Exceliber

That is awesome! Congrats on the super long project, and good on you for using reclaimed water as irrigation (rather than relying on water pumped in from rivers/aquifers).

I remember getting my first one. Such an awesome feeling-- congratulations!

Firstly, I finally committed myself to eating about a year ago. I've had my ups and downs, slowly packing on muscle while trying to avoid fat gain. Having been a chubby teenager at 185lbs and 5'08", I dropped roughly 50lbs the year after I moved out of my parents house, then wavered between 125lbs and 150lbs and 11-17% body fat. I started out last year at 137lbs and 12% body fat. I weighed in last night at 152lbs and 9.7% BF! Secondly, after weighing in, I decided it was time to hit the weights. I started deadlifting last year, with my max somewhere in the 125lb range. In the year since I started lifting, I finally broke 200lbs last night on deadlift! Not only that, but I was able to do one set of three reps! All I'll say is that I'm super excited, and re-invigorated for lifting weights. Now I just want to get my squats to 200, and my BP to 150lbs.

Thanks for sharing!

1.) Never missing the bus or train because I can sprint at any given moment if needed. 2.) The happy/exhausted feeling after pushing through a run where you've hit a wall 3.) The 'WTF' face people give you when you say think half marathons are fun. 4.) Hot guys/gals that run in the summertime 5.) Consisting learning that my limits are so much higher than I thought they were. Never in my life thought I'd break the 6:30 mile, let alone the 6 minute mile mark that I did last summer.

Yeah, that's the response I get, too. The minor ones I let go away on their own, but the really big ones that make it hard to walk get swabbed with alcohol and drained with a sterilized needle then bandaged.

Yep! In the same spot that the squat bar usually goes. I usually use dumb bells, but I like barbells better.

I've gotten much better about bread. For me, it's a once to twice a week thing for me now, but I did start making my own recently (mostly for my boyfriend). Now that I know exactly what goes into it, I feel a bit better about eating it.

Cool. I alternate between squat and deadlift days, so on dead days I'll do endurance-training lunges as well. Work them glutes and hamstrings!

Last night at the gym, I was dismayed to find the squat rack (which usually just gathers cobwebs) was actually in use by not one, but THREE people. Dismay turned to happiness because that meant people were using it (and not for bicep curls!), but it still meant I couldn't get my squats in. So, rather than give up on squats, I took a different approach: barbell walking lunges. Though I lifted less weight (50lbs instead of 145lbs), I did many more of them than I would have done otherwise. However, I'm finding I'm much more sore today than I would have been had I done squats. Is this just becuase I used different muscle groups, or just becuase I did more? Perhaps a combination? My question is this, though: for someone cross-training into long-distance running (training for a half marathon), should I lifting heavier with less reps, or lighter with more reps? If so, should I be focusing on something like squats that works on building more power, or something like lunges that use more range of motion?

If you're doing well on planks and side planks, I'd move on to hanging legs lifts. Alternatively, you can do squats/deadlifts and get your core worked out well that way, too. Hanging leg lifts are awesome in that they help build endurance and muscle for pullups, too. Was that a question about one-armed hangs? Wasn't sure due to the syntax. If you can't do a regular pushup, don't feel weak or weird about doing knee pushups! The point is that you're working on them to get better, and where you start is where you start. Looking forward to your progress!

Running for me has always been a bit of an addiction. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, so I had fields and fields to go running through, pretending they were the fields of the Shire (my parents read LOTR to me, so I come by it honestly). As I got older, it was something I did extra in highschool to pass the time while being active. I stopped after high school except intermittently, when I pulled myself out of the stupor or World of Warcraft. These days, I run because I love it. I don't have to talk to anyone, I don't have to think of anything; I just count my breaths, the miles, and watch the world aroudn me. For me, it's more than just an exercise source-- I fall into the cult-like type. Running is this bizarre moving meditation for me, and if I go to long without it, people start to notice. Here's to hoping my knees never give!

So, this is a bit of an open forum question. How do you guys eat? I've spent the last year or so exploring the way my body handles different dietary techniques. I've found that vegetarianism, while awesome for weight loss, wasn't what I could use to fuel myself for running without massive amounts of wheat. On the flip side, high-protein, low-carb (below 35-40% of daily intake) my energy levels start to lag, and workouts get continually worse as time goes on. I've been finding some good balance of working out 3-4 days a week (usually lifting 3 days and something fun the other day until it starts getting above 30F, then training for my half in May) with about 40-45% carbs and a mix of fats and proteins for the rest. My biggest issue is that I'm doing best to stay off processsed sugars and highly refined wheats. I've started making my own bread using unbleached, organic wheat, but still use it sparingly. What other sources of complex/good carbs can you recommend?

If you're 13 and working out, please tell me you aren't lifting weights yet. Or, if you are, that you're doing really low weights. Don't hurt yourself! In other news, I had my slice of humble pie when I got back into working out after years of sedentary lifestyle. I spend about 10 weeks doing a bodyweight program (squats, dips, and pushups), and then started lifting in the gym. As a kid growing up in the country, I used to climb trees all the time so here I am thinking, "Oh, hey, this'll be easy". Little did I know. I managed to get myself about halfway up, and then got stuck. Now, I should clarify: I'm not a big guy. I'm about 5'7" and (was) 135lbs. So, with a frame like that I thought it should be super easy to get back up and down. Well, it wasn't. I spent the next six weeks doing lots of inverted rows and deadlifts (which helped indirectly). At the end of six weeks, determined not to fail, I managed worked up the courage (and no one was around to see me) and hopped up to the bar, dropped down, and pull myself up. THREE TIMES. Best feeling ever, I'll fully admit. It's been a couple of months since then, and can do three sets of four, followed by a set of three (fifteen total). My goal by the end of 2012 is to do fifteen in a row. Let's go pullup people, raise yourselves high! For the Shire (I'm short, I can pull it off, right?)!

I'd say you probably pulled/overstretched a muscle, but likely an infrequently used one if it is only sore when you stretch that area. Either way, I'd highly recommend going to see a doctor in case you messed up a disk or tore some cartilage and taking some time off (at least until you see the doc) lifting.