tuner

As I am a student, I spent a lot of time (too much, actually) every day sitting. I have meant to follow a really strict fitness program at my local gym literally for years now, but I have lacked the motivation in the past to follow through, what with all the readjustments I'd have to make in my academic schedule to allow for a 3x-per-week training schedule...

I wouldn't consider my body unfit. For one, I can walk for whole hours without any great signs of fatique, but I figure it's expected of my body to be able to do so anyway, at the age of 22... I'm 6' 2" and weigh approx. 181 pounds, a normal BMI (23) for my age as far as I can tell.

However, there are things that have lately bothered me on my figure/posture/fitness, and in a flash of motivation I have decided to start addressing them once and for all. Unfortunately, I am at a loss of what to do, so I'd appreciate some fitness advice from fellow TFPers :-)

1) I have had this one condition for a couple of years now: ever noticed how Bruce Willis cracks his neck in the Die Hard films? Well, what he does pales in comparison to what I have to do many times a day. Every morning I wake up, it's like my head is "locked" in a position, and I just feel like I *absolutely* *have* to unlock it, so I jerk my head a little to the side, my neck produces this soft "crack" sound and it feels better afterwards. I usually have to do that more than once, otherwise I feel like some muscles around my neck are tensed. Sometimes it feels like something around my shoulder blades is tensed.
This also happens to my back muscles. The most distrubing thing is that since some months now, sometimes my breastbone does the exact same thing when I tense my sternum after having sat for a long time; it goes "crack" softly. Note that all this "unlocking" doesn't hurt at all.
I have consulted a doctor about this, and he had given me some muscle-relaxing medicine, which did something, but I stopped taking it because it made me kind of slump. Does anyone know what kind of gym exercises would help flex these muscles a bit more? How can I help my body fight these effect of modern sitting life?

2) What exercises can I do to improve my posture? It's not bad as it is right now, but I'd like to reach a point where my body sits up straight almost by itself.

3) I know this will sound ridiculous, but I recently noticed that I have kind of a fat ass Usually I wear Levis 501s, so it doesn't show as much. Today I wore an older pair of 521s (which have thinner pant legs) which still fit me, and WOW, I thought I looked totally awkward in them. Like my ass is doing a curve and then my legs go straight down. It doesn't look good...
As a side note, I started noticing other guys today (not in a homosexual way, mind you ) and it's like everybody who is nicely and casually dressed has a FLAT BUTT! What exercises will help me achieve this noble goal?

tuner

Ummmmm..... Bump?

Chuckles

im addicted to cracking, but i've seen some people actually put tape on their backs in certain places in order to keep it straight. I think what this does is that when you go into your bad posture mode, you'll feel the tape pulling and it'll hurt so you revert back to correct posture. You could try looking into this.

fatbob

hi there tuner,
i too suffered from 'student disease', too much booze, too many drugs and late nights, too much bad food, too much playstation, also too much sitting reading and writing too....obviously!

i know nothing about cracking necks and stuff. sounds like you must be sleeping awkwardly or something...have you tried changing your pillow? or using an extra pillow? or perhaps you need to use one less pillow? or something....sorry...

as far as your ass goes, i know what you mean! i don't get fat there, i got it around my belly, but everyone has a place where they store their fat. all i can suggest is that you should start you exercise and diet routine, work it into your life and stick to it. the places where the fat gathered last will loose first (as far as i can tell from myself) and the places you gained first you will loose last. so it depends on where your ass was on the 'gaining timetable' where it will be on the 'losing timetable.'
exercising certain areas does build muscle there but only through losing fat, and that means cardio, can you really reduce the size of it. see my belly for a perfect example! i do loads of ab exercises and the muscles are there now, it is just that they are under the fat! well there is not that much fat there now, i can just, just pinch about 1/2 an inch...anyway it'll be the same for your ass. exercise away, do calf raises, prone leg curls, lunges, etc and you will build muscle but you're going to have to burn the fat off too!

good luck!

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change happens when those who don't normally speak get heard by those who don't normally listen.

rockzilla

Finding time to work out isn't as hard as you'd think. All you really need is one hour, three times a week. That includes time to shower and change. Just get up an hour earlier, or stay on campus an hour later... I'm assuming your school has a gym.

For your posture, I'd start by strengthening your lower back. Try Low Back Extensions or Deadlifts. The deadlifts'll work your glutes (ass muscles) too.

You'll probably find that a lot of your muscle and joint problems will go away if you start working out, I find it helps me keep my mind alert too, which is another big plus for a student.

tuner

Hey, thanks for the responses! I'll have to start sometime. I'll keep you posted about any progress (although I guess it'll be weeks before I get any better).

thingstodo

If you weren't such a jerk....

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Furry

Personally I'd be more worried about Fresher's 'Flu.

Try getting a new mattress and sleeping without a pillow. It sounds like you're sleeping out of alignment. I too had this problem when I moved into halls this year - the mattresses, being brand new, were rock hard. I used to wake up with back twinges - not good. I swapped it with one from home - no more problem.

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TopRamen66

1) How much water are you drinking? I always recomend more water to those people who complain of joint pain/popping. I did this myself and my painful knees, popping jaw and stiff back all but disapeared. This also includes not consuming ungodly amounts of caffiene and alcohol a day, as these both are diurretics and pull water out of your system. A coke or a cup of coffee is about the max caffiene you should be taking in...But anyway, drink more water! I shoot for 10-12 glasses a day.

2) You have to make a real effort to correct your posture. Without knowing what kind of posture you have, I cannot really make any 100% accurate reccomendations, but there are a few basics you should always do. Stretch your hamstrings! Tight hamstrings cause your lower back to pull in, and since you sit alot I bet yours are quite tight. Workout that back! Good Mornings, lat pulldown, seated row, bent over row, shrugs, rear delt butterflys... Match those exercises up with plenty of Ab exercises. The main cause of bad posture is muscle imbalance. If you sit tilted forward and slumped alot, your chest will be caving in and your shoulders will be streching out. Chest exercises must be balanced with upper back and shoulder exercises, and visa versa. Most of all, KEEP STRAIGHT!!!!!! Strenthing and balancing your muscles will help, but without a conscious effort on your part, your posture will never improve.



3) Cardio man. Get on a treadmill, eliptical trainer, stair stepper, even a stationary bike for at least 20 minutes 3 times a week. Keep your heart rate up, burn some calories. Strengthen your legs up as well. Squat till you drop! Sqats are the most perfect form of leg exercise, since all the muscles are used during the motion. Other good ones are calf raises, leg press and lunges.


Most of all, go to your local gym and make a few appointments with a local personal trainer. I can only help so much without phsically seeing you and testing your strengths and weaknesses.

Hope that helps some