Self-improvement thread! (pls no negativity or politics)

[pink grapefruit]

Is this something anyone would be interested in?

We can chat about exercise, diet, school, career, and whatever else! Please let us have something nice and let's not ruin it with negativity or other weirdness.

I have a lot to say about my current situation but would like someone else to start so I know there's some interest here.

[Tunabros]

no

[imperiouskitten]

yessssss, but you go first. i can't break this ice agaiN :)

[Philistine]

Been trying to show some restraint and eat better! Baked goods are my weak spot so far, but been doing better than than I have been for like...3 years lol. Just gotta keep it going and maybe get off my butt and exercise some :p

[pink grapefruit]

Been trying to show some restraint and eat better! Baked goods are my weak spot so far, but been doing better than than I have been for like...3 years lol. Just gotta keep it going and maybe get off my butt and exercise some :p

This is a noble goal. What steps have you taken so far?

Once piece of advice that I have read for dietary changes is to start a small ritual, like praying before a meal. It can be secular ofc like simply taking the time to be thankful for the food you are about to eat, right before you eat it. Maybe something to consider.

Please keep us updated and let us know how you do going forward :D

[Whale biologist]

I learned about the G** mindset from my sister and her bf(really husbando) and wasn't a complete penis about it like I do on here.

[pink grapefruit]

I learned about the G** mindset from my sister and her bf(really husbando) and wasn't a complete penis about it like I do on here.

What is the G** mindset??

[imperiouskitten]

GAWD i believe is a four letter word

[Whale biologist]

What is the G** mindset??

https://i.imgur.com/Ue23Tum.jpg

I asked for help about it before but everybody made fun of me :(

[Tunabros]

voted terrible

[pink grapefruit]

Okay, here's me:

School:

This has to come first. I'm doing some extremely difficult coursework this semester, and thus far have basically just not done any of the necessary studying. The entire reason I ended up back on these silly forums is bc I've been practicing "creative avoidance," and that needs to end. So I've booked my first appointment at focusmate, which promises to be awkward. Webcam chat with a stranger to be productive. We'll see if it helps.

Training:

Training is going pretty well. I adjusted my programming for the semester to something more barebones, in order to save time for studying. The volume is lower for each workout, but the idea is I maybe get one (at most) rest day a week to sort of make up for it.

A:
Pull up - 6xAMRAP
Squat - 3x8
Bench - 3x8
RDL - 3x8

B:
Chin up - 6xAMRAP
Hip thrust - 3x8
Bench - 3x8
Good morning - 3x8

Currently my biceps tendinopathy is acting up (maybe too much bench and chins), so I'm alternating between doing pulls/chins and bench- not doing both each day.

I haven't been doing cardio at all, which needs to change. Recently purchased a new bike. A goal for tomorrow is to ride it around, just for 20 mins.

Diet:

Diet isn't a super big focus of mine rn. I successfully bulked up to 160lbs and now have quite a bit of fat I could stand to lose. I'm trying to eat a big bowl of oatmeal with pea milk, greek yogurt (5g sugar/cup), and a bunch of berries for breakfast each morning I don't have work. So I'll try to keep that up.

Self-care

Wednesdays are my big self-care days, as I prepare for my work week! My goal is to have all the things done before 8pm bedtime :P

I hope to provide an update to all my things tomorrow.

https://i.imgur.com/L4IuqCg.jpg

Let's go, guys!! <3

[Mesocyclone]

Leave Brittany Spears alooooone! Self improvement is masturbation.

[Tunabros]

pretty sure playing red is considered self harm

[unsunghero]

Ooh this is my kinda thread

It ok to post motivationals I posted before? I watch hundreds, you only see the best of those. This is an old favorite that I hadn’t posted

Lemme know if ones I posted before are ok here though too

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=26U_seo0a1g

[unsunghero]

"For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song,
These were the things that made me strong"

[unsunghero]

"You may stand to trouble and keep your grin,
But have you tackled self-discipline?
Don’t boast of your grit until you’ve tried it out,
Nor prate to men of your courage stout,
For it’s easy enough to retain a grin,
In the face of a fight there’s a chance to win”

[Bardp1999]

I beat my wife for going outside the house wearing makeup without me.

[unsunghero]

Being kind of a momma's boy the first time I heard this (true) story, I almost was brought to tears

The real reason Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson in their legendary fight, explained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNQhuFL6CWg

[Nocht]

fMM6nDcZWOg

[unsunghero]

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another"


"Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most"


"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will"

[unsunghero]

"Where our focus goes, energy flows" - Tony Robbins

[unsunghero]

"I tell people all the time...there is a difference between passion and obsession, and high-performers have an obsession about the topic. They are obsessed about the topic in which they are trying to learn, master, grow into...

Here's how you know the difference between the two: when you're passionate, everybody cheers you on; they're stoked for you. 'Oh you found your passion? Awesome! Follow your passion, live with passion, be passionate'

When you're obsessed, they're like 'why you gotta be so crazy?...Why can't you be satisfied? Why do you always gotta get things so perfect? Why do you spend so much time here?' When you're obsessed, people think you're NUTS

So it's different. I always tell people that if no one thinks you're crazy, you're not yet operating to the outer limits of your potential"

[unsunghero]

"Make practice your art...repetition your addiction...excellence your obsession. First comes the choice, then comes the commitment!!"

[unsunghero]

"You’ve failed again and again and again. The lights are cut off. But you’re still looking at your dream, reviewing it every day...and say to yourself “IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL I WIN”

(yes the hyena makes it)

[unsunghero]

"If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it,

to work day and night for it,

To give up your time, your peace, and your sleep for it

If all that you dream and scheme is about it,

and life seems useless and worthless without it,

And if you'd gladly sweat for it and prep for it and plan for it,

and lose all your terror of the opposition for it

And if you simply go after that thing that you want,

with all of your capacity, strength and sagacity,

faith, hope, and confidence and stern pertinacity

If neither cold, poverty, famine, nor gout,

sickness, nor pain of body and brain,

can keep you away from the thing that you want

If dogged and grim you beseech and beset it,

with the help of God, YOU WILL GET IT!"

-- Les Brown

[Ooloo]

I think it's important to remember everything isn't stacked against you. Like I'll argue about politics and whatever in here, but I would literally invite anyone in these forums into my house if they were in need. I don't wish for the demise of people I strongly disagree with, I put their humanity first. I didn't always think like that, but it's clearly a better path forward. It's easy to get sociopathic online and to forget we are all humans and fundamentally we should all have eachother's backs. Especially cause we're all everquest dorks.

[Whale biologist]

"If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it,

to work day and night for it,

To give up your time, your peace, and your sleep for it

If all that you dream and scheme is about it,

and life seems useless and worthless without it,

And if you'd gladly sweat for it and prep for it and plan for it,

and lose all your terror of the opposition for it

And if you simply go after that thing that you want,

with all of your capacity, strength and sagacity,

faith, hope, and confidence and stern pertinacity

If neither cold, poverty, famine, nor gout,

sickness, nor pain of body and brain,

can keep you away from the thing that you want

If dogged and grim you beseech and beset it,

with the help of God, YOU WILL GET IT!"

-- Les Brown

This Les Brown fella seems to style himself a chimpanzee type of Rudyard Kipling in 'If'. The seminal work is much better.

[unsunghero]

This Les Brown fella seems to style himself a chimpanzee type of Rudyard Kipling in 'If'. The seminal work is much better.

Yeah another all time favorite poem of mine, didn't post it here only because I had posted it elsewhere on this forum. Set to video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-f3nWZjMnY

[unsunghero]

Another short, all time favorite motivational video I had previously posted, Warrior:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdOcA55zmVk

[Cecily]

I'm trying to cut out inane motivational multimedia.

[unsunghero]

I'm trying to cut out inane motivational multimedia.

"let's not ruin it with negativity"

away with thee

[unsunghero]

"The pain I feel today will be the strength I need tomorrow"

"Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate"

"The more we go through the fire, the more refined we become"

[Cecily]

I'm not being negative. I'm merely making fun of your spam and hoping you will stop making the thread unreadable. Thanks.

105 days nicotine free.

[Tunabros]

going to focus on school

and play eq less

and talk on here less (hopefully) :)

[unsunghero]

I'm not being negative. I'm merely making fun of your spam and hoping you will stop making the thread unreadable. Thanks.

105 days nicotine free.

You are more than welcome to post whatever and whenever you want. The beautiful thing about the internet is there’s room for all of it and none of it cancels the other person’s out

I post only motivational stuff because if I posted health goals I do not want to come across as braggy or to discourage anyone who is just starting out. So it’s motivational stuff onl

But thanks for the criticism, saw it coming from a mile away when I saw the username

[Whale biologist]

Yeah another all time favorite poem of mine, didn't post it here only because I had posted it elsewhere on this forum. Set to video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-f3nWZjMnY

Yep. Chimp stuff!

[unsunghero]

For Cecile, since she insists I post my personal health goals:

I’d like to keep the visible six pack that I have

I’d like to continue to never smoke or over-drink

I’d like to be further into first place the next 5k run I compete in. 2 minutes between me and the person in 2nd wasn’t enough

I’d like to move up from 365lb squat to 405

/sigh

[unsunghero]

I really don't care if you're gonna be passive aggressive. Why don't you post another 15 really good videos of guys on steroids playing drill sergeant?

“Let’s not ruin it with negativity”

Away with thee

[unsunghero]

I apologize to anyone else for trying to be motivational. It helped me but wtf do I know

I will only post support of others in this thread, no more motivational stuff

[starkind]

I've learned a lot of dialectical behavior therapy stuff it's pretty cool. If you have intense emotions or urges you want to stop or change it's got options.

[unsunghero]

I've learned a lot of dialectical behavior therapy stuff it's pretty cool. If you have intense emotions or urges you want to stop or change it's got options.

Ya I think DBT has become the gold standard these days. Change non-effective thoughts/beliefs, changing destructive behaviors, radical acceptance of things outside one’s control

I only had a full on panic attack once in my life. I did have a lot of stress at the time and a lot on my mind, and when getting out of the shower all of a sudden heart was racing, room was almost spinning, walls started closing in. Had never experienced one before so was a bit freaked at first, almost thought I might be hallucinating. But from working in behavioral health I knew about grounding techniques/mindfulness so I put myself through the paces. Touch the towel, what does it feel like, what color is it. What does the floor feel like, what can you smell. Hear the AC buzzing overhead

Ended up quickly pulling myself out of it. Big fan of grounding, it really can work

[Cecily]

DBT is my favorite. Avoiding and refusing to accept reality is where most of our pain/trauma comes from. DBT gives you tools to confront and accept things and move on. I always found CBT absolutely worthless.

[pink grapefruit]

I think it's important to remember everything isn't stacked against you. Like I'll argue about politics and whatever in here, but I would literally invite anyone in these forums into my house if they were in need. I don't wish for the demise of people I strongly disagree with, I put their humanity first. I didn't always think like that, but it's clearly a better path forward. It's easy to get sociopathic online and to forget we are all humans and fundamentally we should all have eachother's backs. Especially cause we're all everquest dorks.

It is nice to remember that our similarities outweigh our differences.

105 days nicotine free.

Nice, Cecily!! <3

going to focus on school

and play eq less

and talk on here less (hopefully) :)

Those are good goals. Hope you keep us updated.

For Cecile, since she insists I post my personal health goals:

I’d like to keep the visible six pack that I have

I’d like to continue to never smoke or over-drink

I’d like to be further into first place the next 5k run I compete in. 2 minutes between me and the person in 2nd wasn’t enough

I’d like to move up from 365lb squat to 405

/sigh

Yeah I prefer everyone sharing goals, too. If you have the six pack abs genetics I'd imagine that simply keeping up your endurance training would be enough to ensure you don't lose them. Legit endurance athletes never seem able to hold on to much fat as their training ramps up.

The squat goal is a good one, too. What I hope for myself is to be stronger than those with better cardio endurance than me, and to have better cardio endurance than those stronger than me. I want both.

I apologize to anyone else for trying to be motivational. It helped me but wtf do I know

I will only post support of others in this thread, no more motivational stuff

Moderation in all things, right? :P

I am also a ho for motivational bullshit, but maybe one link a day would work better lol.

I've learned a lot of dialectical behavior therapy stuff it's pretty cool. If you have intense emotions or urges you want to stop or change it's got options.

Ya I think DBT has become the gold standard these days. Change non-effective thoughts/beliefs, changing destructive behaviors, radical acceptance of things outside one’s control

I only had a full on panic attack once in my life. I did have a lot of stress at the time and a lot on my mind, and when getting out of the shower all of a sudden heart was racing, room was almost spinning, walls started closing in. Had never experienced one before so was a bit freaked at first, almost thought I might be hallucinating. But from working in behavioral health I knew about grounding techniques/mindfulness so I put myself through the paces. Touch the towel, what does it feel like, what color is it. What does the floor feel like, what can you smell. Hear the AC buzzing overhead

Ended up quickly pulling myself out of it. Big fan of grounding, it really can work

DBT is my favorite. Avoiding and refusing to accept reality is where most of our pain/trauma comes from. DBT gives you tools to confront and accept things and move on. I always found CBT absolutely worthless.

That's interesting. I'm reading a CBT book from the 80s rn. How does DBT differ from CBT?

Anyway, thanks for posting guys. This is nice; maybe something positive can come from spamming EQ boards?

[Nocht]

I'm not being negative. I'm merely making fun of your spam and hoping you will stop making the thread unreadable. Thanks.

105 days nicotine free.

That is something I can relate to! Had to quit smoking and gave up smoking weed about four months ago. I was an every day smoker and now I'm sober af, it took some getting used to but I feel much happier now with that monkey off my back.

Gratz!

[Cecily]

I'll be able to give you a better answer in the future but I THINK CBT is more changing negative thought patterns so they don't lead to negative behavior. I think this approach is complete horse shit. And DBT is more practical in the moment acceptance and dealing with situations? I mostly know I vastly prefer DBT having gone through a lot of useless CBT therapy. The DBT tools I've used on my own have been way more useful, and I'd like to try a therapist who uses that modality.

DBT was designed for Borderline Personality Disorder and is actually useful for treating it. If it can help those people deal with their emotional extremes, I figure it's a good way for anyone to learn how to regulate their emotions.

[pink grapefruit]

School:

This has to come first. I'm doing some extremely difficult coursework this semester, and thus far have basically just not done any of the necessary studying. The entire reason I ended up back on these silly forums is bc I've been practicing "creative avoidance," and that needs to end. So I've booked my first appointment at focusmate, which promises to be awkward. Webcam chat with a stranger to be productive. We'll see if it helps.

Training:

Training is going pretty well. I adjusted my programming for the semester to something more barebones, in order to save time for studying. The volume is lower for each workout, but the idea is I maybe get one (at most) rest day a week to sort of make up for it.

A:
Pull up - 6xAMRAP
Squat - 3x8
Bench - 3x8
RDL - 3x8

B:
Chin up - 6xAMRAP
Hip thrust - 3x8
Bench - 3x8
Good morning - 3x8

Currently my biceps tendinopathy is acting up (maybe too much bench and chins), so I'm alternating between doing pulls/chins and bench- not doing both each day.

I haven't been doing cardio at all, which needs to change. Recently purchased a new bike. A goal for tomorrow is to ride it around, just for 20 mins.

Diet:

Diet isn't a super big focus of mine rn. I successfully bulked up to 160lbs and now have quite a bit of fat I could stand to lose. I'm trying to eat a big bowl of oatmeal with pea milk, greek yogurt (5g sugar/cup), and a bunch of berries for breakfast each morning I don't have work. So I'll try to keep that up.

Self-care

Wednesdays are my big self-care days, as I prepare for my work week! My goal is to have all the things done before 8pm bedtime :P

I hope to provide an update to all my things tomorrow.

Tomorrow has come!

School:

I legitimately tried the focusmate thing, but the guy I matched with never showed up. It was giving me anxiety sitting there awkwardly in front of my webcam, but that's what I get for being a sad lazy person. My plan is to force myself through this awkward webcam stuff until I learn my lesson and start acting right. Anyone foolish enough to stand in my way will suffer for it, and that includes me.

The time I was supposed to spend on webcam was spent creating my study materials. It was nice to finally get over my study paralysis. I will continue with it after posting here.

Training:

Woke up ready to go for a 20 minute bike ride only to find the air quality index was high af and the outside to be super smoky. It made me mad enough to buy a stationary bike on amazon. Now I have to figure out where in my gym to put it. It's p cramped in here lol

Barbell stuff went fine. Biceps tendon is angry. I will have to teach it a lesson with training tomorrow.

Diet:

Diet today been fine. Literally all I've eaten is that oatmeal with yogurt and berries, and a protein shake.

Self-care:

am skincare was done. the bigger stuff comes in the pm.

https://i.imgur.com/VCmHXba.jpg

Let's get it, bitches! :P

[Cecily]

That is something I can relate to! Had to quit smoking and gave up smoking weed about four months ago. I was an every day smoker and now I'm sober af, it took some getting used to but I feel much happier now with that monkey off my back.
Gratz!
Thank you! You've got like half a month on me. Congratulations! Keep it up. It was bad for an entire 3 months and I just felt useless that whole time. Starting to feel better psychologically and I need to right now because this semester is hard AF. Women and your anatomy. :mad:

Tomorrow has come!

School:

I legitimately tried the focusmate thing, but the guy I matched with never showed up. It was giving me anxiety sitting there awkwardly in front of my webcam, but that's what I get for being a sad lazy person. My plan is to force myself through this awkward webcam stuff until I learn my lesson and start acting right. Anyone foolish enough to stand in my way will suffer for it, and that includes me.

The time I was supposed to spend on webcam was spent creating my study materials. It was nice to finally get over my study paralysis. I will continue with it after posting here.


Keep me posted on what works for you. I'm experiencing the same more or less. Congrats on getting past it! I think the biggest thing is cultivating a habit. 1 hour of studying every day minimum (advice given to me from a nursing leadership student who was about to graduate) should be doable and help make studying less of an ordeal to get started.

[pink grapefruit]

That is something I can relate to! Had to quit smoking and gave up smoking weed about four months ago. I was an every day smoker and now I'm sober af, it took some getting used to but I feel much happier now with that monkey off my back.

Gratz!

congrats on the sobriety that shit hard :)

I'll be able to give you a better answer in the future but I THINK CBT is more changing negative thought patterns so they don't lead to negative behavior. I think this approach is complete horse shit. And DBT is more practical in the moment acceptance and dealing with situations? I mostly know I vastly prefer DBT having gone through a lot of useless CBT therapy. The DBT tools I've used on my own have been way more useful, and I'd like to try a therapist who uses that modality.

DBT was designed for Borderline Personality Disorder and is actually useful for treating it. If it can help those people deal with their emotional extremes, I figure it's a good way for anyone to learn how to regulate their emotions.

I'm definitely interested in DBT. Maybe someone has a good book recommendation; I love self-help books!!

Thank you! You've got like half a month on me. Congratulations! Keep it up. It was bad for an entire 3 months and I just felt useless that whole time. Starting to feel better psychologically and I need to right now because this semester is hard AF. Women and your anatomy. :mad:

It only gets better from here, one hopes. Glad you're feeling better Cec <3

Keep me posted on what works for you. I'm experiencing the same more or less. Congrats on getting past it! I think the biggest thing is cultivating a habit. 1 hour of studying every day minimum (advice given to me from a nursing leadership student who was about to graduate) should be doable and help make studying less of an ordeal to get started.

Yeahhh the hard part for me is getting started. I'm the absolute worst procrastinator. So the focusmate is my plan for that, and it seems to be working. You probably already have your study style down, but in case it's helpful for anyone:

I use this app called Anki where you basically make your own flashcards. Can sync it with your phone too so you've always got your study stuff ready to go. Whenever I end up in those awkward RL situations where you pull your phone out to avoid interacting with people you can study. I use it constantly. Trying not to dox myself, but here's what it looks like as I prepare my study materials:

https://i.imgur.com/qv5ABup.png

[unsunghero]

Yeah I prefer everyone sharing goals, too. If you have the six pack abs genetics I'd imagine that simply keeping up your endurance training would be enough to ensure you don't lose them. Legit endurance athletes never seem able to hold on to much fat as their training ramps up.

The squat goal is a good one, too. What I hope for myself is to be stronger than those with better cardio endurance than me, and to have better cardio endurance than those stronger than me. I want both

I had posted this vid before, but this guy Pavel is brilliant when it comes to giving a good overview on endurance building. He does training for navy seals, special forces, and elite competitive endurance athletes in the past. If you just watch a few minutes, it becomes quite clear that he really knows his stuff

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii845pDRC2c

When it comes to improving squat/deadlift/bench, the big 3, I really like this smaller channel. This elite powerlifting athlete is very soft-spoken and pleasant to listen to, very knowledgeable, and he does videos where he critiques viewers form on lifts they submit. I actually found that these critiques are more helpful than just being shown the powerlifter’s personal way of doing it, because everyone has a different body type and what works for a powerlifter may not work for everyone

https://m.youtube.com/c/calgarybarbell/featured

It sounds like I’m speaking to another fellow what we call “hybrid” athlete, meaning someone that wants to dabble in both cardio and lifting, and be as good as possible in both. This is me as well. Unfortunately, these are somewhat mutually exclusive in the fact that upper body muscle is often “dead weight” for endurance sports like distance running. But these are not mutually exclusive to the extent that many in the fitness community claim. A lot of the fitness community act like doing cardio and following a clean eating plan will result in “LOSING YOUR GAINS” due to burning muscle. Based on my experience, this is largely overblown. Just stick to shorter distances like I do, such as 5k’s or shorter runs, shorter cycling if you want to cycle etc. It’s really only long distance half or full marathons that will really fully deplete the body’s glycogen stores to the point where it might need to start cannabalizing muscle. But make sure you are taking in enough calories and don’t be scared of complex carbs such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, etc. Carbs are only unhealthy for sedentary people who are not burning them, but that are very important as an energy source for active people (more: I am not a dietician and there are effective diets such as Keto that may be completely different)

[unsunghero]

Tomorrow has come!

Barbell stuff went fine. Biceps tendon is angry. I will have to teach it a lesson with training tomorrow.


Pain is the body’s way of signaling there is an issue there. Respect it, don’t punish it!

Also, losing grip strength can be an indication you are training too hard. Little known fact in the fitness community. So pay attention to any sudden drops in grip strength to where you feel you can’t hang onto a bar as easily. A lot of people will claim overtraining is a myth, but it’s not, especially for someone trying to go really hard when starting out

[pink grapefruit]

I had posted this vid before, but this guy Pavel is brilliant when it comes to giving a good overview on endurance building. He does training for navy seals, special forces, and elite competitive endurance athletes in the past. If you just watch a few minutes, it becomes quite clear that he really knows his stuff

Oh, neat. Maybe the more I get into cardio the more I'll care about the ins and outs, but for now my plan is just gonna be 20 mins LISS most days, and once that's easy maybe Apple Fitness+ spin class with ipad on stationary. I watched the first 5 minutes and so far it's just basic stuff. The "talk test" is good gauge of like RPE 6.

When it comes to improving squat/deadlift/bench, the big 3, I really like this smaller channel. This elite powerlifting athlete is very soft-spoken and pleasant to listen to, very knowledgeable, and he does videos where he critiques viewers form on lifts they submit. I actually found that these critiques are more helpful than just being shown the powerlifter’s personal way of doing it, because everyone has a different body type and what works for a powerlifter may not work for everyone

https://m.youtube.com/c/calgarybarbell/featured

uh huh...

I prefer the Barbell Medicine guys. Think they may have had the Calgary guy on their podcast though idk.

It sounds like I’m speaking to another fellow what we call “hybrid” athlete, meaning someone that wants to dabble in both cardio and lifting, and be as good as possible in both. This is me as well. Unfortunately, these are somewhat mutually exclusive in the fact that upper body muscle is often “dead weight” for endurance sports like distance running. But these are not mutually exclusive to the extent that many in the fitness community claim. A lot of the fitness community act like doing cardio and following a clean eating plan will result in “LOSING YOUR GAINS” due to burning muscle. Based on my experience, this is largely overblown. Just stick to shorter distances like I do, such as 5k’s or shorter runs, shorter cycling if you want to cycle etc. It’s really only long distance half or full marathons that will really fully deplete the body’s glycogen stores to the point where it might need to start cannabalizing muscle. But make sure you are taking in enough calories and don’t be scared of complex carbs such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, etc. Carbs are only unhealthy for sedentary people who are not burning them, but that are very important as an energy source for active people (more: I am not a dietician and there are effective diets such as Keto that may be completely different)

I'm primarily a barbell athlete and likely always will be. Cardio endurance is something I've been meaning to get into for general health, and my best friend is a cardio endurance athlete. She's invited me to go on bike rides and when I ride my bike I feel like I'm dying, so I know I need to get better at it if I plan to hang w her.

Pain is the body’s way of signaling there is an issue there. Respect it, don’t punish it!

Also, losing grip strength can be an indication you are training too hard. Little known fact in the fitness community. So pay attention to any sudden drops in grip strength to where you feel you can’t hang onto a bar as easily. A lot of people will claim overtraining is a myth, but it’s not, especially for someone trying to go really hard when starting out

You're doing a whole lot of mansplaining here and it's not really necessary. I know what I'm doing.

Rest is not recommended, and pain symptoms are part of the process.

I've decreased the training volume directed at the affected area, and lowered the load intensity of my bench press. The way I talk about my recovery works for me, and you don't need to worry about it.

Thanks for your enthusiasm, though.

[unsunghero]

Oh, neat. Maybe the more I get into cardio the more I'll care about the ins and outs, but for now my plan is just gonna be 20 mins LISS most days, and once that's easy maybe Apple Fitness+ spin class with ipad on stationary. I watched the first 5 minutes and so far it's just basic stuff. The "talk test" is good gauge of like RPE 6.



uh huh...

I prefer the Barbell Medicine guys. Think they may have had the Calgary guy on their podcast though idk.



I'm primarily a barbell athlete and likely always will be. Cardio endurance is something I've been meaning to get into for general health, and my best friend is a cardio endurance athlete. She's invited me to go on bike rides and when I ride my bike I feel like I'm dying, so I know I need to get better at it if I plan to hang w her.



You're doing a whole lot of mansplaining here and it's not really necessary. I know what I'm doing.

Rest is not recommended, and pain symptoms are part of the process.

I've decreased the training volume directed at the affected area, and lowered the load intensity of my bench press. The way I talk about my recovery works for me, and you don't need to worry about it.

Thanks for your enthusiasm, though.

Hadn’t heard of Barbell Medicine, I’ll have to check them out

Someone saying this hurts so I’m going to punish it is someone indicating a possible future injury. Has nothing to do with me being a man to try to prevent it. Tendon pain is not necessarily part of the process, is this what the Barbell Medicine guys are teaching? From my experience the only time I’ve experienced tendon pain is when I’ve had an injury or issue with that tendon. I think had you phrased it as planning to decrease the training to the specific area, I wouldn’t have said anything at all. It was just a phrasing issue, I misunderstood based on your phrasing

Sorry for the misunderstanding and trying to be helpful. Best of luck to ya

[pink grapefruit]

Hadn’t heard of Barbell Medicine, I’ll have to check them out

Someone saying this hurts so I’m going to punish it is someone indicating a possible future injury. Has nothing to do with me being a man to try to prevent it. Tendon pain is not necessarily part of the process, is this what the Barbell Medicine guys are teaching? From my experience the only time I’ve experienced tendon pain is when I’ve had an injury or issue with that tendon. I think had you phrased it as planning to decrease the training to the specific area, I wouldn’t have said anything at all. It was just a phrasing issue, I misunderstood based on your phrasing

Sorry for the misunderstanding and trying to be helpful. Best of luck to ya

I've had two arthroscopic shoulder surgeries. Torn labrum, stretched tendon.

Chronic tendinopathy.

[Gustoo]

Overtraining is real. In the 70's a swimmer would swim like 5 hours a day hard and couldn't even eat enough calories to keep up with the burn and get faster. Gotta be smart and train based on your goals.

[unsunghero]

Overtraining is real. In the 70's a swimmer would swim like 5 hours a day hard and couldn't even eat enough calories to keep up with the burn and get faster. Gotta be smart and train based on your goals.

Yeah I wasn’t really bringing up the grip strength as an indication of overtraining because I thought she was, I just found it interesting and a little tidbit I hadn’t heard of before that had personally happened to me before

There was a period of time where I would do squats (5x5’s), then run a fast 4 miles right after on the gym treadmill, then go do deadlifts, then a full 2 hour leg/ab/back/oblique workout. It ended up being close to 3 hours of super intense exercise. I noticed after some time I couldn’t hang onto the deadlift bar (I don’t use straps), and even it was hard to hang onto the pull-up bar. Then my entire body started to ache, joints, muscles, everything, and I started feel nauseous. Stupidly I had thought if I just ate enough, it would be ok, but the body couldn’t recover from that. I was also getting poor sleep. But yeah, the grip strength going, didn’t know about at the time but that coulda been my warning

Some elite CrossFit athletes have actually given themselves rnhabdomylosis, which is where the muscle fibers break down into the blood stream and DESTROY their liver as it tries to filter them. Horrible shit, wouldn’t wish it on anyone

Once again, I didn’t mean to imply pink-grapefruit was overtraining, I just thought that tidbit about how to recognize it was interesting and wish I had known it

[imperiouskitten]

DBT is my favorite. Avoiding and refusing to accept reality is where most of our pain/trauma comes from. DBT gives you tools to confront and accept things and move on. I always found CBT absolutely worthless.

this is very funny to me, I have had the very same experience. were you pursuing treatment for borderline by chance? that's when this hit me :o

I DONT THINK IM REALLY BORDERLINE THOUGH, it's more like a humon has to learn new coping skills to deal with these relationship-focused mood swings induced by E. I bet I was not much worse than any given teenage hormonal girl. I have gotten my bad behaviors pretty crazy under control now compared to 2 years ago! Haven't driven off telling Juris im going to buy a rifle from walmart and hotel room in many moons -_-

As for my own health goalz. I am happy with my aesthetic right now, but I am muscularly very weak. I just survived about 6 months of intermittent starvation thanks to gut problem and god I am so weak I can't give a handjob. I am having trouble filling this poast out because my health plans are so ill-conceived right now :o I better poast again soon after I build up an exercise boner. I think I will mostly use the recumbent bike in my living room, and maybe do some winter snowshoeing and mountaineering this year. I've skipped 2 years of that!

[Cecily]

Some furry diagnosed me with BPD on the boards here and I learned about DBT doing research on the condition.

[pink grapefruit]

Some furry diagnosed me with BPD on the boards here

lol, internet.

[unsunghero]

this is very funny to me, I have had the very same experience. were you pursuing treatment for borderline by chance? that's when this hit me :o

I DONT THINK IM REALLY BORDERLINE THOUGH, it's more like a humon has to learn new coping skills to deal with these relationship-focused mood swings induced by E. I bet I was not much worse than any given teenage hormonal girl. I have gotten my bad behaviors pretty crazy under control now compared to 2 years ago! Haven't driven off telling Juris im going to buy a rifle from walmart and hotel room in many moons -_-

As for my own health goalz. I am happy with my aesthetic right now, but I am muscularly very weak. I just survived about 6 months of intermittent starvation thanks to gut problem and god I am so weak I can't give a handjob. I am having trouble filling this poast out because my health plans are so ill-conceived right now :o I better poast again soon after I build up an exercise boner. I think I will mostly use the recumbent bike in my living room, and maybe do some winter snowshoeing and mountaineering this year. I've skipped 2 years of that!

To my knowledge it’s no longer referred to as BPD in the latest DSM but now as Complex PTSD

It used to be referred to as borderline because it was a mix of multiple different diagnosis, so it’s understandable for it to never feel like a good “fit” personally. It’s sort of something they would diagnose when other things also didn’t quite fit. But if it was diagnosed by a furry on the internet then I wouldn’t worry about it

As I’m sure ya’ll have heard, BPD clients have a reputation amongst clinicians as being challenging ;) partly due to trauma sx’s being very resistant to traditional therapy and meds. DBT can do a lot, EMDR is kind of a mixed bag, heard mixed reports

Edit: lol’d at exercise boner

[GinnasP99]

https://imgur.com/gz4iuqQ.jpg

Here's my basic ass dinner tonight, just chicken and rice with valentina hot sauce. I'd typically add a veg like brocolli and carrots or some mushrooms, but hey, I'm a lazy jackass.

Since I started my fitness thing in Feb 2020, I've gone from 245lbs down to 163. Skateboarding and swimming as much as I can, feeling great. Best thing I've ever done for my life, hands down. Ohh and also, cigarette free since june 5, let's go.

[unsunghero]

https://imgur.com/gz4iuqQ.jpg

Here's my basic ass dinner tonight, just chicken and rice with valentina hot sauce. I'd typically add a veg like brocolli and carrots or some mushrooms, but hey, I'm a lazy jackass.

Since I started my fitness thing in Feb 2020, I've gone from 245lbs down to 163. Skateboarding and swimming as much as I can, feeling great. Best thing I've ever done for my life, hands down. Ohh and also, cigarette free since june 5, let's go.

That’s nuts weight loss! WTG! Damn!

Dinner looks healthy AF

I swim too but man I suck at it. I can’t seem to get my stroke right so after every lap I have to catch my breath

[GinnasP99]

I donate a guitar every year to guitars4vets, it's a charity that gives 6 weeks of lessons and a free guitar to vets, especially aimed and helping with PTSD. Stoked to see you doing something that benefits vets. God bless.

[unsunghero]

I donate a guitar every year to guitars4vets, it's a charity that gives 6 weeks of lessons and a free guitar to vets, especially aimed and helping with PTSD. Stoked to see you doing something that benefits vets. God bless.

Ty I deleted the pic only because I didn’t want to reveal too much personal info but I still plan to attend the race

That is awesome that you donate a guitar every year., brilliant idea to help encourage coping through music. God bless u2

[pink grapefruit]

I think I will mostly use the recumbent bike in my living room, and maybe do some winter snowshoeing and mountaineering this year. I've skipped 2 years of that!

this is a very good idea. keep us updated on that, or any other goals you have in mind.

https://imgur.com/gz4iuqQ.jpg

Here's my basic ass dinner tonight, just chicken and rice with valentina hot sauce. I'd typically add a veg like brocolli and carrots or some mushrooms, but hey, I'm a lazy jackass.

Since I started my fitness thing in Feb 2020, I've gone from 245lbs down to 163. Skateboarding and swimming as much as I can, feeling great. Best thing I've ever done for my life, hands down. Ohh and also, cigarette free since june 5, let's go.

When you eat well the food isn't always pretty, especially when pressed for time. Good job with the meal! And omg that is some serious weight loss wtf. Grats on that and the not smoking!!

I donate a guitar every year to guitars4vets, it's a charity that gives 6 weeks of lessons and a free guitar to vets, especially aimed and helping with PTSD. Stoked to see you doing something that benefits vets. God bless.

sounds like a good cause! :)

[pink grapefruit]

Today they got us all flu shots at work. No one told me I'd need my insurance info so that was left at home. I lied and told them I didn't have insurance bc poor and it became a whole thing, but it worked out in the end. Guess the thing was they (pharmacy) bill my employer and then bill insurance to double-dip and make it worth their while. Healthcare workers shouldn't have to pay for flu shots it's kinda bullshit.

https://i.imgur.com/zNWTHHD.jpg

School:

About to study, but still didn't do as much as I wanted. Coworker is gonna take my saturday shift so that'll be another awkward webcam day.

Training:

Wasn't sure if the flu shot would affect my training today but I don't think it did. Managed 31 pull ups in less than 10 mins which I think is impressive for my fat ass :P

Training went well, though I was tired from work so everything bit higher rpe.

Diet:

Today I ate a cobb salad and some carrots and bean/pork soup. Protein shake. I'll be hungry tomorrow morning for sure.

Self-care:

Yeah pretty okay.

Overall not a bad day! I'm very tired :)

[unsunghero]

Supplement shop talk? How do people feel about them? Do you take any and why?

For me, I do a fairy involved multivitamin, omega3 fish oil, a separate calcium, magnesium, zinc supp (since I don’t drink milk and almost never do dairy other than cheese), protein powder 2-3x/day (whey), and pre-workout (I’ve tried C4 Black, Pre-gym, Jekyll and Hyde, total war, many others)

Others supps?

[Whale biologist]

Supplement shop talk? How do people feel about them? Do you take any and why?

For me, I do a fairy involved multivitamin, omega3 fish oil, a separate calcium, magnesium, zinc supp (since I don’t drink milk and almost never do dairy other than cheese), protein powder 2-3x/day (whey), and pre-workout (I’ve tried C4 Black, Pre-gym, Jekyll and Hyde, total war, many others)

Others supps?

Settle down Jerry Garcia

[pink grapefruit]

Supplement shop talk? How do people feel about them? Do you take any and why?

For me, I do a fairy involved multivitamin, omega3 fish oil, a separate calcium, magnesium, zinc supp (since I don’t drink milk and almost never do dairy other than cheese), protein powder 2-3x/day (whey), and pre-workout (I’ve tried C4 Black, Pre-gym, Jekyll and Hyde, total war, many others)

Others supps?

i take creatine 5g/day and caffeine as needed (constantly). black coffee, 0 sugar energy drinks, w/e i'm not picky just addicted. sometimes magnesium before bed- either that whatever calm drink or epsom salt bath.

protein isn't something i think of as a supplement but i'll do no more than one whey shake a day. more than that seems to cause me digestive issues. whey protein drinks are only necessary if a person is not getting enough protein in their diet to meet their goals. my rough goal is 150g per day and i know i'm not getting there with food alone rn.