Laurenji

I certainly don't mind! we're kind of a quiet bunch, but we could probably be persuaded to be around more . . . haven't seen Sol in a while, she would have to be the one to "officially" add you since it's her post.

I'm back too! I get embarrassed when I stop working out and don't really poke my head in very much. But I am here, and I am making baby steps towards fitness again.

So, I've really, really wanted to start lifting weights, but I've been terrified of going to the gym (doing something wrong, other people looking at me, not knowing where anything is, wandering around looking out of place, other people judging me for doing things wrong or not being very strong). But today I did it! And I'm super weak and I'm sure I did everything wrong, but I did it!

Hey, this is me! My problem(s): - I don't currently work out at all besides about 20 min of walking a day. - I was just about to start a weightlifting program before finding out I was pregnant - my diet is crap right now So, I want to be stronger and healthier, but I've heard that it's fine to *continue* an exercise program you were doing before pregnancy, but not to *start* one (which seems kind of ridiculous to me because if you're not in shape does that mean you're just doomed to be out of shape your whole pregnancy?) Also, I am *terrible* at meals. Bad food, not good at remembering to eat, eat a lot of candy. I gained a lot of weight my last pregnancy (I'm tiny, so they recommended I gain quite a bit, but I gained like 65 lbs) and I want to be healthier than that this time around.

Thanks so much for the feedback! Does clenching your core involve holding your breath? I can't think of how to brace my core without holding my breath, but that sounds bad for some reason. . .

Okay, finally trying to actually get into weightlifting for real, but I don't want to accidentally kill myself. How does this squat form look? The yellow tape is my attempt at trying to figure out where my femur was. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iDADrORIZ1U

Thanks for the heads up. I'm probably not going to be using the bar to bench for a while anyways . . . I doubt I'm strong enough to bench the bar at the moment, so I'll probably start with dumbbell presses.

Day 1: Went to the gym to make sure I'd paid my set-up fee and to get my badge set up, but no one was at the front desk for about 20 minutes, so I'll have to come back later. Read a lot about squat form, watched a couple videos, and got diverted into reading about pelvic floor strength issues and exercise incontinence. As someone who has struggled with this ever since my son was born, I was at least mildly intrigued. Did a couple of the exercises recommended, and wow, my lower back/side core muscles are sore. I should probably start doing these more often . . . (If you're curious, the exercise was to get down into a deep squat, then exhale while doing kegels. I've done kegels before, but for some reason doing them a) while in a squat and b ) only while exhaling really worked those muscles). I'm planning on trying to film some form videos tomorrow.

I manage to be pretty good about drinking water when I'm at my desk at work and I have my water bottle right next to me, but once I get home I always get to 10pm wondering why I have a headache and then I realize I haven't drunk any water in the last 5 hours . . .

Sounds like you've got a lot of great stuff happening in your life right now. I'm following since I'd like to encourage/be encouraged by seeing someone else who also has a lot going on in their life still manage to exercise.

Guess what everyone! I got a new job with a new company. There's a gym in the building and my company pays for my membership as one of the benefits. And they have barbells! So I picked up a copy of Starting Strength, bought some gym clothes, and I'm ready to try and do this thing! First up: getting my form down. Week 1 will be consulting Starting Strength and YouTube to get an idea of good squat form. Then I'll practice with a broomstick and a video camera to make sure I'm doing it right (I don't have any full length mirrors, unfortunately). I'll upload the video here to the form check forum. - learn proper squat form - practice it - film it - get feedback Week 2: Deadlift form. Same pattern as week 1. - learn proper deadlift form - practice it - film it - get feedback From what I understand so far, squat and deadlift are pretty much the basis of any weightlifting program and the other things are more . . . advanced? optional? And bench press doesn't really need a whole lot of practice. So at this point I want to start actually trying to get into the gym. IF my form is sufficient to try and start lifting things. - go to gym - test out form on just the bar - research / develop a program based on discoveries Week 4: Begin program - complete at least 2 days of workout I'm totally up for feedback, encouragement, anything. Just for reference, I'm 5'4", 112lbs (aka tiny) and my goals right now are mostly just "lift stuff, preferably more stuff than just the bar".

Okay, well, sorry I've been so quiet. I got a new job!! I'll start in 2 weeks. It looks like it might also come with a free gym membership, so that would be super convenient I've been pretty decent about getting out and walking around at least once a day. Not perfect, but decent. Not that great at meditating, and basically a 0 for planking or any other type of exercise that isn't walking, unfortunately. But everything is looking up.

I think technically according to the schedule, we're supposed to check in every Monday. This coming up one is week 3. Wow, Sol. Sounds like you've been through a lot lately. Sounds like it's time for my healer/paladin mode to kick in.

Hey everyone! How are you all doing?

Okay. Things I did yesterday: read scriptures, spent several hours prepping for a job interview. Things I did not do yesterday: walk around, plank, meditate. I'm running on maybe 5 hours of sleep and I haven't practiced the presentation I'm doing for my job interview today at all. We'll see how this goes . . . . (ugh)

D'oh! I always forget this forum doesn't auto-follow threads for you! I'm doing decent so far- I did my walking, meditating, and scripture-reading yesterday. Today I have walked outside and read scriptures so far. I plan on meditating and planking later tonight. ETA: Did meditate, did planks. Also did some stretching and did one of those dancing videogames for about half an hour. Also worked on preparing for a job interview for an hour.

I took a walk outside at work today. Technically it was to the pharmacy across the street to get some sudafed fit my boss, but . . . it totally counts. I also mediated for 5 minutes at least. And I read my scriptures. So, no planking. But pretty good so far, especially considering I got 5 hours of interrupted also last night.

As an econ major, I resent that remark by your husband! I don't know whether or not you will find this useful, but you might want to check out the advice website CaptainAwkward.com, and the accompanying forums at friendsofCaptainAwkward.com/forums. She has a LOT of advice on how to set boundaries with people you love, including scripts for how to state your boundaries clearly and nicely. For example, in this situation you might say something similar to "I understand you don't like Nerd Fitness and won't be joining me in doing it, but I'm more likely to want to do fitness if I'm doing it my way and not being forced to do it a different way or made fun of for my choices," or "my goal is health right now, not weight loss, so please stop pestering me about your weight loss plan," or perhaps "I know we disagree about this. Please just let me do my own thing without snarky comments and you can do your thing."

So . . . last challenge failed, in that I didn't actually keep track of any of my goals. I did decent in some of them, but I didn't write it down, so I don't think that it counts. Anyways, I am trying again. Goal 1) Walk around outside at least once a day during the work week (excluding walking for commuting) Goal 2) Take 10 minutes of quiet time to meditate and breathe Goal 3) (NEW!) Do a plank every day Personal life goals: Goal 1) Spend at least 3 hours each week on job-hunting related things Goal 2) Read scriptures 5 out of 7 days a week

1) Sol, that sounds awesome. All of it. I will mark those dates on my calendar and set reminders so that I remember to come back and update stuff, since I've been rather lax at updating the past couple challenges. 2) Cal, I don't think that qualifies as "tough love", I think that qualifies as "I am trying to change my life for the better and you aren't being supportive (in fact, you're being actively unsupportive)." My husband is also skeptical of my ability to change myself (with good reason, as I rarely finish anything I start), but when I get excited about a new thing or a goal, instead of discouraging me, he instead helps me remember to set my expectations to realistic things and plan concrete actions that I need to take to make to achieve it. Then he just sort of lets me go do my thing, reminds me about my goal periodically, and tries not to tell me "I told you so" when I lose interest a couple weeks later. But he's always very willing to try and help me do my thing if I'm trying to work hard for a goal. 3) I'm not part of the academy, but I'll hang out with you guys here still!

Sorry I don't update much! It's been kind of rough for me the past week, as I'm spending all my spare time applying to jobs. I added my number to the PM, although I forgot to say that I'm in Central time, so adjust accordingly for timezones. I sort of lost count of exact numbers. I'm doing really good at meditating, decently at getting outside and walking around on work days, and I've basically given up on doing any other goals. I do plan on continuing to try. I think I need a "real exercise" goal for the next challenge, and I need to find time to actually do it. I can tell that the gains that I made in the first challenge are probably already gone. I'll try and do better at updating this week and for the next challenge. I think by the end I stopped updating because I got embarrassed that I hadn't updated and was failing at least one of my goals.

Yay Sol! And also wow! That's so much stuff going on in your life! I can totally understand why this challenge may be somewhat on the back burner for you. I don't have ADHD, but I do have depression & anxiety, and I can definitely commiserate about the joy of finding medication that helps your brain work right again. (You mean, life *doesn't* have to be this stressful? I can feel good about myself and confident in my life choices and not be wracked with panic all the time??) I've been doing decently well on my goals. I'm better at them during work days than I am when I'm at home, mostly because I have more of a routine at work than I do at home. Also some friends from out of town stayed with us over the weekend, which was so fun! But bad for finding alone time to meditate. Also I got tipped off that there are potentially massive changes going down in my department at work, and that I should probably start looking for a new job ASAP. So, you know. That's a thing. Somehow I don't feel worried about it right now, but I think it's partially because it hasn't sunk in yet. (and I've still got a sleep-deprivation hangover from my friends being in town, so it's hard to think straight in general.) Luckily I've got good references and good contacts, so I think I'll be okay. Still . . . Anyways, congrats on continuing to stick with it, everyone! We can do this!

So, I have been very successful so far with going outside every day while I'm at work! I've been doing decently well at taking time for meditation. Still not doing my "body awareness" exercises. I may just abandon that one . . . We got a Kinect for Christmas and just downloaded the dancing game that came with it. It's actually quite a workout! I may start doing that for exercise more often.

Weird. My phone must not have Comic Sans as a font, because it's displaying everything you use that font with as a very flowy, loopy cursive.

My thread is also in my signature! Sol, bless her heart, has done a good job of searching us all out. Question: Sol, how do you get all your beautiful fonts?