Research has shown that only being able to listen to an audiobook while at the gym motivates people to go to the gym more often. Choose an audiobook that you are very interested in listening to so that this will actually motivate you.  If audiobooks aren’t your thing, then try making a list of movies you want to watch and only allow yourself to watch them while you are working out, such as while walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical machine. You may also consider making a gym-only music playlist. Create a playlist of your favorite songs and commit to only listen to them during your gym workouts. Another alternative to audiobooks is to find a podcast that you will only listen to at the gym. Choose upbeat tracks to help make your workout more fun. Knowing that you have something that you are working towards may also help you to stay motivated to go to the gym. Take some time to establish rewards for going to the gym a certain number of times weekly and monthly.  For example, you could reward yourself with a new nail polish or movie rental for going to the gym 5 times in 1 week. You could also reward yourself with a pedicure or a trip to the movie theater for hitting the gym 20 times in a month. Choose rewards that will motivate you and commit to give them to yourself only if you meet your gym visit goals. Gym memberships are not cheap, so not using your membership is a waste of money. If losing money motivates you, then take some time to calculate how much money you will be losing by not going to the gym or not going often enough. For example, if your gym membership costs $60 per month, and you don’t go for a week, then you will be wasting $15. If you only go to the gym 2 times in a month, then it is like you are paying $30 per visit. If the idea of losing a larger sum of money than you are spending on your gym membership sounds like it would motivate you, then try making a pledge that you will donate $100 dollars or more to charity if you don’t go to the gym a certain number of times in a month.  For example, you could pledge to go to the gym 20 times in one month or donate $100 to your local animal shelter. Or, if you think you’d be motivated if the money went to a cause you do not support, then you could pledge to give the money to that cause if you don’t meet your goal.

Summary: Purchase an audiobook that you commit to listen to only at the gym. Set up a reward system. Calculate the cost of not going to the gym. Pledge money that you will go to the gym or donate to charity.


This file will contain a class you can include in other PHP scripts when you want it to log a hit. Create local class members to hold your credentials and the database connection info. In the constructor, you should establish the database connection and initialize the hit counts at zero. These methods can be called from any other script that instantiates the HitCounter class.  Add a method for processing views. This method gets called on every page load that should be counted towards a hit. Add a getter for the total views. This will get called in places where you want to show the total view count. Add a getter for the unique hits. You'll call this where you want to show the unique view count. These methods do the brunt of the work for the hit counter. They're marked private so that they can only be used internally.   getData() retrieves the current view counts from the database. If there isn't any data, it sets this data to zero.  isNewVisitor() determines whether the visitor has already visited our website in their current session  visit() increments the total hit counter, and increments the unique visitor counter if the user has not visited the website in their current session.

Summary: Create a new file called "HitCounter.php". Stub out the HitCounter class. Write the constructor. Write the public functions. Fill in the remaining helper methods.


Stop doing any activity that causes pain. As you start resuming activities, you should still avoid lifting anything over 1 pound (0.45 kg), engaging your biceps muscle (such as by turning a screwdriver), and raising your injured arm above your head.  Additionally, you should begin stretches and exercises once you can do so without experiencing pain.  While you can manage a minor strain or sprain at home, it’s best to consult a physical therapist for a more serious partial or complete tear. Bend forward from your waist and place your unaffected hand on a table or counter for support. Lean on the support so your injured arm hangs freely at your side. Gently swing your arm forward and backward with a slight circular motion 10 times.  Keep your torso straight and knees slightly bent as you lean forward. Don’t arch your back or lock your knees. Do 2 sets of 10 stretches up to 3 times per day. Stop stretching if you experience any pain. Add new stretches to your regimen only if you can do so without feeling pain. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms by your sides. Inhale as you draw your shoulders into a shrug. Hold the shrug for 5 seconds, then exhale as you gently release your shoulders. Do 2 sets of 10 repetitions. To vary the stretch, raise your shoulders into a shrug, then draw them back to pinch your shoulder blades together. Hold the stretch for 5 seconds, then release. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides. With your fingers extended and palm facing forward, bend the elbow of your injured arm to raise your palm toward your shoulder. Bend your arm as far as you comfortably can, then slowly lower it to your side. Do a set of 10 stretches with your fingers extended, then do 10 repetitions with your fist closed. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and bend your affected elbow 90 degrees so your forearm is extended forward. With your fingers spread, slowly rotate your palm so it faces upward and downward (supination and pronation). Turn your palm as far as you comfortably can in each direction until you feel a mild stretch. To do internal rotations, bend your elbow at a 90 degree angle, and keep your upper arm close to your side. Close your hand in a loose fist, hold your forearm straight in front of you, then slowly rotate it toward your chest as far as you comfortably can.  For external rotations, bend your elbow, keep it close to your side, and slowly rotate your forearm away from your body. Do 2 sets of 10 repetitions for each stretch. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms by your sides, and hands positioned so your thumbs face forward. Keep your elbow straight as you raise your arm forward. If you don’t experience pain, continue raising your arm until it’s over your head.  Try to raise your arm by hinging your shoulder instead of hiking up your shoulder blade. If you don’t experience pain or discomfort, do 10 repetitions up to 3 times per day. Do not attempt to raise your arm above your head until the motion is completely pain-free. When you’re just starting out, it might help to assist your injured arm by raising it with your uninjured hand. To add resistance to internal and external rotations, hook the band to a doorknob, hold the other end, then rotate your forearm to pull the band away from the door. Bring your forearm toward your chest to do internal rotations, and turn it away from your body to do external rotations.  For shoulder flexion stretches, stand on an end of the band and hold the end with your hand. Keep your elbow straight as you raise your arm forward and up over your head. Stop doing any exercises if you experience pain. When you first start out, do resistance biceps curls with 1 lb (450 g) weights. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your weight evenly distributed. Keep your elbow close to your side as you bend it to bring the weight close to your shoulder. Hold the curl for 2 seconds, then slowly return to the starting position.  Curl 1 arm at a time, and try to do 2 sets of 8 curls per arm. Do biceps curls 3 times per week. Over the course of the first week, try to gradually work your way up to 12 curls per set. As the exercise becomes easier, increase your weights in 1 lb (450 g) increments.
Summary: Resume activities slowly and only after the pain subsides. Begin with pendulum exercises. Perform shoulder shrugs and shoulder blade pinches. Do flexion stretches by bending your elbow 10 times. Do 10 supination and pronation stretches. Do 10 internal and external rotations. Try full shoulder flexion stretches. Use resistance bands after at least a week of pain-free stretching. Do 2 sets of 8 to 12 biceps curls.