Hi! Got some questions

[Sy_B]

Hi, I'm Sy. I don't remember how I found this site, only that it's been sitting in my tabs since maybe a month ago and I've been checking out some articles, loving it. Pretty sure I put "Make an account at nerdfitness" on a to-do list I made a month ago and has been sitting, open in my background, with nothing done off it

 

So yeah I've started carrying groceries back from the store to my apt. The walk is about a mile, and the groceries are about 50lbs. With 4-6 bags in each hand, desperately clinging and losing all blood circulation while worrying that the eggs are going to fall out and break, I make this grueling journey once every week. This is week 3 and I feel like my wrists are going to break.

 

I'm usually of the mindset of pushing as far as you can, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and other similar motivational anecdotes I probably learned from games, animes, movies and TV, but I do know that if you do too much without the proper training, you'll hurt yourself bad. So even though I'm pushing through the pain of my wrists and not being able to feel my fingers for a half hour after putting the groceries down, should I not be? I mean I barely even had enough strength to turn the doorknob after that. How can I tell if I shouldn't be doing something? I don't wanna get like carpal tunnel or something.

 

Other than that, I'm 23, tall, slim, and weak. I've cut soda mostly out of my life, although a year later I really see no difference. I live in LA, came out here after college to pursue being a filmmaker, a dream I've had since age 2. I love rock, mostly older things from 80s and 90s, two of my fav bands are Dream Theater and Ayreon. I tend to take a DIY (with the teachings of the internet) approach to things, one reason I really respect Ayreon, as he's mostly a 1 man project of amazingness. I dabble in learning programming, and I make songs using a MIDI keyboard and electric guitar, mostly these have been rock covers of video game music by request. I run everywhere because I don't have a car, but then I worry about shin splints or something. Or I take a bus if it's more than a mile. Oh and I've beaten IWBTG on Very Hard

 

So... hi, do you accept me into your world?

[SAYA]

first of man these bag exert extra pressure on your fingers thus blocking blood circulation that will not help and might be harmful.

second instead of walking very large distance a week is not that beneficial, rather you should walk jog or run for short distances daily or on alternate days. 

third if you wanna start exercises why not try body-weight exercises first than progress slowly.

 

try this for a week or two, if it doesn't work you can always go back to what you are doing right now.

 

best of luck man. 

[Laureleye]

Hello there, I live in (beautiful downtown) Burbank.  If you want to get stronger, you need a more consistent approach to your fitness than a once a week grocery trip.  I do all of my workouts on my own, so I agree with you there.  If you click on the NERD FITNESS tab, and head for the free resources, you'll find several workouts (beginner's body weight, hotel, angry birds) that require no equipment and can be done at home.  Do one of them 2-3 times a week, alternating with 2-3 days of something else (walking, intervals, yoga, martial arts, fencing...anything).  1-2 days of rest per week & you have a workout plan.  Oh, and if you don't already have them, buy some canvas bags with comfortable handles to help you out carrying groceries. 

[Sy_B]

Hi Ashish, Laureleye! I forgot to mention I do more exercise than just a once a week grocery trip lol. This building has a gym, so I try to go there as often as I can. Anytime I feel like I want to watch TV, I try to go watch it at the gym instead.

 

Granted, it's not a great gym, it has no free weights. I'm thinking of getting a *up to* 50lb adjustable barbell weight from target or something. It does have a treadmill, an incline bench press/shoulder press machine, a lat pulldown machine, a chuck norris something-or-other that no one knows how to use, and something you put your legs in to do crunches, I'm pretty sure, and some bikes. And something that works the legs I think.

 

Other than those, I try to do pushups (I can never do more than 10-20, I have long spaghetti arms) and leg raises where you lie on your back and raise your legs slightly into the air and that's supposed to be an abs thing I think. I always find that hard and painfully especially on my back, no matter how many times I try it. Also planking.

 

And then I take a rest day every other day, while my budget diet is

 

Breakfast: Cheerios, Oatmeal, V8 Fusion

Lunch: Tuna (for protein) Melt or Grilled Cheese, Apple Cider

Dinner: Spaghetti and Chicken (I feel like this is a good meal and the chicken is protein), Broccoli/Assorted Veggies, Apple Cider

Snacks: Fat Reduced Nilla Wafers (They're hard to kick and I love em), Celery, sometimes with peanut butter for protein, and Water

 

And then like I said I run every time I have to go somewhere. I find I run out of breath a lot easier than on a treadmill. Running in real life is definitely harder than running on a treadmill. On a treadmill I might be able to do up to 3 miles on around 6-7mph, but in real life I'll get exhausted a little before a mile. Any ideas on that?

 

And what if I get padded gloves or something for the groceries? Since the main problem is how it crushes my circulation, do you think this would solve that? Also Laureleye, I tried the bags from Ralphs/Vons, if that's what a Canvas Bag is, and they all tore in half halfway home

[Katariana]

Hey, I like running a lot and I've found a few reasons why running on a treadmill is easier, depending on what your outside run is like.

 

1) there is less resistance on a treadmill, the tread can be easier to run on than concrete and there isn't any wind (even a non-windy day outside has some wind resistance). setting the treadmill incline to 0.5 or 1 mimics the outdoors better

 

2) speaking of incline - when you're running on a treadmill, its always perfectly flat and even, which makes it easier. Even if you're not running up steep hills outside, there will be some incline/decline while running which can make it harder

 

3) its easier to keep your pace steady on a treadmill. if you set it for 6, it stays at 6. I've been running for about 5 years now (both inside and outside) and I've found that I run faster outside without meaning to (and hence get tired faster). I assumed I was running the same speed (about 5.5 mph) but when I finally got serious about tracking my time and distance outside I realized I ran at like 5.8/5.9 mph outdoors

 

I think if you enjoy running, that running in either scenario is pretty good, but if you ever decide to train for a race and you're only using  a treadmill I would suggest setting the incline to 1 just to help make race day a little easier. good luck!

[Sy_B]

Arrrggg I had a whole response typed up and I accidentally clicked something and now it's gone, so this will be a bit brief.

 

First off thanks Athena I just bought a Baggler it will hopefully be here before my next shopping venture! Also the cheerios I have are regular plain kind, pretty sure there's no sugar, I'll have to check.

I've been following Angry Bird workout, and for one, incorporating jumping jacks into waiting for my oatmeal to finish cooking. But that never tires me out and so today I just randomly threw in some shadowboxing. THAT tired me out. 

 

I'll try to add a fruit, but do I really have to lose the apple cider? I love that stuff (and its no-sugar added), all I drink besides water and milk, and only at night. I hear cider is healthier than apple juice.

 

Look at how sad it is

 

 

Also I always thought bare bars were like 15lbs or something.

 

I also added something new to my snacks, boiled eggs. It's good right? Got good protein.

 

And Katariana thanks for the advice on running! I find whenever I try to use the incline on the treadmill I set it to like 6-8 (Out of 12) or something, is that a bit too much to mimic outside? I get quite tired doing that.

However, today I ran 2 miles outside!

[Katariana]

Yeah, it depends on the treadmill (mine is on a scale from 1-10) but by the time I'm set to about half incline it's more like running slightly uphill, so it makes you tired pretty quick. On the upside, it does help you to practice for hills, =) 

 

However, if you just want to mimic running outside on a flat surface (like a high school track, for example) 0.5-1 incline would be fine. I kinda figure any running is better than no running! (Unless you hate running and choose a totally different form of cardio, lol) 

[Preiselbeer]

Welcome, Sy! 

 

Loads of great advice from people here--sounds like you're moving in the right direction! 

 

I noticed you said that you get pain in your back when you're doing leg raises. This is one of my favorite ab exercises, but I've also experienced that on occasion. Are you putting your flat hands under your lower back/hip area (ie. not quite directly under your butt, but close) when you're doing these? Having them there can make a big difference...I find it helps me think about keeping my back in the proper alignment (flatter and in contact with the ground--think about kind of 'rocking' your pelvis away from you/pushing it down into the floor and then kind of sliding it toward your feet, if that makes sense), and it also makes the exercise a little easier. You can also do leg raises with just one leg at a time for starters, which may make them a little easier as well. 'Easy', of course, is all relative, because if you take your time, especially when lowering your leg, they're going to be very effective very quickly

 

Good luck! 

[Sy_B]

Hey guys, I recently made a schedule for myself to do stuff. I also cut back a little bit on the apple cider. And Athena the baggler has arrived but I haven't used it yet. Only 1 came, I thought it was 2. Is one baggler going to be able to carry everything? Still makes it better on one hand if it can't

 

The schedule locks me out of the computer for 3 mins when it's time to switch to a new activity, and during that time I do pushups and jumping jacks. One of the parts of the schedule is to go downstairs to the gym whenever I want to watch TV (which is 10-11ish or 1:30 - 2:30ish), so I'm walking or jogging while watching. I'll do that every day but do more strength things on every other time I'm there. Last night I did a 9 min mile at 7mph on 5 / 12 incline. And then I just walked the rest of the time, exhausted.

 

Preiselbeer, in the past I've just been lying my hands flat down next to me, but I tried what you said and it made it a little bit easier, but still uncomfortable, thanks! Mostly the problem is not dropping them right on the ground each time. And each leg separately is no challenge at all. The difficulty curve of this is steep