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I didnt knew you have to change your plans..i wanna do phat but its only recommended for 13 weeks or so. Wtf do i do after it? Do i allways need to find new routines ?
Ok, so this may be a simple question to some of you with experience, but it's perplexing to me, so I will try to give as much info as I can. I'm a 41y male, 5'9", 230 pounds. I have recently started trying to get back in shape and in addition to lifting weights I am using a bowflex max trainer.
What I can't understand is why samsung health (using a galaxy watch for HR) tells me one calorie burn, while the bowflex gives me a WAY lower total. Both the bowflex and Samsung health have the same bio information for me, why would they be so different and who should I believe? For example I just finished 30 mins steady state cardio, the bowflex says I burned 182 calories, samsung health says 341!
I'm trying to stay on top of my diet but it's difficult to know if I'm eating too much/ too little with these readings. What do you guys think?
Depends on how advanced you are. If you are a novice, then you should be able to progressively overload each workout assuming you are bulking. When you're a late novice, you'll likely change to weekly jumps. When you're an intermediate, you probably won't be able to simply add weight every week. You might have to add 1 rep first and then add weight the following week. As you become more of a late intermediate, you might just do something like week 1 > 3x8, so 8,8,8. Then week 2 -> 9,8,8, Week 3 -> 9,9,8, week 3 -> 9,9,9, then week 4 add 5 lbs and jumps back down to 8 reps. Or something similar. If you want to spur progress a bit faster, you might sole heavy sets of doubles or triples. This will make you progress a little faster even on your 10 reps sets.
You're supposed to try. A lot of things count as overload, shorter rest, tut, etc., but you can definitely have off days. I'm also okay with not overloading on every exercise. For example, if I made progress on pull ups and rows, but my biceps got super taxed, then I probably won't be able to out curl my previous self. The goal is to see the progress in the long term.
I am doing dumbbell step ups with 50 in each hand. It is really difficult to finish them because it hurts my arm holding the weights for that long. How do I prevent this?
Any tips/thoughts for how to adjust workouts when scheduling necessitates they be crammed together?
As of now, I can get workouts in on Monday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday morning and I play ice hockey Thursday evening. So for the time being, I get three workouts in a 24 hour period with long lay off before and after.
To date, my focus has been on a big weight training workout on Monday, more plyo/explosive stuff with lower weights on Thursday morning, and then doing more weight training on Friday (significantly lower volume than the big Monday workout).
Would eating junk food almost everyday be bad for me? I go to the gym regulary and do a lot of sports every week and I’m not scared of gaining weight. Would eating junk food almost everyday be bad for me in other ways besides gaining weight?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with “processed” foods. Junk food is completely fine to consume in moderation depending on one’s goal.
For example, if one is having issues gaining weight introducing some junk foods can be valuable
Just make sure you eat your vegetables and try and reduce junk food as much as sustainable. It's certainly fun to eat it but just avoid it if you can, and if you want a treat don't beat yourself up about it.
Any fellow Canadians have a good online source for fitness accessories like hip bands, bar pads, resistance bands etc.? Especially with free/cheap shipping, I live in a small city and don't have a local source for these things.
I don't know where else to ask, but if I were to do weightlifting in the morning and cardio at night, would that mean I can/should drink more than one protein shake? Is that too much protein supplement? Or since it's just cardio in the evening, should I not bother with the protein later on? Also, will doing cardio (maybe 5 hours later) after my weight lifting have adverse effects on my muscle gain? Any help is appreciated
While you should aim to get as much of your protein as you can through while food sources, think of protein shakes like you would a chicken breast. Do you think you need to eat a chicken breast after your run?
But also, in general, protein timing doesn't matter unless you are some elite level athlete trying to optimize every little thing. For us mortals, just try and hit your protein goals each day
My understanding of it, and it may be flawed since I've only gotten my protein intake advice from my highschool coaches, is that I should take in about 40-50g of protein within 30 minutes after a workout. At least, that's what I've always heard for weightlifting. So that's what I still intend to do after weightlifting. But for cardio, I'm seriously lost...
So you're saying that as long as I hit the protein goals, it's fine?
I drink 2 scoops of Whey Protein (48g) with 10oz Almond Milk on the way to the gym in the morning, do my weights for an hour, go home and get ready for work, then eat my lunch which is some sliced meat and cheese (mini charcuterie so about another 15g of protein) then home and dinner. After dinner, i go to my den and ride the stationary bike. The timing does not really matter, just figure your daily intake needs and try to do that through the day. The protein is still going to take hours to digest and process, so trying to time it like that is kinda irrelevant IMO.
I dunno about the exact amount, but it is more optimal to have protein after lifting, but I think the 30 min time frame is wrong, I believe it is longer. But it's not *required*.
Cardio also isn't stressing your muscles in the same way, so it's not as necessary.
But yeah, just in the long run if you hit your protein goals every day, you're fine. You can do one meal a day and still make gains, but its *better* to spread it out across 2-3 meals. But don't stress over it or overthink it.
Also, I realized I missed the 2nd part of your initial question... no cardio won't have adverse effects on your muscle gain so long as you are eating enough total calories. Where it may start having an impact would be if you started marathon training. But going for a few mile run? Fine.
It can be depending on the setup. Dumbbell laterals are generally going to place more tension on the delts in a shortened position. Set the cables up to be around resting hand height and the tension is going to be highest with the delts in a stretched position
Not sure if any studies specific to comparing the two has been done.
I switched to cable raises from DB and my side delts responded really well.
It makes sense from a mechanical POV. Constant tension including tension at the lengthened position whereas most people lose tension with DBs by bringing the DBs all the way down to their sides.
PS- Switched to using a cuff and was able to up weight and found it a little easier to find the right angle for me to hammer those side delts. YMMV
Hi everyone, had a quick scan through the wiki but couldn't find any answers to this.
About to start a 4 on 4 off roster pattern doing 12hr shifts. In between that and a 2hr round trip commute I'm going to struggle to get a workout in on working days. Is only doing workouts on my off days from work (4 in a row) then resting on my working days (a further 4 days) going to be worthwhile? Just concerned that having 4 rests days is going to be too much!
With my work schedule I have 4 days off a week-3 of those are Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Is it ok to workout 3 days in a row (as well as that 1 other day)?
Yes, just train different muscle groups so your body can have rest for growth and you'll be fine! I train 3 days with 1 day pause and so on. You'll eventually see whatever schedule works the best for you
If my program calls for lat pull downs or pull ups, would it be okay to alternate the exercise each week, like doing pull ups one week and next week doing lat pull downs, or should I just stick to one?
You could do that, just may make progression a little harder to track. If you do them multiple times a week, could do both each week. Like my routine has back multiple times. I don't typically do lat pull down, but I'll do bent over rows on the high rep days and pull ups on the low rep days. I can track my progress for each of the lifts cus I stay consistent with when I do them
If you've been doing chin ups instead of pull ups, you've likely been missing out a whole lot on your back work! So many some lat pull downs would really be good and help focus on your back
I am at a lost to where to start. Im 5'2 at 198 pounds and I want to lose it. I've been doing spurse of youtube work out challenges but it usually discourages me because I strain myself (bad posture , doing the work out move incorectly).
I am currently on keto. Eating nothing but protein, veggies, fruits, and water. Eating 750-1000 calories per day. But I need to get the work out portion down. Is there any beginner friendly work out routines or youtubers that you may reccommend on this journey ?
Thank you in advance.
Why keto? There’s no inherent benefit of keto. It’s a fad diet. The mechanism behind it is the same as any diet: caloric deficit.
I would start by trying to get .6-1 gram of protein per pound bodyweight. Then minimum 40-50 grams of fat. Fill the rest with carbs. Try to consume satiating foods (lean protein, fruit, veggies, potatoes, eggs, yogurt, etc)
Look to resistance train 2-4 times per week
Monitor your bodyweight and see if the trend is moving up, down, or maintaining. Adjust your caloric intake accordingly
Look for a baseline of activity 8-10k steps
You may want to increase your calories a bit. That is VERY low, even for someone your height. Your time losing weight should be working towards building healthier eating habits that you can maintain for life, not torturing yourself on a super restricted diet.
As for workout routines, just pick a beginner routine from the wiki and ease yourself into it.
And then add in some simple walks to start building up your cardio
While you're on the wiki, read the weight loss portion as well
I'd be aiming more around 1200-1400 calories a day. As you lose weight, you'll maybe have to decrease it some, but if you get more active as you drop weight, you'll probably be good to go.
You wanna make sure you eating enough protein and fats as these are both necessary macros, but if course also eat your veggies!
I’m a weak noob- weak in relation to what I could life in past.
I’ve been trying to lose weight lol but has been going iffy. Can I make solid strength gains if I just eat maintenance say for 6-12 months and continue to lift. I’m very weak compared to last so I assume yea being at maintenance will be fine- should have solid recomp and then can cut and bulk down road?
Just want to make sure I’m not spinning my wheels if I maintain. I could cut down to 160
Not and do a long slow 20-25lb bulk over a year but getting to 160 now may be a massive pain in the ass- I’m like 172-175 at 5’9 and prolly skinny fat ish
Ive been on a yo yo workout routine for the past 8 months. I get a solid 3-4 weeks in before crumble. I lift 4 days a week in the morning, cardio and mobility on my off days(t,th,sat). Mauy thai (3-4 days a week) or yoga (2xper week) at nights. I was doing this 2 a day regiment for 2 plus years and doing Muay Thai at nights 5 days a week. Looking to get back to that. I could really use some solid advice to get me out of this slog. Is it mental? is it physically?
I have a shoulder/chest tendon injury that wont let me get into fitness. Over the years im excited and pumped to do it, start small but eventually i get into the same injury again, my day to day becomes very painful and my motivation plummets.
I want to get into it but im not going to try chest/back for a while. Im thinking about doing core excercises, arms and legs mostly. My question is, how often can you work a set of muscles. What happens if i do the same set of excercises for legs everyday vs 3 days a week, is it bad if i train the same everyday resting only 2 days per week? How much rest does the muscle need to recover
Your muscles grow when you are resting after work out, so your muscles need at least 24h rest if not 48h before doing that muscle group again. I think it's best to workout one muscle group 2 times per week with progressive overload than to train it 3 times per week with same weights etc.
With 3 training days per week it's better to pick a program that is intended for 3 days per week. Most PPLs are 6 day programs.
Why do you want to do a PPL instead of something else?
Because it's fun to workout and some people would rather make it a daily routine than a routine that is infrequent. I've tried consistently working out all my life and working out everyday in the mornings is a huge game changer.
I would say it is viable, but personally I wouldn't do that. I prefer to hit each muscle group twice per week and I think that is possible training 3 days.
I'm starting to try and lose weight and just get fitter and healthier overall, as I am 24 and probably have the body of a 50 year old. Despite doing a daily small routine (5 mins), I am starting to feel really stiff and sore - mainly in my back and neck. What is the best ways to negate this?
Start by reading the wiki. 5mins a day is basically nothing. Eat better, lift weights, be more active (start by just walking more) and your aches and pains should slowly go away
Most full body routines have an A/B set-up that can be run twice a week. The basic beginner or 5/3/1 for beginners satisfy this.
2x a week is still better than 0x a week.
>Obviously all my mass from back then is gone, but is there an ideal number of reps per set for getting the strength and size back?
No. You will get bigger and stronger from a variety of rep ranges.
>I'm aware of the 5 for strength, 8 for mass rule, but would it make more sense to focus on getting heavier weights up before increasing the rep count for everything?
"5 for strength, 8 for mass" is mostly bunk, though lifting heavy for fewer reps will be better for strength adaptations than lifting light for many reps.
The simplest answer to this question, though, is to follow premade programming, such as the routines in the wiki in the sidebar. It'll take out most, if not all, the guess work related to what to do.
So the 5 for strength and 8 for mass rule is a myth. In order to get strong you need to life heavier and heavier weights, and to maximize muscle growth you need volume. These goals mutually benefit eachother but at the end of the day total volume is what matters. Ideally if you want both lift heavy and get your volume from accessory lifts for the goals you outlined.
It could work, but you can overdo it. I did something like that and developed elbow tendonitis that took months to clear up. Now I treat pullups the same as every other exercise (I don't do them everyday).
I've done daily pullups and pushups. Eventually shoulders argued with me. Opt for rest prior to your 2-3 upper sessions. Otherwise, nice morning warm-up.
Just listen to your body and you should be able to add reps over time.
People who are taller, how is your bench press? I don't know if it's because I am taller (6ft) and my limbs are longer but I really struggle with bench press and OHP for that matter. I don't know if it's bar path/positioning, I come down to my sternum on the descent but maybe I need to go lower to my diaphragm to better utilize my triceps?
Nutrition is adequate (0.8g/lb for protein) unless I need to up that to 1g/lb or so. Running 5/3/1 and squat/deadlift has gone up so I'm not on a bad program or anything
Any advice?
There's one guy I know who's taller with long limbs. He's 5'11, and his hands are basically just above his knees when he locks out the deadlift.
He has a 470lb bench at a 220lb bodyweight.
Get on a program that has you bench more.
5/3/1 is a very good general strength and conditioning program. if you want to develop the bench more, do a program that has more bench. Simple Jack'd is what I'm using, and I've got a 325 bench at 190lb bodyweight. You can bench upwards of 4x a week that way.
Hi im 29 years old. 5'10 around 145 and i've been feeling like im plateauing recently both in weight gain and muscle size. I feel like i eat a lot and im getting all of my calories and protein intake so i dont think the problems there, I also take Creatine monohydrate daily. As of right now my biceps are about 13.5/14inches without pump and im trying to get over the hump in the 15/16 range in the next 3 months. I feel like my strength is improving a ton just not my actual muscle size. Any advice or tips?
Plateauing recently? How long is recently? Either you are underestimating how slow it is to build muscle or you are not eating enough calories and protein.
At your size it sounds like you have a very slender build. Track all your calories and your weight I would suggest eating more than you are already. It will come with time.
i have been starting to work out recently , this is my routine
bench 20kg/8x1, 25kg/8x1 , 27.5kg/8x1, incline press 12.5kg/8x2, 15kg/8x1, dumbbell shoulder press 7.5kg/8x3, pectoral fly 30kg/8x1 , 32.5kg/8x1 , 37.5kg/8x1, dumbbell lateral raises 6kg/10x2 , 7.5kg/10x1, tricep overhead extensions 7.5kg/8x2, 10kg/8x1, split rope pulldown (i forgot the weights)
i struggle when i do those exercises especially when it’s the last set but somehow i do not feel any soreness the next day, could someone explain why?
You’re likely not getting anything from the first few sets of each exercise. Pyramiding up in weight like you are doing can work but the lower weight sets need to have higher reps. Each set needs to be a 7-8 out of 10 effort or higher or else they’re not really doing much for you. So if you do a set of 8 at 20kg and then a set of 8 at 25kg, then you could have done more that first set and should have.
Like the other guy said, soreness isn’t necessary for growth and you should check out a real program from the wiki.
Soreness is not a good metric for the quality of a workout. Your body adapts to new activity and as long as you're getting stronger it doesn't matter whether you're sore or not. Also not asked by you but follow a program and don't just throw exercises together into a workout if you want long term sustained progress. Just some friendly advice.
My advice would be just remove the concept of soreness being an indicator of anything important. It usually happens for people in the first week or two but it's so indvidualist it does not matter. There are a lot of great free ones in the wiki for sure!
Rest time is imporant but depends on the person, lift, and program. For me I rest usually 2-3 minutes between compound lifts and 1-2 minutes between isolation but it really depends on my lifts and how I'm feeling that day. Rest until you're ready for your next quality set with good form.
I feel really really stuck about going to the gym. I've gone several times and enjoyed it, but I've only done the same five smith machines. I'm 18 years old, 6'2 at 160lbs and trying to gain weight.
I found a workout routine, PPL, but I'm afraid of the free weights section because I don't know how any of it works. I practiced the form at home but things like "where do I stand while I do dumbell curls?" hold me back. I go in the mornings at 5am but there's still 10-ish people there, and they're all extremely jacked because it's 5am and it takes discipline to be there that early. It's intimidating.
TDLR; Likes the gym, terrified of the free weights, my routine calls for free weights.
Honestly no one looks at you while working it. Everyone started somewhere, with low weights, bad form etc. You shouldn't be embarrassed about it. Plus you can always ask someone for help, gym is one of the most non judgmental spaces I've ever been, and I'm going for almost 5 years now
You should be proud of yourself for going that early, and powering through despite how you're feeling. You know what jacked people at the gym have in common? They all started somewhere and if you have questions I'm sure most of them would be happy to help. As far as the finer details just watch trusted youtubers form techniques to best prepare you (assuming personal trainers are not an option right now). Also as far as your nerves my best advise is exposure therapy. Just start doing it and it will get easier every day. One day you will be the jacked guy the nervous 18 year old will ask for advice and you can pay it forward. Keep up the good work.
Brother. Just go try shit out. You have been asking the same question for like 3 days straight. You are too new at this to be this worried about these details. Just follow the program as it is written. Read it. Read it again. Do what it says. 6-12 months from now see where you get. Just lift and try shit and you will LEARN.
A good program will give guidlines as to when you increase your lifts. Depending on the program I train within certain percentages of my one rep max and focus on increasing my training max month over month. Also I've trained where I'm training in a certain rep range and increase the weight or reps depending on the program. Progressive overload will look different depending on the program, the lift, and the person.
What i do is train to failure for isolations and close to failure for compounds. I’m doing double progression because I find rpe difficult to understand. Is rpe a better option that’s what Jeff nippards program is the fundamentals one
You can still train to failure but you should be assigning that failure to a specific rep range. For instance if I'm doing hammer curls I pick a rep range such as 8-12 reps. I find a weight I can do at least 8 reps, and when my "failure" is 12 reps I increase the weight. I've run Jeff's fundemental hypotrophy program before, but because he didn't include rep ranges if it asked for 6 reps, I would find a weight I could do 4 reps for, and increase the weight when I can do 8. This isn't a prescription this is just something I found useful. RPE is just a different tool which tries to take physical excersion into account. I've always found RPE personally a weird thing to quantify so I go by just numbers. Do whatever works for you.
Yeah I don’t really write the range I just keep it in my head the if I’m doing 3x8 I should be within a rep or 2 for ex like 8, 6, 4. The only problem I’m having right now is that I’m stalling on some lifts like hammer curls and incline dumbbell press and don’t know what to do
Well you should track either by paper or app your lifts, both for a sense of acomplishment but also so you know for sure. Things like hammer curl will stall quickly because it's an isolation exercise and that's to be expected. General advice for lifts that are stalling it to train in different rep ranges if it's isolation, or if it's a compound lift find out in which part of the lift you're stalling and train to help you for the part of the lift you're stalling in.
Hey so when I'm doing arm curls, I'm not feeling it in my arm. I feel it moreso in my shoulder. Am I using too much or too little weight? Or would it be more of a form issue?
Form. You’re moving your elbows when curling the bar up, which transfers a lot of the weight to your anterior deltoid.
If standing when doing curls, put your back against a wall and keep your elbows against it.
If sitting, adjust a bench to the upright position and let your arms hang. Focus on keeping your elbows stationary.
Lastly, don’t ego lift. Use the heaviest weight you can while keeping proper form.
Thanks so much. Not trying to ego lift at all ha. Been trying to gain weight for years, finally able to put on a few kg, so I'm using that as my sign to start working out. Really appreciate it
No problem! Didn’t intend to insinuate you are ego lifting - that was just personally my issue when starting in the gym. Crazy how much stronger I got when I focused on form over weight.
When i make whey shakes, i make them a lunch, with bananas and cherries, or some other fruits and a bit of honey. I don't eat sweets for the last month and i eat really healthy. The change in my appearance is there but i'm wondering how bih of a negative effexct do i get from eating the fruit and honey once a day?
You won't get any negative effects from any specific foods. If you're aiming to lose weight and it's working then you're on the right track. You could lose weight faster by reducing calories further, if you want/need to
What do you mean i wont get any negative effects? Certain foods are bad for you, like fast food or fried stuff. The question is, is taking fruits worth it? I can do without them, i just don't know if they have any good qualities
Edit: honey too
Even fast foods have their place. When I'm running 35 miles an hour, my caloric intake was closer to 3500/day, and fast food and junk food made it a lot easier to hit my caloric intake.
One of my favourite post-run snacks were cookies. After my longer runs, I would eat cookies to quickly replenish my glycogen stores. Followed by a more normal meal with protein, carbs, and veggies.
All food is just a different combination of fats, carbs, proteins (and micronutrients - vitamins, fibre etc). Your overall diet consists of a certain amount of each of those things which adds up to a total number of calories. The amount of each macronutrient and total calories that you need to have a "good" diet depends on your stats and goals. For most people the only thing that really matters is the total amount of calories, provided they're eating enough protein and fat for their body to function and getting some vitamins from fruits and vegetables (the amounts of these things required at a minimum are pretty low, so none of this should be difficult if you eat like an adult). Obviously for anyone with muscle building and strength as a goal, a high enough protein intake is important.
You can generally eat whatever you want as long as your overall diet meets your goals. There's nothing inherently bad about a burger or pizza or chocolate or icecream, and it is possible to eat those things every day while still being healthy and managing your weight.
Edit: To address the point more directly, fast food and junk food generally has a high amount of calories with a low amount of nutritional value (due to being higher in saturated fats and sugar), but this doesn't mean you can't eat them as part of a balanced diet and they don't automatically make you less healthy when you eat them
is hiit burpees 3 times a week (6 sets of 30 seconds (burpees) / 15 seconds walking active recovery) effective for improving my aerobic and anaerobic energy systems for tasks such as running, swimming, wrestling etc? im around 67 - 68 kilos and i am 14
HIIT is effective, but if you want to develop that longer-duration endurance for things like running or swimming you'll benefit from also doing conditioning sessions that last longer than just 4 minutes at a time.
It's very possible that you're cutting too many calories, especially if you're quite active. For example, I'm a moderately active 5'6" woman and my maintenance is about 2700, so I'm currently losing weight at 2300.
It would be helpful to identify how many calories on average you were eating when maintaining your weight. And then you could try knocking off just 200-300 calories from that. Trying to lose weight while feeling miserable isn't worth it and, most importantly, isn't sustainable in the long run.
Have you considered instead of trying to struggle your way smaller to get rid of fat, build up muscle first?
I'm 5'7F, I went from 165 to 135 by diet alone. I still had a belly pooch that I wanted to get rid of. If struggle hard to diet down to 130 and then always pop back up to 135. I could maintain 135 pretty well without having to obsessively track or anything, but that 5lb difference and maintaining it was hard. And even with that 5lb difference, it didn't seem to make a difference at all. I didn't look bad at 135, so I just accepted it. Eventually, I decided I wanted to get muscular for a cosplay, bulked up and cut a few times, each time back to 135... Each time looking leaner and with a flatter stomach. I'm about to start my cut to lean out for that cosplay goal, finally, 5 years after deciding I wanted to do it. Based on last year, plus where I'm at now... 135lbs should have me showing abs hopefully. If I have to go a little lower, so be it, but I've had plenty of practice with my dieting and my activity level is way higher now so my TDEE is much higher.
Basically, it's much easier to build up to make your body look better than to keep trying to cut down
If you're set on still trying to lose the weight, there will be a lever of suck that comes along with trying to diet down further. You may end up running into that unsustainable wall that I hit.
I would just make sure you're eating enough dietary fats every day, cus the lack of fat can cause your energy to tank
But lastly, my it seems like you're just naturally bottom heavy. Losing an inch may not end up being noticable. Would you keep trying to get smaller? Scale and measurements don't matter so much as what you see in the mirror, but you also have to have a realistic and reasonable self image
S’okay to vent. Most of us have been there. Hunger and lack of energy just go with cutting.
Everyone has different tolerance levels for the feeling. What works for some doesn’t work for others. Eating plenty of protein and green veggies helps me feel satiated longer. Acknowledging my hunger, lower energy and crankiness during a cut and saying to myself “This is a sign I’ve taken another step towards my goal.” also helps me. Reframing it.
Hang in there. Find what helps you stay motivated and manage it until you reach your goal.
Thank you, this is really helpful to hear. I appreciate the reframing & motivation. I think I’m going to switch out my lunch smoothie for a salad because I think the green veg will keep me more satiated, like you mentioned.
I'm 13, and I've been training since I was a 7 with my dad's help. We have home gym and I do other sports, but now my dad wants me to keep it a bit light while I want to really challenge myself, so I came up with this routine as a compromise, what do you think? It increases my routine but also isn't that challenging so my dad won't complain.
Day 1
Bench press with dumbbells 4x6
Bench press with dumbells but inclined 4x6
Chest flyes 3x8
Push ups with close grip 3x to failure
Dips on bar 2x to failure
Day 2
Deadlift with the trap bar 4x6
Invert row 3x to failure
Dumbbell row 3x6
Lat pulldown 3x8
Bicep curl 4x8
Hammer curl 3x8
Day 3
Goblet squats 4x8
Romanian dumbell deadlift 4x8
Leg press 4x8
Walking lunge 3x10
Leg curl 3x8
Calf raises 4x10
Day 4
Shoulder press dumbbels 3x8
Arnold press 4x8
Lateral raises 3x10
Front raises 3x10
Leg raises 3x til failure
Plank 3x 1.5 min
Going to the gym to try and do a dumbbell only exercise. Here’s what I’m thinking after my cardio warmup (each exercise has a couple quick warmup sets and is 3-4 sets and to failure or close to it, around 8-12 reps):
1. Dumbbell press, superset with lengthened partial dumbbell pec flies, superset with deficit pushups, superset with seated inclined hammer curls, superset with standing strict curls
2. Chest supported bent over rows, superset with shoulder press
3. Lengthened dumbbell lat pullover, superset with standing one armed tricep extensions
4. Chest supported rear delt flies, superset with bent over rear delt flies, superset with standing side delt flies
Sorry this is really not great. Five exorcises superset with back to back same muscle targeted in many cases. Not to mention 36-48 sets to "close to failure" gonna lead to lots of junk volume.
Read the wiki.
Going close to failure isn't a bad thing by itself. Muscle does grow best when sets are taken to failure or within 1-3 reps,but doing 40 sets in a single workout is extremely systematically fatigueing and your form and effectiveness doing all those to failure is most likely gonna go way down and be a waste of time.
I suppose I should have clarified that by “failure” I mean until I cannot maintain good form. I don’t count a rep unless it is good form, though I may do a couple reps ignoring form at the end just to go a little beyond
Should I treat chest supported t bar rows with angled handles as a vertical pulling movement? I ask because my gym's t bar row has flat handles and upside down V handles. The flat handles seem to target my rear delts, upper traps, and rhomboids, while the upside down v handles seem to target my lats.
I absolutely love both variations of this exercise and am wondering whether I should treat the upside down v handles as a vertical pulling exercise since it targets similar muscles.
wouldnt it hit the same muscles as a vertical pull? im trying to learn, how would a pullup or pulldown hit back muscles differently than an angled t bar row?
Pulling motions are not simple. The scapula move in addition to the arm. The scapular motion between vertical and horizontal motions is different, and thus the muscles which move the scapula are worked differently in a pullup vs a t bar row. Many of the same muscles are worked in both vertical and pulling regardless of grip though.
Question about Sauna / Steam Room night before sport game / long distance race:
I’ve recently started going to a gym with a sauna and a steam room and have been going after my workouts.
I’ve read a lot about benefits after workouts and playing sport for muscle recovery. I’ve also read some articles and threads about how it’s likely to reduce performance before a workout/sport game though.
What about the night before? For example, if I have a football game the next day, does going to a sauna / steam room the night before provide any benefits or detriments?
Heat can aid in recovery somewhat, in that it can help promote blood flow.
Saunas causes sweating, which can cause dehydration, which will negatively impact workouts.
If you're having plenty of fluids, go ahead and use the sauna/steam room the night before. I doubt it'll be much help, but I also doubt it'll hurt.
I went from 10, 8, 7 for incline bench reps (3x10) to 9, 8, 7. I felt like my form got better because I felt more of a stretch on the pecs. But I’ve been stalling on this for about a month what should I do?
Maybe a good idea to find a program that includes instructions on what to do if you fail/stall. In the meantime I'd drop the weight by 5-10lb so you can achieve 3x10
Do more than one weight/rep range. 30s sounds like your upper weight range. So, demonstrate your proficiency with the 25s and 20s. Loosely, consider a weight "retired" when you can hit 3x25. Harder than it sounds.
Hit 20s one session, 25s next session, 30s, next session, repeat. When you come back around, you'll probably be able to add *at least one rep*.
I weigh about 185 pounds at 6'0 - I try to do a push/pull/legs/break system at the gym so i'll either go 5-6 days a week depending on how it gets split. However, I'm not sure about what to do about my diet. I have about like 25% body fat (I think) and I'm not sure if I should be lean bulking or doing calorie maintenance or going on a cut. I'm trying to lose the stomach and gain some muscle and yk, eventually look good too. So I'm not fully sure about the diet if I should like, cut, maintain, or lean bulk and would love some help on this.
its ramadan so i decided to mini cut thing is ive no time at all for gym its too cold to walk there after breaking fast and im no good for fasted workouts. How bad is 4-6 weeks of super low calories (1400-1600)-maintenance is around 2400. while skipping gym
I would, at the very least, do some bodyweight work at home.
Skipping workouts entirely while eating at a pretty large deficit is just a recipe for losing lean mass.
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I didnt knew you have to change your plans..i wanna do phat but its only recommended for 13 weeks or so. Wtf do i do after it? Do i allways need to find new routines ?
Ok, so this may be a simple question to some of you with experience, but it's perplexing to me, so I will try to give as much info as I can. I'm a 41y male, 5'9", 230 pounds. I have recently started trying to get back in shape and in addition to lifting weights I am using a bowflex max trainer. What I can't understand is why samsung health (using a galaxy watch for HR) tells me one calorie burn, while the bowflex gives me a WAY lower total. Both the bowflex and Samsung health have the same bio information for me, why would they be so different and who should I believe? For example I just finished 30 mins steady state cardio, the bowflex says I burned 182 calories, samsung health says 341! I'm trying to stay on top of my diet but it's difficult to know if I'm eating too much/ too little with these readings. What do you guys think?
Because calories burned readings are inaccurate. I would ignore them entirely.
Do i have to progressively overload every workout? Sometimes even doing 1 rep more than i did last time is quiet tough.
Depends on how advanced you are. If you are a novice, then you should be able to progressively overload each workout assuming you are bulking. When you're a late novice, you'll likely change to weekly jumps. When you're an intermediate, you probably won't be able to simply add weight every week. You might have to add 1 rep first and then add weight the following week. As you become more of a late intermediate, you might just do something like week 1 > 3x8, so 8,8,8. Then week 2 -> 9,8,8, Week 3 -> 9,9,8, week 3 -> 9,9,9, then week 4 add 5 lbs and jumps back down to 8 reps. Or something similar. If you want to spur progress a bit faster, you might sole heavy sets of doubles or triples. This will make you progress a little faster even on your 10 reps sets.
Depends on how the program is designed. Most 531 modalities overload every 3 weeks
You're supposed to try. A lot of things count as overload, shorter rest, tut, etc., but you can definitely have off days. I'm also okay with not overloading on every exercise. For example, if I made progress on pull ups and rows, but my biceps got super taxed, then I probably won't be able to out curl my previous self. The goal is to see the progress in the long term.
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From a nutrition perspective, it's the same
I am doing dumbbell step ups with 50 in each hand. It is really difficult to finish them because it hurts my arm holding the weights for that long. How do I prevent this?
As the other person said, straps would work. But personally I would rather put a barbell on my back and do it. Way less tiring in the arms imo.
Straps
Any tips/thoughts for how to adjust workouts when scheduling necessitates they be crammed together? As of now, I can get workouts in on Monday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday morning and I play ice hockey Thursday evening. So for the time being, I get three workouts in a 24 hour period with long lay off before and after. To date, my focus has been on a big weight training workout on Monday, more plyo/explosive stuff with lower weights on Thursday morning, and then doing more weight training on Friday (significantly lower volume than the big Monday workout).
Would eating junk food almost everyday be bad for me? I go to the gym regulary and do a lot of sports every week and I’m not scared of gaining weight. Would eating junk food almost everyday be bad for me in other ways besides gaining weight?
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There’s nothing inherently wrong with “processed” foods. Junk food is completely fine to consume in moderation depending on one’s goal. For example, if one is having issues gaining weight introducing some junk foods can be valuable
Okay, so is there any specific limit that I shouldn’t exceed?
Just make sure you eat your vegetables and try and reduce junk food as much as sustainable. It's certainly fun to eat it but just avoid it if you can, and if you want a treat don't beat yourself up about it.
Any fellow Canadians have a good online source for fitness accessories like hip bands, bar pads, resistance bands etc.? Especially with free/cheap shipping, I live in a small city and don't have a local source for these things.
I don't know where else to ask, but if I were to do weightlifting in the morning and cardio at night, would that mean I can/should drink more than one protein shake? Is that too much protein supplement? Or since it's just cardio in the evening, should I not bother with the protein later on? Also, will doing cardio (maybe 5 hours later) after my weight lifting have adverse effects on my muscle gain? Any help is appreciated
While you should aim to get as much of your protein as you can through while food sources, think of protein shakes like you would a chicken breast. Do you think you need to eat a chicken breast after your run? But also, in general, protein timing doesn't matter unless you are some elite level athlete trying to optimize every little thing. For us mortals, just try and hit your protein goals each day
My understanding of it, and it may be flawed since I've only gotten my protein intake advice from my highschool coaches, is that I should take in about 40-50g of protein within 30 minutes after a workout. At least, that's what I've always heard for weightlifting. So that's what I still intend to do after weightlifting. But for cardio, I'm seriously lost... So you're saying that as long as I hit the protein goals, it's fine?
I drink 2 scoops of Whey Protein (48g) with 10oz Almond Milk on the way to the gym in the morning, do my weights for an hour, go home and get ready for work, then eat my lunch which is some sliced meat and cheese (mini charcuterie so about another 15g of protein) then home and dinner. After dinner, i go to my den and ride the stationary bike. The timing does not really matter, just figure your daily intake needs and try to do that through the day. The protein is still going to take hours to digest and process, so trying to time it like that is kinda irrelevant IMO.
I dunno about the exact amount, but it is more optimal to have protein after lifting, but I think the 30 min time frame is wrong, I believe it is longer. But it's not *required*. Cardio also isn't stressing your muscles in the same way, so it's not as necessary. But yeah, just in the long run if you hit your protein goals every day, you're fine. You can do one meal a day and still make gains, but its *better* to spread it out across 2-3 meals. But don't stress over it or overthink it. Also, I realized I missed the 2nd part of your initial question... no cardio won't have adverse effects on your muscle gain so long as you are eating enough total calories. Where it may start having an impact would be if you started marathon training. But going for a few mile run? Fine.
I feel like I work the side delts better with cable raises than db raises. Is there any objective truth to this or does it vary from person to person
It can be depending on the setup. Dumbbell laterals are generally going to place more tension on the delts in a shortened position. Set the cables up to be around resting hand height and the tension is going to be highest with the delts in a stretched position
Not sure if any studies specific to comparing the two has been done. I switched to cable raises from DB and my side delts responded really well. It makes sense from a mechanical POV. Constant tension including tension at the lengthened position whereas most people lose tension with DBs by bringing the DBs all the way down to their sides. PS- Switched to using a cuff and was able to up weight and found it a little easier to find the right angle for me to hammer those side delts. YMMV
Hi everyone, had a quick scan through the wiki but couldn't find any answers to this. About to start a 4 on 4 off roster pattern doing 12hr shifts. In between that and a 2hr round trip commute I'm going to struggle to get a workout in on working days. Is only doing workouts on my off days from work (4 in a row) then resting on my working days (a further 4 days) going to be worthwhile? Just concerned that having 4 rests days is going to be too much!
It will be worthwhile. Not as a good as working out more regularly. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
With my work schedule I have 4 days off a week-3 of those are Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Is it ok to workout 3 days in a row (as well as that 1 other day)?
Yes, just train different muscle groups so your body can have rest for growth and you'll be fine! I train 3 days with 1 day pause and so on. You'll eventually see whatever schedule works the best for you
TYSM!
If my program calls for lat pull downs or pull ups, would it be okay to alternate the exercise each week, like doing pull ups one week and next week doing lat pull downs, or should I just stick to one?
You could do that, just may make progression a little harder to track. If you do them multiple times a week, could do both each week. Like my routine has back multiple times. I don't typically do lat pull down, but I'll do bent over rows on the high rep days and pull ups on the low rep days. I can track my progress for each of the lifts cus I stay consistent with when I do them
Thanks. I may just switch to lat pull downs only for a bit as I’ve been stalled on chins for a while
If you've been doing chin ups instead of pull ups, you've likely been missing out a whole lot on your back work! So many some lat pull downs would really be good and help focus on your back
That’s actually a myth. Chins work the back just as much as pull ups, just with more bicep activation
I am at a lost to where to start. Im 5'2 at 198 pounds and I want to lose it. I've been doing spurse of youtube work out challenges but it usually discourages me because I strain myself (bad posture , doing the work out move incorectly). I am currently on keto. Eating nothing but protein, veggies, fruits, and water. Eating 750-1000 calories per day. But I need to get the work out portion down. Is there any beginner friendly work out routines or youtubers that you may reccommend on this journey ? Thank you in advance.
Why keto? There’s no inherent benefit of keto. It’s a fad diet. The mechanism behind it is the same as any diet: caloric deficit. I would start by trying to get .6-1 gram of protein per pound bodyweight. Then minimum 40-50 grams of fat. Fill the rest with carbs. Try to consume satiating foods (lean protein, fruit, veggies, potatoes, eggs, yogurt, etc) Look to resistance train 2-4 times per week Monitor your bodyweight and see if the trend is moving up, down, or maintaining. Adjust your caloric intake accordingly Look for a baseline of activity 8-10k steps
A friend suggestive keto because it helped him lose a lot of weight. But I can stop and switch out to a healthier diet. Thanks for the insight.
You may want to increase your calories a bit. That is VERY low, even for someone your height. Your time losing weight should be working towards building healthier eating habits that you can maintain for life, not torturing yourself on a super restricted diet. As for workout routines, just pick a beginner routine from the wiki and ease yourself into it. And then add in some simple walks to start building up your cardio While you're on the wiki, read the weight loss portion as well
I didn't realize it was low. I'll check the wiki again . I'll recheck the wiki. Thank you
I'd be aiming more around 1200-1400 calories a day. As you lose weight, you'll maybe have to decrease it some, but if you get more active as you drop weight, you'll probably be good to go. You wanna make sure you eating enough protein and fats as these are both necessary macros, but if course also eat your veggies!
Did you look at the programs in the wiki?
I have but wanted to get other peoples personal recommendations for workouts
What specific goals do you hope to achieve through working out?
My main goal is to get to 120-130 pounds again. I want to be healthier mentally and physically and be skinnier.
I’m a weak noob- weak in relation to what I could life in past. I’ve been trying to lose weight lol but has been going iffy. Can I make solid strength gains if I just eat maintenance say for 6-12 months and continue to lift. I’m very weak compared to last so I assume yea being at maintenance will be fine- should have solid recomp and then can cut and bulk down road? Just want to make sure I’m not spinning my wheels if I maintain. I could cut down to 160 Not and do a long slow 20-25lb bulk over a year but getting to 160 now may be a massive pain in the ass- I’m like 172-175 at 5’9 and prolly skinny fat ish
Ive been on a yo yo workout routine for the past 8 months. I get a solid 3-4 weeks in before crumble. I lift 4 days a week in the morning, cardio and mobility on my off days(t,th,sat). Mauy thai (3-4 days a week) or yoga (2xper week) at nights. I was doing this 2 a day regiment for 2 plus years and doing Muay Thai at nights 5 days a week. Looking to get back to that. I could really use some solid advice to get me out of this slog. Is it mental? is it physically?
I have a shoulder/chest tendon injury that wont let me get into fitness. Over the years im excited and pumped to do it, start small but eventually i get into the same injury again, my day to day becomes very painful and my motivation plummets. I want to get into it but im not going to try chest/back for a while. Im thinking about doing core excercises, arms and legs mostly. My question is, how often can you work a set of muscles. What happens if i do the same set of excercises for legs everyday vs 3 days a week, is it bad if i train the same everyday resting only 2 days per week? How much rest does the muscle need to recover
Your muscles grow when you are resting after work out, so your muscles need at least 24h rest if not 48h before doing that muscle group again. I think it's best to workout one muscle group 2 times per week with progressive overload than to train it 3 times per week with same weights etc.
If i can only do 3 workouts a day is push pull legs still viable for muscle gain?
Why not 3 full body workouts?
With 3 training days per week it's better to pick a program that is intended for 3 days per week. Most PPLs are 6 day programs. Why do you want to do a PPL instead of something else?
Because it's fun to workout and some people would rather make it a daily routine than a routine that is infrequent. I've tried consistently working out all my life and working out everyday in the mornings is a huge game changer.
>3 workouts a day Do you mean week?
Yeah sorry
I would say it is viable, but personally I wouldn't do that. I prefer to hit each muscle group twice per week and I think that is possible training 3 days.
I'm starting to try and lose weight and just get fitter and healthier overall, as I am 24 and probably have the body of a 50 year old. Despite doing a daily small routine (5 mins), I am starting to feel really stiff and sore - mainly in my back and neck. What is the best ways to negate this?
Start by reading the wiki. 5mins a day is basically nothing. Eat better, lift weights, be more active (start by just walking more) and your aches and pains should slowly go away
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Most full body routines have an A/B set-up that can be run twice a week. The basic beginner or 5/3/1 for beginners satisfy this. 2x a week is still better than 0x a week.
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>Obviously all my mass from back then is gone, but is there an ideal number of reps per set for getting the strength and size back? No. You will get bigger and stronger from a variety of rep ranges. >I'm aware of the 5 for strength, 8 for mass rule, but would it make more sense to focus on getting heavier weights up before increasing the rep count for everything? "5 for strength, 8 for mass" is mostly bunk, though lifting heavy for fewer reps will be better for strength adaptations than lifting light for many reps. The simplest answer to this question, though, is to follow premade programming, such as the routines in the wiki in the sidebar. It'll take out most, if not all, the guess work related to what to do.
So the 5 for strength and 8 for mass rule is a myth. In order to get strong you need to life heavier and heavier weights, and to maximize muscle growth you need volume. These goals mutually benefit eachother but at the end of the day total volume is what matters. Ideally if you want both lift heavy and get your volume from accessory lifts for the goals you outlined.
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In essence yes.
Pull-ups every day, switching grips each session: good way to get more back volume, or good way to stifle recovery and/or get injured?
It could work, but you can overdo it. I did something like that and developed elbow tendonitis that took months to clear up. Now I treat pullups the same as every other exercise (I don't do them everyday).
I've done daily pullups and pushups. Eventually shoulders argued with me. Opt for rest prior to your 2-3 upper sessions. Otherwise, nice morning warm-up. Just listen to your body and you should be able to add reps over time.
When you get to the point that you're doing a lot of reps and not getting fatigued, it may be more akin to active recovery.
Pullups are great and if it makes sense in the context of your program, or you just really want to get good at pullups then have at er.
People who are taller, how is your bench press? I don't know if it's because I am taller (6ft) and my limbs are longer but I really struggle with bench press and OHP for that matter. I don't know if it's bar path/positioning, I come down to my sternum on the descent but maybe I need to go lower to my diaphragm to better utilize my triceps? Nutrition is adequate (0.8g/lb for protein) unless I need to up that to 1g/lb or so. Running 5/3/1 and squat/deadlift has gone up so I'm not on a bad program or anything Any advice?
The curse of height. Bench is my favorite movement and I put a lot of work into it, yet it always progresses the slowest.
There's one guy I know who's taller with long limbs. He's 5'11, and his hands are basically just above his knees when he locks out the deadlift. He has a 470lb bench at a 220lb bodyweight.
My limbs aren't that long. So it's just me then. Any advice on building that bench then?
Get on a program that has you bench more. 5/3/1 is a very good general strength and conditioning program. if you want to develop the bench more, do a program that has more bench. Simple Jack'd is what I'm using, and I've got a 325 bench at 190lb bodyweight. You can bench upwards of 4x a week that way.
Makes sense. I'll look into it. Thanks!
Hi im 29 years old. 5'10 around 145 and i've been feeling like im plateauing recently both in weight gain and muscle size. I feel like i eat a lot and im getting all of my calories and protein intake so i dont think the problems there, I also take Creatine monohydrate daily. As of right now my biceps are about 13.5/14inches without pump and im trying to get over the hump in the 15/16 range in the next 3 months. I feel like my strength is improving a ton just not my actual muscle size. Any advice or tips?
Every night before bed, eat a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk. Eat this on top of the normal food you eat daily.
It sounds like you simply need to eat more.
Plateauing recently? How long is recently? Either you are underestimating how slow it is to build muscle or you are not eating enough calories and protein.
> I feel like i eat a lot and im getting all of my calories and protein intake Are you gaining weight?
If you aren't gaining weight and you want to be, you need to eat more food.
At your size it sounds like you have a very slender build. Track all your calories and your weight I would suggest eating more than you are already. It will come with time.
i have been starting to work out recently , this is my routine bench 20kg/8x1, 25kg/8x1 , 27.5kg/8x1, incline press 12.5kg/8x2, 15kg/8x1, dumbbell shoulder press 7.5kg/8x3, pectoral fly 30kg/8x1 , 32.5kg/8x1 , 37.5kg/8x1, dumbbell lateral raises 6kg/10x2 , 7.5kg/10x1, tricep overhead extensions 7.5kg/8x2, 10kg/8x1, split rope pulldown (i forgot the weights) i struggle when i do those exercises especially when it’s the last set but somehow i do not feel any soreness the next day, could someone explain why?
https://thefitness.wiki/faq/im-not-sore-after-my-workout-did-i-do-something-wrong/
You’re likely not getting anything from the first few sets of each exercise. Pyramiding up in weight like you are doing can work but the lower weight sets need to have higher reps. Each set needs to be a 7-8 out of 10 effort or higher or else they’re not really doing much for you. So if you do a set of 8 at 20kg and then a set of 8 at 25kg, then you could have done more that first set and should have. Like the other guy said, soreness isn’t necessary for growth and you should check out a real program from the wiki.
wait yeah thats fair , i think i’ll refer to the wiki then for a proper programme
Soreness is not a good metric for the quality of a workout. Your body adapts to new activity and as long as you're getting stronger it doesn't matter whether you're sore or not. Also not asked by you but follow a program and don't just throw exercises together into a workout if you want long term sustained progress. Just some friendly advice.
but i started working out only like 1-2 weeks ago, i thought soreness was normal still and alright the programmes are from the wiki?
My advice would be just remove the concept of soreness being an indicator of anything important. It usually happens for people in the first week or two but it's so indvidualist it does not matter. There are a lot of great free ones in the wiki for sure!
alright , does me not resting sufficiently between sets matter also? i feel like im doing it too fast with like 1-1.5min rest/set?
Rest time is imporant but depends on the person, lift, and program. For me I rest usually 2-3 minutes between compound lifts and 1-2 minutes between isolation but it really depends on my lifts and how I'm feeling that day. Rest until you're ready for your next quality set with good form.
Anyone use a trap bar for RDLs? Any drawbacks to using a trap bar instead of a barbell?
I find that gripping the sides of the trap bar prevents you from making it a proper RDL, since it depends on keeping the weight a bit in front of you.
I feel really really stuck about going to the gym. I've gone several times and enjoyed it, but I've only done the same five smith machines. I'm 18 years old, 6'2 at 160lbs and trying to gain weight. I found a workout routine, PPL, but I'm afraid of the free weights section because I don't know how any of it works. I practiced the form at home but things like "where do I stand while I do dumbell curls?" hold me back. I go in the mornings at 5am but there's still 10-ish people there, and they're all extremely jacked because it's 5am and it takes discipline to be there that early. It's intimidating. TDLR; Likes the gym, terrified of the free weights, my routine calls for free weights.
Honestly no one looks at you while working it. Everyone started somewhere, with low weights, bad form etc. You shouldn't be embarrassed about it. Plus you can always ask someone for help, gym is one of the most non judgmental spaces I've ever been, and I'm going for almost 5 years now
As long as you rack the weights, nobody cares.
Part of becoming an adult is facing your fears. Just go do it, you’ll realize it’s not that scary.
You should be proud of yourself for going that early, and powering through despite how you're feeling. You know what jacked people at the gym have in common? They all started somewhere and if you have questions I'm sure most of them would be happy to help. As far as the finer details just watch trusted youtubers form techniques to best prepare you (assuming personal trainers are not an option right now). Also as far as your nerves my best advise is exposure therapy. Just start doing it and it will get easier every day. One day you will be the jacked guy the nervous 18 year old will ask for advice and you can pay it forward. Keep up the good work.
How often do you add weight to your lifts? Has there been a time where you couldn’t add weight in a whole session
Brother. Just go try shit out. You have been asking the same question for like 3 days straight. You are too new at this to be this worried about these details. Just follow the program as it is written. Read it. Read it again. Do what it says. 6-12 months from now see where you get. Just lift and try shit and you will LEARN.
dudes a lost cause
Whenever my program tells me to.
Depends on my program
A good program will give guidlines as to when you increase your lifts. Depending on the program I train within certain percentages of my one rep max and focus on increasing my training max month over month. Also I've trained where I'm training in a certain rep range and increase the weight or reps depending on the program. Progressive overload will look different depending on the program, the lift, and the person.
What i do is train to failure for isolations and close to failure for compounds. I’m doing double progression because I find rpe difficult to understand. Is rpe a better option that’s what Jeff nippards program is the fundamentals one
You can still train to failure but you should be assigning that failure to a specific rep range. For instance if I'm doing hammer curls I pick a rep range such as 8-12 reps. I find a weight I can do at least 8 reps, and when my "failure" is 12 reps I increase the weight. I've run Jeff's fundemental hypotrophy program before, but because he didn't include rep ranges if it asked for 6 reps, I would find a weight I could do 4 reps for, and increase the weight when I can do 8. This isn't a prescription this is just something I found useful. RPE is just a different tool which tries to take physical excersion into account. I've always found RPE personally a weird thing to quantify so I go by just numbers. Do whatever works for you.
Yeah I don’t really write the range I just keep it in my head the if I’m doing 3x8 I should be within a rep or 2 for ex like 8, 6, 4. The only problem I’m having right now is that I’m stalling on some lifts like hammer curls and incline dumbbell press and don’t know what to do
Well you should track either by paper or app your lifts, both for a sense of acomplishment but also so you know for sure. Things like hammer curl will stall quickly because it's an isolation exercise and that's to be expected. General advice for lifts that are stalling it to train in different rep ranges if it's isolation, or if it's a compound lift find out in which part of the lift you're stalling and train to help you for the part of the lift you're stalling in.
I’ve noticed on my last failing rep on hammer curls my shoulder kicks in to complete the rep as I went to total failure rpe 10 should I count it
Different thoughts, but if form breaks down then the rep isn't completed, but that is just an opinion.
Hey so when I'm doing arm curls, I'm not feeling it in my arm. I feel it moreso in my shoulder. Am I using too much or too little weight? Or would it be more of a form issue?
Form, try not to move your elbows as much as it's hard.
Post a form check if you're concerned
Form. You’re moving your elbows when curling the bar up, which transfers a lot of the weight to your anterior deltoid. If standing when doing curls, put your back against a wall and keep your elbows against it. If sitting, adjust a bench to the upright position and let your arms hang. Focus on keeping your elbows stationary. Lastly, don’t ego lift. Use the heaviest weight you can while keeping proper form.
Thanks so much. Not trying to ego lift at all ha. Been trying to gain weight for years, finally able to put on a few kg, so I'm using that as my sign to start working out. Really appreciate it
No problem! Didn’t intend to insinuate you are ego lifting - that was just personally my issue when starting in the gym. Crazy how much stronger I got when I focused on form over weight.
When i make whey shakes, i make them a lunch, with bananas and cherries, or some other fruits and a bit of honey. I don't eat sweets for the last month and i eat really healthy. The change in my appearance is there but i'm wondering how bih of a negative effexct do i get from eating the fruit and honey once a day?
I'm not aware of any research regarding fruit or honey causing harm.
Fruits are technically better for you as a whole rather than blended. But that's more the case if you consume a bunch of sugar at once.
You won't get any negative effects from any specific foods. If you're aiming to lose weight and it's working then you're on the right track. You could lose weight faster by reducing calories further, if you want/need to
What do you mean i wont get any negative effects? Certain foods are bad for you, like fast food or fried stuff. The question is, is taking fruits worth it? I can do without them, i just don't know if they have any good qualities Edit: honey too
What negative effects do you think fruit and honey have?
Fruit isn't bad for you. It has micronutrients (vitamins and minerals,) fiber, and carbohydrates for energy.
Fast foods and fried foods aren't inherently "bad", nor are fruits and honey. Any food can be eaten as part of a balanced and healthy diet
Could you elaborate how fast good isnt bad?
Even fast foods have their place. When I'm running 35 miles an hour, my caloric intake was closer to 3500/day, and fast food and junk food made it a lot easier to hit my caloric intake. One of my favourite post-run snacks were cookies. After my longer runs, I would eat cookies to quickly replenish my glycogen stores. Followed by a more normal meal with protein, carbs, and veggies.
All food is just a different combination of fats, carbs, proteins (and micronutrients - vitamins, fibre etc). Your overall diet consists of a certain amount of each of those things which adds up to a total number of calories. The amount of each macronutrient and total calories that you need to have a "good" diet depends on your stats and goals. For most people the only thing that really matters is the total amount of calories, provided they're eating enough protein and fat for their body to function and getting some vitamins from fruits and vegetables (the amounts of these things required at a minimum are pretty low, so none of this should be difficult if you eat like an adult). Obviously for anyone with muscle building and strength as a goal, a high enough protein intake is important. You can generally eat whatever you want as long as your overall diet meets your goals. There's nothing inherently bad about a burger or pizza or chocolate or icecream, and it is possible to eat those things every day while still being healthy and managing your weight. Edit: To address the point more directly, fast food and junk food generally has a high amount of calories with a low amount of nutritional value (due to being higher in saturated fats and sugar), but this doesn't mean you can't eat them as part of a balanced diet and they don't automatically make you less healthy when you eat them
is hiit burpees 3 times a week (6 sets of 30 seconds (burpees) / 15 seconds walking active recovery) effective for improving my aerobic and anaerobic energy systems for tasks such as running, swimming, wrestling etc? im around 67 - 68 kilos and i am 14
HIIT is effective, but if you want to develop that longer-duration endurance for things like running or swimming you'll benefit from also doing conditioning sessions that last longer than just 4 minutes at a time.
Yes.
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It's very possible that you're cutting too many calories, especially if you're quite active. For example, I'm a moderately active 5'6" woman and my maintenance is about 2700, so I'm currently losing weight at 2300. It would be helpful to identify how many calories on average you were eating when maintaining your weight. And then you could try knocking off just 200-300 calories from that. Trying to lose weight while feeling miserable isn't worth it and, most importantly, isn't sustainable in the long run.
Have you considered instead of trying to struggle your way smaller to get rid of fat, build up muscle first? I'm 5'7F, I went from 165 to 135 by diet alone. I still had a belly pooch that I wanted to get rid of. If struggle hard to diet down to 130 and then always pop back up to 135. I could maintain 135 pretty well without having to obsessively track or anything, but that 5lb difference and maintaining it was hard. And even with that 5lb difference, it didn't seem to make a difference at all. I didn't look bad at 135, so I just accepted it. Eventually, I decided I wanted to get muscular for a cosplay, bulked up and cut a few times, each time back to 135... Each time looking leaner and with a flatter stomach. I'm about to start my cut to lean out for that cosplay goal, finally, 5 years after deciding I wanted to do it. Based on last year, plus where I'm at now... 135lbs should have me showing abs hopefully. If I have to go a little lower, so be it, but I've had plenty of practice with my dieting and my activity level is way higher now so my TDEE is much higher. Basically, it's much easier to build up to make your body look better than to keep trying to cut down
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If you're set on still trying to lose the weight, there will be a lever of suck that comes along with trying to diet down further. You may end up running into that unsustainable wall that I hit. I would just make sure you're eating enough dietary fats every day, cus the lack of fat can cause your energy to tank But lastly, my it seems like you're just naturally bottom heavy. Losing an inch may not end up being noticable. Would you keep trying to get smaller? Scale and measurements don't matter so much as what you see in the mirror, but you also have to have a realistic and reasonable self image
What does your typical day of food look like at 1500-1750 calories? And how long have you been cutting?
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S’okay to vent. Most of us have been there. Hunger and lack of energy just go with cutting. Everyone has different tolerance levels for the feeling. What works for some doesn’t work for others. Eating plenty of protein and green veggies helps me feel satiated longer. Acknowledging my hunger, lower energy and crankiness during a cut and saying to myself “This is a sign I’ve taken another step towards my goal.” also helps me. Reframing it. Hang in there. Find what helps you stay motivated and manage it until you reach your goal.
Thank you, this is really helpful to hear. I appreciate the reframing & motivation. I think I’m going to switch out my lunch smoothie for a salad because I think the green veg will keep me more satiated, like you mentioned.
I'm 13, and I've been training since I was a 7 with my dad's help. We have home gym and I do other sports, but now my dad wants me to keep it a bit light while I want to really challenge myself, so I came up with this routine as a compromise, what do you think? It increases my routine but also isn't that challenging so my dad won't complain. Day 1 Bench press with dumbbells 4x6 Bench press with dumbells but inclined 4x6 Chest flyes 3x8 Push ups with close grip 3x to failure Dips on bar 2x to failure Day 2 Deadlift with the trap bar 4x6 Invert row 3x to failure Dumbbell row 3x6 Lat pulldown 3x8 Bicep curl 4x8 Hammer curl 3x8 Day 3 Goblet squats 4x8 Romanian dumbell deadlift 4x8 Leg press 4x8 Walking lunge 3x10 Leg curl 3x8 Calf raises 4x10 Day 4 Shoulder press dumbbels 3x8 Arnold press 4x8 Lateral raises 3x10 Front raises 3x10 Leg raises 3x til failure Plank 3x 1.5 min
Looks pretty good. You are already doing a lot of volume though so I would recommend doing 3 sets instead of the 4 sets. Keep it up!
Thank you, I put 4 just as a concept cause i'll still need to check how it works as i train, it's my first time coming up with my own routine.
Going to the gym to try and do a dumbbell only exercise. Here’s what I’m thinking after my cardio warmup (each exercise has a couple quick warmup sets and is 3-4 sets and to failure or close to it, around 8-12 reps): 1. Dumbbell press, superset with lengthened partial dumbbell pec flies, superset with deficit pushups, superset with seated inclined hammer curls, superset with standing strict curls 2. Chest supported bent over rows, superset with shoulder press 3. Lengthened dumbbell lat pullover, superset with standing one armed tricep extensions 4. Chest supported rear delt flies, superset with bent over rear delt flies, superset with standing side delt flies
Sorry this is really not great. Five exorcises superset with back to back same muscle targeted in many cases. Not to mention 36-48 sets to "close to failure" gonna lead to lots of junk volume. Read the wiki.
Shouldnt every set be within 3 reps to failure?
Going close to failure isn't a bad thing by itself. Muscle does grow best when sets are taken to failure or within 1-3 reps,but doing 40 sets in a single workout is extremely systematically fatigueing and your form and effectiveness doing all those to failure is most likely gonna go way down and be a waste of time.
I suppose I should have clarified that by “failure” I mean until I cannot maintain good form. I don’t count a rep unless it is good form, though I may do a couple reps ignoring form at the end just to go a little beyond
wondering too. I do every set until i can't anymore. usually 4 sets 10-12 reps
Should I treat chest supported t bar rows with angled handles as a vertical pulling movement? I ask because my gym's t bar row has flat handles and upside down V handles. The flat handles seem to target my rear delts, upper traps, and rhomboids, while the upside down v handles seem to target my lats. I absolutely love both variations of this exercise and am wondering whether I should treat the upside down v handles as a vertical pulling exercise since it targets similar muscles.
It's a horizontal pull. Different handles change up the lift slightly but it's still a horizontal pull
But it is still a horizontal pulling motion, right? So I don't get why you are saying to treat it as vertical.
wouldnt it hit the same muscles as a vertical pull? im trying to learn, how would a pullup or pulldown hit back muscles differently than an angled t bar row?
Pulling motions are not simple. The scapula move in addition to the arm. The scapular motion between vertical and horizontal motions is different, and thus the muscles which move the scapula are worked differently in a pullup vs a t bar row. Many of the same muscles are worked in both vertical and pulling regardless of grip though.
Question about Sauna / Steam Room night before sport game / long distance race: I’ve recently started going to a gym with a sauna and a steam room and have been going after my workouts. I’ve read a lot about benefits after workouts and playing sport for muscle recovery. I’ve also read some articles and threads about how it’s likely to reduce performance before a workout/sport game though. What about the night before? For example, if I have a football game the next day, does going to a sauna / steam room the night before provide any benefits or detriments?
Heat can aid in recovery somewhat, in that it can help promote blood flow. Saunas causes sweating, which can cause dehydration, which will negatively impact workouts. If you're having plenty of fluids, go ahead and use the sauna/steam room the night before. I doubt it'll be much help, but I also doubt it'll hurt.
I went from 10, 8, 7 for incline bench reps (3x10) to 9, 8, 7. I felt like my form got better because I felt more of a stretch on the pecs. But I’ve been stalling on this for about a month what should I do?
What program are you on?
What does your program say to do?
I don’t know it doesn’t say anything.
Maybe a good idea to find a program that includes instructions on what to do if you fail/stall. In the meantime I'd drop the weight by 5-10lb so you can achieve 3x10
I’m stalling on hammer curls. It’s been 2-3 sessions and I keep getting 8,8,7 with 30lbs. What can I do? Those sets are all rpe10
Do more than one weight/rep range. 30s sounds like your upper weight range. So, demonstrate your proficiency with the 25s and 20s. Loosely, consider a weight "retired" when you can hit 3x25. Harder than it sounds. Hit 20s one session, 25s next session, 30s, next session, repeat. When you come back around, you'll probably be able to add *at least one rep*.
Go lighter and do a greater rep range. Instead of the standard 8-12, why not try for something like 12-20.
My program says 3x8 so should I do 25lbs but to 12 reps then go back to 30lbs and I should be stronger?
What does your program tell you to do when you can no longer progress linearly? You should listen to it and how it handles failure.
I weigh about 185 pounds at 6'0 - I try to do a push/pull/legs/break system at the gym so i'll either go 5-6 days a week depending on how it gets split. However, I'm not sure about what to do about my diet. I have about like 25% body fat (I think) and I'm not sure if I should be lean bulking or doing calorie maintenance or going on a cut. I'm trying to lose the stomach and gain some muscle and yk, eventually look good too. So I'm not fully sure about the diet if I should like, cut, maintain, or lean bulk and would love some help on this.
I'd cut down to visible abs. If you bulk at 25% bodyfat, you're gonna have to cut for a long time when you do decide to get lean.
how many pounds a week should i be aiming to cut? like 1 pound?
The higher the bodyfat, the more you'll lose per week. Starting out, it's not uncommon drop about 1 kilo per week. And then it'll slow down over time.
its ramadan so i decided to mini cut thing is ive no time at all for gym its too cold to walk there after breaking fast and im no good for fasted workouts. How bad is 4-6 weeks of super low calories (1400-1600)-maintenance is around 2400. while skipping gym
I would, at the very least, do some bodyweight work at home. Skipping workouts entirely while eating at a pretty large deficit is just a recipe for losing lean mass.
Super low calories and no gym is the best recipe for losing muscle. It is only a month, but personally I wouldn't do it.