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 Air Guitarist kezune   |
Tummy pain? I'm assuming you mean painful abs. The best thing for that is rest and stretching but to make sure you get right on exercising those muscles as soon as possible. If you allow your muscles to atrophy, they'll just hurt as soon as you start using them again. The good news is that abs and legs are the two muscle groups that recover more quickly than the others. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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 Malkin Manager |
It's fantastic to know that even with those few short weeks, you've been seeing real improvements in your strength, Jessica!  Saw this on the book of faces, it made me smile.   My TCR Norns |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
That's some powerful motivation. XD Actually seeing progress is probably the best you're going to get, though. XD Shame it requires so much time and dedication from the get-go to actually see that improvement, isn't it? Otherwise, more people might exercise. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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 Jessica |
Sometimes I feel like people should go into an exercise program with different expectations. Rather than saying "I want to lose x amount of weight in y amount of time," I feel like many could benefit from just sticking with a program and expecting to feel better. I've mentioned before how I would like to lose some weight, but just feeling stronger and more active has made me a lot happier! I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea to go the first route with weight and time, yet those who are having a tough time might stay motivated if they say something like, "I'm going to exercise for 30 minutes a day at least 5 days per week." Just my crazy thoughts! I was going to do 30 minutes this morning, but I got a little dizzy around the 20 minute mark. Serves me right for not hydrating beforehand! Pretty sure I can go that long if I fuel up a bit before I start! |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
That's exactly what I did! When I started exercising, my goal was to 'keep at it, every Monday-Friday'. I didn't start losing weight til I was at it for a month and even then my weight fluctuated quite a bit. XD After that, I was able to set 'baby-step' weight-loss goals like '1 pound in 2 weeks'. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Jessica |
That sounds like where I'm headed! It's been three weeks, and no weight loss (though that doesn't bother me). Now that I'm getting into heavier workouts and not just making sure I have the rowing technique down, my estimate is that I might lose 1-2 pounds per month. It sounds like nothing when compared with some of these exercise programs out there that promise huge weight loss in a matter of weeks, but it works for me! It might sound odd, but my body just feels so much more alive! I work at a computer all day, and most of my hobbies involve the computer, too. Just 30 minutes per day feels great! |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
It sounds to me like we live similar lives. XD Those intense "lose 50 lbs in 6 months" programs are -fun- when you're in the shape for them (P90X was great when I was 19!) but they also typically come with a diet plan and recipe book. Strict schedules are also a big part of them. It still seems to me like it's best if people just go at their own pace. Easier to stay dedicated that way. :3 ----- Merging my own replies. Oops. ----- Hey, speaking of dedication. XD I've been putting off my usual workout routine in favor of walking the dogs in the morning and driving to my landlady's house to feed her cats. I opted to take a break from walking the dogs today since my legs have finally recovered from shin splints and did abs, legs, butt and yoga. As it turns out, my right ankle is still a little tweaked and my back hurts from walking down hills. Not working out every day felt horrible for my abs today but they aren't injured. Anyway, for my ankle, I'm about to get a wrap and a hot towel and for my back it's rest and massage since stretching seems to agitate it. I was good today and did my warm up and stretches but I guess the underlying injuries were already there. Oops. XD How do you guys handle and prevent exercise injuries? Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Jessica |
Milestone for me: Went 30 minutes on the rowing machine for the first time! Burned 260 calories, and although I was gross and sweaty, I wasn't really tired. Seems like the trick to not getting dizzy isn't drinking a lot beforehand, but getting enough protein. I ate a cup of Greek yogurt and a bowl of cereal about 20 minutes before I started. Hurray! Think I'll stick with 30 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening for at least a week or two. I should burn 300+ calories per day... So maybe I'll lose a pound by the end of this month! My exercise injuries usually get healed by me just laying around in agony. Not really great, but I haven't been there in awhile. I can't do intense workouts due to having two screws in one foot (Frankenstein!), and the low impact stuff seems to have a lower chance of causing issues. Best thing I've found is to concentrate on technique for a bit before going into an all out workout. You can't apply it for everything, but even when I was trying out power walking, I found that making sure I was walking correctly helped. |
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Malkin Manager |
So what's the relationship between exercise and rest? How often do you need to exercise in order to keep any gains from it? My TCR Norns |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
The reason rest is important to any exercise routine is because muscles are damaged during exercise. When muscle gets larger (and thereby stronger), it develops scar tissue and the muscle fibers themselves get denser. That's why you can be strong without getting very large as long as you stretch before and after exercise. Stretching prevents the buildup of scar tissue, though that's more of a male problem, getting too big, I mean. Most doctors and trainers recommend training at least 3 times a week to maintain your level of strength, endurance and flexibility. They also recommend that you exercise for at least 30 minutes a day on your exercise days. The good news is that you can do that all at once or 10 minutes at a time and get the same benefit. They recommend you do at least 10 consecutive minutes at a time. merged because triple posting seems excessive, even when the updates are spread out. From Aug 19, 2013: Do any of you know of a good way to gauge how strong you are or figure out what parts of your body need work? Some of you know I was stuck at a party yesterday. It was at the beach so it was difficult to walk and I could feel it in my lumbar and calves right away. The next day, today, my legs and back felt great! Tired but like they got a good workout yesterday and my hamstrings hurt as though they weren't getting much exercise at all. Walking or running on the sand isn't exactly a good way to figure out how much I've improved my leg strength since I rarely go to the beach, though. Short of recording my weights and reps, do you guys know of any other ways to track my improvement? Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
It's hard to stay motivated but I find talking about exercise helps. Today I started P90. Not P90X, the toned-down, less extreme version and I'm very proud of myself. I'm actually really surprised that I was able to get through the whole video despite being horribly, HORRIBLY overweight. I'm going to be blogging about my experience with P90 and I'll probably share the link when it's ready. EDIT: Blog link. TL: DR: I'm fat and I'm gonna work out and eat less to lose weight, gain muscle and up my energy. Ooooh pictures~ Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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 Missmysterics |
I'm trying to get fitter and I've found riding a bike really helps; it's just different to running, I find I can keep a steady pace and work my legs much harder and actually even work up a sweat without the burning legs and chest I get while running. |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
Oh dear. You might be pushing much too hard when you run. A good rule of thumb for cardio is that while you have to be breathing hard enough to not be able to sing, you still need to be able to have a conversation. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Jessica |
I had to scale back on my rowing: I increased the resistance, which made a noticeable difference. But I was getting too tired out, and also started taking breaks in the middle of my workout. I still don't like that I have the resistance set to nearly nothing, but at least I can go non-stop for about 30 minutes now! I'm also breathing a lot better, so I guess I'll just have to get used to things some more. I'm now burning 250 calories in the morning, and supplementing it with a (really) short workout late in the day to burn another 50-100 calories. Definitely getting better! I started off only being able to go 5-10 minutes at a time, and now I feel like I'll soon be able to go a little over 30 minutes to burn 300 calories at once. Yay! |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
That's good to hear! Are you keeping track of your progress? Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Jessica |
Yup! I have a card in the rower that records every workout. Still no weight loss, but I haven't been exactly great in the food category lately. Ideally I'd like to lose about 5-10 pounds by the end of the year. So far, so good! Nothing beats feeling good, though! Even at my current weight, I feel a lot more flexible and my body feels like it could actually do something. I believe I'm approaching the 150,000 meter mark for rowing. Hurray! |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
I need some advice from the other ladies in this forum. I'm going through my period again and just can't find the energy or strength to complete my workout today. I know that there's a lot going on in my body right now (muscles firing, iron deficiency, pain, etc) and that I should probably rest but I also feel like I need to take a light day and do some relaxing yoga instead. What do you do to get the pep in your step to work out during that time of the month? Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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 Wee Scrivener Trell |
That is honestly a good question honey. Something I haven't figured out yet. :I Trell "Holy crap in a casket!" |
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Malkin Manager |
Firstly, I do something called 'honouring my body's response'. I don't try to overextend myself, and i do activities that protect my joints - there've been some studies in netballers that suggest that ligaments in women are particularly vulnerable when their uteri are reading Marx. At the same time, I know that gentle exercise will help my body function (body functions?) and make me feel more resilient (as will knuckling down on what I eat when I am celebrating my womanhood). That 'promise' of resilience and better body function in itself is a good motivator to try and find something to do. I gather that there are a few yoga poses that are not recommended when you're being girly, and some that are specifically recommended for when you're painting the town red. Perhaps learning about what is recommended and not recommended would help you work out what might be good to try during your moontime? My TCR Norns |
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 Nudgie |
Hi all! I thought I'd chime into this conversation since I've been working out and using an eating plan (not a diet) for almost 2 months now with pretty good results. A really important thing to note when you are doing exercise (especially anything to do with resistance or strength training) is not to measure your improvements by what the scales say, but more by how you feel and look. This is because fat takes up a lot more space than muscle does, yet muscle is denser/heavier. In both these pictures, both the fat and muscle weigh the same amount (Fat vs. Muscle 1, Fat vs. Muscle 2) I work out 3 days a week for about 35-45mins (it's a 5x5 strength program if you want to look it up) and go for a 30min leisurely walk with my dog every night. I've only lost about 5kg according to the scales, but I've probably lost a lot more fat than that due to how much space fat takes up in the body and how much muscle I've put on. Also since I know most (if not all) of this thread are women, I'd like to touch on chocosaurus' comment on strength training. It really is just as beneficial and healthy for women and you won't get bulky! The only reason men get bulky is because we have testosterone feeding our muscles as well. As for my eating plan, after figuring out roughly how many calories I need per day, I just reduced my caloric intake by about 400-500 (even 300-400 is enough) below what my body needs per day. The trick with this so you don't feel hungry is just to eat more healthy foods to fill you up. For example, a small cheeseburger may be around 350 calories and will leave you feeling hungry after due to its size, but you could get the same calories out of a nice slice of meat, chicken or fish, a side of rice and a salad with low-fat cheese and feel full for a lot longer afterwards. Not to mention the nutritional value blows the cheeseburger out of the water lol. That said, cheat days once or twice a week are just as important so that you don't get bored or lose motivation with your eating plan. Sorry for the wall of text, I get excited talking about this stuff lol...  |
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Malkin Manager |
Does anyone know of any good resources for 'this is the proper form, this is the bad form' for exercises? My TCR Norns |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
It depends on what the exercises are. Youtube is, surprisingly, a good source of information though sites like Bodybuilding.com are more specialized and have better information. Buuuuut your best bet might be to ask around the gym. Body builders and trainers are experts and are typically more than happy to help. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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 Geek Ettin eprillios |
I dunno if it counts "officially" as exercise, but lately I've been taking the stairs more often. We live in a apartment on the 6th floor, so that's pretty high. I also tried to eat a lot less, and I've lost 2 kilograms in two months since that.  Geek Ettin's Lab (New!) Bill Gates: "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one."  |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
That's great news! Good luck, eprillios. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
I'm finally back in the exercise game now that I'm fully recovered from a surgery that I'd rather not go into detail about. Anyway, I'm using MapMyRun to track my running progress. I've finally found a safe running path near my neighborhood that's perfect for beginners. Wish me luck! (Kids, be careful sharing information from MapMyRun. It does show your location! If you use MapMyRun, the best way to keep your location hidden is to set your profile and workouts to private and never to share your workouts or profile with strangers.) Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Jessica |
I've stopped my exercise program completely, courtesy of one wonderfully injured shoulder. It's finally nearly pain-free, although the pain was more achy and only when I sat incorrectly. Still, rowing was making things worse. At least I've stuck to a (mostly) healthy diet... Hard to turn down all the Christmas cookies my mom makes! I'm planning on getting back into it within the next week, and then slowly increasing how long I go. Also planning on a lot more stretching, and not doing everything all in one sitting. I've missed it! |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
Jessica, I hope you heal fully. It's awful being forced to stop exercising due to misfortune. I'm glad you're planning on taking it slow! It's very tempting to just jump back in feet first.I haven't run since the other day but today I picked up my old Yoga For Dummies disks today. I finished the basics disk and nearly made it to the end of the intermediate disk. Surgery took a lot out of me it seems. XD Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Senior Wrangler Nutter |
Surgery?!  I'd completely missed that - I hope you're well on the mend now. Some of the 'easy' yoga poses can be quite deceptive; the only thing that seems to separate 'easy' from 'argh!' is the depth of the stretch, or the length of time it's held. Would you recommend the Yoga for Dummies disks as a good introduction? |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
Yes, surgery. You haven't missed it, I just decided to keep the details to myself. As for recommendation? Well. Yes and no. Yes because the instructor has a pleasant voice and properly teaches you how not to injure yourself. There are also lots of tips shared while you're counting your breaths. Unfortunately... For all of the poses, one side gets more worked out than the other because the instructor asks you to move into the pose and -then- talks about the benefits and precautions before counting the breaths and then moving on to the other side. For many of the other poses, she doesn't give advice on how to prevent injury until you've already moved into the pose or have already moved on to the other side. If you watch the videos before you try them, though, I think they're alright for newbies. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
Hi! It's been a while since this topic got some love, but I have an announcement. When I first posted this, I weighed around 170 lbs. Then, in September, I made it down to 160 and in March I was 155. I measured myself yesterday and I'm now down to 140 lbs, just 20 lbs heavier than the ideal weight for a woman my height. I'm so proud! I wanted to add that I'm finding it easier to control my portions with my husband deployed and that I started P90 again 16 days ago. It's much easier to stick to it this time and the soreness didn't last as long since I was already exercising a little before I started. So yeah! 30 lbs in a year just through controlled portion and gradually increasing my activity level. I feel like a success story even though I've only made it a little over half way to my goal. Besides that, my health is also generally improved. Yay! Do you have a success story to add or a goal that you're trying to reach? What kind of exercise are you doing? Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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 Lollipop Lord C-Rex |
I've managed to lose a total of 30 lbs on my new diet, where I aim to eat 1500 calories a day. I do a bit of exercise, however, in the form of walking my dog. Hopefully I should have reached my target weight (13 stone) by the end of this year. |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
I feel like I've just overcome a huge obstacle or reached a tremendous milestone in my little journey here to lose weight and get healthier. For those of you unfamiliar, P90 has phase 1-2 which is the "Don't hurt yourself, we're learning right now" phase and phase 3-4 which is the "We're done playing games, push it" phase of training. Because of my back injury (it made a painful comeback yesterday), I'm sort of stuck in the 1-2 phase of my strength training. I did talk to my doctor, and he told me to keep doin' what I'm doin' - low-impact exercises, lessening the weights on strength day, and to keep stretching and doing my cardio. (Also gave me Motrin but y'know.) As for the cardio aspect of my workout, I tried phase 3/4 today and, honestly? I don't think I've ever cried during a workout before. I didn't cry because of the pain but I cried at the end because it's like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. I sobbed tears of joy and triumph like I never thought was possible - I could actually (mostly) keep up with the trainers. I never thought that could happen to me. It could have been the huge doses of endorphins being released or it could have been the pure joy from the thought that "Yes, I can do it. I can work my way up to P90X and be fit and strong and healthy again. I'm not fat anymore," that got me started sobbing at the end of my crunches. It could have been the exhaustion from working harder during a workout than I'd ever done in my life that finally brought me to my hands and knees and left me sobbing, saying to myself over and over again "Yes. I can do it. I can do it." It was cathartic. I know I'm only starting what's basically the second phase but this has been a huge step up for me. I have a new set of goals now, a new level of intensity to work towards and a tremendous second wind to keep me going and working towards improving myself. I wish I could say the same about my strength training, hahah! Still, I'm doing my best in both aspects of my exercise and I can only hope that anyone else here gets to experience the same feeling of triumph. --- TL;DR : Tremendous personal victory because I'm stronger now than I thought. Emotional battle that I feel like I'm winning. Tears of joy, yada yada. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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Malkin Manager |
I'm going to the gym for the first time tomorrow and I'm a little nervous. ![[nblush]](/images/smilies/emot_blush.gif "[nblush]") I've found exercise difficult in the past because I haven't known enough about what I'm doing, and because I've found it difficult to manage the feeling of just being exhausted and being sore after working out. I'm hoping that the current pain of not-exercising will outweigh the tired and sore feeling of exercising. (And I'm going to the gym with someone who knows what they're doing. ) Can anyone give me some perspective on how they manage post-exercise pains and tiredness?My TCR Norns |
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Wee Scrivener Trell |
If I find the post-exercise pains really bad, I use mild TigerBalm. Trell "Holy crap in a casket!" |
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Air Guitarist kezune |
The easiest way to manage is to not push too hard at the beginning. You need to allow your body the chance to get used to exercising before you can push really hard - if that's what you want to do. I had to learn that the hard way and I still pushed so hard when I started this regimen that I could hardly walk towards the end of my first week. XD Live and learn I guess. If you do get crazy sore like I did, the best things I can recommend are mild aerobic exercise, heat, massage and lots and lots of stretching. The heat and massage will help take the edge off the soreness and stretching will help keep your muscles from getting too stiff while they heal. I recommend mild exercise especially if your thighs or calves are giving you trouble. It'll help get blood where it needs to be to help them heal. I'm not a dietician but I find eating bananas helps with cramps. They say potassium will help curb those problems and you can find it in all sorts of foods. I just prefer bananas over potatoes.  Also, eating protein can help your muscles repair.Lastly, don't sit still for too long. You'll find that'll leave you feeling hurt and stiff. This mostly applies if you do what I did and don't pace yourself but I find it helps lots of people. Just don't give up too soon if you find yourself in the same position. Instead, lighten the weight, do fewer sets or slow down your running speed the next time. Updated Rehosting Policy[/title] |
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