bfordham

Awesome! Good for you. It's a good feeling. I hope to be there with benchpress soon.

That's awesome! Keep it up

Started doing Stronglifts 5x5 with my workout partner in March. I've never done any serious weightlifting, and I've enjoyed it quite a bit. Monday during our workout I was set to deadlift 175. I currently weight 180. So after doing the set I slapped on a pair of 2.5lb plates and did three reps, just to say I did. Not a ton of weight for a deadlift, really, but it felt good to be able to say I could lift my bodyweight for the first time in my (almost) 40 years.

You're making progress, and that's what matters. It's working on the days you don't feel up to it that make the difference. When training for my first 1/2 marathon I realized quickly that I would successfully complete it in the kitchen. Diet was key for me, and man could I feel it on runs when I hadn't been eating well. I also will be getting my compression socks tomorrow for my shin splints. I'll let you know how it goes. Definitely let us know how your trip goes! When are you planning to go?

KT tape was one I looked into a while back, what I found said there was no evidence. Maybe I need to go back and look into it again As for the PTs being convinced: I know a lot of nurses and cops who swear the full moon brings out the crazies. But check the research on that sometime

My wife has plantar fasciitis as well. Stretching and starting slow worked for her. She's dealt with it for years, and just finished a half marathon. I was actually reading this morning that compression socks sometimes help, too. I had issues with my feet several years ago. I switched to zero-drop shoes and love them. But results vary from person to person. If you're having trouble with 5-finger-type shoes, try zero drop. If that doesn't work, try another. I would suggest finding a reputable running store and asking there.

As I posted on Twitter earlier, I was going over peer-reviewed articles on compression socks this morning. I've had issues with tightness in my right calf during and after runs. I wanted to see if compression socks could help. Turns out they can, with muscle soreness and recovery. What I also found interesting, though, is this: Contrary with what a number of people have told me, no study I found said it had any impact on performance during a race. This was measured via blood tests, O2 use in the muscles, speed during the exercise, and even how high a participant could jump before and after. So they're not useless, but a lot of what I've heard isn't backed up by science. And I've been surprised how often this is the case. My wife did research on various fad diets when she was doing her masters, and found the same thing: Lots of bad info out there. So, how do you verify whether or not a particular claim is true? Anything in particular you've been surprised was actually true? My answers: I have access to a few databases, so I check peer-reviewed journals. I'm a true nerd, and married to a lady who has a doctorate in nursing, so she's a great resource, too. I have trouble with arthritis in one of my shoulders. I did research on glucosamine, and was surprised at how well it could work. What about you?

I just completed (on 21 Feb) my first half marathon. I met all three of my goals, which were: Finish. Don't be last. Break 3 hours (I came in at 2:58:36)Nerd Fitness has provided me with a lot of inspiration. So I'm jumping in on this challenge. Here are my goals for the next 4 weeks (I've posted more detail below): Strength training 3x a week Speed training 2x a week 1 vegetarian meal a dayFor background: I'm 39 (40 at the end of May) and have lost 15 pounds in the past several months. Want to lose another 10-15, get stronger, and get to 2:30:00 half marathon so I can start looking to doing a full. I'm a computer programmer. I've never been athletic, but not fragile, either. I spent summers during high school doing construction work with my dad, so I'm not afraid of physical activity. But again, never been too athletic at all. My wife has lost 50 pounds in the past couple of years, most of that in the past 6 months. We did the half together. Huge accomplishment for us, and we had a lot of fun doing it. Want to keep going. Specifics on my goals: 1. I have a buddy who is former Army who is going to help me get started with strength training. His current goals are 400lb+ bench and 500lb+ deadlift, so he's quite a bit further down the road than I am. Tomorrow at 6am is our first workout together. 2. I'd like to do a full marathon but, with my current 1/2 time, it'd take about 6 hours. Not happening. So I'm going to work on speed specifically twice a week to get faster. I'm looking at the workouts here, but I'm open to suggestions. I did the half in about 13:40 per mile. In training I average around 13:00. I want to get down to 2-1/2 hours for a half, but that's going to take some time 3. I switched to 1 vegetarian meal a day (sometimes vegan) for 3 months and dropped my cholesterol 40 points. Which made me realize what kind of crap I normally eat. I've been eating better recently. But now that I'm not training for a race at the moment I want to concentrate on weight loss and get rid of the last 10-15lbs I want to lose. And that's it!

Great goals. I've done C25K. Follow the plan and you'll do great. I'm actually taking my 5-year-old through it. Me, my wife, and sister-in-law all did it before starting a half marathon training program. And we all finished the 1/2 successfully. So no telling how far you'll go with this if you keep at it

Congrats on the diet changes! I know those can be tough, working on it myself right now. Also, I've done C25K and loved it. My wife did, too, along with a lot of other folks. I also skipped a week or two, and did fine. I would say don't get too far ahead of yourself , but you probably already know that

38 here, so not too far behind you. What kind of goals have you set? Glad you're here, and good luck!

Quick intro: I'm Bryan, 38, a computer programmer from Richmond Hill, GA (Which is just south of Savannah). I've been wanting to improve my health for a while. I don't have any serious problems -- No high blood pressure, nor high cholesterol. I don't smoke, and I don't drink too much. I am overweight, and I don't exercise regularly. So, while I don't have any health issues now, and don't take any medications, I'm pretty aware that I'm 38, so this won't last if I keep going the way I am. So this past Monday (July 7) I got up early and went on a short run. Yesterday and today I got up ag 5:15 and did the same thing. I've also been cleaning up my diet. Not full paleo or vegetarian, but I've committed to going vegetarian for at least one meal a day, and eating better overall. Now for the politician part. I've set two goals: Get down to 165 by November 24 (that's about 20 lbs in 20 weeks), and run a 1/2 marathon in the next year (though I hope to do it much sooner). To set up real consequences to failing to meet these goals, I'm giving two checks, for $50 each, to two friends who will mail them to a PAC I do not support, run by someone I don't really care for. The friend holding the weight-loss check is a guy who has lost 138lbs over the past 2 years. The other friend has run a few marathons. So they're both serious, which means I better be, too. I've also been putting all this out on a little blog at run.naughtybaptist.com. I name the PAC there, if you're curious, but I don't want to get political here So a couple questions: Have any of y'all done anything simialr, setting up consequences? It's not a new idea, so I'm curious. Any advice on pitfalls to avoid for running and diet changes?