TMedina

Just to note, the daily recommended intake of protein is about 1 g for every kilogram of body mass, not every pound. 1 kg is about 2.2 lbs 

Completely unrelated, but I feel like a complete and utter idiot.

You might try wearing a sock liner, or a men's dress sock under a regular, thicker sock.  That should help cut down on the rubbing and friction.

EtA: You could also try New Balance minimalist shoes - they have an excellent return policy if you find the shoe has too much play in the heel for your preference.  

So, here's the thing - "diet pill" is a very, very broad term.  Usually, "diet pills" revolve around some permutation of caffeine which acts as a very mild appetite suppressant and stimulates the heart, giving the illusion of "more energy" - you feel more awake, more energized, and can do more.  Which is why some folks take caffeine (by pill, by coffee, by whatever) prior to working out.

They'll throw in a lot of other herbs and whatnot that may, or mat not, have any meaningful impact on metabolism or weight loss.  Cayenne pepper or capsicum, for example, is another fun ingredient - some research suggests (notice the vague wording) that it can help up your metabolism to a small extent.  Not enough that I'd even remotely consider heaping spoonfuls of the stuff into my food (I do that anyway, but I like spicy).

This Garcinia is going to fall into the same category.  If it worked reliably and consistently, companies and scientists and folks the world over would be all over the main ingredient, touting it as the miracle holy grail of fat loss and metabolism enhancement - but they're not.  

Basically, diet pills are more marketing hype than anything else.  And they offer a false hope to people trying to force things to happen.  In your case, there could be any number of reasons why you're not seeing results and I think you'd be better off assessing your goals and current approach to reaching those goals before looking to a glorified placebo.

All that said, I don't think this particular pill is actively unhealthy - keep in mind, I'm not a doctor, nor a medical professional.  If you think you might get something from the pill and want to experiment, that's up to you.  My only note is to not be upset if the pill doesn't work for you - or to keep throwing good money after bad in the hopes that with just a few more doses, it will make a positive impact.

Good luck!

I took some time to stretch out the abductors and adductors - it really seemed to narrow down where my hips were hurting.  Might be worth a shot to see if it does anything for you.

Ah, barracks housing.

If you have a friend who's married with a full kitchen, it might be worth your time to see if they (or their S/O) will do you a favor and let you borrow the kitchen.

Cook up batches of chicken and what-have-you in their kitchen - or see if they'll do it for you for some help with the groceries, then store your week's worth of meals in baggies in your fridge.

It's the kind of solution I wish I'd taken when I was still in the barracks.

yeah- I was annoyed- and wildly amused at the same time.

A few hrs later- she was out there and they were talking about squatting and she couldn't do a proper body weight squat without tipping forward at all- not sure what they were doing- but it was quiet evident she had no effing clue how to squat - much less a 400 lb squat.

 

 

Nailed it on the lumbar issue.

 

I've read some conflicting articulates about how it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be- I think a lot depends on how deep into the squat you get before it rounds. If you are rounding when you are hitting parallel and that's it- it's an issue- if you only have a little round at the bottom it's not a crisis (so I'm reading)

 

I'd rather just not be doing it- but I'm not seeing any results from my mobility stuff improving it- actually I'm getting pretty bent about squatting in generally- but that's a rant for another thread. 

Interesting - when I drop into a caveman, I can't help but, well, butt wink.  Must do more reading!

Sorry for quoting a months-old post.

1. Start working on caveman/3rd world squats.  Seriously - it's humbling and painful for the first month, but it will do wonders for loosening up your hips and hip/knee/ankle flexibility.

2. Hip height is what we commonly yell, but think more in terms of knee angle:

a. If your knees are locked out, you're lifting with your back - this is bad, by the way.

b. If your knees are too bent (you start out with your thighs parallel, or hips below parallel), this is wasted effort - you have to come up before the pull on the deadlift actually begins.

c. The "sweet spot" is about 45 degrees, give or take based on body proportion - arm length, leg/thigh length, torso, and so on.

"Sinking your hips" is usually a faster and easier visual cue than knee angle, but understanding that part of it can help the overall execution as well.

Good luck!

Your hips are too high on the deadlift.  I think you're psyching yourself out with the weight and winding yourself (and your back) up prior to pulling.

Sink your hips.  Back remains neutral.  Deep breath to protect the spine, Stand up.  Don't pull with the back, just stand up.

One of my favorite deadlift video tutorials - I've advanced the video to the execution phase, but it's worth watching the whole two minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfYez7-h55c#t=114

I've actually stepped back from barbell back squats to work expressly on my hip/leg strength in low bodyweight squats because it felt like I was having similar issues.  

I'm interested to hear what the more experienced folks have to say.

The first step is the most important and you've already taken that - it's all downhill from here.

Good luck!  And welcome to NF.

I have to agree with all the "Drink lots of water" and make sure to ascend the Golden Throne of Man at night and first thing after waking up.  Maybe stretch a little before beginning the morning constitutional.  Your body will react to the throne being available, rather than prodding you to go.

I shifted to caffeine tablets - a lot cheaper, the same or better jump.  I should probably give up caffeine too, but I'm not in any rush.

Seriously.  It sounds like he's smiling and nodding and doing what he wants, regardless of your input.

I could even, maybe, comp him the "light leg workout to ease you back in" if he wanted to assess your ability for himself.  But you told him, no machines - and it looks like he gave you all machine exercises.

The other guy sounds like a dream come true - the new guy?  He sounds like the making of "I overheard in the gym today..." fodder.

I've glanced at Stoicism, but I've never given it any deep consideration - I should change that.

This is the website for Stoicism Week 2013, for anyone following along.  http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/stoic-week-2013/

Good luck CK!

I still think mt. Dew is amazing btw. I have never lost my taste for it. I just have to accept that my brain laps it up like crack cocaine....and only indulge every 6 months to year or so. Not kidding.

Is it just the regular Mountain Dew?  Have you tried the Throwback version?  

I'm not advocating you try just for my curiosity, mind you.  But the next time you treat yourself, if you happen to remember - I'd be curious to know.

Thanks!

Trolling.  Particularly under the thinly veiled guise of "being helpful".  In very, very rare occasions, someone is legitimately trying to be, in their mind, helpful - in an exceedingly unproductive and dysfunctional way.

I crib a page from the Stoics' philosophy - you will never be able to control someone's opinion of you.  We're all exposed to it, but women moreso than men - you will always be too: fat, thin, short, tall, pretty, ugly, smart, dumb, whatever.  It is infuriating that we, as a species, have arrived at a point where we feel the need - and believe ourselves to be justified - in telling someone else that they should measure up to a standard.  Not just any standard, but our individualized, personal standard.  One person will tell you that you're too fat.  The next person will complain you're too thin.  Based on what?  Their opinion?

What you can control is your reaction to it.  Take a breath.  I picture myself stepping sideways, or stepping outside of my body and looking at the comments as objectively as I can.  I look, critically, at what is being said, and who is saying it.  And in the interest of impartiality, I look at myself.  did I shower this morning?  Ok, maybe the criticism has merit.  Is this person complaining about the shape of my nose?  And I care about your opinion why?  

Framing and context are similar techniques where you take someone's criticism and evaluate it objectively, in addition evaluating the context in which it exists - someone tells me I'm ugly.  Well, I'm not Brad Pitt - I don't meet a commonly held standard in attractiveness and I don't meet your standards of physical beauty.  Ok, cool.  Oh, you expected me to actually care about your opinion?  Nope sorry - you just aren't important to me in any meaningful way.  Random stranger on the street?  You thought you were trying to be helpful?  Or just mean?  Either way, why should I care about your opinion?  

Imagine someone stopping you and telling you the sky is purple.  Filling with pink hippos.  Have they done anything meaningful, except waste your time?  Unsolicited opinions from extremely irrelevant people are exactly the same thing.

Its called rucking, people do it with upwards of 30lbs + gear. 

True, but it's also a different style of running and a different style of pack.

OP: give it a shot and see how it feels.  If the backpack is large and floppy, it's going to suck in some very specific ways:

1) The backpack will bounce and flop as you run, which will pound your back and throw you off balance

2) It can be rough on your pack's contents - papers get crumpled, electronics get tossed about, and so on.  Make sure your water bottle is sealed tight (trust me on this one)

As Barfly noted, sternum and waist straps help quite a bit.  If you can compress your pack contents and "tighten up" your pack to minimize the "flop factor", that will help as well.

EtA: be sure to be generous with the deodorant - the pack will add a weight to your shirt, which will guarantee the back of your shirt will be wetter than it would be otherwise.

It's actually fairly hard to get "a burn" going in the abs because they get used so often.  The trick to a "six pack" is to lose the belly fat surrounding them.  Now, that said - a plank will engage your core like situps rarely do.

There are several different exercises that fit that basic description - leg raises, flutter kicks, and reverse curls.  All trigger the abs, but tend to engage the hip flexors primarily - although the reverse curl (I think that's the name) engages the core quite a bit more.

In regards to your neck pain - are your neck muscles particularly tight?  Tense?  You might consider working through some head/neck stretches to make sure they are relaxed and loose, particularly if that's a trouble area for you.

It sounds like you're trying to lift with your head/chin, rather than contracting your abs.

Experiment time!

1. Lie flat on your back.

2. Place your hands on your abs - poke your belly so you can feel them.

3. Tighten your abs - you should feel them with your fingers.

4. While still flat on your back, abs tight, try and lift your shoulders.  

Can you feel tension in your abs?  Do they quiver or shake as you try to raise your shoulders?  Do you still feel tension in your chin/neck area while focusing on raising your shoulders?

A good alternate exercise for targeting the abs is the plank - there are plenty of different versions, but this is basically what it looks like:

Awesome!  Welcome aboard!

And I have to admit, you have one of the more interesting job training descriptions I've read yet.

You may want to check out the, please forgive me, deadlift exercise when it comes time.

I empathize completely - I wear glasses and I sweat profusely.

In the gym, I just take my glasses off - I can still see well enough to navigate and not trip over anything, and that's all I really need.

However, to keep sweat out of my eyes, I've taken to wearing Buff headwraps - I love these things.  And unlike the cotton bandannas I used to wear, these things can be wrung dry and be ready to go again in a minute.

You might find Buffs (or one of the similar clones popping up) to be helpful.

Thank Gainsdalf - he posted it first.  I'm just a shameless bookmarker.

I hope the OP is doing well.

And I dunno about that word - I mean, I'm never, ever sorry when I eat bacon.

Your stance seems particularly wide - is that a deliberate choice?

Also, your wrist pain likely comes from the hand placement - it's under the bar and the weight of the bar is driving directly into your hand/wrist/forearm/elbow.

The first link is to a Rippetoe page.  The important part of the video is where he talks about hand placement and why he stresses keeping it outside of the bar, rather than under.  http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/platform_the_squat_bar_position

Second is a suggested fix for the hand placement for the low bar squat: 

I take two caffeine tablets (200 mg per, so 400 mg total) half an hour to 45 minutes prior.  Usually some food as well to keep my stomach still.

A bottle of 100 tablets runs me about $5, so that's a .05 a tablet.  

I also work out in the evenings, so I appreciate the boost.