Elleica Trains to be an Assassin

[Elleica]

(so excited with a new challenge!!!! And this time I will do my best to theme it )

 

Last month, I, Elleica (a palindrome of Acielle her true and equally unique name) embraced her true calling to become an Assassin. At first I was hesitant as I looked longingly at the group of assassins who seem to have mastered their crafts effortlessly. Even as a young girl, I have been fascinated by the world of ninjas as depicted in Flame of Recca. The Hokage group who can glide past treest soundlessly and take down an opponent with such precise skill. Growing up, all hopes to become a ninja vanished as I wasn't the sporty one and I loved reading more than spending time outdoors. 

 

But in the recent year I became acquainted with a different kind of Assassins. The hooded and masked guys of Starling City. It was my first time witnessing real live people doing ninja moves. And as I look into it, I discovered the world of Parkour. But the doubt and hesitation remains. Until I got fed up and resolved to take control of my fitness - throwing aside decades of worthless and demeaning self talk that I couldn't do it. 

 

The White Canary became my aspiration. And as she was initially trained in the League of Assassins, so to I must train to be part of it. 

 

While I do not wish to take full part in the bloodshed and has no real desire to learn fighting techniques, I have a burning desire to move the way they do. Hence, my fascination and gravitation towards Parkour. 

 

So after I finally embraced that I am an Assassin and found my path within the Assassin's guild, I am now beginning my serious training to become one.

 

So let the training formally begin---------------

 

 

 

Last challenge was all about finding out what I need to do to fully become an assassin. This next challenge is about establishing and further honing those habits.

To be an assassin, I must train in the various areas of:

strength - my body must be strong to be able to climb walls, vault across obstacles and lift things
To be strong, my commitment will be to:

• Do my Ace Parkour Workout at least 2x a week
• Perform the 7-min workout everyday without fail
• Bonus: Do the NF Beginner Body Weight Workout
• Bonus: Do Darebee's Abs Workout - http://darebee.com/programs/total-abs.html
• Bonus: Daily Dares PVP base on Daily Dares at Darebee

 

endurance - my body must be able to endure through any strenuous physical situation
To have impeccable endurance, my commitment will be to:

• Run a C25k run at least 1x a week
• Walk an average of 8,000 steps a week

 

regeneration - assassins know the value of having enough diet and sleep in order to make their bodies strong and healthy
To regenerate properly, my commitment will be to:

• Sleep an average of 8 hours a week (maintaining max 2 social night time functions)
• Prepare 90% of my meals (Paleo meals)

 

intelligence - assassins have intelligence that is uncommon to the normal human being.
To hone my intelligence, I commit to:

• Maintaining a continuous daily Duolingo Streak in French
• Publishing at least 1 blog post per week to my personal blog (hones writing skills)
• Finishing one paperback book (have to decide what) within the challenge month

 

inner strength - assassins are able to withstand any trials because deep inside they have nerves made of steel
To develop my inner strength, I must achieve inner peace through:

• Read one chapter of the Bible daily for the entire challenge month
• Memorize 10 key verses during the challenge month

 

exploration - I believe assassins are not afraid to go out of their comfort zone and explore the world around them
To be able to do this, I must:

• visit at least one of my target exploration areas and blog about it within the challenge month

 

BONUS
Epic Quest
I created an NF Character and placed all sorts of Epic Quests there which frankly I haven't thought about how to accomplish, this challenge month I am giving myself extra points for working towards any of those epic challenge quests.

 

Finally, it is time for another challenge. So let the training (and the games) begin! 

 

[Elleica]

2 minutes ago, Elleica said:

Do my Ace Parkour Workout at least 2x a week

 

Here's the workout as customized from learnings from last month:

 

WARM UP - 5 minutes
- AIR SQUATS - 45 secs
- HIGH KNEE RUN IN PLACE - 45 secs
- QUADRUPEDAL MOVT - 45 secs
- WALKING LUNGE - 45 secs
- JUMPING JACKS - 45 secs
 

PROGRESSION WORKOUT - 20 minutes
All 3 sets of 8 (8, 8, 8) with 1-2 mins rest in between sets

BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS
INCLINED PIKE PUSH UPS
PULL UP Progression:Body Weight Row
FLAT STRAIGHT LEG RAISES
INCLINED PUSH UPS
**ALTERNATIVE TO PUSH UPS (on the next workout day): BENT KNEE BENCH (CHAIR) DIPS
PLANK - 90 seconds

SIDE PLANKS: 30 secs 

COOL DOWN

1. Reach above and fully extend body
2. Keep legs straight, bend forward and stretch for 10 seconds
3. Stretch towards the left then the right for 10 seconds
4. With legs together bend forward and stretch for 10 seconds
5. Squat down and hug knees to chest 10 secs
6. Roll back and hug knees to chest 10 secs
7. Kneel and lean back with arms stretching the chest and shoulders
8. Rock forward stretching the lower back
9. Repeat 7 and 8 for 3-5 times
10. Sit with bottom of feet together
11. Lean forward and stretch
12. Repeat 10-11 for 2-3 times

[Elleica]

All my progress will still be recorded in my excel sheet but I'll be assigning simple point systems.  

I'm beginning June 12 and treating week 0 as prep which means I'll still be doing most of those in the challenge and recording still but not that strictly. 

 

Edit: For this challenge, I'll make my point system easier. Everytime I have accomplished something, it's 1 point. If I don't accomplish it, then it's 0. Easier to track and compute.

[Elleica]

Today I discovered DAREBEE!!! Oh my!! It's a wealth of information too! I am feeling a bit overwhelmed wanting to try their challenges. 

 

But I settled for participating in this PVP where I heard of Darebee in the first place. 

 

Who knows though? I may look around and take up a challenge from the site. Already thinking about the ABS challenge since it's something I really want to develop in me. 

[RogueLibrarian]

Your theme is inspirational, Elleica. Shall we do this thing? Let's do this thing.

 

(One of these months I'm going to tackle a full Darebee challenge like Pandora or Hero's Journey. I haven't quite gotten my courage up for it yet.)

[Elleica]

13 hours ago, RogueLibrarian said:

 

Your theme is inspirational, Elleica. Shall we do this thing? Let's do this thing.

 

It is? Haha. I find all the other Assassins themes inspirational. It's like reading a story. A developing story. 

 

13 hours ago, RogueLibrarian said:

(One of these months I'm going to tackle a full Darebee challenge like Pandora or Hero's Journey. I haven't quite gotten my courage up for it yet.)

 

Let me know when you do. I am amazed (big eyes) at the challenges I saw in Darebee! I want to try them all! Haha. 

[annyshay]

Why hello there!  Here for more assassin-y awesomeness.

[Jayniana Jones]

Following. Your goals look good. 

 

Have fun.

[Lilmissbri]

Lurv it!

 

I will follow and swipe some of your goals for my own. I love the story, set up, and theme.

 

:o)

[Grayspeed]

Following because your enthusiasm is inspiring! I agree, Darebee is a great site.

[Briniel]

Following!! Another Assassin in training Your workout looks great, I think we're at similar skill levels. And yeah, darebee is amazing. I just discovered their diet plans a few days ago. Awesome stuff. Oh, and I'm trying their Age of Pandora thing. It's pretty fun so far! (except for people's heads being bitte off O_O)

[annyshay]

2 hours ago, Briniel said:

Following!! Another Assassin in training Your workout looks great, I think we're at similar skill levels. And yeah, darebee is amazing. I just discovered their diet plans a few days ago. Awesome stuff. Oh, and I'm trying their Age of Pandora thing. It's pretty fun so far! (except for people's heads being bitte off O_O)

Bitten off??  What... goes to investigate.

 

Happy day 1!!!!

 

[Elleica]

14 hours ago, Grayspeed said:

Darebee is a great site.

Yes it is! I got it from you when I checked your participation in the PVP

 

13 hours ago, Briniel said:

I think we're at similar skill levels.

Yey! That's great! I am actually looking for someone in the same level as me so I can bounce off some ideas on workouts. Darebee is amazing! I am doing their 30-day Abs Workout and I pegged myself at Level 1 fitness. It was challenging but I feel I can push further for Level 2. But sticking with Level 1 first pending if I can be sure with myself I can do Level 2. 

 

Most of the workouts I try, I begin at the first level then quickly work my way up because I soon discover I can actually do the higher levels. 

 

I would like to follow some diet plans but I find it too challenging to gather ingredients. Most of the diet plans involve ingredients not locally available easily so I am left to devising my own meal plans. Sooo challenging tbh. 

[Elleica]

Challenge Update:

I feel like I'm MIA when in fact I just posted challenge related stuff here last Thursday. The MIA feeling is because Week 0 didn't really fell into any routine - challenge wise. 

 

Let me provide you a quick update: Week 0 proved to be very challenging because of 2 events not part of my normal routine. The first was my aunt visiting our parents house so for the first half of the week, I was at my parents. Of course, family reunions involve FOOD. I avoided rice though but I did eat quite a lot of sweets. The other half of the week, I was back at work and in my place but my brother went over for a visit. This involved us exploring new places and going out at night (after work) and so my workout and sleep suffered. Friday night, our boss decided the managers at the office needed a break and treated us to a nice hotel buffet (a Shangri La Buffet!) It was amazing but didn't help in my diet goals. I ate a lot - sweets again - but compensated by walking extra miles right after. 

 

Because of the events last week, I am now back to SQUARE ONE on the 7-minute workout app 7-month challenge. I also missed several days of the Darebee PVP Challenge I signed up for last week. 

 

But I am back on track now. And about time so because it's Week 1 of the 4WC! 

 

Yesterday, I strove to perform the 7-min workout, Darebee's Abs 30Day Workout and the Darebee Daily Dare (4 minutes of wall sits!) 

 

I'm pretty amazed at myself that I actually lasted 4 minutes (with a short 10 sec break in between)! Of course my quads were screaming at me to stop but my mental faculties were better and allowed me withstand the dare. 

 

I look forward to a great week ahead as I tackle fully on this battle and get back on track. 

 

[Elleica]

On 6/10/2016 at 8:17 PM, annyshay said:

Why hello there!  Here for more assassin-y awesomeness.

 

Hello @annyshay it's an honor to have you follow this *bows low* I look forward to reading more of your awesome assassin-y too

 

On 6/12/2016 at 1:30 AM, Jayniana Jones said:

 

Following. Your goals look good.

 

 Hello fellow comrade!  nice to see you as well. Following your challenge too and see you in the mini! 

 

On 6/12/2016 at 1:56 AM, Lilmissbri said:

I love the story, set up, and theme.

 

Thank you so much fellow newbie (I still feel new here despite finishing my first 4wc! Have fun in your own challenge too! I'll look for it and follow along.

[Elleica]

It was a great workout day yesterday. Because of the current mini, I pushed myself to walk further to get a ride home rather than settling for the easy ride just outside the office. Then, even when I was feeling lazy after arriving home, I managed to push myself to complete a C25k run! Talk about covering miles for the mini. 

 

After the run, I took time to perform some bodyweight exercises at the park. I had to overcome tons of self consciousness just to be able to get the workout done. I manage to do some squats, push ups and planks! Although honestly, I need to work on tracking my strength exercises better. I want this to work and not just be some goose chase where I perform workouts without really a clue if they are working or not. 

 

I looked at myself in the mirror when I got home and I seem to think I still have more belly fat than what I'm supposed to have. My sister asked me how long I was on my "cheat day" mode where I ate "unhealthy" carbs like pizza, burgers and sweets. 

 

Reading up (knowledge is power as they say) I did note that while I have reduced rice (and almost completely obliterated it from my diet) for the past days I haven't been too committed to eating my veggies. I have settled for lettuce - romaine and green mostly - which I can easily buy from the supermarket cheap and enjoy eating but I haven't been to faithful in the past week. 

 

So I resolve to change my diet and keep eating veggies again. 

 

I planned to sneak in another workout today but figured that I need to let my muscles rest. Even if my workout yesterday felt like there was no direction to it - it was not my usual routine but I had all the workouts done (most of them) - I still felt the impact since when I attempted the Darebee Daily Dare (20 moving planks), my arms felt like Jell-O. I definitely need to give them time to rest today. Perhaps the 7-minute workout app plus the amount of walking will do for an active rest day. 

 

DIET IS KING! I have to remind myself that everyday. 

 

Today will also be the time to get work on other challenge goals such as my intelligence (have to pick a book to read and restart my French Duolingo). 

[Briniel]

Great work on the mini and the workout! DO you write down your sets and reps? If you try to do more each time than you did before, you'll get stronger eventually. I have a spreadsheet where I just jot down the numbers as I go, so I can always see what and how much I should be doing. Also make sure you do exercises that fit your strength. Depending on what you're going for (strength, endurance, size...) you can adjust the difficulty of the exercises so they're in the right rep range for you.

I like doing yoga or balance work on my rest days. Or just any kind of movement that is fun

[Elleica]

16 hours ago, Briniel said:

Great work on the mini and the workout! DO you write down your sets and reps? If you try to do more each time than you did before, you'll get stronger eventually. I have a spreadsheet where I just jot down the numbers as I go, so I can always see what and how much I should be doing. Also make sure you do exercises that fit your strength. Depending on what you're going for (strength, endurance, size...) you can adjust the difficulty of the exercises so they're in the right rep range for you.

I like doing yoga or balance work on my rest days. Or just any kind of movement that is fun

 

When I workout, I try to remember the reps I made. I stick with 3 sets of 8 reps each with 1 minute breaks (supposed to be 1-2 minutes but after I find waiting longer than 1 minute boring). The suggestion to put them in a spreadsheet is great! I have a spreadsheet for my challenge goals but have never really made one for my strength exercises. I also tried following a progression but since I am not recording (which I will do so now) I find myself I think progressing to fast because the last sets  (or the ones I begin with) are too easy. 

 

Also, now that I worked out the same routine for several times already, I find them beginning to get boring so I am taking inspiration from someone, I think it was @RogueLibrarian who has a whole kind of database of workouts. I'm thinking of putting into one spreadsheet the types of exercises I have tried and been wanting to try for the different kinds - cardio, core, whole body, pulls, push (I am new to this but quickly learning my way around). I think this will allow me to have a database of workouts of what works for me, my current progression level in them and which of them I can switch with each other when the time comes that I am feeling a bit bored. 

 

I find it all so nerdy --- putting all this in a spreadsheet and actually tracking! Haha. 

 

I have yet to find out what I will do on rest days and I may give yoga a try (tried it before but didn't like it coz I found it too static). I like to keep moving. But that was before I had actual days of working out incorporated in my week. 

[Elleica]

I feel I have been more active commenting and reading up other Assassin's challenges than updating my own. It's because I find their themes so wonderful to read and their challenges so exciting to follow. But seriously, I am finding myself lacking the time to read through all. And my inbox is starting to be filled with updates! Yay!

 

But, this doesn't mean I neglected my own challenge. I am still tracking and I feel I am doing well - so far. 

 

I expanded my magical spreadsheet to include a full list of the exercises I do (and intend to do) and jot down the reps I am able to accomplish. As stated above, I am getting bored of the same routine so I know I have to spice up somewhere. 

 

I think my run streak for this week is done - unless I manage a late night run tonight which I have never been able to do. My schedule for the week filled up pretty fast and with another wedding this weekend, I am not sure where I can squeeze in a full workout. I am back to nightly workouts before I go to bed. But bedtime is starting to suffer as my sleep hours are dwindling again. I began tracking in the spreadsheet the actual hours I sleep and the reasons why I sleep that late. My body is not yet complaining but I am not about to wait for that to happen. I commit to sleep earlier tonight as tonight seems to be the only chance I'll get of sleeping early for the week. 

 

I began reading a paperback book - a non-fiction and self-help by Rob Ffield entitled Building a Personal Culture to Win as I hope to use what I learn to find out what I really want to be doing in life. 

 

My Duolingo French Streak is back (yey!) and I intend to keep it. I want to be fluent in a foreign language - in this case French - one day. 

 

I also started logging my food intake - more meticulously this time. While I have not been eating white rice or white bread (or any bread at all) I have been eating milk chocolates lately. My aunt who visited last week has a lot of Cadbury and Hersheys for us and I find it a waste not to eat them (bad me!!!). So I have been eating one square a day at night and hoping the chocolates just disappear so I am no longer tempted with them. Maybe I'll get rid of them this week by giving my share of chocolates to friends I am meeting over the weekend. So next week is a total clean slate. I realized that once I eat a tiny speck of sugary food (a chocolate chip cookie or a milk chocolate) my body wants to eat MORE!!! It is craving for more! And I cannot allow that to happen. 

 

To satisfy my sweet tooth I am thinking of creating gelatin next week (flavored with coconut sugar and milk) that I can have for dessert. That way I don't drastically remove the sweet part of my diet. Is this a good idea? Is gelatin - the powdered one in sachets - paleo?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Elleica]

Done. I finished my spreadsheet to include details of my workouts in a bid to track my reps. Excited to do them! Reading on other's challenges makes me think creatively how I can create a themed workout that will be dynamic so that I won't get bored following it. It has to have flexibility to adapt to my schedule but also a fair amount of strictness that will motivate me to complete them (kind of like how the C25k is structured as well as the 7-min apps that has a streak measure to it). Hhmmm--

[Fenyx]

Done. I finished my spreadsheet to include details of my workouts in a bid to track my reps. Excited to do them! Reading on other's challenges makes me think creatively how I can create a themed workout that will be dynamic so that I won't get bored following it. It has to have flexibility to adapt to my schedule but also a fair amount of strictness that will motivate me to complete them (kind of like how the C25k is structured as well as the 7-min apps that has a streak measure to it). Hhmmm--

Theeeeeemes! They are pretty helpful I've noticed. When I first started I felt mine were so boring and lacked a bit. Lol figured putting in themes would draw more buddies too. While it can sometimes be difficult to think something up I just got into the habit of making each post theme specific. Seemed to work pretty well until this challenge when I made an entire challenge theme! Something just clicked this challenge and I went "oh man I love The Flash", (been discussing the history of the flash with hubbs and enjoying the new show of it) and then my goals I wanted to do just clicked with the themes of The Flash and connections happened and bam it just created itself. So instead of my usual no real theme other than memes and gif's specific to each post I've got a whole challenge theme with workouts and boss fights even! Like a personal mini challenge [emoji2]! Aaaaaand I'm rambling a bit but it's just exciting with a theme my first time so I can geek out about it pretty hard core now I'm really seeing myself go for it having made tie personal connection with a hero of mine. I mean I've got spreadsheets and everything now lol with formula in the cells and everything to self calculate! Feeling very Barry Allen right now. So yeah I sooooo recommend themes, great motivation and you can so do it!

[RogueLibrarian]

7 hours ago, Elleica said:

I think it was @RogueLibrarian who has a whole kind of database of workouts.

 

Not "has," but wanting to build a small one during this challenge for exactly this reason.

[Oshika789]

Daaaaannng girl! You are all over this! Incredibly inspiring!

[Elleica]

14 hours ago, Fenyx said:

Theeeeeemes! They are pretty helpful I've noticed. When I first started I felt mine were so boring and lacked a bit. Lol figured putting in themes would draw more buddies too. While it can sometimes be difficult to think something up I just got into the habit of making each post theme specific. Seemed to work pretty well until this challenge when I made an entire challenge theme! Something just clicked this challenge and I went "oh man I love The Flash", (been discussing the history of the flash with hubbs and enjoying the new show of it) and then my goals I wanted to do just clicked with the themes of The Flash and connections happened and bam it just created itself. So instead of my usual no real theme other than memes and gif's specific to each post I've got a whole challenge theme with workouts and boss fights even! Like a personal mini challenge ! Aaaaaand I'm rambling a bit but it's just exciting with a theme my first time so I can geek out about it pretty hard core now I'm really seeing myself go for it having made tie personal connection with a hero of mine. I mean I've got spreadsheets and everything now lol with formula in the cells and everything to self calculate! Feeling very Barry Allen right now. So yeah I sooooo recommend themes, great motivation and you can so do it!

 

Totally agree with you! I am so loving your Flash themed challenge. I'm not there yet but the Assassins guild is really chuck full of inspiration. Many of the themes I can relate with (didn't realize I was that geeky inside) hahaha. 

 

7 hours ago, Oshika789 said:

Daaaaannng girl! You are all over this! Incredibly inspiring!

 

Being surrounded by such great people in NF pushes me and motivates me to not just create themes for my workouts but also actually do them! To think, it's pushing me not just for my physical fitness but my overall fitness.

 

13 hours ago, RogueLibrarian said:

 

Not "has," but wanting to build a small one during this challenge for exactly this reason.

 

Let me know when you have one  

[Elleica]

I woke up this morning with painful arms. I believe it's DOMS from the scissor hands dare I did the other day. Yesterday was a no workout day (but I managed 8K+ steps based on Argus). The week is essentially over for me because I am off to a sleep over at a friends' tonight and a convention and wedding tomorrow. So no means, except for the 7-min workout, to be able to squeeze in an actual workout. 

 

Since I am getting leaner, my scoliosis has become more pronounced. My sister took a photo of my back last night and I was disheartened at what I saw. I have mild scoliosis which was diagnosed some 6-7 years ago. Since then I haven't done much about it despite the doctor's advice to treat it with exercise particularly swimming. I don't know how to swim and swimming pools are not easily accessible where I am right now so I am looking at other exercises - stretch exercises - that can help my condition. 

 

Any suggestions?? 

 

On a better note, I am thinking of putting a theme further to my workouts - basically my reps and progressions. 

 

Elleica has been judged worthy to be an assassin and is now currently training for her first real battle - happening in about 3 weeks from now. To qualify for battle, she must accomplish reps and sets of the various workouts. 

 

I hope I get to finish this and actually theme my workouts. It will help alleviate the boredom from them so I can motivate myself further. Since I am a fan of Flame of Recca, I am leaning towards something like that where they will battle different opponents with different strengths. Will be thinking of this over the weekend and hope to fully form the theme.  

 

Happy Weekends everyone! I believe I am signing out for now.