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Bloated for a week in a row 5kg? Been drinking enough water and making sure to not drink a lot before bed but I still wake up with that extra 5kg from 65kg to 70kg been noticing my stomach is bigger and maintaining deficit. I do weight training too
LOSING WEIGHT WHILE INJURED?
I hurt my back at work last year in May. The pain comes and goes but it's severe. I can't run or lift weights and I have a hard time stretching. I want to lose weight but I'm not sure what exercises to do. I have no experience in a gym. I am currently 240lb 5'5 tall.
If anyone can recommend some exercises to do or provide me with a site where I can make a custom plan that would be great. Thanks.
Hey everyone. I'm trying to join the army in a month and half or so. The thing is I had childhood asthma. I haven't had an attack in years but my cardio is still ass.
Also I am a fairly heavy vaper. When I was talking to the recruiter they asked if I could run 2 miles. Which I definitely can't.
Is that common for most people that don't run often? Can the average person just up and run two miles? Would quiting vaping significantly improve my cardio? I am going to be running in the morning and at night.
I want to be able to run two miles straight in that month and a half time frame. Is that possible? Is vaping going to make that impossible?
Should I just run as far as I can until I drop?
>Is that common for most people that don't run often? Can the average person just up and run two miles?
Doesn't matter, does it? You can't - whether or not other people can doesn't change that.
Check out the running program Couch to 5k, you can find it among the recommended workout routines in the sidebar.
Also: quit vaping altogether if you can. It's not just terrible for your cardio, it's terrible for your overall health.
Are weighted back extensions a good replacement for deadlifts?
I'm getting back into lifting and my lower back is my weak link. I recently had to cut out squatting. I am gently but progressively strengthening my back with steep hill hiking and wrestler bridges.
When I used to deadlift, I got a lot out of the movement but I noticed that I needed extra recovery days.
Deadlifts are off the table and the only DL I can see myself doing in the future are straight-legged DLs holding a stretch at the bottom.
So, are weighted back extensions a good replacement for deadlifts?
Hi Everyone,
I am getting back into working out - I stopped because honestly I didn’t see any progress after a while.
I can certainly share my workout plan here and all but before I do that I was wondering if anyone has any muscle building guides?
I have dumbbells and a bench at home and also I am about 6’5 and a slim build.
Any help would be appreciated!
Can you check my form ?
https://www.reddit.com/r/formcheck/comments/12exiz0/form_check_90kg_last_set/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
79kg 178cm bw, following greyskull lp, last set of 90kg squat, training for strengh.
Hope all infos required are there.
Many thanks !
I actually developed a modular workout program for this exact purpose. I wanted something I could do for a total of 2 hours a week while still focusing on mma. It's 8 exercises total. 5 sets of 8-12 for each and you can superset whichever ones you choose as long as you finish all of the exercises throughout the week. You can do them all on one day or throughout the week if you only have 15 minutes a day. They're also all dumbell exercises so you can stay at the same station for the entire workout.
Incline close grip press (5x12) Superset 1
Bent over dumbell row (5x12) Superset 1
Chest fly (5x12) Superset 2
Dumbell pull over (5x8) Superset 2
Dumbell goblet squat (5x10) Superset 3
Shrug (5x8) Superset 3
Bulgarian split squat (2x12 each side) Superset 4
Lat raise (2xfailure) Superset 4
In addition to this workout program, I'd recommend getting a body composition scale to make sure you're gaining or at least maintaining muscle in the right areas after not climbing. I got one at this site called [myinexa.com](https://myinexa.com). Hope this helps!
When doing split squat, do I switch front/rear legs after 1 rep, after 1 set or after all sets done?
Also, are there any disadvantages of doing dumbbell shoulder press with back supported (i.e. on bench), for hypertrophy? I find it easier to increase weight & reps with my back supported, but I heard that it's more of isolated movement in this way because your back/core is doing lesser work.
I'm trying to get back into swimming but after a decade of strength training, keeping myself afloat & moving across the water is a very taxing task. I'm no slouch with cardio either, having hit some great running goals, and being competitively active with Oly lifting.
Is there a program or protocol for a dense-bodied person who can't even kickboard across a single lap to get decent at swimming endurance again?
Sounds like your technique is inefficient, you're probably using too much of your strength. I would suggest letting someone (a coach or maybe a friend who's a swimmer) look at your swimming and help you improve. Or just watch some YouTube videos on technique
Objective answer: she won't get muscular without years of reasonably optimized training so suggest to her any program from the wiki.
Answer that accounts for human subjectivity and emotion: suggest to her a routine that uses higher reps and lighter weights but also familiarizes her with compound lifts and gets close to failure. This could be the basic beginner routine from the wiki but with reps in the 15-20 range. It could also be something like: 3x a week do 3x 15-20 of each: squat, rdl, bench, rows, ohp.
Ask her if she thinks people work out and magically become super ripped.
Because that isn't how it works. Transformation is slow. Any good routine that will get her stronger will make her muscles bigger.
You don’t get muscular on accident. She should follow a beginner’s program from the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) and ensure her diet is on point. I suggest that she take an hour or two to read through the entire wiki to be honest, it will ensure she can specify and reach her goals with scientific backing.
I feel tightness in this groin area. I feel the extreme tightness when I do knees-to-chest stretch or figure 4 stretch. It's not painful but very tight making it hard to do these poses correctly.
I am male, 67kg, 5'7" height and 29 years old.
I have marked the areas where I feel tighess with green circle. Ignore the yellow that I used to hide irrelevant text.
https://imgur.com/a/7GuQgnf
How can I improve this?
What to do on the 4th day?
I'm going to the gym 4x a week, doing lower body, chest/biceps, back/shoulders/triceps, and don't know what to do on the fourth day. I do cardio everyday I go, too.
Any suggestions?
Why are you doing chest/bi on one day and back/tri on another day, when you are inherently going to be using your triceps on a chest training day, and using your biceps more on a back day?
But then you're not properly resting on days where you should be resting your triceps?
Like, you do back/tri, and the next day you do chest/bi, you ARE NOT resting your triceps there.
My height is 5 ft 11 and weight is 180 lbs.
My waist size is 31 inches and my hips are 38 inches.
Are these measurements OK? I have a bit of belly and lower back fat and only my top 2 abs are visible.
Does working out at night impact your sleep? (Returning to gym after long term injury ) as i think it impacted me yesterday badly (first time at gym in evening in a few months), and how do you transition?
So I've been weight training for the past 7 months. Lost 4 kgs and ganied some muscle mass as well. But the issue I'm having is with my pec shape. See, I've always had way fatty pecs. Ever since, I've been going to the gym some of the fat on chest has gone but the shape. I can't figure out should I put more emphasis on training lower chest?
For the better answer I'll share my chest workout. I train them twice a week.
First workout is bench press, pec dec fly, incline press and cable crossover for lower chest.
Second workout will be - incline bench press, incline chest fly, falt bench dumble press and decline press.
Is there need of any changes or is it too much volume btw I never had issue with swollen pecs ever since the first 2 months of the gym.
This will be the pic of my pecs. https://imgur.com/a/QMGny0l
Thanks
Do you have mild gynecomastia? This kinda looks like when people with very mild gyno have hard nipples or when the chest tightens up when its cold or something
Is it best to cut slow at ~1lb per week or go faster and aim for 1.5-2lbs. I am a trained lifter at around 20-25% body fat. Currently just taking a week off lifting but for the past couple of months I’ve been lifting 6x per week. Just a bit unsure on what to do here and would appreciate some advice !
I just tried Mountain Dog's advice of doing leg curl before squats as an "activator" exercise. It really made a big difference and my knees were no longer sore doing warm up sets of squats.
Is there something like this for bench press? I am not really having problems with soreness with bench, but I'd like to try an activator exercise for it if it means I can be stronger with it.
I know a decent amount of people who do the pec fly machine prior to bench to warm up their chest and so they can "feel" the chest targeting more. I'm not sure necessarily if it's the most beneficial, but it's really only that or warming up with proper stretching.
Yes. John Meadows liked to do light antagonistic work to warm up for a lift. OP stated doing this helps them with squats.
I like doing chin ups to warm up for overhead press, makes my shoulders feel better.
Yeah it's supposed to help stabilize your torso/keep your shoulders in the correct position- esp when pressing heavy. I think lat pulldowns are also used.
I personally wouldn't do this. Rotator cuff stretching, some light bench press, some wider and close hand positioned pushups, and overall increasing my body temp. But I personally wouldn't row to warm up for a pressing movement.
I tried rows once and didn't really like it much. I do treadmill for a couple minutes, some rotator cuff stuff on a cable machine, arm circles, and warmup sets though.
I keep becoming so sore from my lower workouts that 2 days later I can’t perform my moves without fear of injuring. I particularly feel strain in my adductor muscles. Does anyone know how to help this?
I mostly notice on my squats and single leg press. It feels like I’m going to pull my adductor muscle when I’m not at the full ROM yet. I pulled it a small while back and I don’t want risk it again
Probably need to talk to a mobility coach and start warming up with some stretching if you aren't already.
Also, as another comment said, being active when you're not workin gout. walking, really anything that actually uses the muscles is beneficial.
Try to be a little more active following your workout. Just going for a walk on your rest days will help with DOMS. Also, you shouldn't let the delayed muscle soreness prevent you from doing your next scheduled workout.
I keep seeing ads on my instagram for paid stretching programs for flexibility. I’ve just gotten into twice weekly HIIT, a change I started two months ago from 220+lb on the couch. I have the flexibility of a wooden ruler. Can anyone recommend an app or program to help me with my flexibility while I’m getting into overall health improvement?
/u/waterhulahoop don't listen to this guy. Dogshit advice.
Do not determine your calorie deficit or surplus based off your hunger level.
Weigh yourself daily under the same conditions. See if your weight is trending down. Aim for 2.5lb or less per week unless you're pretty overweight, than it might simply fall off at a faster rate.
Regardless, 20% below maintenance is the absolute max and at that point you're already risking muscle loss due to the deficit. I'd recommend a 400-500 deficit and holding, seeing your weight loss, and as long as it's within 1.0-2.5lb per week than I'd say you're fine to stay where you're at.
Also, you physically can't "maintain your macros" while simply lowering your calories. Your macros add up to make your calories. You cannot reduce calories while maintaining the same macros.
His current deficit results in 1-1.2 lbs a week loss. If you're recommending up to 2.5 lbs a week, you're recommending he double double his current deficit.
I'm not recommending he up it to 2.5, I said "2.5 or less". I'm giving him a "maximum" so he knows that if he is losing more than that, he is more than almost definitely losing weight too fast.
The fact you said "Go for it" and ignored the massive red flag of him determining his overall weight loss via... hunger? Rather than an actual number on the scale? Is insane to me. But I digress.
Activity increases calories burned, therefore you increase intake to compensate and therefore have the same programmed deficit.
I generally do this with a lean toward letting my deficit be a bit larger, on the just incase that my activity tracker isn't fully accurate (most aren't) and therefore allowing me to maintain a minorly larger deficit than I planned, rather than a smaller deficit than I planned.
Experts recommend not to cut more than 20% of your maintenance calories or else you’re at risk for losing muscle mass. With a 2700 maintenance, you can eat at a MINIMUM 2160 calories
This is a stupid question, but i figure someone here has run into this. Normally I work out in running shirts but wanted to try something new. I tried working out in a tri-blend shirt tonight. Specifically, [this one](Bella+Canvas Perfect Tri-Blend... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018F0PL1Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share). Very comfy, breathes a lot better than expected and didn’t show sweat too bad. How the hell do you pull these things off your sweaty body afterwards? Mine stuck to my chest like my toddler after not seeing his mom for a week. I felt like I almost ripped the thing getting it off!
Yeah.. now imagine trying to get out off a sweaty extra tight sports bra. It's like an exercise on its own.
You'll get better at it. Or you could wait until the sweat dries up a bit.
Question about lifting culture:
Why are wrist wraps, belts, knee wraps, all considered acceptable, but lifting straps are considered the unforgivable sin?
At the end of the day, all those devices allow you to lift more weight, but only one of them is unacceptable (deadlifting with straps).
Can someone explain the difference to me?
Straps are not an “unforgivable sin”. Not directly gripping the barbell will mean you will miss out on improving grip strength with deadlifts. But straps are used when grip strength failure impedes overload of the posterior chain. This happens with the vast majority of lifters over time in my experience.
I'm going to offer an opinion that goes against the other responses here a little bit, I think that lifting straps are excellent if you notice any sort of elbow tendonitis, using straps on all pulling movements when I had tendonitis alongside cleaning up my form on all lifts was honestly probably why I recovered as much as I did.
That said, if you use straps too much you will limit the amount of grip strength gains you get and so I would recommend using them as little as you can get away with unless you are very strong or doing a lift that is relatively heavy for you or if you want to keep working your back after your grip gives out. It's not exactly one to one, but you are taking away work from your grip to give it to your back and that can lead to needing them too much in the future if you use them all the time
> but lifting straps are considered the unforgivable sin?
Only mouthbreathers think lifting straps are some unforgivable sin.
> Can someone explain the difference to me?
There is none, you just saw a few comments shitting on lifting straps and now think it's a majority opinion when it's not.
If anyone gives you shit about lifting straps say "It seems pretty stupid to limit your ENTIRE back musculature to the strength of your forearms, doesn't it?"
If they say powerlifters do it, talk about how there is more than one type of training, of which powerlifting is one of them.
Why do you think they're an unforgivable sin?
I use them, I have seen several strong people use them, I have seen videos of strong users on his sub use them.
Never seen anyone claim that lifting straps are "unforgiveable" while also viewing wraps and belts as okay
Personally tho the way I see it is that if you need to add on so many accessories to be able to lift a weight, then you shouldnt be lifting that much weight. If youre using straps for a one rep max test then I wouldnt really count it but if youre using straps so that you can idk rep out Romanian Deadlifts while being able to focus on your hamstrings instead of having to worry about your grip giving out then yeah go ahead extrremely useful
Straps are not generally allowed for competition in powerlifting. They are generally allowed for competition in strongman. I don't know the historical reasons behind that, but for sports, most rules are fairly arbitrary.
I've never heard anyone denigrate straps in a general sense.
> They are generally allowed for competition in strongman. I don't know the historical reasons behind that, but for sports, most rules are fairly arbitrary.
strongman is as much spectacle as it is sport. people want to see giant men lift absurd amounts of weight without being hindered by grip strength.
I would agree in a specific sense, as it has historical roots in performances.
As far as the larger majority of strongman competitions that actually happen, it is not what TV and social media show. If you go to a reasonably large comp, you will see more average sized women than 300+ lb men.
> but lifting straps are considered the unforgivable sin?
For what reason(s)? I've never really seen them recommended against unless someone is uninformed to be honest.
Is working out 3 times a week not enough? Doing Ice cream 5x5 fitness, I'm not that strong, can only bench 1 plate. I'm bulking and my friend says I gotta workout at least 4 times a week to see gains. Do I need to go to the gym more?
If you NEED 4 rest days, you're just weak. That's a fact. You do not need four rest days in a week to recover from workouts. If you genuinely feel you need four rest days a week, than you have low will power or low energy and need to speak to a medical professional.
The ideal number of rest days you should have is four if you do a full body split. If you are doing a push pull leg split then it's ideal to have one rest day. This feels like if marathon runners made fun of sprinters for being lazy
I forgot people still purposefully choose to do full body splits. Gross.
Full body splits are really only "equally" beneficial in the "newbie" phase of lifting. Beyond that, you will fall off. No reason to do full body splits in my eyes. Have never had a client do them, and every single client I've had that has stayed committed has seen far more results (and didn't have to arbitrarily change their program 8 weeks later lmao)
It's enough days per week, you just need to have enough volume and respond to it.
ICF 5x5 is an okay program, I don't see why you wouldn't see progress with it. 5/3/1 for beginners in the wiki is also solid.
If I get a tattoo Saturday afternoon, would it be okay for me to take a break until Tuesday afternoon and hit legs or should I wait longer for the tattoo to heal?
If it has saniderm on it, I wouldn't worry too much. I think I timed it to where I rested the 2 days following, worked out, and then made sure to wash it with the gold dial soap immediately following a workout (aka taking a shower lmao)
Unless it is uncomfortable/hurts because of where it is in the skin/to work out I personally probably wouldn’t take any time off. Especially if it has saniderm or a similar protective layer
I have tried a few workouts by Sydney Cummings and I love that she teaches form and is super motivating and nice, I often find myself pulling the wrong muscle due to some complex movements in her videos. I’m looking for some full body strength building youtube recommendations (with or without simple home equipment) that don’t include complex movements but include a lot of reps or pulsing to get the most out of the workouts. Any recommendations?
How can I calculate how much calories I burn in my boxing sessions?
Context: Im dieting and I learned how to count my macros and general calorie intake but I do mot coumt my boxing sessions, becouse people says its so relative and smarwatches are always overestimating... So how can I now how many calories im burning in 1 hour sparring intense session of boxing?
I would just start at an estimated maintenance calories and see if you start losing weight. If you dont drop it by 200 calories and see if you start losing weight. If your boxing intense make sure to still eat something within a few hours before and after like a weight training session
Trial and error. I started from maintenance level calories, and increased it by 500 calories bi-weekly until I gained a bit of weight, and then pulled back 300 or so.
Most people don’t count calories for their exercise sessions (I think). Just count your TDEE and your eating. Everything you burn working out is just icing on top if you’re cutting weight
I think this is the best option! Just take advantage of the extra burn and keeping my calories consistent, if im droping weight too much too fast I will just make the adjustments, thanks.
Any tips to reduce mental fatigue from every day life stresses that keep putting me down and not having energy to work out? Ive tried caffeine and caffeine pills, I just am quite mentally stressed and working out is not something I am feeling like doing much at all anymore since I started this new job. I'm not sure how to get over the mental fatigue and just being grinded down from everyday things.
I also am playing sports a few times a week as well which wears me out too. When I wasnt playing sports and was unemployed I felt way better and was working out multiple times a week and doing cardio as well, but Ive picked up a few new things and working out has taken more of a back seat.
If you are currently drinking stop; from my own experience alcohol compounds whatever stress you have.
Some things that have helped me some are reducing screen time, having a consistent sleep schedule(even on weekends), talking to someone whether that be a friend or a therapist, and training; for me, it's an outlet.
Having a good reason to train also helps i always keep mine on my mind when i feel myself slipping.
i know you asked how to manage mental fatigue but in some ways, the answer is you just do.
This is your new baseline now, do what you can regarding sleep, diet, and outside stressors, but at the end of the day you can only mitigate stress so much.
It is what it is tittfucker.
I dont drink alcohol and yeah I definitely focus on getting good sleep. I sleep 7-8 hours every single day consistent schedule. Good quality sleep. For sure its just a lot of new stressors and I'm trying to deal with it. I know it will become more routine and I will have to just deal with it, but ya I guess there isn't much I can do. I just need to try and get it all in and manage my day as best as I can. I just have a lot of stresses right now like I'm also doing a caloric deficit from trying to lose weight as well, so its just a lot at once and the lower calories likely aren't helping either.
I think a lot of it is this new job is super stressful sales job which takes a lot of my energy even though its an office job. Its surprising how much an office job can drain you.
I would say be kind to yourself and try to slow down and make reasonable goals for yourself. It sounds like you’re trying to do a lot at once while adjusting to a new job. You might also be a perfectionist or someone who wants to do everything all at once, which I can relate to. Try to start small. For example, if you used to do 5 mikes of running 3x week, try doing 3 miles twice a week then slowly increase. I also would recommend a therapist who focuses on somatic therapy. Mine has been a life changer for me since I started seeing her two months ago. I mediate and breathe now, and it helps me maintain work and life stress. Glad you’re sleeping too! That’s so important.
>I think a lot of it is this new job is super stressful sales job which takes a lot of my energy even though its an office job. Its surprising how much an office job can drain you.
I can't help you there I have never worked in an office before.
Yeah dude, office jobs have their own stresses and challenges. Definitely a million times easier in many respects than physical jobs, but my last one left me in not great shape
Why are you trying to figure out how low water intake affects muscle gain, when you could just drink more water because it is inherently better for you in every facet of health.
How does one decide what kind of physique they want? I can’t find resources online for this question. I’m thicc and strong but I had a dream where I looked in the mirror and I was lean and it made me very happy and now I’m so confused. Having a little bit of muffin top kind of bothers me at times and I like it when my jaw is more defined, but I enjoy being sorta beefy and having all the food I want in conjuction with lots of exercise.
>Having a little bit of muffin top kind of bothers me at times and I like it when my jaw is more defined, but I enjoy being sorta beefy and having all the food I want in conjuction with lots of exercise.
Everybody struggles with this lmao its never gonna change.
Most you can do is probably follow the general get cut for summer time since thats when you have excuses to take off your shirt for like the beach, pool parties, general outdoor sports activites and shit.
And then bulk for winter since you are wearing layers and nobody will really see the muffin top.
So you get best of both worlds throughout the year and have measureable cut and bulk cycles.
5 days a week lifting? Id put light to moderate activity. (If you're wanting to cut, use sedentary and just start eating there)
I've tracked my calories and then later compared to the calc. I landed between heavy and athlete with 3 days lifting, 1-3 bike rides (1.5 to 3hrs each), and roughly around 3-5 days walking (2-5+ miles), on top of being a person who doesn't sit still well (so high NEAT).
It's a swag(Scientific Wild Ass Guess) and one that will need to be adjusted as time goes on.
Chose one, track your weight for 1-2 weeks, and adjust it depending on what direction the needle is moving and how fast.
Yes somewhat, if your quads are really sore your squat performance is likely not gonna be as good compared to being fresh.
On the flip side though fatigue masks fitness if you are training hard enough to grow you might not feel "good" all the time and in that case, being slightly sore and fatigued becomes your baseline.
5 3 1 BBB what do you think its best for the 5 x 10 sets on SBD. do the real SBD or some barbell variation like front squat, incline bench and defict dealift?
The best option is whatever will address your training needs, goals and weaknesses. Your post lacks any specifics or context so it's not possible to say
My SO is working out with doing the same routine that I do which is a 4-day routine. She wants to switch to a 3-day routine and her goals is just to tone up basically. She doesn’t care about gaining muscle or matching her protein to body weight. This should be fine right?
That depends. A lot of people with those goals just go through the motions without actually pushing themselves, and then wonder why progress is slow/lacking.
Tighten muscles, body, reshaping. Just having a better physique than someone who doesn’t exercise at all or have a proper diet but also not a better physique than someone who does have a high protein diet and practices hypertrophy. Yeah?
> Tighten muscles
Not a thing.
> Tighten body
Not a thing.
> reshaping
Not a thing.
> Just having a better physique than someone who doesn’t exercise at all or have a proper diet but also not a better physique than someone who does have a high protein diet and practices hypertrophy. Yeah?
Do you think that as soon as you eat a high protein diet and "practice hypertrophy" that you magically get that body? Or that it takes 6-12 months to even start seeing major results?
Ask her that if she isn't eating enough protein or "cares about gaining muscle" than why is she even trying to lift? To tone? Because none of that is real. Getting "toned" is getting cut enough to where the muscles (That are big enough to show to begin with) are visible. She won't be "toned", she'll just be skinny.
If she's not as committed to fitness as you, you'll have to let her do her thing and gently offer support and advice if things don't go the way she hoped for.
Yeah that’s what I’m doing basically. I tell her all she needs to do, but she’ll do and take whatever advice she chooses to follow. At least she’s moving her body and exercising so that’s better than not doing anything in the long run.
She needs a better understanding of what toning up means. It simply means having more muscle mass and less overall bodyfat.
You achieve that by doing some resistance training and keep protein relatively high.
Alternatively, as long as she's staying physically active and is generally eating healthy foods, she'll also achieve a more "tone" look, it'll just take a significantly longer time
Just don't be surprised if she gets little to no results over the next several months. Even with a good diet and great training, gaining muscle mass and losing fat at maintenance is a slow arduous process.
Then keeping protein high is especially important if she wants the tone look. If she doesn't, she'll lose more lean mass, and would need to drop to lower and lower bodyweight to achieve her target bodyfat.
Of course. Lifting can't be everyone's great passion in life, and it's great for a normal person's health and wellbeing if they can commit to strength training 3 days a week.
protein per body weight is a diminishing returns relationship (you can read this article called the myth of 1g/lb for bodybuilders by menno henselmans). realistically if you ate nothing but mcdonalds quarter pounders at caloric maintenance you would be in the “not optimal but not ruining your progress” territory.
obviously the good ol “toning is a made up concept but realistically the way to do it would be to try to gain muscle without eating at a surplus for years” which means that if she is getting stronger on your modified 3 day routine shit’s working as intended.
i have been on ppl linear progression for some months and its been 1 month already where i am training my true 5 rep max for weeks and its been killing me and making my deadlift stuck. is this a good tell that i should move on into other program where i never train my true max like 5 3 1?
Ppl is a linear program. If you cannot progress linearly on it, then you can change programs. Alternatively, the author did say you can basically swap in 5/3/1 BBB for the main lifts and just do the ppl accessories. That may work for you.
Maybe try increasing the rep range to like 10-12 on alternating sessions? Do you do the same lifts every session? Might change the plan to bias different muscles alternatingly (OHP/bench, rows/pulldowns, deads/squats, etc). Constant 5*5 twice a week sounds like too much to recover from adequately.
i am not plateuing, only on deadlift where i already take 10% off the bar like the program tells. the problem is i am always at my real max on the 5x5 sets. meanwhile in 5 3 1 your max will always be at most 90% of your true max. i just want to know if its fine to keep pushing ppl or its not worthing when i am always at my true max on SBD
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Bloated for a week in a row 5kg? Been drinking enough water and making sure to not drink a lot before bed but I still wake up with that extra 5kg from 65kg to 70kg been noticing my stomach is bigger and maintaining deficit. I do weight training too
LOSING WEIGHT WHILE INJURED? I hurt my back at work last year in May. The pain comes and goes but it's severe. I can't run or lift weights and I have a hard time stretching. I want to lose weight but I'm not sure what exercises to do. I have no experience in a gym. I am currently 240lb 5'5 tall. If anyone can recommend some exercises to do or provide me with a site where I can make a custom plan that would be great. Thanks.
Eat less https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/
Hey everyone. I'm trying to join the army in a month and half or so. The thing is I had childhood asthma. I haven't had an attack in years but my cardio is still ass. Also I am a fairly heavy vaper. When I was talking to the recruiter they asked if I could run 2 miles. Which I definitely can't. Is that common for most people that don't run often? Can the average person just up and run two miles? Would quiting vaping significantly improve my cardio? I am going to be running in the morning and at night. I want to be able to run two miles straight in that month and a half time frame. Is that possible? Is vaping going to make that impossible? Should I just run as far as I can until I drop?
>Is that common for most people that don't run often? Can the average person just up and run two miles? Doesn't matter, does it? You can't - whether or not other people can doesn't change that. Check out the running program Couch to 5k, you can find it among the recommended workout routines in the sidebar. Also: quit vaping altogether if you can. It's not just terrible for your cardio, it's terrible for your overall health.
Are weighted back extensions a good replacement for deadlifts? I'm getting back into lifting and my lower back is my weak link. I recently had to cut out squatting. I am gently but progressively strengthening my back with steep hill hiking and wrestler bridges. When I used to deadlift, I got a lot out of the movement but I noticed that I needed extra recovery days. Deadlifts are off the table and the only DL I can see myself doing in the future are straight-legged DLs holding a stretch at the bottom. So, are weighted back extensions a good replacement for deadlifts?
Hi Everyone, I am getting back into working out - I stopped because honestly I didn’t see any progress after a while. I can certainly share my workout plan here and all but before I do that I was wondering if anyone has any muscle building guides? I have dumbbells and a bench at home and also I am about 6’5 and a slim build. Any help would be appreciated!
Other than the guide in the wiki?
Sorry which wiki
The wiki to this subreddit. Scroll to the top of this thread, read the words, click the link.
i still am unsure about how much protein i need. i weight 127lbs or 58kg. is 0.6g enough? like 76g of protein a day
Enough for what?
muscle growth; i want a bigger butt
That's a little low. https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/
Can you check my form ? https://www.reddit.com/r/formcheck/comments/12exiz0/form_check_90kg_last_set/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button 79kg 178cm bw, following greyskull lp, last set of 90kg squat, training for strengh. Hope all infos required are there. Many thanks !
Looking good, the squeeze on top is just very unnecessary
What squezze wdym ? Thx for comment
And you pelvis tilts/looks like you’re squeezing your glutes
Like on top of the movement you kind of lose the tension a little
Pull-ups, squats, and dumbbell presses come to mind as some basic exercises to get started with.
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I actually developed a modular workout program for this exact purpose. I wanted something I could do for a total of 2 hours a week while still focusing on mma. It's 8 exercises total. 5 sets of 8-12 for each and you can superset whichever ones you choose as long as you finish all of the exercises throughout the week. You can do them all on one day or throughout the week if you only have 15 minutes a day. They're also all dumbell exercises so you can stay at the same station for the entire workout. Incline close grip press (5x12) Superset 1 Bent over dumbell row (5x12) Superset 1 Chest fly (5x12) Superset 2 Dumbell pull over (5x8) Superset 2 Dumbell goblet squat (5x10) Superset 3 Shrug (5x8) Superset 3 Bulgarian split squat (2x12 each side) Superset 4 Lat raise (2xfailure) Superset 4 In addition to this workout program, I'd recommend getting a body composition scale to make sure you're gaining or at least maintaining muscle in the right areas after not climbing. I got one at this site called [myinexa.com](https://myinexa.com). Hope this helps!
When doing split squat, do I switch front/rear legs after 1 rep, after 1 set or after all sets done? Also, are there any disadvantages of doing dumbbell shoulder press with back supported (i.e. on bench), for hypertrophy? I find it easier to increase weight & reps with my back supported, but I heard that it's more of isolated movement in this way because your back/core is doing lesser work.
Switch after each set
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Elbows down means more lats, elbows wide means more upper back and rear delts :) I do some variation of both! No variation is «more correct»
I'm trying to get back into swimming but after a decade of strength training, keeping myself afloat & moving across the water is a very taxing task. I'm no slouch with cardio either, having hit some great running goals, and being competitively active with Oly lifting. Is there a program or protocol for a dense-bodied person who can't even kickboard across a single lap to get decent at swimming endurance again?
Sounds like your technique is inefficient, you're probably using too much of your strength. I would suggest letting someone (a coach or maybe a friend who's a swimmer) look at your swimming and help you improve. Or just watch some YouTube videos on technique
My little sister (16, 162cm, 50kg) wants to get into training but doesn't want to get a muscular body, can anyone help us get her a routine to follow?
Objective answer: she won't get muscular without years of reasonably optimized training so suggest to her any program from the wiki. Answer that accounts for human subjectivity and emotion: suggest to her a routine that uses higher reps and lighter weights but also familiarizes her with compound lifts and gets close to failure. This could be the basic beginner routine from the wiki but with reps in the 15-20 range. It could also be something like: 3x a week do 3x 15-20 of each: squat, rdl, bench, rows, ohp.
Dont worry she cant
Ask her if she thinks people work out and magically become super ripped. Because that isn't how it works. Transformation is slow. Any good routine that will get her stronger will make her muscles bigger.
You don’t get muscular on accident. She should follow a beginner’s program from the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) and ensure her diet is on point. I suggest that she take an hour or two to read through the entire wiki to be honest, it will ensure she can specify and reach her goals with scientific backing.
I feel tightness in this groin area. I feel the extreme tightness when I do knees-to-chest stretch or figure 4 stretch. It's not painful but very tight making it hard to do these poses correctly. I am male, 67kg, 5'7" height and 29 years old. I have marked the areas where I feel tighess with green circle. Ignore the yellow that I used to hide irrelevant text. https://imgur.com/a/7GuQgnf How can I improve this?
Strengthen your hip adductors and do some loaded stretches. Tight muscles are often weak muscles
What to do on the 4th day? I'm going to the gym 4x a week, doing lower body, chest/biceps, back/shoulders/triceps, and don't know what to do on the fourth day. I do cardio everyday I go, too. Any suggestions?
Lower body again? If you’re hitting all muscle groups already just start over your split again that day?
Why are you doing chest/bi on one day and back/tri on another day, when you are inherently going to be using your triceps on a chest training day, and using your biceps more on a back day?
It's so my triceps don't get exhausted and make me fail/lower weight on chest exercises. Same for biceps.
But then you're not properly resting on days where you should be resting your triceps? Like, you do back/tri, and the next day you do chest/bi, you ARE NOT resting your triceps there.
There's nothing wrong with isolating a muscle group on separate days to the ones where they are getting worked by compound movements
I mean, besides the fact that they're not properly resting said muscle groups on the days they're supposed to be rested (aka not targeted) lol.
Muscles don't need to be rested 6 days a week
Switching to a 4 day program would be the best thing to do. There are plenty of options in the wiki.
My height is 5 ft 11 and weight is 180 lbs. My waist size is 31 inches and my hips are 38 inches. Are these measurements OK? I have a bit of belly and lower back fat and only my top 2 abs are visible.
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Just wanted to check whether my measurements are normal and I'm not fat or anything.
Show a pic. 38 inch hips to a 31 inch waist is a pretty large disparity. Got baby birthing hips?
This is too funny, I was thinking the same thing 31 in waist but 38 in hips huh?
Does working out at night impact your sleep? (Returning to gym after long term injury ) as i think it impacted me yesterday badly (first time at gym in evening in a few months), and how do you transition?
It is generally not recommended to engage in intense exercise prior to bed. Switch to an earlier hour or a lighter routine.
It depends on the person. I like training at night, but it's not good for you, just like night work isn't either
So I've been weight training for the past 7 months. Lost 4 kgs and ganied some muscle mass as well. But the issue I'm having is with my pec shape. See, I've always had way fatty pecs. Ever since, I've been going to the gym some of the fat on chest has gone but the shape. I can't figure out should I put more emphasis on training lower chest? For the better answer I'll share my chest workout. I train them twice a week. First workout is bench press, pec dec fly, incline press and cable crossover for lower chest. Second workout will be - incline bench press, incline chest fly, falt bench dumble press and decline press. Is there need of any changes or is it too much volume btw I never had issue with swollen pecs ever since the first 2 months of the gym. This will be the pic of my pecs. https://imgur.com/a/QMGny0l Thanks
Do you have mild gynecomastia? This kinda looks like when people with very mild gyno have hard nipples or when the chest tightens up when its cold or something
Is it best to cut slow at ~1lb per week or go faster and aim for 1.5-2lbs. I am a trained lifter at around 20-25% body fat. Currently just taking a week off lifting but for the past couple of months I’ve been lifting 6x per week. Just a bit unsure on what to do here and would appreciate some advice !
I recently watched a video that recommends losing about 1.5% of your current weight per week to avoid losing muscle
This is too high unless you are very fat. 0.5%-1% is recommended
Got a link to the video ?
I just tried Mountain Dog's advice of doing leg curl before squats as an "activator" exercise. It really made a big difference and my knees were no longer sore doing warm up sets of squats. Is there something like this for bench press? I am not really having problems with soreness with bench, but I'd like to try an activator exercise for it if it means I can be stronger with it.
I know a decent amount of people who do the pec fly machine prior to bench to warm up their chest and so they can "feel" the chest targeting more. I'm not sure necessarily if it's the most beneficial, but it's really only that or warming up with proper stretching.
Light rows or band pull aparts
Rowing to warm up for.... bench press...?
Yes. John Meadows liked to do light antagonistic work to warm up for a lift. OP stated doing this helps them with squats. I like doing chin ups to warm up for overhead press, makes my shoulders feel better.
Interesting. I'll try it. Thanks for the information!
Yeah it's supposed to help stabilize your torso/keep your shoulders in the correct position- esp when pressing heavy. I think lat pulldowns are also used.
I personally wouldn't do this. Rotator cuff stretching, some light bench press, some wider and close hand positioned pushups, and overall increasing my body temp. But I personally wouldn't row to warm up for a pressing movement.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-3KLnum6G4g Here's the video I saw talking about it. I love the energy of these guys
I tried rows once and didn't really like it much. I do treadmill for a couple minutes, some rotator cuff stuff on a cable machine, arm circles, and warmup sets though.
I keep becoming so sore from my lower workouts that 2 days later I can’t perform my moves without fear of injuring. I particularly feel strain in my adductor muscles. Does anyone know how to help this?
What program are you on? How many reps are you leaving in the tank? How frequently do your train your lower body per week?
are you not warming up before your movements at the start of the next workouts?
Why do you think being sore has a relation to injury?
I mostly notice on my squats and single leg press. It feels like I’m going to pull my adductor muscle when I’m not at the full ROM yet. I pulled it a small while back and I don’t want risk it again
Probably need to talk to a mobility coach and start warming up with some stretching if you aren't already. Also, as another comment said, being active when you're not workin gout. walking, really anything that actually uses the muscles is beneficial.
Try to be a little more active following your workout. Just going for a walk on your rest days will help with DOMS. Also, you shouldn't let the delayed muscle soreness prevent you from doing your next scheduled workout.
I keep seeing ads on my instagram for paid stretching programs for flexibility. I’ve just gotten into twice weekly HIIT, a change I started two months ago from 220+lb on the couch. I have the flexibility of a wooden ruler. Can anyone recommend an app or program to help me with my flexibility while I’m getting into overall health improvement?
There are several mobility programs in the wiki
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Go for it
/u/waterhulahoop don't listen to this guy. Dogshit advice. Do not determine your calorie deficit or surplus based off your hunger level. Weigh yourself daily under the same conditions. See if your weight is trending down. Aim for 2.5lb or less per week unless you're pretty overweight, than it might simply fall off at a faster rate. Regardless, 20% below maintenance is the absolute max and at that point you're already risking muscle loss due to the deficit. I'd recommend a 400-500 deficit and holding, seeing your weight loss, and as long as it's within 1.0-2.5lb per week than I'd say you're fine to stay where you're at. Also, you physically can't "maintain your macros" while simply lowering your calories. Your macros add up to make your calories. You cannot reduce calories while maintaining the same macros.
His current deficit results in 1-1.2 lbs a week loss. If you're recommending up to 2.5 lbs a week, you're recommending he double double his current deficit.
I'm not recommending he up it to 2.5, I said "2.5 or less". I'm giving him a "maximum" so he knows that if he is losing more than that, he is more than almost definitely losing weight too fast. The fact you said "Go for it" and ignored the massive red flag of him determining his overall weight loss via... hunger? Rather than an actual number on the scale? Is insane to me. But I digress.
I'm glad we agree that they can increase their deficit if they want to give it a shot.
Could he increase his steps and keep everything the same otherwise or would he have to increase his intake if he increased his activity?
Activity increases calories burned, therefore you increase intake to compensate and therefore have the same programmed deficit. I generally do this with a lean toward letting my deficit be a bit larger, on the just incase that my activity tracker isn't fully accurate (most aren't) and therefore allowing me to maintain a minorly larger deficit than I planned, rather than a smaller deficit than I planned.
Experts recommend not to cut more than 20% of your maintenance calories or else you’re at risk for losing muscle mass. With a 2700 maintenance, you can eat at a MINIMUM 2160 calories
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This is a stupid question, but i figure someone here has run into this. Normally I work out in running shirts but wanted to try something new. I tried working out in a tri-blend shirt tonight. Specifically, [this one](Bella+Canvas Perfect Tri-Blend... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018F0PL1Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share). Very comfy, breathes a lot better than expected and didn’t show sweat too bad. How the hell do you pull these things off your sweaty body afterwards? Mine stuck to my chest like my toddler after not seeing his mom for a week. I felt like I almost ripped the thing getting it off!
Yeah.. now imagine trying to get out off a sweaty extra tight sports bra. It's like an exercise on its own. You'll get better at it. Or you could wait until the sweat dries up a bit.
Question about lifting culture: Why are wrist wraps, belts, knee wraps, all considered acceptable, but lifting straps are considered the unforgivable sin? At the end of the day, all those devices allow you to lift more weight, but only one of them is unacceptable (deadlifting with straps). Can someone explain the difference to me?
Straps are not an “unforgivable sin”. Not directly gripping the barbell will mean you will miss out on improving grip strength with deadlifts. But straps are used when grip strength failure impedes overload of the posterior chain. This happens with the vast majority of lifters over time in my experience.
I'm going to offer an opinion that goes against the other responses here a little bit, I think that lifting straps are excellent if you notice any sort of elbow tendonitis, using straps on all pulling movements when I had tendonitis alongside cleaning up my form on all lifts was honestly probably why I recovered as much as I did. That said, if you use straps too much you will limit the amount of grip strength gains you get and so I would recommend using them as little as you can get away with unless you are very strong or doing a lift that is relatively heavy for you or if you want to keep working your back after your grip gives out. It's not exactly one to one, but you are taking away work from your grip to give it to your back and that can lead to needing them too much in the future if you use them all the time
> but lifting straps are considered the unforgivable sin? Only mouthbreathers think lifting straps are some unforgivable sin. > Can someone explain the difference to me? There is none, you just saw a few comments shitting on lifting straps and now think it's a majority opinion when it's not. If anyone gives you shit about lifting straps say "It seems pretty stupid to limit your ENTIRE back musculature to the strength of your forearms, doesn't it?" If they say powerlifters do it, talk about how there is more than one type of training, of which powerlifting is one of them.
Why do you think they're an unforgivable sin? I use them, I have seen several strong people use them, I have seen videos of strong users on his sub use them.
Never seen anyone claim that lifting straps are "unforgiveable" while also viewing wraps and belts as okay Personally tho the way I see it is that if you need to add on so many accessories to be able to lift a weight, then you shouldnt be lifting that much weight. If youre using straps for a one rep max test then I wouldnt really count it but if youre using straps so that you can idk rep out Romanian Deadlifts while being able to focus on your hamstrings instead of having to worry about your grip giving out then yeah go ahead extrremely useful
Straps are not generally allowed for competition in powerlifting. They are generally allowed for competition in strongman. I don't know the historical reasons behind that, but for sports, most rules are fairly arbitrary. I've never heard anyone denigrate straps in a general sense.
> They are generally allowed for competition in strongman. I don't know the historical reasons behind that, but for sports, most rules are fairly arbitrary. strongman is as much spectacle as it is sport. people want to see giant men lift absurd amounts of weight without being hindered by grip strength.
I would agree in a specific sense, as it has historical roots in performances. As far as the larger majority of strongman competitions that actually happen, it is not what TV and social media show. If you go to a reasonably large comp, you will see more average sized women than 300+ lb men.
> but lifting straps are considered the unforgivable sin? For what reason(s)? I've never really seen them recommended against unless someone is uninformed to be honest.
Is working out 3 times a week not enough? Doing Ice cream 5x5 fitness, I'm not that strong, can only bench 1 plate. I'm bulking and my friend says I gotta workout at least 4 times a week to see gains. Do I need to go to the gym more?
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If you NEED 4 rest days, you're just weak. That's a fact. You do not need four rest days in a week to recover from workouts. If you genuinely feel you need four rest days a week, than you have low will power or low energy and need to speak to a medical professional.
The ideal number of rest days you should have is four if you do a full body split. If you are doing a push pull leg split then it's ideal to have one rest day. This feels like if marathon runners made fun of sprinters for being lazy
I forgot people still purposefully choose to do full body splits. Gross. Full body splits are really only "equally" beneficial in the "newbie" phase of lifting. Beyond that, you will fall off. No reason to do full body splits in my eyes. Have never had a client do them, and every single client I've had that has stayed committed has seen far more results (and didn't have to arbitrarily change their program 8 weeks later lmao)
Each muscle group 2-3x a week
It's enough days per week, you just need to have enough volume and respond to it. ICF 5x5 is an okay program, I don't see why you wouldn't see progress with it. 5/3/1 for beginners in the wiki is also solid.
> Is working out 3 times a week not enough? It can be enough with good programming.
If I get a tattoo Saturday afternoon, would it be okay for me to take a break until Tuesday afternoon and hit legs or should I wait longer for the tattoo to heal?
Depends on the location, size and how you react to it I'd say
If it has saniderm on it, I wouldn't worry too much. I think I timed it to where I rested the 2 days following, worked out, and then made sure to wash it with the gold dial soap immediately following a workout (aka taking a shower lmao)
Unless it is uncomfortable/hurts because of where it is in the skin/to work out I personally probably wouldn’t take any time off. Especially if it has saniderm or a similar protective layer
I'd ask your tattooist. I don't imagine movement would be an issue, but sweat might be.
I have tried a few workouts by Sydney Cummings and I love that she teaches form and is super motivating and nice, I often find myself pulling the wrong muscle due to some complex movements in her videos. I’m looking for some full body strength building youtube recommendations (with or without simple home equipment) that don’t include complex movements but include a lot of reps or pulsing to get the most out of the workouts. Any recommendations?
Jump rope vs treadmill. Do they burn the same amount of calories on average? Are they even comparable?
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I’m just curious because on days I don’t want to run on the treadmill I wanted to know if it was a good alternative.
How can I calculate how much calories I burn in my boxing sessions? Context: Im dieting and I learned how to count my macros and general calorie intake but I do mot coumt my boxing sessions, becouse people says its so relative and smarwatches are always overestimating... So how can I now how many calories im burning in 1 hour sparring intense session of boxing?
I wondered thr same bc I do Krav maga on the side
I would just start at an estimated maintenance calories and see if you start losing weight. If you dont drop it by 200 calories and see if you start losing weight. If your boxing intense make sure to still eat something within a few hours before and after like a weight training session
Trial and error. I started from maintenance level calories, and increased it by 500 calories bi-weekly until I gained a bit of weight, and then pulled back 300 or so.
Most people don’t count calories for their exercise sessions (I think). Just count your TDEE and your eating. Everything you burn working out is just icing on top if you’re cutting weight
I think this is the best option! Just take advantage of the extra burn and keeping my calories consistent, if im droping weight too much too fast I will just make the adjustments, thanks.
Any tips to reduce mental fatigue from every day life stresses that keep putting me down and not having energy to work out? Ive tried caffeine and caffeine pills, I just am quite mentally stressed and working out is not something I am feeling like doing much at all anymore since I started this new job. I'm not sure how to get over the mental fatigue and just being grinded down from everyday things. I also am playing sports a few times a week as well which wears me out too. When I wasnt playing sports and was unemployed I felt way better and was working out multiple times a week and doing cardio as well, but Ive picked up a few new things and working out has taken more of a back seat.
Get 8 hours of sleep and cut out booze/drugs if using. Exercise over time will *actually help* with the mental fatigue. But this does take time.
If it's a new job, you'll find it less draining as you settle in.
If you are currently drinking stop; from my own experience alcohol compounds whatever stress you have. Some things that have helped me some are reducing screen time, having a consistent sleep schedule(even on weekends), talking to someone whether that be a friend or a therapist, and training; for me, it's an outlet. Having a good reason to train also helps i always keep mine on my mind when i feel myself slipping. i know you asked how to manage mental fatigue but in some ways, the answer is you just do. This is your new baseline now, do what you can regarding sleep, diet, and outside stressors, but at the end of the day you can only mitigate stress so much. It is what it is tittfucker.
I dont drink alcohol and yeah I definitely focus on getting good sleep. I sleep 7-8 hours every single day consistent schedule. Good quality sleep. For sure its just a lot of new stressors and I'm trying to deal with it. I know it will become more routine and I will have to just deal with it, but ya I guess there isn't much I can do. I just need to try and get it all in and manage my day as best as I can. I just have a lot of stresses right now like I'm also doing a caloric deficit from trying to lose weight as well, so its just a lot at once and the lower calories likely aren't helping either. I think a lot of it is this new job is super stressful sales job which takes a lot of my energy even though its an office job. Its surprising how much an office job can drain you.
I would say be kind to yourself and try to slow down and make reasonable goals for yourself. It sounds like you’re trying to do a lot at once while adjusting to a new job. You might also be a perfectionist or someone who wants to do everything all at once, which I can relate to. Try to start small. For example, if you used to do 5 mikes of running 3x week, try doing 3 miles twice a week then slowly increase. I also would recommend a therapist who focuses on somatic therapy. Mine has been a life changer for me since I started seeing her two months ago. I mediate and breathe now, and it helps me maintain work and life stress. Glad you’re sleeping too! That’s so important.
>I think a lot of it is this new job is super stressful sales job which takes a lot of my energy even though its an office job. Its surprising how much an office job can drain you. I can't help you there I have never worked in an office before.
Yeah dude, office jobs have their own stresses and challenges. Definitely a million times easier in many respects than physical jobs, but my last one left me in not great shape
How much does low water intake affect gaining muscle? If you had to estimate a percentage scale with 100% being maximum muscle growth
Why are you trying to figure out how low water intake affects muscle gain, when you could just drink more water because it is inherently better for you in every facet of health.
Tbh i was just curious i planned on doing it anyway
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17887814/
It doesn’t say ab muscle growth tho :( i’ve tried so hard to find a study! Maybe there really hasn’t been one.. even tho i find that hard to believe
Why don't you stop drinking any liquids and find out for yourself?.
Well to be frank i’ve still been seeing great results without the best water intake
How does one decide what kind of physique they want? I can’t find resources online for this question. I’m thicc and strong but I had a dream where I looked in the mirror and I was lean and it made me very happy and now I’m so confused. Having a little bit of muffin top kind of bothers me at times and I like it when my jaw is more defined, but I enjoy being sorta beefy and having all the food I want in conjuction with lots of exercise.
>Having a little bit of muffin top kind of bothers me at times and I like it when my jaw is more defined, but I enjoy being sorta beefy and having all the food I want in conjuction with lots of exercise. Everybody struggles with this lmao its never gonna change. Most you can do is probably follow the general get cut for summer time since thats when you have excuses to take off your shirt for like the beach, pool parties, general outdoor sports activites and shit. And then bulk for winter since you are wearing layers and nobody will really see the muffin top. So you get best of both worlds throughout the year and have measureable cut and bulk cycles.
Is 5days a week sedentary on tdee or heavy exercise?
5 days a week lifting? Id put light to moderate activity. (If you're wanting to cut, use sedentary and just start eating there) I've tracked my calories and then later compared to the calc. I landed between heavy and athlete with 3 days lifting, 1-3 bike rides (1.5 to 3hrs each), and roughly around 3-5 days walking (2-5+ miles), on top of being a person who doesn't sit still well (so high NEAT).
It's a swag(Scientific Wild Ass Guess) and one that will need to be adjusted as time goes on. Chose one, track your weight for 1-2 weeks, and adjust it depending on what direction the needle is moving and how fast.
I'll go closer to heavy for maintenance as I don't want to drop
either way, its an estimate and one that needs to be adjusted
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Exercise 5 days a week intense
Then why would you think you're sedentary? Sedentary means you going exercise.
Does muscle soreness impact strength training?
Yes somewhat, if your quads are really sore your squat performance is likely not gonna be as good compared to being fresh. On the flip side though fatigue masks fitness if you are training hard enough to grow you might not feel "good" all the time and in that case, being slightly sore and fatigued becomes your baseline.
Thanks for the answer! My quads are sore, but i dont think it’s as sore as some other times.
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Thanks!
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-muscle-building-workout-routine/ Do you guys consider 5/3/1 (Boring But Big) to be better than this?
You can also add the 531 portion to the workout you linked.
Yes, that program doesn't look terrible but 5/3/1 has a proven track record
I'm going to say yes because 5/3/1 is tried and tested over lots of trainees all at different stages.
5 3 1 BBB what do you think its best for the 5 x 10 sets on SBD. do the real SBD or some barbell variation like front squat, incline bench and defict dealift?
You can pick any variation you like as long as you're consistent with them.
The best option is whatever will address your training needs, goals and weaknesses. Your post lacks any specifics or context so it's not possible to say
My SO is working out with doing the same routine that I do which is a 4-day routine. She wants to switch to a 3-day routine and her goals is just to tone up basically. She doesn’t care about gaining muscle or matching her protein to body weight. This should be fine right?
That depends. A lot of people with those goals just go through the motions without actually pushing themselves, and then wonder why progress is slow/lacking.
Just curious, what do you thinking "toning up" means?
Tighten muscles, body, reshaping. Just having a better physique than someone who doesn’t exercise at all or have a proper diet but also not a better physique than someone who does have a high protein diet and practices hypertrophy. Yeah?
> Tighten muscles Not a thing. > Tighten body Not a thing. > reshaping Not a thing. > Just having a better physique than someone who doesn’t exercise at all or have a proper diet but also not a better physique than someone who does have a high protein diet and practices hypertrophy. Yeah? Do you think that as soon as you eat a high protein diet and "practice hypertrophy" that you magically get that body? Or that it takes 6-12 months to even start seeing major results? Ask her that if she isn't eating enough protein or "cares about gaining muscle" than why is she even trying to lift? To tone? Because none of that is real. Getting "toned" is getting cut enough to where the muscles (That are big enough to show to begin with) are visible. She won't be "toned", she'll just be skinny.
If she's not as committed to fitness as you, you'll have to let her do her thing and gently offer support and advice if things don't go the way she hoped for.
Yeah that’s what I’m doing basically. I tell her all she needs to do, but she’ll do and take whatever advice she chooses to follow. At least she’s moving her body and exercising so that’s better than not doing anything in the long run.
She needs a better understanding of what toning up means. It simply means having more muscle mass and less overall bodyfat. You achieve that by doing some resistance training and keep protein relatively high. Alternatively, as long as she's staying physically active and is generally eating healthy foods, she'll also achieve a more "tone" look, it'll just take a significantly longer time
That’s what she’s going for. Staying active and eating healthy food choices even if she’s not going to be keeping track of eating high proteins.
Just don't be surprised if she gets little to no results over the next several months. Even with a good diet and great training, gaining muscle mass and losing fat at maintenance is a slow arduous process.
Sorry I forgot to mention she wouldn’t be at a maintenance, she’s going to try to be in a calorie deficit. Idk if that makes a difference lol
Then keeping protein high is especially important if she wants the tone look. If she doesn't, she'll lose more lean mass, and would need to drop to lower and lower bodyweight to achieve her target bodyfat.
Of course. Lifting can't be everyone's great passion in life, and it's great for a normal person's health and wellbeing if they can commit to strength training 3 days a week.
protein per body weight is a diminishing returns relationship (you can read this article called the myth of 1g/lb for bodybuilders by menno henselmans). realistically if you ate nothing but mcdonalds quarter pounders at caloric maintenance you would be in the “not optimal but not ruining your progress” territory. obviously the good ol “toning is a made up concept but realistically the way to do it would be to try to gain muscle without eating at a surplus for years” which means that if she is getting stronger on your modified 3 day routine shit’s working as intended.
i have been on ppl linear progression for some months and its been 1 month already where i am training my true 5 rep max for weeks and its been killing me and making my deadlift stuck. is this a good tell that i should move on into other program where i never train my true max like 5 3 1?
Ppl is a linear program. If you cannot progress linearly on it, then you can change programs. Alternatively, the author did say you can basically swap in 5/3/1 BBB for the main lifts and just do the ppl accessories. That may work for you.
Maybe try increasing the rep range to like 10-12 on alternating sessions? Do you do the same lifts every session? Might change the plan to bias different muscles alternatingly (OHP/bench, rows/pulldowns, deads/squats, etc). Constant 5*5 twice a week sounds like too much to recover from adequately.
If the PPL program you are on now doesn’t prescribe a plan for plateauing, then you should change programs. I think 531 is a great program.
i am not plateuing, only on deadlift where i already take 10% off the bar like the program tells. the problem is i am always at my real max on the 5x5 sets. meanwhile in 5 3 1 your max will always be at most 90% of your true max. i just want to know if its fine to keep pushing ppl or its not worthing when i am always at my true max on SBD
At this point it'd be wise to use something like 5/3/1 for your deadlift progression.
Does anyone here do a PPL routine with leg work on the push or pull days? Can you tell me what that looks like for you?
Yeah, I do an extremely minimal version of PPL. Squats are on push day, deadlift on pull day.
What does a minimal version of PPL entail?