NotBadForAHuman Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi everyone,Nice to meet you! I am 41, female, 5'2", and way too chubby and weak right now and I don't like it!Several years ago (2005) I went to a player meetup at PAX Prime for the game I was community manager for at the time. There was no question I was a big girl (I always had been, except in my crazy teens and 20's), especially for my height at over 200 pounds, but the pictures from the meetup really woke me up. Back at home, one of the designers on my team told me he'd lost 80 pounds with Weight Watchers and I was shocked because I'd always thought of him as tall and skinny. He really motivated and supported me and over the next couple of years I lost 70 pounds and started working out enough (cardio, and lifting with machines only) to gain some great (for me) muscles and tone. 147 was my lowest, but at 150 I was looking pretty good and really happy (2007).Fast forward a few years and I let it all go to hell after several big life changes. My weight crept back up to the 180's, held steady there for a while with a few false starts at losing it, and then in mid-January when I had a high day of 190 I got back on the wagon and stayed there. This morning I was 168.8, my third day in the past week of being under 170 so I will consider myself to be in the 160's fair and square soon - yay! With no intention of stopping any time soon.I don't have a goal weight really - I just want to be fit and strong again. I wish I had found Nerd Fitness a few days earlier because I signed up with a trainer just a couple of days before. I couldn't really afford it but I felt desperate for some support at the gym, and was hoping she could teach me how to lift, etc. (I just recently read The New Rules of Lifting for Women). The first session, when she assessed me, was humiliating. Despite the cardio I've been doing 3-4 times a week I kept getting dizzy, I couldn't do all of the exercises very well (I could plank for 90 seconds though, longer than I thought!), hated the mat work, and was really sore for a couple of days after.The second session last Saturday went well I think - it was all upper body and mostly cable pulls and assisted chins/dips. Very assisted. Still, I really enjoyed it. We established that I'm fairly strong in some places and very weak in others, particularly the triceps. My lower biceps and upper forearms are still a bit sore today, but I think they'll be okay when I go back tonight. The trainer knows what my goals are and I think it will go well.More concerning is that despite the fact that I have been resting between the sessions because I'm not sure what's coming next, and didn't do any lower body since Wednesday, I somehow pulled a quad yesterday just walking out the door to go to work. WTF? I stretched it gently throughout the day and it felt a little better but then I made the mistake of turning around to sprint and put something back at the grocery store and OH CRAP THAT HURT when I went to launch off that leg. It REALLY SUCKS. I'm trying to get in shape, and my legs are some of the strongest muscles I have, and somehow I pull it just doing nothing? Gah... Anyway, I have 8 more sessions with the trainer over the next few weeks and then I'll be more in charge of my own training program. I'm really looking forward to it and will be reading the NF guides and re-reading NROL4W. I might just start with the Angry Birds workout; the way it's set up is appealing.I should add that I've pretty much stopped eating junk food & most processed foods and am looking into primal/paleo etc. It's funny that I insist on feeding my dogs only raw, high quality food, but I haven't been nearly that picky about myself until now!If you read this far, thank you! This is an incredible community, I can already tell, and I've gotten a ton out of it in just the past few days. Hopefully I'll be able to give back someday too. Quote Link to comment
wildross Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Welcome aboard!! And congrats on how far you've made it so far... Quote Warriors don't count reps and sets. They count tons. My psychologist weighs 45 pounds, has an iron soul and sits on the end of a bar Tally Sheet for 2019 Encouragement for older members: Chronologically Blessed Group; Encouragement for newbie lifters: When we were weaker Link to comment
So Late So Soon Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 She uses get fit! it was very effective Quote Well I guess it's only life, it's only natural We all spend a little while going down the rabbit hole Link to comment
Morrigainz Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Hahahaha ^ awesome.I also wanted to extend a hearty salutation and let you know that I just finished stage 1 of NROL4W and I really like it so far. If you ever start with the workouts, let me know! I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Quote Level ? Half-Dwarf/Half-Amazon Warrior STR:21.25 STA:15 DEX: 10.95 CON: 14 WIS:15.5 CHA:17 SWOLE BUCKS: 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Link to comment
Book Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Hey there... And officially hello! At least you already know you can get there. The question for most of us is how to stay there. And my answer is: together Quote Character and Epic Quest! Current Challenge Battle Log Link to comment
katscratch Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Book I freaking love how you word things, you always pop out these nuggets of awesomesauce NotBadForAHuman, welcome!!!! I can soooo relate to my pets eating better than myself, especially when changing their food to the "oops I forgot to go to the store here's your Chow from the gas station" bag makes their coat look like crap in less than a week but it takes so much more effort to recognize those differences in my own body! Ok that was a bit rambling....I was pretty sore in surprising places the first week or so of lifting, (which was oh a little over a week ago ha) but now that my muscles are starting to remember how to move I'm barely sore at all the next day, so don't worry, you'll get to where you still have that *heck yeah* muscle feeling without the pain Quote Link to comment
NotBadForAHuman Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hey there... And officially hello! At least you already know you can get there. The question for most of us is how to stay there. And my answer is: together Like Kat, I LOVE what you just did there. NotBadForAHuman, welcome!!!! I can soooo relate to my pets eating better than myself, especially when changing their food to the "oops I forgot to go to the store here's your Chow from the gas station" bag makes their coat look like crap in less than a week but it takes so much more effort to recognize those differences in my own body! Ok that was a bit rambling....Nah, not rambling at all, it's totally true! I switched my younger dog (he's about 14 months) to raw when he was a puppy and it was such an amazing difference I was an instant convert. We rescued another little guy in December, a disgustingly cute fluffy little white thing (well, he's fluffy now - he was shaved down when we adopted him because he was so matted as a stray - we call him the White Wookie now, or The Yeti). When we got him he had horrible breath, horrible gas, horrible tear-staining, and it all cleared up once we switched him to raw. Species-appropriate food, right? And yet I guess I never really thought to carry that philosophy over to my own diet. It's way too late for my kids, the whole kid-culture of junk food has got a deathgrip on them at their ages. Anyway, now I digressed! But after cutting out pretty much all of the junk food from my diet, I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe it will do good things for my coat too. I was pretty sore in surprising places the first week or so of lifting, (which was oh a little over a week ago ha) but now that my muscles are starting to remember how to move I'm barely sore at all the next day, so don't worry, you'll get to where you still have that *heck yeah* muscle feeling without the pain My trainer warned me I'd be really sore today after last night's session, but I wasn't hurting at all - hopefully I'm also past the initial ouchies too!Are you following a specific program? I am torn between going for the Rebel Fitness or Strength guides, or The New Rules of Lifting for Women, since I already own that. And I'm hesitating to buy the Rebel guides until the women's version comes out.MirGSS, I will have to go read through the actual workouts in NROL4W - I almost wish I hadn't bought it for Kindle, so I could photocopy stuff out of it. Quote Link to comment
Morrigainz Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I found after the first couple of workouts it wasn't so bad; I could remember what I needed to do or write it down on a notecard to record later. Of course that's all over now that I finished stage 1 and have a bunch of new workouts to learn...although I see the step ups and push ups are still there You might get sore later..sometimes the 2nd day after a workout is worse than the first day. Quote Level ? Half-Dwarf/Half-Amazon Warrior STR:21.25 STA:15 DEX: 10.95 CON: 14 WIS:15.5 CHA:17 SWOLE BUCKS: 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Link to comment
Istra Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Wow, quite a story! Glad you're here. *thumbup* Good luck with the trainer, I know a friend of mine started with a trainer, and was really happy with what she learned, so even tho' it's spendy, use that resource to death! Quote Link to comment
NotBadForAHuman Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Thanks, I will! I had my third session with her on Tuesday and go back tonight and we avoided lower body because of the strained quad. Almost everything she had me do was bar or plate only (pressing a 25# plate while on my back, weighted pushups, some funky moves with a 20# bar, etc.) so it was great. I'm looking forward to the next several sessions! Quote Link to comment
Book Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Book I freaking love how you word things, you always pop out these nuggets of awesomesauceLike Kat, I LOVE what you just did there. Aw.... *blushing*. As I was writing it, I was thinking, "Wow, that's corny." But that's never stopped me before, why now? Quote Character and Epic Quest! Current Challenge Battle Log Link to comment
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