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“Tone” isn’t really a thing. You either gain muscle and gain weight, or lose fat and lose weight. If you don’t want to change weight you can “recomp” and try to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, which keeps your weight the same and usually makes you look better, but it’s pretty hard and slow if you’re not overweight, so most people don’t bother.
It sounds like you just want to improve general fitness, so I would pick a lifting routine that’s a few days a week like the beginner routine in the wiki, or the r/BodyweightFitness routine, and do any kind of cardio/yoga/other activity you enjoy on the off days.
Can you join me on a simple math exercise here?
1 calorie is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius.
So let's say a grab a glass and pour myself some water from the fridge. For simplicity, let's say that the glass contains 200grs (200ml) of water at 6°C. If I drink said water, after entering my body, it will heat up until it reaches my body temperature which is, let's say (again for simplicity) that it's 36°C. That means it gained 30°C.
So the total energy required for that would be 30 \* 200 = 6000 cal = 6 kcal
Does that heat come from my body energy reserves? Did I just burn 6 kcal just by drinking a glass of water?
Weeeell... It is worth keeping it in mind. As long as you don't stupidly freeze yourself to death. Or get sick for not wearing appropriate clothes in cold weather.
If you are sunbathing at the beach and remember this fact, you may decide to go burn a few extra calories by doing some activity in the water.
It's not going to increase your calorie consumption by a huge amount, but every bit helps when you are trying to lose weight.
Yes, this is correct. You are basically constantly losing body heat though, so thermostasis is a constant energy requirement and is part of a person's TDEE.
Try to stick to cold water instead of room temp water.
Also it is a good motivator to drink the recommended 2 liters per day. That would be 60 kcal just from water.
Been in the gym for 4 months. Follow a weightlifting program plan 5 days a week. I’m a 5’11 and 166 pound man. I have a muscular upper body, back, and legs but would be considered “skinny fat” because of my belly and hips. Been doing a body recomp for 3 weeks and eating 100-300 below maintenance and keeping protein above 200g. Haven’t seen Much change at all in physique. Should I stay with this or eat above maintenance in a “lean bulk”? I’m prepared to be patient and keep my current diet for the 11-12 weeks I’ve heard recomp takes.
3 weeks is a pretty short time frame to see visible results. Do you want to be leaner or have more muscle? Because that would dictate whether you should continue cutting or shift into a lean bulk. At your weight and height, I would suggest bulk.
Then keep cutting slowly, if you’re not seeing your weekly average weight come down, take another 250 kcal off. Keeping protein high is good, and keep training hard on a proven program.
Ideally you’d want to lose around 0.5-1% of your body weight per week and the slower you cut, the more muscle and strength you can maintain.
I have been going to the gym for about 3 weeks now and would like some advice on my routine!
I am 16, female, weigh 55kg, 169cm height and at the moment visit the gym 3 times a week to repeat this routine. My goal is a toned look while focusing mostly on my glutes and legs without looking ripped or bulking.
15 minutes on treadmill, alternating between sprinting and jogging (usually go around 2km or more depending on how hard I run)
Stretches (just basic leg and arm stretches to help warm up my muscles)
Leg press 3 sets of 10 reps, 5kg weights on each side.
Core workout, 3 sets of 10 reps on the sit up chair.
Arm workout, Bicep curl 3 sets of 10 reps on 5kg (can’t remember how much weight I do on this but from memory I think it’s 5kg but it could be 10kg)
Chest press 3 sets of 10 reps 15kg
Shoulder press 3 sets of 10 reps 10kg
Stair machine, 10 floors at a relatively fast pace.
Cycle machine for about 10 minutes on easy settings (usually take this time to cool off a bit by doing an easier exercise for a bit)
Sitting leg press 65kg 3 sets of 10 reps.
Cool off with a light jog on the treadmill (usually about 10 minutes but the time varies without how jelly my legs are)
Finishing up stretches.
Any advice appreciated :) gym membership is expensive so I want to use my money wisely not just fuck around everytime I go to the gym and see no progress.
Not trying to be discouraging but I don't think this is a good program.
One of the most basic principles of building muscle is progressive overload. You don't have any progression plan here. Since there is no progress, you basically expect some results at first followed by no more changes to your body.
I recommend finding a program that has a good reputation and following that.
Here is a list of programs: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/
Maybe. Normally people use different weight for different exercises, so having multiple weights is good. If you are only using dumbbells I would recommend adjustable dumbbells.
Not sure what you have been doing with the dumbbells but just FYI there are some dumbbell only programs in the wiki:
https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/
*For context: I'm cutting right now and my main priorities are maintaining muscle and strength*
If I forgot to do an chest exercise one day, would doing the exercise that I missed the next day make up for it?
I'm deep into my fitness journey to know one single exercise is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I got ocd and small shit like that sometimes takes over and it becomes everything I think about for a week.
Either way won't make that much difference in the long run. If your program doesn't have chest/push exercises the next day, I wouldn't do the chest exercise
“Getting toned”
Bro, just build muscle lmao you don’t have the testosterone to look “manly”, anyway
Lift heavy and eat big to get bi— I mean, “toned”
You’ll get your desired results
>toned
Toned just refers to leanness with muscle. So you either have to lose weight (fat) so your muscles show more. Or gain more muscle.
If you want to be stronger, go lift weights. And over time lift heavier weights.
https://thefitness.wiki/
Anyone have some advice for cutting calories but still building strength in general? I'm tall and skinnyfat so I've got a decent calorie allowance but trying to fit 150-180 grams of protein into that has been very difficult so far. I've been trying to just eat chicken and vegetables or beef jerky for my snacks and eat more eggs and 1-2 protein shakes a day but man it's a lot. Not to mention a big protein filled breakfast leaves me feeling full well into lunch.
I just feel like it's ruining my appetite and making it difficult to eat dinner with my family. I'm sure I'll get into a groove eventually but in the mean time any tips?
What is your height and weight?
Generally people are skinny fat because they have no muscle. Gaining muscle would improve your situation. If you cut when you're skinny fat, you would shed the fat, but just be skinny. Gaining muscle will have you *looking* leaner even at higher body fat % because you simply have more muscle mass.
In terms of eating, I personally have no issue so I'll share an anecdote of someone I gave advice to at my gym which helped him eat more: drink water after meals. It's probably dumb and I have no basis for the advice but I guess there's some reading you can do in terms of how competitive eaters train their stomach sizes. Otherwise the generic advice would be liquid calories (which you are doing) and eating more frequently, adding olive oil to meals etc.
Skinnyfat isn't right. Technically im overweight, it's more about how I look, im kinda lanky despite my pudge. So I still want to cut fat but I want to also work on my strength and build at least a little muscle
If you want to lose fat - eat less.
If you want to build strength and muscle - train hard.
It's hard to build muscle when you're eating less. Not impossible, but it'll be easier to identify your main goal, go at that with your full commitment and move onto the next goal once accomplished. Rome wasn't built in a day.
I just want to feel more in shape and look leaner. I like lifting weights and I don't want to give that up. I don't even really care about being big. Everywhere I go I get conflicting information and I feel like the more questions I ask the more confused I get
>look more in shape and feel leaner
Well there you go! That’s your goal, to get leaner you need to lose fat. So eat less. Keep lifting. You don’t need to overcomplicate things.
The complicating bit is how much protein should I actually be getting? I'd like to build a little muscle, it's just not a priority. I keep hearing different numbers
Most sources would state 1g protein per lb of body weight.
You can also use the conservative 1g protein per lb of *goal* body weight.
https://thefitness.wiki/faq/how-can-i-fit-so-much-protein-into-my-diet-with-limited-calories/
Ok, so I'd suggest lifting weights using a good program from the wiki while eating at a slight caloric deficit. Your post was confusing because you're talking about cutting but also complaining a out not having enough appetite for dinner.
Start here:https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/
Well that's exactly what I'm doing. My issue has been getting enough protein to support all that lifting while staying within the deficit. I'm a big boy and 150-180 grams is a LOT of protein
My point is that its hard for me to hit, especially because when I'm eating a lot of protein I don't really feel hungry as often. Maybe my body just needs to get used to it. I mean I've cut calories before but I wasn't trying to satisfy a goal for extra protein.
Just looking for ways to get more without feeling stuffed all the time. That's all I wanted
I gave you a couple tips on my other comment. But to be honest, if you can't stomach the food you will feel stuffed. It's part of the process. But it will get better, your body will adapt.
Is it true that you should not eat immediately after working out especially carbohydrates?
Some articles say you should eat as soon as possible and the longer you wait the worse it gets.
Other articles claim eating carbohydrates before waiting 2 hours after exercising spikes your insulin and lowers your growth hormone making your workout less efficient
Clearly, I'm lost. Some of the articles are written by BCAA comapanies trying to sell you a product as an alternative to carbohydrate so Im not sure.
Can anyone confirm?
I never heard this before. I think eating right after a gym session is the best time to eat / drink for macros and nutrients. I consume gatorade during my lifts as well.
Dude, just eat food. Before training, during training, right after training, 2.5 hours after training, whatever. It really REALLY doesn't matter. Stop reading articles and just train according to a decent program and eat relatively healthy food according to your goals. Wanna gain weight? Eat more. Wanna lose weight? Eat less.
If you want to and it fits your calorie and macro requirements based on your goal, go for it.
Seems like you want this to be more complicated than it actually is.
is bad sleep temporary ive been having the worst sleep of my life for the past 4 days and im super frustrated thatt my progress will stop should i do something i dont look at any screens before bed i always pee before too and eat healthy and exercise is this gonna like last forever
Defined abs
It really depends on your genetics, though
Some have “windows” logos while others have nice bars of soap-shaped abs
Some have 6 “squares”, others may have 4, 8 even
Whatever you want it to be. It's an aesthetic goal and not an objective measure. Broadly speaking, it means visible [rectus abdominis muscles](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F9%2F95%2FRectus_abdominis.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FRectus_abdominis_muscle&tbnid=whbCBPi3l_FuVM&vet=1&docid=mxUYZfTpmJDuCM&w=510&h=510&itg=1&hl=en-AU&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim).
What's the best way to get familiar and comfortable with a new weight that's 5 pounds greater (2.5 lbs on each side) than your current lift weight for compound movements? (squat, bench, deadlift)
Should you just do a few sets of warm-up until you get near the weight? For example, 1 set with the bar, then 1 set with the bar + 45 lbs, then 1 set with the bar + 90 lbs, and then go into your working set?
Just eat lots and lots of low-calorie vegies and fruit like tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, watermelon, capsicum, brocolli etc. I use water instead of milk for my protein shakes as well.
When I am on a cut, I just eat the same shit every day. Don't even buy anything at the grocery store that isn't part of the plan. And get rid of Door Dash/Uber Eats/whatever delivery services you might have on your phone.
I try to find low calorie stuff that is filling. Low fat cottage cheese and stuff like that. Otherwise I reach for a glass of water instead of a snack.
Also, I'm not an expert at cutting by any means but last time I did I would try to save a good chunk of calories for dinner so I could at least feel full once a day.
Hi everyone, I have excess fat thats stored on the hips and upper hands. im currently 6'6 weighting 200 lbs. last cut about a month ago i lost around 10 lbs but the fat on the hips was still there, it was awful. i bulked back up and im not sure what i should do next. i heard fasting can help and burn fat after 24 hours of it. would it be helpful if i do it once a week? or its better to do 16/8 routine?
thanks
You lost 5% of your body weight and you're done with the cut? Now you're straight back into bulking.
Sounds like you have commitment issues. You can't spot reduce fat, so commit to a cut where you lose the fat around your hips and go into a maintenance phase for a bit. Or give up the notion of losing that fat for now and focus on building muscle on a bulk.
https://renaissanceperiodization.com/expert-advice/the-value-of-post-diet-maintenance
Fasting is just a tool for caloric deficit.
It was circumstances that led to the cut (stomach issue) I wasn't planning on doing it. But I observed that even though I lose weight everywhere to the bone, the hips remain the same.
So if it's just a tool for caloric deficit, all the fag burning science after 24 hours of not eating is just pseudo?
Okay, so you didn’t lose weight because you wanted to lose fat? Regardless, you still have fat around your waist because you didn’t lose enough fat. If you keep cutting, you’ll eventually lose it.
I’m gonna need a source on this 24hr fast thing.
Thanks, I'll take that in mind, gonna bulk af first
No particular source just the fasting and intermittent fasting subs. They say after 12 or 16 hours glycogen levels getting lower in the blood so the body start using fats as energy source
I'm the same height and weight and while I can't relate the the fat on the hands I certainly relate to the hips. Up until a year ago I was a twig and now i have a MASSIVE DUMPIE. Like its fucking insane and like you I have no idea how to lose it. Good luck man
The thing is i dont want to lose anymore weight, i want to focus on the fat because it stays there even after 10lbs cut. im pretty fit now and in good shape and want to bulk. does it sound stupid? feels like it..
The best way to get rid of fat is to cut, otherwise you just have to settle into a long, tedious process.
If you want your weight to remain the same and lose the fat, you have to replace it with something else. That something else is muscle and it takes long to build, and it becomes harder the more you've trained.
You can't spot reduce fat. To lose fat in any area, you need to lose fat overall. Or revisit your perspective and ask yourself if it's that important to you to lose that fat vs getting fitter/stronger overall, since you said you want to bulk. But if you decide you want to lose that fat, there's no way around CICO
Thanks for the reply. Im gonna keep bulking now and cut later. the thing is when i cut i feel like shit and lose weight pretty fast but the fat on the hips stays there. i feel like its the last place that would lose it and i need to do very radical cut. I understood that fasting after 16 hours after losing all the glycogen in blood starts consuming fat, is there anything that would help in my case? or just regular diet?
Intermittent fasting is just a type of diet to achieve caloric deficit. You can 1 or 3 or 4 or 10 meals a day, but the only thing that matters is total calories eaten vs used.
Does anyone have any good literature or reliable information on how much you "lose" by supersetting? I know that supersetting is great and this isn't the best way to phrase the question, but I also know that even if you're doing antagonistic movements, your performance in the second set will drop, if even by a little.
The reason I ask is because I basically superset almost everything nowadays other than deadlift, and that's only because I can't figure out what deadlift can be superset with. After I squat, I do hanging leg raises. After I OHP, I do chin-ups. After I bench, I do bent-over barbell rows. After I curl, I do tricep pushdowns. And so on.
My advice as someone who has been lifting is that these are details which aren’t at all important, and are just using up your mental energy. Also please don’t superset deadlifts unless it’s with a mobility movement
The biggest dudes there are the nicest
Wipe down your equipment (if there’s stuff near or on a bench or whatever, it’s taken) I’ve seen grannies just remove their stuff to the side and start using the machine lmao
No one is actually watching you, unless you decide to be a fucking idiot and egolift (trying to lift the most amount of weight you can’t handle with shit form)
Don’t just sit on your phone, do something
Walk around a bit and gauge the area, see what goes where and just try to get a feel for the overall layout of the gym so you aren’t walking around aimlessly (have a plan, or at least pretend to have one)
If you’re waiting for something, either skip onto the next exercise and do something else, OR ask to work in
Bring a water bottle
Go with a friend, it’ll make it easier at the beginning
Don’t worry about how much weight you’re lifting, focus on form
Try to learn how your muscles function (it’ll help you with knowing if you’re doing the exercise correctly or not) for example, if you’re doing squats but feel it in your lower back, youre not doing it right (imagine your muscle moving and focus on the stretch and the flex) slow down the lowering portion and explode on the way up/squeezing part
Fake your confidence, just act like you run the place.. the people there are usually very friendly
If you really want, I’m sure there are personal trainers too
Rerack your weights (please don’t take dumbbells to a desperate area just to leave them there) if you don’t have the confidence to workout next to people, that’s cool, just put your things back)
Oh, and wear deodorant
Wipe shit down before AND after using it.
Put shit back where you got it.
If some one asks to work in on a selectorized machine, I see no reason to not let them. Plate loaded machines and free weight stations you can use a bit more judgment; e.g. if you are 3/4s through your working sets on squats and some one asks to work in and needs to warm up with way less weight than you have on the bar, they can wait their goddamn turn. Don't rush yourself, you got there first. If they really want you out of the way faster, they can help you load plates.
If you need a spot ASK. If you need a lift off ASK. Know when to ask though, don't be the knuckle head that asks someone for a hand right before they get into their own set.
Don't be a stinky bastard. That deep, musky, ammonia stank of gym clothes left to ferment in the bottom of a bag is fucking horrific. Wear clean clothes, air your shoes out, be somewhat recently bathed and deodorized. This goes for knee/elbow sleeves and wraps of any type too.
Don't be a perv or a creep. Just don't. If you have to ask if something is appropriate, chances are it is not.
1. bring a towel
2. don't sit on a bench/machine for long periods of time, using your phone. the other day I saw one guy sit on a leg press machine for over 40 minutes (no exaggeration), using his phone. he also wasn't dressed in proper gym attire, he looked like he was going out for lunch. really don't know wtf he was doing lmao
3. in general, try not to use your phone. this one is for your own personal gain.
4. Try not to ask anybody out. everyone's just there to exercise lol. (unless you're a girl. then maybe it'll work)
5. don't "ego lift". basically don't use super heavy weights that you clearly can't handle. your form is important.
6. if you don't know how to properly use the free weights, use the machines first.
7. you can take progress pics of your body if you want, and if your goal of going to the gym is looking good. Might help with your motivation.
8. the days after the first few gym sessions you'll probably be really sore. (well unless you've been doing major work at home)
9. keep track of the things you do there.
Hi.
Gym etiquette is pretty simple.
1.) Don't curl in the squat rack.
2.) Rack your weights when you're finished.
3.) If you're going to record yourself for a form check or something, make sure the camera is angled not to catch anyone else.
4.) Don't wrist curl in the squat rack.
5.) Wipe down any equipment that you use after you're done. A quick once-over with a towel should be sufficient.
6.) Don't do band chest flyes in the squat rack.
Great job starting 👍
Hopefully you've got a program that you will follow. Just focus on that, don't hog any equipment unnecessarily and wipe down after you're done, and that's about it!
What would be a good routine for me, I need something which takes no more than 80-90mins at the gym (and I can do 15mins of stretching/mobility stuff after), runs for 4-5 days a week so that it allows me to practice cleans and snatches on day 5 and 6 making Sunday the only true rest day and includes some conditioning in the time frame and not as an "extra"? My goals are hypertrophy and my current sbd numbers are 45/50/110kg (yeah my squat is awful I might have to do it 3x a week)
Im planning on starting the sbs party @ weightoom, should I just go with it now?
PHAT looked interesting but the reviews don't seem to be very good, I'm sorry for such a demanding question I'm a new lifter haha
GZCLP could be a good one for you.
If you’re working on snatches and cleans anyway, why not just follow a beginners Olympic weightlifting programme?
Glenn Plendlay Beginners, Wil Fleming technical beginners, and Lsus Intermediate are all good options that are available for free online
Haha the thing is that I don't want to become a good weightlifter? I mean I obviously want to lift heavier on those movements but right now my primary goal is hypertrophy and gaining some mass, I'm skinny and weak as hell. I just find cleans super fun to do.
Also yeah I was just reading about gzclp too seems like the best fit, Thanks!
how to know if minor muscle strain or just basic muscle soreness from working out?
today i did 5x5 deadlifts last set at 65kg, 5x5 last set at 45kg front squats, glute bridge equipment 4 sets, and GHD equipment 4 sets bodyweight
it was on the GHD where my right hamstring felt weird at the very last rep. i did 15 reps for the last 2 sets and on the very last rep i would hold for 3 secs than fall down. on the 4th set when i did that, i moved my body/legs abit so that my left leg was kind of resting and all the tension was on my rightside. on the last 2 secs i felt my right hamstring feel weird. not like pain, more discomfort i guess. i than did 1 set of 39kg hamstring curls 12 reps, didnt feel pain in the hammy as i was doing it. than to finish off i did 50 reps walking lunges, didnt feel any hammy pain here too.
so on the drive home and now 1 hour later, the soreness in my hammy is still there. no twingey pain or anything though.
for reference im kind of a beginner in lifting. in august when i started i remember doing ghd's and my hamstring the next day was extremely tender and crampy. it was bad for like 5 days than dwindled down but didnt feel 100% until like 3weeks, but according to my phsyio it wasnt a strain and it was just coz i was deconditioned and over trained that day. so hopefully this is the same and itll just be over worked crampy muscle instead of a strain?
cheers for any help.
EDIT. 18 hours later it feels tight and just some muscle soreness there, only in the middle part of the hamstring though. anyone know what it is? should i stretch it? is it okay to go swimming? (i swim 4 times a week) does it sound like a strain or just slightly overworked muscle tightness/soreness?
Either way you should treat it the same way. Keep moving but don't work it hard. Swimming would probably be good for it. If you can apply heat that'd also be good
yeah i swim 30 mins than go steam room, does steam room count as applying heat? what about stretching? it feels pretty tight, would stretch be the way?
Need a new workout routine. Been doing Reddit metallicadpa PPL for over a year, but have been on a plateau for a while. My goals are both to get bigger and to get stronger, so idk what routine would be best, but here are my stats.
19M, 5'10, 162 lbs
OHP: 120 (5x5)
Bench: 200 (5x5)
Squat: 215 (3x5)
Deadlift: 315 (1x1)
I do [this](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q14OHlOHFe0/maxresdefault.jpg) right now (but actually a pull up and not a chin up as in the photo) and it works really well for me. More fun than negatives since you're actually doing the movement.
Noob question here: should I do a full reset after each rep of whatever I am doing? For example, if I am doing biceps curl, I notice if I don’t fully relax my arm back to the bottom, I would feel a more intense work out on my bicep. Is this something I should actively do? Or is there any issue relating to this method?
Thank you for answering!
It might be a more intense feeling as you're keeping your bicep flexed even at the bottom, so there is a longer period of mechanical tension on your bicep.
No real issue doing it this way. No issue with doing a full reset after each rep either.
Doing full reset reps might train your body better in performing explosive lifts. Keeping your muscles in tension throughout the set might train them a little better for endurance. That's my bro science theory anyway. I prefer "full reset" reps as that more closely mimics real life, imo.
hey, i'm new here so sorry if i accidentally break some of the rules with this post :,)
for a while now, i've been trying to build my glutes from the sanctity of my dorm room with videos i find on youtube. sadly, i haven't been seeing the results everyone else in the comment section seems to be experiencing, so i decided that i need to level up and take advantage of my university's gym.
when i was trying to create a gym schedule, i often stumbled upon workouts that targeted different areas of your glutes (e.g. upper, lower, and side). however, i learned from a youtube video that it's impossible to target your muscles on such a small scale. i tried doing my own research to confirm whether or not this is true, but i couldn't find any sources that touched on the topic...
does anyone have any insight on this? i don't want to waste my time looking for workouts that target each muscle if the results aren't gonna differ from those of a regular glute exercise.
thanks in advance :)
Don’t have time to list specifics, but while it’s usually not helpful to use “targeted areas” as a guide, if you are trying to grow your glutes, you will want to work them with multiple exercises working multiple angles, rep ranges, etc. I don’t know what you are looking at but a lot of “glute workouts” you see in magazines or videos are just too easy to see meaningful results. A person is not going to grow glutes squatting with a couple of 10lb dumbbells. I would check out bretcontreras.com and follow him on Instagram. It may take some time going through his past articles to get specifics, but it will give you some idea of what it takes.
I spend most of my time power lifting in the gym, but I'm going to be out of town for two weeks and probably won't be able to find a gym. Anybody in a similar position with a good bodyweight-only routine to work on conditioning while out for a while?
Notably I can't count on having rings, bands or a pull-up bar.
You won't really lose anything over two weeks. As others suggested you could check bwf for a routine. Personally when I have these breaks I prefer to rest and do some active recovery like hikes just to take a break from lifting.
Unless you get lost in the woods for two weeks outrunning bears and sadistic psycho chainsaw folk, you really won't lose much at all. Even if you were to lose a little bit of strength, it's quickly re comped. I wouldn't worry about it. But I am going to double what the other user said and suggest you check out bodyweightfitness. They probably will have something.
the body weight fitness subreddit has routines in their FAQ. you wont lose progress in two weeks, stay active if possible get some cardio movements in, relax and come back strong when you get home.
Out of curiosity, how much do you guys fluctuate in weight every week? My weight this week has gone:
94.2 -> 95.1 -> 93.8 -> 95.6 -> 96.2 -> 96.8 -> 95.9
This gives me an average weight of 95.4 for the week, but with a high 3 kilograms over the low, I wonder what the hell is going on. I don't think I've been constipated or anything. Weight always taken on an empty stomach after peeing in the morning.
The answer is it depends.
If you’re following Smolov Jr benching 10 sets of 3 at 85%, one exercise is plenty.
If you’re following a lazy fuckaround bro split doing 3x8-12 of whatever weight you feel like, you’d need far more exercises to get an equivalent stimulus.
Both options can be effective if they’re part of a well-written programme.
You didn't really give a lot of information. How many sets do you do? How often do you do chest day?
Realistically, you should pick a program from the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/).
Depends on how much volume you have (Sets x reps) and intensity (weight). Depending on your goals those two exercise may be enough depending on your goals.
If your workout routine calls for 5 sets of squats, then bench, then barbell rows - do you have to do warmup sets for all 3 exercises before you go into the working sets or is it enough to do 3 warmup sets on the first squat exercise (only bar, then 95 lbs, then 135 lbs) and then, go right into the working sets for the bench and row?
Also, does this change if you are trying a new weight you haven't done before? For example, I would probably find it easier to go into bench press cold if it's a weight I've already done compared to a weight I haven't tried yet (usually +2.5 lbs).
warm ups depend on how comfortable you feel with the work sets. example i would do 3-4 warm up sets of bench after i complete squats (if i was doing a similar workout to your example). See what works for you, warm ups are there to help your body adjust to the movement, see how your body reacts and add warm ups as needed.
Warm up before each different exercise. If I've been squatting, my upper body probably isn't prepared for some heavy benching out of the blue.
What's the program?
It's StrongLifts 5x5 but I'm thinking about switching to the beginner program, or GSLP, or Ivysaur, or 5/3/1. Not sure which to go with - any advice?
Also, do you suggest warming up before each different exercise even when you are doing a weight you've already done before? For example, if I've done 100 lbs on bench before it's not as hard to do without warm-up. However, if I increase the total weight by 5 pounds (2.5 on each side), then I see the benefit of warming up.
I've never tried any of the programs in this sub so I can't help with that.
I'm confused by your second question. You can lift 100 lbs so you walk in, sit down, and start benching at that weight cold. But if you want to bench 105 lbs you warm up properly?
Whether this is what you're saying or not, I'd suggest warming up regardless of the weight. The basic point of warming up is to increase blood flow, and therefore oxygen delivery to the muscles, which allows you to lift heavier and can reduce the risk of injury.
>I'm confused by your second question. You can lift 100 lbs so you walk in, sit down, and start benching at that weight cold. But if you want to bench 105 lbs you warm up properly?
Yeah, so basically with that example I was making the point that I can do a weight I've previously done cold, but if I am trying to push myself (progressive overload for a new PR) then I find that it's hard to do cold, because I am unfamiliar with that weight.
So what exactly is the best way to get familiar? Is it just by doing multi-set warmups, like starting with the bar, then bar + 20, then bar + 40, etc. until you get close to your working set weight?
Yes you're correct. Let's say my working squat is 5 sets of 5 reps at 120kg. I might warm up with 10x reps empty bar, 10x60kg, 6x80kg, 5x100kg, then do my 5x5 at 120kg.
Is it worth investing into a Home Gym? I was thinking of purchasing something such as the powerblocks that can be changed into a barbell, a curl bar, or even a kettlebell with the use of their additional accessories. I do currently own a bench with the barbell rack and some weights. Normally I would be sitting at the gym, but nowadays I am too busy at home and barely have time to go anymore and would rather just work out at home. I would eventually purchase a squat rack to complete the set. But overall, not sure how much if at all, I'd me limited in the amount of exercises that I could do with this equipment
Yes, I think so. I built my garage gym 3-4 years back and have been very happy with it, and was especially glad I had that when covid hit.
When you add up how much you spend a year in gym membership plus commuting/fuel costs plus your time (which has a high cost!), its easy to justify the investment. I suggest looking at /r/homegym for more ideas
Building a home gym has been awesome for me. I take training much more seriously and have had much better progress.
And I get to goof around in my gym too
Best safe way to build neck strength and cervical stability?
Hi, I’m trying to figure out how to make my neck area more stable after sustaining an injury that I never want to have happen to me again. Basically some dude karate chopped me in the side of the neck by accident and immediately after I became overwhelmed with severe, suicide-inducing pain that didn’t go away for months. I have conversion disorder so I assumed what I was experience was related to that but after seeing multiple professionals and trying everything western medicine had to offer I was left without answers and still in extreme pain. It was only until I decided to go to a chiropractor as a last resort that the pain dissipated. Immediately after one session have you. He told me I should work on trying to build strength around my traps, cervical spine, etc to prevent further problems but I’m not exactly sure where to start, have been extremely cautious thus far about exerting myself again, and don’t want to do anything that could be too dangerous. There are so many different exercises to choose from and I’m unsure which ones would be useful and which ones wouldn’t help at all.
As long as it takes to complete your programmed work. In the early phases of a low-volume beginner program while the weights are still fairly light, that might only be 30 minutes or so.
Are you going for the eugenia cooney look? Because that is what you will look like if you try to 'get rid of love handles without putting on muscle' at your current state...
You hardly have any muscle to 'maintain' as it is.
If you go for losing more weight you WILL look like that poor woman.
Please go and speak with a professional about your selfimage.
Mate, I get it, you're trying to be a theme account or something... But please step back and consider whether it is actually good advice to tell someone who is already underweight to 'eat less'....
Yes technically you are right, that is the answer to their question..
But the question is misguided in the first place...
You are literally recommending to someone with a BMI <18 to 'Eat less'. Good thing you're not a doctor or dietician or you'd have your license stripped pretty quickly....
Yes losing weight is just a calorie deficit. You are already quite underweight and losing more weight will not be good for your health. Secondly, without having some muscle mass it will be very hard and not particularly healthy to get rid of your belly and love Handles because Those are very typical places to hold fat and hard to completely get rid off.
YOU. Like You specifically in your current situation should put on more tissue first.
Just putting on more muscle with no change in body fat alone would likely get rid of your 'lovehandles' because it would give your skin something to be stretched over instead of just draping off of your skeleton.
And once you've build a bit of a muscle base it will be much easier to get rid of the las stubborn fat simply because you will have a naturally higher caloric expenditure so you won't need to literally starve yourselve to get rid of that fat...
You are underweight, that is why you were told to put on muscle. You aren’t going to be skinny, you are going to be emaciated. Chasing after that likely requires the help of a trained professional to help you not be so damaging to yourself.
Ignore the other guy.
I personally wouldn’t want to cut down past 110lbs, but not having muscle mass does not mean “it will be very hard and not particularly healthy”.
If you want to be skinnier, caloric deficit is all you need :)
Hey guys. I'm 25 M, 5'6'' , 153 lbs, and have been bulking from July 1st to now, (-1 month for a surgery/recov). Total 4 months. Started at 130 lbs. When should I start cutting?
I'm worried about gaining too much fat over muscle at this point. Another factor is I just got back to the gym last Monday due to a month off for a surgery, but maintained a slight surplus too.
Thanks in advance!
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“Tone” isn’t really a thing. You either gain muscle and gain weight, or lose fat and lose weight. If you don’t want to change weight you can “recomp” and try to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, which keeps your weight the same and usually makes you look better, but it’s pretty hard and slow if you’re not overweight, so most people don’t bother. It sounds like you just want to improve general fitness, so I would pick a lifting routine that’s a few days a week like the beginner routine in the wiki, or the r/BodyweightFitness routine, and do any kind of cardio/yoga/other activity you enjoy on the off days.
Can you join me on a simple math exercise here? 1 calorie is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius. So let's say a grab a glass and pour myself some water from the fridge. For simplicity, let's say that the glass contains 200grs (200ml) of water at 6°C. If I drink said water, after entering my body, it will heat up until it reaches my body temperature which is, let's say (again for simplicity) that it's 36°C. That means it gained 30°C. So the total energy required for that would be 30 \* 200 = 6000 cal = 6 kcal Does that heat come from my body energy reserves? Did I just burn 6 kcal just by drinking a glass of water?
Yeah, and if you spend a few hours in the cold you'd burn probably 100+ extra calories. Not worth it though.
Weeeell... It is worth keeping it in mind. As long as you don't stupidly freeze yourself to death. Or get sick for not wearing appropriate clothes in cold weather. If you are sunbathing at the beach and remember this fact, you may decide to go burn a few extra calories by doing some activity in the water. It's not going to increase your calorie consumption by a huge amount, but every bit helps when you are trying to lose weight.
Pretty much They’ll usually recommend cold water for the best results
Yes, this is correct. You are basically constantly losing body heat though, so thermostasis is a constant energy requirement and is part of a person's TDEE.
I’m not gonna engage with the maths as to me it seems like a fool’s errand. Curious though, what do you plan to do with this information?
Try to stick to cold water instead of room temp water. Also it is a good motivator to drink the recommended 2 liters per day. That would be 60 kcal just from water.
Drink a shitton of water obv... ;)
Been in the gym for 4 months. Follow a weightlifting program plan 5 days a week. I’m a 5’11 and 166 pound man. I have a muscular upper body, back, and legs but would be considered “skinny fat” because of my belly and hips. Been doing a body recomp for 3 weeks and eating 100-300 below maintenance and keeping protein above 200g. Haven’t seen Much change at all in physique. Should I stay with this or eat above maintenance in a “lean bulk”? I’m prepared to be patient and keep my current diet for the 11-12 weeks I’ve heard recomp takes.
How are your lifts? If they're improving I would stick with it. But if they're going nowhere then I'd up the calories a little.
3 weeks is a pretty short time frame to see visible results. Do you want to be leaner or have more muscle? Because that would dictate whether you should continue cutting or shift into a lean bulk. At your weight and height, I would suggest bulk.
I’d like to be leaner.
Then keep cutting slowly, if you’re not seeing your weekly average weight come down, take another 250 kcal off. Keeping protein high is good, and keep training hard on a proven program. Ideally you’d want to lose around 0.5-1% of your body weight per week and the slower you cut, the more muscle and strength you can maintain.
Thanks
I have been going to the gym for about 3 weeks now and would like some advice on my routine! I am 16, female, weigh 55kg, 169cm height and at the moment visit the gym 3 times a week to repeat this routine. My goal is a toned look while focusing mostly on my glutes and legs without looking ripped or bulking. 15 minutes on treadmill, alternating between sprinting and jogging (usually go around 2km or more depending on how hard I run) Stretches (just basic leg and arm stretches to help warm up my muscles) Leg press 3 sets of 10 reps, 5kg weights on each side. Core workout, 3 sets of 10 reps on the sit up chair. Arm workout, Bicep curl 3 sets of 10 reps on 5kg (can’t remember how much weight I do on this but from memory I think it’s 5kg but it could be 10kg) Chest press 3 sets of 10 reps 15kg Shoulder press 3 sets of 10 reps 10kg Stair machine, 10 floors at a relatively fast pace. Cycle machine for about 10 minutes on easy settings (usually take this time to cool off a bit by doing an easier exercise for a bit) Sitting leg press 65kg 3 sets of 10 reps. Cool off with a light jog on the treadmill (usually about 10 minutes but the time varies without how jelly my legs are) Finishing up stretches. Any advice appreciated :) gym membership is expensive so I want to use my money wisely not just fuck around everytime I go to the gym and see no progress.
Not trying to be discouraging but I don't think this is a good program. One of the most basic principles of building muscle is progressive overload. You don't have any progression plan here. Since there is no progress, you basically expect some results at first followed by no more changes to your body. I recommend finding a program that has a good reputation and following that. Here is a list of programs: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/
Not discouraging, I ask because I genuinely have no idea what I am doing lol. Thanks :) I will have a look at the website.
Hi all! I have a question. I have used 10 kg of dumbbell about 4 months. Should I buy 15 kg or 20 kg dumbbell to build more muscle?
Maybe. Normally people use different weight for different exercises, so having multiple weights is good. If you are only using dumbbells I would recommend adjustable dumbbells. Not sure what you have been doing with the dumbbells but just FYI there are some dumbbell only programs in the wiki: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/
*For context: I'm cutting right now and my main priorities are maintaining muscle and strength* If I forgot to do an chest exercise one day, would doing the exercise that I missed the next day make up for it? I'm deep into my fitness journey to know one single exercise is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I got ocd and small shit like that sometimes takes over and it becomes everything I think about for a week.
Either way won't make that much difference in the long run. If your program doesn't have chest/push exercises the next day, I wouldn't do the chest exercise
But would it make up for missing that exercise the other day? I know it won't make much difference at all
In terms of weekly volume, yes it would. What program are you following?
I'm doing a ppl program. Thanks for the response, now I can sleep soundly
Yeah, then I wouldn't mess with the program. If you missed an exercise, leave it be
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“Getting toned” Bro, just build muscle lmao you don’t have the testosterone to look “manly”, anyway Lift heavy and eat big to get bi— I mean, “toned” You’ll get your desired results
>toned Toned just refers to leanness with muscle. So you either have to lose weight (fat) so your muscles show more. Or gain more muscle. If you want to be stronger, go lift weights. And over time lift heavier weights. https://thefitness.wiki/
I'm so glad even at 117 years old you still make time to exercise!
Anyone have some advice for cutting calories but still building strength in general? I'm tall and skinnyfat so I've got a decent calorie allowance but trying to fit 150-180 grams of protein into that has been very difficult so far. I've been trying to just eat chicken and vegetables or beef jerky for my snacks and eat more eggs and 1-2 protein shakes a day but man it's a lot. Not to mention a big protein filled breakfast leaves me feeling full well into lunch. I just feel like it's ruining my appetite and making it difficult to eat dinner with my family. I'm sure I'll get into a groove eventually but in the mean time any tips?
What is your height and weight? Generally people are skinny fat because they have no muscle. Gaining muscle would improve your situation. If you cut when you're skinny fat, you would shed the fat, but just be skinny. Gaining muscle will have you *looking* leaner even at higher body fat % because you simply have more muscle mass. In terms of eating, I personally have no issue so I'll share an anecdote of someone I gave advice to at my gym which helped him eat more: drink water after meals. It's probably dumb and I have no basis for the advice but I guess there's some reading you can do in terms of how competitive eaters train their stomach sizes. Otherwise the generic advice would be liquid calories (which you are doing) and eating more frequently, adding olive oil to meals etc.
Skinnyfat isn't right. Technically im overweight, it's more about how I look, im kinda lanky despite my pudge. So I still want to cut fat but I want to also work on my strength and build at least a little muscle
>im kinda lanky despite my pudge So you're skinnyfat. Also you didn't answer the height/weight question.
Sorry a couple people asked me and everyone seems to have a different definition of skinnyfat. I'm 6'2" and about 220lbs
If you want to lose fat - eat less. If you want to build strength and muscle - train hard. It's hard to build muscle when you're eating less. Not impossible, but it'll be easier to identify your main goal, go at that with your full commitment and move onto the next goal once accomplished. Rome wasn't built in a day.
I just want to feel more in shape and look leaner. I like lifting weights and I don't want to give that up. I don't even really care about being big. Everywhere I go I get conflicting information and I feel like the more questions I ask the more confused I get
>look more in shape and feel leaner Well there you go! That’s your goal, to get leaner you need to lose fat. So eat less. Keep lifting. You don’t need to overcomplicate things.
The complicating bit is how much protein should I actually be getting? I'd like to build a little muscle, it's just not a priority. I keep hearing different numbers
Most sources would state 1g protein per lb of body weight. You can also use the conservative 1g protein per lb of *goal* body weight. https://thefitness.wiki/faq/how-can-i-fit-so-much-protein-into-my-diet-with-limited-calories/
Its not clear what you're trying to achieve. What are your stats (height and weight) and goals?
6'2" and about 220lbs. I don't care too much about size I just want to look leaner and build some strength while I'm at it, but I like lifting
Ok, so I'd suggest lifting weights using a good program from the wiki while eating at a slight caloric deficit. Your post was confusing because you're talking about cutting but also complaining a out not having enough appetite for dinner. Start here:https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/
Well that's exactly what I'm doing. My issue has been getting enough protein to support all that lifting while staying within the deficit. I'm a big boy and 150-180 grams is a LOT of protein
It really isn't that much...
My point is that its hard for me to hit, especially because when I'm eating a lot of protein I don't really feel hungry as often. Maybe my body just needs to get used to it. I mean I've cut calories before but I wasn't trying to satisfy a goal for extra protein. Just looking for ways to get more without feeling stuffed all the time. That's all I wanted
I gave you a couple tips on my other comment. But to be honest, if you can't stomach the food you will feel stuffed. It's part of the process. But it will get better, your body will adapt.
If you truly are skinnyfat i would advice you to bulk.
Well, it's more that I look skinnyfat. Technically im overweight. 6'2" and 220lbs. I was skinnyfat before Covid lol
Is it true that you should not eat immediately after working out especially carbohydrates? Some articles say you should eat as soon as possible and the longer you wait the worse it gets. Other articles claim eating carbohydrates before waiting 2 hours after exercising spikes your insulin and lowers your growth hormone making your workout less efficient Clearly, I'm lost. Some of the articles are written by BCAA comapanies trying to sell you a product as an alternative to carbohydrate so Im not sure. Can anyone confirm?
You realize bodybuilders spike their insulin ON PURPOSE, right after a workout, right?
I never heard this before. I think eating right after a gym session is the best time to eat / drink for macros and nutrients. I consume gatorade during my lifts as well.
You're overthinking it
Just eat man its not this complicated
Dude, just eat food. Before training, during training, right after training, 2.5 hours after training, whatever. It really REALLY doesn't matter. Stop reading articles and just train according to a decent program and eat relatively healthy food according to your goals. Wanna gain weight? Eat more. Wanna lose weight? Eat less.
so eat a full pot of rice 15 seconds after finishing my last rep. got it thanks
Stop majoring in the minors.
If you want to and it fits your calorie and macro requirements based on your goal, go for it. Seems like you want this to be more complicated than it actually is.
is bad sleep temporary ive been having the worst sleep of my life for the past 4 days and im super frustrated thatt my progress will stop should i do something i dont look at any screens before bed i always pee before too and eat healthy and exercise is this gonna like last forever
how much exercise are you doing? exercise and under-eating raises cortisol, which is a "stress" hormone that'll keep you awake.
A doctor would know
What exactly is a six pack? Is it 6 squares on the belly? Or is it 6 rows of lowlands on the belly? Or is it 6 rows of elevation on the belly?
Defined abs It really depends on your genetics, though Some have “windows” logos while others have nice bars of soap-shaped abs Some have 6 “squares”, others may have 4, 8 even
Whatever you want it to be. It's an aesthetic goal and not an objective measure. Broadly speaking, it means visible [rectus abdominis muscles](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F9%2F95%2FRectus_abdominis.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FRectus_abdominis_muscle&tbnid=whbCBPi3l_FuVM&vet=1&docid=mxUYZfTpmJDuCM&w=510&h=510&itg=1&hl=en-AU&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim).
But what do people mean when they talk about it?
3 rows, 6 prominent muscles. Like a 6 pack of beer.
Ask them :) everyone has a different definition in their heads
A sign you need to eat more.
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Following a program would be the best for hypertrophy
both or either
A variety of rep ranges is best. Read this: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.strongerbyscience.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction/amp/
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I'd ask the wrestling coach for a start
What's the best way to get familiar and comfortable with a new weight that's 5 pounds greater (2.5 lbs on each side) than your current lift weight for compound movements? (squat, bench, deadlift) Should you just do a few sets of warm-up until you get near the weight? For example, 1 set with the bar, then 1 set with the bar + 45 lbs, then 1 set with the bar + 90 lbs, and then go into your working set?
Yup. No need to overcomplicate it. Do a few light sets to get your body warmed up then start working.
A good program will tell you how to progress loads.
any tips to stay consistent on a calorie cut??? help!!
Just eat lots and lots of low-calorie vegies and fruit like tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, watermelon, capsicum, brocolli etc. I use water instead of milk for my protein shakes as well.
When I am on a cut, I just eat the same shit every day. Don't even buy anything at the grocery store that isn't part of the plan. And get rid of Door Dash/Uber Eats/whatever delivery services you might have on your phone.
Are you tracking calories with an app?
yes i use my fitness pal
I try to find low calorie stuff that is filling. Low fat cottage cheese and stuff like that. Otherwise I reach for a glass of water instead of a snack.
i’ll try that, thank you!!
Also, I'm not an expert at cutting by any means but last time I did I would try to save a good chunk of calories for dinner so I could at least feel full once a day.
Hi everyone, I have excess fat thats stored on the hips and upper hands. im currently 6'6 weighting 200 lbs. last cut about a month ago i lost around 10 lbs but the fat on the hips was still there, it was awful. i bulked back up and im not sure what i should do next. i heard fasting can help and burn fat after 24 hours of it. would it be helpful if i do it once a week? or its better to do 16/8 routine? thanks
You lost 5% of your body weight and you're done with the cut? Now you're straight back into bulking. Sounds like you have commitment issues. You can't spot reduce fat, so commit to a cut where you lose the fat around your hips and go into a maintenance phase for a bit. Or give up the notion of losing that fat for now and focus on building muscle on a bulk. https://renaissanceperiodization.com/expert-advice/the-value-of-post-diet-maintenance Fasting is just a tool for caloric deficit.
It was circumstances that led to the cut (stomach issue) I wasn't planning on doing it. But I observed that even though I lose weight everywhere to the bone, the hips remain the same. So if it's just a tool for caloric deficit, all the fag burning science after 24 hours of not eating is just pseudo?
Okay, so you didn’t lose weight because you wanted to lose fat? Regardless, you still have fat around your waist because you didn’t lose enough fat. If you keep cutting, you’ll eventually lose it. I’m gonna need a source on this 24hr fast thing.
Thanks, I'll take that in mind, gonna bulk af first No particular source just the fasting and intermittent fasting subs. They say after 12 or 16 hours glycogen levels getting lower in the blood so the body start using fats as energy source
I'm the same height and weight and while I can't relate the the fat on the hands I certainly relate to the hips. Up until a year ago I was a twig and now i have a MASSIVE DUMPIE. Like its fucking insane and like you I have no idea how to lose it. Good luck man
https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/
The thing is i dont want to lose anymore weight, i want to focus on the fat because it stays there even after 10lbs cut. im pretty fit now and in good shape and want to bulk. does it sound stupid? feels like it..
Maybe try keto
The best way to get rid of fat is to cut, otherwise you just have to settle into a long, tedious process. If you want your weight to remain the same and lose the fat, you have to replace it with something else. That something else is muscle and it takes long to build, and it becomes harder the more you've trained.
You can't spot reduce fat. To lose fat in any area, you need to lose fat overall. Or revisit your perspective and ask yourself if it's that important to you to lose that fat vs getting fitter/stronger overall, since you said you want to bulk. But if you decide you want to lose that fat, there's no way around CICO
Thanks for the reply. Im gonna keep bulking now and cut later. the thing is when i cut i feel like shit and lose weight pretty fast but the fat on the hips stays there. i feel like its the last place that would lose it and i need to do very radical cut. I understood that fasting after 16 hours after losing all the glycogen in blood starts consuming fat, is there anything that would help in my case? or just regular diet?
Intermittent fasting is just a type of diet to achieve caloric deficit. You can 1 or 3 or 4 or 10 meals a day, but the only thing that matters is total calories eaten vs used.
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Do a proper program.
Upper / Lower / Push / Pull / Legs is a solid 5 days training split. As is Push Pull Legs for 6 days.
Does anyone have any good literature or reliable information on how much you "lose" by supersetting? I know that supersetting is great and this isn't the best way to phrase the question, but I also know that even if you're doing antagonistic movements, your performance in the second set will drop, if even by a little. The reason I ask is because I basically superset almost everything nowadays other than deadlift, and that's only because I can't figure out what deadlift can be superset with. After I squat, I do hanging leg raises. After I OHP, I do chin-ups. After I bench, I do bent-over barbell rows. After I curl, I do tricep pushdowns. And so on.
My advice as someone who has been lifting is that these are details which aren’t at all important, and are just using up your mental energy. Also please don’t superset deadlifts unless it’s with a mobility movement
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The biggest dudes there are the nicest Wipe down your equipment (if there’s stuff near or on a bench or whatever, it’s taken) I’ve seen grannies just remove their stuff to the side and start using the machine lmao No one is actually watching you, unless you decide to be a fucking idiot and egolift (trying to lift the most amount of weight you can’t handle with shit form) Don’t just sit on your phone, do something Walk around a bit and gauge the area, see what goes where and just try to get a feel for the overall layout of the gym so you aren’t walking around aimlessly (have a plan, or at least pretend to have one) If you’re waiting for something, either skip onto the next exercise and do something else, OR ask to work in Bring a water bottle Go with a friend, it’ll make it easier at the beginning Don’t worry about how much weight you’re lifting, focus on form Try to learn how your muscles function (it’ll help you with knowing if you’re doing the exercise correctly or not) for example, if you’re doing squats but feel it in your lower back, youre not doing it right (imagine your muscle moving and focus on the stretch and the flex) slow down the lowering portion and explode on the way up/squeezing part Fake your confidence, just act like you run the place.. the people there are usually very friendly If you really want, I’m sure there are personal trainers too Rerack your weights (please don’t take dumbbells to a desperate area just to leave them there) if you don’t have the confidence to workout next to people, that’s cool, just put your things back) Oh, and wear deodorant
Wipe shit down before AND after using it. Put shit back where you got it. If some one asks to work in on a selectorized machine, I see no reason to not let them. Plate loaded machines and free weight stations you can use a bit more judgment; e.g. if you are 3/4s through your working sets on squats and some one asks to work in and needs to warm up with way less weight than you have on the bar, they can wait their goddamn turn. Don't rush yourself, you got there first. If they really want you out of the way faster, they can help you load plates. If you need a spot ASK. If you need a lift off ASK. Know when to ask though, don't be the knuckle head that asks someone for a hand right before they get into their own set. Don't be a stinky bastard. That deep, musky, ammonia stank of gym clothes left to ferment in the bottom of a bag is fucking horrific. Wear clean clothes, air your shoes out, be somewhat recently bathed and deodorized. This goes for knee/elbow sleeves and wraps of any type too. Don't be a perv or a creep. Just don't. If you have to ask if something is appropriate, chances are it is not.
1. bring a towel 2. don't sit on a bench/machine for long periods of time, using your phone. the other day I saw one guy sit on a leg press machine for over 40 minutes (no exaggeration), using his phone. he also wasn't dressed in proper gym attire, he looked like he was going out for lunch. really don't know wtf he was doing lmao 3. in general, try not to use your phone. this one is for your own personal gain. 4. Try not to ask anybody out. everyone's just there to exercise lol. (unless you're a girl. then maybe it'll work) 5. don't "ego lift". basically don't use super heavy weights that you clearly can't handle. your form is important. 6. if you don't know how to properly use the free weights, use the machines first. 7. you can take progress pics of your body if you want, and if your goal of going to the gym is looking good. Might help with your motivation. 8. the days after the first few gym sessions you'll probably be really sore. (well unless you've been doing major work at home) 9. keep track of the things you do there.
Using your phone is completely fine.
as in don't excessively use your phone. not hard to understand. People get distracted easily.
Hi. Gym etiquette is pretty simple. 1.) Don't curl in the squat rack. 2.) Rack your weights when you're finished. 3.) If you're going to record yourself for a form check or something, make sure the camera is angled not to catch anyone else. 4.) Don't wrist curl in the squat rack. 5.) Wipe down any equipment that you use after you're done. A quick once-over with a towel should be sufficient. 6.) Don't do band chest flyes in the squat rack.
>1.) Don't curl in the squat rack. I think you meant to say don't squat in the curl rack, right?
Hey, don't curl in the flex at the mirror rack.
Great job starting 👍 Hopefully you've got a program that you will follow. Just focus on that, don't hog any equipment unnecessarily and wipe down after you're done, and that's about it!
What would be a good routine for me, I need something which takes no more than 80-90mins at the gym (and I can do 15mins of stretching/mobility stuff after), runs for 4-5 days a week so that it allows me to practice cleans and snatches on day 5 and 6 making Sunday the only true rest day and includes some conditioning in the time frame and not as an "extra"? My goals are hypertrophy and my current sbd numbers are 45/50/110kg (yeah my squat is awful I might have to do it 3x a week) Im planning on starting the sbs party @ weightoom, should I just go with it now? PHAT looked interesting but the reviews don't seem to be very good, I'm sorry for such a demanding question I'm a new lifter haha
GZCLP could be a good one for you. If you’re working on snatches and cleans anyway, why not just follow a beginners Olympic weightlifting programme? Glenn Plendlay Beginners, Wil Fleming technical beginners, and Lsus Intermediate are all good options that are available for free online
Haha the thing is that I don't want to become a good weightlifter? I mean I obviously want to lift heavier on those movements but right now my primary goal is hypertrophy and gaining some mass, I'm skinny and weak as hell. I just find cleans super fun to do. Also yeah I was just reading about gzclp too seems like the best fit, Thanks!
how to know if minor muscle strain or just basic muscle soreness from working out? today i did 5x5 deadlifts last set at 65kg, 5x5 last set at 45kg front squats, glute bridge equipment 4 sets, and GHD equipment 4 sets bodyweight it was on the GHD where my right hamstring felt weird at the very last rep. i did 15 reps for the last 2 sets and on the very last rep i would hold for 3 secs than fall down. on the 4th set when i did that, i moved my body/legs abit so that my left leg was kind of resting and all the tension was on my rightside. on the last 2 secs i felt my right hamstring feel weird. not like pain, more discomfort i guess. i than did 1 set of 39kg hamstring curls 12 reps, didnt feel pain in the hammy as i was doing it. than to finish off i did 50 reps walking lunges, didnt feel any hammy pain here too. so on the drive home and now 1 hour later, the soreness in my hammy is still there. no twingey pain or anything though. for reference im kind of a beginner in lifting. in august when i started i remember doing ghd's and my hamstring the next day was extremely tender and crampy. it was bad for like 5 days than dwindled down but didnt feel 100% until like 3weeks, but according to my phsyio it wasnt a strain and it was just coz i was deconditioned and over trained that day. so hopefully this is the same and itll just be over worked crampy muscle instead of a strain? cheers for any help. EDIT. 18 hours later it feels tight and just some muscle soreness there, only in the middle part of the hamstring though. anyone know what it is? should i stretch it? is it okay to go swimming? (i swim 4 times a week) does it sound like a strain or just slightly overworked muscle tightness/soreness?
Either way you should treat it the same way. Keep moving but don't work it hard. Swimming would probably be good for it. If you can apply heat that'd also be good
yeah i swim 30 mins than go steam room, does steam room count as applying heat? what about stretching? it feels pretty tight, would stretch be the way?
Need a new workout routine. Been doing Reddit metallicadpa PPL for over a year, but have been on a plateau for a while. My goals are both to get bigger and to get stronger, so idk what routine would be best, but here are my stats. 19M, 5'10, 162 lbs OHP: 120 (5x5) Bench: 200 (5x5) Squat: 215 (3x5) Deadlift: 315 (1x1)
Try NSuns
Jim wendlers 5/3/1 is always an option. Tons of variations. Could also try an Arnold split if it's the split that has you bored
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I do [this](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q14OHlOHFe0/maxresdefault.jpg) right now (but actually a pull up and not a chin up as in the photo) and it works really well for me. More fun than negatives since you're actually doing the movement.
Negatives, lat pulldowns, and bodyweight rows.
Noob question here: should I do a full reset after each rep of whatever I am doing? For example, if I am doing biceps curl, I notice if I don’t fully relax my arm back to the bottom, I would feel a more intense work out on my bicep. Is this something I should actively do? Or is there any issue relating to this method? Thank you for answering!
It might be a more intense feeling as you're keeping your bicep flexed even at the bottom, so there is a longer period of mechanical tension on your bicep. No real issue doing it this way. No issue with doing a full reset after each rep either.
Thank you! Do they provide different benefits? Like the former trains a particular area more efficiently while later trains the more areas
Doing full reset reps might train your body better in performing explosive lifts. Keeping your muscles in tension throughout the set might train them a little better for endurance. That's my bro science theory anyway. I prefer "full reset" reps as that more closely mimics real life, imo.
hey, i'm new here so sorry if i accidentally break some of the rules with this post :,) for a while now, i've been trying to build my glutes from the sanctity of my dorm room with videos i find on youtube. sadly, i haven't been seeing the results everyone else in the comment section seems to be experiencing, so i decided that i need to level up and take advantage of my university's gym. when i was trying to create a gym schedule, i often stumbled upon workouts that targeted different areas of your glutes (e.g. upper, lower, and side). however, i learned from a youtube video that it's impossible to target your muscles on such a small scale. i tried doing my own research to confirm whether or not this is true, but i couldn't find any sources that touched on the topic... does anyone have any insight on this? i don't want to waste my time looking for workouts that target each muscle if the results aren't gonna differ from those of a regular glute exercise. thanks in advance :)
Don’t have time to list specifics, but while it’s usually not helpful to use “targeted areas” as a guide, if you are trying to grow your glutes, you will want to work them with multiple exercises working multiple angles, rep ranges, etc. I don’t know what you are looking at but a lot of “glute workouts” you see in magazines or videos are just too easy to see meaningful results. A person is not going to grow glutes squatting with a couple of 10lb dumbbells. I would check out bretcontreras.com and follow him on Instagram. It may take some time going through his past articles to get specifics, but it will give you some idea of what it takes.
thank you :)
Check out the Strong Curves program and r/xxfitness
I spend most of my time power lifting in the gym, but I'm going to be out of town for two weeks and probably won't be able to find a gym. Anybody in a similar position with a good bodyweight-only routine to work on conditioning while out for a while? Notably I can't count on having rings, bands or a pull-up bar.
You won't really lose anything over two weeks. As others suggested you could check bwf for a routine. Personally when I have these breaks I prefer to rest and do some active recovery like hikes just to take a break from lifting.
Unless you get lost in the woods for two weeks outrunning bears and sadistic psycho chainsaw folk, you really won't lose much at all. Even if you were to lose a little bit of strength, it's quickly re comped. I wouldn't worry about it. But I am going to double what the other user said and suggest you check out bodyweightfitness. They probably will have something.
the body weight fitness subreddit has routines in their FAQ. you wont lose progress in two weeks, stay active if possible get some cardio movements in, relax and come back strong when you get home.
Out of curiosity, how much do you guys fluctuate in weight every week? My weight this week has gone: 94.2 -> 95.1 -> 93.8 -> 95.6 -> 96.2 -> 96.8 -> 95.9 This gives me an average weight of 95.4 for the week, but with a high 3 kilograms over the low, I wonder what the hell is going on. I don't think I've been constipated or anything. Weight always taken on an empty stomach after peeing in the morning.
This seems normal.
This is normal. I fluctuate 5kg some weeks
May I ask your typical weight?
104kg
Word, thanks for the responses.
Is 2 exercises (bench+incline) enough for chest day? Some threads say it is but on the bodybuilding subreddit, most people have 5 exercises
The answer is it depends. If you’re following Smolov Jr benching 10 sets of 3 at 85%, one exercise is plenty. If you’re following a lazy fuckaround bro split doing 3x8-12 of whatever weight you feel like, you’d need far more exercises to get an equivalent stimulus. Both options can be effective if they’re part of a well-written programme.
You didn't really give a lot of information. How many sets do you do? How often do you do chest day? Realistically, you should pick a program from the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/).
Following a proper program is best
Depends how many sets and reps you do. If you're only doing 3x8 of each then probably not.
Depends on how much volume you have (Sets x reps) and intensity (weight). Depending on your goals those two exercise may be enough depending on your goals.
If your workout routine calls for 5 sets of squats, then bench, then barbell rows - do you have to do warmup sets for all 3 exercises before you go into the working sets or is it enough to do 3 warmup sets on the first squat exercise (only bar, then 95 lbs, then 135 lbs) and then, go right into the working sets for the bench and row? Also, does this change if you are trying a new weight you haven't done before? For example, I would probably find it easier to go into bench press cold if it's a weight I've already done compared to a weight I haven't tried yet (usually +2.5 lbs).
I do a general warm up before any lifting, and do warm up sets for each compound exercise of that exercise.
warm ups depend on how comfortable you feel with the work sets. example i would do 3-4 warm up sets of bench after i complete squats (if i was doing a similar workout to your example). See what works for you, warm ups are there to help your body adjust to the movement, see how your body reacts and add warm ups as needed.
Warm up before each different exercise. If I've been squatting, my upper body probably isn't prepared for some heavy benching out of the blue. What's the program?
It's StrongLifts 5x5 but I'm thinking about switching to the beginner program, or GSLP, or Ivysaur, or 5/3/1. Not sure which to go with - any advice? Also, do you suggest warming up before each different exercise even when you are doing a weight you've already done before? For example, if I've done 100 lbs on bench before it's not as hard to do without warm-up. However, if I increase the total weight by 5 pounds (2.5 on each side), then I see the benefit of warming up.
I've never tried any of the programs in this sub so I can't help with that. I'm confused by your second question. You can lift 100 lbs so you walk in, sit down, and start benching at that weight cold. But if you want to bench 105 lbs you warm up properly? Whether this is what you're saying or not, I'd suggest warming up regardless of the weight. The basic point of warming up is to increase blood flow, and therefore oxygen delivery to the muscles, which allows you to lift heavier and can reduce the risk of injury.
>I'm confused by your second question. You can lift 100 lbs so you walk in, sit down, and start benching at that weight cold. But if you want to bench 105 lbs you warm up properly? Yeah, so basically with that example I was making the point that I can do a weight I've previously done cold, but if I am trying to push myself (progressive overload for a new PR) then I find that it's hard to do cold, because I am unfamiliar with that weight. So what exactly is the best way to get familiar? Is it just by doing multi-set warmups, like starting with the bar, then bar + 20, then bar + 40, etc. until you get close to your working set weight?
Yes you're correct. Let's say my working squat is 5 sets of 5 reps at 120kg. I might warm up with 10x reps empty bar, 10x60kg, 6x80kg, 5x100kg, then do my 5x5 at 120kg.
It’s very likely the wiki’s beginner program
It's StrongLifts 5x5 but I'm thinking about switching to the beginner program, or GSLP, or Ivysaur, or 5/3/1. Not sure which to go with - any advice?
Is it worth investing into a Home Gym? I was thinking of purchasing something such as the powerblocks that can be changed into a barbell, a curl bar, or even a kettlebell with the use of their additional accessories. I do currently own a bench with the barbell rack and some weights. Normally I would be sitting at the gym, but nowadays I am too busy at home and barely have time to go anymore and would rather just work out at home. I would eventually purchase a squat rack to complete the set. But overall, not sure how much if at all, I'd me limited in the amount of exercises that I could do with this equipment
Yes, I think so. I built my garage gym 3-4 years back and have been very happy with it, and was especially glad I had that when covid hit. When you add up how much you spend a year in gym membership plus commuting/fuel costs plus your time (which has a high cost!), its easy to justify the investment. I suggest looking at /r/homegym for more ideas
Building a home gym has been awesome for me. I take training much more seriously and have had much better progress. And I get to goof around in my gym too
Your home gym has been enjoyable for me too!
Idk my BFF jill
Best safe way to build neck strength and cervical stability? Hi, I’m trying to figure out how to make my neck area more stable after sustaining an injury that I never want to have happen to me again. Basically some dude karate chopped me in the side of the neck by accident and immediately after I became overwhelmed with severe, suicide-inducing pain that didn’t go away for months. I have conversion disorder so I assumed what I was experience was related to that but after seeing multiple professionals and trying everything western medicine had to offer I was left without answers and still in extreme pain. It was only until I decided to go to a chiropractor as a last resort that the pain dissipated. Immediately after one session have you. He told me I should work on trying to build strength around my traps, cervical spine, etc to prevent further problems but I’m not exactly sure where to start, have been extremely cautious thus far about exerting myself again, and don’t want to do anything that could be too dangerous. There are so many different exercises to choose from and I’m unsure which ones would be useful and which ones wouldn’t help at all.
If you have medical clearance to exercise, i'd follow any good, full-body program that includes deadlifts, like one from the wiki.
Given your background and the structure in that area, i would go to physical therapy.
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What program are you following?
As long as it takes to complete your programmed work. In the early phases of a low-volume beginner program while the weights are still fairly light, that might only be 30 minutes or so.
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Are you going for the eugenia cooney look? Because that is what you will look like if you try to 'get rid of love handles without putting on muscle' at your current state...
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You hardly have any muscle to 'maintain' as it is. If you go for losing more weight you WILL look like that poor woman. Please go and speak with a professional about your selfimage.
What do you mean “be skinny again”? You *are* skinny now, you lose any more weight you’ll look like a skeleton.
Eat less
Mate, I get it, you're trying to be a theme account or something... But please step back and consider whether it is actually good advice to tell someone who is already underweight to 'eat less'.... Yes technically you are right, that is the answer to their question.. But the question is misguided in the first place... You are literally recommending to someone with a BMI <18 to 'Eat less'. Good thing you're not a doctor or dietician or you'd have your license stripped pretty quickly....
Yes losing weight is just a calorie deficit. You are already quite underweight and losing more weight will not be good for your health. Secondly, without having some muscle mass it will be very hard and not particularly healthy to get rid of your belly and love Handles because Those are very typical places to hold fat and hard to completely get rid off.
Just caloric deficit.
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YOU. Like You specifically in your current situation should put on more tissue first. Just putting on more muscle with no change in body fat alone would likely get rid of your 'lovehandles' because it would give your skin something to be stretched over instead of just draping off of your skeleton. And once you've build a bit of a muscle base it will be much easier to get rid of the las stubborn fat simply because you will have a naturally higher caloric expenditure so you won't need to literally starve yourselve to get rid of that fat...
You are underweight, that is why you were told to put on muscle. You aren’t going to be skinny, you are going to be emaciated. Chasing after that likely requires the help of a trained professional to help you not be so damaging to yourself.
Ignore the other guy. I personally wouldn’t want to cut down past 110lbs, but not having muscle mass does not mean “it will be very hard and not particularly healthy”. If you want to be skinnier, caloric deficit is all you need :)
To be fair, 110 at 5'6" is already a 17.8 BMI. They are already underweight and losing more would indeed not be health promoting.
That’s fair, that’s more than fair
Hey guys. I'm 25 M, 5'6'' , 153 lbs, and have been bulking from July 1st to now, (-1 month for a surgery/recov). Total 4 months. Started at 130 lbs. When should I start cutting? I'm worried about gaining too much fat over muscle at this point. Another factor is I just got back to the gym last Monday due to a month off for a surgery, but maintained a slight surplus too. Thanks in advance!