[NeverThatBored] Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot NTB [Part 2]

[NeverThatBored]

I really liked my last challenge structure, so I'm going to keep the structure going! I'm keeping it simple again by focusing on areas where I'm the least consistent. I'll be on vacation for week 3, but I'm factoring that into the point goal.

 

Weekly To-Do List

• Some items will vary week to week (+1 each)
• Go to Crossfit 3x (+3 all or nothing)
• Study Japanese (1 point per session)

 

Walking

• 1 point for any walk at all
• 2 points for longer walk
• 3 points for hike (even short ones)

 

Mobility/Stretching

• 1 point for 5+ minutes of freeform stretching
• 2 points for a short (<30 minute) yoga session or targeted mobility work
• 3 points for 30+ minute yoga or GST session

 

Goal: 70 points for the challenge 

 

I'm not really sure what I should win if I pass?? I'm thinking maybe a set of my favorite pens (Le Pen!) but I might update that once I think about it more)

 

 

[Elastigirl]

There you are. Glad you made it to the party!

[Maigs]

Aaaaannnnnddddd another month of that song stuck in my head  

[Sylvaa]

I am here to convince you to sign up for more ridiculousness!

 

[Xena]

4 hours ago, NeverThatBored said:

Go to Crossfit 3x (+3 all or nothing)

Love that! you have some points that are flexible/incremental and this one is hard core. Good to have a mix of both.

[NeverThatBored]

1 hour ago, Xena said:

Love that! you have some points that are flexible/incremental and this one is hard core. Good to have a mix of both.

 

Thanks~~

 

In VA I have Crossfit 3x/week on autopilot, so I'd taken it out of the goals. But I've only been getting 2x/week in CA so far, so I decided to add it back in. 

 

1 hour ago, Sylvaa said:

I am here to convince you to sign up for more ridiculousness!

 

 

Oh no! What do you have in mind now??

 

2 hours ago, Maigahane said:

Aaaaannnnnddddd another month of that song stuck in my head  

 

Happy to help!

 

4 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

There you are. Glad you made it to the party!

 

Thanks!  

[fleaball]

4 minutes ago, NeverThatBored said:

 

Oh no! What do you have in mind now??

Nooooo don't engage!

[Sylvaa]

9 hours ago, fleaball said:

9 hours ago, NeverThatBored said:

 

Oh no! What do you have in mind now??

Nooooo don't engage!

 

I can hear you!

 

Actually, I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to get a 2019 Trifecta. And a Tough Mudder. Because why not.

[Jarric]

Heya, following along for Crossfit and all of the good things!

 

18 minutes ago, Sylvaa said:

Actually, I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to get a 2019 Trifecta. And a Tough Mudder. Because why not.

 

I fully support all of this tomfoolery!

[Raxie]

Hey there! Following

[NeverThatBored]

3 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

 

I can hear you!

 

Actually, I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to get a 2019 Trifecta. And a Tough Mudder. Because why not.

 

You should!! I'm still grumpy that your family kept stopping you from finishing your Trifecta last time, so I think you should totally give it another shot!

 

Realistically the most I'm up for is a Sprint distance though. My shins continue to give me issues, so I've pretty much backed off all running outside of Crossfit for now. If my weight keeps improving, I might be able to make more progress on running (I think less weight = happier shins), but that's a big if! 

[NeverThatBored]

Monday-Friday Update

 

I never posted a to do list for the week, so here it is belatedly. Not a whole lot this week:

• 3x Crossfit (2 down!)
• Call CVS to transfer a prescription to the nearby store +1
• Study Japanese (+1 per session)
• Go hang out somewhere outside and/or a cafe 

Stretched Monday-Thursday (+4)

I only walked on Tuesday, but it was two long ones (+4)

 

I also did a 40 minute yoga session this morning (+3)

 

Total: 12

 

[NeverThatBored]

I got in Crossfit #3. Burned out my legs in the process...there was a 1 mile run in the WOD and I intended to scale it, but then I got lost so I just followed everyone else and ended up doing the whole thing. It only took 10 minutes so I think it was actually a little bit less than a mile, but my shins were MAD afterwards. Then my right quad had some sort of spasm or something during lunges and I couldn't go all the way into the lunges on that side...so my legs are a mess. I'm also kind of worried that they think I complain a lot because all of this came up! :/

 

But that's +3 points for the week. M/W/Fr is the most realistic schedule to get three, but I really like the coach who teaches on Tuesdays...maybe I should just go 4 times?? 

 

I studied Japanese in a cafe for 90 minutes this afternoon (+2 - 1 for studying and one for getting out to a cafe), then I went and sat outside at the park and read for a while (+1). I realistically probably won't do any other stretching or walking today since it's getting dark soon. 

 

Total: 18 points 

 

I'm on track! I need 17.5 points/week to hit my goal for the challenge. 

[ShadowLion]

Nice work! I like your structure, too.

[NeverThatBored]

Week 1 Sunday

 

I did some yoga in the morning (+2) and studied Japanese (+1). I also did some basic minor stretching both Sat and Sun nights (+2).

 

Total: 23 points

 

I think I'm going to slightly raise the standard for the 1-point stretch sessions. They can still be brief but they should be a little bit more thought out than a few random stretches on the ground before bed....I can do a full sequence of basic joint rotations, a 4 min toe touch sequence that I like, or a few stretches targeted at whatever I want to stretch, etc..

[Merrin]

Ganbatte! Why are you studying Japanese?

[NeverThatBored]

2 hours ago, Merrin said:

Ganbatte! Why are you studying Japanese?

 

For fun! I've taken 2 classes so far and I'm planning to resume classes in January, so I'm reviewing the lessons I've covered so far. 

[NeverThatBored]

Week 2 To Do List:

• Make breakfast reservations somewhere for a friend get together this weekend
• Crossfit 3x (bonus point if I do 4!)
• Japanese (1 point/session)
• Spend some time outside

I've been doing a lot of end-of-year thinking lately about goals, routines, etc. In general, things are really good! I'm working out consistently, hitting my financial goals, losing weight in a sustainable/healthy way, etc. 

 

The main thing that's missing for me is FOCUSED fitness work. I really like Crossfit both for the community and for automating my fitness, but compared to my old bodyweight workouts at home, I feel like I'm making LESS progress on my fitness (bodyweight strength goals and triathalon-type goals). My mobility has also been neglected a lot this year. I don't want to stop doing Crossfit because it's a valuable baseline and it makes me happy, but I want to build in more focused progress too.

 

I haven't really figured out a good way to do it! I was doing extra pullup training after Crossfit classes in VA, and I'll go back to that when I'm back in January...but I think I also need to supplement with the strength progressions that helped me get to pullups last time I was working on this. Separately, I really want to do some extra work focused on pushups and bodyweight dips. One idea is to do a home bodyweight workout once/week based on these goals. Another option is to supplement before/after crossfit classes. Another is to figure out ways to add this work automatically into my day (e.g. every day at lunch I spend 10 minutes working on one of these goals). I've struggled all year to try to add this stuff in and I'm not really any closer to an answer, but I'm thinking about it. 

 

For mobility, I'm going to focus on general yoga first. Now that I've paid off my loans, I can spare some $ to go to yoga classes, which should help with consistency. I'd still like to do videos on my own time too, especially in the morning. Gradually, once I'm doing yoga more in general, I'll build in the more targeted mobility work. I have A LOT of mobility restrictions that are getting in my way right now - particularly my ankles (squat mobility/running stability) and my shoulders (overhead movements). Last time I went to a yoga class, I also shocked the instructor with how bad my internal hip rotation was! But I think I'll go from general to specific here because that feels more sustainable.

 

The final thing I'm thinking about is mental/educational-type growth! Japanese is great and continuing those classes will cover a lot of this. But there are several other things I'm interested in learning. Some are things that would improve my life overall, like parallel parking. Others are things like refreshing/updating my computer programming skills, which I haven't touched in about 5 years since I graduated from college. I haven't figured out exactly what it should look like, but I want to start doing more of that and less time wasting.

[Raxie]

Wow way to blow week 1 out of the water! If you only need an average of 17.5 points a week and you got 23 that's pretty stellar.  Happy Monday!

[Xena]

Good work thinking through your goals. Interesting that crossfit isn't quite getting you where you want to go strength-wise.

Regarding schedule, everyone's preferences are of course different. If I wanted to go 3x and include Tuesdays, I'd do M, Tu, Th. If you can do 4x a week, that's cool too.

[NeverThatBored]

1 hour ago, Xena said:

Good work thinking through your goals. Interesting that crossfit isn't quite getting you where you want to go strength-wise.

Regarding schedule, everyone's preferences are of course different. If I wanted to go 3x and include Tuesdays, I'd do M, Tu, Th. If you can do 4x a week, that's cool too.

 

Thanks!

 

I feel like Crossfit has been better for conditioning than for strength gain. I've gotten better at some things like rowing, breathing through workouts, jumping height, basic lifting form, etc., but I haven't noticed any improvements in strength at this point. I'm sure it will come eventually, but there are specific movements I want to be good at, so I think I really need to do those specific movements more regularly to improve!

 

I went today because the workout looked really fun, so that's 2 days in a row! I might go for 4 this week since I'm going on vacation next week and I won't be able to go at all then.

[ShadowLion]

Are you familiar with tinyhabits.com? It's an easy way to build habits like pushups in just a few minutes a day. It might be an interesting way to get some bodyweight strength and mobility exercises into your day/week. 

 

Great work on your challenge!

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Belated Follow!

 

I like the point structure of your challenge a lot. 

[NeverThatBored]

17 hours ago, ShadowLion said:

Are you familiar with tinyhabits.com? It's an easy way to build habits like pushups in just a few minutes a day. It might be an interesting way to get some bodyweight strength and mobility exercises into your day/week. 

 

Great work on your challenge!

 

Yes! I did his week-long mini course a while back. I've tried it a few times, but things like "do one pushup every time I X" aren't quite what I'm looking to do either since I want to do a certain program for increasing strength that involves a certain number of reps/sets at a time. It could definitely be useful for mobility though. 

 

22 minutes ago, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Belated Follow!

 

I like the point structure of your challenge a lot. 

 

Thanks! I'm really digging it. It simplifies things in a way that's really working for me right now.

[Raxie]

Hope your vacation is going awesome!