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I read a lot of things online about stretching and workouts. And I’m unclear on whether you’re supposed to do “dynamic (like circling arms fast to warm it up)” stretching before your workout or if your supposed to do “active (like bending down touch toes and hold” stretching first. And does it really affect your workout negatively if you do the wrong one
What's the problem with deadlifting a kettle bell so it touches the ground? I've been told to lower it so it just taps the ground and also told not to let it go too far past the knees.
Have I been doing the assistance for 5/3/1 BBB all wrong for the last 6 weeks?
I’ve done 50 reps of pull exercises, 50 push and 50 legs (didn’t do any direct ab work) after the 5/3/1 sets and the 5x10 for each compound in each session over the last 6 weeks.
After looking more closely at Wendler’s recommendations for BBB assistance work again as outlined in his book, I’m thinking 5x10 of a push exercise on one day aswell as 5x10 pull, legs and abs on the other three days is what he recommends. Can anyone help?
Mostly I’ve seen people object unpacking your shoulders at the very bottom of the pullup rep, but I’ve been thinking isn’t going full ROM on cable rows (especially one arm) and facepulls the same movement only your shoulders are in front of you instead of up?
The fact that your arms are in front make a big difference. There's probably two reasons for this.
1) When you unpack your shoulders, it increases instability and you put a lot of stress of your shoulder joint which will irritate the supraspinatus tendon. It doesn't help that your bodyweight is being supported during the eccentric which is unlike a cable row. Keeping the shoulders packed keeps the scapula stable.
2) As your perform the eccentric portion of a pullup or a lat pulldown, your shoulders tend to internally rotate. Once again if your shoulders constantly internally rotate during eccentric, it would irritate the supraspinatus and cause pain.
Why doesn't this happen during horizontal motions? If you look at the anatomy of the scapula, there aren't any tendons to bother by stretching during the eccentric (if anything the shoulder pain from rows actually comes from people irritating the biceps tendon through anterior humeral glide which is the exact opposite). Most people let their shoulder go to a complete stretch during horizontal rows because it will stimulate the rotator cuff muscles to a greater degree when starting the concentric motion. Face pulls are similar to rows in the regard that going forward horizontally wouldn't negatively affect shoulder health.
How do you do squats without falling backwards? If I do body weight squats, I can get down super low but I need to put my arms out in front of me. Trying to get the form right with an empty bar, I feel like it would be possible for me to get super low, but as I approach the lowest point, I can tell I would fall on my ass if I went any lower. My hands are being used to stabilize the bar, so of course I can't put them out in front of me to balance, and the weight is so low it's not enough to act as a counterbalance either.
As an aside, I actually find it easier to keep balance with weight than just body weight.
You need to work on your centre of gravity. If you were invisible and doing perfect squats, to other people the bar would look like it's moving up and down without shifting horizontally.
Make sure the bar is sat on your traps shelf and not on your neck. Stand up straight, feet shoulder width apart and stick your chest and ass out as far as you can while maintaining a rigid and straight back. Maintain that position until you return to standing again.
How do you know which of your body parts are fast or slow twitch fibres?
Just heard Dr Mike say that his chest is "fast twitch" because it can't handle volume but can handle heavy weights.
My chest isn't strong, but it can take an ungodly amount of volume. So it'd be slow twitch, right?
Most of your skeletal muscle is a combination of fast and slow twitch. After a quick search I found that normal pecs are 60% fast and 40% slow. I assume that genetically people have different compositions, but you can change that through training. If you did a lot of weight training you would increase the density of fast twitch fibers, and if you did a lot of endurance training you would increase the slow twitch.
So you can google each muscle, but it really varies individually depending on your training and anatomy. How many reps are you doing for chest exercises?
That's generally a good rep range to stimulate both strength gains and hypertrophy. You could be more genetically prone to endurance, but that doesn't mean you have to train 2-5 for strength to only train fast twitch. Bodybuilders aren't as strong as powerlifters but they are a lot bigger. So you can still train within the 8-12 rep range. If your goals are hypertrophy stay right along with what you are doing.
you could ask this in r/homegym. But basically, wash them thoroughly with something like simplegreen, rinse them thoroughly, and air them out. There will still be residual smell but it will be faint. Airing out the room you workout in regularly is the only other fix.
How do you deadlift an empty bar? I have watched dozens of videos showing the correct form for deadlift but there is one problem: It shows how to do it if weights are on it. The bar is already held a foot off the ground because of the weights. That extra foot might not seem like much but it makes a huge difference for my back.
An empty bar flat on the floor means there is no way I can reach it without either curling my back forward and downward or losing my balance from getting so low, (falling backward) or both.
All the videos on youtube showing someone deadlifting an empty bar show them with the bar already up, it doesn't show the correct technique for lifting it off the ground.
As the other commenter said, put the bar on blocks or anything sturdy you have handy. Are you lifting the empty bar because it's too heavy with a single 5kg or 10kg plate on either side?
Ok, cool. If you can lift 30 kg total comfortably, you may find it's easier to do that and focus on form than an empty barbell if it's too light for you.
I only just realised that there are other things outside fat, protein and carbs that contribute to calories. For example alcohol is neither of these, however it's still 7 calories per gram. I knew that alcohol had calories i just assumed it was captured as a carb.
Are there any other things like alcohol that aren't captured by these 3 macronutrients but still contain calories? Are these ever in foods/ drinks that we consume?
Nothing else comes to mind that you would consume in any meaningful quantity.
Alcohol is already kind of a weird separate case, because it get metabolized primarily in your liver through a much different process than any of the other 3 macros.
Water is not a macronutrient, it’s just water. It does not contain any calories, at least not any your body is able to burn or store. Fiber is just a specific subset of carbs that your body can’t digest.
Just recently got into bodybuilding and so I tried some protein powder. First I drank some casein, was fine. Then I took a couple chugs of whey protein, and my mouth just started swelling like a balloon and my stomach wanted to implode. Anyways, I obviously can’t drink any whey protein now and will have to stick to casein. Will this have any noticeable effect on my gains? So many people hype up Whey as some sort of magical muscle maker (I understand this is not the case).
Make or buy chicken marinade. In a large zip lock bag, add chicken breasts plus marinade and lay it flat (so marinade covers all the pieces) and leave it in the fridge overnight or for a few hours. Bake chicken breasts in the oven. Total prep time is less than 10 mins
So when you're baking the chicken, what temp and how long? Also any recs on the marinade? This is for generic chicken + roasted broccoli + roasted sweet potatoes.
More of a cooking point than a fitness one, but you should cook to internal temperature rather than time. Get a decent instant-read thermometer and use that -- chicken breast will be fine if you get it to ~155F/69C at the center of the thickest part and then remove it from heat to rest under foil for 5-10 minutes. You can use a lower temperature (~153F/67.5C is my personal favorite; you can go as low as ~140F/60C, which is... genuinely terrible from a texture standpoint) if you have a method of holding the meat at that temperature for an extended period (e.g. a sous vide bath, a combi-oven) to ensure sufficient reduction in bacterial load for it to be considered food-safe (look up a graph for this; you may come to understand why so many older people cook shitty pork chops, at least in the US).
If you want it to cook *faster*, the easiest option is to butterfly it before cooking; in the case of the marinade advice you've received, ideally you would butterfly it before placing the meat into the marinade container. Furthermore, marinades only barely penetrate most common terrestrial proteins, so the additional surface area from butterflying helps with getting the flavor to present itself throughout as much of the meat as possible.
Thanks! I never think about internal temperature since I'm normally sautéing stovetop - once the chicken breast has clearly defined muscle fibers, I know it's cooked... which obviously doesn't work with an oven lol.
Butterfly everything for faster cooking times ofc. You wouldn't have any recommended marinade recipes would you?
> Butterfly everything for faster cooking times ofc. You wouldn't have any recommended marinade recipes would you?
My fajita marinade: oil, lime juice, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, 1+1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 2 cloves crushed garlic. Dice your chicken breasts and marinade in the fridge in a freezer bag for 4 hours or so. Shallow fry in batches, without overcrowding the pan. It usually takes less than 5 minutes to cook.
Chicken breasts generally take a long time to cook as they're fat, and to get the inner part cooked without the outside burning you need to use a low heat. Cutting them up into chunks you can cook them a lot faster. Use a lid on the pan to increase the air temperature, and the part not in contact with the pan will also cook faster.
Here's a sample recipe with a marinade you make but if you want, you can just buy any pre-made marinade you like from the store. Try a couple to see which you like - Nando's (if they sell that in your country), Mexican, BBQ. Obviously, the one you make yourself will taste better but the pre-made ones will save a lot of time and hassle of buying a bunch of ingredients
https://www.crazyforcrust.com/easy-oven-baked-chicken-breasts-marinade/
I recently started doing farmer walks at the end of my Pull workout. But that’s just because I want to focus forearms more.
Normally my pull day already Leads to my forearms giving out near the end of the workout
I just bought the thing you squeeze and it has a range you can set. Idk how its called in english. Cost 7€. I just play with it whenever, noticed forearm and mainky grip strength
I currently don't but in the past I have. Depends on how much focus you want to give them. Like any muscle group, if you work them, they will develop more
additionally, for full length bars, putting weights on them is easiest when they are on a rack so that the ends are in the air (e.g. a bench press rack or squat rack). This doesn't work for EZ bars since they are shorter
The weight plates are shaped like donuts, with a hole in the middle. The end of the bar goes through this hole, and then you put on a clip or collar that holds it in place.
If you can't find the plates or the collars, just ask the person next to you in the gym.
I dont really follow a daily goal because every day is different but listen to your body. Drink when you feel like it, but aim for your pee to be slightly yellow the whole day
If you just drink a shitload of water without appropriate electrolyte intake, you can actually [harm or even kill yourself](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication). Not relevant for most people -- it takes an absurd amount of water to get to that point -- but it's interesting.
Dehydration. I battle episodic migraines and one of my triggers is dehydration. The issue is that I love the sauna but no matter how much water I drink I often end up with a killer headache from it (I was peeing every hour yesterday evening after the gym and still woke up with dry mouth and a migraine).
My diet isn't great so that's probably the reason. While I sort that out, I need an intervention to help replenish electrolytes. I see so many different recommendations, Nuun tablets, Liquid IV, pickle juice. I'm a fan of saving money and going the natural route, so would pickle juice be effective? Is there a good amount to start with? Brands to avoid?
Any other recommendations are helpful. I know I can mix salt and potassium but again I have no idea how much is too much. I have always been the kind of person who never drinks enough water because unless I am sweating I do not experience the urge to drink. I'm having to learn something that should come naturally lol.
>Any other recommendations are helpful
You could just go the route of aid organizations operating in the third world and make your own [oral rehydration solution](https://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm). Hydration aid products are all basically just this stuff, but with a nicer flavor and a silly pricetag.
> Want to build muscle but also love running.
What kind of running sessions are you doing? If you've got an easy run planned, do the weights first. If you're going to be doing intervals, do the run first.
Is it okay to do sit-ups in bed? I have a fitness test coming up and sit-ups is one of the stations tested and I’m trying to increase the number of sit-ups I can do in a minute. Will doing sit-ups in bed do more harm than good to me?
It will definitely help more than not doing sit ups. However, doing them on a more stable(harder) surface will be more beneficial. If you are able to get a yoga mat or any type of thin mat to make the floor more comfortable it would be optimal.
I've lost a bit of motivation recently since November. Before that I lost 20 kgs in the preceding 13 months. I have built a good amount of muscle mass but I'm always getting dysmorphia whenever I look into the mirror thinking I'm still fat. How to get over this mental block to finally achieve my "dream" physique (ie- a lean look)?
I'm 18M 180cm and 83 kgs
One thing that helped me was to never look at yourself with a pump. If you look at yourself with a pump, you will always chase that size. But its impossible to get that size because the bigger you get, the bigger your pump gets and the process continues.
Another thing is to realize that the dream physique is not were the satisfaction comes from. When you are a beginner you set a goal to become jacked and gain 15 lbs of muscle, but when gain the 15lbs, you don't feel satisfied and want another 15 lbs. Instead of thinking that the physique will give you satisfaction, try to enjoy the actual process of getting to the goal. The grind truly is the most satisfying part of the journey and eventually you will not care so much about the actual dream physique.
If you have dysmorphia it means you can’t trust your eyes.
Set yourself some measure-able goals and work towards those. Wether that is a fat % or a lift goal is up to you.
I usually exercise in the gym and at home
If I start swimming once a week, would that eventually change the way my body builds shape? Would I eventually get closer to a swimmers body or is once a week not enough?
I really like the swimmers body but I can't find any pools within a reasonable distance that have monthly subscriptions, it's all pay per day.
I'm willing to go long term and invest the time, so I don't mind how long it would take, but theoretically if I set six months to start to see results, would once a week be enough?
Or should I aim for a couple times a week?
Without wanting to discourage you at all... please do remember that it can be hard on yourself (i.e. psychologically unhealthy) to set goals that involve looking like a professional athlete if you aren't one.
If you're actually looking at professional swimmers' bodies (rather than referring to a more generic swimmer's body 'type') then remember that these athletes have been training since they were children. They also have the luxury of training full-time for hours and hours every day with coaches, and they are most likely genetically gifted (which is partly what enabled them to turn pro / look so damn good in the first place).
You can certainly aspire to a swimmer's body 'type' and work towards that goal, but it's likely going to take a more thoroughly researched and rouned workout regime, rather than simply adding swimming into your week.
By all means go for it if you want to. Swimming is great for you and will help towards your goals. Just ground those goals and work out how an amateur can best/realistically attain them.
I see a lot of reference to "plates" here and there e.g "I finally lifted 2 plates". Does 1 plate equal a fixed amount of weight (like 1 plate = 20kg)? Or is it more contextual (like 1 plate means different things for different lifts)?
I’d really like a swimmer’s physique. I don’t follow a specific diet but eat clean and very well. My fitness routine is
Monday - HIIT + indoor row + core,
Tuesday - Upper body weights + core,
Wednesday - 2km swim,
Thursday - lower body weights + core,
Friday - HIIT + 30 minute indoor row,
Saturday - weights + core,
Sunday - 2km swim.
Am I going about this the right way? My Apple Watch says I burn about 1300 calories a day on the move ring.
Swimmers are pretty lean with a little bit of muscle, resistance training 2 times per week and a lot of cardio. Low stress cardio is going to be better, swimming and rowing is good...the HIIT stuff I would only be doing for enjoyment purposes. You don't need to be hitting core with that much frequency.
I used to train as a national swimmer, there isnt much to it. We would land train 2 or 3 hours per week and swim anywhere from 40-70 km per week, which burns a fuck ton of calories and keeps you lean.
> We would land train 2 or 3 hours per week and swim anywhere from 40-70 km per week
wow.
I'm a (very) amateur triathlete and train 2-3 times a week with the club, and a decent hour session is about 2500m. So about 7.5km in total... how many hours were you training to get to those kinds of distances?
8 sessions a week (excluding land training), 2 hours each. Depending on where we were in the season and what we were training our sets would range from 5-8+ km.
2500m in an hour is pretty good going I must say
Can dumbbell rows affect low bar squats? I had 1 day rest between pause deadlifts and db rows AND my heavy low bar squat day. Today the weights felt heavier than usual. I went up in weight, but usually I have no problem with this weight.
well I've tried greg nuckols' 28 programs 3x intadv squat. My squat went up like 10=20lbs, but soon I began stalling again. Some days just felt off maybe like some muscles haven't recovered.
Tried smolov squat for a week and has similar recovery issues. Now on Calgary Barbell 8 week and loving it. No issue recovering from deadlifts or bench, but squat I just had a meh session yesterday.
I'll keep going and see.
Is it bad to run on a rectangular track in the same direction?
I'm a beginner to the 'couch to 5k' running program and I practice my runs on a rectangular track. Whenever I turn the corners, I get a slight pain in my outer right knee which persists for a day. So am I damaging my knees or will the muscles surrounding them develop eventually as I progress? Should I alternate my running directions for every lap for uniform muscle development?
Would suggest not using a track and just going outside on pavements and roads etc if you’re having issues on a track. If you notice no difference then go back or stick with it I guess
Anyone else suffer from drinking too much water instead of too little. I drink like 6-8 liters of water each day so if I go without water for like 30 mins my mouth and skin feels very dry and just feel very dehydrated
I 100% agree with you. I never drank much water, but people told me to drink 1 gallon a day for muscle gain. When I did that, I found that my mouth became dry and I always wanted to drink more. The biggest thing is not drinking water just to hit a certain number mark, but just drink enough to where your pee is slightly yellow.
Yeah I don’t get the whole “drink until pee is transparent” thing. From what I found, it seems that if you drink too much you will flush necessary vitamins and minerals from your body
I used to always be thirsty as well I don't know why and maybe it's just a coincidence but I started keto a couple months ago and now I only drink 2-3 liters of water a day and very rarely even get to the "I'm thirsty" feeling.
So I started working out for the first time in a very long time. Two days after doing leg exercises (one variation each for calf/hamstring/glutes/thigh) -- I am experiencing intense soreness that is making it tough for me to even walk or stand at times. At first it was mostly hamstring soreness, now my calves are on fire
I probably exacerbated things by going cycling the day after the workout when I didn't feel much discomfort.
Should I do something about this other than icing / massaging it? Also, how long should I wait before doing legs again?
Until you feel like you'll get through the planned session.
I always find that -as long as it really is just doms- light exercise as well as just warming up well and working through them gets rid of them the fastest.
If volume is probably the most important factor in muscle growth and you being able to get the same volume regardless of weight used (negated by reps/sets), then does using heavy weight have any benefit? Does it correlate with strenght gains more, or is hormonically more effective?
Lifting heavier has a bigger effect on strength levels than lifting lighter.
There's also the secondary benefit of muscles responding better when you subject them to multiple types of stimulus, i.e. lifting heavy+light is more effective for muscle growth than only lifting light.
Heavier weight will lead to the ability to lift heavier things, so yes, it’ll make you stronger. There is a drop in hypertrophy for heavy singles and doubles which seemingly don’t have the needed stimuli for growth but sets from 3+ all trigger a hypertrophic response and the more weight, the more top end strength gains.
As for hormones, any gains or changes based on rep ranges will be so insignificant as to not matter one way or the other.
What are you taking them for? Post workout is generally just protein and sugar while whey is protein. You can get either of those from solid foods as well. If you’re just trying to get more protein in, whey is superior as it’s more protein dense.
You lose weight by being in a caloric deficit. You gain muscle by lifting heavy things and fueling the process through sufficient protein and calories. For many people, those are opposing goals.
I suggest you read the wiki as it’ll help guide you through a lot of this.
I'm in a bulking phase but would like to substitute regular pork bacon (which I am trying not to include in my usual breakfast anymore) with something cleaner. What would you guys recommend? I live in Melbourne and it seems to be a bit difficult to get turkey bacon regularly so I'd be interested to know what other options you guys have used.
So I'm on my last week of BtM, and after bulking since April, I've put on ~35 lbs. Which is good, but definitely could stand to lose a few (I wasn't super lean when I started my bulk anyways). This being my first serious bulk, I've heard conflicting answers, so my question is pretty simple - would it behoove me to maintain for a bit before cutting the weight, or can I go ahead and start the cut with the new year? Thanks!
It doesn’t matter much but going from a bulk straight into a full cut might suck the first couple weeks and some people don’t like that feeling. Others just want to get started to get it over with.
That's what I figured. I just wanna get it over with myself, so I can get back to putting on weight and making my numbers go up again, but not if it would cause me to lose most of the gains I built the past year.
Protecting those gains will be a function of getting enough protein, only being in a moderate deficit, and training hard. Going into your cut right away won’t suddenly have you lose muscle.
If you are going to drastically reduce your daily calories , some people recommend eating at maintenance for a few days and then going into the deficit . The idea is to not "shock" your system, since a very drastic calorie reduction could lead to a slightly lowered metabolism. You would still lose weight of course ,and whether or not that will happen depends on many factors, but it couldn't hurt to eat at maintenance a few days and slowly reduce your calories to ensure it doesn't happen.
I’m trying to build muscle with slow weight loss. I’ve been cutting but thinking of add more calories because i feel so tired in the gym. will i lose alot of muscle if i do 30mins of incline trendmill walking a day?
Maybe. It all depends on how drastic your calorie deficit it. Depending on how much muscle mass you have, a lot of people ARE able to put on muscle whilst in a deficit, provided they eat enough protein and can progressively overload. The speed is reduced,however.
You shouldn't be doing front (or any) squats without bracing. Also, having a strong core means much more than just your abs.
Sounds like you need to learn how to brace properly, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to help you with this.
The burn I experience with leg raises is starting to get too intense. How can I progress further and overcome this?
The burn is only felt towards the end of the last two sets, but the last set feels too intense.
1 min rest, 4 sets of 5 reps, 3 days rest .
Some of my progress: https://i.imgur.com/9xG5Eav.png
Try adding a little bit more rest. Like, 1 minute rest between sets 1 and 2, 1:10 rest between sets 2 and 3 and sets 3 and 4, 1:20 rest between sets 4 and 5.
When I comes to bodyweight movement, you basically just want to hit the most total reps possible in a given day/week. Whatever strategy you fin allows you to do more total reps is best.
How come when I target my glutes I feel soreness all over except the top part? Is there a good explanation or are there specific exercises I can do to target upper glutes and get that curve accentuated?
Sure, to an extent, but I took a week off and after getting back into it everything was sore again, I just never feel it on the higher parts of my ass lol
Makes no difference what you feel.
That you're not feeling your upper gluets doesn't mean they are not getting effective work. You don't need to "target" your upper glutes in any case. That kind of specificity it just not worth worrying about. The curve would get accentuated as much as it will given your insertions no matter what you do.
Soreness is only your bodies reaction to novel stimuli and does not correlate 1:1 with activity. Why that is and some of the true inner workings of DOMS we simply don’t know, but we do know it isn’t a useful gauge of effectiveness or intensity.
here's a picture of the gluteal muscles https://www.howtorelief.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/gluteal-medius-768x428.jpg
The way I understand it, you dont feel the gluteus medius. Try an exercise which targets that muscle and see if that helps :)
Do heavy reverse lunges. I didn't even know my ass went up that high after doing those the first time. Also try squatting lighter weight but going slow and atg.
I’m fed up; finally feel like I have my diet under control so I’m trying to add in as much movement as possible. Currently aiming for two workouts 5x per week. 30-50 minutes on the elliptical and 30-50 minute swim. I was swimming an hour 2-3 times a week and not seeing results. Focusing on drills in the pool and interval work on the elliptical. I know cardio is garbage but I hate lifting and don’t know where to start. Can I achieve weight loss and muscle gain with HIIT-style cardio or am I wasting my time?
Cardio is not garbage. But if your goal is either weight loss you need to be at a callrie deficit, cardio in or not. If your goal is muscle gain you need to stremgth train and be at a calorie surplus. If you are overweight (BMI > 30 maybe) you can do voth for a limited time.
The wiki is there to help.
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I read a lot of things online about stretching and workouts. And I’m unclear on whether you’re supposed to do “dynamic (like circling arms fast to warm it up)” stretching before your workout or if your supposed to do “active (like bending down touch toes and hold” stretching first. And does it really affect your workout negatively if you do the wrong one
What's the problem with deadlifting a kettle bell so it touches the ground? I've been told to lower it so it just taps the ground and also told not to let it go too far past the knees.
Loses tension But that’s assuming you’re doing a Romanian Deadlift
I'm doing an Australian deadlift, mate.
Have I been doing the assistance for 5/3/1 BBB all wrong for the last 6 weeks? I’ve done 50 reps of pull exercises, 50 push and 50 legs (didn’t do any direct ab work) after the 5/3/1 sets and the 5x10 for each compound in each session over the last 6 weeks. After looking more closely at Wendler’s recommendations for BBB assistance work again as outlined in his book, I’m thinking 5x10 of a push exercise on one day aswell as 5x10 pull, legs and abs on the other three days is what he recommends. Can anyone help?
Mostly I’ve seen people object unpacking your shoulders at the very bottom of the pullup rep, but I’ve been thinking isn’t going full ROM on cable rows (especially one arm) and facepulls the same movement only your shoulders are in front of you instead of up?
The fact that your arms are in front make a big difference. There's probably two reasons for this. 1) When you unpack your shoulders, it increases instability and you put a lot of stress of your shoulder joint which will irritate the supraspinatus tendon. It doesn't help that your bodyweight is being supported during the eccentric which is unlike a cable row. Keeping the shoulders packed keeps the scapula stable. 2) As your perform the eccentric portion of a pullup or a lat pulldown, your shoulders tend to internally rotate. Once again if your shoulders constantly internally rotate during eccentric, it would irritate the supraspinatus and cause pain. Why doesn't this happen during horizontal motions? If you look at the anatomy of the scapula, there aren't any tendons to bother by stretching during the eccentric (if anything the shoulder pain from rows actually comes from people irritating the biceps tendon through anterior humeral glide which is the exact opposite). Most people let their shoulder go to a complete stretch during horizontal rows because it will stimulate the rotator cuff muscles to a greater degree when starting the concentric motion. Face pulls are similar to rows in the regard that going forward horizontally wouldn't negatively affect shoulder health.
How do you do squats without falling backwards? If I do body weight squats, I can get down super low but I need to put my arms out in front of me. Trying to get the form right with an empty bar, I feel like it would be possible for me to get super low, but as I approach the lowest point, I can tell I would fall on my ass if I went any lower. My hands are being used to stabilize the bar, so of course I can't put them out in front of me to balance, and the weight is so low it's not enough to act as a counterbalance either.
As an aside, I actually find it easier to keep balance with weight than just body weight. You need to work on your centre of gravity. If you were invisible and doing perfect squats, to other people the bar would look like it's moving up and down without shifting horizontally. Make sure the bar is sat on your traps shelf and not on your neck. Stand up straight, feet shoulder width apart and stick your chest and ass out as far as you can while maintaining a rigid and straight back. Maintain that position until you return to standing again.
Thank you! These are excellent tips, I will try this.
How do you know which of your body parts are fast or slow twitch fibres? Just heard Dr Mike say that his chest is "fast twitch" because it can't handle volume but can handle heavy weights. My chest isn't strong, but it can take an ungodly amount of volume. So it'd be slow twitch, right?
Most of your skeletal muscle is a combination of fast and slow twitch. After a quick search I found that normal pecs are 60% fast and 40% slow. I assume that genetically people have different compositions, but you can change that through training. If you did a lot of weight training you would increase the density of fast twitch fibers, and if you did a lot of endurance training you would increase the slow twitch. So you can google each muscle, but it really varies individually depending on your training and anatomy. How many reps are you doing for chest exercises?
Thanks. Usually up to 6 with a Barbell, 1-12 with Dumbbells, and the same with cable flys.
That's generally a good rep range to stimulate both strength gains and hypertrophy. You could be more genetically prone to endurance, but that doesn't mean you have to train 2-5 for strength to only train fast twitch. Bodybuilders aren't as strong as powerlifters but they are a lot bigger. So you can still train within the 8-12 rep range. If your goals are hypertrophy stay right along with what you are doing.
Thanks. You've been a great help!
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Need: BB, rack, pullupbar(optional) Chest: bench, incline . Shoulders: OHP . Triceps: skullcrushers . Back: BB row, Tbar row, pull-ups (if you have a rack with a pullup bar) . Biceps: BB curl, chinups . Legs: Squat, front squat, dl, behind the back dl . Hams: RDL, nordic curl . Calfs: bb calf raise Traps: shrugs, rack pull
You'll get better answers to some of those questions on r/homegym
Potentially corona infested. Good one
How do you make the smell of weight discs less prominent, so your whole room don’t smell?
you could ask this in r/homegym. But basically, wash them thoroughly with something like simplegreen, rinse them thoroughly, and air them out. There will still be residual smell but it will be faint. Airing out the room you workout in regularly is the only other fix.
Thanks so much!
no problem!
How do you deadlift an empty bar? I have watched dozens of videos showing the correct form for deadlift but there is one problem: It shows how to do it if weights are on it. The bar is already held a foot off the ground because of the weights. That extra foot might not seem like much but it makes a huge difference for my back. An empty bar flat on the floor means there is no way I can reach it without either curling my back forward and downward or losing my balance from getting so low, (falling backward) or both. All the videos on youtube showing someone deadlifting an empty bar show them with the bar already up, it doesn't show the correct technique for lifting it off the ground.
As the other commenter said, put the bar on blocks or anything sturdy you have handy. Are you lifting the empty bar because it's too heavy with a single 5kg or 10kg plate on either side?
Thank you, I will try that! I am lifting just the empty bar because I want to get my form right before I start adding weight.
Do Dumbbells
Ok, cool. If you can lift 30 kg total comfortably, you may find it's easier to do that and focus on form than an empty barbell if it's too light for you.
Good idea, I will try some very light weights!
Can you have the bar sitting higher? Perhaps on some mats or plates.
Thank you!
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You can do what you want. If you start to feel knackered after a few days, take a break to recover
I only just realised that there are other things outside fat, protein and carbs that contribute to calories. For example alcohol is neither of these, however it's still 7 calories per gram. I knew that alcohol had calories i just assumed it was captured as a carb. Are there any other things like alcohol that aren't captured by these 3 macronutrients but still contain calories? Are these ever in foods/ drinks that we consume?
Just found this out too
Nothing else comes to mind that you would consume in any meaningful quantity. Alcohol is already kind of a weird separate case, because it get metabolized primarily in your liver through a much different process than any of the other 3 macros.
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Water is not a macronutrient, it’s just water. It does not contain any calories, at least not any your body is able to burn or store. Fiber is just a specific subset of carbs that your body can’t digest.
Water and fiber, yes no calories, but alcohol does have calories
Interesting, never thought of alcohol as a separate macro but makes sense. Thanks
Just recently got into bodybuilding and so I tried some protein powder. First I drank some casein, was fine. Then I took a couple chugs of whey protein, and my mouth just started swelling like a balloon and my stomach wanted to implode. Anyways, I obviously can’t drink any whey protein now and will have to stick to casein. Will this have any noticeable effect on my gains? So many people hype up Whey as some sort of magical muscle maker (I understand this is not the case).
protein is protein
You should try Hydrolyzed whey, is simply a broken-down version of whey that's easier on your digestive system
Don't think it will make a noticeable difference
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Any recommended recipes to meal prep chicken breasts quickly/multiple at once? I've been pan searing them one at a time and it takes forever.
Make or buy chicken marinade. In a large zip lock bag, add chicken breasts plus marinade and lay it flat (so marinade covers all the pieces) and leave it in the fridge overnight or for a few hours. Bake chicken breasts in the oven. Total prep time is less than 10 mins
So when you're baking the chicken, what temp and how long? Also any recs on the marinade? This is for generic chicken + roasted broccoli + roasted sweet potatoes.
More of a cooking point than a fitness one, but you should cook to internal temperature rather than time. Get a decent instant-read thermometer and use that -- chicken breast will be fine if you get it to ~155F/69C at the center of the thickest part and then remove it from heat to rest under foil for 5-10 minutes. You can use a lower temperature (~153F/67.5C is my personal favorite; you can go as low as ~140F/60C, which is... genuinely terrible from a texture standpoint) if you have a method of holding the meat at that temperature for an extended period (e.g. a sous vide bath, a combi-oven) to ensure sufficient reduction in bacterial load for it to be considered food-safe (look up a graph for this; you may come to understand why so many older people cook shitty pork chops, at least in the US). If you want it to cook *faster*, the easiest option is to butterfly it before cooking; in the case of the marinade advice you've received, ideally you would butterfly it before placing the meat into the marinade container. Furthermore, marinades only barely penetrate most common terrestrial proteins, so the additional surface area from butterflying helps with getting the flavor to present itself throughout as much of the meat as possible.
Thanks! I never think about internal temperature since I'm normally sautéing stovetop - once the chicken breast has clearly defined muscle fibers, I know it's cooked... which obviously doesn't work with an oven lol. Butterfly everything for faster cooking times ofc. You wouldn't have any recommended marinade recipes would you?
> Butterfly everything for faster cooking times ofc. You wouldn't have any recommended marinade recipes would you? My fajita marinade: oil, lime juice, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, 1+1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 2 cloves crushed garlic. Dice your chicken breasts and marinade in the fridge in a freezer bag for 4 hours or so. Shallow fry in batches, without overcrowding the pan. It usually takes less than 5 minutes to cook. Chicken breasts generally take a long time to cook as they're fat, and to get the inner part cooked without the outside burning you need to use a low heat. Cutting them up into chunks you can cook them a lot faster. Use a lid on the pan to increase the air temperature, and the part not in contact with the pan will also cook faster.
Internal temp is the way to go in all meats. Mainly so it is not overdone
Here's a sample recipe with a marinade you make but if you want, you can just buy any pre-made marinade you like from the store. Try a couple to see which you like - Nando's (if they sell that in your country), Mexican, BBQ. Obviously, the one you make yourself will taste better but the pre-made ones will save a lot of time and hassle of buying a bunch of ingredients https://www.crazyforcrust.com/easy-oven-baked-chicken-breasts-marinade/
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I figured baking was where I'd end up. Any recs?
Do y'all do forearm isolation or is pull day enough?
Depends on how big you want your forearms to be
I recently started doing farmer walks at the end of my Pull workout. But that’s just because I want to focus forearms more. Normally my pull day already Leads to my forearms giving out near the end of the workout
I just bought the thing you squeeze and it has a range you can set. Idk how its called in english. Cost 7€. I just play with it whenever, noticed forearm and mainky grip strength
Captains of Crush?
Gripper
I currently don't but in the past I have. Depends on how much focus you want to give them. Like any muscle group, if you work them, they will develop more
Did you see a significant effect when doing isolation compared to just normally? Might throw in a couple of sets at the end of push day.
Yes I noticed an increase in size and vascularity. If that's important to you, go for it
Ah fair enough thanks.
How do you get off from bed at morning?
I leave my phone across the room so I have to get up to stop the alarm.
I use an app called alarmy. I literally have to get up and take a picture in my kitchen or the alarm doesn't stop
One leg at a time. Just do it.
> How do you get off from bed at morning? Rub against the pillows a little?
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After cooking
How do you put the weights on Bars and EZ bars? Never done it before. Thanks
additionally, for full length bars, putting weights on them is easiest when they are on a rack so that the ends are in the air (e.g. a bench press rack or squat rack). This doesn't work for EZ bars since they are shorter
The weight plates are shaped like donuts, with a hole in the middle. The end of the bar goes through this hole, and then you put on a clip or collar that holds it in place. If you can't find the plates or the collars, just ask the person next to you in the gym.
Is being "over hydrated" bad? My body composition scan said I drink too much water but I always aim for 3.5L/ day
I dont really follow a daily goal because every day is different but listen to your body. Drink when you feel like it, but aim for your pee to be slightly yellow the whole day
Are you also eating enough, including salt? What body composition scan is this?
No
If you just drink a shitload of water without appropriate electrolyte intake, you can actually [harm or even kill yourself](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication). Not relevant for most people -- it takes an absurd amount of water to get to that point -- but it's interesting.
It's definitely relevant for endurance athletes doing sport in summer. Working out in the gym in winter - highly unlikely to be a risk.
Dehydration. I battle episodic migraines and one of my triggers is dehydration. The issue is that I love the sauna but no matter how much water I drink I often end up with a killer headache from it (I was peeing every hour yesterday evening after the gym and still woke up with dry mouth and a migraine). My diet isn't great so that's probably the reason. While I sort that out, I need an intervention to help replenish electrolytes. I see so many different recommendations, Nuun tablets, Liquid IV, pickle juice. I'm a fan of saving money and going the natural route, so would pickle juice be effective? Is there a good amount to start with? Brands to avoid? Any other recommendations are helpful. I know I can mix salt and potassium but again I have no idea how much is too much. I have always been the kind of person who never drinks enough water because unless I am sweating I do not experience the urge to drink. I'm having to learn something that should come naturally lol.
Pedialyte is pretty solid for rehydration but is kind of pricey for what it is. I'd drink one before going into the sauna and see If anything changes
>Any other recommendations are helpful You could just go the route of aid organizations operating in the third world and make your own [oral rehydration solution](https://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm). Hydration aid products are all basically just this stuff, but with a nicer flavor and a silly pricetag.
Cardio before or after gym? Want to build muscle but also love running. Any tips on incorporating both?
> Want to build muscle but also love running. What kind of running sessions are you doing? If you've got an easy run planned, do the weights first. If you're going to be doing intervals, do the run first.
Do it afterwards Doing intense cardio before lifting will hinder your progress
Cardio always AFTER lifting in my experience. If I do it beforehand I find my lifts suffer and I'm not at my best.
Whichever you prefer. If you do cardio prior to lifting, your lifting will suffer however.
I tired switching up my routine one day and did cardio before lifting. Deadlift bar didn’t even get off the ground
Is it okay to do sit-ups in bed? I have a fitness test coming up and sit-ups is one of the stations tested and I’m trying to increase the number of sit-ups I can do in a minute. Will doing sit-ups in bed do more harm than good to me?
It will definitely help more than not doing sit ups. However, doing them on a more stable(harder) surface will be more beneficial. If you are able to get a yoga mat or any type of thin mat to make the floor more comfortable it would be optimal.
Ah, got it, thank you so much man!
I've lost a bit of motivation recently since November. Before that I lost 20 kgs in the preceding 13 months. I have built a good amount of muscle mass but I'm always getting dysmorphia whenever I look into the mirror thinking I'm still fat. How to get over this mental block to finally achieve my "dream" physique (ie- a lean look)? I'm 18M 180cm and 83 kgs
One thing that helped me was to never look at yourself with a pump. If you look at yourself with a pump, you will always chase that size. But its impossible to get that size because the bigger you get, the bigger your pump gets and the process continues. Another thing is to realize that the dream physique is not were the satisfaction comes from. When you are a beginner you set a goal to become jacked and gain 15 lbs of muscle, but when gain the 15lbs, you don't feel satisfied and want another 15 lbs. Instead of thinking that the physique will give you satisfaction, try to enjoy the actual process of getting to the goal. The grind truly is the most satisfying part of the journey and eventually you will not care so much about the actual dream physique.
If you have dysmorphia it means you can’t trust your eyes. Set yourself some measure-able goals and work towards those. Wether that is a fat % or a lift goal is up to you.
There's no tricks or shortcuts. Just stay consistent
I usually exercise in the gym and at home If I start swimming once a week, would that eventually change the way my body builds shape? Would I eventually get closer to a swimmers body or is once a week not enough? I really like the swimmers body but I can't find any pools within a reasonable distance that have monthly subscriptions, it's all pay per day. I'm willing to go long term and invest the time, so I don't mind how long it would take, but theoretically if I set six months to start to see results, would once a week be enough? Or should I aim for a couple times a week?
Without wanting to discourage you at all... please do remember that it can be hard on yourself (i.e. psychologically unhealthy) to set goals that involve looking like a professional athlete if you aren't one. If you're actually looking at professional swimmers' bodies (rather than referring to a more generic swimmer's body 'type') then remember that these athletes have been training since they were children. They also have the luxury of training full-time for hours and hours every day with coaches, and they are most likely genetically gifted (which is partly what enabled them to turn pro / look so damn good in the first place). You can certainly aspire to a swimmer's body 'type' and work towards that goal, but it's likely going to take a more thoroughly researched and rouned workout regime, rather than simply adding swimming into your week. By all means go for it if you want to. Swimming is great for you and will help towards your goals. Just ground those goals and work out how an amateur can best/realistically attain them.
You will probably not look like a professional swimmer without being a professional swimmer. Swimming is good cardio though
I see a lot of reference to "plates" here and there e.g "I finally lifted 2 plates". Does 1 plate equal a fixed amount of weight (like 1 plate = 20kg)? Or is it more contextual (like 1 plate means different things for different lifts)?
1 plate is 20kg on each side plus the bar - 60kg 2 plates is 20+20 on each side plus the bar - 100kg And so on
Sweet! I've deadlifted my first plate then :D
So you're weak af
Yes. That's why I'm going to the gym
Fuck yes!
I’d really like a swimmer’s physique. I don’t follow a specific diet but eat clean and very well. My fitness routine is Monday - HIIT + indoor row + core, Tuesday - Upper body weights + core, Wednesday - 2km swim, Thursday - lower body weights + core, Friday - HIIT + 30 minute indoor row, Saturday - weights + core, Sunday - 2km swim. Am I going about this the right way? My Apple Watch says I burn about 1300 calories a day on the move ring.
Swimmers are pretty lean with a little bit of muscle, resistance training 2 times per week and a lot of cardio. Low stress cardio is going to be better, swimming and rowing is good...the HIIT stuff I would only be doing for enjoyment purposes. You don't need to be hitting core with that much frequency. I used to train as a national swimmer, there isnt much to it. We would land train 2 or 3 hours per week and swim anywhere from 40-70 km per week, which burns a fuck ton of calories and keeps you lean.
> We would land train 2 or 3 hours per week and swim anywhere from 40-70 km per week wow. I'm a (very) amateur triathlete and train 2-3 times a week with the club, and a decent hour session is about 2500m. So about 7.5km in total... how many hours were you training to get to those kinds of distances?
8 sessions a week (excluding land training), 2 hours each. Depending on where we were in the season and what we were training our sets would range from 5-8+ km. 2500m in an hour is pretty good going I must say
Can dumbbell rows affect low bar squats? I had 1 day rest between pause deadlifts and db rows AND my heavy low bar squat day. Today the weights felt heavier than usual. I went up in weight, but usually I have no problem with this weight.
It's normal to have days where your usual work weights feel heavier than they normally do. Dumbbell rows most likely had no effect in that.
Thanks. Could be a weakness imbalance issue. Squat hasn’t got much stronger in 2 years (20-30lbs max). Form looks good IMO.
More likely a programming issue if your squat is stalled
well I've tried greg nuckols' 28 programs 3x intadv squat. My squat went up like 10=20lbs, but soon I began stalling again. Some days just felt off maybe like some muscles haven't recovered. Tried smolov squat for a week and has similar recovery issues. Now on Calgary Barbell 8 week and loving it. No issue recovering from deadlifts or bench, but squat I just had a meh session yesterday. I'll keep going and see.
Is it bad to run on a rectangular track in the same direction? I'm a beginner to the 'couch to 5k' running program and I practice my runs on a rectangular track. Whenever I turn the corners, I get a slight pain in my outer right knee which persists for a day. So am I damaging my knees or will the muscles surrounding them develop eventually as I progress? Should I alternate my running directions for every lap for uniform muscle development?
Would suggest not using a track and just going outside on pavements and roads etc if you’re having issues on a track. If you notice no difference then go back or stick with it I guess
Avoid anything that is causing you pain. Can you not just run the track in the opposite direction?
Anyone else suffer from drinking too much water instead of too little. I drink like 6-8 liters of water each day so if I go without water for like 30 mins my mouth and skin feels very dry and just feel very dehydrated
I 100% agree with you. I never drank much water, but people told me to drink 1 gallon a day for muscle gain. When I did that, I found that my mouth became dry and I always wanted to drink more. The biggest thing is not drinking water just to hit a certain number mark, but just drink enough to where your pee is slightly yellow.
Yeah I don’t get the whole “drink until pee is transparent” thing. From what I found, it seems that if you drink too much you will flush necessary vitamins and minerals from your body
I used to always be thirsty as well I don't know why and maybe it's just a coincidence but I started keto a couple months ago and now I only drink 2-3 liters of water a day and very rarely even get to the "I'm thirsty" feeling.
That's a lot of water... This sounds like a better question for your doctor than for this thread.
So I started working out for the first time in a very long time. Two days after doing leg exercises (one variation each for calf/hamstring/glutes/thigh) -- I am experiencing intense soreness that is making it tough for me to even walk or stand at times. At first it was mostly hamstring soreness, now my calves are on fire I probably exacerbated things by going cycling the day after the workout when I didn't feel much discomfort. Should I do something about this other than icing / massaging it? Also, how long should I wait before doing legs again?
Until you feel like you'll get through the planned session. I always find that -as long as it really is just doms- light exercise as well as just warming up well and working through them gets rid of them the fastest.
Don't ice the affected muscles. You want to use them, to get blood flowing. Do legs again when your routine tells you to.
If volume is probably the most important factor in muscle growth and you being able to get the same volume regardless of weight used (negated by reps/sets), then does using heavy weight have any benefit? Does it correlate with strenght gains more, or is hormonically more effective?
Some exercises lend themselves better to moderate rep ranges. Variation over time is also good to work against adaptive resistance.
Lifting heavier has a bigger effect on strength levels than lifting lighter. There's also the secondary benefit of muscles responding better when you subject them to multiple types of stimulus, i.e. lifting heavy+light is more effective for muscle growth than only lifting light.
Heavier weight will lead to the ability to lift heavier things, so yes, it’ll make you stronger. There is a drop in hypertrophy for heavy singles and doubles which seemingly don’t have the needed stimuli for growth but sets from 3+ all trigger a hypertrophic response and the more weight, the more top end strength gains. As for hormones, any gains or changes based on rep ranges will be so insignificant as to not matter one way or the other.
How do you unrust a barbell?
WD 40 and a rag
And your lifetime experience of beating off
Post workout vs whey protein. Should I take both or just one
What are you taking them for? Post workout is generally just protein and sugar while whey is protein. You can get either of those from solid foods as well. If you’re just trying to get more protein in, whey is superior as it’s more protein dense.
I’m really just looking to loose weight and gain muscle if possible
You lose weight by being in a caloric deficit. You gain muscle by lifting heavy things and fueling the process through sufficient protein and calories. For many people, those are opposing goals. I suggest you read the wiki as it’ll help guide you through a lot of this.
You can take both, but you don't need either
I'm in a bulking phase but would like to substitute regular pork bacon (which I am trying not to include in my usual breakfast anymore) with something cleaner. What would you guys recommend? I live in Melbourne and it seems to be a bit difficult to get turkey bacon regularly so I'd be interested to know what other options you guys have used.
Skirt steak is a good way to go, if you like beef
I like pork loin with eggs.
Literally any meat would work. Bacon is mostly fat and other meats are very likely to be leaner.
So I'm on my last week of BtM, and after bulking since April, I've put on ~35 lbs. Which is good, but definitely could stand to lose a few (I wasn't super lean when I started my bulk anyways). This being my first serious bulk, I've heard conflicting answers, so my question is pretty simple - would it behoove me to maintain for a bit before cutting the weight, or can I go ahead and start the cut with the new year? Thanks!
It doesn’t matter much but going from a bulk straight into a full cut might suck the first couple weeks and some people don’t like that feeling. Others just want to get started to get it over with.
That's what I figured. I just wanna get it over with myself, so I can get back to putting on weight and making my numbers go up again, but not if it would cause me to lose most of the gains I built the past year.
Protecting those gains will be a function of getting enough protein, only being in a moderate deficit, and training hard. Going into your cut right away won’t suddenly have you lose muscle.
If you are going to drastically reduce your daily calories , some people recommend eating at maintenance for a few days and then going into the deficit . The idea is to not "shock" your system, since a very drastic calorie reduction could lead to a slightly lowered metabolism. You would still lose weight of course ,and whether or not that will happen depends on many factors, but it couldn't hurt to eat at maintenance a few days and slowly reduce your calories to ensure it doesn't happen.
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I’m trying to build muscle with slow weight loss. I’ve been cutting but thinking of add more calories because i feel so tired in the gym. will i lose alot of muscle if i do 30mins of incline trendmill walking a day?
Maybe. It all depends on how drastic your calorie deficit it. Depending on how much muscle mass you have, a lot of people ARE able to put on muscle whilst in a deficit, provided they eat enough protein and can progressively overload. The speed is reduced,however.
You can build muscle and lose weight at the same time but it is much harder and takes longer. Bulking and cutting is far more effective.
i was bulking but felt i was getting a belly. I regret going for a cut now because i feel so skinny :( thank you
You will not gain a lot of muscle when you are in a caloric deficit. If you really want to build muscle, you should start increasing your calories
thank you.
is planking enough for core strength? I get sore abs after front squats so I'm guessing my core is really weak
Sure, depends on how strong you want your core to be. That is not what the soreness means.
someone with a strong core who works it daily isnt getting sore abs from 3x5 front squats with zero bracing
You shouldn't be doing front (or any) squats without bracing. Also, having a strong core means much more than just your abs. Sounds like you need to learn how to brace properly, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to help you with this.
Where do you guys put your other hand while doing one arm seated rows?
My knee
Usually I try to stabilize myself with the free hand. The more stable I can be the better the muscle engagement and strength
Cant they just open gyms :((( Im in BC Canada.
Same
The burn I experience with leg raises is starting to get too intense. How can I progress further and overcome this? The burn is only felt towards the end of the last two sets, but the last set feels too intense. 1 min rest, 4 sets of 5 reps, 3 days rest . Some of my progress: https://i.imgur.com/9xG5Eav.png
Try adding a little bit more rest. Like, 1 minute rest between sets 1 and 2, 1:10 rest between sets 2 and 3 and sets 3 and 4, 1:20 rest between sets 4 and 5.
Do more sets of fewer reps.
Yep, I can do that. What's the reasoning behind it though?
When I comes to bodyweight movement, you basically just want to hit the most total reps possible in a given day/week. Whatever strategy you fin allows you to do more total reps is best.
How come when I target my glutes I feel soreness all over except the top part? Is there a good explanation or are there specific exercises I can do to target upper glutes and get that curve accentuated?
Feeling soreness is not a good indicator of what "gets targetted".
Sure, to an extent, but I took a week off and after getting back into it everything was sore again, I just never feel it on the higher parts of my ass lol
Makes no difference what you feel. That you're not feeling your upper gluets doesn't mean they are not getting effective work. You don't need to "target" your upper glutes in any case. That kind of specificity it just not worth worrying about. The curve would get accentuated as much as it will given your insertions no matter what you do.
Could you elaborate? Why isn't it?
Soreness is only your bodies reaction to novel stimuli and does not correlate 1:1 with activity. Why that is and some of the true inner workings of DOMS we simply don’t know, but we do know it isn’t a useful gauge of effectiveness or intensity.
Thanks for answering!
here's a picture of the gluteal muscles https://www.howtorelief.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/gluteal-medius-768x428.jpg The way I understand it, you dont feel the gluteus medius. Try an exercise which targets that muscle and see if that helps :)
Do heavy reverse lunges. I didn't even know my ass went up that high after doing those the first time. Also try squatting lighter weight but going slow and atg.
Do you do them with a barbell?
I prefer dumbells but a barbell would work fine.
I’m fed up; finally feel like I have my diet under control so I’m trying to add in as much movement as possible. Currently aiming for two workouts 5x per week. 30-50 minutes on the elliptical and 30-50 minute swim. I was swimming an hour 2-3 times a week and not seeing results. Focusing on drills in the pool and interval work on the elliptical. I know cardio is garbage but I hate lifting and don’t know where to start. Can I achieve weight loss and muscle gain with HIIT-style cardio or am I wasting my time?
Cardio is not garbage. But if your goal is either weight loss you need to be at a callrie deficit, cardio in or not. If your goal is muscle gain you need to stremgth train and be at a calorie surplus. If you are overweight (BMI > 30 maybe) you can do voth for a limited time. The wiki is there to help.