JollySoul

Hello to my fellow nerds, lifters, and generally awesome people! I'm jollysoul. So, I'm pretty new to the powerlifting scene, but I've been drawn to it for a while now. It's so fun and intriguing! In order to get more experience under my belt (har har), my main goal/quest is to log 100 lifting sessions by the end of November 2015. Obviously that's longer than 6 weeks, but hey, what can I say? I like to think in the long term. Anyway, in order to reach said goal I'm going to: Quest 1: Lift 2-4x each week (Squat, DL, Bench) Quest 2: Track my food intake every day (eating crap kills the gains...) Quest 3: Um...I only have 2, but I feel like I should have 3 to "complete" the list. Yep, I'm a little weird... Life Quest: Finish reading 2 books Motivation: Getting stronger and being able to reach my potential strength-wise Well, that's it about me. I look forward to completing this challenge with all of you!

Hi Ashley! Welcome! It's nice to see other females that like powerlifting too I'm actually signed up to run a 5k in June! We should totally be fitness-chatting buddies if you're up for it!

I can't make it to Izzy and Moe's, but I'll be at the theater by 5.

Any of the times could work for me, though my preference would probably be for the Saturday.

Aesop- I'm assuming you mean the AMC at Woodfield? The one in Schaumburg? If so, I got the movie times for Saturday (4/5) and Sunday (4/6). Maybe we can all pick which one will work best for next week. Saturday: 2:10pm; 5:10pm; 8:10pm; 11:10pm Sunday: 2:10pm; 5:10pm; 8:10pm

Ahh, you beat me to it! She's pretty awesome. And her delts and lats are much to be envied.

Hi Everyone! Is the Captain America movie day still happening? That sounds like an awesome idea; I'd totally be up for it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Week 3 update: I lifted on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. I also added a little cardio in the mix as well. I logged all my food into MFP. Also, I find that it's easier to avoid sugary drinks now. My taste buds seem to prefer water now, which is awesome. Lastly, I started the new book and the reading is going splendidly so far.

I should update this more often...haha Thanks for the encouragement everyone! Week 1 update: Stuck to the plan! The only thing is that I had to modify my workout layout a little (doing deadlifts more than once a week isn't the greatest idea!) because my CNS seemed to freak out some with all that heavy lifting. Week 2 update: Finished my first book ("Radical" by David Platt)! Yesterday, I started reading the second one ("The New Rules of Lifting" by Schuler and Cosgrove). I also hit the juice and workout goals too. So, everything's on track thus far

Hey All! I look forward to getting to know you guys more during the challenge. Here's my challenge thread: http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/37467-jollysoul-the-time-for-awesomeness-has-finally-arrived/ Let the games begin!

Main Quest: To get stronger by decreasing my fat content. 1st Goal: Strength train 3x a week. [Grading] A - No missed training days; B - 1 missed training day; C - 2 missed training days; D - 3 missed training days; F - 4 or more missed training days 2nd Goal: No soft drinks or sodas (my only exception is OJ for when I take my whey after workouts). I don't know what it is about juices and sugary drinks, but I just flock to them. In my mind, they've seemed like liquid deliciousness in a cup. But the sugar content in them is obviously insanely high (I remember looking at Mountain Dew's sugar content one day and seeing that it had 77g a bottle. Insane). [Grading] A - No soft drinks/sodas; B - 1 soft drink/soda; C - 2 soft drinks/sodas; D - 3 soft drinks/sodas; F - 4 or more soft drinks/sodas 3rd Goal: Take pics of every meal and upload the details and such to MyFitnessPal weekly (I tend to eat less crap when I know I have to take a picture of it). [Grading] A - No missed days; B - 1 missed day; C - 2 missed days; D - 3 missed days; F - 4 or more missed days Life Side Quest: Read one book every 2 weeks. I have a tendency to start reading books, but not finish them. I tell myself that I'll eventually get to it, but I hardly ever do. I figure this could give me the extra push to kick this habit. [Grading] A - Finish 3 books; B - Finish 2 books; C - Finish 1 book; D - Finish 1/2 of a book; F - Finish no books Motivation: I've always been drawn to the idea of being stronger and being able to challenge myself more on a physical level, but I usually make excuses for myself so I never reach my goals. I want now to be the time that I cut the crap and finally reach my potential.

Wow, I don't know what happened to the first couple paragraphs... I guess making posts using a tablet messes things up occasionally. Here's what I wrote: This calculator should help out with that: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ It also tells you how much you should eat based on your fitness goals (you only need to go up to step 2 for that). After you find that out, I would recommend using a calorie tracking program to ensure that you're hitting the number you need to reach. A couple of popular ones are Lose it! and MyFitnessPal.

In order to gain muscle, it's important to eat more calories than you burn, so you would need to find out how many you burn in a day (this is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE). This calculator should help out with that: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/. It also tells you how much you should eat based on your fitness goals (you only need to go up to step 2 for that). After you find that out, I would recommend using a calorie tracking program to ensure that you're hitting the number you need to reach. A couple of popular ones are Lose it! and MyFitnessPal. If you don't feel like your bodyweight is enough resistance, try using a milk jug full of sand/water or for pull ups/push ups use a backpack and fill it with heavy things so that they are harder to do. Also, here are some tougher variations of push ups: http://www.builtlean.com/2011/03/02/push-up-variations-exercise/. As far as food goes, are you able to drink things like protein shakes? They make it a little easier to consume more calories in a shorter period of time. So, for example, when you're not hungry in the mornings, you could just drink a shake. But if you don't have access to that, then a drink like milk might be a decent substitute. Also, as a general rule, it's better to eat more lean foods so that when you do make gains, then the majority of it is muscle and not fat. Hope this helps!

Yeah, I've tried those out in the past to no avail . I guess it's because they still cause my wrists to bend. Thanks for the suggestion though

Thanks for this tip! I'll probably start adding these stretches to my routine.

I tried them out and they work well! They're definitely harder to do, but at least I don't have pain (well, the bad kind of pain ) when doing them. Thanks a ton!

Yeah, that's what I have done in the past. A few years ago, I was having a similar issue with my wrists, got an X ray to make sure they were okay, and the results showed that I had no break, fracture, or anything like that. I wasn't training as much then as I am now, but I recognize the pain as the same.

So, when I do push ups, as I get to 6-7ish reps, my wrists begin to hurt. I don't believe it's due to poor form, since I've taken precautions to rule that out. I have even tried to do the push ups in wide stance, narrow stance, with push up bars, on carpet, and on the bare floor, but I always seem to get the same result. I'll admit that I do have kinda weird wrists. Multiple people have asked me if I've broken them before, probably because of how they're shaped (I haven't broken either of them, by the way). I was thinking that might be part of the problem. I feel like it would be a shame to completely take out push ups from my routine since they are a pretty fundamental exercise, but it seems unrealistic for me to keep them in as of now. Sometimes I can't even finish my workout because of the pain they cause. So, are there any exercises that can help to build up the strength in my wrists or even any subs for push ups?

A lawnmower is essentially a one arm DB row. Great! Thanks for the tips Yeah, I intentionally didn't add in abs for the reason you mentioned. I've read in a lot of fitness blogs that doing ab exercises aren't as necessary as we might think they are and that doing compound workouts can be just as effective.

Hey All! So, currently, I mainly do BW exercises and cardio (about 3-4x a week), but I'm looking to start a plan that includes weights. I've done some lifting in the past, but I'd still categorize myself as a beginner so I'm not sure if the following schedule seems reasonable. My stats: female, 21, 5'9", 180lbs. This is what I have planned so far: Monday - Push Day (sets/reps: 2-3x8-10) DB Bench press (I don't have a spotter for the barbell, so I figured DBs would be the safer option) Push ups Overhead Press Alternating Raises (lateral and front) Tricep Dips Tuesday - Cardio (at least 30 minutes) Wednesday - Pull Day (sets/reps: 2-3x8-10) Lawnmowers EZ Bar Curls Chin Ups Standard Deadlifts 1 Legged Deadlifts Thursday - Same as Tuesday Friday - Leg Day (sets/reps: 3-4x8-10) Lunges Squats Standard Deadlifts Saturday - Rest Sunday - Rest Am I missing any important exercises or do I have ones that aren't that efficient/necessary? For some reason, I feel like I'm wasting Saturday and Sunday by using them as rest days, but the last time I tried working out every day I ended up overtraining and felt super tired all of the time :/ So, I'm trying to learn from my mistakes this time around. Thanks in advance for any input! -Joy

That's awesome! I haven't tried insanity myself, but I have a few friends that have gone through the program and were happy with their results. I think one of the most important parts is just finding a plan you feel you can stick with. So, if insanity works for ya, go for it.

Oops, I posted this in the wrong section...thus, feel free to ignore/delete this!

Hi Brayan! Congrats on taking the plunge to get involved! I know the first step is usually the hardest to take, so kudos for that. Do you have any set goals (e.g. decrease fat, increase strength, etc.)? Having some can be super helpful when it comes to staying on track.

Hey Neil! I'm part of the "20s club" too! I'm 21. I'm on the other side of the "pond" (in Chicago), so I couldn't work out with you, but if you are up for an online accountability buddy then we can make this happen! Inspiration knows no limits. -Joy

Is anyone else signed up for the mud run in Lake County on August 3rd? You don't want to miss it, it's going to be great! Here's the information and whatnot: http://llvchamber.com/llv-chamber-5k-mud-run/