DirtyLittleSecrets

If constantly being sore is going to put you off working out then scale back a little bit. Don't stop working out or trying to go a little harder from one week to the next but if you're doing reps to exhaustion right out of the gate you might not have the motivation in the future. I'm a server and I know how terrible it is to have sore arms and shoulders then get a table of 10 come in. Or know you have an 8 hour shift and sore legs at the start. It sucks so I scale my workouts back on days before I work to letting myself have 25% left in the tank. So I know later that day I could do a spin class or go for a hike with my friends. If I feel like I have one more set of 5 left in me I stop. On workout days where I know I have a couple days off after I give my all. It's all about challenging myself and seeing the best I can do. On days where you're really sore after a workout (or a few days) you might want I consider doing things like a light jog, yoga, or much lower weights and reps than you normally do. Trying to do too much while your body is trying to repair itself will actually hinder muscle growth and suppress your immune system. Light activity helps bring new blood to the area and will encourage growth. Just sleep a little more, follow a healthy diet and in a few days you'll be as healthy as new. Also, are you doing a proper warm up prior to exercising and a cool down and stretch after? Warm ups reduce injury, cool downs help blood stop pooling in certain areas and stretching does really help reduce muscle soreness and increase flexibility. Foam rollers are helpful but not necessary.

If the gym at your college isn't free you can try volunteering at a YWCA or YMCA. They usually offer volunteers free memberships and you only have to go for 3-4 hours per week. I can attest to the effectiveness of body weight exercises since the majority of the progress I've made since April is exclusively using them. Just make sure your form is spot on and you know that gradually building muscle is the key. You might only be able to do 2 push ups with good form but that makes it all the sweeter when you can do 10 :-)

Going to the gym is really intimidating! I actually decided to take the personal trainer course at my local college because I never was comfortable at the gym and wanted to learn. It's probably the best decision I ever made because I know not coming from a sporty or fitness background originally will make it easier to emphasize with my clients. Do all the reading you need to for understanding form and healthy feasible changes in your life. Working with a physiotherapist will be awesome for you and I'm glad everything seems to be setting in place for you :-)

Our poor pooch really wanted to go swimming today but because he just got neutered we had to kibosh that :-(. Way too hot out to be doing anything. Here's hoping your evening had a bit more respite than ours did.

They're actually a bit cheaper than my UA bra was so I'll have to order one to see how it works. And they come in different colours!! Thanks!!

I'm just looking to have a fitness standard to strive towards. I was thinking of joining up in the Canadian Army but in the end I realized I didn't want my life to be by contract unless I got something I really wanted out of it. Good job on keeping up the challenge so far. I liked making scavenger hunts with my niece that we could do out on a hike. We took pictures with my camera to make it eco-friendly and made a collage out of the print puts afterwards. She loved it so maybe your girls would too :-)

Awesome! :-D I'm happy you decided to stick to it. Sometimes when people make SMART goals they don't have a realistic idea of what will be attainable to them in the upcoming weeks. I would have totally rocked my challenge throughout all the weeks but I got a cold last weekend that with a couple unexpected shifts I wasn't able to shake off. Doesn't mean I'm going to give up, I'm just going to move on and believe in progress and not perfection.

Glad you enjoyed rock climbing! My ex boyfriend was really into it but never got around to taking me out :-(. It's awesome when you see improvement on competing activities you did in the past. Keep it up :-D

Your body will naturally use the amino acids it has or make them to create the muscle it's building after you work out. It isn't entirely necessary to have your protein immediately right after a workout but studies have found consuming a protein shake up to 2 hours after has produced very favourable results . I'm hoping you like it as much as I do :-)

Bring snacks to school! My friends always make jokes about how my purse/backpack is a minefield of fruit and random snacks (popcorn, jerky, oatmeal, fruit cups, veggies and dip, you name it!). It's easier to resist cravings if you have something on you and if you do end up giving in it won't be as intense

That's why I like Adidias climacool or climawarm style clothing, I know it really works for the activities I do and I love them for it. Specific cross country skiing pants can get pretty expensive but the cute climawarm leggings I have are fleeced on the inside an water resistant on the outside so they're perfect for running or skiing in snow when I am really working up a sweat.

Also!!!!!! http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/35730-my-body-like-woah/. Bam! Sign I'm slowly but surely making progress. Woot room worthy indeed.

20th: So you know when I posted and said it was a minor setback.... When it rains it pours. I ended up almost forgetting I had a wedding reception to go to for someone at work after my shift was done. My boss gave me a ride (one of the banquet servers is getting married ) but since I didn't have a change of clothes and missed the bus I ended up walking home. Quickly changed, grabbed a card from the nearby Mac's and a tea because with Portuguese boya you know it's going to be a looong night. Didn't get into bed until 5 AM and was up at 7:30AM to get ready for my breakfast shift. The things I do for love <3. I was really happy with my calorie consumption from the snacks and alcohol they had available (only two wine and a small plate of these delicious meat kabobs). After my 8 hour breakfast shift I was completely kaput and when I woke up between the 14 hour nap I was having I had a tickle in my throat. When I woke up the next morning I was sure, that cold I thought I beat had come back with a vengeance and left me couch ridden for the day. I however did read one of the books I picked up from the library (The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of The Porn Film Industry) and cleaned up the apartment a little for the inspection we had in the morning. Feeling alright today, taking the day off and doing my run and my circuit in the evening when it's cooler outside. Probably the only Canadian praying for fall lol.

Thanks . Cooking is one of my biggest passions and I really enjoy experimenting with healthy foods at home. I'll definitely keep it up! I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, but I'm all outta bubblegum. *thinks she's so cool*

It's the best money I've spent on any form of entertainment in a long time! I absolutely love it, the story line alone is awesome for motivation and I've really increased in my times since getting it. 9 more missions and I'm onto the regular app!!! (currently using the 5k trainer)

So, two years ago my friend Marisa broke up with her boyfriend and as a result had to get rid of a ton of her clothing to fit into a new apartment she was moving into. I, as her best friend, found it my duty to make sure those items of clothing found a good home, namely with me. One of them was this awesome blue and green plaid dress that screamed to be paired with combat boots and be shown off to the world. The only issue was I couldn't zip the front up past my bosom. Ended up putting a cute belt below the chest an had a cute cami under fixing the issue and to make it wearable. Many a concert was seen and good times were had by all. Recently I've been having issues with pants, mainly having a plumbers butt and not being able to fit into some of my skinny jeans because my thighs are getting too big. Dresses and skirts float around that or hug curves so they've become my items of choice. Tried the dress on today, it fits like a glove and zipped up all the way. I don't need a scale I tell me my body is changing :-)

:-D you're doing awesome! Keep it up!

Maybe just switch your goals back to weight training twice, running three times per week, eating 4 servings of veggies and spend an hour on your days off doing domestic duties/crafts? A happy home is more important than your crafting but we don't want you to lose sight of something you find important either. You'll do whatever is best for you but I don't want you to end up feeling like you failed either. Readjusting isn't a cop out, it's life. Whatever you end up choosing I'll still support you :-)

Ahh, I just bought a cheap pair of dumbbells for my at home push ups. I'm not confident enough to do them in public yet lol. I've always focused on my legs because that's where I see my big gains and arm stuff is just hard and discouraging sometimes. Starting to get into the mindset that difficult things are the ones worth doing and if I wasn't challenged was it really that big of an accomplishment. Weekends tend to throw people off (goodness knows it happened to me!) but we aren't going to let that get us down are we?

Very nice! You're doing awesome Orc and I'm very proud of you. It's hard when you face setbacks or don't see the results immediately but you're right in saying that every bit counts and it's sometimes better to look at the big picture. Let's kill the second half of the challenge!

Keep it up! You now know that your not snacking between meals may not be the best goal for your life but we're almost done this challenge and you're probably getting a better sense of what your body needs. That is pretty great in itself.

http://exrx.net/Stretches/Biceps/Standing.html Exrx is great for explaining stretches and this one is a favourite of mine when I'm leading cool downs.

Those mussels sound so good! I don't think I have live mussels available here but I might just make them with one of the frozen packets we have at the grocery. Thanks for being such an inspiration and all the delicious recipes

Welcome to Nerd Fitness! Glad to hear from someone that studied exercise physiology before. My goal is to pass the Marines Physical Fitness test by January and I'm studying at my local college to become a personal trainer. Subbed to your topic and look forward to seeing you progress

Hey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Zombies_Run_Users I just filled out this quick survey while eating my breakfast to help this person with their dissertation for school. If you feel like helping go right ahead :-)