Posts by mwheeler75

321go...I have joint laxity problems, and I sprain my shoulders in my sleep often by rolling over on them. The best thing is to sleep on your back. Getting one of those pillows for neck support for back sleeping will help keep you in position. I have to actually sleep with pillows on each side of me as well to try and keep me from rolling over on them, but you may not need to go that far. Make sure you have the right pillow and give it a few nights of back sleeping and you may be ok.

Original Post by lindinig:

Original Post by mwheeler75:

Last night a guy actually came up to me in the middle of a set of shoulder presses to ask if he could have the barbell I was using, he needed that one. Because I obviously didn't.

 Yet another reason why I workout at home. I have all the equipment to myself, when I need it.

 It was all worth it when I saw that he picked up the same weight I was using and did the same exercise I was doing with it. I wanted to tell him he lifts like a girl but didn't have the guts.

Thanks for the link amethyst, that is in line with what I was doing except I keep my back leg further back. I hate when trainers just randomly come up to you to correct you, I always doubt myself and am usually fine with what I am doing. And they always seem to approach me with advice, and ignore the man behind me doing 1/4 squats with 180lbs on the bar in jeans and flip flops.

Ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist, they will design a program for you and really only a professional should advise you if you have a medical condition like arthritis that is degenerative. From my own experience swimming, walking, limited biking and elliptical, and weights are all possible with arthritis and joint pain, but start with your doctor, because you don't want to aggrivate an already painful condition.

Although exercise will be a must for you in dealing with arthritis, it technically isn't necessary in weight loss, you can do that with diet alone if need be.

You need to talk to your doctor. They will refer you to a specialist who can help you customize a program that will help you out.  A lot of us can say try this or try that but we don't know the state of your joints, or how you recover, etc. You really need to see a physiologist.

you would have had to have a laproscopy I think to definitively diagnose endometriosis. I have it, and it makes for the most horrendous cramps, but the BC pretty much got it under control. I would think if it was endo though you would know it by now, i would literally have to call out from work for 2 days every month and not move.

Whether you lose or gain or maintain your weight will matter mostly on your diet.

I will probably get flamed for this, but I have pretty pronounced cellulite on the front and back of my legs, have had it since I was about 12. Yes on the weight training and fat reduction definitely, but for me when I switched my diet to a higher fat diet - good fats - I noticed my cellulite got better. I take CLA and EFA supplements, Flax, nuts and seeds, avocado, olive oil...things like that and I feel like it has really helped with the cellulite, in addition to the weights.

One thing though, is that weight lifting can temporarily make your cellulite look worse. Lower body workouts usually have me retain fluid a few days in my legs, making the bumps more noticeable. Dont give up on it, over time it will even it out and burn the fat. Just don't hit the squat rack before the beach :)

And coffee on the skin works for temporary results. I mix coffee grounds and olive oil and use it as a scrub, reduces the cellulite appearance for a little while and leaves your skin really soft. The downside is you smell like a frapuccino.

Thanks for the info Harlow, I decided to call my PC today to refer me to someone else, because I really disliked that doctor even though I think he was dead on with what he said. I just have so many questions now on it.

Octo - not sure if you are asking me or Harlow. The joint pain varies and is random, for instance in college I went through senior year with my right knee visibly swollen and I had to use a cane, yet no one was really sure why. Then it just went away. Sometimes I wake up and my knuckle on one finger will be swollen and sore...and it lasts a few days, or weeks, or months...then just goes away. Every one of my joints pops and snaps...I roll over in bed and you can hear my shoulder pop, etc. If my husband hugs me...crack. When I think back, I have had hip, ankle, elbow, toe, neck, finger, wrist, shoulder and knee issues at various times since I was a kid...something is almost always swollen or out of whack. There isnt a moment when it happens that I feel myself sprain....if that makes sense. Its like I can do a movement way beyond where I should and I dont necessarily feel a tear or pain, but then later on the joint swells and the pain is brutal. Since I have always been so active, I just sort of assumed it to be normal sprains and such.I also am impacted by the weather, wet weather, cold weather, humid...it makes my joints swell.

Depends really on your goals with your weight training. Higher reps, like 12+ is generally done for endurance, 10-12 range I believe is used for increasing muscle size or mass, and low like 4-8 reps is for strength. I could be totally wrong on those but thats how I understand it.  Most people on weight training programs  will at some point use all of those ranges. Check out one of the New Rules of Lifting books for some ideas.

My advice would be to graduate off the machines to free weights before you worry about increasing weight on the machines. Machines are ok to start with, but they can force your body into awkward positions and increase your risk of hurting yourself. So I would think about keeping your current rep and set range and think about trying that routine off the machines with free weights and even body weight (push-ups, dips, pull-ups). Then work on increasing weight from there. 

The Alchemist by Coelho. It is forever being mentioned by some celebrity as a top five life changing book and it is poorly written drivel. Also The Bad Girl by Llosa. I think I actually threw that one across the room.

Are your goals with weight lifting to build muscle or are you more doing it for fat loss and/or strength gains? If you are trying to build muscle you are probably doing too much cardio. If you are trying to lean out then it's a bit more of a personal decision as to how much to do. I am trying to lean out now and I do 2 full body weight routines a week and 2-3 HIIT sessions. I don't do do cardio on my weight days, other than my warm up/cool down.

I guess really it depends on your overall goal. It sounds like you like the extra cardio, and it sounds like you really want to do it. I would say try it. The real test will be about 3 weeks in how you are doing...if you find yourself skipping or scrimping on the weight workouts, or not progressing with the HIIT then you are probably trying to do too much at once.

Also to consider...a lot of people who use HIIT don't do the same thing months on end. Every 4 -6 weeks you could roll your cardio workouts, meaning you do a couple weeks HIIT focus then give yourself a break and spend a few weeks doing less HIIT more steady state, and so forth. Trying to do it all at once is a good way to burn out!

Oh Pizza that makes me feel better since I eat mostly Haddock, Shrimp and Salmon. Regardless I am going to cut back. I had heard of mercury poisoning but didnt really think I was eating that much of it.

I hate meat so it was an easy substitute. Looks like chicken is my new friend.

I have (had) Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. It went into remission about 9 years ago and I have very limited problems from it. But when I was in full flare with my symptoms I did yoga and swam, I didn't do weights because I found that 1) I couldnt hold the bar/weight without hand pain and 2) I couldn't recover. The lightest weight routine would take me a week to recover and I was constantly tired and sleepy and everything would swell.

Losing weight though is about deficit. You technically don't need to work out to lose weight. If your diet is in check, then you will lose. Can you share more, i.e. your height, weight etc?

Also what medications are you taking for the arthritis? Some of them are steroidal and will make you gain weight...I was heavier when I was on the medication no matter what I did.

And finally if you are interested in supplements that workd for me - ginger for whatever reason really helped me. And I eat a high(er) fat diet because I have found my joints do better and I have less issues when working out.

I guess I think of cheat days the same as Faye, I still maintain my deficit for the day, I just loosen up on the type of food I eat. Since I eat clean most of the time, a cheat for me is something like Friday nights my local grocery makes fish and chips with fresh cod, so I do the breaded fried fish and veggies instead of fries. I still come in the same calorie wise.

That being said about every 3 weeks I eat a day or 2 at maintenance. I just have found for me personally that kept me happy and sane while  dieting.

I really don't believe there is a universal right and wrong for cheat days. Its sort of something you have to figure out for yourself. Everybody thinks of them differently and handles them differently. Ultimately you have to do a program that you can stick to and be happy on in order to be succesful.