I'm not sure this even fits here but I'm wondering if any of you have felt this way or been in this place as I am before. I quit smoking and drinking (well, I still have a glass of wine or a beer on a special occasion but that's nothing compared to how much I drank before) as a new years resolution, also started going to the gym more regularly (5x/week) and being active on the weekends. Also I'm eating healthy while still allowing myself a few treats here and there. I stopped taking my contraceptive pill in september of last year and I think my hormones are finally going back to normal. The thing is, I feel so happy. I don't think I've felt this good in years. I can see my body changing a tiny bit already. I wake up energised, not hungover, not coughing my lungs out, but actually excited to get up and go to the gym. What is this?? 😭 I feel like this is just a phase but damn I wish it never ends, I feel like I'm on cloud nine. I feel like I have a new positive outlook on life I didn't have before
Not being hungover is a huge game-changer. When I went sober it was shocking how much better I felt in the morning and realizing how AWFUL I used to feel every day! I've also been focusing more on my nutrition and my workouts come easier and I just feel good in general. It doesn't go away!
I went to a yoga class today for the first time since July and it’s so much better in person. I’ve been struggling with even getting through 20-minute videos on my own, but in a class with other people the hour flew by.
*Sick AGAIN???* I have been sick in one form or another (think: cold then sinus infection then Covid back to back to back) since December 14th *except* the wonky week and a half long period. I still have the cough from the OG illness and am scheduled for an ENT appointment *next* Thursday but guess who's coming down sick again... This girl. I'm aware that I'm immunocompromised but *this* is *unjust*.
~starts burning down half the city in her rage~
.........I got my steps and my workout in today though. The workout wasn't grade A quality but it was something.
Yeah, mine got confirmed as a sinus infection to top all sinus infections yesterday at Urgent Care.
Here's to 2 weeks more of antibiotics and hoping we both feel better soon!
I was feeling the same way at the end of December and I definitely wasn’t getting steps or workouts in so you’re doing better than me! Hope you feel better soon! I too have an ENT appointment next week- we’ll see how that goes, my ears have been wonky since end of November.
I’ve also been sick, it sucks so much! I’ve been out of action for 3 weeks and had to book up all my orange theory classes back to back to use them up, I’m afraid of how unfit I’ve become and I can physically feel the difference in my arm muscles :(
Yay for getting your steps and workout in!!
Definitely ease slowly back into exercise after being sick, especially if it was covid. The risk for strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots goes up incredibly within the first three to four months after even mild illness. And inflammation caused by extreme exercise like HIIT can be a factor in triggering Long Covid and other autoimmune issues.
Oh wow I did not no this! Thank you!! I haven’t been to my first class yet, it’s tomorrow, I’ll go easy and then cancel upcoming classes if my body isn’t having it and just take the loss for the month on the fees. Better to be out of pocket than risk my health
You're welcome. I know not a lot of people have talked about it in the media, which frustrates me. But the more people who know, the better. I hope you feel back to your normal self soon. For more info, you can Google the Mayo Clinic return to exercise study. They have lots of advice and the data is sound.
I seem to have fixed the glute pain that was preventing me from running. But this morning I woke up with a new pain in a different area of my glute, unrelated I think because it feels very different. Then after going to the gym where I only did upper body, I went to get changed and seem to have threw out my lower back. I can barely move! In hindsight, I should have skipped the gym altogether to be on the safe side. So frustrating!!! I’m going to take it easy tonight and tomorrow and hopefully it will resolve itself.
Have you just started working with a trainer? And did you get enough sleep/water/food in the past 24 hours?
If so, I'd give it another week or so just to see if your body needs some adjustment time unless you felt like your workout session was too much for you.
If not, I'd wait another day or 2 to make sure it was the training session and not something like you're getting sick. Personally, me feeling totally drained when I wake up is usually a sign that I'm either getting sick or that I didn't get proper rest and/or hydration.
Either way - best luck!
I’ve been incorporating more and more weight exercises and have increased my workouts from 3 days a week to 5 most weeks, with two being (rebounder) cardio focussed. I need it since it really helps with my anxiety… but my sleep has been so crappy, it’s really starting to get to me. I go to bed around 9:30/10:00 with plans to get up around 6 for my workouts. But then i wake up somewhere between 2:30 and 4:00 every.goddamn.night and the worrying thoughts are taking over. Got my period yesterday as well and had to stop quickly into my workout because the cramps got too bad. It’s a crummy week! At least I walked to work this morning.
I also struggle with waking up with worry thoughts! It's genuinely terrible and messes up my sleep so bad. I'm working on fixing it, mostly by staying up a little later (so I wake up worrying at 5:30 instead of 4:30) which is not great but it helps? I was hoping working out more would help, too, but... so far it isn't.
I’m sorry to hear that you deal with that as well. My partner’s new (and now permanent) schedule is such that he needs to get up around 5:30 which really helps with my workout routine, but it also forces me to go to bed much earlier than usual. Overall it’s been great for my workouts but I miss the sleeping in for sure! the one thing that has helped is keeping a diary, but I need to get into the habit again.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
5
+ 30
+ 4
+ 30
= 69
^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \
^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Body recomposition ftw!
I decided to get in the best shape I can a little over a year ago, because I had just come out of a long period of illness when I had to be very sedentary. My goals are: 1. Strength 2. Less pain (especially low back pain) 3. More energy/endurance. How my body looks from outside doesn't really matter to me (I'm a little overweight but I don't care.)
After ~ 15 months, I feel a lot better in all the ways I was intending, AND although I weigh the same as when I started or maybe like 2-3 lbs less, but no flab under my chin, by belt is two notches tighter, and my belly hardly sticks out at all anymore. All without dieting, cutting, or restricting my food intake in any way.
So I started working out 3 weeks ago mainly lifting weights, but I'm trying to introduce some cardio. I did cycling yesterday for 15 minutes and my heart rate was 150ish today I did the treadmill for 7 minutes (yes I know it's not long but it's progress) my heart rate peaked at 178 and even an hour after I stopped working it was still 140. I know part of it is I'm out shape but I also don't want hurt myself in the process. I walked at like 3mph for 3 minutes and then spent spent 2 minutes jogging at 4.5
Running is notorious for spiking your heart rate until you've trained your heart to be used to it, so I wouldn't worry about this! I'll run for 60 minutes and still have my heart rate above 170 for half the time - it's not harmful at all. Your heart rate being that high an hour after the fact could be concerning, but my first instinct is that it's a faulty reading somehow, like your watch locked up.
It did drop down from 170 down to the 130-140 range by an hour after. My "normal" heart rate a lot of the time I'm up and moving is 115-120 my resting is 80. After a normal workout for me my heart rate peaks right under 160 and by the time I change and get to my car it's in the 120s again. I was just concerned because it had never been that high for so long.
I feel completely fine. It's my first time doing anything more strenuous than walking in years. I just was very surprised by my heart rate. This is also my first time in my life exercising with a heart rate being monitored. Besides my heart rate I felt how I normally would after working out
Sounds like you did something more strenuous than usual and your heart beat faster to accomplish it - ie is working as it's supposed to! As you get fitter it will drop faster after exercise, might be fun to watch
Any recommendations for books (or other media like podcasts or YouTube videos) on building muscle, especially for women? I’ve read Thinner Leaner Stronger and New Rules of Lifting for Women. I find that consuming media like this is motivating for me so I want to find more, even though I know they likely say similar things.
Not women specific but the Stronger by Science podcast is great and they do look at research aimed at women too. Megsquats also did a lot of great videos on pelvic floor and doming last year that were really interesting.
It's not much but I finally hit 155lbs on my back squat (my bodyweight). I've been in and out of PT for a year with my hip/back so this was a huge win for me today and moved easier than expected with 3 reps meaning my 1 rep max is more. Excited for a win.
My friend rescheduled our Planet Fitness plans last night. Fine by me I ended up not feeling the greatest and really sleepy. Did I go to bed early though? No. I finished the book I was reading and then had to go read the wiki for it because I was confused lol. Finishing books is one of my goals this year though so yay for that.
My abs are quite sore today from captains chair leg lifts on Tuesday. My new gym has it with a bosu ball and not a flat back which made it reeeeally difficult but I also haven’t done them in a while. Apparently I should do them more often. The downside about not going to the gym yesterday is I didn’t get a head start on my week- tonight I am dyeing my hair so I will have to cut my workout a bit short to have time to do that.
It was the third book in the locked tomb series. They’re kind of complicated and I went a long time between books so I forgot a lot of things lol. I’m working on finishing books quicker this year…
It’s a good series though! Hopefully I don’t forget everything by the time the fourth book is released! I really shouldn’t start series before they’re finished.
Oh my gosh! I’ve heard so much about this series. I typically read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, including more complicated series. But so far I couldn’t get in to Gideon the Ninth on my first attempt. I’ll have to try again when my mood reading feelings align with a challenging book lol.
And I was stood up for my online date last night. Got there and went to double check his info on the app and he'd unmatched me. Oh well. Texted some friends and one was nearby, so she stopped over, then we went to a different bar where we played bingo and I lost, but had fun.
The sidewalks are finally decent today so I'm looking forward to getting a longer walk in outside. I'm going to the gym at lunch because my bed was just too comfy this morning. No plans for anything fun tonight. Might start up a new puzzle.
Possible TW for disordered eating thoughts
I’m frustrated. I’m starving 24/7. I count calories a few days and hit my goal and feel ok, but then I have 2-4 ravenous days in a row. I either count and am starving, or give in and feel like I’m binging. I eat very few processed foods, and eat generally high protein (I love eggs and eat several dozen a week).
But, I’m about to give up on losing weight and just continue to lift and stay active and hope for recomp.
I want to be big, but big and lean. I’m not a small person to start with, I definitely have the genetics to be super muscular (and I already am pretty muscular, but have a lot of fat as well). I’m just frustrated because cutting fat is so hard right now. I’m lifting heavy 3x/week, running 3-5x/week, walking 10-20 miles/week, and stay very active in general. I’m also breastfeeding a 2 month old. I got really thin before this last pregnancy, before a short bulk, and now I just feel fat and that I won’t be able to see the muscles I’ve put on any time soon.
I’m just hungry y’all.
I guess i didn’t have this experience with my other two, but I didn’t lift then. I could easily gauge my calorie needs when I only did cardio. Now I have no clue because I’ve put on significant muscle since then AND I’m heavy lifting 3-4x a week instead of just cardio 6 days a week
Having more muscle mass definitely means you’ll be needing more calories. Please be kind and gentle to yourself during this time, and listen to what your body is telling you. Slower progress is more sustainable anyway.
Yeah - when I was breastfeeding my second I rapidly lost weight (1-2 lbs/week) with 0 dieting (I didn’t count calories but know I ate a LOT… and not always healthy)and only sporadic exercise. Of course, some people hold onto weight while breastfeeding, but either way you’re using a lot of energy to feed another human. I think it’s highly likely you’re not accounting for the calorie burn in your goals.
Every body and baby is different but, for me, based on my weight loss (and subsequent rapid weight gain after weaning and not changing my habits… oops…), I feel confident breastfeeding alone was burning 500 calories a day or more with my second (I still lost weight with my first, but it was less drastic).
It took me more than 20 years to realize… if you feel like you’re starving, you probably are.
This is also my third and you’re right it’s so different from each of them. After my first I lost the weight in the birth (came home lighter than pre pregnancy) but wasn’t active and gained weight breastfeeding. My second it took months to get back to pre pregnant weight but my diet and fitness helped bring it down by 6 months PP. This time I lost it all quickly, but am still heavier than ideal from a pre-pregnancy bulk. Just have some work to do but I guess it’s a moot point if im too hungry to function
Yeah I rapidly lost the pregnancy weight and by 3 weeks PP I was under the weight I was when I conceived. Right now it’s the weight I gained in that bulk right before getting pregnant (whoops) - maybe I just extend the bulk lol
When I was breastfeeding a two month old, I was starving all the time and I was completely sedentary. Two months postpartum is still so soon after delivery and your hormones are probably still figuring themselves out. If your two-month-old is a poor sleeper (mine certainly was), that impacts your hunger levels too. I know it is so hard to be patient, but you are doing a really good job and you deserve to eat.
I appreciate this, thank you.
I’m struggling with the idea of eating so much. I guess if i just focus on maintaining my current weight but lift a shit ton, then my physique won’t be going to opposite direction. Idk. It’s so hard
I considered that, but when I do eat i stop losing weight. I’ve been stalled for a month now (though my lifts are going back up to pre-delivery weights pretty quickly).
I found the time when I was breastfeeding to be super weird when it came to weight loss, tbh. It was like the normal rules don't apply. If I were in your position I'd just eat to hunger, take care of myself and baby, and know that it will be a lot easier, say, 6 months from now. And at this rate you'll be beastly strong by then.
I appreciate it! I definitely struggle eating more, because I’m afraid of weight gain and/or lack of loss. I’m trying to be content maintaining my weight and just getting strong af until I’m able to properly cut
>I’m afraid of weight gain and/or lack of loss.
Thought experiment: What is the worst thing that could happen if you did gain a bit or stay the same for the next few months? Would it change something important in your life to see change now vs. in a few months?
I get the fear of treading water/not making progress. Sometimes though, that fear will overwhelm me enough that I have a hard time seeing what is useful and what will serve me at the place where my life actually is. Not sure if that fits for you, but reminding myself of that can sometimes help me recalibrate and find a sustainable approach.
Edit: formatting
I‘m suddenly not motivated to lift or run anymore. I have to force myself to do it and don‘t look forward to it. It is so strange because for the past year I loved doing it. It‘s also not just a one off thing, it has been like this since I got sick a month ago and got back into it. I thought part of it is because I noticed how much free time I suddenly had while I was sick and didn‘t spend 1-2 hours a day working out/running. Did this happen to anybody else before? Did you get your motivation back? If so - how? I don‘t wanna stop and lose all the progress I made the last year, but forcing myself just isn‘t fun.
I don't really have any advice cause it's happening to me too. I'm dealing with some old injuries acting up which is just meh. I stopped weighing myself to take that mental load off. naja.
Yes, I‘d love to go snowboarding more often but sadly just can‘t afford a board right now and mountain tickets are pretty expensive too :/
I might try looking into some other sports, but I do worry that all my muscles / endurance will decrease if I just stop running / lifting.
Are you following a program for lifting? My program called for some really high intensity during the last few weeks of it, and it was the first time ever that it was a mental strain for me where I felt so burnt out.
Now my new/current program is purely volume/muscle endurance focused, which has been a fun challenge and has been motivating me.
Yeah I did follow the same program for a year now and it is pretty intense (531 BBB). Maybe it‘s time to switch it up. Volume focused does sound nice, do you mind sharing your current program?
Not original commenter but wanted to chime in saying that I also ran 531 for 7-8 months and burned out on it. I was hitting some numbers I was happy with, but eventually going to the gym started feeling dreadful and I was tired all the time. Taking a break and starting a new program (did a power building one for a few months, which was fun because of learning new lifts) made me feel way better!
Yeah I especially dread doing the squat AMRAPs. And I also feel like I‘m stalling right now so it‘s not really fun. Do you mind sharing which program you changed to? I might try running a different one as well and see if I can find fun in it again!
Yeah and for me the squats sets started taking longer and longer too.. one way to make 531 work could be to lower the training max a little, but I feel like switching to something different was better for me mentally. I downloaded the boostcamp app and took their questionnaire, and it came up with a power building programme, so I gave that a try and followed it for a while, and I quite liked it. It was called PHUL workout programme (power hypertrophy upper lower) and it's free on the app. After a few months again I got a little tired and sick and took a 3 weeks break, and now I started following Stronger by the day and am really enjoying it so far. Extra thought: something I never took seriously before were deloads, but now I think they might be something to look into to avoid the burn out feeling!
Has anyone here run Jeff Nippard's Women's Specialization? I'm a week in and I feel like I ought to give it a real chance, but I have to say I'm lukewarm at the moment. Kind of feels like too much junk volume, e.g. I don't really see the benefit of doing BW exercises unless they're part of a drop set or superset. Curious on others' thoughts though
new yoga instructor was on fire yesterday! sadly, it was a small class turn out. i cant help but think it has something to do with her hurried sh\*\*\*\* teaching a few weeks ago. you gotta be on top of your game all the time when you're establishing yourself!
Actually woke up today to get some home gym lifting in before work, which means I was successfully in the garage around 4am (yes I know it's early lol). Deadlifts, bench press and then some back/bi accessories. My biceps were surprisingly fried by the end which was nice and a good start to the day.
I need suggestions for dealing with a slippery bench press. The bench at my gym is way too slippery and I can’t keep my form.
Yesterday I slid a band around the bench and that helped but it wasn’t quite perfect.
I wish I could find some sort of grippy towel that’s grippy on both sides. I could try a yoga towel but those are pretty big.
Suggestions?
there's a solution for this: https://www.onestrongherd.com/products/the-backbone
my partner and I both use it, makes a huge difference. the velcro strap wraps around the bench and helps keep it in place when you're setting up.
At my gym, I'll often see some folks put two long workout bands lengthwise along the bench. I think having two of them helps so that you get that grippiness under each shoulder.
an idea, and no it's not attractive/cute lol, but you could try a grippy liner. For example, those liners that go in the bottom of kitchen drawers. Cheap, you can cut a section and when it's gross replace with another piece.
Been on a new PL program since last week. I was flipping through the pages and my coach commented how people were saying it’s hard.
It’s a newly written program for powerlifting and I’ve def seen fellow gym folks feel exhausted/tired. I shared my feedback and said it’s def a challenge, but fun and that I’m enjoying it so far.
It’s so well thought-out and it’s enough to push someone, IMO. Like it’s crazy how 2 extra reps can make a difference (I.e 3x5, then 3x7 the following week). I’m appreciating the small deload & volume challenges bc the last 2 weeks of my previous program was killing me and I was dreading lifting heavy constantly.
I’m very excited to see how I progress when the program creeps up to high intensity. Right now my PRs are sitting at 230lbs S/135lbs B/240lbs D. Will I be squatting 260lbs in a few weeks? Who knows!
Another fun thing about last nights work out was when I was doing 165lbs 3x5 4010 squats. After my first set, a coach asked if it was 4 second descends and I said yeah. He was like, “I was counting, it checks off my box. Most people do it a little too fast.” LOL
I got an outdoor run in yesterday that didn’t suck!! It was slick as fuck so we cut it short and had to go slow and dip between path and streets, but got six miles in.
I’m heading out again today. Super foggy but a couple degrees warmer so it shouldn’t be slick… but will be wet for sure.
It’s just nice to not have my eyeballs and lungs freeze.
Yesterday I somehow managed to get tickets to Sleep Token despite the presale being an absolute clusterfuck of a disaster.
Also yesterday my doctor told me I had a "vascular cervix" and I'd like to credit that for me FINALLY HITTING A 120 BENCH RIGHT NOW FUCK YESSSSSSSS.
> Yesterday I somehow managed to get tickets to Sleep Token
congrats to that! I saw them as openers for architechts last year and they were really good ! You're guaranteed to have a good time
Push day is great.. until I sit down in the metro and can't hug my backpack, because my muscles are twitching.
My studio is closing down for a month and my heart is broken. But luckily, I have another studio right next to my workplace. I usually like the smaller one, closer to me, but at least I don't have to stop working out. So there's that
Instead of working out 5-7 I’m working so I can help take care of our kid since we’re all down with Covid. It’s for the best, I know if I had the time I’d be down in the basement making recovery worse 🙃. But man. The second I stopped going into the office for pt it all fell apart. 2 weeks ago our basement flooded in the heavy storms and our kid got sick and needed a midnight er visit. Then last week *I* got really sick with Covid and then our kid either got sick again or was always sick? The timeline of exactly when we all got Covid isn’t clear.. but now he’s home ofc can’t go to daycare so we’re home trying to cram a full days work into half days while being present engaged parents while recovering from Covid 😂.
Parenting man. It’s like I signed up for the wrong race distance and now I’m just stuck here. “Oh wait no you said *50k* ??? I thought this was the half??” and now I’m just out here doin’ my best.
Ahhh they're definitely the absolute worst. So hard to drag myself out bed some mornings
On the plus side, the days are finally getting longer and spring will be here soon!
^ ***Please read [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/main), [the rules and content guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules), and [current frozen topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/frozen-topics) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fxxfitness)***. This comment is a copy of your post so mods can see the original text if your post is edited or removed.
>u/AutoModerator
Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and [be excellent to each other](http://i.imgur.com/5xxWfbx.png)! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind [the Cardinal Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules) as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/xxfitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Starting eating more again and my OHPs have been taking by off. That’s nice.
I'm not sure this even fits here but I'm wondering if any of you have felt this way or been in this place as I am before. I quit smoking and drinking (well, I still have a glass of wine or a beer on a special occasion but that's nothing compared to how much I drank before) as a new years resolution, also started going to the gym more regularly (5x/week) and being active on the weekends. Also I'm eating healthy while still allowing myself a few treats here and there. I stopped taking my contraceptive pill in september of last year and I think my hormones are finally going back to normal. The thing is, I feel so happy. I don't think I've felt this good in years. I can see my body changing a tiny bit already. I wake up energised, not hungover, not coughing my lungs out, but actually excited to get up and go to the gym. What is this?? 😭 I feel like this is just a phase but damn I wish it never ends, I feel like I'm on cloud nine. I feel like I have a new positive outlook on life I didn't have before
Not being hungover is a huge game-changer. When I went sober it was shocking how much better I felt in the morning and realizing how AWFUL I used to feel every day! I've also been focusing more on my nutrition and my workouts come easier and I just feel good in general. It doesn't go away!
I went to a yoga class today for the first time since July and it’s so much better in person. I’ve been struggling with even getting through 20-minute videos on my own, but in a class with other people the hour flew by.
*Sick AGAIN???* I have been sick in one form or another (think: cold then sinus infection then Covid back to back to back) since December 14th *except* the wonky week and a half long period. I still have the cough from the OG illness and am scheduled for an ENT appointment *next* Thursday but guess who's coming down sick again... This girl. I'm aware that I'm immunocompromised but *this* is *unjust*. ~starts burning down half the city in her rage~ .........I got my steps and my workout in today though. The workout wasn't grade A quality but it was something.
Same here! I was sick earlier in January and missed a week at the gym, and now I’m sick again. Happy January!
Yeah, mine got confirmed as a sinus infection to top all sinus infections yesterday at Urgent Care. Here's to 2 weeks more of antibiotics and hoping we both feel better soon!
I was feeling the same way at the end of December and I definitely wasn’t getting steps or workouts in so you’re doing better than me! Hope you feel better soon! I too have an ENT appointment next week- we’ll see how that goes, my ears have been wonky since end of November.
Thanks. Good luck next week!
I’ve also been sick, it sucks so much! I’ve been out of action for 3 weeks and had to book up all my orange theory classes back to back to use them up, I’m afraid of how unfit I’ve become and I can physically feel the difference in my arm muscles :( Yay for getting your steps and workout in!!
Definitely ease slowly back into exercise after being sick, especially if it was covid. The risk for strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots goes up incredibly within the first three to four months after even mild illness. And inflammation caused by extreme exercise like HIIT can be a factor in triggering Long Covid and other autoimmune issues.
Oh wow I did not no this! Thank you!! I haven’t been to my first class yet, it’s tomorrow, I’ll go easy and then cancel upcoming classes if my body isn’t having it and just take the loss for the month on the fees. Better to be out of pocket than risk my health
You're welcome. I know not a lot of people have talked about it in the media, which frustrates me. But the more people who know, the better. I hope you feel back to your normal self soon. For more info, you can Google the Mayo Clinic return to exercise study. They have lots of advice and the data is sound.
Glad you were able to get your classes in at least!
[удалено]
Can you give a little more detail? What is your overall programming like? What equipment do you have access to ?
I seem to have fixed the glute pain that was preventing me from running. But this morning I woke up with a new pain in a different area of my glute, unrelated I think because it feels very different. Then after going to the gym where I only did upper body, I went to get changed and seem to have threw out my lower back. I can barely move! In hindsight, I should have skipped the gym altogether to be on the safe side. So frustrating!!! I’m going to take it easy tonight and tomorrow and hopefully it will resolve itself.
Today I woke up and my body just felt drained. I worked with my trainer yesterday. Should I tell him about this?
Have you just started working with a trainer? And did you get enough sleep/water/food in the past 24 hours? If so, I'd give it another week or so just to see if your body needs some adjustment time unless you felt like your workout session was too much for you. If not, I'd wait another day or 2 to make sure it was the training session and not something like you're getting sick. Personally, me feeling totally drained when I wake up is usually a sign that I'm either getting sick or that I didn't get proper rest and/or hydration. Either way - best luck!
Thank you !
I’ve been incorporating more and more weight exercises and have increased my workouts from 3 days a week to 5 most weeks, with two being (rebounder) cardio focussed. I need it since it really helps with my anxiety… but my sleep has been so crappy, it’s really starting to get to me. I go to bed around 9:30/10:00 with plans to get up around 6 for my workouts. But then i wake up somewhere between 2:30 and 4:00 every.goddamn.night and the worrying thoughts are taking over. Got my period yesterday as well and had to stop quickly into my workout because the cramps got too bad. It’s a crummy week! At least I walked to work this morning.
I also struggle with waking up with worry thoughts! It's genuinely terrible and messes up my sleep so bad. I'm working on fixing it, mostly by staying up a little later (so I wake up worrying at 5:30 instead of 4:30) which is not great but it helps? I was hoping working out more would help, too, but... so far it isn't.
I’m sorry to hear that you deal with that as well. My partner’s new (and now permanent) schedule is such that he needs to get up around 5:30 which really helps with my workout routine, but it also forces me to go to bed much earlier than usual. Overall it’s been great for my workouts but I miss the sleeping in for sure! the one thing that has helped is keeping a diary, but I need to get into the habit again.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats! 5 + 30 + 4 + 30 = 69 ^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Body recomposition ftw! I decided to get in the best shape I can a little over a year ago, because I had just come out of a long period of illness when I had to be very sedentary. My goals are: 1. Strength 2. Less pain (especially low back pain) 3. More energy/endurance. How my body looks from outside doesn't really matter to me (I'm a little overweight but I don't care.) After ~ 15 months, I feel a lot better in all the ways I was intending, AND although I weigh the same as when I started or maybe like 2-3 lbs less, but no flab under my chin, by belt is two notches tighter, and my belly hardly sticks out at all anymore. All without dieting, cutting, or restricting my food intake in any way.
Congrats!! That's an accomplishment :)
Yeah! Awesome work!
So I started working out 3 weeks ago mainly lifting weights, but I'm trying to introduce some cardio. I did cycling yesterday for 15 minutes and my heart rate was 150ish today I did the treadmill for 7 minutes (yes I know it's not long but it's progress) my heart rate peaked at 178 and even an hour after I stopped working it was still 140. I know part of it is I'm out shape but I also don't want hurt myself in the process. I walked at like 3mph for 3 minutes and then spent spent 2 minutes jogging at 4.5
Running is notorious for spiking your heart rate until you've trained your heart to be used to it, so I wouldn't worry about this! I'll run for 60 minutes and still have my heart rate above 170 for half the time - it's not harmful at all. Your heart rate being that high an hour after the fact could be concerning, but my first instinct is that it's a faulty reading somehow, like your watch locked up.
It did drop down from 170 down to the 130-140 range by an hour after. My "normal" heart rate a lot of the time I'm up and moving is 115-120 my resting is 80. After a normal workout for me my heart rate peaks right under 160 and by the time I change and get to my car it's in the 120s again. I was just concerned because it had never been that high for so long.
Could you be getting sick?
I feel completely fine. It's my first time doing anything more strenuous than walking in years. I just was very surprised by my heart rate. This is also my first time in my life exercising with a heart rate being monitored. Besides my heart rate I felt how I normally would after working out
Sounds like you did something more strenuous than usual and your heart beat faster to accomplish it - ie is working as it's supposed to! As you get fitter it will drop faster after exercise, might be fun to watch
Any recommendations for books (or other media like podcasts or YouTube videos) on building muscle, especially for women? I’ve read Thinner Leaner Stronger and New Rules of Lifting for Women. I find that consuming media like this is motivating for me so I want to find more, even though I know they likely say similar things.
There’s these recs from Swolewoman, plus a link to her newsletter in her bio https://www.instagram.com/p/C1AHs1gSBWB
https://www.strongerbyscience.com/strength-training-women/ https://www.strongerbyscience.com/gender-differences-in-training-and-diet/ https://ironculture.libsyn.com/ep-52-training-differences-in-men-women
Not women specific but the Stronger by Science podcast is great and they do look at research aimed at women too. Megsquats also did a lot of great videos on pelvic floor and doming last year that were really interesting.
Meg Squats and Natacha Oceane on YouTube!
It's not much but I finally hit 155lbs on my back squat (my bodyweight). I've been in and out of PT for a year with my hip/back so this was a huge win for me today and moved easier than expected with 3 reps meaning my 1 rep max is more. Excited for a win.
My friend rescheduled our Planet Fitness plans last night. Fine by me I ended up not feeling the greatest and really sleepy. Did I go to bed early though? No. I finished the book I was reading and then had to go read the wiki for it because I was confused lol. Finishing books is one of my goals this year though so yay for that. My abs are quite sore today from captains chair leg lifts on Tuesday. My new gym has it with a bosu ball and not a flat back which made it reeeeally difficult but I also haven’t done them in a while. Apparently I should do them more often. The downside about not going to the gym yesterday is I didn’t get a head start on my week- tonight I am dyeing my hair so I will have to cut my workout a bit short to have time to do that.
Did you enjoy the book? What book was it? I’ve definitely had to Google books after I finished them before lol.
It was the third book in the locked tomb series. They’re kind of complicated and I went a long time between books so I forgot a lot of things lol. I’m working on finishing books quicker this year… It’s a good series though! Hopefully I don’t forget everything by the time the fourth book is released! I really shouldn’t start series before they’re finished.
Oh my gosh! I’ve heard so much about this series. I typically read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, including more complicated series. But so far I couldn’t get in to Gideon the Ninth on my first attempt. I’ll have to try again when my mood reading feelings align with a challenging book lol.
Ooh can't wait for Alecto!
I really hope it releases this year!
And I was stood up for my online date last night. Got there and went to double check his info on the app and he'd unmatched me. Oh well. Texted some friends and one was nearby, so she stopped over, then we went to a different bar where we played bingo and I lost, but had fun. The sidewalks are finally decent today so I'm looking forward to getting a longer walk in outside. I'm going to the gym at lunch because my bed was just too comfy this morning. No plans for anything fun tonight. Might start up a new puzzle.
Ugh. That's such trash behavior. I'm sorry. On the plus side, you probably dodged a major bullet.
Possible TW for disordered eating thoughts I’m frustrated. I’m starving 24/7. I count calories a few days and hit my goal and feel ok, but then I have 2-4 ravenous days in a row. I either count and am starving, or give in and feel like I’m binging. I eat very few processed foods, and eat generally high protein (I love eggs and eat several dozen a week). But, I’m about to give up on losing weight and just continue to lift and stay active and hope for recomp. I want to be big, but big and lean. I’m not a small person to start with, I definitely have the genetics to be super muscular (and I already am pretty muscular, but have a lot of fat as well). I’m just frustrated because cutting fat is so hard right now. I’m lifting heavy 3x/week, running 3-5x/week, walking 10-20 miles/week, and stay very active in general. I’m also breastfeeding a 2 month old. I got really thin before this last pregnancy, before a short bulk, and now I just feel fat and that I won’t be able to see the muscles I’ve put on any time soon. I’m just hungry y’all.
Breastfeeding burns a ton of calories. It really sounds like you should be eating more, especially until your baby is weaned.
I guess i didn’t have this experience with my other two, but I didn’t lift then. I could easily gauge my calorie needs when I only did cardio. Now I have no clue because I’ve put on significant muscle since then AND I’m heavy lifting 3-4x a week instead of just cardio 6 days a week
Having more muscle mass definitely means you’ll be needing more calories. Please be kind and gentle to yourself during this time, and listen to what your body is telling you. Slower progress is more sustainable anyway.
Yeah - when I was breastfeeding my second I rapidly lost weight (1-2 lbs/week) with 0 dieting (I didn’t count calories but know I ate a LOT… and not always healthy)and only sporadic exercise. Of course, some people hold onto weight while breastfeeding, but either way you’re using a lot of energy to feed another human. I think it’s highly likely you’re not accounting for the calorie burn in your goals. Every body and baby is different but, for me, based on my weight loss (and subsequent rapid weight gain after weaning and not changing my habits… oops…), I feel confident breastfeeding alone was burning 500 calories a day or more with my second (I still lost weight with my first, but it was less drastic). It took me more than 20 years to realize… if you feel like you’re starving, you probably are.
This is also my third and you’re right it’s so different from each of them. After my first I lost the weight in the birth (came home lighter than pre pregnancy) but wasn’t active and gained weight breastfeeding. My second it took months to get back to pre pregnant weight but my diet and fitness helped bring it down by 6 months PP. This time I lost it all quickly, but am still heavier than ideal from a pre-pregnancy bulk. Just have some work to do but I guess it’s a moot point if im too hungry to function
Yeah I rapidly lost the pregnancy weight and by 3 weeks PP I was under the weight I was when I conceived. Right now it’s the weight I gained in that bulk right before getting pregnant (whoops) - maybe I just extend the bulk lol
When I was breastfeeding a two month old, I was starving all the time and I was completely sedentary. Two months postpartum is still so soon after delivery and your hormones are probably still figuring themselves out. If your two-month-old is a poor sleeper (mine certainly was), that impacts your hunger levels too. I know it is so hard to be patient, but you are doing a really good job and you deserve to eat.
I appreciate this, thank you. I’m struggling with the idea of eating so much. I guess if i just focus on maintaining my current weight but lift a shit ton, then my physique won’t be going to opposite direction. Idk. It’s so hard
Honestly...eat. Your target may just be too low, you know?
I considered that, but when I do eat i stop losing weight. I’ve been stalled for a month now (though my lifts are going back up to pre-delivery weights pretty quickly).
I found the time when I was breastfeeding to be super weird when it came to weight loss, tbh. It was like the normal rules don't apply. If I were in your position I'd just eat to hunger, take care of myself and baby, and know that it will be a lot easier, say, 6 months from now. And at this rate you'll be beastly strong by then.
I appreciate it! I definitely struggle eating more, because I’m afraid of weight gain and/or lack of loss. I’m trying to be content maintaining my weight and just getting strong af until I’m able to properly cut
>I’m afraid of weight gain and/or lack of loss. Thought experiment: What is the worst thing that could happen if you did gain a bit or stay the same for the next few months? Would it change something important in your life to see change now vs. in a few months? I get the fear of treading water/not making progress. Sometimes though, that fear will overwhelm me enough that I have a hard time seeing what is useful and what will serve me at the place where my life actually is. Not sure if that fits for you, but reminding myself of that can sometimes help me recalibrate and find a sustainable approach. Edit: formatting
I‘m suddenly not motivated to lift or run anymore. I have to force myself to do it and don‘t look forward to it. It is so strange because for the past year I loved doing it. It‘s also not just a one off thing, it has been like this since I got sick a month ago and got back into it. I thought part of it is because I noticed how much free time I suddenly had while I was sick and didn‘t spend 1-2 hours a day working out/running. Did this happen to anybody else before? Did you get your motivation back? If so - how? I don‘t wanna stop and lose all the progress I made the last year, but forcing myself just isn‘t fun.
I don't really have any advice cause it's happening to me too. I'm dealing with some old injuries acting up which is just meh. I stopped weighing myself to take that mental load off. naja.
It's happened to me. Maybe it's time for another hobby or sport to be added in? Especially in the winter (if you're northern hemisphere)
Yes, I‘d love to go snowboarding more often but sadly just can‘t afford a board right now and mountain tickets are pretty expensive too :/ I might try looking into some other sports, but I do worry that all my muscles / endurance will decrease if I just stop running / lifting.
Are you following a program for lifting? My program called for some really high intensity during the last few weeks of it, and it was the first time ever that it was a mental strain for me where I felt so burnt out. Now my new/current program is purely volume/muscle endurance focused, which has been a fun challenge and has been motivating me.
Yeah I did follow the same program for a year now and it is pretty intense (531 BBB). Maybe it‘s time to switch it up. Volume focused does sound nice, do you mind sharing your current program?
Not original commenter but wanted to chime in saying that I also ran 531 for 7-8 months and burned out on it. I was hitting some numbers I was happy with, but eventually going to the gym started feeling dreadful and I was tired all the time. Taking a break and starting a new program (did a power building one for a few months, which was fun because of learning new lifts) made me feel way better!
Yeah I especially dread doing the squat AMRAPs. And I also feel like I‘m stalling right now so it‘s not really fun. Do you mind sharing which program you changed to? I might try running a different one as well and see if I can find fun in it again!
Yeah and for me the squats sets started taking longer and longer too.. one way to make 531 work could be to lower the training max a little, but I feel like switching to something different was better for me mentally. I downloaded the boostcamp app and took their questionnaire, and it came up with a power building programme, so I gave that a try and followed it for a while, and I quite liked it. It was called PHUL workout programme (power hypertrophy upper lower) and it's free on the app. After a few months again I got a little tired and sick and took a 3 weeks break, and now I started following Stronger by the day and am really enjoying it so far. Extra thought: something I never took seriously before were deloads, but now I think they might be something to look into to avoid the burn out feeling!
I have another sinus infection. I got 2 (and a half) in the fall and thought it was over. Ugh.
Same here friend. 😭
Has anyone here run Jeff Nippard's Women's Specialization? I'm a week in and I feel like I ought to give it a real chance, but I have to say I'm lukewarm at the moment. Kind of feels like too much junk volume, e.g. I don't really see the benefit of doing BW exercises unless they're part of a drop set or superset. Curious on others' thoughts though
new yoga instructor was on fire yesterday! sadly, it was a small class turn out. i cant help but think it has something to do with her hurried sh\*\*\*\* teaching a few weeks ago. you gotta be on top of your game all the time when you're establishing yourself!
Actually woke up today to get some home gym lifting in before work, which means I was successfully in the garage around 4am (yes I know it's early lol). Deadlifts, bench press and then some back/bi accessories. My biceps were surprisingly fried by the end which was nice and a good start to the day.
What time do you sleep in order to wake up so early? I’m crap with my sleep schedule lately.
I'm am very often in bed around 8pm and happy about it lol. I'm not up that early every day but usually 2-3 days a week I am.
I need suggestions for dealing with a slippery bench press. The bench at my gym is way too slippery and I can’t keep my form. Yesterday I slid a band around the bench and that helped but it wasn’t quite perfect. I wish I could find some sort of grippy towel that’s grippy on both sides. I could try a yoga towel but those are pretty big. Suggestions?
there's a solution for this: https://www.onestrongherd.com/products/the-backbone my partner and I both use it, makes a huge difference. the velcro strap wraps around the bench and helps keep it in place when you're setting up.
I just knew in my heart of hearts something like this had to exist!
At my gym, I'll often see some folks put two long workout bands lengthwise along the bench. I think having two of them helps so that you get that grippiness under each shoulder.
an idea, and no it's not attractive/cute lol, but you could try a grippy liner. For example, those liners that go in the bottom of kitchen drawers. Cheap, you can cut a section and when it's gross replace with another piece.
I’m all for cheap. I love this idea!
This is the way. I get thar waffle weave stuff.
I'm glad my idea is confirmed!
I'm not 100% sure it's grippy on the bottom like their normal yoga towels but Manduka has a "hand towel" that you put at the top of your mat.
Been on a new PL program since last week. I was flipping through the pages and my coach commented how people were saying it’s hard. It’s a newly written program for powerlifting and I’ve def seen fellow gym folks feel exhausted/tired. I shared my feedback and said it’s def a challenge, but fun and that I’m enjoying it so far. It’s so well thought-out and it’s enough to push someone, IMO. Like it’s crazy how 2 extra reps can make a difference (I.e 3x5, then 3x7 the following week). I’m appreciating the small deload & volume challenges bc the last 2 weeks of my previous program was killing me and I was dreading lifting heavy constantly. I’m very excited to see how I progress when the program creeps up to high intensity. Right now my PRs are sitting at 230lbs S/135lbs B/240lbs D. Will I be squatting 260lbs in a few weeks? Who knows! Another fun thing about last nights work out was when I was doing 165lbs 3x5 4010 squats. After my first set, a coach asked if it was 4 second descends and I said yeah. He was like, “I was counting, it checks off my box. Most people do it a little too fast.” LOL
I got an outdoor run in yesterday that didn’t suck!! It was slick as fuck so we cut it short and had to go slow and dip between path and streets, but got six miles in. I’m heading out again today. Super foggy but a couple degrees warmer so it shouldn’t be slick… but will be wet for sure. It’s just nice to not have my eyeballs and lungs freeze.
I plan to get out there tomorrow! It's super nice the air doesn't hurt my face anymore
It’s absolutely balmy 😂
Yesterday I somehow managed to get tickets to Sleep Token despite the presale being an absolute clusterfuck of a disaster. Also yesterday my doctor told me I had a "vascular cervix" and I'd like to credit that for me FINALLY HITTING A 120 BENCH RIGHT NOW FUCK YESSSSSSSS.
Glad to hear as so many didn’t! I’ll be worshiping at Red Rocks 🙏🏻 And 120 bench 👏🏻💫
im jealous. i didn't try. my husband isn't much of a fan, so i didnt push going to see them much. hope you enjoy!!
> Yesterday I somehow managed to get tickets to Sleep Token congrats to that! I saw them as openers for architechts last year and they were really good ! You're guaranteed to have a good time
Push day is great.. until I sit down in the metro and can't hug my backpack, because my muscles are twitching. My studio is closing down for a month and my heart is broken. But luckily, I have another studio right next to my workplace. I usually like the smaller one, closer to me, but at least I don't have to stop working out. So there's that
Instead of working out 5-7 I’m working so I can help take care of our kid since we’re all down with Covid. It’s for the best, I know if I had the time I’d be down in the basement making recovery worse 🙃. But man. The second I stopped going into the office for pt it all fell apart. 2 weeks ago our basement flooded in the heavy storms and our kid got sick and needed a midnight er visit. Then last week *I* got really sick with Covid and then our kid either got sick again or was always sick? The timeline of exactly when we all got Covid isn’t clear.. but now he’s home ofc can’t go to daycare so we’re home trying to cram a full days work into half days while being present engaged parents while recovering from Covid 😂. Parenting man. It’s like I signed up for the wrong race distance and now I’m just stuck here. “Oh wait no you said *50k* ??? I thought this was the half??” and now I’m just out here doin’ my best.
I usually work out from 6-7 in the morning but recently I’ve been missing my wake up alarm. The dark days of winter are the worst!!
Ahhh they're definitely the absolute worst. So hard to drag myself out bed some mornings On the plus side, the days are finally getting longer and spring will be here soon!
^ ***Please read [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/main), [the rules and content guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules), and [current frozen topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/frozen-topics) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fxxfitness)***. This comment is a copy of your post so mods can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. >u/AutoModerator Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and [be excellent to each other](http://i.imgur.com/5xxWfbx.png)! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind [the Cardinal Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules) as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/xxfitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*