The MQ Get Healthy/Study Thread (4 Viewers)

[clairegirl]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

Overall: Today was gooood Woke up, read harry potter, gym, home, research, printing

Excercise: I woke up, stayed in bed for a couple of hours reading getting my dose of daily dose of Harry Potter, then got my ass to the gym asap, went to gym before breakfast (which is apparently the best time to excercise. Did 10k's on cross trainer! I usually do 5-6k's ... much thanx to one of the personal trainers of the gym who stayed with me most of time and made the whole ordeal so much more fun! Did some resistance training (again a pussy attempt lol oh how much things have changed, i used to love resistance training but now i can't get enough of cardio! :S)

Came home and had brunch: Seafood soup (lol i know im weird but it was soo nice, prawns and this fish stuff in tamarin broth)..... 10 minutes later i wasn't satisfied lol so i had two Rita Rye Crackers.

Lunch: Multigrain bread with steamed chicken seasoned with salt/pepper and two slices of tomato oh and it had low fat cheese on it too.

Dinner: Wan Ton Soup (that mum made) and i had a spoonful of mum's casarole (just wanted to try it)

Snacks: I had a bite of my lil cousin's scrambled egg thing she had after school.
Snack sized excercise: Did try out glitterfairy's reason to do more sit ups... Dude I did like 30 and almost died lol.. any ideas on how to built up gradually Lynn?

Study: Did research OMG it took me friggen ages, here i was thinking yeh it'll take about 30 minutes to find stuff but omg took me ALL day! 1pm till 7pm! SIX friggen hours to get all my notes/articles in order and i haven't even read any of it yet! :S :S


Tommorow's goal: Fit in some form of excercise somewhere, tommorow's going to be a busy busy day.. internship from 9-5, uni from 6:30-10... I think i'll be too buggered to do any excercise. Maybe I'll just goto the gym and do weights after uni, it's been a about a week since I've done more than 30 minutes of proper weight training... hrrmmm

 

[glitterfairy]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

Snack sized excercise: Did try out glitterfairy's reason to do more sit ups... Dude I did like 30 and almost died lol.. any ideas on how to built up gradually Lynn?

If you haven't done much ab work before, I think 30 is a good starting number - when done properly, situps are quite intense - I'd be worried if you said that you'd done 60 and they were easy, because then I'd have known you cheated

But anyway - just give it time and keep working on it gradually As you get stronger, you'll be able to do more. Don't worry so much about the number - it's the quality of them that's important.

Keep an eye out tomorrow for any neck pain - if you get some you weren't working from the right area But if you abs are sore, that's a good thing Remember to stretch out your tummy after situps - something simply like lying on your back with arms stretched out (lengthening the entire body) is a good one.

EDIT: Just to go on a little more about quality - SLOW situps are the way to go. I always like to play music when I'm doing situps - it establishes a beat to follow, and makes the whole thing a little bit more bearable. Do make sure you pick one with a solid beat though - I like "Survivor" by Destiny's Child, and if I'm feeling up for something more challenging "O" by Ciara is good too (it's a bit slower hence harder). You don't have to pick an urban/hiphop song, it's just in my experience that I've found it's easy to find a slower song with a good beat from that genre But really, whatever song appeals to you the most and keeps you on the floor working out is a good thing.

The other thing that makes situps more interesting is if you get variety in there. I rarely do more than 16 of the same 'type' of situp, because I find it gets monotonous and I end up loosing focus as the pain gets to me A new situp position gives you something else to think about - whilst it may not be "fun", it's a little bit more interesting that way



PS: Is there anyone else here who's familiar with the pilates exercise called "Hover", otherwise known as "[the]Plank"?

Study so far: Moved cardboard out of car and into my room. Just printed of BBA250 culture survey report, am going to look at main areas of concern then DRAFT OUT AN OUTLINE TONIGHT.

I also want to give situps another crack... now that I've gone on about their value long enough, I suppose I should listen to my own advice

 

[lcf]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

1) How many kilos (approx) to get down to ideal weight?
Well, I'm not to sure - just keep going till I'm happy - but i know i would like to at least shed 5 - 10
2) Reasons for being at current state
Post-HSC weight that never shifted, not getting out too much and being active (Although i do try to walk every day - but rain/work usually takes over)
When bored/not feeling 100% happy, I have a tendancy to fill mental gaps, with physical food ><
3) Why I want to loose weight
This sounds so vain, but I would like to feel better about my body - I am not 'fat,' but I feel like if i am not careful, that is how i am going to end up
4) How I plan to loose weight
Walking, watching what I eat, cutting down on snacking by finding other vices (ie more music!) Also, doing some other excercise such as sit ups etc to assist in burning calories
5) Subjects being studied at MQ (for potential studdybuddy purposes)
MAS104, MUS100, CUL100 and ARTS100
6) Academic goals
So far I have been hitting my goals and getting C or above, but there is always going to be room for improvement
7) How I plan to get my marks up
I don't want to sound pretentious, but I am pretty happy (and somewhat surprised) at where my marks are so - I think atm it is the weight issue hehe

 

[iambored]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

you guys are doing great, really great! i wish i had motivation to exercise, just for general fitness, especially for lung capacity etc., but most of the time i cbb

Snack sized excercise: Did try out glitterfairy's reason to do more sit ups... Dude I did like 30 and almost died lol.. any ideas on how to built up gradually Lynn?

haha, advice there would help two people. glitter, your motivational speech about abs was great, almost got me motivated, then i realised i really can't do sit ups. i must learn, i don't want to strain my back when i should be using my stomach (as well as legs, arms and other muscles).

edit: it takes me way too long from the time i open a thread (i open all windows at once) to the time i post

 

[glitterfairy]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

you guys are doing great, really great! i wish i had motivation to exercise, just for general fitness, especially for lung capacity etc., but most of the time i cbb

haha, advice there would help two people. glitter, your motivational speech about abs was great, almost got me motivated, then i realised i really can't do sit ups. i must learn, i don't want to strain my back when i should be using my stomach (as well as legs, arms and other muscles).

edit: it takes me way too long from the time i open a thread (i open all windows at once) to the time i post

There's a little bit of a misconception that situps are the only way to work your abs

I have a tendancy to screw up things when I do too many situps because my upper body is naturally weak, and REALLY weak in comparison to my lower body (which kinda sucks sometimes because both my mum and my brother are really strong - mum's as strong as a guy who works out regularly, and for a woman that's really saying something!!!! Me on the other hand, still has trouble lifting shopping bags sometimes so ).

If you can't or don't want to do situps, then don't. Do pilates exercises instead

There are a couple of exercises that don't require you to move your upper body AT ALL. It's fantastic. I'm going to try and describe a few of them here - but people, if you feel your lower back hurting at any time, STOP. Pilates exercises can be quite intense as they literally force your lower abs to work - the exercises I'm going to describe are ones taught to me as a dancer who's been using her abs for years. I do think that they should be able to be done by non-regular-ab-workers, but I'm not a pilates teacher so please don't take my words as ultimato :S

Exercise one: Lying on your back, make a 90 degree angle with your knees. MAKING SURE TO KEEP YOUR LOWER BACK ON THE GROUND AT ALL TIMES, slowly lift your heels off the ground. Maintain the 90 degree angle and take legs (still bent) at rough perpendicular angle to floor over a count of 8 (0r 16 if you're feeling adventurous). Then lower to the floor over count of 8 or 16.

I cannot stress how important it is to keep your lower back on the floor at all times. If you lift it, it's putting too much stress on the body - it will feel weird particularly when your legs are sort of 45 degree from the floor but it's the whole counter-resist thing that makes your abs work.

*If you're not familiar with the "neutral" pilates position (ie lower back on floor), you can try this - it's a fun little exercise I get my jazz students to do (and they're 9-12). Start by lying on the ground, knees making 90 degree angle. Arch your back enough to be able to put your hands in the gap, (no need to put them there though) and then use your abs to close the gap. I've frequently made jokes about bringing in a squeaky dog toy to put under their backs so that they hear a sound when they use their abs to return to the "neutral" position Something y'all might like to try...

NB: The "neutral" position may not actually be totally on the ground, particularly if you have lordosis (as I do, it's like a minor - natural - curvature of the lower spine however it is NOT scoliosis, which is like a sideways curve of the spine). But you should still aim to have your lower back on the ground - you'd have to have a very abnormal spine to justify a gap between your upper body and the floor when in "neutral' position.

Exercise two: Similar to last time, except I want you to take your legs SIDEWAYS this time. Always maintain the 90 degree angle/slow ascent and descent, and whenever possible get that lower back onto the floor. And KEEP THE LEGS TOGETHER

^ I've always had some issues with this exercise - I don't know whether it's because of my spine, but my tailbone always digs into the floor and it's very uncomfortable. I always try to grit my teeth and bear it (this is a great exercise for...dammit! Forgotten the name of the muscle, but they're the muscles around the lovehandles/the ones that wrap around the side of the body - dammit, I've really temporarily forgotten the name of the muscle :S), but if you don't want to feel additional pain then do these exercises on a towel or yoga mat.




As something that's a bit more low impact (and if you're feeling lazy) all you have to do is take the position mentioned in exercise 1, and stay there. The more strong you're feeling, the lower you can take your legs - and stay there. Keep that lower back on the floor!



PS: I really, really wish I could meet the rest of you peoples and show you Hover. It's the greatest/most intense ab workout ever, and it's one of those where you just have to hold a position.

 

[clairegirl]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

you guys are doing great, really great! i wish i had motivation to exercise, just for general fitness, especially for lung capacity etc., but most of the time i cbb

haha, advice there would help two people. glitter, your motivational speech about abs was great, almost got me motivated, then i realised i really can't do sit ups. i must learn, i don't want to strain my back when i should be using my stomach (as well as legs, arms and other muscles).

edit: it takes me way too long from the time i open a thread (i open all windows at once) to the time i post

Hey honey! Yeh excercise! even if you don't need to lose any weight, seriously i think even if God himself above told me that even if I excercise and eat healthy and do absolutely everything correctly I will never ever lose weight, I wouldn't care I'de still do it!

I feel SOOOOOO much better than I used to and I can't fathom anymore what life used to be like before training sessions, if I don't work out for longer than 2 days I start getting this itch to just up and leave and goto the gym and usually I give in and do.

I think I'm at that stage where I really really enjoy it and I look forward to it and omg if excercise was a guy i would screw it and make sweet love to it everyday and twice on sundays- IT'S THAT GOOD! YOU HAVE TRY IT! It's even better than chocolate! *drooool* I'm also at the point where I frown at my planner on days I know I won't be able to fit a gym visit in. I can't picture a lifestyle without a gym membership it would be too hard!

It takes people weeks of hitting themselves and making themselves get up and goto the gym, it took me months! but one day you just wake up loving it!

 

[iambored]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

woah, thanks glitter, if i out-wake everyone in my house tonight i will have to try them for fun (haha, otherwise they'll think i'm mad lying on the floor), otherwise tomorrow night

edit (because of my screen-open-too-long usual problem):
haha and thanks clairegirl, you make exercise sound so tempting. the motivation is the hardest thing but this thread is certainly doing it's job. hmmm...

 

[glitterfairy]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

hahah, good stuff!

In other news, I plugged the 90 degree angle so much because it's the safest angle that ensures you're still going to work out. If your abs are pretty good, you can stretch the angle out to 125 or so (which is what I normally use), but do NOT stretch the legs out totally. This requires unreal abdominal strength and I have only once in my entire life heard of two people who my dance teacher (who happened to also be a qualified personal training with much yoga and pilates experience) allowed to do the exercises with straight legs. One of those was an unbelievable full-time professional dancer who did 180 degree devloppes, the other was some World Karate Champion.

And now I swear, I am going back to BBA250. I have to get my outline done by tonight!!!! And then I will do some ab exercises


EDIT: I temporarily lied. I just want to say that if we keep this up, the MQ BOSers are going to be the hottest, buffest, and smartest people around! Do it for the team if not for yourself!

 

[clairegirl]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

hahah, good stuff!

In other news, I plugged the 90 degree angle so much because it's the safest angle that ensures you're still going to work out. If your abs are pretty good, you can stretch the angle out to 125 or so (which is what I normally use), but do NOT stretch the legs out totally. This requires unreal abdominal strength and I have only once in my entire life heard of two people who my dance teacher (who happened to also be a qualified personal training with much yoga and pilates experience) allowed to do the exercises with straight legs. One of those was an unbelievable full-time professional dancer who did 180 degree devloppes, the other was some World Karate Champion.

And now I swear, I am going back to BBA250. I have to get my outline done by tonight!!!! And then I will do some ab exercises


EDIT: I temporarily lied. I just want to say that if we keep this up, the MQ BOSers are going to be the hottest, buffest, and smartest people around! Do it for the team if not for yourself!

Hehehe yeah! I can't wait to see Before/after pics

 

[redruM]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

What do people think about taking 5/6 meals a day, rather than 3? Basically eating every 3 hours...Now obviously in smaller proportions.

I'm trying to really fix my eating patterns, which is my main problem.

I underestimated(even mocked!) the knowledge you need to know regarding fitness...and I'm still learning about it.

 

[glitterfairy]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

Hehehe yeah! I can't wait to see Before/after pics

Bah. I'm still looking for my camera If I still can't find it after this week I'm going to contact a photographer friend of mine who says he's bored and wants to take photos of something portraiture-related.

What do people think about taking 5/6 meals a day, rather than 3? Basically eating every 3 hours...Now obviously in smaller proportions.

I think this is great, and I've been trying to work on a similar thing for the last year, I think. I've got it down to 4 meals per day on average, however I find with me on "normal" days I aim to eat every 4-5 hours, regardless of how many meals that clocks up to (because that appears to be my metabolism turnaround or something, lol).

EDIT: Ok, I just did equivalent to 72 situps. But my BBA250 outline isn't looking quite so hot.

 

[lcf]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

ummmm - how do you do a situp, that is effective and doesn't hurt yourself :worried:

 

[*~Dazed~*]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

I have a gym membership and i go through stages where id go 3-4 times a week for a while and then id get really busy and thus lazy in my spare time and go like once every few weeks. At the moment im only managing once a week and im killing myself for it. I love going but when i get around to having some time i always just want to relax.

Last couple of months ive been way busy but from tomorrow night (should have been today) ive got it pretty easy until exam time (nothing due, just piles up in those 2 weeks) so ill definitely get back into it. Problem is i go to the gym but i dont change my eating habits.

Today:
breaky: (shock horror that i even had it!) english muffin 1/2 with philly 1/2 with butter and an ebf tea
coffee- full cream 2 sugars
dinner: burger and hot chips (i was at the uni from 11am-9pm and there wasn't really anything fresh looking by 6.30.
now another coffee because ill be up all night tonight....

excercise: zlich. not even any walking. I was on my arse from 11-9 and then walk to car and now on my arse in bed again

i suck. i live on only 2 proper meals a day then snacks or drinks or something. I cant eat every 4 or so hours.

 

[glitterfairy]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

ummmm - how do you do a situp, that is effective and doesn't hurt yourself :worried:

Enjoy

Note: Situps are good, crunches only work the stomach muscles. Make sure your elbows are PARALLEL to the floor to start, and always stay to the sides (so you are not relying on momentum/arm strength. They should NEVER be directly in front of you). Try to lift from your lower abs - definately aim to get your shoulders off the floor (this is the part where your arms will try to sneak in, don't let them!), and if you're feeling adventurous try to lift your entire upper body much like a plank, with the waist/hips sort of acting as a "hinge", trying to make a V-shape between your upper body and legs (but if you're not able to do that don't worry - it's hard if you're not a guy ).

If you get bored of the "standard" situp you can try some variants (hahaha, trust me to know these) such as lifting your legs into the air/perpendicular to floor, crossing them, uncrossing them, and better still - and I hear this is the way you're supposed to do situps - doing them with your knees at a 90 degree angle, unsupported or resting on something light like a yoga ball (NOT on something solid like a box. The aim is to make your body work )

Basically you want to concentrate on working the abs - NOT using your neck muscles or momentum.

 

[clairegirl]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

What do people think about taking 5/6 meals a day, rather than 3? Basically eating every 3 hours...Now obviously in smaller proportions.

I'm trying to really fix my eating patterns, which is my main problem.

I underestimated(even mocked!) the knowledge you need to know regarding fitness...and I'm still learning about it.

Hey redRum.

I think the eating 5/6 meals thing is great! I used to think omg as if i could be bothered to do that and as if its worth it! If you can fit it in.. it definately is great for your body. My friend told me this story in order for me to get the worthiness of the whole eating 5/6 meals a day.

If you God gave you 8 apples to eat for a day and that was it, if you ate it all in one go in the morning... you'de be starving for the rest of the day... however if you ate one every few hours... you wouldn't feel so hungry. The same amount of calories however not the same amount of hunger involved

I tend to eat my sandiwch, one half and then the other half about an hour or two later when I'm at uni, other than that I am guilty of eating 3 meals a day I too shall try to incorporate this in next few comming weeks

 

[pb]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

hey fornstar are you back already? how was cananda??
lol i just saw greg today for the first time since he got back and he said you stayed on his floor

well anyway, my day was horrible again!
i had baaadddd cravings all day!
i cant write everything i ate cuz i dont remember lol and it was so bad

you're all doing so well and i still have horrible bingeing problems
lol i bought skittles today but dropped it all in my lecture oops... which i guess is kinda a good thing... but i made up for all that later
*siigh* why can't i stop
i have gotten so fat since last year lol

 

[mserica]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

Best way to do sit ups is to lift the legs and then put them down but dont let them touch the floor then, lift them again and then let them down but hold them about 2cm above the ground.

The reason for this is that it will not damage the neck or back as your legs and abs are then doing the work.

to focus on the side you do exactly the same however tilt your legs to the left or right!

Hope that makes sense!!!!

p.s It works though you need to do at least 50 a day four to five times a week

 

[bscienceboi]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

I have a gym membership and i go through stages where id go 3-4 times a week for a while and then id get really busy and thus lazy in my spare time and go like once every few weeks. At the moment im only managing once a week and im killing myself for it. I love going but when i get around to having some time i always just want to relax.

You need a friend to tag along or motivate you to join them.

 

[clairegirl]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

I have a gym membership and i go through stages where id go 3-4 times a week for a while and then id get really busy and thus lazy in my spare time and go like once every few weeks. At the moment im only managing once a week and im killing myself for it. I love going but when i get around to having some time i always just want to relax.

Last couple of months ive been way busy but from tomorrow night (should have been today) ive got it pretty easy until exam time (nothing due, just piles up in those 2 weeks) so ill definitely get back into it. Problem is i go to the gym but i dont change my eating habits.

Today:
breaky: (shock horror that i even had it!) english muffin 1/2 with philly 1/2 with butter and an ebf tea
coffee- full cream 2 sugars
dinner: burger and hot chips (i was at the uni from 11am-9pm and there wasn't really anything fresh looking by 6.30.
now another coffee because ill be up all night tonight....

excercise: zlich. not even any walking. I was on my arse from 11-9 and then walk to car and now on my arse in bed again

i suck. i live on only 2 proper meals a day then snacks or drinks or something. I cant eat every 4 or so hours.

what snacks did you have in between?

I mean if all you had was a muffin, coffee and burger chips your whole day, i don't think it would lead to weight/gain.

(just feeling like poo due to the lack of excercise )

 

[*~Dazed~*]

Re: The MQ weightloss/marks gain Support Thread!

You need a friend to tag along or motivate you to join them.

yeah i know but 1. no one i know is up for it and 2. ive tried going with people before and i dont like it. Gym time is alone zone out time for me. I cant have someone that i know with me.