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To add to that: As a programmer who's been half-crippled by RSI in the past, and half-crippled again more recently by a broken shoulder (motorbike accident) and
by oneandoneis2 13y ago
To add to that: As a programmer who's been half-crippled by RSI in the past, and half-crippled again more recently by a broken shoulder (motorbike accident) and massive whiplash (car crash) within a year of each other, SS is a really worthwhile read.
I rejoined the local gym six months ago with near-constant back pain and posture that was screwed to hell. I was seriously nervous about my ability to even lift an empty bar, never mind serious weights.
A month or two in, I reached a set of weights that I simply couldn't safely increase any further - not because I wasn't getting stronger, but because my appalling posture wouldn't allow me to do it properly. So I've worked since at doing the same weights each time, but doing them right
This week is the first time since that I've been able to start adding weight - just a couple kilos, but an increase nonetheless.
But bearing in mind my back was literally so weak I had to be slow & cautious about getting out of bed in the morning six months ago: courtesy of nothing but 3 gym visits a week following the advice in SS, I'm now stronger than I ever have been, and am slowly undoing the damage of years of godawful posture.
The other day I was sitting on a sofa with my lady friend sitting on my lap. I was able to put my arms under her and stand up from that position, lifting her entire bodyweight as well as my own. And no matter how weak you might think you are right now, unless you've taken genuine spine trauma recently, I gaurantee you're stronger than I was six months ago.
And the nice thing is, it's come with very little change in body size - almost all my clothes still fit.
- pvnick 13y agoI'm really happy for your inspiring progress! @skeptics, this kind of overall health improvement is what you can expect out of exercising the right way (Starting Strength) and avoiding the wrong way (The Scientific 7-Minute Workout).
- didibus 13y agoYou guys are completely off the mark. Obviously you need to do high intensity workouts the proper way. The higher the intensity, the better you must be at doing the exercise properly. Since you seem to have started working out using high intensity, I assume you did not know how to properly do it. High Intensity is not recommended to beginners. It is a special form of workout. This is why they mention this in the article: "caution should be taken when prescribing this protocol to individuals who are overweight/obese, detrained, previously injured, or elderly or for individuals with comorbidities. For individuals with hypertension or heart disease, the isometric exercises (wall sit, plank, and side plank) are not recommended." Obviously, for beginners, something with less intensity, and a higher tolerance for mistake will have better results. While you learn how to properly do exercise, and build a core foundation, that will later allow you to move to high intensity. The reason you would want to later move to high intensity, is for either lack of time, in which case, you will need the shortest workout with the highest fitness accomplishments. Or for improved oxygen flow levels and decreased body fat, which high intensity is often better at than other types of workout, no matter how much of it. The workout described in this article, is one routine, you should not be doing it ad vitam eternam, it serves as an example, and you already need to be in a certain fitness level to perform it properly.
- kvnn 13y agoI can recommend the Kinesis Advantage keyboard for RSI: http://www.amazon.com/Kinesis-KB500USB-BLK-Advantage-Contoured-Keyboard/dp/B000LVJ9W8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368547936&sr=8-1&keywords=kinesis+advantage+keyboard http://www.amazon.com/Kinesis-KB500USB-BLK-Advantage-Contour... Be sure to get the Mac one if you're on osx.
- oneandoneis2 13y agoI appreciate the thought, but I no longer suffer from RSI :)