duncanryan Member

You really need to make sure you focus on your lower abdominals. Google "Sahrmann Lower Abdominal Exercises" and start at the lowest level. You also may ask your MD about a physical therapy consult.

I just started Insanity last week and love it. I haven't tried P90X so I can't really speak to that point. Insanity is exactly what the title says, insane. But you feel so amazing after finishing. I've never sweated more in my entire life. I thought I was pushing myself at the gym before, and have realized that my previous…

Appreciate the feedback, good motivation to stick with it through the first few days. I already know they're going to be hell, but like I said before, I'm in.

Yeah I figured out how tough it was going to be last night just doing the Fit Test and I know it's going to get harder, but I'm in for the long haul!

I really think this is a matter of will power. And it gets much easier as you continue to fight the cravings. If you are going to eat something that you think you shouldn't, which is totally fine in moderation, make sure it's only enough for one serving size or even less. Don't let yourself eat the whole bag of something.…

1. Polar FT4 HRM 2. Blender (which we got for a wedding gift) for making amazing smoothies Hopefully I can add Insanity to this list once it arrives!!

My current favorite: 1 cup strawberries (frozen or raw) 1/2 cup blueberries (frozen or raw) 1 banana 1/2 cup trader joes maple pecan granola 1/2 cup skim milk 4-6 ice cubes Makes about 28 oz smoothie. Only around 400 calories, maybe a little more. Delicious!!

True! But also has quite a bit of sodium in it that would be good to record.

type in each part separately. It is likely that the veggies you put in will be very little calories (< 20), but I'd make sure to put the mustard, egg white and flatbread.

Situps are terrible on your back. As a physical therapist, I've seen lots of people with chronic low back pain due to doing situps. The situps put an enormous amount of pressure on the intervertebral discs in the lumbar spine, which could lead to herniation of that disc. I agree with leg raises as long as your can keep…

The elliptical is a good machine that doesn't allow full knee extension unless you set it to be that way. Also not a lot of impact on that machine. After working out, be sure to use ice to calm down any inflammation that might be caused from the activity.

Thanks, looking forward to it! Hope you have continued success!

Works for me!

Not quite, but St. Louis here.

I'm a physical therapist, currently doing research studying Parkinson's Disease.

People may not agree, but I'd skip entering anything for work, and enter whatever you do for actual "exercise." I understand you're burning calories while working, but I'd only think of those as bonus calories. Seems like counting work as exercise might give you an excuse to skip a workout. Not saying that's completely…

There's potential that I'll be going to Norway in about a year. I'm really looking forward to it, not necessarily because of the pizza though!!

I have and what I did was throw in a Gatorade Propel Zero to get a little different taste. Still zero calories, but does have sodium and other vitamins. It helps when I need a break from water.

It could be some tricep tendonitis as there is a lot of torque put on the muscle and tendon during a pushup. Try ice and a couple days off without pushups. See if that helps. If you give it a week or two and doesn't seem to get any better, try getting a hold of your primary care physician or an orthopedic surgeon. They'll…

+1, I thought the same thing. Guess not. I don't really offer advice unless it's through the forums. I'm mostly here for to give/receive encouragement

Haha, only have had this happen once thus far. Seems silly, but no big deal.

I'd say after your race, I'd definitely consider having the surgery. These bone spurs will only continue to get worse. As you load the knee (compression) with running, this new bone growth, leading to bone spurs. It's a scientific law, called Wolff's Law. Compression or loading of a bone stimulates osteoblasts to remodel…

Yeah, definitely sounds like Achilles Tendonitis. Gentle streching, rest, and ice will help.

Oh and is that pain in your foot or in the lower calf? If it's in the foot I'd potentially call it plantar faciitis, but there could also be a stress fracture. If it's in the lower calf, the I'd go with Achilles Tendonitis.

As a physical therapist, I've seen this quite a bit. I think the biggest cause of this is what you said, doubling your distance. There's theories that state that a sudden increase in activity leads to injury of the tissue, which seems to be common sense, but there is evidence to back this up. Make sure that when you…

My wife and I just bought Polar FT4 HRMs and are using them a lot. Easy to use, but may be a little out of your budget at $90 or so. Not sure if they have Sports Authority in your area, but they were just on sale and still might be.

My wife and I just bought the FT4 this past weekend. We both used it today and yesterday and have had no problems thus far! Easy set up and easy to use.

Awesome!! To me these results mean so much more than looking good. Don't get me wrong I'm excited to have a nice body, but knowing that your lab values and vital signs are in good standing and you're not at risk for very problematic, chronic diseases is amazing. I guess that's my perspective from working in the healthcare…

This is where I think a HRM that counts calories would come in. Last week I had a softball game and put in that I played for 60 minutes and it said that I burnt an enormous amount of calories. In reality, out of those 60 minutes I was probably moving for 20 or so of those, none of which gave me a sustained elevated HR. I'm…

very awesome!!