[Artemis Prime]

My bard challenge ended with more of a whimper than a bang, but we're going to continue this tour of D&D classes with the barbarian, though my fellow Critical Role fans no doubt had that figured out based on my title. 

 

 

So to start with the obvious, my first goal this challenge is to RAGE

By which I mean, work out. I'm on a pretty good string of consistent workouts, and I'm happy with how it's going. I'm going to mostly stick with my 5x5 plan from last challenge, except I'm going to turn it down to a 3x5 plan, with the exception of my chin ups, which I'm still kind of experimenting with. For now I think I'm going to alternate 5x3 with 5xAMAP on those.  The plan is 2-3 workouts per week. My main reason for adjusting my sets is to make my workouts a little shorter, so that as I add weight I can give more rest time without adding time to the workout as a whole. I did some reading that indicated that 80% of the gains come from the first 3 sets, so I'm not giving up that much, and hopefully it will aid in recovery that can then be put towards my next goal:

 

FAST MOVEMENT

I want to get back into running this year, and plan to complete at least one 5k. I've neglected my cardio for a couple of years at this point, so for now I'm just going to aim to get my heartrate up three times a week with the new bike trainer I just bought (it's not actually new, got it on Facebook marketplace, which if you'll recall is also where my weights came from. As much as I dislike Facebook as a whole and haven't posted anything on there in years, I'm becoming more and more fond of the marketplace portion of it.) The goal for zero week is just to get the thing set up.

 

TOTEM WARRIOR - WOLF

My subclass for this challenge will be Path of the Totem Warrior. I've been very conscientious about not overstepping when it  comes to my dad's dog, but it does kind of bother me that he isn't more intentional about training her. He does spend a lot of time with her, but is just kind of counting on her to pick things up through osmosis. Which has worked surprisingly well, actually. She is, all in all, a very good dog. But I can't take her barking much more. I've done a bit of digging into how to address that, and my preferred strategy is to teach her to speak, which then sets up a foundation for teaching her not to speak. It worked well for the last dog we had, so it's worth trying again. The goal here is to work with her on it every day, even if it's just a minute or two. For zero week, though, I'm just working on picking up some training treats to use with her.

 

UNARMORED DEFENSE

Brene Brown's new book Atlas of the Heart has been on my TBR since it came out, and my Enneagram work last challenge indicated that my type tends to not be in touch with my emotions (which I've definitely gotten better at, but yeah, they have a point there) so I'm going to continue the challenging but cathartic work of drilling down into my messy inner stuff and keep sorting it out as best I can. For zero week, my goal is just to get it checked out of the library.

[Elastigirl]

I like how you've tweaked your workouts. I think giving yourself more of a rest time will really benefit your strength.

[Salinger]

Woooo AP

 

Sending love and support xx

[KB Girl]

21 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

My main reason for adjusting my sets is to make my workouts a little shorter, so that as I add weight I can give more rest time without adding time to the workout as a whole. I did some reading that indicated that 80% of the gains come from the first 3 sets

Same here  and when I'm enjoying something sometimes I'll throw in another set or 2, but mostly I really like 3. It's mentally easier to get to it as well. 

[MaeradCase]

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

My bard challenge ended with more of a whimper than a bang, but we're going to continue this tour of D&D classes with the barbarian, though my fellow Critical Role fans no doubt had that figured out based on my title. 

 

 

So to start with the obvious, my first goal this challenge is to RAGE

By which I mean, work out.

💪😍 

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I'm on a pretty good string of consistent workouts, and I'm happy with how it's going. I'm going to mostly stick with my 5x5 plan from last challenge, except I'm going to turn it down to a 3x5 plan, with the exception of my chin ups, which I'm still kind of experimenting with. For now I think I'm going to alternate 5x3 with 5xAMAP on those.  The plan is 2-3 workouts per week. My main reason for adjusting my sets is to make my workouts a little shorter, so that as I add weight I can give more rest time without adding time to the workout as a whole. I did some reading that indicated that 80% of the gains come from the first 3 sets, so I'm not giving up that much, and hopefully it will aid in recovery that can then be put towards my next goal:

 

FAST MOVEMENT

I want to get back into running this year, and plan to complete at least one 5k. I've neglected my cardio for a couple of years at this point, so for now I'm just going to aim to get my heartrate up three times a week with the new bike trainer I just bought (it's not actually new, got it on Facebook marketplace, which if you'll recall is also where my weights came from. As much as I dislike Facebook as a whole and haven't posted anything on there in years, I'm becoming more and more fond of the marketplace portion of it.) The goal for zero week is just to get the thing set up.

These sound good

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

TOTEM WARRIOR - WOLF

My subclass for this challenge will be Path of the Totem Warrior. I've been very conscientious about not overstepping when it  comes to my dad's dog, but it does kind of bother me that he isn't more intentional about training her. He does spend a lot of time with her, but is just kind of counting on her to pick things up through osmosis. Which has worked surprisingly well, actually. She is, all in all, a very good dog. But I can't take her barking much more. I've done a bit of digging into how to address that, and my preferred strategy is to teach her to speak, which then sets up a foundation for teaching her not to speak. It worked well for the last dog we had, so it's worth trying again. The goal here is to work with her on it every day, even if it's just a minute or two. For zero week, though, I'm just working on picking up some training treats to use with her.

Oh! Clever girl! 🐺🐕

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

UNARMORED DEFENSE

Brene Brown's new book Atlas of the Heart has been on my TBR since it came out, and my Enneagram work last challenge indicated that my type tends to not be in touch with my emotions (which I've definitely gotten better at, but yeah, they have a point there) so I'm going to continue the challenging but cathartic work of drilling down into my messy inner stuff and keep sorting it out as best I can. For zero week, my goal is just to get it checked out of the library.

📕📚📖👍

 

(Somehow my reactions couldn't be expressed in words, but I am excited for your challenge. 😅)

[Salinger]

Hey morning AP ❤️ 

 

Sending love and warmth xx

[sylph]

I typically gravitate toward three sets myself, but sometimes just REALLY want to slam some volume, which explains my past forays into GVT--10x10 satisfies any and all volume needs for a long time.

[Artemis Prime]

On 2/5/2023 at 8:45 PM, Elastigirl said:

I like how you've tweaked your workouts. I think giving yourself more of a rest time will really benefit your strength.

Hopefully so. I've felt really fatigued after my last couple workouts.

 

On 2/5/2023 at 11:44 PM, Salinger said:

Woooo AP

 

Sending love and support xx

Thanks Sal! Always an honor to have you along!

 

15 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Same here  and when I'm enjoying something sometimes I'll throw in another set or 2, but mostly I really like 3. It's mentally easier to get to it as well. 

Yes, I agree.

 

14 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Oh! Clever girl! 🐺🐕

 

14 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

(Somehow my reactions couldn't be expressed in words, but I am excited for your challenge. 😅)

😂 Excited to have you!

 

1 minute ago, sylph said:

10x10 satisfies any and all volume needs for a long time.

...I think 10x10 would satisfy any desire for volume for the rest of my life.

[Rurik Harrgath]

On 2/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, Artemis Prime said:

TOTEM WARRIOR - WOLF

My subclass for this challenge will be Path of the Totem Warrior. I've been very conscientious about not overstepping when it  comes to my dad's dog, but it does kind of bother me that he isn't more intentional about training her. He does spend a lot of time with her, but is just kind of counting on her to pick things up through osmosis. Which has worked surprisingly well, actually. She is, all in all, a very good dog. But I can't take her barking much more. I've done a bit of digging into how to address that, and my preferred strategy is to teach her to speak, which then sets up a foundation for teaching her not to speak. It worked well for the last dog we had, so it's worth trying again. The goal here is to work with her on it every day, even if it's just a minute or two. For zero week, though, I'm just working on picking up some training treats to use with her.

 

I love everything about this goal.  From the theme flavor to the intention, it's just solid gold.  Like a solid gold totem.  In the shape of a wolf.   

[Artemis Prime]

3 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

I love everything about this goal.  From the theme flavor to the intention, it's just solid gold.  Like a solid gold totem.  In the shape of a wolf.   

[Artemis Prime]

Just got back from the library, where they had this snazzy little display, which made me happy:

 

But after I pulled myself away from there, I got Atlas of the Heart, and I haven't even made it through the introduction and I love it. A couple of quotes that really stood out to me: "I can get really scary when I'm scared if I'm not paying attention." and "When you hold someone accountable for hurtful behaviors and they feel shame, that's not the same as shaming someone." Also she talks about how she used unhealthy behaviors when she was younger to "take the edge off" and that since she has gotten sober she has been working to "put the edge back on" and I love that because to me it conjures the image of honing a blade, which just makes the whole process feel so much more powerful than sorting out your emotions and inner turmoil is often portrayed as.

[KB Girl]

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

But after I pulled myself away from there, I got Atlas of the Heart, and I haven't even made it through the introduction and I love it. A couple of quotes that really stood out to me: "I can get really scary when I'm scared if I'm not paying attention." and "When you hold someone accountable for hurtful behaviors and they feel shame, that's not the same as shaming someone." Also she talks about how she used unhealthy behaviors when she was younger to "take the edge off" and that since she has gotten sober she has been working to "put the edge back on" and I love that because to me it conjures the image of honing a blade, which just makes the whole process feel so much more powerful than sorting out your emotions and inner turmoil is often portrayed as.

That sounds really good. Would love to hear about the rest of it

 

[sylph]

4 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

because to me it conjures the image of honing a blade, which just makes the whole process feel so much more powerful

Oooh, I love this.

[Gemma]

On 2/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, Artemis Prime said:

 

UNARMORED DEFENSE

Brene Brown's new book Atlas of the Heart has been on my TBR since it came out, and my Enneagram work last challenge indicated that my type tends to not be in touch with my emotions (which I've definitely gotten better at, but yeah, they have a point there) so I'm going to continue the challenging but cathartic work of drilling down into my messy inner stuff and keep sorting it out as best I can. For zero week, my goal is just to get it checked out of the library.

 

And now I've added this to my library list - thank you! 

[Artemis Prime]

23 hours ago, KB Girl said:

That sounds really good. Would love to hear about the rest of it

 

 

21 hours ago, sylph said:

Oooh, I love this.

 

18 hours ago, Gemma said:

 

And now I've added this to my library list - thank you! 

I've had pretty limited exposure to Brene Brown's stuff previously, and thought it was ok but not great. But I heard such great things about this book, and it has definitely been living up to it so far.

Still haven't finished the introduction, but it's fascinating so far. She's talking about emotional vocabulary and said she did a study with participants in her training workshops that asked them to list all of the emotions they recognized as they experienced them. The study lasted 5 years and had over 7,000 participants. On average, people named three emotions: happy, sad, and angry. Which is particularly sobering in the light of other research that indicates that our ability to accurately name emotions is directly related to our ability to regulate those emotions. I'm so excited to dive deeper into this, guys, it's good stuff.

[starpuck]

Here I am, here I am, following along like a cute little gnome ready to support her barbarian friend.

Good plans all around as always.

 

[Artemis Prime]

24 minutes ago, starpuck said:

Here I am, here I am, following along like a cute little gnome ready to support her barbarian friend.

Good plans all around as always.

 

Now I need Valentines that say "You are the Pike to my Grog."

[Salinger]

Hey AP! The book sounds really interesting. 

 

 

Hope you feel good this morning, and sending love xx

[Cheetah]

[Artemis Prime]

Didn't get to the grocery store after work yesterday because my brother called and had locust logs for me to pick up, so I didn't get the training treats. Might pop into Rite Aid on my way back to the office and see what they have.

 

Finished chapter 1 of the book. Because she is covering so many different emotions, she doesn't have time to go very deep on any of them, but she's still making good point. Some of the high points for me: the cure for overwhelm is a period of non-doing time, which is hard for me when I feel like I need to double down and somehow catch up, but that really only contributes to the overwhelm. When we are overwhelmed, we are feeling our emotions at 10 (on a scale of 1-10) but understanding them at a 2, which is not conducive to good decision making.

 

Avoidance is a common coping skill for anxiety, but avoidance may make us feel less vulnerable but it will never make us less afraid. Fear and anxiety aren't negative emotions to be supressed, they are signals we send ourselves that need to be understood and respected.

 

And lastly, vulnerability is our greatest measure of courage but it requires discipline and awlf awareness. It is not oversharing, it is sharing with those who have earned the right to hear our stories.

[MaeradCase]

33 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

When we are overwhelmed, we are feeling our emotions at 10 (on a scale of 1-10) but understanding them at a 2, which is not conducive to good decision making.

 

38 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

And lastly, vulnerability is our greatest measure of courage but it requires discipline and self awareness. It is not over-sharing, it is sharing with those who have earned the right to hear our stories.

But for real, though, I need to contemplate this matter and consider how best to face my inner turmoil and seek support. Thank you for sharing.

[Artemis Prime]

Happy Friday, Nerds!!!!

 

I did get training treats last night, so Totem Warrior is done for zero week. My dad is working on water lines in the basement, so the bike trainer needs to be set up in the barn. I cleared space for it last night and tomorrow I'll finish setting it up for Fast Movement. I've been taking it pretty easy for zero week as far as Rage goes, but I am planning to get a workout in tomorrow as well. And I've been keeping you well informed regarding Unarmored Defense.

 

I've been really dragging for a little while now, but it was really warm here yesterday and I spent extra time outside and I feel the best today I've felt in ages, so I'm adding a new goal to this challenge:

 

Feral Instinct

Spend time outside. I always think I'm fine on this because I have to be outside to feed my animals every morning and evening, but I think I roll through chores on auto-pilot so often that I'm not actually reaping the benefits of outside time. So chores don't count for this goal. Also, because returning from my gaming hiatus has awakened an insatiable need to roll dice, instead of setting a daily goal, I'm going to roll a d20 every morning to determine how much time I need to be out. Up to 20 extra minutes can be banked for future use, but minutes cannot be applied retroactively and a day's minutes cannot be reduced to zero.

 

I'm pretty happy with this new goal, but it has triggered quite the dilemma:

Which die do I roll? I have a nice translucent green die that I really like. I'm extra partial to green because my very first d20 (which I lost somewhere along the way 😭) was green. I also have a very pretty blue set that might be my favorite of all my dice. And either one of these fit well with the theme of getting outside and fresh air and all, but neither of them feel like a barbarian die. I have a black quartz die that feels like a die a barbarian would use. So right now I'm leaning that direction, but feel free to share your opinion below!

[sylph]

11 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

Which die do I roll? I have a nice translucent green die that I really like. I'm extra partial to green because my very first d20 (which I lost somewhere along the way 😭) was green. I also have a very pretty blue set that might be my favorite of all my dice. And either one of these fit well with the theme of getting outside and fresh air and all, but neither of them feel like a barbarian die. I have a black quartz die that feels like a die a barbarian would use. So right now I'm leaning that direction, but feel free to share your opinion below!

Because I like complicated, I vote for Barbarian die during the week and soft nature die (I am partial to green) for the weekend. So you can keep a Barbarian toughness during the work week and then chill on the weekend.

[Artemis Prime]

18 minutes ago, sylph said:

Because I like complicated, I vote for Barbarian die during the week and soft nature die (I am partial to green) for the weekend. So you can keep a Barbarian toughness during the work week and then chill on the weekend.

Oooh, that's good, that's good.

[Cheetah]

2 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Which die do I roll?

 

I Agree With Sylph™