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I've been deadlifting for a couple of months now and recently I decided to push myself a little harder than usual. I was struggling a bit with 70kg deadlifts, but my form was good so I progressed up to 72.5kg, then 75kg the week afterwards. It was exhausting and barely had energy left to do my other weightlifting. Gradually over the next few days my right foot succumbed to aching pain. The bone(s) under my big toe hurts like crazy, even if I don't stand on it. I can barely limp and can't put shoes on without it being excruciatingly painful. Did this happen because I deadlifted too much too soon? Or is it just something that happens randomly to people? Does anyone know how I can treat it? I tried paracetamol to numb the pain but it didn't work. Thanks guys.

After 10 years on NF, I hate to say it, but, I need a break from the forums. It's been great but I'm a little fatigued and not putting in the effort I used to, to be here and stick to my goals. But I figured I'll be around for one more challenge to say some goodbyes, let you all know what I'll be up to, and not just disappear. I'm not likely to quit entirely, or forever, but just taking an indefinitely long break. So here's a list of my biggest priorities over the next few months. 1) Get spiritually swole: As I've mentioned in previous challenges, I am converting to Orthodox Christianity. Today marks the first day of the Nativity Fast, and with this comes a lot of prayer, fasting, reading/studying, and attending extra church services etc. Then Great Lent and the Catechumenate start in February/March. Then I'll be baptized on May 4 (love that it's on May 4). So that'll be another big bout of fasting, reading, prayer etc. So I'll be quite busy and focused on all that, and I'm planning to disengage from a lot of screen time. 2) I mentioned in the last challenge that I've hung up my heavy bag. I"m considering joining an MMA gym. The goal is to focus on karate for all around fitness, and be able to do some boxing/kickboxing for conditioning, and dip my toe into BJJ when I need to get humbled. 3) Running: for karate/mma and general fitness I want to be running/jogging regularly. For now I'll be working on that first mile, and hopefully working up to running 5k and 10k. 4) Strength training: I want to go back to a more bodyweight focused training and max that out before I set up the old power cage again. But also, do some clean and presses. 5) Trying to find a new line of work: I'm burning out in my current job/company. Doing the same job at another company may or may not appeal to me. IDK. I want to do something else. I recently was offered an adjunct teaching role, but I turned that down because of the catchumenate/Lent because I can't make the time commitments with that going on. But I can dabble, learn about, and explore other things. So basically, this isn't goodbye forever, but I feel like I need to pull away from the forum and screens in general to recharge and focus on other efforts.

I'm finishing up my vacation and after some thinking about how I'm living and what my strengths and weaknesses are. I need to focus on simple daily habits. Exercise Breath-work while the coffee brews Morning walks-- take coffee, listen to audio books, and walk around the neighborhood. (Lift barbells or KBs on rainy days). Eating Breakfast can be normal. After that, all meals at work will be one taco (or similar item) at a time followed by a walk around the shop. Reading and writing Do at least one writing activity on the evening-- even a single sprint or some editing. Stretch before reading. Read before bed.

Been gone a while. Life's been out of control--two jobs and full-time load on school. Discipline is out of the question, I just need to figure out my left and right limits, and do my best to stay the course. Lots of shit pretty much up in the air this month. Housing situation, education funds, job timeline, finances, all uncertain. I think I need to find control where I can get it. Exercise: 3 lifting days, 1 jiu-jitsu day Following a program from Weightlifting AI that just plugs my numbers in. Smooth brain no think. I can feasibly make it to 2 open mat sessions a week, and I want to make a minimum of one just to stay in there. Protein: track 150g Stocked-up on protein powder this month. Eating on a budget, so I'll probably slam half or so in whey until I can afford better food Clean your room: 20 min packing every day I might be moving this month or next. Who knows? Stay mobile, travel light. Gruntstyle.

I've been in this really annoying cycle for the past few years. The cycle goes like this: 1 Getting a wake up call about how far my fitness has fallen, 2. Diving into workouts that are too intense for my current level of fitness, 3. Getting hurt, 4. Having to rest for several weeks, to heal 5. Getting comfortable with laziness, and ceasing healthy behaviors. And repeat. Let's just try it again. The goal right now, is just to workout ..... at all. I don't care the schedule, frequency, style, program. Just to workout at some point in the week and to let that build.

Writing out my training plan in my first post last challenge worked really well for me. I'll still keep my analog log of what I've actually done, but I'd like to use this topic for planning and evaluating my training for 2023.

I had a hard time choosing what to focus on this challenge. I feel like I am still recovering from moving house the last 2 months and then half my family catching covid these past weeks.... and now we're moving into a very busy time of year! with all the birthdays, events and holidays in november and then.. december, need I say more? Then there are the homeschool meetings that I promised to help organise, my SIL's theater show and my nephews band performance I promised to attend, the museum theme's I really want to see, the three Christmas dinners I really want to plan to cook... and then I also really really really would like to get back to more serious training sessions. So..... Goal 1: plan and organise all the things Here is a list of everything that's going on and what I need/want to do for it. Goal 2: make some training progress I'm really happy that I learned to do all or something instead of all or nothing these last two years and it has helped me maintain even during rough life-patches, but I want to see if my brain can handle making a certain volume and intensity of training non-negotiable. Making it a serious priority. Which probably means making more sleep a serious priority (help). > turning off all electronics by ~10pm, except book things > 4 days a week a combination of lifting weights and kettlebell sport, 2 days a week of running, all the commuting by bike. > 5 week block of a simple lineair progression, see program below WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 -> small deload

So things are going well right now. Yay! My goals for this challenge are pretty simple. 1. Keep lifting consistently. - I've been building up my main lifts again. I'm farthest along in Bench Press and OHP - for those two, I'm at the linear plateau again, so I'm starting to rep cycle to keep pushing up the weight, but I'm pretty happy where it is, so if I make progress very slowly from here, I'm good with that. I've just started working on building my Deadlift back up, so I'll be on a linear progression with that for a while. I've made a little progress with the curl bar, so that's nice. I'm starting to try to do Barbell Rows, although it still doesn't feel like I'm doing them right, and I think it will take some time to get the weight dialed in. This morning I ordered a lat pulldown addition for my rack, so that will be very very nice to have. I love doing pulldowns and I've wanted one for a long time. 2. Intuitive Eating - I'm not interested in counting calories or anything like that right now. My fallback position is IE, so I just want to try to honor hunger, fullness, nutrition, and taste, which to me is the heart of IE. I'm going to try give a general report of my performance each day, without having to get too specific. I've been doing this long enough to know when I'm eating well and when I'm eating like an idiot, and when extra treats are warranted and when they're not. And overall, things have been going well lately on this front. I've outgrown some of the emotional eating issues that used to plague me, so that's nice. I'm still recording my weight every few days or so, more for curiosity than anything. I don't have a weight goal, but I'd like to at least stay about where I am, so that I don't have to buy bigger pants. I think that's it for now. I haven't done very well with updating lately, so I'll try to do a little better with this challenge. We'll see how it goes.

Someone posted an article the other day on the NF- Women's FB page which talked about a lady's experiences with weightlifting which brought her away from extreme dieting and excessive cardio; and how much healthier she felt by doing less. And I thought, I also always do too much; and it either consumes my life, or it becomes overwhelming and then I slowly drop everything. I began to wonder, "how can I do less"?, plan-wise of course,; realistically I've been pretty sedentary for a few years and really need to do more. Here's the background summary: 285 lbs senior year of high school, and largely sedentary, -> 315 lbs by senior year of college, and largely sedentary -> 155 lbs three years later, with a severe ED, and multiple intense workouts a day -> 225lbs by law school graduation, two years later with weight lifting and considerably less cardio, -> now 315 lbs again, six years later, working long hours at a desk job and largely sedentary. I felt the best when I was somewhere between 180-225 lbs; when I was strong, but could still run a 5k in 40 min. The article lady, and the lady she was referencing, both focused more on how weightlifting made them feel, rather than how they looked, (though they both looked amazing). While I do want to lose weight, because I've gained so much back since graduation. I am mostly concerned with feeling better. I don't want to be winded doing simple tasks, like going up and down stairs. Planting season is coming and I would like to lift the dirt, pots and mulch without any soreness. Mainly, it'd be nice to just feel all around capable again. For the past few challenges, I've been trying to do a little everyday instead of 2-3 big workouts a week. Trying to do a little something every day has been somewhat more successful, so I'm keeping that. Also I really want to incorporate more walking into my week, 1). because I miss it, 2). because it's so amazing for building stamina and heart heath, and 3). the days are getting longer now and there is actually sunlight for a whole hour after work where I live, so I don't have to walk around in the dark. I also looked up my current calorie expenditure and my goal weight expenditure. And I discovered that the difference between my current weight of 315 lbs and sedentary, and my goal weight of 180 lbs and active, is just 200 calories a day; 2350 overall. 200 less a day is quite doable. I should note, that I've looked all this up before, but it hit differently this time; so did the idea of doing a simple plan. Usually, I end up with several goals, with subsets, and a complicated workout plan and diet plans. I've gotten smarter, I'm not doing that this time. I have 3 goals: 1. Build Stamina! 2. Build Strength! 3. Sleep more!!! All the other things, like eating less carbs, getting certain grams of protein, drinking a certain amount of water, or particular flexibility flows and workouts at really specific times of the day; those all come together pretty naturally when I start to feel better. At least they did when I lost weight the first time, before the ED took over. So I'm not going to worry about it. Though I have a certain amount of calories to aim for I'm not going to count calories; or even worry about restricting anything right now. I'll just be mindful about my portions, food quality and snacks, without a goal I can beat myself up about if I start to mess up. I'm not going to force myself to drink a certain amount of water, or put the completion of certain physical milestones on my mental wellbeing right now; that's not the goal. Performance is not the goal, certain macros and micros are not the goal, nutrition is not the goal, hydration is not the goal; those are ways to reach the goal, but the only real goal is to feel better in my body. I know all this stuff is discussed a lot on this site, but for some reason it's clicking a little differently this time. Here's the new schedule: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Church work work work work work Jujitsu Walk Walk Walk Walk Gym 1 Gym 2 Gym 1 I figure if I do 15-30 min. walks just around the neighborhood, several days a week, I can do a slow and steady growth on distance/stamina. Gym days #1. RDLs, bench, and dips. Gym days #2. Squats, shoulder press, and pull-ups (lat pull downs for now). Gym days will begin with 10-20 min. of interval cardio to warm up, and build cardio strength. And will end with a 10 ish min. yoga/stretching. Straightforward and simple. And if I miss a day, or a week, I'm not going to beat myself up this time; because the only goal is to feel better, not to hit certain milestones. I think I might actually have it this time.

A reoccurring theme I've noticed in my challenges is people commenting, "Wow, that's a lot". And then I always hit a wall at some point and only meet half of my goals. So I'm going to try to ease back a bit, because the whole point of these challenges is to build new habits, and I'm not doing that if I lose steam half way through and have to start over again every single time. I took my first vacation, ever, this past week, and I have felt so much better that I realize I really need to take more time for myself. This is basically what I've been trying to do for the past couple of challenges. But I only seem to actually workout a couple of times a week. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Work Work Work Work Work Jujitsu (AM) Church “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ Cardio Resistance Jujitsu (PM) Life Group Errands Cardio Resistance Endurance or Speed Hams (RDLs) & Chest Yoga Abs Yoga Endurance Hams (RDLs), Lats & Delts I do want to workout everyday, because trying to fit in all of my workouts into just a few days, historically, has also been a disaster for me. So I'm attempting to make some changes that should be more feasible. Thus far, I've noticed that, try as I might, I can't get myself to do any time of long, involved workout on Saturdays. And they only sometimes work for Sundays. I really want to take my weekends off to catch up on errands, housework, and just let myself rest and detach. So I think I'm going to change the Saturday workout to a light yoga and core work day. Sundays some time of light cardio at home. Wednesdays are supposed to be Jujitsu, but my instructor is having scheduling issues and we've been on weekday hiatus for the past six months. I want to leave that day open for Jujitsu, but I also want to just go home after work, so I think I'll change that to a bodyweight, or Martial Arts drill day at home. But because of other obligations in the week, taking out Wednesday and the weekends, really messes with having a balanced schedule. My court schedule recently changed, and I'm heavily considering taking Fridays off, or at least Friday afternoons off. Which would let me get my errands done early, which would leave my Friday evenings available for workouts. ...... I'm thinking. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Work Work Work Work Work Jujitsu (AM) Church “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ (?? Off?) Resistance Cardio Jujitsu (PM) Life Group Errands?? Rest Cardio Hams (RDLs), Chest & Back (Bench & Lat pull down) Endurance or Speed (& Abs?) BW/(MA?) Squats/Quads, Shoulders & Rows) Yoga/Rest Abs? Resistance? Yoga/Abs/(Rest)? Endurance or Speed (& Abs?) I'm also thinking really hard about getting a barbell for home. If I manage that, I'll do a RDLs every day. In which case, the whole thing will change. *****Honestly, this challenge changed three different times while I was writing it. Here are my goals, 1. Workout every day, (or not if approved by schedule) 2. Eat more, earlier in the day, so I don't overeat at night. ( And I guess less overall). 3. At least 6: hours of sleep and glasses of water, per day. Chart key: ❌s & ✔️s Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

Alternately titled, “Let’s Try This Again, Shall We?” Apparently, attempting to join a new community of cool fitness friends while also getting a master’s degree AND battling a pandemic is just doing one thing too many. So now I’m back again to see if I can make this nifty Forum thing work! First things first: hi! I’m Sparkle, a 24-year-old lady in the piney forests and concrete canyons of Seattle, WA. I spent the pandemic finishing my bachelor’s in graphic design, then earning my MBA (Fighting Irish, twice over!), driving cross-country back to the family home, and getting my first Real-Deal Adult Job as the Creative Director for a small engineering firm. Now I’m getting my mental feet back under me after the chaos of moving and readjusting, and this challenge has landed in my lap like a perfectly-timed kick in the pants. My goal for this challenge is simple: be brave. Enough of running scared and wishing for more courage, it’s time I made myself some courage of my own. Be brave at work, by daring to engage playfully with my grouchy-bear boss and proposing innovative designs that push his conventional envelope rather than just keeping my head down. Be brave in my workouts, by pushing myself to hit 80 lbs for all sets of my upper body lifts and adding rear deltoid rows to my existing routine. Be brave personally, daring to carve out time for myself and spending at least two concerted, focused hours on personal development/enjoyment each weekend. Charisma: +1 each weekday for engaging playfully and teasingly with my boss (possible total: 5 points per week) Strength: +1 each workout (goal of 4 per week) that I add in shoulder work, bonus point for each new lifting set I push to hit 80 lbs (possible total: 4 points per week, more with bonuses) Intelligence: +1 for each solid, focused hour spent working on sewing projects or learning to design mobile-first websites via my Skillcrush course (possible total: 2 points per week) I’m not gonna start my challenge until November 1, for tidy timekeeping reasons, so this weekend will be a good time to get some practice in. So, without further ado, let’s go! HUZZAH!

So for the next 2 weeks(9/11 - 9/25) I will be leaving sunny wonderful Florida to spend time at my cabins in Wisconsin. Highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. It is going to be quite the change. Goals for the challenge Workout of some sort daily 10k steps daily Eat whole foods(mostly paleo with limited dairy and maybe one whole grain serving daily). Two travel days are cheatish days(morning food and some beer). Also some freeze dried camping food reviews for content. I may choose to have whiskey once while up at the cabins but other than that strict. Daily hobby 50XP of Duolingo daily Read 10ish pages Post a picture of dinner Examples of WODs Ruck Run Circuit training Weight lifting Hobbies Minis Content creation(youtube videos and launch channel) Fishing Model rockets Building things(fish tank stand) Board games Currently also running a PvP warm up for Rucktober. I need to market Rucktober and get some sign ups. The PvP for the warm up is here if anyone is interested.

It’s been awhile since I participated with the Warrior’s Guild, but I’m back and ready to lift all the heavy things again! Since this challenge runs over Halloween, my favorite holiday, it’s werewolf themed again! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My Motivation Since starting my new job back in March, I lost access to my gym. I’ve been walking outside, but have not done any strength training for months and I miss it. Now, with access to my new at-home gym setup, I have barbells and a bar/bench to lift again! My main focus for this challenge will be lifting, but I also want to continue walking to get back into better scuba diving shape. I’ve maintained my 1200 calories per day, M-F with blow meals on the weekends. However, I need to drop some weight before my physical in mid-November so I’m going back to 1 blow day/weekend. This will be a hard challenge, since it’s been awhile for me, but I’m ready and willing, so let’s rage! Smaller Quests 1. Big Beastie = Weightlifting It’s time to get back to lifting all the heavy things! I’ve missed it, so it’s time to reset and lift stuff again. I like it, it makes me feel better about myself and it’s got practical, real-world purposes. However, since it’s been awhile since I last lifted heavy things, I’m starting off with lower weights than I normally would since I don’t want to hurt myself. Werewolves are, first and foremost, destructive forces with incredible strength. Most werewolves are particularly strong in the upper body, although they’re really just all-over slabs of muscle. Scoring: x/5 (1 for each weight achieved) - Barbell Curls: 12.5lbs → 20lbs - Bench Press: 45lbs → 65lbs - Deadlift: 50lbs → 65lbs - Squat: 50lbs → 65lbs - Tricep Pullovers: 12.5lbs → 25lbs Reward: +5 to STR (+1 for each completed) 2. Stalking = Walking I have an hour for lunch, so I’ve been walking for 40 minutes M-F, which gets me about 2 miles in that time. I want to make sure I walk each day, M-F for 40 minutes, outside. Another big thing werewolves do is stalk their prey. So being able to walk for miles at a time, without ill effects, is important. Scoring: x/25 days Reward: +5 to STA (+1 for every week achieved) 3. Blood & Guts = Blow Meals My blow meals on weekends have gotten out of control. Where I used to only have 1 blow meal per weekend, it’s turned into two full days of eating badly. And since my annual dive physical is coming up on November 16, I need to shed some pounds to make sure I’m in the best diving shape for Scuba Santa in December! So it’s back to 1 blow day per weekend. Werewolves run on high protein diets and not much else. Scoring: /5 weekends Reward: 3+ CON & 2+ CHA (+1 for each weekend achieved) Time to RAGE!!!

¸„.-•~¹°”ˆ˜¨ Health & Happiness Are Hard ¨˜ˆ”°¹~•-.„¸ Wherein the Cracked_Belle Un-Dies 𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕒 𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕐'𝕒𝕝𝕝 I am diagnosed with a lot crap that makes life hard — manic depression, C-PTSD, OSFED (eating disorder), OCD, anxiety, some chronic pain, and other crap. these aspects of me and my life are going to come up in my journey to getting back on track with my health and happiness. I'll try to be sensitive to triggers, include warnings such as this where needed, and use spoilers when necessary. but this is my "cover my butt" warning. thanks in advance for you understand. life is difficult; but I find obtaining Health and Happiness is even harder. as aforementioned, I have some mental and physical ailments that complicate the normal struggles of life even further. recently, my depression and my eating disorder have been soul-consuming. it's time to end that. I used to be a rather active member of Nerd Fitness in its early days. the life happened and I left for a while. well, I'm back; and hopefully for even longer this time. I'd like to get my life and health in order, lol. as follows are my current Goals for this upcoming Challenge. I, of course, reserve the right to adjust them as time progresses and I see what's going to work for me and what isn't. Get Down to 125 Pounds (ideally by 08/24/2020) Do a Daily Workout weightlifting on MTWRFA everyday: warm-ups and cool-downs MR: upper body — push-up, bicep curl, bent-over row TF: lower body — squat, strait-leg deadlift, calf raise AW: mix/misc — mountain climber, tensor curl, flexor curl, donkey kick cycling everyday AMWR: ~5 mi (2 circuits) URF: ~2.5 mi (1 circuit) Adhere to Caloric Schedule [TW — Eating Disorders] TO BE UPDATED to a point wherein I'm not slowly starving myself gets tweaked and Friday before depending on plans for the week Goal Average Kcal/Day: <700 Sat: 1,200 Sun: 1,200 Mon: 0 Tue: 1,200 Wed: 0 Thu: 1,200 Fri: 0 Log Monthly Body Measurements take body measurements at start of every month Log Daily Metrics continue to complete the daily Metrics spreadsheet, filling it in as completely as possible Make Next Week's Food Plan every Friday, make the caloric and cooking food plan for the following week (as starts on then ext day of Sat) Manage My Mental Health Do Daily AM Prep complete morning preparations for the day, every day Do Daily PM Review complete evening review of the day, every day Complete Mood Form Daily complete the mood tracking form at least once every day Track Meds track all medications and (certain) supplements consumed every day Become a Professional Writer [to be tweaked soon] Find a Career Counselor/Coach solidify a working relationship with a career counselor/career Resume Being Creative Write for One Hour per Week work on any writing project for a total of at least one hour a week Be Artsy for One Hour per Week do any artistic work for a total of at least one hour each week

Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My Motivation For my 37th challenge here, I’m going back to the Ranger’s Guild to balance endurance with strength training. I started here back in 2014, after having dropped weight and started a fitness routine on my own. However, with Nerd Fitness, I honed my focus and added muscle. But it’s been awhile since I did a challenge here and I find the motivation the forum provides is a great one. I’ve maintained my 1200 calories per day, M-F with blow meals on the weekends and I’ve been going on daily walks with my husband M-F. My weekly meals will remain the same, but I want to hold myself accountable for walking more and to add in weightlifting again. Smaller Quests 1. Walking I want to walk each day during this challenge, including on the weekends. Ideally, I would be walking 2 miles per day, but with going into my office sporadically, and with the spring weather (read: rain), I’m not sure how realistic this is. So I’m going to shoot for every day to see how it goes. Scoring: x/34 days Reward: +5 to STA (+1 for every week completed) 2. Weightlifting - Trim & Tone workout from Darebee.com I enjoy weightlifting, but lack a proper gym at home. Still, I do have barbells and I should be using them. I want to focus on my arms, and my biceps even more specifically. I want to use another Darebee program, but only a few times a week. Before, I’ve gone with a specific program, but that website has a lot of single day programs too. I’m going to try a single workout, twice a week. The Trim & Tone workout focuses on arms and I should be able to perform the exercises at home. Scoring: x/10 days Reward: +5 to STR (+1 for every week completed) 3.Language - Spanish I want to practice my Spanish again on DuoLingo, so I want to aim for once a day, M-F. Scoring: x/25 days Reward: +5 to WIS (+1 for every week completed)

I started weight lifting about 6 weeks ago. My focus is on my legs and back and I would get on the torso rotation machine as a start to get my middle area ready to do some harder stuff eventually. 3 days ago I got on 2 different ab machines with very little weight to just get a feel for it. I only did 2 sets on each machine and my abs have been sore. Today I hit the gym and got back on the same machines and I would get super sharp pain inside where my c section scar is when i tried doing my sets. I only did 2 reps on each. It hurt So bad i wanted to cry. Its been 4 years since the c section happened and im wondering if anyone has gone through something like this after so long?? After i went to the torso rotation where i usually do 110lbs and i had to bring it down to 90 because it was very uncomfortable. Im very disappointed because i got excited after trying out the machines 3 days ago and my scar did not hurt then and now it does but only when i try using the ab machines. Any advice please??

I've met some of you monks around the guilds, but a brief intro... I am Brogo, I typically hang out in the warriors or adventurers. I just got done with an 80 day stint of ketogenesis in which I lost 10 lbs., but my motivation to workout has gone flat. So to give myself a reason to run, lift, and stay limber, I'm going to return to martial arts (or at least give it another shot). In college I studied Shaolin Eagle Claw Kung Fu. I did that for three years and it was the best shape of my life (granted I was in my early 20's). I went from about 260 lbs. down to 210 in the first year. I got stronger, faster, and felt awesome. I was able to to jumping spinning kicks, and could almost do the splits, and new how to lock joints and spar and throw people around. Super fun. Plus, I had a lot of focus, discipline, and mindfulness. In grad school, when I got back up to 260, I started NF and lifting weights. Since then, it has now been right about 6 years, I'm stronger, but I have not been lower than 244 on the scale, and I struggle with motivating myself to get below 250. Recently on keto I saw 249, but struggled to push below and didn't have the energy to workout. Hopefully, practicing a martial art can motivate me to crush that goal. Goal 1, Conditioning: I don't move like I used to and I don't have the endurance. So before I settle into a martial art practice/study I need to get my body moving again. Daily: Stretch, Breathe, Meditate: 2x Daily, individually or in combination Combat: Do one basic stance, strike, or technical drill 1x Daily Core: Do one core exercise 1x Daily Conditioning: Run: 1x Weekly Strength Training: Pretty much any other kind of workout 2x Weekly Goal 2, Find a dojo: I need to pick a new martial art. There is no Eagle Claw Kung Fu here in Indianapolis. Plus, what I'm looking for in a martial art now is different. Kung Fu was great because it was physically demanding, but now I'm more interested in something I can do sustainably for years to come, and something that has more applicability for self-defense, and develops character in a balanced way. Here are a few dojos/martial arts in town I'd like to try: Jumonkan (Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, Senso Jujutsu, Kenjutsu, Judo) Mudokwan (Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Kendo, Iaido) MMA (various clubs) (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, etc) 7-star Praying Mantis Kung Fu That's the short list. I'm going to try Jumonkan on Aug. 7. They offer a free Aikijujutsu class as an intro to their dojo. What I pick will be a balance of money/time/interest/whether or not the teacher is crazy etc. Goal 3, To-Do List: Daily: Clean something, Check To-do list Weekly: Update To-do list/challenge sheet The Tao of Brogojutsu (spoilered to remain hidden from those who would use this haphazardly compiled collection of musings about martial arts practice for evil)

It has been a challenging year for me and I am looking to get myself back focused on “me” . Up till June I was doing so well....lost 10 lbs even...now that is all back on my ass and I am feeling it.... I can not get into the Challenge proper until August 12th ( have a animathon conference to attend this weekend out of town) but I will jump on in and get myself on Track adn hit this hard on Monday 12th . Here is my game. 1 - Three weeks ( till end of August) of cleanse diet followed by the rest of the time testing food back in– this is a non negotiable as I have developed ugly dermatitis on my arms and I think it helps to eat better. 2- Consistency with my workouts – Holly shit sticks this gets hard for me... I will play a bit with this during this challenge but I am aiming to get up and do early AM workouts Monday- Friday My workouts are truly a mix of everything in my home gym deep down in the catacombs. I want to get stronger faster and just better in my overall fitness by next spring……For this initial challenge I want to work out being more consistent that is all, the training plan will come later. Even if I roll out of bed and do 10 push ups - for this challenge i will count that as a win Game Plan - I will update weekly Monday – Clean Eating & AM workout Tuesday – Clean Eating & AM Workout Wednesday – Clean Eating & Am Workout Thursday - Clean Eating & AM Workout Friday – Clean Eating & AM Workout Saturdays - Clean Eating & Rest/Active Rest Sunday – Clean Eating & Endurance Workout

I pretty much gave up last challenge and ate So last challenge I did two GORUCKS and then really just sat around and ate. two years a go my pre IRONMAN Texas race weight was 163lbs. Up until a few months a go I have stayed down in the 165's or so. That has recently gone way off the charts though. This morning I was 175lbs. That being said I know a lot of it is sodium but I still have gained close to 10lbs I am guessing. It is not helping that my In Laws are here until Sunday and we are drinking and eating out every night. I can try to use that excuse but last nights burger and brownie sundae were my choice as opposed to a salad. The Delerium Red on draft was excellent though and I have never seen that. So for this challenge I would like to get under 163lbs, yes lose 12lbs in 5 weeks. Keep in mind though I should drop 3-5 quickly due to sodium. I also have two other minor goals, WOD daily, and eat paleo clean(this will be how I lose the weight). Lose 12 lbs WOD daily(includes stretching) Eat Paleo I do have a GORUCK heavy in 3 months so my WODs will be a 3 day rotation. Lift Recovery(swimming usually) Ruck, and possible light WOD That is about it for me. Kicking this off today 6/25.

Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My motivation I eat 1200 calories per day, M-F with blow meals on weekends. It’s been over 3 months since my last challenge and I want to get back into the regiment of it, so I’m back! And I’m with the Rangers for this challenge. I’ve been going to the gym, but it hasn’t been as focused on a particular area since I haven’t done a challenge in awhile. I intend to do some weightlifting, per my usual, but I want to focus more on other smaller quests this time around. I enjoy doing themed workouts and for this challenge it will be Galaxy Quest because it’s been awhile since I had a set workout routine and I want to get back into the habit, therefore I should never give up and never surrender! 1. “Never Give Up. Never Surrender!” -Captain Taggart Walking It’s a great workout and fairly easy, so I’m once again going to be walking. Plus, the crew of the NSEA Protector have to walk around a lot when they go to help the Thermians. Scoring: /30 miles in 4 weeks (7.5 miles per week) Reward: +3 STA & +3 DEX 2. “By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged.” -Dr. Lazarus Weightlifting I enjoy weightlifting; it makes me feel good about my pathetic human body and it’s got real-world, practical purposes. However, it’s been awhile since I did it seriously, so I’m going to be easing back into it. I’m going lower than I probably need to, but I can adjust the starting weights accordingly. Bench press: 45lbs → 60lbs Squat: 50lbs → 75lbs Barbell curl: 15lbs → 20lbs (with good form!) Deadlift: 50lbs → 75lbs Pullups - 1 with good form Scoring: /5 Reward: +5 to STR (1 for each achieved) 3. “I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just "Crewman Number Six." I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove how serious the situation is. I've gotta get outta here.” - Guy Fleegman Sweet Treats I’m still addicted to sugary, processed sweet stuff! During the week, I want to try to stick to snacks like fresh fruit, popcorn and nuts. Score: /20 Reward: +2 to CON & +2 to CHA

Well, it finally happened - at the tender age of 35, I have finally decided to become a real adult. It was inevitable. I could see it coming years ago, but damn, I put it off as long as I was able. I'm proud of how long I held out... but now I'm excited to finally be wearing my big-girl panties, and exploring the wild expanses of genuine adulthood. To inaugurate my level-up, I am setting a 30-day challenge for myself. My goals are as follows: - Complete the move-in process to our new house (including unboxing and organizing all our shit) - Complete the move-out process from our old house (sign-off all the paperwork & turn in the keys) - Revamp my wardrobe, from the current mish-mash of accumulated crap, to a *purposeful* *functional* *events appropriate* one - ACTUALLY WEAR THE NEW WARDROBE - Update my financial budget - Resume healthy living (cooking at home, prioritizing my workouts, and maintaining self-care routines) I'm setting the challenge dates for 01 APR - 30 APR, simply because I want to do a "30 Days, Before & After" kind of photo collage [and a 1 month timeframe is easiest]. I'll get back in sync with the actual 4WC timeline after that.

My to do list is down to just a few items, and I'm feeling whimsical this morning, so: Tinker: Ironically the least pressing of my goals; keep messing about with Thermoplastics stuff. Tailor: Make 2 pairs of work pants, one to be used for the company Winter Party on Dec 9th. Soldier: Keep working out/ doing PT. Spy (3 parts): Keep improving knowledge with online classes and language practice, turn down unnecessary schedule entanglements, and update my resume. I have not actually read the book or watched the movie by that name, but it fit my challenge goals better than the rest of the counting rhyme, "rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief." This year has been dedicated to calming myself down, and getting (and keeping) my schedule manageable. It hasn't been 100% successful, but that's the point of challenges: to keep at it. I turn 40 next year, which isn't a big thing to me, but I'd like to hit some goals by then: new career (preferably based on all the things I've been studying for the past decade), new cosplay outfit (by May, eep!), and new fitness levels (ok, ok, I"m already there, but that just means set the next level higher, right?). I feel like I'm in a good place to reach all of those, but the first one, which is most out of my hands, is the one I'd like best. I've been putting it off for a bit because a) I made a deal with my boss to stay through mid-2019, and b) I let my plate get over-full in the last few months, and wanted to clear it before really focusing on job hunting. Think I'm in a solid place now, though, so start with the basics: clean up the resume.

Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My Motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories, so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. I've managed to put on some muscle in an effort to become stronger by weightlifting and I’ve discovered that I love lifting heavy things! I’m not quite done with my previous challenge, since I’ve still got 4 more days of NaNoWriMo left, but I wanted to get this out there since a new challenge started yesterday. Because we’re coming into the Christmas season, my theme for this challenge will be holiday-appropriate with Die Hard. Yes, the holiday classic with excellent quotability and the king of badasses, Bruce Willis. As he’s more stealthy and fast than a straight-up bruiser, I’m staying with the Rangers for this challenge. 1. “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.” - John McClane = Weightlifting I enjoy weight lifting, and it’s been awhile since it was a regular part of my gym routine, so I’m back at it again with this challenge. And, as a cop, McClane would have to be physically fit for the job. Doubly so in the movie since he’s got to hang onto a fire hose dangling from a skyscraper. I want to achieve the following: Bench press: 70lbs → 90lbs Squat: 65lbs → 85lbs Tricep Pullovers: 20lbs → 30lbs Deadlift: 80lbs → 100lbs Pullups: 4 → 7 (with good form!) Scoring: /5 Reward: +3 STR & +3 CHA 2. “Hey, sprechen ze talk?” - Harry Ellis = Spanish We’re going back to Cozumel in January for a week of diving. It’s been a few months, so I want to practice my Spanish again to refresh before the trip. I know the bad guys in the movie are German, or a bad interpretation of an English/German (Hans, I’m looking at you), but Spanish is a close enough stand-in. Scoring: x/20 once a day during the week, Monday through Friday Reward: +3 to WIS 3. “Walk around on the rug barefoot and make fists with your toes.” - Businessman = Walking This is a great miniquest because not only is it great exercise, but it’s not as exhausting as running. Plus, McClane walks, sneaks rather, around everywhere in the movie. Scoring: x/30 miles in 4 weeks (7.5 miles per week) Reward: +3 CON & +3 DEX

Hey everyone! I'm having trouble with a conceptual thing, and I was hoping I could get a little advice. When I first started this journey in August, I just focused on running - "Get out there and run a mile!". I kept doing that for 3X per week and three weeks later I increased that to two miles! Basically ran 2 miles 3X per week through September. Zero weightloss, but I'm still getting my diet in line, and honestly, it's not a lot of effort - I didn't expect a huge drop. Halfway through October, I realize I'm bored. It's not that I'm not seeing progress - I finally get up to 3 miles, 3X per week! But I'm just bored, and I feel the gears grinding to a quit, even if physically I'm not stopping just yet. So I think about strength training! And I join Nerdfitness because I've seen them in the past and feel they've got a good beginner program to start. I also join a local nearby gym. I love the way strength training makes me feel powerful and strong. I immediately within 2 weeks drop 6 pounds. A month after starting strength (because I took pictures and measurements this time!) I see huge results. I actually LOOK different. I lose 2 inches off my waist and thighs. Sure my diets in line now, and that's 80% of the equation, but strength training has given me something running never has - this overwhelming powerful feeling in my gut. I feel my corded legs when I walk. My arms look different - sore shaped. This is silly, but I feel like a Greek God. I'm still running, but I feel like I'm "phoning in" the runs. Then it's like November - the time of the COLD has begun (for Seattle! It's like 50 degrees and I wanna die). So I restart Bikram Traditional Hot Yoga, more to supplement what I'm currently doing. Plus feeling warm is super great!!! The first time I actually feel nauseous but I hang in the class and I feel amazing afterwards. I go a second time, still sore from strength training, and I feel like amazing during and after. I want to do this like, through the entire season. It's AMAZING. But I haven't run this week. And I just want to go strength train. Sure I want to run a half marathon next year, but I've never got the results from running as I have from strength training. Even something as hard as Bikram isn't running. I'm just stuck because for me, I don't really see myself competing in strength lifting competitions. I don't see the "end goal" achievement with strength training. I just like it. It's super fun! I don't want to drop running. I do want to run a half in the August-October time frame next year. But how can I do that if I don't love running? I have to put in serious time/effort to keep increasing my speed and distance. It's just falling by the wayside of priority and I'm just a bit stuck. Finally, how would you balance rest days for Powerlifting (full body, lower body, and upper body) Running (mostly lower body) and Bikram (full body)?

I'm a newcomer to the world of weights, and have recently started consulting with a personal trainer for set routines. Here's my intro. A little background on me: I've been running for almost 5 years, started doing Synergy (HIIT) and Body Pump (weightlifting meets aerobics) around a year ago, and decided I wanted to do something a little more tailored. So I got my routine laid out for my weights days - started on the machines, and then this week, for the first time, I was unleashed into the downstairs gym in order to humiliate improve myself on the free weights. It was a big day! So my old routine, for six weeks was this: 3 sets of 25 reps on all - Leg press (horizontal): Started at 35kg/77lb -- rose to 45kg/99lb Chest press (seated): Started at 5kg/11lb -- rose to 10kg/22lb Seated row: Started at 10kg/22lb -- rose to 15kg/33lb Shoulder press: 1.25kg/3lb -- 2.5kg/3lb Tricep pulldown: 8.75kg/19lb -- 11.25kg/25lb Bicep curl: 6.25kg/14lbs I did this twice a week, with a 4km warmup run (usually around 25 minutes). Once a week I would also do a HIIT class, and sometimes take a longer, 45 minute run, depending on schedule and weather. Never did manage to go heavier on the biceps as I would get back pain using the cable machine. Shoulder press was always a tricky one for me, and I could tell I was occasionally lopsided with the machine. Over those 6 weeks, I've lost 1kg of fat and gained 1kg of muscle. Body fat is down by a little under 1% to 25.7%. I'm also eating high protein/low carb, although this is hard as it's almost Christmas and my dad is filling our house with pies! So, six weeks in, my new routine and starting weights are: 3 x 15 on all - Leg press (inclined): 50kg/110lb Smith machine: 10kg/22lb Lat pulldown: 24kg/53lb Shoulder press, dumbells: 4kg/9lb each (this was a struggle, might reduce to 3kg?) Biceps, db: 5kg/11lb Triceps, db, "nosebreaker": 3kg/7lb Now I've done one workout, I'm really kind of surprised by how some of these have gone! 10kg on the Smith feels harder than 10kg on the horizontal CP. How I've suddenly been able to jump up to 4kg each on the shoulder press (with difficulty), I don't know! I guess the lower reps make a big difference. But my tricep weights have nearly halved from the machine workout! My PT says this is because I'm working other muscles more, so am more tired by the time I get to this stage. Has anyone else had this experience? It's a little disheartening, but it's reassuring that there's a good explanation. But it was a fun day. The Smith machine looks scary as hell at first sight, and I had a workout just loading the 25kg plates on and off the leg press! Looking forward to levelling up, and kinda thrilled that I am now allowed out to play with the big boys and girls!