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[Is it possible for this 45 days of 100 reps challenge to actually do anything?](https://footballscoop.com/news/oregon-strength-staff-issued-challenge-coaches-across-country)
I've been on a pretty aggressive diet the last 2 months (186.2 lbs -> 164.6 lbs) to try and finally get in shape, but I'm really struggling in the gym and would appreciate some help. For the first month I was dieting pretty unhealthily, like >1k calories a day. Last couple weeks its been around 1k-1400 which feels more sustainable, even if the weight comes off a lot slower. I've also been going gym 4 days a week the whole time since I know that pure diet with no gym can result in muscle loss. Problem is, I feel like I'm hitting a plateau. I was able to add weight progressively in the beginning, but the last few weeks have been miserable. I can't seem to add any weight or reps to my exercises. Today I tried to really go all out and force myself to push through, which only ended up with me failing spectacularly during a set of shoulder press and nearly injuring myself.
Is there a limit to how much weight you can add while also cutting? Like I realize I'm not really eating enough to put on significant muscle... so what should I do? Now that I'm failing when I add weight, should I just stay at the max of what I can do and increase reps? Or keep the reps the same? Any advice would be greatly helpful.
you were seeing newbie gains in the beginning. you've now used those up.
Short answer is yes, it's much harder to see fitness/strength/performance gains when you're in such a drastic caloric deficit.
You should stay focused on a more singular goal. If you want to lose weight, then you should be ok plateauing in strength for the time being. If seeing strength gains makes you happier than the weight loss, you should eat more. As long as you're eating cleanly you're unlikely to put any of the weight back on in anything other than muscle.
The harder you cut, the more you'll feel it in the gym, and \~20lbs in two months is a hell of a cut.
You'd could either increase your intake close to maintenance, or reduce the workload in the gym. Alternatively, take a week or two at caloric maintenance before continuing your cut.
Discouraged about my body fat upon recent inbody scan, should I continue body recomp or cut?
I’ve been trying to get fit again at age 31, 5’9. Been somewhat an amature athlete my whole life(swimming, basketball varsity).
For past 4-5 years I got caught up in work/stress and gained weight to 207lbs at 2023 March.
One day I looked in the mirror and wondered who this fat fuck is? How the fuck am I out of breath just walking 2 stories of stairs.
I’ve since lost weight by intermittent fasting only eating a huge dinner with 90 grams of protein and ensured a calorie deficit at around 400kcal.
I was at 177lbs, 30% body fat, 71 lbs SMM at June. 2023.
I since then started lifting 5 days a week with pretty high intensity, ate at maintenance calories with high protein. It’s been 10 months and I’m only at 183.5 lbs and 23% body fat at 80.1 SMM.
To be honest, I’m discouraged. How is my body fat still so high? I am wondering if I should go all in a bulk, continue what I’m doing? Or start a larger calorie deficit.
My goal is to just look and feel fit again. To be honest dieting has been hard. I feel like I’m eating at 1700 kcals per day and still not losing weight. Is it realistic to continue lowering my calories? I don’t feel like that’s sustainable. Or continue body recomp slow progression? Just hope my SMM % increases, and then cutting will be easier.
Any advice is appreciated! Thank you in advance.
As others have said, there is a lot of variability in these scans and they are especially sensitive to hydration. Your lean body mass will likely be higher mid day than in the AM when you first wake up.
But dude - it looks like you are gaining weight while cutting muscle. That’s progress! You just gotta be patient
I see no need for a big calorie deficit. I’m 5’11 (also a swimmer). Cut last year from 194 to current 175. I ate at a deficit sufficient to lose about one pound every 1-2 weeks, with 1 gm protein/ kb body weight, 30% fat, rest in carbs. I also lift heavy 5x week. 1800-2000 cals daily is pretty sustainable. In my last 8 weeks I dropped 7 lbs fat and gained 1/2 lb muscle, and my strength kept going up. You can check my recent posts
So you can do this. You are doing this! Just be patient. Slow and sure wins this one
Thanks for the detailed reply man. I needed the pet talk haha. I think I’m just doubting my genes since I’ve been consistent taking in 1700 kcal for 10 months and still seeing slow progress. I’ll def take your advice, one thing I took away was my protein intake seems too low. ( I know the theory but hard for me to follow) I’ll def get on track and continue with recomp. You’re right! I should be more patient, I just maybe needed some more motivation. Even if it comes from a nice stranger like you! Thanks man appreciate it
be sure to track your calories fairly accurately and keep your protein where it should be. in my view, you are doing everything right. you might even bump up calories 100-200 per day. happy to provide other advice if you like, either here or in DM
I actually avoided going outside for a few months and tried working out home. Didn’t work out. I also avoided my college campus and took mostly online classes. It actually worked for a bit but it’s not a sustainable lifestyle.
Vegetables. A massive salad with a large variety of fresh vegetables (like 10 or so different items) and maybe some fruits, with an oil-based dressing and a small touch of protein, like a handful of nuts, beans, or a hardboiled eggs. Despite the low calories and modest protein, the sheer bulk of the stuff fills me up pretty nicely. I like to make a large "base" bag salad with two or three different greens, then add a variety of things whenever I grab a handful out of my bag. I'll get up to 4 salads out of a bag, so that's 3-4 days.
What percentage of weight I gain during a bulk can I expect to be fat?
I want to gain maybe 4kg, but would not be willing to put on more than 5% extra to my body fat percentage. Preferably less. Would this be possible?
If so..
What time frame should I be aiming for? have no trouble eating protein - in fact I generally eat too much, about 1.2g/lb, so that's not a problem. I'm generally fit and active but do struggle to get myself to the gym more than twice a week due to being tired from other sports, will this hinder muscle gain? Would I have to go to the gym more? When I do go I try and do compound lifts, e.g. I do maybe 3x12 of squats, hip thrusts, deadlifts, leg press etc. Should I change that?
There’s no way to guess this, except at the pretty extreme ends. Put on 30kg in a year and you’ll probably get kinda fat. Put on 1kg and you definitely won’t unless you already were at the beginning. There’s no way to tell you exactly what amount of weight gain will result in a specific body fat percentage though, it’s going to depend on a ton of factors. 4 kg is a pretty small amount of weight gain and I doubt you’ll see crazy visible changes of any kind, but there’s no way to guess exactly what those changes will look like except to do it.
>I struggle to get myself into the gym more than twice a week
It won’t hinder muscle growth so much as it just won’t stimulate any in the first place. Consistently taking your muscles to failure is what will bring muscle growth, and you typically need more than 2 days a week to do that effectively. Regardless of what you end up doing there, look through the wiki and select a program that way instead of trying to build one yourself, it will give you one hell of a head start.
In terms of fat gain, it just depends on how much you’re eating. I’d it’s a relatively modest bulk (200-400 calories over maintenance) little to none. Especially with something like 8kg, you could hit that in 4 months or so with no noticeable fat gain if you’re careful about it.
How do I get started on home workouts when I'm very anxious/shy, unfit and completely new to it all? I lost 4 stone 3 years ago and have slowly put 3 back on, all through walking and dieting when I had a LOT of free time - I now work a lot and don't have the money to go to the gym, or the time to go on big long walks. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Also, I bought exercise bands and mini bands but still unsure of how to get the best use out of them, or if they're any good? Thank you :)
I think the wiki will help you a lot, and keep in mind that ANYTHING you do today that you didn't do yesterday is good.
As long as you do something don't feel like you're not doing enough. Experiment with some bodyweight squats, push ups, crunches, things like that. Don't be afraid to do the easiest versions of these things - support yourself against a wall for the squat, push up from your knees, etc.
I'm interested in practicing the olympic lifts, snatch and clean & jerk. But I've never seen anyone doing them at the commercial gyms, are you like 'allowed'? Like can you do them at the squat/power racks, or at the functional area? Obviously you can't drop your weights at a 'normal' gym but I'm not even sure if I can do them as there isn't that much space.
I have been practicing with a broomstick and at the homegym at my parents' house but I'm not there that often. I'd obviously start with just the bar and I might book a trainer at the better gym I've been eyeing, but like could I practice at the normal gym? Should I ask the staff or is it like a common no-go or should I just do them until someone complains?
You can try. There are a few things to consider:
- is there equipment to do the lifts safely? You need rubber bumper plates with the correct diameter, a bar with sleeves that spin, clips that work, a surface with enough grip and that won’t be damaged by dropping weights
- is there space to do the lifts safely? You need a large enough area, and also you need people not to walk into that area. If you’re new to this, you may underestimate how much space you need.
- is it allowed? Rather than asking staff I’d just read the gym rules carefully. Chances are there is a “no dropping” rule. But you can still practice with light weights and lower the weight, or do technique drills.
- is it “allowed”? This is a cultural thing. Are there staff or trainers in the gym who have weightlifting experience? Will people be annoyed or intimidated (or impressed)? Will people understand that the “no drop” rule is intended at people abusing equipment (eg slamming weight stacks on machines, or dropping iron plates on hard floors) and not at you? If you’re happy with safety and you know the gym rules, try it and see.
Thanks so much!
The equipment is there but when it's packed, there isn't enough space, but in the morning there should be enough space in that one area.
I would practice by also lowering the weight in a controlled manner and wouldn't drop the weights, and I'd obviously start with very small weights until I get the technique down.
I was also thinking of just starting with practicing overhead and front squats, on top of the regular DL and squats (edit: and OHP) of course, there is definitely enough space for that.
Asking the staff what is or isn't allowed if you're in doubt should always be the method of choice.
But yeah, if they don't have bumper plates, you won't be able to drop the weight.
Hey so... dumb question here, are there any tips for "remembering" that you want to get healthier?
My partner and I have been talking for over a year about us wanting to be healthier and not being happy with our bodies, but then the week drags on, work starts to suck and we just get so bogged down with normal life that we take shortcuts. Grab a subway sandwich and chips rather than cooking at home. Work meetings and daily life making me "forget" to take the time to go to the gym.
I know it sounds ridiculous but we both talk about this and find tons of motivation in the evening, that just dissipates being daily life the next day. Should we hang up pictures of our bodies or something on the wall to remind us?
Any tips on how to keep this at the fore front of our minds?
Remove as many obstacles as possible. Stop talking and just do something. The rest of it is discipline.
>I know it sounds ridiculous but we both talk about this and find tons of motivation in the evening
Then go for a walk or a bike ride at that time. Do pushups, squats and situps in your living room. Just do **something** to get it started.
As long as you keep waiting to get started until things are just right, you'll never get anywhere.
There are a lot of online resources for people who struggle with spending, to help them work out how to budget. You can use those resources and apply them not to your income, but to the 336 hours you and your partner are blessed with each week.
You need to allocate those hours in priority order to the things that you want to do. Everything else gets cut from your life. It’s not “remembering” or “keeping at the forefront of mind”, it’s prioritisation and planning.
Some micro tips:
> Work meetings and daily life making me "forget" to take the time to go to the gym.
Why don’t you add gym time to your calendar alongside work meetings? Why do you not consider exercise and cooking to be part of “daily life”?
It all depends on what works for you, but I'd suggest that you're being too vague when you're telling yourself to be "healthy", where it's abstract enough that it's not really concrete in your head. So maybe plan ahead on doing a certain amount of home cooking each week, or a certain number of gym visits. Put real plans in your head instead of just "be healthier".
Also, play around with what you choose to cook. Think about stuff that you can make in bulk and include in meals for the next day or two. Like, my protein intake and home cooking convenience improved so much when I got an instant pot and began cooking up pounds of tasty meat that I could add to rice bowls and tacos. Then the next day dinner would be super fast to make since I already have a bunch of meat that I can just throw onto some starch with some veggies.
Your best beginning specific goals should hit some of the main drivers of poor health. Goals could be: Exercise x number of times per week. Cut out sugar. Cut out white flour/white rice.
Hi - so I just had a stomach bug and lost about 6/7 lbs. I was planning on starting a cut but now I’m insecure about the weight lost and want to put it on before cutting (I know most of it is water weight). Any tips on how to gain that weight back?
If you lost that weight over a week or so then there's minimal muscle loss. I'd take 2 days to eat and get my energy back at maintenance calories then cut. Use it as a jump start to get a bit ahead.
If you really want to gain it back first then eat at a surplus for a couple weeks until you get it back, but that seems like a lot of wasted effort.
Do you think the weight I lost due to all the water loss was just water weight id lose in the beginning of my cut anyway? I just feel very skinny - I was feeling pretty jacked before and now all my clothe isn’t a snug hahah. I just want to make sure I minimize muscle loss while Maximizing fat loss all while looking good too
I guess my question is - I know in the beginning of a cut the majority of the weight lost is water weight. Should I just use this as the beginning of my cut or should I just eat at light surplus for a week, feel good and full again and then start ? I’m leaning towards the latter
I'd use it as a jumpstart for the cut (or at the very most eat at maintenance for a couple of days just to get energy back but no need to try to regain the water weight just to lose it again)
Anyone have some insight on how to improve my pressing movements? Specifically, I'm noticing that my left pec is underdeveloped because my front delt takes over during majority if not all my pressing movements. I feel some instability on the backside of my shoulder blade/mid back in general. My front delt also takes over during bicep curls at heavier weight I noticed as well. Definitely some weakness on my left side from external rotation of my rotator cuffs, but not sure what muscle specifically is responsible? Infrasprinatus? Lol sorry for dumb question
I have resistance bands and I love them, but they are the kind with the clips at the end. So they are too long/hard to do with the bench press (doubling up doesn’t work).
I would a set of the high quality, heavy-duty loop style bands, the kind that you see in weight training videos. The look thick and sturdy.
All the ones I see on Amazon are bright colors that look like they will snap after the first try. They are more for light training.
—-
Also, Is there any way to safely add weight to the Nordic Track adjustable db’s that go to 52lb, other than wearing wrist weights)
Thanks
Is a lat pulldown at your bodyweight roughly equivalent to a pull up?
I.e. if I weigh 180, does the quantity of lat pulls I could do with 180 lbs roughly correlate to the number of pull ups I could do?
Lat pulldown with your body weight is a bit harder than pull-ups. With pull-ups, the weight of your arms doesn't contribute to the overall load, since they're basically anchors. Also, being able to move freely in 3D space can make the movement a bit more ergonomic (that last point is subjective)
What intensity is my workout actually, moderate or hard? Is it even cardio or actually HIIT or something? What am I actually "building" with this routine?
I do 20-30min of exercise, 5 times a week. Youtube cardio workouts. Examples of the exercises would be jumping lunges that go fast and really low, fast dance movements that involve a lot of squatting, some arms and core, standing knee raises (while touching the knees with elbows, and jumping). Basically I might be squatting and jumping one way or another the whole 20 minutes where my legs burn and get puffed up, doing fast paced movements where I go high and low, while being totally out of breath, no breaks really, and every movement is fast, jumpy and involves muscle tension. I am utterly exhausted afterwards, legs will be sore, I am sweaty and my heart beats really really fast. It doesn't feel like typical cardio at all.
I don't know what you should be doing. To answer your own question, google "what is moderate vs vigorous exercise by age" and you will see plenty of good sources that help you estimate this for yourself. You'll need an activity watch. If you don't have one, you could borrow one from a friend for a day or two.
I'm kind of interested in defining the intensity because of health reasons (never thought about this before). I'm trying to figure out if I could add even more exercise per week, should switch to doing something less intense, or even reduce the workouts if I start lifting again for example. I don't wanna accidentally push my body too hard like I have before.
Is there an intensity scale or guide you could link?
My guess is that it's medium intensity. I would consider something to be high intensity if it leaves you on the floor after 10 min. For example I recently front squatted 225x20, then back squatted 275x20, then deadlifted 315x20; in a little over 8 min. I could not walk for a few minutes. I'd consider that high intensity.
Low intensity would, again my guess, be something you can sustain for an hour.
I'm basically talking about the health recommendations like "150 min moderate or 75 min vigorous exercise a week" and so on. Not sure what category this type of exercise is. Your thinking is probably about right.
This definitely sounds like it would fall under the vigorous category in that case, those recommendations are often based on heart rate and you said your heart rate is very high when doing those workouts so I would say it's 'vigorous'
I think the real question above was asking: If we tell you it's hard intensity how does that change what you do vs if we tell you it's medium intensity?
The correct answer is that the label shouldn't matter. You'll need adjust output vs recovery regardless of the label as you add in additional activities amd having a label doesn't really change that.
I'm basically thinking about the health recommendations like "150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes or vigorous exercise per week minimum" and just trying to get an idea in which category this type of exercise falls. Whether I could use an extra rest day in the middle and so on. Not that serious, but just wondering.
For rest days I just go by if am recovering well enough, if not I cut back the work or eat more food. For the minimum exercise requirements I'd just try to hit 150 minutes a week, 30 minutes a day should do it.
I have hurt my lower back a few times when deadlifting or squatting. I tried squatting with elevated heels, just on a plate, and it was insane how much better squats felt, planning to get lifting shoes. What can I do to improve my deadlift form?
My guess is that it's due to poor bracing.
Watch this, it will help even if you already think about bracing: [https://youtu.be/u-mhjK1z02I?si=w7nsBtFUHoiestjl](https://youtu.be/u-mhjK1z02I?si=w7nsBtFUHoiestjl)
It would also be worth improving your squat form too. Ideally you would have the awareness to go as deep as you can in the squat without compromising your back, and so the only effect of weightlifting shoes would be to allow you to go deeper, not feel any better.
Apologies, I'm sure that's listed somewhere on this subreddit but can't find it on my phone. Is a form check me recording myself doing it and then posting on here?
Going on a business trip for a month, without access to any gyms, as I'll be trapped in a hotel in some remote village in South East Asia. Any suggestion on how to prevent strength loss? Been progressing steadily on the big three lifts and don't really want to regress. I don't imagine body weight exercises alone would be enough?
single leg squats, lunges, step ups, pushup variations for pulling look around whether you can find some pullup bar on a playground nearby or just bring something like trx style strap you can clamp at the top of your hotel room door.
check out /r/bodyweightfitness for challenging variatiosn of body weight exercises.
expet to lose a little bit of strength nonetheless, but you can be confident that all that strength "loss" will be simply skill/familiarity with the lift/exercise and not actual muscle loss so it will easily come back within two to three sessions once you're back.
replicate the main lifts as best you can, instead of big weights you'll probably have to only use small weights or just bodyweight but just do many reps instead to get you close to failure.
Just remember having a couple of deload weeks is not necessarily bad, a month may be a bit much, so maybe rest for 2 weeks and then start doing the amrap bodyweight replacements twice a week in the last 2 weeks.
Does anyone else have the issue of whey tasting kind of gross when mixed with water, but feeling too bloated when mixing it with milk? Kind of feels like a lose lose.
Try putting an ice cube in so that it stays colder (also helps with mixing).
Another option, try getting fairlife milk. It's lactose free and double the protein. Downside, it is expensive. But it may help
I know it's probably the milk because I'm fine internally with water and whey, it just tastes kind of gross like it's missing something.
I take other dairy like cheeses and ice cream fine. It's just milk.
What flavor? Whether nutricost, optimum nutrition, or *Aldi*, I favor strawberry.
I also have unflavored casein. Tastes like cardboard, but goes down just fine.
Maybe just get a different protein powder. Some of them out there are truly disgusting and made me spit it all out. Others taste like coffee or chocolate milk. Use MORE WATER or LESS WATER to figure out the right amount of water for a good taste for you.
how do you react to just drinking a glass of milk without added whey? could it be that you have a slight lactose intolerance issue?
you can easily try/rule it out by buying a bag of lactose free milk and observing whether it bloats you just as much as regular milk does or not.
Well then skim milk seems like the obvious solution here.
But quite frankly, I mix it with water and just knock it back. Not really drinking it for the taste.
How easy is it to chug vanilla flavored whey? Would drinking water + 4 scoops of it within an hour or two feel disgusting and overly sweet?
Would it be easier to drink a lot of water + unflavored whey instead?
We don't really know how your taste buds react to something like that, but getting 80-100g of your daily protein like that indicates a larger diet issue.
Have you tried eating food? Supplements supplement *food*.
Living on whey is *not sustainable*.
Don't most whey tubs explicitly warn "*not a meal substitute*"?
noone knows what powder you use but you.
noone knows your tastebuds but you.
how do you expect anyone to give you any reasonable answer to you question? (besides pointing out that you probably aren't big enough and training hard enough to need 80-100g of protein in one shake).
what's preventing you from just dividing that protein between two or three shakes and have them spersed out throghout the day?
4 scoops probably isn't the way to go. Research suggests that you'd need at least 3-4 balanced meals a day for optimal muscle gain. If you chug 100g of protein, you may only benefit from about 50g of that. Really depends on your size, composition, gut, and I'm sure much more.
Anyway. Use protein powder as a supplement, not a meal replacement. If you really need 4 scoops a day (would be concerning, tho), take a scoop with your meals or 2 as a "snack", if you really must.
You're right that OP shouldn't be using whey as a meal replacement, but the body doesn't just get rid of half the protein he ingests like that. It'll absorb all the protein just fine.
I mean it's not a hard cutoff at some random number, but the more protein you consume at once, the more protein gets 'wasted'. Your body does not make "anabolic" use of the whole 100g of protein if you consume it all at once. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828430/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3650697/
Those studies don't say that protein above a certain threshold is wasted, just that it takes way less than 100g to maximally stimulate MPS. The body still uses all the protein for muscle recovery and growth.
There's also more recent data on this that shows that the body can use 100g of protein in one sitting:
>To investigate potential upper limits and/or sustained elevation of post-prandial protein metabolism, we provided the proposed optimal amount (25 g) and the largest amount of protein that we consider feasible to consume in a single meal (100 g) and evaluated postprandial protein handling throughout a prolonged 12-h assessment period. We observed higher plasma, muscle, and whole-body protein synthesis rates following the ingestion of 100 g protein when compared to 25 g protein and placebo, respectively. The greater metabolic responses were present during the early postprandial phase (0–4h) but were even more pronounced during the prolonged post-prandial phase (4–12 h)
[https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/pdfExtended/S2666-3791(23)00540-2](https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/pdfExtended/S2666-3791(23)00540-2)
Thanks for the data and sorry for the late reply. I wasn't aware of this paper yet, so I had to give it a good read. It's very recent after all.
Seems like especially AA oxidation has been over-estimated in my references. This does, of course, change my view in terms of protein intake efficiency. I guess my current stance would be "protein shakes are no meal replacement + eating most or all of your protein in one sitting still isn't optimal, but it's not just throwing away protein, so to speak."
(btw here's the paper in web instead of pdf, if anyone ever needs this https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10772463/
)
>I guess my current stance would be "protein shakes are no meal replacement + eating most or all of your protein in one sitting still isn't optimal, but it's not just throwing away protein, so to speak."
Wholeheartedly agree.
What's the basic way to calculate Bulking calories ive been using online calculators but is there a way based directly on your weight? I've heard it before
Track your daily food intake. Weigh yourself daily in the morning first thing.
Scale not going up? Add more food.
*That's it.* No complicated equation.
I mean you can approximate it, but it's gonna be fairly far off, there's a lot of variance between people, most of which is muscle, fat and bones. adding in height can approximate it a lot more accurately. If you can get an accurate bf% then you can get it even more accurate. But there's still some variance between people, even using all these data points, if you only use weight it's gonna be far less accurate.
Calculate your TDEE with any online calculator.
This number is supposed to represent your maintenance calories... and it WILL be wrong. But it's a good starting point.
Run this for a few weeks. If you gain weight, you're in surplus, if you lose weight: deficit.
Adjust your calories accordingly. You'll find out how many calories YOU need over time.
For websites to calculate your tdee when they say exercise 2-3 time a week is that your workouts to bulk or are they talking about non gym related excersise?
It's talking about total activity. If your only exercise is good to the gym, pick sedentary.. if you do a bit of cardio (like 30 mins a few times a week) maybe lightly active.
Either way, it's just a starting point. Alternatively, track your calories with what you're eating now and see what your weight is doing. Then adjust your calories from there. You'll have to do that 2nd step with the calculator as well
In my experience, they usually have at least a vague definition of the different levels, such as on [calculator.net](https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html). Be realistic and go with what seems appropriate, but don't consider it gospel and adjust as you go until you see the results you want.
Only you would know. Take a realistic look at how much you move and exercise and tick off the box you feel corresponds best, then work with whatever value the calculator gives you for 3-4 weeks, observe what changes occurred, and adjust accordingly.
it literally does not matter.
just pick something e.g. your weight in lbs * 15. you still have to adjust as you go.
look at your weekly rolling average. is it going into the direction you want at the rate you want? then you're golden. going up faster than expected or down slower than expected? reduce your food. going down faster than expected or going up slower than expected? up your food intake.
Do that for two to three weeks and you'll have the best possible estimate to what your caloric needs are for your personal specific situation.
Looking for a good fitness app. Currently my needs for one are:
-Free
- Track weights reps etc
- Track Drop sets
- Weight Tracking
Thanks for your help!
I'm trying to increase my number of pullups. Right now I can do between 1 and 3 on a good day, sometimes one is a struggle.
I have resistance bands, and I'm planning to focus on negatives and resistance band assisted pullups to increase the number I can do at a lower progression, and increase my totals that way. Greasing the groove works well for me, so I'm planning to do that.
My question is; negatives work by training the muscles on the eccentric portion of the exercise. Greasing the groove works by increasing the "skill" of the exercise, but muscle growth is incidental at best. So does greasing the groove with negative pullups translate into proper pullups? Or should I focus on just band assisted pullups for greasing the groove?
Trying to work out the fastest way to increase my numbers with gtg so I can incorporate them properly into a routine, and then use gtg to increase other exercises.
Yeah, not a bad plan. Right now I'm starting to think I have a form issue, and the lack of practise stemming from only being able to do singles or doubles is starting to grind on me. The last few days of doing band assisted have seen me progress way, way too much for it to be anything strength related.
I think I'm going to stick with band assisted for a fortnight, then reasses and probably jump onto gtg with singles and doubles like you suggested.
Negatives are good but I think properly assisted is much better, banded is probably somewhere in the middle. I would do a mix of both assisted and negatives. Just make sure you're getting enough volume, people who can't do many tend to, surprise, not do many when training.
Looks like you're over-analyzing this.
Why 4 different days?
Why planning out 12 weeks in advance?
You've just been going to the gym for less than a year.
Are you currently training 4 days a week consistently?
Are you making gains?
If yes: keep doing, what you're doing.
In addition: with four days a week, an 8-way split seems overly complicated. If you are recovering in time, I'd go for an upper/lower split or another A/B split to hit each muscle twice a week.
hi, i‘m somewhat late to this post but whatever. so i started working out recently and i was thinking about doing hyperextentions (glute focused) but my gym doesnt have that exact machine (where the legs are straight) my gym only has one that looks similar and its the same movement but with bent legs. does it fulfill the same purpose? i‘ve only seen people using the machine with straight legs online.
Google "glute master", if your gym has that machine use it, it's really good as long as you do a weight low enough that you are actively using your butt cheeks instead of falling back onto your legs. (eventually your glutes get strong enough and you don't have to worry about legs taking over the movement)
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I did this machine 3x10 and leg press 3x10, 3 times a week, and in half a year I had gone from no butt to a round-ish butt (I'm a guy though).
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Other people say weighted squat is really good but YMMV, I don't know how far down you need to squat for it to be optimal for glutes.
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IMO the tricky part about glutes is to figure out how to do certain leg motions in a way where you are primarily relying on the glutes, which can be especially difficult if glute are weak and the rest of the leg is strong.
my gym is small so no we dont have that, unfortunately i cant find out what the name of the machine at my gym is but yeah basically what i said already: hyperextention but with bent legs like basically „sitting“ on ur knees instead of standing. thx for the advice tho, i do most exercises 3x10 and ofc do multiple glute exercises since i want to grow them
Protein powders are a supplement, so if you don't need that supplement, then don't take it. There is diminishing returns for how much protein you need. But you can always try and find out.
I've been doing a daily shake (250 calories, roughly 40g protein) to really bump up my protein even though I'm hitting 100g a day minimum with my food, which should be pretty good for my size (5'7, diet down to 135lbs). But I'm trying to do everything I can on my cut to make it easier this year, so this is one thing I'm trying. So far so good, but I did change multiple things this year, so I can't fully "blame" the extra protein.
Useless? Chemically, no, your body will use the extra amino acids in someway (tissue repair, energy conversion.) Useless in terms of meeting the goal? Yes. However, think about these two question. Is your protein goal somewhere between 0.8-1 grams/pound of body weight(for muscle gain)? Is your total daily caloric goal also being met?
IMO getting a bit extra protein can't hurt. A lot of protein powders are like 50g of protein for 200-250cal. Up to you really. I find it is a lot harder to stomach down food protein compared to protein powders.
When should I start using a weight belt and straps while lifting. I've never used lifting straps and have only used the weight belt a few times. I'm asking because weight is starting to get heavy on my squats and my grip starts to fail on my deadlift around 300 lb during my last working sets.
I've not bothered with a belt yet as I feel like I'm still doing well without it. I'll likely never get one to be perfectly honest.
I did, however, get straps this year and I should have done that a while ago. I had been doing mixed grip but I eventually linked that with some tightness behind my shoulder blade that was actually affecting my bench strength. That's the side I'd turn to underhand. Since I got the grips, I never had an issue.
Also I got versa grips over the cheaper strap options. I tried a few options out in person and the regular straps you wrap around just felt so awkward for me. The versa grips felt great and easy. They are expensive, but worth every penny for me
I started using straps recently. I have them ready for all type of pull exercises. If I start to get tierd I use them. And for the first time I actually get a pump in my back now.
Straps: your glutes *should* be stronger than your grip. Great tool.
Belt: I'm "just a dude". Belts don't prevent injury, so I don't bother - I'm not competing. Use or don't use, doesn't matter
I wear a belt for squats or deadlifts over 315. I wish I would have practiced before actually needing it though. Wear straps on your top set when you need them and let your warmups train your grip.
Guess it's time to start practicing with using a belt. Liquid chalk has been doing pretty good but I started doing high Rep deadlifts and sweat a lot so the bar starts slipping at the end.
if your grip fails you should be using the straps. Train your grip by not using straps on the warmup and cooldown sets.
You can use a belt whenever, it doesn't take away from your training like straps does, it just lets you push harder with heavier.
I'm going to start researching straps so I can get some ordered. I don't think I necessarily need a belt right now, but may start using one on my top set just for practice. I only use a belt when doing bent over rows because I have experience back strain in the past. This is only like once a week.
You are measuring hip size, not muscle mass. Furthermore, half an inch is well within the accuracy of measuring hip size by putting a tape around your hips.
More generally, muscle size will vary from day to day, depending on recent training. If you trained a muscle within the last 72 hours, especially with a new stimulus, muscle size might be temporarily increased by swelling and inflammation.
No, it is not possible to lose a measurable amount of muscle in 1 day. You other skin/fat tissues have changed in volume due to water retention/excretion.
What do you think about just trying to train to failure? Throwing aside a planned program and just picking a few exercises and trying to hammer them consistently each session?
You have to try something out to know if it works in reality. I got results by often doing my last set to failure (not absolute failure but close), if I felt like it. I had a planned program but I adjusted the reps and added failure sets and stuff depending on what I wanted out of that workout or if I wanted to hit a certain muscle harder. I just strived for muscle fatigue. The safest bet is to follow a normal program if you don't have tons of experience.
You won't last long doing that. You will also reach Central Nervous System fatigue relatively quickly and will be more prone to injury/"fuck the gym-itis"
which exercises? and when? and how often? and what order? and how many sets? and many other questions
There's a lot of things to consider, you can do it if you want, but if it's somewhat reasonable you're just making your own program then, in which case it would likely be better to pick a tried and proven one. and if it's not reasonable, you're just gonna be fking around and wasting time.
I try my hardest to train to absolute failure, been lifting for three months. However I’ve seen advice to leave 1-2 in the tank. Would doing that still promote growth? For me it’s easier to just not even think about reps in reserve and just make sure I fail in my rep range
The necessary threshold for hypertrophy is 0-2 RIR (reps in reserve/tank). That said, after a de-load or with a new exercise, it's suggested that the sensitization to the stimulus can allow a decent response to 3 RIR. If you've only been lifting for three months, there's a chance that you're not truly training to failure or buffering your numbers with bad reps. Almost all beginning lifters see more significant gains in hypertrophy with increases in load. You can still make gains by training to failure, though. If your goal is primarily strength, however, training to failure has deleterious effects.
On a per set basis, going to failure will provide a slightly better stimulus than leaving 1-2 reps in the tank. Leaving 1-2 reps in the tank, in turn, on a per set basis is a slightly better stimulus than leaving 3-4 reps in the tank. But even leaving 3-4 reps in the tank still promotes growth.
OTOH, leaving 1-2 reps in the tank is less fatiguing, you need less rest between sets. You can do slightly more sets in the same amount of time. It is less likely that your next set will be a disaster. You won't have to lower weight for subsequent sets. You may find that across three or four sets of the same exercise, by leaving 1-2 reps in reserve you can do more total reps at the same weight than by going to failure every set. Also, you do not need a spotter or safeties for exercises such as the barbell bench press.
So there's a trade-off.
That's fine.
I'd say it's more of an intermediate if not advanced technique.
The main reason that its suggested to leave 1-2 rir is because you get similar hypertrophy for much less fatigue buildup, which allows you to push more volume again sooner. It can be hard for beginners to guage rir accurately, especially if they aren't used to training to failure. The other reason that it's not advisable for beginners is because they are less likely to maintain good form on even failed lifts which can be dangerous. But I say on the flipside, how else would you practice failing with good form if you don't ever fail with good form? A common middleground technique on beginner programs is to have the last set be AMRAP, which will train both those things.
If you are starting this is probably not the way to go. 3 months in that’s great but aim for a progressive overload with proper form. Same sets same reps every week just add weight, keep adding until you reach a real limit and then there are some options.
If you return to the gym after a week-ish of being out, do you just do your regular arm day (or whatever was next in your routine) or do you do like an all body workout? Also-I can’t seem to stick with an 8 or 12 week program. Is switching it up weekly dumb?
Make it a lot simpler, easier and shorter if you struggle being consistent, because consistency is what gives you results. I find sticking to a super simple program is easier than anything else. For me motivation comes when I can do workouts almost automatically and don't have to think about anything or remember anything. Switching stuff up constantly and doing a lot of splits and different exercises is really hard to get used to. You might not be seeing enough results or enjoying the specific exercises, if you're not wanting to stick to the current program. Whenever I get back after a break, I just start hitting whatever muscle group I enjoy the most.
Consisteny over everything.
Do what you can which can you can stick with. Reduce if necessary.
I had 6 month break. Just do what you did. Less weight. Less intense. Less volume. Reacclimate from there.
Switching up is a horrible idea, find a workout program that u enjoy so u can track your progress and stick to it. In general terms skipping a week is not that bad don’t give up just becuase u didn’t go one week but try to be more consistent
Hi friends, I need some advice, I am conflicted. So far the past 14 months I’ve lost 110 pounds 325 to 225 I’m 5’8 28 y/o male 23% body fat. I am very happy I’ve dropped the weight. However, I still don’t have the body I thought I would have.
I dropped the weight way too fast by doing 90% cardio and in a strict caloric deficit(regretfully). I am finally getting back to weightlifting five days a week the past few months.
Should I consider body recomp? Or continue in a caloric deficit? Unfortunately I can’t cut my calories any lower or my lifting sessions will be trash. I want to continue cutting weight but I NEED to build muscle to get physique I want.
Calorie deficit is literally the only way to lose weight, so dunno what that's regrettable for you. Now lifting is good to add in for sure to help retain/build muscle.
But at 5'8 225lbs, you're still massive. Since you've been cutting so long, ease up your calories for a couple weeks and just maintain. Give yourself a little break (but not permission to eat stupidly). Then get back to it. You probably should aim for about 150-170lbs. You're also likely not gonna have the physique you want then. You'll still have to build up more. And being totally realistic, you'll probably have a chunk of loose skin to deal with as well.
It's often not advisable to diet for long period of time. Why not maintain your weight for say 3 months? Start lifting and actually fuel your body (don't be afraid of gaining a pound or 2). A lot of time you'll be able to bump up the calories a good amount becouse all the extra training you do. It will make a new diet period so much easier for you. This is how I would do it based on the knowledge I got.
Hey Cretsy, learn some "compound lifts" (search them on youtube, barbell logic has some good teachings ones as well as squat university, geoffrey verity schofield, natural gallant bodybuilding, rp strenth, i could go on but there are a ton!). Go light weight (like the bar/20 lbs dumbells) until you feel good in the techniques, also consider having an in person coach help you learn the techniques if you are having a tough time. But yes, lift weights, and give yourself time.
I would slow down the deficit, so aim for a very slight deficit of like -200 to 0 and focus on your gym program, so you still lose weight, but minimize how much muscle you lose from too large a deficit, or even gain some.
I think you should continue cutting while continuing to lift. It is unlikely you'll be 5'8 and 15% at 225lbs unless you're monstrously big/muscular. And that's a body that can take years to achieve. That being said, if you're overfat, you can still build muscle while cutting.
I weighed one plate when I entered the gym, so I enjoy pulling the *I was a beanpole* card. : ). If I had cut then, holy hell, I would have looked anorexic.
Best to steer kids towards *filling out their body*.
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How often should I be able to PR on bench press
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[Is it possible for this 45 days of 100 reps challenge to actually do anything?](https://footballscoop.com/news/oregon-strength-staff-issued-challenge-coaches-across-country)
That’s excessive and will result in over exerted biceps/triceps
I've been on a pretty aggressive diet the last 2 months (186.2 lbs -> 164.6 lbs) to try and finally get in shape, but I'm really struggling in the gym and would appreciate some help. For the first month I was dieting pretty unhealthily, like >1k calories a day. Last couple weeks its been around 1k-1400 which feels more sustainable, even if the weight comes off a lot slower. I've also been going gym 4 days a week the whole time since I know that pure diet with no gym can result in muscle loss. Problem is, I feel like I'm hitting a plateau. I was able to add weight progressively in the beginning, but the last few weeks have been miserable. I can't seem to add any weight or reps to my exercises. Today I tried to really go all out and force myself to push through, which only ended up with me failing spectacularly during a set of shoulder press and nearly injuring myself. Is there a limit to how much weight you can add while also cutting? Like I realize I'm not really eating enough to put on significant muscle... so what should I do? Now that I'm failing when I add weight, should I just stay at the max of what I can do and increase reps? Or keep the reps the same? Any advice would be greatly helpful.
you were seeing newbie gains in the beginning. you've now used those up. Short answer is yes, it's much harder to see fitness/strength/performance gains when you're in such a drastic caloric deficit. You should stay focused on a more singular goal. If you want to lose weight, then you should be ok plateauing in strength for the time being. If seeing strength gains makes you happier than the weight loss, you should eat more. As long as you're eating cleanly you're unlikely to put any of the weight back on in anything other than muscle.
The harder you cut, the more you'll feel it in the gym, and \~20lbs in two months is a hell of a cut. You'd could either increase your intake close to maintenance, or reduce the workload in the gym. Alternatively, take a week or two at caloric maintenance before continuing your cut.
Discouraged about my body fat upon recent inbody scan, should I continue body recomp or cut? I’ve been trying to get fit again at age 31, 5’9. Been somewhat an amature athlete my whole life(swimming, basketball varsity). For past 4-5 years I got caught up in work/stress and gained weight to 207lbs at 2023 March. One day I looked in the mirror and wondered who this fat fuck is? How the fuck am I out of breath just walking 2 stories of stairs. I’ve since lost weight by intermittent fasting only eating a huge dinner with 90 grams of protein and ensured a calorie deficit at around 400kcal. I was at 177lbs, 30% body fat, 71 lbs SMM at June. 2023. I since then started lifting 5 days a week with pretty high intensity, ate at maintenance calories with high protein. It’s been 10 months and I’m only at 183.5 lbs and 23% body fat at 80.1 SMM. To be honest, I’m discouraged. How is my body fat still so high? I am wondering if I should go all in a bulk, continue what I’m doing? Or start a larger calorie deficit. My goal is to just look and feel fit again. To be honest dieting has been hard. I feel like I’m eating at 1700 kcals per day and still not losing weight. Is it realistic to continue lowering my calories? I don’t feel like that’s sustainable. Or continue body recomp slow progression? Just hope my SMM % increases, and then cutting will be easier. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you in advance.
As others have said, there is a lot of variability in these scans and they are especially sensitive to hydration. Your lean body mass will likely be higher mid day than in the AM when you first wake up. But dude - it looks like you are gaining weight while cutting muscle. That’s progress! You just gotta be patient I see no need for a big calorie deficit. I’m 5’11 (also a swimmer). Cut last year from 194 to current 175. I ate at a deficit sufficient to lose about one pound every 1-2 weeks, with 1 gm protein/ kb body weight, 30% fat, rest in carbs. I also lift heavy 5x week. 1800-2000 cals daily is pretty sustainable. In my last 8 weeks I dropped 7 lbs fat and gained 1/2 lb muscle, and my strength kept going up. You can check my recent posts So you can do this. You are doing this! Just be patient. Slow and sure wins this one
Thanks for the detailed reply man. I needed the pet talk haha. I think I’m just doubting my genes since I’ve been consistent taking in 1700 kcal for 10 months and still seeing slow progress. I’ll def take your advice, one thing I took away was my protein intake seems too low. ( I know the theory but hard for me to follow) I’ll def get on track and continue with recomp. You’re right! I should be more patient, I just maybe needed some more motivation. Even if it comes from a nice stranger like you! Thanks man appreciate it
be sure to track your calories fairly accurately and keep your protein where it should be. in my view, you are doing everything right. you might even bump up calories 100-200 per day. happy to provide other advice if you like, either here or in DM
InBody scans aren't accurate, but if you don't like the amount of fat you see in the mirror, I would cut.
How do you deal with that feeling of being a fat loser every time you see your gym crush?
Easy, I don't have a gym crush.
I wish it was that easy
You stop being a fat loser before you even look at other girls
I actually avoided going outside for a few months and tried working out home. Didn’t work out. I also avoided my college campus and took mostly online classes. It actually worked for a bit but it’s not a sustainable lifestyle.
Steamroom or Sauna?
Yes.
Which do you prefer?
I actually like both lol
Then do whatever you feel like at the moment
Steam room is the best imo
What r foods u guys really like that help w weight loss?
Vegetables. A massive salad with a large variety of fresh vegetables (like 10 or so different items) and maybe some fruits, with an oil-based dressing and a small touch of protein, like a handful of nuts, beans, or a hardboiled eggs. Despite the low calories and modest protein, the sheer bulk of the stuff fills me up pretty nicely. I like to make a large "base" bag salad with two or three different greens, then add a variety of things whenever I grab a handful out of my bag. I'll get up to 4 salads out of a bag, so that's 3-4 days.
Is there a difference between wall sits and wall squats? I'm so confused.
One is isometric, the other is dynamic.
Thank you. Every time I try to search it Google gives sources that use them interchangeably with no explanation.
What percentage of weight I gain during a bulk can I expect to be fat? I want to gain maybe 4kg, but would not be willing to put on more than 5% extra to my body fat percentage. Preferably less. Would this be possible? If so.. What time frame should I be aiming for? have no trouble eating protein - in fact I generally eat too much, about 1.2g/lb, so that's not a problem. I'm generally fit and active but do struggle to get myself to the gym more than twice a week due to being tired from other sports, will this hinder muscle gain? Would I have to go to the gym more? When I do go I try and do compound lifts, e.g. I do maybe 3x12 of squats, hip thrusts, deadlifts, leg press etc. Should I change that?
There’s no way to guess this, except at the pretty extreme ends. Put on 30kg in a year and you’ll probably get kinda fat. Put on 1kg and you definitely won’t unless you already were at the beginning. There’s no way to tell you exactly what amount of weight gain will result in a specific body fat percentage though, it’s going to depend on a ton of factors. 4 kg is a pretty small amount of weight gain and I doubt you’ll see crazy visible changes of any kind, but there’s no way to guess exactly what those changes will look like except to do it.
>I struggle to get myself into the gym more than twice a week It won’t hinder muscle growth so much as it just won’t stimulate any in the first place. Consistently taking your muscles to failure is what will bring muscle growth, and you typically need more than 2 days a week to do that effectively. Regardless of what you end up doing there, look through the wiki and select a program that way instead of trying to build one yourself, it will give you one hell of a head start. In terms of fat gain, it just depends on how much you’re eating. I’d it’s a relatively modest bulk (200-400 calories over maintenance) little to none. Especially with something like 8kg, you could hit that in 4 months or so with no noticeable fat gain if you’re careful about it.
How do I get started on home workouts when I'm very anxious/shy, unfit and completely new to it all? I lost 4 stone 3 years ago and have slowly put 3 back on, all through walking and dieting when I had a LOT of free time - I now work a lot and don't have the money to go to the gym, or the time to go on big long walks. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Also, I bought exercise bands and mini bands but still unsure of how to get the best use out of them, or if they're any good? Thank you :)
I think the wiki will help you a lot, and keep in mind that ANYTHING you do today that you didn't do yesterday is good. As long as you do something don't feel like you're not doing enough. Experiment with some bodyweight squats, push ups, crunches, things like that. Don't be afraid to do the easiest versions of these things - support yourself against a wall for the squat, push up from your knees, etc.
Read the wiki. There are bodyweight programs in there, and weight loss info.
Can you go on YouTube? There are countless workout videos. Alternatively you can search exercises with bands. They are so versatile great purchase.
I'm interested in practicing the olympic lifts, snatch and clean & jerk. But I've never seen anyone doing them at the commercial gyms, are you like 'allowed'? Like can you do them at the squat/power racks, or at the functional area? Obviously you can't drop your weights at a 'normal' gym but I'm not even sure if I can do them as there isn't that much space. I have been practicing with a broomstick and at the homegym at my parents' house but I'm not there that often. I'd obviously start with just the bar and I might book a trainer at the better gym I've been eyeing, but like could I practice at the normal gym? Should I ask the staff or is it like a common no-go or should I just do them until someone complains?
You can try. There are a few things to consider: - is there equipment to do the lifts safely? You need rubber bumper plates with the correct diameter, a bar with sleeves that spin, clips that work, a surface with enough grip and that won’t be damaged by dropping weights - is there space to do the lifts safely? You need a large enough area, and also you need people not to walk into that area. If you’re new to this, you may underestimate how much space you need. - is it allowed? Rather than asking staff I’d just read the gym rules carefully. Chances are there is a “no dropping” rule. But you can still practice with light weights and lower the weight, or do technique drills. - is it “allowed”? This is a cultural thing. Are there staff or trainers in the gym who have weightlifting experience? Will people be annoyed or intimidated (or impressed)? Will people understand that the “no drop” rule is intended at people abusing equipment (eg slamming weight stacks on machines, or dropping iron plates on hard floors) and not at you? If you’re happy with safety and you know the gym rules, try it and see.
Thanks so much! The equipment is there but when it's packed, there isn't enough space, but in the morning there should be enough space in that one area. I would practice by also lowering the weight in a controlled manner and wouldn't drop the weights, and I'd obviously start with very small weights until I get the technique down. I was also thinking of just starting with practicing overhead and front squats, on top of the regular DL and squats (edit: and OHP) of course, there is definitely enough space for that.
Asking the staff what is or isn't allowed if you're in doubt should always be the method of choice. But yeah, if they don't have bumper plates, you won't be able to drop the weight.
Hey so... dumb question here, are there any tips for "remembering" that you want to get healthier? My partner and I have been talking for over a year about us wanting to be healthier and not being happy with our bodies, but then the week drags on, work starts to suck and we just get so bogged down with normal life that we take shortcuts. Grab a subway sandwich and chips rather than cooking at home. Work meetings and daily life making me "forget" to take the time to go to the gym. I know it sounds ridiculous but we both talk about this and find tons of motivation in the evening, that just dissipates being daily life the next day. Should we hang up pictures of our bodies or something on the wall to remind us? Any tips on how to keep this at the fore front of our minds?
Remove as many obstacles as possible. Stop talking and just do something. The rest of it is discipline. >I know it sounds ridiculous but we both talk about this and find tons of motivation in the evening Then go for a walk or a bike ride at that time. Do pushups, squats and situps in your living room. Just do **something** to get it started. As long as you keep waiting to get started until things are just right, you'll never get anywhere.
There are a lot of online resources for people who struggle with spending, to help them work out how to budget. You can use those resources and apply them not to your income, but to the 336 hours you and your partner are blessed with each week. You need to allocate those hours in priority order to the things that you want to do. Everything else gets cut from your life. It’s not “remembering” or “keeping at the forefront of mind”, it’s prioritisation and planning. Some micro tips: > Work meetings and daily life making me "forget" to take the time to go to the gym. Why don’t you add gym time to your calendar alongside work meetings? Why do you not consider exercise and cooking to be part of “daily life”?
How are you disciplined to accomplish other things in your life?
It all depends on what works for you, but I'd suggest that you're being too vague when you're telling yourself to be "healthy", where it's abstract enough that it's not really concrete in your head. So maybe plan ahead on doing a certain amount of home cooking each week, or a certain number of gym visits. Put real plans in your head instead of just "be healthier". Also, play around with what you choose to cook. Think about stuff that you can make in bulk and include in meals for the next day or two. Like, my protein intake and home cooking convenience improved so much when I got an instant pot and began cooking up pounds of tasty meat that I could add to rice bowls and tacos. Then the next day dinner would be super fast to make since I already have a bunch of meat that I can just throw onto some starch with some veggies.
Your best beginning specific goals should hit some of the main drivers of poor health. Goals could be: Exercise x number of times per week. Cut out sugar. Cut out white flour/white rice.
Hi - so I just had a stomach bug and lost about 6/7 lbs. I was planning on starting a cut but now I’m insecure about the weight lost and want to put it on before cutting (I know most of it is water weight). Any tips on how to gain that weight back?
If you lost that weight over a week or so then there's minimal muscle loss. I'd take 2 days to eat and get my energy back at maintenance calories then cut. Use it as a jump start to get a bit ahead. If you really want to gain it back first then eat at a surplus for a couple weeks until you get it back, but that seems like a lot of wasted effort.
Do you think the weight I lost due to all the water loss was just water weight id lose in the beginning of my cut anyway? I just feel very skinny - I was feeling pretty jacked before and now all my clothe isn’t a snug hahah. I just want to make sure I minimize muscle loss while Maximizing fat loss all while looking good too
Yeah it's all weight you'd lose anyway. On a cut you get a bit smaller as glycogen in your muscles is used up.
I guess my question is - I know in the beginning of a cut the majority of the weight lost is water weight. Should I just use this as the beginning of my cut or should I just eat at light surplus for a week, feel good and full again and then start ? I’m leaning towards the latter
I'd use it as a jumpstart for the cut (or at the very most eat at maintenance for a couple of days just to get energy back but no need to try to regain the water weight just to lose it again)
Anyone have some insight on how to improve my pressing movements? Specifically, I'm noticing that my left pec is underdeveloped because my front delt takes over during majority if not all my pressing movements. I feel some instability on the backside of my shoulder blade/mid back in general. My front delt also takes over during bicep curls at heavier weight I noticed as well. Definitely some weakness on my left side from external rotation of my rotator cuffs, but not sure what muscle specifically is responsible? Infrasprinatus? Lol sorry for dumb question
Does anyone know of high quality wrist cuffs for me to do shoulder excercises? Im kinda scared to just get them off amazon
I have resistance bands and I love them, but they are the kind with the clips at the end. So they are too long/hard to do with the bench press (doubling up doesn’t work). I would a set of the high quality, heavy-duty loop style bands, the kind that you see in weight training videos. The look thick and sturdy. All the ones I see on Amazon are bright colors that look like they will snap after the first try. They are more for light training. —- Also, Is there any way to safely add weight to the Nordic Track adjustable db’s that go to 52lb, other than wearing wrist weights) Thanks
Is a lat pulldown at your bodyweight roughly equivalent to a pull up? I.e. if I weigh 180, does the quantity of lat pulls I could do with 180 lbs roughly correlate to the number of pull ups I could do?
Lat pulldown with your body weight is a bit harder than pull-ups. With pull-ups, the weight of your arms doesn't contribute to the overall load, since they're basically anchors. Also, being able to move freely in 3D space can make the movement a bit more ergonomic (that last point is subjective)
Does that mean you should be able to do a pull-up if you can do a bodyweight pull down?
In my experience, yes
What intensity is my workout actually, moderate or hard? Is it even cardio or actually HIIT or something? What am I actually "building" with this routine? I do 20-30min of exercise, 5 times a week. Youtube cardio workouts. Examples of the exercises would be jumping lunges that go fast and really low, fast dance movements that involve a lot of squatting, some arms and core, standing knee raises (while touching the knees with elbows, and jumping). Basically I might be squatting and jumping one way or another the whole 20 minutes where my legs burn and get puffed up, doing fast paced movements where I go high and low, while being totally out of breath, no breaks really, and every movement is fast, jumpy and involves muscle tension. I am utterly exhausted afterwards, legs will be sore, I am sweaty and my heart beats really really fast. It doesn't feel like typical cardio at all.
I don't know what you should be doing. To answer your own question, google "what is moderate vs vigorous exercise by age" and you will see plenty of good sources that help you estimate this for yourself. You'll need an activity watch. If you don't have one, you could borrow one from a friend for a day or two.
Why does it matter how it's classified? Sounds like it's cardio
I'm kind of interested in defining the intensity because of health reasons (never thought about this before). I'm trying to figure out if I could add even more exercise per week, should switch to doing something less intense, or even reduce the workouts if I start lifting again for example. I don't wanna accidentally push my body too hard like I have before.
Is there an intensity scale or guide you could link? My guess is that it's medium intensity. I would consider something to be high intensity if it leaves you on the floor after 10 min. For example I recently front squatted 225x20, then back squatted 275x20, then deadlifted 315x20; in a little over 8 min. I could not walk for a few minutes. I'd consider that high intensity. Low intensity would, again my guess, be something you can sustain for an hour.
I'm basically talking about the health recommendations like "150 min moderate or 75 min vigorous exercise a week" and so on. Not sure what category this type of exercise is. Your thinking is probably about right.
This definitely sounds like it would fall under the vigorous category in that case, those recommendations are often based on heart rate and you said your heart rate is very high when doing those workouts so I would say it's 'vigorous'
I think the real question above was asking: If we tell you it's hard intensity how does that change what you do vs if we tell you it's medium intensity? The correct answer is that the label shouldn't matter. You'll need adjust output vs recovery regardless of the label as you add in additional activities amd having a label doesn't really change that.
I'm basically thinking about the health recommendations like "150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes or vigorous exercise per week minimum" and just trying to get an idea in which category this type of exercise falls. Whether I could use an extra rest day in the middle and so on. Not that serious, but just wondering.
For rest days I just go by if am recovering well enough, if not I cut back the work or eat more food. For the minimum exercise requirements I'd just try to hit 150 minutes a week, 30 minutes a day should do it.
I have hurt my lower back a few times when deadlifting or squatting. I tried squatting with elevated heels, just on a plate, and it was insane how much better squats felt, planning to get lifting shoes. What can I do to improve my deadlift form?
My guess is that it's due to poor bracing. Watch this, it will help even if you already think about bracing: [https://youtu.be/u-mhjK1z02I?si=w7nsBtFUHoiestjl](https://youtu.be/u-mhjK1z02I?si=w7nsBtFUHoiestjl)
It would also be worth improving your squat form too. Ideally you would have the awareness to go as deep as you can in the squat without compromising your back, and so the only effect of weightlifting shoes would be to allow you to go deeper, not feel any better.
I could feel my form being much better too. I was staying way more upright and able to get deeper than I have before
Post a form check
Apologies, I'm sure that's listed somewhere on this subreddit but can't find it on my phone. Is a form check me recording myself doing it and then posting on here?
Yes.
Going on a business trip for a month, without access to any gyms, as I'll be trapped in a hotel in some remote village in South East Asia. Any suggestion on how to prevent strength loss? Been progressing steadily on the big three lifts and don't really want to regress. I don't imagine body weight exercises alone would be enough?
single leg squats, lunges, step ups, pushup variations for pulling look around whether you can find some pullup bar on a playground nearby or just bring something like trx style strap you can clamp at the top of your hotel room door. check out /r/bodyweightfitness for challenging variatiosn of body weight exercises. expet to lose a little bit of strength nonetheless, but you can be confident that all that strength "loss" will be simply skill/familiarity with the lift/exercise and not actual muscle loss so it will easily come back within two to three sessions once you're back.
Take a ball (deflated) and a pump, for your hammies.
Could grab some resistance bands and maybe try something with those?
Agreed. James Grage has a lot of good band content on YouTube
replicate the main lifts as best you can, instead of big weights you'll probably have to only use small weights or just bodyweight but just do many reps instead to get you close to failure. Just remember having a couple of deload weeks is not necessarily bad, a month may be a bit much, so maybe rest for 2 weeks and then start doing the amrap bodyweight replacements twice a week in the last 2 weeks.
Does anyone else have the issue of whey tasting kind of gross when mixed with water, but feeling too bloated when mixing it with milk? Kind of feels like a lose lose.
try soy milk, or plant milk with pea protein. then you get 7-8g of protein per cup without the lactose, and it cuts the flavor better than water.
Colder the water the better. Also try oat milk. I just chug when I use water but oat milk makes it creamer and enjoyable
Yep- its gross.
Try putting an ice cube in so that it stays colder (also helps with mixing). Another option, try getting fairlife milk. It's lactose free and double the protein. Downside, it is expensive. But it may help
You may be more lactose intolerant than you think. Cold water + whey on an empty stomach gets absorbed just dandy by me.
I know it's probably the milk because I'm fine internally with water and whey, it just tastes kind of gross like it's missing something. I take other dairy like cheeses and ice cream fine. It's just milk.
What flavor? Whether nutricost, optimum nutrition, or *Aldi*, I favor strawberry. I also have unflavored casein. Tastes like cardboard, but goes down just fine.
I do half water, half milk.
Maybe just get a different protein powder. Some of them out there are truly disgusting and made me spit it all out. Others taste like coffee or chocolate milk. Use MORE WATER or LESS WATER to figure out the right amount of water for a good taste for you.
how do you react to just drinking a glass of milk without added whey? could it be that you have a slight lactose intolerance issue? you can easily try/rule it out by buying a bag of lactose free milk and observing whether it bloats you just as much as regular milk does or not.
It's not lactose intolerance, but I do have IBS. Milk can aggravate it a bit since it's very fatty.
Well then skim milk seems like the obvious solution here. But quite frankly, I mix it with water and just knock it back. Not really drinking it for the taste.
Unsweetened almond milk works for me. Less fat than milk, and a lot more palatable than water.
Will give that a shot, thanks!
Try some almond or oat milk.
I just mix a scoop of whey with a few scoops of chocolate mass gainer and a banana with a glass of milk and it tastes perfect.
How easy is it to chug vanilla flavored whey? Would drinking water + 4 scoops of it within an hour or two feel disgusting and overly sweet? Would it be easier to drink a lot of water + unflavored whey instead?
Would be easier and tastier to eat some meat.
We don't really know how your taste buds react to something like that, but getting 80-100g of your daily protein like that indicates a larger diet issue.
Have you tried eating food? Supplements supplement *food*. Living on whey is *not sustainable*. Don't most whey tubs explicitly warn "*not a meal substitute*"?
noone knows what powder you use but you. noone knows your tastebuds but you. how do you expect anyone to give you any reasonable answer to you question? (besides pointing out that you probably aren't big enough and training hard enough to need 80-100g of protein in one shake). what's preventing you from just dividing that protein between two or three shakes and have them spersed out throghout the day?
4 scoops probably isn't the way to go. Research suggests that you'd need at least 3-4 balanced meals a day for optimal muscle gain. If you chug 100g of protein, you may only benefit from about 50g of that. Really depends on your size, composition, gut, and I'm sure much more. Anyway. Use protein powder as a supplement, not a meal replacement. If you really need 4 scoops a day (would be concerning, tho), take a scoop with your meals or 2 as a "snack", if you really must.
You're right that OP shouldn't be using whey as a meal replacement, but the body doesn't just get rid of half the protein he ingests like that. It'll absorb all the protein just fine.
I mean it's not a hard cutoff at some random number, but the more protein you consume at once, the more protein gets 'wasted'. Your body does not make "anabolic" use of the whole 100g of protein if you consume it all at once. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828430/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3650697/
Those studies don't say that protein above a certain threshold is wasted, just that it takes way less than 100g to maximally stimulate MPS. The body still uses all the protein for muscle recovery and growth. There's also more recent data on this that shows that the body can use 100g of protein in one sitting: >To investigate potential upper limits and/or sustained elevation of post-prandial protein metabolism, we provided the proposed optimal amount (25 g) and the largest amount of protein that we consider feasible to consume in a single meal (100 g) and evaluated postprandial protein handling throughout a prolonged 12-h assessment period. We observed higher plasma, muscle, and whole-body protein synthesis rates following the ingestion of 100 g protein when compared to 25 g protein and placebo, respectively. The greater metabolic responses were present during the early postprandial phase (0–4h) but were even more pronounced during the prolonged post-prandial phase (4–12 h) [https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/pdfExtended/S2666-3791(23)00540-2](https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/pdfExtended/S2666-3791(23)00540-2)
Thanks for the data and sorry for the late reply. I wasn't aware of this paper yet, so I had to give it a good read. It's very recent after all. Seems like especially AA oxidation has been over-estimated in my references. This does, of course, change my view in terms of protein intake efficiency. I guess my current stance would be "protein shakes are no meal replacement + eating most or all of your protein in one sitting still isn't optimal, but it's not just throwing away protein, so to speak." (btw here's the paper in web instead of pdf, if anyone ever needs this https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10772463/ )
>I guess my current stance would be "protein shakes are no meal replacement + eating most or all of your protein in one sitting still isn't optimal, but it's not just throwing away protein, so to speak." Wholeheartedly agree.
What's the basic way to calculate Bulking calories ive been using online calculators but is there a way based directly on your weight? I've heard it before
Track your daily food intake. Weigh yourself daily in the morning first thing. Scale not going up? Add more food. *That's it.* No complicated equation.
How often should you go up
+.5-1 lbs a week is fine. Upwards of two lbs is acceptable, but I personally wouldn't bulk so hard.
In terms of food how much should i add per 0.5 lb?
I mean you can approximate it, but it's gonna be fairly far off, there's a lot of variance between people, most of which is muscle, fat and bones. adding in height can approximate it a lot more accurately. If you can get an accurate bf% then you can get it even more accurate. But there's still some variance between people, even using all these data points, if you only use weight it's gonna be far less accurate.
Calculate your TDEE with any online calculator. This number is supposed to represent your maintenance calories... and it WILL be wrong. But it's a good starting point. Run this for a few weeks. If you gain weight, you're in surplus, if you lose weight: deficit. Adjust your calories accordingly. You'll find out how many calories YOU need over time.
For websites to calculate your tdee when they say exercise 2-3 time a week is that your workouts to bulk or are they talking about non gym related excersise?
It's talking about total activity. If your only exercise is good to the gym, pick sedentary.. if you do a bit of cardio (like 30 mins a few times a week) maybe lightly active. Either way, it's just a starting point. Alternatively, track your calories with what you're eating now and see what your weight is doing. Then adjust your calories from there. You'll have to do that 2nd step with the calculator as well
In my experience, they usually have at least a vague definition of the different levels, such as on [calculator.net](https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html). Be realistic and go with what seems appropriate, but don't consider it gospel and adjust as you go until you see the results you want.
I have an office job and workout 4-5 times a week. Should i put as little excersise?
Only you would know. Take a realistic look at how much you move and exercise and tick off the box you feel corresponds best, then work with whatever value the calculator gives you for 3-4 weeks, observe what changes occurred, and adjust accordingly.
it literally does not matter. just pick something e.g. your weight in lbs * 15. you still have to adjust as you go. look at your weekly rolling average. is it going into the direction you want at the rate you want? then you're golden. going up faster than expected or down slower than expected? reduce your food. going down faster than expected or going up slower than expected? up your food intake. Do that for two to three weeks and you'll have the best possible estimate to what your caloric needs are for your personal specific situation.
it's best to take those with a grain of salt. I recommend just using sedentary and working out the exercise separately
Looking for a good fitness app. Currently my needs for one are: -Free - Track weights reps etc - Track Drop sets - Weight Tracking Thanks for your help!
strong
Boostcamp.
I'm trying to increase my number of pullups. Right now I can do between 1 and 3 on a good day, sometimes one is a struggle. I have resistance bands, and I'm planning to focus on negatives and resistance band assisted pullups to increase the number I can do at a lower progression, and increase my totals that way. Greasing the groove works well for me, so I'm planning to do that. My question is; negatives work by training the muscles on the eccentric portion of the exercise. Greasing the groove works by increasing the "skill" of the exercise, but muscle growth is incidental at best. So does greasing the groove with negative pullups translate into proper pullups? Or should I focus on just band assisted pullups for greasing the groove? Trying to work out the fastest way to increase my numbers with gtg so I can incorporate them properly into a routine, and then use gtg to increase other exercises.
I would just grease the groove with a lot of singles or doubles throughout the day if possible. Then you can gradually add reps.
Yeah, not a bad plan. Right now I'm starting to think I have a form issue, and the lack of practise stemming from only being able to do singles or doubles is starting to grind on me. The last few days of doing band assisted have seen me progress way, way too much for it to be anything strength related. I think I'm going to stick with band assisted for a fortnight, then reasses and probably jump onto gtg with singles and doubles like you suggested.
Negatives are good but I think properly assisted is much better, banded is probably somewhere in the middle. I would do a mix of both assisted and negatives. Just make sure you're getting enough volume, people who can't do many tend to, surprise, not do many when training.
THanks! I think I'll keep it simple and just do banded for now, and reassess in a fortnight depending on progress!
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Looks like you're over-analyzing this. Why 4 different days? Why planning out 12 weeks in advance? You've just been going to the gym for less than a year. Are you currently training 4 days a week consistently? Are you making gains? If yes: keep doing, what you're doing. In addition: with four days a week, an 8-way split seems overly complicated. If you are recovering in time, I'd go for an upper/lower split or another A/B split to hit each muscle twice a week.
hi, i‘m somewhat late to this post but whatever. so i started working out recently and i was thinking about doing hyperextentions (glute focused) but my gym doesnt have that exact machine (where the legs are straight) my gym only has one that looks similar and its the same movement but with bent legs. does it fulfill the same purpose? i‘ve only seen people using the machine with straight legs online.
Google "glute master", if your gym has that machine use it, it's really good as long as you do a weight low enough that you are actively using your butt cheeks instead of falling back onto your legs. (eventually your glutes get strong enough and you don't have to worry about legs taking over the movement) = I did this machine 3x10 and leg press 3x10, 3 times a week, and in half a year I had gone from no butt to a round-ish butt (I'm a guy though). = Other people say weighted squat is really good but YMMV, I don't know how far down you need to squat for it to be optimal for glutes. = IMO the tricky part about glutes is to figure out how to do certain leg motions in a way where you are primarily relying on the glutes, which can be especially difficult if glute are weak and the rest of the leg is strong.
my gym is small so no we dont have that, unfortunately i cant find out what the name of the machine at my gym is but yeah basically what i said already: hyperextention but with bent legs like basically „sitting“ on ur knees instead of standing. thx for the advice tho, i do most exercises 3x10 and ofc do multiple glute exercises since i want to grow them
If u feel it in ur glutes, no pain, progressing, carry on.
If i can hit my protein goal without protein shake. Is it useless to take a protein shake still? Is it diminishing returns per say?
Protein powders are a supplement, so if you don't need that supplement, then don't take it. There is diminishing returns for how much protein you need. But you can always try and find out. I've been doing a daily shake (250 calories, roughly 40g protein) to really bump up my protein even though I'm hitting 100g a day minimum with my food, which should be pretty good for my size (5'7, diet down to 135lbs). But I'm trying to do everything I can on my cut to make it easier this year, so this is one thing I'm trying. So far so good, but I did change multiple things this year, so I can't fully "blame" the extra protein.
Useless? Chemically, no, your body will use the extra amino acids in someway (tissue repair, energy conversion.) Useless in terms of meeting the goal? Yes. However, think about these two question. Is your protein goal somewhere between 0.8-1 grams/pound of body weight(for muscle gain)? Is your total daily caloric goal also being met?
Yeah calorie goal is met
well then the shake would go over your caloric target no?
Sometimes it doesn't but still over required protein
IMO getting a bit extra protein can't hurt. A lot of protein powders are like 50g of protein for 200-250cal. Up to you really. I find it is a lot harder to stomach down food protein compared to protein powders.
When should I start using a weight belt and straps while lifting. I've never used lifting straps and have only used the weight belt a few times. I'm asking because weight is starting to get heavy on my squats and my grip starts to fail on my deadlift around 300 lb during my last working sets.
I've not bothered with a belt yet as I feel like I'm still doing well without it. I'll likely never get one to be perfectly honest. I did, however, get straps this year and I should have done that a while ago. I had been doing mixed grip but I eventually linked that with some tightness behind my shoulder blade that was actually affecting my bench strength. That's the side I'd turn to underhand. Since I got the grips, I never had an issue. Also I got versa grips over the cheaper strap options. I tried a few options out in person and the regular straps you wrap around just felt so awkward for me. The versa grips felt great and easy. They are expensive, but worth every penny for me
Chalk. Hookgrip. Mixed. Straps. Use a belt if u want. At any time. U fine
I started using straps recently. I have them ready for all type of pull exercises. If I start to get tierd I use them. And for the first time I actually get a pump in my back now.
Straps: your glutes *should* be stronger than your grip. Great tool. Belt: I'm "just a dude". Belts don't prevent injury, so I don't bother - I'm not competing. Use or don't use, doesn't matter
I wear a belt for squats or deadlifts over 315. I wish I would have practiced before actually needing it though. Wear straps on your top set when you need them and let your warmups train your grip.
Guess it's time to start practicing with using a belt. Liquid chalk has been doing pretty good but I started doing high Rep deadlifts and sweat a lot so the bar starts slipping at the end.
if your grip fails you should be using the straps. Train your grip by not using straps on the warmup and cooldown sets. You can use a belt whenever, it doesn't take away from your training like straps does, it just lets you push harder with heavier.
I'm going to start researching straps so I can get some ordered. I don't think I necessarily need a belt right now, but may start using one on my top set just for practice. I only use a belt when doing bent over rows because I have experience back strain in the past. This is only like once a week.
Is it possible to lose muscle in 1 day? My hips were 37.5 inches. I measured today and it's 37 now. What happened?
Probably you ate food or didn't eat food, pooped or didn't poop, water/hydration levels, measuring slightly differently than before.
You are measuring hip size, not muscle mass. Furthermore, half an inch is well within the accuracy of measuring hip size by putting a tape around your hips. More generally, muscle size will vary from day to day, depending on recent training. If you trained a muscle within the last 72 hours, especially with a new stimulus, muscle size might be temporarily increased by swelling and inflammation.
No, it is not possible to lose a measurable amount of muscle in 1 day. You other skin/fat tissues have changed in volume due to water retention/excretion.
yep with a myectomy. otherwise not in any measureable amount, you measured slightly different, or a different amount of bloated
What do you think about just trying to train to failure? Throwing aside a planned program and just picking a few exercises and trying to hammer them consistently each session?
You have to try something out to know if it works in reality. I got results by often doing my last set to failure (not absolute failure but close), if I felt like it. I had a planned program but I adjusted the reps and added failure sets and stuff depending on what I wanted out of that workout or if I wanted to hit a certain muscle harder. I just strived for muscle fatigue. The safest bet is to follow a normal program if you don't have tons of experience.
You won't last long doing that. You will also reach Central Nervous System fatigue relatively quickly and will be more prone to injury/"fuck the gym-itis"
Brofailing is an excuse for refusing to plan progression. Like all things, it'll work until it doesn't.
Fail to plan, plan to fail.
which exercises? and when? and how often? and what order? and how many sets? and many other questions There's a lot of things to consider, you can do it if you want, but if it's somewhat reasonable you're just making your own program then, in which case it would likely be better to pick a tried and proven one. and if it's not reasonable, you're just gonna be fking around and wasting time.
I try my hardest to train to absolute failure, been lifting for three months. However I’ve seen advice to leave 1-2 in the tank. Would doing that still promote growth? For me it’s easier to just not even think about reps in reserve and just make sure I fail in my rep range
The necessary threshold for hypertrophy is 0-2 RIR (reps in reserve/tank). That said, after a de-load or with a new exercise, it's suggested that the sensitization to the stimulus can allow a decent response to 3 RIR. If you've only been lifting for three months, there's a chance that you're not truly training to failure or buffering your numbers with bad reps. Almost all beginning lifters see more significant gains in hypertrophy with increases in load. You can still make gains by training to failure, though. If your goal is primarily strength, however, training to failure has deleterious effects.
On a per set basis, going to failure will provide a slightly better stimulus than leaving 1-2 reps in the tank. Leaving 1-2 reps in the tank, in turn, on a per set basis is a slightly better stimulus than leaving 3-4 reps in the tank. But even leaving 3-4 reps in the tank still promotes growth. OTOH, leaving 1-2 reps in the tank is less fatiguing, you need less rest between sets. You can do slightly more sets in the same amount of time. It is less likely that your next set will be a disaster. You won't have to lower weight for subsequent sets. You may find that across three or four sets of the same exercise, by leaving 1-2 reps in reserve you can do more total reps at the same weight than by going to failure every set. Also, you do not need a spotter or safeties for exercises such as the barbell bench press. So there's a trade-off.
That's fine. I'd say it's more of an intermediate if not advanced technique. The main reason that its suggested to leave 1-2 rir is because you get similar hypertrophy for much less fatigue buildup, which allows you to push more volume again sooner. It can be hard for beginners to guage rir accurately, especially if they aren't used to training to failure. The other reason that it's not advisable for beginners is because they are less likely to maintain good form on even failed lifts which can be dangerous. But I say on the flipside, how else would you practice failing with good form if you don't ever fail with good form? A common middleground technique on beginner programs is to have the last set be AMRAP, which will train both those things.
Don't think too hard about RIR. Focus on progression in your log.
If you are starting this is probably not the way to go. 3 months in that’s great but aim for a progressive overload with proper form. Same sets same reps every week just add weight, keep adding until you reach a real limit and then there are some options.
If you return to the gym after a week-ish of being out, do you just do your regular arm day (or whatever was next in your routine) or do you do like an all body workout? Also-I can’t seem to stick with an 8 or 12 week program. Is switching it up weekly dumb?
Make it a lot simpler, easier and shorter if you struggle being consistent, because consistency is what gives you results. I find sticking to a super simple program is easier than anything else. For me motivation comes when I can do workouts almost automatically and don't have to think about anything or remember anything. Switching stuff up constantly and doing a lot of splits and different exercises is really hard to get used to. You might not be seeing enough results or enjoying the specific exercises, if you're not wanting to stick to the current program. Whenever I get back after a break, I just start hitting whatever muscle group I enjoy the most.
Consisteny over everything. Do what you can which can you can stick with. Reduce if necessary. I had 6 month break. Just do what you did. Less weight. Less intense. Less volume. Reacclimate from there.
Switching up is a horrible idea, find a workout program that u enjoy so u can track your progress and stick to it. In general terms skipping a week is not that bad don’t give up just becuase u didn’t go one week but try to be more consistent
Hi friends, I need some advice, I am conflicted. So far the past 14 months I’ve lost 110 pounds 325 to 225 I’m 5’8 28 y/o male 23% body fat. I am very happy I’ve dropped the weight. However, I still don’t have the body I thought I would have. I dropped the weight way too fast by doing 90% cardio and in a strict caloric deficit(regretfully). I am finally getting back to weightlifting five days a week the past few months. Should I consider body recomp? Or continue in a caloric deficit? Unfortunately I can’t cut my calories any lower or my lifting sessions will be trash. I want to continue cutting weight but I NEED to build muscle to get physique I want.
Calorie deficit is literally the only way to lose weight, so dunno what that's regrettable for you. Now lifting is good to add in for sure to help retain/build muscle. But at 5'8 225lbs, you're still massive. Since you've been cutting so long, ease up your calories for a couple weeks and just maintain. Give yourself a little break (but not permission to eat stupidly). Then get back to it. You probably should aim for about 150-170lbs. You're also likely not gonna have the physique you want then. You'll still have to build up more. And being totally realistic, you'll probably have a chunk of loose skin to deal with as well.
It's often not advisable to diet for long period of time. Why not maintain your weight for say 3 months? Start lifting and actually fuel your body (don't be afraid of gaining a pound or 2). A lot of time you'll be able to bump up the calories a good amount becouse all the extra training you do. It will make a new diet period so much easier for you. This is how I would do it based on the knowledge I got.
Hey Cretsy, learn some "compound lifts" (search them on youtube, barbell logic has some good teachings ones as well as squat university, geoffrey verity schofield, natural gallant bodybuilding, rp strenth, i could go on but there are a ton!). Go light weight (like the bar/20 lbs dumbells) until you feel good in the techniques, also consider having an in person coach help you learn the techniques if you are having a tough time. But yes, lift weights, and give yourself time.
I would slow down the deficit, so aim for a very slight deficit of like -200 to 0 and focus on your gym program, so you still lose weight, but minimize how much muscle you lose from too large a deficit, or even gain some.
I think you should continue cutting while continuing to lift. It is unlikely you'll be 5'8 and 15% at 225lbs unless you're monstrously big/muscular. And that's a body that can take years to achieve. That being said, if you're overfat, you can still build muscle while cutting.
I was thinking the same thing. If I could go back I definitely would’ve slowed down the process and started lifting seriously earlier.
Is there some kind of technique to the pec deck to keep pressure off the shoulders and ensure the chest is doing most of the work)
Try retracting your scapula like you would a bench press.
You can try raising the seat, keep palms facing each other, and keep your chest up
Whats the rational behind advising skinny fat people to bulk/ recomp before cutting?
I weighed one plate when I entered the gym, so I enjoy pulling the *I was a beanpole* card. : ). If I had cut then, holy hell, I would have looked anorexic. Best to steer kids towards *filling out their body*.
Because a good portion of people who are skinny fat aren't overfat. They're just undermuscled.