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LET'S DO THIS CHUMS! It's time for another challenge this year coming right atcha with a flash step! As you all may know, BlackTezca, returning once more to make all of your browsers crash with another gif crazy thread! Ya'll also might remember me from the beginning of this insanely nerdy and awesome journey From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, got spoilers and news and another silliness in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness and just like it was yesterday, I have conquered and ONE PUNCHED my latest foe known as BlackTezca's 8th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazons Becomes The Ultimate Hero. This time around, I'm here to battle against the idea of curses and that there is no such thing as hope! I'm here to fight the good fight against witches and despair and to repeat my battle against my worst nemesis! Not only that, but with this next challenge, I shall transform into the ultimate fighting being! The greatest example of prime warrior the world, any world has ever known! I shall become...a Mahou Shoujo! Fuck you and die. Not only shall I fight the good fight towards better sleep (again), I shall also continue my story that is bristling with inspiration, heal my sore wounds from my battles and sparring matches (and skiing), as well as continue my training! Not only that, but by becoming a magical girl, I shall be bringing myself closer and closer to my main quest! We all know what this quest is, but what is my challenge without, once again, announcing my greatest goals of all greatest goals...!! My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman I do have my character profile up as well! However, it has not really changed how my challenges go (other than the experience points). Last challenge was nice and short and has given me some ideas on how to approach this new format. This time with total day counts and higher flexibility with what counts towards a side quest success (as you all know, I do use 'exact' words and such with that ). Having gotten most of January under my belt, lets move onwards! Towards my quests and my allies to help me become a greater warrior! Homura - The Sleep Policy Repeats Details: If in bed by 11:00 am, set alarm to 6:00. If in bed by 11:16, set alarm to 6:15 am. If in bed by 11:31, set alarm to 6:30, so on, so forth. This is mostly for work days. Contingencies: No Contingencies. Sleep is sleep. Also, sleep policy does not apply on weekends nor holidays. Tracking: Use Fitbit for tracking and update this thread with the total time of sleep as well as when I fell asleep official compared to when I went to bed. Grading: A for 14 to 15 days of enforcement ( 20 pts - 2 Con ) B for 12 to 13 days of enforcement ( 15 pts - 1 Con ) F for all else Sayaka - Keep Fighting Details: Go to Kickboxing or Muay Thai at Easton twice a week. Aim for Muay Thai but count Kickboxing as well. Contingencies: Steamboat Springs trip may hamper this. For that week only, do a separate kickboxing work + go to an Easton class. Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for Kickboxing/Muay Thai Workouts twice a week ( 20 pt - 2 Sta 1 Str ) B for Kickboxing/Muay Thai Workouts once a week ( 15 pts - 2 Sta ) F for all else Madoka - Do not Suffer; Stretch, Bathe, and Roll the Pain Away Details: Do at least five minutes of stretching and foam rolling after works out and when feeling sore. Also count taking hot salt baths to help with soreness. Contingencies: Steamboat Springs trip may not have the foam roller. But I can still stretch. So no real blockers here. Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching and foam rolling under 'yoga' via MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for Stretching and Foam Rolling 4 to 5 times a week ( 20 pt - 1 Dex 2 Con ) B for Stretching and Foam Rolling 2 to 3 a week ( 15 pts - 2 Con ) C for Stretching and Foam Rolling once a week ( 10 pts - 1 Con ) F for all else Kyoko - Strengthen My Story and Create My World Details: Continue with story planning and focus on Character Portraits. Hopefully most character summaries are done and we have moved on from Step 3 and maybe even finished Step 4. Contingencies: Steamboat Springs trip will also hamper this. I should have my laptop charger so I can work on the story planning at least. Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. I shall also post up WIPs of my work on this thread and I will also count ideas and brainstorming I come up with during my daily status. So ya'll will be here to listen to my ramblings! Grading: A for at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 25 exp ( 2 Wis 2 Cha ) B for at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha ) F for all else Mami - Gain Skiing Experience. Details: Another ski quest! This time hoping to ski a bit more (Steamboat trip coming up soon) Contingencies: I have rented the places, booked hotels, but sickness is always a possibility. Tracking: I'll be tracking the skiing funtimes using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Downhill Skiing' for this thread. I'll also, of course, be updating this thread with details of my adventures! Grading: A for Skiing at least two days this challenge! ( 15 exp - 2 Dex 1 Sta ) B for Skiing one day days this challenge! ( 10 exp - 1 Dex ) F for all else Looks like a full complete challenge! Really excited to get this started! The fitbit has proven to be very useful for tracking sleep and I have a solid plan for my art! With my new kickboxing body, I'll definitely be able to keep up with my routine and the only new thing will be looking for exercises with my foam roller! Let's get some starting measurements: Starting Measurements: Date: 01/26/2016 @ 6:15 am Weight: 127.2 ***Body Fat***: 20% Waist: 23 Waist @ Navel: 23.5 Hips: 33.5 Neck: 12 Chest: 32 Left Bicep: 11 Right Thigh: 16 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 8.5 Everyone! Always believe! Never lose hope! Keep on fighting towards our ultimate goals! We're monks! Fighting is what we learn and what we do! So keep on hoping, keep on living! KEEP ON KICKING ASS! That's what Madoka would do in order to keep hope alive and allow us to reach our finest accomplishments! Let's get this next challenge started strong!

I'm back! I spent the first week of this challenge in Arizona, helping my mom pack up her house to move. I moved some 200+ boxes. I also managed to work out one time, which was a real drag because the weather was so amazing down there and I would have loved to go for a long desert run or two--but there just wasn't time. In any case, I've been too busy at work and home with a sick kid this weekend to get on NF and come up with any goals. So, like any good thief, I'm going to steal YOURS! From starsapart: Stretch (+3 Dex) 6 days a week of hamstring stretches, at least 5 minutes per day. (Now, here, starsapart goes into doing some splits stretches, which is waaaay beyond my flexibility. So I've modified.) 2 of those 6 days must be >10 minutes. From RogueLibrarian: Diet (+3 Wis) Cook a new recipe once a week. Less cheese. Less starch. More vegetables. (I'll add to this my plan to keep my added sugar down.) From sylph: Pull ups and TTB (Toes To Bar) (+3 STR) 3 sessions each: -TTB can be actual TTB; ground progressions; or other core/hip flexor things -Pull ups are pull ups. (I'm looking to increase to 12 from my current record of 10) Now, for my own goals: Piano (+3 CHA) 4 sessions per week, 30 min min Planning (+3 CON) Post workout plans on Monday, stick to it all week.

GUESS WHO'S BACK! Back to the Monks for a brand new year! W00t! You awesome Martial Warriors remember me as BlackTezca and you may also remember me as a gif-crazy-make-your-browsers-crash-artistic-nutsy-code-MONKey! I have started out my journey in Nerdfitness in my introductory post From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, outlined last years daily struggles in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness and had my final, most violent, uber challenge of 2015 known as BlackTezcas' 7th Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Pumps Up! Now this time I am here with a new inspiration! I want to take on this new challenge, this quicker, fast-paced challenge with the lackadaisical care and ease as the best of the best heroes. A hero who is heroic as a hobby! Which mean that things are fun while adding strength, dexterity, stamina, and all that jazz! I want to ONE PUNCH the crap out of this challenge and begin this brand new year with ultimate power! Thus the theme of this challenge shall be... Watch this show... Not only do I have a theme that is meant to decimate, I am returning to my Monk folks in order to enhance the foundation I have laid out last year and become the amazon hero I was meant to be. I have started out kickboxing which helps with my conditioning and technique and now I want to further my knowledge of Muay Thai beyond the bag and into the (light) sparring ring! I want to work with partners to learn clinching, practice footwork, and (lightly) punch them . Also, Considering it was just the holidays, I want to have my diet strengthened further, as well as get back to enhancing my core and agility. Not only that, but I also need to get my act back together for my art and even add on my novel planning for that! This is needed to enhance my mental agility as well! All this is needed in order to continue my main quest (may change when it comes to tying in Character Creation): My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman I have worked out and lined up my quests and though the format is shorter, I am still gonna tackle my challenge format as I have had before! I really have been working on the challenge format as well through out last year and while the character creation may impact this challenge, it shouldn't impact what I have laid out here. I'm gonna be interested in how to add this as a 'quest' for the character as well as what kind of background I'll give her. Also will give me some ideas for art! Without further delay, here are the first quests of 2016!! Bang Silverfang: Muay Thai Sessions for finesse and technique application Details: I have just started going to Muay Thai classes with Easton to add with my kickboxing classes. Kickboxing is about learning techniques and conditioning, while Muay Thai is about finesse and working with partners in order to practice techniques learned in kickboxing along with gaining advanced knowledge. They also include sparring drills, which are ton of fun. I want to solidify this class as part of my full training and thus I needed to come to Muay Thai at least once a week this challenge. Contingencies: Weather may prevent me from getting to class. In this case, I need to consider and acceptable substitute. Sometimes, the coaches would change up the kickboxing class to be more of a partner/Muy Thai class, so I should be able to count those here as well. Tracking: I'll be tracking the Muay Thai sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Judo, Kickboxing, Martial Arts' for this thread. This thread will also be updated with details of the class. Grading: A for Muay Thai at least 4 times this challenge - 20 exp ( 2 Dex 2 Sta) B for Muay Thai at least 3 times this challenge - 15 exp ( 2 Dex 1 Sta ) C for Muay Thai at least 2 times this challenge - 10 exp ( 2 Dex ) F for all else Genos: Handstand practice for added core stability and diligence Details: I need to get back in the saddle for handstand practice since I have yet to actually reach the handstand last time! Thus time to get back into gear and make this a habit so I can finally each this goal in 2016! Contingencies: None for here. I can strengthen my wrists if I need to do that instead and this is a low impact practice. Tracking: I'll be tracking the handstand practice using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Calisthenics- Light/Moderate' for this thread. This thread will also be updated with details of the practice. Grading: A for Handstand Practice at least 5 to 6 a week - 20 exp ( 1 Dex 2 Str ) B for Handstand Practice at least 3 to 4 a week - 15 exp ( 2 Str ) C for Handstand Practice at least 2 a week - 10 exp ( 1 Str ) F for all else Saitama: 100 gram of protein for an undefeatable hero! Details: I have been okay with upping my protein and have noticed that for the most part, I can hit 100 g of protein. So let's make this a challenge! Let's make sure I consistently hit that protein goal and really fuel my muscles as much as I can. Since its' still winter, I'm not limiting my carbs just yet, but that will be coming up as an idea for Spring. For now, let's EAT ALL THE MEAT!! (and eggs...and yogurt...) Contingencies: None. I should be able to stuff my face with yogurt and protein bars if I need to and while I don't want to go over my calories too much, I'm NOT cutting. Thus the daily amount should not scare me. I need the protein, I need that fuel! Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with extra accountability done here. Grading: A for 100 g of protein 6 to 7 times a week - 25 exp ( 2 Con 1 Wis) B for 100 g of protein 4 to 5 times a week - 20 exp ( 2 Con ) C for 100 g of protein 2 to 3 times a week - 15 exp ( 1 Con ) F for all else Tastumaki aka Terrible Tornado: An Esper uses her mind for power...Empower my mind Details: So as I have planned and mentioned last challenge, I want to start a novel for next year! Though I aim for writing it during NaNoWriMo, I do want to start planning it out using the snow flake method (planning on getting to step 5 here depending). I also have character portraits to draw and will use this novel for inspiration! Here are my character portraits to do: Theresa (done but have a chibi fun image being worked on)Connor (second protagonist)Human 'cattle' escapee who like an older brother figure to the macguffinThe magcuffin character. May hold cure for 'vampirism'Extra Credit: character portraits for Starpuck and Mrs Feanor peeps.Let's hope I get far...without stressing out! Contingencies: I won't be able to keep track of this too much when I'm on ski trips. But while I'm not drawing those trips, I can brainstorm my novel and send ideas to myself through email, or save it on a google doc. Thus still adhering to this quest! Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. I shall also post up WIPs of my work on this thread and I will also count ideas and brainstorming I come up with during my daily status. So ya'll will be here to listen to my ramblings! Grading: A for at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 25 exp ( 2 Wis 2 Cha ) B for at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha ) F for all else Bonus Quest- Speed O Sonic: FASTER FASTER DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!!! Details: It's ski season!! W00t! Time to work on my speed, making cleaner turns, stopping more quickly, and just getting braver on the slopes! This is a seasonal quest and I want to track and reward my efforts for these excursions! Also, gives me a fun fifth quest too! Contingencies: I have rented the places, booked hotels, but sickness is always a possibility. Thus why this is a bonus! I rather be healthy enough to make it down the blue (or even black) runs, then sick and hurt myself. Tracking: I'll be tracking the skiing funtimes using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Downhill Skiing' for this thread. I'll also, of course, be updating this thread with details of my adventures! Grading: A for Skiing this challenge! - 10 exp ( 1 Sta) F for all else This may look like a lot for the first challenge of the year but at the same time, considering all my quests are in chunks (except for the skiing one which is mostly for funsies) this shouldn't be too bad! Maybe not one punchable, but surely worthy of an S-class hero such as myself! Here are some starting fitness measurements: Starting Measurements: Date: 01/04/2015 @ 6:20 am Weight: 129 ***Body Fat***: 21% Waist: 23 Waist @ Navel: 23.5 Hips: 34.5 Neck: 12 Chest: 32 Left Bicep: 10.5 Right Thigh: 16 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 8.5 I'm really looking forward to a new year with my Nerdfitness peeps and to check out all the changes that have added to the rebellion! This may look tough, however, challenges are suppose to be tough in order to be fun and make sure we keep pushing out limits. Not everything can be so easy! Let's go my fellow Monk folks and KICK SOME ASS!!! Let's become... ULTIMATE HEROES!!! (That hopefully won't get bored by being ultimate heroes...)

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

[Dr. Nick voice] Hi, everybody! [/Dr. Nick] I've been an NF lurker for over a year and a half and am finally joining what is surely one of the coolest communities around. I've always considered myself to be some degree of fat/pudgy, and to have man boobs more than pecs. I'd rather be strong than skinny though, and since November I've been slowly but surely working my way up to 4 days/week of working out or skiing. I'm enjoying weightlifting for the numerical progress I can track and seeing muscles pop out for the first time in years, and my 2-3 days/week of skiing lets me utilize those gains to have a lot of fun. I've had my share of chronic and acute injuries in the past, hence my thread title to keep my progress going for the whole 6 week stretch. MAIN QUEST: Ski better than I ever have before and shred at a mountain I've never skied. Once the snow melts, backpack 20 miles/day through any terrain with a full pack load (9 days of food, but still only 30 pounds). SIDE QUEST 1: Eat 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. I've cut a lot of empty calories out of my diet, but I don't want to limit my muscle growth potential. Because eating is easier than writing for me, I need to keep track of it too. Measurement: A = 40 days, B = 30 days, C = 20 days SIDE QUEST 2: Do at least 1 lower body and 2 upper body workouts each week. I can mentally stay dedicated to a cause or goal, but I'm too good at giving up or letting things get in the way of my own desires. This will also be a barometer for staying injury-free. Measurement: A = 6 weeks, B = 5 weeks, C = 4 weeks SIDE QUEST 3: Ski as often as possible. I can claim the drought afflicting my local mountain town can justify skipping out on skiing because conditions aren't perfect, but I really shouldn't when summer is fast approaching. Measurement: A = 16 days, B = 12 days, C = 10 days LIFE QUESTS: Finish 1 nonfiction, 1 fiction, and 1 technical book. Meditate 3 times a week. MOTIVATION: I've never really committed to myself before - I don't know what I'm fully capable of. I have decent genetics and am pretty good at sports, but I want to actually experience the payoff of working toward goals and accomplishing things I never knew I could before. Due to a long history of injuries and being a playing catcher for a dozen years, I won't be surprised if something finally goes and I find out that I need knee or ankle surgery (the last time I had an ankle x-ray after a ski crash, the physician pointed out bone spurs starting to grow). I don't want to hold myself back with excuses any longer.

In the last 4 weeks I've been keeping a regular gym log for the first time in my life. I'm up to 5 weeks in a row of getting to the gym twice a week, and this last week I made it up to 3 trips in a week for the first time ever. I started getting to recording more daily progress with a protein log - tracking everything I eat will be an ultimate goal, but getting my goal of 150g of protein/day is a pretty good head start. Maybe this will expand to recording sleep, reading, studying, and other facets of my life. Who knows? Without further ado, here's my tracking for today: Exercise: OFF - I had an upper body workout and a 10 laps of (mostly) powder turns yesterday Stretching: 2 x 5 minutes Protein: 30g for breakfast (Power Oatmeal), 5g from nuts snacked on throughout my workday, 35g for lunch (salad with chicken and cheese), 40g for dinner (pasta with leftover stew beef), and a final 40g protein shake to round out my 150g

I went skiing this past Sunday and yesterday. Almost all blue/intermediate runs. I did not fall once! I gushed about this on my challenge thread but I am still really happy with my progress. It was such a confidence booster and for the first time I had nothing but solid pure fun going down the mountain. I even hit speeds of 30 to 35 miles per hour going straight down a hill. Fantastic weekend!

Oh, the many reasons excuses I have for falling off the solar sailer. But alas, those no longer matter. Time to get back on it! It is ski season here and I need to get my legs going. Here is my plan for this week! Dawn patrol at least once this week (This means get up at an ungodly hour and hike up a mountain to ski down before going into work). My excuse is my backcountry buddy is currently unemployed and don't want to bother her to wake up so early...BUT seriously, she's stoked to go ski as I would be so this is happening!30+ minutes on bike trainer to keep cardio up for touring and leg endurance going for endless pow turns all winter. [i did this last night ]1 day at climbing gym to keep strength through the winter. (BONUS: Good stability work as well)Out of 7 days in a week, I REALLY should be able to easily do all of these things each week. One week at a time...