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Right, it's 2022 and I've pressed my rest button to turn myself off an on again According to the various diagnostic checks that run, I can see that I have gained a bit of weight over Christmas and lost some stamina but nothing terrible. I haven't drunk too much and I have been exercising periodically. The nagging pain in my knees is still there though And I have a sore back today, which is annoying. So i don't think I'll be doing anything too challenging. 1. Yoga. Yes yoga. Like the meditation I experimented with last year, this is definitely under the heading of things I am predisposed to recoil from but there's a core of something useful there so I'm going to overcome my natural tendency to run away and just go with it. Mrs 18ck has suggested a thirty day course led by a super-spiritual America lady who says Namaste at the end of her videos. It's going to be a long month. 2. Exercise 6 days a week, using a combination of upper-body strength and knee friendly cardio. Rowing, cycling, swimming, but maybe giving running a bit of a rest for a while. 3. Starting on Monday, not tomorrow, go back to calorie counting since that's quite helpful. We're eating "vegan" in January. Pretty heavy quotes there since although we won't be eating meat, the definition of what counts as dairy is pretty fluid. And I will not be drinking booze either. 4. Continue knocking out one to-do list item per day The aim is to restore order and be generally healthy (not in pain, and back to the weight I had before Christmas) at the end of this and then start on something more ambitious. I haven't really got a clear idea of what I want to achieve in the year. Maybe more speed at 10k, maybe longer distances, maybe focus on rowing instead. One thing I definitely do need to do though is make a follow-up appointment for my health checkup. I had one in early 2020 and was supposed to go back for a progress check but then the world ended. I'd like to do that but probably not in this challenge since I feel like I am in a rubbish place, so I am doing the health equivalent of... Well... You know when people who have cleaners but they are ashamed to show what a state their house is so they run around tidying up before they arrive? That.

2018 is going to be a year of healthy choices. I'm betting on it! Yes. Literally. I'm betting on weightloss this year using HealthyWage. I am betting $30 a month for the next six months that I will lose 10% of my body weight. You better believe I'm going to do it! When I succeed in June, I will be $100 richer. Whoo Hooo! The problem, of course, is my stupid knees. They carry more than they should, and I am paying the price every day. When I started NF, I made similar weightloss promises, and did lose over 10% of my bodyweight...even more. But I have been a yo yo since the initial push, and it's time for a new beginning. Ahh, January. What a good time to go ahead and make a new beginning. Goal #1 Healthy Eating This is my major focus because my mobility is limited after knee surgery. I am moving more every day, but I can't count on much exercise to help boost weightloss. Luckily, exercise is only 20% of the weightloss equation, and I can do plenty with healthy eating. There is no secret weapon for this one. I am tweaking my existing plan a little bit. It is a good plan...when I follow it. I'm going to use coloring pages to track mini healthy choices through the day. I will also color for each check mark on my daily healthy habits checklist for portion sizes and fruits/veggies. Roll the dice MFP food tracking continues-when I roll a "1" on the dice, I track my food. Prizes will include bike and wardrobe incentives. I will earn a prize for each full coloring page...and will post a photo here for accountability. I've been pretty good at intending to award myself prizes...but not so good for following through. But now that I've written it down, I will follow through! My whole healthy habit tracking system has been out of wack the past week and a half because of knee surgery. I usually track while I fill the water pitcher to take out to the chickens...but my dear husband has been handling chicken chores for me. It's weird how hard it is to remember to track without the trigger. I am feeling well enough to do chicken chores again, but I probably won't take over again until he goes back to work after the holidays. I'm a lucky girl to have @Mando Baxter in my life...even if he doesn't run challenges anymore. Goal #2 Knee Exercises Duh. If I want to recover, I need to do the exercises my doctor/physical therapist recommend. Goal #3 Upper Body Exercises So many excuses for not exercising these days. Ok, so I can't bend one knee. That doesn't mean I can't lift some dumbbells or something. Cardio is limited, so I'm going to switch my strength days back to MWF. Upper body exercises are a must during my morning exercise time. Life Goal (yes, still) Get a Job This includes 1-2 hours of job search activities M-F. I also have a 2-day training in week three of the challenge for substitute teaching. This is something I've been considering doing for the next year and a half while my youngest son is still in elementary school. Otherwise, I'm still applying to flexjobs (with not too much luck) and full time office jobs (with not too much conviction). It's been a blessing to have knee surgery without worrying about work...but I do worry what will happen in May after my severance runs out. We can handle me being a stay at home mom for a while, but eventually making lifestyle changes won't be too much fun. Just a quick update before I hit submit. My knee surgery went fine. I don't have a followup appointment with the doctor until this coming Tuesday (2 weeks from the surgery). I am getting better every day, but the progress is slow and frustrating. I had this idea that I would be on crutches for 3-5 days, and then bounce right up. Yeah, not realistic, I guess. I can hobble a bit without the crutches, but am still using one crutch most of the time here on day 11. Trying to focus on the good and taking things day by day.

Hi everybody. Last challenge was not a success due to illness and drama. So, this challenge is basically an identical copy of last time, with the exception of #4: Focus on building up muscles around my knees, so I can get back to bodyweight squats. So, a lot of bridges for the back leg muscles, and supported wall squats for the front leg muscles. Spend evening time doing mobility. Thanks to @Elastigirl, I learned about Kelly Starrett's book Deskbound, which has been useful to me. My plan is to spend the first two weeks practicing the bracing sequence, and other things for the first two weeks. The second two weeks, I will do the Mobility Prescriptions (one a day for two weeks). Make my point system a little less fiddly - like most nerds, I often build overly complex systems. The points do help me, since I get into an all-or-nothing thinking mode otherwise. However, my last challenge looked like an old Pac-Man game. So, my points are a little simpler, and rather than put the entire challenge under the spoiler tag each time, I'm going to put it up here one time, and then focus on communication. Figure out Plague Protocols - My last challenge got derailed by a lack of plague protocols. I was sick the entire last challenge, and Ms. Moros was worse. By the end of the challenge, I want to come up with a list of Plague Protocols for now, and the future. When I'm sick, I basically don't have the brainpower to figure out what I should de-load, and what I should just not do until I feel better. The details of the challenge are below the spoiler tag. For Week zero, I'm going to build back up to my weekly routine. I will consider 253 points a success, 282 good, and 317 excellent. 352 points maximum. As a reward, if I get a good score, I'm going to commit to a private lesson with a Yoga instructor that Ms. Moros recommends. I'll have to come up with "good" and "excellent" rewards.

December was a pretty good month for me. I think I've established the gym habit and I'm ready to increase on it this month. January is the calm before the storm. Rugby practice starts back up in February with matches happening March and April. I've got 2 airport jobs this spring. Airports are always more difficult than they really need to be. I'm also working on setting up a rugby tournament for the summer. I haven't fully committed to this happening but I have some more preliminary work to do so I can decide whether to jump into it or not. This month, I really have to get my food and fitness ramped up. After January I will be pulled in a ton of directions so if I don't have the habits pretty solid, I will struggle. Goal 1) Gym 3 times per week. Both lifting and bjj count towards the 3. *I changed this from 4 to 3 for realism. I got 2 per week in December, why jump so much and make it harder to succeed? I need success more than I need lofty goals* Goal 2) Rehab. I have a big case of gluteal amnesia that I'm working on with a trainer. I've already made progress but I'm not doing the things I'm supposed to be doing at home. I've got some pretty simple exercises that I'm supposed to do 3 days a week. Goal 3) Food. I just have to do it. I'm committing to primal. It's hard for me to commit because I know I'm going to struggle and be somewhat less than perfect. My wife lives on grains alone (not really but so close to really) so I know it's going to be difficult/impossible for me to do this perfectly. But if I shoot for perfect and land at 60% I'm still so far ahead of where I am now. If I don't try then I'll never know what adjustments I can make for success. Goal 4) Mornings. I suck at mornings. My goal is to be at work by 8 am each day. Eventually I want it to be 7 but that's too much of a change in one go since I'm also adding a primal goal which will require breakfast at home and a packed lunch most days. The only way I'm going to succeed at mornings is to leave all the guesswork out of it. Each night before bed I will lay out my work clothes, make sure my gym bag is ready if it's gym day and have food prepped as much as possible for the next day. My life is pretty chaotic and I'm tired of it. Tired of quitting, tired of chaos and tired of being fat. That's sort of the motto that got me through December so I hope it will carry me forward in january.

I know this is technically a "gear recommendation" question. But I think I will have better luck getting answers here. I get knee pain easily if I have to kneel on the floor for too long. I am looking to get a thicker yoga mat, but I have also heard that if they are TOO thick then you are less stable. I'm basically only flexible enough to do beginner yoga classes, but I would like to start going again. What brand or type of yoga mat do you recommend that is thicker or more forgiving to knees than the standard?

Hi! I'm new and still sifting through the forums - if this has been asked, please direct me to where other threads are! So, my knees are LOUD. Like, popcorn-in-the-microwave loud when I move, especially up steps. Sometimes, they're painful, but not always. It's definitely obnoxious to sound like I'm cracking glo-sticks with every step. I suspect there's some PF inflammation, as I've had physical therapy for it several years back, but the last time I went to a specialist, the guy couldn't get left from right figured out and I never went back. (Medical visits are expensive enough the first time 'round. I don't have the money in the bank to get second opinions constantly.) Oddly enough, I find my knees are more painful on things involving bodyweight or rapid-impact movement (lunges, bw squats, burpees, jumping jacks), but I can manage weighted squats with minimal discomfort, especially at higher weights. Does anyone else have this issue? Have you found that increasing muscle mass a.) reduces soreness and/or b.) reduces noise? I'd like to reduce my joint issues with fitness and dietary approaches, rather than spend more on the American medical profit machine. [Yes, I'm bitter. My work benefits suck mightily.] Any suggestions, exercises you've found work, articles that you've found useful -- I'm open to information and advice. My end goal is to have strength and endurance - both using bodyweight/plyo and weight training - and that's a looooong way off when my knees (and elbows) won't cooperate.

Hello runners! What type of strength work do you do to complement your running and to prevent injury? Obviously squats/lunges are great to build leg strength. I know developing your core muscles is really important too-- what's the best way to do this with a compound movement? My knees often feel... wobbly... after running, and I'm afraid one day they won't hold up enough for me to keep jogging. What exercises do you recommend to strengthen muscles around the knee, so that doesn't happen? I have good shoes from a running store and no arch problems. bodyweight / no equipment exercises are best. :-) Thank you for any knowledge you can share!

At this point I am squatting 1.5x my bodyweight and wondered if kneesleeves would be beneficial and what a reasonable pair to look at would be. I am a cheap cheap SOB but also don't want to buy something worthless. Thanks for feedback.

So, hi. I'm Jess. I'm 28. I am one week (!) away from finishing college. During this semester I took five classes and worked full time. Which means I gained ten pounds from all of the horrible eating habits between class and zero physical activity. (I even started taking the elevator to the third floor at school. Low point, definitely.) I've been starting to get back to the gym and taking the bike out on weekends. I've also tried doing the beginner bodyweight workout a few times, but I always have to stop by the second round of lunges due to knee pain. My knees have been crunching for a few years. I've seen a physical therapist who says that crunchy knees are nothing to worry about. But they get sooo tired and sore lately, that I have grown concerned. I'm hypothesizing that my knees feel worse lately because I have not been active. (plus, ten extra pounds all at once on a 5'0 frame could be a lot for the joints) I have a feeling that once I strengthen them, they'll be okay, but until then I would like to know if there are any good squat/lunge alternatives for weak knees starting out?

Hi guys (and gals), I am new here, and I look forward to everything you all have to offer . Here is my story: About a year ago and some odd months ago I decided I was going to work out (having not worked out since high school, 5 years ago). I had P90X, so I began doing it. It went well, and I felt I was making progress. One of my friends had a gym membership and could take a guest. Having been working out at home, I went with. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill, and that was all. The next week my knee was aching. I had assumed it was due to not having ran in years. A few weeks later we went to Florida on vacation, where my knee starting giving out randomly, causing me to stop and regain my footing and continue to walk. Since then, I have attempted getting back into working out a couple times, with the same result of my knee. I recently had been doing an eliptical (just jogging) instead of running. This went great for a couple weeks, then the same thing, so I quit. A month or so ago, I went ice fishing and was hiking around and kicking around good amounts of snow. After the second lake, I could barely walk off of the lake and could hardly even bend my legs. This actually cut our trip short. After this I saw my nurse at work, and she said she thinks it is due to weak knees, having never strength trained them. I enjoyed my last routine, which was just short and simple. Divide body parts up (general, like chest, legs, back) into 3 different days, so everything is once a week, and then do about 2 workouts per part. Short 20-30 minute workouts. Being that I am skinny, this was effective for me. My question, is what should I do about warming up if I cannot run, strengthening my knee (most importantly), and leg workouts in general? Also, does anyone have suggested workouts per body part that are most effective to hit all aspects of that region? Thank you

I'm back, sort of. I miss the challenge. I've been watching via WildRoss...but, I have not been able to do much of anything, because of more surgeries, moving, and blah blah blah(cue Charlie Brown's teacher voice here) It's time. The time is NOW. I have lost 25 pounds since Jan 1, and I only have about 100 to go. I have lost much muscle strength, but that can be regained! The time that I have wasted eating wrong and not exercising, to the degree that I could have at whatever time and place I was at, cannot be regained. But I can say right now, right here, NO MORE! I will not be 100% paleo to the detriment of friends and family...and our times together, but I will be 100% paleo to the best of my ability, and I will make mindful choices for leaving this protocol that has brought so much health. I have been given some limitations for my exercise...main caution? listen to your body....if it hurts, stop. recoup. start again. I made some friends here a long time ago, and I dropped off the face of the earth. Well, not really, I had more surgery. I was embarrassed that I couldn't do any challenges. And, I felt like a loser. That stops NOW! I don't know where I can get to, I don't know what long term goals to set, but I do know that I have to do MORE today than yesterday...and that has been my goal. If I have to take a day of rest so that I can go further tomorrow than yesterday - THAT IS TAKING CARE OF ME TO GET STRONGER! A day of rest, or a week of rest after long stressful events, is going to be important...and, I was afraid to put that on here. I am here again, in order to be inspired by my husband, and our daughter...and anyone else that chooses to be part of the rebuilding of Lady WildRoss. I'm glad to be back...

I'm still very new and fresh baby faced in the world of exercising and squatting and need some help or possibly patience and time I'm getting very sore knees, on the inside kinda feels like I've bruised my kneecap. when I'm bending down normally outside of the gym and sometimes coming up from my squat, not often though, it hurts the next day. I know I have very tight hips and I'm struggling to keep my knees out, which is where the problem lies. I'm really trying and working on keeping my knees out, but they still decide to come in. Can anyone recommend any exercises and/or stretches to improve and fix my dodgy squat. Currently stretching my hip flexors and rolling the inside and outside of my thighs. Please and Thank You for any advice

Hi all! Finally had the discussion with the doc about my knees. She told me to RICE, load up on ibuprofen and call back in 2 weeks if it still hurts. She also told me that I was at an age when I might have to accept that my knee was going to give me limitations. (She also told me not to ride my bike because it's too hot to work outside right now. Ummm, don't tell my job that!) This caused me a great deal of frustration. Yes, I'm nearly 38 years old. No, I haven't taken the best care of my body. Yes, I've played rough sports and worked way too hard. Trust me, I accept a certain amount of pain! I don't accept that I have to just accept all of it. I know there are things I can do. Main Quest I'm still working on losing weight. Goal is 200 lbs by Dec 2014. I need to lose 7 lbs per month to reach my goal. My goals are going to sound a bit like a broken record. Goal 1: Strength 3x per week. Like last challenge, working on balance and getting my body in a better position. Every day is leg day! 3x = A, 2x = B, 1x = C, 0x = F. Grading for the challenge will be based on weekly average. Goal 2: Walking 3x per week. Plan is for 2 of these to be short 30 minute out and backs from the house, working on pace. My plan is for the third to be more of a day hike focusing on longer distance and more difficult terrain. 3x = A, 2x = B, 1x = C. Grading for challenge will be based on weekly average. Goal 3: Eats. I'm going back to calorie counting. My target is 2250/day based on weekly average. I'm also shooting for a minimum of 130 g of protein per day and planning to get all the calories from whole foods. I'm not going to call it paleo or primal but I am going to try to be very conscious of grains and dairy. I'm not necessarily intolerant but dairy messes with my asthma and grains seem to beget grains in my diet. Within 5% of calories = A, within 10% of calories = B, within 15% = C, greater than 15% = F. Goal 4: In the moment. I spend way too much time and energy worrying about things I can't control and fretting over things that have happened in the past. Intellectually I know that I'm killing myself. Emotionally I still can't kick it. I'm going to revisit meditation this challenge. I'm going to spend 15 minutes per day before I go to bed in reflection. This can be meditation, journaling, working on my "Playbook", or just reflecting on the ups and downs of the day. Reflecting, not obsessing. 5/7 = A, 4/7 = B, 3/7 = C, 2/7 = D, <2 = F Motivation: I want to be able to do things without worrying about my weight. A year ago I was unable to ride a roller coaster because they couldn't get the bar to latch. One of the absolutely most humiliating moments of my life. When my friends talk about planning activities, I have to take my weight into account. There are so many things I can't do because the safety equipment is not designed to handle my weight and size. But mostly I want to be able to get out and experience the natural wonders in the area where I live. Hughes Mountain: Pickle Springs: And one more of Molly. She's settling in just fine!

First I've ruptured my left Patella Tendon twice so I've dealt with my knee problems for awhile. Lately though I've been having quite a bit of inflammation in my right Patella Tendon approximately where my left one tore. I'm going to assume this is a combination of some bad knees in general but the fact that I've compensated the past few years and put a lot more pressure on it. I'm curious as to other's thoughts on if someone should continue exercising and focusing on diet as normal and hope that weight lost will equal less knee pain or if someone should take a break from the rough exercise and focus on a flawless diet and drop 10-20 pounds before getting back going strong? I hate to put off lower body exercises because I know the benefits of working those big muscles but it won't matter if I'm in a leg brace for 8 months again. Right now I'm at 230 and I'm down ~25 pounds over the past 12 months. Former power lifter trying to ease back into a strength training world. Thoughts? I'll hangup and listen

Went to the physio* because I was bored of the Auld Knee limiting my activity: I don't want to be the guy who used to do stuff. Turns out it's not really the knee at all - the pain is in-and-down of the knee where hamstrings and one thigh muscle attach, which has vanilla tendon overuse. We're confirming that with lots of ice over a week. Why are those muscles overused? It's not the Squat Of Death -- it's just lazy, lazy, forever-lazy weak glutes, particularly on that side. I anticipate a lot of glute bridges in my future and doubtless everything that Brett Contreras has ever written. -- and the sad glute diagnosis fits too well with everything, from my little flat arse (no oly-lifter bubble booty) to my pedalling style (mash! smash! quad-dominant) and how antiinflammatories make all the world's woes better. Watch me run, it looks like a wardrobe on legs. I'm very happy that it's not the knee - like Baz Luhrmann says, you'll miss them when they're gone. I'm happy it's not just my silly sit-on-folded leg office habit, or just weight-related. Most importantly, this can be trained up. I can glute bridge my way to sky-humping a Volkswagen, it's just muscles. And wow, that should make my Squat of Death enter a whole new circle of Hell. * UK Explainer: NHS physiotherapists are free but their focus is on health, rather than performance, and there's a long wait. It's traditional for sports problems to go to private clinics, where the cost is about £40 a session.

Hi everyone! If I go up two or three flights of stairs in a day (even if not all at once), I'm in pretty bad pain for several days afterwards. My doctor also explicitly told me that I am in "maintenance mode" and that I should never jog, run, or jump again for the rest of my life, despite being 28 years old when I was told that. And I want to fix that, so I'd appreciate any help you can give! So the goals of my workout routine are: 1) Build leg strength in general 2) Build hamstring and quad strength in particular 3) Stretch my legs and improve flexibility 4) The more typical goal of "Generally build muscle" My current workout is: For each exercise, a warm-up set then 3 or 4 sets Mondays and Wednesdays: Stick-ups (upper-back exercise, done hoping to improve my posture because potentially that can contribute to the knee issues) - currently ~60 per set Wall sits (quad exercise) - currently <=60 seconds per set Calf raises (calf exercise) - currently 60 per set, no weights Walk ~3.6 miles (no steep hills or stairs; one day a week I go 6.6 miles instead) Tuesdays: Stool scoots (hamstring exercise; http://www.mavenlive.com/physical-therapy-exercises/stool-scoots.html) - currently ~5 laps of my workplace per set Pushups - currently ~30-35 per set (I'm working on progressing these to one-handed pushups) Crunches - currently ~30-40 per set Glute bridges (back and hamstrings) - currently ~60 sec per set Walk ~0.6 miles (from car to work and back) Straight leg lifts, side leg lifts, and various other related exercises - currently 15 per set with 8 lb ankle weights Thursdays: REST Straight leg lifts, side leg lifts, and various other related exercises Walk ~0.6 miles Fridays: Walk ~3.6 miles Pushups Crunches Glute bridges Saturday: Straight leg lifts, side leg lifts, and various other related exercises Triceps extensions - Currently ~10 per set with a 10 lb dumbbell Front raises - Currently ~7 per set with 10 lb dumbbells Sunday (I'm thinking of adding these but haven't yet; currently this is a rest day): Bent-over rows Bicep curls Obviously my focus has been on my legs, but I want to start working on everything else. So, any advice on what I should add that WILL NOT hurt my knees? Or advice on what I should progress or change in my current routine? The following definitely hurt me: Step ups, step downs, lunges, squats, burpees, leg extensions, walking up steps, walking up steep hills, kneeling, sitting for long periods, jumping In terms of equipment I only have access to dumbbells and adjustable ankle weights. Thanks!

Hey Guys, I'm not exactly new, more accurately I'm returning. I took a little hiatus but I'm back and ready to get into Ranger training. I have a few obstacles to overcome so I'm here looking to any advice/sage wisdom anyone can offer. A quick rundown: I'm 6' 2'' 166 lbs 21 years old I blew out my knee years ago and it never seems to have healed right. I have back problems from a combination of genetics, poor care and the knee. And all in all I'm ready to forget that and get too work. What I need help with is finding ways I can work my knees and back without over working them. I used to be into Parkour but after an evening running my knees were the size of cantaloupes and would hurt for days so I had to stop. I played Basketball for 8 years so I am not completely new to working out but it's been years and since starting college I've let things fall apart. I really appreciate anything you guys can offer. -Lambda42