Teddie.Bare's Fiery Road to Awesome

[teddie.bare]

After a very successful first challenge, I am moving to the assassins full time. Woot!

 

I'm conflicted on where to go with this next challenge, so lets see... I've finally FINALLY started losing weight again, but I don't want it to be all about that. I have no idea how well it's going to continue, and I want to really focus on other accomplishments in case I hit a plateau. I found during the last challenge that forcing myself to hoop is a bad idea. Yes, I want to be a LED/Fire Hoop performer, but I want to do it because I enjoy it. I want to do something regarding my hoop, and I decided that I wanted to get better about videotaping my sessions occasionally to monitor progress. So I'll definitely do that. I think that will be a Side Quest, so I can focus on other weekly goals. There are some things from my last quest I want to continue (like recording on my Walking to Mordor challenge), but I want to add some new things to make it interesting...

 

So, my Main Quest is: Become a performance LED/Fire hula hooper (long term goal)
Goals:
Work on Push-up Progression. 3x a week.  3 sets of 15.
Run faster. Running/HIIT/Dreadmill at least 2x a week, working on speed and endurance.
Keto on. <50g of carbs 6/7 days a week. Points for tracking all of my calories in MFP every day.

Side Quests:
Record daily miles walked into "Walking to Mordor" spreadsheet.

Video tape my hoop routine 3x during the challenge - visualize room for improvement and possibly share with the group

Life Quest:
Work on decluttering my tiny house. Throw away or donate at least one thing a day.

Motivation:
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not."

Grading:
I will give myself a total each week, based on how well I do. I will then assign my total grade at the end based on how many points I earned.
There are 19 points available each week: 2 running days (1 pt each), 7 days of food tracking, 7 days of decluttering, and 3 points for push-ups.

 

Week 1: 17/19

Week 2: 17/19

Week 3: 20/19

Week 4: 20/19

Week 5: 19/19

Week 6: 17/19

Total: 110/114 or 97%

[vengefulpear]

Yay! Another assassin! Glad to have you with us! Don't forget to fill in the form to make the guild leader's job a teeny bit easier  https://docs.google....gc4MAQ/viewform

 

That is a kickass long term goal! I don't think I've ever seen anyone who wants to do that! So that's extra awesome  

[Nuala]

Fire hula hooper sounds awesome. No even more than awesome it sounds epic. Really!

[Lilith]

Will you share your videos with us? I would love to see how good you are! (Very good probably, because your goal of fire hulahooping sounds amazing!

[Elastigirl]

Ooooh. Fire hula hooping. I didn't know there was such a thing. How fun and cool and all sorts of other adjectives. We get vid's-yes?

[Mad Hatter]

I love your main quest!! Hooping is so much fun! And I'm seconding everyone else who wants to see vids.

[ApfelStrudi]

****This is a semi-automated message from your fruity overlord guild leader.****

 

Hello and welcome to the assassin guild! I am Apfelstrudi and I'm one of your guild leader. First of all, I want to thank you for having chosen our guild as your first one, it makes us really happy and proud. I really hope you will enjoy being with us and that you will find here all the support you need.

 

What you need to know.

Whatever you do, remember that your challenge is your priority. Mini-challenges, guild activities, PVP are not mandatory. They are here for you to have fun, discover new exercises, have some friendly competitions but they must not hinder your progresses. If a mini-challenge seems too overwhelming for you, just don't do it.

 

Being here with us will give you access to many other not mandatory activities, aka:

- Skill mini-challenge. The skill mini-challenge will start on Monday, February 24 and will last the whole challenge (aka 6 weeks). As the name may suggest, you will be asked to work on a skill over the course of the challenge.

 

- Mini-challenges: Every other Mondays (usually), a new mini-challenge will be published. These one lasts one week and will ask you to do some special exercises. Each mini-challenge can reward you some stat points after completions. More information will be displayed in the mini-challenges threads!

 

- PVP. PVP are competitions started by other members of the rebellion. If you enjoy measuring yourself to other, they may be the right thing for you. So, don't forget to check the PVP forum (http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/forum/189-pvp-challenges/) to find or even make your own PVP! Remember to read the rules (http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/33330-pvp-challenge-rules/) though  

 

What I expect from you!

Consistency, awesomeness and regular updates. One update at the end of the challenge won't do, we want to be able to see you are still here with us. One Update a week is a minimum. More would be even better  

 

Don't stay by yourself. If you want people to follow your thread and support you, you may have to do the same. You will probably find many people who share the same goals as you, go visit their thread, cheer on them and they will probably do the same.

 

If you want to find people that work towards the same goals as you, have a look at our assassin phonebook: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44718-the-assassin-phonebook/

 

Make sure you subscribe to the announcement thread:

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44300-guild-information-and-announcements-subscribe/

And if you don't want to subscribe, make at least sure you read it once a week. It is usually updated on Monday/Tuesday to present the new mini-challenge and Assassin most wanted list.

 

Don't stay by yourself bis! The assassin's den is open to all, you have funny gifs to share, a story to tell, needs some advices or just want a place to chat? The Assassin's den is the place to go (also, we have parkour corgis, ninja cats and killer sloth)!

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44299-assassins-den-general-chat-thread/

 

 

 

What else?

If you have any problems, questions or suggestions for the guild, feel free to send your guild leaders a PM. Also, we are still looking for journalists to work on the weekly most wanted list. The job is quite simple albeit a bit time consuming. PM Apfelstrudi for more details.

 

Sorry for the wall of text! I wish you luck for this challenge!  

 

****This was a semi-automated message from your fruity overlord guild leader.****

[teddie.bare]

Day 1 of the new challenge I'm very excited to be a full-time assassin, thank you for the warm welcome!

 

Today I lifted weights (not part of my challenge, but still good), and I am enjoying my Chicken Mushroom and Brie Bake for lunch. Today is day 55 of logging my food, and I've been doing keto for 5 weeks now. For reference sake: I am 189.8 lbs this morning. I have my monthly PCOS follow-up appointment on Thursday, but things are going VERY well since changing my diet and meds.

 

I will upload videos for you guys of my hooping. I don't have a fire hoop yet, but I do have an LED hoop to practice with, along with lots of other flashy, shiny, happy hoops. I am not very good at impromptu "flow" yet, so I'm working on one solid routine that I can have in my head and variate. I have the choreography down, two songs it goes with, and now I just need to practice timing and consistency. My goal is to create 3 videos during the challenge to see how my progress is going. It's nice to hear there is interest!

 

I have a horrible back, so I'm kinda bummed that I can't participate in much of the bridge mini challenges. I'll have to see what I can do, but bending backwards is something that will never happen for me again. Which is a shame, because I used to be quite good at it. I'm flexible enough, but I have a damaged disc that bulges in and out of place that doesn't appreciate that particular movement. It also prevents me from doing a lot of belly dancing (sad face). I hope to maybe work the belly dancing back in one day, but I'm still not seeing fully hyper-extended moves anywhere in my near future.

 

I photographed a local con this weekend, and tried out my new Steampunk Princess Leia costume. So, here's a couple bonus pics for you:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mad Hatter]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that corset!!! You look fantastic!

 

And you can absolutely participate in the mini-challenges, in most weeks there will be some stretches and strength exercises that don't affect the back. So join in! It will be fun.

[ApfelStrudi]

Whoa that looks AWESOME. I love your tattoo, too! Your are such a beautiful person. 

 

I have a hooping question, since people that can handle fire-hoops are true experts in my book.

Do you have any recommendations? I'm looking to get one and have hoop-challenges this time, but I don't have the funds to spend 40€ on a hula hoop. I'd love to hear your advice and opinion - feel free to tell me I have to suck it up and save up for a hula hoop if that's the opinon.

 

And Hatter's right - there will be exercises that aren't focused on flexibility in future mini-challenges for this one, and we don't want you to hurt yourself, so do it at your own pace and your own level!

[Waldgeist]

Record daily miles walked into "Walking to Mordor" spreadsheet.

 

Hey! Someone else roaming through middle earth, although we're walking in slightly different direction. Good luck with that quest!

 

PS: It has been said already, but that outfit is great!

[Lilith]

That corset is GORGEOUS! And yes you can definitely participate there are plenty of other stretches than bridges <3

[teddie.bare]

Whoa that looks AWESOME. I love your tattoo, too! Your are such a beautiful person. 

 

I have a hooping question, since people that can handle fire-hoops are true experts in my book.

Do you have any recommendations? I'm looking to get one and have hoop-challenges this time, but I don't have the funds to spend 40€ on a hula hoop. I'd love to hear your advice and opinion - feel free to tell me I have to suck it up and save up for a hula hoop if that's the opinon.

 

And Hatter's right - there will be exercises that aren't focused on flexibility in future mini-challenges for this one, and we don't want you to hurt yourself, so do it at your own pace and your own level!

 

I have been battling a badly timed stomach bug this week - argh! I hope to get some challenge stretching in tonight, but we'll see. Been a long week!

 

For the hula hoop - you can make yourself a really cheap one from your local hardware store really easily! I'll link you a super great tutorial. You can buy two sticks of pre-cut tubing instead of an entire roll, two connectors, and then put them together - voilla. I use duct tape and electrical tape most of the time to make it pretty, and I have gaffers tape for stickiness. But anything will work, even naked tubing. These are great for beginners - the finished hoop should come up between your belly button and breast bone from the ground - the bigger it is, the easier it is to hoop.

 

http://www.jasonunbound.com/hoops.html

 

Then, when you actually go to hoop, watch some YouTube videos. I love Deanna Love. You don't turn your hips in a circle at all! You put one foot in front of another, and rock front to back. Or spread your legs and rock side to side. It's a lot easier than you think, you just have to have the right size hoop, and the correct body motion

[Mad Hatter]

Seconded, I've made a hoop similar to that! I didn't buy a connector, I just cut the tubing into a smaller bit of tubing. Worked great.  

[teddie.bare]

So, long week. Been under the weather, so sad face there. I lifted on Monday, and attempted to run on Tuesday... and then went home and didn't get off the couch much for the next day and a half. My food has been on point, I've been throwing/donating something every day, and I will do my pushups tonight.

 

So for the start of my 'run faster' efforts, I did HIIT 2min by 2 min and my running was 4mph. I was at 3.5mph max before, so this was a great improvement for me. I was able to do it for 20 min total, so 10 mins of running at 4mph. That's a start. I usually do cardio for 30 mins, but life happens. I either do 2x2 or 3x7 intervals most of the time, unless it's nice outside. If it's nice, I run outside on a .5 mile track. Hopefully I'll be able to get some outside time in soon.

 

I don't have much planned this weekend, so I hope to get my last hoop re-taped, and spend some time with my hoop. I hope to get my first video tape at least recorded as well.

[teddie.bare]

Well, I managed my push-ups this morning while I was packing my lunch. I'm going to call that a win. Food is going great, decluttering is going slow and steady (the way I want it to go), but there's no way I'm going to run twice this week. This stomach ache is just killing me and I don't want to risk a workout incident, or worsening of my illness. I didn't get any good sleep this week, so I'm sure that's not helping my cause any.

 

About me: I have PCOS and severe insulin resistance, which is why I do the Keto variety of Paleo. I just got diagnosed in November, and started with a hormone specialist a month ago. I had my one-month checkup last night, and things are going swimmingly. I am down 6.5 lbs this month on his scale, 11.5 since the beginning of the year on mine, and 53.5 since 2011. The last 18 months I haven't lost any weight, but have made significant progress on my body recomposition. I have been SUPER frustrated with the scale (seriously? a year and a damn half plateau?), so it's nice to see the scale going back down again. He expects I'll keep up with at least a 1-lb a week loss, which is fine with me. I'm still working on fine-tuning my new meds, but so far I'd say they are working great with my adjusted diet.

 

So here's two pictures for you. One is my cosplay progress from 2012, 2013 and this year. Cause I can't get over how much I love my new Leia. And then the other is body recomp from June 2012 until now. I can't really argue with the results I've gotten with my awesome NF workouts, but I am still looking forward to weighing less!

 

 

[teddie.bare]

oopsie, multiple post.

[ApfelStrudi]

Oh wow that is great. That never even came to my mind, even though I love to build things! I'll add that to my challenges right away, in your name Thank you so much! 

Good job pulling through even though you were under the weather! I hope you'll feel up to your usual awesomeness soon

[teddie.bare]

Oh wow that is great. That never even came to my mind, even though I love to build things! I'll add that to my challenges right away, in your name Thank you so much! 

Good job pulling through even though you were under the weather! I hope you'll feel up to your usual awesomeness soon

 

Yay! let me know if you have any questions or need any advice. I love to help people see how amazing hooping is it's so great for moving meditation and relaxation. I crank up the music, get in a groove, and let it all out.

[Mad Hatter]

How did week 1 go?

[teddie.bare]

Now that I'm back to a real computer: week 1 summary.

 

It didn't go as amazing as I had hoped. A mid-week stomach bug put a major hamper on my goals.

 

Work on Push-up Progression. 2/3

Run faster. Running/HIIT/Dreadmill at least 2x. 1/2

Record food every day. 7/7

Decluttering: 7/7

 

I feel better today than I have since the middle of January. I killed it at the gym with free-weights, and my food for today has all been amazing. I'm hoping to stay healthy for the remainder of the challenge, and really see some progress on my goals

[Mad Hatter]

Considering your bug you did amazing! Now go rock week 2.

[teddie.bare]

Today was great. I ran 2.5 miles in 40 min with a coworker, burning 388 calories. My speed felt better, but my endurance is down a little from not getting out enough. I hope to get outside again once more this week while the weather is nice. Planning out all my meals for the weeks really helps keep me on track.

 

I figured out something that should have been pretty obvious yesterday: when I don't work out, I can't fall asleep. I missed several days of workouts because of my illnesses, and those nights I just could NOT sleep. Yesterday I fell asleep super fast after lifting. Unfortunately, my daughter woke me up after 5 hours, but at least I didn't stare at the ceiling for the first half of the night

 

I'm so tired right now. Between the short night and the run, I could go to bed right now. I sure hope we get some sleep tonight.

[teddie.bare]

Yesterday was good. I got a good weights workout in, and had a lovely lunch. I'm having a hard time getting my push-ups in on the days I thought I would, so I need to modify my goals. I think 3x a week is good, no matter what day I do them on. I will try to get them in tonight, for this week I'm using my kitchen counter, and it's just the right height for me until I get a little stronger.

 

My hamstrings are killing me. I did squats and deadlifts on Monday, ran tuesday, and then did a different kind of squats and deadlifts yesterday. I won't get runners legs without running, right?? I hate how sore I am when I change up my lifts, but I'll live. It should be easier for me next week.

 

It's 67 degrees today, so I really need to get out and enjoy it. I still have really bad hamstring pain, so I might end up walking most of it, but I won't let the good weather go to waste! It's going to get cold again tomorrow.

[ApfelStrudi]

Boo hamstrings! Buuut it means they're getting strong and more awesome and before you even know it your hamstrings will laugh at the exercise you're doing now because they're so much better.

 

I totally forgot to tell you! I made that hoop last saturday and I'm in love with it. So much easier than with a kiddie hoop and while it's not perfectly round, it works nonetheless!