sailsgoboom

Hello, I was doing a class at my gym that had a lot of variety in terms of strength-building exercises and workout structure (and a trainer that was proactive at correcting form/technique -- I learned a lot and feel like I have a great foundation in that regard), but now after 7 months it was cancelled, so now I've got to make my own workout plans lol... Since there won't be someone telling me what to do, I want to a) keep it simple within a single workout but b) have that same variety of different movements over time, so I figured I'd go with that thing where I pick one from each muscle-group category (Quad, Butt/Hamstring, Push, Pull, Core) to do several sets of for a workout. Is there a good resource that lists all the types of strength exercises across equipment (kettlebells, dumbbells, barbell, bodyweight, pull-up bar, etc) that organizes it by muscle-group category? I planned a variety of workouts that I could do, but I know I'll want to keep mixing it up for future weeks and would love easy inspiration! This seems like a basic thing that exists somewhere obvious I haven't come across, right?? Thank you!

Yeaaah... Doing supersets instead worked out really well! I cut it down to ~30 minutes. I do like that I can do them while watching a television episode, so that's good for sustainability, but I think I'll have to incorporate more engaging workouts every so often to switch it up. Joints are fine! A bit of a twinge in my knees, but not enough to keep me from climbing the stairs at work. I haven't got back to walking, so that's the next thing to add in. Good gosh, what an utterly weird experience, I hope it never happens again.

hmmm Now I remember why I stopped doing startbodyweight routine (other than that grad school beat me up)-- 1) it takes 45 minutes and I get impatient during the rests and 2) it seems overbalanced towards upper body (??). I did a second workout on Friday, except in circuits instead of intervals to allow for less rest. However, this will burn fat but not build strength as well according to startbodyweight.com? so now I'm thinking I'll do supersets with exercises working different muscle groups for better efficiency? Maybe once in a while I'll switch it up with YAYOG tabatas, especially if it means a short workout vs no workout. Also I'm adding in other leg exercises besides squats. 3 sets of each superset: straight bridges + squats assisted pullups + pike pushups or 3/4 pushups flat leg raises + side lunges or back lunges or weighted calf raises bent knee dip + let me ups w/ bent legs plank --eating veggies! hooray me --managed to clean everything up before and after weekend festivities, yay. I'm about halfway through Fates and Furies, on track for finishing by Sunday.

update Wednesday I did a startbodyweight workout, mostly on the first progressions in the series. I knew even if I started stupidly easy I was going to get some DOMS, but today is my next workout so I hope to move up to a more accurate level this time. It'll take some adjusting until I find out that allows me to progress at the slow pace the site suggests while still being challenging. 3 sets of 4 reps (increase by 1 rep each workout) Short Bridges (not from startbodyweight, but seems like a good addition for back strength)Deep Assisted (going to move up to standard or deep nonassisted once I trust my knees again)Leg Assisted Pullups (can't tell if this is too difficult or if it's because I don't trust my grip on the doorframe... wish my pullup bar would fit my apt.)Pike Pushups (I don't understand this exercise really? I go as deep as I can, and this is the 3rd progression, but it still feels easy. I think my form might be wrong but not sure how)Flat Bent Leg Raises (can probably move up to flat leg np)3/4 PushupBent Knee DipInverted Rows, Bent Legs (maybe I should do double sets of these instead of bothering with pull ups... both are pull exercises so yes?)Standard Plank (20 seconds but really difficult! Room to improve haha)--Still eating the veggies, whoop. I might look into a more difficult challenge next time-- lower fat? some paleo? cut out all processed foods? --I've been lax on tidying up and doing chores this week... I'm just tired and bored and I don't wanna??? lol. Also I've been watching Deep Space Nine instead of reading oooooooops no regrets hahahaha.

yeah idk??? according to the internet, reactive arthritis can result from infections in a several different systems, but respiratory system (or cold symptoms) is not listed, so that seems suspect to me... but I don't have a medical degree haha. I guess as long as it doesn't flare up again and keeps getting better I probably don't have anything to worry about. so bizarre! bodies are strange!!! I've tried out several different bodyweight strength programs (and trained for a half marathon twice), but I have a hard time keeping a consistent exercise routine for more than a couple months. idk I guess all I can do is keep trying. the writing style of Fates and Furies bothers me at times, but it was markedly more irritating in the first chapter. I'm getting used to the style now, and I think it probably is effective as the voice for the character. also-- Furies, not Furries... I really don't want to read about furries hahahaha.

The doctor's appointment went well-- they took a bunch of my blood and all the tests they ran came back negative. She said it was most likely reactive arthritis from a previous infection (like the nasty cold I had a week and a half before my joints started acting up).... which I didn't know was a thing that could happen??? Anyway, everything's feeling better than it did the previous two weeks, and this means it's not a chronic condition, so yay! EXERCISE IS GO, I want to keep this body healthy(er) as it's the only one I've got!!! The plan: 3x week strength exercises, 20+ minutes. YAYOG workouts or Steve's Beginner Bodyweight Circuit or StartBodyweight.com routines, etc. On off days, if I feel like it some yoga or walking or biking (if I ever get my bike fixed). My knees still worry me, so I'm going to avoid talking myself into running... Maybe in May when the pools open up I'll get a pass and do laps regularly, that'd be good.

Week 1 complete. -- plenty of veggies. I enjoy eating veggies and I don't find it difficult! However, this is a good challenge to have because I need the reminder, even if it's not hard. -- I may have been anaemic, so started taking a multivitamin. Back to normal sleep needs now! Slept plenty over the weekend, except for last night but Sunday nights are always difficult. Knees still sore, but the rest of my joints aren't bothering me anymore! I don't even know wtf. --I'm putting Moby Dick on hiatus so I can read my book club book "Fates and Furies". I'm not terribly impressed with the first several pages, but I should be able to finish it in the two weeks before we meet.

wednesday --salad mountain is so satisfying. I tend to forget how much I enjoy salads until I eat them, although I think it's appealing again because it's been in the 60s+ here (any colder and I only want to eat hot food.) --8 hours, still woke up tired?? ugh it's impossible to get to bed before 10:30pm even if I'm not really doing anything. hooray almost the weekend! --read more of graphic novel and finished an audiobook I've been working on for over a month (which lent a huge boost to my Habitica character! hah). then I didn't do any cleaning. ya win some ya lose some. concerning laundry hamper-- two possibilities: 1) it's within my apartment complex so maybe someone "borrowed" it because they forgot theirs back in their apartment... but in that case, why not bring it back right away? 2) it's a common hamper sold at the grocery store a block away, so maybe someone thought it was theirs by accident. but in that case, I would think they'd notice that they now have two and would bring it back. mystery!!!! I'm irritated because I *just* bought it.

Tuesday We started a quest to defeat a "Basi-list", ie a menancing basilisk to-do list, and it's been a great motivator to push myself to complete my dailies. I don't want to be responsible for affecting anyone else's health! We must defeat the monster! welcome to the party jkiley! :-D -- soup = 1 veg, salad mountain = 3 veg, +1 orange --slept 8.5 hours and woke up feeling like I needed 2+ more hours of sleep??? so confusing. gonna try an earlier bed time tonight I guess. took a hot bath last night (ugh my water bill) which was excellent. still stiff and weird, but it's more strange than terribly uncomfortable (although my knees are still useless) which is acceptable for now. --read most of a graphic novel (a nice break from the slow plodding of Moby Dick), did laundry (someone stole my empty hamper tho!!! wtf!!), tidied up. some mindless internet surfing, but overall a productive and enjoyable evening! I probably won't keep posting every day but it's nice for momentum in the beginning.

Monday lunch: homemade pizza w/ ~1 fresh tomato; dinner: salad mountain ~3 servings veggies slept 7.5 hours cleaned up stuff I wasn't able to on Sunday! checked off a couple todos. watched The West Wing instead of reading oops.

edit for Health: get enough sleep, 8 hours every night or more when still tired I got 8 hours of sleep last night, but now I'm sleepy/exhausted, and it feels different than a normal post-lunch slump. I didn't sleep enough Friday, but I did get plenty of sleep Thursday and Saturday, so I also don't really think it's a sleep debt thing (which definitely affects me). Thursday I ended up going home at noon, taking a 2 hour nap (then working from home) then sleeping 9 hours that night, because I felt similarly. I think sleep is a crucial key to taking care of myself in order to function during the day while I don't know what's going on with my body. So apparently I'm going to be using this challenge as a log for detailing health mysteries...

hahaha well no hard feelings at all if you don't keep commenting! god knows I'm not very consistent. but I do appreciate your comments!

Hey thanks for sharing your experiences and your advice! I appreciate it. Your challenge definitely sounds like a success. :-) I think I made progress in figuring out *how* to motivate myself, but not much progress in *actually* motivating myself. so that will be the next challenge! I couldn't tell before if it was pre-existing or if I was making connections that didn't exist, and I couldn't tell if I was stiff because I wasn't exercising enough or if I needed to rest??? I'm leaning towards pre-existing and need to rest now, so we'll see. haha this whole thing is confusing and searching medical questions on the internet sows more paranoia than help lol. Bodies are so strange!!!

continuing my last challenge and incorporating what I learned last time: Overall: Advance my character on Habitica! Don't die, complete dailies, don't leave todos for too long, gain levels, hatch eggs, etc. If you are on Habitica and want to create a party, my user id is: 971dcddd-7ddc-40a4-aef8-4a4787e08d46 I'm especially focusing on these dailies: Food: Eat 3 generous helpings of veggies/fruits every day. Life: Spend some time tidying up every day (~20min). Finish Moby Dick. Health: Take care of my joints-- rest, stretch, brace, hot baths-- then when I go to the doctor's on Feb 9th I can adjust this goal to what they say I need to do. This could be to continue resting, to adjust diet/movement habits, to take medicine... we'll see.

Helloooo-- I can't figure out how to search for parties using only the group id, but I think you can add me if you have my user id? 971dcddd-7ddc-40a4-aef8-4a4787e08d46 However, currently I don't know if I'll be much use for quests or battling monsters or whatever parties do. This weekend I checked myself into the tavern, because the joint pain thing keeps coming and going, so it's hard to be consistent with dailies or checking off my todo list. It's hard to get up the will power to make myself do things, when a good portion of my planning brain is occupied with figuring out how to make my joints feel better. I thought maybe I was exaggerating the joint stiffness/pain from the prior weekend, or that it had temporary causes I paranoid-ly connected with past minor joint issues, but this weekend it flared up again. Sunday it was so bad that my only accomplishments involved taking a hot bath, standing up long enough to make lunch/dinner, and cleaning up a few dishes-- and that small amount of standing up was difficult/tiring enough for me to give myself a pass on doing literally anything else besides couch potato-ing for the entire day. However this morning, while still stiff and my knee definitely needs the brace, I'm doing way better... so I have no idea what's going on. Doctor's appt next Wednesday can't come soon enough. (I did go to the Minute Clinic, and they were only able to tell me I needed to get tests done at an actual doctor's office and in the mean time to take ibuprofen and rest my knee.) In any case, this "challenge" is done. It was kind of weird all the way through, so I don't know if I allow myself to level up or not??? I am going to give myself +2 DEX for posting each week and for demonstrating flexibility in changing my tactics in laying a foundation to build good habits. I haven't built those good habits yet, but I think once I figure out this joint pain stuff Habitica will set me up to be successful in the next challenge.