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I always enjoyed watching movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had a big influence on me when I was younger and his movies were always something I enjoyed no matter how many people said he couldn’t act. His one liners are legendary and my being back this time is a homage to Arnold. Actually, there’s a little more to it. My last couple challenges weren’t the best and this challenge for me is all about being back. Karate, Karate, Karate... I am still training for the next tournament and I need to get back to basics again. This time around is four days a week or Karate fundamental training. The basics are the key to a solid foundation and those are what I’m returning to this time around. Loosen the hips and tighten the core... With the exception of a tight Achilles, my body is moving fairly well overall. Fairly well isn’t great so five days a week will have at least 10 minutes of mobility and glute & core training. Breathe better... ‘I learned something about my breathing in relation to my power output in my techniques. I thought I already had good breath control but I found if I keep my tongue on the top of my mouth when breathing in, my power goes way up. The goal is to do this with all my training but I need it to be automatic. I can’t really gauge but I want to do this for at least 75% of my training. Extra credit - Write at least one blog post I haven’t published one blog post in months but this time it’s different because I’m back.

Man already this year is passing by fast! We have another awesome challenge coming up! I am BlackTezca, GIF queen extraordinaire and I had a rough last year. You can find all my lovely details from when I first arrived in space within From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel! I have also been training for galactic defending in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards A Much Better Year and started making my progress to recover from my Eclipse moment in BlackTezca's 15th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon Survives Her Eclipse. That was a hard recent moment in my life that has not only left some scars, but could have also awakened from inner power to attune myself with an awesome new force for protection of the Universe. Out of the trash and into the awesome! Of course I can't do this alone! I have to build up a few friends to battle along side me and support me as I get stronger, more rested, more social and just all in all more awesome! Awesome enough to take on the Galra empire and prevent tyranny from ruling over the universe! I need to become a firm warrior fit with creativity as well! Not only will I be able to defend the Universe this way but it'll bring me closer to my one true goal...!! My Main Quest to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Without further ado, let's see my new awesome quests for January 2017! Note that most of these are familiar, but this is to get back into the habit and get back into the Rebellion! It's always good to revisit the basics and what made things so great the first time around :D. Keith is hotblooded fighter with strength and agility to boot! Details: The Red Lion is perfect for this workout quest! This will account for any workouts I do! But not yoga or just walking anymore, pure workouts (which I did last challenge so building up here). Hoping to get in some nice Kickboxing time as well included here which will be awesome! Note that thanks to a trip coming up, skiing will be part of the package too! Contingencies: Sickness and travel pretty much. However considering the flexibility here, I should be able to do something! Walking, yoga, etc! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for workout (Kickboxing and Muay Thai included) 4 to 5 times a week - 25 pts ( 1 Sta 2 Dex 2 Str ) B for workout (Kickboxing and Muay Thai included) out 2 to 3 times a week - 20 pts ( 1 Dex 1 Str ) F for all else Hunk knows how to eat to be the post heavy support he can be! Details: Time to limit sugar now and try to keep up my protein! This maybe a bit of a challenge considering that this is February AND my birthday is coming up this month too, but Hunk is reliable and sturdy; he can help me stay the course of caution with foods! I have hope! Contingencies: Oh boy! Getting back to eating 100g of protein and trying to limit sugar will be HARD this challenge: I have a break coming up later in the month (birthday trip to Breckenridge and Valentines). I'm not gonna go easy on myself this first week (Valentines day) but I may go easier on myself during the Birthday week! We'll see how it goes! Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with extra accountability done here. Grading: A for 100 g of protein and less than daily allowed sugar 5 to 6 times a week - 25 exp ( 3 Con ) B or 100 g of protein and less than daily allowed sugar 3 to 4 times a week - 20 exp ( 2 Con ) C or 100 g of protein and less than daily allowed sugar 2 times a week - 15 exp ( 1 Con ) F for all else Lance is one social butterfly of a sharpshooter! Details: I need to comment on the forums! I did not do so at all last challenge and I feel like I am out of place in the forums due to this! It's time to come back and leave gifs EVERYWHERE!! ALL THE GIFS FOR ALL MY FRIENDS!!! Or at least a lovely comment! I will be here for you my friends! I promise!! Contingencies: If I lack internet somewhere like on my vacation, that would be the only contingency. I may not even include the days I'm out since it's somewhat between weeks. We'll see!Tracking: Tracking to be done here! On the forums where I need to comment!Grading: A for commenting at least once on a buddy's challenge 4 to 5 days a week! - 15 exp ( 2 Cha ) B for commenting at least once on a buddy's challenge 2 to 3 days a week! - 10 exp ( 1 Cha ) F for all else Pidge is a gadgeteering hacking genius with a penchant for creativity! Details: Time to keep this up! Did a lot of model painting last challenge and while that will still be the case, I want to do some digital art again too! Maybe I need to start doing those short portraits I did during October before disaster struck...hmm let me consider that with at least doing sketches too! Need to get my muse back in gear! Contingencies: The usual! Friends being in town, going on possible trips else where, etc. Need to focus on painting! Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. Grading: A for Arting (model painting mostly) at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 20 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Cha )B for Arting (model painting mostly) at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha) F for all else Shiro has had it rough and really needs to recover! Details: I have been working a lot...my back is sore. I haven't been doing too well with dealing with stress and just letting myself stop working and just go home. I need to focus on doing some relaxing actions. Stretch, leave work as soon as I have my eight hours (and not work over weekends), taking a bath, talking a walk, these will count for lovely relaxation actions. Contingencies: None! Just take a bloody break! Tracking: I will be using this thread for tracking my relaxation actions! Woo!!Grading: A for relaxation actions 14 to 15 days this challenge (work days!) - 20 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Con )B for relaxation actions 12 to 13 days this challenge (work days!) - 15 exp ( 1 Wis ) F for all else The quests are set! Let's see what my current measurements are for this challenge! Starting Measurements: Date: 02/13/2017 @ 7:00 am Weight: 155.6 ***Body Fat***: 26 Waist : 26 Waist @ Navel:27 Hips: 39 Neck: 12 Chest: 33 Left Bicep: 11 Right Thigh: 18.5 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 9 Not bad! A slight improvement over last challenge, even with how lazy I was this past week! With that's, let go defend the Universe! Time to form VOLTRON!! *** ***Awesome Summaries Index*** Week 1 Summary Week 2 Summary Week 3 Summary Week 4 Summary Challenge Summary

November 2016 Challenge Hello Druids, for those of you who don't know. I'm Waldgeist, a 29 year old German guy. I've been mostly rolling with the Assassins but I feel that for my current situation this is the better place for me. Whats going on right now (the prologue, if you will): I moved to another state/city and enrolled in a university course to pursue a 3-year degree in 'Physical Activity & Health', because I was not happy with were my work life was headed. I had realized that I can't sustainably work an 9 to 5 office job, but I love working with people and teaching them/helping them to get better. Therefore, I decided to not just complain but make an actual change. The journey so far wasn't easy, there were times I thought I wouldn't make it, but I did and my new life officially started last week. Also I am living completely alone again for the first time in three years, which I don't mind but that gives me more options to live healthier. There is a lot to do, like get a part-time job, make new friends, finish moving (most of my stuff is still in my hometown), explore the city/college, not to mention the obvious, study, work out, eat healthy and don't let life get to stressful at the same time. Theme: This will be the Jedi Academy books including I Jedi (though they are no longer canon, they still have a special place in my heart). Main goal: Establish routines in a new environment Quest 1 "Study the the Force by its elements" GMB Elements I've done this programme before and it is a perfect base to establish an active practice routine. Goal is to do at least 3 sessions per week, bonus points if i do the recovering days in between sessions, too. Quest 2 "A Jedi must control his body as well as his mind" Flexibility This kind of overlaps with the first quest, since there is flexibility work in there, too. But I don't want to limit myself to those stretches. Goal is to do at least 4 sessions per week. Quest 3 "Working out with Keiran Halcyon" KB/bodyweight Workout Don't have my equipment right now, so this might be limited to push-ups and squats only for a while. Anyway, twice a week is the Goal here. Quest 4 "To be One with the Force" Relax As I mentioned above there is a lot going on right now, which means I need to remind myself to relax, be thankful, not to worry too much etc. Daily would be perfect, but I know myself so every second day shall be the Goal. Quest 5 "Jedi do not desire a luxurious life" Do IF & Eat clean My budget isn't that large anyway at the moment, so this shouldn't be too hard. After all, healthy cooking is way cheaper than eating unhealty pre-made stuff and not eating for a day (aka IF) is even cheaper, even if you eat a slightly bigger meal at the end of the fast. Goal is daily healthy eating with one or two IF days a week, but a small treat a week or two won't be counted as unhealty.

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

PROJECT: B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Balance Restore Energize Accomplish Transform Humor Engage With the new year come the hope that we can keep a good handle on whatever life throws at us. We're pretty good at it, but there is always something out there that puts a wrench into our plan. Especially when it comes to taking care of ourselves. Thus, I introduce Project: B.R.E.A.T.H.E. As we work through our quests and adventures to happiness, it's important to have a reminder to take that needed breath. That is my hope for this group. While we work to help each other succeed in our fitness quests, we can also assist each other in conquering life's road bumps. Each day, a calming quote or image will be shared with the group. Take a few minutes (5 minutes minimum) to reflect on it. Can you relate to it? Can it help you find peace after a stressful day? Can it help you remind yourself that it's okay if you find yourself not meeting a goal? At the end of each week, I would like to review any negative events that may have impacted us. Rather than focus on the negative, though, I would like to put a positive spin on them. How can we make the bad into good? How can we fall asleep with a smile rather than with a stress-filled brain? All are welcomed and encouraged to follow each other, though the latter is purely optional! Enjoy and remember to breathe.

Still on the quest for the non-creaking movement! Some mini quests to find your way! Diet Goal: 90% meals made at home -- too much fat, salt, and sugar out there -- not enough veggies and fruits Exercise Goal: Back into a routine -- hit the pool and the strength training with flexibility! -- MWF Swims, SuTR strength training or yoga Life Goal: Relax, damnit! -- this escapes me -- always anxious -- always feeling crazy -- so, got to rediscover activities that mellow me out Week 1: Try It Week 2: Stick With It Week 3: You Got This Week 4: Stay on Target Week 5: Almost There Week 6: Epic! Sometimes you have to grind to level up a bit Total Swim (10/18) >= 90% = +2 sta 55%55% Strength and Flexibility (12/18) >= 90% = +2 str, +2 dex, +2 sin 66%66% Dine In (44/120) >= 90% = +2 con 36%36% Make Time To Chill (24/42) >= 90% = +1 con, + 2 cha +2 wis 57%57%

The good news from last challenge: My second year doing the Fight For Air stair climb, I beat my previous time by 5 minutes and 1 second. The bad news from last challenge: Going on vacation threw me off considerably, and then I had a back spasm two days after the stair climb that finished the job and derailed my challenge completely. For this challenge I need to simplify, make smart goals, and get a win under my belt. I really need a win. And since I'm starting over with my stats, because I completely lost track and have had such sucky times lately and have no idea how many challenges I've done because I lost count... Let's call this the first one EVAH! (not really, but sure, why not) Main Quest: To weigh what I did in high school, when people made me feel fat but I really wasn't. Quest for this Challenge: De-stress Work has suddenly become very stressful. I work in a banking environment, so there's inherent pressure in getting things right and doing them timely. But we had one person retire on April 1st, and another quit very suddenly the next week. So now there are four of us managers doing the work of six until they bring in and train the replacements. And what's more, I have had little or no training on the accounts I've been assigned. These next six weeks will be VERY STRESSFUL. So I'm going to focus on alleviating that. Goal 1: BACK UP PLAN I need to strengthen my back and my core so I stop having these problems with my back all the time. Yes, I'm getting older, but no it doesn't have to stuck. So I will do strength and stretching moves for twenty minutes, three times a week. For each session, I get 1 point. 15 or more = A, 12-14 = B, 9-11 = C, 6-9 = D, 5 or less = F DEX +2 | STR +2 Goal 2: YOU ARE GETTING VERY SLEEPY I really need to get more sleep, to be better rested to face the day. So I will start prepping for bed at 10:30 nightly, with lights out around 11pm so that I can wake up at 6:30 feeling good. For every work night that I get at least 7 hours of sleep, I get 1 point. I have an app that tracks this. 25 or more = A, 20-24 = B, 15-19 = C, 10-14 = D, 9 or less = F CON +3 Goal 3: STEP TO THE MUSIC I'm going to wear my pedometer every day as I have been doing for the past five days now. My goal is to get 50,000 steps per week. I'm hoping to reboot my running program at some point in the very near future, so that will help me reach this goal. I also think this will motivate me to try and get away for at least a few minutes on my lunch hours, to walk outside. And listening to music as I go relieves stress too. For every week that I get at least 50,000 steps, I get 1 point. 6-7 = A, 5 = B, 4 = C, 3 = D, 2 or less = F STA +3 Bonus Goal: DROP (the candy) AND GIVE ME TWENTY When I'm stressed I tend to reach for food. Instead, I will make an effort to step away from the cause of my stress and do some sort of exercise - like jumping jacks or wall push-ups or squats - for a minute. Exercise is supposed to be helpful in managing stress so I will try it first. This should make me a happier camper at work, and more pleasant to be around. Stress happens every day at work, so for every work day that I take a break to exercise at least once, I get 1 point. 25 or more = A, 20-24 = B, 15-19 = C, 10-14 = D, 9 or less = F CHA +2 Life Goal - UNPLUG (I stole this one directly from PhoenixRising) I will spend at least one evening a week doing something relaxing that doesn't involve the TV or computer. For example: going for an evening walk, reading a book, playing my ukulele, writing, playing with the cat, taking a hot bath, listening to music, whatever. For every evening that I spend at least two hours unplugged from TV, computer, and other devices, I get 1 point. 6-7 = A, 5 = B, 4 = C, 3 = D, 2 or less = F WIS +2 I'm trying to remember the rules for attribute points. Is it 14 per challenge? Or is it 15?

It's time for me to get focused on not being focused. Mushin or no mind is something that I have been searching for but has eluded me for many years. I finally had a taste of mushin last year when I competed in kata at the Karate nationals and I have only been able to have that same experience, a few times, just recently. It is the feeling of doing something that you are so focused on, you do not see of hear anything around else around you. It is as if you are all alone, almost outside of your body but performing at your peak. If the building you are in was to all down around you, you would not notice until you are finished with what you are doing. 1 - Focus all my training efforts on making my katas better! When life starts to go down the toilet, I have always turned to my Martial Arts training to bring me back from the dark side. It has kept me sane in the past and I know that it will help me get through the issues I am dealing with now. With that said, all the training that I do needs to make my Karate and Iaido better. I will come up with a workout plan and do those workouts at least twice a week. I am going to focus those strength workouts on my hips, glutes, upper back and forearms. I will include my other bodyparts too I need to focus on the former. I will also continue to work on my katas every day like I have for the last two years but I want to add two additional "hard" kata training days along with the training that I get in my Karate class. 2 - Flexibility! It seems that I have been working on improving my flexibility since the first challenge and even though it has improved a great deal, I need to be more consistent. The HFS routine has really taken me to the next level but there are days when I just don't feel like doing it. For this challenge I plan on using the HFS as much as possible, at least two to three days a week but I also want to work on yoga for full body flexibility and some more focused hip work. I always do at least one stretch each day but I need to get serious if I want my Karate and Iaido to improve. 3 - Find a job! Being out of work for two months now has given me a lot of time to reflect on what I want to do going forward. If it's a job in IT again, freelance writing, building blogs and websites, consulting or a combination of all of those, I need to get more traction on getting some income. Even though I have many years experience, maybe too many, the job search hasn't gone the way I thought it would and I need to think outside the box to get some money coming in. 4 - Meditate.... This is one area that I really need to get into. I used simple meditation in the past and it really helped but I keep coming up with excuses not to do it. The goal here is to mediate for at least five minutes a day. These four goals are a bit open ended but that is normally how I do it. I will increase the focus as the days go on but I know that this challenge will be one of my greatest challenges. I am ready to do battle and these goals better be ready for a serious butt kickin!

I already do ALOT but it's time to do MOAR! But sometimes less is more.....so I'm going to do more of less things. Main Quest: Attain 12% BF at least once. Challenge 7 goals: Goal 1 - Physio recovery exercises - 6 days a week, no excuses. (DEX 5) I injured my shoulder last challenge, it's not 100% but it's much better. The physio has identified the cause as postural so I need to strengthen some muscles with exercises and adjust my posture, particularly my shoulder blades. The exercises take me about 15 - 20 mins a day and I didn't do them last week hardly at all. There are no excuses, if I don't do them it's because I'm being lazy. Feel free to call me out on this. I will not get better if I don't do them. Goal 2 - Do a thing twice a week (WIS 1, CON 2) Do something extra twice a week, this could be swimming, squash, badminton, surfing, scuba, an extra walk, whatever I feel like but I have to do something extra at least twice a week. Goal 3 - 50% Paleo (CHA 3) I want to lose some body fat before I go on holiday to Hawaii in December. History shows the best way to do this is to integrate some Paleo meals. I'm going to shoot for 50% this time, that's 10 main meals a week. Side Quest: Relax and be Positive. (WIS 2) I visited an old friend for the weekend during one of the between challenge rest weeks, while I was there I realized I am overloading myself with worry and stress. This is partly due to going the whole year without a holiday and partly just because I tend to push myself by being concerned about things. This challenge I'd like to try to relax more and not sweat the small stuff so much. I can do this by being more organised, re-making my time management plan and 'working the plan'. Life is good, time to relax into it and enjoy. Here we go for the final push of 2013, 4 weeks to Hawaii