[zenLara] A great opportunity to level up

[Lara]

This is going to be a challenge worthy of the name. I have loads of work this trimester, so this will be a good moment for me to learn that I can be hyper-busy while keeping control of my life and attain my goals without letting anxiety overflow.

 

Goal 1. Be zenLara. Meditate, breathe, move, rest, and read and think my affirmations.

 

Goal 2. Music is life. 1 hour of flute practice 5 to 7 days/week plus extra time on weekends, including stage fright preparation, plus half an hour 3 to 4 times a week for the recorder. The difficulty resides on finding time for an extra instrument in a period of the scholar year where my performance duties have already increased. I have also several projects at work with my students that can't be postponed. I should include here the tap dance solo I need to get ready for the end of this challenge.

 

Goal 3. Keep moving! It belongs to the anxiety group of activities, but as this is a very important item I'll treat it as a goal on its own. Strength workouts, tap dancing lessons, running and walking outdoors, short mobility work before sleep. What changes from last challenge is that I'd like to be more organized.

 

Goal 4. The key goal. Be disciplined, be organized, keep track of every task, but have fun and don't be judgemental. Procrastination is not allowed, but neither are critizicing or judging. Focus on the process and stay positive. Write down a positive things list. Mentally rewards after every action that helps me leveling up.

 

Goal 5. Life support goal. Eat big and fatty, chew my food, take supplements and sleep well and enough so everything else is easier.

 

Emergency alert. If I feel anxiety is piling up and I don't seem to be able to handle it, I'll do like I did last challenge and stop some activities for a few days: work goals will be put on standby until I recover and I'll do less of everything. Health and peace of mind are more important than work or good performances.

 

Rewards. I want to focus this challenge on immediate mental rewards. I want to learn to reward myself for those little everyday actions I do against chaos. If I finally plan some mid-challenge, fourth-week or final material rewards, I think I'll better choose things that will help with anxiety, such as taking a massage or having a day-off or going to some beautiful place.

 

Points to achieve level 6.

 

STR 1 If I get to do at least 8 strength workouts (goal 3)

DEX 3 If I get to finish my tap solo for the end of the challenge (goal 2)

STA 2 If I go out for a run at least 8 times (goal 3)

CONS 2 If I sleep and eat well regularly so my energy levels don't go down (goal 5)

WIS 5 If I succeed at goals 1 and 4 so I clearly level up (goals 1 and 4)

CHA 2 If my work projects are done on due time and I get good results from my musical practice (goal 2)

 

Here in Spain we are still on holidays and as I want to give myself every bit of this off-time, and also have to travel to Lisbonne and back next weekend, I don't think I'll start my challenge until january the 12th instead of next monday. Maybe I'll extend it another week to make up for the delay.

[SymphonicDan]

Boom, found you 3 minutes after you posted this Good luck, and enjoy the holidays! Best thing is that you have clear priorities.

[RES]

Love that you have the 'emergency alert' and the zen thing going... Following along! 

[karinajean]

here again! love your set-up and attention to your healthy lifestyle.

[annyshay]

Yay Lara! Can't wait to share the journey and challenge...

[Lara]

Love that you have the 'emergency alert' and the zen thing going... Following along! 

 

I've found that the "emergency alert" reduces pressure a lot. Sometimes, just knowing I can take those days off is enough.

 

here again! love your set-up and attention to your healthy lifestyle.

 

I've decided that health, mental and physical, is going to be my priority. I know that if I get to be healthier everything else will be easier and more enjoyable

 

Yay Lara! Can't wait to share the journey and challenge...

 

Thank you, sweetie! Wish you the best too!

 

Boom, found you 3 minutes after you posted this Good luck, and enjoy the holidays! Best thing is that you have clear priorities.

 

You are undoubtedly the quickest nerdfitnesser... Thank you!

[deftona]

Stalking you right back

[Lara]

As I said, I am not starting my challenge this week, but anyway I am doing some things, like a warm-up.

Yesterday I retook some of my routines: walking some miles, breathing, musical practice... and took care of increasing fat consumption. Also I've been decluttering at home and reviewing icelandic vocabulary. But, the rule is, as I am still on holidays, to do this things only because I want and when I want and in a good mood. I am trying to focus already on the no-critizicing factor and the mental rewards (damn, this is very hard!). Anxiety levels are low by now, but I need to continually remember myself to look at this trimester as an opportunity to level up instead of imagining myself drowning in quicksand by the weight of so many to-do tasks.

[annyshay]

What do you mean by mental rewards?

[Lara]

What do you mean by mental rewards?

 

I mean to take a moment to realise I did something good for me, to be proud of it, to notice it. We are more or less used to congratulate ourselves when we make some effort, like "I am tired but I cleaned the kitchen before bed, yay for me" or "I didn't feel like working out but went for a run anyway, that's great", and of course that is good, but I think it can help keep my routines if I congratulate myself too for doing those little actions that seem effortless but are important, even when I did them willingly and had fun with them. My challenges are less and less focused on goals per se, as I am lately more interested in creating and maintaining healthy routines, and I think this can be very useful to make it easy to stick to them.

 

On the other hand, anxiety grew pretty big yesterday, and while I slept well and deep, this morning my nose bleeded a lot, which is always a sign anxiety is too high. So a good day to get back on meditation and to focus on wellbeing.

 

Have a nice day, sweetie! Go punch those snack cravings!

[The Swedish Ninja]

Mental rewards, love it! Your challenge seems great, I might steel some of it for my next one (or update my current one).

 

As for affirmations, I have not gotten into these (yet) so instead I have begun listing to certain "motivation/pump me up" songs. This have helped me when i need a push (for instance when beating a sugar craving). 

Remember the name - Fort Minor

Rocky songs (training montage, eye of the tiger etc)

All I do is Win - DJ Khaled

A warriors call - Volbeat

 

Will join you on your journey!

[Lara]

Mental rewards, love it! Your challenge seems great, I might steel some of it for my next one (or update my current one).

 

As for affirmations, I have not gotten into these (yet) so instead I have begun listing to certain "motivation/pump me up" songs. This have helped me when i need a push (for instance when beating a sugar craving). 

Remember the name - Fort Minor

Rocky songs (training montage, eye of the tiger etc)

All I do is Win - DJ Khaled

A warriors call - Volbeat

 

Will join you on your journey!

 

Hei, you're back! Be welcome!

I wasn't very enthousiastic about affirmations at first, and was doing the exercises just because the anxiety workbook said so. Until I found myself in a stressful situation and suddenly my brain started to repeat them, and I realised my brain believed them. It helped me to manage anxiety in that moment and made me feel in control of my own thoughts and feelings. Kind of liberating.

I'll take a look on those songs, but now I'll go and find your thread

[Teros]

 Keep moving! It belongs to the anxiety group of activities, but as this is a very important item I'll treat it as a goal on its own. Strength workouts, tap dancing lessons, running and walking outdoors, short mobility work before sleep. What changes from last challenge is that I'd like to be more organized.

 

Goal 4. The key goal. Be disciplined, be organized, keep track of every task, but have fun and don't be judgemental. Procrastination is not allowed, but neither are critizicing or judging. Focus on the process and stay positive. Write down a positive things list. Mentally rewards after every action that helps me leveling up.

 

Rewards

For moving being more organized; what does that mean?  Is there a way that you're tracking this? A certain # of times? Certain time of day?

 

I really like goal 4 and the rewards.  Any questions, feel free to post at the Tavern or send me a message.  Good luck and have fun this challenge

[Lara]

For moving being more organized; what does that mean?  Is there a way that you're tracking this? A certain # of times? Certain time of day?

 

I really like goal 4 and the rewards.  Any questions, feel free to post at the Tavern or send me a message.  Good luck and have fun this challenge

 

More organized by comparison with last challenge: my anxiety was high so I decided everytime I'd exercise I'd choose whatever I'd prefer in that moment, without thinking of a plan to develop strength or stamina or whatever. The goal was simply to exercise to get rid of anxiety. This challenge I'd like to focus on a routine, like finishing C25K, lifting twice a week, etc.

 

Thanks!

[annyshay]

Hei, you're back! Be welcome!

I wasn't very enthousiastic about affirmations at first, and was doing the exercises just because the anxiety workbook said so. Until I found myself in a stressful situation and suddenly my brain started to repeat them, and I realised my brain believed them. It helped me to manage anxiety in that moment and made me feel in control of my own thoughts and feelings. Kind of liberating.

I'll take a look on those songs, but now I'll go and find your thread

I started doing affirmations after you kept talking about them. They are starting to take hold and make my self-talk more positive, even if I feel silly practicing some times. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Lara]

I started doing affirmations after you kept talking about them. They are starting to take hold and make my self-talk more positive, even if I feel silly practicing some times. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

I feel silly sometimes too   But I've perfected them until they sound like something I can accept as true, and silly or not, they work!

[Lara]

No way back. I have to start my challenge tomorrow. I feel like I lack the energy to start all this work, but there's no escape here.

Today I've been organizing my workouts for the week, and I'm trying this schedule:

 

C25K - Strength 1 - Rest - C25K - Strength 2 - Tap lesson - Rest

 

Strength 1: warm up including climbers or jumps, plus stationary lunges with pulses, inclined push-ups, elbow plank, squat and deadlift with weights, and bicycle crunches. 3x3 of every exercise. If it's too long or too hard, I'll adjust.

Strength 2: more focused on upper body as I have tap dance the day after and want my legs to be a bit rested. Warm up including jumping jacks, plus push-ups, chair dips, bench press, bicep curls and deadlift.

 

I'd like to add something similar to a pull up, but I have no bar. I tried for sometime to do bodyweight rows using my kitchen table, but it ended hurting my trapezius, probably due to the poor grasp of my hands on the table (flat fingers instead of round position). I've thought maybe I can do pull ups in the trees after I finish running on the C25K days.

 

Time to level up!

 

[SymphonicDan]

Good luck zenLara! Make sure you keep the calories coming to cope with your hardcore plans!

 

I've tried rows on household objects before and the household objects are never happy with my intent haha... are there any playgrounds where you can go at reasonably kid-free times to practise pull-up exercises?

[Korranation]

love the smart goals you set

 

[SymphonicDan]

Also happy 1-year NF anniversary for yesterday!

[Endor]

Got my eye on you

 

I'm still hoping to see a vid of your tap dancing performance once it's ready, but no pressure

[Lara]

Got my eye on you

 

I'm still hoping to see a vid of your tap dancing performance once it's ready, but no pressure

 

I am planning on it, don't worry. But first I have to build the choreo

[Lara]

Good luck zenLara! Make sure you keep the calories coming to cope with your hardcore plans!

 

I've tried rows on household objects before and the household objects are never happy with my intent haha... are there any playgrounds where you can go at reasonably kid-free times to practise pull-up exercises?

 

Yes, I'll try to do my best at meal hours. I am not worried because I've seen that as soon as I increase movement my hunger increases too and I up my calories rather easily. But yes, I keep it in mind.

 

There is a playground but with no objects useful as pull up bars. I'll take a look at the trees today.

love the smart goals you set

 

 

Thank you, DubiousChi! And thank you for coming by!

 

Also happy 1-year NF anniversary for yesterday!

 

Oh, I had forgotten! I'll celebrate it with my first run of the year!! Done!

[Lara]

Day 1 report.

 

Goal 1. Meditation, breathing, resting, affirmations. Everything done.

Goal 2. Found time for my recorder, but only got 35 minutes for the flute. Not bad, considering I lost half an hour unexpectedly having to go on an unplanned errand.

Goal 3. C25K. I even made 2 sprints and it went rather well (and one was while going up the slope!). My lungs seem to be fairly adapted now.

Goal 4. Risked twice to be judging but stopped it. On the other side, I remembered 12 times to appreciate and mentally reward myself for my actions.

Goal 5. I've eaten a bit more than usual to start preparing my body for the new workouts period, specially fatty on breakfast and lunch. Took the supplements. Let's see how I sleep.

 

Positive things list (goal 4):

 

- Some of the students had a good practice during holidays and performed nicely today.

- Took some minutes to declutter a small hot spot in my desk. It looks much better now.

- Short nap with my cat under a soft blanket after lunch.

- Bacon!

- It was very sunny when I went for a run, and even hot! (well, hot for the wheather we've been having. It was around 10ºC in fact, but it felt so warm). The fields smelled like if spring were around the corner.

- Meditation.

- Going to bed feeling so proud of myself.

[Endor]

- Short nap with my cat under a soft blanket after lunch.

We call this a catnap