TyrantLizard climbs more, eats better, and makes music

[TyrantLizard]

I skipped last challenge and, to the great surprise of nobody, the lack of a concrete plan meant I had a stagnant couple of months. I've proven to myself yet again that I need structure and mindful focus on goals to progress (what can I say, I'm a true empiricist, and need to keep checking...) so I'm back here doing my first challenge as an assassin.

 

 

My career has seasonal variance, and winter is our quiet time. That means I'll have plenty of time this challenge to dedicate to myself and my epic plans.

 

Main Quest: A happy and active mind in a healthy and active body. A life full of joy. Experiences that push me to constantly improve and make life better for the people around me.

 

Mission 1: Eat better. No, but seriously.

I'm an assistant manager at an organic vegetable farm. We grow more than 50 different types of produce, so you might think I'd have a really healthy diet. Most farmers I know eat like crap, however. A 65 hour work week doing physically demanding tasks leaves you so exhausted that cooking is the last thing you want to do when you get home. After a 13-hour day on the farm it's easy to convince yourself that a cheeseburger and a pint of ice cream are a great idea. I don't gain weight in the summer because of my insane levels of activity, but it's still not good for me, and if I don't get my shit together in the winter it's going to mean bad things in dinotown.

 

HOW: Track my food and stick to my eating goals (I have targets for fruit/veggie intake, limiting sugar, and cooking at home).

• A: 37 days or more tracked with goals met
• B: 33 days or more tracked with goals met
• C: 30 days or more tracked with goals met
• D: Bad dinosaur! You get to repeat this mission next challenge.

 

Mission 2: Climb things and stay active

In the winter I need to make exercise a priority because I don't have the luxury of getting it automatically at work. I want to make sure to get active in some way every day. On top of that, I've been climbing for a couple of months now and really love it, and want to dedicate more time to improving this winter.

 

HOW: Climb and do bodyweight workouts regularly. Do something active every day.

• A: 37 days or more with some significant daily activity. Climbing 1-2 times per week.
• B: 33 days or more with some significant daily activity. Climbing just once per week.
• C: 30 days or more with some significant daily activity. Missed climbing one week, but no more than one week.
• D: How embarrassing. What, too much free time was too overwhelming?

 

Mission 3: Relearn to play the clarinet

Once upon a time, I played the clarinet. For nine years. I was actually fairly good, and then toward the end of undergrad I stopped playing and sold my clarinet. For years I've wanted to get back to it, and recently I decided that wishes and intentions weren't going to get me very far, and I did some research and found a place to rent a clarinet. I want making music to be part of my life again, and that means relearning everything I've forgotten and practicing regularly. And yes, I know this is technically not a health/fitness goal, but 33 years of field research has taught me that when I'm happy and balanced in general, I make much better decisions about my activity and eating. I'm going to consider the benefits of creativity and music as an investment in my overall wellbeing.

• A: 37 days or more with 15 minutes of practice or more
• B: 33 days or more with 15 minutes of practice or more
• C: 30 days or more with 15 minutes of practice or more
• D: Really? You're paying for this rental, you know.

 

Life Quest: Learn some Dutch and Icelandic!

I'm going on vacation in January: Iceland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. I already have a decent level in French, but I want to learn a bit of Dutch and Icelandic before I go. I'd like to get through the beginner's courses before we leave.

[PettyMort]

Awesome goals. I climbed a little as a teenager but I'm trying to get back into it/serious about it. So my challenge is to go to the climbing gym twice a week. Any tips for climbing? It's a bouldering gym and right now I'm working on grip strength. Once I can stay on the wall a bit longer, I'll start doing the problem solving beginners' routes. 

[TyrantLizard]

Awesome goals. I climbed a little as a teenager but I'm trying to get back into it/serious about it. So my challenge is to go to the climbing gym twice a week. Any tips for climbing? It's a bouldering gym and right now I'm working on grip strength. Once I can stay on the wall a bit longer, I'll start doing the problem solving beginners' routes. 

 

Nice to meet you! Grip strength is the thing that takes longest to develop, so while it's definitely essential to work on it, don't neglect other areas: flexibility and balance are really important, and the strength in your legs, back, and core as well. Core strength is particularly important for underhangs and is an area I am trying to work on right now. One of my favourite things about climbing is that there are many avenues for improvement. And remember, while grip/arm strength definitely matters, don't neglect your feet! Good climbing technique means good foot positioning and it's easy to think that climbing is all about upper body when it's really not. Your legs are your most powerful muscles, and it's smart to use them effectively.

 

Watching people climb is definitely helpful because you pick up a lot of strategies about body positioning, use of momentum, and other techniques. I find most people at the climbing gym to be really friendly, so don't be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone if they seem interested in talking strategy. A lot of climbers are willing to give helpful advice to people just starting out.

 

I'll come check out your challenge and follow along. We can encourage each other as needed  

[starsapart]

Love the challenge, love you, subbing!!!!!!!

[NicTheRugger]

Yaaay, you're back! Sub'd! <3

[Charlie_Quinn]

Hello again! Subbing for climbing tales, dinosaurs and general awesomeness. [emoji1]

Sent from my HTC One mini 2 using Tapatalk

[Sea Level]

I dig your goals, particularly the clarinet one. I have a saxophone I haven't played in a long time. Maybe now's a good time.

[TyrantLizard]

Got a great start on my challenge yesterday! A 40-minute walk in the morning and climbing in the evening. About three quarters top roping and a bunch of bouldering as warm-up and to get the last of my strength out of my fingers at the end of the night.

 

I did a really underhangy 5.8 that I thought would be hard but was actually quite easy for me, and made fantastic progress on two brand new 5.9 routes - I'll beat them as soon as I can get up over the lip of the underhang, hopefully next week. I'm getting way better at maintaining body position on underhangs and at creating enough momentum and flow for dynamic movements. 

 

Raptor friend and I also played a sort of game where we didn't look at the route ratings for a bunch of climbs and just tried to assess them by looking at the route. It was fantastic because we ended up trying things way harder than we normally would have tried, and actually did surprisingly well in certain places. Got almost three-quarters of the way up a 5.10 slab, for one. 

 

Also did my clarinet practice (just some boring scales, but it's a start) and did well on food goals. Need to work on more protein, as usual.

[TyrantLizard]

I dig your goals, particularly the clarinet one. I have a saxophone I haven't played in a long time. Maybe now's a good time.

 

Definitely dig up the sax and give it a try! It's amazing how easy it is to move away from the things we enjoy doing when routines and habits get in the way.

[fiddle-on]

Love the clarinet goal. I'm another one who dropped music after high school. I picked it up again about 4 years ago, and it's been great. What really got me to stick with it was finding a good group of people to jam with. That way, even when I wasn't practicing on my own, I still got out and played with them every week or two. They didn't even care that I could barely play at first ( I picked up a new instrument when I came back to music.)

 

Karen

[NicTheRugger]

Great start to the challenge! I used to play the violin aaaaages ago, but now I do not. I'm hoping to save up for one so I can pick it back up. (So expensive!!) Keep going! You can do it!

[Lilith]

Love your climbing update! Also, which course are you using for learning Dutch?