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First of all - Hello Warriors! May I join your training grounds for some time? I realized my training fits here way more than with Rangers since I gave up on running. Not the best way to start a new year with an injury, but shit happens and this time it happened to me. On Nov. 28th I botched a turkish get-up attempt with 40kg kettlebell, dropping it on my left index finger. Luckily bones were mostly intact, but I spent almost three weeks wearing a splint due to soft tissue damage. Right now I regained about 30% of finger mobility, and I guess about 10% gripping strength. Yesterday I finally decided (after a month of involuntary break) it's time to get back to throwing the iron around. I follow "Simple&Sinister" program doing it three times a week (instead of daily - I know, I'm a sissy ). Before injury I was about to start progressing from 32kg kettlebell to 40kg. This is my long term goal - to perform proper S&S routine on my 40th b-day in May, with 40kg, weighting 80kg (giving me 50% BW load). I like even numbers Accepting I'm forced to do two-handed swings as my left hand can't stand even 16kg swing, I started swinging 32kg. So far, so good. But then I got on the ground and prepared for get-ups. The backslide is real I managed (barely) one set of 32kg get-ups and needed to go down to 24kg to finish the routine. I hope regaining strength will be faster, but this sets me back quite far behind in my long term plan. Goals for this challenge are: - rehab the finger with exercises my doctor gave me (basically - flexing and extending it repeatedly to the point of pain) - at least 5min a day, besides using it as "normal" as I can - get back to 32kg kettlebell for get-ups by the end of the round, by consistent training sessions - correct the form of get-up - which was probably the reason of botching that heavy attempt Have a wonderful Challenge you all!

Annyshay blinked in shock as the outline of the Old Man faded into blue flames that disappeared just as suddenly as he had done. Who on earth was this Old Man that had been guiding her around the Great Plateau? She shook her head, half expecting to hear an answer from the strange disembodied voice that had started her on this journey by urging her to pick up the Sheikah Slate that hung from her hip. No answer was forth coming, so she was left alone with her thoughts. The Old Man had told her to head to the point where lines through the shrines that she had found would intersect. Looking at the map on her Sheikah Slate, it was clear that he meant the old, broken temple close to the cave where she had awoken in nothing but her undergarments just a few short weeks ago. Annyshay could remember nothing prior to waking up in that cave. She couldn't remember anything about who she was or how she had found herself in this strange wilderness. She didn't know much, but she knew that she wanted to help the princess that was fighting that Beast called Calamity Ganon. To do that, she needed to get off of this Plateau and out into the wider world of Hyrule. The paraglider that the Old Man offered was the only way that she knew how to do that. Well, sitting around staring at the Sheikah Slate and ruminating on what had happened to her in the last few weeks wasn't moving her any closer to getting the paraglider from the Old Man. She returned the Sheikah Slate to her hip, and climbed a nearby wall. She would have to be careful not to get into too many more battles on the way back to the temple as she was running out of weapons.

As some of you remember from various drops and hints, I'll be travelling to Antarctica in early February for two weeks on a National Geographic cruise. It's going to be AMAZING. A big part of why I want to go is to see as many penguins as I possibly can, so I figured what better way to theme the challenge leading up to my epic adventure. Let's find some penguins!!!

For the uninitiated: I’m a dabbler in climbing, handstands, flexibility, pole and basically anything that gets me upside down. Currently injured, boooo, but learning new things! This challenge is going to be a mix of fun goals from the previous challenge and some hard, but important, goals. New goals Be kind like Baymax I started a bit of work on Intuitive Eating last challenge, but only on good days. This challenge I’m going give it a real honest attempt. Doesn’t mean I have to do it well, but it does mean I have to try to be kind to myself and gentle with my body. I’ll probably write more stuff in the IE support group than here though, just so you know. Do IE work every day Be systematic like Wasabi Simple, do my rehab and fix my elbow, even if it means I can temporarily do even less than now. Rehab 3x/week Get to work like Hiro My friend is trying to recruit me to his company and even though I don’t have a clue what I want to do with myself I have nothing to lose at this point. But I also need to take a look at what else is out there because even though the potential place has a nap room and a yoga room, it’s still not what I want to do and would only be a temporary switch. Send out 3 CVs Leftovers from previous challenge Be inspired like Fred Do half of the drawing exercises in the new book, since I got bored with the old one Flow like Gogo Complete the 10 last floor flow videos in the series Experiment like Honey Lemon Try 6 new recipes from my cookbooks Once more, with feeling

Last challenge was lovely but rather wishy washy and I didn't really challenge myself. I got into a pretty good headspace though with plenty of outdoor time and mindful chill time. This challenge however is about getting shit done and taking action on some of the things that have been on my ignored epic quest list for the longest time! ||| Physical ||| I've been using my elbow injury as a poor excuse to not train much lately, even though I could've done plenty enough really. Honestly I've just been enjoying all the down time and feeling recovered since I'm not climbing 4 times a week. But now I'm itching to get back to it properly! Because of my elbow I'll have to go a bit free form, but you can expect to see the usual - climbing, handstands, backbends, rings and pole/floor flow. Deliverable: Do all 22 6 minute floor flow sessions at least once Experiments: Time box one hour for training in the morning, unless I go swimming Gratitude meditation/get psyched before training |||| Creative ||| I used to love to draw but I don't know how to art anymore and I want to relearn. Using baby steps so I don't rage quite because I suck. Deliverable: Complete all anatomy sketch exercises from my workbook Experiment: Doodle on longer public transport trips instead of reading/dicking around on my phone ||| Mental/Eating ||| I talked a little about my somewhat disordered relationship with food at the end of my last challenge. This challenge I'm going to take some first steps to fix it. The steps are all about enjoying food, making it plentiful and avoiding the biggest binge habit trigger, in a very roundabout way in order to not make it feel like I'm restricting. Deliverable: 10 new recipes from my cookbooks Experiments: No grocery shopping straight after work (when poor choices are made) Batch cook on Tuesday/Thursday (remote working days) New challenge wheeeeeee!

As many of you know, I attempted my first 50k run at the end of last month and had to DNF 13 miles in due to injury. Recent trips to a physiotherapist uncovered an issue with the tendon in my left glute and a minor issue with my IT band. Due to the nature of the injury, I've got a lot of restrictions on what I can do right now. I'm not going to lie, I've been dealing with a lot of frustrations and emotions because of this and I've also struggled to find the motivation to do the things I can do. But what better way to get motivated than a new challenge! And to paraphrase Lisa Simpson, with crisis comes opportunity. A Crisitunity, as Homer calls it. This challenge will mostly focused on my rehab, with a side goal of working on my upper body strength. I'm not allowed to do any exercises that put excessive load on my glutes, so for the next 2 weeks (the time till my next physio visit), I can only strength train my upper body. As I don't know what my physio is going to prescribe at my next appointment, these goals are likely to change later on the challenge. But for now, this is my plan of action. Stupid Sexy Flanders It's a glute injury, so my rehab is all about the butt! I have a list of exercises and stretches, some I have to do daily, some every other day. So this goal is to simply do the exercises as prescribed. I made my rehab plan into a spreadsheet. Here it is. I'm sharing for accountability. Each square needs to be filled in by the end of the day. If not, give me some hell. The only exception to this is the running plan. This is all dependent on how my first run attempt goes. If I have any pain during or in the 24 hours after the run, I cannot increase the running intervals. "Overshoot the Extreme! Max the Envelope! And so on" Strength Train 2-3 times a week I neglected strength training during my race prep and the only training my upper body got during that time was boot-camp classes once a week. I used to have some nice defined muscles in my arms and shoulders I want to get them back dammit! This is my opportunity to do just that. ii. Pull ups Pulls ups are another exercise that I've neglected horribly in the last few months. They are really helpful for doing OCR's, so I need to get better at them. Currently I can only do one jumping pull up. I'll be training these 3 times a week so with any luck, by the end of this challenge, this will have changed to doing multiple pull ups, hopefully from a dead-hang.

Yep I have no shame, it's Europe to the rescue! Bust out the big hair, we're headed for Venus!! Summary I set out on Jan 1st this year to drop 20kg, there are 4.4kg remaining. This challenge will be focused on cutting the final 4.4kg to get me under 80kg. Goals: 1. No alcohol until I'm sub 80kg. (2 exceptions allowed, this Saturday is my friend's 60th and 28 March I have a work lunch) 2. 4 x F45 challenge sessions a week 3. Eat 100% to the F45 meal plans for the first 2 weeks and 80% after that. 4. 2 x 6km walks a week 5. Rehab my shoulder. Physio exercises 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday Friday. Please feel free to hold me accountable for this, I never do them. Measures: 1. I have an F45 end of challenge body scan in 2 weeks time, that will be a difference scan of 8 weeks. 2. I have a full DEXA booked for 17 April. This one must see me at under 80kg or I will be disappointed. Rewards 1. I have a drive day lined up for 11 April where I take my MX5 (Miata) on a track with some friends. I'd like this to be my weight loss reward which means I have 3.5 weeks to drop 4.4kg. 2. Something else I haven't decided yet, maybe some new clothes, maybe a massive wig! Let's Rock!

Yay! Back on NF after a long absence. My long-term physical goals are still to improve my ninja-weasel shenanigans in the woods, and I remain an assassin at heart, but I've been experimenting with simple barbell workouts lately. My goal with the lifts is to feel comfortable with the form, get my numbers to the benchmark the coach describes as "sufficient to support vigorous recreational activity", and then focus on more interesting activities that put that strength to use. PRIMARY GOALS: Get my form right for the barbell squat. I’ve been screwing around with this stuff for a few month, but it is time to get some coaching. This month I’ll be taking video and posting to the coaches on the Starting Strength forums. If the squat is looking good, I'll work on other lifts. Workouts will be fairly minimal, maintenance level, due to time & energy – low-bar squat, one other lift, and some chin-ups. Lose a little fluff. This is in the experimental phase, but I'd like to get back in the ballpark of 15% bodyfat. (I’m steadily creeping towards 20%.) Tracking and measuring item-by-item is a little much for me at this point, but I looked up the most common things I eat, and made a list to help me ballpark estimate what 250kcals of food looks like. MyFitnessPal gives me a calorie goal of 1500, which is six of those 250kcal portions. I’ll add another portion or two if I am seriously hungry, and see what happens. SECONDARY GOALS: Keep moving. I'm not hitting the workouts hard, but I want to stay consistent. I've been making excuses for missing workouts, sometimes good excuses, so I have a list of alternate workouts that I can substitute if I am "too busy" or on the road. YOGA! A daily yoga practice is important to me, even if it is only a small thing. Sun Salutes every day, preferably in the morning. Five minutes. No excuses. Violin practice. Aiming for 3x/week, ~20 minutes. I also want to take a few videos I can send to my mom. 17 PREVIOUS CHALLENGES:

Okay so I had it all worked out... then I went back and re read one of my favorite bloggers posts: You Manage What You Measure-Fitness Edition and stumbled accross this article from Inc: 12 Things People Regret Most Before They Die Largely I know what I need to do to get to where I want to be. I know I need to care more about what I eat, I need to gain strength (in injured areas and over all) and I need to start doing things because they matter to me, they're things I want to do and not care so much about what everyone else thinks! Also 2017 was a year of not feeling great, being tired a lot, and a lot of doctor appointments because of these things. Hoping this is the year we get things figured out (have a follow up with my doctor on the 26th, we'll see how that goes) So: You manage what you measure- Will probably be tracking more on google docs than on here day to day, but used Thriftygal's generic resolution chart and added my own. 2018 Goal Tracker Make a to do list: I have a note book, I am a some what a bullet journal person, Kind of do my own version of it, but it only works if I use it. Between work, life and school starting up again I know I need to get back in the habit. Got a smaller notebook so it would fit in more bags I have, not sure on the size, should know by the end of this month. Weekend to do lists- Can make on off Friday's for the weekends, Saturdays on working Fridays. Take Vitamins: Not hard, just need to Water: I've had this off and on in challenges since I started. Super easy check off when I track, I seem to hardly drink water when I don't track Food experiment: Less sugar- hopefully less headaches and feeling better? Normally I"m not a huge sugar person but this holiday season has been pretty bad, and so have the headaches Reading/Mediating: Do one of these every day, or both! Oddly in challenges past this has been one of the hardest things. First book of the year is going to be "Start" by Jon Acuff, then probably followed up by his book "Finish" and Michael Hyatts Your Best Year Ever (noticing a theme?) Cleaning: If I do one small thing every day it means less time on the weekends with hours and hours of cleaning = less work and cleaner house = less stress because of dirty house Movement: The goal is 25 sessions over 5 weeks. to count it needs to be at least 20 mins if it's yoga or otherwise 30 mins. see note below about movement Weigh in: Not super worried about the weight in some ways, but it is a way to track progress. I'll be tracking it on my fitness pal. but weighing in to make sure it's on a downward trend. This also might tie into tracking food at least a few times a week, but that is TBD. Side Hustle: Thinking about getting an Etsy store up and running, doing salt and sugar scrubs, might branch out to a few other things depending on the status of sewing. Did a bunch of scrubs for Christmas Sewing: This is somewhat dependent on me getting a machine up and running, but I would like to do some sewing once a week, it's relaxing and I have some projects I want to work on: see note below about sewing projects Movement notes: A lot of my working out isn't a set program at least for now, but would like to get in some of the following. I do start phsyical therapy for my back on 1/2 but have fallen out of pratice with my knee rehab stuff too. Physical Therapy- need to keep up with the home program Walking- Normally twice a week with my mom Gym time- Would like to go 1 x per week to work on TRX stuff and cardio home workout- P90x, P90x3, Nerd Fitness Yoga, bike trainer, basically there's options bike ride- would like to get 2 weekend rides in during the challenge Swim- Gym pool will be open, but looking like no club swim this month. I also want to get back into moving more at work instead of sitting for hours on end. I sit at a desk a lot, so I want to start getting up and moving more. Main things to do are push ups using the desk, balance work, dips on the chair. Ideally I'll be doing some sort of movement every hour, just working on reminders/tracking. 2018 movement goals: do an unassisted pull up swim 50 yards of butterfly without stopping Sewing stuff: Some of my "sewing time" at least until I figure out what is up with my machine, or learn how to use the other one, might be getting ready for some costuming projects. Ren Faire is coming up, and finally going to do my Rebel Legion and 501st stuff going. Most likely Jawa since I can use for both, and the female tusken raider looks complicated. But I have been going back through my pilot costume research and Jedi research as well. Some of it will come down to costs as well (I know there is quite a bit for the Pilots I would have to buy)

HAHAHAHAHA. It was worth tendonitis just to get that challenge title. So, for those folks who’ve lost track at home, I’ve been having some tendonitis issues in my left knee for a few months, and mid-August I tweaked it really badly and I think it’s developed into ITB syndrome, so I’m spending this challenge doing rehab work and not inflicting any more damage. While I’m at the knee rehab, I have a couple of other nagging issues that need fixing, so I’m going to go for the three-pointer and include those in THE REHAB CHALLENGE. My twelve-step program: Rehab One: The Knee I have what I have self-diagnosed as an ITB injury, so I’m doing the following things to repair and rebuild the tendon: - I’ve pulled all the squat and squat-like movements out of my workout. This means no back squats, no wall balls, no thrusters, no box squats, no rower if I can avoid it. Sigh. So depressing. I can still deadlift, though, so I still have a reason to live. - eat soup once a day, for the collagen, to help rebuild. I’ll start making my own again (bone broth) and eat Mexican Chicken Soup and Pho at my favorite dives as often as possible. *nerd note: the homework I’ve been doing indicates that vitamin C improves collagen & protein uptake, which I found very interesting given that it’s traditional to squeeze a lime into Pho, which is my very favorite thing. Likewise for Tortilla soup, which is also my favorite thing. Actually I think we can all just agree that food is my favorite thing. I’ll be squeezing lemons and limes into all my food is the important bit. - Add abductor work to my workout. Leg lifts! So very, very Jane Fonda. Working abductor muscles should stabilize my knee joint and increase my hip strength, which in turn strengthens the joints below. I bought a resistance band in a particularly eye-searing shade of yellow to help with this. - exercise micro-bursts: This basically means that 3 times a day I grab the little 10-pound barbells I keep in my office and do some OH press, bicep curls, etc for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. There’s some studies that indicate this increases the body’s output of growth hormone, which in turn helps with healing. http://www.gnolls.org/191/walk-it-off-sally-why-exercise-helps-speed-injury-recovery/ Rehab TWO: Blood Pressure My blood pressure is high. I check it fairly regularly at that machine at the Publix, and it runs pretty steadily at 160 over 80. That’s officially hypertension, so unless I want to go on the medication merry-go-round, I need to get it down, stat. I also had a point this summer where it spiked to 190/80 for a few days and I nearly checked myself into the hospital because I was sure my brain was going to explode, but I may have just eaten an entire bag of teriaki beef jerky right before hand so I decided to wait and see if it normalized on its own (I cut all the salt out of my food too) and it did. But it’s not down enough. - Lower salt intake (obviously). Salt free seasoning, no bacon. I’ll have to make my own soups as much as possible because my GOD commercially available soup is salty. I checked a beef broth package in the store yesterday and it had 893 mg sodium PER SERVING. How does it even stay suspended in the liquid? Does it just precipitate out to the bottom and that’s why you have to shake the box? - Drink more water: I ashamed to admit that I drink almost no water. I mean it not like I'm doing shots of Early Times instead, I just tend to drink coffee all day and forget to drink water, and I drink soda with some of my meals. So I’ll switch to exclusively water and only one coffee a day. - Meditation: I had a really good run with meditation for a while but I stopped over the summer. It’s time for it to come back. Calming, lowers tension, blah blah blah. - Add potassium: There’s some studies* that show increasing your potassium is just as important as decreasing your sodium, so I’ve switched to a “Lite Salt” that’s higher in potassium and I’ll eat bananas and potatoes as my preferred carbs, as they’re high in potassium. Finally, an excuse to have baked potatoes every day! - Forest Bathing: okay, this is fucking weird, I admit, but APPARENTLY it’s a thing. You just go out and sit and look at nature, and it’s supposed to be very calming and can lower your blood pressure and tension. The Japanese are all about it. It’s probably effective just because you get away from your goddamn phone for twenty minutes but at this point I’ll try anything. https://www.outsideonline.com/1870381/take-two-hours-pine-forest-and-call-me-morning Rehab Three: Posture I have really bad upper-body posture (kyphosis) from too much time on the computer and phone. The bike probably aggravates this. I swear my head is about three inches in front of my shoulders, like a swaybacked horse. - Yoga, especially stuff that will work that posterior chain. The bike training program I use (Sufferfest) has a yoga program built into it that’s specifically for bikers, so I’ll use that. I already do yoga periodically so I just have to remember to do it. - Trap work and core work: I have a phobia of making my traps larger as they’re already big, but I’m going to work some trap/upper back exercises into my routine and see if I can strengthen/straighten that upper shoulder/lower neck region. I also almost never do core work, so that goes in too. It can take the place of squatting (sob) - I might not get this far, but I may make myself some sort of standing desk. Better for your back and all that. So that’s it! I actually started some of these things last week so I have a little bit of a head start, but I think you’re supposed to be in rehab for 45 days anyway so I don’t feel bad about it :-) I know it sounds like a lot of things, but some items overlap - like dropping squats and replacing with abductor work, or yoga and meditation - and some are just a matter of replacing things once, like buying the “lite” salt and some salt-free seasoning mixes. I’ve already weaned myself off soda (and had a headache for three days) so drinking more water is sort of automatic. (Although I may spend more time peeing.) Eating soup is easy, since I kind of live to eat anyway. The hardest things will be remembering the “micro-bursts” of exercise and the forest bathing. I’m glad mosquito season is over. So my knee has been bad, but when it comes back, you'll know, know, know... By the way, Amy Winehouse looks stoned to the cats in that video. How did we not know she was on drugs? * “God,” I hear you saying, “enough with the studies already!” Nerdbrain. Sorry.

Joining the rebels this challenge from spending the last year+ with the monks. Trying to keep things simple, and just stick around for the full challenge. I've been rehab-ing a knee injury since March with very slow progress. Will probably gif this later... 1- move 5 days a week. No particular days, no particular activities. walking, swim and yoga will be my 3 go to's. A sub goal of doing yoga at least once a week. 2- Do PT rehab- stretching daily, exercises min 3 days a week Stretch hamstrings at least 2 times a day (3 preferred) Core PT exercises (hamstring strenghting, leg raises 4 directions, monster walks) Other PT exercises and stretching as time permits 3-TBD not sure if this will be some sort of "find a hobby" or some sort of self care, or staying up with my homework...

Have you ever seen those movies where the hero or heroin is at the bottom of low, trapped in some dirty wet prison being tortured, and the moment of escape has finally arrived. They put all of their last energy into getting free, climbing out of the hole in the ground. They are dirty and broken both physically and mentally. Beyond exhausted..... Sometimes I feel like that is where I have been. My world is noting but first world problems, but I was trapped in a psychological prison of my own making. I've been working really hard to break free from the fog of my misperceptions and my addictions (not chemical, but unhealthy habits none the less - again with the first world problems). I finally got help from a therapist, and I've figuratively walked through fire and fee like I've been broken down to my very core. I feel psychologically and emotionally raw and exhausted. But I also feel a sense of freedom and hope that I haven't experienced in a very long time. I have a lot of work to do to get back on my feet..... It's been a long time since I was last here. People have changed, I've changed. I just finished a 4week challenge over in the rebel camp. But now, it's time to come home.

A lot of uncertainty in this challenge. This Friday 7/11 I go see my orthopedic for the results of my MRI & see the nutritionist. What I find out from them will probably largely shape what my challenge looks like, but going to have some things that I focus on each week, some things to focus on for the whole challenge Quest 1: Find the time Headspace Just with my record last challenge, I would like to meditate 5 days during the week. Each week I do this I will set aside a little money from my spending money to help create a space to make mediation more easy in. Quest 2: Spend at least 10 mins every week day cleaning something I'm really bad at letting things go, then getting super fed up with the house and spending a ton of time/energy cleaning it all at once. I would really like to get better about keeping it from getting to the point where I get so stressed out by the house. Quest 3: Weekly Quests Week 0: Stretch at least 10 mins every day Week 1: Eat the grains/carbs Create a weekly calendar Week 2: Do PT homework Do school homework Week 3: Do PT homework Do school homework Week 4 Do PT homework Do school homework I think that's about it for now! Hope everyone has a great challenge!

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. I'll quit being a slacker, and actually *do* a challenge. This hype train ain't gonna build and run itself, now, is it? This is step 1 in a multi-part challenge where I: brace for impact but hurry up and wait, (temporarily) lose my DH, jettison 99% of the shit I own, pack my dog and myself up and move halfway across the globe, reunite with DH, and adjust to a whooooooooooole other level of "new normal". I thought this last year was a kick in the butt? Well, I haven't seen anything yet. This first part of the challenge *should* see me through about half of this journey - the DH is scheduled to bounce at the end of this month, and I'll be following shortly after on a grand tour of sorts to see a few people I need to see before relocating my start map. That is, providing this shit actually happens this time and we're not forced to reconsider all of life reeeeaaaaaal quick. Again. It should also see the return of some of my favorite Nerds to the boards, and an inevitable revving up of the hype train. So maybe I'll actually get off my ass and *do* something. Like, I dunno: Work Out, behave my belly, aim in a direction, post more than once a day while half asleep. Goals Since I'm still in a holding pattern as of this morning (I'm actually in an airport on my way back from a fantastic Nerd wedding weekend where I got to see some of my favorite Internet peeps + recharge my social batteries a bit), waiting to see if the last of the DH's paperwork clears and his timeline stays the same, I'm aiming to start small. Goal The First Macros, yo. If I'm not Bucket listing it or at an event with Chef friends, I need to eat what I need to be eating to not feel like utter shit. That includes a mostly-paleo diet following the following macros: 70g protein 70g or under carbs 100g or under fats Now, given my current life circumstances (namely, the best damn brunch game in town run by a friend in my freaking building), a little leeway for fresh English muffins on the benny and chilaquiles is permitted on weekends. Goal The Second Print, codify, collate, and color-coordinate as much moving-plan-wise as possible. Book as much travel as I'm able. Adult things like the dog shots & my vaccinations. Also, film a weekly update for YouTube. And, plan when and how to get rid of my shit - plan the "house cooling" party. Get bins for and pack the shit we're storing with friends. Spend as much time as possible with local friends. Pull the trigger on the Amazon shopping list for travel essentials & clothing basics. Detail aaaaaaaalll this minutia for y'all. Goal The Third I've noticed over the past month or two that the arch on my left foot (my garbage fire side) has started collapsing. At the Walking Store, the foot scan they did showed a false high arch because I tend to stand with weight on the outsides of my foot - which is something I've noticed and tried to remain cognizant of since childhood - and is super totally why that side of my body is jacked up and that ankle rolls if you look at it funny. Duh. I need to work on this. I've found a couple rehab routines that take zero space and almost no time - I need to do them. Daily. Or as close to daily as I can remember to do. My side-eye peeps, go ahead and rev those peepers up. I'd throw in a lofty yoga goal here too, but that's probably not realistically going to happen while my tiny-ass apartment is in chaos and I'm running around like a damn chicken with its head cut off. Goal The Fourth Stay Calm And Support My Nerds Some of the more bananas Rangers *@Raxie* *cough* *@Wolfie* *cough* and I were missing the hype of the Ranger Board Of Old and feel it's time for a resurgence of the hype train. #allthethings is missed, y'all, as is hitting the gas for the sake of hitting the gas. Even though my little corner of the universe is upending itself (again), Imma do my part and throw myself at that shit wherever possible. I'm returning to the minis, answering call-outs, and generally planning on supporting my Herd wherever possible - be that through numbers in a game, exposition, or simply more engaged commenting -- I'll be here with a big bottle of Hype. And some gifs. Even if finding said gifs sux0rs on Tapatalk.

So I finally got checked out by the orthopedic surgeon and the results are tendonitis in the right bicep and rotator cuff, sciatica in the right leg, and yes, it seems that my right elbow is just deeply bruised - they found no chips or fractures. AND I AM FUCKING THRILLED No tears, no breaks, just physical therapy, and some meds for < a week. So the tendonitis, I feel pretty confident about what it's from - probably has origins with my arms-every-day program starting back after the comp in Feb. It's compounded over the last few months since starting work - I crunched the numbers the other day and saw that I went from sitting and studying all day & working out a modest 3-5X per week for 30 - 90 mins, to being on my feet an average of 10 hours per day, with an average of 4 hours of training per day, not including my own work outs. It's true that training other people isn't as intensive, but it's still a lot, and certain movements are just recurring, not to mention the set up and take downs. I've been observing myself and since I'm right handed, tend to do most of those things... with my right hand. ENTER THE LEFTORIUM. Yup. Time to be more ambidextrous, get old leftie involved in helping out and picking up the slack. _____ Okay, one explanation down. So why the drive by then? Well... since I've been involved with NF I've had an extremely easy and open schedule. Tons of time to respond to everyone, read many many threads, connect on chat etc. This is no longer my life. I have kind of a compulsive issue with doing things the same way across the board from start to finish... it's irksome if I come roaring out of the gate and don't cross the finish line the same way. I thought about ditching the forums all together, but I like it here, and I like all of you. I just have to chill and be ok with not posting 5X a day, or even everyday, and being ok with catching up on people's threads as I can. _____ Lastly... the CHILL. Work offers a weird kind of stress. I love the environment, the people are great*, and the work is awesome. But it's physically, and sometimes mentally exhausting. I'm better, zombie brain wise, now that I'm eating more*, but instead of being mentally foggy, I'm just plain physically exhausted. There's really no question that this leads to injury and not wanting to train on my own. I haven't really been seeing Lou much, since I can't do the kind of work I'm used to at TSA... and I kind of have this sensation that if I'm not in beast mode, why am I there? But Lou has been a mentor in otherwise, and being there and staying connected makes me better at life. He insists I don't need to be beast mode when I'm there, and the last few weeks he just says I should do whatever I want, though he will give me specific work if I ask him. I've only been going once a week. I will be increasing that to 2. I also can make my life MUCH easier and less stressful by setting aside an hour or 2 a week to do all my client's programming and updates so I'm not stressed doing it every night for the next day. My calendar is my life now, I will schedule a time for doing this task every week. SO. Let's break this down simple and clear. DRIVE BY LEFTORIUM 1X Make Leftie totem (bracelets to wear which remind me to use my left hand more often 2X per week: Check in here (Making this easy. Maybe I'll do more... maybe not. It's ok either way.) 3X per week: sciatica exercises (I'll be doing PT for my arm, but they only want to do one thing at a time and the sciatica isn't that bad) CHILL 1X per week: Meal prep Sunday (Got a new cookbook! I'll try at least 1 recipe this challenge) 1X per week: Schedule time/s to program clients for the week 2X per week: Go to TSA and see Lou In an attempt to encourage adherence from a difficult client, I am making this super easy with easy to reach incentives... For every week that I do all these things, I get to go down to the cute shop in town (@elvenengineer knows the one!) and get myself something, like a patch for my backpack, that cool mug I've had my eye on, stickers, whatever. HAPPY DOUBLE ZERO WEEK NERDS! Some extras for ya'll.

Rolling Stoney changes her shape This challenge is all about change for me. 2017 was going to be a big year, but it happened in a way I didn't quite expect. My plan was to cross-train hard, eat well, do the derby, work hard, buy a house... but literally none of those things happened. I broke my ankle. Derby, cross training, working, and being able to cook my own food all went out the window. My partner got made redundant so our house loan got canned. And my boss is selling her cafe so I may not even have a job in a few months. But as of last month I can walk without a limp again and I'm so close to getting back to derby training that I can at least throw most of my focus that way and still feel like I am moving forwards in life. My long term goals look like this; Walk again sans limp. completed 23/3 Be cleared to skate again. (planned 19/4) Skate a whole 3hr training session. (planned early May) Re-Pass my Minimum Skills. (planned June) Play a full Roller Derby Bout. (planned August) Find a new job. My goals this challenge are focussed on adapting to the change that I'm currently experiencing in many parts of life while still trying to complete my current long-term goals. I need to prepare my physical form for my triumphant return to roller derby by cross-training what I can and eating well to fuel said training increase. So going to the gym is a thing. Between working and training I burn energy like a wildfire so I need to prep food accordingly so I don't eat like shit at work when I can't be fucked getting something rounded and healthy. I need to prepare my resume and a portfolio for if or when my job goes kaput so I am ready to attempt to jump into a new job. As a teenager and an adult I've always been a design oriented person and I loved jewellery design. There are two in-house jewellery studios in town that I aim to approach for training and hopefully a job, but I can't do that without a portfolio. And finally I need to keep myself accountable and organised so I'm trying out this whole bullet journal thingo. It's working good, even if mine aren't pretty like the ones on instagram. Change of Body Gym 3x week. (Lower body, Upper body, Core, Cardio & Yoga) I had great plans at the start of the year to continue the cross-training I had been doing in my derby off-season, but that plan got de-railed after I broke my ankle. After 3 months of being immobile I have to start back at the start, but that's okay. I have a gym membership and a plan. I had to split my workouts into upper, lower and core because I was spending too long at once at the gym and it made me reluctant to go more then once a week. My lower body workout it pretty short right now because of my limited ankle strength and mobility, but I need the habit to be there. Yoga can be done at home. Change of Job Work on jewellery/design portfolio, post daily My job is on tenterhooks right now. Potentially my boss may sell her business and the new owners may or may not keep me on. With that and my partner's recent redundancy I have found myself needing a change. After having 3 months off work I realise that hospitality is no longer what I want to do. I cannot do the work for so little thanks anymore. Back in school I was really passionate with design and specifically designing and making jewellery. I don't know what it was about melting bits of metal together but I loved it. There are no jobs available right now but I plan on getting together a portfolio of sorts and approaching the two local studios in town and seeing about a job. I figure I can't do that without some substance so I'm going to use this month to work on some designs. I will post the designs as evidence. If I happen to not want to draw jewellery specifically I can draw anything else and it still counts. Change of Food Meal prep 1x weekly Meal prepping healthy meals was another thing I was getting really good at before I broke my ankle, and sticking to the food I planned to eat was also working really well for my energy levels. When I broke I wasn't totally in control of what I could eat and as I didn't have to leave the house I just ate what I could carry with one hand. Going back to exercising and work means I need all the energy I can get and I can't keep grazing on whatever I can find at work because it inevitably ends up being cake or pancakes or just coffee. It makes me sluggish and bloated and I am perfectly capable of prepping food to take with me. Change of Habit Bullet Journal Daily I'm testing out the whole bullet journal thing, and I think so far it's working for me. While I do tend to drool over the beautiful instagram ones, I don't have the handwriting or the patience or the funds to pay for all the beautiful stickers and many pens to make it beautiful. Thankfully it's also a functional thing so I'm going with that. I'll work on my penmanship later. I need to update my journal every day and use it for anything I can think of. Adding in to-do jobs, writing down my gym sessions, planning meal prep... So far it's working really well for everything and I want to continue feeling organised. It's something I've struggled with my whole life.

Woo, new challenge. Last challenge I needed something to focus on to keep myself from falling into a slump while waiting for my non-weight-bearing period for my broken ankle to end. It did, and I am now cleared to weight bear as tolerated. I am not yet cleared to drive so I'm still house bound, but I have a physio appointment this Thursday so depending on what they say I may alter my goals slightly. My long-term goals currently stand like this; Walk without moon boot, crutches or limp. Be cleared to drive again. Be cleared to skate again. Re-Pass my Minimum Skills Test. Play a whole derby bout. My quests for this challenge focus mostly on the first three goals - being able to walk, and then drive my car and eventually skate again all rely on me strengthening and stretching my weakened right ankle. Passing my MST and playing derby will come in a few months when I can skate again without fear of re-injuring myself. QUEST 1 - CLEARED FOR SKATING Part 1 - CARDIO. 3x a week; Planned for M/W/F I need to keep this up because otherwise I will die when I get back on skates. I will be using the stationary exercise bike I own and doing intervals on that as it is currently the only form of cardio I can do that is low-impact and also good for my ankle. I have started with 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off and I will increase the intervals weekly. I want to work up to cycling for 2 minutes with a 30 second break because that is the longest one derby jam can go for. If my breathing can keep up that long I can survive most derby stuff. Week 1: 45/15, Week 2: 60/20, Week 3: 75/30, Week 4: 90/30 Part 2 - REHAB. Daily. Once my physio tells me what to do I will be doing that. I also have some derby ankle strengthening exercises I can do as well if I feel like it. If I have to take a rest day and just stretch and ice my ankle, then that will count. Rest is rehab too. Physio has prescribed theraband exercises (working on all the different ranges of motion my foot struggles with) and one-leg balancing. I need to do it at least once a day, but three times is optimal. Part 3 - WALK IT OFF. Daily. For this quest I am just wearing my pedometer everywhere and logging the steps. I will aim to increase my steps weekly by a small amount. Being able to walk again is crucial to my returning to work and me feeling like an able bodied human again. QUEST 2 - MIND YOUR HEAD Part 1 - MEDITATE. Daily. I find myself often trying to burn up any free time I have with being on social media, especially before bed in the evenings and before getting up in the morning. I plan to stop that and focus on nothing but my breathing either in the morning or the evening. Just for a minute or two. In the morning I can set positive intentions for the day and in the evening I can look back over anything I was grateful for and things I did well. QUEST 3 - TALK ABOUT IT Part 1 - WRITE. Daily. I have a sci-fi story that I am working on that I'd love to get more of done, and I can also journal about my day or something I need to vent about if I don't feel like writing sci fi. I aim to do this directly after meditating in the morning or just before bed in the evening. I will log the word count and try and increase it weekly.

44 days ago today I broke my right ankle in two places while skating backwards up a slight incline at the skatepark with a friend. After an ambulance ride, a constant stream of drugs, surgery to attach 8 screws and a plate to my ankle breaks, and 6 weeks of no-weight-bearing house-arrest thumb-twiddling mind-numbing boredom, I got the A-Okay from my surgeon today to start weight-bearing as much as I can handle. This means I either have to walk in my moon boot or with crutches assisting my step. It's a small step back in the direction of being a completely independent and able-bodied human being; two things I took completely for granted before the break. I miss roller derby. I miss driving. I miss working (never thought I'd say that!) And I miss going to the gym. Today I got a teeny weeny bit closer to getting all of those things back! Yay!

I might be lumbar-CHALLENGED but I'm not staying down. I'm not sure what this challenge will involve fitness-wise yet, except to say that there will be steps/walking and Whatever The Doc Says On Friday. That, therefore, will not be the focus. Goal: Stay positive, stay productive, and (Lack of whining not guaranteed.) Diet No focus on protein or intake, since I am not supporting any weight training or activity at the moment and don't know the future just yet on that. Suffice to say I'll separately track for maintenance on both, increasing with any increase in activity. Instead, vegetable 3x per day. Drink 40 oz water a day at minimum (might as well play with hydration goals as something to do) Life 3x chores daily 2 household goals per week 1 decor upgrade per week Sanctuary Upgrade the lady cave into a pleasant ixaera habitat Fitness WHO KNOWS?! I'll probably just track it here once I get the what-do NEWAYZ

Hello boys and girls! I’m happy to be back home with the Rangers and I’ve missed you all! My time with the Warriors was well spent and I made some awesome nerd friends while I was hanging out with them I didn’t get to bestow much of the warrior I wanted to be due to a nagging groin injury, but I did learn a lot, which in my book, is always a win. 2017 is upon us and there’s no better time to recharge the goals and recharge the motivation. This year, like the years before, I will better myself in some fashion. Whether that be physically, by achieving a PR or not having to worry about nagging injuries or mentally, where I pass a certification and move up in my career. 2017 host brand new challenges and obstacles to overcome and I’m ready for the battle ahead. For anyone who knows me, they know I love to cosplay. Halloween is one of my absolute favorite times of the year and I love to dress up and role play. I’ve been wanting to get a halloween costume that I would call a “career costume” for a long time now. Basically, taking the time, money and energy to fabricate and piece together a costume I could wear for the next 5-10 years. I’ve never found something I could commit too because of the detachment from the character and/or not having a good enough reason to cosplay this character for years to come. The Flash, Deadpool, Star-Lord, Gambit, Red Hood, Green Arrow and The Joker...there have been many choices and contemplations for “career” characters over the years but nothing stood out….until now. Enter sometime in 2018. A movie will come out called The Batman. It’s a solo Batman film and it’s directed by, written by and starred in by Ben Affleck, reprising his role as the Dark Knight. He’s also getting help from Geoff Johns to write the script/story. Geoff is a very famous writer for DC whose written works for Batman, The Flash and Green Lantern to name a few. But why is The Batman so significant? Well let me tell you. They are introducing to the silver screen for the first time, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke aka The Terminator! HELL YEAH!! And, playing Deathstroke in the movie will be none other than Joe Manganiello. Woot Woot! Ok, so enough fanboying for now, but still, you ask. Why is Deathstroke so important right now? Well, my younger brother, Chase, has a “career costume”... And Batman needs and arch nemesis, yeah? Enter yours truly I’m going to build my own Deathstroke costume and slowly make it better over time. And the whole freakin point of all this is that my brother dresses as Batman and performs at these little kids birthday parties and stuff like that with his Batman costume. I’ve wanted to do something like that for years! And the idea is that my brother and I can choreograph a small fight scene to perform at these parties. He will “beat me up” in the end and take me away in handcuffs or something like that to get the kids cheering for Batman. Intricate right? I agree. It also sounds like a BLAST! I think this is going to be really cool because Chase and I will have established a swanky little gig a year or so before the movie even comes out and then when it does, we can smooth out our choreographed fights and make them better. I also got some cool Deathstroke gear for Christmas, like a zip-up hoodie, a lego figurine (who sits on my desk at work and points his gun at Green Arrow and Deadpool-pic coming for that), the original graphic novel, Assassins, along with Vol 1 of the New 52 take on Deathstroke with added mask. The mask isn't great quality but it would do in a pinch lol. Remind me to get a pic with that on. Ok, so now that introductions and cosplay plans for 2017 and beyond are out of the way, let’s move onto the first challenge of 2017! To make matters MOAR exciting, I will be teaming up with our very own, Mr. Willes! This will be a Co-Op/PvP challenge for the ages where he portrays the very sexy, very mouthy Deadpool VS my deadly, one-eyed assassin, Deathstroke. Together we will have goals we must meet as a “Squad of Death” and also as individual, badass, Mercenaries. There will be a slue of shit talking and crazy antics going on the next 4 weeks so I hope y’all be ready?! Each week will begin with a contract to assassinate some Squad Goals (team) as well as Merc Goals (individual) and it is up to Willes playing Wade Wilson and me playing Slade Wilson to figure things out. We’re both so happy to have everyone along for the ride and promise not to disappoint . “The Fourth Wall, Slade. It’s hard that not to understand, especially when drunk you as are…” Deathstroke's Challenge Goals Rehab/Prehab Work: Old Man Slade Work the junk in the trunk aka “Dat Ass” Left Shoulder, left groin and right wrist. Become anti-fragile. Strength Training/Gainz and Mobility: The Terminator 9-day Training week Focus on weak areas-core/abs and upper back on extra day Supple Leopard Sword Training/Combat: Stroke of Death Practice with off hand Shovelglove w/ 10# mace 5# Indian Clubs Conditioning/Training Mask: Super Soldier Sprints/Rucks KB’s/Metcons HIIT Wolf

Hello everyone, it's been a while. I stopped logging onto NF after being here for nearly 2 years - all the things it taught me about creating a healthy lifestyle had well and truly sunk in. I was putting in time at the gym, getting better at my chosen sport of Roller Derby - passing my skills and becoming a fully-fledged bouting skater, something no one thought I had the guts to do - and was managing somehow to eat healthy and balance my 40-hour-a-week job as a waitress with all of the above and somehow not dying of exhaustion (although I'm sure I came close a few times!) 10 days into 2017 and I was kicking its butt. Meal prepping every Sunday, doing all those things, feeling good. On the 11th day I had a day off from work. It was a beautiful day, so I went for a skate with a teammate. Our plan was Skate park --> Beach Skate --> Pub. Awesome way to spend a day off, right? It would have been, had I not rolled slowly backwards up the slight incline that is the skatepark bowl, lost my balance, and crumpled into a heap right on top of my right ankle. I knew as soon as I landed that it felt wrong, so after a green whistle, an ambulance trip to the hospital, some x-rays, and a phone call to my mother, I learnt that I'd snapped my ankle in two places. All my well-laid plans to have a kick-ass 2017 shattered in front of me. Like my ankle. Haha. After an interesting cocktail of drugs and (the longest) 6-days in hospital, including surgery on my ankle to install 8 screws and a plate to hold the bones together, I was sent home and told to stay off it for 6 weeks, with at least another 6 weeks of re-learning how to walk and re-strengthen the muscles in my leg. From being on my feet 40 hours a week + going to the gym + skating 5 hours a week, being non-weight-bearing and stuck at home was NOT IDEAL. After two weeks I went into my first post-op appointment with the Orthopaedic surgeon and everything was looking great, bone and wound-healing wise. I however, was shocked and saddened; my once strong roller-derby-crafted calf was deflated and bruised all over. The bruises I can handle, the soon-to-be scars I can handle, but how quickly my leg had deteriorated after only two weeks had really got to me. I love my legs, they literally hold me up through all parts of my life. It doesn't look like my leg anymore. I want my old leg back. I am 16 days into my non-weight-bearing recovery period and I'm bored. Mentally, I'm sort of enjoying it. Dr. Who marathons and catching up on all the video games I've only half-played (Witcher 3, I'm looking at you) are great, but I miss the endorphins from exercising, roller skating, hell, I even miss the challenge of being at work, busting out coffees and doing a hundred things at once like only good waitresses can do. I really miss roller skating. I've lost my routine, my sleeping pattern (thanks for that, uncomfortable moonboot) my ability to leave the house, and all my reasons to get up in the morning. So I've come back to the rebellion to give myself some goals that I can aim for, some semblance of a routine that I can follow, something I can look forward too that I can do at home while I'm stuck here passing the time. I can't have the rest of my body wither away like my right leg is. My plan is to start small. Doing a few basic bodyweight exercises daily, starting at one rep, and adding one daily. I was never great at committing to exercise at home, hence I ended up with a gym membership, but now I have literally no choice. I have to stick to things I can do without the use of my right leg, so for now I'm going to limit myself to core and upper body workouts. I also need to stay involved with my Derby league community if I ever hope to get back to my old level of skills, which means I'll be going to training despite the fact I can't skate. As a fully cleared skater I can help the newbies, take notes on things the coaches are teaching the veterans, and get my social fix with my teammates while I'm there. I'm also a committee member of the league so while sitting at home I have no excuse not to get things done that I can do while sitting in front of my computer (filling in grant applications, making phone calls, etc.) And I need to look after myself while I am healing. This means warming up before exercising, taking rest days in between bodyweight days if I plateau or can't hit the reps I am up to, taking breaks while marathoning video games or netflix or being on the computer (and going for a "walk" or getting outside or doing housework) and eating home-cooked food most of the time (even if it is like an episode of cutthroat kitchen while cooking on a knee scooter) Come the February challenge I am going to knuckle down on all of these things, but as it's Feb 1 today I'm not going to wait three days. Today is the day to do the things. I will be able to walk again. I will get back to bouting skater level. I will get back to the gym and lifting weights. I will get back to working at my fullest capacity. But it is going to take time.

Hey guys and gals-welcome back to the wacky world of Wild Wolf! With this being the last challenge of the year, I really want to push myself and make this a worthy end to 2016, which, IMO, has been one of the craziest, most swanky years of my life. So. Much. Has. Happened. SO many epic NF meetups, so many new sports, new friends and new opportunities. It’s just hard to sum it all up into words but this year has changed me for the better. Right now, I’m dealing with a new injury: my groin/abductor. I strained or pulled it while going too deep in my squats and an issue with my form. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t tracking my knee over my foot every time and this has caused issues in my abductor area. Now, I’m on full blown-out rehab mode on the injury. I even ordered a set of mini-bands for Black Friday to help with this process. I’m also adding the mini-bands to my shoulder rehab as well. 110% will be focused on strengthening these injured areas and getting me back to “fighting form”. This challenge will be dedicated to turning me back into the badass street level hero I used to be. What exactly is a “street level hero”? The term typically pertains to heroes who stick to the streets due to being a bit out of their weight class when dealing with anything more dangerous or powerful. These characters almost never use anything other than martial arts, hand-to-hand fighting skills, and various weapons and gadgets (including guns) to get the job done. Who are some famous “street level heroes”? Batman Daredevil The Punisher Iron Fist Moon Knight Spider-Man Any of the Robins And even Deadpool You get the picture. But those are some big names being thrown out there, especially Batman, probably the most iconic hero of them all. During these next 5 weeks, I will be harnessing my skills and doing what I need to do to get my body and my mind prepped to become a SLH. It will take hard work, long days and countless hours of training and studying...but I am willing to close out this year properly. Goal #1: Take Care of your Body so you can Take Care of the Streets Rehab my groin and shoulder EVERY DAY. Simple. It should take 20-30 min a day to rehab both areas which isn’t anything. I need to get this done, though. No excuses. Goal #2: Build the Diaphragm and Become a Better Fighting Machine Breathing techniques-especially once I get my Training Mask in :). I got a hella good deal during Black Friday and finally pulled the trigger on one. I will practice various breathing techniques and follow Brian McKenzie’s Protocol post workout routine as prescribed/Rx’d. Goal #3: Be a Better Steward of your Studies 3x a week. 15 minute sessions. A+ training. NO. MORE. EXCUSES! I’ve really fallen behind on this but need to get back on my hacker game and study some more. I’m almost done with module 801 and then I can move onto testing. Studying also applies to learning more about how to make myself antifragile. Always strive to learn more and soak up the knowledge that is out there. Goal #4: Continue to Eat for Size I’ve put on about 8 pounds or so, but it’s not all lean muscle. Focus on eating for size but also focus on eating clean as well. I need to be eating more veggies and I want to include veggies in 80% of my meals. I should also be drinking 100+ oz of water a day and 30+ more on training days. This one’s gonna be reaaaal simple you guys and I’m excited to have you along for the last challenge of 2016! Wolf

Intro: I had a productive first year in NF, and then the wheels came off. Amidst the perfect storm of mental and physical burnout, injuries and illness, family and work stresses, I went into a bit of a dark place. I went back to bad habits of eating like crap, making excuses not to exercise and isolating myself from everyone. It took longer than it should have for me to recognise and confront those issues, but I started to do that last challenge. This is somewhat of an extension of that as I continue to rehab my body, mind and spirit. QUEST 1: See a Grown Man Cry Try to re-establish some kind of fitness routine, whilst continuing to rehab my shoulder and neck. Make sure I do the daily stretches my doctor gave me. Try to get three light cardio sessions per week done at the gym. Walk more, regardless of the weather. It’s rain, not acid. I won’t die. Points available: +3 DEX, +1 STA QUEST 2: Black Coffee Blues Don’t Eat and Drink Like a DickheadTM. No more than one chocolate bar per week. No energy drinks. If you need caffeine, have some damn coffee. There’s a perfectly good coffee machine in the kitchen, you don’t need Rockstar. Drink water. It’s plentiful. Points available: +4 CON QUEST 3: Solipsist A healthy body must work in tandem with a healthy mind. Look after what’s upstairs, by any means necessary. Sleep, meditate, ASMR, sit under a tree, stroke a pet, cook, read a book, take a bath. I’ll try to finish Ken Costa’s “Know Your Why” during this challenge, but no pressure to do so. I’ll read if I feel like reading, but not going to force it. One “must do” task, is take a leaf out of Spooky’s book and list three things I’m grateful for on a daily basis. Points available: +4 WIS QUEST 4: Art to Choke Hearts Inspired in part by binge watching Bob Ross on Netflix, I decided to have a go at painting during the last challenge, and discovered that I really enjoy it. Keep at it, and share the results, good, bad or indifferent, on here. There’s also a tumblr here for the things I’ve done. Points available: +3 CHA

Technically I suppose this is my third challenge... but the thing is, in April I crashed my moped. With a fractured C7 and a fractured scapula, I was in a neck brace for a month and out of the workout game for 4 months. I dropped 9% of my BW, which I'm sure was all muscle (116 to 106) and am now significantly weaker - my right rotator cuff was messed up really badly and I sustained traction damage to nerves reaching my infraspinatus and teres minor - the nerves will regenerate but I currently have almost no connection/response in those muscles. This isn't a sob story, it is a respawn! Last week I met with a trainer who has developed a rehab plan for me: full-body workouts focused on regaining balanced strength in my shoulders. Eventually I'll get back to lifting heavy things, but this challenge is all about recovery. I'm starting a week early for a total of 5 weeks, and the challenge is... Nutrition Eat veggies with 2 meals/day The goal is to include veggies in both lunch AND dinner, plus often (but not always) in snacks. I do a lot of casseroles/stir fries/soups so it should be easy to add peppers to everything. Log all food & track macros I already feel like I make smart/healthy choices in food generally, but I need DATA. I also feel like I might be skewed fat-heavy and protein/carb-short on my macros but I can't be sure until I track it regularly. I'm using myfitnesspal to track data and my bullet journal to plan ahead. Exercise Rehab Workouts - My awesome trainer put together a recover plan I really like - 3 different full-body but shoulder/back-emphasis workouts for 3 days of the week, which is scale-able as my strength improves. I'm not worried about missing workouts - I'm so happy to be back in the gym!! - but my goal here is to continue to make gains each week, even if they are small. The C word... cardio My trainer also wants me to do cardio 2x week when I'm not doing the full-body workouts... Fine. 20+ minutes of high-incline fast-walking. Yesterday I was dripping in sweat after 10 minutes. Let's improve that. Level Up Your Life I've got to wake up earlier - I'm addicted to the snooze button. My goal is to wake up before 7:30am every day. Photo attached of me in the hospital. This is where I'm growing from!