Echoceanic

Oh, I get it. I guess I didn't think of that because I'm good at judging the approximate level of water? Or I just think I do.

I already do planks. Have been doing them on my elbows and lower hands at first, and now I do the standard like on the photo. I am up to 30 seconds without my legs shaking. That is actually how I got most of my core strength (and the squats with weight I do because apparently I have really strong legs). As for items, I have been trying to find a chair that is wide enough to fit my hands and the right height but nothing so far it's either too shaky (I can hear it squeak or it actually rattles under me) or too squishy (my hands dip in it) or too high. The other thing I can use is at a work desk height, and I don't feel like it's doing anything. Usually what happens when I try and do a normal push up is one of two things: 1. I start by dropping down, can't drop down low enough - so i only go half way and my arms can't take my weight, and wind up instinctively dropping my knees down because I either don't want to fall on my glasses or (if I am not wearing them) my vision is fuzzy. 2. I start by lifting up but I wind up not lifting my butt off the ground. If I do my hands shake. I usually feel most of the burn in my hands and my back when doing push ups.

Stickers. You can find plain white ones anywhere, then all you need is a marker. They are also easy to remove if you need to for some reason, just by using a dish sponge, a lot of water and elbow grease.

Hi and welcome. Dead simple is always the best course of action.

I have a journal I track everything in - the time I get up the time I go to bed, the water I drink, what I did that day, basically everything except food (because I don't track that in the same manner, I just look at my monthly bills from grocery shopping and see what I need to change). I also have an exercise tracker there, and next to it I have what counts as exercise, so that covers your advice. I'm also happy to say I have only missed one day this month. I usually wind up seeing my trackers both in the morning, and whenever i need to flip to it as I remind myself. Sometimes the evening thing happens too. This is kinda what I had in mind but I was thinking of starting at 3x3 reps and building up, since I can now do 10 total in one set. It seemed like a way to get progress. I usually try and add what I can to my reps every exercise (sometimes going till I can't move sometimes stopping sooner, depending on the day). As for knee push ups, I'm not a fan of them either. I have to support the weight on my knees and that messes with them (which is why I want to get it over with) by overexerting them, leading to bruises where I have a scar from falling down. I have tried incline push ups, but I have a problem finding a space that is both low enough to be challenging (but high enough that I can do) and at a spot where I can fit my height. I'm 172 cm (almost 5,8 I'm told) and in a tiny apartment with a lot of stuff in it. The only place where I can fit an incline push up is either at my desk, which is too tall to be challenging (I can do 30) and my bed, which doesn't work for obvious 'I can't actually get a good grip on a mattress' reasons, though the height is right. I don't have a chair that is that tall either (and my desk chair rolls around so not a good fit either). So I'm stuck with these until I can do a proper one. When I can do a proper push up I can progress in peace, because I do have floor space that can fit my height. Thanks for the vote of confidence and the support, and I hope I answered everything.

Hi, and welcome. I agree with Flea. Even if the plan is 'eat one healthy thing more than usual a day' it can help being specific. That way there is less of a chance you slack, and you can see your progress clearly. A friend of mine did that when she needed to overhaul her meals because they were making her feel bad.

Hi, and welcome, this is my first challenge too. Those goals are awesome, you get a good pool of activity to start with. I myself suck at drinking water, so I'm rooting for you.

Hi, it's awesome you're trying to get back on track. Your string of injury sounds like me last summer, I fell so many times... For me ticking off things helps, so maybe write down the meals and tick them off when you eat them. That would also be a good tracker for your progress. :))

Hi, and welcome back. Accountability is a real motivator, and so does support. Looking forward to see you getting back on track.

Yup, the routine I have currently is a variation of the nerd fitness routine and several others I've found. I like to try stuff out and see what works and what doesn't. And thanks for the tip, I have a really hard time judging if I am doing the right amount of work when it comes to anything, so I either do less or kill myself working. Thanks, this place is fun ^_^. Yeah I know of the app but I rarely carry my phone with me. I wind up reminding myself by just putting an empty glass at my desk, and letting it stare me down. Hi, I hope you're finding this place to be right for you. I've always been the type to see quick subtle progress and then see it slow down. When I was in high school we did a gymnastics exercise - on the bar that has two bars at different heights, for gym class for 2 weeks (I had 3 gym classes a week) and just that alone did a lot. But if I stop exercising it goes away just as quickly. I'm not sure the other can see it, but I can.

This sounds awesome. Looking forward to see how you do.

The most important thing is that you're doing something to change things. The speed doesn't matter, as long as you're doing something you're heading forward and that rocks.

Hi. So, I thought I'd see how this works and if it'll work for me. I do love lists. A little about me, I started exercising in May, slowly increasing in intensity and slowly trying to stick to a schedule. I have already seen some progress - I have gotten stronger and have seen some definition, and this is mainly my legs and my core, with some on my arms but not a lot. I'm doing this because I like feeling strong and I like being physically capable, being somewhat weak all my life both because of lifestyle and genetics. My long term goals are: - Increase muscle mass without losing overall weight, or even better increasing overall weight a few kilos, ideally by 4 kilos at the least (but I try not to focus on it a lot because I don't want it to take over my life). This is sidetracked by the fact I know what I eat but I can't count calories because it makes me demotivated and I mainly eat home cooked meals with family, and our version of cooking is the definition of 'approximately'; - To be able to do a full push up (while resting on my toes), a full pull up and eventually maybe a handstand - basically I want to be able to lift my own body weight which is 46 kilos at this point; - get through my flexibility hurdle and be able to keep my legs flat while my back is straight on a 90 degree angle (no I can't touch my toes either); - generally feel stronger and have more energy, kick more ass, you know, the usual. So, doing things slow, since I can always ramp things up, these are my quests: 1. Drink no less than 4 glasses of water a day - since I have a real problem with just not feeling thirsty and going the entire day with just one glass of water (this has been better since I started working out but of course I don't workout every single day); 2. Doing something active every day - this is something I have already tried to do but I want to be more consistent. It can be anything, so if I can't exercise due to the fact I need to not be wiped for the rest of the day, I can do something else. This definition of active includes the stretching routine I have.; 3. Graduating to, if not 3 x 10 reps, then 3 x 5 reps on my knee push ups (currently I can do only 10 total and not sure which one is more reasonable). This turned into eccentric push ups after I had a talk with people here. I keep all my tracking in my journal (it's kinda of a bullet journal setup because I have my to do list and an actual journal in there, complete with monthly overview and trackers) and I'll also post here. Not sure what my reward will be, but I am usually good at guilt tripping myself.

I remind myself as to why I started in the first place. I wanted something to reduce stress and make me feel good. I am not the meditating type, but sweating and generally feeling tired after workouts is what makes me feel good and calm. Also I like being able to do general stuff around the house without feeling like I am a weakling. Those two things generally work. I also have a flexible plan, so if I can't make myself do bodyweight for example, I'll do cardio, or just stretch for the day. Then the next day it's easier to do stuff. I also talk to myself during sets - yes complete with grunting and 'come on 2 more' under my breath. It's easy because I work out at home, so no one side-eyes me.

I hate boiled egg yolks. Taste like powder. What I've found is that I cook them too long. So now I put them in water, wait for the water to boil and then cover them up for 5-6 min (depending how long I left them to boil) and then immediately dump out the water and cover them in the coldest water I can get out of the tap several times to stop the cooking process. Then they are far better. I also add salt, ketchup and hot dog wieners (just boil them in water before hand since they take longer) or I just have the eggs with leftovers, since I would have to eat four eggs and over to actually feel sated if I ate the eggs with no other main ingredient.

I get irritated super easily but I've found a creme rich in panthenol - you can find it usually marked as sunburn relief, applied generously right after I shave anywhere and then once more during the day, it calms things down significantly. Also, mom uses a zinc oxide cream for irritated of inflamed skin she gets from work , and a coat of that helps on really bad days.

I am really proud of myself, though not sure if it's a big thing. After being stuck not doing any significant exercising for about 4 days in a row, I managed to find a way to do a weighted squat without having a weight set at home (couldn't find anything heavy enough). And apparently I can do 3 sets of 3 reps with two 5 kilo kettlebell - like weight replacements (huge water bottles filled with, well, water) and being assisted by a large wooden spoon. (only thing sturdy enough in the house). For a weakling like me, it's really rewarding to see how far I've gotten.

I look at my mom who is in her 50s almost 60 and still weighs about 8 kilos more than me and sigh. Also, yay someone else who has this! I haven't met anyone else who struggles with this. Now the comments have petered off, mostly because I glare at people.

I am in a pickle like this too now. I am just out of the range that my own body weight can provide for leg stuff, and I can't even find a damn kettlebell that doesn't break the bank (not from the US so the exchange rate kills me). And where the heck do I find enough sand to make my own? I have to figure out if I can use a backpack - I do have a ton of books at home.

I like the tv show Dollhouse, and use Echo as a nickname in my name rotation (I have three names I rotate around). Echo was taken and as I was typing echo oceanic came in my head. I fused the o's, added an h for reasons I am unaware of, and boom.

Hi! I've been writing for 8 years, and I have stories in anthologies coming out soon, and am currently editing my first book. I also work on an e-magazine called Far Horizons, where I've submitted for a long time.

That sounds like a good tip. I'll watch my diet and write down what I eat the days it happens and see what it could be. That might show me if I'm doing something wrong. I have recently started eating a lot more protein and stuff so we'll see if that helps. I've had three doctors in the past I have mentioned this to and none of them actually take it seriously, and since I can never seem to predict it I basically have no proof of it (it's ridiculous for me to even need proof but small town what are you going to do). So I've just kinda given up on going to the doctor for stuff that are not really a danger.

Thanks for sharing, that sounds scary. I've never been close to fainting so I'd glad for that. The doctor just either shrugs and says 'low sugar' or sends me for a blood test and then shrugs when everything is normal. So yeah, no help.

So, this has happened since I was a kid. At random, no food correlations. I will be doing something and suddenly my hands will shake (sometimes), I will feel weak, I will sway if I'm standing (sometimes). No blurry vision or fainting though. Just a general sense of weakness and shaky hands but not always. Now in that case if I eat right that second, and I mean eat as in have a meal, everything is fine, so I do that. A snack will make it go away but I always follow up with a meal because I am not messing around with that. I've had this since middle school, maybe earlier but I don't remember. I had it pretty often then, now it's less and less but I know when it is coming on. This is not how I feel when I'm just hungry, or after every meal. This happens, at most every few months. I don't have to be working out, I can be working on the computer, walking or just sitting down. No specific time of day. There is nothing I eat constantly the meal before that. My mom usually says it's 'low blood sugar' I'm inclined to believe that. The lack of frequency and the fact it doesn't happen because I haven't eaten in a long time - it takes a lot for me to ignore food and I eat at least 3 times a day sometimes more, make me go 'ehhh' though. If I haven't eaten in a while what happens is that I feel like an animal is trying to claw it's way out of my abdomen, as in I get really intense hunger pains, and no weakness, I just run to the fridge and inhale food right away (I eat pretty fast). I have never had blood sugar problems, I am not anaemic, I have (by my own estimate) low body fat, I have had no weight fluctuations at all in my life (I am eerily constant), and I don't get lethargic easily (only if it's very hot for a long time). I don't have any serious health issues, and my doctors just roll their eyes and tell me to eat more (which just pisses me off because I eat dammit). What I want to know is "Has anyone had this, is this a thing that happens?" And just general sharing so I feel better.

I have thought about going vegan and vegetarian before - I have an aunt and cousins who are, but nope and here's why: I grew up on dairy since I was a baby. I live in a country where cheese is cheap and there are no vegan alternatives. I feel better when I eat dairy and drink milk. It is only really viable for people who have easy access to all the sustenance. For people on a really limited budget like me it's really hard. I care more about me than a cow, honestly. I kinda feel that since the animals were bread for food, they should be food. My grandpa had a farm and I like the goats and the cows, and then we came home and we ate the meat because that is what they are for. If all the world became vegan what would happen to those animals? If you release them, the whole ecosystem suffers. And there are environmental factors involved in growing vegan/vegetarian things too, that do a lot of damage too. I feel like the solution is less 'don't eat meat' and more 'make sure companies treat animals better by petitions and choosing wisely'. I eat vegetarian when I can't afford meat. And I miss it. I eat more meat now and I feel better and have more muscle. I live in a country where fish is very expensive so I can have it only once every few months, but I can have chicken and beef any day. And if I buy sausages and ground them up, I can mix them in three meals and get everything I need. I think that is everything?