Newmanlikepaul

Thanks! And yeah that looks about right, except she seems to be missing the ripping sensation on the back leg and she has a groovy cameraman. I think the obscenely tight hip flexors may be the key to less pain.

Ah! You are a genius. I forgot about that evil stretch. I haven't done it in years because every time I do it I almost throw up. It's the most god awful nausea inducing thing on the planet, which most likely means it's where the problem lies. Great. I appear to have a choice between stabby and pukey in my range of movement. Nowhere to go but up.

All good points. Thanks. I think I may need to increase the range of motion in my hip flexors. Maybe hit some restorative yoga this week. I always workout in front of a mirror, which totally helps to keep my form. I think my quads are just my lower body's weakest link and I'll need to give them some extra love. It seems like I've actually strained/slightly torn my quads (right one worse than left) and I need to take a bit of time to let them heal. I'm going to take them out of rotation for the rest of the week, back off of the added weight on the squats, and do some ice and heat. Next week I'll re-evaluate It's frustrating to feel like I'm losing momentum. I keep telling myself this is a marathon not a sprint. I'm someone who has taken off and put on the same 25 lbs my whole life, because of unsustainable all-or-nothing diet and exercise plans. I'm determined to change that pattern into something sustainable! Dammit! I'm also not used to living in a middle-aged body. This years's Bday made me "the answer to life the universe and everything" and my forties are a whole new experience in being in my own skin. (Oh and I see you're May 29th. I'm May 26th! Geminis are pretty much the best.) hehehehe

Good idea. Right now I'm icing them. I think it's a strain. Once it's feeling better I'll shoot a video. I'm thinking it's probably a muscle imbalance. I hike abt 10-15 miles a week in the mountains here in LA, which is generally like 1500 feet gain in elevation in the first 30 min or so, and I have for about 15 years. I think I may have developed my hamstrings and glutes at the expense of my quads.

My quads on the back leg feel like they're going to tear right off my legs in lunges...am I the only one?! The only way to make it tolerable is to go super slow and put a hand on something for balance. Otherwise it's just sharp pain straight through the quad.

Ok so I posted this in the newbie forum, but I'm putting it here too. Any help is appreciated. Why are lunges so obscenely painful?! I'm on my second week of the beginner body weight challenge. On the suggestion of someone else on the board, I swapped my dreaded push-ups for wall push ups and that's way better. I added 5 more push-ups this week. The plank is going well, added another 5 sec. Added a 10 pound weight to my squats, upped my rows from 15 lbs to 20...and lunges are excruciating. If I do them extremely slowly with my hand on something for balance I don't feel lke my quad is going to rip off of my back leg. If I try to do them normally I'm in pain, like sharp pain. Anyone else experience this? Could it be because my glutes and hamstrings are more developed than my quads? That's all I can think of. I hike about 10-15 miles a week in the mountains around LA and I have for about 15 years. Anyone? Thoughts? This S$%&T is painful.

Why are lunges so obscenely painful?! I'm on my second week of the beginner body weight challenge. On the suggestion of someone else on the board, I swapped my dreaded push-ups for wall push ups and that's way better. I added 5 more push-ups this week. The plank is going well, added another 5 sec. Added a 10 pound weight to my squats, upped my rows from 15 lbs to 20...and lunges are excruciating. If I do them extremely slowly with my hand on something for balance I don't feel lke my quad is going to rip off of my back leg. If I try to do them normally I'm in pain, like sharp pain. Anyone else experience this? Could it be because my glutes and hamstrings are more developed than my quads? That's all I can think of. I hike about 10-15 miles a week in the mountains around LA and I have for about 15 years. Anyone? Thoughts? This S$%&T is painful.

Thanks. It did. Did the Hollywoodland stairs with a gf this moring. It's so great. It's like 800 stairs and a lovely hike around the reservoir. http://xplorela.com/2013/06/05/the-hollywoodland-historic-stairs/ And rotisserie chicken is the tastiest, easiest thing in the world. It really should be available everywhere.

Red wine vinegar and the sun dried tomatoes are awesome in gazpacho. I've also done it with strawberries or watermelon. It's tasty. Ooh and if you eat beets, I do an amazing easy vegetarian borscht! But, most people aren't into beets. I must have coffee or I'm evil. I'm right there with you on the coffee. And a quick easy breakfast is always my goal. Have you ever done overnight oats? Easiest thing ever. I do 2 cups of rolled oats, 2 cups of non-dairy milk (like almond), berries, bananas, chopped nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, maybe a touch of maple syrup, maybe some protein powder, whatever sounds good to you in oatmeal. Mix it up in a container big enough to hold it all that has a lid, snap the lid on, stick it in the fridge and you have killer cold cereal for pretty much the whole week that's not super processed. You could probably nuke it too, but I never do. If you want to bump up the protein throw in some Greek yogurt when you get ready to eat it. I also do smoothie packs in the freezer with 1/2 cup frozen broccoli florettes or spinach, (I swear you don't know there's broccoli in there when it's cold and blended.) 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1/2 cup frozen ripe banana then chuck them in the blender with non-dairy milk, water, and protein powder. I top it with flax seeds, chia, and/or cocoa nibs for crunch. If you want to put the time in you can also do a veggie frittatta on Sunday. Stick it in the fridge in a covered container and just cut a chunk out in the morning. It makes a great quick dinner too. There's a million recipes online. I try to do lots of different colored veggies in mine, red and yellow peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, stuff like that. You can eat it cold or nuke it. I think my brain's done for now!

It's never too late. Screw the "rules". Just finished my first week of body weight challenge and I can already see gains! F%^&^K Yeah!! They're small, but they're progress and I'm stoked. Today's workout, number 3, I made it to 20 in my lunges all three times. The other two times I've crapped out around 15 as the sets wore on. I held the 15 sec plank way easier than I did on Monday and I'm not nearly as sore as I was. I also think the 15 lb kettlebell I've been using for the rows is too light. I plan on strapping my ankle weights to the handle next week to add 5 lbs. No point in getting a heavier weight when I hope to leave that one behind in a week as well! I'm happy and excited. I want to get to the point where I can start to lift heavy things.

Hiya! Agreed. It is a great journey. I'm aiming for consistency. That's my achilles heel. I love your picture! I did silks years ago and loved it. I was never very good at it, but it was so fun. Up until about a year ago I was also doing aerial yoga. It's such an awesome feeling. And I'm a very light meat eater. I've alternated between being vegetarian and treating meat like a garnish for about twenty years. It's just not really in my nature to be a big meat eater. Never has been. I'm way more likely to eat fish than anything, and even that is sparingly. I hadn't thought abt the Greek yogurt. That's smart. Particularly as I'm trying to up my fats as well. I do hemp protein powder from Trader Joe's, but it's way lower in protein than whey, like 9 grams per serving. I think it would make sense to make a change. I also think I probably eat too much soy. I'm a big tofu, soy milk person and I'm not so sure that's always the best choice. I had a nutritionist recommend seitan, but I've kind of shied away from it since it's wheat. Thoughts?

F*(&*K Yeah on the handstands!! Always good to get a different perspective on life. For meal planning I'd say make a big serving of something awesome early in the week and portion it out. Since all of the amazing summer veggies are in the stores I've been making gazpacho in my food processor. (You can do it in a blender too.) Easiest thing ever; tomatoes, peppers, onion, whatever you like. (There are a million recipes online.) Puree it all, add a bit of salt, red wine vinegar, cayenne, etc. play with it until you like it. (Sundried tomatoes give it a really good boost.) Pour it into individual servings and you have a huge helping of vegetables to take to work for lunch. Pair it with some chicken breast (rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is easy) or baked tofu and you're golden. I have more food hacks if you're interested. I'm a former caterer and a huge vegetable eater. Keep us up to date on life upside down. Handstands have always been one of my favorite things,

Yup. I'm totally an egg eater. I also throw frozen broccoli into smoothies to get the extra protein and calcium in it along with all of its other goodies. (Doesn't taste like broccoli at all when it's cold and mashed up with fruit and stuff.) And the scale is crazy making. Last thing I need is more crazy. And thanks! How are things going for you? What's your push-up challenge? How exciting! I wanna be able to do a push-up challenge one of these days.

Feowyn - I read that on a blog earlier and I think I'm gonna try it tomorrow morning. If I start off doing pushups against the wall I feel like I may be more likely to keep my form rather than developing bad habits. And so far so good! 2 body weight workouts down and one set of intervals. The struggle is to stay away from the scale. I took my measurements when I started and I want to take them again in a month. No weighing. It stresses me out. I'm also not much of a meat eater. I never have been. So any good protein recommendations are always welcome. Thanks for the support along the way. I'm really digging this.