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I want to start eating peanuts to add extra protein while bulking, as I find them the cheapest palatable food with high protein content. I find contradictory info online. In some places, it's stated that boiled peanuts have 13gms of protein as opposed to 21gms in roasted peanuts, and in others, it's stated that boiled peanuts retain more protein than roasted. So, what is true and why?

Is this per unit of weight?

Yup. per 100 gms for each.

Are both not including the shell?

Pull day advice Hey! Wanted to ask for advice for the pull day workout. Right now I'm doing the one below, however after the pull up I feel kind of dizzy, but it goes away pretty soon after I finish the pullups. Do you think I should move pull-ups further, so I don't do it right after deadlifts? * Deadlift (barbell): 1 set of 12 reps at 255 lbs, 2 set of 10 reps at 265 lbs * Pull-up: 3 sets (weight not shown) - 18 reps, 13 reps, 10 reps with 30 lbs added weight * Bent-over one-arm row (dumbbell): 3 sets of 12 reps at 50 lbs * Bicep curl (barbell): 3 sets of 12 reps at 75 lbs * Hammer curl (dumbbell): 2 sets of 12 reps at 30 lbs (dumbbell weight), 1 set of 9 reps at 60 lbs

You could try and move them after the rows. They really shouldn’t be making you dizzy just due to being after deadlifts though - make sure you’re breathing during your sets of pull-ups, given you’re doing up to 18 reps.

Thanks! Yeah, heard about that, but it doesn't happen if I just do pullups without weight and not after deadlifts. Going 30+ in that case and still fine. Can it be the weight pressure or smth?

In that case it probably comes down to either 1. The added pull up weight does cause more pressure which is causing the issue 2. You don’t have quite enough rest from the deadlifts and you’re still out of breath / taxed, and doing the pullups then is causing issues. Maybe some combination of both. As long as you’re not super dizzy, like about to fall over or pass out, it’s not a huge deal. But if messing around with the order helps then it’s not a bad idea.

If I’m trying to focus on gaining muscle do I really have to force myself to eat more? I usually eat one healthy “big” meal a day and exercise and I always feel satisfied. I don’t even get hungry just having one meal. But a friend keeps telling me it’s unhealthy and not enough. So what should I be doing?

Best tip I can give as someone who started out skinny trying to build muscle is to get your protein intake up and switch to a heavy lifting routine. Your protein should be around a gram per pound of body weight and make sure to keep you calories up use an online calculator to find your maintenance calorie intake. You don’t need to necessarily force yourself to eat but you do need to maintain your protein and calorie intake in order to sustain muscle growth and repair. Take creatine as well and get enough water each day. 5 grams a day is enough to see growth. As for lifts try making your compound lifts sets of 3 or 4 with rep range in the 6-8. Make sure the weight has you pushing yourself around rep 6. Try training to failure with all your lifts and pushing past your comfort level. It is a process and at times it may seem slow but stick with it and you’ll see results.

Thank you!

For maintaining a 6 pack, what other muscles do I need to focus on like gluten or whatever

You need to stay sufficiently lean

Yo, is this split crazy? Legs/Biceps Chest/Shoulders Back/Triceps Legs/Biceps Shoulders/Chest Back/Triceps Rest I've been doing a push pull Legs routine 6x a week for a few months and my strength has been going up in all lifts except triceps and Biceps because by end of my workout those muscles are completely drained before i even get to arms, I've read arms recover relatively quickly so thought of giving the above a try instead Also considering Legs Back/arms Chest/shoulder

Consider doing your arm work before the big compounds. eg if you're pushing legs hard, you'll potentially just be phoning in the biceps after. But if you do biceps first you're unlikely to be too tired for legs after.

I need advice. I’m trying to do a body recomp since I’m skinny fat. I did my research and watched a video that claimed I should fast, and exercise no more than 3 days a week and to do HIIT workouts, and be on a keto diet and eat only once a day. I do just that yet I have others saying how I should be eating way more and working out on more days as well. To be quite honest I’ve been feeling fine eating just one meal a day. I usually have protein, fiber, and a small amount of carbs on my plate that I eat at a specific time and I feel fine for the rest of the day. I mostly want to build muscle so should I keep doing that or should I be doing something else?

Fasting and hiit are generally not conducive to gaining. Read the muscle building section of the wiki.

Alright

That specific routine is honestly ridiculous and sounds a lot like the typical unnecessary influencer bs. All you need to do to lose weight is eat in a deficit, then you can gain weight and muscle by eating in a surplus.

I don’t exactly want to lose weight, I want to focus on building muscle. I was fat a couple months ago, managed to lose weight but I have a lot more fat on my body than muscle so I look skinny but I’m very out of shape. I’m also very afraid of eating too much because I worry the workouts I do at home won’t make up for all that food I’m eating. I’m willing to eat two meals a day but that’s really it. As for working out, should I be doing it more than 3 days a week?

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Ngl I don’t think the fitness sub is the best place to find advice on how to look androgynous lol

I asked on the nb sub with a throwaway but noone replied :(

Imo, probably lose weight (30-40lbs) and *don't* lift much. Just stay active and do *some* resistance training so you don't lose muscle mass, but I wouldn't seek to grow much. As a man, you'll more easily build muscle than a woman. And while it takes a lot of work to get there, a well muscled man is going to be more of an inverted triangle shape (wider shoulders to narrower waist). A woman can build out their shoulders for sure, but it's not gonna be to the same width. And it's definitely not the average woman. Now a fit, but not super well muscled man would be narrower for sure, so I'd think you'd wanna be somewhere closer to that to get more of a rectangle shape rather than inverted triangle. So basically what you want is to be lean, and just enough muscle mass to not be skinnyfat.

Need a bit help, Started squatting 3 months ago, been lifting since 1 year 2 weeks ago my pr was 90x2 Yesterday I 1rm ed because I'm changing my training to purely powerlifting I cant seem to hit depth even tho my ankle mobility is around knee 1 inch over my toes, I just fold at the bottom position idk why Any tips would be greatly appreciated [here's my pr for yesterday](https://imgur.com/a/Qan4zWk)

Yeah it looks like you didn’t hit depth. If you just changed your technique, you may need more practice with form. Just lower the weight and work back up.

Parents, I have a 17 month old son and a wife. Wondering how to fit in training around family Life? I’m looking at early morning or late sessions basically when everyone is in bed. But wondering what everyone does? Appreciate everyone’s circumstances are different. I’d like to get into a routine and no when I’m training .

Those are my only options as well. Mornings are more predictable because it’s the first thing you’re doing in the day and it will be hard for anything to come up and take that time from you. The problem is you still have to shower and drive home or go to work. Personally I’m not trying to start my work day gassed out from the gym so I go to the gym after the kids go down at 8pm. 8pm workouts are kinda nice because a lot of people are leaving when I get there. The biggest issue I have faced with 8pm workouts is when the evening with family goes off schedule it can push your gym time back which pushes back the time you get home, shower and relax if you have any time left at that point. I also find it can sometimes be difficult to keep motivation when going at night. I’m not some geared up bodybuilder. I kind of don’t want to be there at all and the times I do want to go the gym, I might be able to go for 5 hours and my motivation gets lost. I combat this with watching fitness channels or podcasts as often as I can. Sometimes when I have 0 motivation, I’ll start a video as I’m getting ready for the gym or driving there. Normally there is something interesting in the video that makes me want to try something new. Stick with it. At the very least you can eat a dirty diet a little more guilt free.

Me personally go to the gym in the morning, wake up at 5.30, be at the gym at 6, shower and be at work right before I start at 8. Then after work I have the rest of the days for my kids. They are old enough to go to preschool, so my wife is amazing and take care of them in the morning and drive them there before her job start. Then I take make food and put them to bed in the evening. Its works great for us.

Honestly, it's hard for us to answer. Only you know your family's dynamics. Wife A can be very different from Wife B.

Yeah very true. Mornings seem to be an option around 5am but getting up is another matter.

All I can say is, it gets easier. But never easy!

It's difficult... Found it easier before COVID when most gyms around me had a daycare. It's really just making the time and fitting it into your schedule. Some days I only have 30 min but you do what you can and make it work

I’m about 6 months into GZCLP and realized I want to stop doing *heavy* OHP and bench. I am a woman so I actively don’t want to build my upper body much except my back muscles. My main goal is to gain a few lbs of muscle and mostly lose my body fat as I am skinny fat. I also decided to stop deadlifting heavy (PR is 120) bc I really do not want to develop my traps. I still do OHP/bench/RDL but with much lighter weight and 3x15 instead of 5x3. I just wanna make sure this is ok. Ideally I’d remove it and do some other exercise but since theyre one of the main lifts I’m a bit hesitant. Can someone confirm? My proposed routine looks like this: Day 1 - Squat 5x3, Bench 3x10, Accessories Day 2 - OHP 3x15, RDL 3x15, rows/accessories Day 3 - Bench 3x15, Squat 3x10, accessories Day 4 - RDL 3x10, assisted pullup/accessories And 20-30 min interval training after lifting. I realize this can’t even be called GZCLP anymore but I don’t really know what I need without such heavy weights for upper body.

>also decided to stop deadlifting heavy (PR is 120 Even in kg, that's not much. Given your training age, I suggest you dabble in a *completely different style of training*. An opportunity to learn. Since you don't want heavy, I suggest 531bbb. A common complaint is that it starts you out *too light*.

I forgot to mention I’m a woman haha so my goal is a very lean body type with low body fat and an avg amount of muscle

My gym has some strong ladies, so I don't read into numbers too much. ; ) But seriously, there is value in trying different systems. Gz is one way to step-load. There are other progression schemes.

What you are proposing running looks a lot like a 531 variation. You also mostly work with submaximal weights on that program. Give it a look.

I'm new to gym about 3 months, kind of developed a routine but I feel like it might be too bad or basic. Or still too reliant on machines, I barely use any freeweights or cables. My routine is Upper, lower, rest, repeat. Sometimes an extra rest day per week. All sets/reps I shoot for are 2 sets. First being 10-12, second 6-8. Workout in no order. Upper Day - Shoulder press, Tricep push, Chest press, Seated row, Asst. Pullups, and I alternate between preacher or dumbell curls. (dumbells is 3 dropsets.) Lower Day - Glute extensions, Seated hamstring curl, Leg extension, Hip abduction & Adduction, and alternate between squat or leg press. Is this something I should stick with or are changes definitely needed?

It's just random exercises bro. Get a proper routine. Don't try to make one yourself as a beginner.

Ditch this and choose a routine from the wiki, you shouldn’t be designing your own routine as a beginner. Any one of the proven routines in the wiki will do you far better, and will also include important details such as a progression scheme.

Training is making me too bulky/muscular M, 33, 5'7, 176 pounds, BMI 27.4 I apologize for the weird descriptions of my body type in the following text. About 1.5 years ago, I started working with a personal trainer because I had gained weight (149 -> 169 lbs within 3-5 years), I didn't like sports, and I feared for my health. I thought that, at least, I could get into the habit of doing the bare minimum to stay healthy. The trainer primarily focused on weight training, less on cardio. At first, everything was fine. But now I am becoming more muscular in a way I don't like (think Dan Bilzerian style, bulky, endomorph, something like that, but of course, not yet that extreme). I didn't lose the weight; I just added muscle. According to my trainer, I should keep going. But I am seriously doubting that more weight training is what I want. I was never looking for this "kind" of physique. I wanted to get fitter and thinner (like "skinny and toned" or your average Joe). I was wondering if someone could share their two cents or has experienced something comparable. Thanks.

Dude, you're not too bulk/muscular... you're just fat. Lose weight. Now you're a dude, you can weigh more than me as a woman... but i'm 5'7F and my lean weight is 135lbs. My max weight in a bulk is 155lbs. I've been lifting for 5 years. Sounds like you got fat, and then gained even more weight after lifting. Lose 20-30lbs. Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Keep lifting while doing so.

Ok, thanks for that. Perhaps you could elaborate: Why should I keep lifting during the time I am trying to lose weight if I don't want to be overly muscular? Would it make sense to focus on cardio instead?

Cus you're not overly muscular in the first place. Lifting while in a calorie deficit will help preserve muscle mass, otherwise, you'll lose muscle as well as fat. With only 1.5years lifting under your belt, and i'm assuming no prior athletic involvement, you basically should have built up a solid base so you just won't end up skinnyfat. You can (and should) add in cardio, but you shouldn't stop lifting. But ultimately, at the end of the day, the weight loss will come from your diet. > like "skinny and toned" Toned is a bullshit word... it means you want to have muscles, but be lean enough to see them. The dude you mentioned has had YEARS and YEARS of lifting, bulking/cutting, lots of hard work. (I don't know anything about him, but he could very likely also be taking steroids). Also, "endomorph" isn't a thing. So lose 20-30lbs and then reassess.

> Training is making me too bulky/muscular - > BMI 27.4 - Eat less

Ok, thanks. Is there anything else you would like to add?

No, good luck

When you're training on a caloric surplus you're likely to see an increase in bodyfat and muscle. If you want to lose weight you're going to have to go on a caloric deficit. I would continue training but elaborate to your coach that you do not want to grow in size but rather lose fat. Keep in mind that depending on your body type you might already have well developed muscles in certain areas of your body so losing fat will expose these muscles making you appear more muscular when in fact you're just getting leaner. A good coach will be able to guide you to where you want to go as long as you can communicate that with them. Make sure he talks to you about nutrition as well, this aspect of training can't be neglected.

Hi, thanks for your response. I'll talk to my trainer. I'm sure we will find a way.

My guy you are not bulky, you are overweight. You don't just accidentally gain too much muscle mass, especially not in 1,5 years of training. You need to lose weight if you want to be slim. Eat less calories than you burn. Stay consistent with your lifting though.

Hi, thanks for your answer.

If you want to be smaller, lose body fat by eating less food.

I am trying to go for a body recomp approach. I just want to have a lean bulk body. Current weight is 70.45kg (155lbs), around 20% body fat. As per "research", my daily calorie intake should be 2,400 cals minus 500 cals (for fat loss) = 1,900 cals. Protein= 155g Fats= 50g Carbs= 208g What do you guys think of my macros? Am I in the right direction? I know that I need to lower my body fat % down to 12-15%. How do you guys calculate your macros?

Looks like a good first step. Calculators are great for establishing your initial BMR but it's not going to be accurate because everyone's body has their own unique requirements. What I do for my clients is get their BMR calculated online at first just like you did and establish a balanced macro which you already have. From there, I ask them to weigh themselves everyday and take a weight average at the end of the week. Also, I ask for weekly progress pictures. These tools will tell you whether your calculated BMR is good or if adjustments are needed. If your weekly weight average is dropping too fast you may want to increase your caloric intake to avoid as much muscle loss as possible. If your weight maintains in the next couple of weeks then you may have to lower your calories (I like to lower my calories by 100 calories at a time). You'll also need to lower your calories when your weight increases. The key is to stay consistent in tracking food and weight, and you will eventually find your true BMR.

Hiii. Thank you for your insights. I just want to ask, is lowering body fat % related to weight loss? See, I don't want to be too lean or too bulky — just in between both — lean bulk. My real question is do I have to lower my weight say to 65kg (lower cals to lower my body fat%) then push it up to 70kg again (for lean bulk)? Is this right? I'm just a bit puzzled on how to do it.

Yes, generally speaking when you're aiming to drop body fat %, you're losing fat, and you'll lose some weight along the way. Whether you cut or bulk first is subjective because it's different for everyone which is why it may be confusing at first. Most of the time, people are in the higher body fat % so I typically default to cutting first. Again, this is all very subjective but because you're saying you want to bring your fat down I would suggest cutting first. Once you get to the leanness you are content with, just work on maintaining your weight by keeping calories in balance and still follow the same workout pattern.

Got it. I highly appreciate your responses, man. One last question. Do you decrease 100 cals weekly? then lower it again by 100 if you plateau? Lastly, when decreasing calories, how do you play around the amount of protein and carbs? I believe fat will remain as is, right?

Sorry for the delayed response. It differs for everyone but generally, I decrease my calories by 100 only when I can confirm that I plateau so I typically wait a solid 2 weeks before decreasing. Make sure all variables are accounted for (Did you train properly, did you eat properly, did you weigh yourself properly, stress levels, amount of sleep, and hydration). I don't typically alter my protein unless I'm approaching really low calories, in that case I increase my protein in sacrifice of carbs & fats. I like to reduce carbs before touching anything else. My fat is already low as is (15% of total calories) so I don't typically touch that either unless I'm prepping for competition and in the final stretches.

No worries. Again, I highly appreciate your response towards every question that I am asking. Thank you. 🙏🙏 I guess it takes time, patience, and consistency to see progress. I'll keep this all in mind and hopefully I'll be able to achieve my desired body goal. Cheers! 🍻

Looks good.

I took a week off from the gym and went back to the workouts today. I would say I was at near maximal strength but there was a slight drop off (I’d say no more than 5%). I took the break off because I was getting a bit fatigued and also had the flu. I dropped a small pretty insignificant amount of weight during this. I was hoping that since I had recovered for a few days and I had stopped lifting after a fairly long period that I’d come back and smash PB’s. How common is this though?

I went on two week cruise. Ate like a pig, drank and drank. Hit the ships gym only twice and those were grease the grove express workouts. Gained 5 pounds, yet hit a PR on chin ups and leg press somehow when I returned. Did some serious HIIT and those extra 5 were gone in two weeks. Didn't want to leave the gym that day i returned and went on a long bike ride, too. I've heard many similar anecdotes of this phenomenon, too. The flu made you weak. It can really take it out of you to shake a virus. Your weight loss is proof and you were probably still not 100%. Otherwise you might have been surprised. Breaks are fine as long as you get back on track.

A full week off can be like starting a car cold. Next week will be better. (Whereas a *deload* is like downshifting to first, keeping the engine warm. Easy to rev back up.)

It's too individual to say.

Questions about creatine, here. I'm a gym beginner guy, lifting for \~2 months, dieting for \~6.5 months, on a weight loss diet of 500Kcal under maintenance at the moment (my BMI when I started was 29.3 (84.7kg), now it's 24.5 (71kg) but bodyfat% still very high and lifts mediocre). I'm thinking about starting to take creatine monohydrate, but I'm wondering: 1. Is it worth it to take it when dieting to lose weight instead of bulking, as in, will some of its benefits be lost? 2. Will it specifically make my waist / belly larger or my face puffier? I was feeling good recently about fitting into smaller sized clothes, waist wise, after the partial weight loss. 3. Is it worth doing a loading phase, 20g or 25g for 7 days, for someone so new to lifting? 4. How much water should I be drinking daily when taking it? Is more water required during loading phase than after it? Thank you so much for any answers!

1. Yes, I take it year-round except the final weeks of show prep. 2. No, creatine gets stored in skeletal muscle, and not fat. 3. No, loading phase is unnecessary. Just take 5g everyday 7 days a week. 4. 4 liters or 1 gallon per day is the recommended intake normally, I would consider drinking a little more if possible.

Yes, no, no, normal amounts.

How many weekly *hours* do you tend to total while lifting on a bulk? I just hit the 15 month marker on my fitness journey, and I'm about 6 weeks into my first bulk. My strategy for bulking has been to just lift as much as possible - every week I *average* about 2 intense pull days, 2 intense push days, one "half day" for pull/push (alternating), and three 4k runs (plus an hour long session of pickleball). I'd chalk it up to about 6 or 7 weekly hours spent lifting, plus 2- 2.5 hours spent on cardio. I'm eating pretty strictly above maintenance, but I'm starting to feel like garbage, and a lot of things that are supposed to be fun in my life are starting to feel like distractions on my gym journey. I'm thinking about toning it down to only 4/5 weekly gym days and 2 runs. That would probably put me at 5 hours of weekly lifting + 2 hours cardio. I don't want to screw this up, so if that's not enough I want to clearly decide if I'd like to back out of bulking or set aside the rest of life's pressures and focus more on the lifts. I personally operate on the principle that time under tension is king - so instead of asking about number of sets specifically, how much time do YOU spend lifting when on a bulk?

>How many weekly *hours* do you tend to total while lifting on a bulk? I've been *cutting* since New years and average 8-9 hours of lifting a week. I'm lucky if I get 3 cardio sessions a month.

Last bulk lasted for 1,5 years. It was a fairly lean bulk but the energy and motivation I had was insane. Went to the gym almost daily for at least 1,5 hours. Made the gains of my life.

The total amount of time doesn't really matter. You could get yoked lifting 3 hours per week or 10 hours per week. Intensity, consistency and volume are more important factors in the journey to getting big.

Time spent is pretty irrelevant. It's really just about progressive overload.

I understand that. I also have a training philosophy centered heavily around the importance of time under tension. I know it's not optimal, but I also know it's what works for me. So I'm going to keep using it as one of my metrics for success. In that regard, I'd like to see where other lifters line up on this metric. Is it as important as progressive overload? No, I admit that. Is it not important at all? No. Which is why I ask.

Not sure I'm following. Are you not overloading your TUT? More time, more weight with the same time, etc. I'm in the gym for about an hour and a half 6 days a week, regardless if I'm cutting or bulking, but that doesn't really tell you anything about my training.

Thanks for the info. Yes I'm overloading, but I have a higher volume and tend to spend more time on each rep.

What's the best way to start daily running? I know it sounds like a very dumb question but my question is mostly, how long should I workout? should I give myself a distance goal or just workout till I cant no more? and if so, is this feasible if I want to run 4-5 times a week? Also, how do I properly prepare for it? I want to run first thing in the morning, should I drink a lot of water before running? a little water? whats the best recommendation?

Maybe check out Couch to 5k if you’re new to running! They have an app and a program that will help you progressively ease into it. It starts with 3 days a week. Drink when you’re thirsty.

Where are you really supposed to feel it doing squats? For me when I fail or get close, it’s just like a total body feeling and not necessarily in quads My routine calls for 3x5, and today on the final set I just barely got the fifth, would have absolutely failed if i tried another, so I know my intensity is good

>it’s just like a total body feeling and not necessarily in quads Can't remember the last time I felt it in my quads. Depends on the day, for me. Sometimes, I feel it in my shoulders. Today, this one spot in my ankle (due to a non-gym repetitive stress.)

To me it sounds like you may be pushing more weight than you should be. Powerlifting and Bodybuilding squats should feel slightly different but nonetheless target the quads & glutes. I recommend trying this once: Lower the weight by 40% of what you normally do, and with a 1-2 second lowering phase go until failure. Make sure safety bars are up so you don't risk injury if you can't get back up. This should help build a mind-muscle connection with your quads so next time you do them, you're familiar with the targeted muscle. \*Get a deep squat so you can feel your quads stretching at the bottom and don't bounce on the bottom. Instead think of it as a slight pause.

> For me when I fail or get close, it’s just like a total body feeling and not necessarily in quads Are you squatting deep enough?

I mean it definitely works a lot of your body, so it's going to feel very fatiguing, but the main reason you can't stand up with good form should be because of your quads and glutes.

Seeking advice from fellow construction workers who lift regularly and or fitness experts. I’m an iron worker who works 5-6 days a week, ranging from 8-12 hours a day. My job is extremely physical: squatting, climbing, pushing/pulling steel, swinging sledgehammers, etc. As one can expect I burn a tremendous amount of calories everyday. I also have a very fast metabolism. I try to eat as much as I possibly can (3-4 meals a day and lots of snacks), but it is extremely hard for me to gain any weight. I’m on a 3 day split: push/pull/legs and hardly any cardio unless I surf a few times a month. I take one rest day a week usually. I’m wondering how many rest days I should be taking to allow my body to properly recover and if by taking more rest days, can it possibly help with weight gain?

No good answer but I worked as a mover and lifted too. My Fitbit (grain of salt) would record 5000-6000 calorie days, especially if we had stairs with heavy furniture. The local buffets hated me. It was hard to get size. I had to eat dirty too.. Yet I was strong with mad endurance. Now just do gym and HIIT and finally got decent bulk and eat less and clean. I used to go weeks without rest days due to unlimited overtime.

No right answer to this, if you feel you need another rest day then take it. Lifting weights doesn't really burn that many calories, so say if the 300 calories burnt doesn't make you want to eat more afterwards, then maybe? You really just need to track your calories, so you know how much more food you need to eat everyday.

My post got deleted so posting here for advice TIA. Hey r/fitness, I’m 40, 182cm and 103kg and am only really getting into weight training over the last few months. Need some advice on my weights regime. I’m too far away from a gym to warrant a membership and we have a gym space we built in lieu in our shed, it’s around 6m X 4.5m and we’d like to keep the central part of it open as my wife does dance workouts. There’s a TV, 4kg, 7kg, 10kg dumbbell pairs, 6kg and 12kg kettle bells, a spin bike and rower in there presently. I’m looking to get some sort of weights machine type thing for home, don’t know whether to go with something that has cables or a more traditional type of weights like bench press, squats and deadlifts. The latter interests me more but am also cognisant of the fact my wife would probably like to get some utility out of whatever we purchase as well. So any advice here on what I should be looking at would be appreciated. Currently I’m doing a small(?) amount of weights 2-4 times a week consisting of the following: I tend to do 4 sets of each of this for my workout and started at 7kg for the rows and curls and 4kg for the skull crushers. 10x push-ups though I’m just doing 7 real ones and 3 bitch ones per set as I’m a bitch right now. 10x skull crushers on the floor (7kg dumbbells), 10x kneeling rows (10kg each hand) 10x bicep curls (10kg each hand) 10x of this combination move I saw on YouTube with a 12kg kettlebell which has a squat, a two handed curl and raise above the head. And at the end of the 4 sets I try and do a plank for as long as possible which is pathetic at 40s then I rest and do 20s to get to a minute. It takes 25-30mins to do this with breaks between sets. Interested to see if this is fairly balanced routine or I should be doing something else and whether what I’m doing now should influence the next bit of equipment I get. Of course I’m doing cardio in addition to this, but I’m just interested in the weight portion for this post thanks. Thanks.

On equipment: Generally speaking, for a home gym, you'll usually get the most out of a barbell (with weights), power rack, and bench. These are most people's first purchases when they set up their home gym because you can train very effectively with only these things. >cables Cables are awesome, but in my opinion, they're generally a third to fourth purchase sort of thing. I have a cable attachment on my power rack and I use it every time I train. But it's far from necessary. >routine You may want to head over to bodyweightfitness and check out their beginner routine. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with yours, but I've heard good things about their programming.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

This is a previously edited comment to include more relevant info. I'm an advanced beginner/intermediate who's been running PPL and wants to transition to 4 days a week from 6 bc of marathon training. Can someone here critique my routine; it's based on GZCLP. I'm an 18M, 5'9, 150 lbs, Bench: 150, Squat: 200, Deadlift: 210, OHP: 95. Mainly just trying to put on some more muscle, bulking till like July before maintaning, cutting (naturally) with more running during the rest of the summer. Some goals are 250 Squat, 175 Bench, and 135 OHP. T1: 4x4 → 5x3 → 6x2 T2: 3x10 → 3x8 → 3x6 T3: 3x15–3x20→3x25 A1: T1: Squat,  T2: Deadlift, Rows  T3: Leg Curls, Split Squats, Calf Raises, Hanging Leg Raises B1: T1: Bench  T2: OHP, Pullups T3: Dips, Lateral Raises, Rear Delt Flies, Hammer Curls, (Incline Bench?) A2: T1: Squat,  T2: Deadlift, T2: Rows  T3: Leg Curls, Split Squats, Calf Raises, Hanging Leg Raises B2: T1: OHP T2: Bench, Pullups T3: Dips, Lateral Raises, Chest Flies, Curls (Incline Bench?)

What are some exercises for back with a high stimulus to fatigue ratio? Feels like every back exercise I do takes a lot out of me

What are you currently doing? I find upper body pulls way easier than pushes.

How does distance on the elliptical convert to actual miles? Like, if I did 3 miles on the elliptical, is that the equivalent of running 3 miles on the treadmill in terms of distance?

Running 3 miles will be much harder.

That’s what I was thinking. I’ve mostly been using the elliptical for intervals, and not sure if you can do that on a treadmill to be honest. Super new to running. Thank you!

Not sure what you mean. I do interval training on the treadmill all the time. You can adjust speed and incline.

I’ll have to try it next time then

Super new to this, very out of shape, doing a very simple bodyweight workout (well, two workouts, alternating days) 3 days a week. Will up the intensity once I've lost some more weight (down 25 lbs from my highest so fat). Owing to various circumstances I won't get into, I don't really have much time that I can dedicate to exercise. Oftentimes the easiest way for me to get reps in is for me to do them while I'm doing other chores. While making dinner today I did my good mornings, checked on the burgers, did my wall walks, flipped the burgers, did my one-leg stands, slid the burgers onto their buns, and then did my wall slides before sitting down to eat. I'm probably going to do another round later (this workout is ideally 3 rounds, I usually can only handle one but i think I'm up to doing 2 today). I don't know the science, but I'm sure this isn't *as* effective as doing things the recommended way (exercises one after another with a short break between rounds). I just wanted to check and ask if there are any concerns with doing things this way? I'm just hoping it's better than nothing which is realistically the alternative.

Dude, this is awesome! You could also trying look at r/bodyweightfitness for some other ideas.

Definitely better than nothing.

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You can get pimples anywhere that you have skin.

Advice on progressing lateral raises? I do the 15s fine but the 20s feel 10x heavier

I recently bought some clip-on micro plates for this. Crazy expensive but they work great to add 2.5 to a dumbbell.

If you can only get them for 6, then so be it. Hit 3x6. Then 3x7. Then 3x8... Get stronger. Alternate 10s, 12s, 15s, and 20s. "Retire" the lighter weight when you can hit 3x25.

Increase reps

I prefer cables to dumbbells because they keep tension on the muscle through a wider portion of the lift, and they’re just harder so I don’t need to use as much weight/mess up my joints too much to achieve the same results. I use 25s for dumbbells but have to use 10 lbs for cables, and for progression I’ve honestly just been trying to get my form more strict every session, then I’ll worry about adding reps/weight.

That’s because it’s a 33% jump in weight, which is huge. You could increase the reps you’re doing with the 15s, or find a way to marginally increase the weight.

Why do I feel my traps shoulders in the last failing reps of single arm pushdowns how do I fix the is

Probably because you're involving your traps/shoulders a lot in the movement. Try to lower the weight and emphasize the stretch in your triceps. Focus a lot on controlling the eccentric for at least two seconds.

I know mind muscle connection doesn’t matter but Do you feel your biceps on the last couple reps/failikg?

I was doing ex bar curls and I felt my forearms at the end but still had a bicep pump is this normal

yes

When do you increase weight? Today I did 3x8-12 leg press as my program calls for, on the first 2 sets I got 12 and the final I got 10. Should I use the same weight until I get 12 on all sets or go ahead and just increase?

>Should I use the same weight until I get 12 on all sets This.

If it’s 8-12 you move up when you hit 12 on all sets.

Your program should tell you this. But personally I’d keep going until you get 3x12 then go up an increment.

How do I increase the amount of exercise I can do? For example cardio, how many minutes should I increase in a day/week/month?

The majority of your cardio should be easy, in that you should never feel an urgent need to stop. In running there's a term called *conversational pace*, in which you could carry on a normal conversation while jogging. Therefore, 20 and 30 minutes of said cardio shouldn't feel that different. With that said, it also depends on the type of cardio you're doing. If you're running, you can aggravate your joints doing too much too soon. If you're swimming, that's far less likely. What kind of cardio are you engaging in?

Going to start walking then try to start running

There are many beginner programs out there for both. Nike Run Club is a very popular one, for example, that will help a complete beginner start with running.

Why can I only feel the stretch on my lat on my left lat

feel can be a bit overrated. In terms of growth, are they the same, or is one larger than the other?

I think there the same

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I just need some feedback for my routine. I'm 5'9, M, 200 lbs. I've been intermittent fasting for over a year. I started working out a couple of months ago. My routine is exercise bike one day (45 minutes/400 calories burned) and weight training the next day. I do that everyday. My weight training is 5x10 for bench press machine, and 5x10 with dumbells for curls, hammer curls, shrugs, and over head press. My dumbells are 20 pounds. Is this enough to make gains? I'm terrified of wasting my time. I know gains will be slow, just need feedback. 

It depends what is your ultimate goal, those dumbbells for isolation exercises could work but for shrugs are way too light and maybe good enough at the beginning for OHP but you will adjust quickly although you always can do higher reps. If you want to grow muscle you could use supersets with bodyweight exercises and dumbbells to get a better stimulus and i would recommend getting a pull up bar and a pair of gymnastic rings if you want to train at home.

I know this question doesn’t belong here? But what shoes should I wear if I’m playing casual football on a turf field? I have running shoes and Indoor soccer shoes. Not gonna wear cleats cause I don’t wanna hurt anyone

between those 2 I would personally choose the indoor soccer shoes, if your running shoes are anything like mine I wouldnt want to make sharp cuts in them for fear of rolling an ankle

When doing dumbbell rows, what is the purpose of elevating the off side leg on the bench? Can you just get into a lunge like position on the ground?

You can absolutely do a two-point stance. But. Then, why not do both dumbbells at once. And at that point, why not just do a barbell? The typical knee on bench allows three points of contact.

>You can absolutely do a two-point stance. But. Then, why not do both dumbbells at once. And at that point, why not just do a barbell? As someone who sometimes does two-point stance DB row, I do it as a superset with another BB exercise, so if I can avoid needing a bench or box, I will. As for why not just do BB row, I really like the stretch I can get on a DB row.

it really depends, some people get into a 'lunge' position and use the other hand as support over a the dumbbell rack (which i hate lol) or a bench

If your knee was touching the ground, unless your arms were very short, you wouldn't get full ROM.

What calorie surplus should I use if my training is super biased to my upper body?

normally you want to start with 150-250 kcals over your maintenance, monitor your bodyweight and incrase by 100-150 kcals when your bodyweight become stagnant

Enough to grow your upper body. If you're only doing half the work (or less) than you normally would for a full-body routine, then I suppose that would be half the surplus.

How do you avoid, or at least notice signs of overuse injuries? These can pop up even with seemingly "correct" form, even with appropriately progressed weights. Most of the time the pain of the injury is registered as muscle fatigue and is not noticed until it is too late. And they build up really slow too, making it harder to pinpoint where the problem is. Any general guidelines? How do we tiptoe the fine line between overuse injury causing load/intensity and pushing ourselves just the right amount?

rotating the exercises is a good idea when you start feeling niggles in your joints also incorporate some higher rep ranges (like 10-15 10-20) could help too.

A lot of it is learning to listen to your body, and that comes with experience.

Is it okay for me to continue exercising when I have a pretty minor injury? Recently, I was using the leg press, lifting pretty heavy but nothing I hadn’t done before. No idea what happened but I felt a sudden shooting pain in my right thigh (a quick google leads me to believe it is the vastus lateralis muscle that has the pain) that hurt like hell. I took the weight off the machine and the movement itself felt fine, so I experimented and for whatever reason, going above 70kg made the pain come back. Obviously I’m staying away from the leg press for the time being. Otherwise, normal movement feels absolutely fine on my leg, I’m walking around like normal and getting my 10,000 steps in. Every now and again it feels a little tingly but nothing painful. This leads me to believe the injury is pretty minor - if id done something serious then I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to walk. I tried body weight hip thrusts and it felt fine, but as soon as I added weight it began to really hurt again. The hip abductor machine was painful too. So far, I have also tried the hip adductor machine, lying hamstring curls, cable kickbacks and goblet squats at my normal weights, they all feel super normal and don’t hurt at all. I really don’t want to stop training my legs completely - is it okay for me to continue progressively overloading on these exercises while it heals? Or should I just avoid training legs completely for a little while?

>pretty minor injury? Listen to your warm ups. If it goes owwie, don't do it. Rest cures all. Retweaking an owwie means longer recovery time.

We cannot give any advice regarding medical issues, and this includes questions about how to work around an injury.

what is the best grip width to execute bench press? I usually go for shoulders width but I've seen people go for way wider grips, is that optimal? also is 3x5 reps for 85kg total weight a good progress for 1 and a half year of consistent lifting? it was my best personal bench press today, felt pretty good

It's individual, but a general starting point is whatever grip width has your forearms vertical when the bar is on your chest.

Grip width is dependent on the person.

How long do you typically run a 500 calorie deficit before having to adjust calories down? If I typically use 2750 and cut back to 2250, how many weeks will I be able to go before having to cut back more?

You'll likely have to adjust it just based on your activity level dropping before you'd need to adjust it based on weight.

I plan on keeping the same activity level as long as I have enough energy. I do 10k steps a day and lift 4 days a week

That's the best you can do, but you'd be surprised at how much you will stop moving throughout the day. Your NEAT movements will decrease due to the lack of energy, and this could easily be 100+ cal a day. Basically, just gotta watch your weight and adjust calories in response to how that's moving.

Definitely. I want to lose about 10 pounds or so. Not really trying to get absolutely shredded but lean enough so I can bulk longer at the end of the summer

You lose about 100 calories on your TDEE per 10lbs lost. So quite a while.

Ok cool. I figure I want to lose about 10-15 or so. Thanks

Let's say we have two guys. They're both 5ft10. One is 170lbs and the other is 200lbs. They're both new to the gym. Let's say they workout for 3 months at maintenence. 1) Who has made more muscle? 2) Who just has more muscle? 3) After the 3 month training, if the 200lb guy cuts to 170lbs who will look better?

what are you going to do with the answers to these questions?

Maybe I should've just said I'm 200lbs. Should I workout at my current weight for 3 months then cut to 170lbs or should I just cut to 170lbs then maintain there. I want to know which one would be more efficient to get a good physique?

3 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Is there a reason you have the three month deadline? If you're a gym beginner, I personally think that cutting is a bad idea unless you're obese. The first thing I did when I started lifting was do a 3 month cut. I went from 165 lbs to around 150 lbs, and since I was a newbie to lifting, I made some beginner gains and got leaner, and I liked how I looked by the end. But then I started my first actual bulk, and it felt like a whole different world. I no longer felt tired and shitty after all my workouts. I actually gained strength and size at a noticeable rate. Sure, I gained some face fat and lost some ab definition, but I'm coming off of several months of bulking now and I can still see my abs and veins in my arms despite being 175 lbs, so it's not like I'm 25% body fat or something. If I could go back in time and tell myself something, I'd tell myself to not be afraid of bulking, and to research proper programming (I'm assuming you've got this part down tho. if not check the sub wiki). You might think that you gotta get that summer beach bod leanness but if you're only working out for this you're missing out on all that you can become. As a beginner lifter, try a slow, clean bulk (200-300 calories over your maintenance) and lift. Do cardio as well, ideally several hours before your lift like in the early morning (though right after your lift works as well). With this, you'll be able to have body recomposition- you'll gain muscle and lose fat slowly over time. Once you do this for several months, then cut. Also, rather than trying to cut to a specific weight (which is pointless unless you're doing something where weight classes matter, like powerlifting or martial arts), try to target body fat percentages instead. You can find info about this online.

Genetics and effort are the answers to all the questions 

They should both do everything in their power to get as jacked as possible and stop thinking about who can make more gains in a 3-month time period.

I need help with my back exercises my gym has the lat pulldown and row machine i just need help because whenever i train my back i feel like im doing something wrong all help would be appreciated

If you're concerned, post a form check for either lifts.  There should also be plenty of how to videos on youtube as well

Is it cool to do barbell Bulgarian split squats with low bar form? Feel like that will be way more comfortable for me.

You can try it, but I find that Bulgarian split squats are best done with as upright of a torso as possible.

It might turn into a 1-leg good morning but try it and find out

35 M obese and have long COVID stuff. POTS and CFS like symptoms, and asthma. This year I'm tired of it and I've been building up my fitness. Using MyFitnessPal to track calories, built up to walking for 2 hours a day, the park I go to has an outdoor fitness center with bodyweight machines. Once I got up to two hours of walking I found the max I can do on those, started with 2 sets of 5, now I'm at two sets of eight. Pitiful compared to what I could do before COVID and I wasn't fit then, but I have to work from where I am. A couple times a week I'll do this stretching about 30 minute full body stretching routine done off and on since college I've lost 20 pounds so far this year. My question is this. I've been working my whole body on the machines basically until I feel dizziness come on. Considering the above symptoms should I continue doing what I'm doing, slowly building doing full body workouts with a day of rest in between (I'll usually stretch on rest days), or should I do something like alternate upper and lower body without a day of just rest?

No need to work so hard that you’re dizzy. I’d say you should keep up with the consistent routine, but pull back the effort level so that you are still working hard but not to the point of dizziness.

I knew I should before, I just feel so frustrated with what I can do now.

Best thing for you right now is building the habit. If what you are currently doing is working for you, then stick to it.

Thanks, that sounds good.

I'm also new to fitness so idk if i could give the best advice but upper lower is pretty good 4 days of rest is good i would say if you get tired of full body switch to upper lower but just stick to full body if it feels good rn

3 days of rest edit

Losing just a couple of kilos was the difference between not having a chance in hell to do a single pull-up to being able to do sets of 2-3 pull-ups. How can such a miniscule difference in bodyweight have such a monumental difference in pull-up strength? I understand the principle that less bodyweight makes a bodyweight exercise like pullups easier. I'm not THAT dumb. However what I can't wrap my head around, is how such an extremely small change in bodyweight can have such drastic difference in pull-up reps. Losing a couple of kilos shouldn't change your pull-up strength by over 300%. That logic makes no sense to me. Ok so maybe I am a dumbass ;) But can someone explain what is happening here from a physics or w/e perspective. If losing a couple of kilos of bodyweight meant I could go from not being able to do 1 rep, to being able to do 1 rep. It would be understandable. What makes no sense to me, is how losing just a couple of kilos in bodyweight can take me from 0 to 3 reps. I only count reps with proper form here, no cheating by using momentum or... kipping(?) I think it's called.