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Look who decided to show her face again. *bullies laughing evilly and cracking their knuckles* (jk) So long story short, I got wracked with guilt the other day because my dad kept falling and we couldn't get him up and I am like the most useless thing ever when it comes to strength and stuff. My dad is in a wheelchair now but still stands up to do some things like putting on a belt (I'm going to convince him to switch to suspenders) or going to the bathroom or switching between chairs. But he still falls and we're powerless to help him and too stubborn to call for help (because we'll end up relying on it and calling for help multiple times every day and things won't get better and that can very easily breed resentment which we don't want). So I'm back here to get strong. Because my mom won't do it so I have to. The goal is to complete a bodyweight circuit three times a week, ideally MWF, with progressive overload. I'll be tracking exercise type/variation and number of reps. I'm starting with mastering the NF beginner bodyweight circuit (with NF beginner dynamic warm-up and some stretching to cool down) but I'd like some ideas on how to vary the routine some so I don't get bored (which is something I'm very prone to). I have access to a gym but I'd rather not use it for this challenge as I haven't paid for the membership. I have three sets of dumbbells (3 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb) and a fat kitty who is willing to be used as a small barbell in exchange for cuddles and food. Additionally, I need to keep track of nutrition and how much I eat so I can make sure I'm eating enough to sustain this level of activity. I tend to undereat in general and also my sweet tooth is a bit out of control lately (I am a sucker for anything with rainbow sprinkles). I'm not worried about my weight at this time (although I'd like to stay the same pants size - ugh clothes shopping). I already have a food log (I use this to track what foods might be triggering my IBS-like symptoms) but I'd like to be more specific and also I'm lazy. ClarinetFest 2019 is at the end of July, plus two concerts around it, and my playing chops are not up to speed. Practice clarinet 2.5 hours this week (add 30 minutes for each of the following weeks). Finally, I need to read more. My 2019 reading list looks like it will soon be graduating to my 2020 reading list. Read 500 pages of leisure reading (i.e. textbook reading doesn't count). I may or may not theme this challenge. I could bring back Steven Universe or do something themed toward the fanfic I'm supposed to be co-authoring (but then I'd be spoiling~!). And I'll put up a spreadsheet soonish.

Hey Nerds! I started bouldering in January (climbed casually at university but that was a while back, so I'm basically a newbie) and I'm really enjoying it - going twice a week and three times if I can. My boyfriend is into it too and we've got a little gang who go together. Good times. My problem is that I'm a little overweight - could stand to lose probably 30 to 40 pounds - and my upper body strength isn't great yet. It's growing with time, but not very quickly. My hands / forearms wear out with the grip of climbing before my back / shoulders do, so I was wondering if anyone knew of any back / shoulder / upper arm exercises I could do on non-climbing days which didn't involve grip - so not pull ups, but exercising those same muscles. I want to keep within my body's limits and be sensible, but I think I'm safe to do more than my 2 hour sessions twice a week. At the moment my wish to finish a route and my lack of strength means I'm heaving my way up the wall, which takes its toll on my stamina and my technique! Bonus points: If anyone had a programme to recommend I follow at home in the evenings / mornings, that would be fab! S

Okay so my last challenge got derailed with my kids getting sick. I hung in there however and scraped by with a few points. This challenge will be a continuation from the previous one with some slight variations. Goal One: Gardening - Stamina I still need to maintain and grow my garden. Late spring means lots of mowing, I also want to ramp up my vegie garden so it can produce more food for my family. I hope to get at least an hour per day in the garden. Excluding watering. I have roses flowering in the rose garden that we can't see because of the weeds. I need to clean that up. The lawn is getting out of hand and in some places is well over a foot in height. Scoring: HIT: 5-7+ hours/week +3pts BLOCK: 2-5 hours/week +2pts DODGE: 1-2 hours/week +1pt MISS: 0-1 hours/week 0pts Goal Two: Morning stretches - Dexterity One of the parts that I struggled with in setting up my routines in the last challenge was doing my stretches in the morning. this will be the key focus of this challenge. I want to focus on stretches as i am suffering from stiff and sore muscles and joints. If I don't get on top of my stretching I will be in real trouble. Scoring: HIT: 5-7 sessions/week +3pts BLOCK: 3-5 sessions/week +2pts DODGE: 1-2 sessions/week +1pt MISS: 0-1 sessions/week 0pts Goal Three: Strength training - Strength With the realisation that I hate walking up and back I have decided to refocus on my strength training which has lagged somewhat. I want to rebuild my strength up to what it was a year ago. Then exceed it. I will allow a bit of flexibility here, with three workouts that will challenge and build my strength. First the trusty NF Basic BodyWeight Workout [bBWW], this has been a mainstay of my time at NF and has always helped me and it works. Second a combo sledgehammer kettlebell workout, because they are cool and I love swinging both around. Third a Hiit Burpee routine, because burpees. The important thing here is to get three strength training sessions in per week, any combination of the three options I have listed. Scoring: HIT: 3 sessions/week +3pts BLOCK: 2 sessions/week +2pts DODGE: 1 sessions/week +1pt MISS: 0 sessions/week 0pts Goal Four: Getting on top of stuff - Stamina, Charisma, Wisdom Our home has sort of fallen apart because of illnesses and stuff happening. Time to start getting things back in order. For me that means my shed. In Australia a man in not a man without his shed. How he sets it up and what he does in it is not so important, it is his domain, retreat, den, cave, and right now mine looks like a rubbish dump. Considering I have a small altar out there makes things even worse. How can i Honour my Gods, Ancestors and the Land Spirits in a dump? Fecking disgusting and an embarrassment. Also general housework, Bec does by far the lion's share in keeping the house clean, I want to step up my game here and do some more around the house. Like gardening this will be a time spent doing stuff goal. Exclusions are cooking and laundry as I already do the majority of the work here. Scoring: HIT: 5-7+ hours/week +3pts BLOCK: 2-5 hours/week +2pts DODGE: 1-2 hours/week +1pt MISS: 0-1 hours/week 0pts I will award the points for each goal with my weekly wrap up, then divide the total by 6 to reach my score for the entire challenge. I have three leftover points which I will give myself for various bits and pieces during the challenge. At the end of this challenge I will have been with NF for two years. I actually joined up midway through the november challenge in 2013. I think I will need to do a review for my time with NF, the highs and lows and the wobbly bits inbetween. Something to ponder over.

As with my first challenge, my overall life goal is to do good--all the time, as much of it as possible, everywhere I go, and in every possible situation. To be that person, I need in both their mental/psychological meanings and their physical/literal ones, strength, endurance, and adaptability ...like, a lot. So, with that level-50 endpoint in mind, over the next 6 (okay, I'm a little late, so it's more like 4.5) weeks I've got some baby-step goals to help me move in the right direction. GOALS: 1. Get up and moving with purpose for at least an hour every day. I read and research most of the day which means I'm sitting most of the day. I have the time and the flexibility (since most of the week I work from home) to get up and do something. I should take advantage of that, and I think that having something I have to do every day will keep me from falling back into old habits. +1 DEX, 4 or more days a week (avg) +2 DEX, everyday...like a boss 2. Eat more leafy greens. Right now romaine lettuce is my main squeeze, and while it has some pretty impressive nutritional stats, I need to start seeing other greens. To accomplish this goal I need to incorporate any of the following into at least 3 meals every week: kale, collard greens, swiss chard, bok choy, and spinach. +1 CON, three meals each week (avg) +1 CON and +1 WIS , all servings accounted for, and each veggie from that list gets a turn 3. Build strength and track my progress. My weekend job requires a lot of lifting and standing for long periods of time, so building strength would be immediately applicable to my overall goal. I'll have to workout 3x / week and track my workouts to accomplish this goal. +1 STR, 3 workouts, accounted for, each week (avg) +2 STR, 50 squats and/or 50 push ups (I'm at 30 right now with both of these, so I think I can make it if I stay on track) *. LIFE GOAL: Find and volunteer with 3 community organizations. My husband and I moved in November, and I still feel a little out of touch with our community. I'd like to spend some time during this challenge getting to know how I can help around here, and then, you know, actually putting in the time. +1 WIS, finding and reading up on services/shelters/charities in my new city +1 WIS and +1 CHA, at least 3 hours of actual volunteer/service time Actually writing this out has gotten me very excited for the next few weeks! This is my first quest with a particular guild (second quest overall), so I hope I make you proud Rangers!

Albertigog reached up to get a jug from the top shelf. As he lifted it a sharp pain shot through his back dropped the just smashing it on the floor. "I see you're still smashing my kitchen up with that back pain of yours." Talo entered into to the kitchen, the baker now looking much rougher than when they had first met mainly due to him shifting rocks everyday without the luxuries that was used to. "Sorry it's still not fully better yet. I'll go get the brush" Albertigog replied sheepishly, especially after the damage he'd caused one night trying to keep himself from turning into the wolf. "Ok but first we need to talk, it's been several weeks and you haven't quite managed to settle in. You made a good start but then something went wrong." "I know, I'm sorry I'll get back on track." "Good, so you can start taking healing that back of yours a bit more seriously, you gave up and have been sitting around for a few weeks and it's not helped (Challenge 1). Also you've been sneaking more than your fair share of the sweet foods we have left, I'm afraid you going to have to give them up completely to make up for it (challenge 2). You also need to be getting up with the rest of us, I've been at the pass for 2 hours already today, you started well but got lazy when you stopped exercising (Challenge 3). Finally you haven't really taken to looking after the horses, maybe you'll be better at helping the people at the town hall keep track of what going on in the town (Life challenge). "OK, will do and I won't mess up this time." So last challenge started out so well, but after some personal circumstances occurred, I had a hell of a lot on my plate, and ended up so tired that I gave up on the challenge. So this challenge is very similar to the last one, with the measures of success slightly tweaked. Challenge 1. Heal and get strong To do this, I'm going to spend at least 15 minutes a day doing some yoga/joint mobility exercises, the focus being on my lower back. Each week I manage to do this everyday will count as one point. In addition to my mobility, I'm setting myself some strength challenges, each one being worth one point. 30 consecutive dead hang pull ups. 15 second handstand 10 wall supported handstand pushups 10 consecutive over head presses with 25kg I know the weight isn't much but as part of my strength training I'm working on my lifting form with light to moderate weights to ready myself and my back for some proper lifting in the future. This gives a total of 10 points 8+ = A 7 = B 6 = C 5 = D Challenge 2. No more crap This is nice and simple as I think I over complicated it too much lat time. Anything I deem as unhealthy food is a no no. Everyday I manage is a point, any day i fail is no point. As this is the 4th morning of the challenge, that leaves 39 points in total. 34+ = A, 31+ = B, 28+ = C, 26+ = D Challenge 3. Get up. I made this a bit hard for myself last time. So again scoring system is if I manage it it's a point for the day, if not no point. Ideally I don't want to be getting up after 7, and would aim for 6 everyday, but from my experience last challenge I'm going to listen to my body a bit more. Therefore I will set my alarm each night for a time I think is appropriate based on how tired I am. Life challenge. Record record record. This is the big change and the one I think will do me the most good in the long run. Every night before I go to bed I'll record my exercise, what I've eaten, time I got up, and other things I want to keep track of not relating to the challenge. I think this will help me massively in being productive in the future, and help me with improve my fitness. I'm not one for fixed workouts, I like to play more than anything so tracking improvement is difficult, hopefully this will help. I'm on holiday with lots of other people for a week during this challenge, so I'm expecting challenge 2 and 3 to get a battering that week. Wish me luck!

Well, friends, the show is done, the set is almost completely down, and I'm absolutely wiped and in need of a break. But I'm going to try to keep health and fitness as a priority while I recover. Goal 1: Lose 6 pounds I was so successful with this goal last time that I'm going to try it again. And even though we're just about at the end of the Lent train, I'm going to attempt to continue on with Paleo the majority of the time during this challenge to help me continue to lose well. I will also be competing once again against vengefulpear (and whomever else wants to join) in his Calorie PVP! Starting point: 189.4 lbsGoal weight: 183.4 lbsPoints up for grabs: 2 CON, 1 WIS, 1 CHA Goal 2: Lose 1.5" from around my midsection This one so nearly happened during the last challenge that I'm going to attempt it again. Achieving this goal would make me thinner than I've ever been in my adult life, so that will be fun to achieve! Starting point: 39"Goal measurement: 37.5"Points up for grabs: 1 CON, 2 CHAGoal 3: Regular gym time Now that I theoretically have more time again and can get on a more regular sleep cycle again, I really want to get back to the gym. With losing pounds and inches, I've enjoyed being able to somewhat start to see more muscle rather than fat. Also, I want to increase my lean mass. My goal is to get to the gym again 3 times per week. Points up for grabs: 2 STR, 1 DEX, 2 STALife Goal: Try 1 new paleo recipe each week Because I've been working so much, I haven't had time for basic life necessities like grocery shopping and have been scraping by. Now that I'll have more time, I want to start getting out of my food rut/survival mode. The goal is to branch out and learn how versatile the paleo diet can be. Points up for grabs: 1 DEX, 1 CON

Okay, here we go. My second challenge. ... Feels good to be under the pressure of a challenge again, it gives me motivation because I know this is my own self-imposed pressure. No culture demands, family assumptions, or perfection seeking going on here! ... I'm searching for self-congratulations and personal responsibility. I feel like I'm at a tipping point in my life. I have gained amazing goals in my mental health and my contentment gauge is usually steady. It's refreshing and makes the challenges enjoyable. I feel like I'm doing an experiment instead of a chore. I want to work hard. Now, I'm trying things to see if they work. It's awesome to be so active in my life. I hope to keep this battle log going especially around my food goal. Food is the last bastion of pain in my life. I have gone to it so often for comfort and escape that my brain knows little else about calming itself down without it. This will be a time of important conversations with my mind and my memories. The young ones in me are angry, scared, and still living in the pain of the past. I need to reach them, protect and reassure them, bring them to the present with me so they know I'm taking care of things now. That way they can relax and have fun as they were meant to. I got their backs now! With my recent experiences, my friends, and my fellow Rebels, I can do this!