I can't keep running forever!

[Spatial Coffee]

Hello everybody,

 

I am a 23 year old computer science student and I love running. It's my favorite kind of exercise and used to do it a lot. Almost every day, all year, every year. I'm sure you can guess how well that turned out.

 

As much as I love running, my knees do not share this passion and soon after my second surgery couple years ago I came to realize that I just couldn't keep running like I used to. So, instead of running all the time, I started to do martial arts. 

 

Now, I have always been short and scrawny and after about a year of doing MMA it became clear to me that while having strength is nowhere nearly as important as having the right technique it certainly makes things much easier. Plus, I'd really rather look like something else than a walking glass noodle.  But while I want to build some real muscle I can't for the life of me stand gyms and simply doing pushups, crunches or squats aimlessly at my apartment yielded no real results. 

 

In truth, I wasn't really sure how to reach my goal let alone know who to ask for directions until I found this website! Nerd Fitness really feels like home and I hope I can fulfill my dream here while being a part of this community of like minded individuals.

 

It's nice to meet you all!

 

-Spatial Coffee

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion, Spatial Coffee!

 

Shame about those injuries. I hope your knees feel better now? If you want to build muscle, the rule is "eat big, lift big". Check out the powerlifting forum for advice. Bodyweight training is good too (except crunches. Back killers!), but you need to eat a lot to pack on muscle.

 

Good luck with your goals and keep us posted!

[Spatial Coffee]

Thanks for your advice, SilverRapier! I'll make sure to check them out.

 

I still get the occasional acheful day or two, but after I laid back on the running, my knees have been feeling a lot better. Hopefully they'll stay that way.

[ReachingForTheStars]

Hey, came to snoop from the Japanese post!  Glad to have you aboard, Coffee.  Not cool with the running, but I hope you've had a lot of fun with the martial arts?  There's a ton of workouts and advice in the blogs, and even more in the forums, so keep your eyes open.  All of the members are super friendly and really helpful, so don't be afraid to ask questions.  AlsoIt, you can also check out the rules for the 6-week challenges here.  Basically, you create 3-5 goals to strive for over six weeks and log your progress.  I think they've helped a lot of people get progress on their own goals.  The current challenge is already underway, but you can start at any time!  It's a lot of fun, and it's awesome to have the support of the whole community behind you.  Check it out, and, like SilverRapier said, keep us posted!