Syren

Have you tried http://www.gcflearnfree.org/googlespreadsheets/10.5'>this Phalanx?

Hi there, So I have a problem with strength training --> I hate it, and don't want to do it, but I need to do it so I don't blow out my shoulders and so that I can work on re-strengthening injured knees and ankles. I just really hate it: The weights, the repetitiveness, the sweating, it's time consuming, it's boring!... yet I love to swim which is roughly the same thing only replace "weights" with "wet" and "boring" with "anti-anxiety/anger management therapy." Anyway, I am in need of ideas to make strength training fun rather than chore like. The thought of "you should really do this because you need it," just doesn't cut it for me apparently. I'm going to hit up the playground down the street this weekend and see if there might be monkey bars, or other such playthings that can bear my weight. Should this prove successful, I will try to get through a few circuits worth of playtime/strengthening nostalgia. I'm going to also check out a yoga class and see if it provides me with some motivation. Does anyone have suggestions on how to make strength training fun?

I'm a proponent of the breakfast, though I know not everyone likes to eat breakfast. If you can manage a breakfast, do it! You might also look into adding in some avocado to any of your meals, or as a snack. They are pretty calorie dense and they provide a great deal of nutrients too (because there is not enough avocado pushing going on around here... tee hee) I would also say consume bananas, but this seems to be a matter of controversy with some primal/paleos I have brought it up to on the internet. To each, their own

My lil bro is a Cardinal, but the rest of the family have always walked on the wild side and been Cats fans. Nevertheless, it is always good to see Kentuckians on the internet.... not affiliated with the people of Wal-Mart or Failblog Currently not living in KY, but if I come up for a visit with the folks, or the estranged college musician, could see about visiting the Ville.

If they haven't done it yet this year, you should totally check out the mullet toss. I hear that it is a great time.

You win for today foot cramps, but now I have bananas and soon cantaloupe and there will be no way you can stop me!

Well the GFG works well with squash. So onwards with more experimentation! As for campfires, they are excellent for roasting veg when you are in an area that allows for them

Thanks Barefoot Phalanx, just what I needed since my swim plans were cancelled today by storms rolling on through.

Thunder, thunder, thundercats... HO! Or hold. Now we must search for dryland activities for today. T-storms pushing through the area close the pool, for understandable reasons. To the gym! Hit the stationary bikes and try to work on form and endurance, since rain seems to make me go slippity slide all over the road currently. That could just mean I need new tires, but my balance is crap when it is dry. Combination? I think so. Dolphin's Log Sunday 6/9/2013 The day started out rainy and stormy, like it is wont to do in the summer months and after a tropical depression passes nearby. The sogginess has kept this fair-weather scout inside. To be fair, lightning and thunder make me nervous to go on walks, rides, and swims. I already poke sharks with sticks, lets not tempt the fates over much. Instead the day was spent cleaning, a necessary chore that had been neglected, and watching Good Eats episodes. While physical activity was set to a minimum, both the living room and kitchen look nice and are reasonably functional again. Dinner was a brown rice paella with sauteed shrimp, mushrooms, snow peas, broccoli, carrots, onion, with a garlic, white wine, and butter sauce. First time at making a fresh shrimp dish at home: so much better than elsewhere. Saturday 6/8/2013 Finally! Star Trek Into Darkness, I get to see it! Enjoyable, nearly a complete rehash of Wrath of Kahn, but enjoyable. I could see the die hard Trek fans being upset, but I'm not sure if the die hard fans went to see it since most of them probably walked out on the first "reboot." Anyway, fun movie, did not feel the need to count lens flare. I did work at this theater recently, so I bought concessions to help my previous co-workers try to reach their sales goal for the month so that the corporation that currently drives their livelihood can promise things to them that they should already be getting. M&Ms are on the new baking shelf and awaiting possible confection injection. Oh and we bought Iced Coffee because we ran out and did not make more Friday night. But coffee was needed before hanging out with friends and their 4 yo. Fajita Saturdays! Managed to get the 4 yo to eat some salsa marinated chicken. My weekends are incredibly lazy. I don't want to do anything but chill. And I think that is ok..

*At the river bend, the boto slogged onto land to discover that there was no moon to be seen in the sky. On weak legs, she continued onwards to the old tree. Various creatures in all shapes and sizes attended the inn about the tree. She leaned against the very old thing to rest and read the new sign, then smiled at the prospect of food. She wandered over to the nearest table, looking at the occupants carefully with shy demeanor and spoke softly to them,* "Hello."

Water temp is really hot for lap swim, around 85*F (personally I like it right around 80*F). I could be hyper-extending, because I am working on lengthening my stroke, but I try to make sure to keep my hands relaxed. I haven't had any problems from the shoulder or elbow, only the fingertips so it's weird. But I will keep aware to make sure I don't over-extend my reach and see if that helps. Thanks for the advice

Swimming in my local pool yesterday, I had a very odd sensation in my fingertips towards the end of my swim. It was this burning sensation, focused mainly at the very tips and also the edges of my fingernails, most prominent in my thumbs and index fingers. Now the chemicals in the pool are at mid range and bromine so not as harsh as in some pools, but still an odd sensation as it has happened once before a few months back in the same pool. Has anyone else had something like this happen to them, or maybe have inklings as to what it might be? Is my inner Johnny Storm trying to escape? I love my current doctor, but I'm so tired of visiting her this year.

Old Epic Quest

Level 1 Boto Scout Stats Weight: 206.8 lbs Height: 5'8" Neck: 15" Waist: 42" Hip: 42" Upper Arm: 15" Thigh: 27" Chest: 43" Calf: 16" Forearm: 12" Daily Workout (non-challenge) Swim between 2000 - 3000 yards / meters depending on pool Workout sessions are comprised of a mixed batch warm up, middle distance sets, drill sets, sprint sets, and a cool down and typically last between 45 - 90 minutes. 6/7/2013 Workout Current Challenge Progress Goals Nutrition: Maintain a Veg-Centric Omnivore diet with as little processed food as possible, locally and sustainably for myself and for the environment. Fitness: Reclaim the ability to do almost anything. Life: Get out of debt; Travel anywhere, everywhere; Earn Master's Degree Thank you to wesb1898, Jonsey, and Kibcy for formatting ideas.

If the pool you go to offers adult swim lessons, or if there is an adult swim team that practices there, you can get a lot of advice from the instructors and trainers to help you with form. Once you get your rotary breathing down, to improve your overall stamina and endurance you may look up stroke specific drills that will help you focus piece-wise on your stroke technique. Drills are damnably slow, but they really help you improve. This one is a pretty common and easy one to start with:

So the swimming makes you hungrier thing is a common thing I hear a lot. I used to think this too when I first started swimming, but recently I feel less hungry after a good swimming workout, or I feel the normal amount of hungry, but I have better portion control. I swim early in the morning, before I'm really hungry, but I make myself eat a piece of fruit, like a banana or apple, whatever I have around along with a lot of water. Then I head to the pool, hit the water with a workout session that gets my heart rate up to my target rate and come home for real breakfast. My swims typically last just over an hour, but I'm concerned with distance so I get done when I get done. Since I've started hitting the pool hard again, I am beginning to shed the weight I put on from being lazy, over-indulgent, stressed, and super busy over the past three years. The trick seems to be finding something you enjoy, and if that is swimming, it can only help you improve your overall fitness. As for how it compares to other exercises with weight loss, I cannot tell you because I only swim currently. But this would be interesting to see if we can collect the data for it For hunger though, choosing the proper fuel is the trick for any particular exercise. You don't want to carb load, but for swimming you need a good balance of all the macro-nutrients, and that includes complex carbohydrates. Now swimming does target your larger muscle groups and your core quite a bit. It won't do much for bulking you up since it is a highly repetitive exercise, but it will definitely make you work those muscles you take for granted on land because you are using them in a different way if you do it properly. Technique and form mean a lot in swimming for exercise, you get so much more out of it if you do a stroke right rather than the bare minimum to get you across the pool. Water temperature and how much you are breathing may also be a big factor to your hunger. You don't want cold water (below 72*F) nor do you want hot water (above 85*F) as it messes with your metabolism and self cooling/ self heating ability (as noted above). Additionally, if you are gulping down air... well I haven't figured out the physiology behind this yet, I just know that I get staggeringly hungry after SCUBA Diving and all you do down there is breathe with the occasional fish chase.

I think I did this a little backwards, starting with the current 6 week challenge rather than with the introduction, but I hope you all will forgive me for my complete disregard for order: may the entropy of the universe forever be negative! I found Nerd Fitness when I was doing research on paleo eating, and while I am not particularly interested in all that diet has to offer, I do love the writing style, wonderful fitness advice, and numerous Star Wars references here. When I got the newsletter for this latest 6 week challenge, I had to try it, just to see if I could do it. Now I am here, sharing my personal nerdiness: Hi, my name is Stacy, and I am an action nerd, as Christopher Moore might put it. I'm a marine biologist by trade, but my current training does not seem to be enough to provide a meager lifestyle just yet, so I am going back to school to start on the Masters this fall in shark genetic and ecology research. I've done quite a bit of field work with zooplankton and sharks/ large predatory fish, but projects come and go very quickly or not at all in the non-medical science world. While I am not taking tissue or biomass samples, I am a lifeguard and swim instructor. A big responsibility with the perk of free pool use for the addicted swimmer. I'm not a competitive swimmer, but I am very interested in becoming one, if I can ever find a US Master's Swim Team that I can join or manage the additional areas of triathalon. When not working or swimming, I like to imagine doing all kinds of adventure "sports" like I used to do before I was in a car wreck that injured my knees and ankles, or started paying back student loans. Since I have always been a fat kid, my primary fitness goals are to reclaim my ability to do the adventure sports like kayaking, hiking, SCUBA diving, etc. that I seemed to lose in my accident. I have scads of other goals, but if I went into those, this post would exceed the word limit. In conclusion, I am mostly a science nerd, with some deep seeded enthusiasm for science fiction, writing, and video games with a good story line but not a lot of necessary coordination. I'm a little unhealthy, but trying to get on the right track so that life can be fun. Also, I have no idea what my race is (humans are boring) or how to figure out my skill sheet (dexterity -4?). I missed instructions somewhere in the mad rush to put thoughts on the internet. EDIT: Discovery through reading is very important

You know, I completely forgot about my little George Forman. It kind of got forsaken when I started the last vegetarian dive. I will have to blow the dust off of it and see how it turns out asparagus.

Living in the heat of the American South where summer has finally started to peek out of the long winter and an actual spring like period, I am bound and determined not to heat up my apartment with my oven this year. I do however have a great love for roasted vegetables. Without buying new and wonderful gizmos (like a grill or toaster oven), does anyone have any thoughts on how one might achieve roasted deliciousness? If this is unattainable, there is always stir fry :-)

I am far more out of biking shape than I first realized. The 5 mile round trip to work at the YMCA on top of working in the sun most of the day and my swim workout absolutely killed me. My 10 mile round trip goal might be an overestimation of my abilities right now. I want to accumulate my biking skill however, and the only way to do that is to keep biking. I'm going to keep trying to bike around everywhere, but I don't want to be hard on myself these first couple of weeks. Also, I never noticed before how much people who drive motor vehicles are ass holes to bikers. Be kind to those who maintain their person-powered vehicle by at least making sure to pass them like you would pass a motor vehicle. I think I nearly clipped the side mirrors of seven different cars today! Other notes? Nothing much has happened since Monday of much note, other than the bike and I did a 30 minute strength training session that mostly targeted my abs, glutes, and chest. I guess I should classify that as core, but I didn't include it in my grading scale. How's it going on y'all's end?

SWTOR --> Star Wars: The Old Republic. Since it went free to play, my hard core Star Wars nerdiness has not wanted to stop playing it, also I'm really slow going through video games. As an additional tidbit, I was finally able to fix my brakes on my bike yesterday so getting to swim practice and work on Wednesday should be a go!

Better on time than never, eh? Goals for this Nerd Fitness Challenge Virgin: #1 Cycling -- I want to start biking everywhere! I'm thinking of starting small, like biking to my lifeguarding job at the YMCA, or biking to Master's swim practice, to the grocery store... anywhere within 10 miles round-trip I think is a reasonable starting point. Grading Scale! A -- If I bike to all of my destinations within 10 miles round-trip B -- If I bike to the majority of my destinations within 10 miles round trip, but drive somewhere because I have something that the bike cannot haul. C -- If I bike to my regularly scheduled appointments within 10 miles round-trip (e.g. Work, practice, etc.), but drive to other destinations within 10 miles round trip. D -- If I at least bike to swim practice if not to any of my other destinations within 10 miles round-trip. F -- If I drive to all of my destinations within 10 miles round-trip #2 Eating -- I really love to eat fast food. I cannot seem say no to the deep fried, processed breast meat, chicken finger or easy to grab take out/pizza. Overcoming general laziness might be a better title for this goal... ANYWAY! This goal is going to focus on not eating out so much. Grading Scale! A -- Maintain a 1/7 eating out to in ratio for the week B -- Maintain a 2/7 eating out to in ratio for the week C -- Maintain a 3/7 eating out to in ratio for the week D -- Maintain a 4/7 eating out to in ratio for the week F -- Maintain a 5/7 eating out to in ratio (or worse) for the week #3 Strength training -- Besides the neglect that my shoulders are getting from a repetitive swimming schedule without strength training, my traumatized ankles and knees are needing some strengthening. This is just a habit that I need to get into so that I can keep my joints and other moving parts happy and healthy. The trick will be finding out how to make this fun... any advice would be super helpful Grading Scale! A -- Full body strength conditioning 3 times a week B -- Full body strength conditioning 2 times a week C -- Lower and/or Upper body strength conditioning 2 times a week D -- Lower and/or Upper body strength conditioning 1 time a week F -- No strength conditioning this week #4 Figure out how to turn SWTOR into a LARP? -- Perhaps not literally, but I spend way too much of my weekend playing this MMO when I could be hiking, kayaking, playing disc golf, SCUBA Diving etc. Grading Scale! A -- Re-discovered 6 (or more) activities during this challenge instead of MMORPGing all weekend B -- Re-discovered 5 activities during this challenge instead of MMORPGing all weekend C -- Re-discovered 4 activities during this challenge instead of MMORPGing all weekend D -- Re-discovered 3 activities during this challenge instead of MMORPGing all weekend F -- Re-discovered 2 (or fewer) activities during this challenge instead of MMORPGing all weekend Maybe the money I save from not eating out so much or in gas can go towards re-discovery of that SCUBA Diving >.> <.< EDIT: oh yeah, I forgot the specs... Height: 5'7" or maybe 5'8" the new doc's scale says I shrunk, but Alabama may be more level than Kentucky Weight: 209 lbs was this mornings bathroom scale reading Fitness desires: well, I really just want my ankles and knees to stop cracking and creaking, but being sleeker and having more endurance, flexibility, and speed would be boss.

Sweet. Signed up now. This should be fun