neurochamp Member

That's kind of what I was thinking - maybe I'll get more out of stage 7 if I repeat 6 and work on building up my base shoulder/upper body strength. I just finished 6b5 this morning, so might pick back up at 6a1 again on Wednesday and just keep plugging away at it. I have to say, despite not feeling like I made huge…

Yeah, I take a little while to stop swinging, too. Mostly that ends up with me lowering pretty slowly on the first negative chin-up, then pretty much dropping on the other two. Anyone repeating this stage? I've improved on the negative chin-ups a little but, but I still don't think I'm very close to actually being able to…

This is pretty much exactly how I feel. I found the bestest ever pair of everyday on-my-feet-all-day shoes from Dr. Scholl's (did not know they made SHOES and not just INSOLES until I found these) - they are ridiculously comfy and super adorable: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/dr.+scholl%27s+women%27s+jamie+sneaker?prodId=216998…

I use Stevia Extract in the Raw (from Sugar in the Raw - my favorite REAL sugar) in my coffee and cooking. In the summer when I drink more iced beverages, I use fresh stevia that I grow in my garden. The leaves have a very "green" (veggie) taste when they're fresh, but the sweetness comes through much more when they're…

The stage 6 workouts are taking me 33-35 minutes (including warm up). I'm also excited to see if I can complete any chin-ups after this. I did not need to check to know that I could not do one to save my life before I started this stage :laugh:

Happy to say I helped with this by reporting the aggressive body-shamer, as I'm sure many others did as well. Hooray for all the fit ladies (and those of us working SO hard on that goal)! :flowerforyou:

Yes, it's absolutely true that the signals are complicated and scientists are still working out what they all mean ("If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't" -- Lyall Watson). As a neuroscientist myself, I am well aware of this fact, even though my area of specialty is memory…

The main thing that main addictive drugs have in common is that they increase the release of a chemical called dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (this is a part of the brain that is sometimes referred to as the "pleasure center"). As it turns out, things like gambling, computer gaming, and food CAN ALSO increase dopamine…

Whew, I'm so glad I'm not the only one! After this morning's workout, I'm strongly leaning towards NOT going above 50 lbs - I really think I could squat more, I just don't feel confident about lifting more over my head. Installing a squat rack is definitely out of the question for me, too - they are big and I just don't…

Agree with the above - the negative chin-ups get better with time. At least they're getting better SO FAR for me: 6A1: averaged about 4-5 seconds....more or less dropped like a rock 6A2: my arms were still sore from 6A1, so I barely made 3 seconds each rep, but I still tried 6A3: this morning I was able to extend the first…

Do you have a local Freecycle group? (my.freecycle.org) I just gave my old rollerblades (got from a friend, were the wrong size so I never used them) to somebody with pretty much the same story you posted - no charge, as I wasn't going to use them. If not Freecycle, check craigslist.

As one of "those girls" I have to say your friend in all likelihood has her own concerns and insecurities - we're all just people who are (hopefully) trying to learn and grow and be the best people we can be. Try to give her a break on things that aren't her "fault". As for me, I have had strangers (men and women) stop me…

Just started Stage 6 this week (finished 6B1 about 10 minutes ago). I am also CRAZY sore from 6A1 - way more so than from other stages. I am super envious of all of you who started off feeling like the negative chin-ups were a breeze! In 6A1 I lowered as slowly as I could...5 seconds :frown: That said, I have a past of…

BS and PhD in neuroscience, currently an adjunct professor teaching biology and psychology.

I second New Rules of Lifting for Women (by Lou Schuler, about $12-15 on Amazon). It's a very easy-to-follow program and very adaptable to different types of equipment that you may have available. I've bought a weight bench, dumbbells, and a barbell since I started and I'm pretty happy with the setup. I'm in stage 6, so…

Hello all! I'm hoping to get a chance to add to the boards more frequently with spring coming and work getting less hectic - we'll see how that works out, as I've signed up to teach two summer classes (I've never taught any summer classes, so this will be an adventure! Anything to show the department that I'd be a good…

I have a Timex T5H881 Ironman HRM (http://www.amazon.com/Timex-T5H881-Trainer-Digital-Monitor/dp/B000P0TQC8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) It runs about $60 on Amazon. I bought it because it was cheaper than a Polar and I honestly like the way it looks better (you will probably find that Polars are the most popular on these…

^ This made me lol (and flash back to the late 90s) I admit that I squat in heels... but ONLY when I'm at a bar, I have to pee, and the toilet seats are gross.

I also cannot stand cilantro. I make my own salsa and use oregano instead, and it kind of tastes awesome (I get asked to bring it to parties a lot, and it never lasts long...so I guess other people like it as much as I do :drinker: )

On the Fitbit website you can go into "Account Settings" -> "Personal Settings" -> "Preferences" and disable calorie estimation.

For me, simpler is better when it comes to sweet potato fries - I toss mine in a touch of olive oil and add just a light sprinkling of salt and cayenne pepper before baking.

I copied and pasted your original links into a different window and they showed up. Lemme try something.... Edit: I got the "image has been deleted/moved" message too...this is your image link: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y5/gusman14/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0109_zps2cea9d82.jpg From this I can see that your folder on…

I am SO JEALOUS of you! I love snowshoeing, and it is SUCH a great workout! I finally invested in my own pair of snowshoes last winter. We haven't had more than 2-3 inches of snow at a time since then (it's been about 14-15 months). :sad: Oh, and if you change "IMG" to "img" your pics should work. Your doggie is awesome…

If you've only been at it for a week, what you are experiencing is definitely water weight. If your muscles are sore (and sometimes even if they're not...) they'll hold onto extra water while they recover. Also, if your splurge days included a lot of salt, this will also make you gain water weight. The good news is that…

This site gives pretty rough estimates, but if you set it to "gain muscle" in the goals, it should give you an idea of your calorie target: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ (I use it to roughly estimate my calorie goals to lose fat, but I checked and if I say I want to gain muscle it changes my macronutrient…

No worries :smile: Another week of being crazy busy here (I assume the same for everyone else - it's been pretty quiet on the boards!). I was really hoping for some of the snow we got to stick/accumulate so I could make an excuse to get outside, but unfortunately it turned to pouring rain, so all we have now is slush. My…

Almond-crusted chicken fingers =P~~~~ http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/almond_crusted_chicken_fingers.html

Hey all! Hope everyone's doing well, still seems like maybe the winter has peeps keeping busy! I decided to change my username (was elstein, sorry for any ensuing confusion!). When I signed up I think I did so on my phone and just used the first thing that came to mind, but I'd rather keep a *slight* bit of anonymity. (You…

Neuroscientist by training, currently working as adjunct professor teaching A&P and Cell Bio (have also taught Brain & Behavior and Human Bio) Science = awesomeness :drinker:

Agree with the above posters - (1) you will not gain weight if you are only eating at BMR (this is the minimum needed to support the function of your lungs, heart, brain, muscles, etc. AT REST...not if you are doing any kind of moving around - including sitting upright in a chair and walking to the bathroom), you need to…