Butterthebean

My go to high calorie foods have always been all natural peanut butter and guacamole. Especially the guac...it slides right down and avocados have as much energy as any food pound for pound. In terms of easy to swallow calories, I find both fit the bill. Now they aren't necessarily full of protein, but they are healthy fats.

It had to be a great run if Elvis was there. Way to go.

Here is a rather long, lengthy and technical article about proper running form and the effect of certain running shoes. But it's pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about running and injury prevention. http://naturalrunningcenter.com/2013/01/24/treating-running-injuries-form-vs-footwear/

My plan is to be one of those 80 year old marathon runners. That way I can win my age bracket by default, because everyone else in it is dead. We will see how that plan works out. The guy that taught me Chi-running is 63 and he still runs marathons every other month. But if it doesn't work out, there is always cycling.

When I run on the roads around here, all of them are badly crowned (old country roads) so I have to alternate between running on the left side and right side. I try to run right down the middle when there's no cars. Luckily, that's possible many times because of the low traffic.

Unfortunately, the studies show otherwise. I read a great article about gymnasts recently. They were trying to figure out ways to reduce their injuries, and found that when they increased the padding on their landing areas, the injuries increased. When they decreased the padding, the injuries went down. Having more padding, the gymnasts landed much harder and that's what caused the injuries. The padding reduced impact, but not torsional stresses on the joints which is what causes many injuries. But my point is not that everyone needs go barefoot or wear minimal shoes, my point is that form is infinitely more important in regards to injury prevention. Everytime there's a running thread on VST, 8 people recommend that someone go get fitted for running shoes. But what we really should be saying is go learn how to run, otherwise the shoes don't really matter. It's like a race car driver having good driving gloves....what good do they do if he can't drive?

I was 300 pounds when I started running. As for being fitted with good shoes, I think it's highly overrated. A $12/hr shoe store employee watches you run for 3 minutes and then prescribes shoes for you based on what the shoe companies tell him to tell you. Shoes with more cushioning and arch support have been proven to cause injuries and all the so called "motion control" and "stability" shoes for over pronators and under pronators don't prevent injury in any way whatsoever. The truth of it is, if your running form is good, it doesn't matter what shoes you're wearing. And if your form is bad, it REALLY doesn't matter what shoes you're wearing . As you can tell, I've got strong opinions about it all.

I'd be willing to bet she's been spotting people a lot longer than you've been lifting, at least I hope so. There's nothing wrong with flat out asking her if she can handle the weight if you fail. Keep in mind she doesn't have to lift the whole bar, just the few pounds you can't lift. Out of curiosity do you bench in a power rack of any kind. I almost always lift alone because I don't have anyone around to lift with, but I have a good power rack and I can set it up to spot me for bench press and squats. So even if I drop the bar, the cross bars will catch it before it crushes me. As for the kettle bells, man I might have the same fear as you do. Do you ever use any chalk? It really helps with grip, especially once you get sweaty.

You need to get ahold of Aroundhky. Of all the people on this forum, I've yet to see anyone put on muscle like him. Very helpful guy as well. I'm sure he can give you some great tips. I can't but I salute your decision and commitment and I know you're going to rock one of those tiny little suits someday soon.

As far as body composition and appearance, I think weight training offered me the most noticeable changes but it takes time to see the results. As far as feeling great and fit.... Definitely running for me.

Whenever I think of pain that diminishes as the muscles get warm I think of inflammation. My understanding of bursitis is that it is usually involved with a joint, and gets worse as you go not better, typically getting even worse immediately after overuse. Not that it officially matters....inflammation and bursitis pretty much have the same cause (overuse) and remedy (rest). Of course, most overuse injuries have a deeper root cause that is usually related to bad form, posture or anatomical imbalance like muscular imbalance or a shorter leg. So it's good that you're thinking along those lines. Have you ever had anyone video tape you while you run so you can see what it looks like? Most of us are smooth as a ballerina in our mind's eye, but in reality we may not be. I've seen some crazy ass runners out there and I often wonder how they are not cripple with their weird ticks and gaits. I think I saw somewhere where you can send in a video and they will analyze your gait for you. Also, you say on the side of your leg, are you familiar with ITB pain? It usually presents right on the outside of the knee joint.

I was chainsawing trees at 3 weeks.....but I still can't vacuum. Doc said that would stretch my sleeve, something about the repeated push/pull motion plus the drop in barometric pressure due to the vacuum....at least that's what I told the missus.

Nah....not crazy. Whatever works for you is what you should do. I've been made to feel crazy because I'm still tracking....like I'm on a diet. I'm not on a diet but I also cannot self regulate very well without having the data right in front of me. That's my shortcoming but luckily I don't mind tracking and I have a great group of friends on MFP.

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I have been eyeballing those things for weeks....along with this one.... http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Performance-Revolutionary-Roller/dp/B006GUC9KC/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1367378068&sr=1-2

Man I wish you were closer to me. I know NC is beautiful. I live out in the country so not a lot of people around to workout with. I got to know a guy who invited me over to his brothers house to lift with them about 2 months ago. I went once and swore never again. While one brother benched, the other smoked a joint. Then they'd switch. I don't like to judge, but I don't want my spotter blowing smoke in my face, much less being less than 100% capable.

I am an obsessive tracker. My wife thinks I'm texting my girlfriends at the dinner table. I think it depends on the person. Tracking helps me, but I can see where it would drive other people insane. But I know myself, without the tracking, bad habits and bad choices will slowly build up over time. That's been my pattern in the past.