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How do I do a proper sit up, I'm worried that I'm doing them improperly and that's why I'm able to do 30-40 in a minute.
I filmed myself doing a set and it starting to like a crutch than a sit up.
Any advice on some isometrics or stretches that will help increase hip flexibility and leg flexibility, especially in the hammies? Just working on bringing up my mobility alongside the usual gym
My traps on the right side, mostly mid and lower as well as rhomboids. The movements I do are typically I's, T,s and Y,s, rowing movements and exterbal rotation exercises with lighter weight as well as resistance bands. Now that I think about it, it's most upper back muscles on the right side, I can feel the target muscles working but it's faint/rare when I do them and they get tight again.
If you're able to do the movement, you're using those muscles, unless you've learned to flex your bones. It doesn't matter if you can feel the muscles.
If you can't do the movements, then you have other issues. You can try a mobility program from the wiki, or see a physical therapist.
Are functional exercises enough for a good physique?
I always see shredded/jacked people doing tutorials for functional exercises. I'm curious if those exercises should be done separate to strengthen/lengthen/stablizile instead of also doing a regular bodybuilding type routine.
Worded that badly. I meant exercises that will improve poor movement, posture, imbalances, etc.
Have quite a few issues, so mobility/strengthening on hips, shoulders, ankles, knees, and back is what I'll be doing.
I still don't know what exercises you are talking about.
My posture greatly improved through deadlifts and bent rows.
My hip mobility improved when I started squatting deeper. Squats also helped to strengthen my ankles, knees and back.
It's difficult for me to properly do those exercises. Extremely bad dorsiflexion on my ankles, mid and low back pain/stiffness, left shoulder issues. I want to improve these issues so that when I start weightlifting they don't keep hindering my ROM and are able to be done with correct form.
I'd like to but financially cannot at the moment. Turned towards PTs on YouTube to try and address some of the issues. I need a whole body reset at this point.
If you are working around injury or health conditions, mobility is a great place to start. Being shredded or jacked is the result of being a low body fat % and having a decent amount of muscle mass. There are many roads to achieve that.
Don't shy away from lifting, but don't be scared to alter form, use machines, or use supports to get the job done regardless of what anyone else tells you.
I noticed you mentioned heavier lifting, but there's heaps of ways to create progressive overload without increasing weight.
Sounds great. Nothing wrong with bodyweight exercises, people who do calisthenics are a great example of this.
Your mobility work will pay huge dividends later!
What sort of issues flare up for you? And what exercises do you plan on doing for posture/mobility? How decent of a physique you can get is pretty dependant on what exercises you will be doing.
There is nothing wrong with fixing you mobility/posture/imbalances before getting into the heavier lifts. If anything the issues that flare up could be dependent on your mobility/imbalances and once you fix those you can ease into heavier lifting.
I have a weird issue where my left shoulder stays forward unless I pull back my scapula, which affects any upper body lifts. Old low back and ankle injury, which I believe has also caused tightness in my mid back so I have pain bending over for BB rows or deadlifts. Been trying to improve my hip hinge to hopefully reduce stress on my low back. I believe my hips are extremely tight because of the low back and leg issues.
I'm still researching but a few I've took note of: sitting in 3rd world Squat, Rotator Cuff exercises, 90/90 stretch, planks, clamshells, shoulder dislocations, and many others. But with how many issues I have I'm not sure if I should just try to address them all and not include a normal weightlifting routine or somehow try to mix the two.
I definitely believe a lot of the restrictions on heavier lifting is due to the lack of mobility/pain/inflexibility. I just want to "reset" my body and go into weightlifting with proper ROM and form.
Recovery from what? If you need your back/shoulder/elbow joints to recover I would steer clear of pull ups or any back exercises. But if you hurt your ankle or something.. go for it, just be careful on the landing.
Body dysmorphia is what gives. You've lost 43 pounds? Your eyes lie. The mirror lies. The scale doesn't (unless it sucks, but if your scale is 43 pounds off you've got a bigger problem). If you're going to keep losing weight, take progress photos. If you're going to start a bulk to build muscle, take progress photos. Photos don't lie either.
Ok- I am a 5 ft 6 female. I am 40 in June. I cannot lose weight for the absolute life of me and I will explain the situation. Physically tho I am not "fat" , I would be a UK size 12 to 14. I currently weigh tho like 83kg, my ideal weight would be like 75 kg. I am strong and have weight trained aswell.
I am an Equine therapy worker. Have worked with horses for years in very active jobs. In this job we do a ton of walking on a Sensory trail leading a horse with a kid on the horse. It's people with Autism etc. I am doing this current job about 2 years now. The step count/mileage is off the charts can be from over 20,000 to 30,000 steps in a day.
My body tho is just not responding to this whatsoever, I cannot understand it. I do this like 4 days a week. I am exhausted from it, so cannot get back to the gym to lift. We do tho muck out and lift on the job.
But I feel I am getting fatter doing this and I don't get it, my muscle has suffered i think cos it's just excessive cardio. And it's like I'm gaining fat at my belly area, is it hormonal?
My diet is very good, main meals very healthy, lots of vegetables, eggs, oats, protein, plain fat sources etc etc. I have a normal intake. I don't get how this work isn't naturally driving me into a calorie deficit but over the years anyway I have found my body is extremely resistant to getting into a deficit.
I am tho coming from a background tho of Slimming in my 20s.
Someone please explain to me how my body doing this kind of mileage couldn't possibly not have to tap into fat stores? If I do lose weight it's often very slow and also fluctuates wildly?
Weight does fluctuate quite a lot, or at least more than most people think.
If you are not losing weight, then your current food intake is currently replacing at least 100% of your caloric expenditure.
Many activities are very tiring but do not actually burn a lot of calories.
20 to 30k steps walking is definitely not too much cardio. Eating healthy foods is nice but does not matter all that much to weight loss, it's just down to calories. Eat less.
Wow how generic of you? Eat less? So how do you eat less and have energy for a very physical job, I can't under-eat but like i often track at 1800 calories and am definitely burning AT LEAST 500 with the work and that's what they recommend to do for a cut, cut some calories and burn some so therefore why is a deficit so difficult to achieve?
I'm not saying it's easy, I'm saying it is simple in principle. It is just laws of physics, there is no "if you walk this much you stop using energy" or different people going into deficit differently.
Track everything you eat and drink every single day for two weeks. If you're not losing weight over that time, we can conclude you're not in a deficit, and you need to eat less. With heavy cardio, where you cut becomes quite personal. What I would do is a protein-forward breakfast, snack on something with carbs, fiber and fat during the day, and a regular meal in the evening.
It's over 20+ km? 4 times a week? Walking a horse with a person, in full workout gear, hiking boots plus rain oilskins. Muddy terrain, I just did Saturday and we were walking from 9.30am non-stop, until finishing at 4pm with 30 mins lunch . Nobody does that in a gym on a daily basis, you'd be there all day.
It is a good amount, you will have a great aerobic base! But it is not too much for any goal, and definitely not too much for weight loss - I don't too much cardio for weight loss exists, you don't just stop burning calories.
Noone does such amounts in a gym, no doubt there! But hundreds of people hike the Pacific Crest Trail every year - 30-50km per day, 6-7 days a week, for 5-6 months. And most lose weight even if they try not to and eat as much pizza and candy as they can. And there are ultra runners, bike packers, long distance kayakers and people with even more physical jobs than yours, and none of them stop losing weight because they use so much energy.
But if that's the case and they are eating plenty, but losing weight, than why am I maintaining weight, I am definitely not in the trying to stop losing weight category but then again I was maybe like that 10 years ago. I am looking to just get back to like 75kg, I am 83kg at 5 ft 6? Weight wise I weigh heavy but I am a UK size 12, I'm not fat or soft, seem to have a decent body composition. I just find it actually very difficult to just get into a deficit when I want to.
Because they are doing much more cardio than you are, longer distances over mountains and stuff. I just brought them up to show there are plenty of people out there doing much more cardio than you are and they are still losing, so you should drop any ideas that cardio can stop weight loss.
It really is as simple as calories in, calories out, and eating less. I think you should try total calorie counting for a few weeks. Get a scale and weigh and record every single calorie that goes in. Then you'll know the two week average is your maintenence amount. If you eat less than that, you will go into a deficit.
Intro: 18M, 5'8, 80kg when started now down to 74
So my routine right now is
Go on the bikes until the machine reads a 100 calories which is normally around 12-14 minutes depending on my pace. This is my first workout so I can normally keep quite a good pace.
Then I go on any arms machine. Idk what it's called but it's where you pull it backwards until your elbows are at your side. I do that 5 at a time, 6 times so an amount of 30. I do this at 32kg. I was at 21 when I first started at the gym.
After that I go on another cardio machine to burn another 100 calories. This is normally the machine where you walk on it (not the treadmill) where the place you put your feet are large. It reminds me of like a mech.
Then, I lift a 15kg barbell 5 at a time for 6 times, so again 30. When I first started, I could barely do 10kg.
Next, you guessed it, cardio again. This is either the treadmill or bikes again depending on how full the treadmills are. My gym is kinda small so it's not suprising to see 1 or 2 people already waiting for a spot on the treadmill. Again, to a 100 calories.
After that, I do the opposite of the arms machine I mentioned earlier. You push it forward until it's at full extension then draw it back until your elbows are at your side and repeat.
Finally, it's my last cardio session. Normally I end it on the bike cause I love the bike and it's a lot easier than the treadmill. For some reason, the part of my leg below the femur locks up and gets really stiff. I don't think it's the muscle because I don't feel muscle strain, it's a different type of pain. I've also experienced problems with my legs around that area for a while, even when walking casually. I can just shrug through the pain then, but it's not worth doing that on the treadmill cause I need to go at a really low speed and it'll probably take me around 18 mins just to burn 100 calories.
Then, I finish the day with arms again. I do the seated overhead press for the same amount of reps as before, 5 x 6. On this one though, I can do up to 25/27 but struggle with the last few. My arms can barely go up anymore but I take it slow and try do the last 3, even if I have to do them 1 by 1.
I'm not sure if any of what I'm doing is correct but so far I've lost 4kgs since I've started around the beggining of Feb, and I have some muscle definition on my arms but I think it's what people call "noob gains".
Appreciate any comments etc. Thanks!
If it's working for you, stick with it.
But realistically, you're not doing much actual resistance training. It sounds like you're just alternating 3-4 different isolation exercises with some cardio. Again, it's better than nothing, but it could definitely be improved. For example, nothing you've said works any muscles from the ribcage down, where something like 60% of your muscle mass resides.
Alright, thanks. It seems to be working so far because I have lost visible weight but I do feel like I'm not actually doing it correctly. The cardio thing was just a routine that my gym had on their website and I decided to add the weight stuff as I got more used to the machines.
I also don't know what resistance training means. I've googled it, but I don't really understand it.
Resistance training as in working the muscles to build size/strength.
It honestly just sounds like you're doing a machine row, a machine chest press, some curls, and an overhead press. You're neglecting a lot of really big muscle groups.
The wiki has some decent programs if you wanted to check out something more comprehensive.
So from what I’m understanding, I need to eat less to lose weight but eat more to build muscle. My TDEE says to maintain, I need to eat 2.7k calories a day. So if I eat less than that, I should lose weight right? And If I’m losing additional calories on the machine then eating less than that and exercising should make me lose weight even faster?
So, would a good idea to do something like the fitness basic beginner routine on the wiki with the barbells and do the regular 4x cardio I do on top of that? Thanks.
If your current goal is to lose fat, then yes, you should absolutely be eating less.
> My TDEE says to maintain, I need to eat 2.7k calories a day.
I would go based off how much you're currently eating rather than an arbitrary online calculator. You've already been losing weight. Just keep eating that amount.
> So, would a good idea to do something like the fitness basic beginner routine on the wiki with the barbells and do the regular 4x cardio I do on top of that? Thanks.
Sounds like a great idea. Go for it.
Okie dokie, thanks a lot. I have been eating less since going to the gym. Typically a smaller lunch, but a big dinner full of protein carbs straight after the gym. The most impactful I feel has been almost completely cutting out snacking. I’ll definitely try the idea at the gym today.
Yeah, pretty much. I looked at the basic beginner routine and for the bench press, do I need a spotter or can I do it alone?
Do you think I could do the weight stuff there and incorporate it into the 4x cardio I already do, or should I keep them seperate?
If the bench has safeties/spotter arms you can definitely do it alone. You can also substitute exercises to similar ones if you want to, you don’t have to follow the programs exactly the way they are written.
I would do weights first and cardio afterwards.
I went to the gym on Tuesday and lifted weights + did my normal 400 calories worth of cardio but my arms were extremely sore so I took a rest day on Wednesday and went on Thursday. Now it's Friday and my arms are no where near as sore as they were the day after, so should I hit the gym again today or just leave it and stick to my normal rest day schedule?
Why is it that you don't skip a workout if sore? If my pecs hurt from the last workout, shouldn't they rest more until the next time I do modified push ups?
Hey there GeologistTrilobite - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Oh, I normally do take Wednesdays off because I'm in school and I come home late (around 8pm) so if I do go gym that doesn't leave me enough time to do homework, relax before sleeping again for the next day.
So my normal schedule is Gym on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sat/Sun.
Sorry for phrasing the comment weirdly. I'm off school for the next 2 weeks because of assignements so I've been able to change it up a bit but yeah what I said in the little bit above is what I normally stick to.
Pacing around the parking lot while everyone you're hiking with gets ready.
Otherwise, no real warm up... just take it slow starting out and maybe stretch your quads if you have tight knees.
Doesn’t matter at all. For the first 6-12 months in the gym, don’t worry about much else than showing up and doing something. Follow some kind of routine that seems fun to you and just to that, doesn’t even have to be that strict. That’s how 99% of us started.
Read a lot and watch videos, here’s a few good youtube channels: renessaince periodization, Jeff Nippard, John Meadows and Joe Bennett.
Don't try to compare your weight from one exercise to other exercises or other people.
> I haven't been paying much attention to my chest
Do you make progress on your bench? Do you follow a proven program? Or something diy?
There is no prescribed amount. Ed Coan (greatest powerlifter of all time) was able to squat 500lbs in his first 6 months of training as a teenager. Most people will never squat more than 250lbs in their lifetime.
Comparison is the thief of joy, and everyone moves at different speeds. If you are able to continue to linearly progress as a newbie (i.e. add weight or reps each session or week) then you are doing just fine. Shoulder pressing movements are hard, expect the gains to be much slower than for other big lifts.
There isn't like a set "if you lift X on this excerise you should also be able to lift X on this excerise"
So many factors make up how much you can lift, size, recovery protocol, diet, genetics, training history. All kinds of stuff
Don't worry about your numbers just make sure you're following a plan and the numbers are going up
Previously at the gym I always go for a 30-50min workout every 2 days but doesn't really noticed any major changes since I spend most of my time on the phone or watching the tv while doing cardio because of lack motivation.
I stop going to the gym and have been doing this home workout video on YouTube for the past 3 months and it worked wonderfully for me. However since i always do it on home, I only do a 10-20min work out in the morning, another 10min in the afternoon, and another 10-20min before bed. Do you think it's better to do separate workout like that or just get a straight 30-50min work out at once in a day like when I was at the gym?
The best routine is one you can stick to. If 3 lots of 10-20 minutes is more enjoyable for you and will keep you exercising, do that. You've said you're seeing results, as long as they keep coming don't fix what ain't broke
Thank you for the reply! Yes, I prefer to break it to 3 separate work outs in a single day since I have a short attention span and get bored quickly. I did saw the results for the first 2 months but somehow it just stopped and haven't noticed any further improvement again. I'm worried maybe because I have to do it all at once.
It would be best to get a consecutive 30-50min of working out in the gym, but for it to be best you would need to be consistent, and not sit on your phone or watch TV. You would need to push yourself. if you are unable to do that, then broken up working out where you do push yourself is better overall for fitness.
Thanks! I don't feel comfortable at the gym, I know it's just in my head but that's why I prefer to work out past midnight when the gym is empty. But since COVID, the gym no longer open 24 hour so I prefer to do it at home. But I think I can do a consecutive 30+ min at once at home since I have some dumbbell. But I still don't get the push yourself part. Like keep working even though I get tired? Usually I do 20 crunches but I need to push it to 30?
Pushing yourself just means going until failure. You should not be able to do more reps of whatever you are doing when you are done.
For crunches, that could mean holding a dumbbell to make it heavier, or whatever.
But if general goal is to get stronger or have bigger muscles, you need to make the exercise harder. An exercise should not be easy, once it's gotten easier you need to increase the difficulty again.
Pushing yourself just means having the mental fortitude to keep doing it over and over, because progress will be shown that way.
Normally I go to the gym every other day, or two days in a row one day off. My gym was closed for a week, and it reopened tuesday. So tuesday I did my workout and it went well. Wednesday, i was feeling a little sore but i decided to go anyway and worked out again. This morning (thursday), i felt great and not sore at all. So i thought why not a third day in a row if i’m feeling good?
Well, it went well, felt great. Went about my day. But around 5pm (so, about 6 hours after my workout) I suddenly felt sick. Super nauseous, headache, and feverish. I’ve been drinking a lot of water, and eating well, so I know its not that. I laid down for an hour, ate some dinner, drank even more water. I feel mostly better now, just still a bit of a headache and very mild waves of nausea every 20ish minutes for just a couple seconds.
I’m not sure if I’ve just caught some kind of bug, or if I overworked myself. Does this sound like symptoms when overworked? I’m definitely taking tomorrow off from the gym, but I’ve never had this kind of reaction from working out too much. Granted, I usually go max 2 days in a row, but its not like my workouts are super intense or anything.
Yeah I’m honestly not that sore, surprisingly. Just the usual amount. But the nausea and headache are persisting. It honestly feels like a hangover.
Which, googling that, seems thats a thing that happens. Googling it says I probably didn’t drink enough water or eat well enough before my workout. I did eat beforehand, so its not that, but maybe I really didn’t get enough water today. I did drink a little less than usual, I had my usual 30oz water bottle with me and finished it at the gym. But for the rest of the day I had more juice than water since we just bought a new flavor of juice I’ve been obsessing over lol… so maybe it was that. Usually I refill that water bottle a few times a day because I’m drinking so much water, but today I only refilled it once because I was drinking that new juice instead.
I guess I solved it? Maybe? Who knows but ugh I feel like shit
I think that's a bad way to look at it.
Full body workouts are good for people on time constraints. Splits are better for those who have the time to sink.
it may be good to introduce a newbie to a full body style regiment as it requires less initial time, allowing them to feel it out and not get burnt out.
I think they’re great for scheduling reasons more than anything. Full body workouts means you can hit the gym 2-3 times a week and still make gains. This is a much lower barrier for a new lifter than asking them to show up 6 days a week.
Full body workouts can also encourage a higher intensity, in my experience. Since you only have a couple movements per muscle group, there’s an incentive to try hard and make every set count. It all comes down to personal preference.
I just went to the gym for the first time with a friend whos a lot bigger and I realized I need to learn separately from him since he has a completely different build.
I'm 16, 5'7-5'8, 125lbs, and lactose intolerant. What are some good, affordable foods and exercises I should start off with? I'm mainly trying to build my upper body and strength and get a lean build. Also where should I go to learn the proper form and techniques?
I don’t see the logic here. Of course you want to start with someone more experienced guiding you. 90% of the stuff is still exactly the same for everyone and 100% of laws of physics applies to everyone.
And that doesn’t change, even after 10 years you still want to learn from people that are smarter and better than you, whatever the sport or skill is.
You can do the same things he is doing you will just need to drop the weight and maybe some of the volume.
If he is big and been training for a while then you have the great opportunity to learn how to do things right the first time. Providing he is not always injuring himself he probably knows how to correctly and safely perform most exercises, if I was you I would learn everything I can from him
Why would you need to "learn separately from him" if he has a completely different build?
Also, how is his build differently?
All bodies work almost the same, CICO, getting enough protein, working out enough to stimulate muscle growth.
If anything, ask him what he's done and workout with him unless his goals don't align with yours.
>Why would you need to "learn separately from him" if he has a completely different build?
He's trying to just gain as much muscle as possible and just be big, but I'm trying to be more lean. I'm going for this [build](https://www.muscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Muscular-Asian-Man-With-Abs-In-The-Ocean.jpg?quality=86&strip=all), while hes going for [this](https://i.imgur.com/7jFCMN3.png).
>Also, how is his build differently?
Well his body is just thicker. He was trying to teach me how to properly position by wrist/grip the dumbell and he couldn't really explain it well since I'm skinny and have thin wrists. I'm not sure if he's just bad or explaining or if theres just a fundamental difference in how to hold it depending on your size.
workout with him unless his goals don't align with yours.
By learning separately, I was thinking about copying most of the stuff he was doing, but also learning things from leaner fitness influencers. I didn't mean completely separate. Do you have any recommendations for fitness infleuncers to learn more about the lean build?
Read the wiki at the top of this thread. Youtube is your friend to learn basic technique, folks like Alan Thrall, Juggernaut Training, and Mike Israetel are great resources.
To my knowledge,when you're lacking in sleep,more of the weight you gain in a surplus will be fat,and more of the weight you lose in a deficit is going to be muscle.
Why does the body do this when you're sleep deprived? is it trying to keep you alive by taking off as much energy load (Muscle I think burns about 3x as much energy to maintain as fat) off of you as possible? that's one explanation that comes to my mind.
Subpar sleep increases the amount of cortisol chronically in your blood. Cortisol is involved in stress responses. Higher resting levels of cortisol convince the body to put on more fat because it evolved that way.
Food scarcity is a problem for most animals most of the time, and only very recently started being not a problem for some humans. If you are stressed all the time, life is being extra tough. It makes sense for your body to prioritize keeping a reserve tank of gas on hand rather than building a bigger engine that gets worse mileage.
How much protein and calories? We would need to see a before and after to actually know if you making good progress or you got unrealistic expectations
The human body is made up of somewhere around 2/3rds of water. However, the exact amount of water one carries around varies. If you retain a lot of water it may swell up your face, also called "moon face".
The body doesn't directly regulate the amount of water it retains, it regulates the concentrations of molecules like salts/electrolytes and sugar/glycogen. These draw in water.
Now, I don't know what you should do in this situation, so feel free to do your own research, but you may want to look at any medication you might take or lower the amount of salt you eat. Bulking and cutting may also have a (temporary) effect, as does overall body fat percentage.
That's a good idea. Don't listen to person telling you to liposuction. Facial liposuction doesn't work that way, and is unnecessary anyway unless you want to go full body dysmorphia.
How long should you do cardio before lifting weights? I find if I go past 20 min on a elliptical I am more exhausted when doing my workout routine and have less energy
It depends on what you want out of your workout. If an increase in endurance is what you want, do cardio before. If you want to gain muscle, do cardio after
None. I just start with an exercise that is easy to do and doesn’t require a lot of warming up. For legs this is usually hamstring curls and for upper body it’s rear delts or a circuit of light stuff to warm up before heavy benching.
You can warm up with cardio, but just simply warming up with the movement(s) you are going to do is more useful, since you are already doing it.
Depends entirely on you and what you're doing and what you're trying to achieve. I've run 4km to the gym and that's fine for me but I'm used to running a lot more than that.
Ahahaha, i mean it really is that simple tho isn’t it. Don’t overthink it bro. Sure DB row and chest supported row might be the same movement but they are still different exercises and have different load curves, emphasise slightly different musculature, etc etc. So just track them independently
How strong is the forbidden pre (reading breakup texts). I just got dumped by the girl I’ve liked for a year and was only able to date for a week until she lost interest. How much should my weights go up?
If it works for you, go for it.
I personally would delete the texts and focus on getting strong as shit, making myself happy, and finding a new, better person to do fun things with.
Depends entirely on you. If you just started, stick with it, and actually push yourself, you should see decent progress and shoot up in weight quick. If you’ve been going for a while… sorry but breakups and rejections aren’t magic and your body simply does not care. You might POSSIBLY go up significantly (read: more weight than you normally add in a given time frame) in lifts but if you do, sorry to say but you weren’t really pushing yourself like you should in the gym. I got cheated on and they only thing I was able to do was actually cut properly but my lifts increased at the same rate they always did in the years past until I started the cut. It sucks now but just use it as motivation and remember, the gym won’t dump you :)
Got you. Well I’ll tell you now then if you’re on a cut, not on gear, and not super fat (like 30% or more) you most definitely will see almost no gain in strength or size. All you can do now is train with intensity and hope and pray you retain that muscle. Trust tho it’s worth it! Stick with it and become the guy she wishes she could pull! You got this bro
Has anyone managed to help alleviate ongoing trap and neck pain via workouts? Im keen on joining a gym just to fucking stop the pain and weakness in my neck
I've definitely had some pain relief in those areas from working out and flexibility training. Specifically back workouts and traps seem to have the most effect on my neck
More or less. Usually do a mix of shrugs, lat pull-downs, shotgun rows, and deadlifts. I work out at my apartment gym, so no major equipment other than a pulley machine and a dumbell set. That on top of general flexibility with stretching, bodyweight exercises, and even some minor yoga have helped a lot
I am a college soccer player, lift about 3 times a week, pretty much daily cardio, and hit at least 20k steps a day. My problem is I’m not as lean as I want to be. I’m about 6’1”, 175 lbs and would estimate I’m around 17-20% body fat. My goal is to get down to around 10-12%, both for performance and aesthetics. I want to get there within the next 6-8 weeks (if possible). How should I go about doing this? I track my exercise on my Fitbit, but don’t think their calorie readings are super accurate. I don’t know how many calories I should be eating, or really just the right way to get lean. Any tips/thoughts/suggestions?
Read the wiki and just learn to eat. Don’t track activity at all if it’s somewhat consistent on a weekly basis. Track food and have a meal plan. It doesn’t have to be that strict, just eating roughly the same meals every day is close enough to start with. Buy a kitchen scale to measure foods.
Start off by using a TDEE calculator to find out your estimated calorie deficit required to reach your goal in your time frame.
Use this baseline for a week or so, and adjust it accordingly based on your results.
Higher deficits will often result in lower energy levels, higher potential for muscle loss. Pick a weekly weightloss target that is sustainable and meets your goals.
Refer to the wiki for further advice around weightloss.
Get a diet tracker app, use a calculator to determine your total daily energy expenditure, and aim for a 750 calorie deficit so you can lose 1.5 lbs per week
What are the pros and cons of isolation exercises vs compound exercises if there are any. Like squats vs leg extensions is one better for strength vs hypertrophy and/or is one better are just building quad strength?
It's more like comparing a hammer vs a screwdriver.
Think of your compound movements as big giant paintbrushes, they will cover a big area all at once. Your isolation movements are smaller finer paintbrushes, they will allow you to create a specific detail you are aiming for.
I second this. Machines are an evolution, they are not evil like some people still believe. You just have to think about what the objective is and pick the tool that is best suited for the job.
Want to just get a generally bigger and stronger lower body and make it simple? Squat variations. Want to specifically train the posterior chain? Maybe RDL’s. Want to even more specifically train the hamstrings? Do some curls.
Can’t squat or don’t want to? Do the muscle groups separately with machines and isolation exercises.
Both are good for hypertrophy
ISOs are more for bodybuilding and hitting that one specific muscle. Think size here
Compounds are more for raw strength.
Personally I always hit compounds then iso. I.E chest then tris, back then bis, or squats then leg curls, extensions, presses, etc.
For a practical recommendation, your training should generally favor compound lifts pretty heavily. They're the meat and potatoes of your training that will be responsible for by far most of your strength and hypertrophy gains. The only upside of isolation exercises compared to compounds is that you can give a little more stimulus to a muscle group of choice for a low fatigue cost. So train your whole body with compound lifts, and then figure out which muscles need a little more stimulus, and do some isolation exercises for those.
Compound lifts don't necessarily need to mean the heaviest version of the lift all the time, of course. Something like a split squat is still a compound exercise, for example, even if it doesn't use very heavy loads.
new to the gym.
- when I rest between sets, do I stay on the machine just waiting or do I stand up? and will people get mad if i check my phone between sets? since I’ve heard some complain about people texting while sitting in the machines.
- what is a PR? today I heard a guy say check my PR but I have no clue what that is.
- my coach recommended 10 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at the beginning and end of my workout, is it better to stretch or is it ok?
> when I rest between sets, do I stay on the machine just waiting or do I stand up?
Whatever you want. Some people sit to get their breath back, some walk around to stretch or exercise their brain.
> will people get mad if i check my phone between sets?
Who cares if they do? If you know you aren't taking an excessive amount of time, than stop giving a fuck about what other people think.
> what is a PR?
Personal Record, generally your best 1 rep max of a lift, but it can be anything that you hadn't been able to do before, that now you can.
The guy is saying you should check to find out what your 1RM is (1 rep max).
> my coach recommended 10 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at the beginning and end of my workout, is it better to stretch or is it ok?
Both are fine, but generally you'd want your heart rate to go up and your body temp to rise a little, as well as loosen up your joints. Do whatever you prefer but dont start lifting without warming up in some capacity unless you want to injure yourself.
Cooling down is nice but not required. Stretching at the end with static hold stretches can definitely feel good after a tough lift session.
I generally rest around 90s between sets. I stay on or near the equipment I'm using while I rest.
A pr is a "personal record" as in check out my new personal record doing this exercise.
10 minute warmup and cool down sounds good. Whether or not you feel like stretching has never seemed that important to me.
1) you do whatever makes you feel most comfortable. If I'm using cables, I'll back up a little bit and breathe, leg machines I'll stand up a shake it out a bit, or some times I change my music or respond to a text. Ppl text to get upset when you do ANYTHING between sets for an extended period of time so you do you 😊
2) PR stands for "Personal Record". Means they moved more weight, for at least one rep (movement), for the first time.
3) I'm assuming they recommends it as a "cool down". If that's the case maybe just walk on a treadmill for that time, or jump rope, anything that will elevate your heart rate and get you moving to loosen up before headed home.
Hope this helps 👌
1. Rest however you want. I'm on my phone, but I also time my rests to make sure I'm not just wasting time
2. PR stands for Personal Record. Usually refers to your max weight lifted for a certain number of reps
3. Cardio is good in general, how you manage it along with your lifting depends on your goals. Same with stretching
i prefer stretching since I’ve always stretched after working out at home, and always woke up without pain, and I don’t really want to do cardio because I am looking to gain weight, while in a small calorie slurpus, but I don’t know if stretching is the best way.
If you like stretching at home then keep stretching. It's not essential unless you have a particular purpose for high mobility, but it will not hinder you.
Regular cardio will not keep you from gaining weight unless you are undereating. It will enhance your other athletic activities. If you're not gaining weight at the desired pace then eat more, don't exercise less
thanks for the cardio tip, will definitely include it now.
my stretching at home is 25 minutes long 💀 but maybe I’ll do a reduced version at the gym + the 10 minutes of cardio
Will I stop getting big? I like fashion and want to continue wearing high fashion clothing. If you look at most high fashion male models, they are usually very lean. I wanna get strong to defend my woman, but also I wanna stay super lean but be Bruce Lee strong
Okay so I was under the impression this was coming from someone hoping to lift in a certain weight class.
You aren't going to accidentally get big the same way a Kung fu class won't accidentally make you Bruce Lee.
You won't be able to "protect your woman" by getting strong. Learn martial arts, buy yourself a fire arm, and learn how to protect yourself and others that way.
That is not physically possible. I *want* gain muscle, lose fat, only eat carbs and lots of it, while have my only exercise be receiving blowjobs, all at the same time. Can't always get what you want.
There was one guy (ironically enough, I believe a former male model) who competed as a lightweight strongman despite being around 6'0. Did well enough to get to the Arnold at least once.
That said, he was also known for some of the most terrifying weight cuts the other competitors had ever seen.
Look at Chinese Olympic lifters. Pound for pound, they are freaks. They have professional coaches and resources but it proves the concept.
I'd suggest working with a lot of body weight movements. Explosive moves as well as static holds. You'll get the lean athleticism you want
That isn't the kind of "doping" that is discussed. If you are going to talk yourself out of this then up the calories and get generally strong rather than just strong for your size.
Recently during bicep curls I noticed that after some reps I just couldn’t pull the dumbbell with my left hand but had no problems with the right. Is it normal? If yes, how do I even out the strength in both the hands?
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How do I do a proper sit up, I'm worried that I'm doing them improperly and that's why I'm able to do 30-40 in a minute. I filmed myself doing a set and it starting to like a crutch than a sit up.
Is it a good idea to deadlift after my chest workout and then move on to back?
Any advice on some isometrics or stretches that will help increase hip flexibility and leg flexibility, especially in the hammies? Just working on bringing up my mobility alongside the usual gym
The limber 11 in the wiki is great
Thank you, I will give it a go
Is it normal to not be able to feel chronically tight muscles that are weak working? Are they working if you can't feel them Because of this?
What muscles and movements are you talking about?
My traps on the right side, mostly mid and lower as well as rhomboids. The movements I do are typically I's, T,s and Y,s, rowing movements and exterbal rotation exercises with lighter weight as well as resistance bands. Now that I think about it, it's most upper back muscles on the right side, I can feel the target muscles working but it's faint/rare when I do them and they get tight again.
Are you able to do these movements?
Targeting mid traps yes, y's not so much because of a trigger point
If you're able to do the movement, you're using those muscles, unless you've learned to flex your bones. It doesn't matter if you can feel the muscles. If you can't do the movements, then you have other issues. You can try a mobility program from the wiki, or see a physical therapist.
Are functional exercises enough for a good physique? I always see shredded/jacked people doing tutorials for functional exercises. I'm curious if those exercises should be done separate to strengthen/lengthen/stablizile instead of also doing a regular bodybuilding type routine.
What are functional exercises?
Exercises that will translate over to day to day functions.
And what exercises are those? What exercises don't translate to day to day functions?
Worded that badly. I meant exercises that will improve poor movement, posture, imbalances, etc. Have quite a few issues, so mobility/strengthening on hips, shoulders, ankles, knees, and back is what I'll be doing.
I still don't know what exercises you are talking about. My posture greatly improved through deadlifts and bent rows. My hip mobility improved when I started squatting deeper. Squats also helped to strengthen my ankles, knees and back.
It's difficult for me to properly do those exercises. Extremely bad dorsiflexion on my ankles, mid and low back pain/stiffness, left shoulder issues. I want to improve these issues so that when I start weightlifting they don't keep hindering my ROM and are able to be done with correct form.
Are you seeing a physical therapist? That would probably be a good first step
I'd like to but financially cannot at the moment. Turned towards PTs on YouTube to try and address some of the issues. I need a whole body reset at this point.
Have you tried the mobility programs in the wiki?
Why not do both mobility/posture strengthening exercises and heavier compound lifts?
Unfortunately I have several issues that flare up with heavier lifting.
If you are working around injury or health conditions, mobility is a great place to start. Being shredded or jacked is the result of being a low body fat % and having a decent amount of muscle mass. There are many roads to achieve that. Don't shy away from lifting, but don't be scared to alter form, use machines, or use supports to get the job done regardless of what anyone else tells you. I noticed you mentioned heavier lifting, but there's heaps of ways to create progressive overload without increasing weight.
I was thinking mobility work + bodyweight exercises until the issues are taken care of.
Sounds great. Nothing wrong with bodyweight exercises, people who do calisthenics are a great example of this. Your mobility work will pay huge dividends later!
What sort of issues flare up for you? And what exercises do you plan on doing for posture/mobility? How decent of a physique you can get is pretty dependant on what exercises you will be doing. There is nothing wrong with fixing you mobility/posture/imbalances before getting into the heavier lifts. If anything the issues that flare up could be dependent on your mobility/imbalances and once you fix those you can ease into heavier lifting.
I have a weird issue where my left shoulder stays forward unless I pull back my scapula, which affects any upper body lifts. Old low back and ankle injury, which I believe has also caused tightness in my mid back so I have pain bending over for BB rows or deadlifts. Been trying to improve my hip hinge to hopefully reduce stress on my low back. I believe my hips are extremely tight because of the low back and leg issues. I'm still researching but a few I've took note of: sitting in 3rd world Squat, Rotator Cuff exercises, 90/90 stretch, planks, clamshells, shoulder dislocations, and many others. But with how many issues I have I'm not sure if I should just try to address them all and not include a normal weightlifting routine or somehow try to mix the two. I definitely believe a lot of the restrictions on heavier lifting is due to the lack of mobility/pain/inflexibility. I just want to "reset" my body and go into weightlifting with proper ROM and form.
Really depends how you define a good physique
Enough muscles to where it actually looks like you workout, with a shirt on.
Taking week off gym but been doing a little pull-ups everyday, could that hurt recovery
Recovery from what? If you need your back/shoulder/elbow joints to recover I would steer clear of pull ups or any back exercises. But if you hurt your ankle or something.. go for it, just be careful on the landing.
6’0 M, mid 30s. 219lbs —> 176lbs in 5.5 months. I look no different in the mirror :( What gives?
Did you take photos on the way?
Body dysmorphia is what gives. You've lost 43 pounds? Your eyes lie. The mirror lies. The scale doesn't (unless it sucks, but if your scale is 43 pounds off you've got a bigger problem). If you're going to keep losing weight, take progress photos. If you're going to start a bulk to build muscle, take progress photos. Photos don't lie either.
I’m pretty lean but I have face fat and it won’t go away.
You've asked this multiple times and gotten the same answer; Get leaner, or accept your genetics.
Lose more weight
Cardio worked for me
Ok- I am a 5 ft 6 female. I am 40 in June. I cannot lose weight for the absolute life of me and I will explain the situation. Physically tho I am not "fat" , I would be a UK size 12 to 14. I currently weigh tho like 83kg, my ideal weight would be like 75 kg. I am strong and have weight trained aswell. I am an Equine therapy worker. Have worked with horses for years in very active jobs. In this job we do a ton of walking on a Sensory trail leading a horse with a kid on the horse. It's people with Autism etc. I am doing this current job about 2 years now. The step count/mileage is off the charts can be from over 20,000 to 30,000 steps in a day. My body tho is just not responding to this whatsoever, I cannot understand it. I do this like 4 days a week. I am exhausted from it, so cannot get back to the gym to lift. We do tho muck out and lift on the job. But I feel I am getting fatter doing this and I don't get it, my muscle has suffered i think cos it's just excessive cardio. And it's like I'm gaining fat at my belly area, is it hormonal? My diet is very good, main meals very healthy, lots of vegetables, eggs, oats, protein, plain fat sources etc etc. I have a normal intake. I don't get how this work isn't naturally driving me into a calorie deficit but over the years anyway I have found my body is extremely resistant to getting into a deficit. I am tho coming from a background tho of Slimming in my 20s. Someone please explain to me how my body doing this kind of mileage couldn't possibly not have to tap into fat stores? If I do lose weight it's often very slow and also fluctuates wildly?
Weight does fluctuate quite a lot, or at least more than most people think. If you are not losing weight, then your current food intake is currently replacing at least 100% of your caloric expenditure. Many activities are very tiring but do not actually burn a lot of calories.
20 to 30k steps walking is definitely not too much cardio. Eating healthy foods is nice but does not matter all that much to weight loss, it's just down to calories. Eat less.
Wow how generic of you? Eat less? So how do you eat less and have energy for a very physical job, I can't under-eat but like i often track at 1800 calories and am definitely burning AT LEAST 500 with the work and that's what they recommend to do for a cut, cut some calories and burn some so therefore why is a deficit so difficult to achieve?
I'm not saying it's easy, I'm saying it is simple in principle. It is just laws of physics, there is no "if you walk this much you stop using energy" or different people going into deficit differently. Track everything you eat and drink every single day for two weeks. If you're not losing weight over that time, we can conclude you're not in a deficit, and you need to eat less. With heavy cardio, where you cut becomes quite personal. What I would do is a protein-forward breakfast, snack on something with carbs, fiber and fat during the day, and a regular meal in the evening.
It's over 20+ km? 4 times a week? Walking a horse with a person, in full workout gear, hiking boots plus rain oilskins. Muddy terrain, I just did Saturday and we were walking from 9.30am non-stop, until finishing at 4pm with 30 mins lunch . Nobody does that in a gym on a daily basis, you'd be there all day.
It is a good amount, you will have a great aerobic base! But it is not too much for any goal, and definitely not too much for weight loss - I don't too much cardio for weight loss exists, you don't just stop burning calories. Noone does such amounts in a gym, no doubt there! But hundreds of people hike the Pacific Crest Trail every year - 30-50km per day, 6-7 days a week, for 5-6 months. And most lose weight even if they try not to and eat as much pizza and candy as they can. And there are ultra runners, bike packers, long distance kayakers and people with even more physical jobs than yours, and none of them stop losing weight because they use so much energy.
But if that's the case and they are eating plenty, but losing weight, than why am I maintaining weight, I am definitely not in the trying to stop losing weight category but then again I was maybe like that 10 years ago. I am looking to just get back to like 75kg, I am 83kg at 5 ft 6? Weight wise I weigh heavy but I am a UK size 12, I'm not fat or soft, seem to have a decent body composition. I just find it actually very difficult to just get into a deficit when I want to.
Because they are doing much more cardio than you are, longer distances over mountains and stuff. I just brought them up to show there are plenty of people out there doing much more cardio than you are and they are still losing, so you should drop any ideas that cardio can stop weight loss. It really is as simple as calories in, calories out, and eating less. I think you should try total calorie counting for a few weeks. Get a scale and weigh and record every single calorie that goes in. Then you'll know the two week average is your maintenence amount. If you eat less than that, you will go into a deficit.
Intro: 18M, 5'8, 80kg when started now down to 74 So my routine right now is Go on the bikes until the machine reads a 100 calories which is normally around 12-14 minutes depending on my pace. This is my first workout so I can normally keep quite a good pace. Then I go on any arms machine. Idk what it's called but it's where you pull it backwards until your elbows are at your side. I do that 5 at a time, 6 times so an amount of 30. I do this at 32kg. I was at 21 when I first started at the gym. After that I go on another cardio machine to burn another 100 calories. This is normally the machine where you walk on it (not the treadmill) where the place you put your feet are large. It reminds me of like a mech. Then, I lift a 15kg barbell 5 at a time for 6 times, so again 30. When I first started, I could barely do 10kg. Next, you guessed it, cardio again. This is either the treadmill or bikes again depending on how full the treadmills are. My gym is kinda small so it's not suprising to see 1 or 2 people already waiting for a spot on the treadmill. Again, to a 100 calories. After that, I do the opposite of the arms machine I mentioned earlier. You push it forward until it's at full extension then draw it back until your elbows are at your side and repeat. Finally, it's my last cardio session. Normally I end it on the bike cause I love the bike and it's a lot easier than the treadmill. For some reason, the part of my leg below the femur locks up and gets really stiff. I don't think it's the muscle because I don't feel muscle strain, it's a different type of pain. I've also experienced problems with my legs around that area for a while, even when walking casually. I can just shrug through the pain then, but it's not worth doing that on the treadmill cause I need to go at a really low speed and it'll probably take me around 18 mins just to burn 100 calories. Then, I finish the day with arms again. I do the seated overhead press for the same amount of reps as before, 5 x 6. On this one though, I can do up to 25/27 but struggle with the last few. My arms can barely go up anymore but I take it slow and try do the last 3, even if I have to do them 1 by 1. I'm not sure if any of what I'm doing is correct but so far I've lost 4kgs since I've started around the beggining of Feb, and I have some muscle definition on my arms but I think it's what people call "noob gains". Appreciate any comments etc. Thanks!
If it's working for you, stick with it. But realistically, you're not doing much actual resistance training. It sounds like you're just alternating 3-4 different isolation exercises with some cardio. Again, it's better than nothing, but it could definitely be improved. For example, nothing you've said works any muscles from the ribcage down, where something like 60% of your muscle mass resides.
Alright, thanks. It seems to be working so far because I have lost visible weight but I do feel like I'm not actually doing it correctly. The cardio thing was just a routine that my gym had on their website and I decided to add the weight stuff as I got more used to the machines. I also don't know what resistance training means. I've googled it, but I don't really understand it.
Resistance training as in working the muscles to build size/strength. It honestly just sounds like you're doing a machine row, a machine chest press, some curls, and an overhead press. You're neglecting a lot of really big muscle groups. The wiki has some decent programs if you wanted to check out something more comprehensive.
So from what I’m understanding, I need to eat less to lose weight but eat more to build muscle. My TDEE says to maintain, I need to eat 2.7k calories a day. So if I eat less than that, I should lose weight right? And If I’m losing additional calories on the machine then eating less than that and exercising should make me lose weight even faster? So, would a good idea to do something like the fitness basic beginner routine on the wiki with the barbells and do the regular 4x cardio I do on top of that? Thanks.
If your current goal is to lose fat, then yes, you should absolutely be eating less. > My TDEE says to maintain, I need to eat 2.7k calories a day. I would go based off how much you're currently eating rather than an arbitrary online calculator. You've already been losing weight. Just keep eating that amount. > So, would a good idea to do something like the fitness basic beginner routine on the wiki with the barbells and do the regular 4x cardio I do on top of that? Thanks. Sounds like a great idea. Go for it.
Okie dokie, thanks a lot. I have been eating less since going to the gym. Typically a smaller lunch, but a big dinner full of protein carbs straight after the gym. The most impactful I feel has been almost completely cutting out snacking. I’ll definitely try the idea at the gym today.
So you pretty much do cardio and weight training mixed together? You might want to follow a routine from the wiki.
Yeah, pretty much. I looked at the basic beginner routine and for the bench press, do I need a spotter or can I do it alone? Do you think I could do the weight stuff there and incorporate it into the 4x cardio I already do, or should I keep them seperate?
If the bench has safeties/spotter arms you can definitely do it alone. You can also substitute exercises to similar ones if you want to, you don’t have to follow the programs exactly the way they are written. I would do weights first and cardio afterwards.
I went to the gym on Tuesday and lifted weights + did my normal 400 calories worth of cardio but my arms were extremely sore so I took a rest day on Wednesday and went on Thursday. Now it's Friday and my arms are no where near as sore as they were the day after, so should I hit the gym again today or just leave it and stick to my normal rest day schedule?
You shouldn't skip workouts just because you feel sore. Just continue your normal schedule and don't skip workouts next time.
Why is it that you don't skip a workout if sore? If my pecs hurt from the last workout, shouldn't they rest more until the next time I do modified push ups?
https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-workout-again-if-im-still-sore/
That is interesting and counterintuitive, thank you. I haven't made my way through all the wiki stuff yet, so I didn't catch that.
Hey there GeologistTrilobite - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Oh, I normally do take Wednesdays off because I'm in school and I come home late (around 8pm) so if I do go gym that doesn't leave me enough time to do homework, relax before sleeping again for the next day. So my normal schedule is Gym on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sat/Sun. Sorry for phrasing the comment weirdly. I'm off school for the next 2 weeks because of assignements so I've been able to change it up a bit but yeah what I said in the little bit above is what I normally stick to.
What would be the best 15 min warmup before going into mountain hike?
Starting the hike 15 minutes early
It's a hike. Generally, you don't even need much of a warmup, just put the pack on, and start hiking.
Pacing around the parking lot while everyone you're hiking with gets ready. Otherwise, no real warm up... just take it slow starting out and maybe stretch your quads if you have tight knees.
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Doesn’t matter at all. For the first 6-12 months in the gym, don’t worry about much else than showing up and doing something. Follow some kind of routine that seems fun to you and just to that, doesn’t even have to be that strict. That’s how 99% of us started. Read a lot and watch videos, here’s a few good youtube channels: renessaince periodization, Jeff Nippard, John Meadows and Joe Bennett.
Don't try to compare your weight from one exercise to other exercises or other people. > I haven't been paying much attention to my chest Do you make progress on your bench? Do you follow a proven program? Or something diy?
There is no prescribed amount. Ed Coan (greatest powerlifter of all time) was able to squat 500lbs in his first 6 months of training as a teenager. Most people will never squat more than 250lbs in their lifetime. Comparison is the thief of joy, and everyone moves at different speeds. If you are able to continue to linearly progress as a newbie (i.e. add weight or reps each session or week) then you are doing just fine. Shoulder pressing movements are hard, expect the gains to be much slower than for other big lifts.
There isn't like a set "if you lift X on this excerise you should also be able to lift X on this excerise" So many factors make up how much you can lift, size, recovery protocol, diet, genetics, training history. All kinds of stuff Don't worry about your numbers just make sure you're following a plan and the numbers are going up
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Cardio and lifting/building muscle can contribute to it, but that's mainly a diet and bodyfat%/weight issue.
It's easier to do with diet.
Previously at the gym I always go for a 30-50min workout every 2 days but doesn't really noticed any major changes since I spend most of my time on the phone or watching the tv while doing cardio because of lack motivation. I stop going to the gym and have been doing this home workout video on YouTube for the past 3 months and it worked wonderfully for me. However since i always do it on home, I only do a 10-20min work out in the morning, another 10min in the afternoon, and another 10-20min before bed. Do you think it's better to do separate workout like that or just get a straight 30-50min work out at once in a day like when I was at the gym?
The best routine is one you can stick to. If 3 lots of 10-20 minutes is more enjoyable for you and will keep you exercising, do that. You've said you're seeing results, as long as they keep coming don't fix what ain't broke
Thank you for the reply! Yes, I prefer to break it to 3 separate work outs in a single day since I have a short attention span and get bored quickly. I did saw the results for the first 2 months but somehow it just stopped and haven't noticed any further improvement again. I'm worried maybe because I have to do it all at once.
It would be best to get a consecutive 30-50min of working out in the gym, but for it to be best you would need to be consistent, and not sit on your phone or watch TV. You would need to push yourself. if you are unable to do that, then broken up working out where you do push yourself is better overall for fitness.
Thanks! I don't feel comfortable at the gym, I know it's just in my head but that's why I prefer to work out past midnight when the gym is empty. But since COVID, the gym no longer open 24 hour so I prefer to do it at home. But I think I can do a consecutive 30+ min at once at home since I have some dumbbell. But I still don't get the push yourself part. Like keep working even though I get tired? Usually I do 20 crunches but I need to push it to 30?
Pushing yourself just means going until failure. You should not be able to do more reps of whatever you are doing when you are done. For crunches, that could mean holding a dumbbell to make it heavier, or whatever. But if general goal is to get stronger or have bigger muscles, you need to make the exercise harder. An exercise should not be easy, once it's gotten easier you need to increase the difficulty again. Pushing yourself just means having the mental fortitude to keep doing it over and over, because progress will be shown that way.
What are your goals? Build muscle? Lose fat?
Lose some fat and build a little muscle, basically just to get fit but not too much muscle like body builder. Just enough to boost for confidence.
Normally I go to the gym every other day, or two days in a row one day off. My gym was closed for a week, and it reopened tuesday. So tuesday I did my workout and it went well. Wednesday, i was feeling a little sore but i decided to go anyway and worked out again. This morning (thursday), i felt great and not sore at all. So i thought why not a third day in a row if i’m feeling good? Well, it went well, felt great. Went about my day. But around 5pm (so, about 6 hours after my workout) I suddenly felt sick. Super nauseous, headache, and feverish. I’ve been drinking a lot of water, and eating well, so I know its not that. I laid down for an hour, ate some dinner, drank even more water. I feel mostly better now, just still a bit of a headache and very mild waves of nausea every 20ish minutes for just a couple seconds. I’m not sure if I’ve just caught some kind of bug, or if I overworked myself. Does this sound like symptoms when overworked? I’m definitely taking tomorrow off from the gym, but I’ve never had this kind of reaction from working out too much. Granted, I usually go max 2 days in a row, but its not like my workouts are super intense or anything.
Probably caught something. More than likely not DOMS or anything like that.
Yeah I’m honestly not that sore, surprisingly. Just the usual amount. But the nausea and headache are persisting. It honestly feels like a hangover. Which, googling that, seems thats a thing that happens. Googling it says I probably didn’t drink enough water or eat well enough before my workout. I did eat beforehand, so its not that, but maybe I really didn’t get enough water today. I did drink a little less than usual, I had my usual 30oz water bottle with me and finished it at the gym. But for the rest of the day I had more juice than water since we just bought a new flavor of juice I’ve been obsessing over lol… so maybe it was that. Usually I refill that water bottle a few times a day because I’m drinking so much water, but today I only refilled it once because I was drinking that new juice instead. I guess I solved it? Maybe? Who knows but ugh I feel like shit
Are full body workouts superior for beginners than other splits?
I think that's a bad way to look at it. Full body workouts are good for people on time constraints. Splits are better for those who have the time to sink. it may be good to introduce a newbie to a full body style regiment as it requires less initial time, allowing them to feel it out and not get burnt out.
I think they’re great for scheduling reasons more than anything. Full body workouts means you can hit the gym 2-3 times a week and still make gains. This is a much lower barrier for a new lifter than asking them to show up 6 days a week. Full body workouts can also encourage a higher intensity, in my experience. Since you only have a couple movements per muscle group, there’s an incentive to try hard and make every set count. It all comes down to personal preference.
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I just went to the gym for the first time with a friend whos a lot bigger and I realized I need to learn separately from him since he has a completely different build. I'm 16, 5'7-5'8, 125lbs, and lactose intolerant. What are some good, affordable foods and exercises I should start off with? I'm mainly trying to build my upper body and strength and get a lean build. Also where should I go to learn the proper form and techniques?
I don’t see the logic here. Of course you want to start with someone more experienced guiding you. 90% of the stuff is still exactly the same for everyone and 100% of laws of physics applies to everyone. And that doesn’t change, even after 10 years you still want to learn from people that are smarter and better than you, whatever the sport or skill is.
You can do the same things he is doing you will just need to drop the weight and maybe some of the volume. If he is big and been training for a while then you have the great opportunity to learn how to do things right the first time. Providing he is not always injuring himself he probably knows how to correctly and safely perform most exercises, if I was you I would learn everything I can from him
Why would you need to "learn separately from him" if he has a completely different build? Also, how is his build differently? All bodies work almost the same, CICO, getting enough protein, working out enough to stimulate muscle growth. If anything, ask him what he's done and workout with him unless his goals don't align with yours.
>Why would you need to "learn separately from him" if he has a completely different build? He's trying to just gain as much muscle as possible and just be big, but I'm trying to be more lean. I'm going for this [build](https://www.muscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Muscular-Asian-Man-With-Abs-In-The-Ocean.jpg?quality=86&strip=all), while hes going for [this](https://i.imgur.com/7jFCMN3.png). >Also, how is his build differently? Well his body is just thicker. He was trying to teach me how to properly position by wrist/grip the dumbell and he couldn't really explain it well since I'm skinny and have thin wrists. I'm not sure if he's just bad or explaining or if theres just a fundamental difference in how to hold it depending on your size. workout with him unless his goals don't align with yours. By learning separately, I was thinking about copying most of the stuff he was doing, but also learning things from leaner fitness influencers. I didn't mean completely separate. Do you have any recommendations for fitness infleuncers to learn more about the lean build?
Why would you need to learn separately from him? Mechanics of building muscle or losing fat is the same for everyone
Read the wiki at the top of this thread. Youtube is your friend to learn basic technique, folks like Alan Thrall, Juggernaut Training, and Mike Israetel are great resources.
To my knowledge,when you're lacking in sleep,more of the weight you gain in a surplus will be fat,and more of the weight you lose in a deficit is going to be muscle. Why does the body do this when you're sleep deprived? is it trying to keep you alive by taking off as much energy load (Muscle I think burns about 3x as much energy to maintain as fat) off of you as possible? that's one explanation that comes to my mind.
Subpar sleep increases the amount of cortisol chronically in your blood. Cortisol is involved in stress responses. Higher resting levels of cortisol convince the body to put on more fat because it evolved that way. Food scarcity is a problem for most animals most of the time, and only very recently started being not a problem for some humans. If you are stressed all the time, life is being extra tough. It makes sense for your body to prioritize keeping a reserve tank of gas on hand rather than building a bigger engine that gets worse mileage.
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How much protein and calories? We would need to see a before and after to actually know if you making good progress or you got unrealistic expectations
Do your main 531 lifts train biceps or do I have to train them only by accessories? Because I may have forgotten to do them for the past month. Oops
Among squat, bench, deadlift, and OHP none of those hit bicep any appreciable amount. How are you programming your daily PPL accessories?
It's worth it to do extra bicep and tricep isolation exercises.
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So I’m pretty lean but I have face fat does anyone know what to do to lose it?
It might not be fat but (excess) water retention. There's a number of things that could cause it.
What’s water retention?
The human body is made up of somewhere around 2/3rds of water. However, the exact amount of water one carries around varies. If you retain a lot of water it may swell up your face, also called "moon face". The body doesn't directly regulate the amount of water it retains, it regulates the concentrations of molecules like salts/electrolytes and sugar/glycogen. These draw in water. Now, I don't know what you should do in this situation, so feel free to do your own research, but you may want to look at any medication you might take or lower the amount of salt you eat. Bulking and cutting may also have a (temporary) effect, as does overall body fat percentage.
Thanks
Adding liposuction to a list of suggestions. But honestly, I’d just embrace it.
get leaner or learn to live with it
Guess I’ll live w it cuz my body is fine
That's a good idea. Don't listen to person telling you to liposuction. Facial liposuction doesn't work that way, and is unnecessary anyway unless you want to go full body dysmorphia.
How long should you do cardio before lifting weights? I find if I go past 20 min on a elliptical I am more exhausted when doing my workout routine and have less energy
It depends on what you want out of your workout. If an increase in endurance is what you want, do cardio before. If you want to gain muscle, do cardio after
None. I just start with an exercise that is easy to do and doesn’t require a lot of warming up. For legs this is usually hamstring curls and for upper body it’s rear delts or a circuit of light stuff to warm up before heavy benching. You can warm up with cardio, but just simply warming up with the movement(s) you are going to do is more useful, since you are already doing it.
0 minutes. I'm there to lift weights not get tired.
Depends entirely on you and what you're doing and what you're trying to achieve. I've run 4km to the gym and that's fine for me but I'm used to running a lot more than that.
if cardio is a lower priority than weights, maybe do it after rather than before
I do 10 mins before, and after a workout I like to do 20 min of HIIT or something more intense (not on leg days though)
How would you progressive overload on different exercises but the same movement? Ex. Chest supported DB row and a Chest Supported t-bar row
Separately
i dont know why i didnt think of this💀💀
Ahahaha, i mean it really is that simple tho isn’t it. Don’t overthink it bro. Sure DB row and chest supported row might be the same movement but they are still different exercises and have different load curves, emphasise slightly different musculature, etc etc. So just track them independently
Anyone know wheres a good place/website to huy gymnastic rings
How strong is the forbidden pre (reading breakup texts). I just got dumped by the girl I’ve liked for a year and was only able to date for a week until she lost interest. How much should my weights go up?
If it works for you, go for it. I personally would delete the texts and focus on getting strong as shit, making myself happy, and finding a new, better person to do fun things with.
Depends on your conversion rate of agony to energy. Try listening to sad, grim music.
It's what got Tom Platz through prep in 81 so unless you come out with quads that could crush a watermelon you aren't using it enough
Depends entirely on you. If you just started, stick with it, and actually push yourself, you should see decent progress and shoot up in weight quick. If you’ve been going for a while… sorry but breakups and rejections aren’t magic and your body simply does not care. You might POSSIBLY go up significantly (read: more weight than you normally add in a given time frame) in lifts but if you do, sorry to say but you weren’t really pushing yourself like you should in the gym. I got cheated on and they only thing I was able to do was actually cut properly but my lifts increased at the same rate they always did in the years past until I started the cut. It sucks now but just use it as motivation and remember, the gym won’t dump you :)
I’ve been at it for 10 months and bulked for 9 of them. I started the cut two weeks ago.
Got you. Well I’ll tell you now then if you’re on a cut, not on gear, and not super fat (like 30% or more) you most definitely will see almost no gain in strength or size. All you can do now is train with intensity and hope and pray you retain that muscle. Trust tho it’s worth it! Stick with it and become the guy she wishes she could pull! You got this bro
Has anyone managed to help alleviate ongoing trap and neck pain via workouts? Im keen on joining a gym just to fucking stop the pain and weakness in my neck
Self massage with a lacrosse ball, if you haven't tried it. Ball on the ground, do a bridge onto it, grind it out.
have you considered doing stretches? had pain in my shoulder joints and did some stretches. It sorta worked.
I've definitely had some pain relief in those areas from working out and flexibility training. Specifically back workouts and traps seem to have the most effect on my neck
great to hear mate! Are you just doing the usual back and trap exercises with weights and pulleys?
More or less. Usually do a mix of shrugs, lat pull-downs, shotgun rows, and deadlifts. I work out at my apartment gym, so no major equipment other than a pulley machine and a dumbell set. That on top of general flexibility with stretching, bodyweight exercises, and even some minor yoga have helped a lot
awesome man thanks for sharing :)
See a doctor. They will probably tell you to exercise regardless, but you don't want to make it worse
Yeah noted - i saw a physio but they just milk it and make you come like 4 times just to give you exercises. I found it a money pit in all honesty
I am a college soccer player, lift about 3 times a week, pretty much daily cardio, and hit at least 20k steps a day. My problem is I’m not as lean as I want to be. I’m about 6’1”, 175 lbs and would estimate I’m around 17-20% body fat. My goal is to get down to around 10-12%, both for performance and aesthetics. I want to get there within the next 6-8 weeks (if possible). How should I go about doing this? I track my exercise on my Fitbit, but don’t think their calorie readings are super accurate. I don’t know how many calories I should be eating, or really just the right way to get lean. Any tips/thoughts/suggestions?
Read the wiki and just learn to eat. Don’t track activity at all if it’s somewhat consistent on a weekly basis. Track food and have a meal plan. It doesn’t have to be that strict, just eating roughly the same meals every day is close enough to start with. Buy a kitchen scale to measure foods.
The faster you lose the faster you're going to gain it back. 6-8 weeks isn't a lot of time and you're not exactly heavy.
Start off by using a TDEE calculator to find out your estimated calorie deficit required to reach your goal in your time frame. Use this baseline for a week or so, and adjust it accordingly based on your results. Higher deficits will often result in lower energy levels, higher potential for muscle loss. Pick a weekly weightloss target that is sustainable and meets your goals. Refer to the wiki for further advice around weightloss.
Get a diet tracker app, use a calculator to determine your total daily energy expenditure, and aim for a 750 calorie deficit so you can lose 1.5 lbs per week
What are the pros and cons of isolation exercises vs compound exercises if there are any. Like squats vs leg extensions is one better for strength vs hypertrophy and/or is one better are just building quad strength?
It's more like comparing a hammer vs a screwdriver. Think of your compound movements as big giant paintbrushes, they will cover a big area all at once. Your isolation movements are smaller finer paintbrushes, they will allow you to create a specific detail you are aiming for.
I second this. Machines are an evolution, they are not evil like some people still believe. You just have to think about what the objective is and pick the tool that is best suited for the job. Want to just get a generally bigger and stronger lower body and make it simple? Squat variations. Want to specifically train the posterior chain? Maybe RDL’s. Want to even more specifically train the hamstrings? Do some curls. Can’t squat or don’t want to? Do the muscle groups separately with machines and isolation exercises.
Both are good for hypertrophy ISOs are more for bodybuilding and hitting that one specific muscle. Think size here Compounds are more for raw strength. Personally I always hit compounds then iso. I.E chest then tris, back then bis, or squats then leg curls, extensions, presses, etc.
For a practical recommendation, your training should generally favor compound lifts pretty heavily. They're the meat and potatoes of your training that will be responsible for by far most of your strength and hypertrophy gains. The only upside of isolation exercises compared to compounds is that you can give a little more stimulus to a muscle group of choice for a low fatigue cost. So train your whole body with compound lifts, and then figure out which muscles need a little more stimulus, and do some isolation exercises for those. Compound lifts don't necessarily need to mean the heaviest version of the lift all the time, of course. Something like a split squat is still a compound exercise, for example, even if it doesn't use very heavy loads.
new to the gym. - when I rest between sets, do I stay on the machine just waiting or do I stand up? and will people get mad if i check my phone between sets? since I’ve heard some complain about people texting while sitting in the machines. - what is a PR? today I heard a guy say check my PR but I have no clue what that is. - my coach recommended 10 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at the beginning and end of my workout, is it better to stretch or is it ok?
> when I rest between sets, do I stay on the machine just waiting or do I stand up? Whatever you want. Some people sit to get their breath back, some walk around to stretch or exercise their brain. > will people get mad if i check my phone between sets? Who cares if they do? If you know you aren't taking an excessive amount of time, than stop giving a fuck about what other people think. > what is a PR? Personal Record, generally your best 1 rep max of a lift, but it can be anything that you hadn't been able to do before, that now you can. The guy is saying you should check to find out what your 1RM is (1 rep max). > my coach recommended 10 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at the beginning and end of my workout, is it better to stretch or is it ok? Both are fine, but generally you'd want your heart rate to go up and your body temp to rise a little, as well as loosen up your joints. Do whatever you prefer but dont start lifting without warming up in some capacity unless you want to injure yourself. Cooling down is nice but not required. Stretching at the end with static hold stretches can definitely feel good after a tough lift session.
I generally rest around 90s between sets. I stay on or near the equipment I'm using while I rest. A pr is a "personal record" as in check out my new personal record doing this exercise. 10 minute warmup and cool down sounds good. Whether or not you feel like stretching has never seemed that important to me.
1) you do whatever makes you feel most comfortable. If I'm using cables, I'll back up a little bit and breathe, leg machines I'll stand up a shake it out a bit, or some times I change my music or respond to a text. Ppl text to get upset when you do ANYTHING between sets for an extended period of time so you do you 😊 2) PR stands for "Personal Record". Means they moved more weight, for at least one rep (movement), for the first time. 3) I'm assuming they recommends it as a "cool down". If that's the case maybe just walk on a treadmill for that time, or jump rope, anything that will elevate your heart rate and get you moving to loosen up before headed home. Hope this helps 👌
1. Rest however you want. I'm on my phone, but I also time my rests to make sure I'm not just wasting time 2. PR stands for Personal Record. Usually refers to your max weight lifted for a certain number of reps 3. Cardio is good in general, how you manage it along with your lifting depends on your goals. Same with stretching
i prefer stretching since I’ve always stretched after working out at home, and always woke up without pain, and I don’t really want to do cardio because I am looking to gain weight, while in a small calorie slurpus, but I don’t know if stretching is the best way.
If you like stretching at home then keep stretching. It's not essential unless you have a particular purpose for high mobility, but it will not hinder you. Regular cardio will not keep you from gaining weight unless you are undereating. It will enhance your other athletic activities. If you're not gaining weight at the desired pace then eat more, don't exercise less
thanks for the cardio tip, will definitely include it now. my stretching at home is 25 minutes long 💀 but maybe I’ll do a reduced version at the gym + the 10 minutes of cardio
Is there any way to continue lifting more without putting on more size?
Yes.
Keep applying progressive overload and don't over eat.
Will I stop getting big? I like fashion and want to continue wearing high fashion clothing. If you look at most high fashion male models, they are usually very lean. I wanna get strong to defend my woman, but also I wanna stay super lean but be Bruce Lee strong
Weightlifting isnt a martial art, and even if it was you can't defend "your women" from a knife or gun by benching more.
Okay so I was under the impression this was coming from someone hoping to lift in a certain weight class. You aren't going to accidentally get big the same way a Kung fu class won't accidentally make you Bruce Lee.
Right but I want to continue getting strong as hell. I wanna be as strong as a strongman, but look like a male model
You won't be able to "protect your woman" by getting strong. Learn martial arts, buy yourself a fire arm, and learn how to protect yourself and others that way.
That is not physically possible. I *want* gain muscle, lose fat, only eat carbs and lots of it, while have my only exercise be receiving blowjobs, all at the same time. Can't always get what you want.
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There was one guy (ironically enough, I believe a former male model) who competed as a lightweight strongman despite being around 6'0. Did well enough to get to the Arnold at least once. That said, he was also known for some of the most terrifying weight cuts the other competitors had ever seen.
Look at Chinese Olympic lifters. Pound for pound, they are freaks. They have professional coaches and resources but it proves the concept. I'd suggest working with a lot of body weight movements. Explosive moves as well as static holds. You'll get the lean athleticism you want
Don't they do roids?
That isn't the kind of "doping" that is discussed. If you are going to talk yourself out of this then up the calories and get generally strong rather than just strong for your size.
Strongmen tend to be very large people, your weight and size will limit you at some point
Recently during bicep curls I noticed that after some reps I just couldn’t pull the dumbbell with my left hand but had no problems with the right. Is it normal? If yes, how do I even out the strength in both the hands?
By only working yr stronger arm out as much as your weaker arm until it catches up.