BopGun

Man, did I pick a good time to walk in here for the first time in months! This thread was the first one I saw. Besides the factors that RisenPhoenix referred to...sometimes, life shit happens. I was around here semi-regularly in 2013 and 2014. Since March 2015, I've moved twice to take new, better jobs in other states...and, oh, yeah, I've also had a bout with cancer. Not sure these things would add up to a cataclysm, but they certainly add up to quite a bit. lol. The good news is that even with my absence from this place, people that I met when I was still around here have helped immensely as I've worked to change my life...even though, as both they and I could tell you, I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be in terms of fitness goals.

I would submit that he already is and is in the process of discovery of that little piece of information

You have NO IDEA how thrilling it was to read this. Whether you know it or not, you've worked wonders to help me approach fitness endeavors/body image from that perspective...and what do you know? I can now, for the first time since free weights began to interest me in 1992, actually use them properly without injury or fear of being shamed, and I'm getting stronger and stronger each time I do it. SO happy that you're getting there emotionally, too

Flex! He DOES exist! (Typical that I'm slow on the uptick to discover your thread. *grumble* *mutter* ) As someone who was in and out of therapy most of the time from ages 9 (yup, 9...) to 23, all I can say is that I wish now that I'd been more 'in' and less 'out'. It does my heart good to know that it's helping you already so early on. Please also always remember that there are a LOT of people here who love you, who want you to truly KNOW that you deserve good things out of your life and who are always ready to talk with you whenever you'd like.

House! Great to hear from you! <3 Yeah, it's my intention to be up in here more often this year. Challenge thread remains to be seen, though.

One of the things I need to do differently this year is to be around the forums more often to read up on many of your adventures and to also contribute from my end from time to time. This is as good a chance to start that off as I'm likely to have. Early last year, maybe mid-January, I was told that doing Kelly Starrett's 10-minute squat test daily would greatly help me work through the novice stages of strength training. I was already familiar with Kelly Starrett and this test well before that, trying it for a few days several years ago before quitting out of frustration, soreness and pain. So, I started accumulating 10 minutes per day in the bottom position, no matter how hard it was. I couldn't even come remotely close to 10 continuous minutes. The test took me an hour and 10 minutes -- it was all I could do to squat for 30 seconds at a time and then rest long enough to calm down my racing heart rate. For a while, I didn't think it would ever get better. It did. It gradually became easier and easier, and I started to accumulate more and more time between rest breaks, which became shorter and shorter. By early November, it occurred to me that I might be able to complete the test by the end of the year... ...which I did last night. It was very hard, and I was a bit wobbly for a while afterward, but I got through it after not thinking I'd ever be able to do so at the start of the year. It's my intention to continue to do this 6 nights a week for as long as I possibly can -- yes, for life. (Lifelong foot, ankle and calf problems from a birth defect leave me unable to do anything more than a half-squat unless I'm wearing weightlifting shoes, so I technically can't do it exactly as prescribed, but damn it, I'm counting this.) It was a NF member (a guild leader, actually) that told me I should do the test, no matter how hard. He, and several other members who were aware he'd asked me to tackle this, believed I could work my way up to this when I did not. NF is enormously special to me. I can't even begin to describe what a positive effect on my life this place and those of you in it have had, even when I've gone many months at a time without poking my head up in here. One of my two New Year's resolutions this year is to do it more often. (The other is to get rid of the remaining squishiness of my gut...but I'm 100% sure I can do it.) Happy New Year!

<.< Wait; what????? >.> Flex, I know you've wanted to do something like this for a long time, and I'm overjoyed that it's happening Some of you reading this thread already know this, but for the benefit of those of you who don't, Flex has done quite a bit of work guiding me through the novice stages of weight training (which I am definitely still in), and he's done a tremendous job! He knows he's helped me, but he's helped me a great deal more than he knows. Quite obviously, attracting clients is the big challenge for him whether putting an ACE cert to work is an intended career change or a sideline hobby, but he will be outstanding with any clients he chooses to take on. Repeat business won't be a problem for him at all.

Damn it, man. Don't leave us in suspense.

>_> Flex, are you SURE the puking wasn't queasiness at the notion that there are other movements than bench? I mean, it can take a while for these notions to sink in. hehe.

My, am I late to the party. Such happens when you have a million things swirling around you (and you have to spend most of your time gradually getting them to stop spinning). Completely missed this thread until way too recently. I have spoken with Flex Luthor at some length, as have several other people who've posted in or read this thread. He was certainly a beast for strength when he first arrived here and had added a very good amount of muscle mass to his body from his starting point. However, since he joined NF, he has added quite a bit more without blimping up with body fat, either...no mean feat for anyone with the experience level in training that he had when he joined. As someone in the very early stages of doing what he continues to do, he's a tremendous inspiration to me. It has also occurred to me that even if NF has 4:1 fat loss:muscle gain transformation stories profiled, it would still be a very valuable nod to the notion that not everyone's goals are the same. (...though I have had to lose more than 50 pounds of body fat to reach this point, with more still remaining, so some of us have a great desire to do both!)

I didn't forget about this thread...but between a vacation, a job interview 850 miles away and going to Arlington National Cemetery for a funeral, I have been very, very busy for the last two weeks. Incorporated a rest break in there which I badly needed, but I got back into it this morning. Pool: 200 warmup 12x40 sprints; :30 rests I ran totally out of gas somewhere around #10. It'll take a little time to get back to where I was, but probably not long.

*hugs!* After the Patriots won the Super Bowl in unlikely fashion, I couldn't go to sleep until about 3:30 in the morning. No caffeine, no booze -- just excited. Pool: 200 warmup 20x40 sprints; :30 rests

Saturday: Foam rolling & core stuff Pushups: 13/13/11 Dr. Flex Luthor has scribbled another scrip for me on his note pad, and I'm glad to have it. I was shooting for 3x13 while watching technique much more carefully than I have been. Some of my reps recently haven't been the best. Anyway, I thought at first that I may have wussed out because I wasn't killed dead, but I think I needed to stop right where I did. My wrists are sore this morning. 13/13/12 is the target next time, which is Tuesday, and I think I'll get it. Squats -- 45 -- 5x5 They were still tough, but since I didn't drain myself as thoroughly with the pushups as I usually would, they didn't kill me dead. Neutral-grip chinups w/:10 top hold -- 1/Nose to hands/Stall partway up Leg press -- 285 -- 3x10 That's better. 295 next time.

Pool this morning: 200 warmup 20x40 sprints; :30 rests

Foam rolling & core stuff Pushups -- 15/15/12 I think I'm either stalling now or am just about to stall. Felt great physically entering the gym this time...plenty of rest, food, water, etc. ...and almost failed in set 2 and couldn't get off the mat for a 13th rep in set 3. Squats -- 45 -- 5x5 Holy hell, is it HARD to keep the lumbar in any semblance of bracing. Depth was definitely limited, and I don't know how effective a job I did of keeping the lumbar area braced, but these certainly felt different from any other occasion that I've done the movement. My heart was racing after these and didn't really calm back down until I hit the shower. Neutral-grip chins w/:10 top hold -- 1/Halfway up/Quarter of the way up I knew these would be trouble after what had just gone on. Just kind of sucking it up for now. Leg press -- 285 -- 3x10 I once again almost failed a rep or two in set three, but at least I didn't have any trouble with uneven use of both legs. Still not quite smooth enough for me to bump up the weight again. One more day of 285 should do it.