Muso, new to fitness for non-vanity reasons.

[CestLaVie]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the nerdfitness.com community as a poster, though I've read it off-and-on for a little while. I'm 22, female and I live in Brisbane, Australia. I was born in New Zealand (hence my natural affinity for the All Blacks) though I am now a citizen of both NZ and Australia.

I find the ethos of bb.com a bit too intense for me, I'm not overly interested in competing with other people. I have been everywhere from morbidly obese to diagnosably anorexic in the last 10 years... While I suffer from PTSD, depression and anxiety, when I was going through puberty I was (wrongly) put on anti-psychotics which made me gain a heck of a lot of weight at an age where I couldn't necessarily be accountable for it (9-12 yo.). That (and other things) pushed me into a lot of disordered eating habits.

Now I am 22, 174cm tall and last I checked about 70kg. When I was 18 I was in the 54-58kg range and worked out 1.5 to 2 hours a day. I was obsessive, allowed myself to take fat burners to the point where it affected my mood and I also became carb-o-phobic. I did feel good about my body though. I wasn't just doing a s**t-tonne of cardio. Now that I'm a little bit older, a working musician (I play viola) and full time uni student (law and politics) I want to feel better about my body.

I need to gain endurance in my core, back and shoulders for my viola playing. The viola is the least ergonomic instrument in modern society, to my knowledge. It is also far more difficult than violin due to the dimensions and weight.

I also recently started playing Wow. I'm a longtime fan of Star Trek, Firefly, Stargate, Buffy, and the original Star Wars and Die Hard movies.

I really need to get more comfortable with free weights. I've previously used machines which I feel ok with but it doesn't make sense to use machines if it makes me feel like my core or back is out of whack during the last set.

Yesterday I signed up to a 24/7 gym that is one block behind my apartment. I can't really go out for walks at night because I live in a "red light district". I'm find walking to the gym, but I wouldn't want to go anywhere without cameras. I've belonged to other gyms in the past but since I'm a musician (read: weird work hours, weird sleep hours) and student, a 24 hour gym suits me better. Also, at the big brand gyms people keep trying to sell me stuff when I'm just getting "into the zone"!

Enough about me.

Hi! I'm here!

Cheers,

Kate

PS I've been a vegetarian for nearly a decade

[hawgsquatch]

Welcome Kate,

 

We share opposite ends of an ocean! I understand how sleep can affect your moods and health. I am on nocturnal shift where I work 13 hour shifts from 5 at night until 6 in the morning. I am looking forward to may when I can live like a human for the first time in eight years. Sorry about them experimenting on you with meds as a kid. I heard somewhere that food is the most abused depression medication and exercise is the most underused anxiety med. It does sound like you have that one sorted out. I wonder if you contacted you local police and told them of your situation if they would try and see that someone was in the area at the times you are walking. The most dangerous thing that could happen to someone here in the woods might be a mountain lion or a sasquatch?