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The crystal broke from the violence. The deceptive tranquility had been destroyed in the tumult. Surrounded on all sides by battle cries, the screams, the collisions of weapons, of swords against shields, arrows into flesh, and louder weapons still rebounded forcefully off the stone walls. It was disorienting for the one who fought free of the crystal. Years of sedentary submission had left her dazed. But the skirmish in the throne room grew more riotous by the moment. Another desperate push was being made. As her eyes began to adapt again to receiving light, she saw the gleam of light on axes, daggers lancing through the air, the flash of firelight on shields, and shadows of bodies in motion. The snap of bowstrings joined the shouts and cries. "Miss?" A stranger's voice. "Hey, we need to move!" She forced her muscles to move. How long had they been stagnant? How long had she gone without the warmth of sunlight? Rain on her skin? She reached out for the voice that sounded close and that encouraged her action. She felt the support of hands bringing her to her feet. How long had she been without interaction from others? How long had she gone without support? "Who are you?" "Rehua... Rehua Syraha." -- -- -- -- -- And so... we start at the top. Hello world, I'm Erin, but will happily respond to either my given name, gamertag, or my alter ego's name. I'm a gamer of over a decade, I have explored outer space, the bottom of the ocean, alien and fantastic places, interacted with a myriad of creatures and people, and all from the comfort of a chair near a console or my computer, if not from the pages of a book. My hobbies include writing, drawing, crafting, and daydreaming. With aspirations of getting my first book off the ground, I soak up everything I can about writing and fantasy almost through osmosis. I could probably talk about writing, fantasy, armor or weaponcraft, or ponder "what if" questions for days. I find that when I can fantasize/novelize my experiences, such as the written blurb you see above, I can throw myself into the gamification of my activities a little more easily. Besides, something about imagining it makes it just a bit more fun. Incidentally, I'm just as happy to talk story in this way for other's stories, if they want to either craft their own stories or join mine. And now, down to business, shall we? Main Goal: I'm here to get myself moving again. I want to be up and about more often than naught, especially if I can help it. Because a recent change in my life through most of my plans off kilter, I'm planning on nudging my live back into balance. I'm hoping to attain another job, to establish a habit of going out for a walk every day (hopefully a little bit longer every day), and bring balance to my diet.In other words, my main goal is to bring my life back under healthy control. Fitness: Ten to Fifteen Minutes of Walking - Whether on treadmill or out and about the neighborhood, something that would desperately be important to someone who just recently was broken out of stasis or hibernation is to begin all efforts to get them functional again. Walking, as a basic human function, is considered the healthiest thing a person can do. If they can do this well, then they are in decent shape. Of course, from such a point, one can build other strengths. As for when I'll be walking, I want to be able to do this in the early afternoon, probably around lunch time. Diet: Avoid drinking sugary drinks, such as sodas or juice.] Replace these drinks with water or tea. Eat one fruit or vegetable with every meal. (Fruit or vegetable in question should be mostly unprocessed. Light cooking is acceptable for vegetables like potatoes and yams.) LevelUpYourLife: Meditate five to ten minutes daily. - The main purpose of this meditation is to clear my head, or to practice keeping my attention focused on a certain point. For this particular kind of meditation, I'll be focusing on my breathing. What part of my breathing? The sensation of breathing as I feel it through my body. Well.... I'll be checking in here, with my subgoal of logging in and reporting my progress in the evening before my evening bedtime rituals. Wish me luck. (I'll accept all forms of support.) Thanks for reading! See you on the field.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for a routine I can do in the morning? It takes me about 20 mins to get to work. I usually wake up 40 mins before leaving to give me time to shower and prepare. What can I do that will take maybe 30 mins at most when I wake up in the morning? Things I was thinking of: Yoga - I have no idea how to do it. I'd like to though, I've been wanting to improve my flexibility. Walk outside - walking is about as far as I go. I HATE running! If a zombie apocalypse happened, I'd let them eat me. Push ups/ab stuff - I like this idea too. I need to get stronger. Also need to lose weight. I think my main problem is I don't know the correct forms (proper push up posture, am I feeling the burn in the right places while planking, etc). Any tips, ideas, or resources are much appreciated. Note: I want to get into muay thai eventually (once I'm able to afford it). A routine that could prepare me for this would be nice, but maybe not so rigorous that I feel burnt out at work right after. Thanks guys!

This is pretty late, but things have been crazy and I wasn't sure I was going to make another challenge anyways. But better late than never: here I am. So I had a good idea last challenge: get the basics solid. Unfortunately, I still tried to do too much, and crashed and burned. I even gained weight... This time, I'm going to focus on just getting into a routine. For anybody interested, my old challenge is here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/76107-lydiajaybird-goes-back-to-basics/ Main Quest - Get comfortable in a daily routine Up until now, my focus was always losing weight. I'm still interested in losing weight as an overall goal in my life (hey, just found my life quest!), but to do that, I need to get some other aspects of my life in order. So I'm going to switch from making losing weight my main goal each challenge, to making things that will help me lose weight my main goal. So this time, that's having a routine. I know that normally people here are really big on having quantifiable goals, but I think getting routine is more important for me right now than measurable progress. Goals 1. Get up & Go - Get up at 6-6:30am (even on weekends!!). On weekends I can stay in bed with my kitty cat, laptop, or a book once I wake up, but on weekdays, I have to get OUT of bed by 6:30 and make the bed. Once I'm up, it doesnt really matter what I do. If i want to get up at 6 and play WoW until it's time to go to work, thats fine. I woke up and thats what matters for this challenge. (Yeah, thats right. Not putting exercise in here. Generally, I've found I dont have a problem going running in the morning. I have a problem getting out of bed in the morning. So I'm going to focus on getting out of bed for now. If I go running too, cherry on top. I'll probably include that in my Life Quest.) 2. Chefs belong in the Kitchen - Eat at home! No more eating out! Too often, when I was doing the diet goal, if I failed, I'd just say, aw, screw it & order pizza or go eat out! Which is so much worse than just cooking something at home that might be outside of the diet. So for this challenge, I'm going to focus on having everything I eat be something I made at home. If I want to cheat on my diet, I'll have to put it on my grocery list. And I'm much less impulsive in the grocery store than I am with online ordering and drive throughs. 3. Check In - This goal is to stay accountable. (Also, hopefully some of you all will pop in more often to offer support if I'm posting more often about what's going on. Shout out to those of y'all that popped in during my last challenge, I'm very grateful!) I have to weigh myself every morning (yes, I know, I'm not going to lose weight every day, and some days I'll gain. But if I don't weigh every day, I find myself going WEEKS without weighing myself, and thats when weight gain happens), and post my weight and any other updates on whats going on. Life Quest Lose weight! This is where I'll get credit for running, doing my pole and aerial silks, and sticking to my diet. Let's say 1 point of extra credit for every pound lost? Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 189.8 *crying sounds* Waist: Hips: Thigh: I will put in all my measurements tomorrow morning. Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Life Points are unlimited extra credit that can be added to my final score! My final grade will be the average of all four weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. Since I started late, the first week will be just the points from today on. Get up & Go - 1 point each day for getting up on time. On weekdays, I MUST make my bed after getting up for this to count! (Otherwise, I'll just crawl right back in...) Chefs belong in the Kitchen - 1 point for each meal made at home. So 3/day possible. Check In - 1 point/day for weighing in. Exceptions - I'm doing some out-of-state interviewing at the moment, been to Atlanta twice the past couple weeks and will be flying to Florida next week. So when I'm out of town, just try to eat healthy to earn the Chefs belong in the Kitchen point. Obviously, if I'm away from my scale, I don't have to weigh-in, but try to at least put a sentence or two here on my challenge with why I'm not weighing in. If I get one of these jobs and have to move... Well I'll figure out what that means when it happens. Motivation I don't know what to do for motivation this go around. My most successful motivations have been the materialistic ones, but I'm not in a place financially to do that right now. So I don't know.

Here's to hoping I don't get walking pneumonia this time around, heh. Getting back in the swing for a bright new year! Quest 1 - Food does a body good Ever since I got sick, I've been pretty lackadaisical about my diet. We're getting back to the basics with strict keto. I'm aiming for under 30 net carbs, and I've got a one week plan set up for repetition. Eventually, for variety, I'll work in more meal options, but this first four weeks will be strict sticking to a plan. Quest 2 - Get that blood moving again Three times a week do a full session of Nerd Fitness Yoga. On weekends where the windchill is above zero, take the dogs for a walk. Also, add in some grip strengthening work - hanging from my pull up bar every morning for increasing lengths of time, and increasing amounts of fingertip push ups. Quest 3a - Routine makes the mind and body happy Get out of bed when my alarm goes off! That means - weekdays at 6am. I'll need the time to make breakfast and take care of the cats before work. 9am on weekends - I let my schedule get too FUBAR'd on weekends, making Monday brutal. Quest 3b - Routine makes the mind and body happy Stick to the budget set out for my month. I let me Xmas spending get out of control per usual and need to get that back under wraps. Step one? Actually stick to a budget for 1 month. Also, to keep myself checking in here, I hereby promise to post at least one picture of at least one of my pets a day. Cats and kittens and doggies and fishes! <3 <3 <3

ev·o·lu·tion (noun) the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form. Synonyms: development, advancement, growth, rise, progress, expansion, unfolding Hello! I am GryffindorGoddess - or GG - and this is my first challenge. I know most people start with the Recruits on their first challenge, but I really feel like I belong here. I am evolving. Slowly. But I am. I am making changes in my life that will help me to grow in to the strong, healthy, and amazing woman that I know I can be. I am looking forward to the changes that will come, to the new experiences I will have, to the things I will let go. I cannot wait to see what has been hiding under my cloud of doubt and laziness. I have called myself goddess for many years, yet have not been behaving as one for quite some time. It is time to fix that. It is time to become the goddess I have long since claimed to be. My Goal for 2015 Reduce body fat to 25% by the end of the year My Goals for This Challenge Goal 1: Do yoga three days a week - Do at least twenty minutes of yoga on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays A = 3 yoga workouts // C = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 2: Track calories and macronutrients - 1375 calories a day // Carbs: 103 grams // Protein: grams 69 // Fat: 76 grams A = 1375 calories // B = 1425 // C = 1475 // D = 1525 // F = 1575 -- daily goal A = 103 grams of carbs // B = 120 // C = 140 // D = 160 // F = 180 or higher -- daily goal Goal 3: Wake up at 5:30a on work days - Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays A = 5 mornings // B = 4 // C = 3 // D = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 4: Go to bed by 11p on work nights - Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays A = 5 nights // B = 4 // C = 3 // D = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 5: Journal before bed every night - Minimum of one sentence summary A = 7 journal entries // B = 6 // C = 5 // D = 4 // F = 3 or fewer -- weekly goal Life Goal Read one book every week Motivation I want be a strong, healthy, and amazing woman.

I'm so glad to have found this community! Joining this challenge a bit late, but I'll do what I can! Main Quest: Build strength & tone muscles I have always been naturally thin. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for this! HOWEVER. Skinny =/= Healthy, and Skinny =/= Strong. It's time to be proud of my body, not just grateful for it. Goal #1: "Dragonrider" Do yoga 3 times/week, for 30+ minutes. I have taken a few yoga classes so far, and holy hell, am I hooked! No other workout ever "stuck" for me the way yoga has. I had always been skeptical of yoga, what with the "Om"-ing and the mythos... But ten minutes into my first class, I began to think of my body in a completely different way. Rather than a tool for my personal use, I recognized my body as a partner in our shared well-being. I don't own my body any more than [sUPER GEEK ALERT] Lessa of Pern owns Ramoth. My body is my dragon, who only speaks to me, and who has wishes, limitations, and abilities apart from my own. And I have always, ALWAYS wanted a dragon, you guys, so I will continue to think of my body in this intensely geeky way, and no one can even stop me. My plan is to take one yoga class per week, and do two sessions at home. Goal #2: "Fountain of Life" Drink at least 20 oz of water each day. This one sounds so pathetic... It's really not that much water. But! I'm a coffee junkie, and there's a giant, steaming coffee pot at work that's eternally full of decent-enough black gold. So, I've been forcing myself to drink a full bottle of water between each cup of coffee. That system is working pretty well so far, and I can feel the difference! Goal #3: "Solar Power" Wake up at 7:00 every morning. Ugh. UGH! Getting out of bed is the hardest thing and the worstest thing. I've always been bad at it... Apart from any negative effects hitting "snooze" might have on my circadian rhythm or body temperature or whatever, I just feel like a failure when I have to rush out the door. i have to beat this habit, for my schedule and my self-confidence. *EDIT: Wake up at 7:00 every weekday morning. Weekend lie-ins are allowed. Side Quest: Achieve "Messenger" status. Write one letter or postcard per week and send via snail mail. Since moving away from home last April, I've felt disconnected from the people who know me best. I'm so afraid that I'll gradually lose touch with friends I care about, just because I can never think of something clever to put in a text. So, I'm deciding now to bring back the art of the less-than-perfect letter! Besides, everyone loves snail mail. - If you're reading this, best of luck with your own goals! You're the hero of your own story!

Ok that may be an overstatement...but really it would be awesome. Anyway, my main quest is actually for this weekend (can I do that?). Here it is: Main Quest: Under 3 hours in olympic distance triathlon on June 14. (if that is too soon, I'm planning on signing up for another in July or August as well). How? Run 1x per week. There is a team workout on Tuesday mornings at 6am that I'd like to get to every week. However, that has not happened yet this summer. Also refer to life quest.Bike 1x per week. Biking to work is separate and does not count as bike workout. Bike workout may be road or mountain as I have just discovered my love of mountain biking.Hike 1x per week. Refer to previous challenge "Freddyfly's Grand Quest". But why is there no swim goal? Well, swimming is my strongest leg and I REALLY need to work on the other 2 so swimming improvement does not count towards being athlete extraordinaire. Life Quest: Wake up with alarm. As in less snoozing and coming into work later than I'd like. This should help me get to that running workout on Tuesday mornings. Hopefully. I used to be SO GOOD at waking up with my alarm and I'm not sure how this happened. Any tips?