Posts by loxosceles

A "person who doesn't eat red meat".

I'm not being snarky, this works just as well as any other label. For example:

"Would you like to come over to dinner? Is roast beef OK?" / "Thank you but I don't eat red meat. Maybe we could have chicken instead?"

"I never see you eating hamburgers. Are you a vegetarian?" / "No, I just don't eat red meat."

"Would you like to come to our vegan potluck?" / "OK, since there will be no red meat there I can eat everything! I'll make sure to bring a vegan dish."

Original Post by nannygabber:

Are there really women who can do pull-ups? Or is that just not a girl sport?

Absolutely it's a girl sport! I'm up to 3 chin-ups, and expect to hit 4 any day now. Pull-ups are challenging enough for the guys, but they're REALLY impressive when we do them. And it's totally possible.

Do lat pulldowns (bar in front of your face, not behind your back) with as much weight as you can manage, and work in as many negative pull-ups as you possibly can. The pull-up machine at your gym is OK to get started, but the negatives are what really help you progress.

Good luck!

I was thinking about the same thing recently. Nothing will pump up your booty like a whole lot of deadlifts. And they're fun, too! It won't be long before you can lift weights in the triple digits (I weigh 130 and can easily deadlift more than I weigh).

Deadlift #2 in this article is the magic recipe. Check it out!

And here is another article on other exercises to use together with deadlifts for a great butt.

Your lower back muscles are worked pretty hard in the deadlift, so if they're mildly sore along with other muscles, like your hamstrings, that's normal. If your back is a lot MORE sore than your other muscles, though, or if you're really in pain, you may have a muscle strain or some other injury.

If it's hard to lift the weight without straining your back, USE LESS WEIGHT. Whenever I start doing a new exercise, I always do my first few sets, or even the first few workouts, with only small weights - an empty bar, or even a broomstick (if your gym has "body bars," those are great because they have some weight to them but not much). When it feels good with the broomstick or body bar, switch to a pair of dumbbells, an empty bar, a bar with small weights, a bar with medium weights, etc, before lifting what you think you "should" be able to.

Correct form is really important, so watch videos like the ones fortius recommended.There is a difference between a regular and a stiff-legged deadlift, so learn about both and make sure you're not doing the stiff-legged one by accident.

Also try to find someone you trust who can watch you and tell you if you're doing it right. Mirrors help, but sometimes when you turn to look at yourself in the mirror you change your body position.

My blisters usually pop on their own, but if not I'll sometimes pop them. VERY important to keep everything clean (flame the needle first, and afterwards apply some neosporin & a band-aid).

I keep an eye out for "hot spots", places that seem like they might turn into a blister. I put a band-aid over the hot spot and usually that lets me forget all about it. I always keep band-aids in my dance bag, skate bag, etc just in case.

Once your shoes break in (or you get used to running/whatever in them) you shouldn't be getting blisters anymore. If you do, it means the shoe doesn't fit you very well and you should consider new shoes/different socks.

That's awesome!

If it leaves your muscles feeling sore or a little wobbly, consider it a strength workout and try to give yourself a rest day after doing it.

eire, I want your recipe for savory french toast!!

You're right, over here it's always a sweet dish. What goes in the savory version & what do you serve it with?

CC has some calculators that can help you figure out how much you burn (like right here). I ran some numbers, but please double-check by doing it yourself:

Your BMR (the amount you would burn if you just laid in bed all day) is 1350. You shouldn't ever eat less than your BMR.

Your calorie burn, considering that you work out 5x/week, is 1900/day on average. (double check this!)

So, each day you'll want to eat 500-1000 LESS than you burn, without going below your BMR. If you work out and burn 1900 for the day, and eat 1400, that's a 500 calorie deficit (1 pound/week). If you want a 1000 cal deficit, you'd still eat 1400 but then you'd have to burn 2400 - try more time on the wii fit, or add other activities to your day (like walking or biking to places you would normally drive).

These numbers are always an estimate, so pay attention to how your body feels. If you're always tired and hungry, then the numbers are too low and you need to eat more. Your body's signals have veto power over whatever the calculator says!

Look up the race course - there will probably be a map on the race's website - and run it at least once. The hills might be huge or they might be tiny, and above all it's important to run outdoors - nothing like a treadmill.

If you can't get to the race course, the least you can do is take one of your running workouts outside. Road running is different from treadmill running, and you've got to try some hills out so they won't psych you out on race day.

Hill tips: keep your rhythm the same, but take teeny tiny baby steps as you jog up the hill. You'll be going slower, but not working any harder. You can also try jogging up sideways (just point your shoulder forward instead of your chest) and see if that makes it feel any easier.

Good luck in your first 5K! I'm sure you'll do great.

If you're tired by Friday, your body is saying it needs to rest. You could try resting on Friday, and make it a cycle of 4 days on / 1 day off (take off Friday, then work out 4 days and take off the next Wednesday, then work out 4 days and take off the next Monday, etc)

It's also possible you're just asking your body to do too much. If I were you, I'd rest more (maybe Fri & Sun as rest days) and focus on making the remaining workouts as good as possible & taking care of myself in the meantime - lots of protein, enough calories, & lots of sleep. When you feel great on that schedule, add Friday back in but make it an easy day (lift less weight, or run less distance, etc) and only when that feels great, increase the work till you're back at your desired schedule.

In general, I think splitting rest days (so it's not two in a row) is probably the best for staying in the habit & keeping up your enthusiasm.

You can get resistance tubing/bands at any sporting goods store - you'll often find them near the yoga mats. Between those and bodyweight exercises like pushups, you can do a lot without dumbbells/barbells and still get a serious workout.

I'm another sugar addict - and I found something interesting. When I eat really well - whole grains, veggies, protein - the sugar cravings stop.

The more sugar or starch I eat, the more I crave it (set a bread basket or a bowl of candy in front of me and I WILL NOT STOP). But if I cut out sugar and replace it with good healthy foods I stop craving it after a few days.

I too have flat feet, and I found that using a forefoot/midfoot strike (landing on the middle or front of your foot instead of landing on your heel) lets me run pain-free much longer than I used to. It means I'm not flattening out my arch with every step.

It is quite the calf workout the first time you try it though!

I'm another sorta-swimmer who is looking to improve. I took an adult beginner course at my local university. It really helped - I learned how to breathe on freestyle without getting water up my nose, and that knowledge alone was worth the price!!

The YMCA is a good place to look - they typically have an adult beginner course that is for people who are new to swimming and starting from scratch, then intermediate and advanced levels for people who know the strokes but want to improve. Also check other local pools, even if you're not a member. You can often take a class at a non-member price.

Also look for a Masters Swimming group near you (www.usms.org/). They're a sort of swim team for adults (18+), and they hold classes and group practices/workouts.

Thanks eerominn, that's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for!

I wonder how accurate it is. I am suspicious that it uses your age instead of asking for max/resting heart rate. I don't know my exact max but I DO know that it's not what the charts say it should be for my age (it's higher - like over 200).