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I decided not to pigeonhole myself into another theme and want to weasel my way out halfway through. I figured by keeping it neutral I can use what inspiration I want so long as I maintain discipline. A few things are inspiring me right now: Diablo 4, the Death Wolf from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Remnant 2 archetypes, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Mistborn and Bronze Era Bodybuilders. I realize this is a myriad of different things but collectively it’s keeping me topped off with ample amounts of inspiration. But, anyways, besides allowing this challenge to be more free form, it also allows me to focus on something I’ve wanted to implement since fitness became a part of my life. That is the philosophy of wolflean. If you’re familiar with David Gemmell, one of my favorite authors of all time, he would sometimes describe his warrior characters as being “wolf-lean”. I first discovered this word many, many years ago and the ideal behind it has been burned into my brain ever since. The aesthetic behind the word is apparent but also the mindset and what it takes to become wolflean has always been with me. I’m going to take my inspiration from DCC (Dungeon Crawler Carl) and Remnant 2 archetypes to create a little RPG adventure for myself for the gamifying aspects of this challenge. Let’s start with that: Archetype: Challenger Trait: Strongback Accumulate 500 pull-ups/chin-ups this challenge This equates to 100 pull-ups a week, which is 14.2857143 a day. Let’s round up to 15 Grease-the-groove is the best way to get this done, unless a workout calls for pull-ups or chin-ups. Use 20# weighted vest at least 1x a week Bonus: Complete the Murph WOD with the vest. Damage Perk: Close Quarters 1-2x a week KB complex The whole point is to get in a quality metcon and break a sweat…maybe even second guess my fitness choices. GET. AFTER. IT. Focus on double KB’s This can be done AFTER a workout or on a separate day altogether Team Perk: Intimidating Presence Core Work Daily aka Adamantine Abs I neglect my core more often than I should. Not this challenge. Core must be worked at every workout and on non-training days, I need to spend 3-5min on a core workout. This could be as simple as hollow holds or loaded carries Utility Perk: Powerlifter The focus is SQUATS & BENCH PRESS Back squat, front squat, hack squat – focus on utilizing these 3 Barbell bench press – focus on the getting stronger with bench Wear weight belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps and “proper shoes” *more on these below* Utility Perk: Face of Danger Clean eating and quality sleep Shoot for veggies at least 1x meal a day Generally this isn’t an issue, but it’s nice to put a little pressure on to make it happen every day The goal is: 200g of protein a day. This would be the only macro I would track. Sleep is a whole other monster in itself- but napping and getting to bed ASAP during the work week does wonders. Nap on training days Try and get to bed by 11pm Su-Th These perks are from the archetype: Challenger from Remnant 2. It’s an upcoming souls-like shooter and a sequel to the smash hit, Remnant: From The Ashes. They just released an IGN special showcasing the Gunslinger archetype and on one of the menu screens it shows the Challenger archetype as well. When I saw the names of these I was instantly inspired. According to my source, the Challenger showcase is set to premier sometime soon - possibly in the next week. Now, let's focus on my gym gear. I’m also adding an RPG twist on this and all these items are directly inspired by DCC. I had a LOT of fun coming up with these Current Gear: Heavyweight Title Belt of the Naga Berserker Type: Legendary Weight Belt Description: The Naga Berserker is renowned for its fighting prowess and insane levels of strength. Out of all the Naga subclasses, the Berserker is legendary for its insane constrictive power and consistent winning streak for the Naga Ultra Body Building contest held each Summer. Able to squeeze the life out of a full-grown elephant with ease, the last thing you want to do is tangle with these guys up close (or go head to head with them in a bodybuilding contest). This title belt is made from the thickly shed skin of the winningest Naga Berserker of all time, Sssamuel Gunther Sssullivan the Third, allowing the wearer to retain some of his residual strength. The belt will fasten down with force so take a deep breath, pose like you mean it and become the Peach Daddy you were born to be. Stats: +5 to STR +2 CON Special Ability: Braced Core With Braced Core, the lifter can typically lift about 2-5% more weight. Placebo effect? Maybe. They always say physicality is 87% mental! Embody the spirit of Sssamual Gunther Sssulivan III and GIT GUD, BRO! Those weights aint lifting themselves! When barbell squatting or deadlifting, there’s a 12% chance to hit a PR +1 to INT Once buckled, the lifter is granted a temporary buff called: Sssmart Lifter Sssmart Lifter activates for the duration of the working set. This seemingly small buff reminds the lifter of all the times they haven’t used a weight belt and the injuries that followed. Way to go, dummy! On the plus side, this buff gives you a 50% boost in confidence immediately thereafter. This increases an additional 15% if you flex on ‘em. Bonus Buff: Berserker Mode If paired with rock music, there is an additional 5% chance to hit a PR. Chance to break out in an air guitar solo equals 100%! Enchanted Azure Knee Sleeves of the Rickety Bone Mage Type: Epic Knee Sleeves Description: Bone Mages, while very powerful and deadly, are one hit away from becoming a pile of dusty bones. Most bone mages wear protective cloaks, light armor and dope up on copious amounts of vitamin D3 to ensure their precious skeletons stay together without tendons and muscle. Well placed knee sleeves while carrying the whole team on their back ensures a couple more seconds in the fight and prevents early onset of Osteoporosis. You’re still a glass cannon but maybe now you’re closer to bullet proof glass! Stats: +2 to CON Special Ability: Ass-to-Grass When you slide these knee sleeves on you have a 33% chance to get ass-to-grass on your barbell squats. Knee popping may be a thing, but nothing says “deep squat” like when your juicy, marshmallow butt hits your calf muscle. Bonus Buff: Lawn Mower If you manage to go ass-to-grass on an entire set then there is a 80% chance your next set mimics the last. All reps on the previous set must be lower than 90 degrees. How loooooow can you go?! Obsidian Wrist Wraps of the Master Assassin Type: Legendary Wrist Wraps Description: Whether striking from the shadows with a well placed knife to the spine or vaulting on rooftops like your Ezio Auditore, master assassins have been stalking their prey for centuries. These wraps don’t just protect your wimpy little wrist joints - they solidify them! Stabbing unsuspecting foes in the back is hard work, ya know?! Also, they just look cool as hell. Throw up your cloak hood and sharpen your hidden daggers cuz shit’s about to get messy. Stats: +4 to DEX +2 to STR Special Ability: Gym Reaper Once these wraps are synched tight you all of a sudden feel like the baddest motherfucker on the planet. Nothing can stop you. Especially exercises that require the use of wrist wraps, like: the bench press. You gain a 90% boost on your arm durability and stability for the duration of your workout. You also increase your likelihood of not needing a spotter by 6%. But, who are we kidding - you should use one anyways! Situational Buff: Commander Taggart Special When performing reps of 5 or lower, you have a 55% chance to bare your teeth and dig yourself out of the hole when things get heavy and difficult. Never give up, never surrender! However, if you bounce the barbell off your chest to get the rep then that % drops to 5%. Bonus Buff: It’s a Wrap! Every time you re-tighten these wraps there’s a 20% chance that your recovery time receives a boost. It starts at 1% and works its way up to 5% for a total of 5 stacks. If you manage to get to 5 stacks, then lactic acid has no effect on you….at least until the next day. I never said this would cure DOMS! T-800 Terminator Hi-Tops Type: Unique Item Note: You can only have 1x unique item equipped at a time. Description: Come with me if you want to live. Introduced in 1985 (and just a year after The Terminator hit theaters), the Nike Terminator’s were the first signature shoes introduced to a specific college basketball team: the Georgetown Hoyas. These unique hi-top sneakers offer a myriad of benefits, including saving John Connor and sometimes trying to hunt him down depending on what timeline. Either way, Skynet has a back-up plan and showing up naked through a time portal is priority #1! Like well built killing machines, these sneakers give you the ability that seemingly reinforces all the bones in your body, making you nearly indestructible. When paired with lifts like squats and deadlifts, The T-800’s are absolute tanks and offer a unique skill unlike any other sneaker out there. So, flip-trick your sawed off shotgun like the badass you are and let Cyberdyne Systems know who’s boss: Hasta la vista, baby! Stats: +2 Vertical Jump +1 Speed +1 Agility +1 Ankle support +2 Squats Special Ability: I’ll be Back! When active, you gain a 5% strength bonus when performing Back Squats and a 2% strength bonus to ALL back exercises. If you go 3+ or more sets of Back Squats, there’s a 20% chance to activate a buff called: WD40. This buff essentially loosens up your joints, specifically your hips so you can get lower with each rep and hit a squat groove that would make Shakira jealous. As you know, these hips don’t lie. Unique Skill: Weed Wacker When wearing these shoes and squatting, your chance to activate the special ability Ass-to-Grass is increased by 25%. If you are already wearing an item that has this skill then the overall chance of activation is an additional 30%. You might as well start up your own lawn service after this! Unique Skill: Neural Net Processor CPU With this unique skill, you are able to learn, assess and reassess your form with different ways to tweak your lifts to your benefit and advantage. This ability to “learn” and prevent bad habits is huge as a seasoned lifter. This is a passive ability and is always active so long as you are wearing these shoes. This automatically garners a: +1 Squat +1 Bench +1 Deadlift +1 Olympic Lifts +1 Overhead Press Battle Armor of the Fallen War Hero Type: Celestial Weight Vest Description: The WOD known as “Murph” is legendary in its own right. Named after the fallen war hero, Michael Murphy, “Murph” was the epitome of courage and selflessness. You only WISH you could be as badass as him. In honor of this brave soldier, anyone wearing a 5.11 Weighted Vest has a 5% for the piece of gear to be legendary status or higher. Those bastards lucky enough to get a celestial type are in the 1% of the population. However, the celestial perks on this chest rig only works when performing the “Murph” WOD. But, if the “Murph” WOD is done with this vest, it unlocks a vast amount of abilities for 29 hours after the workout is completed. Outside of that, the perks are standard and downright basic. #EmbraceTheSuck #ThankYouMichaelMurphy Stats: +1 Pull-ups +1 to Rucking +1 Grip Strength When “The Murph” ability is active. *Note: these perks, skills and abilities only activate on the completion of the “Murph” WOD using this vest. These advantages only last for 29 hours.* +2 STR +2 END +3 to Push-ups +3 to Pull-ups +3 to Squats 50% boost to confidence 50% boost to sleep recovery 100% boost to “sense of accomplishment” Special Ability: Honor thy Fallen When completing the “Murph” WOD, you gain a sense of pride and integrity that wasn’t there before. If you think this workout was hard then try to remember those that have fought bravely for your nation and sacrificed themselves so you could remain free. Do NOT take this lightly. The DOMS you feel are only a small reminder but upon completion of this workout, there’s a 14% chance you recover 14% faster than you normally would. Special Ability: One in the Tank After completing this workout, there’s a 5% chance the next time you do this workout that you’ll gain a fraction of the perks that are only active when the WOD is already completed. This could easily garner a better overall time each time you decide to do the “Murph” WOD if you’re smart about it and keep up the consistency. Special Bonus Buff: Inspire the Masses No one should go in alone and when completing the Murph, or upon full completion, there is a 60% chance that your hard work inspires others to join you. It’s much easier to have a teammate encourage you to keep going than the negative self-talk sabotage that happens when you're flying solo. BRCC Black Multicam Snapback/Warrior Poet Black Multicam Snapback Type: Rare Description: Nothing super special about these hats. They do what they are supposed to do: keep the sun out of your eyes and the hair out of your face. If you’re one of those guys who can pull-off a backwards hat, then kudos to you. Women find it sexy! But my guess is…you’re not one of those lucky few. Sorry, Charlie! Stats: +4 to “Keeping Hair out of Face” +2 to “Keeping Sun of of Eyes” Bonus Buff: Flip it in Reverse If you look good wearing a cap backwards then you are rewarded with a 35% chance to activate the Billy Badass buff. This ability gives you a +1 STR when performing sets of 3 or more on any exercise. All this to say, guys and gals: I'm letting my creative freak flag fly. For the most part, the perks, numbers and % don't really mean a whole lot. I will try and incorporate all the gear stats into my workout write-ups just to satiate my creativity and keep me engaged, though. Thanks for reading through everything if you made it this far! Time to kick ass on another 5-weeks! *BONUS CONTENT* Half way through this challenge, I will implement what's called: A Challenge Respec. This allows me to re-allocate my skills and goals in a way that I see fit and/or benefits me in the long run. Chances are, I will activate my "Mistborn Themed Challenge". This isn't necessarily here to make @Elastigirl happy, but I'm sure she'll appreciate it either way . Wolf

Hi hey howdy ever-body! Hope you're doing all right. I'm sorry I didn't step up sooner, but after last challenge, I didn't really know where to go. I know I wanted to do another challenge, but everything had got so well locked in place at the end that I didn't really know what to do. I wanted to take some time, if not to think, then to observe and consider, and try to figure out what next steps were necessary, if any. It took all week for me to figure out where I wanted to go next. Basically, things didn't stumble into clicking just right until I made a point of scheduling things. I responded well to that - swings every hour actually turned out to be a good way to break up the day and get my other training done. I'm pleased to report that it hasn't caused me to hurt worse. If anything, I'm feeling better. I want to keep that going, and with diet and exercise mostly under control, it's time to turn to sleep and mental stuff. Goal 1: Honor My Bedtime Basically, I want to start getting more sleep. I know I do better when I have a concrete bedtime, but for too long I've been letting it be dictated by my waking time. I want to break that if I can. Bedtime for me is most realistically 01:55 for now. Further edits to be made as needed but for now, let's start with something that'll be easy for me to keep. Goal 2: Wim Hof Method This is a breathing technique by Wim "The Iceman" Hof, a famed figure for feats of inhuman endurance. I've done this before with good results, and I want to get back to it. Goal is to actually take my lunch break (since I'm writing first thing in the morning, still making sure that's locked in) and to go do my practice. It's not exactly lengthy work or anything, but it'll take long enough that doing it in the morning would be prohibitive. Goal 3: Meditate Want to come back to this again. I'm a better me when I do this. So! Goal is to do this at the end of the working day. It fits in well there when I've done it before; the reason I haven't been is because I've been too wrapped up in trying to get other stuff done. Gonna start at 1:00 per day for the first week and add a minute per week. And that should do it, I think. Sci Fi got moved to Tuesday Nights, which in the long run is good for me because when I'm cleared to get back on the mats again, the MMA place will be having strike work on Wednesdays, so it'll be nice to have that time open. That's the way it's gonna be. Today's goals will be something of a wash on account of just really only having crystallized this stuff in the past 20 minutes, but what can you do? BTW, quick shoutouts to @Tanktimus the Encourager, @Rurik Harrgath, @Mistr, @WhiteGhost, @Treva, @Kyellan and anyone else I missed for stopping by last challenge to cheer me on. I appreciate the work as always, although I'm not always good at saying so. Let's get to it.

Goals: 1. Eat breakfast at home daily This seems like it would be easy, but I live next to a Tim Horton's and I'm a weak bitch for iced capps. 2. 2 am bedtime As it stands I don't get enough sleep, I nap constantly and am always tired and if you check the timestamp on this post, it's a little around 4:30 am right now... 3. Yoga once a week I'm not as bendy as I used to be and it's making it harder to do things like tie my shoes, do my job and move in simple ways. Also, decent way to workout that doesn't really mess up my feet more than they already are. I've been terrible at finishing challenges and have ghosted everyone here multiple times. I've got a clue as to why and since it's a bit dark and very likely triggering as all get out it's behind a spoiler tag. A few things that have happened in the last month of 2020: My girlfriend could have died early this month when a large stone in her gallbladder started to shred it's way through her gallbladder at the start of the month. Her surgeon said it was falling apart from the inside out as he was removing it. If she had waited to sort out her sleep apnea before getting her surgery like she was supposed to it might have ruptured. Oh, and she's got the worst case of sleep apnea the entire sleep lab had ever seen. I've been telling her that she has apnea for like 8 years so HA! Called it! On a happier note, I feel like I won Christmas this year for my nieces. Aunt Leigh kicked ass by finding a gigantic dragon squishmallow and mermaid hightops for my niece Blake and gifting my entire Harry Potter book collection to her older sister Olivia. There's even a cute video of Blake losing her tiny 4 year old mind over the squishmallow, screaming at the top of her lungs, slamming the poor dragon onto the floor and literally belly flopping onto it on the floor. It's adorable. And to end off my post, I'm turning 36 on February 1st, right near the end of this first challenge. If anyone wants to get me something, I like memes, and you can post 'em here, or ask me for my phone number if you want to send them directly and get random ones back here and there.

Last challenge was yet another in the long line of fails I have had as of late. Hell, as of the last year even. That all changes here! At least I certainly hope so haha I have done cold turkey style in the past. and it seemed to work for me. A few times I have tried baby step it. Sometimes that works too. Really though, I feel fed up. I'm ready to get this going, so I'm mostly just going cold turkey. Goal#1 - Full on Keto, Tracking, and Fasting I've prepped a bit over the last week to make sure I get things setup to go full keto starting tomorrow. I'm not worried about calories so much, but I want to make sure to track carbs. I'm also going back into intermittent fasting. Week 0 I think 16/8 works nice. I'd actually like to try a longer fast first week. Like 72 hours or more. 9 points (3 each) per day 63 points per week. Goal#2 - Reading and sleeping I haven't read in awhile, and many bedtimes have ranged in the 3-4:30 am range. Add on I go to bed, then sit there not sleeping forever. So let's get this started up again. I need to get this sleep schedule going. Plus I'll sleep better as I lose wait again haha. The one night I will be up a bit later is Saturday night. I just need to get to bed asap there. 11 PM, off the computer to get reading. Get myself headed to be by 12. Eventually, I will move the times up, but this is good for now. Saturday's, I'll ready for 15-30 minutes, then hit the sack. Still should be close to 12. 4 points total per day. 28 per week. Goal#3 - Move that body This whole quarantine I have done diddly squat for any kind of exercise. Actually, I did do one small walk around my apartment complex last challenge. Man, I can tell just how out of shape I have become. bringing in groceries has been my workout ever couple of weeks or so haha. My plan is to walk every day. I'm not jumping into 10k steps right away. I want to start off with at least one walk in the morning around the complex. I'm also in need of doing some workouts. 3 times a week. No gym. I have some dumbbells here at home I can use. There are also so many body weight workouts that can be done. Eventually, I will get the weight down enough that I can get to use my rings and pullup bars for things too 5 points per day for walking. 35 points per week. 10 points per day of workouts. 3 workouts each week 30 points total. 65 points per week Goal#4 - Chores and more I'm stuck at home, why not actually get some chores done. There is plenty of things I can do. Spend at least 15 minutes doing chores. Check the dishes each day. Clean out the cat box each day. Start going though my boxes of cards and computers things. Get rid of all the things I don't need. Maybe I can get my stuff all cleaned through, then I can put together my lego sets that have been sitting here on the sidelines. 5 points per day. 35 points per week. Side Goal - Take 10 minutes to myself everyday I thought of getting some meditation in or some kind of mental health time in on this challenge. The apartment is packed full of actiity now with us all in stay atr hoem oprders. The youngest has zoom meetings with his classmates to do some distance learning, wife is also working at home and in meetings and such. I think part of why I have been staying up so late at night, is because it is that me time. Granted all day really is me time, but everyone is just around. Walking will help me a bit with this, but I think I just need to give myself 10 minutes each day. Lock myself in a bathroom or whatever. Sit, reflect, maybe practice a little meditation to help center myself. No points, just somethign I thought to toss in here last minute I'm going to need to make sure I start checking back in here as well. Maybe I need to restart posting in my Blog. Maybe even do it video style on Youtube. Overall, check in here and check out all the stuff with Nerdfitness prime. Things to help keep me in check. I really want this to be the restart I need to get me back on the path to reaching my future goals. I need to be getting that pull up done. I want to run again. Eventually, getting to 10k or 15k distance. I want to get close to that onederland weight level. I think that 185 - 200 lbs is the range I would probably be good at. BMI I think want me at a max of 165. I can't even imagine how I would look if I went for that weight. Points Week 1 (05/10 - 05/16) - 0/191 Week 2 (05/17 - 05/23) - 0/191 Week 3 (05/24 - 05/30) - 0/191 Week 4 (05/31 - 06/06) - 0/191 Week 5 (06/07 - 06/13) - 0/191 Total Challenge Points - 0/955 Measurements: (Week 0 / End of Challenge) Chest - 56.49 in / Waist - 61.73 i n/ Bicep (L) - 17.12 in / Bicep (R) - 16.33 in / Thigh (L) - 29.96 in / Thigh (R) - 29.37 in / Weight - 368.7 lbs /

So I've been hiding on the Ahch-To island again... It's not that I neglected fitness altogether (I actually ran several races and maintained running and strength training continuity), it's just that the exams and family life squeezed out posting on the forum. BUT what also got quite squeezed out is sleeping and devotions at the start of the day (as a consequence of the former). In the last 3 months, only 8 times did I sleep 8h or more (that's less than once for every 10 days) - and the avg sleep time for the same period is 6h 23 min. I thought I could get away with it, but recently I noticed my running performance deteriorating and I feel my energy levels are really low. Time to get myself accountable again. So I'm officially starting the Quest to Rise with Full Strength with a motto: "One must first lay low in order to rise." Though I must maintain my running and strength training continuity and have another race in 6 days (my first swimrun), I won't be bothering with formalizing it as goals (as it already became my habit). Instead, my goals will be radically minimalist: Subquest 1: go to bed before 23:30, and eyes closed before midnight -> 2 CON Subquest 2: start the day with devotions (Scripture study, meditation and prayer) -> 1 WIS + 1 CHA P.S. If you want to connect with me on Strava, I'd love to keep up with you guys there too.

After succeeding in a respawn challenge, Skywalker is determined to make this reboot last. It won't be easy, as one more intensive course week and several due dates for writing assignments are awaiting. So, the challenge will be realistic and simple. Keep successfully doing what works, and keep working on that which wasn't successfully done in the previous challenge. AND I'm adding a study-related one, just in case. Subquest 1: start the day with devotions (Scripture study, meditation and prayer) -> 1 WIS + 1 CHA Subquest 2: do at least >7000 steps/day -> 1 STA Subquest 3: completely cut all unintentional time on the internet (entertainment, news, social media, etc.) and spend it on research/writing instead -> 1 WIS Subquest 4: go to sleep before midnight -> 2 CON Subquest 5: run at least 2x/week (1x long run + 1x tempo run) -> 1 STA + 1 DEX Subquest 6: lift 2x/week -> 2 STR So... I'm ready to step into the larger world once again.

Do you find that you constantly fall asleep during meditation? Share your advice, experiences, questions, and challenges in here. Just don't disturb those who are already sleeping.

It's good to be back in the Rebellion! I got some pretty ok results in the first three challenges (#1, #2, #3), then unexpectedly moved to UK for postgraduate studies (take-it-or-leave-it scholarship thing) and coped with the adaptation, work, study and family balance during the autumn term, running and lifting only very occasionally, while ditching my daily walks altogether. In Nov, I failed a respawn challenge. In sum, I let Darth Paunch punch me too much (fueled by the Galactic Writing Assignments Empire). All in all, I threw that lightsaber behind way too many times. It comes to an end. In the latter part of January (original time of the year when I left the Mordor realm of inactivity in 2018), I resumed my running and lifting routine, though I'm still in the process of gearing up. I got myself a new fitness tracker (Huawei Band 3 Pro - for £58 on Amazon Warehouse) with GPS and swimming mode, which adds to motivation (I detest carrying my phone on runs - and this band tracks runs with GPS, showing the pace, distance ran and heart BPM on its own screen in real time, which I always wanted; also, I plan to subscribe to a swimming pool as soon as my academic year ends). Here's the new beauty: And here are some pictures from today's walk around Binfield (finally found some kinda hilly paths which resemble the hills of Maruševec in Croatia that I quite miss): So at this point, I'm pretty optimistic. However, I need to temper it with realism. First, the challenge reports will have to be Twitter-style - nowhere near like this introductory post (took me over an hour!). I made an Accountabilities Twitter-style thread during the failed respawn challenge, but there weren't any posters beside me, so I will not double it, but instead am branding this challenge as an "abridged-posting mode" one. Thus, both my goals and posts will be simple. Also, the following two weeks I have an intensive course, which means my goals during that time will be a smaller bite. So here it is: Subquest 1: walk >4000 daily steps during first two weeks and >8000 daily steps during second two weeks -> 2 STA Subquest 2: run 1x/week during first two weeks and 2x/week during second two weeks -> 1 STA + 1 DEX Subquest 3: lift 1x/week during first two weeks and 2x/week during second two weeks -> 2 STR Subquest 4: go to sleep before midnight -> 2 CON Subquest 5: start the day with devotions (Scripture study, meditation and prayer) -> 1 WIS + 1 CHA Give me that lightsaber alright! P.S. looking forward to the end of the academic year, when I'll be able to hang out with you much more! Wishing all of you a rocking 4WC!

I had a rather succesful challenge, so let's keep the pace going. Just a heads up, I probably won't be very active. This means I probably won't be visting other people's threads. I will have a hard time to keep updating my own I think. Background info Statistics Long term goals Goals for this challenge I fast for at least 14h a day At least 2 days a week I fast for 16h At least 5 days a week I follow a meal plan (breakfast & lunch) Bread with cheese + handful of nuts (or healthy replacement) Bread with cheese + strawberry cottage cheese (or healthy replacement) At least 5 days a week I sleep 7.5 hours -> turning in at alarms At least 2 days a week I cycle Tuesdays: training rides Weekends: tours At least 1 day a week I walk Bonus goals Replace 1 slice of bread with vegetables/protein Go from 3 meals to 2 meals Track kcal intake and adjust as needed At least 1h a week I play AC Unity Progress 13 augustus - 9 september 2018 Goal # per week 0 1 2 3 4 Total % 14h fast 7 2 2 6% 16h fast 2 1 1 10% Meal Plan 5 1 1 4% Sleep 7.5h 5 3 3 12% Cycling 2 1 1 10% Walking 1 0 0 0% AC Unity 1 0 0 0%

Scalyfreak slowly creeps up against the large of the big building that claims to be a “guild hall” for “warriors” and peeks in through a window. It’s very bright in there. Lots of lights and a welcoming fireplace. Lots of people too, who seem to have a great time doing whatever it is they are doing… lots of lifting with barbells? And is that a water cooler in the corner? Scalyfreak thinks this looks like a good place to stop for a while, and is just about to enter, when she notices that the demon twins who follow her everywhere, are peeking in through another window. “I don’t like this place”, Procrastination whines. “No one here likes me.” “You’re a selfish and sabotaging bitch, no one ever likes you,” Scalyfreak mutters, while thinking to herself that if Procrastination dislikes this place, that’s another good reason to settle down here for a while. Self-Indulgence says nothing, as usual, though the large buffet table laden with food is making her purr a little. Tired, irritated, and thoroughly fed up with lots of things at this current stage of her fitness journey, Scalyfreak decides to stop caring about her annoying entourage for a while. She leaves the demons by their window, walks around to the front door, and pushes it open. ...and thus begins the third challenge. First off, hi everyone! *waves* Ignore the two, um, “things”, that follow me around everywhere and whisper to me non-stop. I promise they’re completely harmless to everyone except me, and the less attention we give them, the better. For this period’s challenges, I need to start broadening my scope a little bit. Challenge two was really nothing but an extension of the first challenge, in large part because I started up the first one halfway through that challenge period. Of course, broadened scope needs to happen with the overall quest objective firmly in mind: Defeat Procrastination and Self-Indulgence. In order to win this boss fight, I need to do the following things: 1. Continue with all good habits formed through previous challenges Walk every day (with the Loyal Sidekick) Not drink soda Go to the gym three times a week and do some form of light activity on off days (preferably yoga) 2. Stay with Stronglifts Due to an unexpected and highly inconvenient knee injury, this goal is on hiatus for the foreseeable future. This is going to be both easy and challenging to do. Stronglifts takes all the hard work before and after the workout out of it. I don’t even had to think about it (except to do plate math), I just go to the gym and do what the app tells me to do. This makes it incredibly easy even on stressed or tired days when I really don’t feel like putting in any effort at all. The struggle is that the lifts themselves are a bit of a struggle. Progress is slow, and based on struggles with form and the lifting itself, I feel like it’s trying to progress faster than my body is on board with. I’m trying to at least partially address this in the next two goals. 3. Continue cutting liquid calories from my life. I have stopped with the sodas. Now, it’s time to look at the rest of the calorie-filled drinks around me – fruit juice, coffee drinks, and of course the wine and whiskies. All of these need to go. I already drink my coffee black at home, but it’s probably a bad sign that every employee at my local coffee shop know my name, and that I always ask for soy milk in my chocolate lavender latte. I probably don’t need to have wine with dinner several times a week just because I want to, (it makes dinner so much better!) and I know for a fact it’s possible to enjoy both books and video games without a single malt nearby for sipping. All these habits will be firmly broken, and once they are, they will be reintroduced as special occasion treats, since it is much easier for me to do it that way than to gradually cut back. And for someone who never talks, Self-Indulgence has a very shrill voice when she starts yelling and screaming... 4. Become Sleeping Beauty. Not this one: This one: Just so we're clear. I have noticed that lifting is much easier (and more enjoyable!) when I get a good night's sleep before doing it. Unfortunately, sleeping isn’t really something I prioritize and even when I do it never seems to happen anyway. A part of that is my insomniac tendencies, another part is that it’s never really been important to me before. I can function perfectly well on 4-5 hours per night and there was never a reason to change that. Until I started actually pushing myself at the gym and my body suddenly developed a genuine need for more sleep as a result. In order to meet this particular goal I will need to figure out what exactly I’m going to de-prioritize or drop in order to free up at least three hours in the evening for going to bed and sleeping. I also need to set a sleep schedule, so both my mind and my body can learn a new routine, and make it possible for me to actually sleep. I actively avoid going to bed early because all that leads to is tossing and turning for at least two boring hours before my brain stops spinning and even contemplates sleeping. (That in itself is incentive to stay up late, by the way.) My Fitbit claims to have tools that can help with this. I will investigate them and learn how to use them. Meditation might help with the brain spinning as well. Another thing to investigate… 5. Fifth and last goal: Unfuck Dragon Mountain (My room is my dragon cave, because "woman cave" sounds stupid, so obviously the house the room is in, must be a dragon mountain. It all makes sense.) And while it’s not really a horrible a mess, it's kind of cluttered and there are areas of concentrated messiness, largely because we both hate doing household chores. Using the philosophy and methods of Unfuck Your Habitat, I will start making my home less messy and more relaxing, one 20-minute challenge at a time. I am still fuzzy on the details, since I still need to fit in gym visits and set a bed time, but I am excited to make it nicer around here. Ahem. Apologies for the Great Wall of Text. If you made it all the way to the end, thank you. Good to meet you.

Logic. Foresight. Maturity. These are basic qualities I would like to focus on this challenge. In line with these qualities, I would like to be in bed every night before 10:30 pm on weekdays, and 11 pm on weekends. Good sleep is queen! Also, I would like with stick to the marathon training schedule, continue tracking food on MFP, and keep up with trail running every week.

Still working on getting the habits and routines into place that will help me reach my goals. Thus, what is possibly the least exciting challenge ever... My only recourse is to spice up my thread with quokkas. Goal #1: Daily Morning Routine 5AM wakeup (7AM weekends) Meditate (preferably at least 10min) with Calm app Journal/pray Mobility? Sun salutations? Pack breakfast and lunch (weekdays) Goal #2: Daily Evening Routine Get connected NF, post on my thread +2 others At least one row of my current afghan project Throw away or to-donate 5 items Chores 15min Update bullet journal Read in bed Bed by 9pm Lights off 9:30pm Goal #3: Get a handle on the eating thing Limit alcohol to 1 day/week Decide on and implement a plan for variances, specifically free food/drink work events - doesn't have to work, just have to try something Meal prep on weekends: breakfast protein, lunch protein, 2 veggies "Get connected" is to offset my introvert homebody tendencies. Meeting anybody for anything counts. Going out with fiance counts (if it feels like a date....the grocery store doesn't count lol). Setting up a future date counts. Sending a spontaneous text/letter/email to a friend or family member counts. Basically, any action to engage with people other than hanging out with fiance at home counts. Shockingly enough, I'm actually working out consistently these days. Currently working on completing the 'Intense challenge', which is 10 spin classes in 21 days - to earn a free month of spin. After that free month is up I'll probably shift gears (he. hehe.). As the weather warms up, would like to do more running and Spartan WO's. So I'm not making an exercise-related challenge goal because...it's happening anyways. In 5 weeks, I will be headed to Maui for vacation! Terrifyingly, I will be with my slimmer sisters in bikini-land. Ideally I would be able to just be confident and not compare but, *sigh* I am only human. My anxiety is mostly overwhelmed by excitement for beaches and warmth and freedom and pineapple. I will load up my Kindle and prepare for major relaxation mixed with active fun (hiking, snorkeling, possible surfing lesson). 5 full days in paradise (bookended by a day of travel on either end), here I come!

Yeaaaah, I don't have a theme this time. I wanted to see what that's like. So! My last challenge was working well, but stuff was getting too complicated, so I'm keeping the stuff that works and changing the stuff that was stressing me out. What's working: - The lifts. You just can't keep me out of the gym. I hardly even need motivation. I love going. I'm not tweaking the program further at this time. It's still working great. I am experiencing the itch to try new things, but currently waiting it out and just eyeballing other programs for possible later experimentation. May tweak OHP training if it comes to a deload in this challenge, but I might not be there yet with it. - The protein. I'm managing to hit my targets and have back up plans for off kilter days where my macros get screwed up. No problems here. - The mobility. This has a real impact on the quality of my workouts, and I've gotten more flexible. No changes needed. What needs work: - Calorie goals. I keep pretty meticulous data and I know my TDEE is roughly 1600 right now. I regularly set this limit and overshoot it by 100+, except for rare weeks. I haven't been grading poorly for overshooting, but I've gained noticeable fat and probably need to rein this in before I get too unhappy about it, and especially before I need to wardrobe shop. If I'm going to buy new clothes for a new body, it's going to be for muscley muscles, not growing saddlebags. I think short mini-cuts might work well for me (as opposed to a longer term cut to lean out all at once), and I'm going to start incorporating them infrequently to help keep a Real Cut at bay. What's a mini-cut to me? 4 weeks of a 250 calorie deficit, done on a weekly average. Fail or succeed, 4 weeks is the limit. (Yes, I know I said I wasn't cutting, but I just ate an extra pound's worth in birthday food, and this I feel is a pretty decent compromise.) A successful mini-cut SHOULD result in a loss of 2 lbs total. Very gentle. - Adulting goals. The points system was good, but I was starting to fret about always logging whatever little chore I was doing for points. I was frequently forgetting to add or subtract. It worked well to get me off my butt and was kind of a fun way to balance play with being productive, but it needs some simplification for reals. - Being active. I'm too sedentary. Desk job, hobbies that all involve sitting down, I'd like to get my body moving more. Doesn't matter what it is. I've already been trying to raise my activity separate from my previous goals, but I'm going to add it in and make it official. (Yes, the TDEE estimation is taking this into account.) FUEL 1.0 Weekly calorie goal, weeks 1-3: 1350. Mini-cut is actually starting in week 0, so week 4 will have a goal of 1500-1650, with a little more emphasis on not going over since I do have trouble there. 1.1 Protein goal of 95g per day. (Keeping the one day of leeway indefinitely.) 1.2 4 days a week where sugary/salty snack treats do not exceed 200 calories. (no change here) Note: I've removed the diet soda goal because it's in the bag now, I don't need it anymore. I also removed the one super good day goal b/c I don't really think I care enough and feel the simple limit on daily indulgence is more than fine for my goals. DRIVE 2.0 Keep lifting, stick to the program, 4 days a week. 2.1 Attend Strongwoman class weekly 2.2 10k steps a day as an average over the week MOVING PARTS 3.0 Keep rolling/stretching/etc 6 days a week, 15 minutes. BURPEE MADNESS 4.0 Instead of points, burpees, with a set list of things that will make me owe burpees. The idea isn't to fully discourage the things below, only to get more balance between these things I do by default and things I'd like to do more of but need more motivation (clean things, study, eat a little better) 1 hour video games or solo TV watching = 15 burpees, or 8 push up burpees Failed to study = 20 burpees, or 12 push up burpees 1 alcoholic drink = 15 burpees, or 8 push up burpees >200 calorie treats (think big sugar bombs or savory salty snack bombs) = 20 burpees, or 12 push up burpees Total lack of productivity = 20 burpees, or 12 push up burpees Didn't eat a single vegetable all day = 10 burpees (no substitutions) (Look, @Koaladle, I'm including a sort of veggie goal!) More notes: 11/2 is my nerdiversary and I'm planning to do a big write-up with happy words and some analysis of the journey so far~ Scoring format: 1.0 0/1, 0/1, 0/1, 0/1 1.1 0/7, 0/7, 0/7, 0/7 1.2 0/4, 0/4, 0/4, 0/4 2.0 0/4, 0/4, 0/4, 0/4 2.1 0/1, 0/1, 0/1, 0/1 2.2 0/1, 0/1, 0/1, 0/1 3.0 0/7, 0/7, 0/7, 0/7 Burpees paid: Burpees debt:

I'm BACK BITCHES! I had to take a bit of a break. See a lot of stuff was going on with work has I have whined about before and as some of you may know, I have been hit with major fatigue and continuous low-level nausea due to the success of the cloning project! The experiment was a success!! Which presented itself with its' own challenges. Now that I am adjusted I am also ready to go on my own adventure! I started out from humble roots in my introduction From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, did a few side quests and explored some back alleys in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness and have completed one major quest in BlackTezca's 11th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon becomes a Badass Retro Agent of the SSR! only to get lost in a sprawling dungeon during BlackTezca's 12th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon Brings Destruction to the Silver Millennium so it can be Reborn Anew. That just means it's time to come back stronger than ever. Especially now that there is another person residing inside me! Hopefully not like that! Though I have been going through a lot changes, especially physically, my goals have not changed. I want to get back into the swing of things in order aim for my main quest as well as be a good role model for the future clone! This challenge is not only to help me come back and respawning back into my usual awesome crazy self that will be responsible for raising someone even more AWESOME than me! This challenge is to help me onward to my main quest...and we all know which quest that is... My Main Quest to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Now lets' introduce ourselves to the inspiration for this month! I'm sure some of you have heard of undertale and also heard of the awesome story, characters in the game! What else is awesome is the FANTASTIC music which you will be hearing a lot of this month! I may even have the weekly summaries and start and end on an awesome song! Before we get into that, I did mention some awesome characters so here they are!! Undyne is on a strict regime of suplexing boulders. Details: Undyne is a badass. She is strong, buff, a good fighter and hilarious. Essentially is the ultimate anime hero. I'd like to be more like her and while I'm no where near suplexing boulder levels and I'm taking it easier than usually do, I still need to keep up a good habit of working out! Maybe not as much as previously, but enough to get buff and strong like my awesome Undyne!! 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 Working out for at least 30 minutes 3 to 4 days a week ( 25 pt - 2 Sta 2 Str 1 Dex) B for Working out for at least 30 minutes 2 days a week( 20 pts - 1 Sta 2 Str 1 Dex) F for all else Papyrus wants to become a member of the Royal Guard! Details: Simple quest with a simple goal: get my ass back to Easton. Been gone out of there for too long. I'd like to go there at least once a week. Hopefully more. Problem is that they have cancelled morning classes...Still should be able to make kickboxing in the afternoons and Muay Thai sometime! Contingencies: Sickness, vacation and any nausea from clone habitat building. Should be all right though! We'll see! 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 once a week! ( 10 pt - 1 Dex) F for all else Alphys is keep strict records of her success...and her failures Details: Hey you know what I have not been doing as well? Tracking. I have not been tracking my food intake. At all. Lets' get back into the habit. Seriously. I'm not gonna be too hard on what I eat, but I know if I track it'll also help me make healthier decisions since I have been admittedly giving no fucks with food. So...I need to give a few more fucks. I shall find the fucks I need to give. Contingencies: Phone does like my myfitnesspal anymore. However, I can still track with a tablet and my computer. As well trust my trust memory!Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well (with total calories and some food descriptions. Good and bad).Grading: A tracking 25 to 28 days - 25 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Con )B tracking 22 to 24 days - 20 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Con ) C tracking 20 to 22 days - 15 exp ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Sans maybe lazy, but if you're on the wrong path you're gonna have a bad time... Details: SLEEP CHALLENGE! AND WAKE UP CHALLENGE!!! I need to make sure I get plenty of sleepy ( at least 7 hours) and I also need to get up when my alarm tells me too! Contingencies: Mostly caring about weekdays and non vacation days here.Tracking: Fitbit keeps me honest and I shall track here!Grading: A for good sleep and waking up 15 to 17 days of challenge - 20 exp ( 1 Wis 2 Con )B for good sleep and waking up 13 to 14 days of challenge - 15 exp ( 2 Con ) C for good sleep and waking up 12 days of challenge - 10 exp ( 1 Con ) F for all else Mettaton EX is gonna bring back some GLAMOR into my life! Details: Mettaton is fabulous. My art is also...well...I guess decent enough! I need to get back into drawing! Sketching, model painting, coloring, etc counts here! Just need to keep up my habit again! Contingencies: Busy weeks and weekends and vacation need week. However I have been making time for both model painting and my drawing so this should not be an issue :D.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 at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 20 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Cha )B for at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha) F for all else Now my challenge is all set! Usually I do measurements but...uhmmm that won't be realistic for long. However, I will keep taking fitness photos, mostly gauge the return of DEM GAINZ but also to see how the habitat is progressing. It's a silly thing yeah but hey at least it keeps up the photo measuring habit. As you can see there is a small progression already! I won't be shirtless for long but I kinda like the idea of comparing myself challenge to challenge, even during this time. In any case... The stage is set! The challenge is ready! My sleepy goober face is up there! We are ready to go!!! LET'S DO THIS!!! Shall I show mercy...? Or shall I...FIGHT?!! Told you the music is awesome!!!

Oh, look at this! The next challenge is up and I was actually paying attention! This is very exciting and unprecedented. Right in the middle of this challenge, I'll be closing on our house and one step closer to moving to Colorado. So my big sweeping goals for the month are something like this: Pre-close: Continue to camp out in my mostly packed house, packing, doing the billion things involved in selling a house, trying to eat the random stuff left in my pantry and keep my dog company. [/img] She only really needs whipped cream. Post-move: Dog goes with the husband in CO, I move into a family member's winter home (with wi-fi again, thank god), and really buckle down on a CO job search and what my next move is. And through it all, some constants in the form of my semi-regular goals: Eating- Continue to track on MFP (if anyone wants to be friends there, I'd really like to spy on people's menus), try harder to hit macro goals, and eat at least one serving of vegetables for every fruit serving (0 for 0 doesn't count). I'm finding my carbs are mostly coming from starches and sugar and I aim to adjust. Sleep- Set a bedtime, phone off, for 10pm or 11pm if I got a nap, every night. Reading a paper book is okay while I transition. Sweat- Not actually because I don't really sweat, I just pass out and that's a problem, but I digress. Activity, daily. I think mostly walking at the dog park pre-move and sprinting in the pool post-move, with bodyweight or gym days sprinkled in. This is going to be my downfall, but I have to do it. For fun, practice German more consistently. Pre-move use my some language software I have, Post-move get back to DuoLingo with extra web resources. Okay, that's the gist. This is still week 0 so it's a dabble week. I.e. I've eaten well today but I'm about to destroy some ice cream. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

So, I know the first week of the challenge is almost over and I'm finally getting this posted. But, the last 10 days have been a perfect storm of crap that derailed all of my plans. As you can tell by the title this go 'round, my goals are pretty simple and expectations are not high. Why? Well, on the Monday of zero week I received word that after fighting various forms of cancer for 21 years, my cousin finally lost her battle at 53 years of age. 2 days later, doctors told my mother that they had exhausted everything they could do to halt her cancer and that there was nothing more to do but look into hospice care. Friday was a funeral in Virginia for my cousin, followed by Sunday's Mother's Day at my parents and a makeup Mother's Day for my wife on Monday. The last few days have been a matter of getting caught up at work. May has been a rough start, and given the prognosis the doc's gave to my mom, May is not going to get less hectic. I debated skipping this challenge altogether, but then I looked back on all the gains I made the last 4 months and decided my challenge will be to simply not lose any of the ground I've gained. I just don't want to sit here at the end of the month as summer starts and find myself back at the beginning again and I'm afraid if I don't have a challenge to keep me honest, I'll give in to what is the easier path. So, here's the plan: Goal #1: IF. I was finally successful with 16-8 Intermittent Fasting last challenge and it is something that I should be able to keep doing no matter what is going on. I believe I derived a lot of benefit last challenge so I'm going to keep it up. Eating only between 11 AM and 7 PM. Goal #2: 3 resistance workouts each week at night. Last night was the first one I've gotten in this week, but it felt so good to just get in touch with my muscles again and remind myself that I am capable of more than I think I am. 3 of these might be tough given what is sure to be a random schedule, but we'll see. Goal #3: Run when I can. 1 sprint workout and 1 run a week of 5K distance or more. Running is my form of meditation. This goal is as much for my sanity as it is anything else. For the sprints, it's about purging anything in my mind that's holding me back. For the pace runs, its about being alone in my head -- I don't care about the pace, just getting out in nature and breathing it in. Goal #4: But, one thing I'm going to add is a daily examination of conscience and expression of gratitude. Despite all the crap that is going on in my extended family, I live a blessed life. All too often, I've taken it for granted. No more. I think if I can manage to follow through on this, I'll come out of May better than I was when it started. But, even if I'm the same, I'll take that. So, if I can maintain my 7 hours of sleep each night and run my race with an 8:10 - 8:20 pace and my weight stays at 210 pounds, I'll take it.

Hello, so here comes my challenge. I want to use this one to get back on track with the stuff that worked previously. So this means: Each day: 7 Hours of sleep 10 Minutes of meditation 5 minutes of training (taiji or KB Swings / TGU's) 2 Liters of water During the challenge: log every expanse in ynab don't miss taiji class Sorry, for not writing that much. During the weekend i had a quite unpleasent conversation with a buddy. I'm not sure how the handle the relationship between us after this conversation. So my thoughts are elsewhere at the moment. Anyway i will track the stuff with habit bull and try to post updates on sundays.

I have a competitive streak, I'm not going to deny it. First thoughts on this challenge were to go completely overboard and put some big goals out there like add X number of KGs to the big three and lose x KGs of weight, but I've given this some thought in relation to the bent of my current training and have tailored it as such. That is just to be "generally in shape", fix my posture/imbalances and improve my quality of sleep. I've also FINALLY started watching Vikings, and Amon Amarth has featured heavily in my workout playlists. It seems appropriate that each of my goals have a suitable song assigned. Lift - Valhall Awaits Me Currently into phase two of a four phase program, three days a week and geared towards fixing my posture. I've finally sourced some wireless headphones and now listen to my own music in the gym, it has definitely upped my intensity and shortened the amount of time per workout. I will be attending the gym three days a week, this has been sliding of late but this challenge will hopefully keep me on track! Goals/Rewards VALHALLA! (12 sessions) - +3 STR A Bloody Battle (8+ sessions) - +2 STR A Mere Skirmish (6+ sessions) - +1 STR Run - The Pursuit of Vikings Ah... running for distance... not my favourite activity, and the reason for a three day a week lifting program whereas traditionally I've been a fan of four days a week. Due to overzealous relatives I'll be running Tough Mudder in five weeks, while I can't wait for the various obstacles... the 18-20 odd km run is not something I look forward to with glee. To ensure I don't die I've been running with a couch to 5k app. Up to week four of the training, the 15 minute free form run last night is being remembered less than fondly by my right knee today. I will run twice a week, in addition to the three lifting and a Krav Maga training session which is also being completed outside of this challenge. One day of rest a week... I should cope right? Goals/Rewards Sleipnir Himself (8 sessions) - +3 DEX Knarr (6+ sessions) - +2 DEX Faering (4+ sessions) - +1 DEX Sleep - Twilight of the Thunder God Adequate sleep has always been a constant battle for me, it is very much this missing piece in the puzzle. The aim is to be in bed by 10pm each week night with a ban on electronic devices past that point. I've also purchased a pair of those swanky light filtering glasses from Amazon, hopefully they will arrive shortly. This will also need an adjustment to my exercise routine, as I typically go for a run or lift around 11pm each night. No queues for equipment is fantastic! Goals/Rewards The Svefnthorn (18+ nights) - +3 CON Sleep! That's where I'm a viking! (12+ nights) - +2 CON Drunken Slumber (8+ nights) - +1 CON Life Quest Relax - Raise Your Horns Just enjoy the little things in life, - Read a book. - See a gig. - Hang out with friends. - Go out for a nice meal. Goals/Rewards Jul (16+ instances) - +3 CHA Midsummer (12+ instances) - +2 CHA Thurseblot (8+ instances) - +1 CHA On a side note, I've seen some epically cool challenge posts in this subform. Going to have to up my game for the next challenge!

OK, I did a little better than that, but I still didn't really live up to my own expectations. Howdy, I'm Thrillho. I think I was here last year sometime, maybe the year before, but I am generally over in the Monks' Dojo. I enjoy boxing and MMA, and I've been more focused in slowly reducing my excess weight (down to 255 from 268 so far this year, 238 at my lowest last year and 288 at my highest last year, so... it's a struggle). For this particular challenge, I need to focus more on the strength that my body is lacking. I'm still heavy, but I need to worry less about my weight and more about what my weight is composed of, namely muscle. My lower body is strong and flexible, but my knees are a problem area, particularly with range of motion. I can slowly squat press pretty much the entire stack, and with my legs wide I can squat press the next biggest guy on my gym thrown over my shoulders... but what I CAN'T do is a simple jumping split squat. The speed and co-ordination just isn't there, and if I manage to do it fast enough and high enough my legs give out. My strength is very uneven. I need to fix that. Worse than that, my upper body is quite weak, which is kind of something that a big guy should never be saying. I've been working towards a pullup for the last four years and I keep getting closer but I am still a ways off. I'm not shooting for it THIS challenge (I will be doing it this summer, though). THIS challenge, I am focusing on the shoulders, biceps and triceps, mainly developed through pushups (which I can't do a lot of) and kettlebells (which I keep forgetting I own). So... let's break this down! Challenge #1 - Sproing Not just squats, but jumping squats. Full depth down, full extension up, and knees to my chest while in the air (if possible). Sets and reps to be determined this week, but I already know I can't do A LOT of these in a row. I have good cardio but these will gas me out like nothing else. Challenge #2 - Push'em Ups I think someone from Fedor's camp might have edited that... anyways! Arm strength, as well as the associated shoulder, back and chest strength. The best way to do this for me, at home, without extra equipment? Pushups! Bodyweight. I have no shortage of bodyweight (thank you, belly jiggle). Reps and sets also to be determined this week, but I THINK I can do twelve in a row. Not sure how many I could do for my second set or third. I might just do "as many as I can", and keep track that way. To be updated. Challenge #3 - Pick'em Ups And what is in between those two areas? My core! Specifically my lower back. I'm a big, heavy guy and I spend all day sitting so this is a problem area for me, and when it comes to training and striking that's also a weak spot... the core is the anchor for all head movement and stance switching, and especially for stuffing takedown attempts. The pushups and the jumping squats will help with this somehow, but I will also be incorporating in kettlebell spins and good-mornings, to strengthen that whole area. Spins for time duration (at least five minutes, twice a day, to be determined) and quantity of good mornings to be determined. I don't know what's going on here, but it won't stop me.

Sorry, for being late... as always i have to much stuff on my plate. So i try to keep this short and sweet. Goal 1: Get 7 hours of sleep each night Goal 2: Meditate for 20 minutes daily Goal 3: Excercises daily (Kettlebell (10 Minutes Swings, 10 Minutes TGU's) or Taijiquan) Goal 4: Cook one meal myself per week I will plan my goals on monday each week. On a completely different note. A friend of mine worked on the vfx team of Star Wars Fan Film. The film has been released to youtube yesterday and in my opinion is really worth the watch(Go full screen):

This challenge i want to focus on my daily stuff. I keep struggeling with my daily training and meditation. I think this is because i don't have fixed time for it. Ideally the time for those things is in the morning. I'm not really a morning person, but want to use this challenge to improve a bit in this direction. Daily: * In bed and lights out by 11:30 pm (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) * Get up at 6:30 pm (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) * 20 minutes of Meditation using headspace * At least 10 minutes of taiji practice or 10 minutes of kettlebell practice Weekly: * I will prepare at least on meal at home * I will plan my workouts and my cooking During the challenge: * I will read a novel and a non fiction book.

So this is my first time doing a challenge with the assassins and i'm kinda nervous. I'm a warrior by heart but for the next month i'll be doing some travelling and finishing up internship and moving back home so i won't be renewing my gym membership so I always wanted to try bodyweight training and build up some kinesthetic awareness and proprioception. I browsed the r/bodyweight wiki FAQ and decided to do their basic bodyweight workout which already has an app that can do tracking which is awesome. Goal 1 Workout at least 3x per week using the r/bodyweight app. Hoping to progress the most in being able to do a handstand. Goal 2: Sleep at least 7 hours on average per night. Tracking this using my sleep bot app. Goal 3: Walk at least once a week and sprints (hill) once a week. Tracked using zombie,run! and fitnotes. Lifegoal: Read every night for at least 10 mins. At least two of those nights being pharmacy related stuff. I'm becoming terrible at updating and following others so i'll hope to work on this too but no promises on the frequency. More updates will be done in my battlelog though.

*Placeholder* “Welcome back to the fray, Wild Wolf, we’ve been expecting you..†Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhh buddy!!! Its 2016 and the new formats are FULLY under way and I could NOT be more excited. Lots of movement in my life right now, but besides the chance to do a Ninja Warrior type deal in February, I have a Quidditch try out in Austin for the Lonestar Quidditch Club on the 16th of this month...that’s 14 days away!!! Originally, I had to be put on a waiting list to see if I was ever able to even try out. So, I left it up to chance. If I made the list, I would try out. There’s nothing to lose and the team captain I’ve been in contact with, Mollie, said there are a few players that live in DFW that travel for games and whatnot. That made me feel a little better. First things first, I just need to get down there, make the team and then worry about the details later. I’ve been somewhat lazy the last couple weeks but more so because LIFE has just been busy outside the comforts of the Ranger Guild. I have a lot to do before the 16th and NO time to do it in. Basically, burpees will become my best friend to quickly add some stamina to this wolflean body. Man, am I excited about this opportunity! Now, I haven’t made the team yet, I still need to showcase my Wild Wolf skills and hopefully they like what they see. I could care less what position they put me in, but it sounds like I'll end up trying out for the Seeker. Mollie told me they have no one for the Seeker position so I told her that's what I want. She explained it's one of the hardest spots to play. I told her, bring it! So, I found a google doc guide that actually explains ways to become a great Seeker with practice drills and tips on how to play the position successfully. I've been studying this guide since yesterday when I found it . However, if Seeker doesn't pan out, any chance to play would be great! I want to score with the quaffle, catch the damn snitch or bludgeon my way to victory . If and when I make the team, I will be purchasing a broom, more than likely, this as a reward. For anyone going, what the hell? Here is a link to the main website with the rules of RL Quidditch. And yes, you read correctly, REAL LIFE QUIDDITCH. Writing is something else that I will continue to do during the course of each challenge and I will regular put updated links to my battle log for your leisurely, reading pleasures. My main story right now is Urban Wolf, go check it out, here. My goal is by the time 2016 ends, I will have written an entire book and will be looking at self publishing options to get my story out there. All it takes is the right person to see it and read it . I went the easy route and decided not to theme this challenge and just stick to the basics. There’s a lot that needs to be done and I don’t want to overwhelm myself with unnecessary details at the moment. So, without further ado, let us move gingerly onto the goals. Goal #1: Find your Focus My workout regime has been almost non-existent since completing my Spartan Race. This, is unacceptable and needs to be fixed quick! As of right now, I will be messing around with the Spartan WOD’s and continuing that because it's a lot of BW focus and then I can throw in my kettlebells when I'm feeling froggy. This does NOT mean that me working with this program is set in stone. This is to make sure that during the next 4-weeks, that I find something that DOES work and stick with it. Consistency is key and I will push and claw and fight my way to maintain that balance. Possible Points: +2 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA Goal #2: Maintain Balance Handbalancing!!!!! BRO CROW POSE!!!! By my word, I said I would be dabbling into handbalancing this challenge and I’m excited about it. This will be an interesting goal because I still feel like I’m rehabbing my right wrist, but I’ll make do and work within the confines of my “injuryâ€. The goal is to start with the crow and work my way to getting that down for a 15 second hold before I move onto something else. In addition to the 15 second hold crow pose hold, I would like to pull off a Bro Crow pose before the 4-weeks ends. Also, I want to see what my max HSPU is along with HS hold (against the wall) and then beat those numbers before the challenge ends. Practice for 30 min total a week or 3 days at 10 min a day. *Edited 01/11/16* Possible Points: +1 STR, +2 DEX Goal #3: Study your Quidditch Bible Since verbally right now, I'll be trying out for the Seeker position, that's what I want to focus on. I need to go get a PVC pipe to practice running while “mounted†and then, use that Seeker Guide as my Quidditch Bible for the remaining time before the weekend of tryouts. I'll utilize all the help I can get to practice some of the drills because they sound fun! What am I saying, this WHOLE thing sounds fun! Study. Practice. Utilize. Seek. Run Seeker/Quidditch drills 1x a week minimum. Possible Points: +1 DEX, +1 STA, +1 WIS Goal #4: Sleep well, Young Prince I think this may be the...4th or 5th time I’ve added a sleeping goal someway or another. But, SLEEP is super important. Actually, the path towards optimal health ALWAYS starts with sleep. When reading an article from MovNat’s founder and all around badass, Erwan Lacorre, he mentioned the 4 most important things for optimal health, and in this particular order: Sleeping Pooping (got this covered with my new squatty potty!) Eating/Diet Exercise The goal would be to get an average of 8 hours a night, but nap time is ALWAYS an option during the day. So, at 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, I should be getting around 56 hours of sleep a week. I’m lucky if I hit 50 hours. With the new schedule and events coming up, I need to make sure my body is sharp and my mind sharper. So, average 8+ hours a day including nap time or a total of 56+ hours a week. Let’s get snoozing!! Possible Points: +2 CON, +2 WIS This challenge in its simplicity may seem somewhat boring compared to past stuff I’ve done, but I’m all business at the moment and want to start 2016 off the right way. Focused, Balanced, with broom between my legs and plenty of R&R to save the world because it sure as shit ain’t saving itself. Wolf "Let the Boomstick do the talking."

This challenge will be a minimal one. I'm pretty busy at the moment, but want to keep doing challenges. During the challenge i want to do the following 4 things daily: 1. I will drink two liters of water. On the weekends i often forget to drink enough and get headaches from this. 2. I will do my Taiji Short form at least 1x. 3. I will get 7 hours of sleep. 4. I will meditate for 20 minutes using headspace. For two weeks i will be on the road and might not be able to post my updates. I will do the daily tracking with an android app.

In my continuing quest to find the Tayledras in me, I'm working on continuing my running and adding in focus even more body weight training! Main Quest Run first 5k in the Spring/Summer Sub Quests Quest 1: Bodyweight Circuit (3 x week) -10 body weight squats -20 walking lunges -10 TRX low rows (if at gym) -10 Dumbell Chest Press (if at gym) -30 second plank -30 jumping jacks -10 incline pushups Reward: +3 STR, +2 STA Quest 2: Movement (3 x week) -Zumba on Tues -Run 25 minutes 2 x week (aiming for 2 miles straight by end of challenge) Measurement: A = 3 times a week, B = 2 times a week, C = 1 time a week Reward: +3 STA, +2 DEX Quest 3: Rest Sleep 8 hours a night Measurement: A = 5 nights, B = 4 nights, C = 3 nights, D = 2 nights, F = 1 night Reward: +3 CON Life Goals -Cook 1 meal at home a week -Journal using the prompts I have from NoBS Lab 28 day challenge Reward: +2 WIS