powerpc127

Hey guys! I'm not having a serious upset in my goals, but I've missed two days of exercise due to a bit of pain and I don't like it. I didn't know where best to ask these questions, but I figure this would be a good place to start. I'm experiencing two types of pain: First, I've started running fairly recently and I pushed myself probably a bit too hard 3 days ago. Since then I've had mild hamstring pain that feels sharper than just soreness, mainly when I walk for a long time or whenever I run. Has anyone else experienced this and have any advice to speed up recovery? Otherwise, does anyone have a good cardio replacement that won't stress my legs? (If it matters, I run on cement though I do have good running shoes.) The other upset is that I seem to be pinching a nerve in one of my wrists. I attempted a core workout today, but I couldn't hold a push up position through the pain. I decided to do yoga instead, but I'd really like to get back into my workout routine asap and these little problems are throwing a huge wrench in my plans. I bought a lot of calcium and protein rich foods today, but I'd like to do more (stretches, yoga, habit breaking, etc.). Any advice would be excellent as I try to work through these issues. Thanks everybody!

Week 2 recap: It's been an interesting week. I went out for drinks Tuesday and couldn't help but break my beer tally (it was busy and I didn't want to annoy the bartender with cocktail orders). That said, the other 6 days my diet was excellent. I also had to cut a run very short today because I was too sore. I got sore, however, by going on my best run in years, exactly 3 miles, just two days ago. I've also learned in this week that simply doing the same workout day after day will only target certain muscles, leaving others surprisingly weak. For example, I found out that I can barely do two close grip pushups (triangle pushups, I've always called them) even though I can do thirty regular ones with no problems. Likewise, being a long time cyclist does not mean I have strong enough hamstrings to run like I used to, which is why my run was so short today. Moving forward, I'll endeavor to find exercises that I haven't done before and incorporate them into my workouts as often as I can. Finally, one positive that I can take away from these minor setbacks is that I'm actually upset that I didn't get a good run in today. While my body is thanking me for the day off, I'm mentally not enjoying the rest at all. Instead, I'm eager to get back out there as soon as possible so I can continue crushing this challenge. I almost feel bad putting a mark on my weekly cardio checklist because I couldn't even make it a mile today. Ultimately, I still have that drive to do better and never settle, even if I didn't get the work in today that I was hoping for, and I really like that.

I've certainly been there. I remember at one point last Summer I almost bought my mom a mini fridge to keep beer in so I wouldn't have to look at them. I've been keeping a food journal for this challenge, and I keep it pinned up next to the snack/dessert cupboard. Every time I habitually reach for a quick snack, I see that journal and think about having to write my bad choices down. It's definitely saved me from myself quite a few times. Edit: I just saw your daily food log instagram, so I guess you're a step ahead of me. Still, keeping my journal next to my snacks has helped me a lot.

Go for it! A little oil (any kind) and a pinch of salt makes just about any vegetable excellent when it's grilled. So I've been reading up on all of this running advice to prepare myself for this 5k. Things like what pace to set, how to carbo-load, stretches to do before and after a race, and then I actually looked up the conversion from kilometers to miles... I always confuse which one is shorter, but I remembered the ratio, so I thought a 5k would be about 8 miles. Nope! It's just over 3 miles. Whoops. Well, the good news is that I did a 2 mile run last week, so I'm thinking hitting 3 in September will be absolutely doable.

I feel bad only just finding this thread, but I have to thank you for introducing me to darebee's site. I think I'll start using a few of their workouts. I also like how dedicated you are to your daily battle logs. I know how hard they can be to keep, but it seems like you're rocking it. Congratulations on the birth of mini-madness and welcome back to the (Arkham?) Asylum. Good luck with the rest of the challenge!

Thanks very much, durfette. Loved your goals as well, so I'm glad you're on board. For a condensed version of the Blues Brothers reference by the way, just know that they were on a mission from God to get their band back together and then google 'Blues Brothers 106 miles.' That's about it. Week 1 recap: I have accomplished every goal this week, and I'm itching to keep it up. I cheated a little on Saturday when I made a few grilled pizzas, but everything was homemade and I grilled a ton of veggies as well (broccoli, asparagus, green pepper, and sweet potato). Other than the cheese and bread that day, diet has been going great. A little white wine has been a great replacement for beer lately, and grilling has kept my fridge stocked with leftover vegetables. I had a pretty big victory (for me) on Thursday by bouncing back after missing a workout. I forgot that I had a board meeting to attend on Wednesday night, and therefore didn't get a workout in. I squeezed it in first thing on Thursday morning, and just moved my exercise schedule back a day and still managed to keep up. It was a nice feeling, and I still got a day off yesterday. I'm adding a new life goal to the list as well: do a backflip. I used to do gymnastics as a kid until a car accident left me with a broken leg. I never really got back to it when I was healthy, but I've always wanted to be able to do a backflip. I was googling some body weight exercises recently and came across videos of people learning how to do one, and that totally reignited my spark. It will also be a good excuse for me to get hooked up with a gymnastics gym and instructor, which I think would be awesome. This is getting rambly, so I'll end it here. Long story short, things are going well and are gonna get better.

I've hovered my pointer over the 'send' button so many times while reading and re-reading my posts here, but I love throwing caution to the wind and just speaking my mind every once in a while. It's liberating, but I know it takes courage, so bravo! Further kudos for having a wonderful message to share. It seems you are getting in shape for all of the right reasons, so there's nothing to be ashamed of here. I only just found this thread, but I can relate to how hard a baby steps approach can be. The all-or-nothing strategy used to be great for meeting my short term goals, but it never set me up for long term success with fitness. It's reassuring to know that other people are adopting a baby step approach as well. Glad to have you aboard, and here's to your continued success!

I'm not a spiritual person, but I have seen Blues Brothers enough times to know divine intervention when I see it. Today, a notice was posted at the entrance to my building to tell me that the neighborhood needs to vote soon to allow a nearby high school to host a 5k in September. Well I'm gonna make sure they host that 5k, because as of today I'm on a mission from God to run that thing. I have 106 miles of training to do, a full stomach of fruits and vegetables, a half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and I'm wearing sunglasses. Hit it. (And in case you haven't seen Blues Brothers, I do not actually have cigarettes, nor am I wearing sunglasses, but you should watch Blues Brothers).

Update time: So far week 1 is going well. The food journal is very helpful. I've noticed myself a few times picking up a chocolate bar or some chips and putting it down because I thought about writing it in my journal. It's not even that anyone reads it (including myself), but the five seconds it takes to write it down always makes me feel guilty. I also have a white board with a little grid on it representing the days I need to work out and I've been slowly crossing them out. Diet is going well, exercise is going well, and I'm feeling good overall. One road bump I've hit though is that I feel like I'm not losing weight sometimes. I think I need to stop getting hung up on my reflection and remember that I'm in this for the long haul, but it sure isn't easy. Sometimes I look in the mirror and feel just as out of shape as I was a few months ago, but whenever I work out I always notice how much I've improved since I started. I'll get to where I want to be, but the only way to get there is to keep working on it.

I'm doing a body weight circuit workout slightly based on the one provided by the site. 20 squats 10+ push ups 5 lunges per side (might start doing back lunges because these are getting easy) leg lift for as long as I can 10 bench dips or 5 assisted pull ups, depending on where I work out plank for as long as I can 30 jumping jacks Run it three times total It's in a constant state of flux, though. And yeah, I have been relishing this beer for the last few days of the zero week. I have a birthday party to attend on Saturday, and I want to be hungover well into the regular week so I just don't even think about beer.

"Bike to the McDonald's and back 2x a week." NOOOOO!!! That is the opposite of healthy. "Don't worry, I won't actually go into the McDonald's. Gross." Phew... Good call. Seems like you have a good plan. 8 lbs seems like a reasonable goal. Good luck!

I'm going to treat this week as a trial run for my diet, so this one won't factor into grading but it will help me set up a routine. I've started a food journal, and it's helped me realize just how much (and sometimes how little) I eat. Every time I eat a vegetable or fruit serving, I'll put a number next to it to represent how many servings I've had so far that day, and at the bottom of the page I'm going to put a big ol' checkmark once I eat 5 servings. I'm using a little pocket notepad that I've clipped to the fridge so it'll be easy to track.

It's always funny for me to hear about someone who is trying to actually gain weight. I'd say just eat like I did for the last few years and you'll gain weight in no time. You'd also probably get fat and miserable, though. Your English is also quite good. I don't know how well you can speak in English, but your writing is excellent. Keep it up!

Yesterday was my final cheat day for 5 weeks. One large pizza, 2 liters of coke, and 5 beers later, I am completely ready to swear off junk food. As you can probably tell, the theme for this challenge is to adopt a healthier diet for 5 weeks. Since it is also my second challenge of the year, I have gained some insight into my exercise habits and how to improve them too. Essentially, I need to improve my diet, tighten up my workout schedule, and monitor as much of this as possible. Without further ado, here are my goals: One With Nature - Eat 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily. The season is right for this to be easy, and one of my homemade protein smoothies will provide 3 of those servings. If I eat one of those every day and make myself snack on fruits and veggies when I get hungry, it should be enough to complete this. Grading: Drop one letter grade for every week that I don't do this (one off-day per week allowed). Seal the Gates! - Reduce carbs, sweets, and empty calories. I need to raise my defense stat a little when it comes to eating. This was my biggest weakness for my last challenge, so it will be the most monitored goal for this one. I'm also going to go a little easier on myself this time around (baby steps). Basically I have to say goodbye (sigh) to... pasta, beer, refined sugars, chips, and soda. The hardest one of these will be beer, undoubtedly. I'll see how this goes after a week and reevaluate after that, but I'd like to have no more than 3 beers a week, and ideally none. Grading: Four servings of the aforementioned foods are allowed weekly. Any more than that and I'll lose a letter grade for the week. (Also, beer can only be 3 of those servings). Excellence Matters - Maintain and adapt my workout routine. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle. I quoted this in my last challenge as well, but that's the point. I need to maintain my workout routines from my last challenge into this one, but I may need to change the workouts periodically if they get too easy. Grading: Do 3 workouts and 2 cardio sessions per week. Minus one letter grade for every week not filled. Enable Autosave - Record my progress daily. Last challenge, I kept a dry erase board on the wall of my room with a daily progress chart. I'll do that again for my exercise, but I'd like to keep a food journal hanging on the fridge as well. This challenge won't be graded, but if I don't do it then the progress in all of my other challenges will not be verifiable, so I'd better freakin' do it. I'm contemplating taking some before and after photos as well, but I'd like to keep them on my computer so my friends don't randomly see my naked torso when I try to show them pictures of dogs or something. I can't wait to crush this challenge. In the words of the immortal Leeroy Jenkins, "Let's do this!"

Mid week and I'm feeling good. Went for a run on Monday, did workouts the last two days, and I'm currently pumping myself up for the third this week. Yesterday's workout was at about midnight, but I still burned through it. I'll be going for a bike ride later (hopefully), but I might keep it short because traffic will be a hassle. I acquired a slight injury to my leg that I stupidly got by slamming it into a very sturdy bar stool. The bone feels a little bruised, but it hasn't slowed me down yet. I've been killing it this week, and I can't wait to wrap the week up and get going on my next challenge.

I just found this thread and I love it. I think I'm more like your IRL accountabliilbuddy in that I try to make drastic changes and hope I can stick with them, but your baby step approach would make it much easier to maintain my goals. I have to remember that I'm never too old to take baby steps. I might not get there very quickly, but as long as I'm always moving in the right direction I'm making progress. I like your approach and I'd say you are definitely heading in the right direction, so I can't wait to see where you end up after a few challenges. Good luck this week!

Happy Memorial Day! Time to kick in for the homestretch! If I want to make up my sick day workouts, I need to do five of them in the next seven days (today included). I think I can do that. The actual workouts have been the hardest part of the last few weeks, but they're also the most beneficial. That said, I've been really good about cardio this week. I got my bike back as well, and the weather's been gorgeous so there has been no shortage of excellent bike rides. I have to force myself to only go for a run today so I don't get burnt out. My diet has absolutely gone to crap because I've been going out with friends a lot recently. Turns out most bar food is pretty unhealthy, as are the drinks. This is also the season of out of town visitors, so I've been to the occasional deep dish or ice cream place recently. I'm still losing weight at the moment, but I'll have to redouble my efforts for the next challenge. Fruits and vegetables are in season, and I'm firing up the grill today, so tasty, healthy foods should be easy to make for the rest of the season. Ultimately the goal for this challenge was to get myself repeatedly and routinely exercising, and in that regard I've absolutely succeeded. My diet has to improve moving forward, but I would say that I am now in the habit of exercising and it feels great! See you all on the other side.

Just found this thread, and I'm glad it exists. When I saw the women's health board, I was thinking that there should be a men's health board too that was just one long thread about how to make your balls not stick to your leg when you're working out. By the looks of it, that's what this is.

Time for another update: I am now a bona fide runner. My bike's been on loan for the last two weeks, but I haven't minded at all because I'm having so much fun running. That zombie app I mentioned earlier is still freaking awesome. My running route has been taking me past a crossfit gym and I occasionally see its members running around the block. I always have to chuckle when I think that they're paying out the rear end for the chance to run outside. Unfortunately, the reality of post grad life is also starting to dawn on me. I struggled with depression and anxiety throughout college, but I thought I had it under wraps in my final years. It's been slowly creeping back into my mind since graduation, though, and I don't like it. The realization that I don't have a job yet and I need to start paying off my student loans in a few months is daunting to say the least. The upside is that whenever I have anxiety I find that exercise gets me right back into a positive mood. At school, I often treated my depression with alcohol, but I'm going to try to get into the habit of treating it with exercise starting now. On a more positive note, I can tell I'm getting stronger. My recoveries between workouts are much smoother after three weeks, and I haven't struggled as much during the actual workouts. I've added a few more push ups and some bench dips to my routine, and in addition to assisted pull ups I'm also trying assisted chin ups. I just need some core workouts now. Maybe side planks and leg lifts...

Thanks! I'll give some places a call and ask. For what it's worth, I am one of those "retired" gymnasts, but we're talking 2nd grade when I stopped. It's the only reason I don't really want to pay for a coach, but I can understand the concern and the insurance companies' quick trigger finger on lawsuits there.

I have a probably stupid question, but I'm at a loss. I've been doing bodyweight exercises at home, but I'd like to start catering them towards towards a gymnast's routine. Thus, I'd like to have access to things like rings, mats, and bars, but I don't want to take gymnastics lessons or get a personal trainer (if I can help it). Whenever I look up gyms with gymnastics equipment though, I always find results for kids' gymnastics lessons. I guess my question is this: What do you call a gym for gymnasts, and how do I find one for adults where I can just do my thing? While I'm sure I could find most of the equipment I need at a crossfit place, they always try to get me to 'do' crossfit. Hell, I could probably find all I needed on a playground, but I don't want to be working out where kids are playing (and parents would probably be a little concerned). Any ideas? Thanks folks.

^ I thought the same thing about a cycling app, but no luck. I'm hooked now, though, so I guess I'm a runner. I also get nervous about biking with headphones on, but there's a lot of traffic where I ride. Don't give up on your dreams! (but I think you should go for an android when you get a smartphone)

Thanks Fleaball! Update time: This is a bit of a restart room moment, but it was for things that are slightly beyond my control. Week 1 started out great until Friday. I went to a Cubs game (which is wonderful, go Cubs), but because it was a day game I didn't get a workout in. I didn't drink at the game, but afterwards I went to my friend's house and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, we were at a bar drinking beer, which means I broke my diet restrictions. Then on Saturday I got sick and stopped exercising for 4 days. Today I went on my first good, solid run since I started the challenge, and I feel great now. Seeing as being sick is beyond my control, I've decided that I can recover my grade for the two workouts I missed, but I'll need to do extra credit. As long as I still do 15 workouts before the challenge is up, I'll still be able to get a B. No excuses for Friday, though. Also, I've just discovered the most amazing running app called "Zombies, Run!" Basically you listen to your music as you're running, but it will get occasionally interrupted by fake radio broadcasts about a zombie breakout. There's actually a story and characters and it has kept me interested while I run. When you're not running, there's a town management sim that you can play, and you use supplies that you collect by running to help build your town. The coolest part is that during runs there is a chance of a random zombie encounter. When this happens, there is a little warning, and then a beeping pulse that gets faster as the zombies approach. If you don't run fast enough, the zombies catch you and you lose all your supplies. It's really exhilarating and gets you sprinting. I figured nerdy runners could appreciate it.

Hey fellow exercisers, It's time I got back in gear, and I was working out most routinely when I was an active member of this forum, so my first goal for this challenge is to visit the site at least every other day. After that, my objective for this challenge is to get in shape using a combination of body weight circuit workouts (too broke for a gym membership), regular cardio, and a healthy and sustainable diet. Last week I finished my undergrad work, so my schedule is now wide open and I'm ready to rock some workouts. For this first challenge after my hiatus, I'm going to focus only on exercise and diet with a strong emphasis on consistency, but I'll get some life goals in my next challenge. For now, here is my current body weight routine: 15 squats 15 push ups 5 lunges per side 30+ second plank max assisted pull ups (~6 or 7) 30 jumping jacks 3 sets total with 2-3 minute break I've run this a few times in the last two weeks, so I think I can handle doing it regularly by now. As I progress I will first add more exercises, then increase the reps to where I was last Summer. Future exercises will include bench dips, leg lifts, and more challenging planks and push ups. I think my goals will be as follows: 1) Do circuit workout 3 times a week for five weeks (I'm starting today, May 2nd) Grading: Do all workouts = A, miss one workout = B, etc. No screwing around here. Every workout I miss will lower my grade a point. My goal for this challenge will be consistency, so I'm not cutting myself any slack on missing a workout. 2) Get cardio twice a week, 10 times total for the challenge Grading: Do all cardio = A, miss one = B, etc. Again, no slack on the grading. Exercises will be either running or cycling, depending on the weather. I'm not setting any distance or time requirements because, again, this challenge is about consistency. I might modify this to three times a week once I see how it goes. 3) Eliminate the following from my diet: pasta, white rice, red meat, soda, sandwiches, cheese (except a little parmesan), soda Grading: Down one letter grade for every day I cheat This won't be toooooo hard since I already eat very little of most of those. Sandwiches and beer might present a challenge, however. Also, graduation week will be one long cheat week, at least when it comes to beer. I'll try to stick to liquors in my celebrating, but my school bars love their beer specials. 4) Have a protein shake (with kale!) after every workout Grading: See above This will be easy, but I wanted to make a reminder for myself. Good enough for now. As a final point, I'd like to also get some accountabilibuddies for this challenge. If anyone is looking for some as well, I'd be happy to have you. Now let's get exercising! I'll leave you with a quote: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence Exercise, therefore, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle... sorta

Pretty sure this is the 3rd time I've posted here, but here goes. I've been struggling to get off the ground for a while now with a workout routine. In the last 6 months I've kept a pretty healthy diet and kept off any serious pounds, but I want to finally get into shape. This time I'm positive I can do it because I've finished my undergrad work since my last attempt and I'm definitely not going to grad school for some time. The weather is finally picking up, and without school work I have a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. This past week, I've been doing precursory workouts to make sure that I won't be cripplingly sore when I start working out regularly, I dug my bike jersey out of the closet, and I've been putting my old workout playlists back on my phone. I'll be doing body weight exercises from home and biking regularly. I might even take up running again on rainy days. I'm also going to focus on my core this Summer, so if anyone knows some good core exercises that are body weight only, I'd appreciate it. Also, any new workout music recommendations are also welcome. Anything that'll get me pumped and isn't too 'top 40' will definitely be considered for my regular rotation. Thanks guys, and I'll see you in the gym- er... forums.