HeroicRower

My neighbors have had an unexpectedly bountiful harvest of zucchini and summer squash, and, because they have left town, and will be gone for a while, they've given just about everything to us. So now my family is in possession of a TON of of zucchini and summer squash (think a basket so large we need two people to carry it), and we don't want to waste it. There's always the zucchini bread staple and we love to make our paleo-zucchini pasta. We're also planning on grilling some when we do our 4th of July weekend grilling tomorrow. HOWEVER, that still leaves us with far too much zucchini/summer squash. So I am asking the wonderful and talented people on this forum for some recipes, preferably paleo-ish/healthy that we can use for all these veggies. Even just some general ideas would be great, since aside for paleo spaghetti/zucchini bread, I'm basically lost. Thank you in advance - oh, and hope you all have a fantastic 4th of July!

Hey guys, I take progress pics only very irregularly, but I took one yesterday, and after comparing it to my first photo, I thought I would share . Sometimes it's hard for me to see my progress from day to day, and even from photo to photo, but after looking at these two photos (the first one in November, about a month after I found NF and started eating paleo, the second only yesterday), I realized that I really have changed a bit, on the inside as well. These changes are basically all thanks to NF, Steve, and Staci, who are pretty much my new heroes . Without them I never would have started eating healthy, weightlifting, or have discovered my new passion (rugby!!). Of course, my journey is far from over, and there are still so many things for me to accomplish, but when I set out to lose some weight and 'get toned' (before I knew what I was doing ), I don't think I could have imagined ending up here. I'm in a rush now, but I'd like to add some more details later about what I've been doing specifically. Btw, sorry for the frowny face!

Thanks guys! I watched both videos, and yesterday instead of doing my normal 5x5 for squats, I just worked on form, both with bodyweight, and with the light bar (the one that weighs hardly anything). After making a concentrated effort to fix the issues mentioned above, I found out a few things: -I am very inflexible. I always knew this, but I never realized it was something that was affecting my squats, because -When I focused on opening my hips, it was practically impossible for me to go down past parallel. My hip flexors did NOT want to flex. I also noticed that when I squatted this way, my back became rounded and I developed butt wink, I think as a result of my complete inflexibility in my hips (and to a lesser extent, my ankles). To be honest, now that I'm thinking back, this was a problem that I encountered when I started squatting, and I think instead of realizing that this was an issue to fix, I thought I was squatting wrong, so I adjusted my form...which led me to the way I was squatting in my video. -I tried to increase my stability, but found that when I tried the low bar position, it was very, very hard for me to remain balanced and stable. This issue was compounded by the hip stiffness I mentioned above. I took a couple videos of myself doing bodyweight squats and squats with the little bar, if you like I could post those as well. So right now, I think the main thing that will help me fix my form is to become more flexible, particularly in the hips. I think I'm going to add some exercises into my warmup before I squat that focus on hip/ankle flexibility. I'm also going to keep practicing bodyweight/low bar squats separate from my stronglifts program, to work on form. On this, I have a couple questions: -Is it okay for me to continue to squat as part of stronglifts, while making an active effort to improve me form, and without moving up in weight, or moving up very slowly? I've been adding 1kg each workout, should I keep doing this, or stop until my form is perfect? -Does it seem like I'm on the right track in terms of fixing my problems? I didn't realize hip flexibility was such an issue, until I realized how stiff I was, and I read a few articles about it. Is there anything else I can do to improve this, or to improve my flexibility in general? Would yoga help for something like this? I hope it's not too much trouble that I keep adding onto this thread with more and more questions. I just really want to get this right Also, I think this is the right place for this thread, but if there's a better place for my continuing questions, please tell me!

Thanks guys! From reading through your comments, I've figured that tomorrow when I go into the gym I'll start with a longer warm up for squats (bodyweight, with just the bar, etc), and work on: - Improving my stability/no wriggling -Not drifting forward -Definitely going to try and switch to a low bar squat. After seeing the comments about the height of the bar on my back, I rewatched the video and yikes! It is really high. However, I feel like if I go any lower it's going to roll off my back, or I'll have trouble keeping it on. Does anybody have any tips for this particular issue? I'll report back tomorrow with how it goes...or I may end up simply starting a battle log, since I have so many questions and I can see myself posting a lot more in the future

For those of you that are interested, I posted a form check video in this thread: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/64300-squat-form-check/ Thanks for the replies

I mentioned in a previous thread in the powerlifting forum (the one about the trainer correcting me), that I would try and get a form check video, and I actually ended up taking one today. I kind of surprised myself, to be honest, because I'm rather shy about that kind of stuff, and there were a lot of people in the gym...but it was a spur of the moment thing This is me squatting with 28kg, for 5 reps. My last set of the day so I was a bit tired. I thought the first three reps were fairly solid, but then on my fourth rep I almost fail, and you can see me pitch forward, which is something I've been trying to fix. And then, I think as a result of my bad 4th rep, I don't go down far enough on the last rep. There's also some general stability issues I think, but not as bad as I used to have (at least I think so). Honestly, I don't know what it is, but I'm always moving or wriggling or something. Anyway, please tell me what you think, and point out any issues my newbie eyes have missed. And of course, thanks for all the help Link: http://youtu.be/SBgxMVd9a28

I think if you want to do weights you should either make that a separate work out (instead of cardio at the gym), or at least do your weights before cardio. Cardio tires you out, and this can be dangerous when you're lifting weights, especially as they get heavier. I just started Stronglifts a few weeks ago, and other than rugby practice 1-2 times a week and maybe 1 sprint session, that's all I do in terms of working out. I found that after my weightlifting sessions, I'm dead tired, and I need time to recover. So if your goals are to start weightlifting, then I would (mostly) cut out the cardio at the gym and just focus on lifting weights and getting stronger, following a good beginner's program. However, if your goal is to increase your endurance and aerobic capacity for roller derby, then I would say stick with the cardio, and focus on a mixture of short, all-out sprint sessions, and then some endurance - maybe not on the same day though? In the end, it all depends on what you're training for. I'd say that if you want to get strong and lift weights, your main focus should be on weights, but if you want to increase your endurance/aerobic ability, focus on cardio. I think that if you tried to do both at once, your performance will suffer, and one will end up being neglected. Also, you'll probably feel tired all the time (that's how I felt, when I was doing something similar). Of course, this is just my experience, and I'm a relative newbie, so if anybody wants to add something/correct me, feel free

Wow thank you guys for the videos and the advice! I looked at the videos you all posted, as well as the ones on the Nerd Fitness Academy just to doublecheck that what I was indeed doing was a low bar squat (which was my intention in the first place, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't confusing my squats). I think I'm going to continue with how I was squatting before the personal trainer corrected me, while still focusing on fixing my form, and watching videos/reading articles to make sure I am on the right track. I'll also try to maybe film myself next week (I'm rather shy, so maybe on one of the days when I work out at like 6 am and the place is deserted...), and then post it on here to get some feedback. Thanks again!

Since I jumped into weightlifting about 5-6 months ago, I started very lightly with dumbbells and worked my way up, to the point that I'm using the barbell for all my lifts. When I was squatting with a dumbbell (eventually up to 20kg), I wasn't using proper form (though it took me a while to realize - years of bad bodyweight squat instruction!), but a few weeks ago I switched to Stronglifts 5x5, and made a concentrated effort to perfect my form for all my lifts, particularly the squat. Prior to Stronglifts, when I was squatting with a dumbbell, after each workout sets my knees would be achey, which I think was due to these issues: -not tracking knees along toes -not sitting back enough, and not opening up my hips (I was pointing my knees straight out in front of me) -as a result, there was caving of my knees With Stronglifts, I've tried to fix these issues, and I've made a point to track my knees along my toes, sit back and down, make sure I'm going all the way down, and open up my hips/knees. I'm still working on some other issues, such as instability in general and dropping my chest, but since I've made these changes, squats feel so much better (I used to find the movement extremely uncomfortable and unnatural), and my knees have completely stopped bothering me. So I thought I was doing them correctly, or at least better. Until TODAY...*cue ominous music*... One of the trainers was watching me, and after one of my sets, came over to talk to me. He's an older guy, maybe in his 50s, and I'd seen him around with clients. Anyway, he told me that my squat form was very bad, and totally wrong. There was a bit of a language barrier (I'm from the US, but living outside the country), but what he basically seemed to be telling me was that my chest was too low (which was definitely true...its something I've been trying to fix), and that I should keep my chest up, not widen my knees so much, and sit back...it's hard to describe what he was telling me, but what he demonstrated was basically a power curtsy - the way he showed me, I should keep my back very straight, almost vertical, and sit down, but not very far back, and nowhere near past my knees (though he didn't say anything about whether I should go below my knees or not). The movement he showed me had a very limited ROM, and when I tried it (he set me up squatting down to a box that was rather high, close to my mid-thigh), it felt very uncomfortable, and I could feel myself putting pressure on my knees the way I used to when I used dumbbells, which I think was what caused me injury. So now, I'm very confused. I thought I was doing squats right, and at my gym, when I see people squatting, almost all of them are doing power curtsies, and putting a lot of the stress on their knees, or at least that's what it looks like to me (granted, I'm fairly new to this, and I've been mainly going off Stronglifts and Nerdfitness.). The way I've been doing them feels right, but of course when I used to do squats the wrong way, I thought those were 'right' as well. Also, the other day when I was doing OHP, a different trainer came up to me and showed me how to do it a different way, which I KNOW was wrong (he wanted me to do a push-press, and start with the bar behind my head). So I'm fairly skeptical, but then again, he IS a personal trainer...and I'm pretty new to weightlifting. I'm just completely confused, because if my form is bad I want to fix it, but on the other hand, I'm rather skeptical of the trainers here. I know the best thing to do would be to post a video for form check, so maybe I'll try to make one next week, but for now, could you guys tell me what you think? Does what he's saying sound correct to you? I'd really appreciate the feedback!

I've never heard of this, but it sounds interesting - I will definitely check it out!

Hi, it looks like I'm jumping into this thread pretty late, but I'm so glad that there's an LGBTQA space on here I'm an 18 year old lesbian/nerd/student studying in Tel Aviv - which, apparently, is one of the biggest gay cities in the world, although I still have yet to find a date to echo one of the posters above, going on a date seems like a really good goal for 2015. I mean, I've been out for a few years, I feel like at this point the big thing that's stopping me is my own fear. Also, I was reading some of the conversation about local LGBT meetups, and I wanted to add that I joined my city's rugby team a few weeks ago, and let me just say that everybody on rugby is gay. Seriously. Everybody. Well, not all, but I would estimate 50-70%. (Unfortunately, the cute rugby player who convinced me to join was one of the few not gay members...) but it's still a great change of pace to be surrounded by similar people, when usually it's the opposite. Of course, this is my experience in women's rugby, but I've heard similar things about the men's team. It appears rugby is a gathering ground for non-cis/hetero people - who knew?

To be honest, I think I would give it another week/a couple more classes and see how you feel - as in, do you feel your performance is consistently weaker? Because if it's just one class, or even two, it could be a bad day, you didn't get enough sleep, etc etc. Sometimes I'll have a bad workout day for no reason at all - I'm just not feeling it. So I suppose my advice would be to wait maybe a week, and if your problems continue, you could look at adjusting your goals. For me personally, I tend to get impatient when I don't see results, and I have to force myself to be patient, when I'm not seeing consistent, continuous gains, whether in weightlifting, running, losing weight, muscle definition, or anything else. So for myself, whenever I get frustrated and have the urge to try a different way, I make myself do the same routine for another week or so, and see if I'm still having the same issues - only then will I let myself try and find a different solution.

I'm a little late to this topic, but I wanted to say that it's really inspiring to read about what you're doing! I'm coming from a similar mental place, where I've always been conditioned to eat at a deficit and count calories, and even though now I know that's not the healthiest way to do things, it's really hard to let go of that mindset. Right now I'm eating all paleo but with a deficit for fat loss, and I'm focusing on weightlifting as well, but I know that once I meet my fat loss girls I will need to up my calories to make gains, and the thought is a little...scary. Still, it's really cool to see you doing this, and having success with it - it makes me way less afraid for when the time comes. Good luck with your muscle gains, and your mental gains (breaking bad mental habits FTW)!

I'm with you on the vegetables front! I used to hate all veggies on sight, but since I've been eating more I realized that I really just didn't give them a chance. Also, your motivation is amazing! Captain America is basically my role model

I think all your motivation points are great, especially the part about being a good example for your kids! Yep, paleo is definitely a great way to go, I'm five weeks in so far and really enjoying it. Good luck with your challenge!

Hi everybody! I've been lurking for a little bit, and now that I've joined I'm excited to jump into a challenge and work to improve my health and fitness. A little bit about me: I'm female, 18 years old, originally from the US but currently studying in Israel. In my early teens I was overweight, but about 4-5 years ago I decided to get in shape. However, I didn't really know that much about fitness, so like a typical beginner I totally ignored the eat-healthier part and jumped right into cardio - namely running and rowing. I did lose most of the weight, but my original goal when I started out was to be fit, muscular, and have the kind of body that I wouldn't be scared of showing off in a bikini. Now I've decided that it's time to stop messing around, and time to start getting down to business! My Main Quest: To lose all extra fat, and gain muscle in order to achieve the muscular/toned look I want in time for my mom to visit me on January 15th, by working out the right way and eating healthy. Beyond this, I want to get serious about weightlifting, and learn some kind of self-defense skill. My Quest for this 6 weeks: Lose excess body fat by eating all-paleo at a calorie deficit, lifting weights, and doing cardio that I enjoy. I've been doing paleo for the past five weeks, but only in the past week or so have I gotten serious about cutting out all non paleo foods. Side Quest #1: Work out at least 5-6 days a week, including at least 3 days of weightlifting. A - Work out 5-6 days or more a week, with three days weightlifting B - Work out 4 days a week, or 5 days with <3 days of weightlifting C - Work out 3 Days a week D - Work out 2 days a week F - Work out 0-1 days a week Side Quest #2: Eat <1700 paleo calories a day A - Less than 1700 calories, all paleo, B - Less than 1700 calories, all paleo, C - Less than 1700 calories, all paleo, D - Less than 1700 calories, not all paleo F - Over 1700 calories, not all paleo Side Quest #3: Limit fruit, and learn to like vegetables more A - 3 or less pieces of fruit a day, all meals have veggies B - 4 or more pieces of fruit a day, 3/3 meals have veggies C - Only 2/3 meals have veggies D - Only 1/3 meals have veggies F - 0 meals have veggies Life Quest: As part of living in Israel, I am learning to speak Hebrew, and I have a Hebrew class 4 days a week. I have always been bad at languages, but I am desperate to learn so that I can actually hold conversations. I'm also a chronic procrastinator/slacker, so my goal this six weeks is to study Hebrew outside of class (not including homework) for at least 15 minutes every day. Motivation: For a while now, I've just been "good enough" for myself. I've been in "good enough" shape, eating "good enough", and so on. I don't just want to be in good shape - I want to be in amazing shape! I want to be able to do anything I want without being limited by my body or my mental attitude. Here's to the next six weeks!

I rowed for two years in high school on the water, and really enjoyed it. Now I'm in university though, so I'm not able to go out on the water (though there is a rowing center nearby that I might check out). To be honest I have a long-held dislike of erging (my coach used to make us run three miles, then do 2k's every day of winter conditioning - for time!). However reading all the enthusiasm on here is starting to convince me to try the erg out again, maybe as a supplement to my cardio.

It wasn't quite what I wanted in terms of fighting/self-defense, but it was a very good aerobic workout - I was drenched in sweat by the end! There's a taekwondo class for beginners that I'm going to check out on Thursday, but I think I may keep doing the kickboxing class once or twice a week, because it was way more fun than I expected it to be.

Hi all, First of all, I hope this is in the right section. I'm going to go to my first kickboxing class in an hour or so, and I was wondering what I should expect? I'm a complete newbie to any kind of martial arts or fighting styles at all, so is it normal to teach new people how to punch/kick properly first? Or will the class just go right into it? I'm hoping to get a good workout while learning some proper fighting techniques/self defense, so I'm hoping that this will be the right choice for me. I'm a little afraid it will be too 'dancey', and not very focused on the kicking/boxing part :/ What do you guys think? And thanks in advance for the help!