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Morning/Evening all,.. depending on your timezone I'm new to these parts.. 38 years old 178 cms. Technical Writer for the mining industry in Perth. So this means for six to eight hours a day I'm on my behind. Trying desperately to get a chance to move. Decided enough was enough. Was going to go the easy way and get the gastric sleeve, but my new doctor hates the idea until I've tried everything, and he put me back on an old firend that worked hit and miss in the past, Duromine. I'm at some ridiculous weight now. Too ashamed to even know for certain. I know when I started this journey a month ago i was well over 136 Kilograms which is,.. I dunno in pounds. I'm pretty sure there are lighter bombs than me in most countries ordinance lists.. Was a 3XL in shirts. The last month I've been working on it I've lost a full shirt size and comfortably wear a 2XL shirt. Not T shirt, a shirt. . Goal it to hit an XL before Australian winter sets in. But,.. I have a lack of direction in the gym and I think its starting to show. I've used machines plus freeweights and I have ratcheted things up over the past few weeks in terms of weight setting and actual weights used and a workout that would take me half an hour is now down to twenty minutes. Which is cool but worries me at the same time. still the same level of intensity, just doing things a lot faster. Diet wise. I try and be as Palaeo as I can be but on a budget with a family its a bit hard at times. Generally though I do the best I can. Carbs are a rare commodity here. Plus generally on these meds they taste gross and feel gross if not while eating them definitely while digesting. As from the tag list... I'm carrying enough battle damage to look like the human equivalent of the hero Viper from Battlestar Galactica... A ruptured disc in my neck with bone growing over the rupture, (which if i workout too hard for my neck muscles, sets off the most excruicating headaches known to man and I don't have vicodin. Takes a gram of ibuprofen on occasion to dull the pain to tolerable levels) Torn right knee meniscus, L5 to S1 vertebra seem to have fused, snapped all four of the tendons in my left foot in 2007 and had a evulsion (the tendon literally ripping out with the bone stuck to it) plus Sciatica from my work. So I am very cautious with my workouts, as much as I so desperately want to push myself.. there have been times when I've forgotten the meds and I can feel the abused bits of my body creaking and whining for me to stop. Which I do because by the time I hear it, it's usually too late and I'll spend the rest of my day with a sore knee and a cranky demeanour. Sick of being this fat. Had a gutful, pardon the pun. Hate hating myself. I hate fat clothes. I hate feeling ashamed at the beach. Want to be around for my sons's thirtieth. Don't want to die of heart attack in my forties. And the only person who can do anything about it is me. And I'll keep fighting until I can't. Once upon a time,.. I had abs... Anyone else trying to shed some with a few injuries?

UPDATE - INJURY HAS CHANGED THIS CHALLENGE - If you are just finding my challenge - you can just jump ahead to my current plan! Week four - I added myself to the pushup PvP New Challenge towards a new me..... Working towards a triatholon - the triple threat. Sprint Distance; 750 meter (.465 mi) swim, 20 kilometer (12.5 mi) bike, 5 kilometer (3.1 mi) run challenges? I cannot run, right now, as of today, I cannot walk! Damage to the pereneal tendons in my left foot. I cannot bike for long - sprain to my right acl. And, I cannot swim - low endurance because of years of surgeries that required weeks of non weight bearing and no endurance activities. I need to add some mini challenges here: Adventurers #1 - Water challenge - YES +1CON Adventurers #2 - Rest & Recover - YES +1 CON Adventurers #3 - Be Brave - YES +1 STR Adventurers #4 - Stop, Collaborate & Eat Some - YES +1 CON Adventurers #5 - Run, Run, Run for the hills - no - fail total awarded 3CON AND 1STR PvP Challenge - my requirements PvP week#4 yes - 150points for push up variations PvP week#5 yes - 170 points for push up variations PvP week#6 fail for psuedosepsis- 150 points for push up variations PVP EARNED ME 1STR AND 1STA IN LIGHT OF MY CHALLENGE GOALS RPG Fanatics mini challenges #1 Intro - check (CHA?); #2 Move Rocks - check(was going to summon someone else to do it for me, but I did it!); (STR?) #3 Demon Dash, accumulate 5 miles ; 3/5 - since I'm in a boot and not allowed to walk? 1/2? (END?) #4 Recovery & Reorientation - check - (1WIS?) #5 Goblin Gank - kill 5 goblins with bodyweight exercises - 12 slain (STR?); #6 - WEAK SHOWING THESE CHALLENGES EARNED ME 1CHA, 2STR, 1/2 STA, 1/2WIS with my challenge goals 2014 Challenge #2 Goals: Build Strength - do some sort of Basic Body Weight Workout per the program parameters. wk1 - none - dealing with pain. wk2 - 3 days +1 water = 4/7...give .5 for two sick days. 5/7 wk3 - total fail - no excuses 0/7 wk4 - I'm givng myself 7/7 for the whole PvP pushups, with squats and planks PR of 2 - 60s knee planks; then 1- 2 min knee plank! wk 5 - 7/7 for PvP AND RPG challenges of pushups, PR of 10 knee pushups and 10 squats! (I forgot all about planks - go figure!) wk 6 - NONE STR - REWROTE CHALLENGES BASED ON MY LIFE SITUATIONS Build Endurance(if walking is possible) - Basic HR for 1 mile walk....speed should increase from beginning of challenge to end of challenge. Maybe swim wk1 - walking in boot - 7/7 wk2 - boot, + 1 hour water workout...with HRT 1/7 wk3 - boot - walked at least 4 miles this week - but ruined my fit bit. I'll count it as 4/7 wk4 - since I kept working on the PvP, did one workout and one swim - 100% wk5 - PvP, RPG and 1 90 min swim - 100% - pushing through the extra sets pushups wk6 - IN ADDITION TO PVP CHALLENGE - EARNED 1/2STA Build Flexibilty - Stretching program fit into Strength and Endurance wk1 - stretches 6/7 for hips because of boot pain wk2 - boot leveled - regular stretches for hips, lower back and legs 6/7 wk3 - hips hurt, forcing stretches...7/7 wk4 - because of the push ups, planks and squats, I needed stretches 100% wk5 - daily, including rolling 7/7 100% wk6 - ICEICEICE no stretching 2DEX Build Health - Paleo and 21 day Sugar Detox - logging - 6/7 days consistent - 6/7 days weight loss - up to 15# day of rest =1/2 point for the day, but only if it is to prevent over doing and injury - not for bailing out. wk1 - Total Win for cleanse wk2 - Total fail for eating sugar at restaurants - but win for not bingeing. wk3 - total fail - including some binging for feeling sorry for myself wk4 - total fail...2 of 3 meals a day, and binging, and snacks wk5 - fail...though I will summarize what I learned at the end of this challenge. wk6- total fail because of pain 0 CON from the challenge goals Build Wisdom - Read a book - on paleo/or health issues, 1 book = 1 point 21DaySugarDetox - 1Point read Steve's blogs, found inspirational videos - 1Point checked out MWOD site for applications 2 1/2 WIS for my research Build Spirit - Continue Bible Reading program wk 1 - win 7/7 wk 2 - fail 0/7 wk 3 - 1/7 wk4 - 50% bible; 50% convicting articles =??? wk5 - much prayer time, little Bible Time - fail wk6 - I know there is no Spirit, but, on top of that, I failed SPR Build Community - touch base with my 'herd' of nerds once a week wk1 Win wk2 Win wk3 win - the only thing that kept me focused this week. wk4 still winning here! wk5 - I have made it to almost all of my friends' threads at least once wk6 - 75% 2 CHA I need to make this easier to grade - so that I can keep the summaries up to date easier. I need to give myself grace...and allow myself to learn from mistakes. I will be editing this, to add last challenge and summary - and additional links. But these are my goals - and I am declaring I am in this 6 week challenge! SUMMARY FOR 2014 CHALLENGE - EARNED 3CHA 4STR 2STA 2DEX 3CON 3 WIS 0SPR

Vengefulpear Eats Senzu Beans in the Medi-Chamber! Welcome back to another awesome challenge my Assassin friends Some of you may know that my shoulder is all messed up right now (well not that badly, but it's still on the mend) so this time around my challenge is going to be based around recovery, the final stages of slimming down and life goals! This year was supposed to be the Year of the Dragon, so I went with a Dragon Ball Z theme for this! Rather than just kicking some dragon bottom... Damn you shoulder! My main quest for this challenge (hopefully it wont last any longer than this challenge) is to fully recover and slowly build myself back up so I don't do myself further harm. Anyway! Onto the goals! Goal 1: Eat Senzu Beans (Like a good Assassin) Lose 6lbs +2 CON +1 DEX Starting Weight: 152lbs Last time I had the same goal and managed to smash it! Yay! So this time I figure I'll do the same, as 6lbs is a good amount to lose in 6 weeks. I am getting close to where I'd like to be I think, I'm certainly nearing where my lean body mass used to be. I know that I will have lost muscle whilst not being able to workout as much as I want because of the stupid efficient body. Damn you shoulder! *shakes fist* Now that I have successfully eaten a certain amount for a challenge, I'm going to add on to that to eat right. That's right, upping it to Hard difficulty! So here's what my dietary goals to achieve my 6lb weight loss are this time: Eat 1850-1950 calories per day average (see calorie PVP)Eat 80% paleo (Minimum 5 days per week)Bonus Objective: Eat 100g protein per dayThe bonus objective is there to hopefully minimize any more muscle loss that might occur. Hopefully with paleo that will happen anyway but we shall see! As per usual, I'm going to throw out the calorie PVP for anyone who wants to track their calories The rules are simple, track your calories and see if you meet your target as an average for the week, whoever does or is the closest is declared the winner. And the overall awesome-person/winner is whoever had the most weekly wins! So I'd be honoured if anyone wants to join me https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmtRMwoMwJORdG9zYkU1TVAtSkduTXhMUHZkaFdZYXc&usp=sharing Goal 2: Run Snake Way +2 STA +1 DEX +1 CON Run 650,000 miles, kidding! Actually; Run 2-3 times per week and do interval/sprint training 1-2 times per week Again this will be building on the success of my running goal from last challenge, although I do realise that some of that was down to be not being able to do strength training on its own so I just went running instead. I went running 3-4 times per week last challenge, mainly going for 5km runs and then some longer ones at the weekends. Now I want to add in speed training to help my stamina, fat loss and speed. To make sure I don't feel like I have to go out all the time and just run, I'm lowering the goal of normal slower runs to 2-3 instead of 3-4 and then adding in the interval training at 1-2 times per week. If I keep up with what I was doing in the last challenge then I should be able to achieve that no problemo. Goal 3: Stretchy Stretchy Stretch or practice yoga every day +3 DEX +1 STR This goal is subject to change. But I will stretch and/or start yoga to try and keep myself limber and help along the recovery of my shoulder. Also if my shoulder keeps giving my grief after a couple of weeks of the challenge then I will be off to the doctor so this goal may change to reflect what they say. I'm pretty new to yoga and things so any suggestions on this front would be appreciated Goal 4: Study like Gohan Work on life goals at least 1 hour per day +2 CHA +2 WIS Maybe not just like Gohan, but the boy did study hard! I want to add in this because I do want to kick my writing up a notch this year and we've all got loads of things we want to be able to do but never seem to get around to (right... Right?!). So I want to do them rather than just diddling time away on my computer of an evening not doing a lot. Life goals include but are not limited to: Writing, learning a language, researching for writing, studying on writing, practicing my guitar, meditation And to be clear for my own benefit, practicing Smite does not count as a life goal. Bonus points for hitting 50,000 words written towards the book (I'm on about 8,500 now so that might be a stretch but if I actually sit down and write instead of just splooping paragraphs out every now and again I should be able to do it) That's my challenge, then! I wish everyone the best of luck, I'm sure we can support each other and make sure that everyone achieves the very best they can I look forward to it

So I got tackled and took a cleat to the knee when I went down. I didn't notice immediately but about an hour later it started feeling kinda like a wad of cotton was shoved behind my kneecap and it hurt to kneel on. I figured it was just a bruise and went on my merry way. However, it's four days later and it still feels like that a little. It hurts to go down stairs a bit. I play the tournament this weekend on it and it worked fine but I can sort of jiggle my knee cap which I don't think is suppose to happen as my other knee doesn't do that. I'm wondering if anyone might know what's up and if I can do anything to make it better quickly?

Thread for recording my rehabilitation process after a complete PCL tear. Background: I am a work-at-home software engineer living in Tokyo. One husband, one dog, one cockatiel. I was a few weeks into a few months of vacation to relax and do some study on MOOCs. I've been experimenting with the paleo diet since last December and joined the rebellion a month or two ago, but haven't really started doing regular workouts. My regular exercises consisted of walking/running with the dog daily and occasional short cycling trips. The fateful day: Mar 22. Saturday. I badly twisted my left knee on a ski slope. At first I didn't notice the damage. It wasn't until I put my left leg on the downhill side and tried to start, that I realized I can't put my weight on my left leg: I fell. After sliding down the whole slope on my buttocks (that was fun), my husband called the emergency for me. The nurse at the first-aid center applied a compress to my knee and advised to see a doctor. Icing would not be necessary, just don't warm it for now. During the rest of the day, while we went back to Tokyo on car, and until I got crutches a few days later, I moved around by hopping on my right leg. That night I applied taping around the knee to prevent unwanted motions and slept with the left leg in a slightly elevated position. Day 2: Mar 23. It was Sunday the next day and hospitals are usually closed. Luckily, there was an orthopedic clinic open nearby. The doctor checked the knee and advised me to go to a bigger hospital, where I can get an MRI scan. He drew some excess blood and fluid from my knee with a syringe, and gave me a referral letter for an university hospital. At his directions, I tried standing with my weight equally on both legs. Somewhat to my surprise, I could. To aid my body in coping with the injury, I decided to consciously up my intake of proteins: eggs, meats, fishes and whey protein dispersed across the day. Day 3: Mar 24. Monday. The university hospital had actually shutdown a few days ago, and was re-opening at a new location this very day. Luckily because of this, the MRI reservation queue was almost empty and I could get a scan on the spot. The scan indicated a complete PCL tear. If I caught the words it correctly, my knee flexion measured around 60 degrees (not sure where zero degree is on this measurement) and I had almost no problem doing a full extension. I have the choice to get a surgery or not. We'll see how the knee is doing after a month or so and make further decisions. I went home equipped with a long cast bandaged along the back of my left leg and a pair of crutches. Next Tuesday, I'll visit the hospital to get a brace fitted. I'm not despaired or anything like that at this point. Unbeknownst to me, I'd learnt how not to make comparisons with the past, the alternate future where I retained a healthy knee, and with other perfectly biped people. I can easily focus on what changes I can make about my current state, and not on what I can't change. But I do have small surges of anxiety from time to time. The dog doesn't like the crutches. She fled upstairs when she first saw me entering the room on it. It wasn't until the day after the next that she got accustomed to how it works and kept on lying down when I passed her by. Day 4-7: Mar 25-28. Tue-Fri. I decided on a routine to start working on my upper body and try to retain my legs' muscle strength. The goal is to end up stronger than before the incident. I try to put 50% of my weight on my left leg from time to time. I figured it's fine as it doesn't hurt. I'll have to check with the doctor on my next visit. Using the crutches is fun. As a programmer, I've always liked learning new things. These are the ways I get around the house now: monopedhopping: the most speedy but the most tiring.twist dancing: less tiring but slow.bipedmodified twist dancing: use the left leg as a support for better stability. less stress on the right leg than monoped twist dancing. can carry things with both hands tripedsingle crutch: only tried a few times when I needed to carry something with my hand. It's a little taxing on my left arm.quadrupeddouble crutch: moderate speed and energy efficient. only limited capacity to carry things around, but can be remedied with the use of a bag. a little cumbersome to stow and fetch the crutches.hands and feet: just like other animals. it's the most efficient as long as I'm on a flat surface. it really helps that I can put at least 50% of my weight on the left leg and I have the flexibility to touch the ground with my hand fingers flat and put weight on them. When I'm too weary to study, I listen to the BBC dramatization of "The Lord of the Rings", or read the "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. I feel envious of my husband who's going on a one-day cycling trip tomorrow. But I'm glad at the same time that I have an excuse to stay in bed all the time and study and do hobby programming.

Six months ago I hurt my knee after doing some intense speedwork 3 weeks before a half-marathon. Since then I haven't run more than 4 miles in a single go, and tend to do no more than 20 minute interval runs. I say probably running 5 miles a week. I've been doing yoga and a lot of lifting instead, building up my overall strength and trying to even out my muscles after focusing almost exclusively on running for a while. My knee still bothers me from time-to-time but foam rolling and icing calms it down. Now, here's the question: There's a half marathon in 13 weeks that I've got an opportunity to do at a discount rate. The running bug has come back hard lately and I'm itching to have something to train for. However, my running endurance is WAY down from essentially taking a 6 month break after running for just a little over a year before that. But I do a ton of walking (average around 35 miles a week). Do you think the walking mileage/endurance is enough to justify jumping into training for a half that's 13 weeks away?

Hello people of the rebellion! My name is Tom and I am from Australia. I have always struggled with my weight from an early age, from being extremely overweight from over eating and under exercising to being underweight and fuelled by a diet of alcohol and bananas and over exercising with running. (Strange I know.) I also suffer from anxiety and I find my appearance makes me feel incredibly anxious around other people. This year I decided to make a huge change in my life and got into university to study Science (I have a huge interest in Genetics and Immunology). I also took up Fencing and have found that I have a huge passion for it. Since I don't like how my body looks and I would like to feel strong and manage a back injury I suffered, I decided to join up at a gym and begin to better my health, my life, and my body whilst at the same time improving my brain with study. So here I am, joining the rebellion, nervous as all hell but excited to become apart of this community. Stats. Weight: 85kg - 187 lbs Height: 181 cm - 5'11 Strength . Push Up max - 10 (Goal - 50) Pull up max - 6 (Goal - 20) Agility/Endurance Maximum distance ran - 2km (Goal - 5km) Beep test Score - N/A (Goal - 6.5) Intelligence/Spirit/Discipline (Goals to achieve) - Form a good sleeping routine - Form good study habits - stop drinking alcohol altogether - stop drinking coffee ( Kind of addicted at the moment) - Move to be fully vegetarian (only partially at the moment) - drink ore water - work on stress management - grow my own vegetables - stop eating processed foods.

Posting here is a bit of a long shot, but maybe someone here can give me some useful pointers - either to an explanation or where to look. I'm not even sure which professional to call, except in any case it's Sunday, and not that urgent On Tuesday I started feeling uncomfortable sitting. I believe the polite term for the sore spot would be "glutes", but actually there's a whole collection of muscles in that area. As the week passed, the soreness moved down my leg, and also focussed primarily on the left side. First it got the back of the thigh. Now it's mostly resident in my calf. The spot in the calf feels like muscle tension - and it's preventing normal walking, producing a visible limp. I'm still uncomfortable sitting too long, and I also find myself shifting a lot searching for a comfortable sleeping position. Except the walking (hard to extend my leg backward, as if my achilles tendon were having issues) it doesn't interfere with movement, and feels like the kind of thing best dealt with by moving - I expect to be less stiff later in the day, walking normally - but still sore. I've continued my normal exercise routine in spite of this, because it doesn't interfere, and I originally thought it was DOMS. I also tried a foam roller with the butt, and "the stick" (another kind of roller) with the thigh, with indifferent effects. Tuesday to Sunday is too long for the explanations familiar to me - except perhaps a sprain, and sprains don't move, and do have swelling. The closest thing I've experienced is the pattern when I "put my back out" - the soreness/stiffness moves during recovery. But there's been no back involvement in this. Any ideas? Any clue what type of professional might be appropriate, or if one is? (My easy choices are fitness trainer, chiropractor, primary care physician.)

When I was 20 my left hip/lower back were injured in a game of Red Rover, and over the years I had been subconsciously favouring that side of my body and now it is significantly weaker than my right side. I've been doing the Beginner Body Weight Workout for the past three weeks and noticed that if I'm not paying attention my body shifts itself to take weight off the left side when I'm doing squats. Today, while I was going through my second set of squats, my body shifted and I hurt my hip/back. I don't want my progress to be affected by this, so I was wondering if there other exercises I could do while this healed, and if I could continue to do the other exercises in the Beginner Body Weight Workout?

I would love some advice. I have two injuries that are making my life (and workouts) a misery. 1. A year ago during a marathon I ended the race with terrible knee pain (but I PR'ed, so worth it?). I took a month off of running and a month later when I tried to do a fun-run relay race, I could barely go further than a mile or two without being in incredible pain. I took more time off then some more then some more and so on (hooray for living overseas where you can't find a reliable doctor to help you out, right?) trying to get my knee to heal itself. This was my 3rd marathon and while I had taken several more walk breaks in the others, they hadn't presented any hint of a problem. A couple of months ago I started rolling out my IT band every other day and my mileage started building back up. One time I got to 7 miles feeling pretty good, but I think my form is off now cuz the other knee started to hurt. Subconsciously babying the bad knee, maybe. Over the holidays I went to for PT when I was back in the US. They said my form has been off since middle school and so my muscles and neurons weren't firing the way they should. They spent some time breaking up the fascia in my calves and feet and 15 minutes later I was nailing the strength tests I bombed before where I had to resist them pushing on my leg in various directions (basically a functional movement approach). It was incredible. I should be going back for PT regularly to fix my form and get more manipulation treatment, but I can't since I live in Central freaking Asia. So now I'm back overseas, not running until I go home for more treatment in July, trying to just walk some every day. BUT the problem seems to be getting worse: today I walked a mile and my hip (same side) started to get the same ache in it. I used to do yoga every week, but now I can't do several positions because it hurts so badly to sit cross-legged or do any similar position. 2. Last May I was doing a strength-training program (since I couldn't run) and while I wasn't new to weights, it was my first time doing much with kettle bells or deadlifts or anything like that. Aaaaand I pulled a muscle in my back. So, again, out for a month trying not to lift weights, just doing circuits/cardio/etc. And it seemed to improve, so I started working out more. Aaaaand pulled it again. Rest longer, get back into weights, aaaaand pull it again. It was so bad I couldn't bend down to put on my socks/shoes/underwear/pants, sneezing caused spasms, it was awful. Aaaaand I have no idea how, but I did it again over the holidays (honestly--no clue--I wasn't working out AT ALL). So a few weeks later it's still a dull ache in my lower back and there are certain yoga positions and workout moves that hurt too much to do. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH so basically my right leg and lower back are making it VERY difficult to do any kind of standard work out routine (even yoga isn't going well) and I would love some advice: Are there workouts that take it easy on (ideally both of) these areas? I love strength training, but do I need to give up the idea of doing it? I need to strengthen my core to support my back, I know, but how can I do that without irritating my lower back? I do not want to be stuck with just sit ups. Any good resources out there for how to deal with these injuries?? Or any recommendations from others who have been so afflicted?I figure I will start swimming and cycling more to get away from walking/running, but I'm pretty new to both and don't really know what a good "routine" or plan is.Is there anything I can do in my daily routine to help out in little ways? I guess I should try to stand more than sit at work, maybe? ANY GUIDANCE WOULD BE SO, SO WELCOME. I've never been sidelined for an injury before, especially ones that don't seem to be going away...

Challenge 8 - the first of 2014 and time to get things back on track. I've been hampered with injuries the last 2 challenges which has halted my lifting progress and resulted in some fairly decent weight gain. I'll be using this challenge to drop the weight again, recover properly and prepare myself for the year ahead. I turn 40 this year and I want to be in unreal shape for that. Main Quest Attain 12% body fat once. Starting Stats: Weight: 86.6kg Body fat: 20.7% This challenge is going to draw on the the successes of last year's 7 challenge's. I've decided to re-visit the goals from my previous challenges that I had success with and that helped me out the most so I have pulled 4 goals of of my previous threads. Goal 1 - No Alcohol (from challenge 1) (CON 5) Every January I abstain from Alcohol and this year will be no different. This is never easy but I have experience to draw on and I know I can do it if I am determined enough. Goal 2 - Sub 80kg (from challenge 2) (CHA 3 DEX 2) I know, I know, weight figures are arbitrary and the scale can lie but I know the score and I know I'm too heavy at the moment. I'm under no illusion that this is going to be a very hard target to hit but I want it badly enough to try my best. Goal 3 - No Sugar (from challenge 5) (CON 2) Well I thought I was doing no sugar in challenge 5, turns out my protein powder was a lie. I know this will be a tough one, I have been eating poorly for a couple months so there will be fallout from dropping this but I know it's worth it. Inspiration here Goal 4 - 80% Paleo - 17 main meals per week. (from challenge 7) (CON 3) Again what I thought was Paleo really wasn't due to my protein powder so I'm going to try this again. With work travel this can be tough but we'll see how I go. What nothing related to strength training or exercise? Not this time, it's all about body fat, body weight and changing how I'm feeling. I will be exercising but I'm not stating any goals around it, I need to get my diet sorted out as the top priority. Rewards: History shows rewards also work well for me. - If I go sub 80kg I will book my dream diving trip to the Yongala wreck.

Hello guys ! So i got myself a gym membership valid for the next 6 months, i was very excited about going back and may have overworked myself. . . i'm 21 years old, barely 5 pounds overweight, i used to workout on a regular basis 3~4 years ago. Doctor said arthritis on both arm joints. . . what did i do wrong ? here is my program -> 15 min cardio 3x15 series for 2 muscle groups with no interval and 30s between series ( shoulder/abs , biceps/chest, etc ) 15 min cardio am i using too much weight, wrong form or both ???

So last weekend I threw out my back, after being on NF for a month and eating well, I am fairly certain I did it during the night (a new mattress is long overdue =( ). I was laid up in bed for a full two days and now I am able to move around a little. Are there any light exercises I could be doing, or should I just hold off until the pain is completely gone? (lower back is where the pain is it, the sharp pains from moving are gone, just a constant dulling pain is what I have now)

While doing leg lifts my right hip makes a clicking sound as I lift and lower the leg. In the past, I have had this sound during yoga as well. It is not painful, but it feels weird. I am concerned it may lead to an injury or a weakness. Any suggestions?

MAIN QUEST My ultimate goal is to fit comfortably in size 14 trousers. But currently I have an injured shoulder which is weakened and lacks range of movement. Nothing to do with NF, I might add! This level of my life story is all about overcoming injury, maintaining my good habits and looking after myself. By the end of this challenge I will not be wearing any bigger clothes than I am now. MISSION ONE: 5 x 30-min workouts per week I have been instructed by my doctor not to lift heavy things and to rest my shoulder. Easier said than done to this warrior! I will still be working out using NF Academy workouts but will mix and match elements of the bodyweight, barbell and dumbbell workouts as well as the good old “fun cardio.†STR+2, DEX+2, STA+2 A = 25+ workouts B = 23 or 24 workouts C = 21 or 22 workouts F = 20 workouts or fewer MISSION TWO: LOG AND TRACK In order to maintain my clothes size (or even shrink it) I need to keep track of measurements. I will log my body fat percentage, body composition etc on my home scales weekly; my body size fortnightly and my food intake daily. Weekly and fortnightly measurements are mandatory so anything lower than 6 weekly measurements and 3 fortnightly measurements means failure. CON+2, WIS+1 A = 30+ logged days B = 28 or 29 logged days C = 26 or 27 logged days F = 25 logged days or fewer MISSION THREE: SELF CARE I am happiest and healthiest when I am clean, organised and engaging with life. I will develop a daily checklist to keep me on track as well as some kind of reward system. Things included will be at least one bath or shower every day and taking my meds regularly and on time. My checklists / rewards will be set and reviewed every 2 weeks for the duration of this challenge. CON+3, CHA+3 A = 30+ days with a complete checklist B = 28 or 29 days with a completed checklist C = 26 or 27 days with a completed checklist F = 25 days or fewer with a completed checklist MOTIVATION “Consider the consequences of doing nothing.â€

Hi and welcome at my 7th challenge While waiting for my elbow to heal (so I can start strength training and martial arts) I'm going to focus on establishing some habits. They should asured that I keep on going forward while healing instead of just sitting on my ass and eating bad stuff. 1. Philoshopy: Stay Positive, Stay Content - 10 min day planning and 'positive' thinking after morning meditation – 5 Work days/week 2. Nutrition: Healthy breakfast – not-bread– 5 work days/week 3. Fitness: Move my body 3x/week 4. Life Quest – Learning Math 240min per week – plan: 4x60min after work: M,T,Th,F btw. I'm little tmnt oriented other habits I've implemented in my earlier challenges: Nutrition Doing healthy salad in bulks for entire work-week – Fri/ Sat Doing grocery shopping 1x/week at weekends Eating 1-2 fruits at work Philosophy Morning meditation at workdays– I’m cool with 10mins for now Fitness Morning 1mile walk at workdays– right after waking up – I did that all winter and I am back since November. It wakes me up better than jug of coffee and it works magic for my health – like a vaccine Activity – 2h dance classess with my fiancé – Wed 8-10pm Life stuff writing my fantasy book – Wed – 1h after work – I treat it more as a time of uncensored creativity than a try of becoming a writer. I did it a while ago, then my life got too busy and few weeks back I re-started that habit.

Since Friday last week, I’ve felt this slight pain in my lower calfs, consistent but not unbearable so I’ve kept running. The pain is different from normal muscle pain, it feels like it’s the tendon as opposed to the muscle itself. I’ve read up with a variety of causes and just checking if anyone have experienced similar pains? and possibly what you did to get your calfs to man up? Thanks!

I know sit-ups are dumb, but what are some better things I can do to strengthen basically from my shoulders to hips (back especially)? I have a messed up shoulder, so however much I would like to lift, I like not having surgery (yet :/ ) more.* *I asked this on another forum and got three recommendations for dead lifts. Ughn. What I'm basically trying to do is prep for NOT jacking myselp up more. I had it suggested to me to work around my injury by strengthening my core and back, which have gotten really weak without some sort of direction on HOW to build and maintain their strength without putting too much strain on my shoulder.

Main Quest: To be able to enjoy team sports without aches, pains and injuries. Missions: 1. CORE STRENGTH: 2x per week to prevent back aches 2. LEG STRENGTH: 2x per week to prevent knee injuries and improve speed 3. UPPER-BODY STRENGTH: 2x per week to improve volleyball skills All exercises are a combination of BBW and exercises I was taught by my physiotherapist. I want to combine them into just 3 workouts per week: core & legs, legs & upper-body, upper-body & core. Side Quest: 1. Learn to recognize the bird call of a common bird, one per week. (Hey, you can nerd out on a lot of things...) Motivation: I really enjoy spending time with my team mates and playing team sports. Injuries just take away some of the joy so I want to get rid of them! Grade Sheet: 16-18 workouts --> A 13-15 workouts --> B 10-12 workouts --> C 7-9 workouts --> D 4-6 workouts --> E 1-3 workouts --> F I will of course track my progress in this thread.

Hi my lovely fellow scouts, I'm back (late as per usual) with you for a bit ! When on holiday in Cornwall, I managed to break my back - at least it felt like it - while body boarding. A wave smashed my upper body down while hurling my lower body up, resulting in a very unhealthy forced back bend. Not good. I had been training back strength (pull-ups) and back bends (bridges and all) with the assassins and that, right now, is definitely off for the time being. My GP says not to worry, but when I do push ups, pull ups, or even slight back bends, I still hurt. So I'm back with you for my next great fitness goal, which is running faster. To achieve this I will 1) run a 2K-fast every morning 2) eat low carb paleo (with beans and a little dairy) 6 days a week with an obligatory cheat day 3) do some basic yoga and strength training every day after my run to regain flexibility It's not much - twenty minuts, maybe half an hour every day - but it should be enough to lose a few pounds and beat my post-race and post-injury lethargy. (Yes I did do that half - don't ask ! Another typical Nanako story ...) So, consistency it is. Happy to be here again ! PS If I feel like doing more I will. I know my running club "friends" will harass me into running more, and on top of this, I'm resolved to join the Pilot Gig Club from next week - another group of irresponsible friendly drinkers with an exercise problem ! Let's see how that pans out. PPS I forgot to say that I don't eat after 7pm (ish), which has really helped (I've been doing this for a week now).

Anyone here use KT Tape or have opinions regarding? I have runner's knee that flairs up after mile 4 and tendonitis which comes and goes as it pleases in my left ankle. Looking for options better than running in a brace that gets all gross ans chafes.

Hi folks! Newbie to this place. Been reading the blog for awhile and decided to finally join. My name is Nicole, I'm 33 and live in Richmond, VA. I was an active kid in playing softball and doing gymnastics, but quitting due my punk rock awesomeness in high school and needing to eschew all things jock. I gained weight and continued on that path until I reached close to 200lbs in my mid-20s. In 2009 I decided to take control and began running. I LOVED running. But I lost no weight until I changed my food intake. Once I found the right pairing (with the help of Weight Watchers), I dropped 55lbs. I've kept that off. Despite the horror of the 2011 Richmond Half Marathon. That is where I acquired IT Band Syndrome. If you are a runner (or possibly hiker or cyclist) you are familliar with the dreaded ITBS. Since late fall of 2011 I have had ITBS and simply cannot shake it. Currently I am in my third round of physical therapy and am deciding to throw in the towel. I need to find something else to do. I need activity. I have had fibromyalgia since 1997. Most of the time it stays pretty mild, but I can easily exacerbate it by not getting enough sleep or triggering my anxiety. Yeah, I have anxiety and depression too. Running was keeping most all symptoms away. Now running is no longer and option. I am slowly watching myself begin to self-medicate with food, which is why I was overweight in the first place. So here I am. For support. For help. To learn. Thanks for reading the short version! P.S. My overall goal is to be a combination of Buffy Summers/Katniss Everdeen/Charlie Matheson/Arya Stark/Tris Prior

I trod on a nail! Baww! This means I can't put weight on one heel, and tomorrow is scheduled as heavy deadlift day. Damned if I'm letting that stop me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-M3L5HHx6U - One-legged deadlifts. I wonder how heavy I can go on these bad boys? I'll do some regular stuff with the ball of the foot, just stabilizing on that leg. And all of a sudden I grok the effort that our local PL girl puts to dl with a prosthesis. Respec'. ...I wonder if there's a compendium of things to do when X bodypart is offline?

About 2 months ago, I got rear ended in my car, resulting in a moderate whiplash injury. It wasn't severe enough to cause any long term problems (although it was pretty miserable in the short term), but I had a 6 week layoff from my normal workouts while I regained mobility in my neck and shoulders. Right now I've had a couple of weeks back at working out and I'm so frustrated as the strength I've lost in the meantime. Mentally, in my head, I'm unconsciously thinking I'm as strong as I was before and then my body just falls short, just gives up at 8 reps instead of 10, or a 5 second hold instead of 10 seconds. Logically, I know I should ease up. Logically, I know I will bounce back. But emotionally? Emotionally I'm really freaking upset, part of me fears I'll never get it back, and part of me is just plain annoyed that my image of myself doesn't match up with the current reality. Any thoughts? Similar experiences? Good solid kicks to my ego?

So my gym buddy has been trying to talk me off the treadmill and into the weightroom for ages. I didn't realize the lighter weights were physically separate from the heavier weights (didn't know about the lighter weights at all until later) and so I picked the lightest set in the lifting area and tried to do dumbell shoulder presses... well, it was way too heavy for me and I strained my wrist pretty badly. It hurts to move my thumb forward too much or bend my wrist forward. Obviously this happened because I tried to use a weight that was too heavy, but what can I do besides that to prevent this in the future? Is it possible that my form was off? And how long should I wait (hah) before I get back in the weightroom? Thanks in advance for any help, I'm relatively new to this.