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Welp last challenge I was supposed to do some things and, in short, I did not do those things so this challenge I am simply going to do the things. These things include one thing that has been a long time coming which is my first OCR upcoming on the last day of the challenge! So things for this challenge must be related to getting ready for that thing. Without further suspense, here are all the things to do for this challenge: Thing 1: Track the Things I started out tracking solidly during a previous cut that lasted 2 challenges but then last challenge I got sick and other things happened where I got away from tracking all my foods. I find that tracking everything, even on bad days, helps me keep better accountability over the longer course of the week or month. Ive had a two week break from the cut and I was starting to see results that I want to get back to. Track 7 days per week regardless of intake. Thing 2: Eat Better Things Goal as explained by the meme above is to not eat all the crappy things that I have been eating. I set my calories and macros a few challenges back and looking to get back to eating at those levels. Aiming to be within those calories and macros during the week days and within 400cal of them on weekends(bonus points for macros on weekend) . That should still lead to a solid cut level while allowing a little bit of leniency on weekends and hopefully no burn out Thing 3: Lift Things Need to try and get back into the gym at some point soon. I am battling an injured wrist so I have been absent for a week and a half now. Likely going to experiment this week and work around the injury if needed. Maybe ease back in with some safety bar squats. Anyways once that heals up looking at getting back to the minimum 2 times per week strength work. Thing 4: Condition Things I assure you I do not look as pleasant and happy as those things when I run...but none the less, this whole wrist injury thing has gotten me back into a bit of a running routine. I ran twice last week and it was a good setup. New trail on the way to work that is pretty challenging with 1.5 mile laps. If I get up 10min earlier and go run there on way to work, I still get to work on time so there is really no excuse. Looking to run 4 times per week on the weeks that I am injured and 2-3 times once I start strength training again. Thing 5: Mobilize Things Knees have been pretty tight lately. Not quite to the level of pain but certainly uncomfortable at points. I have noticed that over past challenges, doing a good deal of mobility helps alleviate that tightness. It does not take too long to roll out the calves or floss my knees to release that tension. Need to do mobility 3 times per week especially on days I run. This should be enough things for now... Raise your hand if you are sick of me using the word "things" yet

Last few challenges have been switching focus towards getting ready for first OCR that was supposed to be in June. But we are taking a bit of a detour on the route to Sparta(n) and making a pit stop in New York. Over the last challenge, it was determined that the Spartan will now be my second OCR as I registered for a Warrior Dash in NY at the end of May(Thanks @RedStone ) Road Trip upcoming! So goals are going to be similar to the last few challenges but adjusted and simplified a bit based off of prior lessons learned and accounting for a slightly shorter schedule before my first OCR. Also, seems like after finding the above GIF, I've been in a Wayne's World mood so at least this post turned into an impromptu Wayne's World gif party! Nutrition Goal 1 - Continue the cut Track food and eat within cutting calorie goal 6 days per week and last day within maintenance Seeing good success on new calorie intake. Cut from 330 to 319.7 during the last challenge. Hoping to keep up this pace (2lbs per week) which should still be possible at these weights. 6 days per week on macros and one within maintenance in order to keep a bit of sanity on weekends. Goal 2 - Hit protein macros Meet 225g of protein 5 days per week Readjusted macros using the new IIFYM calculator during the last challenge and it gave me much more manageable macros, namely 225g of protein instead of nearly 300g. Making sure I hit new macros 5 days a week as an addition to the above cut goal that has a focus primarily on calorie intake. Goal 3 - Waterrrrrr Drink 100oz of water per day Continuing this trend...this time more focus on the weekends which were the only times I was playing catch up or missed anytime with this challenge last month. Exercise Goal 5 - Conditioning Do two conditioning sessions per week Really liking the KB Fit classes on Saturdays so will continue doing those. Getting other cardio/conditioning sessions can be varied week by week though so need to get a little better grip on whats going on. I dont really want to restrict myself to a set schedule but I do want to make sure I map out my weekly plans and get two good conditioning workouts in. Goal 5 - Strength Do two strength workouts per week Favorite part of any challenge...not much of a stretch goal but just want a place to track workouts and make sure that I dont slack on the lifting front. Goal 6 - Mobility Do three mobility sessions per week Knees and shoulders have been feeling better with the little bit of mobility work I have been doing recently. But in general, since cancelling ROMWOD a few months ago, I've been failing with getting any mobility done. So adding in a couple of days of mobility to hopefully help recovery time and improve some of the issues that I have been having with knees specifically. CHECKBOXES!!! Goal 1 - Food ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 2 - Protein ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 3 - Water ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 4 - Conditioning ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ Goal 5 - Strength ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ Goal 6 - Mobility ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐

First time warrior dasher here and here's my first actual post on here. Any other Michigan folks participating?

Intro Background/Story Post, Another post is being made to list off my main goals. Challenge: Since the beginning of the week I've been brainstorming ideas for this challenge (reason Ugh became a being). I'm still not sure how to add a story part of it (since I like that type of stuff). But I'm thinking of things, also to help keep 'active, but not overwhelm me, or bore me'. While also taking note of my anxiety, reasoning working out at my apartment community room & gym was a lot of anxiety helping the Ughs out. I know I The base goals: Fitness - 2 Goals: 10 mins walking with the Sun & 10 mins of doing Pilates or Yoga Daily Finally changed up the plan for good since March: The sun is my new walking buddy (before I waited until darkness, than my imagination decided to make it difficult). I have no excuses for walking, since its pretty much like taking medication (do it or regret it after sunset). After just 3 days, Pilates and Yoga are making me aware of muscles that body strength training hasn't. (Also keeping time low so I have few excuses). Bonus: Walking with the Sun for at least 20 mins Double Bonus: Full hour/3 mile walk Nutrition - 1 Goal: "6 pack or less?" (I'm keeping it basic, Try to eat/drink at max 6 servings of heavily processed carbs/sugar (not counting kool-aid.)There will be days I eat less, and days I will go over. I'm trying to find just above moderation, so I can continue it later on). NF Forums - 1 Goal: "For the Record" Number 1 goal is to come back on the forum daily, and keep note what I did. Luckily with this outline it will be simple enough. Daily Bonuses! Like my favorite games, there are things that happen routinely to gain extra gold. Some new quests by story line or so on. Or for me, extra preventive measures to keep the Ughs at bay. I'm using Habitica to keep everything "on track". I'll record my daily Gold amount on game, and level. And if I bought anything (paying with my movement to have some time with the Ughs). For my Dailies, are the above goals for the basic. Any goals I want to do routinely (walk more, read other people's posts, wash the dishes, write, ect.) that can help get me goal. Along with the to do list. This I'm kind of calling my base point with the Ughs, there are 4 things I "need" to do to help avoid the leader of the Ughs for giving me a visit (depression). I'm trading in gold such as: 100 gold for 1 hour episode on netflix/hour of gaming. I've been doing most of my Netflix time and Facebook with the forums (had to block FB on two of my browsers, w/ 5 mins a day). I'm also thinking of keeping track for each 1,000 gold. And translate that to a dollar. Could be a way for me to "earn" some real money. Idk, I will keep track of the gold like I said with my daily posts.

Lightning Heals in the Mists of Avalon “Avalon will always be there for all men to find if they can seek the way thither, throughout all the ages past the ages. If they cannot find the way to Avalon, it is a sign, perhaps, that they are not ready." ― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon Wounded and tired, Lightning walks the battlefield in a haze looking for a place to bury her head and decide whether to continue to fight or just surrender. She walks on for hours, unable to find a safe corner to hide and too dazed to know when to stop. Eventually, the haze in her head turns to mist. Mist so thick she wonder's if it is real or if she is so tired that the hallucinations have begun. Unable to see more than a foot in front of her, she walks into something solid and loses her balance. Lightning falls and hits hard. Her head hurts, but it feels so good to lay down, even though she is surrounded by cold, damp wood. A boat. She realizes she has fallen into a small boat, even more, she notices that the boat is starting to move. Lightning tries to sit up, to see who or what is making the boat move. A thin, bony hand reaches it's way out of the mists and a rough, grizzled voice says, "Payment is required to travel to Avalon". As if on instinct, Lightning reaches into her satchel and pulls out a silver coin that she has never seen before. She passes the strange coin onto the stranger and instantly succumbs to her fatigue. Just before sleep takes over she wonders again, should she fight or just surrender. Maybe there is a third option: Heal. This is my first challenge with the Druids. As much as I adore my Assassins, I needed to put my hidden daggers aside and focus on healing. Last month a few too many "life events" hit me and left me trying to fight my way through the four weeks. I see now that I need to flow WITH the events and accept what is. I need to retreat (not surrender) to Avalon and heal so I can be ready for what comes my way. Potions First, I have to heal my gut. A combination of events caused my (mostly) dormant IBS to return with a vengence. It brought with it some bad indigestion and acid reflux that has left my insides broken. What seems to be helping me heal are probiotics and aloe vera juice. Giving up coffee (ouch) has also been a huge difference maker so I have been replacing my coffee with a substitute made out chicory. While I'm not a big soda drinker I do like it in the summer. Soda is another no-no when dealing with acid reflux so I have been drinking Kefir water when I want a little bubbly treat. Goal #1 Probiotics every day Aloe Vera Juice every day Chicory Tea (No Coffee) Water Kefir (No Soda) Feast I usually try to follow paleo/banting for my food choices. This time I'm going to shift things just a little and use the Perfect Health Diet as a guide. I'm not going to worry about macros or even measuring. I WILL write down what I eat to keep me accountable and make sure that I'm following the plan. Goal #2 Write down food and follow PHD Armor While healing my insides I need to continue to protect myself from the outside as well. I am still planning on completing a Warrior Dash in August so I am going to keep things simple and use the 4-week training plan listed on the WD website. No Assassin mini for me this time. I'm keeping it simple. Goal #3 Follow the 4-week Warrior Dash training Meditation I like to use active meditation techniques to help with anxiety. My favorite is coloring but I also really enjoy painting, yoga, and guided meditations too. I haven't been doing this with any consistency so I want to change that. The other thing that helps me with anxiety is prescription medication. When I started having acid problems the medicine seemed cause reflux so I stopped taken it. I need to get back to taking it regularly because it flat out helps me. Goal #4 Any kind of meditation (20 min) 5x a week Take pres. medicine every day Elder Druid Lots of adulting that is going to have to happen this month. Won't go into all the dirty details, I'll just make a list and try and take a deep breath. Insurance Claim Tile Bathroom wall Refinish 4 Kitchen Cabinets Make Dr. Appt Take DD driving (3x a week) Plan & Execute DD's graduation party Help son get out of the house 3x a week Cook with son 1x a week Set up NF t-shirts for the virtual run

Lightning Warrior Princess! The first half of this year is all about preparing for my first Warrior Dash. What's the best way to prepare for a WD? TRAIN LIKE A WARRIOR!!!!!!! Goal #1: Warrior Dash The WD is the perfect beginner's obstacle course race. It requires a blend of strength and endurance along with a good dose of nerve. For this challenge I want to add more endurance work and cross training. That means any exercise counts; biking, jogging, Darebee, bodyweight, paddleboarding, etc. 5x a week for a total of 20 workouts (I will determine stat points later) Goal #2: Weekend Warrior Warriors work hard and play hard so I MUST do the same. I have a lot of play built into this challenge. I need to remind myself why I wanted to get into shape in the first place. To enjoy life and feel great! (a few CHA points can be gained from this goal) Rock on the Range Zip line or Ropes Course Waterpark My BIRTHDAY Rollerskating Rave Goal #3: Warrior diet Follow Banting (also known as Paleo-with-cheese). Focus on meat, fat, and vegetables!!! I will write down what I eat but I don't need to track as long as I'm following the Banting guidelines. This will be a good time to REALLY listen to my hunger and use "food to fuel my body not feed my emotions." I'm cutting myself a lot of slack here. I have a few events planned this month that will center around either food or bad behavior . I'm not going to hold myself to Banting during these events but I will for the rest of the challenge. (WIS and CON stat points will be rewarded for logging food and following Banting) Goal #4: Road Warrior If I want to have the heart of a warrior I have to face my fears. The fear I plan to tackle during this challenge is to teach my daughter to drive. I will take her out to practice driving and parking 3x a week. I really, really need to do this so I hope I can stick to the goal. Not sure what stat points to award for this one... maybe I'll make up my own! COU for courage.

Tuesday, May 10 - June 7 (Had taken me awhile to get here, but I am HERE, and going to enjoy the last month of the school kids in school!) Heyo, back for another month! Here to roll for the fifth month of making a thread, and hoping to be active for my goals. The month of Quotes! Bringing in the Good Vibes! Good quotes of reminders, and pretty pictures. I actually had fun finding all these pics! (Usually I get tired or angry by the end). These last five months! Wow! Can't imagine a life without Nerdfitness, with all the positive vibes ping ponging all over the forum walls. Sadly last month I got swung with tiredness that then ended me spiraling down the hole of loneliness that turned into depression. (Got triggered by pregnancy announcements- one being a high school friend, my mother finding a really good guy friend-she is pretty much my closest friend, along with not having much else going on). Pretty much was told being a "twenty something" is hard (especially when you're not in college or working). Found out Barnes and Nobles actually has a self help section So yeah the main beast I'm fighting isn't necessarily getting off my butt, but keeping the good stuff and working toward the light and away from the pain of loneliness. Fitness Nutrition Life Goals

Boss Quest - Part 1/4 111 Days Until Fight (Looking for Boss Pic to represent a Warrior Dash) Hey ya'll, lovely missions below. I'm personally happy that I'm still here. The most active I've been toward a site for personal goals, and happy I'm starting a bit of a community. Had refreshed my motivation in Mid-March. Signed up for a Warrior Dash that is happening near my hometown this July, and I want to see if I can make my body able to get there in 4 months. Last month, I mainly started NF Academy Recruit workout, this week finally hitting the 3 sets. Which I will be working on. Starting off this challenge, I also got a bit of perspective. Did my measurements for the 2nd time this year (last ones in the 2nd week of January). And I gained 10 lbs, and they ended up mainly in my waist and bottom. Good part my thighs and my biceps stayed steady, which I think helped with me toning them. This month I hope to gain the "real groundwork" so I can advance and get out of 240 by May. My hope is that if I follow NFA close enough this month, I won't ever see 240 on my scale again(my main steady weight since 11th grade). Along with getting strong enough, and mentally ready for all the adventures I want to hit up. Profile/Background: (Figured I keep all this in 1 place since I personally like personal background... I'm weird like that. Lot's of words, but categorized). Epic Fitness Summer Quest: (Where the Beer and the Cool Hat may have been an incentive to do something that terrifies me) -Attempt to Complete Warrior Dash for the 1st Time, Able to Attempt Every Obstacle while Running In between -Single Player Quest (at the moment) -July 23rd, 2016 -- Le Sueur, MN Main Goals of April 3rd - April 30th -Workout 6 out of 7 days a week (3 strength, 3 endurance/cardio) -- Reward: 1 New Song after 6 days of Working out Strength for at least first 2 weeks will be NFA Recruit workout of 3 sets Endurance/Cardio is working on learning to warm up for walking/running and going for a walk/hike for a hour (I wake up 5 am workouts, to prevents excuses of time management and anxiety stays in bed till 6:30 most days) -Follow Nerd Fitness Academy Mindset & Nutrition in order -- Reward: To be determined Bought NFA on New Year's Eve this last year, finally taking Steve's advice and going to start from the beginning journals for each part for myself and you all to read, will try to Update here on where I'm at -"Home Sweet Nomad" -- Reward: To be determined I'm getting mentally healthier compared to the last year, I feel changes ahead. Need to have my apartment picked up and everything have a place to be packed up. Moving equals huge amount of stress and change, getting ahead will be better for my health. Will Involve Weekly Pictures (Sunday) of my Apartment. Since I am visual, and it is something similar I do in my video games (picture of main base progress). Kind of tips off of my love for hard beginnings of Sims and Minecraft. -Open for use -- N/A The past two months, during the 2nd week something happens that changes all my goals. (Could be anything, could be me being hired, could be me finding an opportunity, or me finding something totally amazing about myself and shift my goals. This will be here to allow that breathing room). Bonus: "Use Budget Program that I started Paying for.... get my money's worth before I started earning my own darn Money". Other goals: Update Daily, Link Updates to the Week's Update post for easy keeping track in the future. Need to get the gear! (Don't have the right gear to start training for running yet, update when I have an income source)

Oh, hi there. You must be the group of friends that my buddy Wolfie here tells me about. I gotta tell ya, you guys are pretty fuckin cool. I mean, look at the beard growth in this community! And the broga (BTW, I’m going to steal that and if you have an issue with it, take it up with my unicorn!) Who am I? Well now, that’s a silly question. I'm Captain Deadpool! No wait..just Deadpool. I do lots of cool shit like this gif below of me from my movie. That's Ajax I'm fighting-he's a nice guy to work with. I’m here to tell you all that I’m not doing this for free, though as most of you would assume with the likeness of Ryan Reynolds and your very own Ryan aka Wolfie that I would, I am not. A man’s gotta get laid...I mean paid, ya know? Are you confused yet? Yeah, so was I until this shitstick of a Ranger named “Wild Wolf†approaches me with a grand scheme. A plan that’s worthy of some things...some personal things… Shut up and get to the point! Okay...okay… someone's a widdle angwee.. Wild Wolf has asked me to introduce his next challenge and be a personal icon or theme or cabana boy...I don’t remember the crazy shit he was talking about, but we both decided to never speak of that night again. (He took his pants off and vowed to mushroom tattoo the whole waiting staff at Taco Bell..or was that me..) All I know is that he wants me here for 4-weeks and now he has me. Kinda. I still gotta beat up the bad guys and bug the shit out of Spiderman and Wolverine...ya know, Wolvie... he’s really not as angry as people say. He’s a gentle soul that…†Sorry Logan..Love ya! BACK TO THE CHALLENGE! As I was saying. I’ll be here. More than likely I’ll be stalking most of you since Wolfie gave me his username and password, but I won't make promises that it will be in the friendly way..I have issues you know? Also...go see my movie! It’s Marvel’s biggest February opening EVER! Don’t take your kids though. I say lots of bad words, I have lots of sex, and I kill lots of people. Did I mention Ryan Reynolds plays me in the movie? Yeah, he’s a cool guy too. Not a great actor, but funny as hell. Speaking of ass... Well that's not very nice, TJ Miller. But it's true...I do like the inside of someone else's asshole... Am I ADHD or what?! Without further-fuckin-ado, I present to you Wild Wolf’s next 4-week challenge where he gives Maximum Effort and Expresses some Rage… Deadpool

The 2016 Texas Warrior Dash is March 5, 2016 in Cedar Creek, TX (East of Austin). This is the thread for anyone interested in going so we can coordinate a time and other logistics.

Howdy fellow nerd fitness enthusiasts! Warrior Dash world championships are this weekend and I was wondering if anyone else was going? Also my team the missfits for life are thus far the biggest fundraising team with just over 20,000 dollars pledged for Saint Jude. If you anyone is going and wants to meet up for a nerd fitness photo that would be awesome. Also if anyone wants to pledge to support us below is a link to one of our team members. http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Warrior/Warrior?px=3650055&pg=personal&fr_id=31064 I put her link up instead of mine because she has promised to let the team hit her with a pie for every 100 bucks she raises, and I really want to hit her with a bunch of pies

My wife and I are going to be doing a warrior dash in October. She has some concerns about what kind of shoes to wear. I was thinking my Keens would be perfect. Is there anyone who has been there lend some advice about foot wear? What worked? What didn't?

My wife and I are participating in the Warrior Dash in Pulaski, Tennessee on October 4, 2014. This will be the third that we have done. We signed up for the 10:30 time since we are driving up that morning from a little over an hour away. If anyone else wants to join us there, the earlier you register the cheaper it is. I don't think that the chandelier swing will be an event, but that would be cool.

Hello Rangers! Since I had so much fun last year, so I signed up for another Warrior Dash, this time July 11th in Minnesota! And my mother, my sibling, my best friend, and her boyfriend are all going to do it with me! So I have four challenges to get in Warrior Dash form! Last year my time was one hour and fifteen minutes and I was unable to climb over the Great Warrior Wall. But not this year! Main Quest: Complete the Warrior Dash in under 1:15 and complete all obstacles! Goals: Find a gym and use it! It's January and icy and cold. So I need a place where I can run indoors and I need a pull up bar, if only so that I can look longingly upon it. For this goal I will "interview" the three gyms closest to me, as well as my potential "home gym" and then start using one. As long as I go to the gym, get changed, warm up and cool down, it's a victory! This is a two part goal: Weeks 1-3: Interview the gym, do a minimum of two strength training sessions, and two running sessions, and take a yoga course, if offered.Weeks 4-6: Pick a gym and use it four times a week.Reward: An exercise armband for my phone A: 4+ work outs per week, 4 gyms interviewed B: 3 work outs per week, 3 gyms interviewed C: 2 work outs per week, 2 gyms interviewed D: 1 work out per week, 1 gym interviewed F: No effort Get enough sleep! I have more motivation and feel better when I get enough sleep. And I look better too! So I need to consistently get eight or more hours of sleep a night. For this goal I will start getting ready for bed at 10:30, this means brushing my teeth, getting into pajamas, turning on my heated mattress pad and what not. On days when I'm not home at 10:30, I will start getting ready right when I get home. Reward: If I start getting ready at 10:30 I may either read until 11:00 or listen to a meditation as I'm falling asleep. A: 6+ days starting at 10:30 B: 5 days starting at 10:30 C: 4 days starting at 10:30 D: 3 days starting at 10:30 F: Less than 3 days starting at 10:30 Take care of myself! I've found that in the past that post-workout stretching happens if it's a separate goal. So for this goal I will stretch after each work out, and give myself permission to take extra rest days, especially if I am sick or feeling under the weather. I will only take two or more additional rest days in the event of an emergency. Reward: I will either buy myself a new book, or get a massage. A: 6+ days starting at 10:30 B: 5 days starting at 10:30 C: 4 days starting at 10:30 D: 3 days starting at 10:30 F: Less than 3 days starting at 10:30 Drink enough water! I've been feeling headachy lately and it's not fun. So for this goal I will drink two and a half full water bottles (or 8 glasses) everyday. If this is too much water or too little I'll change this goal to match my needs. Water consumed during exercising doesn't count towards my daily intake. Reward: I'll buy myself a brand new water bottle, one that isn't dented and doesn't leak. A: 6+ days drinking 8 glasses B: 5 days drinking 8 glasses C: 4 days drinking 8 glasses D: 3 days drinking 8 glasses F: Less than 3 days drinking 8 glasses Life Quest: Conquer the Russian Cases! I can definitely speak Russian to save my life, but I can't properly use the case endings to save my life. For this goal I am going to study the uses and endings of the five Russian cases (six but I already use Nominative) and I will make flashcards to study them. The point is to finish this challenge with a better grasp of case endings, and a large flashcard deck to study from. Reward: A trip to the Russian Museum of Art A: Flashcards for 5 cases B: Flashcards for 4 cases C: Flashcards for 3 cases D: Flashcards for 2 cases F: Flashcards for 1 case New Job Clause: I am in the process of interviewing for a new job with an actual 8-4 schedule. In the event that I get the job and switch jobs/schedules mid-challenge I am free to take one week to get things figured out. Everything that I do that week counts towards my goals, everything I don't do doesn't result in a penalty.

Hello Wisconsinites! Just last weekend, I met my first nerd in RL (FalseAesop) at the Warrior Dash in Johnson Creek. It was a blast!! Tons of fun. We are going to do it again next year. Who wants to come with?! If you register before August 16, you get the early bird pricing! We are aiming for the 11am wave and would love more nerds to join us!! Here is a link: https://www.warriordash.com/location/2014-warrior-dash-wisconsin/ Come on, you know you want to!!!

I have had a couple of weak challenges in a row, and I was unsure if I was even going to participate this challenge. I decided that at least part of my lack of motivation was not having something to train towards. So, I have signed up for a Half Marathon on 20 September in addition to a Warrior Dash on 4 October. I have done my best when I had a clear, inspirational mission. But I met my weight loss goal in February (and since then have gained it all back, but that is a different story), and had to cancel my earlier half marathon race plans because of scheduling conflicts, and have since then simply slipped into a state of dreary *bleck*. I am taking up some new hobbies, but that hasn't yet managed to motivate me to stay active throughout the week. So, new mission: Half Marathon on 20 September. "Finish or Die Trying" (preferably the former). Current goals: Fitness: 1. Train according to my plan based on this PDF. Three runs per week. 2. Walk or run a total of 21 miles per week, trying to get in at least 3 miles per day. Track with the pedometer on my phone. I have done this before and tracked a walk from Bag End to Rivendell to the Lonely Mountain. It helped to get me moving throughout the day. 3. No less than twice per week, crosstrain using bodyweight routines like these by Neila Ray. I will check in at least a few times per week. I have a two week trip to visit family out of state in the middle, with lots of driving, but I will try to keep up. I like to post on other people's threads, especially if I think that I can help with motivation, but I get anxious in crowds so if there are already fifteen people posting comments then I might just "stalk" there instead.

Hello Rangers I'm new here and I never thought I would be in this guild. My name is MaidofRus, I'm a 23 year old female currently living in Russia, and I want to be a dashing warrior, as in I am going to participate in the Warrior Dash in Iowa on August 16. As of this moment my level of fitness is practically non-existent. I don't run, can't do push ups and definitely can't do pull ups. But all that is about to change! Main Quest: Complete the Warrior Dash in under an hour. Goals: Warriors are fast: Run three times a week, probably M,W,F, following the C25k plan. Ideally I will do one trail run a week. STA +3 Warriors are strong: Do a split Beginner Bodyweight Workout six days a week. Squats and lunges on run days, push ups, pull ups, and core work on the other days. STR +3 Warriors are awake: Brush my teeth and remove make up every night and be in bed by midnight or 11, depending on my work schedule, six days a week. Saturdays are my optional days off only if I am hanging out with friends. Sleep takes priority over everything and everybody, except in emergencies. Every day I do my "full" bedtime routine is worth a quarter of a bonus that can be used to make up missed days. CON + 2 Warriors take care of themselves: Stretch after every workout. Also take an additional rest day when I need it. Unless I am seriously ill or not feeling good I should not take two additional rest days in a row. CON +1 DEX +1 Side Quests Warriors speak Russian: Practice my Russian every day, starting at 15 minutes and adding 15 minutes every week until I am doing an hour and a half every day. I must do flashcards everyday, but I am allowed to make up missing time within the week. Also spend 5 minutes reading everyday. WIS +1 Warriors participate: Follow my two PVP's, my two accountabilitibuddies, and possibly one more nerd by posting at least twice a week. Also find and do six new cool things in Tomsk. CHA +1 PVP: Mutant Money Makeover: Read and complete Total Money MakeoverC25k with Mommawolfie: Be able to run a 5k by the end of the challengeGrading: A: 90%+ B: 80%-89% C: 70%-79% D: 60%-69% F: 50%-59%

It's later than I intended, so I'll just put in a bit of a placeholder here. I'm also watching American Ninja Warrior online and there are so many people involved that I'd like to punch. This is kind of an exciting challenge, since the Warrior Dash -- my first obstacle course race -- is taking place in it. So it's the culmination of a lot. It's also a bit weird, since that event is going to be next weekend -- i.e., day 6 of the challenge. So a big part of my challenge goal will be done early. I'm in the hunt for hobbies. Is there anything I should try? I'm welcoming suggestions. No idea too absurd to consider. Frankly, the randomer the better. (Although I make no promises about anything... resources are finite, after all, and I'm not super-fond of putting my butt over my head.) More to come.

Joining the scouts is weird for me. Based on body type, scout is probably the least appropriate class for me, being all massive and bulky and all. I've been a ranger thus far; I like working out in general and doing a variety of things, and I've been primarily focused on weight loss. I don't exactly like running, but I'm basing this challenge (and probably next) around running. I'm going to be doing the Warrior Dash in June, and if that goes well I'm interested in doing more of the obstacle course races. And running is an inherent part of those, so I need to build that skill. I'll be following Couch to 5K for now. I'm really not too concerned about the difficulty of that—I used it last year to do a pure running 5K. To up the hardness a bit, I'm going to be incorporating hills, since the Warrior Dash course is supposed to be moderately hilly. (Well, I'm going to be incorporating hill, since I'm in Chicago and there's really only one hill in the vicinity. But I'll be climbing it several times a run.) The tumult and turmoil comes into play with some life changes. For one thing, I'm going to be moving when my lease is up at the end of July, and there's a good chance that I'll be moving to a new city. (I work from home, so I can go anywhere.) I've been looking for a new job, and planning to move to where that job is, but for at least a little while at least, I'm abandoning that hunt. (It's been more than 3 years, and the process has gotten to me--my last interview led to about a 2-week breakdown as I reminisced about all of the ways that interviewers have jerked me around in the past, while utterly failing to predict the way that this interviewer would jerk me around.) To replace the job hunt, I've got a couple of major projects in the hopper. First is finishing off a draft of a book that I've been working on. I'm at about 45K words, and want to get it to about 60K to call it a completed draft. (After that, there's plenty of work to do, what with organizing and getting the tone right and all, but that's for later.) The second is less well defined. Basically, the jobs I've been looking for have been ones that would hopefully lead to something with a strong science communication component. I'm looking to explore doing something on my own. For this challenge, I'd be looking to define exactly what that might be--what form it might take, its extent, whether it's a profit-seeking enterprise or something else, and so on. Specific goals are yet to be defined.

Hi. I'm ytterbium, or Greg if you prefer, and I'm excited to get into the next challenge. (The first was really good, but the holidays/between-challenge time) hasn't been so good. My main quest: I've got plenty, but for purposes of this challenge (and probably the next couple), let's go with this: I've signed up for a Warrior Dash on June 14. I'd like to rock it. Unfortunately, I don't have any kind of a gauge for that time-wise. But at least, I'd like to do the race capably -- i.e., successfully running the full thing at a steady but challenging pace and successfully completing all of the obstacles. (If anyone wants to make time goal recommendations: I did a 5K run last summer in about 28:20. That race was pretty flat, whereas this one is supposedly "moderately hilly." I'm planning to be at least about 40 pounds lighter for the Warrior Dash than I was for the 5K. I'm hypothesizing 45 minutes as a goal time, but I have no clue whether that might be realistic or not.) My motivation: My nephew was born last year. I don't particularly want him to know fat Uncle Greg. More generally, I'd like him to look at me and my life as an example to follow. (Or at least learn from. I mean, I sure wouldn't wish the journalism major on him.) My goals for this challenge: These might change by the time the challenge actually starts, but my current plans are: 1. Perform 3 consecutive full pull-ups. I currently can't do any, but I'm close -- about an inch away from getting my chin over the bar. Since I've never done one successfully, I'm not sure exactly how far away from the goal I am. I have a feeling I'll either beat the goal by a lot or miss it by a lot. Grading: 4 points for strength possible. A: 3 pull-ups. B: 2 pull-ups. C: 1 pull-up. D: No pull-ups, but practice done at least 4 times per week. (I really don't have anyplace in my apartment that is suitable, but my gym does -- it's usually, but not always, possible to use them before classes.) 2. Reduce my reliance on packaged and restaurant food. These can both be tough for me -- I live alone, and eating leftovers day after day isn't a favorite activity for me. I also work at home, and sometimes I eat out just to stop looking at my computer for a little while. I don't think it's terribly realistic to eliminate these practices, but I can cut back. The specific goal will involve cooking from scratch at least twice per week (or 4 meals per week), not including breakfasts, and eating out no more than 5 times per week. Grading: 4 points for wisdom possible. A: Cooking from scratch 2x per week and no more than 5 meals out. B: Missing goals by 1 meal total. C: Missing goals by 2 meals total. D: Missing goals by 3 meals total. F: Missing goals by 4 or more meals total. This'll have to be rated weekly and then averaged over the time of the challenge. 3. Continue the dietary improvements from my last challenge. In that one, my (reasonably successful) goal was to cut soda consumption to one per day and eating only when genuinely hungry, rather than because I'm angry, bored, stressed, or just want something. For this goal, I'll update it slightly: I get one day of rational treating (i.e., having a frozen yogurt or a couple cookies) per week for each of these goals. [Days where I eat all the food or drink all the pop are not ok.] Grading: 4 points total possible, 2 in dexterity and 2 in stamina. An A means that I held to the 1 treat per week limit for each. B: 1-2 extras over the challenge period. C: 3-4 extras over the challenge period. D: 5-8 extras. Life quest: Significant book progress. I published a book in 2013, and I'd like for that kind of thing to happen fairly regularly. I've got one in progress, and I'd like to add at least 15,000 words to it by the end of this challenge. Grading: 3 points for wisdom possible. A: 15,000 words total plus at least 2,000 words per week. B: 14,000 words plus 2,000 words per week at least 5 weeks. C: 13,000 words total plus 2,000 words per week at least 4 weeks. D: 10,000 words total plus 2,000 words per week at least 3 weeks. Comments/suggestions welcome.

Main Quest I'm ready to start pushing limits: running more, running faster, lifting heavier weights, building a stronger, healthier self. I want strong, solid habits that will carry me through tough times.. This is longer term than just a few months. I want to lose weight and get stronger. It will probably take about a year for me to lose enough weight to weigh 150 pounds (or less,) which is the upper end of the suggested weight range for my height. I'll judge more by how I look and feel than by the number on the scale. This isn't just about getting SKINNY, though; I want to be able to do more, live longer, and look better. One of my big intermediate goals is to to run (jog, NOT walk) a Warrior Dash. I'm working up to that with weekly strength and cardio training and racing regularly. I've finished two 5k races so far, and hope to run another 3 or 4 races between now and the Warrior Dash on May 10, 2014. Motivation I don't want my fitness level and size to limit what I do anymore. Current Missions Fuel myself properly and earn CON+2 by Eating ONLY when I'm hungry (1 pt per day) Eating ONLY real food--minimally processed meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, and minimal dairy (1 pt per day) Drinking plenty of water (1 pt per day) Eating ONLY between 9 am and 8 pm (1 pt per day) Get stronger, faster, and more flexible and earn STR+1, STA+1 and DEX+1 by completing 4-6 workouts every week, alternating strength, flexibility and cardio workouts, and stretching for at least 10 minutes after each workout. Improve my health, get stronger, faster, reduce stress, live longer and earn CON+1 by going to bed a little earlier every week or two (1 pt per day.) Starting point is going to bed by 11:30 each night. Life Quest Calm and focus my mind, reduce stress, live longer and earn WIS+2 and CHA+2 by meditating for 15 minutes every day (1 pt per day, 1/2 pt for any meditation time) Bonus Quest Build strong habits by succeeding in ALL the quests for this challenge. Scoring: CON+1 for All B's or higher on all challenge goals CON+2 for All A's on all challenge goals STR+1 STA+1Grading A (100%) 34-42 days 25-30 workouts B (75%) 25-33 days 19-24 workouts C (50%) 16-24 days 13-18 workouts D (25%) 7-15 days 7-12 workouts F (0%) 0 - 6 days 0 - 6 workouts

So in 2014 Tough Mudder is going to be in the Phoenix area April 4th & 5th, on April 12th (aka the next weekend) is the Warrior Dash. Both will be my last chance to do one of these types of races before my birthday. Any recommendations for someone who has done an "adventure" race as to which one might be a better choice for a beginner?

Hi all! This will be my first official quest. I joined the Level 1 Rebels in the last week of the previous challenge, and am looking forward to being able to level up this time around. My quest is the same as last time, although with my previous week of experience I am far more knowledgeable about what works for me with regards to exercise, and what will keep me motivated and on track. So here is my mission: Krunchy's Main Quest: to lose fat and gain muscle. Ideally at a fat loss of 2 lbs a week. My Three Dragons: 1. No flour and no glucose, every day. Note that I didn't say 'no sugar'. This will allow me to enjoy my homemade preserves, but avoid any of the processed crap in the store. I will lose a grade for every day that I do not accomplish this goal. Exceptions to this rule: planned Girls Night out this Saturday and my sons 2nd birthday in October. 2. Work up to drinking 10 glasses of water a day, at least 5 days a week. I will keep track on my calendar to ensure that I am meeting this goal. Week one I will drink 5 glasses/day, and for each week after that I will add another glass/day. For every week that I do not accomplish this goal I will lose a grade. 3. Get moving, every day. Strength training one day with cardio the next does not work for me. I lose motivation. I like variety. So 'Get moving' can mean many different things to me. It means any combination of the following, 30-60 minutes a day: working with free weights, HIIT training, running on the treadmill, biking with my family, interval training outside, playing and working out at the playground with my kids, hiking, basically anything that gets my heart rate up and my muscles moving. I will lose a grade for every day that I do not accomplish this goal. The grading system may seem a little harsh, but I have been on this path since the beginning of August, so I have no excuses. I should be able to do the above realistically. The thought of losing a grade WILL keep me on track. Life Quest: Continue to read Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman My Motivation: To be able to do a chin-up. To be a healthy and active role model to my sons. To be good to my body so I can live a long and healthy life. To make up for all the damage I've done to my body up until now. To do a Warrior Dash next year and not have my ass handed to me. To be an inspiration to others so that they can live long and healthy lives too. To vote with my pocketbook so that the current food system is forced to make changes that benefit our society as a whole.

Orcwarrior here.... have done two challenges as a warrior and evolving into doing strength/running cross-training, so decided to move my hat over to the rangers. Had several rangers in my accountibilibuddies group last challenge, good folks. Glad to be here and looking forward to experiencing the joy of rangerness. Life Quest: Get under 200 lbs. Haven’t been under 200 lbs since shortly after left the Air Force in 1996, 17 years ago. When I began my NF journey in April I was at 308 lbs, the heaviest I’ve ever been. Since then I’ve been shockingly (for me) consistent and motivated with diet and workouts, and have lost 49 lbs in about 14 weeks. I want to get back to where I was at 30, weight-wise, and then set some more goals related to raising my performance in running, biking, lifting, or whatever my physical passion is at that time. 1. Steve says that success is boring…. About doing the same effective thing over and over and over again. So my first fitness goal is easy – it’s the same one I’ve had in the last two challenges, because it is the core of my success to date. Goal: I’ll keep a food log of what I eat and calories, every day, with goal to keep calories under 13K/wk (down from 14K last challenge). This is about 1850/day, and I’ve been averaging about 1700-1800 fairly consistently. +3 Con, +1 Cha (because as I lose weight Cha goes up, right?) Graded <13K A, 13-14K B, 14-15K C, 15-16K D, >16K F 2. Workout format is in flux. I’ve been doing strength workouts using bodyweight, first with the Basic Bodyweight Workout, and then the Angry Birds Workout. I’m going to incorporate more advanced bodyweight exercises to start, shooting for an exercise that will allow me to stay in the 8-12 rep range for three sets to keep increasing strength. More specifics on this later. But I’m also shopping for a weight setup, so I may shift over to lifting sometime during this challenge. +4 Str Goal: Do 3 strength workouts/week, formatted to work on increasing strength. Graded 18 workouts A, 16-17 B, 14-15 C, 12-13 D, <12 F 3. I’ve experimented with steady cardio, intervals, then running (which was low-intensity cardio as I was just starting out with Couch to 5K), and found I really need to focus on intervals to keep my metabolism up and running. Goal: Do 2 or more interval workouts/week, either by doing running intervals or on my elliptical (which I’ll start on during the challenge, as I’m working off a good case of shin splints I picked up running on asphalt). +3 Sta +1 Dex Grading 12+ A, 11 B, 10 C, 9 D, <9 F Life Side Quest: [Edit 7/25/2013] I'm going to get my finances in order. Once upon a time I was a militant budgeter, but over the last year or two I've gotten sloppier and less motivated about keeping track of my finances carefully. Recently got latest Quicken but haven't started using it, just downloaded bank transaction info. Completing this quest will involve going through and classifying the last seven months of financial transactions into proper budget categories, and getting the Quicken set up to track credit card transactions as well so I can stay on top of my budget carefully and much more easily. Ideally I'd complete this during the first half of the challenge, but by end is acceptable. Fitness Side Quest: When I started my NF journey in April, I knew I’d need an intermediate-term goal to work toward, and the timing falls beautifully into this challenge for my side quest. On August 11 I’ll be running my first-ever Warrior Dash at Clay’s Park in NE Ohio! Hoo-Rah!!! Can’t tell you how pumped I am! Goal – to keep running and going through obstacles consistently without stopping or walking aside from when I have to wait at obstacles. (From what I hear, there’s enough waiting there that this should be relatively easy, but I can’t think of a better way to quantify doing well here. Ideas welcome!) My Motivation: I don’t want to be the grouchy fat guy at home; instead, I want to be a hero to my wife and my 2 kids – in my fitness, in my leadership, in the example that I set to them in all areas of my life. They are my mission. Challenge starting info: [edit 7/28] Weight: 257 R thigh 28" L thigh 28" Waist 42" Hip 47.75" Navel 47.5" Chest 46" Neck 17" Body fat % 34.76% per the linearsoftware body fat calculator - at 257 lbs this means I have approximately 89 lbs of fat. Tracking fat loss as part of weight loss will help me evaluate how successful I am with losing mostly fat as I hopefully continue to lose. Question by relative newbie – how do you post pics with the “spoiler†button to hide them as desired? Thanks in advance….

Hello, My name is Brandi and I live in the Nashville area. I found this site while searching for Paleo resources. About a year and half ago I lost 70 lbs by doing Medifast which is a meal replacement program that puts your body in ketosis just like Paleo. Since then I've been doing pretty well staying active and keeping the weight off but lately I just feel like I'm getting lazy and I've gained about 10 pounds which I do not approve of. I've been meaning to start Phase II of my transformation which is getting tight and toned so about 2 weeks ago I joined a bootcamp-like gym that does metabolic training circuits, I'm going to begin doing Paleo and I'm also going to begin the 6 week challenge at the end of this month. Did I mention I also signed up for Warrior Dash in October? Hell yeah baby! I definitely have to get in shape to make it through that!! Me in 2011 before weight loss Me now