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Strength Challenge: New strength by New Year!
I see a lot of people issuing exercise-related challenges on here that involve traveling a certain amount of distance or banging out a certain amount of reps. Well, I thought of an idea for a different kind of challenge that I'm hoping people will get into: You have until the New Year to train your strength up to the point…
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Should I log stimming as exercise?
I asked this question on my newsfeed a while back but got no answers, so I'm hoping a few of the more knowledgeable people here will be able to answer it for me. About a week ago I got curious one night as to whether or not I worked up a calorie burn while stimming, so I strapped on my HRM to measure. Surprisingly I burned…
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Barefoot vs. Shoes in muscle activation during lifts?
I've noticed that when performing basic bodyweight exercises, such as air squats, I experience much more muscle activation in certain lower body muscle groups, such as the glutes, when exercising barefoot vs. with shoes on. However, when doing loaded exercises with weights, the opposite seems to be true. Anyone else have…
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Funny things you've seen at the gym
What are some funny things you've seen at the gym? Here are my top two: 1. My gym has a bike rack inside near the entrance to the men's locker room, so naturally people ride their bicycle to the gym. However once I saw someone ride their bicycle to the gym just to attend a spinning class and then leave. The idea of riding…
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BE CAREFUL WHO YOU FRIEND, confidential information at risk.
Those of you with Google+ accounts or gmail accounts be VERY VERY VERY careful about who you friend on this site. I received an email today to my gmail address saying I can connect to my friends via Google+ and the names were people I didn't recognize. I clicked on the links and the pics on the Google+ profiles were people…
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Growing more frustrated with social games by the day
For a long, long time now, I have been primarily playing games that revolve around some sort of online social or competitive component. MMO and FPS, mainly. It's fun on the rare occasion when things don't turn into a big mess, but mostly it just serves to remind me why I would rather not associate with human beings in…
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Skin Removal Surgery - Lower Abdomen
I had it done exactly two weeks ago and am currently at home recovering. I figured I should post about my experience to let everyone know. First of all, it was all paid for by insurance (minus a $20 copay for each visit) due to the severity of mine. If it hangs low enough to obstruct view of the genitals when viewed from…
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Minimalist shoes vs. Traditional shoes
For the past few years now there has been a growing trend for minimalist athletic footwear. These shoes eschew the traditional support and shock absorption in favor of flexibility and more or less just tread for bare feet. While I can understand there may be advantages to this type of shoe in just running, which is a…
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Strength training while eating at maintenance vs. deficit
What changes in both my body and my performance can I expect to see when continuing with a strength training regimen while eating at maintenance that I wasn't seeing while eating at a deficit?
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Is my intolerance of running a result of hypersensitivity?
I have an autism spectrum disorder and as a result totally whacked out senses. Some senses are more senses and my senses of touch and hearing in particular are screwy. I've tried running for exercises but no matter what type of shoes I'm wearing (I've gone through over $400 in different types of running shoes trying to…
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Aerobic Step vs. Plyo Box
It is common practice for people to use aerobic steps with stackable risers in lieu of plyo boxes when actual plyo boxes are unavailable. Are there any disadvantages to this? For someone doing these exercises at home, would a club-grade aerobic step be able to fully replace a plyo box?
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Done with MMOs.. Anyone else?
I've come to the conclusion after playing both WoW and EVE Online that there simply is no way to experience endgame content in MMOs while maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. There's really no way to participate in organized endgame group content when you play on a casual basis because it demands playing for hours in a…
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Powerblocks vs Kettlebells vs Sandbags
Growing tired of the awkward feeling of working with bands and ready to upgrade to real weight. Was looking into Powerblock adjustable dumbbells but I've been thinking that the style of training done with kettlebells or sandbags may be more fun. Which do you think would give the best results as an overall…
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What fitness equipment would you get for under $500?
You've been given $500 that HAS to be spent on fitness related equipment/supplements/supplies. The only rule is that it can not be something that takes up any floor space when not in use, so no squat racks or weight benches. Give me your list =)
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Hideaway home gym? Ideas?
As you can probably guess from my OTHER topic I just posted, I am attempting to put together some semblence of a home gym which is difficult because I do not have a room to actually turn into a gym, nor do I have floor space to devote to any equipment that's going to sit there and take up a sizeable chunk of it when not in…
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Jillian Michaels 3pc Vinyl Kettlebell Set--Why?
I've noticed walmart and amazon.com both carry something called the Jillian Michaels 3pc Vinyl Kettlebell set, which is 3 kettlebells packaged together which weigh 5, 10, and 15 lbs. Considering that, when done correctly, even a beginner who is very weak should be starting with a 15-20 lb bell, what is the point of this…
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Why are laptops becoming more common than desktops?
Lately it's become increasingly common for laptops to outsell desktops in electronics and computer stores. I'm curious as to why most people would choose a laptop over a desktop given the following: 1. Most people do not need the portability of a laptop. 2. Laptops are not as powerful despite having the same stats on…
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The value of a trainer
Last night while doing a session with my trainer, I got a sudden reminder of why a recorded video can never truly replace one. For months now I have been trying to perfect my form in some lifts so that I could master some olympic style lifts, such as the power clean, which is a very tricky movement to get right. No matter…
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How do you log olive oil left over?
Example: You're making pasta but rather than using an actual "sauce" you pour olive oil, seasoning, and vegetables over it. Obviously some of it was absorbed by the pasta and veggies, but after you eat it all the food, you notice that a good portion of it is still left at the bottom of the bowl. You supposed to take this…
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Different type of soreness from high reps vs. low reps?
When I do work with high weight and low reps I feel a soreness in my muscles, like most everyone else. But when I go for lower weight and more reps, it's a different kind of pain. It's a sharp, stabbing pain, usually in my shoulders, and it feels more like it's the tendons/ligaments than actual muscles that are the source…
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Sandbag vs. Kettlebell
Best tool for overall at-home strength and overall conditioning? Haven't decided yet which one to get. I was also considering a set of adjustable DBs, but then scratched that one off the list.
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What would you have to do to make the gym obsolete?
To those of you who go to a gym to work out because doing a basic at-home program like P90X or something else doesn't cut the mustard: What equipment would YOU have to purchase for your home in order to obsolete your gym membership? I was thinking long and hard about it myself and I realized that, the way I use a gym, I…
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Can't decide between dumbbells or kettlebells.
Two fitness investments I'm going to be making in the near future are a HRM and either adjustable dumbbells such as the bowflex ones it kettlebells. Haven't decided which yet. The dumbbell seems like s far more versatile tool for exercising with but the style of exercise you do with kettlebells seems more like it would fit…
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Thinking of starting an experiment with my body
To see what kind of results I would get: Alternating spending one month in a calorie surplus (not a major one, just a bit of one) while focusing on heavy strength training and moderate intensity cardio. Then one month doing calorie deficit, high intensity cardio, and calisthenics for strength training. Any theories on what…
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What are your fun workouts?
Please, if you can, limit answers to stuff you do that does not involve following along with a DVD. I'm looking for originality here. The most effective exercises are the ones you can do most frequently, so the stuff you find enjoyable will probably yield the best results. For me it's: Suspension trainer calisthenics…
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Don't have a HRM--Need logging help.
I don't own a HRM and I make up a lot of my own workouts so I'm wondering how you would look certain things: 1. HIIT training of things like sprints and burpees. 2. Plyometrics training. What would be the most accurate way to log these using the MFP templates?
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Do you have a logging routine?
Sorry if this is the wrong forum but this is the one where it seemed like it would most fit. I have a rather odd way I log that some of my friends have commented as being unusual. At the beginning of the day after eating breakfast I log everything I am going to eat throughout the day (lunch, AM snack, PM snack) except for…
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Five Random Facts About Yourself
Post a reply with five random facts about yourself. Nothing too personal, just the kind of thing that is too obscure to ever really come up in normal conversation. I'll start: 1. Every girl I've ever dated has had severe allergies to something so common it's unavoidable. I've become convinced that, due to this reason, if I…
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How do I log this workout routine?
I have absolutely no idea how I'm supposed to log this in order to get the most accurate calorie burn estimate since I do not yet have a HRM. The workout is a mainly bodyweight workout that uses a combination of suspension trainer calisthenics and regular floor calisthenics. It also incorporates medicine ball training…
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Can I motivate my parents somehow?
My mother - She's been overweight most of her life. After my sister, who is two years younger than myself, was born, overweight became obese. She lost a good portion of the weight once upon a time, but it came back with a vengeance after she quit smoking in 2001-2002. Her knees are totally shot now so she struggles even…