2014 Official Chaz Fitness Challenge
- Thread starter Julee
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Went to the gym last night for the first time since I wrecked my ankle. It went surprisingly well! I have definitely lost a lot of the endurance that I had when I was going to the gym 5 times a week, which I expected. I opted for the elliptical over the regular treadmill because I figured it would be less impact on my ankle. Ankle felt fine the whole time I was working out, then I forgot about it and did a quad stretch...which I regretted immediately. Feels fine this morning though.
Overall, very happy.
Overall, very happy.
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I really need to start eating healthier,& exercising. I basically just eat crap,& rarely excerise. It's starting to have a neagtive effect on my too. Gah.
The issues is, many times I don't have the motivation to actually be healthy. Plus, my family is soooo unhealthy, so that doesn't help at all.
Need. Motivation.
The issues is, many times I don't have the motivation to actually be healthy. Plus, my family is soooo unhealthy, so that doesn't help at all.
Need. Motivation.
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I think Depression is one of the contributing factors to why I'm so unmotivated.
Anyways, that's one of the reasons, why I'm looking into exercising,& eating healthier.I know when I do exercise, I feel better. Plus, I just need major lifestyle change, because of things. I'm slowly getting better at being healthy, more so for my eating habits, not much in the line of exercising.
That's awesome exercising helps. (((Hugs))) to you,& I'm really your anxiety is crippling.
Anyways, that's one of the reasons, why I'm looking into exercising,& eating healthier.I know when I do exercise, I feel better. Plus, I just need major lifestyle change, because of things. I'm slowly getting better at being healthy, more so for my eating habits, not much in the line of exercising.
That's awesome exercising helps. (((Hugs))) to you,& I'm really your anxiety is crippling.
Just got an "Under Armour 39" heart monitor and strap. Full retail is $100 but they ran a special for $29.99 with a one year membership to mapmyfitness (which I use anyway). I had hurt my knee last week on a run, so I had taken myself out of the game for a week. Went out tonight with the monitor on and it seemed to work quite well. Got the feedback into the app, showed me where I was working hardest, where I was at "race pace", etc.
As a side note - do any of you road pounders use the charity miles app? I was turned on to that by a coworker, so now I fire it up when going out on a run and shut it down when I return. If it truly works the way they advertise, I'm earning 25 cents a mile for my charity. They have "walk" and "bike" workouts you can earn with also.
As a side note - do any of you road pounders use the charity miles app? I was turned on to that by a coworker, so now I fire it up when going out on a run and shut it down when I return. If it truly works the way they advertise, I'm earning 25 cents a mile for my charity. They have "walk" and "bike" workouts you can earn with also.
Did the "assessment" in the Under Armour app the other day. Friggin psycho's 
"The assessment will take 10 minutes. We recommend a treadmill or you can use a track. Be prepared to work hard."
Basically, it consisted of a couple minutes of warmup (walk/jog) then over the course of three minutes, increasing your speed so that you are breathing really hard and cannot complete a full sentence without taking breaths. Great, got pumping good and hard on that. Figuring I'm on my way to a cool down as the 3 minutes elapsed, it says, "For the next 90 seconds, go all out, as hard as you can." At the end of that they say, "Stop and rest." It then crunches the numbers to see about max heart rates, recovery times, etc.
I could actually see my heart beating in my chest.
Went for a run today in the rain. Knee is still sore, but I can push on it just fine. Ice and ibuprofen work wonders. I'm hoping to get my times down and my distances up by Thanksgiving. I've really fallen out of shape over the last few months.
"The assessment will take 10 minutes. We recommend a treadmill or you can use a track. Be prepared to work hard."
Basically, it consisted of a couple minutes of warmup (walk/jog) then over the course of three minutes, increasing your speed so that you are breathing really hard and cannot complete a full sentence without taking breaths. Great, got pumping good and hard on that. Figuring I'm on my way to a cool down as the 3 minutes elapsed, it says, "For the next 90 seconds, go all out, as hard as you can." At the end of that they say, "Stop and rest." It then crunches the numbers to see about max heart rates, recovery times, etc.
I could actually see my heart beating in my chest.
Went for a run today in the rain. Knee is still sore, but I can push on it just fine. Ice and ibuprofen work wonders. I'm hoping to get my times down and my distances up by Thanksgiving. I've really fallen out of shape over the last few months.
Eddie that app that earns money sounds pretty cool! That fitness test sounds horrible though, yikes.
I still run a bit but honestly favor the elliptical lately. Much easier on my knees, I'm not sore for days afterwards, and it burns more calories. I ran 3.5 miles yesterday just to make sure I could still do it and now I'm sore, which is annoying because I have to take a couple days off to recover.
Still haven't reached my goal weight but I'm really having a hard time with food lately... I only lost .7 pound in the last month. Still not the end of the world I guess...
I still run a bit but honestly favor the elliptical lately. Much easier on my knees, I'm not sore for days afterwards, and it burns more calories. I ran 3.5 miles yesterday just to make sure I could still do it and now I'm sore, which is annoying because I have to take a couple days off to recover.
Still haven't reached my goal weight but I'm really having a hard time with food lately... I only lost .7 pound in the last month. Still not the end of the world I guess...
The scale may not be moving down at the speed you want, but it's moving in the right direction and, above all, do you feel better than you did when you started? Overall feeling/looking fitter and the way clothes fit is a much better indicator than weight.
As far as the elliptical vs. running, I hate the elliptical machines for the same reason you don't like to run - they hurt my knees. I've never been able to be on one for more than a few minutes before my knees are screaming for me to stop. FWIW, my knee injury from running wasn't a "pounding" injury, I twisted it on some bad footing.
That's a ton of progress, yv0nne! Nice work!
As far as the elliptical vs. running, I hate the elliptical machines for the same reason you don't like to run - they hurt my knees. I've never been able to be on one for more than a few minutes before my knees are screaming for me to stop. FWIW, my knee injury from running wasn't a "pounding" injury, I twisted it on some bad footing.
That's a ton of progress, yv0nne! Nice work!
Alright.
I need to start something. Someone suggest something for me, because I'm actually really depressed about my weight and if I have nobody holding me to anything, I'll just keep getting fatter.
I'm turning 25, 6' tall, I'm fairly physically fit and extremely strong. I like lifting more than cardio but I'm not terribly opposed to going for runs or flailing on an elliptical. I am very physically active at work, so I'm not at all leading a sedentary lifestyle. I spend at least 8 hours a day in constant motion, lifting heavy items, climbing up and down ladders, and walking everywhere.
I had been killin it in my weight loss for the better part of a year, went down from 250lbs to just under 200. I was about 20lbs and some muscle tone away from my goal "look good naked" weight.
I got pregnant earlier this year. I ate everything in sight. That hasn't stopped, and now I weigh 240lbs. I weighed myself three times when I stepped on the scale. Like how the hell can that happen so quickly?
I have a handle on my diet. I am jumping straight off the shitty carb boat and going towards a lean protein and vegetable based diet. Aiming for 5-6oz portions of protein twice a day, 5-6oz veggie portions twice a day, and a fruit/natural carb for breakfast. Once I've dropped some initial bulk and gotten over my food withdrawals I'll start to allow myself unlimited veggies as snacks when I feel hungry.
I need suggestions for exercise. My gut is gross, my thighs are gross. I love squats, but I need to work my inner thigh area, my core and my triceps. Calves, shoulders, traps, forearms and biceps are all quite lean and very well toned (which I DON'T GET BECAUSE OF MY WEIGHT... My fat is just POOLING in my nasty gut and thighs while the rest of me looks fine)
Like... any suggestions will be appreciated. I thought I was done being a fatass. This is really upsetting to me.
I need to start something. Someone suggest something for me, because I'm actually really depressed about my weight and if I have nobody holding me to anything, I'll just keep getting fatter.
I'm turning 25, 6' tall, I'm fairly physically fit and extremely strong. I like lifting more than cardio but I'm not terribly opposed to going for runs or flailing on an elliptical. I am very physically active at work, so I'm not at all leading a sedentary lifestyle. I spend at least 8 hours a day in constant motion, lifting heavy items, climbing up and down ladders, and walking everywhere.
I had been killin it in my weight loss for the better part of a year, went down from 250lbs to just under 200. I was about 20lbs and some muscle tone away from my goal "look good naked" weight.
I got pregnant earlier this year. I ate everything in sight. That hasn't stopped, and now I weigh 240lbs. I weighed myself three times when I stepped on the scale. Like how the hell can that happen so quickly?
I have a handle on my diet. I am jumping straight off the shitty carb boat and going towards a lean protein and vegetable based diet. Aiming for 5-6oz portions of protein twice a day, 5-6oz veggie portions twice a day, and a fruit/natural carb for breakfast. Once I've dropped some initial bulk and gotten over my food withdrawals I'll start to allow myself unlimited veggies as snacks when I feel hungry.
I need suggestions for exercise. My gut is gross, my thighs are gross. I love squats, but I need to work my inner thigh area, my core and my triceps. Calves, shoulders, traps, forearms and biceps are all quite lean and very well toned (which I DON'T GET BECAUSE OF MY WEIGHT... My fat is just POOLING in my nasty gut and thighs while the rest of me looks fine)
Like... any suggestions will be appreciated. I thought I was done being a fatass. This is really upsetting to me.
I'm just checking back into this thread. I'm glad I did and hope I can help. First of all you did it once, you can do it again. You're not gross, you're a mother and when you love that kid nobody that matters is going to care that you're not your look good naked weight.
Don't get rid of squats. They're about the best body exercise you can do, especially when you're trying to burn fat. Fat does congregate on the belly, especially after having a baby. Don't be too hard on yourself. Thighs too.
I would absolutely avoid doing things that specifically target the "inner" thigh. Though important, those muscles are smaller and more stabilizing in nature than they are big and movers. This is important because if you want to burn fat, you need to burn calories, lots of them. Working small muscles groups to exhaustion will certainly give you a burn, make you sore and all that other stuff, but they will not come close to burning the calories, nor create that post-exercise oxygen debt like the large primary movers will do.
You can't spot reduce, so don't waste your time. Once and a while you can change it up and instead of doing a straight squat, do lunges, do side lunges which will involve those areas more, but if you're doing squat and heavy multijointed exercises like that, the stabilizers will be sufficiently worked anyway.
If you have a weak core, take some time and build it. It's important for the large primary mover type exercise you should be doing. but once it's activated and not deconditioned, those muscles should be sufficiently worked doing other stuff like squats, overhead presses (NOT SEATED ANYTHING) even a simple push up movement is great for core, assuming you're doing them correctly. Not much need to do extra other than maybe a few minutes a week. Not that 45 minute ab burning stuff I see so many doing. Again. Waste of time if fat burning is your goal. Can't spot reduce and small efficient muscles who's goal to stabilize aren't ever going to burn a lot of calories like the movers do. They just help the moves do their jobs better and keep joints safe. So let them do what they're supposed to.
Triceps? don't isolate. Push movements, big exercises. Push up, bench press, overhead press and all vairations of those 3. Involve lots of muscle groups, burn the most calories, create the biggest oxygen debt. Or spend 30 minutes of your workout doing cable pushdowns to isolate the triceps and burn a tenth of the calories.
don't forget the fat in your diet. it's probably the most important part. I know we were programmed to have a fear of fat in this country and we're paying for it now. Hungry, constantly overeating, screwed up hormones, not sure how to really eat people. Good healthy stuff from the right sources. Just google, you'll find 100 sources of good stuff easily. We do get too much protein. Carbs are ok, especially if you're very active all day and are working out hard daily. If not, eat less and I try to avoid any processed grain stuff. Things like Lentils, steel cut oats, etc are better than something from a whole wheat flour and whole wheat flour based stuff is better than the really overprocessed stuff. Just energy with little nutrition which stimulates your body to eat more.
anyway, this guy has a lot of easy to read stuff that I happen to agree with most of the time. I don't think anybody would be wrong in adopting some of the things he says regarding nutrition into their daily lives.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz3HjNUfSrP
Don't get rid of squats. They're about the best body exercise you can do, especially when you're trying to burn fat. Fat does congregate on the belly, especially after having a baby. Don't be too hard on yourself. Thighs too.
I would absolutely avoid doing things that specifically target the "inner" thigh. Though important, those muscles are smaller and more stabilizing in nature than they are big and movers. This is important because if you want to burn fat, you need to burn calories, lots of them. Working small muscles groups to exhaustion will certainly give you a burn, make you sore and all that other stuff, but they will not come close to burning the calories, nor create that post-exercise oxygen debt like the large primary movers will do.
You can't spot reduce, so don't waste your time. Once and a while you can change it up and instead of doing a straight squat, do lunges, do side lunges which will involve those areas more, but if you're doing squat and heavy multijointed exercises like that, the stabilizers will be sufficiently worked anyway.
If you have a weak core, take some time and build it. It's important for the large primary mover type exercise you should be doing. but once it's activated and not deconditioned, those muscles should be sufficiently worked doing other stuff like squats, overhead presses (NOT SEATED ANYTHING) even a simple push up movement is great for core, assuming you're doing them correctly. Not much need to do extra other than maybe a few minutes a week. Not that 45 minute ab burning stuff I see so many doing. Again. Waste of time if fat burning is your goal. Can't spot reduce and small efficient muscles who's goal to stabilize aren't ever going to burn a lot of calories like the movers do. They just help the moves do their jobs better and keep joints safe. So let them do what they're supposed to.
Triceps? don't isolate. Push movements, big exercises. Push up, bench press, overhead press and all vairations of those 3. Involve lots of muscle groups, burn the most calories, create the biggest oxygen debt. Or spend 30 minutes of your workout doing cable pushdowns to isolate the triceps and burn a tenth of the calories.
don't forget the fat in your diet. it's probably the most important part. I know we were programmed to have a fear of fat in this country and we're paying for it now. Hungry, constantly overeating, screwed up hormones, not sure how to really eat people. Good healthy stuff from the right sources. Just google, you'll find 100 sources of good stuff easily. We do get too much protein. Carbs are ok, especially if you're very active all day and are working out hard daily. If not, eat less and I try to avoid any processed grain stuff. Things like Lentils, steel cut oats, etc are better than something from a whole wheat flour and whole wheat flour based stuff is better than the really overprocessed stuff. Just energy with little nutrition which stimulates your body to eat more.
anyway, this guy has a lot of easy to read stuff that I happen to agree with most of the time. I don't think anybody would be wrong in adopting some of the things he says regarding nutrition into their daily lives.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz3HjNUfSrP
No real reason to go for a run or flail on an elliptical if you prefer lifting to cardio. So lift. Do what you enjoy or you won't do it.
RTH already said a lot of it, but at this point look at compound moves rather than things like isolating this or that. Squats are great as are deadlifts, overhead press, barbel rows. A pull-up is also good to work in and push-ups are just all around great.
There's plenty of info free on the web but you might look at this if you're interested in books:
http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook/dp/B006XJR5ZA/
http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Women-Goddess-ebook/dp/B004IE9RGC/
http://www.amazon.com/Strong-Curves-Womans-Building-Better-ebook/dp/B00C4XI0QM/
It looks like the Stronglifts 5x5 program is now all free online without even having to sign up for the e-mails, so this is a good free one to start with.
http://stronglifts.com/5x5/
Also, I feel like you already know this, but postpartum depression is legit a thing and can also happen after a miscarriage, so... just something to keep in mind.
RTH already said a lot of it, but at this point look at compound moves rather than things like isolating this or that. Squats are great as are deadlifts, overhead press, barbel rows. A pull-up is also good to work in and push-ups are just all around great.
There's plenty of info free on the web but you might look at this if you're interested in books:
http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook/dp/B006XJR5ZA/
http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Women-Goddess-ebook/dp/B004IE9RGC/
http://www.amazon.com/Strong-Curves-Womans-Building-Better-ebook/dp/B00C4XI0QM/
It looks like the Stronglifts 5x5 program is now all free online without even having to sign up for the e-mails, so this is a good free one to start with.
http://stronglifts.com/5x5/
Also, I feel like you already know this, but postpartum depression is legit a thing and can also happen after a miscarriage, so... just something to keep in mind.