tkrokowski

That sounds like a really awesome opportunity. Congratulations!

Hey All I joined a while ago and started out with my first challenge. A few weeks in I find out I was relocating and lost my father. Talk about stress! So now that things have settled down I am back and ready to pick up on the next challenge cycle. For the last 3-4 years I have been focused on running, cycling, and swimming. Since the relocation I've take a step back from that and changed things up with some strength training. I tore through most of the Rippetoe book and have been geeking out on increasing my PR's for those awesome full body movements. Looking to continue to add strength while I work some endurance activities back in. Hoping to make this community a frequent stop for me!

Thanks! That is great encouragement! The link you sent was awesome, I'm in the deadlift chapter in the starting strength book and wish that there was some type of chapter summary (Rippletoe is very detailed IMO). That page will work great as something I can refer too.

I've been away for a few weeks but wanted to drop in and say that I am still on target to meet my challenge goals! My wife and I just closed on the sale of our house this week (relocating to NC) and have had a variety of family illnesses and business trips to contend with. Despite that I've been able to get to the gym and lift around 4 times a week. I've been continuing to work on my form for the squat and have been working my way through the Starting Strength book. Since I modified my diet to focus on 1g of protein per 1 lb of body fat - I feel like my muscles have started to explode. It's awesome! I'll keep you posted over the next few weeks. Hopefully life slows down a little!

I will work on getting a recording and will definitely check that mobility vid. I saw that someone else on here posted it the other day. Thanks for the advice!

Scotch-infused? Sounds like my kind of tutorial!

I think you're spot on bigm! I will give it another whirl on Friday! Thanks SpecialSundae - it probably wouldn't hurt to stretch a bit more!

Yea I have a feeling I may not be pushing my knees outward enough when I have a loaded bar. I have noticed that if I keep my head down I feel like I'm engaging my quads and hamstrings and I don't get that when I keep my head level or look up. I haven't dared to ask anyone at the gym to check out my form yet but I have a feeling I may have to get there!

The diet has been going really well for me so far this week. I have kept my sugars to a minimum and have been eating all the chicken and tuna I can find. Every other day I have been practicing my squat form and working with "warmup" weight...following the direction in Starting Strength I am able to get below parallel without weight but as soon as I add any weight (aside from the weight of the bar), I cannot seem to get as low as I'd like. Anyone else experience this and have any pointers? I have been trying to focus on keeping my gaze a few feet ahead of me and have been visualizing on a straight line up from the middle of my feet. I feel like I am a little closer after a trying it a bunch of times but feel it may be a mobility issue?

Welcome from another first timer! I have also been struggling with diet and am trying to focus on eating the appropriate amount of protein and cutting out as much sugar as possible. Good luck!

I have been finding myself consuming a lot more water since I've had a lack of sleep. Being hydrated seems to help with getting rid of the sluggishness. Good luck with your goals!

Avocado in tuna, I like the way you think! I probably could just mix that in with the greek yogurt and tuna...It's easy and isn't hard to put together if I am traveling.

I didn't put sleep into my goals but now I wish I would've. Sleep definitely makes a world of difference in my opinion. Good luck with everything!

I just discovered mixing a can of tuna (chicken of the sea, right? ) with plain 0% greek yogurt is actually pretty damn delicious. Do you guys buy grass fed chicken or do you not worry about it since you're buying 10 lbs at a time?

I am new to strength training as well - I saw your before pic and can sympathize completely. I have been use to running a ton and strength training intermittently with no real gains. That being said I have also been use to being "skinny". After a busy few months with work and having a 9 month son consuming a majority of my free time I suddenly found myself being skinny fat. My current fitness regime around running just isn't cutting it anymore! So that's why I am here. Good luck with your goals and those drinks will taste a lot better when you've had victory for an appetizer!