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I started with ShovelGlove and in my time of need I feel an undeniable urge to go back to the start.

Eddy Merckx and The Man With the Hammer by Jan Cleijne

Alternate title: Fix it with Shovelglove. Just a heads-up: I make no promises. I might not run. I might not shovelglove. I might not even post much. I'm getting over a mystery illness that has left me weak and out of breath. I assume I'm post-Covid, but I don't actually know. Today a friend replaced a gas fitting in our house and I helped him rearrange his storage unit. Last year when I helped him move I was much stronger than him, today he is much stronger than me. It was more than a bit disheartening. As I'm building back from less than zero I'm going back to bare basics. I originally built my previously tremendous cardio with running and my very slightly above average strength with shovelglove. I'll see if I can add those into the daily mix. Thanks in advance for the support Nerd Friends.

Book: Water Also known as the Tale of Tzippi and the Too Many Tags I am returning to the Rebellion after a long battle with a demon of depression. The dark spirit swept in as I was weakened by becoming a mother. I am doing better now, and am just beginning to practice Tai Chi, which (along with the fine spring weather) is inspiring me to respawn here, as a monk. One goal under each bending style is a constant habit, one-two one-time goals under are straight up success if done. Thanks for the help refining my foals, @sarakingdom Goal One: Plantbending ☆ Eat 2 fruits and veg per day. (If this gets too easy, up it to 3). ☆ Research and plan an indoor greens growing system. ☆ Shop for weeStockings sized garden tools, pit on wish list. Goal Two: Waterbending ☆ Exercise every day to support Tai chi. On class days, go to class. Other days, Hammer, walk, yoga . . . ☆ Sweep back deck for morning practice. Goal Three: Cloudbending ☆ Harness the breath like an Airbender by Meditating 5 minutes daily. ☆ DONE. Get reusable travel mug again. A nice ceramic one with a silicone lid. ☆ For week with April 1st, make a new Gratitude BuJo spread. ☆ With first paycheck, sign up for Calm premium subscription.

Boy has it been a year. There was a point last year where I really felt I had my fitness identity figured out and I knew what *I* needed to do for success. But I had some mental health and relationship issues to take care of first and that blew everything else out of the water. It's been really tough to get my head back in the game, so much so that I had completely lost track of what was starting to work before. This year has brought a few ups, and many downs. But my head is finally in the game and I feel ready to make some progress. I think I've blown enough of the cobwebs off of my fitness brain and I'm ready to . . . Kick Names and Take Ass While trying to get my head on straight I started assessing all the underpants I've collected since starting NF and tried to do some decluttering. I'm left with the underpants that work and make sense for me. It's a constant balancing act between what works and what works AND I can stick to. I still don't have a full picture of what all those underpants looks like together, but it's getting less foggy. So before I ramble anymore, on to the goals! Food Goal: Here is what I have learned from collecting underpants... I know I need to find a way to strike a balance between being too restrictive and then not being restrictive enough. I enjoyed doing the Whole30 because of the 'freedom' to eat without logging. Eating real food just makes me feel better and makes it more difficult to go off the rails. Paleo speaks to me but I'm not willing to cut out all the foods that are restrictive with Paleo or Whole30 long term. Until my spiral, I was able to find a good balance between logging food and eating Whole30(ish) Logging food is beneficial, maybe (and hopefully not) permanently, but it works. I finally took a look at some of Michael Pollan's food rules and they speak to me in the same way but are less restrictive. Eat Food. Not Too Much of it. Mostly Plants It occurs to me that the Paleo-ish I've been striving for is really just clean eating and Pollan's rules line up quite well with that ideal. So that's what I'm aiming for. Ideally, my goal would be to eat clean 80% of the time, and only log food if I venture into non-Food (processed food). But since I'm also in the healthy living program at work, I''ll stick with logging my food all the time. 1 point for eating at least 3 freggies a day 2 points for at least eating with a deficit (preferably over 750) 3 points for either eating clean all day or staying under MFP calorie target.(I haven't actually decided what this limit should be. Last time I was really successful it was around 1500 but that was tough to stick to. I've been at 1900 for awhile and it seems to be just under maintenance.) Fitness Goal: More underpants.... Being more active daily can only be good My workouts need to have a higher intensity. This brings results and keeps me motivated Do what you enjoy. I enjoy playing with sledgehammers and barbells* Never miss 2 days in a row Rest is also beneficial Consistency is key Ideally I'd like this to be a good old fashioned rucking and sledgehammer challenge. I'm still working on getting a good tire to have at home. I don't have access to the one at fancy gym now. But really anything goes as long as the intensity is there and it's something I enjoy. 1 point for at least doing something 2 points for at least getting 8000 steps 3 points for either getting 10,000 steps or doing a workout. Rest days also count as 3 points for purposes of point streaks but only up to twice a week. Low intensity workouts (along the lines of yoga and housework) can count once per week Chain Bonuses: I really like this aspect of my past few challenges, I just need to not be lazy. I want that 1,000,000 points but I want to earn it. Since I'll be challenging for 35 days, I've adjusted the points accordingly. The MN State Fair is during this challenge and don't think there is any clean food in sight, it just won't stay on the stick. So I'm counting the fair day as a freebie for the food goal. To balance that out, I can count one of the driving days as a freebie for the fitness goal. *not a euphemism

Hi! I am new, I am a nerd, and I need to lose a ton of weight and get into shape! I want to fit into more clothes and I want to be able to run around with my (so far yet-to-be-created) kids and match their energy levels. I am interested in routines or programs or skillsets that will put me in the fantasy bad ass mindset. For instance, I am super interested by shovelglove. People even post shovelglove scenarios on YouTube so that your routine is sort of like RPing! Also, the thought of me being a hammer wielding badass battle babe is really enticing. I'm also interested in doing archery but that requires a lot of money to get into so for now, it's a faraway dream. Oh and I'm super into the idea of dance, especially things like hula, bellydance, bhangra, Bollywood, o'tea, etc. If anyone has any suggestions about other cool types of exercise that will make me feel like I'm training right along with my favorite high fantasy characters, then please let me know!

I over-committed on my adulting responsibilities and it's kicking my ass. I thought about not doing a challenge this time around but I know that is just a recipe for disaster. I need to find a way to do both. Here is what I will not do: Give in Allow life to put my priorities on hold Set myself up to fail Set placeholder goals that don't move me forward Here is what I will do: Focus on things that I can control given my time constraints Set reasonable goals Ace this challenge Create incentives to go beyond my reasonable goals when I have the opportunity And the Over/under challenge was created. Keeping my 2017 roadmap in mind, I'm continuing to build on my goals. Where I must set the bar a little lower than I would prefer due to time constraints, I didn't want to just accept the low bar and barely make any impact. I need incentives to push me past the minimum when I am able. But I don't want to set the bar high initially and not be able to reach it. So for each of my goals, I've set an Over/Under. It represents the minimum standard to pass the challenge. If I go over the goal, I get points. If I go under, I lose points. The points mean absolutely nothing but I'm counting on my competitive nature to keep each week competing against the previous and filling this challenge with all WINs. Food Last challenge I won a few days on a technicality. I couldn't 'snack' but I discovered a loophole, eating junk food with a meal. I'm closing that loophole here. For the weekdays (M-R) I am allowed 2 servings of junk food (primarily baked potato chips, dark chocolate, and ice cream). I already plan on having 1 serving of chips with my lunch so that only leaves me 1 additional serving. This may even give me incentive to stop having the chips with lunch, though I don't necessarily think they are a problem. But points! Over/Under 2, +/- 1 point for each serving of junk food. Weekends the focus is on calories. The goal for weekends is 1800, higher than weekdays. But I found last challenge that I didn't always need them. This will be incentive to not use them just because they are there. Over/Under 1800 calories, +/- 1 point for every 100 calories Sleep I did really well cutting late night diet sodas. Some nights I just needed it to get through the list of to do's for the day. I did discover through my bujo that I was pretty consistent with 5 a day. Having late night sodas will still hurt my score because I am sure they will be over the 5. If I can manage an extra one to get me through and stay within the 5, then I'm OK with that. Over/Under 5, +/- point for each soda. I have also been having a lot of late nights working on class prep. This is currently the biggest hindrance to rest. It's also affecting my day job since I have trouble getting up and getting to work on time. If I can be up by 7am, I can just barely get to the work on time. Anything past that and I'm rolling in past 8. Over/Under 7am, +/- 1 point for every 10 minutes Training This one is particularly difficult. I have little time on the 3 days I have class, the 1st day after those days I don't want to do anything. That leaves 3 more days where I find it difficult to give up time doing class prep. I can't guarantee that I can squeeze in 4 workouts. Last challenge my goal included working out for at least 30 minutes. When I didn't have a full 30 minutes I would just not do anything. So I'm counting workouts in 10 minute increments. Since I have little time, intensity will be key. Rather than set the bar lower, I'm just going to make up for the lack of time with more intensity. Each workout will be measured by minutes x intensity*. Over/Under will be 100 units, +/- 1 point for every 10 units. *Intensity is predetermined by the type of activity. I've scaled my typical activities by intensity level. walking 1 rucking 1.5 yoga 1 Daredice 2 lifting 2.5 Running 3 HIIT 3 Sessions with trainer 3 Family As part of my roadmap for 2017, I am trying to be more present. This is both more difficult and more important now that I am so busy. This goal is basically the same as before only I am dropping the family time due to time constraints. I still want to spend some one-on-one time with each person in my family at least once a week. I can get more but I can not substitute time with different people. I have to satisfy one one one with each person before any additional time is counted for the over/under. Over/Under 3, +/- 1 for each unique event. Other Items Finances are still a huge part of my roadmap this year. I am continuing with YNAB but I don't have any goals tied to it at this time. Kitty Jar - still in effect. 25 cents for each great day 10 cents for each OK day, meeting some goals, but not all 5 cents for meeting at least 1 goal 1 cent for a day hitting no goal with some valid excuse 0 cents for lame duck days. I'm sure I've forgotten to mention something I intended to. I always seem to forget something. I probably won't have time to update as often as I normally do and I won't have as much time to follow your fantastical challenges so I apologize in advance.

Boring Backstory Progress is not linear. We've all heard this before; we know it's true. The challenge is in accepting it. I've really been struggling the last few challenges. It doesn't feel like I'm making progress but habits are being reinforced, attitudes are changing, and mindfulness is becoming easier. The GoRuck that was to happen at the very start of this challenge has been cancelled. The next event is the 5K Milk Run at the Minnesota State Fair. So it's time to switch gears on training and start running. I have been travelling a lot this summer with 2 more trips coming up during this challenge. When travelling sometimes workouts get skipped; sometimes they get replaced. I figure as long as I am in control of my food choices then missing some workouts won't make a huge difference in meeting my goals. I'm tired of taking two steps backward all the time and I know this is due to my food choices and my relationship with food. So this challenge is basically similar to the last umpteen challenges with a few exceptions... I've tried to simplify it a bit; the primary focus of this challenge is food choices, and the training focus has changed from rucking to running. FOOD I've mapped out the challenge days, starting with today, and noted travel days so I can account for them. Last challenge I adopted a modified calorie goal so that allows for more on weekends and travel days, rest days, and recovery days. I've added the calorie goals for each day on the Magic Spreadsheet of SuccessTM (MSS). For each day I'll document the actual calories, logged with MFP. Scoring will occur in 1 of 2 ways, I haven't decided which yet until I have some data and see how it shakes out. At the end of each week, I'll have a projected Average Daily Calorie intake (ADC) an actual Average Daily Calorie intake. Scoring option #1: The calculated percent difference between the projected and actual. Scoring Option #2: the number of days of the week that actual stayed within projected. I think I prefer Option #1. This will account for whether I go over a little or a lot, same with staying under goal, rather than just not getting a point if I go over by a respectable amount of calories and then go under the same amount another day. What I want to avoid is trying to make up calorie overages on another day. I'm OK using some short calorie days to average out some over days but I don't want to end up cutting too much on some days to account for variance days. This will send me right into a spiral of variance days that will never end. TRAINING Training has been mapped out on the MSS, accounting for travel days. For the most part each week follows this plan: 3 Run Days. distances determined by Runkeeper 5K training plan. Weather will be a factor as it has been a really hot and humid summer and this makes running suck. 2 Lift Days. using training plan from my trainer. 1 Active Rest Day. This can be 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of Shovelglove, rucking, hiking, walking, swimming with the family, biking, catching Pokemon, anything. I don't care what and it doesn't have to be much, just don't be a Blerch. and now for some gratuitous gifs..... This challenge has been brought to you by:

Challenge was revised June 16. I've let myself get soft, mentally and physically. I don't know what to do about the mental aspect, so I'm going to tackle the physical aspect. I've let my belly balloon to 36.5 inches (93 cm), I'm going to work it back down to a more reasonable measure. Seeing as how I'm a teacher and I have no class for another nine weeks, I have time to tackle this. Step 1: That's my wheel, I'm riding! Ride my bike, off road when I can. (In the middle of an amateur race you'll hear racers yell 'that's my wheel' as they fight for a draft.) Step 2: Two Sloths enter, one Sloth leaves. Shovelglove Hammer away at the fat until only the lean Sloth survives. It's only 20-30 minutes a day; I'm aiming for 5 days a week. Step 3: Ruck the Wastes At the end of the next zero week is the Go-Ruck. I'd like to be ready. Max keeps his pack at hand and is always ready to ruck the wastes. Step 4: Don't be the People Eater. Don't eat people or anything else that sets off my IBS. Limit sweets to one variance a week.

Have I used this theme before? Ride Eternal: if not eternal, then at least four times a week. Wander the Wasteland: Start getting ready for this summer's Go-Ruck. Go back to rucking the dog, Shovelglove or other resistance training at least twice a week, mobilize and stretch the bastard that's my back. McFeasting in the Halls of Valhalla: Warboys eat beetles and lizards, not sweets. I'll quit eating sweets (again). I won't beat myself up if I keep it to one variance a week. Are You a Blackthumb? Catch up on maintenance and upgrading of bikes. The first big mountain bike race is June 4. The goals are modest, to have enough fitness to not cramp up and die and to finish in the fastest half of the open men's category (just barely). As always, you can expect a fair amount of Dear Diary in my posts, but probably not much by way of gifs and memes unless I break down and get a real computer.

Backstory I have not been seeing the progress I’d like. As far as fat lost, I’ve gone a little backwards. Overall I am making better food choices but I am just not consistent with it. My variances have been too frequent and too large. I keep undoing any progress I have made. I’ve got a solid workout schedule in place but diet is 80% of the success. And I am not succeeding in that area. So this challenge will focus on diet. I’m not giving up on the workouts. I still have 3 planned events for this year that I need to train for. But it’s still early enough in the year that I can focus on specific training for those events next challenge. Though running will start to make an appearance during this challenge. Eat right. Lift. Ruck. Run. Sleep. Fight Villains. Repeat. Bulletproof Bracelets Eat Right. I just recently bought these new containers for batch cooked meals. I absolutely love them. I’ve been batch cooking for quite a few challenges now but we usually just store each item separately in larger containers and then for dinners everyone serves up their own plates and we eat. But I’ve found that we either run out of food too early in the week and then scramble to come up with something mid-week or we overcompensate and make too much food. Part of the problem is there is no governing the portion sizes. I log my recipe on MFP and then say it makes 6 servings. But there isn’t a reliable way to know that my plate is 1 / 6 of the whole. So now I will plan each week’s meals ahead of time on the weekend. Sunday is batch cooking day, and then all meals will be pre-portioned in the new containers. I’ll know exactly how many I need for me and the rest of the family. It may not be glamorous, but it’s effective. The Plan. Each weekend I will prepare the menu for the week and batch cook all the meals and plan the macros for the week. This should make it really easy to stick to it and allow little room for excuses. And my portions and food logging will be more accurate, allowing me to make better decisions. My current macro goals are 1600 calories on most days, 1700 on recovery days. Protein should be at least 100g but preferably in the 120’s. I don’t have a specific carb goal but it should be lower than the protein for any given day. Macros are subject to change but only as part of the weekly plan. Variances are allowed but with restriction. Variances must be planned ahead when I make the weekly menu. 1 spontaneous variance allowed for the entire challenge. Another tweak: The menu will consist of 3 meals and 1 snack per day. This still leaves room in the macros for more. I don’t have to use them but I suspect using them will alleviate cravings down the road. I will prepare a list of pre-approved snacks that can be added, on the fly, on any given day to accommodate hunger or energy levels. Each snack has the macros predetermined so I can easily select one that fits the day. And everything must be measured. Amazonian Strength Lift. 3 days a week. I have a trainer for the time being and he gives me 2 new workouts each month to move into my rotation. Currently I am on a nice schedule with 1 upper body day, 1 lower body day, and 1 full body day. But this is subject to change. I am also working on accessory work for a combination of personal projects - Best Ass of the Midwest (P:BAM), pullup, and shoulder rehab. At the moment the shoulder rehab is the top priority. Lasso of Truth Ruck. or Run. The plan is to ruck or run three days a week. I am thinking the best combination now is to run twice during the weekdays and then a ruck on the weekend. But I will fiddle with this ratio a bit I’m sure. Bonus Points: 1 Ruck WOD during the challenge, 1 Ruck with coupon during the challenge, 1 Long Ruck (4 hours?) during the challenge. Tiara Sleep and a Few Other Things. This is where I focus on all the other aspects of my 2016 Roadmap and just trying to be a better adult, have more fun, and be happy with myself. I’m still working on being more productive. The format from the last challenge was a good start but it didn’t really work for me. I’m still planning on making a list each week but I need to make a distinction between adulting things that need to get done and things that I would like to get done as part of my roadmap. The latter are typically enrichment activities that I need to make a priority in order for it to become a habit, but they aren’t necessarily To-Dos for the week. I’ll continue with the pomodoro method but rather than dedicate 1 pomodoro to each task category, I’ll just pick 2 or 3 things each day from the weekly task list that need to get done and work on all them for a tomato. I’ll keep working with the goal of 5 for this challenge until I find out what works best. I’ll also track pomodoros for enrichment activities (reading, duolingo, music, art, etc). Perhaps a goal of 2 a week would round this off nicely for a total of 7 pomodoro’s a week. The evil monkey and the Dark Playground metaphor from this article is still helpful. If you haven’t read it (including part II) I think you should. Plus I’ll refer to it and it will only make sense if you do. Konmari. I have most of the books and movies done. I still need to do my Philosophy books and some of the cookbooks in the basement. Then I’ll be starting on the kids’ clothes. Villain Face-Off Battle This is where the magic happens. If you are new to this, other NF rebels sign up to represent a villain. Each week I randomly roll for a new villain who brings with them a particular skill set that I must defeat. When a new villain is selected, each of us set our own goals in the given categories and compete for the week. The closest to reaching their goal at 100% wins the week. I get 1 stat point for each villain I defeat or that ends in a draw. I really dug the new format for last challenge where you guys get to pick your own villains (or in some cases good guys or somewhere in the middle) and then select the goal category as you see fit. Afterall, each villain brings a unique battle and Wonder Woman is prepared for them all! If you are interested, please sign up here. Try and stick to DC villains, though exceptions have been made. Then select two of the goal categories to be your specialty. I am being pretty strict on food already so you will notice that food is not one of the categories. I’ve tried to spread things out a bit to replace it with a different category so there is more variety.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES In keeping with tradition, when Jothra arrived at his hut back on Lodbrok, one of the Old Men of the Rebellion was already waiting for him. The novelty of their sudden visits had long since worn off, so Jothra hung his jacket on the Old Man's pointy-hatted head, and started installing the coffee maker he'd found in a cave, guarded by a gnome or a hobbit or something. After a few moments of flailing his way out from under the jacket, the Old Man spoke. "I hope you've had fun wasting your time on some ocean island, vacationing instead of seriously training--" "I've been training." "--but now you have some serious work to do. If you are going to defeat Ogrod, you must continue to train here, in the forest, with the Slurpasaurs and dromeosaurs and bird people and fish people and what-have-you, instead of gallivanting around wherever and whenever you choose." "Fine," Jothra mumbled. "But I've been doing just as well without you lately. Feel free to check up, but don't do a bunch of interfering." "No promises." The Old Man threw a small capsule on the ground, which exploded in a puff of smoke. When the smoke had cleared, Jothra furrowed his brow. "You're still here," pointed out. In the special, subtle way of all non-subtle people, the Old Man shuffled sideways to the door, shouted "Yoink!", and took off at a dead run. Jothra looked out the door after the Old Man. So, spend some time here, in a world eerily reminiscent of old cheesy science fiction serials? Okay. He'd done it before; he could do it again. They misuse the words "conquers" and "universe," and probably "the" for good measure, but I love it anyway. My entire "Jothra Conquers..." shtick is a reference to Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, and its predecessor Rocketship. I don't mind telling you that these are some cheesy serial motion picture atrocities, which is exactly why I love the awful things. They are both public domain these days, so finding them should be a breeze, if you have a few hours you don't want back. Incidentally, recognize this? It's okay. George Lucas was legitimately paying homage when he borrowed this. So, Ming the Merciless, who is totally not a white guy dressed up as an intergalactic not-Asian-no-really-I-swear despot, is trying to conquer the universe, which is apparently comprised entirely of Earth and the planet Mongo. There are flying people with fake looking wings. There are giant lizards played by regular lizards. There are rockets made of what I can only assume are cardboard tubes. It is glorious. Oh, and starring this guy: Oh, Buster Crabbe. You should have stuck to being an Olympian. I mean, honestly. 1.) Main Fitness Quest My three goal-achieving-type-little-goals-that-add-up-to-a-bigger-goal-goals. i.) Fly a cardboard tube spaceship! except on S Days (Saturdays, Sundays, and Special Days — unless I want to). Ride a bicycle daily for half an hour. It doesn't matter which bicycle: road, MTB, or stationary. It is of note that my vivid imagination means I can totally imagine my stationary bike is a cardboard tube spaceship. Yipes. __/20. [+2 STA | +2 DEX | +1 CHA] ii.) Wave that sword like you don't know which end is which! Also excluding S Days. One of the charms of this goofy show is the mix of science fiction and fantasy elements. Laser guns? Sure! Swords? Also keen! I will continue with my Shovelglove routine, currently at 24.3 lbs. As of March 29th, I've been at it for six straight months, with very few missed weekdays. In celebration, I re-taped the handle, which was looking pretty ratty. This time I went with hard-to-scuff-up black. I'm Canadian. Stick tape flows like water here. __/20. [+2 STR | +1 STA] iii.) Eat like a Slurpasaur! I mean, of course, food. A "slurpasaur" is a dinosaur (or, in Flash Gordon's case, monster) played by a decidedly non-dinosaurian lizard, often with spikes or fins glued on. The best use of Slurpasaurs ever was in Disney's old Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which they rather convincingly played giant a pack of hungry dimetrodon (a sail-backed reptile far predating dinosaurs). Anyway, Slurpasaurs will eat damn near anything, and so shall I, albeit in reasonable quantities. Since it worked well last challenge, I will be eating at approximately 500-1000 calories under maintenance. Thanks, MFP! Thanks, Fitbit! ADDITION: It probably doesn't fit here, but I just started the 30-day squat challenge from Uncaged Man. The idea isn't to do squats; it is to squat, and stay squatting for at least 10 minutes a day. Don't ask me why, but it sounds like something I can get behind, for the same reason I do all my work teleconferences standing up. Again, I know this doesn't really fit with the food part of the challenge, but to be fair Slurpasaurs (being lizards) look like they're squatting 100% of the time. __/28. [+1 STA | +2 CON | +2 WIS] 2.) LIFE SIDE QUEST Keep enemy soldiers out of the base...with electro-laser murder beams! Or, well, clean up after myself, I guess. Last challenge, I planned a minor apartment clean-up, followed by maintenance. Instead, I started the process of seriously overhauling everything. I have made incredible headway in every area but my bedroom, so that's next. I will also maintain the rest of the place, which is actually turning out to be pretty easy as long as I keep on it. Also: yes, I've read Marie Kondo, and no, I do not agree with her position on books. In a tangentially related story, one time I saw a home decorating show about "living naked " (minimalism) on which the host decided to wrap all her books with blank white paper covers to make the bookshelf more sleek. Her guest host looked at her like he wasn't sure if he should run away or not. __/28. [+2 CHA] As per normal, I'm going to determine scores based on percentage ranges, more or less like on my childhood report cards. A = 86-100% | B = 73-85% | C = 66-72% | D = 51-65% | F = 0-50% 3) MOTIVATION I may poke fun, and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe may be the cheesiest serial of all time, but there is something undeniably charming and naively exciting about it all the same. Besides, what posters!

It is really hard to find GIFs of this show. After yet another harrowing adventure, Jothra heard tell of a tropical island nearby. It sounded like vacation time to him! He used his ever-growing prowess on the bike path through time and space to check the place out... ...only to find it in a permanent state of 1930s-ness. It was like being stuck in a TV adventure series. No rest for him! Donald P. Bellisario first proposed Tales of the Gold Monkey in the 1970s, telling networks that a 1930s adventure show would delight and thrill audiences. He was repeatedly turned down. Then Raiders came out, and he gave them a big fat I told you so. Anyway, after a multiple-Emmy-nominated first season (it won for art design), the show was unceremoniously cancelled. Tragedy! Many, many years later, it would be spiritually succeeded by Disney's Talespin. Also great. Abridged from Wikipedia: In 1938 in the South Pacific, ace combat pilot Jake Cutter operates an air cargo delivery service based on Bora Gora. He flies a Grumman Goose called Cutter's Goose. Jake's best friends are his mechanic Corky, and a one-eyed Jack Russell terrier named Jack. Jake's love interest, Sarah Stickney White, sings in the Monkey Bar as cover for her real job as an American spy. The Reverend Willie Tenboom is actuality a Nazi spy who often finds he has more in common with the other people of Bora Gora than with his own government. "Bon Chance" Louie owns the Monkey Bar and is the French magistrate for Bora Gora. Jake's nemesis is the half-Japanese princess Koji, who has eyes for Jake. Koji's devoted bodyguard, Todo, is a fierce practitioner of Bushido and is unwaveringly loyal to the princess. Enough gab. Challenge time! 1.) Main Fitness Quest My three goal-achieving-type-little-goals-that-add-up-to-a-bigger-goal-goals. i.) Fly the Goose! except on S Days (Saturdays, Sundays, and Special Days — unless I wanna). Cutter's Goose is Jake Cutter's Grumman Goose cargo plane. In lieu of a Grumman, I'll ride a bicycle. I have three choices here: the Blue Meanie (roadie), The Triceraton (MTB), or the Modified Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper (stationary.) Naturally, any other bicycles are fair game, but I don't own any more. __/20. [+2 STA | +2 DEX | +1 CHA] ii.) Swing my samurai sword! Also excluding S Days. Todo is Princess Koji's right-hand man. He is a well-trained and very...well...angry modern-day (well, in the 1930s) samurai. In lieu of swinging an actual sword around (though I have a nice foam Minecraft one from a couple of challenges ago), I'll keep shugging away with my Shovelglove. Swing that sledgehammer, Jothra! SWING IT! __/20. [+2 STR | +2 STA] iii.) Don't overdo it, Corky! I mean, of course, food. At some point before the show takes place, Jake's best friend and mechanic Corky drank waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much and too often. These days, he can still drink a beer now and then, as long as he doesn't overdo it. I will apply the same rules to eating too damn much. I'm aiming for a 500 calorie deficit a day, or 1 lb. a week. Ish. I will be focusing on this goal much more carefully than I did last challenge. __/27. [+2 CON | +2 WIS] 2.) LIFE SIDE QUEST Keep the Monkey Bar clean. You know — clean. The Monkey Bar is the main hangout on the island. The characters who don't actually work in the bar spend a lot of time there anyway. Sometimes there are brawls — after which they are expected to clean up and pay for damages. I spend a lot of time in my apartment, and let the mess get away from me during theatre season. I'm finishing the marathon clean this weekend. The challenge goal is to get in the habit of keeping it that way by cleaning up new messes as they arise instead of letting them build up. I admit, this will probably be the hardest of my challenge goals. __/27. [+2 CHA] As per normal, I'm going to determine scores based on percentage ranges, more or less like on my childhood report cards. A = 86-100% | B = 73-85% | C = 66-72% | D = 51-65% | F = 0-50% 3) MOTIVATION Who wouldn't want to be in this?

I’ve debated over and over how to start this log, and, to be completely honest, I still don’t know how. Introductions have never been my specialty, but I suppose I could start by telling you a little bit about myself. I started my Nerd Fitness journey in October of 2014. I had just moved into my first apartment with my boyfriend and was ready to get myself on track. Or so I thought. I wasn’t happy with how I looked, my recent-ish weight gain, lack of strength, and incredibly sedentary lifestyle. During a google search, I came across an article of Steve’s - I don’t remember which one for the life of me. It was the name of the site that drew me in first (‘Nerd Fitness? I’m a nerd...I should do this!’), and then I wanted to absorb as much info as possible. All of it made sense to me, it was just a matter of applying it. A week later, I signed up for an Academy membership and started going through the modules located therein. Since that time I’ve had fleeting encounters with Paleo, Whole30, and various fitness plans. In early 2015, I discovered, joined, and started following the NFWA facebook page (which has since exploded to enormous proportions after the closing of the NFA forums). After some time I decided to give the forums a try (again), but waited until the latter half of summer to join a 6 week challenge. I’ve started 3, but have since withdrawn from my third. The Rangers have become my home, and I have made more friends in the last few months than I have in the last few years. I’ve been influenced, supported, and motivated by them more than anything else, for which I am thankful In here you will find: -My Crossfit journey -Workouts -Food porn -Goals -Random thoughts/life occurrences -Geekery -All the gifs -Much, much more Now,

I'm Back!!!!!! Oooookay, sooooo.....things happened........some bad, some good, some totally INSANE and I had absolutely no focus past week 1 of the last challenge. So I decided to just put my attention on what was going on and lurk NF. Because I never want to completely leave here, you guys are too important. And it was so awesome that you guys kept an eye out for me. Now hopefully......things are settling down, weather is getting nicer, and I can start making sense of the resulting chaos. Time for a new challenge! Harley's 1st Mission Mace work continues. I smashed my 416 rep goal and ended my streak at 428 before the flu incident. Last week I picked my mace back up regularly doing the original 140 rep start. This was to get things warmed up again since I had been away from it a couple of weeks. Starting this week I am back to my 428 count. My goal originally was to upgrade my mace to 10 lb, but I haven't been able to do that just yet. So, my goal here will be to put together a new routine starting with week two and start with half the current rep count and work up to the 428 until I hopefully can do the mace upgrade.My current plan is to purchase a 10lb mace in the next couple of weeks and restart my rep count from 140 with a revamped routine. Harley's 2nd Mission Again this mission includes two elements, c25k and GMB's Focused Flexibility Program. Though I have continued with the GMB sporadically both have suffered between the winter weather and my recent bout of the flu. So, my goal is to get both of these going regularly again. Weeek 1 I will pick the FF back up for three days out of the week alternately with the mace work. Then Week 2 I want to add in one C25k run in addition to the GMB , week 3 two runs, and week 4 three runs. Harley's 3rd Mission Food Tracking. In order to stop the mayhem being instigated in my eating my goal this round is to keep a daily journal tracking everything. This can either be through MFP (which I am terrible about) or most lIkely in my trusty spiral bound notebook. If I'm feeling particularly organized I will track it in the notebook AND then add it to MFP. Harley's Life Mission Adulting This will probably be an ongoing Life Goal for a few challenges as there is always a ton to do, and with a lot of recent life changes new routines need to be formed. My goal is a hefty one because I am intent on going through every square inch of my house and eliminating the clutter while getting those routines in order. I just do not function well in clutter and it seems there is a never ending supply to get caught up on. The price of living with seven other people. Bonus Goal To continue with reading/ listening through the Dresden Files. I'm currently midway through book 3 which I want to finish (and preferably be midway into book 4) by the end of this challenge. Grading again is going to be real simple here, each day is a pass or fail on each goal. I either got it or I didn't. At the end of the week if there are more passes than fails, I'm good and Harley has succeeded. If on the other hand, I have more fails than passes then some reevaluation needs to occur. And there you have it!Onwards and Upwards guys!

QUEST1: Get that Viking moving! On 5 days of the week one or more of the following: LiftingA combination of:RopeskippingSledgehammerBodyweight exercisesEllipticalRunningGrouplesson KickfunGrouplesson Circuit training QUEST2: Grow a big healthy Viking! Mindful: Eat as healthy as possible, no snacking Moderation: Do not binge on food or alcohol Slight deficit: Try to keep a slight deficit so i won't be gaining, but will (hopefully) lose some BF. QUEST3: A rested viking is a healthy Viking! Sunday to Wednesday, go to bed no later than 23:00 (sleep till 06:00) 7 hours of sleep A total of 50 hours sleep per week 1 resting day during the week, 1 resting day during the weekend. Sidenote: A resting day CAN be exchanged for a workout day, if the following is met: I can go to bed early that eveningNo outstanding "Domestic Rangering"TM tasksThere has been (or will be) enough Family-Time that week LIFEQUEST: Educate the Viking Weighttracking / MFP Tracking Spreadsheet building and tracking 1 spreadsheet per week which will help me out in my quests in one way or the other

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Seconds after Jothra had picked up the ratty old journal and re-entered his house, the rain started pouring in buckets. Damp and unfortunate, sure, but hardly foreboding. Jothra was a fairly skeptical person, despite having spent quite some time in a place with cardboard-winged flying people and extant dinosaurs in top hats. So when he found the journal full of descriptions of strange creatures, he was about to dismiss it outright. Until he found a page about a portal. According to the book, Jothra's Rebellion-provided home was located directly on top of the former site of a large dimensional rift, and a bunch of things had come through. Things too weird for this place? This was definitely a problem...the kind of problem Jothra intended to solve. So, I think it's rather telling that in a world in which almost every single person now carries a camera for almost 100% of their waking time, there is still an absolute dearth of evidence for Bigfoot. But mysterious creatures sure make for good television! It's too bad the next episode is the series finale, but at least it's ending before it has a chance to fizzle out or something. 1.) Main Fitness Quest My three goal-achieving-type-little-goals-that-add-up-to-a-bigger-goal-goals. i.) Mine, shovel, chop, and hoe except on S Days (Saturdays, Sundays, and Special Days). Shovelglove! Shugging is a good time. I have recently developed the ability to complete my whole routine in exactly 14 minutes. If I get it done faster, I'll add more reps. I am quite happy with the 22 lb. hammer. Easy scoring: __/20. [+2 STR | +2 STA] ii.) Ride the Getaway Golf Cart! Except it's actually a bicycle. I don't own any golf carts. Ride a bicycle for 30 minutes except, as above, on S Days. Unless I want to. No rule about intensity, and no upward time limit. I've been going to town on my Modified Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper of a stationary bike, and the mountain bike has been behaving. Also, the way the weather's behaving, I might be back on the road bike sooner than I thought. __/20. [+2 STA | +2 DEX | +1 CHA] iii.) Stick to an all-gnome diet. It's basically paleo, and also gnomes are gluten and lactose free. Actually, I'll just eat at a calorie deficit as if to lose 1 lb. per week. This is a deficit of 500 calories a day. It more or less worked last time, and wasn't terribly taxing. __/28. [+2 CON | +2 WIS] 2.) LIFE SIDE QUEST Read every day. With an important difference. I'm in a play. For the first half of the challenge, I'll be reading from that script a lot. After that, the play will be over, and I can go more free-form. __/28. [+2 CHA] As per normal, I'm going to determine scores based on percentage ranges, more or less like on my childhood report cards. A = 86-100% | B = 73-85% | C = 66-72% | D = 51-65% | F = 0-50% 3) MOTIVATION ... I absolutely could not think of a thematically appropriate way to include this image, so here it is anyway.

Aaaaaaaand here we are. Brand new year, brand new challenge. Time to come out with guns blazing!.....or bats....maces......crossbows, whatever suits your fancy, and gets you motivated! For me, this challenge, technically this year, and my ultimate epic quest can be summed up in one sentence......... To train and eat with a purpose. And by train I mean mace work, running, lifting or whatever I put my mind to in this coming year.....do it, and do it with enthusiasm......with conscious thought, and with reason and intent. Last year kinda fell flat, but part of the reason for that was because I was going through the motions, but not really putting a purpose behind it. Doing it just to do it because it was habit or what I thought I SHOULD do, but without fire or drive behind it. This year, that's my focus.....not to do something just to do it, but because I WANT to.....because it makes me feel good and gets me where I want to go. Purpose. So, with that Harley is picking up Harley's Mallet and heading back into the game! Harley Mission 1: Mace Work I began mace work last challenge and fell. in. love..... So, I am continuing it this challenge. I may add some lifting back in at some point, but the mace work is my focus this challenge. I am aiming at a rep goal of 415. Once I hit that (which should happen well before this challenge ends) I will readjust my workout with some new moves (shout out to my friend jc) and move up to a 12 lb mace. This mission means Harley must put in 3 mace workouts for that week. All three means she wins that week's round, 2 means she loses one battle but still passes, and less than two means she lost that round. And I don't intend to let that happen. Harley Mission 2: Outrun the cops. Being evil ain't easy.......and you never know when you will need a backup plan when you run out of gas on a caper. this means speed........ and flexibility................ This mission includes to things, C25k and GMB. The aim of this mission is to get back into the C25k program on a consistent basis. I've been doing runs on and off but not advancing in the program. I will pick it back up starting with week 2 of the program. The other part of this mission is to increase my flexibility and become more limber. I will admit to not being a big fan of yoga and whatnot because I'm not terribly flexible. But, with a nagging knee injury and a consequential tightness in my left hip and thigh from a previous surgery it's a good time to get things loosened back up. I think it will aid the running and everything else. And since we are still in the midst of winter this can be a backup for when weather keeps a run from being feasible. The GMB program can be found here (fabulous site, thank you bestie twin )....... https://gmb.io/ This mission means Harley must put in 3 run/GMB workouts minimum for that week. All three means she wins that week's round, 2 means she loses one battle but still passes, and less than two means she lost that round. Harley's Mission 3: Water, water everywhere........... This is a goal I have used a number if times because I tend to get out of the habit easily. I am not big on drinking things period, with the exception of coffee. I can go all day without drinking anything. And Harley is smart enough to know she can't function at her best if she's dehydrated. It affects my desire to snack and eat more, I know dehydration also causes me headaches. But, this goal will also be a two parter in that the overall idea here will be to put more purpose into what I'm fueling my body with so that I get the best results from everything else I'm doing. This mission means Harley must eat and drink with purpose for 6 days that week with one day a week to be a bit more reckless. 5 or more days means she wins that week's round, at least 4 means she loses one battle but still passes, and 3 or means she lost that round. First week I have to get in at least one (20 oz) water bottle each day and no snacks or sugar, week two increases to two water bottles a day, week 3 will be 3 and so on. And finally........ My life goal is motivated by my friend Bluethunder......and a shoutout to Teros for his help with inspiration. Because girl needs her down time, Harley is going to do some reading! Lol, this means one book minimum per challenge. I'm currently listening to the first book in the Dresden Files and would like to work through the entire series. And there we have it! I shall end this with my favorite running song because Harley has a sense of humor. Now let's move it! Onwards and Upwards!!

I will absolutely continue with the story element here, because I enjoy it. I will, however, save it for the beginning of the challenge on Monday. In the meantime, here are my goals and whatnot! 1.) Main Fitness Quest My three goal-achieving-type-little-goals-that-add-up-to-a-bigger-goal-goals: All scoring assumes i.) Mine, shovel, chop, and hoe except on S Days (Saturdays, Sundays, and Special Days). Shovelglove! I will shug for at least 14 minutes per weekday. I feel so much stronger since I started doing this three months ago that I have trouble believing it. I poke my traps a lot. I'm not sure when I had traps installed. Easy scoring: __/20. [+2 STR | +2 STA] ii.) Bicycling Through Time and Space is the name of a trilogy of really goofy but particularly fun books about a guy from California who can travel through time and space using an alien-implanted 22nd gear on his Nishiki mountain bike. Ride a bicycle for 30 minutes except, as above, on S Days. Unless I want to. No rule about intensity, and no upward time limit. All that running stuff last challenge cut into my bicycle time pretty hard. It's winter here, so I'll probably be either on my winterized Kuwahara Eclipse MTB, or on my heavily modified Body Break kludge-o-cycle with the cadence meter made with a $10 cyclometer and free math. If I'm lucky, I'll get to sneak the Trek 1.2 out here and there. If I really can't snag a bicycle for some reason, I'll find something else to do. __/20. [+2 STA | +2 DEX | +1 CHA] iii.) This is my first directly weight-related goal on this site. Ever. Eat at a calorie deficit as if to lose 1 lb. per week. This is a deficit of 500 calories a day. It really shouldn't be hard to stay away from junk food (most of the time, anyway) and stuffing myself to the gills. Besides, my other goals will add at least a handful of calories back in each day; in theory, that's what this Fitbit HR is for. __/28. [+2 CON | +2 WIS] 2.) LIFE SIDE QUEST Draw every day. I have a sketchbook. I am playing with brush pens, but that part could change. I love cartooning. Why am I not drawing more often? For the purposes of this challenge, I will ink without doing pencils first. I'll illustrate my update each day. The pictures will be black and white, because colouring takes ages, and isn't what I feel like I need to mess with right now. I will share said drawings here. __/42. [+2 CHA] As per normal, I'm going to determine scores based on percentage ranges, more or less like on my childhood report cards. A = 86-100% | B = 73-85% | C = 66-72% | D = 51-65% | F = 0-50% 3) MOTIVATION This:

Jothra opened his eyes, immediately regretted it, and closed them again. His head felt a pain unlike any known form of pain. He decided to just lie here and hope he didn't get eaten while he waited for the thudding headache to subside. He heard a weird snorting noise nearby. It didn't sound like any of the slurpasaurs or dromeosaurs he had been getting used to. Despite his aching everything, he took a look. He blinked once or twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Oh, great," he moaned. "Just great." Was it some kind of zombie? It was green and disgusting, wearing tattered clothing, and grunting angrily. It walked towards Jothra with a surprisingly smooth gait, it's arms outstretched for either a hug or a face-rending. "Quick question!" Jothra asked groggily. "Hug or face-rending?" "Grunt!" "Friend or foe?" "Grunt!" "Fair enough. That's a false dichotomy. Can I count on your utter ambivalence?" "Grunt!" "Alright. I'll just run then," said Jothra, staggering to his feet. He wasn't very fast, but he managed to drop the zombie thing soon enough. "Great, then," he gasped for breath. "Hungry now." * * * * A short time later, Jothra found what he had been looking for: food. There was only one problem: zombies. Jothra could plainly see a pile of bread sitting on the ground, but it was, just as clearly, surrounded by zombies. What was an aspiring world-saving hero to do? Just then, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder. Jothra was roughly turned around to stare into an ugly, ogre-like face. It's owner had clearly never brushed its teeth, or its hair, or any of the weird bristles growing out of its nose, ears, and other nose. "You bin sent to work the mines," the creature growled. "Stay still while I tag ye 'nd scan ye." The creature took a small sevice from its belt, and scanned Jothra from top to bottom. From this it built a profile, and saved the information to the central Mine Escapee database, just in case Jothra was crazy enough to try to escape. "Now, ye belongs tuh me, Ye et when I say you et. Ye rest when I say ye rest. Ye..." He didn't finish the thought. It had taken the creature some time to realize that something was amiss, and some more time to realize that the amiss thing was that it no longer had a hold of Jothra. It took even longer to realize that Jothra had stolen its sword, taken care of the knot of zombies, taken the bread, made a torch from a handy branch and some charcoal, and taken off into the darkening night. "Aw well. The naight will finish 'im off," shrugged the creature, shuffling back to the safety of its evil mines. How will Jothra survive in the Far Lands? Well, by livin' the Minecraft life, of course! 1.) Main Fitness Quest My three goal-achieving-type-little-goals-that-add-up-to-a-bigger-goal-goals: i.) Mine, shovel, chop, and hoe except on S Days (Saturdays, Sundays, and Special Days). Shovelglove! I'll be mimicking most every Minecraft action at some point in the 14 minute daily Shovelglove routine. To keep myself from overdoing, I will also get a point for each S Day I rest, and lose one for each S Day I Shovelglove. Easy scoring: __/42. [+3 STR | +2 STA] ii.) Run everywhere because that's what I do in Minecraft. It means going through more food in-game, but it sure makes survival easier. Follow the Three Weeks to 30 Minutes running program. If I feel like I need to repeat some days, I will. When through the program, I will do a check-in to see how I'm faring, and decide how to continue the running part of the challenge from there. Again, points for taking my rest days, Easy scoring: __/42. [+2 STA | +2 DEX | +1 CHA] iii.) Don't just stand and get et, and don't starve to death, moron. No Adjective Dieting for me. I'll meet a Fitbit Charge HR-recorded 10,000 steps a day and maintain a calorie deficit. __/42. [+2 CON | +1 WIS] 2) LIFE SIDE QUEST Read every day. Internet doesn't count. [Reading at school still doesn't count.] __/42. [+1 WIS | +1 CHA] I'm going to determine scores based on percentage ranges, more or less like on my childhood report cards: A = 86-100% | B = 73-85% | C = 66-72% | D = 51-65% | F = 0-50% 3) MOTIVATION I know it isn't as Minecrafty as the rest of the challenge, but... Run. ...I do own a shocking number of Flash logo technical shirts. Good luck, everyone!

For this challenge I'm going back to basics, back to the most effective program I've tried. To be honest, I believe it's effective for me only because I've followed it consistently, whereas anything else I've tried has been hampered by exercise ADHD and a lack of follow through. Here's the program: On Monday, I'll do this On Tuesday I'll do this On Wednesday I'll do this On Thursday I'll do this On Friday I'll do this On the weekends I'll do this In other words I'll also do some of this And this Or this

Hello friends and Adventurer brethren! I am back for my second challenge since going MIA for a bit. I did my last one in the Ranger guild, but I have decided that my goals this round are more suited to the Adventurers. And I have decided, for the first time to really vibe my inner nerd and go for a theme. That theme is Harley Quinn because I think she is a bad ass, and can take down her opponents with a smile on her face. She is also my main fighter on Injustice. Goals: 1) Hammer Training / Lifting workouts: I am taking up my mace (aka Harley's Mallet) for this challenge and learning something new SHOVELGLOVE! This will be first and in addition to my lifting. Mace/ Lifting three times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri), gotta be in my best fighting form. Grades: A- 3 mace/lifting workouts per week B- 2 mace/lifting workouts per week F- Otherwise 2) c25k: In order to outrun the cops. Continuing with my C25k running app. Three times a week (Tue, Thur, Sat) Grades A- 3 runs in per week B- 2 runs in per week F- Otherwise 3) Sleep Schedule ('Aint no Rest for the Wicked' song) - Need to rest up enough to plot how to beat the batman. With all this working out even Harley needs a break. Start planning ahead on a daily basis for a SET bedtime. (Ahem......which means no 3 am posting......cough.......) Grades A- 5 nights planned bedtime B- 3 nights planned bedtime F- Otherwise Life Goal: Mistah J likes to play tricks on me so I need to watch what I'm going to eat around him. My life goal this round is to get control of my sugar intake. There is an influx of it that comes into this house on a daily basis and it is so freaking easy to eat it without thinking. I'm an out of sight out of mind kinda person, and good with one treat a week. So, treat day on Sunday unless otherwise specified in advance that there will be a trade day. This means cutting any and all excess sugar or sweets.......and this means you devious French Vanilla coffee creamer! Grades A- 6 Sugar Free Days B- 4 Sugar Free days F- Otherwise and there ya have it. Have a ROCKING challenge everyone!

July 30, 2016. Wausau 24 Mountain Bike Race - 6 hour category. Goal: Top Ten. This is not me. This has never been me. I've done a lot of bike races in the last 27 years. Literally hundreds. I've never podiumed. Never won a prize. Last year at Wausau 24 I went out hard, but I never really pushed it. I was riding for fun, for the challenge. Had I pushed it a little harder, I could have ridden another lap and that would have put me in the top ten and the race podiumed and gave a nice prize bag to the top 10. This year I am going out hard. This year I'll be prepared. GPP: This time of year I have little time to actually ride a bike. This challenge will be the General Physical Preperation phase. I'll use sledgehammers, kettlebells, and maybe sandbags to get a little stronger and build a little endurance. The goal is to train five times a week doing a circuit of KB swings, Shovelglove, and racked lunges. I'd also like to add in sandbag clean/squat/press a couple of times a week. Aerobic Base: I'll maintain my aerobic base with tire pulling, rucking, and, when the stars align, a little biking. Mobility: My hips are the key to a better life. They're too tight, that leads to my back going out (keeping me from training), prevents me from pedaling efficiently, and impairs my bike handling. If I'm serious about this race, I need to be serious about my hips. I'll gladly take suggestions here - my hip flexors and psoas need to relax. Hara hachi bu: If my weight goes above 175# I get sluggish and slow. If it drops below 165# I get weak. I have a few dietary restrictions due to my bad belly and formerly high blood pressure. Trying to eat cleaner or to restrict calories feels like too much deprivation and I can't sustain it. The first part of last challenge I had good results with hara hachi bu, which means eat until you are 80% full. I usually went to 90%, but being mindful kept me from over eating. This Old House: Our house has a honey-do list that is several pages long. It's time to start ticking some of these off.

According to my initial timeline I expected to reach my goal weight by the end of this year. That won’t quite happen and I’m OK with that. But it’s the last challenge of the year so I want to make it count. I need to channel my inner super hero and my inner super hero is none other than the mighty Wonder Woman. This challenge begins now. My main Quest is the same as before. I am still pursuing my original goal to reach my goal weight of 160 or some particular bodyfat % (to be determined at some date closer to actually reaching goal weight). In addition to losing those pounds I am pursuing my goal to increase my awesomeness. This includes any and all aspects of fitness. To achieve these main quests, my goals must align with these components Eating in a clean and sustainable fashionStaying active to increase the burn to be awesomeIncrease strength to be BAMF In addition to those goals that directly work towards these quests, I also need to maintain a strong foundation of general well-being. To that end, I will employ the tools and powers of Wonder Woman. Grading is based on these 5 strengths. Bulletproof Bracelets These protect Wonder Woman from harm. Stay within the caloric ‘sweet spot’. This means log all food and stay under 1600 calories and be active enough every day to burn 2700 calories according to my (currently broken) fitness tracker. There are three exceptions to this rule. Halloween night is always a pizza delivery night. Thanksgiving is well.. Thanksgiving. I can not be held responsible for calories then though I am preparing a pretty clean menu. Also the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally a homemade pizza night. +3 CON, +2 WIS Amazonian Strength She’s an Amazonian princess for crying out loud. Channel that strength. Some strength routine 3 times a week. This will likely include rock wall climbing, Shovelglove, Neila Rey and other bodyweight workouts, and quite possibly a foray into Starting Strengths. +2 STR, +2 DEX Tiara Did I mention Wonder Woman was a princess? And this tiara is a deadly weapon. Stay mindful of general health. Get enough sleep and stay hydrated. Lasso of Truth Wonder Woman’s alter ego was very responsible and got shit done. I need to adult better. This includes staying focused at work and keeping the domicile maintained. Flying in an Invisible Plane Well, she didn’t always have this. But it’s cool. And flying requires balance, in my case mental balance. I need to take care of myself. Keep up with Tai Chi, do some art, go on a date, and in general be mindful of ‘me’ time. Villain Face-Off Battle Here’s the plot twist. Stat points are only awarded for Amazonian Strength and the Bulletproof Bracelet goals. There is a reason for this. Beginning Week 1, Wonder Woman will encounter a randomly selected villain by a roll of the dice. Each villain is represented by another NF rebel. In order to win the battle against the villain, I will need to declare 2 additional goals from the 5 strengths above and compete against the supervillain’s own goals. I will declare my goals at the beginning of the week once the villain is selected and challenge my fellow rebel to set their goals. Highest score or closest to 100% wins the Face-Off. 1 stat point awarded for every Wonder Woman win and whichever skill best matches the goal category. I’ll be posting the villain sign up sheet shortly so if you are interested in a Face-off battle, stay tuned.