RECIPE FOR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE BUNS

I would be lying if I said that I want to be at the gym everyday.  I'm human, and that means there are days where I have no desire to workout, and all I want to do is lay in bed and read or play my 3DS.  So, sometimes I do stay at home, and I do a workout in my apartment.  There is a lot you can do in your home, but to make it simple I'm only going to talk about exercises that don't require equipment for this post.

Squats: This is pretty much the best exercise ever invented ... ever.  Seriously, go squat right now.  Squats are for everyone (well everyone that wants a nice butt. If you want your butt to suck feel free to skip these).  They will work out your entire lower body and your core but you will primarily feel them in the quads and glutes.

Dat booty

When you perform a squat, form is extremely important.  You want to stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead.  Next, you want to sit back, really focus on pushing your butt backwards here (the way you would sit in a chair).  You can hold your arms out in front of you if you are having difficulty balancing.  You want to lower your body at least until your thighs become parallel with the floor.  When you become parallel with the floor your shoulders should be over your knees and your chest should be up, not facing the floor.  People used to think if your knees went past your toes in a squat you were going to injure your knees. While this isn't true (in fact, in a deep squat your knees will usually go past your toes for at least part of the squat), you can use this as a way to monitor your form.  If you knees are going significantly past your toes before your thighs are parallel with the ground, you are probably not pushing your butt far enough behind you.  

Oh hey that's me, I cannot do a home workout without the pups

If you are having trouble getting your thighs to parallel, don't give up! This is a problem for a lot of beginners.  You can use a chair at first: stand about half of your normal step in front of the chair. Lower yourself onto the chair without using your arms, concentrating on pushing your butt back like a normal squat.  Once you are sitting on the chair, stand back up without using your arms or pushing off.  When you can complete 3 sets of 15 squats, sitting down to standing up, advance your squat. Now, as you go down, you no longer sit but rather just touch the chair with the back of your legs before standing.  Then remove the chair entirely.  

Bridges: These can emphasize the quads or glutes (or both) depending on your foot placement.  Lay on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor, then push through your feet to raise your hips as high as you can.  To emphasize your quads, place your foot flat on the floor; to emphasize your glutes, use only your heels.  You can either repeatedly raise your hips and lower them, or hold the contraction at the top (or both if you want to really tear it up).  At the top position, all of your weight should be on your feet and shoulders - you can use your arms to balance yourself though.  If this is too easy for you, use one leg at a time.

Lunges: Again, this is an exercise that works the entire lower body.  They are awesome (but not as awesome as squats).  From a standing position, take a large step forward and lower your body between your legs by bending both of your knees.  Lower your body until both of your knees are bent to a 90 degree angle, and keep your weight centered between your feet.  If your back leg isn't bent then you probably either aren't lunging deep enough or your weight is too far forward.  If you have any history or knee problems use CAUTION when performing lunges.

If these don't make your thighs burn, you're doing them wrong.

Body Weight Calf Raises: As the name implies this exercise works the calves.

They are pretty simple to do, from a standing position push through your toes and raise your feels off the ground as high as you can.  Again if they are too easy do them one leg at a time.

Pliee or Sumo Squat: By modifying the squat you can place extra emphasis on the adductors (groin) 

So, for this mix-up with the squat, stand with your legs about twice shoulder width and turn your toes out like a dancer.  Then, for this squat, instead of pushing your butt back, you want to go straight down, pushing your knees to opposite walls.  You want to stand as straight up and down as possible.  You're probably gonna feel off-balance - take your time, and get the feel for the exercise.  As your muscles warm up and you become stronger and more flexible, you'll be able to go deeper into this squat (hue hue hue deeper).

yeahhhh I wasn't gonna put a pic of me here

Fair warning, this exercise will probably make you feel super awkward the first time you do it.  I mean, the whole legs spread and squatting and all that ...... but suck it up, buttercup, they're good for you.

Clam Shells or Fire Hydrants: This exercise is meant to work the gluteus medius. This is an important muscle because it plays a major role in stabilizing your hips.  When you work it, you'll feel it in the top and outer part of your butt.

So the easy version is the clam shell.  You lie on your side with your knees bent, one leg on top of the other.  Then you open you top leg up so it looks like a clam shell.  

The fire hydrant you are on your hands and knees, and lift one leg out to the side.  Kinda like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant... Classy, I know.

This is another one that will make you feel awkward.  Sorry I'm not sorry about it.

Donkey Kicks:  This exercise is meant to work out your hamstrings and glutes

A fabulous pair of hamstrings- seriously, how silly is this picture? I had to pick it

For this exercise, you need to be on your hands and knees again. This time, stick one leg out behind you and then raise it up to the ceiling.  I recommend trying this move with your leg straight and also with your knee bent. It changes how your muscles activate, so it will work your legs differently (plus you don't have to spread your legs).

Push-ups: This exercise works primarily your pectoralis (chest) group, and secondarily, the biceps and triceps

Almost everyone already knows how to do a push-up.  I mean, it's like every P.E. teacher's favorite exercise.  Support your body weight with you toes and hands, hold your core tight so that your body is a straight line between your shoulders and toes.  Lower you body by bending your arms at the elbow.  As you lower yourself, keep your core tight so that you do not have a "sway back".  Ideally, you can get to the point where you lower yourself until your chest touches the floor, but don't worry if you can't right away. Just work within your limits and as you become stronger your depth will improve.

If you have trouble with push-ups, try starting with your hands on the wall and then move to the floor with your knees on the ground instead of your toes.  Regardless of the difficulty you start at with the push-ups, make sure that your body remains straight.  Just because you are on your knees doesn't mean you should stick your butt up in the air - I don't care how nice your butt looks, that'll ruin your push-ups.

Diamond Push-ups: This exercise works the chest like regular push-ups, but because of the change in position this will place extra emphasis on the triceps group.

These should be performed the same as normal push-ups, with one modification: your hands should be placed close together so that they form a diamond.

Bench Dips:  This exercise works out your triceps as well.
For this exercise you'll need a chair (I know I said no equipment, but let's not get picky - no one really considers chairs as exercise equipment).  Place your hands on either side of your hips on the edge off the chair, and keep your legs straight out in front of you.  Use your arms to hold your body up and then lower you butt toward the floor by bending your elbows.  Lower yourself as far as you feel comfortable, and then return to the starting position.  Make sure your elbows point straight behind you.  It is very important that you only move through the range of motion that you feel you can control. If you feel like you are unable to push back to the starting position, you most likely went too far down for your current strength level.

Dexter had a blast with these

There is a lot you can do to workout at home, but keep in mind there is not as much you can do for your back muscles and you biceps without equipment.  Don't forget about those muscles, too. Remember, curls for the girls.  Now, go, and may your butt always look nice (guys, you need a nice butt too).

Keep in mind, this is a list of exercises, not a specific workout. I just want to educate you on what these certain exercises will do for you, and how to do them.

**NOTE: Some of these exercises are very complicated.  If you are new to exercising, I recommend getting a session with a personal trainer and asking to be taught how to properly perform these exercises.  If you experience sharp, shooting, or extreme pain at any time, stop exercising immediately and see your doctor.  As always, consult your doctor before you make changes to your lifestyle.**

30 DAY CHALLENGE: CONCLUSION

So, yesterday was the end of my 30 day challenge!  I made it!  I have had my ups and downs over the last month.  I'm an emotional eater, and since I'm also human, I have stress and a job and pets to take care of, so there were definitely days that I wanted to quit.  Knowing that I had to post what I was eating everyday on Instagram helped to hold me accountable, and seeing my weight and body fat drop helped motivate me on those hard days.  Find something that motivates you, set small weekly goals, and just keep working at it.

I didn't do anything crazy for this challenge.  I am not on any supplements, other than a multivitamin and protein shakes after my workout.  I was just very strict with my diet.  I made sure that I ate proper portion sizes and I was careful to not over-eat, but also not under-eat.  Not eating enough doesn't help you burn fat, it just helps you lose muscle (bad, very bad).  The more you commit to your food, the more results you see. It's that simple.  You have to want it for yourself.

My final measurements were a weight in of 134.8 and body fat of 21.5% which is a total drop of 7.4 lbs and 2.3% body fat in 30 days.  Not gonna lie I'm impressed with myself.

I've had a couple of people ask me how I have been cooking for the challenge, and honestly, it's super simple because... I am not a good cook.  My breakfast every morning was two eggs, 2-3 pieces of turkey bacon, and some type of fruit.  I didn't put anything special into this meal. Most days I didn't even put salt or pepper on my eggs.  Lunch was brown rice and lean protein, usually chicken.  Plain grilled chicken gets boring really fast, so to make it tasty I use Weber 
Grill Mates.  I literally just sprinkle them on the chicken and then throw it on the George Foreman (nothing crazy going on here).  The rice is also pretty boring, so instead of cooking it in plain water I sometimes used low sodium chicken broth (the broth doesn't add a whole ton of flavor but have you ever had plain brown rice?  It's not fun).  

At dinner I had veggies, which I would simply steam (steamed veggies are my favorite), and more lean protein.  I got a lot of feedback on my salmon, and what I did with it was super simple.  I love BBQ, but I don't like the sugar in BBQ sauce. So, I put olive oil in the pan and let it heat up, then mix in some of the BBQ dry rub, then add the salmon.  That's it - told you it was easy. There is a little bit of sugar in the dry rub, but not nearly as much as sauces.

Other things I ate that I really liked were the chicken sausage and Morning Star tofu burgers (try them they are hella good).

I also came across two pancake recipes that I really like.  The first I found on Pinterest (you gotta check out Pinterest for healthy recipes).  The second I got from a blog I really like called Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth.  Check out that blog, cause she does awesome recipes.

Banana Protein Pancakes:

• Two eggs
• One banana
• One scoop of protein powder

Mash up the banana first, then mix in the eggs and protein.  I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to then spoon them onto a hot griddle.  When you see the bubbles, flip them like you would pancakes.

Egg White Pancakes:

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 tbsp honey or agave
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 scoop protein powder (if you want the extra protein)

Combine everything in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Then spoon onto hot griddle.  When you see the bubbles flip them.  Enjoy, this one honestly tastes way better than regular pancakes.

look at them, so yummy

So, now what?  Well, first things first: I will be indulging in a cheeseburger with bacon seriously I have been thinking about this burger for 30 days and I will enjoy it (even if it makes me sick after).  Then... I'll be back at it with the grilled chicken and green veggies and tofu burgers.  Feel free to contact me if you are interested in my meal planning.  Keep a look out for my next challenge, and I hope you'll join me.  

**NOTE: My meals and caloric intake are based on my body and lifestyle.  Please do not copy my meals or portion sizes as they may not be appropriate for your needs.  Always consult your doctor before starting any new meal plans.**

RECOVERING FROM WRIST INJURIES

I'd like to start this post off by saying that every injury is different and requires different treatments.  I am writing this post for one of my favorite gamers and Twitch streamers and my tips in here are with his specific injury in mind. These tips may help with recovery from a wrist injury, but you should consult a doctor if you have one. If you are seeing a therapist, do what your therapist says since he or she knows your injury.  

When addressing wrist fractures there are several symptoms that can plague you after the bones have healed.  Actually, the bones' healing process is usually the easiest part to deal with.  In this post I want to address how to deal with:

• Nerve symptoms
• Decreased range of motion
• Decreased strength
• Managing pain

Nerve symptoms are very common in wrist and hand injuries.  The anatomy in the wrist is very small and contains a lot of nerves. Injuries to the area often compress nerves, or in extreme cases, may sever the nerves (which sucks).  Nerve irritation or pain presents itself as: a burning sensation, shooting pain along the affected nerve, numbness, and tingling (like your hands are falling asleep).  I would love to say that nerves always make a full recovery, but that's not true.  Sometimes nerves make a full recovery and sometimes they don't, and unfortunately there isn't a good way to predict the outcome (they just do whatever they want).  But the good news is there are things you can do to help improve the healing of nerves and manage the symptoms.  Keep in mind that depending on the extent of damage, it can take years for nerves to recover.  Of course, the earlier you address the damage the better chance you have. Don't be discouraged if a lot of time has already passed since your injury, there may still be time to recover.  SO!  How do we help your nerves regain their function.

• Vitamin B: Vitamin B helps with nerve conduction and sometimes it can help damaged nerves function better.  It doesn't always work, but it is simple to add into your daily life and it won't hurt. Your pee will also be the color of lemon-line Gatorade! Exciting! And a small price to pay for better functioning nerves.
• Mobility Exercises: These will help your fingers build neural pathways and improve your motor function.  The symptoms you feel are the side effect of your nerves not functioning properly, so helping your nerves relearn how they work and improving your motor function may help to decrease your overall symptoms.
• ABC's: Use your finger to trace all the letters of the alphabet.  This will get your fingers to move in just about every direction possible.  You'll want to do this for each finger individually.
• Finger opposition: Touch the tip of your fingers to the tip of your thumb, one at a time.  
  
• Stretching the Nerve: A lot of people don't realize this, but you can stretch nerves just like you can stretch muscles.  If you have tingling or numbness in your thumb and pointer finger, you'll want to stretch the radial nerve. If the feeling is in your middle finger, that would be your median nerve, and in your ring finger and pinky you should stretch your ulnar nerve.  If you're unsure which one, just do them all.  I recommend doing the stretches one step at a time and holding the position for at least 10 seconds before adding the next part.  If you feel tingling during the stretches don't advance the stretch to the next part until the tingling goes away.  If you feel shooting or sharp pain or a burning sensation stop immediately.  If you feel tingling in the beginning and then it turns to numbness, that usually means your nerves need a break.  Just like muscles, it's possible to fatigue nerves.
• Radial Nerve: first make a fist, then flex your wrist towards your forearm.  Next straighten your elbow and extend your arm out behind you.  It can also help to tilt your head away from the side you are stretching.
  
   
• Median Nerve: Start by extending your fingers away from your palm, then extend your wrist towards the back of your arm, so your palm is flat and you can see the back of your hand.  Next, straighten your elbow, then raise your arm to shoulder height.  Extend your arm behind you, and again tilt your head away from the side you are stretching.
  
• Ulnar Nerve: Extend your fingers away from your palm, and then extend your wrist towards the back of your arm, like in the stretch above.  Raise your arm out at your side and place your palm on the side of your face (or as close as you can).
  

When you fracture your wrist, you also may experience a decrease in your range of motion.  Damaged tissue rarely recovers to 100% of what it was like before the injury, because scar tissue is much less elastic than the original connective tissue.  Now, if the bone wasn't properly set, or recovered in an abnormal way, and you have a bony block decreasing your range of motion, there's not much you can do (I mean, unless you can shave down the bone and that's not something you should do at home - it makes a mess).  If the decreases in range of motion are caused by scar tissue though, or from being immobilized while the bones healed (in a cast or splint), then you should be able to get your range of motion back.

• Stretching: Over time, stretching will increase the elasticity of your muscles and tendons.  Again, you want to start very gently.  I recommend doing these stretches with your elbow bent before you try them with your elbow straight.  You want to stretch your wrists, but don't forget your fingers too.
  
  
  
  
  

  

  granny hands

• Joint Mobilization:  These are techniques for stretching the joint capsule (think bubbles around your joints).  For these techniques the two bones of the joint are moved in opposite directions (which sounds painful but its not, you sort of do one every time you crack your knuckles).  This movement should only be performed by a trained professional so ask your doctor or therapist if they think it would improve your condition (don't be dumb and try this at home like the kids after watching Jackass).

Decreased strength usually comes from a lack of exercise of your hand and wrist muscles.  When you have an injury, and movement causes pain, it makes sense that you wouldn't want to exercise that area (duh).  Likewise, if you were in a splint or cast, you would not have been able to exercise the affected muscles.  Significant levels of pain can even cause an automatic response which decreases your strength (basically, pain shuts down your muscles' function).  To remedy this, do some strengthening exercises.  Start with 1-3 lbs. and work your way up.  Remember, these shouldn't hurt, so don't force it. If you can't move the whole way the first time that's OK.  Work with what you can, and you'll get better as you get stronger.

• Wrist Curls:  Hold a weight in your hand and then bend your wrist towards your forearm.  It can be helpful to stabilize your arm on a hard surface with your wrist hanging off.
  
• Wrist Extension: This is the opposite of a wrist curl. Hold the weight and extend your wrist to the back of your arm.
  
• Finger Curls:  This one is sometimes tricky, you have to hold your arm palm up and the weight in your hand.  You open your fingers and let the weight roll out to your fingertips, then curl the weight back up towards your palm by making a fist.  You can also do this by squeezing a stress ball though as your strength improves the stress ball may not be enough resistance.
  
• Finger Extension: For this one you need play-dough or something similar.  Put the blob of play dough on a table and then use your finger tips to spread the play dough out flat.  You can also put a rubber band around your finger tips and then stretch it out.
  
• Wrist Supination and Pronation:  For this exercise, hold one end of the weight so the other end goes straight up in the air.  Stabilize your arm on a table and then rotate your wrist slowly in both directions so that the weight moves to one side then the other.  
  

Thankfully, managing your pain is the easiest part.  The general rule when managing pain is to do whatever works for you.  This may take some time to figure out, but if it decreases your pain in a healthy way, then go for it.  Remember, sometimes the above exercises will make your pain temporarily increase, but if it lasts for too long, you may need to use less weight or be easier on yourself.

• Heat: Heat can help relax your muscles, and also improve the elasticity of your connective tissue.  Plus, it sends happy hormones to your brain which help to combat the pain signals your brain receives.  Unfortunately, most heating pads don't penetrate very deep (they rarely go further than the skin and fat) so your best bet is making a hot bath, hot tub, or something like that.  Remember that you will have to keep adding hot water as it cools (and if the water feels like its too hot guess what it probably is).  Paraffin wax, like the kind used for manicures, is also amazing if you can use it (most of us can't).  If heat works for you, awesome, just be careful you don't burn yourself.  Heat can also help make your stretching more effective, so you can try it in combination.
• Cold: If you're gonna use cold, I recommend using ice in a bag (think ice cubes) instead of a cold pack, because you don't have to worry about frostbite with ice. Ice freezes at 32 degrees and ice packs actually freeze colder than that.  For most people heat works better for pain management, but if cold works for you the affects will last much longer than heat.  Just put the ice pack where ever your pain is a leave it for about 20 minuets.  BOOM done!
• Massage: This can be especially useful if you also have the decrease in range of motion.  Start gentle and always move towards your shoulder. This can also help improve circulation (it can be uncomfortable and sometimes painful to pull your blood towards your fingertips, so don't do that unless a doctor or trainer tells you to specifically).  If you don't know how to do a massage, that's OK just try small circular motions with your thumbs until you find something that helps your muscles relax.  Start in your fingers and hands and then move up to your forearm, upper arm and shoulders.  If you are completely at a loss, and can afford it, go get a manicure from a spa or salon that includes a massage (or just get a massage) and then copy what they do.
• Joint Mobilizations: As I mentioned before these can help increase range of motion, but they can also be useful for pain because as you glide the bones you increase the fluid surrounding the joints, which helps increases the nutrients you absorb.  Plus, they help stretch the joint capsule which can feel nice.  Remember this requires a professional.

Keep in mind none of these tips work miracles. It's going to take you being faithful and doing them on a daily basis to make a difference in your symptoms.  When you do these exercises, remember, they are meant to rehabilitate an injury, so start slow.  Also, before you do any of these, ask a professional, either a doctor or trainer, or whoever is working with you for your injury, to make sure they are okay for you to do with your specific injury. If they are okay, you still may not be able to do every single thing on the list - just be patient, progress will come.  If you feel your symptoms start to act up more than what you feel in your normal life (tingling, shooting pain, achy joints, burning, numbness, ect.) it means its time to take a break.  Wait for your symptoms to go away before your try again, and don't be surprised if it takes hours or even a day for the symptoms to start to go away.  These exercises may also make you feel sore and weak in the beginning.  As you get better and stronger at the exercises, your symptoms should start to decrease and you should be able to do the rehab for longer periods of time before your symptoms act up.  Work up to doing these 3-4 times a day, especially the stretches.  I hope that eventually your symptoms go away permanently and you make a full recovery.

I hope this guide was helpful!

If you have a specific injury that you have experienced and would like some tips on it or if you would like me to elaborate on anything in this post, leave me a comment.

**NOTE: These tips do not replace medical attention from a doctor.  If you are experiencing pain you should see your doctor first.  Always consult your doctor before you start a rehabilitation program**

DO YOU HAVE A GOOD TRAINER

There are a ton of gyms in every city, and in those gyms there are a ton of personal trainers.  We kind of have a bad reputation with some people who think all personal trainers are uneducated and like to sleep with their clients.  Kinda how gamers have a bad rep in today's society as lazy, unmotivated children.  I mean, sometimes it's true - I'm a part of both worlds and I know some sleazy, shitty personal trainers.  But I also know some awesome personal trainers (don't mind if I toot my own horn over here) and some awesome gamers.  Personal trainers can help educate you and push you to reach your goals, but you have to get a good one.

GOOD TRAINERS SHOULD:

1. Ask For Feedback
A good trainer will check in with you about how you are enjoying the sessions.  Training is a two-way street, and we want you to get as much out of the sessions as possible.  There have been times that I have been training people for weeks only to find out they really wanted a male trainer. I wasn't offended, I recommended a male trainer that I thought they would mesh well with.  Your trainer should check in with you to make sure you're getting exactly what you want (within reason - I can't make you taller or look like Beyonce).  And if you aren't getting what you want, speak up.  Of course, we don't want you to like us too much - it takes all the fun out of kicking your ass.

2. Ask About Any Injuries or Health Risks You Have Before Beginning Training
Any personal trainer worth their salt will know what questions to ask before they plan a workout. Without asking if you have high blood pressure, for example, a trainer cannot properly prepare a program or a workout for a client.  Not only that, but if we don't know what risk factors you have we run the risk of making them worse or causing serious injury.  Not every trainer is comfortable with every population.  Some trainers refuse to train pregnant women. This doesn't make them bad trainers, it just means that based on their experience or education they do not feel comfortable taking that liability on themselves.  If you do have a risk factor that a trainer refuses to work with but you like the style and personality of the trainer, you can ask them to refer you to another trainer.  If your trainer doesn't at least ask you if you have high blood pressure RUN ... run fast and far.

3. Be Certified
There are many different certifications out there. Before you sign up with a personal trainer, you may want to research what each certification means and how difficult the certification is to obtain.  I'm not saying that one specific cert. is better than another (even though there are definitely better and worse ones).  My point is that if you have specific goals, you should find a trainer that has certifications that align with your goal.  Of course, a certification can't guarantee a good trainer, but at least they have been educated.  If you already have a specific trainer in mind, don't worry if you look at their certifications and they aren't the exact ones you want. As long as they have proven results and they are knowledgeable, you're good.  Certs are important, but so is experience.

4. Teach While They Train
This is huge.  Your trainer should teach you the exercises you are doing. Not only how to do the exercises, but also why you are doing them.  What muscles are you using?  How do you know if you're doing it wrong?  If your personal trainer is lacking a basic knowledge of anatomy it might be a red flag, just saying.

5. Help With Program Development
Not all trainers will write out a whole program for you.  Just because you don't get every single day's workout written out, doesn't make that trainer a bad trainer.  Writing full programs for every single client is extremely time consuming, and a lot of trainers will charge extra for this.  However, if you have questions about why your trainer structures your program a certain way or you have questions about how to develop your own program, your trainer should be able to answer these questions so that you can grow and learn.

6. Encourage You
Often, progress is slow.  In fact, most of the time progress is slow.  Weight will go down, then back up.  The process to getting healthy can rarely be graphed in a straight line.  It's part of your trainers job to keep you motivated and encouraged so you don't give up.  There are a million ways to do this, and different things work for different trainers. 

7. Do Your Measurements
Body fat percentage, body mass index, weight, girth measurements (girth is a weird word), your one rep max, your mile time.  There are so many things to measure, and what a trainer will measure will depend on both your goals and what type of equipment a trainer has available.  The important thing is that the trainer should do some type of measurement, and they should explain why they are using that one specifically.  If there are no measurements, how will you know if you are improving or not.  Make them prove they aren't just making shit up.

8. NOT Bullshit You
Please remember personal trainers are people too.  We're not perfect and we don't know everything.  If you ask us a question there is a chance we may not know the answer and that's OK.  But your trainer shouldn't avoid answering you, or worse lie to you if they don't know the answer.  A good trainer will point you toward resources, or will know someone who will know the answer.  And hey, now you've both learned something (and, again, you're making sure they aren't making shit up).

9. Push You (Within Your Physical Boundaries)
A good trainer will push you.  How hard we push is often up to the client, and accounts for how much can they handle both mentally and physically.  A good trainer will be able to read your body language and emotional state, and know when to push further and when to back off.  I'm not gonna lie though, we like it when you start swearing. Your hatred is music to our ears.

this is one of my favorite pictures ever

10. Provide Basic Nutrition Advice
Again, not all trainers will give you a full meal plan.  Meal planning is a lot of work and many trainers will charge extra for this type of work (there's math involved and that's annoying). However, if you have basic nutrition questions your trainer should be able to answer them. For instance, veggies are carbs. If they can't get that, they shouldn't be training.

30 DAY CHALLENGE WEEK THREE

I am now entering the last part of my 30 day challenge.  It's actually gone by a lot faster than I thought it would.  At this point, my body has adjusted very well, so thankfully I really don't have any more cravings.  In the first couple of weeks I couldn't even watch TV, because all I could think about was the food on the shows.  And I'm feeling more and more energized as the sugar cravings go away.  I'm also sleeping better, and waking up feeling more rested than I was when I was eating crap.  It just goes to show how much of an impact your food makes on your entire life, not just your weight.  It's something I've known all along, but I had forgotten the difference you feel when you eat only good food.

Pictured: The Good Stuff

My weigh-in this morning has me at 137.6 and my body fat is down to 21.4%!  I actually tested my body fat twice and double checked the scale because I was so shocked to see that drop in one week (down from 23.0%).  Seriously, I wonder if the machine is broken (or if I'm just that awesome).  I am beyond excited about these results!  And guys, I'm not doing anything crazy or secretive. I'm not taking any supplements, these results are real and totally attainable for anyone.

I promise if you make the commitment to a healthier lifestyle, you will see results.  It's hard in the beginning. You have to want it, and want it more than you want the easy way out.  But if you commit, you will see positive changes and it will get easier.

My next update will be after I have completed the 30 days.  As always, if you want to see what I'm doing with my life and check out my food, follow me on Twitter and Instagram.  You can also see me on Facebook.  

**NOTE: My meals are based on my own personal statistics and lifestyle.  They may not be appropriate portion sizes or ratios for you.  Before you make changes to your lifestyle always talk with your doctor.**

TIPS FOR PREVENTING SHIN SPLINTS

One of the most common injuries people face when working out is "shin splints".  It is especially common in individuals who have just started working out. Since I'm all about getting the gaming community moving, I'm going to tell you how to avoid this unnecessary pain (quick tip: GOOD SHOES ARE IMPORTANT).

"Shin splints"  is a catch all name used to cover chronic pain that affects the front portion of your shin (Tibia), usually the lower portion.  Because the term shin splints can refer to anything that causes pain in your shin, the causes are numerous.  They can range from stress fractures (microscopic breaks of the shin bone Tibia) to inflamed myofascia (tissue that covers your muscles) with a bunch of other causes in between.  Regardless of what injury you have, shin splints are a painful condition and once you have them they can be hard to get rid of.  

Shin splints are a chronic condition, which means they come on gradually.  Usually, when you are developing shin splints the first complaint is just achy pain in the front of the shin, similar to how your feet feel at the end of standing for hours.  Most people ignore this achy pain until it becomes so bad they have difficulty with their normal workouts or daily life.  People who run are more likely to experience shin splints than people who are more into weight lifting.

Gotta go fast.

The good news is, shin splints can be prevented easily if you have a little bit of patience.

Retire Old Shoes:
Over time, the support and padding in your shoes wears out.  Since there is less support for your feet, it means that your feet are absorbing more impact with every stride.  More impact on your feet and shins means more stress and that added stress over time can lead to shin splints.  The length of time you should keep your shoes depends on how much you use them.  As a general guideline, after 6 months of consistent use it is time to retire your running shoes.

Break In New Shoes Properly:
New shoes, even ones that are perfect for your feet, need to be broken in.  Sometimes the padding in new shoes can rub and cause irritation or painful blisters.  This pain and irritation will cause your body to change its stride in order to avoid the pain.  The padding can also place your body slightly out of alignment compared to your normal stride, because it is applying pressure to your feet where there was no pressure before.  The padding is important because it gives your foot support, but unless you have some type of extenuating circumstance it's better to not alter your natural stride.  Small alterations in your natural stride cause your body to absorb the stress of running poorly, and overtime the stress can lead to shin splints.  It's usually pretty easy to break in your shoes though, all you have to do is walk around in them until they feel natural on your feet.  Walk around your home for a few minutes each night and you should be good to go after about a week.

Buy Shoes Appropriate For Your Feet:
Just like everyone is a little different, everyone's feet are also a little different.  If you have had foot or leg problems before from over-use you may want to consult a podiatrist or go to a specialty footwear store.  The specific structure of your foot may require a bit of extra support in certain areas, like an arch support or a gel heel cup.  If you are unsure about your foot structure, my general rule is go with what feels good on your foot.  If it feels painful with too much arch support you probably don't need extra at that time.  Also, take your running surface into account when buying shoes, as different surfaces will wear the bottom of shoes at different rates (meaning they will have to be replaced at different rates).  

REJECT PILE

Ramp Up Mileage Gradually:
The key to cardio is to start small and gradually work your way to longer runs.  The human body is awesome at adjusting to the stress you put it through, but drastically changing the level of stress from low (no running) to high (running 5 miles) in a short period of time doesn't allow your body to adapt, and it's possible that you can end up with an injury.   Add half a mile a week and you'll be fine.

Be Careful When Switching Surfaces:
Each surface you run on has a different resistance.  Running on tracks and treadmills is lower impact than running on concrete.  It doesn't mean that you can't run on whichever surface you want, but you need to start with shorter runs to give your body a chance to adapt to the changing surface.  You may have the cardiovascular capacity to run five miles but when you switch surfaces your body still has to absorb all the force from running and it needs time to adapt.  When you switch to a new surface, use the same acclimatization as when you are just starting up running.

Mix Up the Route You Run:
The roads and sidewalks are slightly slanted to allow for rain and water to run off the road.  The slight slant in the roads can throw off your stride.  It places more stress on one leg than the other.  It's not a big deal unless you run the exact same route every time.  You don't even have to really change your route to prevent this, just run the same route in the opposite direction.

I hope you guys like these tips, if you have any questions or want elaboration let me know in the comments section.  I'd love to know what topics you want to learn about so let me know.

**NOTE: These are tips meant to prevent shin splints, not help fix them.  If you are currently experiencing pain in your shins or ankles you should see your doctor who may refer you to a specialist or physical therapist