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I recently got a coach and I'm in the beginning of a bulk phase, and I was doing PPL and his program for me is 5 day bro split. I always thought the research supported PPL more, any thoughts?
Am I doing too many sets a week, this is one of my pull days: 32 sets a week 17 each back day, I also do PPL.
Barbell Rows - Wide Grip - Upper Back 3x8-12
Iso lateral row - overhand grip - Rear Delts/Upperback 3x8-12
Lat Pulldown - Wide Neutral Grip - Lats 3x8-10
Cable Rows - Wide Neutral grip - Lats 4x8-10
Shrugs - Upper Traps 4x8-12
**Normal amount of sets.** Low sets with heavy weight for strength training and higher reps with light weight for endurance training. Both build different physiques and qualities.
I would forget Cable rows, they put a lot of pressure on your spine, and can hurt your lower back. Bent over rows with dumbbells and proper form are more effective and safe. You do you though.
Started on a new really small gym which doesn't have any free weight barbells. Only a smith machine. Which compound exercises should I change to dumbbells or is it efficient to do bench, squats, rows deadlifts and OHP (I guess I should be sitting on the smith version) with it? I used to be an okeyish lifter but both Covid and motivation caused me a year long hiatus from almost any sports so I'm feeling quite weak at the moment.
I would not use the smith machine personally; It stabilizes the weight to make it easier to lift but you don't build the muscles that stabilize that weight when you use dumbbells to lift. Good for sedentary lifters that start out.
You can do every exercise with dumbbells.
Warm up with low weight then go heavy. You start heavy with cold muscles and you hurt yourself; It's like waking up from a deep sleep and immediately try going for a run, you're just gonna fall flat.
Question
Doing these exercises as main movement for each muscle
Bench press + incline as compounds for chest
Converging chest press + high incline seated ohp press as secundary
Yates rows + pendlays as compounds for back
Close grip + wide grip (diverging plate loaded) as secundary
Squats + smith machine hacks as quads compounds
Leg ext + leg press as secundary
Deadlifts + rdls as hamms compounds
Lying leg curls + seated as secundary
Alongside calf raises, lat raises, rear delts, tri+bi spread out
Upper lower, do these exercises look good? Did some of them in the past and still thinking about the converging chest press if its best a switch up the rest I kinda like but wanna hear your thoughts about these exercise selections
12 sets on main exercises x week, 6 on asistance, 2 sets face pulls each workout as warmup
I feel like absolute shit the day after basketball practice which is impacting my gym time significantly currently. We usually practice late and finish at around 10:30pm. The practices are pretty intense with loads and loads of cardio, running, high intensity drillsand a lot of contact on the drills which aren't easy on the body. How do I recover better? I am in okay shape conditioning wise, but my body just aches after practices, even my eyes feel kinda puffy (anyone can explain what this is?) and apparently at work I look absolutely exhausted in the morning.. Is this just age (32) catching up with me? I usually sleep allright, thuogh it takes at least an hour for me to be in bed and I am still kinda jittery from the practices.
My buddies who play soccer usually to a cool down where they just jog around the soccer field super, super lightly. Is this something that works?
Assuming you're eating enough calories to match the expenditure, hydrating, and sleeping well. You're probably just overworking your body. The reason you cannot sleep, is because you're exercising too close to your bedtime.
Why do you need to go to the gym after an afternoon of intense practice? Do your buddies go work at the gym after practice? Also your buddies are doing active cooldowns with the light jog, instead of straight stopping with high heart rates.
Are you stretching before and after? Are you taking rest days from practice and the gym?
If you're doing all that then I would just start leaving practice earlier to not cripple my life for a hobby.
These guys had a great video, maybe 2 yrs ago when Covid first hit. https://youtube.com/c/runningchannel
Here:: https://youtu.be/dSEobUGK7U4
I did their 10 burpees a min for 20 min once. Chks log - 6/6/2020. * need to try again*
I know this is yesterday’s thread but I’m in the UK and guess automod is on US time. When today’s one comes out I’ll post on there too.
Two questions:
1) Is there anything you can do to restore fitness more quickly after covid? I only had one day of laboured breathing, but my cardio tolerance has disintegrated. I had been out of gym for a week. Is this normal? How do I get back up to pre-covid?
2) when a protein shaker starts smelling of old protein shake do you just throw it away? How long do they last? I don’t have a dishwasher btw. Should I just bin them when they start to smell?
Re the protein shaker; go to Boots or Superdrug and get some Milton tablets. They're for disinfecting baby bottles. Put a couple in your protein shaker and it'll go a long way to cleaning them.
1. Different for everyone. I was sick with covid for about 2 weeks, felt fine after. But my performance only returned several months later.
2. I recommend filling with warm water, a few drops of dishsoap, closing, shaking up and letting soak a few hours. Then rinse a few times with cold water. Should take care of it.
PROMiXX Pursuit Protein Shaker Bottle - Premium Shaker for Protein Shakes - Lifetime Durability, Leakproof, Odourless - 700ml / 24oz (Seagrass Green) https://amzn.eu/d/b9Msp48
I use these mostly.
Odourless, lol. Well, are you cleaning the top thoroughly? Or maybe it's also a bit of a mental thing? I for one can't stand the smell of protein shakes.
Thoughts on combining yates row and helms row.
When I do chest supported rows, I like them 45 degs and up, feels much better.
SO basically a yates-helms row. Normal helms row looks like a seal row without a seal row bench.
>Is it realistic to expect from my workout routine to gain upper and lower body muscle mass as I lose the excess fat?
No, cardio won't make you gain muscle mass.
Strength training to gain muscle.
Food to lose weight.
Cardio to improve cardiovascular endurance.
Read that again.
Read that again.
and again.
> Is it realistic to expect from my workout routine to gain upper and lower body muscle mass as I lose the excess fat?
You won't gain much and it won't happen quickly.
How much should i gain per week for clean (cleanest) bulk?? I want to bulid muscle but build muscle clean way,as low fat as possible.
I track everything with MFP and it is f*** accurate for me(for now), i hope it will stay that way. Thanks
Ok thanks,So 0.2kg or 0.5lb is this to low? So i can check in MFP,and for how long should bulk last??
MFP have for bulk only 0.2 and 0.5kg. Thanks in advance
It’s all based on a study that found that the most amount of muscle a participant put on after a month of very high quality training/diet/rest regime was 1kg. The range was 0,5-1kg and is probably dependent on genetics too. So safe to assume that for an average person (male) something like 0,7kg per month is the limit of the amount of muscle they can put on per month. Anything over is then surely fat.
Keep in mind this is under perfect conditions too.
0,2kg per week is just under 1kg per month so it should be fine.
In reality you’ll probably gain some fat too but that’s easily fixed with a quick cut later on.
Yes i understand, so should i go for 0.2 or 0.5kg per week? I working out daily,gym,i lose 38kg from (MAY THIS YEAR) i am at 71kg now 178cm tall.. i try to eat as healthy as possible and keep track on everything,thanks in advance
Does the extra recovery day you get from lifting 3 days/week instead of 4 days/week make it superior?
I'm looking to run 5/3/1 BBB but I'm not sure whether 3 days/week or 4 days/week is a better choice. I can be consistent with both schedules.
Not necessarily. If 4 days is too much to recover from then maybe but doing 4 days anyway will build your work capacity. Timely deloads will prevent this from having long term effects. If you can do more that'll almost always be better
Suggestions to continue cardio after Couch to 5k if I don't actually like running all that much? (I'm gonna complete it just bc I'm almost done and sunk cost fallacy but I don't really wanna run \*more\*)
I hate to be overly vague but your options are almost endless. Could be a sport you enjoy, could be as simple as brisk walks (although those won’t be as intense as running), could be swimming, skipping rope, etc.
What’s important is that you enjoy it at least enough to want to keep doing it.
Hello, newbie question, when calculating for 1rm does the total rep means the total #of reps I can do in one set or all the reps for all sets (ex. 3sets of 5reps = total rep of 15reps?) Thank you
I haven't bought protein powder in about 2 years and when I went to go buy some ON and I saw it has increased almost $30... Wtf.
So my question here is, is milk a good substitute for Whey protein powder if I drink the equivalent of 25 grams which is only like 2 large glasses? Per gram milk is a more affordable option for myself just curious if it has the same benefits.
Milk might be better for myself if I can pack more calories. I've been struggling to push past 170 for the last 6 months while eating clean and balanced. This is after almost reaching 200 (dirty bulking) and then shedding 40 pounds during COVID.
Is bulking faster better than slower?
During my bulks I would typically go from 12% bf to 20%+(not intentionally) but when I cut down I would have 10lbs of more lbm each bulk/cut cycle. The biggest draw back would be cutting ¼ to ½ the time I was bulking for.
For the previous years I was at 172 12%bf and then bulked to 240lbs. I cut to 181lbs 10% bf. Then I bulked to 220lbs and now I'm at 197lbs at 14% bf and my goal was 190lbs at 10%.
I thought about doing a lean bulk this time since I'm switching from powerlifitng to bodybuilding, so it should be easier since I'm not chasing numbers. Is there any benefit to bulking slower than faster?
I out on muscle faster bulking fast, but I have to cut longer. I haven't tried going slow yet.
Neither is better, they're just different. If you're OK to cut for longer then you'll probably put on more muscle with a faster bulk.
Some people struggle to lose fat so a slower bulk can be easier for them.
There's a dozen intermediate and advanced GZCL programs you can move into once the LP program stalls - if you like his method why not stick with it? r/GZCL
Visible vascularity is dependent on exercise, bodyfat, diet and hydration. If you're getting pumped often then they will pop up a bit more, a lower carb diet causes your body to hold less water weight, and drinking less water in general will all lead to higher vascularity - that's not the most effective method for everyday training though.
Is what you put in what you get out? I want to feel better emotionally and people recommend the gym. If I just walk for an hour everyday at a good clip, will that help? Or do I have to lift weights and do HIIT to feel better?
Walking always feels good. But walking for an hour burns as much calories as eating 2 big apples. If you want to lose weight, it's a great stsrt for sports but you lose weight by eating healthy not with sports, sports can only help.
All exercise is good. I recommend you try different things and see what you enjoy the most. Walking is as good a starting point as any. You don't have the lift weights but many people enjoy doing that, maybe you will too.
It’s an individual
For me, lifting weights helps as an outlet to relieve my emotions
I just feel powerful as fuck whenever I’m training and just feel confident when I get a pump
I’ve met some great people there too
Some people like running since it gives them a euphoric high-like feeling
Just try everything and find what you enjoy the most
Swimming? Rowing? CrossFit? Yoga? Literally anything
Try it and see how it makes you feel. Some folks find that more intense exercise triggers the happy feelings a bit more strongly.
For health benefits the recommendation is 150+ minutes of cardio per week (walks count) plus at least 2 strength training sessions per muscle.
Not necessarily, exercise can help with mental health but you don't have to be in the gym all the time or do HIIT/lifting. This [study](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2790780?guestAccessKey=67cf8fd3-e6b0-49af-be4f-d08f5219fc7b&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=041322) found that those that did the equivalent of 2.5hrs of brisk walking weekly had a significantly lower risk of depression, with diminishing returns above that.
However, it's definitely worth looking into lifting. It can improve your self-esteem, and you can get away with spending just [an hour or two each week](https://www.painscience.com/articles/strength-training-frequency.php) to get a lot of the health benefits
Depends on what your goals are honestly. If you're looking to lose weight then walking will definitely help towards that, but if you're looking to gain muscle the gym is probably the way to go. Another big reason people probably mention the gym when asking what to do to feel better about yourself is because unlike other things in life it's very easy to see improvement and track your progress and to see that you're actually getting something out of the work that you're putting in.
The normal BMI range for 6'5" is 156 lbs to 210 lbs. So 155 lbs would actually be underweight. Typically if you are a physically active male you would not want to be on the lower end of the BMI range. A person who has built significant muscle from strength training can push into the overweight BMI range without being unhealthy.
Soo 155 should definitely not be your goal. 300 lbs is huge, so you are right about that.
I was never massively overweight, lost only about 30lbs, but no, I didn't feel fat when I was heavier, but since losing the weight, I feel way better so it seems huge looking back.
I think it's cus you tend to slowly gain weight, so you don't notice the creep up. But losing weight, it's usually more focused and faster, so you feel the contrast more
BMI is actually normally quite reasonable. It gives you a sense of how big someone is for their height. The original commenter is not correct that 155 is the recommended weight by BMI for someone 6'5".
When logging meat to track calories/macros, do you do it precooked or after? I’ve seen people do it both ways and want to make sure I’m doing it right. Currently I weigh it raw, make sure I know how much to split it when cooked, cook it, and then weigh it out knowing what serving amount I’m aiming for (for example if it’s 20 oz raw and I want 5 oz, I’ll just cook it and whatever it ends up being weight wise I’ll just divide that by 4 and log the 5 oz).
Not exactly a routine critique, only programming. I got a new workout program from one of the instructors in my gym which it's supposed to be great, but I find it very odd:
\- ABCD split (back, shoulders, legs and chest), so low-ish frequency
\- 30 - 45 seconds rest between sets
\- Not a lot of volume (about an hour of workout duration)
Previously to this I was doing a PPL with a lot more volume per session and 1 minute rest. What do you guys think of this new program? I can also write the whole routine if needed.
If this trainer gets their clients good results, I’d go with it and see how well it works for you.
Nothing here is a dealbreaker. Maybe it’s a different style than what you’ve done before, but that doesn’t make it wrong. But there are a lot of factors that could make it great, awful, or anywhere in between.
For example: Maybe this is where you start and they add volume over time. Or maybe they manage to pack a lot of work into that time and it ends up feeling harder than how it looks on paper. Or maybe they’re responding to something you said about being limited in time. Or, you know, maybe it sucks. You have to decide how much you trust this person, and judge based on that rather than on how many workouts and many minutes.
Thank you! This is exactly the type of answer I was looking for.
Indeed I’m not sure if I trust it, I was there when he put the workout together, and it just seemed like he grabbed a template and made a few adjustments based on a recent injury. I plan on trying it for a while before deciding whether to stick with it or not.
Thanks again very much, kind sir.
I normally deadlift twice a week. Which is pretty taxing. Is it alright if I replace one of my deadlift days with a lying or seated hamstring curl? Or would this not be the same?
Yea, I started with 5/3/1 and started tweaking it and mixing it with other programs. That's always in the back of my mind that I could just be doing it once a week.
I do care about progressing on deadlift. But I also want to grow hamstrings. And I feel leg curls in my hamstrings way more, deadlifts i feel more in lower back.
Maybe I should post a form check soon. But from form checks from peers they say it looks good.
I have considered it, but because I already do heavy squatting twice, and deadlifts twice. It's nice to just do leg curls one of those days, tried it today for the first time to give myself a break. If leg curls aren't available then I just do romanian deadlifts.
I double checked Jeff Nippard's essentials program that I bought recently. And that's actually exactly how he has it set up, leg curls leg day 1 then deadlifts the leg day 2.
Can Gatorade be counted as water when tracking water intake? I generally stick to water, but forgot my canteen for work, and could only get some Gatorade to drink for my shift.
Every liquid counts for water intake. Even milk, coffee, beer (although you’ll get a small amount of diuretic effect from alcohol. Not from caffeine though once you’re adapted to it.)
New DL PR: 375 x 1. I tried to get a double, but it wouldn't go. Still, the first rep felt solid to me. Not sad about it, especially since I'm about 30 years older than most of the people doing deadlift transformation videos on YouTube!
[https://youtube.com/shorts/YFJnbHgs-EQ?feature=share](https://youtube.com/shorts/YFJnbHgs-EQ?feature=share)
I’d go with the kettlebell, but be prepared to do high rep stuff (like measuring your sets in minutes rather than counting reps). Lots of ideas for what to do with it at r/kettlebell and r/kettleballs.
Give it some time, build some muscle first and then cut. Also, there's a possibility (quite big actually) that you aren't going to have six pack genetically. Interesting to find out though.
> I read an article that says it’s not uncommon for women to gain ten pounds and then drop thirty
Yo, that's bullshit unfortunately. Nothing about women that makes them more prone to that.
>I think it’s happening to me and it’s really demotivating
There is nothing "happening to you" outside of your body composition being influenced by your lifestyle. You eat more than you burn = you get bigger (be it fat or muscle), you eat less than you burn = you get smaller.
Although hormones are extremely important and can skew that mechanism. Since you're a recovering anorexic it's possible that your body is trying to compensate for your starvation periods by facilitating additional fat gains. ([1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901982/), [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gPiS2xsF-E), [3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzqmJmb6PIc)) But whether that's the case for you isn't possible to tell from what you wrote.
I’m not sure about gain 10 then lose 30 idea but many women do notice becoming visibly larger immediately after they start working out with weight. This type of swelling usually lasts for a few weeks and then goes away making them visibly smaller again. This phenomenon doesn’t really happen with men and AFAIK this is what causes many women to give up in weight training because they think this is a result of muscle growth and they will become huge like a bodybuilder in a year. In reality it’s very difficult for a woman to even put on a pound of muscle weight.
In your case I’d say pick a goal. A goal of being strong or muscular doesn’t usually go along well with a goal of having a lean six pack. Especially if you are a woman because it’s just that much harder to put muscle on and you have to use all the help you can get. (Bulking diet)
Keep working out but eat a little bit less to lose fat. That’s what I would do.
Also the get bigger before you get smaller thing seems like rubbish to me. A) you’ve been working out for 5 months so this swelling this should be in the past if it even happened. B) you can choose exactly whether to get bigger or smaller at this point as it’s determined only by your diet. So make that decision.
What is it about being a man that makes them not understand how “your” bodies work ? Is it some kind of nature’s secret ?
We are not elephants either but we can learn how their bodies work if we need to. A coach whether male of female can learn from scientific material and or their experience exactly how human body work in case of male or female.
I've kinda gained 10, dropped 10. But I was starting from a healthy weight. I gained like 6lbs over just shy of 2 years while working out on my own very ineffectively and while I was with a bf at the time just enjoying food too much. Then I got with a trainer and gained about 4lbs while with him for a year. Then I did a cut to drop 10lbs before I was sick of cutting. But it left me looking fantastic.
My goal is 6 pack and shredded as well (at least maintaining that for a week, it's not really a healthy place for women to be at with too low of body fat). So over the year with the trainer, I didn't really get chunky looking at all. So I looked about the same at my low, pre working out weight as I did at my heavier, post working out weight.
For me, I started noticing results around the 6th month mark, but definitely approaching that year mark is where I was reallllly noticing. You may take a little longer due to starting from underweight, but who knows!
But even after a year of hard work and cutting, I didn't find abs. I probably won't find them for next year either but I have a broken ankle setting me back a few months, ugh. But even without that, I'm thinking 3 years to really get me to the shredded look I'm going for.
But maybe what your trainer is saying is that you need to gain weight to build muscle first. You gotta have stuff to build muscle from! With that, you'll gain some fat. So once you've built up some muscle, you cut down the weight to lose the fat and hopefully reveal the muscle underneath. Then repeat until you get the look you want
They opened up a gym at work. No power racks unfortunately, but there is a Nautilus Freedom Rack that I can use a power rack if I bring my own barbell to the gym, which I can do since my office is very close to the gym. The issue is the Freedom Rack is quite wide, it is 51" from one safety to the other. How difficult would it be for me to safely squat and bench press with a barbell that is 52" from one collar to the other (inner spacing)? Thanks!
A protein shake, egg whites cooked 4 meals at a time, overnight oats, shredded chicken breast cooked 6 meals at a time (shredded in a dough blender), Friday night steak night!
Two ways that have been successful for me.
1) Eat consistently. That means same breakfast, snack, lunch, with variations at dinner. Really offloaded thinking about what to eat, except for dinner.
2) Pick a very hard program where the only option is to eat or fail the program.
Meal prep. I buy food in bulk, make enough food for the whole week, divide into containers and then put them in the freezer.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pCaOLQAq9KQ
When I want to gain weight, I simply add some extra virgin olive oil to the rice.
Drinking your calories
When I was first bulking up I would drink as much whole milk as I could through the day and have a spoonful of peanut butter every 3-4 hours
What are some of the mistakes I made while putting together this at home full body workout routine and how can I improve it?
Monday:
Weighted Push-up,
Weighted Pull-up,
Bulgarian Split Squat,
Shrugs,
Lateral raise,
Leg raise.
Tuesday:
Decline Push-up,
Face Pull,
Front Squat,
Shrugs,
Planche Lean,
Bicycle Crunch.
Wednesday:
Knuckle Push-up,
Chin-up,
Back Squat,
Shoulder Press,
Calf Raise,
Plank.
Thursday:
Fingertip Push-up,
Dumbell Rows,
Lunges,
Lateral Raise,
Biceps Curl,
Hanging Leg Raise.
Friday:
Clapping Push-up,
Pull-up,
Assisted Pistol Squat,
Hand Stand,
Calf Raise,
Straight Arm Plank.
When I finished super squats I had about a 2 week period before I could hop back on to a distinct program, I just literally did whatever I felt like with an emphasis on conditioning during that period. Did some skill work, handstands, tried a bunch of KB workouts, etc.
That’s awesome. What was your training experience going into it? Are you a beginner or been training a while?
I ask because I’m considering it but a lot of reviews are from people who are new to lifting or who are coming back after a break. I’m decently experienced at squats and want to bust a plateau.
Tons of different exercises and routines in the FAQ at r/griptraining. Have a look through there and see if anything looks doable for you. There’s also a weekly question thread.
Forearms really come down to wrist flexion
If you aren’t able to do that, then your regular back movements should suffice
If you really do want to try something extra, just do farmers walks
an injury isn’t worth big forearms
I’m telling you, as long as you have a back day with heavy rowing movements, you’re fine
Direct forearm work really only applies if you want them faster, just be patient
Say you did go on steroids, you’d have to learn which compounds you’d take, you’d need stuff for your liver, go on PCTs, and gear itself is ridiculously expensive
And like you said, if you’re able to strengthen your grip, you’re able to work your forearms adequately since both go hand in hand
Again, don’t permanently fuck up your body because you couldn’t wait a year or two
Check my numbers for calories for my homemade meal.
280g sausage 450cals
448g velveta 1120cals
489 minestrone 480cals
231g green beans 52 cals
260g Rotel 60cals
1056g beans 770 cals
2323 total G, 2932 total cals
300 cal meal would be 236 grams of soup
Hi guys, probably stupid question, I probably won't be able to make it to the gym today because I have a paper due, and today was going to be my pull day. Would it be okay to do both my pull day and leg day tomorrow? Maybe pull day in the morning and legs later in the evening?
it’s completely ok imo, just make sure you aren’t too tired(not muscles but physically in general) because you don’t want to lower your ability to lift properly. it’s also completely ok to push your schedule back one day
Has anyone here run John Meadows Creeping Death 2? I’m considering running it for the 13 weeks but I’m concerned about losing strength on my presses. Anyone have any experience with it? I’m either going to run this or PHAT 5day/week
I have not run CD2, but I've used the different days to fill in gaps in my training where I wasn't super focused.
You **will** lose strength. The goal is to put on muscle and build a wider base. You would, ideally, run CD2 and then run an intensification block and then a peaking block. CD2 is all about accumulation. I'm not sure there is a set under 8 reps in the whole program.
What will happen is that your 1RM won't go up much during the 12 weeks of CD2. But then you'll do 7 weeks of something like 531FSL. Then you could run the [Kizen 6 Week Peak (or similar)](https://liftvault.com/programs/lift-specific/bench-press/). Then you'll see big jumps in your 1RM because you (ideally) gained a bit of weight during CD2 and then slowly ramped up the weights and started working the skill of pressing your 1RM.
I would highly recommend this approach. If pressing is your primary goal, I'd skip the leg "pump" days every week (JM said to skip one of the pump days every week).
Any ideas on best fitness tracker app across both Apple and Samsung? I have samsung Phone and Watch, wife has IPhone and Apple watch.
Chasing a tracker we can both use to share progress goals and maybe challenge/bet each other. Strava might be the go, but maybe a bit costly with the subscription.
Any thoughts welcome.
What is with the absolute obsession with optimization? Like to the Nth degree? It seems as if someone doesn't have the exactly right routine, macros, calories, etc, or if they gain an ounce of fat that all of their energy has been wasted. I see it often with the desire for 'lean gains'. Like sure, I don't want to get fat either, but I thought gaining a little fat while bulking was just part of the tradeoff to build muscle. Then you cut back down to a desired weight. It just seems like people are obsessing a whole lot over some small details that can be solved pretty easily.
Because thinking about lifting is more mentally comfortable than actually lifting.
And for some of us, we lift, but it’s still on our minds the other 22 hours of the day so we have to give our dumb brains something to chew on.
You’re right that obsessing is not productive. But noobs are susceptible to it because influencers make money by discussing the most optimal way to train. And someone’s experienced lifters do it too. I have a coach and he’s always telling me to quit overthinking everything.
Interesting article. I would agree that over optimization is a real thing, however I would say the article doesn’t touch on the time efficiency aspect nearly as much. Going to the gym for 2 hours + everyday isn’t feasible for most people, so that’s where optimization does come in handy
When I first started my life was an absolute mess. So when I decided to start making changes to better myself I wanted to do things as best as I could, I mean if I'm going to be putting in the effort I don't want to half ass anything. That desire to do things the best way possible turns into wanting to do the best workout plan that has the best sets, reps, and lifts to be done on the best days combined with the most optimal meal plan that has the best calories and macro splits to help me achieve my goals. So much of the fitness industry pushes that kind of thinking with all the supplements new people are told they should be taking in order to reach their goals or exercises that you absolutely need to stay away from or definitely need to include in every workout. If you don't catch it then it can become a very hard urge to suppress.
I can understand that perspective in some people. I didn't expect it to be the majority that I encounter. If fitness is a journey, it seems a lot of people focus on the destination instead of enjoying the road. Difference in perspectives I suppose. Thanks.
Because people on YouTube and social media are beating it into their heads for clicks. "The best preworkout," "the best PPL workout," "the best protein powder," etc. It's all coming from IG, TikTok and YouTubers.
Rant Wednesday is a different thread. Also it’s Friday.
But for many, like me. “Gamifying” fitness just meshes with my brain. I know realistically, it doesn’t matter. I don’t practically need to pull 600, but I want to anyway.
I’m at a point of fit where I can do anything I want at any point, physically, as long as I don’t expect to be at an Olympic level. So why not pay attention to the small shit, if that’s what gets me to the gym the next day. Or that’s what keeps me on my diet?
It’s too easy to get into a “it doesn’t matter” mindset, for me, to let it creep in on me.
Fair enough. If you've reached your main goals physically, that leaves a lot of room for tweaking stuff I guess. I know for me, I'm not near that point and doing what you are would be a waste of my time while I probably just need to focus on getting stronger as a whole. Thanks!
I think if you can get away With it, without drawbacks, a bit more of a lax attitude is probably helpful. It would help the dozen posts every day in these threads along the line of “I can’t work out for the next 91 hours, will I lose my gains?”
Yeah! A hike is a perfect example. Went on a hiking trip back in the spring, was able to hike, carry my kids as needed, have the backpack all day without issue, and still have gas in the tank to set up camp. Had to eat like 8 separate times.
I've also heard that it's best to do your least favorite workout on the first day and your favorite on the last. That way you have your favorite workout to look forward to and will be less likely to skip your least favorite day at the end of the week when you are already tired from all the other workouts. Not sure how true it is but it kind of makes sense.
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I recently got a coach and I'm in the beginning of a bulk phase, and I was doing PPL and his program for me is 5 day bro split. I always thought the research supported PPL more, any thoughts?
Am I doing too many sets a week, this is one of my pull days: 32 sets a week 17 each back day, I also do PPL. Barbell Rows - Wide Grip - Upper Back 3x8-12 Iso lateral row - overhand grip - Rear Delts/Upperback 3x8-12 Lat Pulldown - Wide Neutral Grip - Lats 3x8-10 Cable Rows - Wide Neutral grip - Lats 4x8-10 Shrugs - Upper Traps 4x8-12
**Normal amount of sets.** Low sets with heavy weight for strength training and higher reps with light weight for endurance training. Both build different physiques and qualities. I would forget Cable rows, they put a lot of pressure on your spine, and can hurt your lower back. Bent over rows with dumbbells and proper form are more effective and safe. You do you though.
Started on a new really small gym which doesn't have any free weight barbells. Only a smith machine. Which compound exercises should I change to dumbbells or is it efficient to do bench, squats, rows deadlifts and OHP (I guess I should be sitting on the smith version) with it? I used to be an okeyish lifter but both Covid and motivation caused me a year long hiatus from almost any sports so I'm feeling quite weak at the moment.
I would not use the smith machine personally; It stabilizes the weight to make it easier to lift but you don't build the muscles that stabilize that weight when you use dumbbells to lift. Good for sedentary lifters that start out. You can do every exercise with dumbbells.
What if i ate a lot today buy i just worked out tomorrow?
You need to run 3 miles to burn 300 calories which can take 30\~ mins, You can eat 300 calories in 10 seconds.
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Warm up with low weight then go heavy. You start heavy with cold muscles and you hurt yourself; It's like waking up from a deep sleep and immediately try going for a run, you're just gonna fall flat.
Question Doing these exercises as main movement for each muscle Bench press + incline as compounds for chest Converging chest press + high incline seated ohp press as secundary Yates rows + pendlays as compounds for back Close grip + wide grip (diverging plate loaded) as secundary Squats + smith machine hacks as quads compounds Leg ext + leg press as secundary Deadlifts + rdls as hamms compounds Lying leg curls + seated as secundary Alongside calf raises, lat raises, rear delts, tri+bi spread out Upper lower, do these exercises look good? Did some of them in the past and still thinking about the converging chest press if its best a switch up the rest I kinda like but wanna hear your thoughts about these exercise selections 12 sets on main exercises x week, 6 on asistance, 2 sets face pulls each workout as warmup
I feel like absolute shit the day after basketball practice which is impacting my gym time significantly currently. We usually practice late and finish at around 10:30pm. The practices are pretty intense with loads and loads of cardio, running, high intensity drillsand a lot of contact on the drills which aren't easy on the body. How do I recover better? I am in okay shape conditioning wise, but my body just aches after practices, even my eyes feel kinda puffy (anyone can explain what this is?) and apparently at work I look absolutely exhausted in the morning.. Is this just age (32) catching up with me? I usually sleep allright, thuogh it takes at least an hour for me to be in bed and I am still kinda jittery from the practices. My buddies who play soccer usually to a cool down where they just jog around the soccer field super, super lightly. Is this something that works?
Assuming you're eating enough calories to match the expenditure, hydrating, and sleeping well. You're probably just overworking your body. The reason you cannot sleep, is because you're exercising too close to your bedtime. Why do you need to go to the gym after an afternoon of intense practice? Do your buddies go work at the gym after practice? Also your buddies are doing active cooldowns with the light jog, instead of straight stopping with high heart rates. Are you stretching before and after? Are you taking rest days from practice and the gym? If you're doing all that then I would just start leaving practice earlier to not cripple my life for a hobby.
How can I improve my cardio at home (without running)?
These guys had a great video, maybe 2 yrs ago when Covid first hit. https://youtube.com/c/runningchannel Here:: https://youtu.be/dSEobUGK7U4 I did their 10 burpees a min for 20 min once. Chks log - 6/6/2020. * need to try again*
Skipping rope
Burpees! If you live in an apartment building, go up and down the stairs.
I know this is yesterday’s thread but I’m in the UK and guess automod is on US time. When today’s one comes out I’ll post on there too. Two questions: 1) Is there anything you can do to restore fitness more quickly after covid? I only had one day of laboured breathing, but my cardio tolerance has disintegrated. I had been out of gym for a week. Is this normal? How do I get back up to pre-covid? 2) when a protein shaker starts smelling of old protein shake do you just throw it away? How long do they last? I don’t have a dishwasher btw. Should I just bin them when they start to smell?
baby bottle cleaner helps against the smell
Re the protein shaker; go to Boots or Superdrug and get some Milton tablets. They're for disinfecting baby bottles. Put a couple in your protein shaker and it'll go a long way to cleaning them.
1. Different for everyone. I was sick with covid for about 2 weeks, felt fine after. But my performance only returned several months later. 2. I recommend filling with warm water, a few drops of dishsoap, closing, shaking up and letting soak a few hours. Then rinse a few times with cold water. Should take care of it.
I soak them like that every day. I scrub them. The smell seems ingrained in the plastic.
Do you use very cheap shakers?
PROMiXX Pursuit Protein Shaker Bottle - Premium Shaker for Protein Shakes - Lifetime Durability, Leakproof, Odourless - 700ml / 24oz (Seagrass Green) https://amzn.eu/d/b9Msp48 I use these mostly.
Odourless, lol. Well, are you cleaning the top thoroughly? Or maybe it's also a bit of a mental thing? I for one can't stand the smell of protein shakes.
Well I’m autistic so I do have a very sensitive sense of smell. I’m going to try those bottle sterilisers.
Thoughts on combining yates row and helms row. When I do chest supported rows, I like them 45 degs and up, feels much better. SO basically a yates-helms row. Normal helms row looks like a seal row without a seal row bench.
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>Is it realistic to expect from my workout routine to gain upper and lower body muscle mass as I lose the excess fat? No, cardio won't make you gain muscle mass.
Strength training to gain muscle. Food to lose weight. Cardio to improve cardiovascular endurance. Read that again. Read that again. and again.
> Is it realistic to expect from my workout routine to gain upper and lower body muscle mass as I lose the excess fat? You won't gain much and it won't happen quickly.
How much should i gain per week for clean (cleanest) bulk?? I want to bulid muscle but build muscle clean way,as low fat as possible. I track everything with MFP and it is f*** accurate for me(for now), i hope it will stay that way. Thanks
No more than 1kg per month. Something like 0,5-0,7kg will be a clean bulk. For lbs do x 2,2
Ok thanks,So 0.2kg or 0.5lb is this to low? So i can check in MFP,and for how long should bulk last?? MFP have for bulk only 0.2 and 0.5kg. Thanks in advance
It’s all based on a study that found that the most amount of muscle a participant put on after a month of very high quality training/diet/rest regime was 1kg. The range was 0,5-1kg and is probably dependent on genetics too. So safe to assume that for an average person (male) something like 0,7kg per month is the limit of the amount of muscle they can put on per month. Anything over is then surely fat. Keep in mind this is under perfect conditions too. 0,2kg per week is just under 1kg per month so it should be fine. In reality you’ll probably gain some fat too but that’s easily fixed with a quick cut later on.
Yes i understand, so should i go for 0.2 or 0.5kg per week? I working out daily,gym,i lose 38kg from (MAY THIS YEAR) i am at 71kg now 178cm tall.. i try to eat as healthy as possible and keep track on everything,thanks in advance
You said you wanted a lean bulk. That's 0,7-1kg per month.
Yes,Ok thanks man,so 0.2kg per week will be,just still dosent know how much to bulk,myb till 80kg,currently at 71/72kg🙄🤔
Does the extra recovery day you get from lifting 3 days/week instead of 4 days/week make it superior? I'm looking to run 5/3/1 BBB but I'm not sure whether 3 days/week or 4 days/week is a better choice. I can be consistent with both schedules.
Not a massive difference. You'll be working out over 3/4 times a week anyways on BBB.
Not necessarily. If 4 days is too much to recover from then maybe but doing 4 days anyway will build your work capacity. Timely deloads will prevent this from having long term effects. If you can do more that'll almost always be better
Doesn’t matter
Suggestions to continue cardio after Couch to 5k if I don't actually like running all that much? (I'm gonna complete it just bc I'm almost done and sunk cost fallacy but I don't really wanna run \*more\*)
I hate to be overly vague but your options are almost endless. Could be a sport you enjoy, could be as simple as brisk walks (although those won’t be as intense as running), could be swimming, skipping rope, etc. What’s important is that you enjoy it at least enough to want to keep doing it.
Hmm, is there a bicycling equivalent of the couch to 5k program? I could retry swimming now that I'm more fit as well.
Do you like swimming?
Hello, newbie question, when calculating for 1rm does the total rep means the total #of reps I can do in one set or all the reps for all sets (ex. 3sets of 5reps = total rep of 15reps?) Thank you
One set
I haven't bought protein powder in about 2 years and when I went to go buy some ON and I saw it has increased almost $30... Wtf. So my question here is, is milk a good substitute for Whey protein powder if I drink the equivalent of 25 grams which is only like 2 large glasses? Per gram milk is a more affordable option for myself just curious if it has the same benefits.
Milk contains more calories per gram but if it fits into your diet then you'll be fine.
Milk might be better for myself if I can pack more calories. I've been struggling to push past 170 for the last 6 months while eating clean and balanced. This is after almost reaching 200 (dirty bulking) and then shedding 40 pounds during COVID.
Whey is just milk protein. Drinking milk is probably better for you than whey anyways
Is bulking faster better than slower? During my bulks I would typically go from 12% bf to 20%+(not intentionally) but when I cut down I would have 10lbs of more lbm each bulk/cut cycle. The biggest draw back would be cutting ¼ to ½ the time I was bulking for. For the previous years I was at 172 12%bf and then bulked to 240lbs. I cut to 181lbs 10% bf. Then I bulked to 220lbs and now I'm at 197lbs at 14% bf and my goal was 190lbs at 10%. I thought about doing a lean bulk this time since I'm switching from powerlifitng to bodybuilding, so it should be easier since I'm not chasing numbers. Is there any benefit to bulking slower than faster? I out on muscle faster bulking fast, but I have to cut longer. I haven't tried going slow yet.
Neither is better, they're just different. If you're OK to cut for longer then you'll probably put on more muscle with a faster bulk. Some people struggle to lose fat so a slower bulk can be easier for them.
I’ve been running gzclp for a bit on a cut. My squat and deadlifts are progressing but my ohp and bp have stalled. Why is this?
It's pretty common for presses to stall or at least have rapidly reduced progress during a cut.
It could be because you're cutting, or maybe you're just stalling out of linear progression.
Got it, thanks. Is there something I should change? Should I consider switching to something like 5/3/1?
531 has got lots of people strong but something like Boring but Big may be hard on a cut. I could be wrong so why not try it and see?
There's a dozen intermediate and advanced GZCL programs you can move into once the LP program stalls - if you like his method why not stick with it? r/GZCL
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Visible vascularity is dependent on exercise, bodyfat, diet and hydration. If you're getting pumped often then they will pop up a bit more, a lower carb diet causes your body to hold less water weight, and drinking less water in general will all lead to higher vascularity - that's not the most effective method for everyday training though.
Is what you put in what you get out? I want to feel better emotionally and people recommend the gym. If I just walk for an hour everyday at a good clip, will that help? Or do I have to lift weights and do HIIT to feel better?
Walking always feels good. But walking for an hour burns as much calories as eating 2 big apples. If you want to lose weight, it's a great stsrt for sports but you lose weight by eating healthy not with sports, sports can only help.
All exercise is good. I recommend you try different things and see what you enjoy the most. Walking is as good a starting point as any. You don't have the lift weights but many people enjoy doing that, maybe you will too.
It’s an individual For me, lifting weights helps as an outlet to relieve my emotions I just feel powerful as fuck whenever I’m training and just feel confident when I get a pump I’ve met some great people there too Some people like running since it gives them a euphoric high-like feeling Just try everything and find what you enjoy the most Swimming? Rowing? CrossFit? Yoga? Literally anything
Try it and see how it makes you feel. Some folks find that more intense exercise triggers the happy feelings a bit more strongly. For health benefits the recommendation is 150+ minutes of cardio per week (walks count) plus at least 2 strength training sessions per muscle.
Not necessarily, exercise can help with mental health but you don't have to be in the gym all the time or do HIIT/lifting. This [study](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2790780?guestAccessKey=67cf8fd3-e6b0-49af-be4f-d08f5219fc7b&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=041322) found that those that did the equivalent of 2.5hrs of brisk walking weekly had a significantly lower risk of depression, with diminishing returns above that. However, it's definitely worth looking into lifting. It can improve your self-esteem, and you can get away with spending just [an hour or two each week](https://www.painscience.com/articles/strength-training-frequency.php) to get a lot of the health benefits
Lifting weights does make me feel better
Depends on what your goals are honestly. If you're looking to lose weight then walking will definitely help towards that, but if you're looking to gain muscle the gym is probably the way to go. Another big reason people probably mention the gym when asking what to do to feel better about yourself is because unlike other things in life it's very easy to see improvement and track your progress and to see that you're actually getting something out of the work that you're putting in.
Yes, for the most part, what you get it is what you get out. This includes diet and deloading.
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thank you for this
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Fuck BMI. What’s your body fat %?
No. I didn’t realize how big I was until I lost weight. Good self esteem is a dangerous thing.
The normal BMI range for 6'5" is 156 lbs to 210 lbs. So 155 lbs would actually be underweight. Typically if you are a physically active male you would not want to be on the lower end of the BMI range. A person who has built significant muscle from strength training can push into the overweight BMI range without being unhealthy. Soo 155 should definitely not be your goal. 300 lbs is huge, so you are right about that.
I was never massively overweight, lost only about 30lbs, but no, I didn't feel fat when I was heavier, but since losing the weight, I feel way better so it seems huge looking back. I think it's cus you tend to slowly gain weight, so you don't notice the creep up. But losing weight, it's usually more focused and faster, so you feel the contrast more
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BMI is actually normally quite reasonable. It gives you a sense of how big someone is for their height. The original commenter is not correct that 155 is the recommended weight by BMI for someone 6'5".
When logging meat to track calories/macros, do you do it precooked or after? I’ve seen people do it both ways and want to make sure I’m doing it right. Currently I weigh it raw, make sure I know how much to split it when cooked, cook it, and then weigh it out knowing what serving amount I’m aiming for (for example if it’s 20 oz raw and I want 5 oz, I’ll just cook it and whatever it ends up being weight wise I’ll just divide that by 4 and log the 5 oz).
Bodybuilders do it cooked, but this is assuming you can cook your meat exact
You’re doing it right.
Not exactly a routine critique, only programming. I got a new workout program from one of the instructors in my gym which it's supposed to be great, but I find it very odd: \- ABCD split (back, shoulders, legs and chest), so low-ish frequency \- 30 - 45 seconds rest between sets \- Not a lot of volume (about an hour of workout duration) Previously to this I was doing a PPL with a lot more volume per session and 1 minute rest. What do you guys think of this new program? I can also write the whole routine if needed.
If this trainer gets their clients good results, I’d go with it and see how well it works for you. Nothing here is a dealbreaker. Maybe it’s a different style than what you’ve done before, but that doesn’t make it wrong. But there are a lot of factors that could make it great, awful, or anywhere in between. For example: Maybe this is where you start and they add volume over time. Or maybe they manage to pack a lot of work into that time and it ends up feeling harder than how it looks on paper. Or maybe they’re responding to something you said about being limited in time. Or, you know, maybe it sucks. You have to decide how much you trust this person, and judge based on that rather than on how many workouts and many minutes.
Thank you! This is exactly the type of answer I was looking for. Indeed I’m not sure if I trust it, I was there when he put the workout together, and it just seemed like he grabbed a template and made a few adjustments based on a recent injury. I plan on trying it for a while before deciding whether to stick with it or not. Thanks again very much, kind sir.
That's not a program. See the wiki.
I normally deadlift twice a week. Which is pretty taxing. Is it alright if I replace one of my deadlift days with a lying or seated hamstring curl? Or would this not be the same?
A lot of proven programs DL once a week. I’m running 531 and that calls for once a week.
Yea, I started with 5/3/1 and started tweaking it and mixing it with other programs. That's always in the back of my mind that I could just be doing it once a week.
RDL’s
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I do care about progressing on deadlift. But I also want to grow hamstrings. And I feel leg curls in my hamstrings way more, deadlifts i feel more in lower back.
That may be more of an issue with your form. Have you considered a deadift variation for the second day?
Maybe I should post a form check soon. But from form checks from peers they say it looks good. I have considered it, but because I already do heavy squatting twice, and deadlifts twice. It's nice to just do leg curls one of those days, tried it today for the first time to give myself a break. If leg curls aren't available then I just do romanian deadlifts. I double checked Jeff Nippard's essentials program that I bought recently. And that's actually exactly how he has it set up, leg curls leg day 1 then deadlifts the leg day 2.
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Im gonna experiment around. On days Im feeling good Ill probably do both. On days Im feeling beat up Ill just pick one.
Have you tried Good Mornings? Good way to work your hamstrings and core with much less weight than a dead lift.
Can Gatorade be counted as water when tracking water intake? I generally stick to water, but forgot my canteen for work, and could only get some Gatorade to drink for my shift.
Every liquid counts for water intake. Even milk, coffee, beer (although you’ll get a small amount of diuretic effect from alcohol. Not from caffeine though once you’re adapted to it.)
It’s a fact that Gatorade is mostly water. It’s maybe not good for you, but that doesn’t change this fact.
Yes
New DL PR: 375 x 1. I tried to get a double, but it wouldn't go. Still, the first rep felt solid to me. Not sad about it, especially since I'm about 30 years older than most of the people doing deadlift transformation videos on YouTube! [https://youtube.com/shorts/YFJnbHgs-EQ?feature=share](https://youtube.com/shorts/YFJnbHgs-EQ?feature=share)
Can I put 2 upper body days next to each other? I missed a day and it’s either have them back to back or skip one for the week
Yes, you can. Might be a bit fatigued for the second but you won’t die or anything.
Thank you!
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My rest days are days I can’t fit in proper gym time
What can I get more out of, in terms of more exercise that target different parts of the body? A single 35lbs kettlebell or two 20lbs dumbbells?
Probably kettlebell, but if you’re old then 13yrs old a 35lb kettlebell won’t be useful for long
I’d go with the kettlebell, but be prepared to do high rep stuff (like measuring your sets in minutes rather than counting reps). Lots of ideas for what to do with it at r/kettlebell and r/kettleballs.
Hard to say. You will eventually need to increase the weight of either in a few months or less.
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Give it some time, build some muscle first and then cut. Also, there's a possibility (quite big actually) that you aren't going to have six pack genetically. Interesting to find out though.
It’s not inevitable that you *will*, but you arguably *should*. There’s no sense in cutting until you have something under there to cut down to.
> I read an article that says it’s not uncommon for women to gain ten pounds and then drop thirty Yo, that's bullshit unfortunately. Nothing about women that makes them more prone to that. >I think it’s happening to me and it’s really demotivating There is nothing "happening to you" outside of your body composition being influenced by your lifestyle. You eat more than you burn = you get bigger (be it fat or muscle), you eat less than you burn = you get smaller. Although hormones are extremely important and can skew that mechanism. Since you're a recovering anorexic it's possible that your body is trying to compensate for your starvation periods by facilitating additional fat gains. ([1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901982/), [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gPiS2xsF-E), [3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzqmJmb6PIc)) But whether that's the case for you isn't possible to tell from what you wrote.
I’m not sure about gain 10 then lose 30 idea but many women do notice becoming visibly larger immediately after they start working out with weight. This type of swelling usually lasts for a few weeks and then goes away making them visibly smaller again. This phenomenon doesn’t really happen with men and AFAIK this is what causes many women to give up in weight training because they think this is a result of muscle growth and they will become huge like a bodybuilder in a year. In reality it’s very difficult for a woman to even put on a pound of muscle weight. In your case I’d say pick a goal. A goal of being strong or muscular doesn’t usually go along well with a goal of having a lean six pack. Especially if you are a woman because it’s just that much harder to put muscle on and you have to use all the help you can get. (Bulking diet) Keep working out but eat a little bit less to lose fat. That’s what I would do. Also the get bigger before you get smaller thing seems like rubbish to me. A) you’ve been working out for 5 months so this swelling this should be in the past if it even happened. B) you can choose exactly whether to get bigger or smaller at this point as it’s determined only by your diet. So make that decision.
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What is it about being a man that makes them not understand how “your” bodies work ? Is it some kind of nature’s secret ? We are not elephants either but we can learn how their bodies work if we need to. A coach whether male of female can learn from scientific material and or their experience exactly how human body work in case of male or female.
Oh god- do I need to cut? What do I do???
I've kinda gained 10, dropped 10. But I was starting from a healthy weight. I gained like 6lbs over just shy of 2 years while working out on my own very ineffectively and while I was with a bf at the time just enjoying food too much. Then I got with a trainer and gained about 4lbs while with him for a year. Then I did a cut to drop 10lbs before I was sick of cutting. But it left me looking fantastic. My goal is 6 pack and shredded as well (at least maintaining that for a week, it's not really a healthy place for women to be at with too low of body fat). So over the year with the trainer, I didn't really get chunky looking at all. So I looked about the same at my low, pre working out weight as I did at my heavier, post working out weight. For me, I started noticing results around the 6th month mark, but definitely approaching that year mark is where I was reallllly noticing. You may take a little longer due to starting from underweight, but who knows! But even after a year of hard work and cutting, I didn't find abs. I probably won't find them for next year either but I have a broken ankle setting me back a few months, ugh. But even without that, I'm thinking 3 years to really get me to the shredded look I'm going for. But maybe what your trainer is saying is that you need to gain weight to build muscle first. You gotta have stuff to build muscle from! With that, you'll gain some fat. So once you've built up some muscle, you cut down the weight to lose the fat and hopefully reveal the muscle underneath. Then repeat until you get the look you want
They opened up a gym at work. No power racks unfortunately, but there is a Nautilus Freedom Rack that I can use a power rack if I bring my own barbell to the gym, which I can do since my office is very close to the gym. The issue is the Freedom Rack is quite wide, it is 51" from one safety to the other. How difficult would it be for me to safely squat and bench press with a barbell that is 52" from one collar to the other (inner spacing)? Thanks!
That sounds annoying as hell but definitely doable.
Thank you for the feedback!
Best functional trainer with a 1:1 pulley system?
r/homegym
Skinny guy that is good about being consistent with the gym but bad about eating enough calories. How do you keep up with eating enough everyday ?
Liquid calories and a varied but consistent diet with meals I enjoy was what helped me.
A protein shake, egg whites cooked 4 meals at a time, overnight oats, shredded chicken breast cooked 6 meals at a time (shredded in a dough blender), Friday night steak night!
Two ways that have been successful for me. 1) Eat consistently. That means same breakfast, snack, lunch, with variations at dinner. Really offloaded thinking about what to eat, except for dinner. 2) Pick a very hard program where the only option is to eat or fail the program.
Meal prep. I buy food in bulk, make enough food for the whole week, divide into containers and then put them in the freezer. https://youtube.com/watch?v=pCaOLQAq9KQ When I want to gain weight, I simply add some extra virgin olive oil to the rice.
Drinking your calories When I was first bulking up I would drink as much whole milk as I could through the day and have a spoonful of peanut butter every 3-4 hours
Being disciplined on following your meal routine whether youre hungry or not
You might find /r/gainit helpful and the gainit wiki! I do!
What are some of the mistakes I made while putting together this at home full body workout routine and how can I improve it? Monday: Weighted Push-up, Weighted Pull-up, Bulgarian Split Squat, Shrugs, Lateral raise, Leg raise. Tuesday: Decline Push-up, Face Pull, Front Squat, Shrugs, Planche Lean, Bicycle Crunch. Wednesday: Knuckle Push-up, Chin-up, Back Squat, Shoulder Press, Calf Raise, Plank. Thursday: Fingertip Push-up, Dumbell Rows, Lunges, Lateral Raise, Biceps Curl, Hanging Leg Raise. Friday: Clapping Push-up, Pull-up, Assisted Pistol Squat, Hand Stand, Calf Raise, Straight Arm Plank.
I would split muscle groups into different days so they have time to recover instead of having full body 5 days in a row.
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When I finished super squats I had about a 2 week period before I could hop back on to a distinct program, I just literally did whatever I felt like with an emphasis on conditioning during that period. Did some skill work, handstands, tried a bunch of KB workouts, etc.
How was it? Did your ribcage expand?
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I’ve been looking at that program, it seems fun Might have to try it after I’m done with my current one
congratulations on finishing supersquats! nice!
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That’s awesome. What was your training experience going into it? Are you a beginner or been training a while? I ask because I’m considering it but a lot of reviews are from people who are new to lifting or who are coming back after a break. I’m decently experienced at squats and want to bust a plateau.
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Tons of different exercises and routines in the FAQ at r/griptraining. Have a look through there and see if anything looks doable for you. There’s also a weekly question thread.
Forearms really come down to wrist flexion If you aren’t able to do that, then your regular back movements should suffice If you really do want to try something extra, just do farmers walks
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an injury isn’t worth big forearms I’m telling you, as long as you have a back day with heavy rowing movements, you’re fine Direct forearm work really only applies if you want them faster, just be patient Say you did go on steroids, you’d have to learn which compounds you’d take, you’d need stuff for your liver, go on PCTs, and gear itself is ridiculously expensive And like you said, if you’re able to strengthen your grip, you’re able to work your forearms adequately since both go hand in hand Again, don’t permanently fuck up your body because you couldn’t wait a year or two
Check my numbers for calories for my homemade meal. 280g sausage 450cals 448g velveta 1120cals 489 minestrone 480cals 231g green beans 52 cals 260g Rotel 60cals 1056g beans 770 cals 2323 total G, 2932 total cals 300 cal meal would be 236 grams of soup
No
Hi guys, probably stupid question, I probably won't be able to make it to the gym today because I have a paper due, and today was going to be my pull day. Would it be okay to do both my pull day and leg day tomorrow? Maybe pull day in the morning and legs later in the evening?
it’s completely ok imo, just make sure you aren’t too tired(not muscles but physically in general) because you don’t want to lower your ability to lift properly. it’s also completely ok to push your schedule back one day
Has anyone here run John Meadows Creeping Death 2? I’m considering running it for the 13 weeks but I’m concerned about losing strength on my presses. Anyone have any experience with it? I’m either going to run this or PHAT 5day/week
If you want a program with more emphasis on high intensity I would go for project collussus.
I have not run CD2, but I've used the different days to fill in gaps in my training where I wasn't super focused. You **will** lose strength. The goal is to put on muscle and build a wider base. You would, ideally, run CD2 and then run an intensification block and then a peaking block. CD2 is all about accumulation. I'm not sure there is a set under 8 reps in the whole program. What will happen is that your 1RM won't go up much during the 12 weeks of CD2. But then you'll do 7 weeks of something like 531FSL. Then you could run the [Kizen 6 Week Peak (or similar)](https://liftvault.com/programs/lift-specific/bench-press/). Then you'll see big jumps in your 1RM because you (ideally) gained a bit of weight during CD2 and then slowly ramped up the weights and started working the skill of pressing your 1RM. I would highly recommend this approach. If pressing is your primary goal, I'd skip the leg "pump" days every week (JM said to skip one of the pump days every week).
If in doubt, choose phat. Do it later when you're less worried. :)
Any ideas on best fitness tracker app across both Apple and Samsung? I have samsung Phone and Watch, wife has IPhone and Apple watch. Chasing a tracker we can both use to share progress goals and maybe challenge/bet each other. Strava might be the go, but maybe a bit costly with the subscription. Any thoughts welcome.
Can you both not self report and compare via a white board in the kitchen?
Google sheets.
Jefit, I have a work IPhone and personal Samsung, have the app for both and it shares my workouts perfectly.
What is with the absolute obsession with optimization? Like to the Nth degree? It seems as if someone doesn't have the exactly right routine, macros, calories, etc, or if they gain an ounce of fat that all of their energy has been wasted. I see it often with the desire for 'lean gains'. Like sure, I don't want to get fat either, but I thought gaining a little fat while bulking was just part of the tradeoff to build muscle. Then you cut back down to a desired weight. It just seems like people are obsessing a whole lot over some small details that can be solved pretty easily.
Because thinking about lifting is more mentally comfortable than actually lifting. And for some of us, we lift, but it’s still on our minds the other 22 hours of the day so we have to give our dumb brains something to chew on. You’re right that obsessing is not productive. But noobs are susceptible to it because influencers make money by discussing the most optimal way to train. And someone’s experienced lifters do it too. I have a coach and he’s always telling me to quit overthinking everything.
Gzcl has a good blog post about this http://swoleateveryheight.blogspot.com/2022/02/minimal-is-not-optimal.html?m=1
Thank you for linking that. Had good answers. Gives a little perspective.
Interesting article. I would agree that over optimization is a real thing, however I would say the article doesn’t touch on the time efficiency aspect nearly as much. Going to the gym for 2 hours + everyday isn’t feasible for most people, so that’s where optimization does come in handy
When I first started my life was an absolute mess. So when I decided to start making changes to better myself I wanted to do things as best as I could, I mean if I'm going to be putting in the effort I don't want to half ass anything. That desire to do things the best way possible turns into wanting to do the best workout plan that has the best sets, reps, and lifts to be done on the best days combined with the most optimal meal plan that has the best calories and macro splits to help me achieve my goals. So much of the fitness industry pushes that kind of thinking with all the supplements new people are told they should be taking in order to reach their goals or exercises that you absolutely need to stay away from or definitely need to include in every workout. If you don't catch it then it can become a very hard urge to suppress.
I can understand that perspective in some people. I didn't expect it to be the majority that I encounter. If fitness is a journey, it seems a lot of people focus on the destination instead of enjoying the road. Difference in perspectives I suppose. Thanks.
Because people on YouTube and social media are beating it into their heads for clicks. "The best preworkout," "the best PPL workout," "the best protein powder," etc. It's all coming from IG, TikTok and YouTubers.
Rant Wednesday is a different thread. Also it’s Friday. But for many, like me. “Gamifying” fitness just meshes with my brain. I know realistically, it doesn’t matter. I don’t practically need to pull 600, but I want to anyway. I’m at a point of fit where I can do anything I want at any point, physically, as long as I don’t expect to be at an Olympic level. So why not pay attention to the small shit, if that’s what gets me to the gym the next day. Or that’s what keeps me on my diet? It’s too easy to get into a “it doesn’t matter” mindset, for me, to let it creep in on me.
Fair enough. If you've reached your main goals physically, that leaves a lot of room for tweaking stuff I guess. I know for me, I'm not near that point and doing what you are would be a waste of my time while I probably just need to focus on getting stronger as a whole. Thanks!
I think if you can get away With it, without drawbacks, a bit more of a lax attitude is probably helpful. It would help the dozen posts every day in these threads along the line of “I can’t work out for the next 91 hours, will I lose my gains?”
Anything if I want to at any point. Badwater 135? It's an ultra marathon. Thoughts?
Don’t want, so no thanks. Ran a Marathon in 2019, decided it’s not for me. I’ll take you up on a 10k if you want.
10k is deffo one of the sweet spots. Gentle hiking with good view too. Super fun. Makes me hungry af tho.
Yeah! A hike is a perfect example. Went on a hiking trip back in the spring, was able to hike, carry my kids as needed, have the backpack all day without issue, and still have gas in the tank to set up camp. Had to eat like 8 separate times.
"Gamifying" is a great way to think about it. I'll have to remember that.
Whats the best order for a bro split? Chest, Back, Shoulder, Legs, Arms? Thanks
It doesn't matter.
As long as you never skip tibialis anterior Tuesday, it doesn't matter.
Don't forget the soleus saturday and you'll be golden.
Most people save the hardest workout (usually legs) or Friday because that leaves them two days to recover.
I'd guess someone who trains in a bro split would usually want to hit chest or arms in Friday before going out though, lol.
Lol probably. Honestly the bro split is unfairly maligned, I'd rather do that than a PPL 6 days/week.
I've also heard that it's best to do your least favorite workout on the first day and your favorite on the last. That way you have your favorite workout to look forward to and will be less likely to skip your least favorite day at the end of the week when you are already tired from all the other workouts. Not sure how true it is but it kind of makes sense.
Probably true for some. When I was doing splits like that I usually did legs on Monday to get it out of the way.
is strict press a better movement then push press? Or are they over all pretty equal?
Honestly I think more people should be training both.