This looks like fun

[BlueThunderBomb]

Hey y'all.

I've been trying for the last year or so to find the fitness solution that will work for me. I got a gym membership in February and started doing free weight exercises (following Starting Strength). Things were going along swimmingly until I reach about 135 lbs on my squats. All of a sudden, my right pinkie and ring fingers and the toes on my right foot started to go numb. I stopped weightlifting immediately and went to the doctor, where he told me that I had a pinched nerve in my neck.

I took it easy for a month or two, trying to rest and rehabilitate, then slowly started back up again with a focus on correct form. However, once I got to 135 lbs or so, the same thing happened again. I spent the rest of this year very demoralized: watching the gym membership fees get withdrawn, trying and hating machine cardio and not wanting to go anywhere near weights for fear of permanent injury.

I would like to lose some weight, but my real goal is all-around fitness. I want to be able to lift more, not get winded, eat better food and feel less crappy in general. I really don't like tracking my calories, but I know that it's been the only way that I've really made progress in the past. I want to focus on bodyweight exercise and other low-impact strength and endurance training and I'd like to find something at the gym that will help with that/justify the $35 a month that I keep throwing down that well.

I really like the idea of the 4 Week Challenges and I could definitely use some community to both keep me both positive and accountable. I'm looking forward to meeting people and working to get better together!

[TriTerrorTops]

Hi BTB

Welcome to the Revolution!My goals are similar to yours (get stronger and fitter, eat better, feel less crap) and I've just started too - the one thing I've found is everyone is really helpful and supportive.

Hope you reach your goals and kick ass!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shaar]

Yes, welcome!!

 

That sucks about your lifting stalls.  Do you know if there's something you can do about your neck issue, or where it stems from?  I too love barbells and I would feel exactly the same if something like that happened to me... demoralized and gunshy to try again!

[BlueThunderBomb]

Yes, welcome!!

 

That sucks about your lifting stalls.  Do you know if there's something you can do about your neck issue, or where it stems from?  I too love barbells and I would feel exactly the same if something like that happened to me... demoralized and gunshy to try again!

 

Unfortunately, it's something that seems to run in my family.  Both my mom and my sister have had pinched nerves before and I guess I accelerated its development by rapidly adding on weight as per Starting Strength.

I'm hoping to eventually get back on the horse, but I want to give myself a base level of fitness to try and "future proof" my body against the same mistakes.

[The Chameleon]

Welcome! I'm new to these forums, too, and have similar goals.

 

I started lifting back in June and have struggled particularly with squats: I worked my way up to 80 or 100lbs pretty quickly, but then my hamstrings started getting gnarly. They were always super tight, and no amount of stretching seemed to help. Then my knees started giving me trouble. Through some experimentation and observation, I figured out it was my squats, so I went back to square one, trying to work on form without a lot of weight.

 

It took 3-4 months of reading on these forums and more generally online, but I finally figured out that my poor hip and ankle flexibility was preventing good squat form. This article and its accompanying videos were a lifesaver! I started working on my flexibility and found that, slowly, I could start adding weight to my squats without any repercussions for my knees and hams. I'm still only squatting 80 pounds at the most, but I'm hoping to improve on that during this 4-week challenge.

 

This is just to say that, while I'm no doctor, you might not have to give up on squats entirely. Look for advice here and elsewhere online about how to protect the nerves in your neck when you squat. Don't worry about weight. Just focus on form and keeping pain at bay.

 

Here's hoping you can be squatting 150 by this time next year

 

Feel free to friend me, too!

[ohmyghost]

Hi and welcome! I'm brand new too.

 

A few years ago I had similar difficulties with figuring out what to do at the gym. I had a mild injury to my shoulders that meant I was nervous about doing anything other than the treadmill, which hardly seemed worth it for the amount of money I was spending!

 

I actually ended up leaving my gym earlier this year because I couldn't really afford it anymore - but with that loss of membership came a huge loss of motivation. So I really hope that being here helps you find an activity you can do, and you don't end up in the same boat.

 

Good luck with your goals and your challenge!

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

Have you spoken with a trainer at the gym so he/she could check your form? Perhaps you are doing something wrong that aggravates the issue. Otherwise, perhaps get a shoulder pad to protect your neck?  Like the manta ray for example.

 

You do not need a gym to exercise and get strong. You can do bodyweight exercises. I encourage you to look up some of the free routines offered on NF. Or you could look up Convict Conditioning.

 

Good luck! Keep us posted!