Jarric

Yeah, it's terrifying. I've just checked, and in the last 3 years I've spent £410 on Greggs ?

I've spent basically the entire day today planning out my year and my challenge cycle, and starting to catch up with the forums. Seeing all the new year's threads pop up and all of the new accountability/PvP threads, I'm really excited for what this year has to bring.

Goot to have you Sov, and Happy New Year to you too!

I'm in for this - I'd like to hit a couple of big benchmarks on squat and deadlift by the end of the year (5RM of 1.5 x bodyweight and 2 x bodyweight respectively), so it'll be good to have this as a bit of a push. First lift of the year was this morning. Bench for 70kg x 2 x 5, then went up to 72.5kg x 2 x 5. I have a feeling my 5RM is something like 75kg, so I'd like to push this up a bit more too.

Wow, that is a lot of stress! Good on you for getting back on it after all that; that's some big stuff. Hell yeah you can! Also, thanks for putting this thread together Snarky, it was really good to join you guys (a little late) last year. * * * Starting weight: 174.1lbs Starting waist: 37 ¾ inches I'm going for the 12lbs in 12 weeks. I think I should actually be able to do 15lbs if everything goes perfectly, but when does everything go perfectly? I won't be tracking my waist throughout the challenge, other than by seeing if I go down a belt loop, so that'll be a (hopefully nice) surprise in March.

Thanks for setting this up, I'll be lurking here for budgeting tips and the like. I'm temporarily skint after various end of year expenses, so my short term goal is to have no discretionary spending for at least the next 5 weeks, and possibly the challenge cycle after that too, so I can get out of my overdrafts. I'm already realising that I'm going to need to work out something for game nights to achieve this - probably taking a flask of tea with me instead of buying cans of coke for the evening. And forgoing snacks altogether, which to be honest probably isn't a bad thing. Resources wise, for UK nerds I find Snoop quite useful - it's a money management app where you connect your accounts and it categorises all of your spending. Not available outside of the UK unfortunately. Snoop money management app | Track spend, save cash & budget I also used to like reading Mr Money Mustache, though I haven't looked at it in a few years so I'm not sure how well it holds up now. Mr. Money Mustache — Early Retirement through Badassity (mrmoneymustache.com)

I don't think I've got a 5-minute raised arm hold in me, but I'm going to try and remember about this thread this year and dip in when I can. Also, I think @Chesire wanted to be tagged if this thread was coming back for 2024?

Date Weight Weight change 23/10/2023 174.1 -2.3 30/10/2023 171.8 0.9 06/11/2023 172.7 0.8 13/11/2023 173.5 -0.8 20/11/2023 172.7 -1.4 27/11/2023 171.3 0.5 04/12/2023 171.8 -0.8 11/12/2023 171 -0.8 18/12/2023 170.2 1 25/12/2023 171.2 3.2 01/01/2024 174.4 Well, that went poorly . I'm actually something like 5.5lbs down on my highest for the year, despite being 0.3lbs up on when I joined this challenge! I'll definitely join the next one though; the accountability was nice.

Good to see this place back here. Let us call the battlecry of the Rangers!

A final thought for this challenge. I started this challenge by honouring Mr Willes, and I totally missed the fact that this way my 69th forum challenge. I'm deeply disappointed that I missed that, but I'm sure Willy would have approved regardless

2024 Road map For the past couple of years, I've been writing my road map at the top of all of my challenges, so that I remember it and refer back to it when I'm setting my goals for the month. At the end of the year I then do a big wrap-up to see how I've progressed, and you can see 2023's wrap up here. I don't really have a big why or a master plan, and I don't have any big overarching goals that I want to complete in 2024. I do have a few areas of my life that I would always like to improve though, and I can handily map those on the D&D stats. After last year's challenges, those stats look like this: Level 20 Wood Elf Ranger STR: 15 - CON: 21 - CHA: 8 - SAN: 16 - INT: 17 Alongside each stat I'll have some specific benchmarks, and I might add more as the year goes on. These aren't goals as such, but they are things that I would like to hit and that I can measure progress against. Strength - Exercise I don't separate STR and DEX as different stats, because it doesn't feel like a useful definition for the kind of stuff I do. STR includes going to my local crossfit-style gym, running, bouldering, taking part in OCRs and any other competitions that I get myself into, and also anything else that might take my fancy during the year like swimming, hiking, who knows? Why am I focusing on this? Because I like being able to do cool stuff, and to me that means lifting heavy, doing gymnastics tricks, or completing the kinds of races that make other people think I'm mad. I also think you can never be too strong, and I want to be mobile and pain-free for a long time to come. Specific benchmarks: Man vs Coast - a 25-mile coastal adventure race in the UK I'd like to do some kind of strongman competition, if I can find a good one I'm looking at Tribal Clash, which seems to be a cool fitness event if I can get a team together Climb a font 7A Climb a font 6A outside Get reliable pistol squats with both legs Be able to string together multiple muscle ups (ring and bar) Handwalk 12ft (2 mats in my gym) Squatmas: 50 reps at 75% bodyweight, unbroken Deadliftmas: 50 reps at 100% bodyweight, unbroken Squat 1.5 x bodyweight for 5 reps Deadlift 2 x bodyweight for 5 reps Row 100m in under 16.9 seconds (#oddlyspecific I know - I hit 16.9 in October 2019, and I've equalled it a dozen times but never beaten it) Constitution - Nutrition This is about the things I put in my body - food, alcohol, and cigarettes being the main ones. I've decided recently that I'm not that fussed about caffeine right now, and whilst I don't want to smoke I'm at a level where I do so rarely and can go months between cigarettes. Why am I focusing on this? Because it's the foundation that everything else is based on. When I eat better and drink less I feel better, I lift stronger, I'm less out of breath, and I'm more alert. Also, I look better - it's vain but I won't apologise for that. I have a more complicated relationship with alcohol, but like food it's all about sensible moderation without needs for excessive restriction. Specific benchmarks: Get to <12% body fat (per my home scales), just to see what it's like. Charisma - Creativity This will probably be primarily focused on drawing, but also on writing D&D content, maybe even picking up my guitar again as I haven't in a while. Why am I focusing on this? Because I think being creative is really good for me mentally, and because I think creativity is really worthwhile. In my mind there is something intrinsically valuable in the act of creation, even if it's not something you share or make money from. And because I enjoy it, I feel good seeing some of the stuff I've drawn over the years, or when I pick up the guitar just for fun. Specific benchmarks: Draw a whole D&D party for any group I run/am in Publish some of my own D&D content online Complete Inktober this year I have Wednesdays off work, so do something creative every Wednesday at least Learn a handful of songs that I could play at an open mic night Sanity - self-care This is about keeping my head screwed on straight, and doing the things that keep me level. That includes small things like brushing my teeth and keeping the house tidy, but might be specific self-care habits like journaling, social things like seeing friends, or big projects on the house. It's recently occurred to me that reading more for pleasure could also be on this list, or on my INT list, and I'll consider that among my potential future goals. Why am I focusing on this? Because it's been a tough couple of years - including losing a couple of friends and my dad being diagnosed with dementia - and I don't like feeling bad. These are things that I can do to feel better in myself, and feeling good is it's own reward. It also allows me to better support my family, and to face challenges as they come. Specific benchmarks: Go away with friends Sort out my office - paint, re-wire, and new carpet Sort out the outhouse with a new roof and door, and run power down there Get a price to replace the porch Intelligence - learning This includes studying for work, any side-project academic study that I feel like, learning languages, maybe even skill learning if it doesn't fit under STR. Why am I focusing on this? I like to learn new things, I find it interesting and rewarding, and it makes me a better person. It also might help my future employment prospects/earning potential, which isn't a big driver for me but it can't hurt. Specific benchmarks: Make good progress on my last big professional accreditation Continue learning Dutch and French on Duolingo - I should be on an 800+ day streak by the end of 2024 Converse in French when I go to France for the Olympics this year Learn a little bit of coding Edit - I keep forgetting how to score this, so the percentage required to gain a stat point, based on the number of stat points a goal is worth, is: 1 stat point: 75% 2 stat points: 50%, 83.3% 3 stat points: 37.5%, 62.5%, 87.5% 4 stat points: 30%, 50%, 70%, 90% 5 stat points: 25%, 41.7%, 58.3%, 75%, 91.7% * * * The party returns My goals this month really build on what I've been doing for the last year, and of course on the road map above. Some goals have a different condition for week 1, as I'm writing this on day 2 (Tuesday) of week 1. Let's meet our party. The decisionist Track food daily [+1 CON] Extra credit: Less than 18,000 kcal per week [+1CON] Week 1: extra credit is 15,750 kcal or less in 6 days I'm still on the weight loss train, having lost 4lbs from the end of October to mid-December, and then put them back on in the two weeks over Christmas . To be fair, I'm still 5.5lbs lighter than I was in June. I'm also not too worried about the number on the scale, I'm just looking to lean out a bit before I think about bulking again. 18,000 kcal per week is a pretty tough target, but will definitely see some fairly solid weight loss over this challenge if I can achieve it. Even if I miss, I should lose some weight by getting close. I may need to fundamentally change some of my regular meals in order to do this. The muscle Foam roll my neck and shoulders every day [+2 STR] I've had really tight shoulders for a couple of months. I've also been having quite a bit of wrist pain, which I think might be related. I want to make a good attempt at dealing with my shoulders first, but if that doesn't work I will book in to see a physio about my wrists at the end of this challenge. Please hold me accountable to this. The face Brush my teeth, twice daily [+1 SAN] Extra credit: Stand on one leg whilst brushing [+1 STR] When I'm stressed, or depressed, I stop brushing my teeth. I don't forget, I simply stop doing it. I think it's probably a control thing - when life feels out of control I make choices which are self-destructive because they give me some agency that I don't have over other areas of my life. It's a bit like staying up late at night in revenge for work taking over your day (something that I also do). That's the working theory anyway, it might be a load of nonsense. Anyway, I don't know if I can make myself feel better by deliberately brushing my teeth, but I can at least help my teeth remain affixed to my skull for a little longer, and that's a good thing in its own right. The cartographer Draw 4 times per week [+2 CHA] Extra credit: draw 5+ times per week [+1 CHA] There's no good reason why I can't spend a bit of time doodling most evenings when I'm in. I'm out playing Pathfinder/other RPGs Tuesday nights, I play Baulder's Gate online with friends Thursday night, and sometimes I'll be out on Friday nights. That leaves 4 sensible days to draw, with a possibility of more for the extra credit. The hoardsperson [+ SAN] Spend no money [+2 SAN] I'm broke after a December of eating out during the working week and going out for drinks in the weekends, followed by buying a bunch of Christmas presents, not to mention a new fridge freezer, a new washer dryer, and some components for my computer, and booking travel and accommodation for Paris next year. So my goal here is to not spend any money during this 5 week challenge. This doesn't include groceries (but groceries don't include pre-made lunches, fizzy drinks, or alcohol), and doesn't include petrol or regular bills. There should be some good side effects to this goal: I'll have to take lunch to work as I can't buy it out, resulting in potentially healthier lunches I won't be drinking fizzy drinks every day I'll slowly whittle down the amount of junk food in the house, without buying more I don't actually expect I'll hit every single day with this goal, but I intend to get as close as possible. Other stuff These won't be recorded goals, but so that I remember: I'll be subbing squats for front squats this challenge, as I try to train myself out of my current squatmorning habit. I'll also be working on ab work, which should help with stability in the squats and improve my pistol squats (and probably, to be fair, be good for everything else too) By the end of this challenge (maybe the end of week 1) I want to have written out all of the races I'm considering for this year and narrowed down ones that are actually likely Well, I think that's everything, time for the adventure to begin. * * * The group sat around the campfire in silence. Not an anxious silence, nor a pregnant one. Perhaps, contemplative? Each was engrossed in their own preparations, readying themselves for the journey that lay ahead. The only sound that could be heard in the clearing, aside from the occasional hoot of an owl or the rustle of a small animal in the bushes, was the rhythmic scrape of the goliath's whetstone against his axe. Shiiing. Shiiing. Shiiing. The others paid no mind to the noise, not the sparks spraying from the huge blade. The dragonborn was engrossed in polishing a set of plate armour, the surface perfectly reflecting the copper sheen of his own scales. Meanwhile the blue-skinned elf and the halfling leant back-to-back, each with pen and paper in hand. The elf's marks were precise, as they entered detailed notes into a ledger, a pile of coins and assorted valuables stacked neatly in front of them. By contrast the halfling's strokes were large and expressive , as the topography of a wondrous landscape took shape below her ink-stained fingertips. And finally there was the gnome. Lying on his back he stared into the stars, a look of pure, sure, comfortable relaxation upon his face. Despite the task ahead, he looked all for all the world like there was no place he would rather be, and that he might lay here for weeks if the mood so took him.

2023 Wrap up The time has come to reflect on my road map for 2023, and see where I am before I write my 2024 road map. Before I get into the detail on each stat, here's where I finished 2023: Level 20 Wood Elf Ranger STR: 15 - CON: 21 - CHA: 8 - SAN: 16 - INT: 17 Well I ran my first marathon this year - I keep forgetting that, but it's a major milestone and I'm pleased I've got it. More memorable were Strong Viking and Man vs Mountain, probably because I did them in a group with friends. I feel like I might focus less on quantity of events next year, and more on doing team events with people I like. Climbing has gone well, and whilst I haven't managed a 7A yet I can feel that it's coming at some point. I didn't go climbing outside in the end, but I would only want to do that with a good group and I'm not prepared to go just for the sake of it. Another group activity to consider though. The gym also feels like it's progressed well, despite my running training taking over the majority of my energy this year. I can reliably get a muscle up or two (ring or bar), so the next focus will be on stringing them together, and I've also got pullovers down and I'm within a hair's breadth of getting reliable pistol squats. Handwalking needs some more work, and I didn't even attempt to learn to kip up in the end. I didn't hit the numbers I planned on Squatmas and Deadliftmas, but I did better than last year and I'll do better again this year. I only added 3 points onto STR this year, I think because a lot of my physical fitness habits are automated and don't need goals. Possibly I need some more concrete fitness goals to focus me though. Not a lot to report here. I'm relatively heavy for me, but I'm pretty sure I'm also more muscular, and I think I look better in the mirror. I should probably take a progress picture later. I had a 'before' picture pop up on my phone from 9 years ago yesterday, and to be honest as long as I don't end up looking like that again it's all gravy. Ironically I'm probably a similar weight in that old picture to now, but I look so much happier and healthier now than I did then (and also a very different shape!) I've drunk a lot this year, but still a lot less than I used to, and I'm happier with my drinking than I have been in the past I think. I've smoked a few times when drinking, but I'm increasingly put off by how much it contributes to a hangover, which can only be a good thing. I've decided that I'm not that concerned about caffeine right now, particularly if I stick to tea instead of fizzy drinks. CON with my biggest stat increase - from 10 to 21 - a lot of which was just focusing on tracking my diet. I'm happy with that; it's the foundation on which everything else stands. Well, I didn't do any of that stuff . I increased my CHA stat from 3 to 8 though, so whilst it's still low it's also the biggest percentage increase in a stat. And looking back I drew quite a lot, in spurts when life wasn't too overwhelming. Now that I've got my 4 days per week, and I'm a bit more settled with that, I want to focus more on my creative side. Maybe I'll even pick up my guitar again - I've found myself wanting to play it more of late. I managed to increase SAN from 7 to 16, but I think most of my points came from brushing my teeth again this year, and I didn't do any of the house sorting stuff on the list. I did some minor stuff like hanging coat hooks and that kind of thing, and we got a new fridge freezer and a new washer dryer, so there's been some little things to improve our environment. The going away with friends went much better, both race trips were really fun and, I think, really good for me. Very happy to get my main professional qualification this year. I'm unsure what the extra qualification I had in mind was, but I'm just in the process of finishing off my final assignment for another small qualification, so that's good. I've got another big accreditation to do in the next year or two, so I'm guessing that will become a focus next year. Languages have been going ok - if nothing else I've stuck with them and I'm on a four-hundred-and-something-day Duolingo streak. Heading to France next year, so whilst I'll be sticking with both French and Dutch, French might be the more important (unless I also go to The Netherlands again!). Occasionally I get to use both languages at work too, though I'm not good enough at either to work in them it at least reduces the amount of Google Translate I need to use to get the gist of things. I didn't touch programming, though I still think that would be fun (and maybe useful) in the longer term. Overall INT increased from 11 to 17, which is probably about right for where it sits as a priority. Overall it's been a good year. Certainly a better year for me than 2022, although it hasn't been without it's challenges. The chief challenges were dealing with my dad's dementia diagnosis - trying to find a balance between being helpful for my mum and protecting myself - and my workload towards the end of the year going absolutely overboard. There's no easy fix for the former, but as we get systems in place it should get a bit easier. and as for the latter I'm actively working on making my workload more manageable. There's also been a fair bit of grieving for people I've lost in the last couple of years, and it's hard to put a finger on how much it has or hasn't affected my mental state and other areas of my life. I think that's all for this year; time to start writing the next chapter.

As promised, my Deadliftmas video for the year (well, the first 26 reps anyway): Deadliftmas 2023 (vimeo.com) (It still won't embed, but I promise it's there!)

That's good then! I should get the yoga mat out too actually...

I love the way you've tied in the reward so directly for this; it's really clever. I'm still well behind on mine - will see if I can catch up with you before the end of the year. I'm also thinking of doing a little daily something for my next challenge; even though I didn't hit it this challenge was a good way to get up from my desk at home. One thing at a time. Not that you should give up on your weight goals, but just be kind to yourself while you adjust to the meds. Not being in pain is pretty damn important. Sounds like a great idea - I hope you find them useful.

Nice one Julie! And now you can make a note to use the 15s next time Nice one! That's a lot of leg work, how are the DOMS now? I did! And I thought I'd posted about it too, but obviously not! I worked at 80kg (about 103% bodyweight), and it became apparent fairly quickly I wasn't going to get 50 unbroken deadlifts. I made it to 26 in the first set, then decided to do the rest as 2 sets of 12. It was tough, but I'm definitely going to go for unbroken next year! Last year I did 77.5kg (which was 102.9% of my weight at the time) in sets of 17, 12, 12, 9, so it's still progress. Video of the first set to follow when I've edited it.

Deadliftmas has hit a snag for me - I walked to the gym Christmas morning, only to find that the place was closed (despite their website saying it should be open, I could see a sign through the door that said closed Christmas day). There's also a small chance I might have broken their door, but setting off the automatic door mechanism welhen the door was bolted. Anyway, I'm hoping I'll get a chance to go tomorrow, though I will now have to pay for a day pass ?

Good to have you here for this aramis! It's nice to see you. Nice one of the squats, and well done to your son too for joining in! Nice one, well done Artemis! I love the shirt too, very nice! Awesome, well done man!

Now that sounds like a good way to end the year. Bet that got old after a couple of rounds . Looks like a fun workout though, and a really cool session overall.

Awesome job, well done @Rhovaniel! I hope that your Christmas day involves a lot of sitting down . ETA: the red and green weights on the deadlifts are very festive too! My video, as promised: https://player.vimeo.com/video/897606325 (can't get mine to embed either, but there we go) I bottled it on the Christmas jumper. Partially because there was a lot of people in that gym, but also because it was bloody boiling in there. I'm used to working out in a big metal shed, so the big commercial gym was a bit weird.

Squatmas complete! I'll upload a video later when I have time to edit it - I'm gonna speed it up because no-one wants to see 3 minutes of me grinding out squats. It was pretty hard. I realised when I got in that my goal for the year was actually 50 reps at 75% bodyweight. I did a quick set of 5 at that weight and it became apparent that that wasn't going to happen, so 50% it was. Actual score - 50 reps at 51.5% of body weight (40kg at a weight of 77.65kg, or about 88lbs at a weight of 171.2lbs).

Awesome! Glad to have you joining. Also, cool call on the kettlebells; they're useful bits of kit.

Happy Birthday dude! Hope you have a great day!

Yes, destroy Squatmas! And entirely fair enough on the deadlifts, look forward to hearing what you hit on your 1RM test. Thanks! And that sounds pretty damn good - you're gonna smash Squatmas after that!

Is the title 'I will cook something tonight'? Because that's actually quite good. The world needs more people like you man; people who feel priviledged to help others ❤️