleep plan: Get in bed AT LEAST 7.5 hours before I have to get up, lights out 7 hours before I have to get up. No sleep debt payback, this is an every night or bust goal. Follow my TV rules: On full work days (work day the day of and the next day) I can only watch ONE episode of TV. On non-work nights I can watch a maximum of 3 episodes and must do something productive in between the episodes. On non-work days I can watch a maximum of 6 episodes of something and must do something productive between episodes and also must stand or primal squat for a minimum of one third of the time of each episode beyond the third AND I must have completed all my chaining and combo goals for the day before going past 3 episodes. Fly Lady. This will be the challenge I graduate from the baby steps. It will be! No Dairy. Self-explanatory. No alcohol. For the entire month of May until I go visit my aunt for Memorial Day weekend. Then this is no longer a goal for the last few days of May). Drink <90oz of water each day. Combo Goals: (scheduled workouts which double chained goal totals - 1/day max) Stronglifts (aiming for 3x/week) Upper body accessory workout (aiming for 1x/week) Zombies, Run (aiming for 1x/week) Fun workout (hike, ruck, archery, this can be anything – aiming for 1x/week) Restorative yoga (aiming for 1x/week) One Shot Goals: (+10 points each, weekly goals) Meal prep for the next week done Foam Roll 2x/week <1 Eating out for the week Laundry done with no floordrobe or tabledrobe… because my floordrobe problem was fixed but now I have a tabledrobe. Intermittent Fast 2x/week (I can do this however I want depending on the day – skip a meal, eat within certain hours of the day, whatever works) Complete Ranger Mini It’s summer break for me now (well as soon as I finish my last final project due this Friday) so I don’t have to worry about homework for a few months and I’m SO EXCITED! I am totally ready to put my struggles of April behind me and kick this challenge in the rear. For anyone confused by this point system, here is an example of a "perfect" week, with the chaining goals building up and the combo goals where I aim to accomplish them each week. M T W R F S U Weekly Daily Chaining Goals Yoga & Meditate 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 Sleep 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 Follow TV Rules 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 FL 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 No Dairy 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 No Alcohol 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 <90oz water 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 Combo Goals Strong Lifts 6 18 18 Accessory 12 Zombies Run 18 Fun Workout 18 Restorative Yoga 18 One Shot Goals Meal Prep For Next Week 10 Ranger Mini 10 Foam Roll 2x/week 10 <1 Eating out 10 Laundry Done 10 IF 2x/Week 10 Daily Totals 13 26 39 39 39 39 39 60 Grand Total 294 % Completed 100%

So April, it ended yesterday. The challenge went really well until last week. I have no idea what exactly happened, but I was all about the "Nope!" That being said, the only thing I really didn't adhere to were my Workout plans (sorry Chetara), and my Mini Challenge to not eat a bunch of sugary things, with the punishment of sprints. But it is May now, and time for new things! I will be the terror that flaps in the night! Down with the Sugar! While I really miss cereal box toys, I am going to continue on my path of sugar destruction (in my diet). I will sprint -- though not on land because that worked out very badly for my left knee, for every gram of sugar in a pastry - - or burpees, I hate those almost as much as sprinting, and I can do them if rained out or traveling. Raw or cooked whole fruit and veggies are ok, typically because of the high fiber to sugar content, and the body does need some sugar to fuel the cells, just not a cupcake's worth everyday. Overall I am going to aim for 50 g of sugar per day, tracking on MFP, and if that gets to be manageable, squirrel down to the newly recommended 25 g per day. Go the Distance I need to get moving again -- I have been averaging between 60 - 70 miles for each month. With summer coming up, I want to increase that swimming and walking distance to between 80 - 100 miles for the month. I am aiming for 80 miles with a stretch goal of 100 miles for May. Count De Money! Sadly, money does not grow on trees, so I will be tracking my spending for May, with the reward of a new and shiny timing belt for my car! Not much of a reward, but it is time!

The Introduction Hello, dearies! If you can't tell from the above gif, I have been watching a lot of Once Upon a Time lately. At first I thought of it as a guilty pleasure, but then I started to realize that this show is actually quite good. Modern takes on fairy tales, not only having kick-ass strong female characters but the entire cast essentially being strong female characters, having Disney characters being gay, amazingly creative costuming and makeup, and overall incredibly imaginative plots that totally switch everything up that you thought you knew about fairy tales is completely inspiring from all angles. I love how they address a lot of the issues with fairy tales and make fun of themselves too. (At one point, in reference to Beauty and the Beast someone says "not that I'm saying you should love someone who is keeping you prisoner, what kind of message would that send to girls everywhere?"). So refreshing. And don't even get me started on the villains. The characters and backstories they create are so imaginative I have a lot of respect for the writers who take something so old and used and turn it into something so fresh and exciting. Also, Snow White's character is SUCH A FRAKKIN RANGER IT'S RIDONKULOUS. So anyway, the more I thought about this the more I realized that in all honesty, fairy tales are quite nerdy. In fact, fairy tales were possibly one of the first things that were ever nerded out about. I started looking into the origins of modern fairy tales and discovered that the Brothers Grimm were some of the first fantasy nerds to really make a name for themselves. They didn’t *write* fairy tales. This would have made them authors, not necessarily nerds. But they were obsessed with the fantasy stories of German folklore, they not only wanted the story, but they became cultural explorers, researching at a collegic level the cultural affects and representations of folklore. They developed a methodology for collecting, recording, validating, and researching folklore. They not only were nerds, but they opened up a whole new area of study for others to nerd out about in the future. And at its core, they were fantasy stories! If that’s not nerdy, I don’t know what is. Also, for a lot of us fairy tales were the first kind of fantasy we were exposed to. Think back to the first time you heard a story that took you away to another place. When you were a tiny child, whether it be a movie, a radio broadcast, a TV show, a book. Chances are it was some sort of fairy tale (Disney-version or otherwise). As you grow up, you transition to stories that fit your likes, dislikes, and age. But at its core, fantasy and science fiction stories are really all their own kind of fairy tale. So here I present to you without further ado, a throwback from a way old school nerdom themed challenge with a modern twist – Once Upon A Time in Raxie’s Enchanted Forest.

So I have noticed that I do the best in challenges if I theme them with nostalgia from my childhood. So: APRIL 2016 -- Thundercats! HOOOOOOOOO! Make a Workout Schedule -- Stick to it Swim -- MTWR 45 to 90 Minutes -- Good Effort For thinking about going swimming FSaSu... +1 Strength Training -- Add a Push Up, Pull Up Progression, and a Squat to what you can do each day Make Sure to Stretch throughout the day (Swim Alternates, just in case of storms or if serendipitous times occur: SCUBA diving or Kayaking, Archery, Disc Golf, Hiking.... wow I need ideas for fun activities to do while it is lightening) Whip that Mountain Dew Addiction -- Success if no Mountain Dew is consumed through challenge (pass/fail!) Chuck the Stress -- Panthro Says Relax Read, Listen to Music, Write, Color -- Anything that turns my brain off from the incessant worry mode for 30-minutes Keep Spanish Lessons in Sight I will finish the Duplingo Tree! Bonus: Practice not being clumsy with random balance drills

Contrary to the title, this challenge is not about meditation. My life is at a quite difficult point right now. Those of you who know me or have been following me have a clue of what's going on. In short, I'm facing: An important and challenging Epic Quest at work, including a Boss Fight against a hostile co-worker A fresh relationship that is yet quite prone to emotional ups and downs Masters' exams on the 8th and 15th The 2016 Crossfit Open Having to make arrangements for my April trip to Italy, in order to face the Spartan Super Life's tendency to throw me a curveball every time things are on the edgeAnd that's just in March. It might make sense now that although I'm a Ranger through and through, I'm venturing deeper into the mystical forest and doing this challenge with the Druids. There's a lot I have to juggle and my only goal is to not go crazy doing so. Therefore, I'll be using this thread as my personal space for this challenge and reporting on my progress as I try to balance everything. My only (totally not S.M.A.R.T.) goals are Successfully complete my Masters' exams Successfully complete the Crossfit Open Have transport and accomodation for the Orte Spartan Super in Italy booked at least one month before race day (a.k.a. by March 23rd)And those will be judged on a Pass/Fail scale at the end of the challenge, with no specific roadmap of how to get there and nothing to track on a daily basis. I shal remain calm in the middle of the storm. Completing this challenge will unlock the following skill for my shamanic alter-ego: Battle Meditation

I'm back! Last challenge my life took a turn for the crazy. My classes started getting really time consuming, I got more responsibilities piled on me at my job, I went on vacation, and my family life got a little hectic. All this resulted in me, for the first time since joining the rebellion 17 wonderful/crazy/difficult challenges ago, having to step away from the forums for a few weeks and settle back into my life. I missed you all terribly, there were so many times I’d be like “oh I can’t wait to tell the nerds!†and then I’d remember I had to use my time doing other things. NF has become such an engrained part of my life it was really hard for me to just take a beat and work things out on my own. But I did, I have finally gotten used to the new pace of my life which seems it is here to stay, and am feeling refreshed from both my vacation and my challenge hiatus. So I’m feeling super motivated to tackle this new challenge. This challenge will be focused around my weekends. I have noticed that a lot of times I am unsuccessful during the week because I am not taking advantage of my weekends adequately. So I’m going to make all of my goals weekend oriented. If I set myself up for success, it’ll be hard to fail. I am definitely guilty of wasting entire Saturdays away doing basically nothing because I am not planning it out. I plan my weekdays every week now it’s time to plan my weekends too for MAXIMUM SUCCESS! Main Mission One: Move Weird I will utilize the weekends to do some fun movement that I don’t have a chance to do during the week. This can be an intense mobility session, restorative yoga, a hike, a ruck, or anything else of that nature. Main Mission Two: Homework I will do all my homework every weekend no matter what. I will not leave it for the weekdays. This has been something that’s been holding me back on weekdays a lot. I have plenty of time on weekends to do it, I’ve just got to get it done. Main Mission Three: Laundry Self-explanatory. I’ll wash, dry and PUT AWAY (seriously Raxie, put your damn clothes away) at least one load of laundry every weekend. Food Mission: Batch Cooking Every weekend I will prep all of my meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) for Monday-Friday of the upcoming week. I will post pictures here of my success each week for accountability and because nom. Life Mission: Nerd Fitness Because part of the reason I had to step away from the forums last challenge was due to not enough time, I will make sure to dedicate a chunk of time every weekend to catching up around here and commenting on all the threads I am following. And there it is. I’m gonna ranger my weekends for serial! Oh also, PS – I recently crossed something off my 2016 yearly goals. I paid off my credit card! Wohoooo! It’s crazy how it really wasn’t hard to do once I decided to do it. Making the minimum payment each month was so easy, but once I forced myself to buckle down, stop charging to it, and live a little more frugally to put more money towards, and also not spending my tax return on things but instead on my future by throwing a large chunk towards this as well… I was able to 100% pay off all 3 of my cards, not just my Discover card which was actually my goal of the year. Feeling really great about this.

I am typing this up in a rush since I need to be at a friend's in an hour for study purposes and likely won't be able to check in for the weekend. So, this will be my first guild challenge. Well, I hung out with the Adventurers two challenges ago, when it was still slightly less defined in its purposes, but that challenge was cut short by moving countries and never saw an end. So... I am really excited, this is a big step. Tags system based on: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/77949-incipient-order-of-taggers-lets-hack-the-tag-system-for-good/ I love the idea, go support htem. *SPACE SAVED FOR INTRODUCTORY BLURB* Overall Goal: Incorporate fitness in my daily life. Like many technomancers, I spend hours at a time sitting in front of a computer, a trait that is exacerbated by the fact that my particular trade involves 3D modeling and animation, which means hours at a time can easily mean 10-14 hours depending on the project I am currently working on. I have already started feeling the effects, and I don't think anything but daily exercise is going to counteract them. [Goal 1] : Balancing Include 10 minutes of handstand practice and support practice in my daily routine. I have been ignoring this part of the Reddit Recommended Routine that I am currently following. I had planned to include it in my daily routine rather than as a workout, but that has not happened yet. For handstand, I will start with crow practice. Moving on to handstand once I manage to hold a crow for 30 seconds or more. [Goal 2]: 30 Days of Change I have been focussing on bodyweight strength and building up a routine for the past couple of months, now I wish to incorporate running into it. I really love the feeling running gives me, and I have sorely missed it. To build this up, will be following Darebee's 30 Days of Change. POSTPONED: due to an excessively charged timetable, I will be waiting to finish Foundations before doing hits one. [Goal 3]: Eat Your Protein I eat realtively healthily thanks to a lifetime of conditioning in the form of my mom. However, due to family history, we don't consume much meat, and this combined with being tight on finances these months, means I am not getting nearly enough protein as I should. Since getting enough protein is something I find hard in first place (the idea of eating meat at every meal, which would be the easiest way, is just... really foreign to me... I don't even eat meat once a day, and red meat is even rarer) and i am not used to working meat, tofu and fish (which are luxury good here) in my budget, I will start with hitting a protein goal three days a week. In short: eat 103g of protein at least three days a week. [Life Goal]: Discipline Beat procrastination and distraction. I have come up with a reward system where I give myself points every time I get to work when I should and don't muck about or procrastinate my tasks. I can then spend these points to award myself time off, holiday, etc. (Aside from scheduled rest days and breaks that are already in my schedule - I DO have those, do not worry) The point system goes as follows: Points Gained: 1 pt: every hour I work on a scheduled task without distractions 0,5 pts: every hour I work on a scheduled task but have other stuff going on int he Background; e.g; Facebook or Better Call Saul. 5pts: waking up without snoozing. Rewards: 25pts: Small Reward (watch one episode of a favourite series/muck about for an hour) 100pts: Big Reward (Day off, Spa Treatment, etc.) 1000 pts: One Week Holiday. Easy enough, no? Ah! But there is a catch - every hour I procrastinate, my opponent; the Evil Monkey that is also harassing Briniel, gets 5 points. And if at the end of the week the Monkey has more points than I do - well, I haven't decided wet what will happen, but something will happen! That is all, see you all soon!

Quest 1: Swim! 3 - 5 days per week. Quest 2: Portion Control! (no limit to the vegetables) Quest 3: Finish the Duolingo Spanish Tree Quest 4: Do the thing! -- The Strength Training Thing -- 1 - 3 days per week.

Main Quest: Get some balance in my Life After spending one month with the Adventurers, I'm back with the Assassins. However, I've lost control of a lot of things. My house, my schedule, myself. Last month I didn't take care of myself at all and stressed out so much I'm surprised I'm not in a straight jacket. With things picking up faster with my business than I anticipated and an anticipated two month break from future travels, I'm taking this 4-WC to calm down, focus energy on myself, hone my skills, and literally take time to smell the flowers. Finding Balance and Energy In April or May I'll most likely start the open water training portion of my freediver training. To get prepared I'll be doing the 30 day yoga challenge. I'm sure this will help me learn to control my breath and focus on my self, tune into body, and relax; all important things in freediving. This will go past this 4-WC but, only by 4 days, so it will be fine. Maintaining Flow and Power I HAVEN'T SWAM ONCE IN ALL OF FEBRUARY, WTF!!!I love swimming and I love training, so I'm pretty sure this decreased contact with water has been a big factor in feeling like I'm out of control. I'm hoping extending my goal and getting in 500m of swimming a week will make me a very happy mermaid. Paying Tribute to my Temple After the disaster that my diet was last month (eating two pints of ice cream in one sitting....weekly), I will be on a strict diet. 
I've had many ideas on how to go about this, but I think if I just focus on eating paleo dinners 4x a week, that will be a good start. Playing Music for my Soul I love music. I love my piano. I have barely touched my piano since we moved to Japan. By bringing more music into my life I think I can find more peace and get more creative thoughts flowing. I plan to devote 4 hours a week to practicing one music piece. Creating a Living Space I've been neglecting my home. Like really badly. I want this month to focus on getting into good habits and keeping my home clean and organized. I feel this will not only help control my stress levels, but help me get prepared to devote more energy into my business. The goal is to take at least 30 min everyday to do SOMETHING in the house. Side Quests With any good quest, there's always side quests to complete. These little add-ons will not give me any attribute stats, but will instead contribute to my XP. These are things I need to work on often throughout the year. Quests are as follows: Linguistic Mastery III Learn 280 words and review at least once a week Gold Keeping III Save $42 this month Knowledge Expansion III Read 2 books this month

2016 has been consistently kicking my ass since day 1. If you need any more proof, look no further than this thread. My uncanny ability to keep up with everything on these boards (known in Crossfit lingo as "ThreadCon™") is gone and I haven't posted my challenge thread already a day into the challenge. Things aren't looking pretty up ahead, so let's get to the point. Upcoming Events: 11km Trail Race on Feb. 7th Crossfit Open, kicking off on Feb. 25th for the following 5 weeks Masters' Exams on March. 8th and 15th.Simply put, I need to get back in line both physically and mentally Goals: 1. Nutrition: After checking with the SRLF™ I'm allowing myself the following Sugar: 1 day meal per week, to be used wisely while having a good time out and not stupidly stuffing things in my mouth at homeCheese: Allowed 2 days meals per weekComplex Carbs: Allowed only on workout days, from breakfast to 1 hour after the workout2. Workouts: 3 per week, preferrably straightforward Crossfit WODs instead of Oly Lifting, Gymnastics or other specialised classes 3. Study: I need to be ready for my exams. So far I've managed to lose interest in the lessons and not study any of the book or notes. This needs to change, drastically. 4. Animal Companion: A few days back, I picked up a stray cat. This goal is twofold. One, take care of it, take it to the vet, buy the necessary equipment and make the adjustments required to this new situation. Two is defend my decision against the family who is bound to go bananas once they hear of it. I am not giving way. The cat stays. 5. Peace of Mind: Special thanks to zenLara for inspiring this one. As mentioned, my ThreadCon™ has become terrible and instead of trying to fight it, I must come to terms with it. I can't keep up with everything and it's no use trying to do it or feeling bad for not being able to. 6. Daily Quests: This worked wonders during my previous challenge so I'm keeping it up for this one as well.

Pre-Challenge Spiel So my previous challenge was meant to reset my body and my mind for the upcoming year. It did that to an extent. It forced to make more time for myself in my busy (and getting busier) schedule and also to really focus on what I am putting into my body. I have upped my water intake significantly and aside from slipping up on a business trip week, did not drink alcohol for the whole month of January. I feel pretty great and refreshed and am so ready to start hitting things hard again! But going hard is uh... hard. For those of you who haven't been following me, I had a hip pre-injury (not quite an injury but a pain that told me to stop what I was doing and figure it out or an injury would basically be guaranteed to happen) and got pretty freaked out about it. My sister has serious hip problems (she is 20 and has already had to have hip surgery) so I took this very seriously. I figured out my issues were a result of glute amnesia - my glutes were not doing the work they were supposed to during DL and squats, and allowing my hip flexors to do all the work. Hip flexors are tiny muscles, they are not supposed to be taking on so much stress! But my glutes just werne't firing. I essentially put a halt on my lifting program and spent the last 6-ish weeks (basically ever since the end of the challenge of 2015) doing connectivity drills I learned at Camp Nerd Fitness from the lovely Kate Galliett and also some other glute strengthening isolation drills I found online. I also began doing a lot of core exercises to help protect my lower back from the same fate. Apparently lower backs are over acheivers too. Plus, core strength = better everything so why not? Anyway, I'm now feeling pretty confident with my glute amnesia being banished (I notice them firing when I walk and go up steps and basically do anything, and I even had a dream about squats where I noticed my glutes activating properly so they've definitely finally decided they want to do some work) and it is time for me to return to Strong Lifts! I'm going to have to deload a bunch, but I am so pumped to get back at this. I am also taking 2 classes as well as working full time. Typically I take one class but this semester I decided to really lean forward on my degree. Wow was it a lot more to take on than I expected. Basically, between beginning SL again, wanting to maintain my occasional glute activation drills an dother mobility drills, continuing to make sure my core gets some love, keeping up with my classes, my job exploding more and more and wanting to keep up with you nerds as much as possible because you are THE BEST I need to seriously work on my time allocation. Unfortunately I do not have a time turner to get more hours from my day. I know what I need to do, and what I want to do. I have the motivation and the habits. What I need to do now is take both of those and be flexible with my schedule in order to get in everything I want. So this challenge won't have very complicated goals from the outset, but each week will be treated individually depending on what I've got going on, work travel, homework, etc. I'm going to continue with the Fly Lady baby steps as well and hopefully finish out all 31 by the end of this challenge but if I get held up on a specific day again that's fine. I want to integrate this into my life slowly so it sticks. I'm currently on day 15 - and have been for about a week now. Main Goals 1. Every Sunday or Monday I will post my schedule for the week to include major items that may affect my productivity on a given day for the next seven days (ie - class) and what I will be doing for each of those days BROKEN DOWN BY THE HOUR. This sounds crazy, I know, but I only have a few hours between when I get home from work (6PM) and when I need to get to bed (9/930PM) so I truly need to plan out how to utilize each of those minutes to get the most done I can without trying to do too much and blowing my bed time. Non-work days are a bit more flexible but I still want to list what I want to do on those days. This includes homework, cleaning tasks, meditation, reading, and of course work outs. 2. At least 3 times a week I will update my thread on my status of if I hit my to-do goals for each day. 3. Each week I need to fit in a core work out and a glute drill workout. This can be the same workout. (I won't do this if I don't make it a separate goal). Food Goal 4. Continue to not eat dairy. 1 minor slip up a week is allowed (ie some melted cheese on some meat. Eating 1017 cheese cubes from an appetizer tray does not count as a "minor" slip up). Life Goal 5. Sleep at least 7 hours a night. No on average, but actually legit, 7 hours a night. This will prevent me from expecting too much of myself in (1) and (2) above. My final grade will be based 20% on the success of each of the above. Planning, execution, special work outs, dairy consumption, and sleep. Goal 2 (posting updates) will be half based on posting 3x/week and half based on actual completion of my schedule items. I'm aware this is going to be quite the strict challenge with no bells and whistles but I needs it. Bad. SELF DICIPLINE FTW! Also, I've made the commitment to watch through Xena. Girl power also FTW! I debated making this challenge Xena themed but I didn't have time. I'd rather spend my time making my rounds here than thinking up a way to make this challenge more themed....but feel free to post Xena gifs as they will bring me joy

Hey adventurers, I'm new here! My fitness and life goals are split down the middle between Assassins and Adventurers, and since this month I'll be going to China, I'll be shacking up here for the next four weeks. Main Quest: Travel like an Adult Traveling is not a new thing for me, but while going through airport security and customs isn't a big deal for me...everything else is. All my anxiety and stress comes from packing, getting the house ready, and taking my furry baby to the sitters. When I come back I don't unpack anything for MONTHS. I also am notorious for over packing or worse leaving something extremely important behind (like a cell phone charger). Also when I'm out adventuring I tend to stay in some sort of comfort zone, mainly with food, and have a bout of laziness if there's not already planned events. These 4 weeks I will work on NOT doing what I normally do when I travel. 1) Before and After During week one I have to prepare my home and prepare myself for the upcoming travels. During week three and four I have to unpack and put away things, and of course tell everyone on Facebook what happened. In total there are 11 things that I need to do in order for this side quest to be a success. 
 2) Explore China A simple quest in my opinion. Go out and explore! Eat new things! Take lots of pictures and write down the memories before bed. 3) Maintain Fitness Again super simple, just keep fit during these four weeks. I'll be doing ballet videos 3x a week and swimming whenever possible. During my week in China, I'll be doing yoga instead due to the strict Internet censorship preventing me access to my normal youtube videos. Side Quests With any good adventure, there's always side quests to complete. These little add-ons will not give me any attribute stats, but will instead contribute to my XP. These are things I need to work on often throughout the year. Quests are as follows: Linguistic Mastery II Review Vocab 2x a week Gold Keeping II Save $26 this month Knowledge Expansion II Read 2 books this month

We just had a challenge, now to see if I can keep up the progress Maintenance for Life: Swim 4-5 days per week 0%0% Drylands 3 days per week 0%0% Keep eating veggies (at least two cups per day) 0%0% Keep swapping tea for soda & Keep life latte free 0%0% New Stuff: Level up at life: Save Money, Save Calories -- Make Dinner Every Night 0%0% Level up my Diet: Choose Fruit Over Sweets 0%0% Life + Diet Bonus: Save Money, Complain Less -- Make Your Own Coffee and Tea 0%0% Level up my Fitness: Introduce Yoga 2 days per week 0%0% Fitness Bonus: Make sure to walk at least 3 miles per day 0%0%

“Ugh” For some reason, the first thing I could feel was the inside of my mouth. My tongue felt like it was made of sawdust and tar. My throat was equally dry and coarse, then a stinging pain across my spine made every nerve explode, flooding me with a sudden rush of adrenaline as the rest of my senses returned to me. The pain retreated, much like a quick stab, letting the sensory information fall into place slowly. Everything about my back told me I was lying on cold hard rock. “Cursed Pandemonium, I was washed down the tunnels again, wasn’t I?” I said to no one in particular. “This isn’t Pandemonium. And you are no longer who you thought you were” no one in particular answered back. A female voice, soft with the sound of age-old wisdom. “Externally, at least”. I tried to jump up and face whoever was talking to me, but my body felt way heavier than I remembered. Probably from the shock, I thought. It’s ok, I’ll make it less spectacular. Rolling over and hopping up was so instinctive, it happened faster than my brain could process what was going on. At first I wondered if my shoulders were wider than I thought, then I caught sight of my two hands planted on the ground. Meaty and dark skinned, they propelled me to a standing position albeit not as gracefully as I had hoped. I could literally feel time expand on my upward flight as I was stunned in amazement. Taking a moment to inspect my form before facing the origin of that voice, I found myself wide and muscular. “Not that I’m complaining for the upgrade, but what exactly is going on here?” “There is no way to easy way to explain this” the voice began. I looked around. I was in some sort of cave, lit by some otherworldly source that balanced perfectly between eerie and indifferent. A woman in a long white dress stood nearby, her silver hair held in two long pigtails hanging behind her head. She would have looked girlish, if not for the elongated canines on her lower jaw. Plus, she was partly transparent. “No, you’re not dead” she answered the obvious question that was beginning to form on the back of my mind. “What do you remember about yourself?” I scratched the back of my head, remarking how both my finger and skull felt thicker. “I am a Planeswalker, a githzerai. My name feels old and unpronounceable now, but I remember it meant something about a wanderer or a raider. Uhm, I used to wield a flaming bastard sword. And the last place I visited was the Howling Madness of Pandemonium. It’s all black from there”. The ghostly figure listened with genuine care and perhaps a hint of surprise. “That is… way more than most usually remember. You are a strong soul indeed. I do not know those things you speak of, but I know that somehow you have passed into our world, reborn. Reincarnation, us shamans call it, although yours is a unique case. Plus, you came out as a mag’har, the Uncorrupted of our race. This is how we originally were. I cannot say the same for this place. Alas, once beautiful Draenor is now the shattered dimension of the Outlands.” “Draenor?” I exclaimed. “I’ve read about this place. Well, us Planeswalkers are about going to places and learning from experience, but it never hurts to go somewhere prepared. Right. Draenor. Uhm, used to be full of Orcs and Draenei, until the former slew the latter and invaded human lands through some portal, right?” The woman gave me a sad smile. “That’s part of it, yes. We used to exist together until sometime after my death under the hooves of a clefthoof. I was a shaman and leader of the Frostwolf clan, then my apprentice Drek’Thar took over. He was tricked by some demon impersonating me into joining the Draenei purge, but when the demon and its lackeys asked him to abandon shamanism for the ways of the demon-worshipping warlock, he wisely refused. Our clan was exiled while the others drank the blood of demons and became their enraged slaves, invading the human lands twice as their vanguard. By the time of the Third War, Warchief Thrall sought our clan once more as he tried to bring our race back to its shamanistic roots. Thanks to that and the heroic sacrifice of Grom Hellscream, the orcs were freed from their demonic chains and fought back the demonic invasion alongside their former enemies. Most settled in their new home of Durotan, but our clan retreated elsewhere.” “I see…” were my only words as I tried to take in all the information and sort it out. “Well, of all the places I could exist as an Orc, looks like I landed in the best” I said sarcastically, receiving a raised eyebrow from the spectral woman. Clearly she had no idea that in most worlds I knew existed, Orcs are savage brutes at best. “So what now?” “Patience, young one” the woman said and held out a hand. “There is still much to learn. I will tell you most of it in time and some of it you’ll find out yourself. What’s important right now is strengthening that soul of yours first. It made it through its journey with remarkable resilience. You should cherish and protect it, lest you forget who you really are. Once that is done, you need to get around and learn about your new home. From experience, just the way you like it". The tone of her voice told the story of how she enjoyed the jest, playfully devoid of any irony. "That, and a wolf. No orc can call himself a Raider until he’s got a dire wolf to ride. We call the local variety Frostwolf Howlers.” “What a charming name” I snapped with pure irony instead. “We should also work on your attitude” the woman struck back without batting an eyelid. “The proper ork response would be ‘Lok'tar Ogar!’ That’s ‘For Victory or Death” in our language. That’s our battlecry.” Apparently, the comments about eating and snoring like an Orc were turned into inspiration for my new RPG NF alter ego since I thought "why not also train, fight and face challenges like an Orc?". Warcraft was an easy pick with it's epic take on the noble savagery of Orcs, plus there's plenty of inspiring lore I intend to integrate into the story along with a few surprises. This is not a respawn but rather a reincarnation, hence the link to my githzerai character from my first few NF challenges. Now, onto the TL;DR version good stuff! Soul Power: A Link to the Past Never forget what you've been through, because it made you who you are. In less fancy wording, stick with what's worked so far. Don't eat like a dickhead and do at least 3 crossfit workouts every week. Anything beyond that is a bonus. Frostwolf Howler No Orc can call itself a Raider until it has a Dire Wolf upon which to ride. I used to be in the junior leagues with a 125cc motorcycle license and a scooter to go with it. 2+ years later, the scooter is sold and the license ready to be upgraded. My quest is to acquire information on the necessary process, do what has to be done, upgrade said license and buy a motorcycle of at least 400cc. Also, get a full-face helmet. For the Horde! Keeping goals simple, this is a catch-all quest in which to keep track of guild mini progress, PvPs and any other weird stuff you folks get me dragged into...

Theme for 2016 During a Solstice ritual with a couple of friends, I had a very clear image of a driving a stake into the ground. Attached was a leather thong that bound my ankle to the stake. I knew the image referred to a story I read many years ago of a Native American warrior, but I could not remember the details, only that it was an act of total commitment. Once again, the internet delivers: Attached to each dog rope was a picket-pin [used to tether horses]. The pin was driven into the ground as a mark of resolve in combat. When a Dog Soldier was staked to the ground in order to cover the retreat of his companions, he was required to remain there even if death was the consequence. The Dog Man could pull the pin from the ground only if his companions reached safety or another Dog Soldier released him from his duty. From "Cheyenne Dog Soldiers," by Richard Grimes I'm kind of glad I didn't remember the details of the story! The more I read about the Dog Soldiers the more respect I have and the more intimidated I become. Nevertheless, I am holding to my intuitive vision and planting my stake into the ground.Focus and Motivation No doubt this will be a challenging year. To in some small way embody the ideals and values of warriors of that caliber will be a tremendous stretch, one in which I hope I can use them as inspiration and example without faltering or giving any disrespect. I see my primary focus this year as being COMMITMENT. My primary motivation to get healthier (on all levels) and stay that way, is to be present for my family, friends, and associates. With the above in mind, and knowing that there are many changes coming to Nerd Fitness, I am keeping my goals simple and succint. I suspect that many of what would normally have been side quests will fit better into the coming "Epic Quest" system, and I am sure that DarK_Raider and Rurik are hatching mini-challenge plans and any number of other surprises for the future... Challenge Goals1. Go the Distance Average of 15 miles per week, for a total of at least 60 miles for the challenge. Going for easy level of difficulty still, just focused on increasing mileage for now. Carefully, steadily. 2. Wait and Watch for the Enemy; Stand Your Ground Squat 10 mins per day, 6 days per week, 6 hours for the challenge. This is to stretch and release tight muscles from sitting at a computer for so much of the day. Stand for increasing times each day I work at GP, starting with 10 minutes of every hour. This one is a tracking goal, not a total time goal for this challenge, at least until I know how much my bum leg will take per day. I purchased a new stand for my computer that lets me easily turn my regular desk into a standing desk. I plan to install that as soon as I return to work and add standing to my daily routine for the last 5 weeks of the challenge. 3. Eat to Win Lose 4 pounds during the January Challenge Do this by eating healthy foods - lots of fruits and veggies, moderate amounts of whole grains, small amounts of meat, and very little processed food, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of sleep, fresh air, and relaxation. 4. CyberWarrior Learn - Complete the cyber security course I am taking. Practice - Participate in at least one exercise through the AZCWR (Arizona Cyber Warfare Range). Share - Organize and promote the upcoming Code Sisters Cyber-Security Workshop. Not sure if I am going to build a story around this or not. I think I will wait until after the 4th to decide that, once I see the new features on Nerd Fitness. Hoka hey! (Yes, I know that's Lakota/Dakota, not Cheyenne, and it doesn't mean what Hollywood thinks it does... But it makes a pretty good war cry.) Let's go kill this challenge!