First Challenge: Ranger in Training

[jonfirestar]

Challenge.

 

This is my first challenge and I intend to have fun with it! During a walk in a local wood last Sunday I started to spin a story in my head where every dog walker was a guard furiously hunting for the fugitive on the run (me). I’m using it as a springboard for the following challenge. The basic premise is to add some accountability to some activities and loose goals I’ve been working towards recently.

 

Ranger in training: Road to the rebellion...

 

Survival

 

When on the run the rebel has to watch what he eats. There is a limited supply and only by careful planning and rationing will he have the energy to face the upcoming challenges.

 

Bring a Home cooked meal for work lunch every day. (1 point per day)

 

Pre Preparing the meal is fine and preferred. The lands we travel through are sickly and poisonous full of dangerous items that appear delicious but will kill you. The locals call it ‘fast food’. The Ranger must be prepared to deal with these environments.

 

Keep a food log. (1 point per day)

 

Eat real food every day. Be prepared for  life to get in the way. If I am stuck at work late and end up eating pizza try to keep the amount reasonable but just move on

 

Training

 

The ranger needs to be fast and strong. They need to be able to cover distances and do battle with their foes when needed.

 

Maintain 3 workouts per week. Two primarily strength focus with a small cardio element and one focused more on cardio with a small focus on strength.

 

Each workout 2 points

 

Tuesday

15 mins on stationary bike moderate intensity.

push-ups 1 set rep out

squats 20 kg 3 sets 12 - 15 reps

dead lift 52kg 3 sets 6-8 reps

upright rows 20 kg rep out

lunges 18 kg 3 sets 8-12 reps

leg raises 3 sets 10-20 reps

plank 30 seconds +

 

Thursday

30 minutes stationary bike.

push-ups 1 set rep out

leg raises 1 set rep out

body weight squats 1 set 20 reps

 

Saturday

15 stationary bike moderate intensity

push-ups 3 sets 10-12 reps

squats 1 set rep out

dead-lift 1 set rep out

barbell curl 20kg 3 sets 8-12 reps

military press 20kg 3 sets 8-12 reps

upright row 20kg 3 sets 8-12 reps

leg raises rep out

 

(notes. the listed weights are what I have been using currently. I have a mini-goal of increasing reps and weights)
 

A trusty steed will help get the rebel out of trouble fast. The ranger must know his steed and care for him.

 

Work towards cycling to work.

 

Week 1. Repair my bicycle and start to test ride it. It's been gathering dust and rust. Might need replacement components - I started doing this already but will challenge myself to finish it week 1. (5 points)

 

Weeks 2-4 Cycle to the bus station. It sits at a nice half-way point between home and work and is perfect way to start to ease into the idea of cycling to work. (1 point per day)

 

As a bit of fun I’m going to note down some statistics from my last 2 gym days before I begin so that I can compare any progress at the end of the challenge.

 

Mind and Spirit

 

The Ranger must be prepared for any challenge and must hone his mind as well as his body. Afterall it is neither by brute strength or superior speed that he overcomes his foes but by the knowledge of his environment and ability to adapt to any circumstance.

 

Commit to cert study for 15 minutes every day. 1 point per day bonus point for every hour after that.

 

Meditate for at least 5 minutes each day. 1 point per day bonus point for every 30 minutes after that.

 

Rewards and consequences.

 

For each category I will mark myself. 1 for each successful daily action and 2 per workout completed. Bonuses points can be rewarded for going above and beyond or if any milestones get hit. I’ve tried to keep them fair but non exploitable. (so I can’t get out of my study commitment by doing 2 hours one day and none for the rest of the week).

 

Food (maximum without bonuses 48)

>= 43 points I’ll treat myself to some new pans

< 43 points I’ll go full paleo for my next challenge.

 

fitness (maximum without bonuses 44)

>= 39 points New workout shoes. I don’t need them but I want them

< 39 points I’ll donate the same money to  charity

 

mind and spirit (Maximum without bonuses (58)

>= 53 points. I am allowed to order Civ 6

< 53 points. I book the exam for my cert.

[bker1370]

Welcome aboard Jon

Looks like a great set of goals, wishing you the best.

[Kestrel Grey]

I like the double motivation of reward/consequences. Happy Rangering!

[Wild Wolf]

Jon! Yay! I'm so glad you got a challenge up sir  Glad you're here brother and welcome to the Ranger Guild!

 

Oh and btw, what certs? Just curious because I'm studying too and trying to get my IT/cyber security certs right now.

 

W0lf

[jonfirestar]

5 minutes ago, Wild Wolf said:

Jon! Yay! I'm so glad you got a challenge up sir  Glad you're here brother and welcome to the Ranger Guild!

 

Oh and btw, what certs? Just curious because I'm studying too and trying to get my IT/cyber security certs right now.

 

W0lf

 

Hey thanks! I'm psyching  myself up to start!

 

The cert in particular here is just the Cisco CCNA. I've done in a networking job in a datacenter for about 18 months already (being more of a Unix/server guy I took it without really knowing what I was doing. It was a promotion and I was honest ) so I'm trying to fill in gaps.  It kind of covers what I do day to day and that’s part of why I lack motivation. I really want to progress onto the more higher level stuff though and to do that you need to start somewhere.

 

Jon

[jonfirestar]

41 minutes ago, Cascade said:

I like the double motivation of reward/consequences. Happy Rangering!

Hey, thanks for the support. I tried to think of something to make it interesting!

[jonfirestar]

3 hours ago, bker1370 said:

Welcome aboard Jon

Looks like a great set of goals, wishing you the best.

Thanks! I'm feeling pretty confident right now.

[Wild Wolf]

18 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

The cert in particular here is just the Cisco CCNA. I've done in a networking job in a datacenter for about 18 months already (being more of a Unix/server guy I took it without really knowing what I was doing. It was a promotion and I was honest ) so I'm trying to fill in gaps.  It kind of covers what I do day to day and that’s part of why I lack motivation. I really want to progress onto the more higher level stuff though and to do that you need to start somewhere.

 

Well this is kickass. I'll be rooting you on Jon! I'm starting with A+ right now and got a LONG way to go but like you said-"you need to start somewhere." 

 

W0lf

[jonfirestar]

1 hour ago, Wild Wolf said:

 

Well this is kickass. I'll be rooting you on Jon! I'm starting with A+ right now and got a LONG way to go but like you said-"you need to start somewhere." 

 

W0lf

 

Hey dude, that's awesome. A+ offers a pretty decent foundation and I've every confidence you can nail it! I train a lot of people around that level (and just above) so if you ever have any trouble understanding concepts or practical applications don't be afraid to hit me up.

[Yraen]

Welcome to the Rangers Jon. I like the challenge set up.

[PollyannaAgain]

I like your goals! Good luck!

[jonfirestar]

14 hours ago, Yraen said:

Welcome to the Rangers Jon. I like the challenge set up.

 

Thanks i'm already loving it here!

 

1 hour ago, PollyannaAgain said:

I like your goals! Good luck!

 

I might need it

 

[jonfirestar]

I’m not scoring my goals yet but given the list is more or less a formalization of my current strategies with more concrete goals I’ll go ahead and give an update.

 

For the first time since I started I really had trouble starting my workout but I did start and that was good.

 

I’m beginning to really feel the benefits of the exercise though. I’m already able to do things that I wouldn’t have believed possible. Especially with my cardio training.

 

I did the workout I set out to do.

 

38 minutes on the bike non stop. On a moderately hard program.

 

It got a little uncomfortable towards the end but I persevered to make it to the end of the program.
 

Food is going pretty well too. I’m accomplishing my goal of bringing my own lunch to work. Roughly translated as - do not eat fried chicken for lunch. I still like to get out of the office though and that translates into a nice walk around the lake.  Since I’ve been actively working out it’s turned into a gentle stroll. It's about 2.5 miles and I can walk it in the 45 minutes or so I give myself without stressing.

 

I’ve been keeping up with my food diary and been hitting my targets there so all is good. I’ve hit on some food combos that really keep me from being hungry during the day so I’m pretty happy with what I’m doing right now.

 

We had a mass of food in the office yesterday. Cake, pecan slices, brownies, donuts, cookies and chocolate wafers. I hate to say it it isn’t unusual huge amounts of sweets to be in the office because one of our engineers runs a soup kitchen and we often get the surplus from that. However I’m happy to say that not only did I not touch a damned thing. I also didn’t care. Previously I would have been obsessing over it being there. Especially if I was denying myself. The victory for me was not that I resisted but that no will power was required.

 

Other than that I’m keeping up with my meditation. 7 days in a row now yay. I'm really happy with where I am right now. Like I'm goddamn Batman

 

[Wild Wolf]

On 8/18/2016 at 9:35 AM, jonfirestar said:

Hey dude, that's awesome. A+ offers a pretty decent foundation and I've every confidence you can nail it! I train a lot of people around that level (and just above) so if you ever have any trouble understanding concepts or practical applications don't be afraid to hit me up.

 

I appreciate that a lot brother  I'm ok on the concepts and stuff right now but I will most definitely pick your brain before I take the cert. Quick question though. Where to go after that? Security+? Network+? My overall future goal would be cyber security related so maybe Security+? I'm always on the lookout for advice to grow my own knowledge because I still firmly believe its WHO you know more then WHAT you know.

 

 

Hell yeah!

 

W0lf

[jonfirestar]

1 hour ago, Wild Wolf said:

 

I appreciate that a lot brother  I'm ok on the concepts and stuff right now but I will most definitely pick your brain before I take the cert. Quick question though. Where to go after that? Security+? Network+? My overall future goal would be cyber security related so maybe Security+? I'm always on the lookout for advice to grow my own knowledge because I still firmly believe its WHO you know more then WHAT you know.

 

Well it really depends  Networking and Security are both deep fields in their own rights. Security permeates everything these days and it is important to know no matter what you end up doing. If you are looking to get into something like pen testing or security resarch you will absolutely need a decent understanding of networking. That being said you may already feel like you know what the network+ offers in which case it is an option to skip it and take a deeper albeit more specific course later. 

 

I don't disagree that who you know can give you an advantage but I personally have never had that. One piece of advice I can give is that, while the certs might get you into an interview. It is far more important that you can demostrate that you know your stuff. I say this as somone who is deeply involved in the hireing process. You'd be amazed at how many certified people can't answer simple technical questions.

 

Anyway best of luck! I'm sure you'll nail it!

 

[jonfirestar]

Well, the morning today started off pretty crappy! I had a really hard time getting to sleep last night and even when I did fall asleep I ended up waking up super early. Long before my alarm was set at 7. To top it off I discovered that i've lost my fitbit! Sigh. I think I dropped it at work so I am hoping i'll find it Monday but I'm not holding my breath. 

 

Still I managed to turn it around and got a heap of positive stuff done. I played with my bike for a bit. Two pairs of pliers and a bottle of oil and I fixed the major issues caused by it being sat unused for 3 years. There are a couple of bits and pieces that still need doing but I took it for a test ride and I'm mostly happy with it and I know exactly what needs replacing so I can prep for that. 

 

At home I started to clear the junk out of the spare room. It's a job that I've been putting off for far, far too long and it felt good to get started with it finally. Come early afternoon I got a little worried that I'd burned myself out early and felt really cautious as I made my way to the Gym for my workout. 

 

I killed it. Haven't felt so good since... well since I can't remember when. Once I got started I worked out for a good hour and felt pretty great once done. I got pretty addicted to the gym once in my life and I really want to encourage that behaviour again!

 

Oh and just as the icing on the cake, the scale shows 3.8lbs lower than it did last week. Given my biggest goal (and longest term) is to lose weight. I'm always happy to see that number reduce. 

 

 

[jonfirestar]

Not a great deal to do today for my first recorded day. Did everything I needed to including my study! Full marks.

 

Survival: 1

Training: 0

Mind and Spirit: 2

 

The real challenge starts tomorrow!

 

[Yraen]

Great first day man. Keep it up.

[T2sarahconnor]

Welcome to the Rangers!  You are off to a great start!  I sent you a friend request to Fitbit.  (My real name is Angie.)  There are a few of us who do a work week challenge together and thought you might be interested.

[jonfirestar]

3 hours ago, T2sarahconnor said:

Welcome to the Rangers!  You are off to a great start!  I sent you a friend request to Fitbit.  (My real name is Angie.)  There are a few of us who do a work week challenge together and thought you might be interested.

 

Hey, thanks I got the request. Definitely interested in joining in! 

[T2sarahconnor]

Invited you to the workweek hustle. Unfortunately it is ran on US Central standard time. @Jarric is in the same boat as you on the time thing.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

[deftona]

Following along! 

[jonfirestar]

8 hours ago, T2sarahconnor said:

Invited you to the workweek hustle. Unfortunately it is ran on US Central standard time. @Jarric is in the same boat as you on the time thing.

 

Thanks! I can deal with it running on US central time.

 

 

[jonfirestar]

Day 2:

 

Still going strong. My back is feeling a little stiff and it has me a little worried. I had a really busy day both at work and after and ran around quite a lot but I'm feeling far more energetic these days so I'm happy with it. 

 

Survival:

Made my lunch yesterday so I'm good for 3 days. Haven't been feeling the urge to eat fast food recently. I'm thankful for that. I'm also not feeling hungry all day long any more. My new 'diet' is really good and I'm very happy. All food is logged to mfp. 2 points

 

Score: 3 (+2)

 

Training: 

Nothing to record necessarily. I did get a good walk in and had to hurl a few heavy objects around. Not a work out day and my bike is still not ready to depend on to get to work but a lot of good movement today. 

 

Score: 0

 

Mind and Spirit: 

 

Started my morning with meditation, not the best session I've had. Sometimes it feels amazing when I do it but I'm looking at the long term benefits. 1 pointy

 

Study. I did about 25 minutes worth of study. Working my way through the material. 1 point

 

Score: 4 (+2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jonfirestar]

Admittedly I found it a little tough today and for the first time I felt like I wouldn't have enough time to do everything. Of course the time commitment outside of the gym was only 20 minutes and I did find the time to do it but normally this is where I would have blown off a few things. 

 

Survival:

Continue to take my pre-prepared lunch to work instead of nipping across the road for fast food. I took a brisk walk in the afternoon. It was very hot and I burnt myself out a little. 

 

Continue to log my food. 

 

Score: 5 (+2)

 

Training:

My back was really stiff today and although it is certainly getting better I really wasn't liking the idea of lifting heavy things and maybe aggravating it. I decided to do my cardio workout today instead. Focusing on distance rather than intensity as per the mini-challenge and was able to push my max time doing the workout. I will continue to play it by ear this week a little as to whether I tackle the weights. 

 

Score: 2 (+2)

 

Mind and Spirit: 

 

Had to force myself to actually crack open the book and read for 15 minutes. But I did do the reading and afterwards I did my meditation. Not my best day but I did put the effort in. 

 

Score: 6 (+2)