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Hey friends! Busy season is almost over and I finally have some more time for fun challenges again! This week will still be very busy (I'm doing my first practicum right now, like... treating real patients and stuff. It's amazing, but also full time and with work and stuff on the side, not much time remains...), but starting next week I will have 5 weeks of blissfull holidays (well, except for work, but that doesn't take too much time ), with a cute little wedding at the end of it, so perfect for some NF action! I don't really have a battle plan so far, I just know I want to do all the things I didn't have time for in the last months: TONS of dancing, some stretching, maybe another pole challenge, playing lots of Guildwars 2, going back to the gym, reading some books... I need to make a reasonable plan this week, probably more towards the weekend... Will follow some time. But I wanted to get the thread here up and running. 😎 Soooo ready for summer to start! Three days to go!

A bit late to the party and yet there so much to do! High time I put my challenge up and get some oooomph going again For those who don't know me, I'm a happy go lucky fire dragon from Germany that used to fly around pole and a bitty on the aerial hoop as well, then kind of fell into a slumber of inertia and padded up a little... Life was still moving, but fitness not so much and I discovered how the longer the gap between things, the harder the hurdle to get started again. Well, the hurdle was crushed during end of 2018 and my January challenge this year was like reaping from the three or so before in terms of it going super well and me feeling like I can do this fitness thing again I even managed a nice balance of fitness, family, work and household things, go me. Thanks to a silly stubborn cold, I lost momentum a little and could not wooosh into this challenge like I would have loved to, but I'm getting better everyday and it's time to rock another challenge Talking about rock, I've got a theme song this time, check it out This song always puts me into a good mood and helps me take all those flippin decisions in my life less seriously. I really believe we can change like the weather and watch out I might just do that I'll spend the last week of this challenge in an intense meditation retreat with Dr Joe Dispenza in Bonn, Germany and am beyond excited about it, squeeeeeeeeee (There are so many possible challenge themes in preparing myself for it, that I had trouble choosing and don't ask me how I ended up with this song instead, I really don't know) Anyway... No way of knowing what all will happen there, but I am expecting the unexpected and new for sure Miracles even, as a lot of people have spontaneous healings at these events. While I don't have any health issue that needs healing, I am very keen on learning how to help others better in their healing. Also am really curious what activities await us for going beyond common comfort zones, have to admit heights might really freak me (they never used to when I was younger) at the same time I remember the boost of energy I had after the two fire walks I had the chance to go on some years ago and this might be similar in having conquered things that my mind tells me I can't. Climbing up a pole like they did in this event would be soooooo awesome, the feeling at the top must have been utterly amazing! But before I go, there is lots that I want to get done still. A good chunk of work projects that I'd like to progress on, some house keeping stuff (that always seems to pile up), getting back into my training rhythm plus adding some pole fun, keeping up my meditations and experimenting with intermittent fasting.... Basically I want to do all the things again Rock, Paper, Scissors, which one is it going to be....? Let's see how often I can go for each of them ROCK - Strength training 2x/week - Pole PvP with @Mad Hatter and who knows where that will lead to .... plus - rock solid foundation in meditation: rise and meditate at 4am (Mon - Fri) or 5am (Sat/Sun) PAPER - tend my website, get some more audio recordings up and update some texts - write a nice article and send it out with a newsletter - get accounting done for January plus - some reflection on my day on actual paper at night or coloring in on paper instead of on screens SCISSORS - cutting down my eating times again; going for 16/8 and maybe an occasional longer fast in between - cutting and pasting motivational images into a mind movie to encourage me into bold, new adventures (this is actually preparation for the meditation retreat, so I better get on it asap) plus - cutting screens out of the hour before bed time might have to rediscover some creative things

Oh oh, the time has come... looking at the dates of this challenge I noticed I'll have to face a major milestone in my life this time round on Earth, whichever way I turn it, there is simply no denial, at exactly the first day of the next month I'll be turning According to very reliable sources this seems to be the answer to EVERYTHING ... and yet I do feel more clueless than ever before What to do? Well first things first Secondly, maybe I should simply expand my horizons a bit and go travel for new perspectives.... 1) Get myself a good guide book re-read hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, it's been ages really and it's such a fun story to lighten any mood Fun goals first, right 2) Get familiar with navigation in spaccccccccccce work with Dr. Joes meditations exploring the spacccccce the center of my heart takes up in spacccccce and more (he really does say it like that at times, it's so funny and yet they are simply some of the best meditations I have come across like ever) gotta do those daily, no excuses! 3) Get fluid in languages Maths, history, biology,... you name it. This goal continues on the past challenge with helping the kids study for their exams. No tracking in numbers as I'll have to take it as it comes, more like an honoring of the fact that this is challenging for me and yet I am tackling it bravely and my kids are even braver In addition, I'd like to finish translating hubby's book for easy English learning (so far I have translated 42 pages out of 99, total page number will increase as translation proceeds so don't be confused if it's more at the end) 4) Go FLY Finally get my spins etc on again on the pole Planning a fun pole PvP with @Mad Hatter (TBA soon) and am super excited and a bit scared at the same time so it seems a good goal literally my plan here 5) Random movement points This are treasures scattered all over the galaxy and I can collect them wherever I take the trouble to go move. Walks give 1 movement point (MP), kriya yoga sessions give 1 MP, going for a run gives 2 MP as does going to yoga class (because I really should!!) Every pole session will get another MP Let's hunt down all the points Ah, and yes, in case I haven't made it clear yet: most important rule, especially when it comes to work or financial things or the like ... It never helps, so I might as well skip it With all this, hopefully I will enter the big 42 a bit stronger and well prepared for any glorious adventures to come

Don't Panic Just Pole Build-On-PvP Inspired by the awesome Cadavres Exquis PvP on Parallettes by @@mu and @Norgaard we're going to do a similar PvP here, just on the pole. The idea is to build a sequence together bit by bit, assembling moves one after the other into some form of choreografie. Should be fun This is a video-based challenge in order to work but remember fun is the main goal, so while pretty lines are always pretty of course, they are not required at all, just because we share video How it works: The first participant presents a single move (spin, climb, hold or dance move) on the pole or floor. The second participant reproduces it and adds another to it. And so on. We'll focus on basic moves mostly as both @Mad Hatter and me have had a pole break for a while and are starting fresh again. Also adjustments for climbing injuries are totally legit Rules: If a move or shape is too hard, an easier variation is totally acceptable and recommended. (like different hold or from the ground, etc) The exact same move cannot be used twice in the sequence. Or at least it needs to have some variation (for instance single long leg or forward instead of backward or from floor instead of standing, etc). The same person cannot contribute twice in a row. Transitions from one move to another can be as long as needed in order to get into the new move nicely, but let's not overdo them unless they give a sneaky chance to wipe hands or catch breath Let's try and train both sides equally throughout the sequence. Pace will be about 1 new move / day. If anyone would like to join us, just give us a shout, we'll be happy to include you Let's go!

Building onto my January Challenge, here goes Lucky Fire Dragon Shifting Shape Part 2 Observing myself in week Zero (and probably it started way before) I noticed, I've become a bit too serious in my life again and as serious often equals stiff - how can I possibly shift shape this way?! Time to lighten up a bit again So I decided to take a more pleasant approach and what is the most pleasing 5 letter word? Exactly!!! So this will be my approach for the February/March Challenge. I won't cry at the same problem twice although I might laugh at the same joke twice and as worrying is truly pointless, I will rather choose to Soup or salad a well nourished body is a happy body is a fit body - eat moar veggies is the goal here. Current level of salad intake approx 0, current level of veggie soups maybe 1/week, not good enough! Get those nutrients and have either salad or soup or at least something veggie in raw every day Hoping this will reduce cravings for too many carbs or sugar. I've managed to get down from 70kg to fluctuating between 68 and 69kg, would love to have a 67 showing a few times now Monkey time Get strong: Daily 10 (chin ups from tip toe, push ups, knee tucks from hanging) will continue. Will aim for full push ups again even if it means spreading the 10 out over the whole day Get nimble: go to the flipping yoga classes! They do me good, I pay for monthly membership, I must GO! Take part in 6 classes over the course of the challenge Simply play: dangle from pull up bar or rings or hoop or roll on floor attempting flows or goof around pole, the goal is simply to move and have fun without serious expectations, maybe this will get me at it more often? Inspiration Receiving and sharing inspirations: Reading something inspiring every day, even if it's just two sentences. Currently I am reading "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert, "The Secret Language of the Heart" by Barry Goldstein and I have other books waiting that I know will make me want to jump up and work in a good way, yet I often forget to actually read them Keep up meditation, maybe create a tailored mix of the Dr Joe ones that contain the pineal gland breathing as well as tuning into new potentials.... Keep writing for my meditation book, also I have a silent retreat coming up that I'd like to prepare as best as I can and in March I am teaching a workshop for energy healing which I haven't done in years and want to do very different to back then, so will need to draft a whole new script and everything. 4TW will hopefully see me busy Laugh and love Spend time with my dear ones and make them laugh or at least crack a smile every day. They do laugh often as is, of course, but it's a fun goal to remind me to lighten up myself and it will also make me extra aware of their cheerful moments, which I want to soak up simply because Embrace whatever comes along. Be kind to myself and others as best as I can. Don't worry too much and not cry over the same problem twice. Rather take a deep breath, give myself or whoever needs a hug and tell myself "I got this" That's it, folks. Should be fun

Lucky fire dragon counts the good things Starting a log here for reflection and a place to keep going in between challenges or anytime really as I struggled with my challenges this last year (2016) and want to play a bit around for a while. Currently I am looking to re-establish strong workout and healthy eating habits keep up the good work attitude, being pro-active and less procrastinating keep up meditation habits remind myself often to take pressure and judgement off myself in order to appreciate the good there already is and in order to LIVE (happily) have enough structure to not have to even think about working out or not, just do it have so much fun with exercise I look forward to it balancing work, family and fitness in a way that makes me happy feel good in my body, treat it with kindness, have it be my strongest, bestest friend there is probably a ton more, but this is enough for now In 2016 I had big changes in my work life and it affected me more than I wanted to see, but now I can honestly say, it's all good and valuable. I neglected any workouts for long enough to feel like a total beginner again and that, too, is not a bad thing. I can start again, but stronger than 3 years ago and kinder, too. I realized that in the end, it is all about the joy. Without it giving me joy I won't do it for long and it won't be worth it either. So I switched from the L2+ courses at my pole studio back to Level 2 and yayyy, joy is back I go for walks instead of running and am surprised how much I enjoy it. I do some yoga when it's easy to fit in and do it slooooowly with conscious pleasure of a fully alive body, no matter how far I can stretch or how long I can hold. I love Erich Schiffmann's idea of "flirting with your limits", playing with the minimum you have to do in order to make your body work some at all and the maximum beyond which it would be too much. In between mental lows hit me and my mind tells me blah-stories about everything I suck at and it's way too easy to fall for it. I used to then make either massive plans to improve ALL THE THINGS or crumble and do nothing at all. Both didn't work very well Now I switch rather to larger perspective, breathe, get back to here and now and wonder "what would feel good to do right now?" "what would be a kinder thought?" "what would be a healthy choice for right now?" PLEASE remind me of these, when I forget again!!!! Also really helpful is counting my blessings and former victories. Feel good things make me feel good, who would have thought I will let the things I like guide me home again and again... Here is a list, so that they are easier to find dancing spinning around the pole or hanging upside down headstand and handstands (when I dare) going for walks hot baths music singing silence empty email inbox clean house sweating it all out fresh clear water a nice cup of tea counting my blessings laughing kids laughing coloring in embroidery funny stories yoga to be added onto Over the last months I finally got a good work rhythmn and conquered ancient habits of procrastination that I often struggle with on any work stuff that doesn't have a fixed appointment. It's still challenging but much better, because I saw I could do it. What helped was discovering beeminder and connecting it with my to-dos on habitrpg. Beeminder would charge me actual money if I derailed too much and hubby would see it on our joint account and I realllllllly didn't want that as that would have been super embarrassing. So there it is. But it worked! I got a whole lot of old projects finally finished and it feels amazing. Next goal on it is daily mini workouts to bring back a healthy habit without overambitious planning: https://www.beeminder.com/gluecksdrache/daily10 My daily 10 10 push ups 10 chin ups (can be from standing on tip toe or even negatives from stool) 10 goblet squats 10 leg lifts from hanging First 4 days were HARD Day 1 I had to do the push ups with feet wide apart (but elbows tucked in) and over 2 sets of 5 - managed only 1 chin up from standing, the rest were like halfway until I resorted to negatives from a stool - the goblet squats worked well with 8kg kettlebell, so yay on that - the leg lifts were super tough with straight legs, so I changed to tuck lift, then straight lower down Day 2 went better with 2 chin ups from standing on tip toe Day 3 the push ups were done in 1 set (woot) but with elbows slightly out and feet hip width apart, 6 chin ups from standing over several sets (woot) Day 4 (today) push ups over 2 sets again, but 7 chin ups from standing over several sets, yayyy Did it first thing in the mornings and found that great, because I get thirsty and start the day with a good dose of fresh water, I feel awake and satisfied by having that tiny workout Daily weigh in Another thing I want to keep going for a while as it tells me where I am in a way that shows tendencies and doesn't just soothe me (if I hit a light day and feel oh, I'm fine) or shock me (if I hit a heavy day and feel aaaaaaaah what is this?!!!) but more honestly tells me where I currently am. Right now I am fluctuating between 65 and 68 kg, which is not a happy place for me, but I'll have to embrace it for now and use it for motivation instead of beating myself up about it. Goal is 62kg, but even 64 would already be awesome again. Pole and Yoga My third current fitness goal has its own accountability due to my weekly challenge with my youngest daughter She counts all her minutes spent on studying for school (besides homework) and I could all my minutes on strength training, pole and yoga done at home (not at class). If I only do my daily 10, it won't do for this, so I HAVE to do more in order to compete with her. Prices are high: I get some cool leggings for each week won (have 5 leggings on their way in the mail to me, so that will last a while) youngest gets favorite schleich toys (with cost limit) for each week won I've been goofing around with what could be fun ways to keep it simple and easy to go to (like my daily 10) and played "the floor is lava" - having to stay on the pole for the duration of one song and training spin after spin for another song. Still takes me 30 minutes as I need to warm up first before being able to do anything and do want 5 min stretches after, but 30 minutes should be doable more often and it was great fun. Once classes start again by January 12th, I'll have more detailed things to train... So these are my three things to update on at the moment and I appreciate any extra accountability. Please shout at me when I neglect too much, because it really, really serves my happiness to do these! Thank youuuuuuu Here is some yoga fun on the pole to sum up for now, that turned out to be quite strenuous and good form training: would love to create a pole sun salutation variation and already have some ideas, but I'll have to regain some more strength again first .... motivation

Lucky fire dragon sparkles up it's time to Wake up start the day with 6 rounds of sun salutations each side and a new set of sparkling daily 10 I've been doing a daily mini workout of 10 assisted chin ups, 10 leg lifts from hanging, 10 push ups and 10 weighted goblet squats for 7 weeks in a row now and it's been really helpful in building strength and staying in the habit of braving workouts. However it is beginning to be a bit dull - not boring, mind you I still struggle - just doing the same thing day in day out, so this month I'm challenging myself to a new version: 10 assisted chin ups 10 assisted pull ups 10 straddle lifts and 10 crunches all on my aerial hoop start off videos behind spoiler here: Show up go to the classes I booked: 1x yoga / week 1x pole / week train 1x pole / week at home this is the minimum I have to keep going, but until that is going easy again it's no point upping the goal. It continues as is from last challenge. Will try to share some video snippets from home training for extra accountability Clean up another goal to continue from last challenge is my Email Ninja - clean up my email inbox every day adding some house sparkle to this goal - shine up the bathroom basin every day With life offering so many adventures and things, I often struggle to keep some balance in splitting my time and energy equally enough. For instance if I focus on a fitness goal that excites me, often work gets neglected or household and if I catch up on work sometimes the family comes short and/or I move too little. Right now I am still strengthening some good work habits and doing quite okay on my fitness (woot woot) while still having an eye on the kids needs (woot woot) but sometimes don't even want to look at our house because it feels every single room needs decluttering, a thorough dusting, window cleaning,.... oooof So instead of burying my head in the sand, I'll take a page out of the FlyLady's book (thanks to @otterbyte for the introduction) and pick one self care thing to do daily and build onto that. The bathroom basin is what greets us all in the morning and what we all face before going to bed. Me thinks if that one thing is sparkling it'll make a big difference already Now you must think my house is a pig sty and well, it's not totally of course, but you really mustn't look closely at the moment and I want to get back to a state where you can. Tune up Last goal is a music goal I really dusted off my patient, poor old harp and got a few new strings to replace broken ones, so now it's time to keep tuning it and getting my fingers nimble again so that music might fill the house with sparkling vibration I am super grateful for the harp being one of those forgiving instruments that sound nice even if you just play the most simple things. It's hard to play really well the same as any other instrument, but it's rewarding even when you don't yet Goal is to spend 90 min / week practising on my harp, ideally more, but I want to start with small steps for now Collect all the sparkles Last last goal I nearly forgot and that is actually the whole point with this one: I keep forgetting how good simple things like walks and water are for me. So I'll add them here still to make sure I don't... hope it works Goal is to walk 70 000 steps / week (and I will only manage that by going for walks several times, so there) and to drink 2 Liters of water minimum every day, 2,5 Liters on workout days That's all It looks a lot, listed up like this, but it should be easily doable with a bit of determination and consistency, so please don't let me wiggle out when I feel lazy. I know these are all points important to me and I WILL feel so much better for each time I did them. There are actually some more things still, that I would have been very tempted to add - my mind was whirring on high speed again this zero week, struggling to zero in on anything, but rather zapping from various ideas to even more... which is why it took me so long to finally set up this challenge. But now it's up, and it is only four weeks, so it's not like the big life decision my mind made it out to be this week (really don't know why it loves doing that, maybe it makes me feel important ) So I'll stop rambling now and get at it Best of fun, everyone Let's have a great challenge!

Lucky fire dragon flies like a Hero New year, new adventures! I've decided to up my game and become a Rising Hero taking true flight in all the awesomeness I got, let's spread those wings, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I have no idea yet what all awaits me on my Rising Hero journey, but that is part of the fun, and I do know it will make me stronger, healthier and I will surely meet even more awesome people - hopefully come across some of you guys from here So this challenge will have three parts plus a mystery part... Part 1 - Do the work and be FREE My first goal is this time a non-fitness goal as I have noticed how happy it makes me to be on top of some things and therefore frees me up for fun things like training. What often best reflects how on top I am in my job is my email inbox. Ergo the goal is to have it clear every single evening before I go to bed, no excuses. I'm starting with >20 in today still (at nearly 10pm), so that is what holidays do to me and it can't go on as it nags me at the back of my mind... from tomorrow on no more! Part 2 - Daily 10 for building STRENGTH Every big journey starts with small steps. Doing a short workout every single day for building strength and consistency. My current Daily 10 consist of 10 standard push ups 10 chin ups from standing 10 leg lifts (tuck lift, straighten and lower straight legs) 10 goblet squats with kg (currently 8kg, but hopefully more soon if my lovely neighbour borrows me a heavier one) Additional accountability for this comes thanks to beeminder - data should be visible there, too Part 3 - Dance and FLY Train on the pole and with yoga regularly, meaning attending a yoga and pole class each week, plus 1 home pole training. During week 0 it's home training only as we have school holidays and courses only start afterwards again Part 4 - MYSTERY ... to be determined by the Rising Hero tasks... Stealing from @annyshay (because us sneaky assassins are good at that ) I will have a pretty Triforce motive to color in for each of the first three parts for every day of the challenge. Image to follow here soon 2015 was an awesome challenge year for me with great progress and fun. 2016 not so much - I dropped most of my challenges and couldn't find any consistency at all. Now it's a great years turn again and this challenge I will follow though come hell or high water!!!! Will use all the stubborness I have Let's get the new year starting with a BOOM

Lucky Fire Dragon's Daily Spin So I've been away for a while and it was all for good reasons - being on holiday, getting back into good work rhythm, spending plenty of time with kids for school and fun, rearranging the house and uncluttering a LOT, catching up work projects that I've been wanting to do for 2 years and never got around to,... all good things, so I feel it was healthy priority setting and am very glad I did. I missed you guys as you have become part of my larger family, too, of course, but I knew getting back on here would mean less time for the people around me here and for those past few months I soaked up that time like the sunshine on a beach and they did too. Now I feel those habits and relationships are wonderfully steady and will see how to be back here AND have all the delicious time with my family as well There has to be a way!! Am super excited to catch up on your adventures that I missed, yayyyyyy As you can probably guess, the one thing coming short over all those goodies was my fitness Well, I did go for many walks, and after gaining a few kilos over summer (went from 64 to nearly 68 ) I meticulously counted calories for a month to remind my body what a deficit feels like, what enough feels like and what eating more than I burn feels like... that was super interesting. I'm back to 65 now, some days 64 and would love to get it down to 62 kg (less to lift on pole ) and also it's finally time to get some muscle back on. Talking about pole... sigh... 6 weeks holiday break were shocking there. Training only 3 times over the last two months did not improve this either plus I was too lazy for any push ups, pull ups, sit ups, yoga, ... you name it. Getting up early is the only "up" activity I have been successful on over the last few months. Sooooooooooooo It's time to get up on the pole again!!! For real I was pondering for a loooooooooong time (sneaky way of procrastination, planning instead of doing ): Should I rather do some hardcore, "proper" workouts 3x / week? Or should I do a little bit every day? Like 10 push ups, sit ups, etc daily? What about daily yoga? What about starting on weights for quicker strength gain to get back in shape? But then what about coordination on the pole? Aaaaaaaaaaargh Was driving myself a bit mad on this So now I have decided for daily small steps on pole Consistency and fun will be my mantras. I don't need to cover every main muscle every day, I don't need to train progressively, I just need to get up there and DO EEEEEEEEET Here's the plan: - Train for 15 min daily on the pole, with warm-up and cool-down it will be 30 min, that should be totally doable - Train one spin, one form of climbing and one pretty pose to hold each time - only day off is Fridays as they are super busy days and I also have pole class Thursday nights anyway Listed below are all the spins, holds and climbs I have learned so far. I will let a dice decide which ones are due that day and then tick them off here. Aiming to do as many of them as I can over the next 4 weeks, ones I've done won't come again unless in a combo for spicing things up. I really want to start small here, not aim for perfection but rather diversity and consistency. Does that make any sense? Not sure right now @SymphonicDanif you see any similarities to any of your past challenges (like lists and letting a dice decide) they are purely coincidental.... kidding, of course! I loved that so much in your challenges, I've always wanted to give it a try and here I go. THANK YOU Oh and I'll try to capture the various results on camera to link to each move for extra accountability. And maybe explanation of the names... but please don't assume I'm doing them perfectly, because I probably don't!! Instagram would be best for this purpose, right? Am very inexperienced on that. Any suggestions? So here is my list: CLIMBS (will have to be done twice as I don't have 24 different ones) beginner standard both legs (don't have a better name for it) fireman climb 3/4 turn fireman climb full turn fireman climb 1 1/4 turn leg switch on second climb leg switch on second climb with turn other moves that get me up the pole swing mount from squatting swing mount from standing headstand crunch up caterpillar from floor caterpillar on pole (both those don't take me up really, but maybe will one day ) SPINS front hook front hook long leg back spin back spin long leg front spin horizontal plié spin fan kick 1/2 turn fan kick full turn front chair front chair long leg back chair back chair long leg baby spin attitude spin baby spin long leg attitude horizontal attitude horizontal long leg fireman spin attitude dismount 3/4 turn attitude dismount full turn attitude dismount 1 1/4 turn long leg from floor (no idea what it's called) pirouette ??? HOLDS standing cross cross relax (wilting flower?? dead something? It's got some proper name ) cross long leg seat seat relax fireman supergirl superman inverted cross attitude headstand headstand splits headstand baby angel handstand handstand baby angel rainbow sun wheel overhead hold with legs lifted pull up hold pencil forearm hold pencil forearm hold one knee hooked seat next to pole knee hook with long leg that I have no name for inverted v Motivation: Getting my strong and sexy back on, having lots of fun again on the pole and feeling gooooooooooood Isn't that what we always ultimately do it for? I'll try to incorporate this part into training already - please shout at me when I seem to forget and go for tense ambition instead Thank you for sharing my journey with me, I'll do my best to cheer you on in return Let's go have some FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN

Hello, I've posted on this website a couple times in the past, but never really stuck with it for a variety of reasons. Mostly, I wasn't committed, and the one time I was I didn't feel like I needed help (foolish, I know). I've kept reading the articles that Steve sends out though. But, I'm turning 28 in October. Last time I weighed myself (a couple weeks ago) I was 198lbs. This is the heaviest I've ever been. And, my Dad was just diagnosed (after having it for years I suspect) with Type 2 diabetes. I don't want that to be me. I work in a community college right now as a librarian. I had the summer off (pros on cons to that) and I spent the summer going to 2-4 dance classes a week. I do pole dancing. I even performed in the studio's showcase this summer which I was really proud of myself for. I wasn't the best performer, but I choreographed the whole thing myself. I am stronger than I was at the beginning of the summer (I suspect some of the ~5-9 lbs I gained this summer are muscle, but not all) but now that I'm back at work I can feel my strength slipping away. I work evenings most of the week so I can't go to the same number of pole dance classes as before, but I do have a pole at home. I find it more difficult to use it at home, when I'd rather read or watch TV after work instead. I went swimming for the first time before work yesterday. I swam for about 40 mins but didn't push myself too hard as I wanted to get back into the groove of the pool. I'm planning on joining the YMCA so I can do this more often. I'm also taking a Brazilian Zouk dance class right now, once a week. It's decent cardio once you get going, though learning to dance with a partner for the first time means I'm stepping on some toes I've joined a local accountability group and I want to start posting more here and get involved in the community. I want to change how I feel about myself when I look in the mirror. The only pictures I like of myself in the past 5 years have been when I'm doing something on the pole. My muscles are engaged and I look happy (even though I remember being in pain when the picture was taken). Food wise, I eat too much. My diet could use more veggies and less dessert, sure, but I think my biggest problem right now is that I almost always go back for more. Sometimes I'm still hungry, sometimes it's just so delicious. Sometimes I had a bad day or don't feel like talking to the other people at the table so I stuff my face instead. It's a problem that I've become more aware of, but I'm not always (or even most of the time) able to stop myself. Any pole dancers, Zouk dancers, or swimmers out there, please reach out! I'd love to trade stories, techniques, new moves, and inspiration! Also, if anyone has recommendations for good, comfortable but stylish, dance shoes, let me know. My feet are a little pigeon-toed and I need arch support so finding cute dance shoes has been an impossible task. I'm dancing in sneakers right now which is really not ideal.

Lucky Fire Dragon Goes for Gold even as temptation is high, there is no time for any half-assing over the next weeks, so I might as well go for it all 1. Golden body what better way to get golden than using GMB (Gold Medal Bodies) programs so of course I will stick to Integral Strength with all the given workouts, if I manage I will finish the program within the challenge, yay keep up pole training 3x/week get that core fire burning by hula hooping 5 min daily make it all sparkle by drinking 2 liters of water daily and no alcohol on 6 days / week 2. Golden Wisdom in the brilliant story of Jim Button the evil dragon that is defeated but not killed falls into a year long magical sleep and awakens as a golden dragon of wisdom... maybe my less glorious traits could sleep like that too and more wisdom awaken with them getting out of the way... write diary dialogue with my own Larger Presence daily, time to tap into the wisdom within even if it sounds like nothing special at that moment and might not be valuable to anyone else, it makes me feel happy, open, relaxed and gives me perspective meditate early morning, tapping into that Larger Presence and setting constructive focus for each day (will get ultimate accountability on this one as I am offering my clients to join me via webinar in this they love stuff like that and I will benefit as well) keep up room wisdom with T by helping her and/or playing with her after checking her room thoroughly once a week read English with A 4x a week keep up checking A and T's homework daily 3. Golden Moments look for happy, fun, inspiring, grateful or otherwise valuable moments and treasure them. Soak them up, include in write up here or daily diary... squeeze them 1 point for each moment captured, let's see how many I can get over the challenge... Life Quest: Golden Treasures I'll be part of the Monkey Tamers United and tackle some work stuff that I still promised for my former partner and teacher plus some creative work for us that will hopefully open up new sources of income to balance what fell away when I stopped working for said teacher. It's a tricky balance here for me, I want to find my own footing, yet not be competition to her or step on her toes and I am still floating about on all of it. Therefor I am not surprised at having less client sessions at the moment - they always sense how clear I am - and know the journaling and meditation will bring me back into my creative, happy space. The walks I've done recently already got me closer to some of this, they were really happy things. Also unfulfilled promises weigh heavy on me and slow me down, so it will be good to get the updates I had still promised done and that too will open up a lot of joy. I haven't gotten to much yet, because I felt bad not working for our own income during the minutes I have free, but then the guilty feeling weighs me down and I end up doing nothing at all... new tactic: splitting up time equally on both tasks and getting them done brick by golden brick These are my main goals and I'll fill in some last details later, right now I gotta dash to pole class

During my last challenge I established some strong workout habits by giving them major priority and it was awesome. Daily exercise is truly magic for me Working out a lot took lots of time, but I got confirmed again that where there is a will there is a way.... Now there is a lot of things I'd like to get done with and for my family, some of them uncomfortable, some of them urgent and important, all of them would improve life quality for us, lots of things I'd like to get done for our house and garden and last but not least again for the most important home I have - my body, so this challenge will hopefully see me do it all: Lucky fire dragon takes good care of her lair and family 1. Taking good care of my dear ones Not sure yet how to structure this best, was thinking of points but ended up with a list instead, will include the regular things in my weekly spreadsheets and cross out on the list right here Regular tough and tender love: - check both A's and T's homework every single school day (total of 10 due to holidays) - make sure T practices her drums and recorder daily (total 28) - read a short section in diary of a whimpy kid with A daily to improve his English skills (total 28) - tidy up T's room with her once every week (which is a major adventure for both of us and I am hoping doing it more often will improve that. I told her I will give her an hour for that every weekend - more tomorrow as we will have to sort through a lot of things then - and if we don't need the full hour because she kept it neat herself we can play a game instead or go roller blading hope that helps as incentive) total of 4 - study with A for his school 2x 30 minutes every week (total of 8) List of other goodies and/or necessities to be taken care of this challenge: - get R good sun glasses - take R to skin doctor for funny toe nail - sign R up for driving lessons - cancel the saving contract we have running for her in order to fund said driving lessons - take R shopping for clothes - look through A's clothes and take him shopping - look through T's clothes, hand on what's too small, try out waiting things, shop if need be - get A's bike lights fixed - get T's bike lights fixed plus new bell for bike (don't what it is about those lights, ugh) - go roller blading with T (at least 3x throughout challenge) 3/3 - play with A on trampoline or go roller blading and him on waveboard (at least 2x throughout the challenge) 2. Taking good care of house and garden - Tend garden and/or unclutter something in the house for 100 min / week (which one it is will be depending on weather and urgency) - plant strawberries on balcony with T - wash and clean car inside and out - get summer wheels on - sort through own clothes and hand on things not worn any more 3. Taking good care of my body and mind Adapted Goal - Continue daily exercise first thing in the morning, for week 1 I will do: - follow Integral Strength Training by GMB (currently 3 sessions per week) - Ring workout is optional whenever I want to (and have strength left from IS and pole ) Continue pole training 4x / week Add rope skipping 3x/ week Add 5 min hula hoop every day (only when the mood strikes) Walk at least 3000 steps every day (I know that is ridiculously little for most of you here, but for me it can be challenging on many days as I work from home and spend most of my time in the house) Journal or meditate 10 min/ day Keep up French lessons with Memrise, Duolingo and/or other means - no time goal here, as mini challenges pushes me plenty as is 4. Taking good care of my skin and nails These usually get so neglected with and it's time for them to get spoiled a bit more and shine so they get their own goal... 5 minutes/day taking care of either nails or calluses (can even be just one or two nails as long as something gets tended) For most of my life I used to bite my nails super short and while I don't do that anymore, they don't get much care yet either. I cut them short now and don't smoothen them afterwards, the nail polish I put on my toes in February is still on in remnants... you get the picture. It won't take that much time to do better here and a little bit every day will go a long way. My hands have developed some calluses from the hoop and ring training (funny enough pole doesn't create any) and one tore open a few days ago. Fortunately I discovered that I had bought one of those rough stones to use on callused skin a long time ago (when I intended better skin care as well lol) and found out that smoothed all the rough edges on the torn callus perfectly so now it won't rip any further, yay. So treating the calluses from time to time with that stone will probably prevent them from getting ripped in the first place, or at least I hope it might. 4 peeling massages over course of challenge This will be a whole new experience, I have never ever done any peelings before Somehow turning 40 made me think of all kinds of new stuff, like I gotta turn into a classy lady or something lol, but I think it will be real nice for my dear skin 4 salt baths over course of challenge 4 nights with wet socks (socks soaked in warm salt water, dry woolen socks over plus towel and wham comfy detox cleanses overnight ) can also be replaced by a salted 15 min foot bath Spending at least 10 minutes / day outdoors Come rain or shine, I have to get out there. Am pale like a sheet at the moment and won't wait for perfect weather to change that. Plus oxygen... never to be underestimated!! This can happily be combined with goal nr 2 (gardening time) What else is new? Oh yes, I got a fitbit charge hr for my birthday so I am now all distracted by checking how my heart rate is doing, how many steps I've taken, what it counts as exercise and can't wait to see what it thinks of pole training (have slacked this week zero, but Sunday will tell!!) and I guess it would give plenty material for more challenges.... but considering how full this one is right now (and believe me there was more that could have come in lol, but I'm shshing it ) I decided to wait on that... As is I'd be one suuuuuuuuuper proud fire dragon if when I managed all of the above this coming challenge!! Won't beat myself up if for some reason I don't but boy would it be cool if I did it, squeeeeeeee What helped me last time tremendously was @mr_willes pushing me on in a PvP that had us report on each other's threads how far we were along with our workouts. So if anybody would like to try that out, I'd love to do that again! But be warned, I might not be as nice to you as you know me I can be quite competitive when it comes to it. In the end I'd love to see both of us have straight A weeks though, of course. That is the very best feeling for sure. Let's do this thing For tracking: homework check T 10/10 homework check A 10/10 music training check T 11/28 get room shiny T 4/4 study with A 6/8 read dwk with A 5/28 roller blading fun T 3/3 waveboard fun A 3/2 tend garden (or unclutter house) 100/100 100/100 100/100 100/100 meditation 20/28 Integral Strength 10/10 pole training 12/16 > 3000 steps 27/28 nail / skin care 23/28 peeling massage 4/4 salt bath 5/4 > 10 minutes outdoors 24/28

Lucky fire dragon pulls herself up and up and upside down Hi everyone, for those who don't know me yet, I am an amateur pole dancer who got hooked about 3 years ago and is since then slowly, stubbornly building some strength to actually do some dancing on this fabulous thing. It's totally addictive, gives me big bruises and even bigger fun, confidence and has turned me from sluggish desk worker into circus-nerd, active, stronger than I have ever been and roughly 10 kg lighter to when I started three years ago. Apart from pole dance I dabbled with aerial hoop, will get gymnastic rings for my birthday in May (whoohoo), love yoga, hiking, bathing, reading, travelling, music and of course all the gorgeous amazeballs in here Due to some work changes and challenges I was quite absent during the last two challenges and ... am embarrassed to admit... let myself go a bit. Well, contrast is our friend, right, so here is me motivated and dedicated for a proper tough challenge again Let's BRING IT ON!!!! (will have to look for a proper gif later, sorry) This time I'm going to do it all: spring clean detox get super strong, especially on PULL UPS train all the inversions and stay super focused with meditation powers The rough plan is there, I might still adjust some details later. Also this challenge will have different parts for each week as it builds up gradually and that will give me some room for adjustments if need be. 1. Get sparkling and focused I have a fabulous yoga book by Tiffany Cruikshank with a 30 day yoga detox program that helped me shed about 4 kg two years ago and will go through the progress again. Might shed less weight this time, but am hoping for some cm less and also noticed the cleaner my diet and the less alcohol I drink, the better my grip on the pole. Aaaaand it turns out that is a BIG motivation For Week 1 I will - drink a lemon drink every morning - do the detox week 1 yoga program every morning breathing exercise (inhale for 6 seconds, hold for 6 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds, same with 8 seconds and then 10 seconds for 3 rounds each or more) 10 x cat / cow 3-5 sun salutations A (forward fold, plank, lowering into cobra, downdog, jump to hands, forward fold, roll up) 2-5 sun saluations B (forward fold, jump into plank, up dog, down dog, lunge left with arms up, down dog, lunge right with arms up, downdog, jump to hands, forward fold, roll up) Savansana (after hoop and inversions) meditation (after savansana or later in day, see below) - add 5 of each pull up and chin up rows as well as tuck into straddle and crunches on the aerial hoop every morning - meditate for 10 minutes minimum every morning (can be done later in day if need be, but morning would be ideal) - do all this early enough that I can still do all needed desk work in the mornings and have the afternoons free for other things - do 3 rounds of fire breath every day - drink no alcohol except on Saturdays but only if I had at least 2 liters of water before - drink 2 liters of water or herbal tea every day - take measurements on Sundays 2. Get Stronger As I want to really really play with my rings when I get them and apparently you need to have pull up strength for that, pull ups it's going to be. Plus pole lessons at Level 2+ are really challenging me majorly so no more lazying around on that either - 3 x pole training at home / week (plus the lesson at the studio) - collect 50 pull ups or chin ups over week 1, negatives and rows count as 0.5 each -> will raise this goal in the weeks 2-4 3. Train all the inversions I have this fabulous feetup stool at home allowing me plenty of play with headstands without any pressure on neck or hand, so I could play more with that... or with handstands (I recently managed to kick into a wall handstand and hold it for the first time idk!!!!! That was so cool it needs repeating) ... or with headstands as we need them way more controlled for pole choreos than I can do right now - spend 50 minutes / week upside down Current status videos Here is the video of the hoop morning training with lots of work still needed on my rows as you can see. I'm thinking now that maybe I am positioning myself wrong and must go a bit more back to that when I come up the hoop is not at my head but at my chest rather... any hints? https://vimeo.com/161294594 Also can we still imbed videos in here or not anymore? Couldn't find yet how... Here is a video of some current pole projects: seat relax into hangback should ideally be switching from one into the other and back with as little hand help as possible (good prep for higher levels ) the handstand attitude with one leg away from the pole feels for some reason suuuuuuper scary, so it will be my bravery expansion for a while and the slide down needs more control and less hooking in with the bent leg, finally the headstand - goal is to lift straight legs up controlled from top of foot (i.e. not standing on toes like I did here) and then crunch up to hold straight away at the top of the pole (not use the help of hand below butt like I did here...) https://vimeo.com/161296316 Measurements and weight on Day 1 upper right arm: 29.5 cm upper left arm: 29.5 cm chest: 88.5 cm waist: 83 cm hips: 89.5 cm right thigh: 54 cm left thigh: 53 cm right calf: 35.5 cm left calf: 34.5 cm Starting weight 64 kg Squeeeeeeeeee EXCITED Best of FUN and SUCCESS and safe training everyone!!

Lucky fire dragon pulls through As I am going through rough waters and lots of changes at work right now and it has taken over much of my life temporarily, this challenge will see me stay grounded, strong and clear through all of it, rise to new freedom and JOY and whatever else blessings are arising from this. I'll keep my challenge very simple - like REALLY simple - I will have two goals only 30 days of gravity - every single day stick to the 30 day program by darebee to keep me strong and nimble, plus Gravity = solid ground, so what could be better during the times of change Taking part in the mini challenge - every part of it this will lead on into the next challenge as well which suits me fine as I feel by then I will be a lot more present on here again anyway and can enjoy it even more For now it will be, like the 30 days of gravity, something to kick me into small units of action often, so that I keep my muscles awake and healthy. It's also a great tension release from all the work related question marks and shifts... Oh, I do have a third goal, of course Train at least 2x / week on the pole, bonus points for a third time This is half of what I had scheduled during the last challenge, but considering how little I managed during the last two weeks, it seems more encouraging, because I might manage that Level 2+ is challenging me big time (and I love it) and I will only catch on if I also train the actual pole moves and not "just" basic bodyweight exercises. So that's it Let's flyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, everyone

This is pretty late, but things have been crazy and I wasn't sure I was going to make another challenge anyways. But better late than never: here I am. So I had a good idea last challenge: get the basics solid. Unfortunately, I still tried to do too much, and crashed and burned. I even gained weight... This time, I'm going to focus on just getting into a routine. For anybody interested, my old challenge is here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/76107-lydiajaybird-goes-back-to-basics/ Main Quest - Get comfortable in a daily routine Up until now, my focus was always losing weight. I'm still interested in losing weight as an overall goal in my life (hey, just found my life quest!), but to do that, I need to get some other aspects of my life in order. So I'm going to switch from making losing weight my main goal each challenge, to making things that will help me lose weight my main goal. So this time, that's having a routine. I know that normally people here are really big on having quantifiable goals, but I think getting routine is more important for me right now than measurable progress. Goals 1. Get up & Go - Get up at 6-6:30am (even on weekends!!). On weekends I can stay in bed with my kitty cat, laptop, or a book once I wake up, but on weekdays, I have to get OUT of bed by 6:30 and make the bed. Once I'm up, it doesnt really matter what I do. If i want to get up at 6 and play WoW until it's time to go to work, thats fine. I woke up and thats what matters for this challenge. (Yeah, thats right. Not putting exercise in here. Generally, I've found I dont have a problem going running in the morning. I have a problem getting out of bed in the morning. So I'm going to focus on getting out of bed for now. If I go running too, cherry on top. I'll probably include that in my Life Quest.) 2. Chefs belong in the Kitchen - Eat at home! No more eating out! Too often, when I was doing the diet goal, if I failed, I'd just say, aw, screw it & order pizza or go eat out! Which is so much worse than just cooking something at home that might be outside of the diet. So for this challenge, I'm going to focus on having everything I eat be something I made at home. If I want to cheat on my diet, I'll have to put it on my grocery list. And I'm much less impulsive in the grocery store than I am with online ordering and drive throughs. 3. Check In - This goal is to stay accountable. (Also, hopefully some of you all will pop in more often to offer support if I'm posting more often about what's going on. Shout out to those of y'all that popped in during my last challenge, I'm very grateful!) I have to weigh myself every morning (yes, I know, I'm not going to lose weight every day, and some days I'll gain. But if I don't weigh every day, I find myself going WEEKS without weighing myself, and thats when weight gain happens), and post my weight and any other updates on whats going on. Life Quest Lose weight! This is where I'll get credit for running, doing my pole and aerial silks, and sticking to my diet. Let's say 1 point of extra credit for every pound lost? Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 189.8 *crying sounds* Waist: Hips: Thigh: I will put in all my measurements tomorrow morning. Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Life Points are unlimited extra credit that can be added to my final score! My final grade will be the average of all four weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. Since I started late, the first week will be just the points from today on. Get up & Go - 1 point each day for getting up on time. On weekdays, I MUST make my bed after getting up for this to count! (Otherwise, I'll just crawl right back in...) Chefs belong in the Kitchen - 1 point for each meal made at home. So 3/day possible. Check In - 1 point/day for weighing in. Exceptions - I'm doing some out-of-state interviewing at the moment, been to Atlanta twice the past couple weeks and will be flying to Florida next week. So when I'm out of town, just try to eat healthy to earn the Chefs belong in the Kitchen point. Obviously, if I'm away from my scale, I don't have to weigh-in, but try to at least put a sentence or two here on my challenge with why I'm not weighing in. If I get one of these jobs and have to move... Well I'll figure out what that means when it happens. Motivation I don't know what to do for motivation this go around. My most successful motivations have been the materialistic ones, but I'm not in a place financially to do that right now. So I don't know.

Hi everybody, I am a happy go lucky fire dragon, who likes pole dancing, aerial hoop, yoga and other shiny movement things that make me feel alive, strong and nimble Currently I have some big work projects that I want to tackle and in the past that used to suck up my willpower for workouts. Seems work and workouts use the same contingent of willpower and I could not do both consistently over a longer period. That is about to change Cause I'm gonna expand my willpower and and DO ALL THE THINGS Well, I'll start gently, with lots of yummy restorative things, to keep myself juiced up and my batteries charged ... build a routine that will carry me... and give myself time to ROCK my WORK and ROCK my WORKOUTS -hah, work is just another workout after all, and those I can do I will use how we are creatures of habit and CREATE HABITS that make things easier, I'll ruthlessly kick out routines that don't serve me well anymore and reclaim full power as Queen of My Routine Quest 1: Morning routine (5 days/week) - get up at 6 am on Mon-Fri - 15 min restorative yin yoga - 15 min active yoga - breakfast - start work at 7.30 am on Mon-Thu Quest 2: Workout Routine (4 days/week) - Angry Bird Workout with Pole (2x/week - planning Wed and Fri or Sat) * pole knee tucks * pole climbs with arms only (resting in seat) * aerial squats * standard push ups * dolphin plank hold explanatory video will follow - hope I can do it at all - Dance Workout (2x/week) * once at class (Mondays) * once at home training class moves, other spins and tricks (Thursdays) Quest 3: Recharging Energy Routine (3 to 7 days/week) - 20 min walk 3 days / week to get fresh air and relax eyes (on the days off pole) - 2.5 liters of water 7 days / week - 10 min eye training on 7 days / week (to start with reading up about exercises during those 10 min is also okay, as long as I get myself there, more screen time at work means more rest for eyes needed) Life Quest: Work Routine get in 16 hours / week on website and/or translation work get translation project (in signature) done by end of January ideally to be done by Friday because the plan is to have the weekend plan free Tracking will be done with shiny spreadsheets again for shiny stars to stick on for every shiny win Big stars for pole sessions, small stars for morning routines, recharging routines and work routines I will be away from Jan 14 - 17 (leading a silent retreat and takes me up completely) so no points given or lost during those four days. Let's get this party started....

I did pretty decent last challenge, but I feel like I was getting pretty shaky on always getting in my runs, on always staying under my carb count, etc. So. For this challenge, I'm reinforcing the basics of my fitness instead of adding lots of new things to try to do. (well, imma add one new thing, but one is easier to do than three!) For anybody interested, my old challenge is here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/73739-lydiajaybird-shakes-it-off/ Main Quest - Lose 6 Pounds Since the challenges are shorter now, I've decided to cut my weight loss quest in half. Yes, I know, the challenge isn't 50% the length it used to be, but I never hit that 12 pounds during the six week ones, so this might be a more reasonable goal. Goals 1. KCKO - Always stay below 50 carbs a day, but aim for below 25. (I don't want to lose points for having 30 carbs in a day, when you really only need to stay below 50 to keep in ketosis, but I still want to try to be below 25) Always stay below 1645 calories. 2. Get up & Go! - this one will be a combination of my old Rise & Shine and Exercise goals. I noticed that even when I woke up on time - I would just stay in bed. So this time, I need to not only get up (6am during the week, 9am on weekends), but get up and do my workout as well. (Run MWF, Aerial Silks class R, Pole + RLNA TSa) And of course, bedtime will be a part of this goal as well. 10pm weeknights, 1am weekend nights. 3. Get Flexy - I used to be super flexible. I miss that. So I'm going to start doing heavy stretching once a week (with photo documentation! wont see much of a difference during this challenge, but if I keep this up long-term I'll have a nice progression to look at) and stretch on my exercise days as well. Life Quest Soul Health. I'm still job hunting, but given that this is a health/fitness place, I decided to focus on another type of health for my life quest. A type I've been neglecting - soul health! (mental health, but soul health is catchier) I want to start putting more time into playing piano and cross stitching. Every hour I spend on the arts is a point of extra credit. Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 185.6 Waist: 30" Hips: 42.5" Thigh: 25.5" I will put in all my measurements Monday morning. Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Life Points are unlimited extra credit that can be added to my final score! My final grade will be the average of all four weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. KCKO - 1 point each day for meeting calories and another point for meeting carbs. Total points/Total possible for the weekly grade. Get up & Go - 3 possible points/day. 2 points for a morning workout, 1 point for meeting bedtime. Partial credit available for waking up on time (1/2 point), but not exercising, or making up workouts in the afternoon (1/2 point). On thursdays, since my class is in the evening, I'll substitute stretching for the morning workout. Get Flexy - 1 point/day for stretching, an additional point available on my heavy stretching day for photo documenting. So 8 points/week. Exceptions - If I'm sick or injured (please noooo not again!), then workouts are excused. Pole is excused until I can get my pole installed at the new house, but I still have to do my RLNA workouts on those days. Just no practicing moves. Motivation Last challenge I let myself buy myself something each week that I got an A, which was a HUGE motivation for me, but I dont think I can afford that anymore (just moved, and rent is higher). So I'm going to give myself a budget. I earn $10 for each B, $15 for each A. $20 if I pass, $40 if I pass with an A. I can either spend as I go along, or save up until the end and buy something big.

Lucky fire dragon gets a grip on After a luscious break time during last challenge, I am ready to pull my "innerer Schweinehund" out of the comfy mud again and get back into action. A shocking realization of not being able to do a full pull up anymore has brought on extra motivation to build up strength again with the ultimate goal of Leveling up my dance again literally. It's time to move on to the Level 2+ courses at class and I won't be able to unless I gain more strrrrrrrrrength So, here we go: 1. Get a grip This too is literally. I slip too often from sweating hands, especially when I am upside down and that is just no good. - figure out how to improve grip: which aids work best, room temperature, washing hands in between?, gloves?... - improve grip strength by training, training, training (see goal 2) and working with tennis balls and hair bands 5x/week for 5 min each hand 2. Get strrrrrrrong Stick to a daily "homework" of - 10 push ups - 5 lay back sit ups each side on pole or 20 rolls with ab roller or 30 regular sit ups - 5 chin ups Do a full pole workout 3x/week no excuses!! If I could run 3x / week, I can train, too Here is my inspiration for workouts this time round: She makes it look super pretty and I must warn you it does not look anything like this with me (yet) but hey it gives me a goal, right Can't do it all yet, will "only" do the following parts: - continuous climbs - pole hold leg lifts -- 3/side - pole ups (or at least attempt them) -- starting with 1 or 2/side - superman push ups -- 5/side - caterpillar push ups -- 5/side - tucks and lift from floor -- 10 reps - aerial squats -- 3/side - lay back sit ups -- 5/side and if I have any strength left I can add a couple of swing mounts with slow negatives I actually tried the whole thing out today just to make sure it's doable and am so proud that a large part of it is, woot woot Video of my attempts today to have a starting point for progress celebration: 3. Stay in the Flow Balance with active recovery, happy shiny points and goooood restoration - no need to burn out This will be my hunt for shiny treasure points and I will actually buy some pretty stickers of stars and smileys to stick on my calendar on all the days I did well because stickers are shiny and success needs to be proudly celebrated Doing my main pole workouts will give a big star or smiley each, on all the other days, stars can be earned with - 15 min or more of yoga - some of Marlo Fisken's beautiful flow exercises - eating the whole day healthy and nutritous (no need to list cheats, I'll be honest) - drinking 2,5 liters of water or more (herbal tea counts too) - getting 8 hours of sleep in - spending 20 min or more outdoors - meditating for 10 min or more Each of these areas can get a star so a perfect day would have 3 stars and at the end I will see with one look what went especially well and which parts I might want to prioritize better - you see I am planning ahead while going, hehe, I must be growing up I will let myself off the hook completely for 1 day / week, so with a max of 3 stars / day that makes it 108 stars to go for over the whole challenge. Treasure hunt go I am also hoping for some nice visible effect from all these badass workouts, so this time I will actually take measurements again and do before and after pics To be included here on Monday What else? Oh yes, important note to self, if I slip into some silly mindframes: DISCLAIMER None of these exercises will be done to prove anything about me. I know that I already am special and beautiful, just the way I am (*in case nobody told you yet today: you are too!!*) I am not doing these to become special - I am that - I am doing these because I want MOAR FUN ON THE POLE and enjoy the feeling it gives me, the vitality of my heart beating fast, the thrill of exciting moves and spins, the delicious sense of a worked out body that just gave it all, the clarity that comes after you sweated everything out, the satisfaction of cuddling into bed and falling into rejuvenating sleep after an active day,... all of these and more will be my bountiful reward

lucky fire dragon takes good care of herself After a rather wobbly challenge last time I was lost for about a week as to how to go from here. Aiming for all the things is not going to happen right now and also seems not the best approach for me, so I'll go back to my main passions with pole and hoop and having enough ease and fun in my life that decision feels so good, probably combined with the restful 4 day vacation last weekend, I am climbing up on top of my world again and getting EXCITED Add the new mini theme, ooooooooh well, you have me excited a whole lot more and it goes so well with the theme that finally took shape this morning between work sessions and household catching up: This challenge I will be REALLY good to myself and take the best care, because I am worth it and because it will enable me to have even more fun and because you have to be in tiptop shape to help destroy a ring in Mordor So let's get with it Goal 1 Good fuel and Hydration - moooooar veggies!!! Looking for variety and want to up that part of my meals as it has bored me for a while and now I notice that that is not good - less carbs and sugars! Meaning less pasta, rice, etc... less sugary or alcoholic drinks and rather - mooooooar water! Minimum of 2 Liters / day, aiming for 3-4 days / week again with 2,5 liters minimum The water will help with all the rest as I know from the past. Hobbits and dwarves had not much else on their journey either, except at rare rest places and celebrations. Those times are restricted to one evening/week where I can indulge in anything I want to, granted I had my minimum water As for my meals, I will list all intake here and hope that will motivate me enough to keep things healthy Also it might be a good reference point for any hindsight. Will see, have never tracked any food before, am curious on any result, sure it can only be progress Goal 2 Get stronger Frodo really wouldn't have got far without Sam! And why? Because Sam was not only true and wise, he was also strrrrrrong!! I want to be too. In order to give this a nice structure, yet flexible, I will adapt Steve's Angry Bird Workout a bit - I love that workout structure Workout will consist of x reps of deep bodyweight squats x reps of pull ups on hoop or pole x reps of chin ups on hoop / pull ups with other hand up on pole x reps of sit ups on hoop / hang back sit ups on pole x minutes of plank x minutes of side plank each side Will do my first workout tomorrow to determine how many reps of each. Will see how many I can do over 3 sets, use that number as a starter and once I can do them in 2 sets or less, will up the number of reps. Will do the whole workout with either pole or hoop 3x/week With a nice stretching session afterwards, I will be flying again in no time Talking about flying: aiming for 2 pole and 1 hoop training at home in addition to the weekly classes Tentative schedule: Mon run training, Angry Bird on hoop plus train a bit Tue* Angry Bird on pole plus train Wed run training, hoop class at night Thu pole class at night Fri hike or chill with hubby during morning Sat Run training, Angry Bird on pole plus train and dance Sun rest day * Tuesday might end up a rest day from time to time, depending what is happening around me and how my body is doing. I want to leave enough play for it all to be good long term and no stress. After all I want to take good care of myself Goal 3 Having fun There is a lot going on in my life right now with work, family and the awesome sports stuff, that it's easy to get into a mode of working hard and forgetting when to stop and smell the roses. So I will schedule those times - again, that is, I have had this element before in a challenge and it was simply beautiful: 2 plan free afternoons / week. No appointments, no tasks set, just free time to spend however I want to. If I want to be productive on something that tickles me, I can of course, but the beauty is to not have to A win for this goal is also every time I get inspired instead of escaping into mindless distractions that don't really relax me in the end. For instance watching "Got to dance" inspires me, watching little youtube movies on facebook distracts me but doesn't relax me. Proper relaxation like a delicious hot bath, or lying with my legs up the wall, or meditating and breathing are fabulous wins, too, of course. Will see how many wins I can collect over the course of these weeks Side goals: - stick to my training schedule for the 10 mile run on October 11th - finish said run honorably, personal goal is to finish in 2 hours 10 min - another translation project for work, that I have kept for procrastination savoring and that I will track with a progress bar in signature. Those are just so cool That's it for now. Will draft some spreadsheets still for easy tracking progress. No before and after pics, rather some hoop and pole win pics during the challenge No rewards as benefits from all this will be super rewarding in themselves. No stat points as I lost interest in them and this way is simpler. Oh yes, that is another side goal: simplifying my life

Hi everyone, I am a lucky go happy fire dragon, who has developed such a curiosity for life and all its goodies, that it is time for some time management and discipline in order to get all the fun into the 24 hours a day has... I love particularly pole dancing and aerial hoop, but am excited about other bodyweight and dance arts too. I enjoy yoga and meditation, love traveling, reading, hiking, funny movies, the work I do and of course my gorgeous family. This is a challenge in which I am trying to do all the things and still aim to be On Top of my Game which feels a little bit like this at times and actually I am aiming for THIS: So, how can I get to this level of Ease, Grace and general being on Top of my Game?? Simple, I will have to be a) strong b, balanced c) flexible d) connected e) clear and focused For my STRENGTH I will continue my hoop training, which is easy as I have lessons once a week, but also keep up with my pole training at home until my next set of lessons in September again. This will increase my strength beautifully and be fun when I can do better on things and be all up for the new course when it starts. a) Pole training 2x / week (+ 3 STR) have drafted a checklist of moves I would like to improve on and put it here, it is not necessarily complete also could be a move gets neglected... just gives me ideas and motivation For my BALANCE I will revive my handstand training (thank you, Mad Hatter ) Had done most of a 30 day challenge on those in January and will give it a new go in some way. Not sure yet how my training program will look like exactly, but aim to train daily at least a few minutes and do once a week progress videos. Getting into a Handstand if ever so briefly off the wall would be sooooooo cool! Also want to include training for the wrists (thank you, Elastigirl ) for the spreading of the unbreakable wrist trainings b, Handstand training (daily) + 3 STA - unbreakable wrist training - 5 min walk up, kick up or press up training, - headstand alternatives okay on 2-3 days/week - wall plank for 1 min of training - progress video once a week For my FLEXIBILITY I'd like to train on the splits this time. There, I said it. Now it's official and I will finally have to do it Looked today and am better than I thought I'd be but still wayyyy away from that dear floor... am very tempted to get myself the GMB focused flexibility course for it... will see, otherwise see plan below c) Stretches for Splits (4x / week) + 3 DEX: - both knees bent in long, low lunge - front leg straight - both legs straight - splits - center splits - progress pics once a week For my CONNECTIONS to the dear, dear world around me - meaning my family - that often gets neglected between work, house chores, fitness and other things... my goal is to give them a LOT more time. Related to that in a big way is the next goal, but I know if I don't set these things in my diary, I might end up working anyway and time flying past... NOT ANYMORE This should work well as my kids have only one more week of school and then it's six weeks school holiday. My hubby is visiting his family in SA for four weeks, so I promised I would give the kids a good time here and will! Apart from ice creams and movies etc I will include them in my workouts which is great fun for them and for me, yay. That first point I'd like to keep going after the holidays as well as a healthy habit. d) Training and outings with kids + 3 CHA - do warm up or short workout units with kids and/or go roller blading once a week - Take kids for swim or another fun outing at least twice a week My CLARITY and FOCUS will be a most crucial part of staying On Top of my Game! If work eats up too much of my time, the other important areas in my life come short... if I neglect work I fall behind on that and it doesn't feel good either. I love my work, but am learning to delegate more and more (big woot on that one) so my new goal is to slowly shift my general work schedule to mornings only plus 1 max 2 hours in the evening. This would be heavenly, to have ALL afternoons for kids, house, fitness and fun, woweeeeeeeee, would that be awesome Here is a list of things, I'd like to keep on top of workwise, mainly as reminder to myself The other part of this goal is literal clarity. With sitting a lot in front of a screen, be it for work or relaxation, I want to give my eyes a break in between and pamper them with some relaxation again. Will want and need them to see literally clear for a long time still Eye exercises - do 3 min per hour at computer, set timer - rolling, up and down, crossing, far-near, rub hands and hold - can also be combined with relaxation pose e) Eye exercises and work schedule + 1 CON + 2 WIS BONUS PART What, this is still not enough?? Well, when I look at some of the other challenges, this looks like peanuts to me, but to be honest, it is A LOT for me and I am a little nervous if I can manage... on the other hand, it's all things I really, really want to live daily, so.... Well, assuming I can manage there is one more thing to be a big help in staying On Top of my Game: uncluttering The less stuff there is about, the less fuss I have, right?! This may be a cluttered drawer or a room in the cellar that needs to be cleared and both can be equally intimidating. So REALLY AWESOME would be, if I could unclutter one area of the house per week. Be it one draw or shelf or an entire room, just something that is clear and neat and fresh again so that I have some space to fly.....

Lucky Fire Dragon Spreads her Wings of Ease So, except for the lifting and rope skipping I did a LOT of exercise during the last challenge and while that felt super good and I do want to keep it up, I also feel like a little un-challenge (thank you Hybrid for inspiration on that one ) so that my easy-mode that has things come effortlessly to me doesn't come short either. So you could say I am levelling up my balance some more. Enjoying more strength mixed with soft relaxation to stay in tune with the flow of life and be open for opportunities of all the GOOD STUFF that wants to come my way. It is time for the dragon to soar on the winds of grace. In order to do this, I will: BREATHE (3 CON, 2 STA) - do fire breath or other breath exercises for at least 2 min/day on 6 days/week - get fresh air by spending at least 10 min outdoors/day on 6 days/week BONUS: get out of breath twice a week with skipping rope, trampoline, zumba or other SPREAD my wings (3 STR, 3 DEX) - stretching, yoga, or pilates for 15 min or more/day on 5 days/week - keep pole training up to 3x/week - strengthen wings with things from power-checklist or trying to, there are no must-dos here, just possible woot moments SOAR and let Grace carry me (3 WIS, 1 CON) - have 2 plan free afternoons a week - let things happen for me during my resting hours (salt baths, wet socks, write a God list in the evening, ask EQs, have dream assignments) - rave about my blessings every day BONUS: have a life unplugged by spending the first and last 30 min of the day each without computer (more is obviously better, but I might fall asleep pretty quickly, so I don't know if an hour is doable yet My LIFE QUEST is to get proof reading and editing done for book!! Yes, it's still the same book as I was translating two challenges ago and now it is time Rewards: If I do well with these I know I will have a sparkling, rocking time with this and after. Quest 3 is basically a whole reward in itself, I must just do it If I do very well (As and Bs) I will reward myself with a complete day without any work (when the book is done I can do that) as well as some delicious pralines, because mmmh chocolate If I ace all my challenges I will reward myself with the same plus an aerial hoop workshop at the risk that it might get me hooked to a new thing - ah well, no risk no fun Measurements and before pictures are here - let's go for easy cm loss and pretty shapes, wheeeeeeeee note that I am wearing my new pole shorts (brazil style) which I probably would have never dared a year ago current weight is 65 kg (this is a woot already!!) Power-Checklist 3 pull ups from standing (so far I can do 1-2) arrrrrgh so close!!5 pull ups from standing8 pull ups from standing1 full pull up2 full pull ups3 full pull ups 3 chin ups from standing (so far I can do 1-2)5 chin ups from standing ahahahaha, nope, still 38 chin ups from standing1 full chin up YESSSSSSSSS2 full chin ups3 full chin ups 14 push ups in one set (my pr so far is 13, at the moment rather 11)16 push ups in one set18 push ups in one set20 push ups in one set50 push ups in one workout (at the moment pr at 43)55 push ups in one workout60 push ups in one workout 150 sec plank (130 is pr so far)165 sec plank180 sec plank 3 sets of 5 leg lifts from hanging (can barely manage 2 sets)3 sets of 7 leg lifts from hanging3 sets of 10 leg lifts from hanging 3 sets of 3 knee tucks on pole each side (can manage between 1 and 2 sets now)3 sets of 5 knee tucks on pole each side3 sets of 3 swing mounts on pole each side (haven't tried yet in sets)3 sets of 5 swing mounts on pole each side hold wheel pose for 10 sechold wheel pose for 20 sechold wheel pose for 30 sec hold crow pose for 5 sec lol I wishhold crow pose for 10 sechold crow pose for 15 sec

Lucky fire dragon levels up her Dance Quest 1: Level up my dance (+1STR +3DEX) - train 3x/week on the pole, signed up for LEVEL 2 course block starting beginning of March and am super excited as it took me a year to feel confident in Level 1+, literally levelling up here, wheeeeeee - keep up 15min or more of yoga 5x/ week chill-out sessions, flexibility and easing into the morning count as well Bonus level: train one new pose/week, either yoga or pole The bonus level won't get any points, but will feel good, therefore - bonus Quest 2: Level up my strength (+2STR +3STA) - train 2x/week with dumbbells am a total newbie with this, only tried it out once so far, but loved it and am curious what it will do for my strength to make the pole moves easier, plus hoping for a little weight loss, which will also make the pole moves easier got us good training plan (seems to me) and will start with 50% of max weight to ease into it and make sure technique is good before adding more weight - does that sound right to you guys?? - train 3x/week HIIT with skipping rope for heart strength did my second training with that today, 3sets of 1 minute fast skipping with 1 min slow skipping for rest in-between. Am proud to say this time I managed better and counted 110 skips/min, let's see how many I can do at the end of this challenge, let's gain some speeeeeeeeeeed Bonus level: add foam rolling for more mobility 2-3x/week This is, if there is time, but I could add it in after the HIIT sessions as they really don't take long or maybe after pole training at home, too, to prevent DOMS, will have to see what works best Quest 3: Level up my balance (+1WIS +2CON) - keep up the email ninja 5x/week being in and out so quickly no one can even see me - loved it during the last challenge, definite keeper - level up the water intake to 2 liters/day for 4x/week and 2,5 liters for 3x/week 2 Liters is good, but 2,5 is often better, don't want to do this too strict but give my body room for day-to-day feedback in its needs. It's just if I drink any less than those 2 liters, I don't feel my natural thirst so much any more whereas if I do drink those 2 liters regularly I do feel when I need more Bonus level: be pro-active on a medium or long-term work project for 30min 3x/week they tend to be left aside, but every time I kick my ass to proceed on them it gives me a huge boost overall. Plus they mean more income long-term Quest 4: Level up my joy (+1WIS +2CHA) - keep up the daily meditation - spend 15min or more on something fun and creative (drawing, baking, playing games with kids, playing my harp again - which I haven't done in years, try new recipe, embroidery, gardening, rearranging a part of the house,...) Bonus level: spend daily quality time with at least one family member or good friend I spend so much of my day being there for other people that this part can come short and I really don't want it to. These are the most important people in my life, I will treasure them more consciously again Sooooooooo, here's to new powers and joy, fellow rebels, let's take off into a GRAND Challenge!! Before pics and measurements will follow still, although I might be lazy and just use the after ones from last challenge as the one week probably didn't make that much difference... Will rather feed the thread with up-to-date pole achievements throughout the challenge

I think I'm going to use this battle log to track my food, mostly. But I may change my mind. This week 1) This week I started to bring food to work: salads! Almost paleo, but with blue cheese which is my current obsession. One salad is obviously not enough, so I decided on fruit and sausages as supporting meals. So far so good. 2) Since I love all chocolatey things and I know I can't give them up (never gonna give you up, chocolate) I changed the kind I'm devouring. So every-possible-kind-of-chocolate became 64% cacao chocolate, which will next become 90%. 90% is good, I think I'm gonna stick to that. 3) I baked an aaaalmost paleo cake: 2 cans of red kidney beans2 bananas1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened)1/3 cup brown sugar (cheat, I know)1/3 cup ground almonds1 teaspoon vanilla extract100 g chocolate chips 50% cacao (another cheat)50 g walnuts (gonna change it for pistachios next time)came out good, but not great. I need to work a little on the proportions. And substitute 90% cacao chocolate for 50% cacao chocolate chips. 4) I made a cheat every day. Some bigger, some smaller, but every day. Next week 1) buy 90% cacao chocolate (and maybe 70% with orange peel) 2) prepare something light for the evening when I'm exhausted and starving and need to eat something before sleep (because that's when most of my cheating occures). now "something" is not very specific. soup would be great, but I have no energy to cook after work. That one needs to be resolved quickly. 3) reduce cheats. I know I'm going to a confectionery on friday, so this has to keep me going all week.

i used to have my head in clouds and learned to root my feet in the ground speaking to stars above, nurtured by mother earth all around i learned there is nothing to fear, so why not venture out more turn my world upside down and learn wonder and awe i discovered so much that it's time to decide what first to enjoy, what set for later aside to be with what is now and then let it go for a balance will ensure the most bliss through it all. Main Quest Build and strengthen healthy habits that help me grow stronger, flexible, efficient and balanced, so that ALL areas of my life get their turn in a good way, while leaving plenty of open time for unexpected adventures and ease. This might sound a bit vague and the thing is, I only have an inkling of what I am looking for here. It feels like it's still around the corner, I can't grasp or define it clearly yet, all I notice is, I haven't found my personal balance for that. It's been now about a year that I have started to give more of my time to physical fitness (after many years of doing basically none at all) and that feels fabulous. Switching back to work after sports is difficult for me though and also once I am into my work (which I love tremendously) then it's hard to kick myself into a workout, so I'd love to find a daily routine that gives both enough time, makes the transition easier and leaves me with enough time for my precious family and the necessary householding on top to appreciate these blessings in my life fully as well. My intention is to find my own, personal rhythm that works best for all this. Even though this challenge is strengthening mostly fitness habits here, my intention is for it to affect my work life the same, I'll tell you about progress on this as I go. If I have more clarity on this at the end of the challenge, it'll be a success already. Quest 1: Balancing with my feet in the clouds (+1 STR, +1 DEX, +2 STA) - keep up my pole training with 2x/week (even though or especially as my studio is closed until March and I want to be in great shape for L2 when they open it again) - follow through with the 31 day GB Handstand Challenge (don't have to be able to do a full handstand at the end, just give my best with all exercises throughout the challenge - but hey, it would be so cool and who knows????) Grading: A: all done B: 1 pole workout only C: handstand challenge only Quest 2: Balancing strength and flexibility (+2 STR, +3 DEX) - follow the body by you program with 3 workouts/week - do 15 to 20 min yoga sessions at morning or night 5x/week (can also be replaced by two longer sessions of 75 min in total instead, but the idea is to bring it back into daily life) Grading: A: all done B: 2 bby workouts and at least 60 min yoga C: 1 bby workout and at least 40 min yoga Quest 3: Building a daily balance of sparkle (+2 CON, +1 CHA) - drink at least 2 liters of water/day - be an Email ninja (so quick in and out, I'm a blur) 5x/week, check them only twice a day (morning and afternoon) and answer immediately if possible, at the latest within two days - this part will take a lot of mental weight off me as those unanswered mails accompany me for way longer than it would take to just deal with them Grading: A: all done B: average of 1,75 liters or more, 4x email ninja C: average of 1,5 liters or more, 3x email ninja Life Quest: Balancing the unexpected, be here now (+2 WIS, +1 CHA) - have one day/week without a plan what a challenge, right?! Seriously though, I have noticed a growing tendency to plan out every single day and then measure myself at night by my performance - not fun and not true. That fact that I am alive shows I am precious to this world and everything I do is optional. In order to remember that plus to open the door for fun things unforeseen, I will have one day where I don't set any goals or program for myself at all. If I feel like a workout or some work things, I can do that, if not I won't. - meditate for 10 minutes 5x/week remember that yummy space between the breaths and enjoy the mind being quiet (aaaaah, bliss) Grading: A: 5x/week B: 4x/week C: 3x/week Rewards: As if all the strength and balance I am going to gain through this aren't enough fun as is (plus the awesome yoga and pole poses they will enable, whooooohooooooo!!) this time I will give myself some tangible, material rewards as well. Inspired by starsapart's reward system rewards are stacking, meaning I get the A, B, and C rewards if I get to an A grade, the B and C rewards for B grade, and just the C reward for C grade. Rewards are as follows: For an A overall: a private session with my pole teacher B overall: a groovy yoga outfit with a top looking great on the pole as well C overall: my first sexy pole shorts Before pics: Measurements: Chest: 95cm Waist: 86cm Hips: 92cm Thigh R: 56cm L: 56,5cm Calf R: 38cm L: 38cm Biceps R: 31cm L: 32cm Current weight: 68kg Let's rock this and have some FUN

Because butts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmkn59N5SDg I need some cheering up, and skipped a challenge because I moved back to Hometown, in the Land of No Opportunities. Since butts soothe any kind of trouble, butt-challenge. At least I can control the butt-ness of my situation. Goals! 1: Learn to cook again. I'm back home and there is a kitchen and I need to learn to use it again and make something that is not an omelet, so I can grow into a stronger version of myself. To try one new meal per week is enough, really. I'll select recipes I'd want to make often (so very quick/lazy ones) 2: Do strength exercises. because butt. goal: 3/week, I'll do a workout routine. I found out about how glute brigdes are great fun, I'm still adding some other stuff I really like, like push ups. I'll be using fitocracy to track this/keep an eye on my efforts. 3: no more taking the laptop in bed. I'll start this goal by watching myself. why am I doing this? Step two: can I divert the path of least resistance so the thing does not end up in my bed? side goal: thanks to lilith's challenge, I felt inspired to put a ball of clay on my desk. it's slightly too big for my hands, so it's really helping with strength, plus it turns out to be oddly relaxing. Life goal: Do something to get a dance pole somewhere. I'm surprisingly depressed because I can't dance anymore. It's starting to feel like this time that I was really talented at something and was having tons of fun and becoming really strong was just some idiot dream I had :/ Classes are really expensive around here, there is no sports equipment stuff in the parks, our house is too small (I'm 1m77/ 5'10" and I'd spend so much time slamming my feet into cupboards and stuff), and I dread the garden, because winter + metal pole = frozen fingers D': I have no idea what to do, but something is going to get done, because this is ridiculous.