markc7

For me the key was increasing the weight very very slowly on all dumbell exercises. Even when I feel that the muscles are strong enough to lift more, the stabilizers can't handle more weight so I don't increase for a few weeks. You may have to just drop the weight on your DB exercises even more, and then work back up from there.

Welcome aboard!

Today's workout was chest, shoulders and triceps. Nothing too special to write about...

Welcome aboard!

This morning I did a core and legs workout. I didn't have alot of time, and some other guy was using the squat rack for most of the time I was at the gym. But it was still a decent workout.

Welcome, you've come to the right place! Check out some of the sticky threads for ideas on how to get started.

Cool, Richard and Robert posed my profile on the main page. Check it out: http://veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bio_coates

Welcome aboard!

That's pretty funny. It's interesting that most (all?) people who identify as Christian choose to accept only the parts of the bible that suit them. The homophobes will point to the old testament justify hate, but if you point to another chapter that says working on Sunday is punishable by death, they'll say that obviously you're taking it out of context and it wasn't meant to guide our lives today. Although I doubt many religious types would agree with the thing about the seatbelts, there certainly are some people like that out there. Have you ever read the Chronicles of Narnia? The last book is very disturbing, because it is all about the main characters dying and being happy as could be about it. It's creepy.

Meditation is definitely useful. I've used it myself from time to time, although I rarely get a consistent practice going. I also advocate to clients. If you're interested in mindfulness meditation for stress relief, check "Full Catastrophe Living by Kabat-Zinn. When I read this book, I kept wanting to yell out "Yes!", "that's right!", and "Exactly!". Very very good book.

Mostly English, some scottish, maybe something else as well. My grandfather had a family tree that traced one side of our family back to the 1400's!

I heard about this a couple days ago. This is very sad news for the ultrarunning community. Sri Chinmoy and his marathon team organized hundreds of long distance races. Although these races attracted top athletes and fierce competition, every single runner in these events is treated like a hero. I have run two Sri Chinmoy races, a 6-hour race and a 24-hour race, and have volunteered at several others. I was thinking of doing the New York 6-day race this spring, and was looking forward to getting a chance to meet the Sri Chinmoy himself.

I use the stairmaster fairly often, especially in the winter when running hard hill intervals is dangerous because of the snow and ice.

Thanks Zack. I do shrugs as part of my shoulder workout, but probably haven't mentioned them since, honestly, they aren't my favourite exercise. But I do them anyways. Good luck with the back and biceps work tonight!

I love it robert, great job!

I did back and biceps today at the gym. When I these muscles, I like to do several sets of each exercise with slightly different grips or postures in each set. For example, I do bent over barbell row with over and underhand grips at various widths. That way I hit the muscle from every possible angle, and can do more and longer sets than if I was doing the same form for each set. Also, I leave the gym with a great pump this way!

Chest, triceps and shoulders today. I was running a bit late so my workout was shorter than planned, but I still got in a bunch of good stuff.

Sad news, I always hate to hear of cyclists being hit by irresponsible motorists. I was hit by a car in a nearly identical situation; I was going straight across the street and the car on my left was turning right. Fortunately we were't going too fast and the collision itself didn't hurt me. When I hit the ground I dislocated my shoulder, but it could have been much worse.

I'd like to deadlift 300 lbs by the end of the year, though I have no idea if that's attainable or not. I'm at 205 right now, for two set of four reps. I don't have the confidence yet to do a 1RM test, and I might never. Also, I want to keep my squat in the same neighbourhood as the deadlift.

I did a legs workout this morning. I focused mostly on deadlifts and squats. Not having done much training in July and August really hurt my progress on these two lifts, but I'm happy to report that I'm back to doing sets of both deadlifts and squats over 200 lbs. I've been increasing the weight slowly but surely, and I know I can go much higher yet. It's mostly a mental thing really; my body feels strong enough to lift more but I'm wanting to be extra careful with my form so I don't hurt myself.

Cool. I love racing, but mostly I just run for the sake of running so I know exactly where you're coming from. One thing I like about having a goal race even if I'm not planning to run it hard, is that it keeps my training more consistent and generally alot better. Good luck with your training!

What is you running goal specifically? You said you want to incrase endurance, but are you lookin gto just increase how far you can run at your current pace? Or are you trying to go faster too? Do you have a goal race or anything like that that you're working towards? If you're serious about increasing your running endurance, I woudl suggest doing a program that includes several easy runs (3-5 miles), one faster workout (intervals, total of maybe 3 miles), and one long slow run (8ish miles at >9:00/mile). Right now you're not doing enough slow running to build your aerobic endurance. As far as the boredom thing is concerned, is there anyone you can run with? A campus running group maybe, or just some friends?

I'm instructing a university course right now, and I'm finding it very enjoyable. Of course, that's only 3 hours of face time per week, so it's not even close to being a full time teacher.

Personally I think the beginner section is a good idea. If we're going to have tons of stickies covering all the beginner FAQ's, better to have them in one place than spread out. Also, some people might just feel more comfortable posting in a newbies section.

Welcome. I've also dislocated my shoudler a number of times, sometimes while lifting. It's a pain in the butt. Like potter said, you just have to be patient, don't do the lifts that put it at risk of dislocating, and slowly build back your strength.