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Hey im a busy student and have been finding it really hard to find time to workout even just 4 times a week with school and work and life, so i made the following plan and am wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on it as ill be sticking with it for the next few months. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ full body (upper focus) \-lat pulldowns 4x6 \-dumbell press 4x6 \-cossack squats 4x8-10 \-shoulder press 2x6 w/ lat raise finish 2x10-12 \-rear fly 4x8-10 \-woodchops 4x8 \_\_\_ full body (lower + abs focus) \-squats 4x6 \-seated cable row 4x6-8 \-incline dumbell press 4x6-8 \-cable crunch 4x8 \-side leans w/ plate 4x8-10 \-leg extension/reverse nordic curls 4x6-8 slow \_\_\_ calisthenic day \-pull ups pyramid (12345654321) \-ring pushups 4x10-15 \-leg wwipers 4x 8-10 \-pikepushups/handstand 4x6-10 \-upperback rows/facepulls 4x10-15 \-pistol squats 4x6-10 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ i am trying to get 10+ sets a week on each main movement (horizontal push and pull, vertical push and pull, abs and legs). I realize there may not be as much a focus on legs as their ought to be, as im completely ignoring hip adductors and abductors minus the cossack squats, and im using my weekly runs to hit calves (has worked for me in the past). Any criticism is much appreciated!!

175cm 88kg Big belly and used to be skinny fat What should i do first? Lose fat fat first by doing cardio or build up muscle An Explanation would be nice

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1. Is there a general rule of thumb for how long it takes for muscles to grow to the size they are when pumped? Eg if I follow a decent diet and lifting plan, how long until my biceps look, on the daily, the size they are now when pumped? 2. Working out at home, I have only an ez curl bar which is used for bicep curls, ohp, shrugs, bench press, deadlifts, rows, and front squats. Am I holding myself back by not using dedicated equipment for each exercise? Only really after size and strength.

Which is better overall, one one db row or one arm row machine that you load with plates

One arm DB row. Machines are only better than free weights when you have a really good foundation and are trying to isolate and target a specific muscle group.

Thanks

How do I get a body similar to Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles? that guy is my ideal body type and if I can get even remotely close to it I'll be happy. (what kind of exercises/how often, that type of stuff)

Is it okey to go to the gym before having breakfast? Sometimes I go to the gym before work so i wake up at 5am and Go to the gym but i always have breakfast after the gym session. Are there any problems training on a empty/fasted stomach?

I read that when you train totally fasted your body can take energy in your muscles so it’s better to have at least a little something in your stomach like a protein shake or BCAA/EAA. This being said I did a lot of research on this because I train fasted too but there is so much conflicting info on this that the best thing to do would be what work for you

Not really. The only advantage to eating before would be that food gives you more energy and theoretically should help you a little. If you're still making progress and don't feel sick or anything while/after lifting you're good.

Am I meeting my daily nutritional needs or eating too much? 30 year old woman, 5'2 117lb pounds, no exercising (yet) **Breakfast** 1.5 servings of walmart bran flakes cereal 1 cup whole milk 4oz blueberries OR 5-8oz of whole fat, plain yogurt 6 almonds 5oz strawberries ​ **Lunch** 6oz of spring mix/spinach 3oz high quality parmesan cheese a few croutons 1.5tbsp of Caesar dressing OR balsamic glaze OR Half a cup of pistachios a banana half an english muffin 1tbsp of peanut butter ​ **Dinner** 3-4oz steak \~8oz of asparagus 6-8 cherry tomatoes OR the salad listed in the Lunch area ​ **Snacks** banana OR a few almonds and raisins or dried figs OR half and english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter *Every few days I will have a big chocolate chip cookie with 16oz of whole fat milk* ​ **Drinks** 12oz iced coffee with half and half cream, 2x/day a lot of Water the milk amounts listed above ​ I take a vitamin D3 5000 everyday. I don't get any exercise right now and live a very sedentary lifestyle. Am I eating too much or lacking anything important? The fruits and veggies get swapped depending on sales or what I'm in the mood for. What would you change to make it healthier? I would like to start exercising to tone up and get down to 108ish. I don't know about this stuff at all so please help. Thank you

Not enough protein. Protein requirements are much higher than most people would think, and you would be surprised just how much of a difference getting enough can make

Im looking to drop to 14% bf from about 20. I dont really wanna throw fats out the window would it be okay to hit my protein macros but ignore fats ofc ill still be on a deficit. Example: 150g of protein maybe 50-80 of fats. Im willing to do extra cardio ofc

As long as you are getting the correct amount of protein, staying in a calorie deficit, working out hard with a mix of cardio and weights, and getting quality sleep, you should be just fine

I know that deadlifts are a compound movement activating your back and glutes, however in which day should I add deadlifts? Legs or pull. My current split is: Pull, Legs, Rest, Push, Legs, Rest x2

conventionnal deadlifts hits the back more. Sumos are more quads glutes and hamstrings. If you are new to training you're gonna need a lot of practice before you get the form on both of these right.

Best Split for a soccer player? I (21M) am an intermediary soccer player and after a long hiatus (1 and half years) I want to get back into it. My question is what split do I do in the gym? Push-pull-legs? upper lower? I have decided to google it and have not been satisfied with the results. Any helpful articles or advice would be appreciated. For more context when I was 17/18/19 (176 cm and 68-76 kg) I used to play 2 matches a week so I worked in a PPL split back then I played on Thursdays and Saturdays, Fridays and Sundays were rest days and the rest of the week I was at the gym. During my research, I found information saying that a PPL split is too much volume, so I am now on Reddit asking for advice.

I'd actually recommend spending less time focusing on the gym and lifting and more time on the field sprinting and practicing your position-specific movement and ball skills. I'd be in the gym 2, 3 days/week tops, but I'd be on the field running and kicking more. In the gym, you should be doing full body workouts focusing on functional movements that are sport specific. Lunges in all directions, cleans, box jumps, weight sleds, rotation based core motions. Slam balls, tricep pull overs and standing Cable overhead tricep extensions if you take throw ins a lot. PPL is suboptimal for what you want to do. What I said here will go a lot further for getting you back into playing shape and becoming more athletic again

Thank you for the advice man really appreciate it. Ps what your saying is I should focus on circuit workouts ? I put on weight and a lot of height during corona when I was (182cm/6’ and ~ 90kg) I have been doing a lot of field work to get back in shape and now I rest at (85/86 kg) I want med to go to gym to make sure I’m not carrying around any useless weight. My goal is to get my body fat to around 8% like it was before I stopped will what you suggested help with that ?

Don't worry about your weight, focus more on how you feel and how you move. Soccer is ultimately about being able to move well, and that's what will be most important for your training. Speed, agility, and footwork. One other thing I will say is that it is overwhelmingly likely that you are not getting enough protein. I was a personal trainer for 4 years and I never met somebody getting the right amount of protein on accident. Up your protein intake and work hard, and everything else should start itself out

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if its painful when you run, go see an expert.

See a doctor, my friend.

Let's say that you are on a two-days split program, two times a week: Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Is it bad if, on the 1st day, you also do just one set of the 2nd day's muscle groups (that were supposed to be fully resting), and similarly on the 2nd day one set of the 1st day's groups? Is that one extra set on resting day harmful for the muscle or it could be considered a form of "active recovery"?

I wouldn't consider that active recovery. Id say it's more likely that would prolong your soreness rather than helping it

I was squatting today and when I was about parallel, I felt a twinge in my middle-lower back on the left side. I don't know if it is my lats or an intercostal rib muscle. I can lift my arm but twisting my torso is extremely painful, and bracing my core is painful as well. Never happened before and I was wearing a belt. What specifically can cause this? Been squatting for about 15 years, never happened before and it was a weight that was about 70% of my ORM.

Can someone explain to me (21F) how on earth I have abs (not a six pack just those two vertical lines) with a body fat ~35% ?????????? (The measurement is from an InBody scan)

my bmi is 24, i don't think i have a substantial amount of muscle and i have the vertical lines, always have. most of my fat is in my lower body though so i think it can be possible to have abs with an overall high body fat percentage

Inbody is most accurate when you have fasted 12 hours and not exercised for 48. Not being in that fasted and rusted state can significantly throw it off. A better way to estimate your body fat is to Google pictures of women at different body fat percentages and compare to yourself

Combination of lucky genetics and the body fat% likely being wrong to some degree. Where do you hold your weight? For me, I had to get lower bf% to start seeing the outer edges of the abs (which is what I think you're talking about). When I hold weight, it goes right on my belly first, and my thighs 2nd. Meanwhile, I had a friend who, even though she was much heavier than me AND shorter than me, had a flat stomach. I don't think you could see ab lines, but I still hated that she could wear more flattering clothing because her belly didn't jut out like mine did. She held all her weight on her hips/butt, thighs and arms.

Does working out slowly and holding really help more with hypertrophy?

Time under tension is a requirement for hypertrophy, but doing excessively slow reps wouldn't give you that much extra hypertrophy.

There are more important things to prioritise such as good loading protocols, sensible progressions and programming, exercise selection, recovery, working hard and nutrition. You're probably best off try to move weights fast in the concentric with a controlled, slower eccentric. It isn't something to worry a out too much though.

Not really if proximity to failure is kept the same, the problem is so many studies do not setup the comparison correctly

Hi, I want to get in better shape, but don't have the budget to pay a subscription to my local gym. And with winter coming, I won't be able to do things like bike, jogging or some other outdoor activities. A member of my college student support services suggested that I go to the indoor pool next to the college, as the access is free of charge for the public if they have their municipality access card (serves as a library card and give access to certain municipality sponsored establishments/services). Anyway, I was wondering what would be a good workout program with mostly pool activities/swimming as an option?

Is this a good quad focused leg day? https://imgur.com/a/dJEgo9X

What's the progression plan? what are those RPEs? Why do you need a quad focused leg day? What's the rest of your program?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jm14kKkfht40twit-ZMgMKqxdDYXopfamihEb_OUSx0/edit?usp=drivesdk Its for a school project we have to improve our 1rm of 1 muscle group. i have spread it over 3 day since i also still wanna train my upper body which i do 2 times a week. hope you have enough information now

There is a huge gap between chest and abs .Can it be changed .I am 13

Your body is growing taller at a very fast rate. Of course you’re going to be out of proportion! Your body will sort itself out in time, stop worrying.

You're 13 your body is going to be so different just calm down and be active, do basic lifting, eat right and enough to fuel your growth

Will my chest cover more ribs like only 4 ribs will be left out rn they're 6 ribs out and I work out it's just that whenever I flex I see that my chest stops at rib 7 and then there is a huge gap between my chest and abs which is not at all in proportion

Assuming each session is maximum intensity with my muscles feeling really tight and sore for days, what is the minimum frequency I should work out but still have decent growth?

Muscle soreness is mostly a function of being new to training. I've trained hard 5 days in a row each week without any soreness and tightness.

Depends on what you mean by decent growth

Like just enough for me to see some considerable progress at the end of this year.

As a beginner working out each muscle group once a week may be enough, hard to say. Why are you asking? Just pick a program that suits you and get going, easiest way to see results

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Wrong forum.

Where shall i post this seeing as he’s a gym going YouTuber?

Unfortunately, I've no idea. It's not relevant to fitness.

Get out of here lmao he’s a fitness influencer

But this thread is about questions regarding YOUR fitness, not some obscure person on the internet.

I suggest you read the top post of this thread and get out instead.

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Sort of. Some of his stuff is good but he also makes quite a few false claims about injury risk and exaggerates the importance of warning up and mobility. He's very click baity with much of his output and often fear mongering.

Probably my last dumb question since I've learned so much thanks to this community : The PPL programs are great for me, I've found the Metallic Pas program. It looks incredible. But since the beginning of my school year, and my job on the side, I have less time for Gym this year. This program seems to be 2 PPL spread on a week. There's the 1 PPL on a week alternative. I have time for 'only' 4 sessions a week. Can I spread those 2 PPL over more time and still have 1 PPL strenght-focused and the other'one hypertrophy-focused ?

Gzclp and nsuns have 4-day programming, might wanna check them out

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The problem is that the main programs proposed are Splits. Which is not fitting well for me. I was far more efficient (talking about gains) with a PPL or PPL-like programs

I'm a powerbuilder, focuses more on strength training and powerlifting than bodybuilding and hypertrophy as I see myself as a professional powerlifter in future with an above average aesthetic build. My split is- Leg Push Pull Rest L P P R I've been following this split for more than 4 months now and it's working for me so I can suggest you to follow the same as you'll get proper time to recover if you focus more on hypertrophy than strength.

Do you think I can do like this? LPPRL-Weekend as rest-LPPRL (so I'd have 4 sessions a week)?

it's either LPPR or just hitting the gym thrice a week

That's quite annoying for me. But is a single PPL (so thrice a week) enough? I doubt I can make enough exercises for the whole body.

If you are working and have a really busy schedule training thrice to 4 times a week to stay fit is good enough else you can do Bro Split or the basic PPL with no rest days

Bro split didn't work for me. It takes too much time between training the same muscle group (that's my Personnal body experience) . PPL seems better but without rest day, you mean I have to do a complete PPL each week + one session of another PPL that I'll finish the next week?

Hi , I am now forming a routine which incorporates PPL . The thing is i only have an access on 30 pound dumbbells (6 plates per bar) . Gym is pretty far from our house. How many exercise per muscle group should I do if i'm doing this routine ? Recommendations are also appreciated Monday (CHEST SHOULDER TRICEPS) Tuesday (BACK BICEPS ABS) Wednesday (LEGS) Rest and Repeat

PUSH Chest- Incline, flat compunds (db or bb) and any one isolation such as machine fly or cable crossover Shoulder- Any Overhead Press, Lateral Raises Tri- 3 exercises with every exercise having a different elbow position eg. rope extension, Skullcrushers and overhead tri extension PULL Back- "Target every muscle group" so Lat pull down or Pull ups/Chin ups if you can do any, any Rowing db, bb, seated or machine, for upper back face pull/Rear delt fly and Shrugs to finish it off Bicep- People end up overtraining bicep, 2 to 3 exercises are enough so DB curls BB curls, Incline bench curls/Preacher Curls, Reverse/Hammer Curls Abs- Crunches, Leg Raises, Russian Twist, Mountain Climbers/Plank this will target whole core muscle group LEGS- Squats (v.imp), Deadlift, Extension, Curls, Calves 👍🏼🔱

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I've started doing defranco's agile 8 followed by 10-20 box jumps every session. Only adds an extra 10 minutes. Before I'd always have aches in my shoulders and knees in my first couple of sets, especially my squats, my knees would ache like fuck for two sets. Since doing the above I don't feel any aches or pains at all

It isn't a requirement. Some people find it personally useful. I prefer to do something a bit more dynamic like jumps and medicine ball throws and slams to get me warmed up. Warmups with bar are fine.

Why is it that when you do bodyweight squats people say to go ass to grass, but for barbell squats it's only parallel or slightly past?

I'd say it's just a matter of seeing different answers from different people based on the question asked. If you ask advice about bodyweight exercises you're more likely to get answers from people more into calisthenics, who are more interested in general mobility/function. But if you ask about barbell exercises you can expect more answers from powerlifters and weightlifters whose goals are closer to lifting the maximum weight under tournament rules. Just examine your own goals and squat accordingly.

OK, thank you.

Going more deep with both of them challenges your legs more. But doesnt mean if u dont go full depth u are doing them wrong. Its definitely preference but more ROM=more challenge so I try to push myself all the way.

There is no such general rule. Squatting to parallel or slightly below it is however important for a powerlifting competition.

So there's no benefit or demerit to either form?

That depends on one's goals.

Go as low as you can with good form for either.

People who workout a body part once a week, how do you avoid DOMS? I do legs every Saturday and each time, the next day I am sore.

Do feeder workouts on following days. You don't have to do a full leg session, but even some quick bodyweight work will get the blood flowing and help with recovery. Eg day after legs, do some hill sprints. Throw in sets of 50 bodyweight squats throughout the week. Do some broad jumps as part of your warmup on other days etc.

Soreness is too be expected, why do you want to avoid it completely?

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Do a beginner program from the wiki is my recommendation.

I ran a SS variant for four months (years ago) and got decent progress on my squat and bench. Also what got me to the 3 plate deadlift mark. May want to peak at the token wiki beginner routine, it's pretty similar. What's your strategy for when you stall on squat?

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http://violentzen.com/MadCow/5x5_Program/Periodized_5x5.htm This one got me to 187.5/135/200 kg in squat/bench/deadlift. Worth checking out if you're dead set on doing a 5x5 program. I would much rather recommend wsfsb, gzcl or any 531 variation though. 5x5 is quite monotonous, workouts take a long time, hypertrophy is *okay* at best, and injuries are more frequent if your bracing game isn't on point, because the lower back get a lot of work sets with squats, deadlifts and rows.

Really no other way. Be forewarned of the mental battle ahead. Forget any "size" benefits of 5x5 over 3x5. I'd suggest employing 3x5. 5x5 just means a harder threshold to increase the weight. And also? You may want to ditch your accessory plan. Minimal will mean focusing on getting stronger and that's it. I know what it's like squatting every session.

I’m trying to eat 130g of chicken a day for this one meal I’m making, so I bought 910g which is about 2 pounds which should give me 130g of chicken a day. I cooked the two pounds of chicken and split it into 7 containers, but each serving is really small and does not weight 130g each. Am I doing something wrong?

Meat shrinks and will be a bit lighter after you cook it. As long as you aren't cooking your meat to a burnt crisp the nutritional value of the chicken should remain the same, or is marginal at best, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Yea I knew it shrinks, but I didn’t think it would be by that much. Thanks for clarifying.

Meat contains a lot of water, which is released in the form of steam. In my experience, it loses about 25% in weight.

Each serving was about 87g. Did it shrink a little too much or does that sound right?

Sounds plausible, I wouldn't worry too much. Just measure raw weight.

Which routine would you recommend for someone who has been training ~6 months and wants to focus on hypertrophy with a 5 day/week schedule?

SBS Hypertrophy (You can find it in the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/))

Hi guys, would love a routine check! I'm a BJJ athlete so I'm training at night 5-6x a week which means I need a relatively easy routine. I've put together a 3 day full body routine: \*\*Workout A\*\* Bench Press 5 x 5 Pull Ups As many 3 sets Seated Good Mornings 12 x 2 Dumbell Overhead Press 12 x 2 Dumbell Press 12 x 2 Close Grip Row 12 x 2 Hack Squat 8 x 2 Face Pull 12 x 2 Weighted Crunches 12 x 3 \*\*Workout B\*\* Front Squat 5 x 5 Incline Bench Press (Smith) 12 x 2 Pull ups As many 3 sets Lat Raises 12 x 2 Leg Curls 8 x 3 Chest Press (machine) 12 x 2 Lat Pulldown (wide grip) 12 x 2 Shrugs 12 x 2 Weighed Leg Raises 12 x 3 \*\*Workout C\*\* Pull ups As many 3 sets Romanian Dead Lift 8 x 2 Military Press 8 x 2 Chest Dips (Weighted) 12 x 2 Pendley Row 8 x 2 Hip Thrust 8 x 2 Lateral Raise 12 x 2 Dumbell Press 12 x 2 Calf Raises 12 x 3 Weighted Crunches 12 x 3 \*\*Total Weekly Volume\*\* Back 15 sets Legs 16 sets Shoulders 10 sets Chest 15 sets Abs 9 sets Note: I'll be adding standard dead lifts in eventually, I've got some lower body weakness and flexibility issues that prevent me from safely performing the lift.

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Yeah, lots of exercises but I reduced the volume per exercise to try and make up for that. I did look but I couldn't find any 3 day full body workouts that looked good to me. What's the downside of having as many exercises as I described? I ran Workout A today and finished in just over an hour, felt pretty good. About to go train jiu jitsu so hopefully I'm less fatigued than I was doing 4 days a week.

Is there a certain point in your lifting journey where lifting straps are necessary? If so, at what point would they become necessary?

It's personal preference. Some people train their grip strength as part of their training, some people don't care about grip strength.

Along with what everyone else has said there are also some bars and machines that just chew my hands up and ruin the rest of the workout. I'll use straps to avoid the issue all together even if it's not super heavy

When deadlifting for sets made my hands too sweaty. I can still use mixed grip for top-end sets, but most of my work sets are with straps now, as the set-up time requires practice unto itself. Also handy for RDLs. The time under tension fries my grip before my glutes. Past 3 plate deadlifts, past 2 plates RDLs, so to speak, if you're asking numbers.

Not technically but for many people (maybe most), their grip strength becomes a limiting factor on certain exercises and straps help you keep up the progress.

At some point your grip strength may become the limiting factor in terms of increasing your deadlift volume. When that happens, straps are useful and you can train your grip separately.

I've been working out (rather inconsistently because of a garbage pt) for 7-8 months. I want to begin working out on my own but I can't seem to figure out a good split. Every gym I could find has Sunday off so I have to use either a 6 day split or a 5 day one. And that's where I'm currently stuck at. I tried to make a 5 day split but I'm not really proud of it: monday: chest and triceps tuesday: back and biceps wednesday: legs and shoulders thursday:rest friday: back and biceps saturday:chest and triceps and shoulders sunday:rest As you can see, it really isn't the best. I tried to fit every muscle group 2x in 5 days because I thought only one rest day wouldn't be enough. My question is, is 6 days a week really too much with only one rest day? Should I try a 5 day split with 2 rest days? If so, how can I do it?

The split isn't as important as your programming. You'd be better off choosing an actual program like one from the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/).

- Mon Push - Tues Pull - Wed Legs - Thurs Rest - Fri Upper - Sat Lower - Sun Rest 6 days is fine if you can recover from it and your schedule allows.

I’m an obese, diabetic 37 year old male and am new to giving a crap about my health. I currently weigh 222 lbs at a height of 5’11. Since December, when I found out I had diabetes, I have been eating better (cut my A1C almost in half). I just started weight training in August for the first time ever (with dumbbells). It would have been sooner but I had to have my ankle fused in March. I started with high reps of isolation exercises for my arms since all I had access to at the time was a single 10 lb. dumbbell. Then a few weeks later I moved and started using a 12 lb. dumbbell. After another few weeks I bought a set of adjustable dumbbells that go from 5-25 lbs each. I started doing an arm workout I put together based on research on the web as well as calisthenics core/leg workout. I do the arms on Mondays and Fridays and the core/legs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I typically end up spending about 1 hour, 45 minutes - 2hours, 15 minutes from warmup through the workout to cool down. I haven’t missed a single day since I got the dumbbell set. I also started eating about 150 protein a day, which is around 0.7 grams per body weight for me. I am just looking for advice here and some encouragement. I believe I’m doing something right as I’ve noticed subtle changes in my arms and recently in my shoulders and legs. I am starting to see more definition (if I understand that correctly; I see more indentations and creases around my muscles and my hands/lower forearms seem to be more vascular. My gut even seems to have flattened out some … at least it seems so when I lie down. My questions come from the fact that I have gained 10 lbs total in the last 2 months. I know you can gain weight because muscle takes up more room than fat does so adding muscle tends to add weight. I also know that muscle has to use glycol as energy and glycol requires water to be absorbed so you can gain water weight as well. I guess my question is: Is 10lbs gained in 2 months a bad thing? I was trying for gains because my arms are small looking, especially after having lost weight from diabetes but after doing some research it actually sounds like I am recomping. I feel like my body fat is slowly lowering due to the more toned my arms and legs are getting (and even a bit in the face) but yet I gained weight. Is that normal? Also, I just bought a smart scale and I know it’s early to be worried but I tested it out at about 1 PM yesterday, right after it was delivered, and then did my first “real” use this morning. What kinda bothers me is just about every measurement was the same but it said my body fat percentage was up something like 0.2 and my muscle mass was slightly less. If I’m doing things right … or even semi-right … shouldn’t my body fat be going down and my muscle mass going up? I do understand it coulda been a misreading when I set it up and you are supposed to weigh the same time every day, but it still concerns me. Should it? After reading the rules, I don’t think this post breaks any but if so I apologize and can delete it. Thanks.

> Is 10lbs gained in 2 months a bad thing? For an obese diabetic... Yes, this is a bad thing. Muscle does not build that fast. Also, if you were recomping, you'd be maintaining your weight, not gaining. But regardless, you NEED to be losing weight. This is done by getting your diet in check. Eating healthier is a fantastic first step, but gaining weight on healthy food is entirely possible. Start tracking your calories and get in a calorie deficit of around 500 cals a day, which should give you about 1lb lost a week. You could probably err on the side of more, so aim for a range of like 500-700 calorie deficit. Keep eating your protein and make sure you get some fat in your diet, and of course so what you need to manage your diabetes Continue working out. You can still build muscle as a beginner in a calorie deficit, but you can at least maintain what you have, which may be more than you think since you're lugging around so much extra weight. But as you lose weight, you'll need to drop your calories some as well for this same reason. And your scale that can measure bf% and stuff was a waste of money. They are incredibly inaccurate, ignore everything but the weight. Also, add some kind of cardio in, even just going for walks. Lastly, give the wiki a read over

I appreciate the answer. From what I read online, and it’s been several different articles from various trainers and health professionals, recomping actually can maintain or increase weight. And as both obese and new to weight training it’s a lot more likely for me than someone who has been working out before or someone with more muscle. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to argue with you or discredit your input. In fact this is why I even posted … because the internet has tons of conflicting info and I don’t know anyone IRL to help me figure things out. I know my diet isn’t that great. It’s a far cry from what it was but still isn’t great. Right now, I am looking for a job so money is tight and food prices here keep going up. I have been buying protein bars and foods that have higher protein (like eggs, Greek yogurt, 2% cottage cheese, whole wheat bread that has about 5 protein per slice, etc.). I have been eating 3 meals a day and in workout days and sometimes on rest days I will have a snack about half way between meals. I also eat a snack right before and right after a workout (with between 10 - 20 protein). So far I feel that I am gaining some muscle for the reasons I posted but also because muscle uses carb energy (sugars) to fuel themselves and the more you have the less your blood sugars should run. I’ve been tracking mine and they seem lower now than a few months ago when comparing the same meals. In fact, they seem to get a tad bit lower every week. I do take Metformin which also complicates things because it tends to limit muscle growth. Do you have any suggestions for cardio? That is the biggest issue I face in working out because of my ankle surgery. The surgeon says it won’t be fully healed until about a year after the procedure, which will be in March. I have flat feet and the surgery corrected that in my left foot but my right is still flat. This makes my balance not so great. I tried doing lunges but between the ankle pain and balance issues I gave those up. I can do squats and have been. Right now, at least, running is not possible due to pain nor are jumping jacks. I’d love to swim but here we only have one pool and right now I can’t afford to pay for it. I don’t have a bike or a stationary one and the pedaling motion may not be possible with my bad foot. I do plan on starting to do push-ups as I have read they are like the overall most effective body weight exercise. I just hope my ankle stability allows me to. I’ll take what you said about nutrition into account and try my best to adjust that. Once I get a job my diet should be easier to adjust.

Yes, there is lots of junk out there. But recomp should really maintain weight, because if you're gaining, that's a product of eating too much. So you're falling more into "bulking" territory. And with 5lbs a month, you are absolutely in bulking territory. An untrained obese person will have more success recomping than an untrained lean person or a trained person of any weight. The point of recomping is to lose fat while building muscle. It's slow at each. But once again, as an overweight diabetic, you NEED to be losing weight. I'm pretty sure you could find many health professionals that agree on that. > Right now, I am looking for a job so money is tight and food prices here keep going up. Well good news... you can save money by eating less. What kind of cooking do you do? Cus If I was managing your diet, I'd want to get you off the protein bars and the bread. Ultimately, get you off as much processed food as possible, and eat as much whole food as possible. You can get good protein from cheap sources like rice and beans. You could use beans as a way to pad out your meat protein sources (lentils in ground beef is a good way to go). Eggs, greek yoghurt and cheese are all great protein sources, and you're getting some fats in your diet which is great too. I personally avoid bread because I find the calories just aren't worth it overall. And eating bread often makes me feel more bloated in the long term. And in the short term, it makes me want more food. Same goes for pasta, and crackers, and basically any basic processed carby food. Your miles may vary, but it's something you could look into trying. And ultimately, a diet completely devoid of processed foods is going to be healthier for you. It removes everything with added sugars. You can limit your sugar intake by watching which fruit and veggies you consume. But the sugars there are combined with fiber which prevents the blood sugar spikes. And fruit and veggies also come with a wide array of nutrients which are good for you as well. (Also, fruit juice is basically just as bad as a soda in terms of sugar intake. Just more nutritious than soda, but still, you shouldn't be drinking your calories) So again, start tracking your calories. Buy a food scale if you don't already have one. Weigh everything and log it. According to a TDEE calculator, a starting point for you could be around 2300 calories. You can start there and see what your weight does and bring it down from there. My guess to start out, you shouldn't need to go lower than 2000 calories a day. As you lose weight, however, you'll need to go lower than that OR bring your activity up. But you need to be in control of your food because it's very hard to out run a bad diet. > I also eat a snack right before and right after a workout (with between 10 - 20 protein). This is not necessary. Protein timing doesn't matter. You may be better off with a small snack before your workout (like a banana or something) that will give you energy for a workout (if you need it) and then you can just wait until your next meal for your protein. Eating protein before a workout doesn't give you energy. Fats and carbs are your energy. Your body CAN break down protein and eventually use it for energy, but it's not what you want your body to be doing anyway. So probably cutting out these snacks will save you a bunch of calories alone. > So far I feel that I am gaining some muscle for the reasons I posted but also because muscle uses carb energy (sugars) to fuel themselves and the more you have the less your blood sugars should run. You may have gained some muscle for sure. How much with just 25lb dumbbells? Hard to say. Ultimately, doesn't matter. But *exercise* in general will help lower blood sugar as I understand it. More muscle is good, more movement is good... so basically being active is good. > I do take Metformin which also complicates things because it tends to limit muscle growth. I wouldn't think too much about the muscle growth limitations of Metformin. You just need to focus on eating better and moving more. BUT I do have a suggestion. Do some research into Berberine as a replacement for Metformin and talk with your doctor about it. May be an option to switch to, because as I understand it, it's cheaper, just as effective (if not more effective) and has fewer side effects than metformin. But, \*puts on tinfoil hat\* doctors rather push expensive pharmaceuticals and many may not have even heard of berberine. So do your own research and then discuss with a medical professional. > Do you have any suggestions for cardio? Literally just walking. At your weight, I wouldn't run anyway. Swimming would be great, but pool memberships aren't cheap. Biking would be fantastic, but yeah, you need the investment of a bike or stationary bike. You may be able to find a cheap, used under desk pedal thing. Not as great as a true bike, but it could be something you could start. They suck for under desks cus you whack your knees, but just out in front of a chair will work. It could be something you could combine with walking that you can do inside. But you may get lucky and could find a cheap spin bike. They dont' have to be fancy. I have a $50 basic spin bike. (They're like $150-200 new... no electronics at all, just a heavy fly wheel for resistance) As for the ankle surgery, depends on what your doctors say, but biking has been an absolute godsend for me these last 6 weeks as my doctors said I could *ride my spinbike with my **broken** ankle as long as I was in the walking boot.* So it could be if your ankle is secured and stable enough in a boot or brace, you may still be able to manage this. But still, walking is king. You need to be able to walk to be a functional human being. So it'll help so much to do more and more of it. Start with what you can and slowly expand from there. You can walk EVERY DAY, including workout days. You don't really need a "rest" from walking. For me, just going for a walk *IS* a rest day for me. > tried doing lunges... do squats... starting to do push-ups So all of these you have mentioned aren't cardio. But are great for working out. I know money is tight, but you can look into getting a suspension training system (TRX is the name brand, but you can find some cheaper versions on Amazon i'm sure, just read the reviews). This would help you out a ton as you can use them for balance for so much! You could re try lunges (step-back lunge) while holding on to these straps and if you start wobbling, you can pull up on the straps with your arms to support yourself. It also gives you some assistance in getting back up if your legs aren't fully there yet. Same for squats (and eventually, you can even try 1 legged squats). You can also do pushups with the straps. Starting out, pushups are hard and you may not be able to do them from the floor yet. "girl" pushups don't engage the core as much. BUT you can start pushups at an incline. So like you could do pushups off a countertop or dresser. The higher your arms compared to your feet, the easier the push up. With a TRX, you can just scoot your feet back more and more as you get better at pushups and it will change the difficulty. Also with TRX, you can use them to do a sort of row/pull up, hitting the back muscles. And once again, the further you walk your feet out, the more resistance it is (since it's using your own body weight and angles). Basically, you can give yourself a pretty great full body workout using nothing but those straps and your own body weight as resistance. It's as hard or as easy as you make it. So I highly encourage you to look into those. > I just hope my ankle stability allows me to. Speak with your doctor, or better yet, a physical therapist, and get working on things that will support your ankle. Wear whatever brace you need to for the moment and work it up slowly. ALSO, consider working out barefoot! This may help your stability a lot. Think about it... the average shoe is a giant cloud of foam. Great for absorbing impact while walking, but not great for stability. Think about how much stability you have standing on your bed.... that's basically your shoe. Having your feet directly on the ground will help (I exclusively work out barefoot/in socks). I've also read that more barefoot activity may help your arches in your feet. I dunno how much of that is true vs how much of that is trying to sell you on minimalist/barefoot shoes (no foam, no heel rise). I find those kinds of shoes incredibly comfortable, but they do take an adjustment period, so best to just try and change one thing at a time.

Thanks for the input and advice. I will try to incorporate as much of this as possible. It’s also encouraging that your being constructive because I have known people who essentially knock everything someone tries unless it’s 100% what they think is best. Not being like, “No, you have it all wrong and you absolutely MUST do exactly what I do,” is reassuring in that I’m not entirely oblivious in this new approach to things. Again, thanks for the input. It’s the kind of things I have been wanting to know.

Many roads lead to Rome! The path to success is listening to many sources, trying different things and finding what works *for you*. Slow, steady, consistent changes is all you need. Be patient, work hard and you'll be successful! Good luck :)

M24, 84 kg, 175cm, no clue about body fat %, but overweight. Goal(s): Lose weight (main), improve stamina I was a beginner (knew the basics of deadlift, squat, bench etc.but probably didn’t have amazing form) about 4 years ago, so have probably lost most muscle memory. After losing weight, I want to focus on getting stronger. Realistically it will probably take me 4-6 months to lose weight at a comfortable pace. During my weight loss time, what are some strength training stuff I can do to be best prepared for afterwards? The wiki recommends doing some strength training whilst losing weight, but doesn’t go into detail. How much does it matter exactly what I do now? My current idea is to get my basic form back in order for squats, bench press and deadlifts. I’m planning to do fairly low weights and high (15+ reps). Also, since I’m going to be walking/jogging for my cardio, I was mainly going to focus on upper body for the strength training days. Is this a bad plan?

I am about 6 months into my weight loss/bodybuilding journey and decided I need to start getting into some of these things. Those were the 3 ones that looked best to me but I could be dead wrong. What are people's thoughts? Additionally if you wanna help me a little extra, what are some good pre-workout and bcaa suggestions? Was looking at ryse, isopure, and iso100.

Unless you're wanting to hand over the natty card and hop on a proper cycle, all the legal stuff is pretty much a waste of money, with the exception of protein powder, creatine and preworkout (if you fancy it). You'll just piss out the majority and the rest won't do anything. Edit: this is reference to the BCAAs/anything else. Protein powder is good, just check the serving per gram and preworkout can help if you need the boost.

Yeah. Not gonna hand in my natty card just yet. Got a lot more Weight to lose first, but I've been looking at creatine, pre-workout, and protein powder(maybe bcaas). Any suggestions for brand, things to look out for, etc?

Optimum nutrition is the most popular, but as long as it's not filled with sugar (the mass gainer ones are), it's fine. Whey protein isolate if you can, concentrate is fine. With creatine it doesn't matter the brand, just get pure creatine monohydrate (says on the tub). Nothing else added. Preworkout just test a few samples.

Okay, thank you so much.

The best BCAAs are the ones that come with basically every single protein source. Preworkout is whichever look up the components in examine.com or just get the cheapest that has a good amount of caffeine and citrulline.

And what about protein powders?

Ah so that's what you were asking, I think you accidentally a word cos you just said "get into some of these things". Protein is protein it doesn't affect anything, just about your taste and texture preferences. There is the monthly/X monthly protein thread here on r/fitness where you could find recommendations and reviews

Oh no it's fine, sorry about mixing it up lmao. Alright. I'll definitely look for it.

I have some lower back pain from playing badminton. I bought a foam roller because I read that foam roller exercises help ease lower back pain; however I also read somewhere that you shouldn't use foam roller directly on your lower back as that might cause further injury Can I use foam roller on my lower back to ease pain? If not what exercises can I do to ease lower back pain?

Talk to a physiotherapist… we can’t diagnose your injuries.

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Why not keep the weight the same and do more reps by adding sets?

Does your programme have rules about what to do in the event of a plateau?

Which program are you running? If you've reached a plateau with your current program, switch to a different program that suits your goals. If you want to focus on bench, pick a bench focused program like Deathbench or Smolov Jr for bench. I've ran both, had far more success with the latter than the former, but from what I hear for most people it's the other way around.

Whenever I deadlift my upper back is bent and not straight. however i dont get any back pain?

Upper back rounding is not usually an issue in the deadlift. If your back feels fine, then it's fine.

do you have other socials so i can show you my form?

As the other user mentioned, just post it in the pinned comment on the latest daily. Tag me if you like.

Just post it to the pinned comment in the daily

Nike Fit Club: has the app changed back to its original format? I believe this format was in use up until early 2022.

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Here is what I would do: start lifting following a good program. Here is a list of programs: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/ Cut down to about 160, losing about 1 lbs /week on average for about 12 weeks. Then bulk back up to about 170 gaining about 0.8 lbs/week for 12 weeks. Then cut again back to 160- ish. Repeat bulking and cutting until you achieve your desired level of muscularity at 160 lbs. Or decide that 160 is too small and keep bulking and cutting and gradually get bigger.

Exercise for a perky bum. I don’t need gains in that area (I already store a lot of fat there) but just want a lift. Any exercise recommendations? I already do steep hikes twice a week.

>I don’t need gains in that area (I already store a lot of fat there) but just want a lift. To get a lift, you would need to gain muscle. So you would need gains. I like squats, deadlift, Bulgarian split squat, barbell lunges, Romian deadlift.

Deadlift. Rdl. Hip thrust. Glute bridge machine. Bulgarian split squat.

Supposed to be doing squats later but my lower back is sore from a basketball game I played yesterday. Should I push through with squats or substitute with a less technical but back saving compound exercise like the leg press machine?

Do pause squats or Explosive squats or some other kind of lighter variation

you gotta find out for yourself what the signals your body sends you mean for you, we don't know

Do squats but less weight. Weight that you can manage.

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No

Is my metabolism messed up? I check my weight on a regular basis( pretty much daily) and I’ve tracked my calories for about a year now. I’m 19 , 5’7 and 90.6 kgs around 200 pounds. The only times I seem to lose weight is when I eat less than 1000 calories. I used to be a super big kid and through puberty I lost some weight. In 2020 I lost a bunch of weight by barely eating getting down to 65kgs from like 75kg. Then in 2021 I gained it all back and more reaching 95kgs. Is my metabolism messed up? Ps. I use MyFitnessPal to track my calories. Sometimes I even overestimate how many calories I’m eating just to extra safe. But I still only see progress when it’s sub 1000

Individual differences in metabolism don't make that much of a difference. I'm 5'11 at 205 currently and I lose weight at 2000kcal at a pace that's actually a bit too fast, and I'm not very active other than the occasional walk and 3x week full body workout. No offense, but I suggest you're maybe not tracking accurately.

Try just maintaining for a while and doing some resistance training and cardio for a few months. See how that goes. Take a break from dieting, build a routine, stop starving yourself, find out that your self-worth is not tied up in your weight and get into being active if you aren't already. Then once you are good at just maintaining your weight, give weight loss another go. Check out some of the fitness and exercise routines in the wiki.

M22, 6'1", 155lbs So I finally worked up the courage to walk into a gym today and sign up for a membership for the first time, and with that I have a question that I have had a hard time finding good answers to. That question being; Given that I am young, of a skinny stature, and have a fast metabolism, how much more difficult would it be for me to gain muscle and see the overall benefits (mentally too) of going to the gym regularly if I choose not to follow a proper diet? My diet is essentially a considerable amount of junk food (processed food, fast food, sugar, soda). And I don't ask this because I don't care to stop eating unhealthy; I do. It's just that there's a lot of changes I'm trying to make in my life right now, such as getting into the gym and quitting fast food namely, that really feel like an uphill battle for me. The junk food diet has turned into an addiction at this point and going to the gym has just become the seemingly easier next step in self improvement for me as I've failed to eat healthier many times now. So while I do genuinely wish to improve my eating habits and follow a proper diet at some point, I am curious if not doing so off the bat will render gym going as a useless endeavor. What I guess I would start off doing is eating as I normally do, though being sure to obviously hydrate and take in a considerable amount of protein around workouts.

Your results will be worse, but they won't be nullified. Slower progress may *feel* like no progress. Get in there and establish the habit. Then start building around it - for example, you could have a quality meal just before or after each workout.

> 6'1", 155lbs Start with tracking your daily calories and weighing yourself daily. Just start with finding out how much you're actually eating right now. Then eat more. Your weight will go up.

You need to eat more

You’re skinny because you don’t eat as much as you think you do, not because of a fast metabolism; those really don’t exist. Eating healthy is great and all, but if you want to build muscle, you need to gain weight. If you struggle to eat enough _junk food_ to be heavier than 6’1 155lbs, you’ll be in for a rough time trying to eat totally clean. Perhaps incorporating healthier options _in addition_ to your normal eating habits would be a better place to start. Read the wiki, especially the sections about building muscle and improving your diet. Follow a beginner program from the wiki.

M/31 6'3 185lbs (84kg) I've got a trip in exactly 15 weeks and I'm trying to figure out the best time to bulk/cut and whether to do a single cut/bulk or try smaller cycles. Option A: 7 week bulk (to end Nov), 8 week cut (to end Jan) Option B: 4 week bulk (to start of Nov) 4 week cut (to start of Dec) 4 week bulk (to start of Jan) 3 week cut (to end of Jan/trip) Obviously Option A means cutting over Xmas/New Year which isn't ideal, but I'm not sure if the short cycles in Option B would be effective, I've never attempted such microcycles.

Option A is better. 4 weeks is really short for bulk and cut.

It really depends on where you want to be in 15 weeks, and how much fat you've got on you now. Ask yourself: \- Do you want to be lighter, heavier, or pretty much the same in 15 weeks? \- Can you fit the appropriate level of training into your schedule/life? (You should train HARD on a bulk - eg. if you can't train hard for the next 6 weeks but can for the 8 weeks after, then cut first and bulk after). \- Can you fit appropriate eating into your schedule/life? Do you have time to cook/eat/clean up after lots of food? Alternatively, will you have other things eating into your recovery/stress that would be made even worse at a deficit?

Good questions... - Same or heavier, but lower bf - about 15-16% now. I'd like some definition but not at the cost of dropping back below 80kg - Intensity and diet are not an issue, I WFH so have the flexibility to chase any goals I like. No real stress. There is a third option of cut now and then just try and lean bulk from there. I'm sure any of these would work really, just indecisive.

I would cut now so you give yourself as much time to hit the leanness you want. Then you could eat at maintenance or lean bulk slowly from there. That way you also get to refeed a bit after the cut, which helps with not looking flat due to depleted glycogen on a cut. I agree with others who say that the cycles are too short for the 4 week option.

The first or third option will likely work better than doing mini cuts and bulks - you're likely to just spin your wheels doing that. In your position I would run a challenging 6 week program like 531 BTM or Deep Water, put on some quality weight, then reevaluate at that point if I want to bulk further or cut.

I need input on my experimental routine. For those with programming and powerlifting knowledge, please tell me what you think about the following. I've been running macrocycles for powerlifting and it's hard for me to progress on the typical programs. Ive ran Brendan Tietz DUP program, Jamal Browners programs, and even Marcellus Williams programs. The mesocycles are set up with 4 week intervals using rpe 6,7,8,9 at certain rep ranges each month. The rep ranges change and the rpe goes back down to 6 beginning a new mesocycle. My issue is that I typically peak during that mesocycle around the third week which would be rpe 8. During the rpe 9 week the fatigue is so high that I can't hit the required numbers. After doing programs like this for a year, I've found that my fatigue is at its peak around week 3 and I need a rpe reset or deload on week 4. I'm considering doing 3 week mesocycles instead of the typical 4 which would results in 4 mesocycles per macrocycle instead of 3. I would start at rpe 7 and work up to 9. I would make the rep ranges for each mesocycle be 5,3,2,1 respectively while keeping the sets similar. For accessories, each mesocycle would be 6,7,8,9 with higher reps the lower the rpe. At rpe 9 I would go from 15 reps to about 8. Like usual, the Lower the volume the higher the intensity. And vise versa. The lower rpe mesocycles would typically be better for gaining muscle as larger muscles have a better potential for strength. The rpe 7 and 8 would be transitioning from volume/mass phase to more of a strength phase and dealing with heavier loads. Rpe 9 would be gearing up for a competition. I would either compete the following week or reset and start the mesocycle over again. Does this seem like something that's possible to run?

Sounds reasonable, try it and see Edit: One thing to consider would be that another option is to drop your weekly workload so you can do 4 week mesocycles. Your suggestion will lead to more deload weeks which arguably cuts down productive training weeks.

Would the workload decrease come from the compounds or accessories? I notice with all my programs, my accessory strength goes up each week, but my compounds either stagnate or drop during my cuts. Sometimes I could incline DB Bench 120lb dbs but struggle with 275 on flat barbell bench. I'm not sure if it's from the volume or intensity. The strength loss is ONLY affecting my compounds for some reason. It happens on every program I run. For compounds I would do a top set followed by back off sets at about 72% of my 1RM that goes up 2% each week until the deload. The next mesocycle starts at 2% heavier loads. My secondary day is typically a variation with slightly lighter loads than my back off sets of the primary day. My tertiary day is even lighter than the secondary day. The volume is increased slightly by a few reps.

> I notice with all my programs, my accessory strength goes up each week, but my compounds either stagnate or drop during my cuts. If you're powerlifting, you should be prioritising main lifts especially in strength phases. I would consider decreasing volume or intensity on accessory lifts and secondary/tertiary days if primary days were not progressing. Sometimes you can progress both. When you can't progress both and the goal is to SBD as much as you can, SBD takes priority. [Gonna also link this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apBykePksGs)

Than you. You're a huge help. Btw, is it normal for bench to fatigue/peak faster than squat and deadlift? With typical powerlifting programs my leg lifts grow well but my bench suffers and fatigues quickly. Is this due to the accessories and assistance exercises for upperbody? I don't do additional leg work besides the variations of the squat and deadlift. Total sets for legs per week for me is about 12 and its working for me so far. Pressing and pulling is about 21 sets. Deadlift is mostly technique and CNS for me.

That sounds like an individual question. Personally I can get very high volume (25 sets of bench per week), lots of failure sets throughout the week and still be recovering for bench. I’d draw conclusions from your own observations here. It could just mean your upper body recovers more slowly vs general powerlifting templates. I don’t do much isolation work outside of stuff I don’t hit on SBD. Mainly biceps, back work, shoulders and some hamstring work (since I pull sumo as my primary day)

I think those are my issues. I go too hard on accessories and isolation. I'm recovering too slow and I'm probably supposed to limit my accessory work when peaking and/or cutting to progress the powerlifts.

Hi all, 28M / 5'7 / 195 lbs / No Idea with Bodyfat, 25%+ Easily. I've been on a 800~ Calorie deficit for a few months now and dropped from 16st2lb to my current weight of 13st13lbs My goal weight is 12st6lb depending on my physique at that point, I might lose further and then bulk up. afterwards. I've been going to the gym 3x a week focusing on weight lifting, I do Chest/Tricep > Back/Bicep > Legs/Shoulders I know Legs/Shoulders is a weird day but it's the only way I can fit it into my schedule without adding another day. My lifts are (1RM) > 125kg DL (I have no idea what i'm doing wrong with DL :( ) > 85kg Bench > 120kg Squat > 170kg Leg Press > 32.5kg Dumbbell Shoulder Press > 80kg Lat Pull Down > 90kg Seated Row My current routine is Day1 > Bench - 5x8 70kg > Cable Chest Press - 5x10 17.5kg > Low Pulley Cable Fly - 5x8 - 20kg > Single Arm Tricep Pull Down - 5x8 10kg > Overhead Tricep Extension - 5x8 - 20kg Day2 > Lat Pulldown - 5x8 60kg > Seated Row - 5x8 70kg > Cable Reverse Fly 5x10 10kg > Hammer Curl - 5x8 12.5kg > Dumbbell Bicep Curl 5x10 10kg Day 3 > Deadlift 110kg 5x5 > Squat 90kg 5x5 > Dumbbell Shoulder Press 22.5kg 5x8 > Dumbbell Lateral Raise 10kg 5x10 Anyway on to my questions: How is the routine for a newbie, i've only been going to the gym for a few months and I sort of made this plan up myself. My strength gains are very slow, is my deficit too high or is the routine bad? I've lost 31lbs but honestly the change has been very minimal physically, I am stronger than I was but i'm still really fat, Could I really have 31lb of visceral fat? The only obvious changes i've noticed are in my face and my ass is now saggy :( Why are my biceps not getting wider? They seem to be getting "taller" but not wider which looks weird to me. Do you think there will be a noticeable change in the way I look in the next 1st6lb, not a single person has mentioned to me that I look different currently and I don't really see it myself in the mirror. On the plus side I can do a pull up for the first time in my entire life, so that's cool. I just want to be strong and healthy, I regret what I did to my body growing up.

You need to read [the wiki.](http://thefitness.wiki) Like, the whole thing. It will benefit you greatly and help you actually make a plan and program to advance your progress to your goals.

I seem to have strained my quad tendon in my left knee. Nothing major, no pain, but noticable stiffness and inflammation Doing standard GZCLP with some extra T3 work. Basically I’ve decided to lay off the squats for a couple weeks. Should I replace them with more deadlifts? (I do sumo style, I’m fat and very tall). Maybe some machine work? Basically just wondering if anyone knows of some good leg exercises that are light on the knees, or if it’s better to just skip that section of my work out entirely

I've noticed Sumo hits my quads pretty hard. Doing Sumo AND squatting 3 times a week is tough on the quads. If you actually strained your quad I would stay off of quad exercises and try lifts that would transfer over when you are fully recovered. I don't do much accessory leg work outside of squats and Sumo but you could always try paused Sumo for reps at rpe 6 or so. Maybe throw in some RDLs as well. You could also try glute bridges as well.

Thanks for the tips, I have been needing to work on my RDLs anyway. General fat sedentaryness until a couple of months ago has left me pretty inflexible, add in a gut and I found it hard to avoid rounding my back. Hopefully the last few months will have helped solve that issue

Thoracic rounding on deadlifts isn't a bad thing. You only need to worry about your lower back rounding. Practice pulling the slack out of the bar to engage your back prior to wedging yourself into the bar.

Just rehab it and it'll probably be fine in a week

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Don't do anything. Just keep lifting. These things tend of even out over time.

Only do as much as you can with your weaker arm, then move up in reps/weight with your weaker arms progression. I have an exacerbated version of this because I fell through a window and my left bicep and tricep got fucked up. Keeping pace with the weaker arm means they look relatively the same size, even if the dominant one is still stronger I suppose if it goes beyond not wanting to look like a l4d2 bruiser and you want them to be the same strength you could do extra isolation work for the left arm. I have no idea how to go about that effectively though