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MY FRIENDS, WHAT IS UP I've kinda taken a bit of time away from the forums in my last challenge - October's been a busy month full of commitments and fun and AWESOMENESS. TL;DR I'm still actively living my best life and after some time away - and away from everything to reset and recharge - literally tho', I'm currently spending a week at a little coastal New England cabin and it's PERFECT - I'm ready to slam the reset button on my goals and GET GOING AGAIN. More details to come but I wanted to get this post going 'cause I'm HYPE. Goals will SURELY include: - GYM TIME SHAAR YOU BUTTHEAD. I NEED to get back into this routine. 3 times a week, zero excuses. - Get outside! Log 3 adventure hikes this challenge before it gets butts cold out! - I have two open credit cards right now, and my goal is to pay them both down before 2020 hits. Bigger win if I don't have to use any part of a holiday bonus to do this. I want to be able to start directing way more money into my savings account and I've been super aggressive with my debt so far, I just need to stay on target through the holidays too!! - READ MORE. While I was away for a week I took my Kindle with me and started reading one of my favorite old books, Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite... it's so good, it totally digs my aesthetic of like 90's era queer southern gothic vampire culture (I know that sounds weird but I too am weird) and I want to re-finish this book and start another one! Goal is to finish this book and buy another one, and finish it too!! - MORE VIDEO GAMES! I haven't actually been gaming a lot lately - I know, shocker! - because October has been so busy! But now I'm back home and with much less commitment going into November so I want to stream some games and show you guys what I play!! I have a Twitch account at twitch.tv/loiire/ and will stream at least 3 gaming sessions over the course of this challenge. I'll announce ahead of time when I'm doing the live streams, but I'll also post the finished video on my thread so people can watch afterwards. What games will I choose?!!?!/1?! WE'LL SEE~ :3 Ok more later, ciaociao for nownow my pals~ <3

So what's going on now. I just got back from a monk challenge and the bottom dropped out of that. I did however learn that if we call it 'roadwork' instead of 'running' or 'jogging' it makes it permissible to do cardio once in a while. This summer, I had/have been looking for jobs in data analysis, and relearning some programming, and thinking about getting back into biology. I applied and interviewed for a job recently as a data analyst for a nonprofit that does clinical trial research... but didn't get it. That got me down a little bit, and I started thinking about things. 1) The main reason I want(ed) to switch back to this type of work is the money. Really. That's it. Granted I like the work of programming and analysis, and there's some value in the biological research (if it went that way) but I'd do (almost) anything else in a heartbeat. 2) Why do I want more money? Simply to pay down/off my debts and buy a home. And to make ends meet where I live. 3) If I do buy a home, no matter where it is I'd be doing the homestead thing, urban or rural. Then earlier this week I found out about USDA rural home loans. This might start sounding like an ad. They are no money down, they give them to people with bad to mediocre credit, and they are insured by the government (this, I believe, negates the need to purchase mortgage insurance. The only catch is you can't use them for city properties... though many single family homes (even within city limits) qualify... in case you're interested. Those of you who have been following the Brogo saga for a while might remember a few years ago I had this idea of starting a farm/homestead kind of thing. I was raised out in the country. I like being outdoors. I like gardening. I like building things with my hands. I'd like to get a piece of land (5-10 acres) and just live off of it as much as possible (gardening, hunting/fishing, farming etc), take care of it, and do it all off the grid with as few external inputs and leave as small a footprint as possible. Basically, having some land will give me resources to take control of my environment and rebuild my life. Right now, the way I live is the exact opposite. I'm in the city, surrounded by man made noise, and I'm completely dependent on my ability to make money to buy stuff or services. And I'm flushing my money down the toilet with each months rent. I'm lazing around staring at screens. Blah, yadda, etc. These USDA loans might make it possible to change all this. Here's how: A little ways south of here (Indy) are some really pretty farm and country lands. I've been looking and I can find 5-10 acre properties that are cheap... mostly wooded lots etc. I can get a mortgage for one and since I'm willing to rough it for a while and build, I can live on it either in a tiny house, or possibly a yurt (google it)... for a start at least. I'd either expand or just save up and plan out building a more permanent structure. The mortgage would probably be less than the rent I'm paying now. With no utilities comes no bills. If I can grow my own food I save on groceries (one of my biggest monthly expenses). So the move should cut down on my living costs. Anyway. I need to get to sleep. My challenge will be focused figuring this out, and researching and preparing myself for a home brosteading lifestyle. Goals: Work Exercise Cooking Camping Finance/Research

folx, we're getting dirty for this one i probably should be doing this challenge with the assassins but i'm a warrior at heart and like it here so deal with it. this challenge i'll be training for my first tough mudder - i have done short spartan races but these obstacles look crazyyyyy sooooooo goals! 5 workouts per week go outside once per week – a deliberate outdoor walk or activity don’t buy a drink at a bar unless out for a meal; keep restaurant food to less than 3x per week roll over goals: track fiber track yoga Other things. 5/25: dinner and bowling 5/27: light hike? 6/5: mom’s birthday 6/9: dress fitting, boston pride 6/10: meet with photog., book club 6/15: friends bday party 6/17: Spartan workout class 6/23: tough mudder buy wedding shoes, moar décor, and gift for brothers practice handfasting let's do this

I'm gonna try and get more serious again, things are going fairly well so lets keep it up!! Challenges: Go to Krav 1x a week!! I got a groupon thing for a bunch of Krav Maga classes, but the schedule doesn't really work. The 2 times i can go are friday night or saturday morning and I know going 2x in a row would kick my ass. So just 1x a week would be great! Stay under 1462 calories 6x a week I followed a formula to get this number for how many calories I need to eat while on like a 20% deficit or something. I'll be monitoring this on myfitnesspal ( y'all can follow me there, I'm RoachRex ). And the 7th day is cheat day! (saturday is my cheat day). I am starting to learn about macros but tracking is a pain so I think I'll stick with this version for the time being. Level up in cooking! My goal is to bake a loaf of bread!! I'd also like to cook more, but bread is the focus this time around! Get outside! I've got some gear together so I really want to go camping!! But if I can't go camping, then at least I want to go on a day hike!! Weather may not permit me to go camping (I live in socal and our wild places tend to be a little bit on fire) but in that case then I'll try to at minimum go for a hike in a local park or botanical garden or something. Ideally more than once but, we'll see.

I'm the most overweight I've ever been. I'm embarrassed. But I'm going to put my measurements on here for my start and every check in. I think it will help me immensely. Weight: 246 lbs Neck: 15" Waist: 50.5" Bicep: 14" Hips: 51" Thigh: 25" Bust: 50" This is going to be a battle log for me to get my health and my finances in order. My first goal is to get below 200 lbs. When I reach that target, I'm going to reward myself by going to a rock climbing class. The gym is 3 hours away, and my sister says she'll go with me. It'll be a ton of fun.

I hope everyone had an awesome holiday. This was a tough one for me personally because it was our first without Papaw. But it ended up being drama-free, and I was surprised to find myself less concerned about gifts and money and instead enjoying time with family and friends. My challenge set-up this time may be edited later as ideas/problems/concerns arise. I plan to continue certain daily habits, such as early rising, prayer, getting outside/earthing/stretching in the morning, Bible study, etc. but they probably won't be mentioned in the challenge goals below. As promised, this challenge will be LOTR themed, focusing mostly on the book series (but with plenty of gifs, pics, vids, memes, etc. from all sources). Each goal is named after a poem/song from the Lord of the Rings book series. Quest 1: The Road Goes Ever On (Walking/Hiking) walk at least 10,000 steps per day at least one 30 minute mindful/adventure walk per day at least one 30 minute hike per week Quest 2: The Riddle of Strider (Strength/Fitness/Nutrition) at least 3 bodyweight/Spartan/HIIT style strength workouts per week at least 1 day per week of 4 all-out 80+ yard sprints (with 10 second rests between each) at least 2 5ks per week (aim for every Saturday and Wednesday) eat whole food/Paleo as often as possible (aim for 2/3 meals per day) intermittent fasting at least 5 days per week (not eating before 11:00am) drink at least 64oz of water per day every day Quest 3: I Sit Beside the Fire and Think (Meditation/Mindfulness/Study) meditate at least 20 minutes every day read at least 20 minutes every day (Bible and LOTR, of course) at least 1 outdoor ("beside the fire") meditation per week (Fri, Sat, or Sun?) at least one language session/lesson using Duolingo Quest 4: Song of Beren and Luthien (Love/Affection) at least 30 minutes uninterrupted time per day with my queen at least 1 "date night" per week with my queen (don't be picky about this; the key is to spend time alone together) speak the top love languages of my queen (acts of service, quality time, and words of affirmation) to bed with my queen every night, even if this means moving princess Arabella to another bed (see past challenges)

1. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. School's out on Week 2. And even so, week 1 will be administrative work only, child-free. These things will mean a lot of changes to my routine, added to the relentless chaos my life's in. I want to focus on following my bookending rituals like the challenge before, and tweak them if necessary to adapt to my summer vacation's routine. Goal: Bookends Daily Rituals Week 1 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 3 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 4 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ 0/28 2.“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?” Another thing that I've been trying to change is my IF schedule. I still do 16-8 IF. But since I'll have more time in the mornings, I'll switch dinner for breakfast. Nothing makes a morning good like a good breakfast (while watching cartoons in your underwear). I'll still workout in a fastened state (since I workout first thing in the morning). I'm taking one day of the week from this goal for the occasional social gathering, hangout, etc. Goal: Changes in Intermittent Fasting Week 1 ☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 3 ☐☐☐☐☐☐ Week 4 ☐☐☐☐☐☐ 0/24 3.“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” I live in beautiful (but dangerous) valley. I've always lived in the shadow of a mountain. A mountain that greets me every day and dares me to fight it. I constantly say I live in Mordor, but how can you live in Mordor without climbing Mount Doom? The thing is, I'm in not condition to hike this mountain.So, every week I'm taking one day to practice, walk the city and find a place (I have a park in mind) in which I can have breakfast, read, study or simply lay down on the grass and do nothing, nothing at all. If I've done a good work during the week. I'll reward myself! (probably with food, which I know I shouldn't but... it's like the most affordable thing I can think of right now) Also, I'm doing this for my mental sanity. Too much time trapped indoors writing like Bilbo Baggins is starting to affect me. Goal: Going out the Door (The Road to Mount Doom I) Week 1 ☐ Week 2 ☐ Week 3 ☐ Week 4 ☐ 0/4 AND, of course it wouldn't be a Shogun's challenge without some post-apocalyptic Venezuelan horror story. By the end of this month I'd know if I'm gonna live in the next North Korea, my own personal Sauron is promising to turn the country in a communal state, which is absolutely no bueno. So, if I go AWOL, you know that I joined a deep underground resistance movement or something and that I don't have access to the interwebs until we hire a decent Felicity Smoak-level hacker. Know anyone?

2016 was a GOOD year New activities, new places, taking risks... I want more of that. But, as these last 2 months have been a bit of a downer, with all those headaches and almost no exercise, I'm taking it easy. I have a whole year to develop and grow, I don't need to do everything on the very first month. So It's about baby steps As always, the main point is, as stated in my last challenge, to live a meaningful life, so a big amount of energy and focus will be spent on not letting anxiety, bad feelings, procrastination or laziness drive me to another kind of life. This is the most important goal and every other one is subject to it; it's the final purpose of everything I'll be doing. So, my first steps for this year will be (10 different areas): Freedom of movement. Check FF update. DONE! Neck stretching long series at least once a day. Weeks 1 & 2: nope. Week 3: 4 times plus one visit to the new physio. Week 4: 3 times. From january 9, add 1 hips and 1 shoulder stretch. Weeks 1, 2 & 3: nope. Week 4: twice. Being stronger. Self-defence: from january 9, twice a week. Weeks 1, 2 & 3: nope, only once each week. Week 4: DONE! Outdoors. 1 short or long walk a week, outside the city. Weeks 1, 2 & 3: nope. Week 4: DONE! Eating healthier. Fixing broken thermomix. Tracking what I actually eat. WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: DONE! Week 4: DONE! Owning more clothes. Make a list of what is most needed. Go clothes shopping at least twice this month. DONE! Clean and decluttered house. I have daily, weekly, monthly and season tasks lists. Follow them and keep track of what is done. WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! Weeks 3&4: nope Growing savings. First step is to regain the money that will be spent in the trip to London and put it on my savings account. It can take up to 2 months to do this. DONE! Began to save for the next trip. Reading. Won't be buying ANY books until I finish reading all of those in my pile (this is going to be tough). Read for at least 20 minutes each week. WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: DONE! Week 4: DONE! Icelandic. 1 page from íslenska fyrir alla 3 per week. WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! Weeks 3&4: nope Music practice. On standby until I get BigGuy advice. PLANNING DONE! WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: DONE! Week 4: DONE! That's it. Not too overwhelming, but enough to gather momentum. Points: FF: 0.5 DEX Self-defence: 1 STA, 1 DEX, 0.5 STR Walking: 0.5 STA; 1 STA if walks are cross country and long. Food: 0.5 CON Clothes: 1 CHA House: 2 CHA Savings: 1 WIS Reading: 0.5 WIS Icelandic: 0.5 WIS Music practice: 1 DEX Let's begin!

Here I am. I said there would not be a challenge thread this time, but things went otherwise and I have to start my streak over, so I might as well start a new thread There will be another attempt to get a 100 days streak on my everyday tasks, with a modified list. I've learnt some things on my first 26 days and I have perfected my approach (see previous challenge). I would also like to retake two goals that do a lot for my well-being: going out, and sitting pauses. Lately I've been spending too much time inside the house, and worst, most of that time was sitting time. And the way you live your days is the way you live your life, remember? 100 days challenge · 10 minutes meditation · at least 1 vegetable in every meal · 10 minutes of reading · 10 minutes of icelandic · 10 minutes of cleaning/decluttering · teeth brush and floss twice a day · 1 kegel exercise · 1 relaxing moment (aside from meditation): breathing, laying down, Feldenkrais, working on jaw tension... · spend some moments upside-down to help with handstands practice · stress thread. This is the only task that is not a daily one, but that must be done at least 3 times a week 100% achievement on 65 days: C ------ reward: a necklace 100% achievement on 85 days: B ------ reward: a nerdy t-shirt 100% achievement on 100 days: A ------ Ástríkur og Kleópatra Rewards are accumulative, so I may get only the C reward if the streak is short, but if my streak is long enough I can win all the rewards as I go through the different stages. Sitting pauses Not many surprises here. Just getting up from the chair at least once every 20-30 minutes when I'm reading, doing computer work, etc. to do something that implies movement: going upstairs, stretching for a while, going on an errand... Go out I said it before: "there is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing". Days are shorter, and getting sunlight and going outside the house becomes more important as winter approaches. If I want to avoid winter blues, the best thing to do is to spend time outdoors being active. I'll start easy: two walks a week, four a week by the end of the challenge. I might as well spend some time in the terrace (reading, meditation, relaxing moments...). By the way, my 30 minutes - 30 days Doppler challenge is still on (16 days so far) and getting results. Points 100 days challenge. 1, 2 or 3 WIS points, depending on how long the streak. If/when I get to achieve the 100 days streak, I immediately go up TWO levels (aside from the level I might be going up from the challenge going on at that moment). Sitting pauses. 1 CON point. Go out. 2 CON points. Attending all my self-defence and acrobatics lessons: 2 STR, 2 STA and 2 DEX points max. Special points for meditation: 1, 2 or 3 WIS points depending on the streak.

This challenge has been inspired by a quote I keep seeing in @Briniel's threads and that resonates deeply with me: the way you live your days is the way you live your life. I want a healthier, happier and more active life, so I'll try to have healthier, happier and more active days. At the same time, and as I said in my last challenge, I feel like I need a break, and the way I've found best to combine these two sensations (improving how I live my days and yet not feeling drained) is not skipping the challenge but reducing the number of goals and being less demanding on the results. The challenge is a two-part challenge. Part 1 This part is made of a list of small actions that will be taken everyday to improve my life in one or other way. The list is long, but I've chosen actions that are short and can be done in minutes if not in seconds. The whole list shouldn't take much more than 1 hour of my daily time. However, it can make a huge difference if I manage to do everything everyday, because the effect will be accumulative. This is why I'm aiming for a 100 days streak. The goal won't start until we come back from our trip to the Pyrenees, because I don't think I could manage to keep the streak there, and it feels like cheating to start next week and then interrupt it. List of actions: · 10 minutes meditation. · Choose one inspiring quote for the day. · Anxiety helping supplements: B, C, o-3. Coconut oil tablespoon. · At least one type of vegetable in every meal. · 10 minutes of reading. · 10 minutes of cleaning or decluttering. · Teeth cleaning and floss. · 1 Kegel exercise. · 2 breathing exercises along the day. · Jaw relaxing exercise or some other Feldenkrais exercise. · Spend a few moments upside down. · Write down on a journal how I feel about the way I spent my day. 100% achievement on 65 days: C 100% achievement on 85 days: B 100% achievement on 100 days: A This 100 days challenge includes mostly things I'm always lazy with. I know the huge benefit I get from them when I do them regularly, and yet, it is always hard to do the work. So, on one side, with this 100 days streak I will try to make an habit of most of them, and, on the other side, I will offer myself some rewards to encourage the process. C reward: a book I might be interested at that moment nerdy t-shirt B reward: some beautiful earrings (I had chosen the ones I wanted and put the link but they seem to have disappeared between last night and today?) nerdy t-shirt A reward: Ástríkur og Kleópatra + nerdy t-shirt (yes, you've noticed, I'm in need of new clothes) The prizes are also accumulative, so I may get only the C reward if the streak is short, but if my streak is long enough I can win all the rewards as I go through the different stages. Part 2 I'm keeping 2 goals from these last months. They relate to my motto for the challenge because they contribute to a great extent to a healthy, happy and active life. Go out! There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. Going out 2 or 3 times a week will be enough to pass the challenge. As I said, I want it to be a light challenge, so I won't put much pressure on how much I do as long as I do something. 2-3 times a week: C 4 times a week: B 5 or more times a week: A Have fun! Includes self-defense, parallettes, acrobatics, or any other type of workout, provided that I have fun with it. I won't be too demanding here, either. I just want to keep some activity going on. Unfortunately, acrobatics lessons won't start until september the 5th, so I'll focus on the other things in the meantime. 1 workout a week: C 2 workouts a week: B 3 or more workouts a week: A About acrobatics and self-defense, I would like to add some mental practice on my rest days, or later in the day after a lesson. Mental practice does wonders with music technique, and I guess it can help even more with bigger moves. There's no obligation of doing it, but I would like to give it a try. Points: 100 challenge. 1, 2 or 3 WIS points, depending on how long the streak. If/when I get to achieve the 100 days streak, I immediately go up TWO levels (aside from the level I might be going up from the challenge going on at that moment). Go out. 2 CON points. Have fun! 1 STR and 1 STA points. Special points for meditation: 1, 2 or 3 WIS points depending on the streak.

Aaaahhhh battle log. A nice respite from the challenge madness. Welcome to COSTA DEL SOL y'all!!!! A lovely beach zone to chill and relax and recharge and train! (Yaha I made those gifs~) So I've been a little quiet on the forums lately and have been REALLY enjoying the lesser computer time, especially now that spring has surely sprung here and being outdoors takes my first priority. ALSO this month my S/O turns 40 and I am planning a BIG ol' party at a huge log cabin in the mountains - that will also complete a job quest for my ongoing challenge - but the date is getting close and it's about to take a LOT of my time and resources getting ready for everythiinnnggg!!! We are traveling this coming weekend for a soccer match and then will be gone from the 11th to the 15th in the mountains!!! WE ARE GONNA CLIMB A MOUNTAIN AND SEE A WATERFALL AND HIKE AND YAHAHAAAAA I cannot wait!!! Will keep chunking up the miles for [LNC], that's going to be a tough one to complete overall. I've also unlocked the following jobs that I need to craft quests for over the next month: - Bard - Monk - Warrior - Ninja So stuff will still be happening, just at a slower and less intense pace. Happy May all!!!

Well, here we are at a new challenge, and I for one am really glad because my last challenge was a complete disaster, despite having one of my better themes of all time. Sigh. So glad to be restarting. I like the slightly longer challenges so I’m going to start with zero week, which will give me a 5-week span this time. My challenge this time will be all about spending more time in the Great Outdoors, or as I’m calling it: ESCAPE OF THE ZOO HUMAN There’s a quote by Erwan LeCorre, the Movnat guy, where he talks about modern humans being comparable to animals in zoos; we don’t live in our proper environment, but an indoor, artificial simulacrum of it. I don’t agree with all his theories, and I’m entirely too lazy to do his actual workouts, but I do think he hits the nail on the head in that department: we, as humans, spend entirely too much time indoors. So my goal this challenge is to spend as much time outside as humanly (har) possible. Fresh air, real sunlight, toasted marshmallows - what’s not to like? Especially right now, when the weather is still nice and it hasn’t gotten too hot yet. I’m going to break it down into sections: Take the inside, outside: I do a lot of things indoors that can just as easily be done outside, and probably be more enjoyable to boot. Yoga: I have a perfectly nice grassy yard where I can take my yoga mat and do my stretches outside. I think I’m going to start working on a handstand, which is best done outside to avoid broken lamps and things. Meals: Outside at the patio table as often as possible. We cook outside on the grill a lot starting this time of year too, to avoid heating up the house. Bonus: grilled meat is good meat. Working: My internet reaches the patio, as does the phone, so I can work outside at the table as long as it’s not raining. I’m actually typing this up at my patio table now, impatiently waiting for the new forum to open. I like to take my work to the occasional coffee shop or whatever, and I can pick ones that have a patio (preferably shady) to keep that outdoors, too. Hopefully this will encourage me to get up and move around more. Get out, and Stay out: I got a nice 4-person tent off my last job (it was prop swag that couldn’t be returned) and I already have a two-man tent that I’ve had for ages, so I want to go camping at LEAST three times over the course of this challenge. It doesn’t have to be on the wild slopes of Everest - there’s a very nice campground at Stone Mountain Park, less than 20 minutes from my house - and it can be for a single overnight. Again, this is the perfect time of year for it, before it’s hot as a cob, as the Mantis likes to say. I also want to add more walking to my workout routine, so I am going to aim for a one-hour nature hike at least once a week. Fortunately I don’t have to go far to get some nature; Atlanta is good that way. It’s not all visually dramatic, but it is woodsy. This will help with some long-term travel goals as well; I have two lengthy backpacking trips on my wish list for the next 12 months. Gather ‘round the campfire: I have a fire pit (one of the semi-portable ones you buy at home depot, not something fancy and built in) in the backyard, and I don’t use it nearly enough, especially since I’m supposed to be all Paleo and watching a campfire is supposed to be very primal and promotes quality sleep. So I’m aiming to have an evening fire at least 4 nights a week. My yard backs up on woods and there’s always a ton of pinecones and sticks around, so there’s no excuse. Bonus: toasted marshmallows. I know you were thinking s’mores, but I’m allergic to chocolate so those are out. So that’s it! Hopefully not too boring. I’ll be doing my same circuit training workout 3 times a week - that has to be done indoors, tragically - and continuing with my cycling which is obviously outdoors. I was at the gym for the first time in a month yesterday, and I’m sure I’ll be paying for it later today. Planning to ride my bike later today, just a couple laps at Stone Mountain which is super hilly (but also very nature-y; bonus points) Grading: For every “indoor” activity I move outdoors, 1 point. For each nightly campfire, 1 point. For each overnight camping, 5 points. If I get at least 50 points, I get to buy myself a treat. I don’t know what yet. Maybe just getting to reboot is treat enough. This might also be a good place to mention that I signed up for my first triathalon on Saturday. It's June 6th and is a 200 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run (in my case, walk). I have no idea how I'm going to manage this...

Back with the adventurers! I've been with the druids for the last challenges while I worked on a mindset shift that has changed many things about how I live my life. The process is still going on, but now that I've grasped the main points, I'm back to focus on movement. There is still a mindset shift goal, but movement retakes its place of honor. Goal 1: Move all day long Workouts are great, but sitting in a chair for hours and hours is not. So while I'll keep my regular exercise routines, I'll try to spend less and less time sitting and move in short spans along the day. If I'm going to be sitting for a long while, set the timer and stand up every half hour. Use mini-movements during these breaks: Feldenkrais, stretching, trigger points, going upstairs and downstairs, going to drink some water, 5 minutes of decluttering, going on a short errand... “Big” movement at least 5 times a week: self-defense, IS workout, walks. Goal 2: Outdoors Spring is here for sure. So time to get out of the house, as much as possible. Go out there and D-vitaminize yourself! Reading and desk work to be done in the patio. Workouts too if it is not too hot. Go outside everyday (going to work doesn't count). Discover at least 2 new places during the challenge. Goal 3: Mindset shift Meditation. Maintain those 15 minutes 5-7 times a week. Try to reach 20 minutes. Apply describing instead of judging. Allow space for feelings and sensations to be felt. Do not fight them or deny them. Anxiety is included here: anxiety is a part of myself and a part of life, so learn from it instead of fighting, ignoring or feeding it. That's it. No miniquests, side quests, life quests... Just moving, going out and being aware.

Meow. My last challenge was declared the unofficial NF cat appreciation club, so I figured I might as run with the theme. This will be my 10th challenge, which is pretty cool! Double digits! That means something, right? Here’s the basic structure I use for my challenges: Everything is worth points. Some things are worth bonus points. Bonus points can be applied to any category, to help remind me that health is hollistic. I’m slightly concerned that rangerbrain is creeping in this challenge, but I’m trying to be conscious about it. I removed some things from my goals that I was tired of doing, and I’ve tried to prioritize and value things in a way that keeps me from getting overwhelmed. I’ll also be travelling from May 4 - May 11th, so I’m initiating specific travel protocols for that period before moving into my main challenge goals. I realize some of this falls on Week 0 anyway, but I try to keep going on most stuff through Week 0. I plan to use Week 0 to calibrate my goals - I’ll be lenient with some of them, ignore some of them, and do others in full, but nothing will count towards my challenge score. Goal 1: Maintain Fitness This is where I stick all of my ongoing fitness stuff. These are mostly the same every challenge, but tracking it as a challenge goal still helps keep me motivated. I’ve been doing a daily squat hold for a few challenges, but I don’t think it’s helping me so I’m dropping it this time. Work out 3x/week - usually 1 bootcamp class and 2 bodyweight workouts Run 1x/week - 3 points available 1 for running at all 1 for doing something extra to prep for the Spartan in August (hill runs, extra distance, whatever) 1 for doing ankle alphabets before/after the run. I got sick of doing these every day after 3 challenges, so I’m going to see if I can get away with doing them just on run days. Walk 16 miles per week (64 in 4 weeks), 1 bonus point per extra 5 miles. 1 Pushup AMRAP / week Goal 2: Movement Focus - Spartan Training I usually do a movement focus where I do some dedicated practice for something I’m working on improving, like pushups or squat holds. This time around, I’m doing a variety of things to train for the Spartan I agreed to run with Sylvaa and fleaball in August. Not gonna lie, I love training for things so I'm going to milk this as much as possible. 30 burpees/day challenge. Done all in a row, with rest breaks only as necessary to maintain form. I’m not allowed break them up throughout the day. Ideally done first thing in the morning. No make ups. I don’t want these to pile up. The goal is to do it daily, so if I don’t do it I don’t do it. Half points available for doing 15 instead of 30, but through Week 2 only Take this one with a grain of salt. It’s a challenge, but I’m deliberately going to assign it fewer stat points/lower priority because it’s more difficult than most of my other goals and I don’t know how it’ll go. Running Points for this are covered under my running goal, but I’m aiming to increase my base distance from 3.1 miles to 5ish miles over the next several months. Bear crawls I’ve been wanting to work on bear crawls anyway, so this is a good excuse. If I tack these onto my bodyweight workouts as a warmup or cooldown, I get a point. 2-3 points available per week. Pullup work I’m going to finally order a pullup bar. The only place I can put it is on my bathroom door, so I’ve been avoiding buying one. But my pulling strength is my weakness and I’m getting to the point in several progressions where it would be good to have one of these. Add pullup progression to workouts. 2 points available per week from the time I get the bar set up. TBD - add in 1 extra day of pullup work or practice grip strength by hanging. 1 point. Climb stuff / Stop Being A Cat I LOVE climbing. I get the urge to climb things all the time, but when I get a few feet off the ground I freeze and have trouble getting back down. Because I am exactly like a cat that gets stuck in a tree. So, I want to work on that. Find stuff to climb. Jungle gym at the park. A nearby rock gym. Miscellaneous walls. Whatever. 1x/week - bonus points for every extra thing I work on climbing. Goal 3: Food Broken into 3 parts because rangerbrain. Part A: Maintain things that work Don’t eat after 8pm (or within 3 hours of bedtime) (-1 point for failure) Don’t eat more than 1 bad food/meal in a day. Desserts are counted separately from meals in most cases. (-1 point for failure) Eat primalish most of the time (19 meals / week allows for 2 variance meals) (-1 point per failure, +1 point for extra primal meal) Aim for primal snacks on 4 days/week and then non-primal snacks ok 3 days per week Aim for at least 1 primal meal and 1 50% meal per day when travelling or hosting (-1 point per failure, +1 per success) Plan/prep meals over the weekend and prep/freeze meals for weeks when this doesn’t happen (+1 point when done successfully) Write down bad reactions to food choices in an ongoing spreadsheet to dissuade myself from making that choice a second time. Not connected to any points. Doing this is slowly starting to help me make better choices. Slowly. 23 points per week Part B: Measure Carbs Last challenge, I learned to track protein and found that I hit my goals on most days thanks to meal prep - unless I went on a carb binge. So, I feel like I have protein pretty under control. This challenge, I’m going to repeat the exercise with carbs to get a feel for my intake there. My ultimate goal is just to understand what hitting my macros feels like and troubleshoot weight loss, not to make tracking a permanent thing. Weeks 0-2 – measure carb intake, but no need to try to hit a certain goal (1 point per day) Week 3-4 – start aiming for under 100g a day (2 points per day) Part C: Continue to practice conscious eating Think about what I’m about to do before eating something. Ideally, pause and take a few deep breaths. At the least, recognize and acknowledge when I’m about to sell out my future self. (4 points per day – 3 meals and snacks) Goal 4: Life Goal - Play Outside I have a list of life goals I want to experiment with this year, but this time around I want to keep it light since I’ll be travelling from May 4th - 11th and have a lot of other stuff on my plate. I’m cheating a bit here because this could also be considered a fitness goal depending on how it goes. But in general, my intention is just to play and have fun. I will go on some sort of outdoor adventure once per week - biking, swimming, hiking, climbing, an epic walk, playing on swings, etc. 4 points available. Bonus points available for extra outdoor play. This can totally overlap with my "stop being a cat" goal. Bonus Goals These goals all earn me bonus points, but cannot be done at the expense of one of my main goals. I removed a couple that got annoying and added a new one this challenge. Yoga 4x/week Meditate 7x/week Clean the sink before bed 4x/week NEW Practice crow pose 5x/week

We have so many paths and trails here in Windsor that walking running and biking are obvious choices, so I wonder if there are any others here from Windsor who want to start a club? I live so close to the Ganachtio trail I just have to walk a couple blocks and I'm there. I guess not everybody has that luxury though, but it would be fun to go on walking and hiking meetups. We can go to the opposite end of Windsor and visit Ojibway Park. While its still there anyways, darn them capitalists! Or do the waterfront trail. As I said, Windsor has a ton of trails.

Now that I'm refreshed and relaxed from a two week holiday I think this is a good time to reboot my healthy lifestyle goals for this year. I know what I want, I just struggle to find and/or stick to a routine that works for me XD 1. Leave the house, do some exercise, 1x a week. I went to the gym a few times on the cruise ship and rather enjoyed it! I'd also like to incorporate some outdoor skating to improve my skating skills; these both entail me leaving the actual house; its only the idea of leaving the house that stops me - once I'm out and about I'm happy to exercise! Just once a week is a good start to supplement my 2x week derby training. 2. Clear 1x surface "hot spot" and keep it clean for the week. By the end of the challenge I should be keeping 4 small areas of the house clear of rubbish and dishes and things that are not put away. I hate that my house is never as clean as I want it to be because I am definitely happier when I'm on top of the housework. Starting small and building up does work for me with housework, but keeping the momentum up is the hard part! 3. Something something something... Nutrition. Track what I eat. I'm getting too slack with what I put in my body. I definitely feel better when I eat less refined food and more vegetables and protein. That's it. This can't start until I actually get home from my holiday though; I'm currently still in Singapore. We get home Wednesday so I'll start this on Thursday.

Destiny Island Zone 1 (February 15 - 28) Core Objectives Explore the Zone - Run 7 Miles Keep the HP Up - Drink 56 Healing Potions (16 oz water bottles) Get to the Healing Ports - Spend 104 Hours Relaxing in a Healing Port (Bed / Equivalent) Kill the Heartless: Hit 1000 minions and 10 mini-bosses with my Keyblade (Mini-Bosses are difficult responsible things to do, minions are words written on my work projects.) How I Play Every Challenge, I'm going to post a new topic, talking about the Zone that I'm in. Each Zone revolves around a few core objectives - each specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely, measured in the frame of four weeks. But it is not held within the temporal bounds of those four weeks. Nor do these topics - and the number of challenge-coinciding topics I've completed - decide when I Level Up. (They do In fact, I don't really "Level Up" at all. My Weapon Leveling happens however fast it happens, and is based on a completely different system, detailed in the following section. Back to these Zones. So for instance! This first challenge is measured for the exact two remaining weeks. My intention is to walk 0.5 miles a day... but it's an average, not a hit and miss. So, 0.5 miles average for 14 days is 7 miles. So my Destiny Island (Walk-to-Mordor) objective is 7 miles. If I hit 7 miles, 56 healing potions, 104 hours of Healing Ports, and 1400 words on projects on the intended measured day of the 28th (a breakdown of 0.5 miles, 64 oz, 8 hours, and 100 words a day) then, perfect! I begin the next Zone on the first day of the new Challenge Sector. If I hit 7 miles before the others have reached their Zone 1 objective, I can start moving into the Zone 2 correlating objective. If I hit 7 miles, 56 potions, 104 hours, and 1400 words each before the 28th, then I'll open my Zone 2 challenge in this thread, and re-announce my Zone 2 challenge and progress there-in when I start my new Challenge Thread on the 29th. And if I haven't completed all of them when the 28th ends? Then I open my new challenge as a continuation of Zone 1, until the point when I move into Zone 2. No such thing as failure. Only progress. My Weapons The following are statements I desire to be true - some of which are partly or even completely true! But each aspect is something that makes me excited to think about it. I will not be leveling up. Each of these interests will be leveling up, separately, as they gain experience points. Athletic Skills (My body is confident in...) - Partner Dance - Spirit Dance - Aikido React (in response to tantrums or thoughtless physicality, in physical play, in grounding ease) - Aikido Fall / Land / Roll - Use of a Bo Staff - Gymnastics - Original Play / Lion Cub Wrestling - Zumba Dance - Passion Running - QM (Quadrupedal Movement) - Hunt / Free-Fly Nature Parkour Knowledge Domains (I know a lot about...) - Gamification Psychology - Developmental Psychology - Motivational Psychology - Childhood Education / Psychology - Community Building Games - Ancient Civilization Myths, Gods, Creatures, and Stories - Zumba Choreography (The Set) - Performance Choreography - The Musical/Princess Disney Movies (Details, Lyrics/Lines, etc.) - Neurochemicals - Psychological / Neurochemical Mis-wiring and Re-organizing Craft Skills (I'm very good at making...) - Personal, Relatable, Performable, and Catchy Songs (Original Songwriting) - Parodies (Parody Songwriting) - YouTube Videos - New Dress Designs (Dress Design) - Dresses (Sewing / Fabric Handling) - Original Games (Game Invention) - Italian Food - A Variation of Soups - Royal Breakfasts - Holiday Meals - Beauty War-Paint Masterpieces Presence Skills (I have a cultivated talent for...) - Emotional Aikido Separation - Impassioned Connection - Courage of Visibility - Motivational Speaking - Networking - Piano Performance - Guitar Performance - Jazz Singing - Show Singing - Holiday Carols / Chorale Singing Communication Skills (I can speak...) - Spanish - ASL - French - Chinese - Japanese - Italian - Upper Class (English) - Thespian (English) - Millennial (English) - Child (English) - Play Language - Directing - Group Coordination and Organization - Large Group Activity-Direction and Management Self Care Experience (I am capable and knowledgable about...) - Self-Comfort - Supportive Structure - Environmental Psychology & Interior Design - A.D.H.D. - Habit Psychology and - Sex (Safety and Knowledge) Bridge Domains (I can talk about my specialties in their relation to...) - Classic Science - Hank Stuff (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Meteorology, etc.) - Human Understanding - John Stuff (Literature, History, Sociology, Philosophy, etc.) - Current Events (News, Politics and Goverment, Current Situations, etc.) - Economics The above is the only section that I am NOT excited to learn about - but I am contently interested to learn about and definitely value having those weapons in my belt.

Are you a Nerd? Would you like to head to the Scottish Highlands for a weekend with lots of other Nerds? Do you like cake? Or whisky? Or beer? Or bacon? Can you get yourself to Edinburgh (or direct to Fort William) on 3 October? Guzzi and I are planning an epic weekend of fun, frolics and heavy lifting and would love it if you came along. There will be a (very informal) powerlifting competition for those who want to take part. There will be eating and drinking. There will almost certainly be a variety of outdoor pursuits (well, Fort William is famed for it). More details to follow but please post your notes of interest here!

Welcome to Part II of my last challenge, The Path of the Barbarian. On the surface, this may appear to be a simple repeat of the last challenge. Ok, technically, it is. But there is a reason behind this. Simply put, it worked so well that I WANT to do it again. Also, the holiday break so sufficiently disrupted my awesome routine that I NEED to do it again. Just to make sure I haven't lost any Barbarian savagery. Without further delay, the challenge itself:Goal 1 - Barbarian Mobility: This is the primary focus of the challenge, same as last time. A true Barbarian should be able to traverse all kinds of terrain, even while carrying a heavy load, even over snow and ice. I will be going for a 20-30 minute ruck (basically walking with weight on my back) four times per week. Location isn't really important. I should be able to adapt, whether it's a ruck through the woods or simply through the neighborhood. Also, like with the last challenge, any XC skiing I am able to do will count as a ruck. This will happen at least once per week, as I am now volunteering as an assistant coach with the local youth ski league on Sundays. So really, it's just a matter of getting in three rucks/skis in during the rest of the week. +5 StaGoal 2 - Primal Awareness: To survive, a Barbarian needs to be in tune with what is happening around him. To further develop awareness, I will continue daily meditation. This time around, I intend to get back to meditating for at least 12 minutes at a time. I don't have to start out with this, but by the last week of the challenge I intend to be meditating for 12 minutes (or more) daily. +3 Wis, +2 ConGoal 3 - THOR's HAMMER: It wouldn't be a Barbarian challenge without bringing back the hammer! Like last time, I will complete three sledgehammer workouts per week. My current routine takes about ten minutes to complete. Since I am regaining lost momentum after the holidays, my goal here is to simply maintain this level of intensity for the duration of the challenge. Increases in sets/reps/intervals can wait until the next challenge. +3 Str, +2 ConGoal 3 Update (as of 1/17/2016): Ok, so I was wrong. It still can be a barbarian challenge without the hammer. With the extreme focus I've been putting on daily meditation and early morning rucking 5x per week, the hammer has fallen by the wayside. So I won't get my strength and constitution bonus off this one, but nor will I have it count against me as far as whether I level up or not. The positive changes I've been making as a result of Goal 1 and Goal 2 more than make up for letting Goal 3 slide.Goal 4 (NEW as of 1/17/2016): In my never ending quest to find new and obscure interests, I have done some research and finally constructed a sling! Goal 4 isn't so much a deliberate SMART goal as I generally try to stick to. It is just a bonus quest of a sort, to simply keep moving forward in this new interest, whether that means crafting slings, practicing with them, or simply reading more information about them. Expect slinging to make an appearance in my next proper challenge as a full-fledged goal. I will perhaps award myself +1 Dex and +1 Wis, depending on how much I accomplish it the last two weeks of this challenge (but no more than this, as I am starting halfway through).In conclusion...METALZ : Onward to greatness!

Hello, I was not sure where to put this but figured I would post it here for all the Washingtonians. Maybe on one of these free park days we can plan a meetup? Info taken from websites below! 2016 National Park Free Days January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. DayApril 16 through 24: National Park WeekAugust 25 through 28: National Park Service BirthdaySeptember 24: National Public Lands DayNovember 11: Veterans DayThe fee-free days provide a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite, especially one of the 127 national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. The others are free all of the time. Plan your visit and enjoy our country’s history and nature. The fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise. 2016 State Parks Free Days - Park List Washington State Parks has announced the following free days, when the Discover Pass will not be required to visit a state park. Jan. 1: State Parks' First Day HikesJan. 17-18: Martin Luther King DayMarch 19: State Parks' 103rd birthdayMarch 26: Saturday Spring DayApril 22: Earth DayMay 8: Sunday Spring DayJune 4: National Trails DayJune 11: National Get Outdoors DayAug. 25: National Park Service BirthdaySept. 24: National Public Lands DayNov. 11: Veterans DayPlease note, free days apply only to day use (not overnight stays or rented facilities), A Discover Pass will still be required on these days to access lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

(N.B. This is largely a half-finished draft. I'm posting it while unfinished because I start travel right around the challenge start time, and don't want to get too time-crunched to get my thoughts down. I'll edit the post later to write down rewards, then remove this notice.) Last challenge felt pretty successful. Planning the next was daunting, as the travel I have scheduled and pending-scheduling for the next few weeks make planning anything hard. Then something hit me...during the coming month and a half, I'll be in urban settings, on a farm, in at least one forest, at 14,000 feet on the summit of a mountain (volcano, actually), on a beach (maybe), in a swamp (still tentative but likely) and a bunch of other places. This is my terrain challenge. My main quest is to survive and thrive in a variety of environments of varying levels of hospitality while continuing to increase my work capacity and performance for future martial arts, SAR, and otherwise Rangerly activities. Quest #1: Survive I've signed myself up for a couple of things in the challenging-bordering-on-unwise range. One is working at 14,000 feet after not having done anything at altitude in years, without acclimation breaks. Another is a still-tentative challenging winter hike a friend cooked up (assuming we have suitable snow in early December). Grading here is simple pass/fail based on whether I successfully get through the challenge without any injuries or illness that are both caused by unaccepted risks** and sufficient to hamper work, family commitments, or training. **"caused by unaccepted risks" means that I screwed up (i.e. didn't properly consider a risk, or flubbed doing a planned risk mitigation), as opposed to something caused by a risk I accepted (e.g. I know that a hypoxic episode is a possible result of ascending to 14k feet without adequate acclimation, and I've accepted that risk knowing that I have the skills to deal with it and supplemental oxygen available...having such an episode won't count against me). The goal here is measured, thoughtful risk-taking, and good management of physical resources, not going home and hiding under the covers. Reward: Quest #2: Thrive The mountain is going to nuke me for a bit. I'm also going to have busy time in multiple locales that offer social distractions that would make it easy for me to go off the rails in terms of diet and training. Simply to not die is not to live, one must also grow. So I'm going to do something to work out at least 24 times during the challenge. For this purpose "do something" is either an unusual feat (e.g. trying a new physical skill or activity, or beating a personal record), or completing at least a reasonable short (20 min intense or 30 min moderate) workout of either a strength or conditioning variety. I'm leaving this extremely flexible, because I don't know where I'll be or what will be available from day to day. It's all about adaptation. Grading: A: 24/24 ...B: 22/24 ...C: 18/24 ...D: Ranger don't get no stinkin' D's or F's. Reward: Quest #3: Conquer In a recent martial-arts related thread here on NF, I discussed an old habit of running kata on varied terrain to increase my dexterity and force me to adapt my movement. I'd like to take advantage of my travel to run martial arts drill on interesting ground. During the challenge, I will run some sort of MA drill on 12 different surfaces. Grading: A: 12 ...B: 10 ...C: 8 ....yeah, that's it. Reward: Quest #4 (side quest): Lead Leadership, people skills, managing organizations, helping people along their paths in life...all have been running themes for me of late. Some of my fellow Rangers watched me struggle last challenge with the thought of whether to try to repair my local SAR team, spin one up from scratch, or put that aside for another day. There are work things and family things going on. I recently took a leadership role in a nonprofit organization, and I'm a project lead on at least two side projects. It's a theme at work, too. This quest will be graded on a scale of 0-12 points: one point for each week in which I do *something*, whether it be read something, listen to a podcast, or have a meaningful conversation, to increase my abilities in areas of leadership, management, or executive skill, and one point for each week in which I identify (asking is allowed!) an area of desired development in the leadership/management/executive skill of someone else and find a way to help foster it. Reward:

And so begins my next challenge, The Path of the Barbarian! This is not only a way to get fit and stay fit, but a way to connect with the great outdoors, regardless of weather conditions. Because a Barbarian does not shrink from a little cold and a few snowflakes! I'll be drawing heavily on many barbarian-esque influences to flavor this challenge. This includes historical barbarians (Gauls and other Iron Age Celts, Germanic tribes, Vikings), as well as fantasy-inspired barbarians (Conan, D&D, etc). I will also top it off with plenty of folk/viking/pagan heavy metal! On to the challenge itself: Goal 1 - Barbarian Mobility: This is the primary focus of the challenge. A true Barbarian should be able to traverse all kinds of terrain, even while carrying a heavy load, even over snow and ice. I will be going for a 20-30 minute ruck (basically walking with weight on my back) 4 times per week. Location isn't really important. I should be able to adapt, whether it's a ruck through the woods or simply through the neighborhood. As winter starts to set in (as it undoubtedly will within the next month) and groomed ski trails become available, I will start substituting crossing country skiing (or XC skiing) for rucking. XC skiing has become a real passion of mine of the last couple of years. Either way, snow or not, I will get outside 4 times per week and put some miles/kilometers behind me.Goal 2 - Primal Awareness: To survive, a Barbarian needs to be in tune with what is happening around him. The goal here is simply to meditate every day, for at least 8 minutes, to keep improving mindfulness and awareness. In addition to meditation, I will also make a daily list of tasks/priorities to complete (in the morning or immediately after work), and make sure I get to bed no later than 11:00 PM. Also for this challenge, NO VIDEO GAMES! Video games are bad for me. After all, a Barbarian should have a strong sense of what his priorities are, and be well rested, in order to be effective and strong. Barbarians don't play video games anyway. Clumsy fingers. Goal 3 - Hold the Heathen Hammer High!: A Barbarian must be strong and able to wield his weapon! For this goal I will complete a sledgehammer workout 3 timers per week. Part of the inspiration for this goal comes from here. The rest comes from the likes of Thor and Wulfgar. I may at times replace or augment this workout with bodyweight exercises (pull-ups, push-ups, squats) and training with a nunchaku. Part of the reason for this is that as I write this, I don't actually possess a sledgehammer. I hope to obtain one by the end of the weekend. But if I don't, and have to order one (I want a very specific size), I want to at least be able to do something in the meantime. Conventional strength and endurance training through body weight exercises will fit the bill. As will some time spinning my nunchaku. I have developed quite an affinity with the nunchaku, as I have re-learned how to relax my muscles when using it. Many aches and pains, especially in my back, have subsided since I started the practice, so I expect that even once I get into the full swing of sledgehammer training (hah, nice pun), I plan to keep up training with the nunchaku.

Hello Assassins! I'm Matthew, this will be my first challenge. I'm excited to join up with the Assassins guild for the first one. I want to feel stronger, look better, become more flexible, lose 25-30lbs, and I've chosen goals that I hope will help me get there. Main Quest I want to lose 30lbs(25 at a minimum) Back in high school(21 now) I was in peak physical shape. I had very low body fat percentage and was very athletic. The last two years or so I've really let myself go and became a hermit. I am at 205 with a 25-28% body fat now and I would like to be back down to 175-180 with a 12-15% body fat by the end of this challenge. Quest 1: GET OUTSIDE! All of my life I spent almost every minute outside adventuring/climbing/jumping through every obstacle I could find. I now live a completely sedentary lifestyle and think it would help to get outside again. Part A: Get outside at least once a day Part B: Climb a tree or explore through the wooded area on my property at least once a week Quest 2: Utilize my body weight! I want to develop my chest and triceps as best as I can from body weight. One thing I've never had (even when I was in good shape) was a well shaped chest. I would love to build it as much as I can over the next 6 weeks. Part A: 100 push-ups a night (varying types every night) Part B: Get to 20 pull-ups from the current 5 ( as soon as I can make/get my hands on a pull up bar!) Quest 3: Watch my Caloric Intake My current diet consists of non existence. I do not plan on changing the items I eat, just the amount I consume. (long term goal is to slowly change my diet, but for my first challenge I will just watch caloric intake.) I usually wake up and eat a very large breakfast, snack all day, then eat a very large dinner with little to no exercise between. Part A: Use Myfitnesspal to set a calorie intake goal to aid in my weight loss and follow it everyday except Sundays ( keeping one cheat day to not discourage me from the plan completely) Part B: Eat 3-5 solid meals a day instead of snacking from breakfast to dinner. Life Quest: Limit my time on World of Warcraft I've been playing WoW since 2004 and I am an addict. I spend every second of my free time playing now a days. I HAVE to cut back on the amount I play as it has crippled my social life and my physical appearance. Long term goal is to be able to play without neglecting everything else in my life. Part A: Only play after I've gotten at least one 30 minute workout done in the morning and one in the evening. Part B: Do not neglect my goals and personal progress for a game Grading: Lose 30lbs A - 30 lbsB - 25 lbsF < 25 lbs 100 push-ups a night M-F A - 5/5B - 4/5C - 3/5D - 2/5F- < 2/520 pull-ups A - 20/20B -17/20C - 13/20D - 10/20F - < 10/20World of Warcraft All or nothing Height & Weight(accompanied by unnecessarily big title) Starting Height: 6'1" Weight: 205lbs Thank you all and good luck on your endeavors as well!