TIME TO GET RRRIIIIIIIPPED!!!!! - the exercise thread

My arm muscles appear to be growing in in uneven shapes, is that normal?

 

Probably? It's hard to say what exactly that is without more specific information, but muscles are generally sorta uneven shapes in general
(one thing i didnt realize until anatomy class in art is the bicep is actually fairly low on your forearm, so if your concern is 'my bicep seems to be growing weirdly close to my elbow crease' yeah thats totes normal)


In personal update; I walked around the residential area i live in to map out a potential jogging route, next step is actually going out in exercise-y clothes i guess cx
I might try starting going out as walks instead of jogging to start out. i really do want to do jogging cause i want to work on increasing my running stamina, but it's just. boy i have this mental hangup about people in public seeing me exercise l:

Also hoping in november to take on a second exercise class, partially so that i wasn't completely lying to my parents cx i told them i was doing aerial hoop classes instead of pole so that it wouldn't be awkward, but that is another thing i'm interested and could help me work on my grip strength owo

 

I got a Garmin Vivioactive 4 (Fitbit kinda thing) about two weeks ago, primarily for sleep quality tracking. It tracks the various stages of sleep and blood oxygen levels too. The fitness stuff is a bonus that I'm finding I like, even thought I wouldn't have gotten it just for that. Anyway, I was working along with my desk in stand-up mode, bouncing to my music, and it told me I was stressed out and needed to take a moment to breath! I guess it can't tell the difference between good excitement and bad excitement.

 

My stamina is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was when I started but I feel like my strength isn't increasing very fast, is that normal?

 

Alternating cardio and weights.

 

I want to go to the gym more often but can't afford it. Anyone know a way to motivate myself to exercise at home instead, and ways to work around having very little space to do so? I could always exercise on the grass round the side of my building, I guess...

 

I set a schedule every day for workouts, at 5pm. I design my workouts to be about 10 minutes long and of medium difficulty. After a few days it became a part of my schedule, usually before dinner or something. I keep protein snacks in the fridge too afterwards

Are you using the right kinda weights? If you use light weights then its more likely to just burn fat rather than put on muscle. Try slightly shorter sets with heavier weights if so. You should also eat protein right after working out. I tend to eat about 20g within the first hour, but you should also be eating a lot of protein in general. Weather or not you get to keep muscle depends on genetics but also a lot on what kind of diet you are on

 

My stamina's been improving some. I sparred with six different opponents at SCA fencing yesterday, and sparred each longer than usual. Felt great afterwards. A bit sore today, as expected.

 

Building your core and strengthening the muscles in your spine will eventually lead to spine less hurty

Also idk how effective this is, but i just added this to my core routine for good measure

 

Actual photograph of me:

 

My mother and sister are joining me on my gym days. I don't really feel self-conscious because I know I'm doing great there, but I'm wondering how they feel. I don't want to make them self-conscious, since neither of them have exercised in a long time. Anyone else exercise in pairs or groups before? I'm curious how it went if you did.

 

Re: less awkward group exercising, pretty much just keep your focus on your own workout and don’t offer comment on other people’s. If they ask you for help with how to use a machine or something, that’s fine, but once they’re all set up, return to focusing on you.

If someone compliments you, it’s totally appropriate to thank them and mention how pleased you are with your progress since you started. If they put themselves down, you could make sympathy noises about how it’s hard when you’re just starting. It’s probably easiest on everyone if you’re able to make simple encouragement noises, then change the subject or let the conversation lag in favor of focusing on what you’re doing, which is important for health and safety anyway.

If someone is bound and determined to be intimidated by you, there really isn’t anything you can do about that. That’s something they’ll have to figure out for themselves. This exercise is really important to you and your health. If other people are self conscious, that’s unfortunate, but it’s not anything you can reasonably help, and your own health needs to not suffer because of it. Don’t make it about other people, and try your best not to let them do that to you either.

 

The exercise videos I use emphasize “You’re only in competition with yourself, striving to do better than the you from yesterday,” which I feel is a good attitude to bring to group workouts.

 

You’re also less likely to get awkward or carried away and underdo it, overdo it, or even injure yourself if you’re paying attention to your own body and activities rather than other people and their opinions.

(If you happen to be on a treadmill and want to look less impressive to people who aren’t super familiar with treadmills, you could always turn the grade way up if that wouldn’t mess up your routine. Working on a steep incline is a lot more intense, and it really shows. But again, only if that won’t mess you up. It’s not worth overstressing your system or being so sore you can’t move normally the next day.)