Haico's 1st challenge: The Jason Bourne way...

[Haico]

Heya!

This is my 1st challenge. I have a a few hectic weeks coming up at work and my personal life. You'd think this is not the perfect time to start a NF challenge. I'd like to think different. You see, I'm going to make it all work and proof myself I can always find time to eat right, work-out AND relax! How will I do this? To be like as strong, fast, efficient, smart and adaptive as Jason Bourne! He used to be an assasin. To me, he's the perfect example for a Ranger.

I really need his adaptability coming few weeks.

Starting stats!

Male - 29 years old - 180 cm (5'10")

STR: 4 - DEX: 2 - STA: 2 - CON: 3 - WIS: 2 - CHA: 2

Weight: 82 kg (originally: 90 kg)

Waist measurement: 88 cm (was 93 cm half a year ago)

Here are my plans for the coming 6 weeks...

Goal 1 (fitness): "Appearance is a consequence of fitness". I recently started attending kettlebell training sessions of our local karate club. I like it a lot! I now train with a 20 kg (44 lbs) kettlebell. My goal for the next 6 weeks is perfecting the basic swing moves, and show the trainers I'm ready for the 24 kg (53 lbs) kettlebell. In order to reach this level, I must attend 2 training sessions each week, and give my full 100% during these training sessions.

Rewards for upgrading to the 24 kg kettlebell: STR+3 & STA+1

Goal 2 (fitness): I have a favorite bike route. I must break my personal best by 1 minute. Current best: 45 minutes. I like this challenge.

Reward: DEX+2 & STA+2

Goal 3 (diet): I'm almost happy with my current diet. I eat 85% of my meals paleo for almost a year now and I feel a lot better than before. The only problem is, whenever I cheat from paleo, I feel like I already "lost", and keep on cheating the rest of the day. New rule: cheating once or twice a week is okay, but not more than once a day!! Eating too much (I tend to overdo my breakfast) also counts as a lost day.

Reward: CON+3 & WIS+1

Goal 4 (life): Clear my head and get stuff done! I have this huge To Do list with small chores. Small fixes around the house, paperwork... stuff like that. I just counted them, 46 items. It's been growing and growing for the last couple of months. My goal for the next 6 weeks is to do half of all these items on the list. In order to complete this goal, I must have a maximum of 23 items left on my To Do list. It's doable.

Reward: CHA+3 & WIS+1

That's it. LET'S GO!!

[spezzy]

Heya!

Goal 1 (fitness): "Appearance is a consequence of fitness". I recently started attending kettlebell training sessions of our local karate club. I like it a lot! I now train with a 20 kg (44 lbs) kettlebell. My goal for the next 6 weeks is perfecting the basic swing moves, and show the trainers I'm ready for the 24 kg (53 lbs) kettlebell. In order to reach this level, I must attend 2 training sessions each week, and give my full 100% during these training sessions.

Rewards for upgrading to the 24 kg kettlebell: STR+3 & STA+1

Goal 2 (fitness): I have a favorite bike route. I must break my personal best by 1 minute. Current best: 45 minutes. I like this challenge.

Reward: DEX+2 & STA+2

Goal 3 (diet): I'm almost happy with my current diet. I eat 85% of my meals paleo for almost a year now and I feel a lot better than before. The only problem is, whenever I cheat from paleo, I feel like I already "lost", and keep on cheating the rest of the day. New rule: cheating once or twice a week is okay, but not more than once a day!! Eating too much (I tend to overdo my breakfast) also counts as a lost day.

Reward: CON+3 & WIS+1

Goal 4 (life): Clear my head and get stuff done! I have this huge To Do list with small chores. Small fixes around the house, paperwork... stuff like that. I just counted them, 46 items. It's been growing and growing for the last couple of months. My goal for the next 6 weeks is to do half of all these items on the list. In order to complete this goal, I must have a maximum of 23 items left on my To Do list. It's doable.

Reward: CHA+3 & WIS+1

That's it. LET'S GO!!

you can do it

I have a similar struggle with diet - like if I eat one cookie I might as well eat ALL the cookies, because I might as well just spike my insulin all at once, right?

and I love the to do list approach. that has worked very well for me in the past.

excited you're here!

[JediNickD]

Welcome newbie Ranger! I think your goals are awesome, but a hectic schedule will make weekly goals difficult. Study your calendar and make a plan of attack for the entire 6 weeks. Otherwise, bumps will come up and you'll get stuck in catch-up mode. The same goes for you To Do list. Come up with Deadlines and Milestones to put on your calendar.

Without careful planning and strategy, the battle is already lost. With careful planning and strategy, the battle is almost certainly won. All you need to do after that is show up on time with a desire to succeed and you WILL get there. Good luck and keep us updated!

[catspaw]

Welcome to your first challenge! Let us know how we can help.

[Siferiax]

Good luck!!! so late with finding your thread, oops!

You can do it! I really like the Jason Bourne comparison.

[Haico]

Thanks for all the replies.

It's the 24th and we're off! I didn't encounter any cookies today. So far so good. This evening I have the first kettlebell training session, and I'll finish up my planning for the weeks to come (thanks JediNickD).

I went to see the new Bourne movie Saturday evening for motivation purposes (and I had a date ). No Matt Damon, but with Jeremy Renner as the person who everyone is after. Good film!

[Siferiax]

I hope your kettlebell training went well last night!!

I still need to watch the Bourne Ultimatum lol.

[Haico]

Thanks for asking. All went well. We practiced the overhead press yesterday. After that: a nice tabata.

I'm starting to love kettlebells. Thinking about it, this is the first indoor fitness activity I'm liking. I had a gym membership. But when I was there all I'd thinking about is going home ASAP. With the KB training, it's the opposite. More more more! The KB instructor explains a lot about the movements we do. This motivates me. Question everything, right?!

So far no penalties on my diet. I'm all paleo.

Goal no.4 is going to be a tough one! I only added things to my to do list so far. Finished 2 chores last evening... Had to add 2 this morning.

And the weather isn't helping with goal no.2 (breaking my bicyle PR)... No excuses. I'm going cycling tomorrow no matter what!

[Siferiax]

Thanks for asking. All went well. We practiced the overhead press yesterday. After that: a nice tabata.

I'm starting to love kettlebells. Thinking about it, this is the first indoor fitness activity I'm liking. I had a gym membership. But when I was there all I'd thinking about is going home ASAP. With the KB training, it's the opposite. More more more! The KB instructor explains a lot about the movements we do. This motivates me. Question everything, right?!

So far no penalties on my diet. I'm all paleo.

Goal no.4 is going to be a tough one! I only added things to my to do list so far. Finished 2 chores last evening... Had to add 2 this morning.

And the weather isn't helping with goal no.2 (breaking my bicyle PR)... No excuses. I'm going cycling tomorrow no matter what!

Hooray! Good to hear!!

Awww, to do lists tend to be that way. Good luck, just keep kicking ass!

Why not? The weather is lovely I went walking in yesterday's storm just fine

[Haico]

I love my little old new street bicyle. I'll tell you more about that later.

Here's a "happy" after-workout smile.

It was too windy for trying to attempt to break my PR, so I just did a 45 minute Fartlek. Just playing around a bit, looking for new routes, some sprinting... I averaged it at about 26 km/h (= 16 mph). Not too bad considering the wind, traffic lights and the dogs I had too avoid. So, this was my work on goal no 2 for today. Looking forward to the kettlebell class (goal no 1) of tomorrow.

Goal no 3 (No more than 1 non-paleo snack/beverage/meal a day) is going well. I'm still 100% paleo since Sunday. Todays paleo dinner is heating up in the microwave as we speak.

I'm putting a lot of effort in goal no. 4 (downsizing my To Do list), but it keeps on growing and growing. I was able to cross some easy chores off the list. I ordered some car parts today. But I also accepted a small recording job in my studio, this Saturday... I should have said no. But I find it's hard to say no when people want to give me money. Money with which I can buy car parts for example...

[ManofKent]

Hi, just to say Jason Bourne is my hero so I'll be supporting your challenge with interest! I think I might also take a leaf out of your book and re-watch all the films for a bit of motivation for my challenge - obviously that wouldn't just be an excuse for me to rewatch the films

Your goals 3 and 4 also really chime with me; goal 3 is v similar to my current goal 3 (eat 100% primal for the six weeks), and I can certainly see myself doing something similar to goal 4 in a future challenge so good luck!

[Siferiax]

Nice job on the cycling!!

To do lists tend to be evil like that. But it's good that you're not just adding, but also crossing off.

Try to punch a dent in the list when you have an off day.

[Haico]

@ManofKent - Watch the movies. They are ace! I like the fact that most of the story takes place in Europe.

@Kibcy - Thanks for the support! I've got some time on Sunday to punch a big big dent.

---

Just came home from a tough KB class. Monday is the beginners class. Thursdays I train with the premier league karate club guys. These are all athletic guys, about 20 years old. Built like machines!

Compared to these boys, I'm an old man. All went well, though. That 20kg kettlebell is starting to get lighter. My grip improved over the last couple of weeks. Now I feel more confident swinging the kettlebell, and I can utilize my full body to get momentum. We were doing the single hand swing and the trainer came over and double-checked if I had a 20kg KB, and not a 16 kg per accident.

We ended the training with a lot of thrusters (squat to overhead press).

1 left thruster

1 right thruster

2 left thrusters

2 right thrusters

...yadayadayada...

6 left thrusters

6 right thrusters

I'm ready for bed now.

[Siferiax]

lol great that you're making such good progress!! Well done!

[Haico]

Thanks! I'm sore from head to toe.

I'll be playing bass for a musical production in November. I must attend 2 orchestra rehearsals a week. I'm afraid I'll be missing some KB classes. Unacceptable! What would Jason Bourne do? I think he'll go out to buy a kettlebell, get noticed by CIA-baddies, jumps out of the shop window and get into a bloody car chase.

Although this might be a good workout, I think I'll just buy a KB without being tailed by CIA-baddies. A 24 kg off course.

[Haico]

Man... what a weekend. I must confess I had my first non-paleo day on Saturday. I didn't eat well. Instead of dinner I ate an eggroll. Later in the evening I had a couple of beers on a party. I don't feel bad about it. Something a guy needs to do what a guy needs to do. And it's not that extreme partying is the reason I'm out of shape. I'm usually gigging (= no drinking) and/of the designated driver.

The hang-over wasn't too bad. I was kinda productive on Sunday: I made some money in the studio. Crossed a few items off my list. Ordered my own kettlebell.

My brother-in-law give me his old cycling shoes and pedals. The one you click into. With these the power transfer from cyclist to cycle is more efficient. MOAR POWAR!!!!11

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5658[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]5659[/ATTACH]

I'm going to install the pedals this evening.

Off to kettlebell class! Bye...

[Haico]

Goal 1) Kettlebell class this evening.

Goal 2) Fall Frenzy Battle Round 1 - seems like no bicycle riding this weekend. Sprinting it is. *

Goal 3) Diet is 95% Paleo. No penalty days since Saturday.

Goal 4) I've nothing planned on Saturday besides band practice. Tine to work on that to do list.

*) My apologies for not competing with the burpee contest. I didn't realized not competing would influence the overall outcome. Mea maxima culpa.

[jimmie65]

Thumbs up to the sprinting. And we'll forgive you for the burpees - this time.

[Haikoo]

What!? You didn't do burpees? Thats it... *unsubscribe*

[Haico]

Update time!

Goal 1) Kettlebell class was br00tal. We did lunges with the KB overhead in 1 hand. Whoah... the closing routine was intense. One guy in the class was so exhausted he had to shed a tear during and after his last squat. What a guy!! He got a lot of repect from the rest of the group. Awesome!

Goal 2) Went on a little bike ride yesterday. Nothing serious, just to loosen my muscles. The new bicycle shoes feel great. So far they don't make me faster. My average pace was the same of the last bike rides. Today I did the sprinting for the challenge. I called it quits on 2.4 km. It felt good.

I notice the kettlebell class is influencing the way I run and how I ride my bike. The KB trainer tell the group the most efficient way to train is to create overload. We do just that during the classes. After the warming up we're told to give 100%, right from the bat. No holding back. My body says no, my brain says no... but I do all the moves. Now, I notice I do the same with running and riding my bike. I can't hold back anymore. As soons as I step on my bike, I just go for it, and see where and when the work out ends. KAMIKAZE!!

That's it for the update. Now it's time to prepare me a nice paleo dinner (goal 3),

[Jaksavage]

Kettlebells are one of the most versatile training tools there is!! Keep at it! Great job and great goals!!

[papacoyote]

Great job on working those kettleballs! We Rangers have to represent and look good on stage!

[Haico]

KB class went really good last evening. The trainer came up to me and said I nearly perfected the swing technique. For the swings he wants to see me using 24 kg next time. Only for the swing though, so I can't say I reached goald no.1 yet.

[Haico]

Goals 1 and 2) 1 KB class this week, and a challenging bike ride on Wednesday. Whoah... It's cool to notice I'm getting stronger. I notice it walking around, lifting stuff etc. It's paying off on stage too. I play bass in a Metal band. We had a gig last night. After one hour of headbanging and jumping around on stage, I was ready for more... but the gig was done. Normally I would be exhausted after such an intense show. Also, the day after, I'm not sore.

Goal 3) Eating 100% paleo is really doable on weekdays. So for I have sinned every weekend for one day. I'm still happy about my diet.

Goal 4) This seems to be the hardest goal. My dad decided to start helping with my chores involving fixing up the house. Awesome!

More news later... bye!

[ManofKent]

Just checking back in, looks like it's going really so far, keep it up!