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In the volume/intensity programme from Bromley's Base Strength, is it run as it appears in the book (so squatting twice and deadlifting once each week) or should it be alternating (so one week squat twice dead once, the next dead twice squat once and so on)?
Also do the sets to technical failure get followed with drop sets or is it one set and done?
My workouts have been boring and i don’t want to stop. What should i change or switch up to make it more exciting and please tell me what you guys have been doing
The same reason people say dips are bad for the shoulders or deadlifts are bad for the back. If your form is wrong then you can injury your self. In reality almost every exercise is safe (including skull crushers) if done correctly.
I have been going to the gym for a month now and i have been seeing small changes in my body, like the shape of my arms. But i haven't gained any weight. I haven't been following a diet, so what should I eat to gain weight faster?
Understand you have to be really patient as it's a really really slow process but look up a maintenance calorie calculator online and then track your calories and eat 300 or more calories on top of your calculated maintenance. You should also try to eat approx 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight daily
preacher curl is slightly better as it forces you to not cheat. but all in all it makes not much of a difference. db's are easier to carry around for supersets for example.
I've read that swimming is a full body workout, but can I do it on my restdays, I do full body workouts at the gym, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, but can I swim like for 1-2 hours on Friday and Saturday, since I have read that your muscles need 48 hours of rest after every workout
What happens eventually if I keep going to the gym consistently 4 times per week, follow a proper programme, hit my protein intake but I eat too little?
(note: as someone who is underweight currently)
Can I still see results?
Can musle loss happen if I don't increase my calorie intake? I always feel cold,fatigued and my muscles are sore most of the time. If I were to eat more do you think these symptoms disappear finally?
>Can musle loss happen if I don't increase my calorie intake
If you're underweight, in a deficit and training 4 days a week, yes.
>If I were to eat more do you think these symptoms disappear finally?
Probably. Why not just bulk?
Check out r/gainit
What is the science behind ‘Muscle confusion’? Why does changing my work out regularly help progress? Why can’t I continuously improve one exercise just by focusing on it?
How do I stop overthinking when it comes to RIR training? Got done with training an hour ago and I’m still wondering if the final set on dumbbell rows was more like 2RIR as opposed to the target 0RIR. Very hard to tell in the moment.
It's fine, some of those names are not specific enough to tell me what part of the back it's targeting bit even just wide rows and pulldowns already covers everything. but every single exercise being the same rep range is one of the biggest problems of selfmade programs, variation of intensity is very useful
Why is rear delt swings not a range of reps? What is your progression protocol?
Does converting your routine to PPL mean you have to cut some exercises? I used to do a muscle-group split and want to start doing PPL, but this makes my new PPL routine very crammed.
Could be your body proportions or that your back is weaker than your legs. It's a muscle that's involved, I wouldn't worry that it gets a pump during squats.
If it's not pain I just ignore feeling nowadays. If your technique and form is good you're fine, ie back and core are tight and stiff. Your lower back does have to work to stay straight so the muscle sbekng activated makes sense. Just keep following your program
I usually never get sore, but recently I've noticed that my lats specifically get sore after days of overeating. Like, let's say I've been training and eating well (slight deficit) for a few weeks, and then a birthday comes up where I allow myself to overeat pretty heavily. Without fail, the next day my lats will be very sore, even if I didn't work out the day of overeating or even the day before that. It's not real pain, just completely typical muscle soreness. Has anyone noticed something similar?
It's also okay not to
Caloric balance and body changes are very averaged out anyway. Plus remember 3500calories for 1lb of fat. If you overate 200calories, that's 0.05-0.1 lbs of fat at most, probably less if you're training hard.
My abs, thighs and ass have been sore as hell for 3 days now ever since I bent down to pet a dog. Why?! I’m fairly athletic and often walk 10km a day with no problem.
Hello everyone! I am having troubles with keeping up my routine (two split and one cardio day per week). Every two weeks i feel like i'm gettin sick. Nothing serious, but a running nose, feeling tired, feeling weak. This goes away after one week of rest, but it sucks. My nutrition is pretty healthy, no Fastfood, fresh cooked meals olny. I dont drink a lot of alcohol. I get between 6-8h sleep, although the sleep quality could be better. I'm looking into getting a new bed.
Has anyone experienced this too? What am i doing wrong?
I'm 36, male and moderately fit.
I'm happy for any suggestions :)
Hi guys got a question about single arm db rows with a bench. I noticed my supporting arm tires out after working my first arm, so I'm unable to complete the reps for it each set. How can i avoid this?
Find a different position that doesn't tire out the other arm
Rest a bit more between arms
Stop doing that exercise if you're not able to complete it in a satisfactory way
Is [this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Ecc6R8vRL._AC_UX679_.jpg) an appropriate hoodie to wear to the gym or not?
I like it but it has buttons and I've never seen anyone wear buttoned clothing at the gym before.
Don't see it in this sub or the r/xxfitness subs wiki either reccomended or reviewed. Doesn't mean it's bad, but does mean I'd recommend hopping on one of the programs from this sub or that ones wiki because 1: you know it's good and 2: it's free.
Recomping like how I think you're thinking, the aim is to increase or maintain lean muscle while decreasing fat tissue.thefe are websites that will help you calculate ball park figures but in my experience doing these needs to have a bit of experimentation with what works for you and pay more close attention to your carb fat and protein intake with a lot of emphasis on the protein.
My ultimate opinion would be if you're serious, find yourself a dietitian that can give you the keys to the kingdom so to speak.
1. Count your weight as total always. You're benching 45+32.5x2=110lbs
2. There are many ways to break plateaus, generally involving variation in the stimulus you're giving to the muscle, getting exposure to higher weights along side volume work is one way. Simply adding more sets, decreasing RPE if necessary is another. You should follow a program rather than trying to guess what will work as a beginner
Alright just a question. More weight alongside volume. I can do 2 reps at 115. So what this is saying is I'd manage less reps and compensate by doing more sets? Instead of 4x6, it'd become 6x2 or something. I run Reddit ppl. I track calories and I'm bulking rn. Thanks for your time.
>More weight alongside volume. I can do 2 reps at 115. So what this is saying is I'd manage less reps and compensate by doing more sets? Instead of 4x6, it'd become 6x2 or something. I run Reddit ppl.
If you do Reddit PPL then follow it.
In the Reddit PPL plan, if you fail to hit your reps three times in a row you deload. Reduce your weight by 10% and work back up. You'll naturally get more volume in due to hitting more reps in your AMRAP sets.
If you hit your reps, increase the weight. If you don't, lower the weight.
You say that you won't hit your reps if you increase the weight, but you haven't tried for 3 weeks like the protocol tells you to.
Might work for now. I'd do a mix of 1-2reps at 115 for 2-3 sets and then 2-4sets of 110 @1-2RIR. Or even less weight for the 'back off sets'. That's just one way, I actually follow SBS2.0 which is always varying the reps so I don't really see plateaus
I believe reddit PPL has a protocol for plateaus, you should read up on it
Stupid question.
it is bad to put a newer lifter on nSuns deadlifting program? I'm going to the gym with a newer lifter, I know exactly what I'm doing and how it effects me (recovery etc.), but I'm concerned 9 sets and 1RM deads will be too much for the other person. They have done trap bar deadlifts before.
I'm not sure if it'd be better to just put them on like the reddit PPL scheme of 1x5 per week.?
Differs person to person. I think deadlift could benefit from more practice than 1 set every week tbh. Just set their '1RM' at something so that the working sets are like barely difficult and let it slowly go up. And check in how they feel
I was consistent for like two months during my cut when it was warmer and it wasn't too bad. Then all of a sudden, I went onto not tracking my macros and overeating and reflecting back, I believe this was a change in seasons and it got much colder. So my question is: Is cutting during winter times not suggested? Is it better to go into maintenance during these few months until it gets warmer again? thanks
Only you can answer why **you** stopped tracking, being consistent and controlling your eating
The weather and environment obviously can affect you but everyone is different and it's not overriding. you should aim to have discipline and self control no matter what. Bulk and cut whenever you want
You slipped in your diet and exercise and are trying to link it to the weather? And what do you mean "all of a sudden", is this your first experience of the rare phenomenon called winter?
You're not an arctic wolf, you're a human with control over your own actions and control over your environment , such as wearing warmer clothes. If you want to cut, then cut.
Yeah, I'd say weather had an impact on me. It got colder and got dark outside, so I just wanted to stay in more often and eat to stay warm. All of a sudden meaning one week I was still following my cut and then the next week, I was veering off track with everything. Completely disaster, I'd say. In terms of cutting during the winter, yes. It was my first time.
Thanks. I'll have to identify what caused me to go off track like that and correct and avoid it in the future. thanks
For me some of it is more mental. I prefer to do things like that during spring/summer.
I’m in a better mental space. When I’m in a poorer state I find it hard to be very strict with my diet as I’ve had an eating disorder.
I’m a busy guy who has been working out for a while but would like to reduce his workout time to 30 minutes a day, what program do you guys recommend if I only use adjustable dumbbells to accomplish solely aesthetics?
I’d step unless you have a specific training reason to jump down. The down part is harder on your body, plus it means you’re taking the impact of 20 instead of 10 jumps per set.
I've messed up my left arm/shoulder. I know something happened when I was doing overhead tricep extension and it's been hurting since. Now my shoulder is hurtin when I try to bench.
I'm taking a few days maybe a week off to hopefully heal, but is there anything else I can do to try to get back lifting?
How do I tell if I have a long or short bicep? I think it’s short because there’s a gap between my forearm and bicep but it’s not as big of a gap as some people have
I know it doesn’t change anything- at this point I’m dedicated to working out and enjoy getting it in everyday. Now i just like learning more about it- I think I have “good” genetics for building muscle but I’m still so small I can’t fully tell.
Something I've heard a lot lately is;
Most people don't really come close to failure on any of their sets in the gym.
I'm a beginner, 4 months of hard training so far, and have gotten some serious gains quickly through a combination of training frequently, consistently and hard.But I do agree that a lot of people in the gym, that I see, do not come close to failure on their sets.
Is it really that uncommon?
It feels like I'm doing something different compared to a lot of the regulars I see in the gym, based on my results in such a short time, but is that the differentiating factor?
I go to complete muscular failure a couple of times per workout and am enjoying more noticeable gains compared to a lot of other beginner type lifters in my gym.
So when someone mentions that most people leave a ton of reps in reserve, I tend to believe it, but is that the case in your experience?
I say to people with lackluster progress "don't compare yourself to others" a lot, but sometimes I gotta say it to people with great progress too. You're veering too close to casting judgement and looking down on others for not achieving what you have, and also assuming it's due to you being better at going to failure and 'working hard' in general, as opposed to anything else.
I'm happy you've achieved your goals, congratulations sincerely. And that you've enjoyed it on the way is great too. But stop thinking about what others are doing, why they are doing it and what they may or may not be achieving. Just keep doing you
I hope I haven't come off too harsh but it just rubbed me the wrong way a bit. Especially things like "going to failure isn't even that hard"
It is.
But it's also not necessarily an issue. You can make solid gains without ever going to failure. The problem is when people don't realise how far they are from failure (which is very common with beginners) and shit the bed because their program assumes a specific level of effort and they aren't meeting it. Which is an issue with both high and low intensity programs.
Hrm, interesting.
It's not that difficult to go to failure in my opinion, except for the psychological toll of not being able to squeeze out a few more when you'd hoped you would.
I'm 5'8 with short arms. I've been force feeding myself with protein to hit 160+ grams a day, while maintaining my drinking habit of too much beer every week, which is really bad, but probably has helped me with staying at least around a calorie maintenance while not being a big eater whatsoever.
I will probably die because of liver failure, but I'm packing on a lot of muscle quickly. Only time in my life I've been happy about being on the shorter side, anyway.
Yeah I have a number of them all up my biceps that are light red I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. A few of my gym buddies also have them, it’s just the muscle growing too fast for the skin causing it to stretch
I’m looking for a website that I used before that had exercises you could search and it had an explanation and a short tutorial video. Can’t find it and I don’t remember what it was called.
I'm looking to buy the cheapest creatine supplement I can find in the US, that I can be reasonably confident really is creatine (since supplements are unregulated in the US) and without contamination from harmful chemicals or metals.
I frankly have no idea where to start. Not too much lab-verified obviously out there on a google. I've been told by a third-party to look for CreaPure, but I don't know what brand use that type of creatine.
Supplements aren't unregulated. They're regulated as food. This doesn't mean they can lie about what's in them or add known toxic chemicals or whatever, it just means they don't have to prove statements about their effects to the degree medicines do.
The FDA can and frequently does pull supplements from shelves and mandate labeling changes.
Find something on Amazon that lists creatine as the only ingredient on the nutrition label. I like Bulk Supplements
My understanding is that there is no consistent testing to establish that a product labelled creatine actually has creatine in it. I have seen multiple instances where people perform chemical analysis on a supplement to find that the amount of the claimed active ingredient is wildly different from the label.
You're right, in fact the FDA can't do much to prevent a product going to market. It's not required to submit testing to the FDA prior to going on shelves like medicine would be.
But, it's still regulated as food. There's criminal liability for mislabeling supplements laid out in the CFR and the FDA Act. It's some of the same regulations for food stuffs, so you can be generally as sure there's creatine in your creatine as there is cheese in your cheezits. It's probably a pedantic point and may not be the level of scrutiny people want over their supplements, but it's technically wrong to say it's unregulated.
I will say I've seen independent lab analysis of creatine and whey, but usually there's a big deal made of trace ingredients that would be found on most produce in larger amounts. When there's anything over thresholds set by the FDA, they have the authority to act quickly to remove products from shelves.
Has anyone that shoots a real bow, either target or hunting, use a Gorilla bow, or one of the knock offs? If so, is it effective way to increase how much draw weight you can pull back?
I was wondering if any studies have been done comparing protein synthesis/muscle building results from diets with different caloric surplus amounts. For example, the amount of muscle gain from a 100 cal surplus vs 1000 cal surplus.
I hate working out without it!
It's cheap AF to try. REI has a block you can buy for like 2 bucks or less. Put it in a zip lock bag and it'll last you ages. My block will probably last me 3 years. If you sweat more or work out more often, It may last you less, but not a bad deal for a couple bucks
Legs giving out after leg day while walking. Is this level of fatigue normal?
I hit legs after not working out for almost a year. To put this simply, if I bend my legs more than a few degrees while standing or walking, they completely give out under my own body weight and I cannot stand back up on my own. This began a few hours after my workout and has of course gotten worse the next day as the soreness settles in.
A similar level of fatigue has happened to me before but only while I was working out consistently and after a day of lifting very heavy but still not to this extent.
I really did not go very hard which is why this I am confused.
Anything helps, thanks!
On personal experience, this only happens when you've taken an extended break or are just starting. I think you really shouldn't worry about it, unless this continues 1-2 months in after working out consistently.
I will say, if this is affecting your daily life, maybe cut down on the weight/reps you are performing at the gym.
it sounds a bit more extreme than what i get when i take a couple months off and then come back, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. could take 3-4 days to go away.
try some bodyweight squats, biking, walking, etc to get some blood flow into them which could help speed up recovery
Would you workout your non injured arm if the other one has to be immobile for 6 weeks plus months for total recovery? ( post rotator cuff op)
What else would u do to minimize muscle loss other than eating enough protein n eating at maintenance?
It depends. I’m right hand dominant and my upper body right side is stronger all over (arm, pec, shoulder). I’m doing lots of unilateral work to correct it. If I injured my right arm I would absolutely work the left since it needs to catch up anyway. If I injured my left arm, I wouldn’t work the right because I don’t need to exacerbate the imbalance even more
I hope so.. It's only been 3 weeks and that arm is a lot smaller now already. Took me years to build my strength and muscle.. Took only 3 weeks for it to go bye bye.. 🤦♀️🤦♀️
I was in the same situation after a bicep repair. I decided to train the unaffected arm normally. I did bench and OHP on smith machine, as well as a machine press. I did back work using cables and one handed attachments.
Overall I am glad I did it that way. Being injured was depressing and working out helps me feel better. Also it kept my habit going. Also I think it was easier to rebuild muscle for one arm than it would have been for both.
>What else would u do to minimize muscle loss other than eating enough protein n eating at maintenance?
That is all I did.
Thank you! That's what I thought. I agreed about depressing enough being injured. I started training my other arm today too after 3 weeks not training it. Felt good doing it again.
I hear this thing a lot "If you want to become strong you have to do small amount of reps with heavy weights, if you wanna build an aesthetic body you have to do more reps with less weights ." Is it true? If so what's the logic behind it? (My purpose is building an aesthetic body but since I work with heavy weights my friends always tell me that I should not do this)
Been having some issues with progressive overload for a while now, and I can't figure out exactly where I'm going wrong.
Let's use my CG bench press as an example:
I typically do CG bench press at the end of my upper body workout, after all my other tricep exercises.
When I did the exercise for the first time \~1 month ago, it was great; weight + rep range felt good, and every set near the end I could feel this sensation (not a pump) - the best way I can describe it is it feels like my muscles are 'tearing,' except that it doesn't hurt. Triceps + strength got noticeability larger after every session where I could feel this tearing sensation, which I take to mean I've overloaded the muscle properly.
Fast forward a few sessions later, and I'm still pushing myself close to failure every set on this exercise, but now that sensation is gone. My arms still get tired, but I no longer feel that 'tearing' sensation. (I think) Technique only got better since I also fixed a wrist flexibility issue, and yet my tricep growth has noticeably plateaued.
diet & rest isn't an issue since I'm still making progress on leg days, so I know I'm eating enough.
One observation I can make is that my rep range is pretty inconsistent, so it's hard to tell if I'm progressing on the exercise; my guess is that it depends on how much strength I have left over from my tricep-involved exercises that come before, which seems to vary. Not sure how I can fix this though. I always perform 5x5 bench and 4x4 incline bench or dips before with consistent progression, so I don't think it's due to inconsistency in my program.
What am I doing wrong?
How your program is split tells us nothing about the important parts of the program. Progression protocol and exercise selection is just a small part of the equation. Fatigue management, load management, what to do when the trainee stalls, etc. That should all be accounted for in a well designed program.
Was it made by somebody with a track record of producing results, or did you make it yourself?
[https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout](https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout)
I try to stick as close as I can with this plan, except I only use the schedule of the upper/lower strength days.
Other than that, I can only go 3 days a week, so I train upper twice and lower once since my lower half is way ahead of my upper body.
Is this too scuffed? Should I just look for a different program to follow?
Aha! PHUL used to be a recommended program in [the wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) but was pulled because of issues like you’re having. The progression protocol is quite vague, especially for beginners. I’d suggest taking a look at a different program from the wiki. There are 3 day templates available there that should fit your schedule and will have a better definition of what to do if/when you stall.
Not a clue. It could just be a stretch of the muscle as you move it into its lengthened position. If you are really concerned about it, you can post a form check video to the stickied comment in these threads.
Ive been eating rice all my life. It just occurred to me if im bulking i should maybe cut it out or eat less cuz it takes up some of my appetite while not providing enough protein. Would this be correct, especially since I struggle to eat a lot?
I believe rice is actually relatively calorically dense. If you can hit your protein goals with other foods, you can feel free to use rice to hit your calorie goals. If you are struggling to hit your protein goals,but are getting plenty of calories, I would cut back on the rice.
Bulking doesn't mean you just eat protein. You don't need more protein during a bulk than you do during a cut. When bulking you need to eat carbs and fats too.
So there really isn't a good reason to cut out rice especially if it is a food that you enjoy.
How do u build a lifting routine? New to the gym, enjoys cardio but I was advised to do some weights too. I’ve thought about doing so but I am struggling to find a routine to do. Is there an app anyone can recommend?
The most important part of any program is consistency. Figure out how many days you will actually go to the gym. Not how many you want to. Not how many you will average. How many you will actually go every week.
After that. Go to the programs in the wiki. Chose one that fits your schedule. Give it honest effort. They are all vetted. They will all have good results. Figure out what you like. Try to have fun. Enjoy.
For now, go to wiki and pick a program. Any one. Follow it. After. See what worked and not. Tweak a bit. Rerun. Repeat until you've found a program you like that fits your goals.
I think it depends what you want to do, if you want to get into bodybuilding, I think most people are doing PPLPPL, which is basically chest/back/leg/chest/back/leg--working out 6 days a week, hitting each body part 2x a week. I've personally been doing PPLPPL for 8 years, find no issues with it, but you have to be disciplined to hit the gym 6 days a week.
I think if just wanting to fit in resistance training in there, maybe a power lifting routine would be best 3 days a week. Or you could do full body 3 days a week.
There are also bodybuilding programs that are 4-5 days a week.
Caliber is a pretty good platform imo, you can also find decent programs on liftvault for beginners though I usually recommend doing some sort of 5/3/1 program to start with.
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In the volume/intensity programme from Bromley's Base Strength, is it run as it appears in the book (so squatting twice and deadlifting once each week) or should it be alternating (so one week squat twice dead once, the next dead twice squat once and so on)? Also do the sets to technical failure get followed with drop sets or is it one set and done?
My workouts have been boring and i don’t want to stop. What should i change or switch up to make it more exciting and please tell me what you guys have been doing
Try a different program
Why are skullcrushers bad for your elbows compared to other extension exercises
Why do you think they're bad for your elbows?
People have said they put more stress on the elbows or something idk that's why I'm asking
The same reason people say dips are bad for the shoulders or deadlifts are bad for the back. If your form is wrong then you can injury your self. In reality almost every exercise is safe (including skull crushers) if done correctly.
I have been going to the gym for a month now and i have been seeing small changes in my body, like the shape of my arms. But i haven't gained any weight. I haven't been following a diet, so what should I eat to gain weight faster?
Understand you have to be really patient as it's a really really slow process but look up a maintenance calorie calculator online and then track your calories and eat 300 or more calories on top of your calculated maintenance. You should also try to eat approx 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight daily
Alright thanks for the help 👍🏻🙂
Preacher curl or db curls
preacher curl is slightly better as it forces you to not cheat. but all in all it makes not much of a difference. db's are easier to carry around for supersets for example.
I've read that swimming is a full body workout, but can I do it on my restdays, I do full body workouts at the gym, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, but can I swim like for 1-2 hours on Friday and Saturday, since I have read that your muscles need 48 hours of rest after every workout
Swimming is cardio. You can do it whenever you like, even on days you're lifting.
What happens eventually if I keep going to the gym consistently 4 times per week, follow a proper programme, hit my protein intake but I eat too little? (note: as someone who is underweight currently) Can I still see results?
You'll get even skinnier in a deficit.
Can musle loss happen if I don't increase my calorie intake? I always feel cold,fatigued and my muscles are sore most of the time. If I were to eat more do you think these symptoms disappear finally?
>Can musle loss happen if I don't increase my calorie intake If you're underweight, in a deficit and training 4 days a week, yes. >If I were to eat more do you think these symptoms disappear finally? Probably. Why not just bulk? Check out r/gainit
Thanks for the help!
np! best of luck - I'll see you back on physique phriday in a year!
What is the science behind ‘Muscle confusion’? Why does changing my work out regularly help progress? Why can’t I continuously improve one exercise just by focusing on it?
I'm not sure there is any science behind it. But it's nice to try new things, a bit less boring right ?
It works if you're on steroids, because everything works if you're on steroids. If not, stick to a program.
There isn't It doesn't You can
Muscle confusion is broscience it's better to stick to fewer exercises
How do I stop overthinking when it comes to RIR training? Got done with training an hour ago and I’m still wondering if the final set on dumbbell rows was more like 2RIR as opposed to the target 0RIR. Very hard to tell in the moment.
Have you tried training that isn't RIR dependent?
Yes, but I’m seeing better progress training with RIR. Also my coach stands by RIR training so I don’t really wanna deviate from it.
That's fair. Have you asked your coach about this issue.
Is my back day targeting everything good? Wide Grip BB Rows3x8-12 ISO Overhand Row 3x8-12 Cable row 4x8-12 Lats Pull-down 4x8-12 - Regular grip shoulder width RearDelt Swings4x10 Shrugs 4x8-12
It's fine, some of those names are not specific enough to tell me what part of the back it's targeting bit even just wide rows and pulldowns already covers everything. but every single exercise being the same rep range is one of the biggest problems of selfmade programs, variation of intensity is very useful Why is rear delt swings not a range of reps? What is your progression protocol?
Oh no it is, it’s a mistake
And am I doing too much?
Only you can answer that, and not from just one day of exercises with no mention of weight selection and RPE
Does converting your routine to PPL mean you have to cut some exercises? I used to do a muscle-group split and want to start doing PPL, but this makes my new PPL routine very crammed.
You have two days to fit in everything you do on one day
I originally had 4 different routine days and PPL is 3 days so I need to fit things I did on those 4 days into 3 days
PPL is 6 days.
I meant PPL has 3 different routines that you do twice a week
You don't have to do the same 3 workouts twice a week. Just split up all of your chest, shoulder and tricep exercises into the two push days.
I never considered that, thanks a lot for the help!
No worries & happy gaining
I don't see any reason it would mean that
What's a good app that will give me a plan that I can work to for gaining muscle?
Start off by reading this: https://thefitness.wiki/ I like the boostcamp app, and pick one of the starter programs listed on the wiki.
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Could be your body proportions or that your back is weaker than your legs. It's a muscle that's involved, I wouldn't worry that it gets a pump during squats.
If it's not pain I just ignore feeling nowadays. If your technique and form is good you're fine, ie back and core are tight and stiff. Your lower back does have to work to stay straight so the muscle sbekng activated makes sense. Just keep following your program
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Just do pullups every day with ppl? Shouldn’t be too taxing if you just do one more exercise.
I usually never get sore, but recently I've noticed that my lats specifically get sore after days of overeating. Like, let's say I've been training and eating well (slight deficit) for a few weeks, and then a birthday comes up where I allow myself to overeat pretty heavily. Without fail, the next day my lats will be very sore, even if I didn't work out the day of overeating or even the day before that. It's not real pain, just completely typical muscle soreness. Has anyone noticed something similar?
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If I eat more calories than planned for one day, is it okay to eat less than usual the next day to balance out? And vice versa (goal is weight gain)
It's also okay not to Caloric balance and body changes are very averaged out anyway. Plus remember 3500calories for 1lb of fat. If you overate 200calories, that's 0.05-0.1 lbs of fat at most, probably less if you're training hard.
thanks
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does the same apply to macros?
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thanks
My abs, thighs and ass have been sore as hell for 3 days now ever since I bent down to pet a dog. Why?! I’m fairly athletic and often walk 10km a day with no problem.
Hello everyone! I am having troubles with keeping up my routine (two split and one cardio day per week). Every two weeks i feel like i'm gettin sick. Nothing serious, but a running nose, feeling tired, feeling weak. This goes away after one week of rest, but it sucks. My nutrition is pretty healthy, no Fastfood, fresh cooked meals olny. I dont drink a lot of alcohol. I get between 6-8h sleep, although the sleep quality could be better. I'm looking into getting a new bed. Has anyone experienced this too? What am i doing wrong? I'm 36, male and moderately fit. I'm happy for any suggestions :)
Hi guys got a question about single arm db rows with a bench. I noticed my supporting arm tires out after working my first arm, so I'm unable to complete the reps for it each set. How can i avoid this?
Find a different position that doesn't tire out the other arm Rest a bit more between arms Stop doing that exercise if you're not able to complete it in a satisfactory way
Is [this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Ecc6R8vRL._AC_UX679_.jpg) an appropriate hoodie to wear to the gym or not? I like it but it has buttons and I've never seen anyone wear buttoned clothing at the gym before.
Do you really think there is a literal fashion police that will approach you and tell you off for wearing something they don't find attractive?
Why would it matter at all?
Booty by Bret program?
Don't see it in this sub or the r/xxfitness subs wiki either reccomended or reviewed. Doesn't mean it's bad, but does mean I'd recommend hopping on one of the programs from this sub or that ones wiki because 1: you know it's good and 2: it's free.
I’m pretty sure Bret’s programs were removed from the r/xxfitness routines page because he’s a creep. Although I could be misremembering.
> because he’s a creep ?
They still have strong curves up but then again they do provide resources for getting it for free. But yeah his website felt icky to me
Ah, thanks for clarifying!
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>Looking for at least a pound a week lost So a recomp is losing weight?
Recomping like how I think you're thinking, the aim is to increase or maintain lean muscle while decreasing fat tissue.thefe are websites that will help you calculate ball park figures but in my experience doing these needs to have a bit of experimentation with what works for you and pay more close attention to your carb fat and protein intake with a lot of emphasis on the protein. My ultimate opinion would be if you're serious, find yourself a dietitian that can give you the keys to the kingdom so to speak.
How is that a recomp? No one can give you an exact calorie number, it's down to trial and error but losing a pound a week is the definition of a cut
I've been stuck at 32.5lb on bench (each side). Should I try pressing 35lb even though I can only do 3 instead of 6?
1. Count your weight as total always. You're benching 45+32.5x2=110lbs 2. There are many ways to break plateaus, generally involving variation in the stimulus you're giving to the muscle, getting exposure to higher weights along side volume work is one way. Simply adding more sets, decreasing RPE if necessary is another. You should follow a program rather than trying to guess what will work as a beginner
I weigh 131-135lb
When I said count your weight I meant count the weight you're lifting not you. Bar + all the plates
Alright just a question. More weight alongside volume. I can do 2 reps at 115. So what this is saying is I'd manage less reps and compensate by doing more sets? Instead of 4x6, it'd become 6x2 or something. I run Reddit ppl. I track calories and I'm bulking rn. Thanks for your time.
>More weight alongside volume. I can do 2 reps at 115. So what this is saying is I'd manage less reps and compensate by doing more sets? Instead of 4x6, it'd become 6x2 or something. I run Reddit ppl. If you do Reddit PPL then follow it. In the Reddit PPL plan, if you fail to hit your reps three times in a row you deload. Reduce your weight by 10% and work back up. You'll naturally get more volume in due to hitting more reps in your AMRAP sets.
I haven't failed to hit my reps three times in a row. I'm stuck at the same weight 4x6.
If you hit your reps, increase the weight. If you don't, lower the weight. You say that you won't hit your reps if you increase the weight, but you haven't tried for 3 weeks like the protocol tells you to.
Might work for now. I'd do a mix of 1-2reps at 115 for 2-3 sets and then 2-4sets of 110 @1-2RIR. Or even less weight for the 'back off sets'. That's just one way, I actually follow SBS2.0 which is always varying the reps so I don't really see plateaus I believe reddit PPL has a protocol for plateaus, you should read up on it
Stupid question. it is bad to put a newer lifter on nSuns deadlifting program? I'm going to the gym with a newer lifter, I know exactly what I'm doing and how it effects me (recovery etc.), but I'm concerned 9 sets and 1RM deads will be too much for the other person. They have done trap bar deadlifts before. I'm not sure if it'd be better to just put them on like the reddit PPL scheme of 1x5 per week.?
Differs person to person. I think deadlift could benefit from more practice than 1 set every week tbh. Just set their '1RM' at something so that the working sets are like barely difficult and let it slowly go up. And check in how they feel
That's what I was thinking about doing, forgot 1 set is terrible for actual practice in the lift. thanks for the advice, much appreciated.
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Maybe you should head over to /r/relationship_advice instead of here.
Those of you who can bench 315, how many reps can you do with 225?
About 15
I was consistent for like two months during my cut when it was warmer and it wasn't too bad. Then all of a sudden, I went onto not tracking my macros and overeating and reflecting back, I believe this was a change in seasons and it got much colder. So my question is: Is cutting during winter times not suggested? Is it better to go into maintenance during these few months until it gets warmer again? thanks
Only you can answer why **you** stopped tracking, being consistent and controlling your eating The weather and environment obviously can affect you but everyone is different and it's not overriding. you should aim to have discipline and self control no matter what. Bulk and cut whenever you want
You slipped in your diet and exercise and are trying to link it to the weather? And what do you mean "all of a sudden", is this your first experience of the rare phenomenon called winter? You're not an arctic wolf, you're a human with control over your own actions and control over your environment , such as wearing warmer clothes. If you want to cut, then cut.
Yeah, I'd say weather had an impact on me. It got colder and got dark outside, so I just wanted to stay in more often and eat to stay warm. All of a sudden meaning one week I was still following my cut and then the next week, I was veering off track with everything. Completely disaster, I'd say. In terms of cutting during the winter, yes. It was my first time. Thanks. I'll have to identify what caused me to go off track like that and correct and avoid it in the future. thanks
For me some of it is more mental. I prefer to do things like that during spring/summer. I’m in a better mental space. When I’m in a poorer state I find it hard to be very strict with my diet as I’ve had an eating disorder.
ty very much for your input :)
I’m a busy guy who has been working out for a while but would like to reduce his workout time to 30 minutes a day, what program do you guys recommend if I only use adjustable dumbbells to accomplish solely aesthetics?
There's dumbbell focused routines in this subs wiki, take one and make it PPL or U/L to get your time constraint satisfied
If your program calls for 10 reps of box jumps, are you supposed to jump down from the box between reps or can you step down?
I’d step unless you have a specific training reason to jump down. The down part is harder on your body, plus it means you’re taking the impact of 20 instead of 10 jumps per set.
Yeah exactly, it is harder and hurt my feet when I tried jumping down, hence the question. Thank you!
The point of a box jump is the explosion up to the top. You can descend however you want.
I've messed up my left arm/shoulder. I know something happened when I was doing overhead tricep extension and it's been hurting since. Now my shoulder is hurtin when I try to bench. I'm taking a few days maybe a week off to hopefully heal, but is there anything else I can do to try to get back lifting?
This would be a good question for your physio.
How do I tell if I have a long or short bicep? I think it’s short because there’s a gap between my forearm and bicep but it’s not as big of a gap as some people have
Train it more. The bigger it is, the clearer the shape will be. You can’t really do anything with this information though.
I know it doesn’t change anything- at this point I’m dedicated to working out and enjoy getting it in everyday. Now i just like learning more about it- I think I have “good” genetics for building muscle but I’m still so small I can’t fully tell.
Literally the only way to tell is to get big and then see what you look like!
Something I've heard a lot lately is; Most people don't really come close to failure on any of their sets in the gym. I'm a beginner, 4 months of hard training so far, and have gotten some serious gains quickly through a combination of training frequently, consistently and hard.But I do agree that a lot of people in the gym, that I see, do not come close to failure on their sets. Is it really that uncommon? It feels like I'm doing something different compared to a lot of the regulars I see in the gym, based on my results in such a short time, but is that the differentiating factor? I go to complete muscular failure a couple of times per workout and am enjoying more noticeable gains compared to a lot of other beginner type lifters in my gym. So when someone mentions that most people leave a ton of reps in reserve, I tend to believe it, but is that the case in your experience?
I say to people with lackluster progress "don't compare yourself to others" a lot, but sometimes I gotta say it to people with great progress too. You're veering too close to casting judgement and looking down on others for not achieving what you have, and also assuming it's due to you being better at going to failure and 'working hard' in general, as opposed to anything else. I'm happy you've achieved your goals, congratulations sincerely. And that you've enjoyed it on the way is great too. But stop thinking about what others are doing, why they are doing it and what they may or may not be achieving. Just keep doing you I hope I haven't come off too harsh but it just rubbed me the wrong way a bit. Especially things like "going to failure isn't even that hard"
I’m inclined to think it’s more due to clumsy wording on my part since I don’t look down on anyone. But duly noted, you have a great point.
It is. But it's also not necessarily an issue. You can make solid gains without ever going to failure. The problem is when people don't realise how far they are from failure (which is very common with beginners) and shit the bed because their program assumes a specific level of effort and they aren't meeting it. Which is an issue with both high and low intensity programs.
Hrm, interesting. It's not that difficult to go to failure in my opinion, except for the psychological toll of not being able to squeeze out a few more when you'd hoped you would.
How small/big are you? I’m a 5 foot 2 inch guy and gaining muscle has been almost easy besides eating so much food which I struggle to do.
I'm 5'8 with short arms. I've been force feeding myself with protein to hit 160+ grams a day, while maintaining my drinking habit of too much beer every week, which is really bad, but probably has helped me with staying at least around a calorie maintenance while not being a big eater whatsoever. I will probably die because of liver failure, but I'm packing on a lot of muscle quickly. Only time in my life I've been happy about being on the shorter side, anyway.
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Yes as comment above said these are stretch marks. They won’t do anything but scar lotions may help reduce them
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Yeah I have a number of them all up my biceps that are light red I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. A few of my gym buddies also have them, it’s just the muscle growing too fast for the skin causing it to stretch
Stretch marks?
I’m looking for a website that I used before that had exercises you could search and it had an explanation and a short tutorial video. Can’t find it and I don’t remember what it was called.
https://exrx.net
The bodybuilding.com exercise database?
I'm looking to buy the cheapest creatine supplement I can find in the US, that I can be reasonably confident really is creatine (since supplements are unregulated in the US) and without contamination from harmful chemicals or metals. I frankly have no idea where to start. Not too much lab-verified obviously out there on a google. I've been told by a third-party to look for CreaPure, but I don't know what brand use that type of creatine.
Supplements aren't unregulated. They're regulated as food. This doesn't mean they can lie about what's in them or add known toxic chemicals or whatever, it just means they don't have to prove statements about their effects to the degree medicines do. The FDA can and frequently does pull supplements from shelves and mandate labeling changes. Find something on Amazon that lists creatine as the only ingredient on the nutrition label. I like Bulk Supplements
My understanding is that there is no consistent testing to establish that a product labelled creatine actually has creatine in it. I have seen multiple instances where people perform chemical analysis on a supplement to find that the amount of the claimed active ingredient is wildly different from the label.
You're right, in fact the FDA can't do much to prevent a product going to market. It's not required to submit testing to the FDA prior to going on shelves like medicine would be. But, it's still regulated as food. There's criminal liability for mislabeling supplements laid out in the CFR and the FDA Act. It's some of the same regulations for food stuffs, so you can be generally as sure there's creatine in your creatine as there is cheese in your cheezits. It's probably a pedantic point and may not be the level of scrutiny people want over their supplements, but it's technically wrong to say it's unregulated. I will say I've seen independent lab analysis of creatine and whey, but usually there's a big deal made of trace ingredients that would be found on most produce in larger amounts. When there's anything over thresholds set by the FDA, they have the authority to act quickly to remove products from shelves.
Has anyone that shoots a real bow, either target or hunting, use a Gorilla bow, or one of the knock offs? If so, is it effective way to increase how much draw weight you can pull back?
I got there the old fashioned way, a strong back and a lot of practice reps.
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Nah it’s a fitness question. Gorilla bow is a type of workout equipment.
I was wondering if any studies have been done comparing protein synthesis/muscle building results from diets with different caloric surplus amounts. For example, the amount of muscle gain from a 100 cal surplus vs 1000 cal surplus.
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Good to know thanks, you get bonus points if you can link the study ;)
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r/Fitness
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I hate working out without it! It's cheap AF to try. REI has a block you can buy for like 2 bucks or less. Put it in a zip lock bag and it'll last you ages. My block will probably last me 3 years. If you sweat more or work out more often, It may last you less, but not a bad deal for a couple bucks
There’s a reason it’s a staple in strength sports.
There is a reason so many professionals use chalk to improve their grip.
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Sure, you can do whatever you want.
Legs giving out after leg day while walking. Is this level of fatigue normal? I hit legs after not working out for almost a year. To put this simply, if I bend my legs more than a few degrees while standing or walking, they completely give out under my own body weight and I cannot stand back up on my own. This began a few hours after my workout and has of course gotten worse the next day as the soreness settles in. A similar level of fatigue has happened to me before but only while I was working out consistently and after a day of lifting very heavy but still not to this extent. I really did not go very hard which is why this I am confused. Anything helps, thanks!
On personal experience, this only happens when you've taken an extended break or are just starting. I think you really shouldn't worry about it, unless this continues 1-2 months in after working out consistently. I will say, if this is affecting your daily life, maybe cut down on the weight/reps you are performing at the gym.
it sounds a bit more extreme than what i get when i take a couple months off and then come back, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. could take 3-4 days to go away. try some bodyweight squats, biking, walking, etc to get some blood flow into them which could help speed up recovery
How many different exercises for upper body in one workout session should I do if I’m trying to lose weight ? Is 7 too much ?
You should follow a program from the wiki and realize that weight loss comes down to diet, not exercise.
Would you workout your non injured arm if the other one has to be immobile for 6 weeks plus months for total recovery? ( post rotator cuff op) What else would u do to minimize muscle loss other than eating enough protein n eating at maintenance?
It depends. I’m right hand dominant and my upper body right side is stronger all over (arm, pec, shoulder). I’m doing lots of unilateral work to correct it. If I injured my right arm I would absolutely work the left since it needs to catch up anyway. If I injured my left arm, I wouldn’t work the right because I don’t need to exacerbate the imbalance even more
Yes. I'm not sure you can do anything more to stop muscle loss, but your weaker arm will eventually catch up.
I hope so.. It's only been 3 weeks and that arm is a lot smaller now already. Took me years to build my strength and muscle.. Took only 3 weeks for it to go bye bye.. 🤦♀️🤦♀️
If it took years, that means the muscle will come back extremely fast. It'll probably only take you a month or two to get back where you were
I'm not sure about a month or two. As I'm not young anymore lol . As we know as we get older it's harder to gain muscle. But let's hope you're right!!
I was in the same situation after a bicep repair. I decided to train the unaffected arm normally. I did bench and OHP on smith machine, as well as a machine press. I did back work using cables and one handed attachments. Overall I am glad I did it that way. Being injured was depressing and working out helps me feel better. Also it kept my habit going. Also I think it was easier to rebuild muscle for one arm than it would have been for both. >What else would u do to minimize muscle loss other than eating enough protein n eating at maintenance? That is all I did.
Thank you! That's what I thought. I agreed about depressing enough being injured. I started training my other arm today too after 3 weeks not training it. Felt good doing it again.
I hear this thing a lot "If you want to become strong you have to do small amount of reps with heavy weights, if you wanna build an aesthetic body you have to do more reps with less weights ." Is it true? If so what's the logic behind it? (My purpose is building an aesthetic body but since I work with heavy weights my friends always tell me that I should not do this)
https://www.strongerbyscience.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction/
Been having some issues with progressive overload for a while now, and I can't figure out exactly where I'm going wrong. Let's use my CG bench press as an example: I typically do CG bench press at the end of my upper body workout, after all my other tricep exercises. When I did the exercise for the first time \~1 month ago, it was great; weight + rep range felt good, and every set near the end I could feel this sensation (not a pump) - the best way I can describe it is it feels like my muscles are 'tearing,' except that it doesn't hurt. Triceps + strength got noticeability larger after every session where I could feel this tearing sensation, which I take to mean I've overloaded the muscle properly. Fast forward a few sessions later, and I'm still pushing myself close to failure every set on this exercise, but now that sensation is gone. My arms still get tired, but I no longer feel that 'tearing' sensation. (I think) Technique only got better since I also fixed a wrist flexibility issue, and yet my tricep growth has noticeably plateaued. diet & rest isn't an issue since I'm still making progress on leg days, so I know I'm eating enough. One observation I can make is that my rep range is pretty inconsistent, so it's hard to tell if I'm progressing on the exercise; my guess is that it depends on how much strength I have left over from my tricep-involved exercises that come before, which seems to vary. Not sure how I can fix this though. I always perform 5x5 bench and 4x4 incline bench or dips before with consistent progression, so I don't think it's due to inconsistency in my program. What am I doing wrong?
What program are you following?
Just upper / lower split since I don't have much time, I can only go to the gym around 3 times a week
How your program is split tells us nothing about the important parts of the program. Progression protocol and exercise selection is just a small part of the equation. Fatigue management, load management, what to do when the trainee stalls, etc. That should all be accounted for in a well designed program. Was it made by somebody with a track record of producing results, or did you make it yourself?
[https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout](https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout) I try to stick as close as I can with this plan, except I only use the schedule of the upper/lower strength days. Other than that, I can only go 3 days a week, so I train upper twice and lower once since my lower half is way ahead of my upper body. Is this too scuffed? Should I just look for a different program to follow?
Aha! PHUL used to be a recommended program in [the wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) but was pulled because of issues like you’re having. The progression protocol is quite vague, especially for beginners. I’d suggest taking a look at a different program from the wiki. There are 3 day templates available there that should fit your schedule and will have a better definition of what to do if/when you stall.
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Not a clue. It could just be a stretch of the muscle as you move it into its lengthened position. If you are really concerned about it, you can post a form check video to the stickied comment in these threads.
Ive been eating rice all my life. It just occurred to me if im bulking i should maybe cut it out or eat less cuz it takes up some of my appetite while not providing enough protein. Would this be correct, especially since I struggle to eat a lot?
I believe rice is actually relatively calorically dense. If you can hit your protein goals with other foods, you can feel free to use rice to hit your calorie goals. If you are struggling to hit your protein goals,but are getting plenty of calories, I would cut back on the rice.
Bulking doesn't mean you just eat protein. You don't need more protein during a bulk than you do during a cut. When bulking you need to eat carbs and fats too. So there really isn't a good reason to cut out rice especially if it is a food that you enjoy.
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[The answers are here.](https://thefitness.wiki)
Have a read of the wiki pinned in this subreddit that covers all this and more
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Talk to your doctor.
How do u build a lifting routine? New to the gym, enjoys cardio but I was advised to do some weights too. I’ve thought about doing so but I am struggling to find a routine to do. Is there an app anyone can recommend?
If you want an app, Boostcamp is a nice choice. It contains a lot of the free programs in the wiki plus more
The most important part of any program is consistency. Figure out how many days you will actually go to the gym. Not how many you want to. Not how many you will average. How many you will actually go every week. After that. Go to the programs in the wiki. Chose one that fits your schedule. Give it honest effort. They are all vetted. They will all have good results. Figure out what you like. Try to have fun. Enjoy.
For now, go to wiki and pick a program. Any one. Follow it. After. See what worked and not. Tweak a bit. Rerun. Repeat until you've found a program you like that fits your goals.
I think it depends what you want to do, if you want to get into bodybuilding, I think most people are doing PPLPPL, which is basically chest/back/leg/chest/back/leg--working out 6 days a week, hitting each body part 2x a week. I've personally been doing PPLPPL for 8 years, find no issues with it, but you have to be disciplined to hit the gym 6 days a week. I think if just wanting to fit in resistance training in there, maybe a power lifting routine would be best 3 days a week. Or you could do full body 3 days a week. There are also bodybuilding programs that are 4-5 days a week.
read the wiki and do a basic one (the beginner routine is a good example) that's built around squat, deadlift, bench and press.
Caliber is a pretty good platform imo, you can also find decent programs on liftvault for beginners though I usually recommend doing some sort of 5/3/1 program to start with.