The "Exercising" Thread!

A weird one, I know, but it is a personal subject to me, and I think others can benefit from this!

Lets talk about Fitness! The stereotypes around us “gamers” in relation to physical health are quite negative, as i’m sure you all know. But in reality, we may fall ANYWHERE on the “Physical fitness” spectrum, and through our “git gud” attitudes, im sure we can help each-other improve our daily lives through motivation, encouragement, personal stories, and recommendations.

I, personally, am a “Nerd in Distress”. I have been physically inferior my entire life, and i have MANY natural obstacles to overcome if i ever want to be happy with how i look. But i’m TRYING! I will share my personal story down below, as i hope you all will also.

I want this thread to show our “FGC Spirit” in a real-world application! If you are unhappy with yourself, look here for motivation and help! If you are already “training”, share with us your accomplishments and downfalls! If you are already a Greek-God of muscles on top of muscles, help the rest of us out!

For some, this is a touchy subject, and for some, everything comes natural and easy! So lets get together and help each-other out! Ask questions about anything, or share any tips that may help others. Physical health IS emotional health… so you never know who you may inspire to live a better life :smiley:



#My story:

Supposedly, when i was younger, i was an athletic star. I grew up taking Karate lessons, but i took them REALLY FAR. I have over a hundred trophies for winning tournaments all over the state. I used to do Hundreds of pushups, i could do the splits, and spent most of my time punching and kicking a bag.

But that ended at age 6 or 7. Now im almost 21, i have no memory of any of that, and every year in between i have been a physical mess.

As a “nerd”, i TRULY feel that most athleticism comes from being born with it. I have a lot of strange, natural things keeping my body from progressing. I Have glasses, I have a high metabolism, so food does NOT affect me in any way, good or bad, my joints are weak, and may just DECIDE to be hurting at any random day, and whenever i do see muscle progress, instead of my muscles “growing”, it just looks like skin is getting tighter on my already skinny-■■■ body. And now for the worst part… When i was born, i had a double-hernia that needed to be operated on, so i have a mesh inside my lower ab. This means any type of crunches that involve a “twist” are extremely, UNNATURALLY painful. And finally, My shoulders are prone to dislocate. Add on top of that the fact that one of them has been broken before, and now im stuck without the ability to do many shoulder related exercises.

I have researched for a while how to get passed this stuff, but i have not found any consistent information. I dont know how to explain all the issues i have with planning my fitness, but to sum it up short… A Gym is not an option that seems reasonable, and whatever help i could get from “supplements” involves careful math that i can NOT figure out without help.

So… with that, it seems everything is stacked against me… and i should just give up. I should accept the fact that athleticism is genetic, and that i will just never be able to reach those goals.

But i just cant give up. I give up too much already. I have had SO MAY THINGS in my life ruined by lack of motivation, lack of seeing progress, natural obstacles, luck ect… IM SO MAD AT HOW MANY THINGS I HAVE HAD TO QUIT ON. I NEED SOMETHING IN MY LIFE TO GO FOR! And physical fitness is the only thing i can see right now that involves challenges that ONLY MY WILL-POWER can solve. There may be things in my life that i CANT get passed, but if im faced with a situation that says “You can do this, but only if you have the will to”, i WILL do it. I HAVE to do it to prove to myself that i can. Physical fitness needs to be the “jumping point” in my life where i start looking at things from a different view, and start beating challenges no matter what it takes.

So, even though i am at so many disadvantages, and even though i have no plan, I am beginning my path to having a body that i could only dream of. I’m just “jumping in blind”. I am working on my body 1 step at a time, and facing the challenges as they come. No matter what. My goals are:

  • Run faster and farther than i ever have before
  • Get visible Abs
  • Get visibly above-average biceps.
    And i have NO PLAN to accomplish any of that :smiley:
    Im JUST DOING IT!
    I am not following any “routine”, im just making it up as i go.

My current training involves traveling 4 miles every day on foot. Run / jog / walk or whatever i can manage. I am measuring my progress by time. I am on day4 (i know, not that impressive), and my curret 1 mile record is 9:00, and my current 4 mile record is 43:30.

After a week, i will analyze where i am, and make a decision about how to add some upper-body workouts in there. (Push-ups are a touchy subject. My bad joints means that: after doing 20 push-ups, instead of feeling my chest muscles working, all i feel is my wrists about to explode.)

As you can tell, im still low-low-low-low-tier when it comes to athletics, but IM TRYING! And every victory feels SO GOOD! I have not been disappointed in myself yet! I keep magically getting motivation when i least expect it, and i’m surprising myself every day!

So now i will contribute by giving a “tip” and asking a “question”.

#Tip:

If you want to start working out, but have NO CLUE where to start, do some running. I say that because, you see progress SO FAST. Literally, ONE DAY is all it takes. Run down your street, and remember where you stop. The next day, you will pass that point by a long way. Then the next day, you will go even further! Seeing that progress is SO MOTIVATING. its a great jump-start to get you in to the habit of “goal-reaching”.

#Question:

Can anyone help me with my joint issues? Does the pain go away? Can you strengthen your joints without damaging them? Are there workouts that DONT hurt your joints that im missing? Specifically:

How do i work out my upper body without stressing my wrists and shoulders?



@CStyles45 I know you work out. Care to share? Even if you dont have a super-sappy nerdy story like mine, i would like to get a different perspective on fitness.

If i can help even 1 person with this thread, it would be freakin’ awesome!

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Lol. I sit down and play video games all day. My asthma doesn’t help either. XD

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What would you like to know? I’ve been working out for 10+ years now. The forums on bodybuilding.com are an amazing resource for info.

@CStyles45 please papi , what about the patch notes? :cry:

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i love you papiiiiii :kissing_heart: @CStyles45 :heart_eyes:

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Lol back on topic though. I’d say I’m average but I could stand to lose about 20 pounds for vanity sake. My exercise pretty much comes from farm work heavy lifting hauling. Then during the day at work I take the longest routes take stairs etc. My problem is food is too good and portion sizes. I make everything from scratch. Water and milk are pretty much the only liquids that I drink.

I’ve been trying to get better with the portion sizes but have been slacking a bit. Lately though with the move and other stuff going on at the moment I’ve been pretty good I’m not interested in eating. Hopefully when things settle down I can get back on track.

That link is plenty!

What are you working out for? General health? Or do you wanna get swole? :muscle:

Was starting hard?

I kind of have your metabolism, can eat all I want and still skinny, from my 30th birthday a tiny belly has formed though, but still not enough for people not to be jealous of my weight.

That said, it has always stopped me from exercising since I dont seem to need it, so stamina is horrible, I should take up running aswell…

I do have some weights in the attic that I use on and off, but not enough to really see a big difference…

Two things I need to work on then…
If I start sometime soon I’ll post updates here, but I’m in the process of moving next month, so might have to wait a bit.

I would love to hear your progress!

I also developed a little belly, and its SUPER creepy because i have no fat anywhere else on my upper body. That means above my belly i can see my own ribs! I really hope i can get rid of that somehow XD

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I see the belly as an age thing…but then again I’m already 35. And I love food too much :sweat_smile: Eventually good metabolism only gets you so far apparently :disappointed_relieved:

I ascribe pretty heavily to both the fitness community and the nerd community. I coached at a gym for a few years, and I’ve been playing video games since the NES days, I’m also a Systems Administrator by profession. So yeah anyways if you want abs the honest truth is it’s all about your diet.

There’s a saying that goes “abs are made in the kitchen” it’s the truth. There are many different diets you can ascribe to, and many that work. The overarching concept that you’ll find with almost any diet is that you need to cut sugar out of your life. So I’d honestly start with that, the trick with dieting is not to diet it’s to change your lifestyle so you need to make sure that you don’t jump into something that’s going to make you suffer as that’ll probably make it difficult for you to maintain. Additionally your body is your laboratory, everyone is different you need to figure out what works for you.

As for upper body, the more you work the stronger your joints will get, just be safe about it and don’t work until injury. You can buy pushup stands or whatever so that your wrists are in a different position, which could help but ultimately you want to be clearing those joint deficiencies. Pushups, pullups and situps can go a long way on their own.

Honestly if you can afford it and there’s a reputable crossfit in your area I highly recommend checking it out. Many gyms have knowledgeable coaches and a welcoming community that will keep you accountable and provide you with some companionship through your journey.

I’ll finish by saying this. You can do this, don’t doubt yourself and try not to make excuses. I have a similar story I grew up scrawny, I was just skin and bone. I’m 5’11" and I entered college at 130 lbs. In addition to that I was born with the mild version of osteogenesis imperfecta which is basically weak bones, from ages 7-14 I averaged a break per year (a nightmare for my mother). But a number of years ago I decided to stop making excuses for myself and get outside and do something, for me the solution was to gain some weight and build muscle over my bones. Since then I’ve broken my collarbone snowboarding and my thumb which is pretty mild considering that’s over the course of a decade, so I haven’t looked back. Anyways this is me now, and back when I was a kid.

Good luck!

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That’s all awesome, helpful, and inspirational.

Thank you!

When you say “Cut out sugar”…
Almost everything has sugar, though. Do you mean just “dont eat sweets”, or do i actually have to check labels and make sure i never consume anything with sugar in it?

Tricky question. Easiest thing to do is to cut out sweets to start. Cut out soda as that’s just full of sugar. And yes cut out some foods that are high in sugar those are typically pretty obvious foods that are sweet.

I’m intentionally being somewhat generic here because I don’t want to steer you one way or another by recommending a certain diet to you. You really do need to experiment and see what works for you. My eating habits consist of more of a macro diet that’s high on protein and low on carbs, very low on sugar (I drink black coffee, no soda, etc.)

Also diets are not always about what you eat but they are also about when you eat which is another thing that you’ll eventually want to play around with and see what your body likes best.

I don’t have a degree in nutrition so I’m not comfortable in getting too specific for other people. I will say their is a ton of literature out there on various diets and what not.

But like I said there’s typically one universal truth, cut out the foods that are heavy in sugar.

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Yeah I have gotten a bit out of shape post-high school lol I used to really athletic and in shape. I’m naturally kind of stocky and it doesn’t help that I am kind of short and since I stopped doing my main hobby in middle and high school due to reasons, I have gained some weight. It’s actually kind of depressing when I look at pictures of me just from like 2013 and what I look like now lol

I have tried getting better though. I realize I can’t eat the way I used to since I don’t exercise as intensely as I once did, and I do try to take walks and jump rope but again, I can’t seem to kick my terrible eating habits I once could get away with so I am not making much progress. I am at like a weird limbo. I am not gaining anymore weight, but I am not losing any either.

My main (and really only thing) I want to do is trim by stomach a bit. I am not obese or even what most people would call “fat” but I have a small belly arc now and if I could just trim that down to be flat again I would be happy. I am not looking to gain muscle or get ripped abs, just trying to flatten my stomach a bit.

Any tips @DeathBlooms2K8? You seem to be pretty knowledgeable on the subject.

@CStyles45 do you get most of your exercise info all from bodybuilding.com? I might use that to workout instead.

Bro I’m making all types of gains.

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Go shopping on a weekly basis. Don’t buy junk food when you shop and avoid ordering takeout.

I’m just a normal human being, if there are cookies laying around it’s often hard to resist the temptation to eat them. So the easiest thing for me is to not have them around. I stock my home with nothing but healthy food and as such that’s all I can really eat.

I will say I don’t recommend killing yourself trying to go ham on some diet. It’s okay to slip here and there, I think “cheat” days are a thing. Just try to stay disciplined within reason. For example I went out to some bars to watch football with friends yesterday, I had some beers, I didn’t stress out about having those empty calories. Now I’m back into my regular regime and eating clean.

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Yep, most from there. It can be overwhelming at the start. Esp when you don’t know where to begin.

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Easier said than done hahaha I don’t eat too badly during the day I don’t think. I usually have a protein/meal supplement drink in the morning, try to eat a sandwich (Peanut buttter or Roast Beef on whole for lunch) and for dinner I usually make some sort of non-fried chicken, steak, beef etc. but then late night something happens…I get these nasty nasty cravings and I start shoveling in gummy worms, cookies, soda, or ordering pizza and ■■■■■ it all up and like you said, I do like to have drinks sometimes (usually just rum and coke or vodka and cranberry)

I can stop myself from buying the gummies and the cookies, but I know no matter what ill still get those cravings at night to eat or snack on something. So I guess I am wondering, what is it I can get to replace those with that would be a bit healthier? Do you have any recommendations?