Waywardson's First Challenge - a continuation at the end of a journey.

[Wayward Walker]

Well that was how I started. Today I'm more of a thoughtful, patient and steady man. Thank you for the encouraging words, I intend to go the distance here.

[Fifinella]

FYI -- I've always been a 'thick body' and had to tape for every PT test. As far as I'm concerned its an alchemy of numbers... My best PT score ever was a 296 (out of 300) and I only cleared that tape by one percent!!

 

So, I'm all about motivating and encouraging lofty goals, but are you concerned at all that you've put too much on you're plate. Have you planned enough recovery time? Will 5-6 hours be enough sleep?  I'm the farthest thing from an expert in these matters, but I have read that we can actually stress our bodies into storing more fat and energy and breaking down (but not rebuilding) muscle by trying to do too much, without ample recovery time.

 

Just don't forget to be good to yourself. A collegue of mine (Iraq vet) just did a 6 week heavy workout set and declared that the key to her strong finish and great results was that she listened to her body, slept about an hour more each night and treated herself and her hubby to healthy dinners out and a WEEKLY MASSAGE!

 

Tai Chi and meditation can be great, but if they aren't already part of your relaxation habit then the learning curve of incoporating them into your life might not bring much stress relief in the short run. If you've already got some other heathy way to decompress (walking, fishing, playing music) it might be better for your short term fitness goals if you cling to tried and true methods.

 

Whatever you decide, here's to GREAT SUCCESS!!

[Melkizadek]

Your goals look doable and quite specific.  Good luck with the plan!

[Wayward Walker]

@Melkizadek - thank you!

@Fifinella - the reason I say 5-6 hours sleep is that right now I only get 3 maybe 4 hours a night. I have obstructive sleep apnea, a pretty bad case so the doctor says and have finally been given a CPAP to treat it. 5-6 hours will be a blessing. With Tai Chi, it won't be so much learning as relearning. I attended a semester long class in college. thank you for the concern.

[Laney]

Yup, been a fan of Sam, Dean and John from day one. Have been a fan of the song since I was 11; it's my theme song.

Have never heard of Artemis, but WOW does that sound fun!

Working out in a group is seriously motivating. Thank you for the encouragement!

 

Haha I'm a huge Supernatural fan as well. Artemis is only like $60 for 6 licenses if you have people to play with, haha. 

 

I wish I had a group to work out in, but that's why I'm on Nerd Fitness

[Wayward Walker]

Day or should I say Night #3 - I used THE MACHINE again last night.  I think I know how Bane feels wearing that mask.  Its something I have to do for my health, however it is seriously annoying.  I've noticed it as a rhythm of breathing and I've been trying to match it so it doesn't feel as claustrophobic.  Not sure how long I wore it last night, but at some point I woke up and felt completely parched so I took it off.  I need to adjust the humidity levels on it so that doesn't happen again.

 

I'm currently on vacation in Michigan, so I don't have my group to work out with, I'm left to doing it on my own.  Not the hardest thing for me to do, I've always had to do things on my own, so I can easily slide back into that self-sufficient role, however its a lot more fun in a group.

 

@Laney - I will have to look into that sometime when I have a group of geeks and nerds again.  Sadly I transferred to San Diego from Biloxi, MS and left my core group behind.

[Wayward Walker]

THE ROAD SO FAR...

 

Was thinking about the metric that I would use to determine my progress in these goals.  For background I'm a metrologist, so measuring is huge with me.  Breaking down my goals into easily understood numbers I get:

 

THE MISSIONS

 

-(Goal 1) Exercise - Work out Monday, Wednesday and Friday, cardio on Tuesday or Thursday, 45-60 minutes of Incline walking, Elliptical or Interval training and add weight training on the opposite day of my cardio..

 

-(Goal 2) Nutrition -  80/20.

 

-(Goal 3) STRESS!!! - Tai Chi 3x week, Meditation 15 mins per day.

 

From what I've seen reading through the character creation and stats assignation, I've decided that all three goals are equally important, so here is what I have:

 

Goal 1 - Stamina (5pts) - This is what I am truly building up right now; energy and endurance.

Goal 2 - Constitution (5pts) - Eating better is going to make my systems stronger.

Goal 3 - Wisdom (5pts) - Tai Chi & Meditation, has to be wisdom.

 

The grading criteria seems to be on an A, B, C, D, F scale.  So here is what I will use:

 

Goal 1 - A: 90% of all work outs, B: 80% of all work outs, C: 70% of all work outs, D: 50% of all work outs, F: Anything below 50% completed.

Goal 2 - A: 90% 80/20, B: 80% 80/20, C: 70% 80/20, D: 50% 80/20, F: Anything below 50% of challenge completed with 80/20.

Goal 3 - A: 90%, B: 80%, C: 70%, D: 50%, F: Anything below 50% completed.

 

I am going to design a spreadsheet and post it on Google docs to track all of this.

[Tamesis Greer]

Good luck with the machine! I don't know how people manage to sleep with masks and tubes over their faces. But sleep definitely makes a huge health difference, so hope it works for you.

[Wayward Walker]

Someone said I should post a before pic.... here goes /cringe

[Wayward Walker]

Had a great day today.  We gathered our forces and trekked into the wilds of Michigan.  Over land and sea we hunted for great treasures!  We found them and returned to tell of our glories!!!

 

We went Geocaching today.  Found three different caches.  One near the Hart dam, one just west of Shelby and the third south of Shelby.  The second one was the most interesting.  It was located on private property, but the owner was cool with people coming and going in search of it.  Turns out it was inside of bird house on his fence for his horse pasture.  The two horses, Dusty and Chester, at first were skiddish, but then warmed up to us once we fed them apples and treats.  After dinner we took a walk down to Silver Lake and took pictures (it's almost 9pm and the sun hasn't set, ahhh how I have missed my home state.)

 

Nutrition wise... could have been better, however at lunch and dinner I ate better than I have on other days.  A nice, small taco salad for lunch and a chicken breast for dinner to get in the protein.

 

Exercise wise... got in probably a good 5 mile hike, I erred on the lower side and put 4.5 for my Mordor trek, but hey its right around there.

 

Now its time to relax!  Hope you all had a wonderful day!

[techmom]

My husband looked a lot like your pic when he really started working out last year; a stressful job had him not exercising at all and making very poor food choices (I can cook the healthiest food in the world, but that doesn't help if he eats a WHOLE BAG of chips and dip on the way home from work). He decided to fix it at age 49 (including changing jobs)... and now he's 50, and RAWR!!

[Mad Hatter]

That's great that your posting a pic! There can't be a transformation without a starting point right? So no point in cringing.

[Wayward Walker]

@Techmom - definitely stress, sleep and nutrition are my biggest hurdles.  The food they feed us on the ship is mediocre at best, so it can be extremely hard to make good decisions.  Just to stay healthy a lot of the time I have to bring my own food.  Thank you for the encouragement.  If you're husband can do it 10 year older than me, then so can I

 

@Mad - I know, you're right.  I just look at myself in that pic and want to look differently.  I want to look like...

 

https://sphotos-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/376829_2370777760227_2118929937_n.jpg

 

This guy

[Wayward Walker]

Life Quest -

 

So, I've been thinking about this one a bit.  Just like my tattoo's I like to mull things over before I jump head long into them... and as I have an extremely long bucket list, choosing the right Life Quest took me some time.  In the grand fashion of heroes of old such as Bilbo Baggins and Drizzt Do'Urden:

 

"To write and publish a novel."

 

Even if its just self-publishing on Amazon or another site, there it is.

[Virago]

Geocaching! Awesome! 

 

Also, love Drizzt.

[Laney]

Amazing life goal!

 

I've always wanted to go geo-caching, but I've just never gotten around to it... I should do that before winter hits

[Mad Hatter]

Great epic quest! I see a life goal for the next challenge.

And yeah we all dream about some previous magical time when we're young and beautiful. But there's really no point, you're not the same guy anymore. All we can do is be awesome now and become better people for it. With better bodies

[Wayward Walker]

@Snowfox - Drizzt is the man. Been my idol since "The Halfling's Gem" and I love geocaching, it's simple and fun that I can do with my kids.

@Laney - do eeeet!! Grab your phone, the geocache app and start finding them! It's cheap fun, help with your goals

@Mad - Thank you. That "swift kick in the pants" is needed. Your right, I don't want to be him; I'm much more awesome than that!

[Laney]

I can do it on my phone?!

[Wayward Walker]

Yes, if you have an android look for c:geo app happy hunting!!

[Mad Hatter]

That's the spirit

[Wayward Walker]

As part of my Life Quest I picked up a notebook yesterday, adding on to that life quest is to carry it with me EVERYWHERE!

 

So, the past few days have been pretty much the same.  I am still in Michigan, still doing what I can here, but can't wait to get back to San Diego, to where I have a good routine and not a lot of family/visiting commitments.  Its great seeing everybody, however, I need my time back.

 

Hope everyone is having a righteous weekend!

[techmom]

I just have to say that whenever I see you post, I hear the song. Carry on, and have a righteous weekend yourself!

[Wayward Walker]

Glad I can get it stuck in your head... Here's how much I like it:

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1815418716598&set=a.1485234342195.71478.1574006256&type=3&theater

[rowan]

Hey wayward!  Looks like you're doing pretty awesome - totally digging the novel quest!  Do you have any ideas for the kind of thing you would want to write?  Also, ever heard of National Novel Writing Month?

 

Kudos to you for biting the bullet and posting "before" pics - it will be so amazing to see how far you go!