Long time reader finally joining the community

[somestorm]

Hi, my name is Stormey, I'm currently a college sophomore studying food science.

 

I've been following the NF blog on and off for a couple of years now, and decided that it's time to get serious about my fitness, instead of just thinking about how cool it would be to lift giant weights like a warrior goddess (but never doing anything to get there).

 

I don't really have a solid game plan in place for my fitness goals right now, which is a big part of the reason I signed up for the forums. I can get some advice from people who are more experienced this way. I also hope it will make me feel more accountable.

 

My goals:

• Lift weights like a bamf. No clue where I should start here, I think I'm going to start with the beginner body weight program to build up some strength, I'm kind of afraid of hurting myself if I just go straight to lifting weights.
• Climb to the top of my university's rock wall (this one mostly involves conquering my fear of heights. yikes!)
• Eat better. I used to be a dietetics student, so I know how to do this one. It's just a matter of actually doing it.

 

Things I'm nerdy about:

• Food and the science of food
• Birds. Sadly, my attempts at starting a birding club on campus have been unsuccessful
• Video games, mostly Nintendo, but I've really been enjoying GTA V.
• Avatar: The Last Air Bender and The Legend of Korra

[MrBaldyKins]

Hi there Stormey,

 

I share a few sentiments here, specifically your love of food and the science of food, and video games. Because GTAV is not yet out on PC, I will assume you're a console gamer? I'm pretty psyched for that title to launch for the computer!

 

Climbing a rockwall is super do-able. Stuff like that can be very intimidating, for sure, but, as my girlfriend constantly reminds me: "life begins at the end of your comfort zone." I think overcoming your fear might get easier as you gain in your physical confidence. This will definitely come with the territory of lifting things like a badass. (I had to look up BAMF. I now feel old.)

 

For lifting, I would suggest starting out by looking into a basic strength routine. I'm going to link you to a post in the powerlifting section of this website. Overview of the Various Strength Training Programs by Gainsdalf the Whey.

 

My reasoning for doing this is thus:

 

-It is excellently written and very imformative

 

-The programs listed under the beginner programs are designed for complete beginners to any kind of resistance strength training, and not specifically for beginners to powerlifting

 

-The programs suit a wide range of applications. While they are listed in the powerlifting forum, they will make you stronger in many different aspects with substantial carryover into whatever you choose to focus on in the future (even rock climbing!), and the lifts they focus on are found in MANY kinds of sport training

 

-Websites associated with the programs "starting strength" and "strong lifts" have detailed information available about how to do the exercises and set up the programs, and they are completely free. Starting strength has a book associated with it that is worth the investment if you decide you want to commit to the program after trying it. 

 

All of this is for when you are comfortable with starting a weight training program, noting that you express concern about your ability to lift and want to start with body weight. I have personally trained several women who had never picked up a barbell in their lives, and the general consensus amongst them was that they were a lot stronger than they had otherwise thought. That being said, there's nothing wrong at all with starting out doing body-weight stuff and moving on to weights eventually (I did this myself actually). The above will help you find a place to get started when you are ready. 

 

Whew, that was a novel. Sorry for the length!

 

Best,

 

Mr. B

[somestorm]

Hi Mr B

 

I am a console gamer, I have the game on xbox. I'm pretty casual though. GTAV is actually the first shooter type game I've ever played. I'm surprised at how much I like it.

 

I agree that climbing the rock wall is very do-able. I do have a fairly good grasp on my fear of heights, usually it's a matter of forcing myself to try.

Although, last time I tried the wall I got about 5 ft off the ground before going "nopenopenope too high, gonna fall" ha-ha. Baby steps I guess. I'll get there eventually.

 

Thank you for the link as well. It looks very helpful.  

[Cheerful Dame]

You make this sound really awesome:

"lift giant weights like a warrior goddess"

That's all