Agnarr: The Way of Vikings

[Agnarr]

The Way of Vikings

 

The child had grown to a young man. The calluses on his hands showed the effort put into weapons training. His muscles had started bulging shyly throw the skin a few months ago, a fact which made him really proud of himself.  A black eye from the last training with Ragnar; a patchy fuzz that resembled a beard. At age 15 he felt like a man.

Living of wild game and foraged plants had changed his body, making it leaner and stronger, so different from his soft childhood body. After checking no one was around he flexed his arm to admire his halfway developed biceps. “Get a grip, pretty boy” Ragnar’s laughter caught him off guard. “Damn you and your stealth Ragnar, sure you are werewolf and not a werecat? ”  Said the young man, his face red from the embarrassment.

“Don’t worry little brother, no one else was looking, and besides, you are getting fairly strong for a fellow your size” Ragnar was a head taller than the young lad would ever be and he didn't missed an oportunity to remind him so. "Njal says it's time for you to swear the oath... if you prove yourself worthy" said Ragnar, suddenly serious. "Don't sweat it, I know you'll do great. I've trained you myself, didn't I?"

"And a good trainer you've been, brother" said the youngster as he touched his black eye.  All members of the brotherhood addressed each other as “brother”.  He was not a full fledged member yet so calling Ragnar his brother was considered an offence to the code, yet he truly thought of him as a brother, from the day he found the boy half dead on the river bank… it seemed like a lifetime ago.

Njal was the leader of the brotherhood, an old warrior as big as a bear and as smart as a scholar. He had accepted Ragnar’s request to let the boy prove his worth and swear the oath when he was old enough, and that time had come.

The young initiate had to fight the newest member of the brotherhood, and if his performance pleased Njal, he would get to swear a sacred oath. His opponent would be Skallagrimm, a 20 years old man who was really fond of him. “Worry not fella, Imma make look good in front of the old man, you’ll be a brother really soon” he had said to him the day before. Njal must have told him first.

"Hey, Ragnar! Can you stay away from your little fuck-boy long enough to attend a counsil meeting?"  Hafthor's voice, loud as thunder, interrupted his thoughts.

"Who do you call a fuck-boy, Hafthor you piece if shit" the young lad confronted the bigger man.

"Bring it on then...fuck-boy" Hafthor smiled and raised his guard.

“Break it off both of you. NOW" Ragnar got inbetween the two. "You said there's a counsil meeting, well let go then".

"Ragnar won’t be around forever, boy" Hafthor laughed as they walked away.

Ragnar and Hafthor were Njals officers and one of them would take command of the brotherhood upon Najl's death. While Ragnar simply acceptes this fact, Halfthor lusted for such power. Apart from being the strongest of the brothers, Halfthor was a mad dog: he enjoyed torturing and raping during pillages and had a fame for randomly bursting in rage over small matters. It was a fact that Hafthor was waiting for the chance to stab Ragnar in the back and claim Njal's place.

By the time he returned to camp, the counsil meeting was over and some brothers were gathering around the fire.

"It seems like the little rat will get a chance to prove it's worth" Hafthor spoke to no one in particular "can't wait to see how Skallagrimm chops him to pieces".

The boy stepped forward to face Hafthor "Why don't you say that to my face?”

“You’ve got a big mouth, hum… little cunt”. He could not stand the insult, just like Hafthor expected. The boy’s fist flew through the air and landed on the man’s jaw, barely shaking his head. “Alright, I accept the challenge. Let’s see if you have what it takes to be part of the brotherhood”. Hafthor seized a fellow brother’s sword and tossed it at the young man’s feet, then unsheathed his and threw the first cut. His adversary raised the sword to block the blow. The force was so brutal that the sword flew out of the youngster’s hand and in quick succession; a vicious punch sent him to the ground.

“This is how we battle boy, is the way of vikings!” Hafthor shouted, as he went for the killing blow. Ragnar’s sword deflected the blow just in time to avoid the death of his “little brother” striking Hafthor’s face with the pommel. “Stay down, damn you” Ragnar turned to face his little brother “What in the world was that? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Your first fight was supposed to be against…” At that moment a blade appeared through Ragnar’s chest. With eyes wide open, the man grabbed the blade coming out of his body and fell to his knees. Then he dropped to the ground face first.

Hafthor held the sword for a moment and then proceeded to clean the blood out of it with Ragnar’s tunic and walk away. The boy with his brother’s dead body on his arms could not believe what just happened. As anger filled every corner of his body, he grabbed Ragnar’s sword and rushed towards Hafthor. The man saw this and raised his guard. Obviously brute force would not win that fight; he’d had to outsmart his adversary. The boy dodged a blow, and then a second and a third one. He kept on dancing around the bigger man, dodging every blow, until his technique became sloppier as he got tired, and his breath became heavy and difficult: Hafthor might have been strong, but he couldn’t fight for very long. The lad saw his chance and took it, cutting the backside of his enemy’s ankle rendering the leg useless. Just as Ragnar taught him, he did a reverse cut and sliced the other ankle.

In the moment Halfthor fell to the ground, his adversary kicked his face with full force breaking his nose, causing him to lose his grip on the sword. “This is how we battle!” the boy shouted at his brother’s murderer. Another kick to the face and the murderer fell backwards- “this is the way of Vikings!...” -With all the strength he could summon, he drove his sword through Hafthor’s eye into his skull, ending him swiftly- ”…boy”.

The lad fell to his knees crushed under the weight of his brother’s death, and tired from the stress of the fight. An old, callused hand grabbed him by the shoulder

“C’mon , son” Njal said ”we have some graves to dig… and you have an oath to take”

 

As many of you fellow rebels, I've found a weekly routine that more or less works for me. Last challenge I put an extra effort on the nutrition front, just to find out I wasn't doing it all that bad without actual macro counting and stuff. So, now that I feel confident about my caloric intake, it's time to get back to the grind: batch cooking, avoiding more than 1 variance/week and training my ass off. That takes us to the main goal of this challenge, which is working on my endurance. I am really lacking on that department. That is making the WODs harder to complete because even if I'm phisically able to perform a specific exercise, stringing a few of them in a row becomes really difficult due to my poor endurance (a.k.a I get winded way too fast). Besides is an excuse to try some rucking, using "Zombies, Run!" to add some sense of purpouse. I'll definetly practice jumping rope because I totally suck at it and if I can, I'll squeeze in one or two sessions of HIIT.

 

Last challenge non-fitness related goals where left for dead, but they are coming back for this one. The to-do list will be weekly, not daily, and there will be a goal related to decluttering and organizing my small toolshed in order for it to become a small functioning workshop.

 

I'll use a point system to grade my efforts, so I get an idea of how well I did when the four weeks are over.

• For the activities I do on a regular basis (CrossFit, Ultimate Couple Workout^TM,batch cooking) I'll be getting 5 points.
• For the new activities related to this challenge(Rucks, Jumping Rope) I'll be getting 10 points.
• For the extra activities(HIIT, Yoga, Martial Arts?) I'll be getting 15 points
• Every hour dedicated to building my metal/wood working manshed shall award me 5 points

To- do lists and PvP events from Wolf's and Rurik's challenges will SUBSTRACT 5 points each when not completed but won't add to the total point count. The same goes for non-paleo food: Any non-paleo meal will substract 10 points to the total point count.

 

So if I dont miss any of my regular activities they should make 100 points. New activities should make 120 points(2 rucks, 1 rope session a week). That's 220 points total; anything below that number will be counted as a fail.

 

Let's do this!

 

 

[Mr_Willes]

Lots and lots of different stuff for working out. Woohoo, very much RangerBrain™. So here for this. And while i'm here might i interest you in doing some PvP battling on the workouts?

[DarK_RaideR]

41 minutes ago, Agnarr said:

Besides is an excuse to try some rucking, using "Zombies, Run!" to add some sense of purpouse.

"Zombies, Ruck!"

 

If I may just point out, I've come to discover that endurance comes in many forms. Keeping a steady pace for a long run is not the same as doing a WOD like 16.5 (Thrusters and burpees galore!) and so forth. Do you have something specific in mind?

[Mr_Willes]

I wholeheartedly agree with D_R, but they are linked. I got much better at doing WOD type of workouts when i upped my stamina with long pace runs (5K - 15K is long pace for me) . But best bet is to diversify (RangerBrain™ FTW). For me it's the main reason i haven't cancelled my subscription at the gym. I go to a grouplesson when i have time and almost every week it's something else. Just to shock my body.

[Agnarr]

1 hour ago, mr_willes said:

 And while i'm here might i interest you in doing some PvP battling on the workouts?

Of course good sire, what do you have in mind? Any workouts in particular?

 

31 minutes ago, DarK_RaideR said:

"Zombies, Ruck!"

 

If I may just point out, I've come to discover that endurance comes in many forms. Keeping a steady pace for a long run is not the same as doing a WOD like 16.5 (Thrusters and burpees galore!) and so forth. Do you have something specific in mind?

It might come across as overly ambitious, but I want both. That's why I intend to Ruck and jump rope; and throw in some HIIT sprints if I find the time. The first I'm sure I can do it(Airsoft military simulations involve A LOT of marching with a backpack) but anything involving high intensity, aerobically demanding exercises categorically kicks my ass. 16.5 for example, I'd die trying to get to 18 reps. And not die like "I feel like shit", die like actual demise

[DJtrippyT]

a good mix of ideas! I need to absorb some of your discipline on the nutrition front; ive been terrible

 

 

[Mr_Willes]

Last time i PvP'ed with an Assassin ( @lucky fire dragon ) and it was a blast. Basically we tried to get on our A-games. My goals a week for this challenge are:

 

3x lifting

3x BodyWeightWorkout

2x Running (10K+)

1x Grouplesson @ the Gym

 

So we were all over each other challenge threads, reporting in when a workout was ticked off the list. And making fun of the one who was behind with his/hers completed workouts. She had different goals but we just try to cheer each other on, and were both really committed to doing as much workouts as possible. I can safely tell here, she beat my ass and won the PvP with A's on all here challenge goals . Generally it was a blast.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

It is warming to my Ranger hear to see RangerBrain all over your goals.

[Agnarr]

3 minutes ago, mr_willes said:

Last time i PvP'ed with an Assassin ( @lucky fire dragon ) and it was a blast. Basically we tried to get on our A-games. My goals a week for this challenge are:

 

3x lifting

3x BodyWeightWorkout

2x Running (10K+)

1x Grouplesson @ the Gym

 

So we were all over each other challenge threads, reporting in when a workout was ticked off the list. And making fun of the one who was behind with his/hers completed workouts. She had different goals but we just try to cheer each other on, and were both really committed to doing as much workouts as possible. I can safely tell here, she beat my ass and won the PvP with A's on all here challenge goals . Generally it was a blast.

ohhh I see...

well, then. My weekly workout goals are

2x CrossFit Classes

2x BodyWeight Workouts

2x Rucks

1x Jump Rope workout

 

[Nymeria]

Whoa.  It's possible to turn "Zombies, Run!" into "Zombies, Ruck!'?!  That sounds incredible!  So, for the actual running or sprinting parts in the program, do you just pick up your pace a little while rucking?  

[Mr_Willes]

Wicked!!!

 

So 7 out of 7 is for an A for you and 9 out of 9 is an A for me. subbing your thread so i don't get blindsided

 

We will start next week? This week really is a 0-week for me. I'm not letting go completely but have relaxed my goals a bit, just to make a killer challenge.

 

 

[Charlie_Quinn]

[Agnarr]

19 minutes ago, Nymeria said:

Whoa.  It's possible to turn "Zombies, Run!" into "Zombies, Ruck!'?!  That sounds incredible!  So, for the actual running or sprinting parts in the program, do you just pick up your pace a little while rucking?  

You basically have two options: you either turn off zombie chases o you jank up your hip. Am I right @Rurik Harrgath?

 

15 minutes ago, mr_willes said:

Wicked!!!

 

So 7 out of 7 is for an A for you and 9 out of 9 is an A for me. subbing your thread so i don't get blindsided

 

We will start next week? This week really is a 0-week for me. I'm not letting go completely but have relaxed my goals a bit, just to make a killer challenge.

Same here, so I have no problem starting next week

 

13 minutes ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

HI!

[Broba Fett]

Tagging along.  I'm fairly certain y'all are going to have me doing ranger challenges within a couple months.

[Agnarr]

59 minutes ago, Broba Fett said:

Tagging along.  I'm fairly certain y'all are going to have me doing ranger challenges within a couple months.

Hi! Is great to have you on board!

 

Story is up. I'm not really sure if I like it or not, but I said I'll post it so there it is

 

Yesterday's WOD was Frantasy Land... I had to scale down every single exercise but I finished it! A day later my hands are still sore(as well as the rest of my body). Today I did some HIIT Sprints, which made me remarkably miserable. The whole workout lasted 31 minutes and I cound not have kept on going even if I wanted to. Talk about time efficiency.

[Rurik Harrgath]

12 hours ago, Agnarr said:

You basically have two options: you either turn off zombie chases o you jank up your hip. Am I right @Rurik Harrgath?

 

A harsh reminder, that.  I think it's quite feasible to manage the Zombie Chases without janking up any joints, but lowering the weight is definitely a start.  Also, soft surfaces if possible.  At least for my old bones!

[Agnarr]

9 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

A harsh reminder, that.  I think it's quite feasible to manage the Zombie Chases without janking up any joints, but lowering the weight is definitely a start.  Also, soft surfaces if possible.  At least for my old bones!

I imagine soft surfaces make it less taxing on the joints. I'm carrying 6kg today(class books, EDC and gym bag), pretty much as light as it gets for me, 'cause I can't leave any of those things home. I'll try and turn on the chases and see how I do.

 

 

Those sprints really kicked my ass; my hip flexors(or whatever the muscles on the front side of the hip joint are called) are killing me. Gotta get the buggers loosened up or CrossFit is gonna hurt real bad

 

I woke up with this tune stuck to my brain

 

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

I can think of far worse tunes to hum along to all day...

 

 

You're welcome. 

[Agnarr]

Yesterday I had to skip CF altogether. As I rucked to the box, the pain on my right hip/groin became more acute and while the muscles on the left side warmed and loosened up, those on the right side became tighter to the point that walking was painfull. I came to the realization that facing a WOD in those conditions would lead to worse injury. It feels like muscle pain so it's not the joint. My guess: I should have warmed up better before sprinting, it's getting colder around these parts and HIIT is very... well, intense on the muscles. That said, I'm no physician, so I'm gonna go see a doctor if it doesn't get better by monday.

 

On a decluttering related note, I spent an hour doing some light cleaning on the soon-to-be workshop. Basically swept the floor and picked up the trash (pieces of used up sand paper, empty plastic bags, wood shavings, sawdust). The pain has decreased since yesterday, so I'm gonna tackle some organizing tasks over the stuff my dad acumulated on that shed over the year (there's a whole shelf of empty beer bottles while powertools lie on the ground... seriously dad wtf)

 

DIGGY DIGGY HOLE...

[Broba Fett]

Probably a good call to wait it out.  Hopefully it feels better this weekend.

[DJtrippyT]

I'm reading a book called "The Little Ice Age" about how climate affects history, and it has a huge section on how shifting cycles of colder/warmer winters influenced the Viking expansion through Greenland, Iceland, and Vineland (North America). And of course it made me think of you. Just thought I'd tell you that.

 

[maegs]

Good call on resting your hip! It sucks to have to do it but in the long run it's so much better for you  

[DarK_RaideR]

18 hours ago, Agnarr said:

As I rucked to the box

That's badass enough. Rest

[mom2sjm]

I wanted to tell you that I like giving yourself points for the things you regularly do (xfit, etc.) as part of the challenge.  I think that's a great idea.  I never include my regular things in my challenges so if you'd look at my challenge it might seem a little light in terms of exercise but I definitely have other things going on that I focus on during the week.

 

My son is hoping to see some more DIY weaponry/armor/shelter photos so I'll be following for him (I would be anyway for me because of the awesome)!

 

 

 

[Mr_Willes]

Checking in, first lifting and BWW scheduled for tonight, friend is coming over, so fairly confident i will pick up the first points today!