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Welcome everyone to my first challenge for 2018! My (user)name is DarK_RaideR and last month I turned 31. I’m Greek, I recently switched from government work back to being a self-employed lawyer and I refer to my girlfriend as my Special Ranger Lady Friend, or SRLF for short. That’s pretty much all you need to know…. oh, I’ve also been on this forum for about three and a half years, which is also how long I’ve been a crossfit athlete. For those unfamiliar with Crossfit, the start of every year is the Open season, this year happening from Feb. 22 to Mar. 26. During that time, a workout is announced every Thursday, people go to crossfit boxes and do it under the watchful eye of a certified judge or upload a video of themselves doing it so they can be judged, then ranked on a global leaderboard, with the best of them moving on to Regional qualifiers and the Crossfit Games in the summer. For most of us who aren’t professional athletes, it’s a chance to participate, celebrate, compete with friends and compare results with where we used to be. This year will be my third Open and unless @Endor decides to chicken out (injuries don’t count, since I did the 2017 Open with a blown knee) this challenge is devoted to preparing me for the 2018 Open so I can have him shedding tears of loss onto his Crossfit Pireaus shirt. Of course, even though some folks here might disagree (Warriors especially), life is more than just eating and working out, so I’m including a few other life quests in line with my 2018 Roadmap. Speaking of which, I got my benchmark numbers on the morning of Jan. 1st (87kg, 100cm waist) and looking to take those down by the end of the year. Quest 1: Not a single day lost. 3 Crossfit workouts per week minimum and active recovery during days where I'm not going to the box. Quest 2: Get in the Zone. Measure my home cooked meals and use the 30/40/30 rule for the rest. Make sure everything is balanced and zone-compatible. Quest 3: No distractions before 15:00 on workdays. hat includes NerdFitness, Videogames, Steam, Gamersplane.com and the Grey Dog Software forums. Also, no social media, unless specifically asked to look up something. Quest 4: Housework. Keep up with the day to day stuff (laundry, ironing, dishes etc) and do something beyond the usual stuff at least once every week. Quest 5: Continue using a Bullet Journal. t keeps me organized and makes sure the little stuff gets done. As a final note, for those who haven’t followed any of my 2017 challenges, I will be using a wrestling manager videogame (way cooler than it sounds) called Total Extreme Wrestling to provide a narrative for your entertainment. This has nothing to do with the challenge itself, it’s just a way for me to make my favorite game a bit juicier and hopefully put a smile on you readers’ faces. I’m aiming for 3 weekly updates (Mon-Wed-Fri) in general, but that might change on occasion.

I've broken this year down to 3 big chunks of long challenges leading up to major fitness events. Chapter 1 was about preparing for the Crossfit Open 2017, Chapter 2 was about preparing to run a Tough Mudder in Ireland next to @Jarric and now Chapter 3 is about getting ready to run the Spartan Super in Sparta on November 5th. I've also kept up a wrestling narrative, where I’m playing Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 and doing the Road to Glory challenge, essentially creating a newbie 18 year old alter ego in some backyard wrestling promotion as I try to headline the Main Event of a big promotion’s Pay Per View event. Technical details and rules can be found here. I am using the game’s database of characters, but set in 1997. Considering the first TEW was set in 2005, it's pretty early in that universe and if played well, I should have the chance to rise together with the game's most famous characters. While so far I've used my Guild Leader powers to move the same thread across challenge forums until each chapter was complete, I've realized it makes it hard for people to keep up with the narrative if they've missed the start. Also, since I will be tweaking my goals for every challenge cycle anyway, I decided I might as well set up a new thread to continue where the old one left off and help people get back in track with where me and my storytelling is. Nutrition: Quantity over quality I feel like I've been focusing on the tree and missing the forest. While my overall eating habits aren't perfect (far from it) I do know what's good to eat and what not. I no longer indulge myself or go overboard with ultra junk food, nor do I really carve such things. You could say that more or less I have my eating in line and have been focusing on trimming the details to perfect it. Given my current life parameters, that is too much effort for too little detail that will result in too minor a difference. While I've been focusing there, I let the fact slide that I am consuming massive quantities of food and most of it is completely senseless and irrational because I'm not that hungry. That said, my nutrition goal for this challenge cycle will be to cut down on the quantity of my meals. Pretty cloudy goal, even if I'll know when I've hit or missed it, but just to make it a bit more SMART I'll put it out as a "mindful eating" goal. Take a moment to consider what and why I'm eating before I eat it, as well as give myself some time to feel full before I decide to have some more. Crossfit: Focused work on eliminating weaknesses When I did the Tough Mudder, I was at my worst physical shape ever for a race and fully expected it to be a trainwreck. Surprise surprise, not only it went great, I even rocked stuff that's been troubling me since day one such as rings and hangs. My biggest weakness was conditioning and that also becomes apparent pretty much on every crossfit workout I do. The lessons from the Mudder, coupled with the fact that going to the box 3 times a week to train is no longer a challenge but an established habit, mean I need to rethink my training. For every week of training, my goal is to spend some extra time working on one of three things: Metabolic Conditioning, Grip Strength and Climbing skills, Upper Body Strength. Things that count as Metabolic Conditioning: Running, Rowing, Assault Bike, Ski Machine, Double Unders, Burpees, Box Jumps, Wall Balls Things that count as Grip Strength and Climbing Skills: Dead Hangs, Pull ups, Muscle ups and pretty much anything involving rings or a pull up bar Things that count as Upper Body Strength: Shoulder Presses, Standard or Handstand Pushups, Bench Press Ideally, at the end of the week I want to have 3 workouts down and one of these three practiced in each Bullet Journalling I keep a simple journal, just dots of things I have to do that I strike out after I've done them. None of the fancy schmancy stuff, simple but it works for me. I've noticed I tend to slip and forget this, which destroys any pretense of organization, so I need to track my progress and make sure I keep doing it until it's an ingrained habit. Domestic Rangering My new job is much closer to home and lets me be back a lot earlier, before the SRLF is there even. My goal is to take advantage of that time to get the house in order instead of goofing around and then sluggishly doing whatever I can be assed to (usually just dishes, laundry and the occasional cooking or ironing).

Continuing from Chapter 1 where I did the Crossfit Open and Chapter 2 where I did a Tough Mudder in Ireland, this third Chapter will be about doing the Spartan race in ancient Sparta on November 5th. In the words of a wise Jedi Master: Eyes on the prize The Tough Mudder experience was a useful test in that sense and taught me that I need to keep doing what I do, plus eat better to feel lighter and work on my conditioning. This means I need to Eat lighter, eat healthier Sugar and processed carbs contribute to weight gain and that bloated feeling. Avoid them, simple as that. Keep working out It's not like I'll suddenly stop Crossfitting, but I don't want to suddenly put up specialist goals like running and grip strength. Instead, I'm keeping this flexible with a program that'll change with every challenge cycle. For starters, I'm sticking with 3 CF workouts per week until the end of this cycle (August 5) and brainstorming what's next. Unrelated to the race but tracked nonetheless are life quests to keep Bullet Journalling and at long last get a plumber to fix the damn toilet. The wrestling narrative will continue as well. For those who haven't been following this, I’m playing Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 and doing the Road to Glory challenge, essentially creating a newbie 18 year old alter ego in some backyard wrestling promotion as I try to headline the Main Event of a big promotion’s Pay Per View event. Technical details and rules can be found here. I am using the game’s database of characters, but set in 1997. Considering the first TEW was set in 2005, it's pretty early in that universe and if played well, I should have the chance to rise together with the game's most famous characters. This challenge will run from July 15th until the end of the Spartan weekend on November 5th.

Continuing from Chapter 1, my quests going forward are the following: Nutrition: Batch cook some time during the weekend. Use the Zone Diet guidelines for quantity and ingredients. Prepare my own breakfast and lunch for the five days of the working week. Dinner and weekend food is not tracked, so I get to enjoy something with the SRLF and maintain my social life. Coffee: It's summer so I can't go with hot tea only. Coffee is allowed, but breaking the habit of a morning coffee at work earns me money in savings, as described below. Workouts: Nothing new here, 3 Crossfit workouts during the week. Things will however get highly competitive due to my new reward system, outlined below. Life Goals Continue Bullet Journalling. It works Spend at least one hour every day working on my thesis and nothing else. I know there's no room for variance, life events etc because I'm leaving none. If I can't do it, I'll mark it a fail. Zero flexibility means I can't relax and take this easy. Purge. I need to clean up my living space. First step is CDs and clothes. Besides purging, I'm looking to sell these in hopes of aiding my financial situation. Thanks to @Teros for the inspiration here. Plumber. Find a damn one that will show up, manage to have enough money and get the damn toilet fixed Tires. Inspired by @Rurik Harrgath, change the ancient tires of my dreadful car before I die in a fiery car crash explosion. The wrestling narrative will continue as well. For those who haven't been following this, I’m playing Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 and doing the Road to Glory challenge, essentially creating a newbie 18 year old alter ego in some backyard wrestling promotion as I try to headline the Main Event of a big promotion’s Pay Per View event. Technical details and rules can be found here. I am using the game’s database of characters, but set in 1997. Considering the first TEW was set in 2005, it's pretty early in that universe and if played well, I should have the chance to rise together with the game's most famous characters. This challenge will run from April 3rd until my return from Ireland on July 10th. My aim is to maintain good habits and train for the Ireland Tough Mudder on July 5th, which I'll be running with fellow nerds @Jarric and @Miw_Sher. Other than that, I'll be looking to compete in any events or crossfit competitions that come up, namely Compete Live Athens if it happens during that time. Just like the last few challenges, to add extra motivation and work towards a major life goal, I will be setting money aside according to my progress in order to buy a motorcycle. - Batch cooking for the coming week earns me 1 Euro - Not having a coffee at work earns me 1 Euro in savings instead of said coffee - Every day of Bullet Journalling earns me 1 Euro in savings - For every day where I spend at least an hour working on my thesis, I get to save 1 Euro - Managing to sell my CDs or clothes earns me the equivalent amount in savings - Workout earnings are calculated as the difference between male athletes below me from male athletes above me on the day's Whiteboard. For example, ranking 12th out of 30 earns me (30-12)-11=7 Euros. Even a single workout can mean massive savings, so I better not skip those. Also, I gotta be super competitive and not merely make it through the WOD. Time to kick performance up a notch. Tracking spreadsheet

As stated in my Roadmap for 2017, my goal for the year is to be more me. To implement that, I’m going back to the basics, the good ol’ 3 fitness quests plus 1 life quest format and a challenge theme to keep things interesting. Goal 1: Eliminate sugar. Holidays have been heavy on the sweets and the first step towards getting my nutrition back in line is to drop a returning habit of casual treats before it settles in for good. Goal 2: Eliminate coffee. Probably have tea instead. Morning coffee at work has become a habit and I gotta get off the caffeine hook. This should also reduce water retention, make me feel less bloated and maybe drop some weight or at least points off the waist. Goal 3: Crossfit 3x a week Life Goal: I’m using a wonderful agenda gifted by the SRLF as I’m getting into Bullet Journalling. Should help me get shit done and pull my head together. Goal is to update the log nightly To keep things interesting, I’ll be adding a little theme and narrative. I’m playing Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 and doing the Road to Glory challenge, essentially creating a newbie 18 year old alter ego in some backyard wrestling promotion as I try to headline the Main Event of a big promotion’s Pay Per View event. Technical details and rules can be found here. I am using the game’s database of characters, but set in 1997. Considering the first TEW was set in 2005, it's pretty early in that universe and if played well, I should have the chance to rise together with the game's most famous characters. This challenge will run from January 9th until the end of the Crossfit Open in March 27th. My aim is to prepare for the Open, do it and be better than I was last year. This will be my second ever Open, so if the repeat workout is one from last year, I’ll have some direct way of comparing, otherwise I’m aiming for better than 15.863 Overall and 47th in my country, which were my ratings last year. Last but not least, to add extra motivation and work towards a major life goal, I will be setting money aside according to my progress in order to buy a motorcycle. 1 Euro will be saved for every day without sugar, without coffee, every night of BuJo-ing, every workout and ever 3 workouts per week. Reserving the right to add extra rewards, such as a lump sum for doing better than last year in the Open. Tracking spreadsheet is here.

Back with the Monks for another round and after quite a while, I will be doing *gasp* a theme again after a very long while. Last challenge I had a goal of catching up with Lucha Underground before the premiere of Season 3 in September 7th. Been seriously addicted to that thing since I discovered it, so it makes absolute sense to use it as my theme. I also had a goal of keeping up with my fantasy wrestling blog of HWA, which led me into getting back into Total Extreme Wrestling. TEW05 is freeware but there have been several newer (and better) versions since, so I have decided to use them as a reward to motivate me for challenge success. How this works I have a list of tasks. Depending on my performance, I get to save or lose money. The more I save, the better version of TEW I can purchase at the end. Speaking of the end, this won't be the end of this challenge round but my birthday on December 24th. It might sound like a lot of time for a small amount, but since TEW works with e-licensing and I am well aware of the risks involved, I'm looking to purchase a CD hardcopy for backup, meaning an extra 24$ for international shipping and handling costs. The list of tasks I will be saving 1 Euro for every... - Week that I attend 3 classes of Muay Thai - Bonus workout, race, event, competition, seminar I attend - Day of crystal clear eating, meaning no alcohol, sugar or processed carbs - Day where I spend at least 1 hour to work on my masters' dissertation and make actual progress I will be losing 1 Euro for every... - Missed Muay Thai workout - Day where I went completely overboard with my eating - Cigarette smoked (putting this here just in case) So where's all the lucha? This challenge begins on Wednesday, September 21. Every Wednesday, a new episode of Lucha Underground airs and I get to do my weekly recap along with a little match narrative. As I save more and more, so does my wrestling alter ego win matches and earn more. My saving milestones a.k.a. saving enough for a better version of TEW will also mean milestones in my alter ego's career.

I've teased a challenge with the Monks for a while, so here it is at last. Unlike most of my challenges, this will feature no theme and goals will be more like a bucket list of stuff that must be taken care of by the end of the challenge. Nutrition, workout and other stuff will still be monitored on my Battle Log. Let's get to it. Muay Thai Another thing I've talked about for a while and the main reason I'm Monk-ing (this is now a word) this round. It's finally time I took the step towards the dojo next to my home. It's closed for the summer right now, but I'm keeping an eye out. This quest consists of 4 sub-quests, the first 2 of which are my must-do baseline: 1) Drop by, check the place, talk with the owner and get some info, especially if I'll be ok training in my contact lenses 2) Do a free tryout class 3) Subscribe for a month to try this thing out 4) Attend 3/week Adulting There's stuff that needs to be done and I'm on staycation at home until the end of August, so I must use that time to take care of everything. I'll make a list of tasks every morning and cross them out as they're done. Anything remaining carries over to the following day. Blogging: HWA A while back, in the days of 6 week challenges, the Monks did an inspiring Street Fighter mini challenge. This eventually morphed into my HWA challenge, where the theme was about me running the wrestling promotion of Poison and Hugo Andore, starring characters from SF and other comics, movies and videogames. That challenge fell slightly apart during the last week, but it was a lot of fun and I left a lot of storylines unfinished. A few weeks back, I re-launched the idea as a blog with a more compact format that doesn't require so much work on my part or the readers'. I'll have to keep this up and post at least one episode every week. If you'd like to take a look, I would very much appreciate it if you left a comment there. Blogging: HHH Back in my hometown, I also ran another blog that covered the local hard rock and heavy metal scene with live reports (mainly), interviews and album reviews. Not linking that, because it's in Greek. That blog went into hiatus last Easter, when I moved to the capital and a new job. I was recently contacted by a band asking for a review of their debut EP, an interview and the chance to be on their tour poster as a sponsor, as well as free admission to their promotional show at the capital. I posted on the blog's FB page about the EP and a festival in my hometown, which were warmly received, rekindling the fire and making me consider alternative ways to bring back the blog. At first there can be album reviews, interviews and live reports from bands that make it to these parts, but the bread and butter of the blog which is the live reports can't happen while I'm away. My goal here is to publish the album review, the interview, attend the concert, put out a review and think of ways I can keep that blog alive. I might even put out a request for a local correspondent in my hometown! Training changes My Crossfit subscription ends early October, but I've been disappointed with my box since the start of 2016. Thing is, the only decent box I'd like to go to is far away from my workplace and home. I'm using the summer break to disappear from my box and try out Muay Thai, but I'll have to use September to finalize my plans. Where will I be crossfitting and how will I combine that with Muay Thai if I catch that bug as well? I need an answer by the end of the challenge Catch up with Lucha Underground and Mr. Robot I've seen the first 2 or 3 episodes of Mr.Robot and my Special Ranger Lady Friend (SRLF) says I need to catch up so we can start watching the second season. I also got into Lucha Underground about a month ago and it's awesome! Finished all 39 episodes of the first season last week (thanks long ferry voyages to and from my hometown!) and I want to blaze through Season 2 as well before September 7, when the third season of LU premieres

No Chapter 3 in The Fixer Chronicles this time. I enjoyed the whole thing and it worked for me, but fizzled out due to real life issues. The battle versus Hans Brackhaus/Lofwyr will have to wait until the weather gets rainy again. That said, this was supposed to be a more laid back, battle log style thread, until I discovered The Black and the Brave: The Black and Brave is a professional wrestling school run by Colby Lopez a.k.a. Seth Rollins (in WWE) a.k.a. Tyler Black (in the indies) in the middle of a Crossfit Box A Ranger's true answer to all dilemmas Since I can’t afford to move to Moline,IL within 2017 and pay $3.500 for tuition, even though that includes a sweet unlimited membership at said box, the next best thing is to follow the Crossfit Jesus and use it as a challenge theme. Pictured: The Crossfit Jesus Nutrition:"I've noticed that over time the intensity of my workouts is so high, that I can get away with eating whatever I want. So if I wanna eat more, I'll just work harder. I'll make that sacrifice in the gym instead of in the kitchen. There are some days where if I haven't done anything in a couple days or haven’t had a match, I will be a little more cautious in my dining selection, but those days are few and far between." Nutritionists, 4:18 Nothing fancy here. I know what’s good for me and what not. Stick to my guns and make sure any deviations are paid for with extra sweat in addition to my usual workouts. 10 Carbs for Gryffindor! Workouts: Speaking of sweat, my current box sucks for a bunch of reasons, but I’m registered until October so I might as well make the best out of it. Aiming for at least 3 workouts per week, one of which has to be on a Saturday morning; that’s when the place isn’t so crowded and we get to do all the cool stuff like Rope Climbs and Tire Flips. In addition, I will be using an adaptation of Seth’s workout routine (the parts labelled “Skill Work” and “Main Lift”)to work on my Crossfit skills and build Strength. Competition: You might be thinking Compete Live Athens on June 25th and 26th that I mentioned in the past, but that is not the case. I’ve grown complacent and my current box passively encourages such attitude in order to have everyone done with the workout within the hour and before the next class begins. In the words of Prophet Nature Boy: “To be the man, you got to beat the man” and after beating @kzacherin a Hogan vs Warrior PvP, the man now is @Rurik Harrgath a.k.a. my Canadian alter ego from another dimension. He might have been in a better shape than me when he started his journey, but I had a headstart. Right now, I can only boast about beating him on the race to a Bar Muscle Up. Everything else he’s better at: skills, lifting PRs, you name it. That’s why I’m stealing his Crossfit Skill Levels spreadsheet and gunning for his numbers.

This is a continuation of my Epic Quest for 2016, where I beat Nikki Bella's Diva's Title reign record whose reign was 301 days. To continue my streak, I have to perform on every TV show (Raw, NXT and Smackdown), as well as every televised special (eg Beast in the East) and PPV. In order to perform, I have to complete a cardio session - currently a 5K elliptical session for every day the TV show airs. I can move these days around if I need to but the idea is that I will 'perform' every Monday (Raw), Wednesday (NXT) and Thursday (Smackdown). I have created a roster of 50 female wrestlers, all the current batch, along with some important ones from yesteryear and each person has an exercise session attached to them. For every show I perform on, I roll dice to determine if it will be a title defence, and if it is, I have to do a 10K instead of a 5K. I also have to perform at every PPV and televised special where there is always a title defence. I have to do this for at least 302 days beginning 4th January so this challenge should take me up to 1st November 2016. These rules will stand even when I am not on a challenge. The challenge at hand: Goal One: Deftona Harnesses The Power of Positivity I had a pretty good challenge last time and I stuck well to all of my health and fitness goals but stress was a little harder to handle. So the focus for this challenge is looking after myself, looking after the people around me and generally making efforts to remain positive despite stresses I may encounter. I have come to realise that some people are just dickholes, and that is ok. I like to think I am not a dickhole, and I make efforts to not act like a dickhole, but in the world of dickholes, this is pretty much where my control in this matter ends. I cannot force my anti-dickhole agenda on other people. I can only be the kind of dickhole I want to see in the world around me. And that's an un-dickhole. So every day I am going to make efforts to be positive and generally be lovely and patient with myself and people around me, whether they are a dickhole or not. Although I am awesome, I am still human so the goal here isn't perfection, but if I find my state of mind slipping I have to make efforts to improve my mood and my outlook. Goal Two: The Hall of Fame I was considering making different little goals for P:BA sessions, KMs, freggies, water and continuing The Rock goal from last challenge but really, this is stuff I just do. So I am going to continue doing what I do and track all of this as part of The Hall of Fame. These are as follows, all values are for the whole challenge (so almost 5 weeks) 30 P:BA sessions 200 KMs 250 portions of freggies 350 cups of approved fluids Days stuck to 'IF YOU SMEEEEEEELLLLLL!' goal Stuck to Macros Stuck to Training Plan Goal Three: Demolition Briniel has inspired this aspect of the challenge and instead of trying to be generally productive, I am going to be more targeted. I am going to wake up in the morning and think of three tasks I should achieve today to consider the day a success. This can't be something I would do anyway, it has to be distinct (so no P:BA sessions if they are already scheduled in my Passion Planner) but every day there will be an Ax, Smash and Crush goal and I have to demolish these three tasks to pass the day. Goal Four: Gold and Stardust I have a morning (Golddust, for the sun duh) and an evening (Stardust) checklist that I have to complete every day. The morning one will include basic self care but also making the bed and cleaning up any clothes I have hurled onto the floor with gay abandon the night before. The night one is all self care but things I don't always do like hand cream. I have made a new P:BA programme for this month and it's a killer. I have also re-started 100 Days of Excellence from today and sticking to all my macros and my training plan will be tracked as part of the Hall of Fame goal. I think that's everything. Week One..... GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ETA - Women are people too now so no more divas.

In the terrifying hellscape that is my imagination, I am a Diva employed by WWE at the top of my game and I am such a badass, I don't even have to star in Total Divas. I have held the Diva's title for 26 days so far and I am aiming to beat Nikki Bella's 301 day record. And just because I like you all, have a booty gif. The Rules for the Title Reign: To retain the title, I have to perform on every TV show (Raw, NXT and Smackdown), as well as every televised special (eg Beast in the East) and PPV. In order to perform, I have to complete a cardio session - at least a 30 minute elliptical session for every day the TV show airs. I can move these days around if I need to but the idea is that I will 'perform' every Monday (Raw), Wednesday (NXT) and Thursday (Smackdown). I have created a roster of 50 female wrestlers, all the current batch, along with some important ones from yesteryear and each person has an exercise session attached to them. For every show I perform on, I roll dice to determine if it will be a title defence, and if it is, I have to complete that wrestler's exercise session in addition to my own cardio in order to retain the belt. PPVs are always title defences. My other long term goal is to get the Best Ass in England (excluding Greater London)TM and I am trying to accomplish this with Project: Best Ass (henceforth referred to as P:BA) which is a strength training regime targeting my booty. This Challenge Goal One - Tye Dillinger's Perfect 10 (plus ten multiplied by a thousand) (Did I just win the prize for most tenuous sub-goal title?) Have a deficit of 20,000 15,000 (due to injury) calories by the penultimate day of the challenge. Goal Two - Get Bull Fit Get at least 100 75 (due to injury) km in mileage (kilometreage?) on the elliptical. Goal Three - No Sexual Chocolate I have done this before but it worked so ZERO CHOCOLATE. Which reminds me, I still have chocolate left from Christmas I should probably offload... Goal Four - Basic (Eco)Thuganomics Stick to monthly budget, don't make any frivolous purchases and don't buy anything new to wear (with two exceptions, the perfect black denim jacket should I come across it and a chunky, mustard coloured cardigan because I have been looking for the perfect one of these since forever) YEAH, FEBRUARY! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Hey you guys, remember when I became the best male wrestler in history last spring/summer and continued the Undertaker's Wrestlemania win streak? That was fun, wasn't it? So this year I am trying to achieve this: Wait, no - not the healthy butt. Although of course P:BA (achieve the best ass in England not including Greater London) is still very much a goal. My quest for this year is to beat the record for holding the Divas title. The current record belongs to Nikki Bella and her reign was 301 days. (hey, if WWE can completely forget about The Fabulous Moolah's 8 year reign then so can I). I have to perform on every TV show (Raw, NXT and Smackdown), as well as every televised special (eg Beast in the East) and PPV. In order to perform, I have to complete a cardio session - usually a 40 minute elliptical session for every day the TV show airs. I can move these days around if I need to but the idea is that I will 'perform' every Monday (Raw), Wednesday (NXT) and Thursday (Smackdown). I have created a roster of 50 female wrestlers, all the current batch, along with some important ones from yesteryear and each person has an exercise session attached to them. For every show I perform on, I roll dice to determine if it will be a title defence, and if it is, I have to complete that wrestler's exercise session in addition to my own cardio in order to retain the belt. I also have to perform at every PPV and televised special where there is always a title defence. I have to do this for at least 302 days beginning 4th January so this challenge should take me up to 1st November 2016. These rules will stand even when I am not on a challenge. This is my main fitness quest that will determine the cardio element of my workout schedule for most of this year. ONTO THE CHALLENGE! Goal One - Wake up, it's Feeding Time When combined with intermittent fasting, IIFYM is like supercharging my fat burning furnaces so I will calorie count and eat whatever I want as long as it fits my macros. Stick to calories every day - graded as a percentage Goal Two - Don't be a Lemon! I have never been convinced on the 8 glasses a day thing. All it seems to do is make me pee all the time, so my goal is to drink 5 glasses of approved liquids (shut up, Scotty) which includes herbal/green tea and water. I also want to eat 3 portions of freggies a day - scaled down from my usual 5 because I fast. Graded as a percentage based on days passed. Goal Three - Never Give Up I have populated my training schedule with my title defences, the Doodlies workout-based challenges and P:BA and NF Yoga so all I need to do is make sure I follow it. Graded as a percentage based on days passed. Goal Four - DON'T YOU DARE BE SOUR! This year I am really making efforts to check my negative self talk and leave that shit in 2015. I am going to work towards a more positive way of viewing myself and the world around me. Every day, I will ask myself if sunbeams are coming out of my face today, and if they are, I get a big ol' tick for that day. Also graded as a percentage based on days passed. The pass rate for each goal is 75% so if I achieve that I can have full points in each. I am not sure how the stats are going to work going forward with the new character thing but the idea is points are scaled down for anything I get under 75%. I am also doing two more adventures - firstly, I am trying KonMari (YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, TERAH!) and I am also trying a different method of scheduling my time with my Passion Planner. In addition to this, I am trying to knock off tasks from the Roadmap I made last year and although not worth points this challenge I am going to document all of that here because if I try to do it on a Battle Log I end up just ignoring it in favour of the challenges and it ends up looking all sad and neglected. So I think that's it. Mega shout out to DarK_RaideR for helping me brainstorm ways to make this challenge more awesome although he might notice I left a lot of amazing stuff out (guess what my mega challenge will be next year? ) Another special mention goes to Doc Viking for services to excellent booties. Let's do this thing!

If this rings a bell, you came to the right place Many years ago, pro wrestler-turned-mayor Mike Haggar took justice into his own meaty hands in order to save his kidnapped daughter Jessica with the help of Guy and Cody. Her kidnappers, the Mad Gear gang, were hoping to use their hostage as leverage to crack down on his attempt to eradicate crime. Instead, it resulted in the destruction of the city’s largest gang and organized crime syndicate, themselves. Prominent members of the gang managed to evade capture or bail out of prison, but the damage was already done. There was no way Mad Gear could become what it used to be. Still, some kept hoping and put in the effort. In their attempts, they literally woke up a sleeping giant. Hugo Andore, a 7’10”, 440lbs beast of a man used to be a member of Mad Gear. His defeat at the hands of fellow pro wrestler Mike Haggar sent him into a spiral of depression and self doubt, made worse by the collapse of the gang. Hugo disappeared and isolated himself, living in a trailer, until former members of Mad Gear came knocking on his door. Their bullying when they say his fallen state made him snap and after single handedly getting rid of the thugs, he decided to enter the Street Fighter tournament in order to prove his worth.

A bit late to the party for discussion on this one but it's something that may or may not become an issue to me depending on what level they decide to enforce this at. At the moment it only looks like Judo internationals are in the firing line. This article discusses a statement realeased from the IJF Scecretary from the views of the BJJ guys: http://www.bjjee.com/bjj-news/ijf-general-secretary-jean-luc-rouge-mma-fighters-are-stupid/ From my point of view there's things I've taken from BJJ, Sambo and Aikido that have improved my judo, and guys from BJJ, Sambo and MMA have taken things from my judo for use in their sport. There was mutual respect from all of us. I infact remember my first BJJ contest (entered as a Judoka) I bowed on judo style and the other girl did as a mark of respect to me, we then did the fist bump as a mark of respect to her. I understand the difficulty judo have had recently with the IOC and being criticsed for judo looking too simlair to various other sports, but the spirit of judo (and a grading criteria in the UK) is that the judoka develops their judo style from the techniques learned to suit their build and own personal strengths. If we can't learn from other sports then we can't develop our own unique and innovative style.

What better way to start a pro wrestling themed thread than to start with a picture of Arn Anderson. Arn was never really about flashy theatrics or goofing around. He was about getting his point across and getting the job done. What is a dark match? A dark match is commonly referenced as the untelevised wrestling match before a wrestling show goes live. It's a full match, used to warm everyone up and get the crowed pumped for the show. Why are you having a dark match, BC? In this case, I am doing this for myself and for a fellow NFer that needs to get their head back in the game. We both fell off the wagon pretty hard and we both realize that we need to get back on the ball, both with diet and with exercise. The added element here is that my fellow NFer shared with me that they were getting overwhelmed with doing challenges and trying to keep up with everyone else at the same time. They felt pressured to be there for everyone, often times allowing their own goals to slip due to the stress they placed on themselves. So, it was in talking with them that I came up with the idea to suggest they do a Dark Match. Basically, they are going to jump in with both feet on this challenge, but they're going to do it privately with a few select supporters. They wanna be here, but their head isn't in the game enough to resist the temptation to "do all the things" as it were. So I'm working along with them while they do their private blog under the same means we do our threads here. This is gonna gear both of us back up for full-time challenges. "Adversity introduces a man to himself" - Arn Anderson I've been wrestling with a lot of things in the past two months and like the quote above states, I had to meet myself (again). I realized I was letting stress get the best of me. It twisted my thoughts to ones of failure and 'just enough'. Eeking by rather than having faith and overcoming the obstacles before me. We all have ups and downs, that's part of life. Things don't always go according to plan. We can easily be sucked down-stream by a negative current in life if we're not careful. However, what builds & shows character is choosing to get back up when you've been knocked down. To keep making the effort no matter what. Main Goal Be a Champion: Do a pullup and more... My shoulder is finally healed, no more excuses. Quests My quests are going to be increasing slowly in difficulty/frequency to ramp me up to something I can sustain more naturally by week 6. 1. Eat like a Champion - Champions don't eat crap, they eat what they eat to fuel their body. Time to throw the junk out again!! I'm going to limit and cut out sweets again, start working back towards a paleo eating pattern once again. I'm also going to incorporate green tea where I'm not drinking water. For real tracking purposes I'll be monitoring my calories again. Also, unless it's a particularly heavy workout, I won't be factoring in the calories burned. I realize this is what retarded my weight loss, etc last time I did this. I fell into the mindset of burning calories so I could eat more. I will weight myself each week and adjust my calorie limit accordingly. I know weight and calories isn't the ultimate tracking method, but it's a start. Week 1: 2 days under my calorie limit Week 2: 3 days under my calorie limit Week 3: 4 days under my calorie limit Week 4: 5 days under my calorie limit Week 5: 6 days under my calorie limit Week 6: 6 days under my calorie limit (will be shooting for 7, but 6 is realistic) 2. Train like a Champion - Champions are in peak condition. I'm not. Time to get off the couch and back on track. I don't have a membership to the rec center so I can't lift heavy weights right now. However, I have proven to myself I can do the following: walk/run, yoga, kettlebells, and/or body weight exercises. A Zombie Run can count as a workout in the following progression. Walks are a minimum of 15 min with no interruptions to get moving again. Week 1: 2 workouts + 1 walk Week 2: 2 workouts + 2 walks Week 3: 2 workouts + 3 walks Week 4: 3 workouts + 1 walk Week 5: 3 workouts + 2 walks Week 6: 3 workouts + 3 walks 3. Rest like a Champion - Champions also need to get their rest. You can't go partying or staying up late and expect to function worth a darn the next day. Your body can't function well like this after an extended basis. I'm absolutely terrible about this goal. I need to make it a habit of getting more sleep (I'm even writing this thread at midnight if that says anything and I have to be up to leave for work at 5:30am) Week 1: 6+ hours of sleep 2 days a week Week 2: 6+ hours of sleep 3 days a week Week 3: 6+ hours of sleep 4 days a week Week 4: 6+ hours of sleep 5 days a week Week 5: 6.5+ hours of sleep 5 days a week Week 6: 7+ hours of sleep 5 days a week 4. Think like a Champion - Champions aren't better than everyone else because they are usually smarter, stronger, or wiser. Usually Champions are better because of their determination (though the prior certainly give them an edge). This isn't something I can really track (if you have suggestions, please share), but as I mentioned above, I've had to struggle with myself. A friend pointed out that I had a lot of negative thinking. Now, I'm usually Mr. Optimist, but lately I've been selling myself short mentally. I kept thinking "well of course if I leave my job, I'll get a pay cut" or "I'm not smart enough to do x,y,z" or "I'm falling behind, of course I'm not gonna get back on track look at how far I'd have to go again?" Negative thoughts like that. To be a Champion, you have to have a mind of a Champion. In short, you have to believe in yourself and take steps to take your thoughts captive and turn those around. I've committed to reading a book The Magic of Thinking Big. It's kinda got a silly title, but the premise is worth considering. Within the first two chapters, it's already has had some good points. It's already pointed out many excuses I've overcome in the past and ones I've used recently that hinder opportunities. Other than that, I'll be trying to be mindful of how I'm looking at things and thinking about them.

Hey everyone! Been checking out this forum for a while and decided to make an account and become active on here! So Here is a little about me. I am 21 years old. I began weight lifting and going to the gym at age 19 when I realized how overweight I was. I lost 65 pounds, and began my bodybuilding journey! I finished my first real bulk in February and now I am about 6 weeks in to my first cut and it is going awesome. My real plans are to pursue a career in professional wrestling and work for the WWE. In May I will be moving to Canada for three months to train with former WWE and ECW superstar Lance Storm at his wrestling school. I have fallen in love with bodybuilding and fitness and want to learn as much about it as I can. Currently I have some big stuff going on in my life! As many of you know, the supplement brand Cellucor has been hosting a contest to name their new "mystery" flavor for their pre workout C4. My submission of "DYNAMELON" has made it to the top 32! The public now votes for their favorite. It will be narrowed down to 16, 8, 4, 2 and then a winner. The winner wins 25k. This is huge for me. I am up to my neck in student loan debt. This money would help more than anyone can imagine. I could pay off my student loans and really pursue my dream of wrestling and bodybuilding. If anyone reading this has the spare time, it only takes a second. Please go to cellucormystery.com and vote for my submission of "DYNAMELON". It only takes a second. You can vote once per round and the first round is ending soon! Thanks guys! I look forward to talking to all of you and learning from/with you all. Thank you or having me! Take care.

Hey guys, Crunch here. Right now I'm training for a university wrestling team tryout in the Fall. I have no idea what kind of regime will best prepare me. A quick email to the coach told me to run a lot, and do endurance exercises. Currently I am 135 lbs, with fitness benchmarks roughly: 60 max consecutive push-ups 20 situps followed by 15 crunches 40 bicep curls with 20 lb free weights 2.1 km in ~12 min, but this is very rough, as I have never seriously trained for running, never properly timed it, and did not work to exhaustion on that occasion. Does anyone have experience wrestling or simply the know-how to suggest a routine? Diet would be interesting as well. Appreciate any and all comments, Crunch4Lunch