Jarric's Ziggurat of Goals

[Jarric]

Jarric's Ziggurat of Goals

 

Welcome to 2020 everybody! May all of your 20's be natural.

 

 

So my hairbrained idea for this challenge is the Ziggurat of goals. I'll show you it first, and then I'll try to explain it.

 

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xxx--Calories--xxx

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xxxxxxxxx--Exercise--xxxxxxxxx

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxx--Tooth Care--xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx--Hip Rehab--xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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So I had an idea to do things a bit differently this challenge. Rather than just having 4 goals this time round, I want to make earning points on each goal contingent upon earning points on a more important goal. So if I exercise I don't get any points for it unless I've also done tooth care, and I don't get points for anything unless I've done my hip rehab work. The logic behind it is that if I can do just one thing, I want that thing to be important. There's no point in investing all of my energy into counting calories if I'm limping around with a dodgy hip.

 

It's kind of like a pyramid of needs, but in reverse as the hardest things are at the bottom instead of the most basic. Also it's a ziggurat, because that's much more fantasy (seriously I have never heard or seen the word ziggurat used outside of a D&D campaign).

 

The Goals

 

Hip Rehab - 15XP

What: Do my stretches/exercises/foam rolling every day.

Why: Because my hip hurts, and I would very much like it not to. This is important for a lot of goals I have this year and to enjoy a lot of the things I enjoy (OCR, climbing, running, lifting, sitting down!)

How: I have a programme of 12 things per day. Aim to do a couple first thing in the morning, to get me off to a good start on a day. If I have stuff left in the evening, prioritise this goal over bedtime.

 

Tooth Care - 15XP

What: Care for my teeth!

Why: Because I want to keep all my teeth for as long as possible without tooth pain, and avoid expensive dentist bills.

How: Brush in the morning with a manual brush, in the evening with an electric brush, and clean between my teeth/floss in the evening.

 

Exercise - 10XP

What: Exercise every day.

Why: Because I enjoy it, and I enjoy it more if I'm more consistent. Because I have goals this year that require me to be fit. And because I generally want to be a strong and healthy person.

How: There are no rules on what I have to do on what day, and anything of 20 minutes or over will count. With that said, I plan to do CrossFit MTTF, Run WSS, and boulder at least once per week.

 

Calories - 10XP

What: Count calories every day.

Why: Because I gained some fat over December/Christmas, and I'd like to lose that. This is both an aesthetic thing, and a efficiency thing - it's easier to run carrying less weight and I certainly won't get another muscle up for a while weighing what I do.

How: Using My Fitness Pal. Take advantage of the fact that I eat the same things most days, and pre-fill the following day of an evening where possible. No particular calorie goal, just tracking is enough to keep me mindful.

 

Other Stuff

A few things that aren't goals, but that I should probably do (possibly this weekend):

• Wrap up my 2019 road map.
• Post a 2020 road map, with some solid goals for the year ahead.
• Do a bujo spread for tracking this challenge.
• Prep for D&D game with some awesome Rangers on the 12th Jan.
• Do my coursework for my industry qualification and hand it in (due 28th Jan).

 

So that's it! I've started a lot of challenges in the last year and not finished them, but I fully intend to see this one through. And if not, to paraphrase a wise Tank, you don't fail by not completing challenges, you fail when you give up starting new ones.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following along. And your plan is not hairbrained.

Spoiler

First, because it's a good plan, and second, because it's spelled hare-brained.  

 

[Elastigirl]

Looks like a good plan to me!

[Xena]

Looks like a fun way to structure the challenge. Plus your title was cool.

[TiogaGirl]

White Plume Mountain flashbacks!!! Cool structure!

[Jarric]

18 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following along. And your plan is not hairbrained.

  Hide contents

First, because it's a good plan, and second, because it's spelled hare-brained.  

 

 

Good to have you man! And thanks for the note; you learn something new every day!

 

16 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Looks like a good plan to me!

 

Hi EG! Thank you!

 

6 hours ago, Xena said:

Looks like a fun way to structure the challenge. Plus your title was cool.

 

Haha, thanks! It'll be an interesting experiment if nothing else.

 

6 hours ago, TiogaGirl said:

White Plume Mountain flashbacks!!! Cool structure!

 

I had to look that up, looks like a cool module. I really need to play/read more official D&D adventures.

[Jarric]

Went for my first run since 18th December yesterday, according to my phone. It was hard work, but having gone pretty hard on front squats and Romanian deadlifts this week, and having climbed yesterday morning, I'll call it a win.

 

Speaking of climbing, that was also a lot of hard work as I've not been in about 6 weeks! It was really good to be back

 

Challenge starts tomorrow (my week starts Monday, regardless of what the forums say), and I'm looking forward to it!

[deftona]

Following along Jarric! 

 

22 hours ago, Jarric said:

(my week starts Monday, regardless of what the forums say)

 

Word. Sunday starts are for psychopaths. 

[Jarric]

3 hours ago, deftona said:

Following along Jarric! 

 

 

Word. Sunday starts are for psychopaths. 

 

True dat!

[Jarric]

Yesterday I got out for my long run - 10 miles of which I managed to run about the first 6 before walking the rest. I'm a bit worried about how long it's going to take to get back to running proper distances, but I just need to keep consistent and trust the process. Didn't really get much else done yesterday; I felt knackered from the run and also just in general. Was nice to chill out though, and High Rollers is back on Twitch which seriously improves my Sundays.

 

And so the challenge begins! Ticked off my exercise goal this morning with Crossfit - 3 x 7 deadlifts at 120kg, followed by a WOD: 5 rounds for time of 20 single arm kettlebell swings and 10 burpees. Was fairly grim, but it didn't kill me so that's good.

 

Calories were mostly tracked for the day before I left for work, as other than lunch I know roughly what I'm having. Teeth were brushed this morning and I did a couple of my hip stretches. Should have plenty of time to get the hip stretches done this evening, and I'll need to to get points for any of the other stuff.

 

Both my hips are hurting today, which is a bit weird. I assume it's just a combination of getting back in to running and doing a lot of squats and deadlifts in the last few days, so hopefully it'll be better soon.

[starpuck]

So omg... we're both doing nerdy D&D-ish themes, and have twenties in our posts, and both of us are planning on exercise, calories, teeth and hips?

 

WE'RE TWINS!

 

Great plan here.  I'll be right beside ya, ya know.  With Trinket.   To cheer you on.

[Jarric]

12 hours ago, Starpuck said:

So omg... we're both doing nerdy D&D-ish themes, and have twenties in our posts, and both of us are planning on exercise, calories, teeth and hips?

 

WE'RE TWINS!

 

Great plan here.  I'll be right beside ya, ya know.  With Trinket.   To cheer you on.

 

Also, whilst not a goal, my creative outlets this challenge will be D&D prep and art (in case you needed more similarities!).

 

Good to have you, sister.

[Jarric]

Yesterday was good:

• Forgot about my stretching, but remembered at quarter past 9 so I had time to get it done before a slightly late bedtime.
• Teeth were cared for.
• Exercise was done (Crossfit as mentioned before).
• Calories were tracked. Apparently I ate 3,267kcal, which is a bit excessive, but the goal is just to track right now.

I also weighed myself yesterday - 12 stone 2 pounds (=170#, ~77.1kg). That's a fair bit more than I'd like (I don't really have a goal, but certainly closer to 11 stone).

 

This morning I swapped my Crossfit for a run, as I had to catch an early train to a meeting. It was 4 miles, with 3 x 0.6 mile intervals in the middle. It felt really hard, but I guess that's what happens after a couple of weeks off (and a few weeks of inconsistency before that if I'm honest).

 

This evening is D&D, so I'm going to get home, put some chips in the oven, and do my stretching whilst I wait for them to cook. There's gammon in the slow cooker already, and I'll heat up some baked beans to make a meal of it. Might even put a fried egg on top.

[Charlie_Quinn]

I love the format of this challenge. Such a cool idea. 

[starpuck]

Nice first day twin!     I really need to get a little notebook, or laminated sheet, with the hip stretches and get into doing them daily.   I'll have to use your good progress to help inspire me!

[NeverThatBored]

Happy new year, Jarric! Following along.

[Mr_Willes]

On 1/4/2020 at 4:00 PM, Jarric said:

(seriously I have never heard or seen the word ziggurat used outside of a D&D campaign)

 

Unbelievable, i have never heard about Ziggurat before i read your challenge early this week. Last night while playing Diablo3:

 

 

Unbelievable ...

[Jarric]

On ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 7:25 PM, Starpuck said:

Nice first day twin!     I really need to get a little notebook, or laminated sheet, with the hip stretches and get into doing them daily.   I'll have to use your good progress to help inspire me!

 

Thanks! I had mine all printed out on a sheet by the physio, and that sheet sits on my floor in front of my TV.

 

6 hours ago, NeverThatBored said:

Happy new year, Jarric! Following along.

 

Happy new year! Good to see you  

 

3 hours ago, Mr_Willes said:

 

Unbelievable, i have never heard about Ziggurat before i read your challenge early this week. Last night while playing Diablo3:

 

 

Unbelievable ...

 

It's weird how that happens sometimes, isn't it? Pretty sure I'd never heard of a ziggurat until a couple of years ago when I read it in a D&D campaign log.

[Jarric]

Had meetings yesterday so couldn't check in, so here's a 2-day update:

• Hip rehab - done and done. I didn't do it Tuesday when I got home as I suddenly realised I hadn't printed my D&D character for that night (we levelled up last session), so I ended up doing them when we got home and staying up past midnight. Wednesday I got to leave home slightly late for my meeting, so I got all the stretching done in the morning. The exercises and foam rolling I did drunkenly when I got home from snooker, and went to bed at midnight.
• Teeth - done, done, done, done. All good so far.
• Exercise - Running Tuesday yesterday ( as mentioned) and Crossfit yesterday - 100ft sandbag carry (worked up to 100kg (~220#)) and squats (worked up to 85kg (~187#) x 5)
• Calorie counting - yes, and I hit two high scores for the year back-to-back - 3,756 kcal then 3,991 kcal. The former was due to almost a whole pack of dark chocolate digestives at D&D, the latter due to 5 pints of lager at snooker. I have to remember that I'm just tracking, not cutting (though at this rate I'll need to cut next challenge).

I've got lots of people to catch up with, and I want to talk more about D&D stuff, so hopefully I'll get more time on here soon!

[Mr_Willes]

25 minutes ago, Jarric said:

100ft sandbag carry (worked up to 100kg (~220#))

 

That sounds awesome. Our CF instructors liked to let us carry sandbags for a whole K, and you were only allowed to carry it to your tummy, and only pinch it, no arms under the bag! Only 35-45-55 KG but still your back gets tired so quickly like that!

[Wild Wolf]

On 1/6/2020 at 2:40 AM, deftona said:

Following along Jarric! 

 

On 1/5/2020 at 3:46 AM, Jarric said:

(my week starts Monday, regardless of what the forums say)

 

Word. Sunday starts are for psychopaths. 

 

I feel this so hard right now. I even mentioned something on my challenge about how the week starts on Monday for me

 

44 minutes ago, Jarric said:

The exercises and foam rolling I did drunkenly when I got home from snooker, and went to bed at midnight.

 

HAHA! That's hilarious! At least you for it done

 

Following along, my friend. Keep killing the hip rehab so you can keep kicking ass in all the cool things!

 

Wolf

 

 

[starpuck]

2 hours ago, Jarric said:

Thanks! I had mine all printed out on a sheet by the physio, and that sheet sits on my floor in front of my TV.

Snap a pic of that or scan it in and share with me?  Pleeeaaase?  LOL.     

 

And ... did I hear D&D?

[Charlie_Quinn]

Still so jealous of that CF workout! And that is a serious badass amount of weight to be moving around. Good work!

I think I've mentioned previously on the group chat that my CF box used to do a Strongman class but they suddenly stopped it. I'd love to do cool stuff like sandbag carries and loads or yoke carries. I really should ask if it's something they might bring back.

 

[Jarric]

23 hours ago, Mr_Willes said:

 

That sounds awesome. Our CF instructors liked to let us carry sandbags for a whole K, and you were only allowed to carry it to your tummy, and only pinch it, no arms under the bag! Only 35-45-55 KG but still your back gets tired so quickly like that!

 

A 1km sandbag carry? That sounds hideous, don't tell my coaches that that's an option!

 

23 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

 

I feel this so hard right now. I even mentioned something on my challenge about how the week starts on Monday for me

 

 

HAHA! That's hilarious! At least you for it done

 

Following along, my friend. Keep killing the hip rehab so you can keep kicking ass in all the cool things!

 

Wolf

 

 

 

Yeah, I'm prioritising the rehab stuff over sleep. Which is probably the right choice, but I would like to sleep a bit more!

 

21 hours ago, Starpuck said:

Snap a pic of that or scan it in and share with me?  Pleeeaaase?  LOL.     

 

And ... did I hear D&D?

 

No worries, message me this evening to remind me, say lunch time your time, and I'll send them over.

 

D&D stuff to follow in the next post  

 

21 hours ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

Still so jealous of that CF workout! And that is a serious badass amount of weight to be moving around. Good work!

I think I've mentioned previously on the group chat that my CF box used to do a Strongman class but they suddenly stopped it. I'd love to do cool stuff like sandbag carries and loads or yoke carries. I really should ask if it's something they might bring back.

 

 

It was a fun one! I'd love to do more strongman stuff, it's so much fun. Maybe at some point I'll find a strongman gym to go play in.

[Jarric]

  

Yesterday was a good day.

• No chance to do my stretches in the morning, so ended up doing them after D&D and staying up past midnight AGAIN. But I got them done.
• Teeth done.
• Exercise was Crossfit - a WOD of 15 sumo deadlifts (80kg/~176#) and 200m. Had 4 attempts at it and I was shattered afterwards. Then a few sets of 80kg glute bridges in case I had any legs left!
• Calories were tracked, and came in at a much more reasonable 2,616kcal.

So, l promised some D&D stuff...

 

Tuesday - Mummy's Mask

Spoiler

So the setup is that the government of the town we are in are giving away chits for adventuring groups to explore the necropolis, a walled off section of the city that is teeming with undead due to an ancient curse.

 

We start back in town, having just finished our first adventure into the necropolis and made it back mostly in one piece. Had a really fun start to the session chatting with other adventuring parties who had come back from a hard days tomb raiding, including a very snooty noble lady from Taldor (also where my character comes from), and a very boastful man who seems to think he's found the best tomb in all the necropolis.

 

The next day we get our next building to "investigate", a noble's house in the centre of the walled city. As we approach the house we head a mob getting nearer, and as soon as we enter the courtyard the mob suddenly gets incredibly loud, and we're all told to roll Will saves. Amrus, our ranger, fails and goes running in fear round the building.

 

As he gets round the building he discovers a giant centipede (maybe 12' long), and we fight.

 

And we spent the rest of that session fighting a giant centipede. The ranger goes unconscious, but stabilises. The wizard goes unconscious. The fighter drops. We somehow scraped through that encounter all intact, but we've nearly been wiped out by the garden of this place. We've not even explored all of the garden!

 

I will tell you what happened in our Thursday game, but you'll have to wait. Because suspense! I mean, also because I've run out of lunch break, but mainly suspense!