The little-victories-of-the-physically-pitiful thread.

[Skylark]

This is the third day in a row I've walked for an hour or more. So far so good!

[zoebird]

sounds like everyone is doing really well with consistancy, since that is the hardest part!

I decided not to go to the rock gym on tuesday, and did a little more yoga instead to work out a few of the new kinks from the climbing. Then, i started to look at streaming video of komodo dragons to get a feel for the lizard-like movement of rock climbing. it was interesting.

then, i went yesterday. I was supposed to meet someone there at 4, but he didnt' show until 5. that was ok, because i was basicly alone and able to work on the bouldering wall. I'm only working a 60, but i have a little philosophy that i'm using to help me learn skills.

to be honest, the first 15 minutes that i'm there, i'm really nervous. i know that i'm not any good at anything yet, that i don't have skills. i cling too much, i'm afraid of heights, and some people there--while really nice and helpful--are also like 'just try this!" or "try this one." before i feel like i've gotten ahold of some of the basic ideas.

so, what i mean is, i feel like i should stay on the 60 (which is considered an easy bouldering path--it's the lowest number/point they have) and work on getting the two or three skills together: 1. working from legs rather than arms; 2. working on getting hips and pelvis toward the wall and shifting weight inward; and 3. working on the twisting motion to move between left and right when the foot holds are close together. I'm also working on the 'J-swing' motion which uses a lot of momentum. but then, someone will show me a move on the 60, and then say--here, try it on this 250. And honey, i'm not ready for that and then i feel pushed and nervous and foolish. so, i had to learn to assert myself in that regard.

i simply told my more-or-less climbing partner that my methodology is one of gaining the basic skills, and then advancing as i feel i've gotten comfortable with one skill or another. He is more of the 'jump in and try it, even if i don't have the skills" type. So, we're different, and we now have a good working relationship.

but what was super cool, is that he brought one of his cousins with him. she's climbed for a long time (like 10 yrs or something), but about 2 months ago she had an accident at the gym while bouldering (fell from a low spot too hard) and she broke her tibia. so, she's been off her rock climbing for the last two months, doing physical therapy and what not. She hadn't been officially cleared for climbing, but she wanted to see how she felt at this point.

What was cool was, she has all the skills, but she wanted to go easy on her bones and get a feel for the movement again. On the ropes, she was doing 'low-numbered, easy courses' such as 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, 5-6+, and 5-7. We started talking and we have a lot in common:

1. big into environmental causes
2. both vegetarian (she's vegan! vegetarian 14 years, vegan 10!)
3. both into women's studies and what not (she teaches women's studies at a university)
4. both do yoga
5. both cancers! (5 day, 15 yr age difference!)
6. both get the slow but stubborn method of learning.

it was so cool to have her there, because i felt 'ok' doing the low climbs and trying to work on things. She gave me lots of pointers, ways of thinking about things, ideas about shoes and harnesses to buy, where to get good deals, and all that good stuff. We talked about travelling (she just got back from visiting her bro in hawaii), and whatever else. It was very, very cool.

So, now she's a climbing partner too! which is awesome, because it means that i don't just do two hours of bouldering on the 60 and 80 every time i go! she'll belay for me; i'll belay for her.

also, i just got 6 more hours of belaying work assigned to me this weekend, so i'm super-psyched about that. Going there to work, and climbing before or after, is a super-easy way to stay motivated. YOu know? if you're already there, might as well climb.

So, it's going well--but i do need to go to a chiropractor. i fell from about 14 ft, with a spotter--off the 60 on the bouldering wall, and i landed a bit funny. i think i have a good sublexation in the mid-back that just needs to be straightened out. spinal twists and inversions have been helping, but i think i need an adjustment.

otherwise, it's really coming together.

Oh, and i highly recommend it to anyone! there are people of all ages, body types, sizes and shapes, sexes and what not. everyone is really supportive and helpful. . .and it's a lot of fun.

if you think you can't afford it, see if the rock-gym near you offers work exchange. you may get a sweet deal!

[berrykat]

i almost did a chin-up at the park .....almost.

[Hummusisyummus]

i almost did a chin-up at the park .....almost.

I stood on a scale while I tried a chin up. 70lbs more to go. lol

[renaissancesun]

This is the third day in a row I've walked for an hour or more. So far so good!

wow! An hour? 20 minutes and I am ready to lay down in the nearest flower bed for a rest. :)

Keep up the good work! Everybody!

[Azalea]

For the first time in three months, I went for a walk yesterday (it's not like I don't walk normally, but I just haven't been walking for the sake of walking). And again today. :)

40 minutes yesterday, 25 today. :hamster:

btw- the doctor couldn't figure out what had caused the irregularities, but apparently my heart is healthy. :)

[LadyFaile]

i guess i'm a freak when it comes to walking. when it's nice out and i have a day off and am bored, i'll go walk for 2 or 3 hours. but like i'll walk at a good pace to get downtown (about 10-15 minutes) then wander around in and out of stores, just strolling basically, then pick up the pace again when i head home. or in the summer i'll go down to the river and stroll around it, poke at the swans (not literally, you'd lose a hand!) then head downtown for a bit (i really like our downtown can you tell?)
but yeah in the summer i get really big muscles in my calves. which makes me happy cause i love my capris, i just wish i could get muscle all over.

on that note, i've been to the gym 3 times now. yesterday i signed up for an actual membership since my week pass is almost up. they talked me into signing on for 6 sessions with a personal trainer who will help me figure out what i need to be doing exactly to get the results i want, and they're going to put together a meal plan for me and stuff like that. when i was signing up though the girl pointed out the trainer she's putting me with and the guy's frickin huge! he's scary lookin :sick: funny how she stuck teeny tiny me with the biggest guy there. she said he'll be the best trainer for me cause he's all about building muscle where some of the others are more about general fitness or other areas of training etc. but still, i bet he's gonna be really hard on me cause i'm such a big wuss.
plus it's embarassing enough having my own boyfriend watch me try pathetically at some of these machines, now i get to do it in front of a stranger. and i'm paying for this? oy.

[zoebird]

well, if nothing else, he'll give you some theory to work with.

also, get your own information about vegetarian meal planning for weight training. bring it to the sessions--that way you have something 'other' than a meat-based plan.

finally, don't worry about how much weight you move. even if you weren't moving any weight at all, but doing 100% form, then you're doing the right thing. so many people do a lot of weight with terrible form. sure, they may have big muscles and look cool hauling around big weights, but they also are prone to repetitive motion injury and a myriad of other problems. Were I you, i wouldn't worry about a slow progression. for you, the most important things are 1. consistancy and 2. good form. after that, the amount that you're able to move with increase over time. there's no rush. the most important thing is to exercise properly and consistantly to get the results that you want--not really how much you move in your first two weeks.

[renaissancesun]

btw- the doctor couldn't figure out what had caused the irregularities, but apparently my heart is healthy. :)

:bobo: :bobo: for a healthy pump! :)

[LadyFaile]

yeah i'm not too worried about the amount of weight. i haven't seen the trainer yet but for now i'm going with the theory that i should be able to lift it but it shouldn't be "easy". if i really really have to strain i cut back the weight but i feel like i could do 30 reps without breakin a sweat i add some on. thank god for the little 2 1/2 lb plates they have kicking around, sometimes 5 is too easy and 10 is too hard.


on that note my bf and i were debating if it would be better for me to do more reps or more weight. i often hear that more reps with less weight is better but for me not wanting to burn a lot should i do the opposite?

[Chrysalis]

LadyFaile:
All I know is that doing more reps with less weight builds muscle endurance, while fewer reps with more weight builds muscle strength. So which is better depends on what you're aiming for. I'm not sure which burns the most calories, but I am guessing strength-training would since you'd need to increase your protein and fat intake. But then again your personal trainer probably knows way more about it!

ETA: I don't know how many reps you should be doing for endurance training, but if you are aiming for strength you should be lifting enough weight that you can only do 8 reps.

Anyways, I'm happy that I can finally contribute an accomplishment of my own: I went to the gym last night for the first time in like 2 weeks! I was feeling really crappy physically but I agreed to go with a friend, cuz I knew that would motivate me into going. I did 15 minutes of cardio then did my back, shoulders, biceps and triceps with weights..granted, 12lbs is my limit for my arms (don't laught) but I think I was doing about 20lbs or something for my back. Oh yeah then I did 6 different tummy exercises, 25 reps of each one.

[Skylark]

Nine days in a row now of walking 2.5 miles or more. YAAAAAAY!!!! It's varied, and the day I only walked 2.5, I was hustling because I was walking to work. So I figure I probably got the same amount of exercise that day for going faster as I did the days I walked farther but at a slower pace.

[kittymagic]

This thread has totally motivated me. I want to start running again, which I began for a month a year or so ago. I'm going to try to go tonight and at least 2 more times over Easter break. I remeber nostalgically being able to run as a kid for as long as I wanted. Good luck with the trainer LadyFaile

[renaissancesun]

Nine days in a row now of walking 2.5 miles or more. YAAAAAAY!!!! It's varied, and the day I only walked 2.5, I was hustling because I was walking to work. So I figure I probably got the same amount of exercise that day for going faster as I did the days I walked farther but at a slower pace.

2.5 miles...:wayne:

1 mile and I am ready to stop for a while. Oh, well. gotta start somewhere. :)

[zoebird]

LF:

i prefer high weight and low reps. but, right now, you're still working on form, so that theory can still be debated for you. high weight, low reps builds muscle mass. that's what you need to gain weight and strength.

ok, anyway, the main thing, again, is just progressing slowly. stay at comfortable weights for now, doing the number of reps that works for you (i'd say two sets of 8-12, with one warm up set of about 6 with 1/2 or less the full weight of the regular sets). progress slowly with good form, just feeling the movement to make sure that you feel like you're in the right place and working with the right muscles when you do a particular movement. Look at the chart on the machine to see which muscles should 'feel' the work, and then make sure that those muscles are what's feeling it.

---

i wonkied my back rock climbing (old subluxation that came back in), so i'm only climing about 1 hour a day until it gets fixed, but i added in a second day of weight training to help my back (more back exercises than usual--particularly spinal extensions). so, that's a new consistancy too.

[stellar26]

Oh my turn!
I started yoga!
I'd never taken a yoga class in my life, and I finally started looking, comparing prices and instructors and I did it! I signed up, I paid, and I've been taking classes for about a month, now. Although I'm still extremely shakey with almost no balance, I am improving. I've already noticed a difference in my arms! I love yoga. I've decided that I'm going to buy a bigger 'yoga package' and start going at least twice a week (right now I'm only going once a week, and practicing on my own when I have time). I'm quite proud of myself for having finally gone through with it. I'm always such a wimp when it comes to trying new things.

[misq17]

Oh my turn!
I started yoga!
I'd never taken a yoga class in my life, and I finally started looking, comparing prices and instructors and I did it! I signed up, I paid, and I've been taking classes for about a month, now. Although I'm still extremely shakey with almost no balance, I am improving. I've already noticed a difference in my arms! I love yoga. I've decided that I'm going to buy a bigger 'yoga package' and start going at least twice a week (right now I'm only going once a week, and practicing on my own when I have time). I'm quite proud of myself for having finally gone through with it. I'm always such a wimp when it comes to trying new things.

Yay! *applauds* :bobo: :hump: :sunny:

[meatless]

sounds like everyone is doing really well with consistancy, since that is the hardest part!

:lol: yeah I do well with consistency-- I consistently do nothing!

Actually, not true. Today Mr. Meatless and I went for a walk for about an hour and a half. It was beautiful out and we would have been fools not to take advantage of it.

But here's the real kicker, the thing that makes me a colossal loser: back in September Mr. Meatless and I spent more than $3,000 making our rec room into a gym. And we haven't used it once since New Years. :sweat:

[meatless]

I'm happy that I can finally contribute an accomplishment of my own: I went to the gym last night for the first time in like 2 weeks!

:lol: I was just about to admonish you since I know you live on campus and the gym is right there, when I remembered that my gym is in my basement and I still don't seem to make it down there. :-/

[zoebird]

you're lucky that you had the money and space to make a gym in your own house, meatless. it's my husband's dream to build a gym in our house--but then, he's been a consistant gym-user for the last 15 years or more.

i think the main thing is to start small. go into your gym and do something for five minutes. if it's a treadmill or whatever--do that. then, work your way up to 30 minute and so on. that will get you consistant in the use of the gym over time (going the same time every day), and then you'll start to use it.

i often tell people--don't build your own gym until you're consistant in the practice--but no one ever listens. if my husband had his own gym, he would definately use it.

[LadyFaile]

i finally had my orientation session at the gym with one of the trainers, just to show me how to use the machines properly. i've been taking it easy so far waiting for this session cause i figure if i'm doing something wrong i'm more likely to hurt myself the harder i work out.
so yeah it turns out i was doing some things wrong and just positioning myself right made some of the machines a lot easier. she had me do 15 lbs on the leg curl machine. 15!! it was haaaaaaaaard though.
anyway thursday is my first session with my trainer for real, i have a feeling the girl i worked with today was going easy on me compaired to how he'll be.

when i got home today my arms were like jello
i had to support my elbow on my knee to take a drink without dropping the glass. i may need to invest in some very long straws... :think:

[Katt Fink]

I did the tread and ab-rolly thing today! HUGE accomplishment on my part considering what the past 2 weeks have been like.. sort of like a bear preparing for winter hibernation. I'm not sure how long I did the tread for because when I got off it, it said 55 seconds lol!! (I have to cover the display while I'm walking, otherwise I will constantly look at the time, and well, you know how that is) But before everyone laughs at me, I know it had to have been more than 55 seconds because I listened to about 16 songs while treading and watched TV for at least 10 min. before putting on the stereo. Unless my treadmill is some sort of wormhole! Then I did the rolly thing for like 5 more songs, but that thing is fun and painless so I could do it all day... woo! Why is it that when I don't exercise in forever, the day I start up again I feel like I have superpowers and get all disappointed when I don't lose 20lbs that day, lol.

[meatless]

you're lucky that you had the money and space to make a gym in your own house, meatless. it's my husband's dream to build a gym in our house--but then, he's been a consistant gym-user for the last 15 years or more.

i think the main thing is to start small. go into your gym and do something for five minutes. if it's a treadmill or whatever--do that. then, work your way up to 30 minute and so on. that will get you consistant in the use of the gym over time (going the same time every day), and then you'll start to use it.

i often tell people--don't build your own gym until you're consistant in the practice--but no one ever listens. if my husband had his own gym, he would definately use it.


Oh I know we're lucky. :)

We were using it regularly for about a month, and I got up to doing about 25 minutes on the elliptical and a bunch of weights, crunches etc.... and then I got my wisdom teeth out and had a chronic headache for about two weeks. It completely broke my pattern. I need patterns. I've done it sporadically since, but haven't established a pattern yet. I had been exercising in the evening but during January and February I had a lot of evening events i had to cover for work, and didn't really feel like exercising on my precious evenings off!

Now that it's warm out I think we'll do a lot more walking and stuff, and since clothing gets a little smaller and a little tighter in the summer I think it should help to motivate me. :) I also figure I have to detach my regime from Mr. Meatless. The original plan was we were going to do it together, but there have been too many nights when he doesn't feel like doing it and as such I lose all willpower.

As for not building a gym before being a consistent exerciser- I know myself well enough to know that if I have to make an effort to exercise-- i.e. go to a gym, go outside in the freezing cold etc. then I simply won't do it. I guess I'm not doing the greatest with it in my basement either, but I don't even have a fighting chance of exercising unless it's easily accessible to me. I HATE the cold (and I work from home so often in the winter have no reason to go out into it except for things like groceries etc.) I will NEVER go to a gym. I can't even wrap my mind around the idea of commuting to a job, let alone going to a gym or trying to run in -20 weather. At least this way I have a chance.

[zoebird]

i know what you mean about not wanting to leave the house, particularly if it's cold. there are some days where i just feel so cozy in the bed, i don't want to leave the bed!

i usually recommend a consistant practice before owning gym because a gym is such a huge investment. i'm certainly not against you owning a gym, but if you have a consistant practice, you're more likely to use what you invested in, whereas if you don't, it's less likely to be something that you'll use. you know what i mean?

anyway. . .i like yoga because there's no/very little equipment involved.

[meatless]

i know what you mean about not wanting to leave the house, particularly if it's cold. there are some days where i just feel so cozy in the bed, i don't want to leave the bed!

i usually recommend a consistant practice before owning gym because a gym is such a huge investment. i'm certainly not against you owning a gym, but if you have a consistant practice, you're more likely to use what you invested in, whereas if you don't, it's less likely to be something that you'll use. you know what i mean?

anyway. . .i like yoga because there's no/very little equipment involved.

Oh yeah, I know. We have bought some yoga tapes too but haven't used them yet :)

i used to be an avid exerciser as a teenager, so I know I have it in me, I just need to find the ambition! I have been blessed for many years with a naturally slim figure and good health, so I had little motivation to exercise. Now that I'm getting into my mid-20s the metabolism is slowing down and I am becoming more concerned about health. I know I'll get going on this eventually. I like the feeling of walking up a set of stairs and not feeling completely winded! :yes: