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Hey everyone. It’s been exactly one year since my first challenge J. Back then I was just trying to do 10 push-ups in a row. Now I can do that with no problem. And I used to have designated cheat-days and now I am basically full on Paleo/Primal with allowances for the occasional indulgence. Oh and I also used to be 30lbs heavier, which is crazy. That is like having a backpack full of books strapped on me at all times. Insanity. I really hold this site/forum near and dear to me. I know I only communicate with all of you over the interwebs and not IRL but I still consider you all my friends and you all motivate me tremendously in my day to day life. Without the community some days I just would not have the will to push through and do my fitness related tasks. So I want to return the favor. After a year of fitness now my body/mind is at a point where it needs to work out every day. I am not a sedentary person and my muscles crave movement, so the status quo just isn’t cutting it anymore. I usually just do some activities that strike my fancy and don’t really progress into more difficult exercises. Well this challenge I want to button up and start to keep track of my strength progress and really make strides to do more “fun” and badass movements. Consistency is key. I want to be a role-model for those that might feel a little stagnate in their routines with constant work and effort we can achieve anything. I truly believe that. So my “spirit hero” for this challenge will be Captain America. I hope to be kick ass this challenge and motivate all the rebels as they motivate me. MAIN GOAL: That elusive pull-up. I know it will be a stretch to achieve it this challenge, but damnit if I’m not stubborn and determined. I held my bodyweight in the chin-up position last challenge and I made some small movement in the pull-up position, so let’s just aim for the stars and see where we land. When I do finally get this pull-up I will probably burst into a thousand stars. FITNESS: Follow the schedule and maintain consistency. (+3 STR, +2 DEX) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vKgApXwmoyaEh1ngfZ2RA-v3jzsaaK433Dux84SYAkE/edit?usp=sharing So basically what I did was create a super awesome spreadsheet of destiny. I’m trying to do BWW 3x per week while following the Zombie5k program. 6 days a week for fitness, 1 day for rest. This of course will need to be adjusted from week to week due to events and happenings in my life (going to Portland at the end of the month) so I’ll make a spreadsheet every Sunday and plan to follow it out for the following week. I created BWW idea from Steve’s article on How to Build Your Own Workout. This way I focus on every muscle group and also throw in some variety from workout to workout. And FINALLY I will be incorporating a dynamic warm-up (with lots of punching) and I’ll also be adding stretching after every workout. I’m going to try 5 minutes of handstand practice daily, because it’s only 5 minutes and this is a skill that needs more consistent practice. I’ve also been really curious about other forms of movements like hand balancing, rope climbing, gymnastics rings, etc. but this all fits on the “extras” side of things. GRADING A – missing 0 – 5 tasks B – missing 5 – 10 tasks C – missing 10 or more tasks SIDE QUEST: Run a 5k. (+3 STA) I should be able to do this within a few short weeks if all goes according to plan with the Zombie 5K trainer. If I accomplish this goal early I’ll come back and add a new goal to run a mile in a certain amount of time… or sprints… or something to the effect. GRADING Pass/Fail DIET: Limit carbs to 50 – 100g per day. Log food on MFP. (+2 CON) I loathe logging food, but it shows results when I do. So I’m going back to tracking carb intake and making sure I lie in the 50 – 100g range for weightloss (according to Mark Sisson). GRADING (not including Portland trip) A – miss up to 1 day of logging food. 1-3 days of going over the carb limit. B - miss 1 - 3 days of logging food. 4 -8 days over carb limit. C - miss 3 - 5 days of logging food. 8 or more days over carb limit. LIFE: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. (+2 WIS) HEY! Easy Cap. I struggle with adulting, as does my partner. We would rather play hours of video games than spend time doing stuff around the house, but when we actually do it and the house is nice and clean we are happier people. Soooo, I want to dedicate 15 minutes to cleaning per day. A little goes a long way. GRADING (not including time away, obviously) A - 15 minutes of cleaning each day of the challenge. B - Missing 1 - 3 days of cleaning during challenge. C - Missing 3 - 7 days of cleaning during the challenge F - Totally neglect cleaning and becoming a frat house. SIDE QUEST: Scheduling (+1 WIS, +1 CON) I like having things plotted out. I’m a busy person and sometimes I just don’t know where my time is going, so I want to be better at planning out my day and writing down what I’m actually doing all day. It’s one thing to plan the day and not do everything on you to-do. It’s another thing to actually write down “scrolled through Tumblr for 5 hours.” Daily. GRADING A - Scheduling each day of the challenge. B - Missing 1 - 3 days of scheduling. C - Missing 3 - 7 days of scheduling. F - Totally neglect scheduling and spontaneously combusting.

Is that a bird? Is that a plane? NO! It's Firstmatenora!! Back from the evil realm known only as the Dissertation of Doom, she comes having fought her way valiantly through three months of horror. She was stuck in a wasteland of writing and no exercise for months, having nearly given up hope of finishing, and lost track of almost all of her health goals. Yet, when the deadline came, she was prepared and turned in her dissertation, and boy did she kick its butt! Though she did not come away unscathed, she stands ready to get back to the basics and build again. Her body and mind are prepared for the journey ahead! Backstory: I fell down in my goals during the last challenge when my schedule became overwhelming. I had family and friends visiting me for nearly two months straight, and a 15,000 word dissertation to write, while looking for employment in the fall. Had I been a better manager of my time, this may not have been as worrisome. However, I turned in my dissertation on Monday (yay, me!) and found a job that will let me stay in this fine country (also, yay!), plus a place to live until I move down to London in late September. Even though I didn't exercise at all these last couple of months (I mean I ran maybe twice, it's embarrassing), I haven't gained any of the weight back because I kept to fairly strict paleo diet (with the exception of ice cream a couple times a week, because sometimes you need sugar for those all nighters when coffee just won't do. Oh and I ate a donut one time, but I felt gross afterwards and avoided doing that again.). My goals for the next week: Unfortunately, I am extremely late to this challenge, and I am by no means settled. I'm crashing at the moment with a friend, trying to finish moving out of my flat, and trying to keep everything organized for when I move again in less than a month's time. However, I would like to get back to a regular schedule of my runs and bodyweight workouts. So, with that in mind, I'm going to take it pretty easy and just set the goal of eating right, running at least four times in the next week and a half and doing at least 3 bodyweight workouts. I'm not going to set an overarching goal because of the short timeframe, but generally I want to restart my healthy habits and get back to a normal routine. Eating: Paleo, with less than 3 occasions containing gluten: A 4-6 glutenous indulgences: B 7-10 no-no foods: C More than 10: F Running: >=4 times: A 3 times: B 2 times: C 1 time: D 0 times: FFFFFFFffffuuuuuu Bodyweight workouts: 3 times: A 2 times: B 1 time: C 0 times: Nope, no points for you. And with that I say: It's time to boogie woogie!