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Spring is near for those of us in the northern hemisphere, so I think a spring themed challenge is appropriate. The key word for this challenge is NOURISHMENT. An account I follow on Instagram, Noble King Wolf, posted a quote that has stuck with me: "I don't want satisfaction. I need nourishment." That is my overarching goal for this challenge: to be nourished. Goal 1: Nourish My Soul speak gratitude: say a brief prayer of gratitude upon waking re-instate a morning devotional practice (reading/listening, prayer/meditation) daily gratitude journaling: write down at least three things I am grateful for every day practice at least one act of random kindness every day spend at least 30 minutes outside in nature, preferably near trees and water Goal 2: Nourish My Heart spend quality time with wife and kids; include physical touch (hugs, high fives, snuggling, etc.) speak at least one compliment to my wife daily practice at least one romantic gesture for my wife daily spend time daily reflecting on things that I love listen to music that lifts my heart Goal 3: Nourish My Body move my body in fun, dynamic, and challenging ways that feel good eat foods that nourish rather than satisfy (i.e. nutritious whole foods with simple ingredients, no "empty calories") savor what I eat and drink; use all of my senses to truly enjoy it drink more water; no seriously, drink more water listen closely to my body's signals: eat when I feel hungry, rest when I feel tired, be alert when I feel stressed/overwhelmed/irritated/anxious Goal 4: Nourish My Mind read something for at least 20 minutes per day listen to informative and/or inspiring podcasts read at least one scholarly/educational article every day complete the daily requirements on Duolingo complete the daily requirements on Elevate

For this challenge, I have one goal: to nourish my mind, body, and soul. I will achieve this by being mindful of everything I "consume," making a conscious effort to only partake in things that nourish me. Mind: read at least 10 pages of any book that develops my mind in some way learn something new every day (via websites, videos, podcasts, articles, etc.) view art that calms and/or inspires my mind complete a daily crossword complete the daily goals for Elevate and Duolingo take a mindful walk every day; don't stress about time--the focus is on intention, not duration. Body: complete the Daily Dare on Darebee stick to an exercise routine: Monday: Sprinting Tuesday: Lift heavy things Wednesday: Move slowly, play, rest Thursday: HIIT Friday: Move slowly, play, rest Saturday: Lift heavy things Sunday: Move slowly, play, rest practice Yoga daily post workout fast intermittently (using Zero app as a guide) drink enough water eat foods that nourish my body (i.e. avoid processed foods that contain "empty" calories) Soul: maintain morning routine: daily meditation/prayer daily breath work daily scripture and poetry reading spend at least 30 minutes in nature daily spend quality time with wife and children

No one is obligated or expected to actually read all of this lol. Just wanted to log everything for my daily workouts and basic plans. It changes often, so I'll be updating and revising here and there. The more I do a routine, the more I find gaps, or things I need to adjust and will do so as they come. Also, any outdoor activities or swimming, or other adventures that happen away from home gym I will share in thread to keep track of my activities with pics 💖 'MOON'DAY - ELEMENT OF WATER 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Monday's Meditations: Moon energy, healing, self love, focus on feminine energy, and water energy. Accompanied by: Moonstone, rose quartz, snow quartz, clear quartz, selenite 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - Light Full Body Workout 7:30 AM - Core, obliques workout (Coincides with Monday - Moonday, Goddess energy) 8:00 AM - Shower, then quick breakfast. EGGS. ALL THE EGGS. 8:45 AM - Leave for work 9:00 AM - Arrive at work 12:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 12:30 PM - Back to work 3:00 PM - 5 minutes of jumping jacks and stretching in back office to perk up and get blood flowing again. 5:00 PM - Released from the land of the dead - I mean work. (It's a cemetery. Literally the land of the dead so it's actually legit af.) 5:15 PM - Home. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Core focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Moonstone, rose quartz, snow quartz, clear quartz, selenite 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something inspiring and uplifting, comforting, and familiar. 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Tuesday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime 🌊Bonus points today for taking a swim indoors or outdoors or just spending time with or by a natural body of water. +8 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with La Luna +5 WARRIOR TUESDAY - ELEMENT OF FIRE 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Tuesday's Meditations: Warrior energy, Mars, Masculine energy. Focus on strength, courage, empowerment, honor, loyalty, protection. Accompanied by: Smoky quartz, black tourmaline, obsidian, carnelian, pyrite 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - Light Full Body Workout 7:30 AM - Shoulders, Back, Arms (Coincides with Tuesday - Mars Day - Warrior Energy!!! YEA!!!) 8:00 AM - Shower, then quick breakfast. EGGS. ALL THE EGGS. 8:45 AM - Leave for work 9:00 AM - Arrive at work 12:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 12:30 PM - Back to work 3:00 PM - 5 minutes of jumping jacks and stretching in back office to perk up and get blood flowing again. 5:00 PM - Off work. 5:15 PM - Home. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Arms, shoulders, back focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Smoky quartz, black tourmaline, obsidian, carnelian 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something empowering, heroic, courageous 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Wednesday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime 🔥Bonus points today for having a sacred fire and/or fire scrying, incense making, smoke scrying +5 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with corresponding planet +5 MERCURIAN WEDNESDAY (Weigh-In Wednesday) ELEMENT OF AIR 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Wednesday's Meditations: Messenger, Intellectual energy, Mercury, Masculine and Feminine energy. Focus on outward energy. Promoting positive thought patterns, banishing negative thought patterns, contemplate how I use words with myself and others and if I do that in the healthiest most positive way and how I can improve that today. Accompanied by: Ametrine, obsidian, pink botswana agate, lepidolite, clear quartz 6:00 AM - Weigh-In 6:05 AM - Log weight, set new goals, make any necessary changes to nutrition and fitness plan, make grocery list and write out meal plan. (Wednesday's Mercurian Energy is great for all the intellectual, mathy, tedious stuff. Here's to Gemini's and Virgos!) 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - Light Full Body Workout 7:30 AM - All limbs lifting and resisting today, and breathing exercises. (Coincides with Wednesday- Mercury Day - lungs, hands, arms, legs, feet) 8:00 AM - Shower, then quick breakfast. EGGS. ALL THE EGGS. 8:45 AM - Leave for work 9:00 AM - Arrive at work 12:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 12:30 PM - Back to work 3:00 PM - 5 minutes of jumping jacks and stretching in back office to perk up and get blood flowing again. 5:00 PM - Off work. 5:15 PM - Home. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Arms, shoulders, back focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Ametrine, obsidian, pink botswana agate, lepidolite, clear quartz 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something witty, clever, intellectual, thought provoking, science related topics such as theoretical physics, astronomy, etc. 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Thursday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime 🌌Bonus points today for writing a short story or poem. +6 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with corresponding planet +5 JOVIAN THURSDAY - ELEMENT OF AIR/FIRE 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Thursday's Meditations: The day of the "Luck Planet" Jupiter. Philosopher energy. Divine wisdom. Abundance. Wealth. Luck. Accompanied by: Amethyst, smoky quartz, clear quartz, Preseli bluestone, carnelian, obsidian 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - Light Full Body Workout 7:30 AM - Hams and Butt day (Coincides with Jupiter- Jovian Thursday - Thighs and butt. I have to admit that the biggest planet getting butt day is hilariously ironic) 8:00 AM - Shower, then quick breakfast. EGGS. ALL THE EGGS. 8:45 AM - Leave for work 9:00 AM - Arrive at work 12:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 12:30 PM - Back to work 3:00 PM - 5 minutes of jumping jacks and stretching in back office to perk up and get blood flowing again. 5:00 PM - Off work. 5:15 PM - Home. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Hamstrings and butt focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Amethyst, smoky quartz, clear quartz, Preseli bluestone, carnelian, obsidian 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something philosophical, financial and budget planning, entrepreneurial 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Friday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime ⚡Bonus points today for participating in any kind of arts for 1 hour. +6 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with corresponding planet +5 VENUSIAN FRIDAY - ELEMENT OF WATER/EARTH 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Friday's Meditations: The day of love. Love, compassion, self love, marriage, friendship, mother energy, healing from water energy, stability and growth from Earth energy. Accompanied by: Amazonite, rose quartz, clear quartz, snowflake obsidian 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - Light Full Body Workout 7:30 AM - Chest, abs, leg day (Coincides with Venus- Venusian Friday - Chest, breasts, do I even need to add womb here lol, legs) 8:00 AM - Shower, then quick breakfast. EGGS. ALL THE EGGS. 8:45 AM - Leave for work 9:00 AM - Arrive at work 12:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 12:30 PM - Back to work 3:00 PM - 5 minutes of jumping jacks and stretching in back office to perk up and get blood flowing again. 5:00 PM - Off work. 5:15 PM - Home. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Chest, abs, legs focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Amazonite, rose quartz, clear quartz, snowflake obsidian 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something romantic, or about friendship, companionship, motherhood (even though I'm not a mom, I can't resist a Gilmore Girls - esque tale. I do happen to still be a daughter ) 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Saturday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime ♥️Bonus points today for taking a bubble bath with essential oils, candles, flowers, music. Treat yourself. +6 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with corresponding planet +5 SATURNIAN SATURDAY - ELEMENT OF EARTH 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Saturday's Meditations: Father Saturn, Capricornian energy, the teacher Accompanied by: Amethyst, citrine, or ametrine, smoky quartz, rainbow obsidian, black tourmaline 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - Light Full Body Workout 7:30 AM - Focus on mobility and joint health today as well as breathing exercises (Coincides with Saturn- Saturnian Saturday- joint health, flexibility, breathability) 8:00 AM - Shower 9:00 AM - Breakfast - Chia bowl with berries, a mini-chaffle size of palm(an egg waffle) with tomatoes, peppers, onions. 1:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Flexibility and low impact focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Amethyst, citrine, or ametrine, smoky quartz, rainbow obsidian, black tourmaline 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something insightful, educational, motivational, self improvement, even home improvement! (Do some Dad things. Done.) 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Sunday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime ☮️Bonus points today for learning a new trade, or for researching *opposing* political views. +8 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with corresponding planet +5 SOL SUNDAY - ELEMENT OF FIRE 5:00 AM - Wake 5:10 AM - Sunday's Meditations: God, Sol, Sun, Divine Masculine energy, Leo energy, Fire, self love, ego Accompanied by: Citrine, smoky quartz, clear quartz, pyrite, shungite, lemon quartz, carnelian 6:30 AM - Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes or 5 Miles +2 for additional minutes or miles 7:00 AM - Strength Training - 10,000HP Full Body Workout!!! GO HARD BISH. YOU A STAR. Literally, be a star. It is "Sun" day after all ) 7:30 AM - Focus on total body, calisthenics, then follow up with something light and calming such as stretching, slow flow yoga, Qi Gong (Coincides with Sol- Sunday- perfomance, endurance, stamina, and cool down, plus a bit of "ego check" ) Fuel the fire, then cool the fire. 8:00 AM - Shower 9:00 AM - BIG BREAKFAST TODAY YES. 10:00 AM - Go say hello to the sun. Take in that glorious fk'er. Get outside and get some D. Vitamin D. 1:00 PM - Lunch followed by 10 minutes of meditation. 6:00 PM - Head to the home dojo. Recumbent Bike for 20 minutes with 3lb weights, 5lbs, and 10lb kettlebell. Strength training with kettlebell and body weight exercises for 15 minutes. Flexibility and low impact focused exercises for 15 minutes. 6:30 PM - Cook dinner/Eat 7:30 PM - MCT Protein Blast with Collagen >Insert mundane $#!% here< 8:30 PM - Recumbent Bike for 20 to 30 minutes with highest resistance for the day. Yoga/Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Meditation Accompanied by: Amethyst, citrine, or ametrine, smoky quartz, rainbow obsidian, black tourmaline 9:30 PM - Read for 20 minutes, something insightful, educational, motivational, self improvement, even home improvement! (Do some Dad things. Done.) 10:00 PM - Set intentions for Monday manifestations, review planetary orbits, visualize my day, write keywords for how I would like to "feel", and how I can do something with that day to improve that. Journal for 10 minutes. 10:30 PM - Bedtime 🌄Bonus points today for going on a hike, going fishing, bird watching, boating +10 If it's raining and you still do it, +3 more cuz you rock and stuff. 👽✨Bonus points for taking telescope out and spending quality time with corresponding planet +5

Hi all, I wanted to see what you all had to say about mental fitness and how we could possibly track it in a similar way nerd fitness tracks physical fitness. How do you stay mentally fit? Are there any websites like this one for tracking mental fitness? Let's get a discussion going. A website I've been using lately to complement my physical stimulation with mental stimulation is blog.jaretgrossman.com. Jaret is a life coach I've come across on YouTube, and seems to talk about higher level stuff. It keeps me motivated during my workouts. What else would you all recommend?

Hi everyone! This is going to be my first challenge on Nerd Fitness, so I'm pretty hyped for it. I've been feeling too down, too out of shape, too mortal, now it's time to CHANGE! Stop Having Crap Technique Mastering Technique! 1) Cartwheel Mastery (2,000 Cartwheels) I've been trying to work on my Aerial but to no avail (I kinda just keep falling...), so I figure a likely reason is that I have not yet really mastered the cartwheel. The same way that I managed to land a tornado kick by just spamming roundhouse and crescent kicks over and over and over again, I can likely have a much better time learning an aerial if I have the cartwheel completely down. So by the end of these four weeks, I'll have done 2,000 cartwheels, and hopefully be on my way to this in future challenges: 2) Butterfly Kick Mastery (2,000 Butterfly Kicks) Another trick I've been working on is my butterfly twist. Similar to the above situation, a butterfly kick is the prerequisite to a butterfly twist, and if my butterfly kicks aren't top notch, then I probably won't have a decent butterfly twist either. At the moment, my b-kicks don't look too great, and I definitely have flaws in my form. The only way I learned to execute a good roundhouse kick or crescent kick was by practicing them over and over and over, so by practicing the butterfly kick 2,000 times in these upcoming four weeks, I should be set, and on my way to this in future challenges: Stop Feeling Weak Build Beast-Like Endurance! 3) Back into Pushups (1,000 Spiderman Pushups) I used to be a lot better at pushups, but finals took a toll on me and now being home for the summer has been very unmotivating, especially given how much my parents shelter me, so I'm quite a bit out of shape. I will work on doing spiderman pushups every day, just to get back into the swing of things before heading back to college. (Spiderman pun not intended but I chuckled when I realized) 4) Handstand Endurance (Hold a Wall Handstand for 60 Seconds) Handstands are feats of balance, endurance, and mental resistance. My longest free handstand thus far has been 10 seconds, and my longest wall handstand around 30, I believe. In these four weeks, I will work up to a consistent 30, and then a consistent 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and finally 60 second wall handstand. From here, hopefully I can move off the wall and improve my handstands overall Stop Having a Cluttered Mind Conquer My Mind! 5) Getting Back into Meditation (5 Minute Daily Meditation) I used to be able to meditate for about an hour and a half at a time, but that was around a year ago; I was 17 and I had a bit more free time outside academics. Over time I just abandoned the habit, but it's time to get back into it. I have time now, during the summer, so I'll make it a habit again before academics takes over, and keep it this time. 5 minutes of daily sitting meditation. And that's it, my first 4-week challenge, I look forward to it and to feeling just a bit less mortal

(Posted on other forum, but this contains updates and hyperlinks) For my next challenge, I have decided to break it up into four parts: Heart, Body, Mind, and Spirit. These will probably extend past four weeks and hopefully form habits. Heart: Be the first to greet people when I encounter them (inspired by Gabby Reece: "I always say 'go first'....That means if I'm checking out at the store, I say hello first. If I'm coming across somebody and make eye contact, I'll smile first. I wish people would experiment with that in their lives a little bit: Be first because - not all times, but most times- it comes in your favor. The response is pretty amazing.") Start a Gratitude Journal (at least three things every day). Less talking, more curious listening (and eye contact). Write a "Thank You" letter or send a "Thank You" message once/week to someone who deserves it. Call mother every day. Visit grandfather at least once/week. Body: Do at least 50 pushups/day. Do at least 50 dips/day. HIIT at least 3 days/week. Intermittent fasting to help with weight loss/muscle building Spend at least 30 minutes/day outside. Get to bed before 10:30 pm. Mind: Download Insight Timer (done). Find guided meditations that interest me. Use at least one guided meditation daily. Sit in still silence every day for at least five minutes. Start a daily reflection journal (for the end of the day). Read at least 5 pages of any book/day (I love to read, but my attention span is so short, this is seriously challenging for me). Schedule social media time (rather than randomly/obsessively checking it every few minutes): No more than 30 minutes in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. Spirit: Place a Bible Reading Plan in my Bible and/or download a Reading Plan via the YouVersion app. Read assigned chapters/verses in the morning before my day begins (or listen to audio version during commute to work). Integrate prayer throughout my day. Find and read a short daily devotional/meditations. Most of these are habits I have wanted to build for a while. It seems daunting, but some of these can be integrated, and I know strengthening these four pillars will help me become more balanced over time.

Hey there folks. I don't know if this is a long story, or a short one,but I know it is not a total reset as I have at least been consistent with my gym schedule. Anywho, I am having trouble with passions. I find myself deeply entrenched in a rut of boring cubicle work, thought the cubicle is at home now, and find it hard to get excited about a lot of things. I used to be really into Star Wars and other fandoms and stuff, but I have lost my way in terms of an idea that can really get me excited day in and day out. What have you guys done to get yourself back on track, or finally find something that holds you. I keep trying things and they either do not spark me, or I cannot be sparked and I make excuses or decide endlessly trolling the web is a better choice. Thanks,

For my next challenge, I have decided to break it up into four parts: Heart, Body, Mind, and Spirit. These will probably extend past four weeks and hopefully form habits. Heart: Be the first to greet people when I encounter them (inspired by Gabby Reece: "I always say 'go first'....That means if I'm checking out at the store, I say hello first. If I'm coming across somebody and make eye contact, I'll smile first. I wish people would experiment with that in their lives a little bit: Be first because - not all times, but most times- it comes in your favor. The response is pretty amazing.") Start a Gratitude Journal (at least three things every day). Write a "Thank You" letter or send a "Thank You" message once/week to someone who deserves it. Call mother every day. Visit grandfather at least once/week. Body: Do at least 50 pushups/day. Do at least 50 dips/day. HIIT at least 3 days/week. Intermittent fasting to help with weight loss/muscle building Spend at least 30 minutes/day outside. Get to bed before 10:30 pm. Mind: Download Insight Timer (done). Find guided meditations that interest me. Use at least one guided meditation daily. Sit in still silence every day for at least five minutes. Start a daily reflection journal (for the end of the day). Read at least 5 pages of any book/day (I love to read, but my attention span is so short, this is seriously challenging for me). Schedule social media time (rather than randomly/obsessively checking it every few minutes): No more than 30 minutes in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. Spirit: Place a Bible Reading Plan in my Bible and/or download a Reading Plan via the YouVersion app. Read assigned chapters/verses in the morning before my day begins (or listen to audio version during commute to work). Integrate prayer throughout my day. Find and read a short daily devotional/meditations. Most of these are habits I have wanted to build for a while. It seems daunting, but some of these can be integrated, and I know strengthening these four pillars will help me become more balanced over time.

Druid January CHALLENGE: My goals steam from the want to distress with yoga and focus my energy in positive ways. Diet Goals: · Drink 2-3 of 32oz bottle of water (I have a 32 oz.travel water bottle so it’s easy to measure.) · Eat 50% less convenience food/ ordering out… making whole meals/dinner without preservatives. And add one extra serving of vegetables. Fitness: · Walk every day (5 minutes) - this could even be in the form of standing up at your desk and walking around the office. · Complete the NF bodyweight workout at least 1x a week · Do yoga and stretches 2-3 times a week (Set reminder on my phone.) Level Up Your Life · At least 5 minutes meditation daily- 3 times a week · Go to bed earlier, I’ve been staying up way to late in past 2 weeks. My goal at the end of the 4 weeks is to be in bed by 11 and lights out by 12. · Remind myself to think positive when feeling overwhelmed or reach out to others. · Finish my short story; it’s a love story about a Viking man during the Medieval era.

~Hungry For Evolution~ Thank you for stopping by and visiting my battle log! First let me share with you the two men that have inspired me to have the motto of being hungry for evolution. Joe Manganiello & Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold coined the phrase of stay hungry. Arnold during the film pumping iron talks about what it is to stay hungry, but to summarize it in my own words it means to constantly find new ways to challenge yourself in order to become a better you. Joe talks of wanting evolution of his body in his book by making his body grow in a functional sense by evolving it to its strongest form. Inspired by the messages of these two men have l decided to become hungry for evolution. This Battle log will track everything from my thoughts, training, eating habits, and personal progression. Now while I am doing a challenge this log will be put on the back burner as I post in my guild for my current challenge. I will still visit and post, just not as often so I don't become side tracked. I do promise to post once a day in this log even when I am doing a challenge so I can level up? I welcome you all to join me on my journey to becoming A max level, over powered RPG hero. Here is what you will be able to find in my battle log -Monthly stats, my personal progression.- -The body, my daily training- -The mind, my daily fitness thoughts- -The spirit, everything inspiration and motivation- -Random posts of articles I wrote and youtube videos I will do for you guys.- DISCLAIMER: The information on this forum does not replace advice you receive from your qualified health care professional, and the information on this forum is not intended as medical advice. You are asked to make your own health care decisions based on your research and the advice of a qualified health care professional.

Welcome to my 8th challenge thread I've now been on these forums for one year (anniversary on January 3rd) so I'll start with a motivational list of some of the things I've accomplished in that time:recovered from a shoulder injuryimproved Spanish listening and speakinglearned to walk across a slacklinetracked macronutrients for a weeklearned not to set overly-ambitious challengesheld a 10-second handbalancecreated a YouTube video of my handstand progressjoined a second gymnastics gymbought climbing shoes so I can go bouldering properlyentered a Spartan Raceincreased strength in the bench press by 30%15 pistol squats on each leglearned Olympic liftingbought gymnastics rings and started training regularly with them It hasn't been easy, and there are plenty of things that I wanted to accomplished and completely failed with... but the last challenge has been good. So while I have some momentum, I'd like to make as much more progress as possible... Challenge #1: BODYWEIGHT SKILLS: +2 DEX, +4 CHA These are 6 skills that I'm currently working on and I think may be possible by the end of the challenge: ring muscle-up: I maybe got close to achieving this last week, but I'm taking a break until January 5th to let my right forearm tendon recover from the stress I've been putting on it while practising this. bar muscle-up: some say it's harder than the ring muscle-up, but I find the wrist position slightly easier. I'm also taking a break on this until Jan 5th. upstart / glide kip: this move requires good technique and lots of core strength. I've done some work on the first part of the motion, but don't feel close to "getting" the move. It's one of those things that 6-year-old girls seem to find much easier than 1m85 men like me... archer ring pull-up: I can do the very top part of these, but not yet strong enough to do the bottom part... so it's clear what I have to work on +0.50 CHA: each hand, with ring starting above head height+0.50 DEX: either hand, full movement+0.50 CHA: each hand, full movementfrontflip: I've done these nicely on the bouncy tumble track onto a crashmat (and once without) but need more consistency and to tuck harder. +0.50 CHA: high safe consistent frontflips on tumble track without crashmat+0.50 DEX: high safe consistent frontflips on floor with crashmat+0.50 CHA: high safe consistent frontflips on floor without crashmatbackwards walkover: I can do this with my feet on a 60cm platform and would like to not need the platform at all. Need to improve back flexibility, core strength, and technique. +0.25 CHA: 40cm platform+0.25 DEX: 20cm platform+0.25 CHA: without platform Each move carries +0.25 DEX and +0.50 CHA. The last three skills can award partial points as described. Archer pull-ups and frontflips carry double points for double awesomeness. Challenge #2: SQUATS & DEADLIFTS: +3 STR I've found a couple of gyms where I can safely practise heavy squats, and I've recently improved my deadlift form. My legs are strong and can handle high volume, but I'd like them to be more powerful like in my old high jump days. Therefore it seems that now is a good time to work on increasing the weight I can squat and deadlift. From experience with the bench press and overhead press, I expect to be able to add 20% to each lift during these 6 weeks. SQUAT: currently max 80kg (176lb) - grade A: 100kg (220lb) - grade B: 95kg (209lb) - grade C: 90kg (198lb) - grade D: 85kg (187lb) DEADLIFT: currently 110kg before fixing form (242lb) - grade A: 130kg (with good form) (286lb) - grade B: 125kg (with good form) (275lb) - grade C: 120kg (with good form) (265lb) - grade D: 100kg (with good form) (220lb) Challenge #3: MENTAL CALCULATION TRAINING: +2 WIS, +1 STA At the end of last challenge I mentioned that I was working on a secret project - and this is it. In 2012 I was actually a competitor in the Mental Calculation World Cup, flying out to Germany to perform multiplications and cube roots etc. with the best in the world, and ranked in the top 20. The training itself isn't super exciting, so in 2014 I didn't enter the competition, and instead travelled around Asia haha. However, entries are opening soon for Memoriad 2016 - a huge mental sports competition that will be held in Las Vegas. If - and that's a big "if" - I can improve my arithmetic skills enough to qualify for the free accommodation etc. then I'll enter. One of the events is calendar calculations, for example calculating that 2015-Jan-01 is a Thursday. In the competition, you have 60 seconds to find the day of the week of as many random days as possible. My record was 24 dates in 1 minute with no mistakes. I've now improved my algorithm, but this means that I have to remember a code for every day of the year (e.g. Jan 1st => 5) and for every year in the century (e.g. 15 (in 2015) => 6) - quite a significant mental load. I'm going to be using the spaced repetition software Mnemosyne, along with a metronome to ensure that I can recall each correct code in less than 1 second. +1 STA for keeping up with the memorization procedure for the full 6 weeks (after which I should be finished, yay) The whole point of this is that I should be able to beat my best score (calculations in a minute), so I'll award myself +2 WIS for this: grade A: 35 (beating the current British record)grade B: 30grade C: 25 (beating my old record)grade D: 20 Challenge #4: AUXILIARY EXERCISES: +3 CON The other goals this challenge will make me do lots of pulling, core and legs strength training, so I want to do some moderate-volume work on pushing motions (bench, press and push-ups) to ensure I don't get any muscle imbalances. I would like to work on handstands when the (British) weather gets warmer again, so I should do some preparatory strength training for that. I'll also need to do some auxiliary exercises to increase my chances of success in Challenge #1 - bridges, high pull-ups, low dips, toes-to-bar, jumping drills etc. I'll award myself up to +3 CON (subjectively) for how conscientious I am with this. To get grade B I'd need to be doing some specific workouts 2x per week, as well as focusing on relevant exercises during gymnastics, weightlifting, etc. It's January 1st today, and I'm officially starting the challenge now Progress summary:frontflips consistent on tumble track: +0.50 CHAring muscle-up achieved multiple times: +0.50 CHA & +0.25 DEXsquat at 100kg (220lb): +1.50 STRdeadlift at 125kg (275lb): +1.00 STRcalendar dates @35/minute: +2.00 WIScalendar memorization: +0.75 STAauxiliary exercises: +1.50 CON

The Assassin in Mind and Body I never quite understood what happened. Some say that the Order caught me and faked my death. I don't know. All I know is that in one moment I was strolling in the street and in the other I was trapped in a cold and dark, but yet familiar place. I somehow knew that I was at the dungeons in our castle. The voice that called me was... unexpected, to say the least. "Lokes. I assume you can hear me?". Even to this day I can tell with no shame that I jumped as I heard it. Who the hell is talking to me? Why am I here? These were questions I would hope this "friend" could answer me. "yeah yeah, I hear you. Who are you? Where is my Mentor?"."Your mentor?". I could sense a little bit of laughter in this voice. "Your Mentor is no more, Lokesbrah. He was a traitor. And so, you too, are considered a traitor.". Say what now? My Mentor? A traitor? How come? And why was I being punished by mistakes that other made? "I somehow find that hard to believe" I said, trying to sound more confident in that situation than how I really was."But even so, I cannot find how this means that I should also be trapped in my own house". At this point I tried to move. I found that I was not trapped, but a nasty wound was on my back. "So you DO know where you are?" Of course I knew. I had spent so much time here in my Apprentice times that all I could feel was Nostalgia. "Well, Lokes, Here's the thing... Your mentor was found betraying the BrotherHood. And most of our comunity thought that maybe you were one too. However, regarding you, we chose to do what had been done once before with the Grandmaster Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. We killed you, so that you can be resurected. We know, Lokesbrah. We always knew, about your wrong path. Or should I say, non-dedicated path?" At this point I fully understood. You see, reader, up until this point I found my life pretty confortable! I would skip most trainings, instead of the library I would be in the winery with some other "friends" drinking. This was not how I was educated. And to you all of this may seem a bit... well... Exagerated, but my Order believed that the only way to make up for this life's mistakes was to get a new life and start from scratch. And so this is how I began my life as an Apprentice again. I expect all of this letters to get to you once in a week, if it reaches you always and not some others. I hope you find in my story, the will and strenght to begin your own. Hello Assassins. Happy New Year! Here I am, trying to Acomplish another goal and habbits! This time It my be a bit weird, but my goal is to do something that will transform me, or should I say, resurect me? Let's start now shall we? After I got released they told me that I would have to do the life of the Aprentices again. Mingle with them. Make new Friends. But most of all, they told me that I should start to reform my life. Everything I thought I knew, would have to be relearned. And so, I passed most of my days in the library studing both philosophy and alchemy... Which brings me to Quest One: Study: This is a simple quest, but it is for me to start building the habit of learning and discipline. I need to study. I am one of those guys that has been longer in college that he should've had. And on top of that, I'm not even a "good" student, I just get the grades to pass. So This time I will have to at least study for 15 minutes, but my real goal is to go for 45 minutes everyday. I only put out 15 minutes in the quest because I feel that if I make that 15 minute mark, I can just go on. The alchemy represents my Chemistry Course, and the philosophy part is more related to a sort of miniquest, which is reading in general, so I'll be reading more books. Right now I'm starting with Homero's Odyssey. (+3 Int and +2 Wis) ... and trainning my body in the skilled art of the Assassins... This one is just like my other quest: train. I am to train every other day, and during the week I'll do some calisthenics, maybe flexing, and in the weekends I need to train Parkour/Free Running. It isn't much Parkour train, but it's the only time where I can do it freely and with total focus. (+3 STR and +2 DEX) ... and somehow I found in my new aprentices friends other ways to have fun. I had forgotten, reader, how to have fun with little or no posessions. I found my pleasure in arts again, I we often spent our lunch breaks playing our songs for everybody to hear! And so, Quest Three: Music! I need to restart my music skills, so I need to play my guitar at least 15 minutes... I got sloppy and I often forget how good I feel after playing a bit. I need to invest in this hobby of mine, so, guitar playing. (+5 CHA) And the great thing of being an Aprentice again, reader, is that they force us to think about our day and our actions in the end of the day. I can't tell you how much I've missed this little bit of quiet and peace of mind. Just me, my gods and my thoughts. If you ever feel lost, I recomend you to sit, close your eyes, and breathe. To this day I never forget one lesson that I was thought. There is this ancient history, that one of our Brothers to the far east was always overthinking his plans, constantly dwelling in an anxious state. And he was talking to his master about "how he would have to remember the path to go, the angle of the shot, the escape route" and his master told him: "And don't forget to breathe." Quest FOUR! (I'M ON FIRE!): Meditation I need to find myself and my spirituality again and I found that the best way to do it is by meditation. I need to sit at the end of the day and meditate for as long as I have to, but I'll put a minimum of 10 minutes. (+5 WIS) So, I'll bee seeing you guys once a week for my weekly report! See ya soon!

Hello Friends! I've struggled with anxiety since my pre-teens, but wasn't diagnosed until almost a year ago. Caring for myself emotionally and mentally is essential to anyone to keep your mind, healthy. There are those who's source of their anxiety goes beyond psychological influence and comes from biological imbalances. If you believe this is you and not seen a doctor about it, then I highly you make that it top prior to meet with a therapist or psychologist cause the function of your mind results in how you will live your life. Having that said; Health and Fitness is vital in every person's life. So for someone that deals with anxiety or depression, taking care of your physical body will be an even more beneficial to you overcoming your mental battles. To put this all in a nutshell, Simply Love & Care For Yourself. This isn't being narcissistic, it's just you taking responsibility for the body that carries you around and help keep from not functioning before it's time. Do you struggle with anxiety, or depression? Through health and fitness, how do you care for your mind and body?

Thanks Wildross and KiltedCowboy for the help. What is going to happen here... * Lose more fat * Keep (and maybe increase) what muscle I have * Increase endurance - because I developed a surprising appreciation for running * DEVELOP THE MIND It's time to press beyond my current boundaries and take some new territory. I'm pressing against the limits of what my brain believes is possible. I've dropped a few sizes, pounds, etc, and my brain wants to think "that's it." Sitting behind the walls of FortB will not get my family to where it needs to be. It's time for an intensive, "all-out" 6-week offensive - take untamed territory, and maybe have a stronger mind at the end... which requires an open mind today. <<I moved my note on 'the mind" to the next post>> 6-WEEK CHALLENGE: PART 1 - Fitness Goals now - DROP 2" off belly / 10 pounds on the scale while keeping what strength I have * Food - Stick with carb-management and calorie restriction (via Kiefer/Carbnite) adjusting as my next-day workouts require * Train every other day for next run - November 8th 7k run - mainly continue fat loss and just finish the run (no need to crush myself while I still have all this body-fat to lose) * Lift 3 days per week - stronglifts - on non-run days PART 2 - Life Goals - * Strengthen the mind - borrowing advice from Chrissie Wellington (especially ch 10 of her book) and Bear Grylls - While I launch this offensive, I'm also going to fortify the mind - strengthen my internal-life... maybe write about it here on a weekly basis. * Educate the mind - SURGE - increase my study time to 6 hours daily on CAIA / CFA efforts (this will be tough, but that's the point of an offensive). And the obligatory copy-paste of my long-term BIG QUEST: By summer 2016: LEAN, JACKED and LEARN-ed and vocationally settled in a long-term city * Year 1: Lean out - down to 36" waist (is 32 possible? not sure what’s is under all this fat) while getting my first financial certification (CAIA), level 2 of 2nd cert (CFA), and dabble with Python - deadline - Summer 2015 (July 4, 2015) * Year 2: Get jacked - bulk up while honing outdoor/survival skills, second financial certification and skilled enough in coding to be a decent freelance developer - At the end of year 2 - have the skills and knowledge that would be envied by integrity-based hedge funds and/or leading software/tech shop (or a combination of both - maybe work my own niche in finance and coding/tech) - lean, strong, CAIA/CFA, Python coder, living in long-term city More simply put... MAIN QUEST: By summery 2016, get lean and jacked, be on a strong career path, and move to a long-term city with strong coding skills My WHY remains - husband and dad trying to provide while also making the most of my health - body, mind, soul... and live fully!