Emi inspired running/workout

[CaptPonyholder]

Unable to Exercise on Monday due to Major Blizzards in the area.

I am sad now

[SemisoftCheese]

Ran into some trouble with my plans D:
Had been doing Emi's '100 pushups challenge' up till W3D1, but I encountered quite some tense muscle strain on my left arm and thought it was wiser to stop >.<, was afraid I might tear something.

Hey Lloonnee,

i don't know about your musclar history, but if you've got a somewhat normal muscle history, feeling a tense pain while working out most likely means that you just haven't stretched out, not that you're going to tear something

i used to train at an international comp level for tennis, so taking care of your arms was something stressed quite a bit. what a lot of people don't realize about pushups is that while they're very good if done right, even twisting your hands at the wrong angle ruins your pushup by stressing parts of your body. you can compensate for this by a proper arm warmup and good form

dynamic 1
dynamic 2
push up guide

are both good ways of making sure your muscles are "warm" before engaging them in exercise. passive stretching of your muscles does help them get ready for exercise, but ideally you want them "warm." the same reason why icyhot works is the same reason why you want to dynamic warmup--loose, warm, stretched out muscles. give this a try and see how you feel. if the pain persists, eat an ibuprofen after your workout and go see a doctor, because there may be a large problem that you want checked out.

[Sleeve]

After 3 weeks my £10 running shoes have already packed up, giving me a couple of blisters while they were at it.
Luckily those 3 weeks of 5 AM starts has been enough to convince my parents (and myself ) that this probably isn't just a phase, meaning I could spend a fair bit on a pair which will last.

Bought a very nice £50 pair yesterday and completed week 7 day 1 in them today, it had yet again decided to snow.
I'm pretty sure you can imagine how much better my runs are in these new trainers, it feels like I'm running on pillows. The breathable material is awesome as well.

Best of all though I noticed some very real physical changes while i was in the shower today.
As a fairly skinny guy who was getting regular exercise before starting this I wasn't expecting any visible changes for a year or two as muscle growth is slow.
Turns out I had more fat than I thought, the combination of dietary changes and morning runs have made my abs more defined and my stomach feeling firmer. I've also lost some fat on my lower back.

My strength workout is also progressing well, after this week I should have the form down.
Don't find strength workouts nearly as enjoyable as running, I'll probably start using music once my form is good.

tl;dr: Turns out £50 trainers are better than £10 trainers and if you go running you can lose fat.

[Lloonnee2]

del

[MadTeddyBear]

I just finished up the start of week 2. So far I'm just doing a 30-minute exercise video in the morning on Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat with some other light exercise on the off days. I'm still having trouble just getting myself to wake up at 5:30 (not enough sleep...) but usually just telling myself "get your lazy ass out of bed, you know you'll feel better if you do" is enough to get started.

So far the morning routine also lets me eat breakfast consistently, sneak in a few minutes of KS, and get to work earlier than I used to which has felt really good. I'm also noticing that during the workouts my endurance and flexibility are improving. I don't have to take as many breaks, I can do more than I was able to when first starting, and soreness afterwards is fading faster.

I've also been looking at joining a gym that's a 10 minute walk from home. My goal is to at least finish three weeks of what I've been doing to get into a solid routine and to make sure that I can keep myself motivated.

@Sleeve:
I appreciate the advice earlier; the initial weight loss didn't last but I’m not worried about it. If it goes down, great! If it doesn't I just remind myself that I have to pay more attention to what I eat and to not get discouraged. Also congrats on starting week 7!

[DrNonookee]

Alright, folks - it's been a while since I posted in this thread, and thought I'd dole out a status update.

I started trying to lose weight earlier this year, after being inspired by our favorite little pig-tailed girl. At first I tried exercising, but quickly realized that A> dieting was more efficient, and B> exercise wasn't going to be feasable until I could drop enough weight to be able to do so without destroying my overweight, out-of-shape body.

Anywho. I've been on a diet for months, and first started officially tracking my weight back at the start of August - I weighed 393 pounds then, as recorded by the scale at my doctor's office when I went in for my physical. About a week ago, I went back there for a six-month checkup, and got weighed again, by the same scale.

I now weigh 323 pounds. Over the past six months, I've lost 70 pounds.

Holy sh*t.

It's amazing, I tell you. AMAZING! I'm actually wearing a single XL in my polo shirts, and a 2X in my T-shirts - something I haven't been able to do for probably a decade or so. I can actually get funny geek-themed T-shirts in my size from online shops! My old belt now cinches so tight around me that it wraps fully halfway around my waist again after being fastened in the front. I can go walking around and not only not have my legs/knees/feet hurt, but actually feel light-footed. Another 20-30 pounds, I might actually seriously consider dancing! For entertainment!

I think my diet's effectiveness might have slowed recently due to the loss of body mass reducing my metabolism. I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on my weight, and perhaps cut down my calories even more to keep it working.

But, yeah. I'm totally bragging.

On a side note, here's something I wanted to bring up. Having lost all this weight, I'm finding that I now have quite a bit of...well, loose bits. Ever seen the end of Austin Powers 3? Not *that* bad, of course, but many of the areas that I've dropped weight from are still rather slack and flabby of form despite not being nearly as bulky as they were. Is this the sort of thing that will gradually repair itself given enough time, or am I going to have to seriously consider surgery to 'take in' some of the slack?

[Gandara]

status update

Dude, I am super happy to hear that. It's a monumental undertaking and you're doing a kick-ass job. Keep up the excellent work!

For the loose skin, it really depends on your build. When you lose a -lot- of weight in a short enough period of time, your body can and will end up with excess skin. Exercise will help mitigate this a lot - working the skin around by running, stretching and doing other physical activity will cause it to form better around your body.

Take up working out. Even if you're not doing high-impact stuff like running, start walking or doing light jogging on a treadmill or outside. Consider starting to weight lift. If you have access to a fitness center with machines, utilize them. Doing this stuff will have a good impact on your body structure no matter what, and should help relegate some of that excess skin.

But even still, just due to the nature of your weight loss you might still end up with some extra baggage. It's the worst in people who get liposuction (though they can usually afford the skin surgery too) or people who get stomach staples. Losing more than a pound a week without any other bodily changes will result in that loose skin, and by my calculations you lost an average of 2.7 lbs. per week (very good progress, I might add).

Though it'll suck, if it comes to it you might need some surgery. Do your best to manage without it, but don't consider any surgery until you are certain you're at your target weight. It'd also be good to consult a doctor about it - technically that loose skin shouldn't hurt you but they'd know better than I about your options.

I hope for the best for you, dude. I'm really glad for your progress and I wish you the best of luck going down the road.

[Lloonnee2]

del

[Xanatos]

It started snowing this morning but my workout had been postponed long enough. So I went out. Funny thing about snow: It's fucking cold. And cold air + lungs = severe pain. I managed eight out of the scheduled twenty minutes, and part of it was cheating. Maybe tomorrow...

[Caden Tiksaril]

Count me among the many others that picked up running thanks to KS. I tried a couch-to-5K last spring, though I only got as far as 4K that time. It should hopefully break 50 degrees sometime today, so I'll run then. Different from the morning runs I usually do, but I'll take any opportunity I get at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see that these winter days are cold, as they should be, but considering my only option for running is outdoors, I'm pretty restricted from going longer than a mile during this time. I can't wait for the weather to warm up again.

[Caden Tiksaril]

Unfortunately it didn't quite reach 50 degrees after factoring in the wind (which of course had to pick up just as I got going), but aside from being forced to breathe through my mouth much earlier than I'd like, I was able to run my usual mile with no problems. Weather really is the only issue right now - once that's out of the way, I definitely want to retry the couch-to-5K.

[Lloonnee2]

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[HLGU]

Thank you for the awesome post. i,too, started running inspired by Emi and this will be really useful. thank you

[Bubbleman]

First post yay! (Please murder me for that)

Thanks to KS i´ve been picking up running again after 5 years of inactivity (and an additional 20Kg to my belly) and am currently on my 4th week of my new active life (and it feels great ). A small disclaimer though, I´m not following the "official" Emi´s guide to 5K but using my own program inspired by the 5K guide (which basicly consists of running till your lungs are sore and then letting them recover while powerwalking and doing this for 1-1.5 hours).
Anywho my question is "Is this mentality of pushing myself to my limits unhealthy, or even worse dangerous? (Aka should i simply stick to the official guide)?".

For the people who accually managed to understand what i wrote above here is a cookie. (>'-')>O

/Bubbleman out!

[Parliament]

Welcome to the forum Bubbleman! I think it's very important to push yourself, but it's equally important to know when to ease up especially when running on foot. We all have limits but we want to push them, not break them too quickly potentially causing ourselves injury. After all, if you're injured you can't push yourself the next day =)

Also just an update, haven't posted in this thread in a while- got a stationary bike a while ago, been going 16-17 miles in 40 mins, 5 days a week. Also been doing a weightlifting regimen 3-4 days a week. Don't got a scale at my house so I don't know how much weight I've dropped if any, but I can see and feel positive changes in my body and that's all I need to know I'm making progress. So I'm gonna keep going at it like I have been!