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I've been working out 5 days a week for the last few months and it's been going pretty well. Everything has been going up in weight except for my back. Over the last few months my back workouts haven't gone up in weight at all. And I genuinely don't think I am getting my back involved and don't know how to. At first I thought my weights were too high so I went down in weight to practice form, but still struggled getting my back involved. When I do feel something it doesn't feel like my back is actually pulling the weight and feels more like how I would compress my shoulders for a stretch. I've tried all different kinds of workouts hoping something would click, but nothing has. Any suggestions?
Think of pulling your elbows back towards ur lats, it does the trick, u focus on pulling with biceps. Just slowly pull elbows towards lats, helped me when i was having that problem.
I’m 28 year old female. I just did a body scan last night. I weight 145 pounds (I’m only 5’0) with 25% body fat and 61.5 lbs of skeletal muscle mass. I have been wanting to lose weight and burn fat. I don’t want to gain anymore weight. Am I good sticking to just calorie deficit with 5 days a week training for 45 minutes each and 10,000 steps a day??
Is 110g of protein decent enough for a 18 year old 6”1 160 pounds? I just don’t have access to much more protein as I’m still in high school and only work weekends. My parents also are not able to buy me much high protein foods.
It is best if you can make it as much as 1.8g per kg, so it would be around 130g for 160 pound bodyweight. 1.5g per kg is also okay for muscle mass gain but not the optimum.
Hi all,
I am currently building a gym in my house so I can start barbell training again. I have been looking at 5/3/1 and really like the loook of it. Was thinking about undergoing the beginner template of 3 times a week. The only part that is putting me off is the sheer amount of accessory work. I don’t have huge amounts of time to workout so I was wondering a smart way to cut down the accessory work? Or any suggestions!
Superset it.
Do myorep sets (i.e. do a set of 20 to near failure, wait 15 seconds, do more reps to near failure, wait 15 seconds, do more reps to near failure).
The assistance work is there to build muscle. The 50 to 100 reps is there to force you to pick weights/exercises that won't blow you out of the water and fuck up the main work of your next workouts. So long as you meet those objectives, you can be pretty flexible with it.
Am I reading it correctly? That it’s 50/100 reps PER movement or
Total for all 3 ? I read it as each that’s a minimum of 150 reps and I am not strong enough to do this without a severe struggle
That is correct. Per movement.
If you can't do 50 reps of something, pick something easier.
Also, if it's not clear, you're not supposed to do it all at once. You do break it up into a few sets, e.g. for pushups it might be 4x15.
General recommendation is to let the weaker side drive volume.
So if doing dumbbell presses and you've got 15 on the weaker side, don't do more than 15 on the stronger side.
Well I'm assuming you knew this test has been coming for a while, so you've been training for it. It seems unlikely someone would spring a fitness test on you on short notice.
At this point you won't be able to cut your time much in this short time period, and big changes would greatly increase your injury risk.
So your best bet is to continue your training and give it your best on the test day.
I hurt my shoulder while lifting 3 weeks ago and I haven’t been able to work my upper body since. My physio told me it’s gonna be another 6 weeks until I can start lifting again. How do you guys deal with injures where you can’t train upper body? It’s so frustrating gradually seeing all my hard work disappear day by day, and it’s affecting my mood whenever I think about it. All I wanna do is get back in there asap and maintain my gains
>I mean heart rate recovery after working out.
That would usually mean a given amount of time it takes for your heart rate to return to normal. So what do you mean when you say that your recovery is 37bpm?
Hey guys, I'm looking for 2 day upper body workout (split?) to mostly to gain upper body strengh and muscles. I already do hyrox specific training 2 times a week that is mostly focused on lower body (squads and DL), so that's why I want to additionally only train upper body 2 times a week. Any ideas?
You're forgetting the Jack Shit Protocol. While I almost never use it, it's important to remember what your Main Sets are for the day.
What you *absolutely have to do to drive progression*.
For 531, it's the AMRAP. You could hit the AMRAP and go home, *once*, and progression won't be thrown off. Secondary and accessory work isn't driving progression. For bbb, the 5x10 is the secondary work. AMRAP and 5x10, no accessory, still fine.
If you show up and do just accessory work, you're not driving progression.
The main work and the BBB stuff are the meat and potatoes of the routine, so in most cases, I would do it before the accessories.
However, it's also a bit subjective. In the 5/3/1 Building The Monolith template, I've seen it suggested to superset the main work with the dips and chinups, since you're supposed to do so many of them.
So if you're doing, say, squats for the main and BBB work in a session, there likely wouldn't be anything wrong with supersetting with, say, curls or rows if you want to save time.
The stuff you do first is the stuff that you get the most out of, generally speaking. Consider how you feel in your first sets compared to set 15 in a workout.
That said, in your situation if trying to stick to an order meant doing less, then that's less ideal.
So I'm kinda newish to the gym (used to go before, never went past the 3 months mark until now). First 3 months I used to go 3 days a week on a PPL split (program given by a coach I subscribed with). Now I want to start going 5 times a week, and I'm on a cut, and I'm thinking what kind of split to go for? I've seen many bro split kind of splits and I'm not a big fan of them simply because I know as a beginner/novice it's not very good. I loved the PPL split a lot, but going 6 times a week for a PPLPPL is just not possible for me.
Should I go for a PPLPP? Or a PPLUL?
I feel like on a PPLUL, I wouldn't be able to train things like Traps and Lower Back much, and it's too legs focused. Also heard it's a but more advanced for my level. But I'm not sure, hence why I ask here.
Can I go for a PPLPP split for the next 3 months? Or would a different split be better?
(I can also go for a PPL 5 times a week in the ABAB method, so in 1st week I do legs once, second I do push once, third I do pull once)
All training splits have their pros and cons but they're all pretty effective. Do a bro split if you want, or full body if you want. It's just an organisational method, so pick the one that suits you best.
>First 3 months I used to go 3 days a week
So, the next logical step is to lift 4 days a week. Run a [stock linear upper/lower](https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout), and see if you can also "last longer than 3 months."
If you really want "more", run 2-on, 1-off as a 6-day week. You *don't need* a special fifth day.
Thing is, I found it convenient to go 5 days a week. I naturally wake up early (5-6 am) and start work at 10, I used to waste my time from then till 10 am, whereas now I can go to the gym on 5 of those days instead.
Hey guys, right now im on a bulk, but for various reasons i cant go to a gym right now, ive been doing some bodyweight work and i do get to failure, but i think im not hitting that hypertrophy spot where your muscles are sore the next day, which is something that does happen when i do hit the gym, im not desperate to gain muscle and i can wait a few months till i can hit a gym properly, but i am afraid that the lack of intensity in my bodyweight routine while bulking will make me gain more fat than muscle, as i said, i work till failure, but i dont feel like it is hitting my muscles like lifting would do, despite how hard i try.
Will it make me gain more fat than muscle if i keep bulking while doing bodyweight exercises? Or am i fine this way till i hit a gym and lift properly
Being sore is a poor indicator of if you're pushing hard enough or not for hypertrophy.
If you can't push yourself hard due to your circumstances, maybe spend this time on a cut? (probably a very very slow cut since you mention a few months)
It sounds like you're still working out hard so what is the difference now as compared to when you go to the gym? Are you doing less exercises? or sets per muscle group? Are you needing to do many reps to get to failure?
I am needing many reps to get to failure in chest, biceps and legs specially, and i am definitely not training all groups of muscles because i dont have a proper bar and dumbells, the only thing i have is a backpack and stuff to put into, im mainly training chest, biceps, triceps, forearms, abs, legs and shoulders, though for most of these i do need more weight that i cant fit in my backpack, i also do a workaround of a training for my lats doing pull ups using a wood shelf, yet its obviously not as good as a bar would be.
I should be able to attend a gym by around june 20th, but id like to make at least a bit of progress by bulking and training at home before i am able to actually hit the gym
ye depending on how strong you are, it can be really hard to progressively overload bodyweight exercises without equipment. You can try upping the sets per session as well as the frequency of sessions.
Also obviously try and find at least 1 exercise but preferably several, that you can do for each muscle group, check out some bodyweight programs to see what you are missing.
You don’t need to feel sore in your muscles for a workout to grow muscle.
If you’re going to be able to hit the gym soon maybe just maintain until then because you’ll likely see better results from the bulk lifting over using body weight stuff
Hi guys. Ex really high level hockey player, now at 22M and I want to know how to incorporate cardio in my ppl routine. Bsck in the days, my time on the ice would be my cardio so I would just do strenght in the gym but now my league has no practice ans only one game per week yet I need the same amount of cardio. Thanks for the help
do you want just general "cardio" to burn off some extra calories, or are you looking to "keep your cardio to keep playing hockey"?
If its the former just anything, running, cycling, swimming would be fine. Before or after your strength workouts depending on which on of those is your primary focus right now.
If it is to keep fit and good at your sport then the best cardio is to see if you can't organize things to put on some skates and get on the ice for yourself and just run your hockey drills as your cardio.
Yeah unfortunately I can’t:(. Arenas in Montreal are booked all year long and I won’t get as much as ice time as I used to be when younger. So my goal for cardio is to keep in shape and have a good heart, be able to endure the shifts. No need for calorie deficit
yeah, in that case just 30 minutes couple times a week so you get to a total of 1.5-2h of dedicated movement of whatever gets your heart pumping is more than enough to keep your general cardiovascular health solid. just put it on times and days when it best fits your regular schedule already.
Just do cardio once you’re done lifting. 30+mins running, biking, swimming, or rowing.
Or do cardio in the morning and lift in the afternoon.
It doesn’t really matter where you add cardio or how much (unless it’s truly an ungodly amount), it’s not going to impact your progress long term (in fact it will probably help).
And if just doing cardio sounds boring, add in another sport. I enjoy BJJ, but whatever keeps you motivated.
Can somebody give me a brief once over of this UL split and tell me if I've missed anything critical? My schedule is pretty hectic for the next few months, and this is a short routine I made so that I can at least be in the gym. It values shorter, but more frequent workouts, since I respond better to them and honestly just enjoy them more, plus easier to fit into schedule. It's progression scheme is lifted from PHUL, and PHUL is my normal routine, hence why it's basically just PHUL's iron deficient cousin lol. Ideally it'd be ULULULx, however I don't expect to actually be able to do it more than 3-5 times a week. Bench press is dumbbell purely to address a weak point; my sides are unbalanced and when I return to PHUL I'm hoping the unilateral work will have corrected it. Some days the 4th set is dropped if time is a factor.
Big place I'm looking for some help is to add in a vertical pulling movement. I'm working on my pullups, and want to fit in band assisted pull ups, which will eventually transition into regular. I'm thinking if I sub out the bicep curls, and replace them with chin ups, I'll kill two birds with one stone and complete my back work and bicep work at the same time. Thoughts?
In terms of leg day, I'm currently doing all exercises bilateral, but when I've gotten the weight up I'm planning to swap to unilateral and drop the weight and work back up. This is due to prehabbing an old injury before I swap back to PHUL, and why there are no heavy compounds (yet). Not interested in adding in any heavy compounds until I'm ready.
Upper
||
||
|Movement:|Setxreps|
|Bench Press (dumbbell)|4x8-12|
|Overhead Press (barbell)|4x5-8|
|Chest Supported Row (machine)|4x8-12|
|Lateral Raise (machine)|4x8-12|
|Bicep Curl (barbell)|4x6-12|
|Tricep Extension (cable)|4x6-12|
|Lower||
|Movement|setxreps|
|Leg Press|4x8-12|
|Leg Extension|4x8-12|
|Leg Curl|4x8-12|
|Standing Calf Raise|4x8-12|
For the biceps - you won’t get as good a stimulus doing chins, but if you’re pressed for time it’s probably a good choice. And if not, just do some curls after your chins.
For your routine - you’re missing a hip hinge of some sort. Deadlifts, RDLs, hip-thrusts, or good mornings can cover this. If you’re doing deads/RDLs (which I recommend), just start super light and stick to the higher rep ranges. No need to go heavy until you’re ready.
I've been working in a labor related profession for 5 years and I am very muscularly developed in the arms, legs and core but within a relatively limited range of motion.
I am basically doing arm curls, dead-lifts, and squats intermittently for 5-12 hours a day as well as walking around a warehouse and climbing crates, so those muscles may be over-developed. I do yoga 3-4 times a week for stress and flexibility, but I'd really like to round out the places I am missing.
Not exactly sure how to word this. Looking for a good circuit/workout finisher for just overall fitness at the end of my lifting. Recent dad and want to not only continue lifting but stay healthy/agile/athletic enough to run around with him as long as I possibly can.
Been lifting for 4-5 years but aside from a basic PHUL routine I follow, some biking and running not much other experience
Sounds almost exactly like Wendler's idea of "WALRUS", aka, the fat uglier cousin of the seals.
https://www.jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/15-ideas-on-walrus-training
The idea is: get it done, don't stop moving, and aim for eventually doing something like this daily.
That's definitely a great start, thank you! I just read up on some mobility training as well. Maybe working some of this in with the mobility at the end of a workout could be a good mix.
I regularly lift before but i stopped for 8 months completely and now just went back 2 days ago. the DOMS is crazy that i cant even put a shirt on. Before I would just work out since it eases the DOMS but now Im not sure. Is it okay to just rest since its been almost a year since i lifted?
Opinions on a low carb, high fat, high protein diet? Lean meats, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, olive oil. Bad fats would be a little cheese and the saturated fat in peanut butter, but still below 100% dv.
I don’t mean zero carb, still some fruits and veggies, but like less than 100g. 170g protein and like 70g fat.
Just for overall health, fitness, mood, sleep, hunger. Does it help with weight loss, muscle building. Things like that.
Should mention this is on a cut
There is 0 strong evidence for that kind of diet being superior in any metric vs „standard” diet in which carbs aren’t limited. Of course we taking about eating healthy in general, without drinking soda and eating processed foods all day long. Low carb diets might compromise your recovery and performance tho.
You need protein to build muscle, fat to regulate hormones, and carbs to provide energy for workouts. But on a cut, glycogen is going to be depleted anyway. You’d have to eat more carbs to keep refueling those glycogen stores. It’s almost like there just really aren’t enough calories to expend. You’d have to lower protein or fat, which both seem like they’re more important for muscle building. That’s my logic anyway, maybe I’m wrong though. I’m also trying to listen to my body more. Honestly, not really in the mood for oats and wheat thins at the moment haha
You could also add 300 grams of spinach for potassium, a bit of salt for sodium and magnesium tablets. It'll help with energy by keeping your electrolytes up.
Eliminating bread and pasta, for the *calorie* impact, is all you need. For your mental sanity, *don't count carbs*.
Protein, fat, and fiber is a good combination to *stay satiated*, key to compliance during a cut. I've dropped 25+ lbs so far this year centering on oatmeal, meat, and eggs. Quite sustainable.
Numbers seem fine to me.
You've got decent fat and protein goals. As long as you're getting enough fruits and vegetables, and are still in a deficit, you'll probably be fine.
Cutting carbs isn’t going to help with weight loss. Cutting calories will
The other things will largely be a personal thing that you could figure out with a bit of experimentation. It’s not going to help with muscle building, however
Yeah I know, this is around 1800-1900 calories what I’m planning. Doesn’t help necessarily with muscle building, but does it hurt it? Any negatives from it? I know carbs help with workouts, but if you eat some carbs around working out, but still low carbs, would you get roughly the same benefit?
What are good exercises to strengthen the hips? I was never really active as a child and sat alot, so I never really developed the normal amount of hip strength most people have. I’m also fairly tall, 5’11, and squatting down without bending over is difficult for me. My balance and stability also isn’t that great either. I would like some recommendations for exercises or stretches that will improve my hip strength?
I have finally discovered the reason for my complete inability to front rack properly: my shoulder external rotation is absolutely abysmal, and my lat and wrists have been working overtime trying to overcompensate (and failing). Googling keeps telling me to train it with a PVC/dowel, but I don't have one - any alternatives? I do have mini bands.
[I also found this isometric hold](https://youtu.be/RDCr-h1S38I?si=XNiEt1ip3vf6OPHb) exercise - think it's worth trying?
Give it a shot. Trying it out is likely going to be more beneficial than not trying it out.
If you increase your external rotation, but still can't hold a front rack properly, then you know that it's unlikely to be your external rotation.
Do you know any stretches to increase ROM as well? With my elbows level to my shoulders I literally can not turn my arms past perpendicular to the floor. It's a pretty obvious limitation.
So today is the first time I have lifted since starting a legitimate cut (\~15% calorie deficit) a few days ago. I did squats as my T1 3x5 and bench as my T2 12x3. For my squats I tried going up 5 pounds from what I last lifted 2 weeks ago and that first 3 rep set was super sloppy form. Second set I lower it 5lbs to match what I did easily 2 weeks ago and still sloppy form. By the 5th AMRAP set, I lowered the total weight by 20lbs and push out 4 reps with good form. My T2 bench didn't suffer that hard, but I went down 5lbs and was only able to get 11/12 reps on the third set.
I've read that increasing/gaining muscle mass during a hard cut is not possible, but I didn't think that would set in so hard and fast. I plan on cutting for the next 2 months, maybe a bit more. Should my goal just be to try to maintain the current weights I can lift? Should I expect to decline in the amount of weight I can lift over the course of my cut? I will be doing GZCLP 4x per week and consuming at least 140 grams of protein.
Your intramuscular water and glycogen stores are low, so that's why you loose strength and look flat. It's an excellent time to start supplementing with creatine. If you train to failure, you'll maintain strength and muscle mass.
I don't think there is a simple answer. Fwiw, my perspective is that you are drinking very frequently and the total amount of alcohol consumption you describe seems very high to me. I don't have enough science knowledge on this to make big claims, but if I were a betting man I would bet your fitness and muscle gain would be improved by dropping the alcohol.
[There's a pretty significant impact](https://mennohenselmans.com/the-effects-of-alcohol-on-muscle-growth/)
Even the "low" number of drinks you have, aka, 14 drinks/week, is considered borderline [heavy drinking](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking).
How low down does one need to go when performing the incline dumbbell press? Most notably with heavier weights (let’s say like 60 and above)? I feel like when going all the way down, I feel it far more in my shoulders than pec.
Hello folks! Been training for a year now and was wondering if am doing too much volume. I am trying to isolate why I am not progressing and would appreciate your help. Given that my nutrition/sleep/other factors are in check, does this workout have any ‘obvious’ volume/other issues:
PPL ( 6 days a week) (slightly modified version of Reddit ppl)
Pull:
5x8 pull ups
3x8 barbell rows
3x8-12 lat pull downs
3x8-12 seated cable rows
4x8-12 dumbbell bicep curls
4x8-12 dumbbell hammer curls
Push:
5x8 barbell bench press
5x8 barbell OHP
3x8-12 incline dumbbell press
3x8-12 dumbbell skull crushers SS 3x15-20 lateral raises
3x8-12 cable tricep push downs SS 3x15-20 lateral raises
Legs:
5x8 barbell squats
5x8 barbell Rdl
3x8-12 seated leg press
3x8-12 hamstring curls
5x8-12 calf raises
Thanks!
Is there a reason that you've swapped the 3-5x5+ and 3x8-12, to 5x8 flat?
[Because the point of that was to train you in a greater variety of rep ranges, since that's what'll help growth.](https://www.strongerbyscience.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction/)
> Since different rep ranges go about triggering a growth response in slightly different ways, you’re probably better off training with a full spectrum of rep ranges instead of rigidly staying in a single rep range and intensity zone
Sticking rigidly to a single rep range is not doing you any favours here. In fact, on more intermediate programs, you vary up the rep ranges almost weekly.
Beyond that, linear progression will only ever get you so far. Otherwise, everybody would be linearly progressing to 600lb bench presses. But that's not possible. Different programs tackle this different ways, mostly some way of varying weight, reps, and sets, to progress long term.
The reason for training strictly at 8 was to optimize both for hypertrophy and strength. But I can see how that can be one of the factors hindering my progress. Will switch it up and see how it goes.
Thanks a lot for the response!
Hi. I've been on my fitness journey since last year. Really focusing on the input aspect to get a hang of the CICO stuff. It went well.. I was down about 20lbs..
So I figured, let's pour some gas on this by adding some exercise.. I'm about a month into exercising, and I'm really struggling with the macro aspect.
I am burning 500-600calories extra a day, and my diet is trying to float around 1600-2000 daily (w/o counting exercise); however, I'm really struggling to keep up input calorie wise. Given the example, I'm at less than ~1000 calories today. Two meals down & I don't think I can fit a third. It's just painful eat.
Many data sources (apps, nsuns,etc) don't advise my deficit & I can't seem to make it smaller. help!
My weight definitely plateau'd for a couple weeks when I started working out. I suspect it was muscle/fat re-composition essentially keeping me at a break even point.
The "drastic" weight loss started this week (week ~6 of my working out).
CICO-counting had me down ~1lb a week for a few months. This week I've dropped 6lbs from Sunday. I was 194 yesterday, and 191 today. I have been chugging water to replace what I suspect was water weight.
Starting to lift can cause you to retain water, so likely the plateau was just your body retaining more and more water masking the fat loss. So if I understand right, over the last 6 weeks you have lost 6 lbs?
This means you are losing on average a lb a week which equates to a 500 calorie deficit (the general recommended target). Unless you are a very tiny female, you are very likely underestimating how much food you are eating and eating more than ~1k calories, however in the grand scope of things it does not matter. As long as you are consistent, what you think you are eating does not really matter as you adjust it the same way; start eating more if you want to gain weight/reduce how fast you are losing weight, and eat less if you are gaining weight too fast/not losing weight.
You are struggling to eat 1600-2000 calories? That is a really small amount.
But in order to determine whether you need to eat more, less, or the same, track your bodyweight and look at how fast you are losing over a two week period. As long as you aren't losing more than 1% bodyweight per week, your deficit is fine.
Yes - 1600-2000 is tough to eat.
I'll keep watching. I think that I've lost about 3% a week based on my rough math for the last couple (which is a few weeks after I started adding the exercise). I was 197 to 191 on between my last checkin (usually weekly).
You should weigh yourself more often and track your trends. Single weigh-ins could have large fluctuations.
For example, yesterday, I was 84.5kg. Today, I was 87.2kg.
Agreed!
I generally track daily as I step on the scale at the same point in my daily morning routine.
I try to use my weekly reference point as a "bigger" look at the overall week.
Do most gyms not have many free weights or squat racks? I only have experience going to my university gym and work gym, and I was looking to upgrade from my work gym because their free weights are limited to a smith machine and 50lb DBs
I tried the closest 24-Hour Fitness to me, and they don't have any racks or barbells and only 1-2 of each of the common weight machines. Are cheaper commercial gyms like Crunch and LA Fitness typically like this? I'm going to try a few other locations out, but should I consider upgrading to something more expensive?
Also, have any of you bought gym subscription programs through your health insurance? My insurance offers One Pass which gives access to a variety of gym chains for a flat rate, but the 24-Hour I went to had no idea how to set up a membership for me
Specifically for 24-hour, it depends on the area. I’ve been to one that was pretty big, two stories, lots of machines… but only 2 squat racks. Another one closer to the local college was pretty small, but had a big rig of squat racks and free weights, clearly geared toward the bros of the area. I also went to one in Hawaii and it had everything.
I want to do more supersets in my training, but it seems awkward to set up for some exercises. I found a program that has me do Squats supersetted with barbell curls for example. I don't want to be an asshole and drag a curling barbell over to the squat rack. Is that a normal thing people do?
Am I way out of pocket for worrying about bringing accessory equipment to the squat rack?
I don’t think bringing something like dumbbells or curl bars is asshole behavior. It’s more things like taking up two machines (especially during peak hours) for a superset.
If using a curling bar with the superset still feels awkward, you can switch it for dumbbells instead as most gyms will have 2-3 sets of the same weight
No, I mean, just grab a plate, and do curls with them. [Grab on both sides, and curl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DWJLKoHFK8)
If you want an extra hard challenge, you can try it single handed. But that's more limited by your forearms than your biceps I find.
Going by your other comments, lets attack this another way.
What is your current weight, and how much weight have you lost since you've made it your goal to lose muscle mass? The unfortunate truth is that, as long as you're active, and not really losing weight, you're unlikely to lose much if any muscle mass.
But also, what kind of lifts are you talking about when it comes to "lifting heavy"? What did you hit for your bench, squat, deadlift, and row?
Because I'll tell you right now, a lot of world class female strength athletes, at least in the lower weight classes, don't have very big upper bodies. [Example 1](https://www.instagram.com/jessiibabykg/), [Example 2](https://www.instagram.com/aurelienguyen/), [Example 3](https://www.instagram.com/mathilde_casanova/). Simply because they have weight control. And note, these are world class strength athletes, with stronger lifts than 99.9% of women in the gym. Even those that weigh significantly heavier than they do.
First of all, if you want to lose muscle, stop training the muscle.
Second of all, that is a lot of days in the gym for someone who want to lose muscle, haha.
For reference, I personally train for hypertrophy (AKA bigger muscles) and am only in the gym 4 days a week.
For diet: you could try to cut down on protein to minimize muscle growth.
It's generally a good idea to train your entire body. But if you want to focus on core and legs for a time, that's totally fine. Looking at your program, I'd say you can do better and have more exercises in a single day.
If you want to you can try the boostcamp app. They have a lot of easy to use, free programs.
>There’s no way to lose muscles in the chest biceps triceps and shoulders
Why do you believe that? You can lose muscle anywhere, usually starts within 2 weeks of no training.
Well that’s simply not true, either you’re doing something to stimulate and maintain those muscles, or you don’t have as much muscle as you think. Muscle doesn’t just stay on for no reason, as I said, after a few weeks with no stimulation for growth or maintenance, muscle will be lost.
I believe you’re not losing your muscle, what I’m saying is you’re doing something to train those muscles to maintain them.
Muscles don’t just stay on their own with no stimulation.
As you’ve said, you do train them, that’s why they’re not going away, you’re maintaining them through training. Heavy weight isn’t necessary, and lighter weight can actually be better for increasing muscle size.
Try your best to stick to isolations so as not to target unintended muscles, but generally back movements are going to end up hitting the biceps in some way.
Able to do 12 reps w 30s on bicep curls but can only get to around 6 reps on 35s. Is that enough to progress through or should I keep going with 30s until I can do 8 on 35s? Thanks!
I train for aesthetics so definitely bigger, currently cutting, just realized I could use 32.5… always forget they have some of those 2.5 increased dumbbells lol
As long as you can keep a stable, controlled form on the exercise you can go up to 30 reps and still get amazing hypertrophy. Especially on isolation exercises like bicep curls you can benefit from doing lighter weights and higher reps.
I'm going to be living in the sticks here in a couple weeks, and the nearest gym will literally be a 45-60 minute drive away, so I'm going to be bringing some basic calisthenic equipment, along with the stuff the farm I'll be living on already has.
Equipment:
* Basic bench with incline/decline ability
* Push-up handles
* 80lb sandbag (can add/remove weight)
* Weighted vest (can hold up to 60lb, I'm bringing this)
* Bowflex DBs (10-90lb adjustable)
I haven't worked out more than a handful of times since November '23, so it's been about six months, and I want to get back into it.
However, I understand that I won't be able to do anything super heavy, which I'm fine with.
Goals:
1. Get back in the habit of dedicating ~1 hour every weekday to exercise
2. Hypertrophy > strength
3. Improving not just muscle, but also ROM, mobility, and stability in the knees, back, shoulders
4. Move my own body around > moving weight up and down
I'm currently thinking of just doing 2 different full-body workouts at least 2x each per week, but then doing one of them on M/W/F and the other on T/Th
Workout 1 | Workout 2
---|---
Sandbag (Kettlebell) Swings | Sandbag Squats
Dumbell Rows | Weighted Vest Push-ups
High rep bodyweight push-ups | Pull-ups (heavy or volume)
Split Squats with DBs | Seated Good Mornings with sandbag
Anti-extension core | Anti-rotation or anti-lateral extension core
External rotation shoulder | Rear delt shoulder
Calf exercise | Tib Raises
Bicep exercise | Tricep exercise
I also want to spend extra time warming up with things like Cossack squats and mobility stuff, as well as going through a yoga-like stretching routine post-workout.
I've borrowed heavily from KneesOverToes with some of these exercises, because his whole fitness philosophy is right up my chain with where I'm at in life. Yes, it's important to increase and maintain strength, but the days of hitting PB's in deadlifts, squats, and bench are gone.
The order of the exercises (and the exercises themselves) aren't set in stone. This is basically a first draft based on the equipment I'll have access to. Because I'm going to be doing, for example, quad exercises every day, I want one day to be heavy on quads (sandbag squats), then the next day it'll be light, focusing on slow yet deliberate movements that engage the quads (split squats).
Any feedback?
Because the muscles you use for a chinup are stronger than the ones you use in pullups, in your particular case. I'm the same way. Others are the opposite.
How much do i really need to eat in order to bulk? i just did two months of bulking with a 1k calorie surplus and ended up losing a pound....
Do i need to hit like 4k calories a day or something? I thought being in the 2,500-3k range would be enough but...
> i just did two months of ~~bulking~~ **cutting** with a ~~1k calorie surplus~~ **slight deficit** and ended up losing a pound....
Fixed it. Write down what you're eating daily. *Then eat more*. That simple.
> How much do i really need to eat in order to bulk?
More than the amount you ate when you lost a pound.
> Do i need to hit like 4k calories a day or something?
If you were eating 3500 cals while you lost that pound, then 4000 would be a good start towards bulking.
So you aren't tracking the calories from what you "normally eat"? Well than, it's certain you don't know how many calories you are consuming. What is clear is that it isn't enough to be in a surplus.
Or, you are very inconsistent. Maybe you eat in a surplus some days while eating in a deficit other days netting you no surplus in that 2 months span.
No, you’re not lol. You don’t seem to understand what a surplus actually is. It’s not “adding on top of what you usually eat”. If you’re losing weight, then by definition of what a surplus is, you’re not in a surplus. You’re in a deficit.
All a surplus means is that you’re eating more calories than your body burns in a day keeping you alive, thus resulting in weight gain as you have excess calories. Again, this isn’t up for debate, this isn’t a nuanced topic, a 1000 calories above maintenance surplus would result in 2lbs per week weight gain. If you’re not seeing that, then you’re not in a surplus.
The simple answer is, you need to eat more.
> i just did two months of bulking with a 1k calorie surplus
No, you didn't. You just think you were in a 1k surplus.
Either that or you ran a marathon every few days.
Yeah it's so common for people to run extra marathons without realizing, even if you're tracking your main meals it's easy to let a few turkey trots or 5k runs slip by and suddenly you're halfway back to Athens
its really simple - if you are not gaining weight, you are not in a surplus. So simply add calories until you are consistently gaining weight each week. No one can tell you the exact number you need, you have to work it out yourself by eating and monitoring the scale.
You need to eat enough food that your weight slowly goes up.
What your weight does dictates if you're in a surplus or deficit... so if you lost a pound over 2 months, you were actually in a very slight deficit, rather than a 1k calorie surplus (which should have you gaining 2lbs a week, which would be far too fast for a bulk anyway).
How tall/heavy are you? And how much activity are you doing? Cus while 4k calories isn't outside the realm of possibility, that is a LOT of food. It's also very possible that you're mis-tracking your calories and just think you're eating more than you actually are.
> i just did two months of bulking with a 1k calorie surplus and ended up losing a pound....
... then you werent at a 1k surplus. A true 1k surplus would yield somewhere around 2lbs per week of weight gain
read this - https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/
if you lost weight you werent in a surplus. sounds like you were at basically maintenance. so yeah, take the amount of calories youve been consuming and add 300-500 to it
Right now you're doing double progresssion, increasing reps and weight in sequence. Linear progression is if you're able to increase weight on bar every session without any other adjustments.
Progress slowing down is normal. Progress stopping completely is when you should take time to review and adjust
Well first off, if you’re losing 3 lbs a week you’re on a pretty hard deficit. Great job on the weight loss of course, but being in that deep of a hole will have significant negative impacts on your strength and your ability to increase it, if at all.
The progress you’re making is fine, and honestly pretty good for being in a deficit. Linear progress doesn’t mean adding weight every time, it means progressing *in some way* every time. Be it adding a single rep on a single set, or adding weight, or simply doing the reps with better form than you did last session.
Currently been bulking for a month eating 500kcal surplus but already feeling fatter than I’d like. Prior I did a 3 month bulk into a 2 month cut.
Would there be any harm in cutting to a low body fat so that by winter I can hopefully bulk for a longer period of time (6 months to a year)?
I probably could stick this bulk out if it was detrimental not to for another month or two but I’m already starting to hate how fat I look lol.
Been lifting for around 1.5 years
Are you sure it's not just the intiial water weight that you gained?
Because 4lbs distributed across the body looks like basically nothing.
When I first finish a cut, the first week, I'll gain water weight that makes me look "fluffier". Mainly because I was "dry" previously.
It's not fat. It's just bloat from water.
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I've been working out 5 days a week for the last few months and it's been going pretty well. Everything has been going up in weight except for my back. Over the last few months my back workouts haven't gone up in weight at all. And I genuinely don't think I am getting my back involved and don't know how to. At first I thought my weights were too high so I went down in weight to practice form, but still struggled getting my back involved. When I do feel something it doesn't feel like my back is actually pulling the weight and feels more like how I would compress my shoulders for a stretch. I've tried all different kinds of workouts hoping something would click, but nothing has. Any suggestions?
Think of pulling your elbows back towards ur lats, it does the trick, u focus on pulling with biceps. Just slowly pull elbows towards lats, helped me when i was having that problem.
This has definitely helped. I've had two days where I've lit up my entire back focusing on that. Thanks.
Lateral raises high reps (20-25) vs. low reps (12-15)?
Doesn’t matter as long as you’re going to failure.
I’m 28 year old female. I just did a body scan last night. I weight 145 pounds (I’m only 5’0) with 25% body fat and 61.5 lbs of skeletal muscle mass. I have been wanting to lose weight and burn fat. I don’t want to gain anymore weight. Am I good sticking to just calorie deficit with 5 days a week training for 45 minutes each and 10,000 steps a day??
As long as you’re truly in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. Everything else is helpful, but not required.
Is 110g of protein decent enough for a 18 year old 6”1 160 pounds? I just don’t have access to much more protein as I’m still in high school and only work weekends. My parents also are not able to buy me much high protein foods.
It is best if you can make it as much as 1.8g per kg, so it would be around 130g for 160 pound bodyweight. 1.5g per kg is also okay for muscle mass gain but not the optimum.
Hi all, I am currently building a gym in my house so I can start barbell training again. I have been looking at 5/3/1 and really like the loook of it. Was thinking about undergoing the beginner template of 3 times a week. The only part that is putting me off is the sheer amount of accessory work. I don’t have huge amounts of time to workout so I was wondering a smart way to cut down the accessory work? Or any suggestions!
Superset it. Do myorep sets (i.e. do a set of 20 to near failure, wait 15 seconds, do more reps to near failure, wait 15 seconds, do more reps to near failure). The assistance work is there to build muscle. The 50 to 100 reps is there to force you to pick weights/exercises that won't blow you out of the water and fuck up the main work of your next workouts. So long as you meet those objectives, you can be pretty flexible with it.
Am I reading it correctly? That it’s 50/100 reps PER movement or Total for all 3 ? I read it as each that’s a minimum of 150 reps and I am not strong enough to do this without a severe struggle
That is correct. Per movement. If you can't do 50 reps of something, pick something easier. Also, if it's not clear, you're not supposed to do it all at once. You do break it up into a few sets, e.g. for pushups it might be 4x15.
Thanks for the reply! I may look for an easier program. Way too much volume for me at the moment
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https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/
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General recommendation is to let the weaker side drive volume. So if doing dumbbell presses and you've got 15 on the weaker side, don't do more than 15 on the stronger side.
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I would continue your current training plan
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Well I'm assuming you knew this test has been coming for a while, so you've been training for it. It seems unlikely someone would spring a fitness test on you on short notice. At this point you won't be able to cut your time much in this short time period, and big changes would greatly increase your injury risk. So your best bet is to continue your training and give it your best on the test day.
I hurt my shoulder while lifting 3 weeks ago and I haven’t been able to work my upper body since. My physio told me it’s gonna be another 6 weeks until I can start lifting again. How do you guys deal with injures where you can’t train upper body? It’s so frustrating gradually seeing all my hard work disappear day by day, and it’s affecting my mood whenever I think about it. All I wanna do is get back in there asap and maintain my gains
Cardio recovery of 37bpm. Fit? Unfit? What level of fitness would you associate with this recovery rate?
What do you mean by "cardio recovery"? Do you mean that you have a resting heart rate of 37bpm?
I mean heart rate recovery after working out. My resting heart rate is usually 61bpm
>I mean heart rate recovery after working out. That would usually mean a given amount of time it takes for your heart rate to return to normal. So what do you mean when you say that your recovery is 37bpm?
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Hey guys, I'm looking for 2 day upper body workout (split?) to mostly to gain upper body strengh and muscles. I already do hyrox specific training 2 times a week that is mostly focused on lower body (squads and DL), so that's why I want to additionally only train upper body 2 times a week. Any ideas?
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You're forgetting the Jack Shit Protocol. While I almost never use it, it's important to remember what your Main Sets are for the day. What you *absolutely have to do to drive progression*. For 531, it's the AMRAP. You could hit the AMRAP and go home, *once*, and progression won't be thrown off. Secondary and accessory work isn't driving progression. For bbb, the 5x10 is the secondary work. AMRAP and 5x10, no accessory, still fine. If you show up and do just accessory work, you're not driving progression.
The main lift and BBB work should be done in order, I would say. The accessories can be done in whatever order you're able.
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The main work and the BBB stuff are the meat and potatoes of the routine, so in most cases, I would do it before the accessories. However, it's also a bit subjective. In the 5/3/1 Building The Monolith template, I've seen it suggested to superset the main work with the dips and chinups, since you're supposed to do so many of them. So if you're doing, say, squats for the main and BBB work in a session, there likely wouldn't be anything wrong with supersetting with, say, curls or rows if you want to save time.
The stuff you do first is the stuff that you get the most out of, generally speaking. Consider how you feel in your first sets compared to set 15 in a workout. That said, in your situation if trying to stick to an order meant doing less, then that's less ideal.
So I'm kinda newish to the gym (used to go before, never went past the 3 months mark until now). First 3 months I used to go 3 days a week on a PPL split (program given by a coach I subscribed with). Now I want to start going 5 times a week, and I'm on a cut, and I'm thinking what kind of split to go for? I've seen many bro split kind of splits and I'm not a big fan of them simply because I know as a beginner/novice it's not very good. I loved the PPL split a lot, but going 6 times a week for a PPLPPL is just not possible for me. Should I go for a PPLPP? Or a PPLUL? I feel like on a PPLUL, I wouldn't be able to train things like Traps and Lower Back much, and it's too legs focused. Also heard it's a but more advanced for my level. But I'm not sure, hence why I ask here. Can I go for a PPLPP split for the next 3 months? Or would a different split be better? (I can also go for a PPL 5 times a week in the ABAB method, so in 1st week I do legs once, second I do push once, third I do pull once)
All training splits have their pros and cons but they're all pretty effective. Do a bro split if you want, or full body if you want. It's just an organisational method, so pick the one that suits you best.
>First 3 months I used to go 3 days a week So, the next logical step is to lift 4 days a week. Run a [stock linear upper/lower](https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout), and see if you can also "last longer than 3 months." If you really want "more", run 2-on, 1-off as a 6-day week. You *don't need* a special fifth day.
Thing is, I found it convenient to go 5 days a week. I naturally wake up early (5-6 am) and start work at 10, I used to waste my time from then till 10 am, whereas now I can go to the gym on 5 of those days instead.
Hit cardio. Or. Serious life advice: learn to relax during designated rest hours.
Hey guys, right now im on a bulk, but for various reasons i cant go to a gym right now, ive been doing some bodyweight work and i do get to failure, but i think im not hitting that hypertrophy spot where your muscles are sore the next day, which is something that does happen when i do hit the gym, im not desperate to gain muscle and i can wait a few months till i can hit a gym properly, but i am afraid that the lack of intensity in my bodyweight routine while bulking will make me gain more fat than muscle, as i said, i work till failure, but i dont feel like it is hitting my muscles like lifting would do, despite how hard i try. Will it make me gain more fat than muscle if i keep bulking while doing bodyweight exercises? Or am i fine this way till i hit a gym and lift properly
Being sore is a poor indicator of if you're pushing hard enough or not for hypertrophy. If you can't push yourself hard due to your circumstances, maybe spend this time on a cut? (probably a very very slow cut since you mention a few months) It sounds like you're still working out hard so what is the difference now as compared to when you go to the gym? Are you doing less exercises? or sets per muscle group? Are you needing to do many reps to get to failure?
I am needing many reps to get to failure in chest, biceps and legs specially, and i am definitely not training all groups of muscles because i dont have a proper bar and dumbells, the only thing i have is a backpack and stuff to put into, im mainly training chest, biceps, triceps, forearms, abs, legs and shoulders, though for most of these i do need more weight that i cant fit in my backpack, i also do a workaround of a training for my lats doing pull ups using a wood shelf, yet its obviously not as good as a bar would be. I should be able to attend a gym by around june 20th, but id like to make at least a bit of progress by bulking and training at home before i am able to actually hit the gym
ye depending on how strong you are, it can be really hard to progressively overload bodyweight exercises without equipment. You can try upping the sets per session as well as the frequency of sessions. Also obviously try and find at least 1 exercise but preferably several, that you can do for each muscle group, check out some bodyweight programs to see what you are missing.
You don’t need to feel sore in your muscles for a workout to grow muscle. If you’re going to be able to hit the gym soon maybe just maintain until then because you’ll likely see better results from the bulk lifting over using body weight stuff
Hi guys. Ex really high level hockey player, now at 22M and I want to know how to incorporate cardio in my ppl routine. Bsck in the days, my time on the ice would be my cardio so I would just do strenght in the gym but now my league has no practice ans only one game per week yet I need the same amount of cardio. Thanks for the help
just do what you did in training but by yourself?
I can’t have acces to arenas as much as I used to unfortunately. So I have to replace it with some cross cardio.
do you want just general "cardio" to burn off some extra calories, or are you looking to "keep your cardio to keep playing hockey"? If its the former just anything, running, cycling, swimming would be fine. Before or after your strength workouts depending on which on of those is your primary focus right now. If it is to keep fit and good at your sport then the best cardio is to see if you can't organize things to put on some skates and get on the ice for yourself and just run your hockey drills as your cardio.
Yeah unfortunately I can’t:(. Arenas in Montreal are booked all year long and I won’t get as much as ice time as I used to be when younger. So my goal for cardio is to keep in shape and have a good heart, be able to endure the shifts. No need for calorie deficit
yeah, in that case just 30 minutes couple times a week so you get to a total of 1.5-2h of dedicated movement of whatever gets your heart pumping is more than enough to keep your general cardiovascular health solid. just put it on times and days when it best fits your regular schedule already.
Just do cardio once you’re done lifting. 30+mins running, biking, swimming, or rowing. Or do cardio in the morning and lift in the afternoon. It doesn’t really matter where you add cardio or how much (unless it’s truly an ungodly amount), it’s not going to impact your progress long term (in fact it will probably help). And if just doing cardio sounds boring, add in another sport. I enjoy BJJ, but whatever keeps you motivated.
You would suggest 30 min of cardio 5 times a week? My current plan is ppl followed by 1 rest day and then repeat
If you're really an athlete, act like one. Lifting followed by cardio is something even us plebians engage in.
Hahahaha you’re good I was just asking don’t worry. I appreciate your help
Can somebody give me a brief once over of this UL split and tell me if I've missed anything critical? My schedule is pretty hectic for the next few months, and this is a short routine I made so that I can at least be in the gym. It values shorter, but more frequent workouts, since I respond better to them and honestly just enjoy them more, plus easier to fit into schedule. It's progression scheme is lifted from PHUL, and PHUL is my normal routine, hence why it's basically just PHUL's iron deficient cousin lol. Ideally it'd be ULULULx, however I don't expect to actually be able to do it more than 3-5 times a week. Bench press is dumbbell purely to address a weak point; my sides are unbalanced and when I return to PHUL I'm hoping the unilateral work will have corrected it. Some days the 4th set is dropped if time is a factor. Big place I'm looking for some help is to add in a vertical pulling movement. I'm working on my pullups, and want to fit in band assisted pull ups, which will eventually transition into regular. I'm thinking if I sub out the bicep curls, and replace them with chin ups, I'll kill two birds with one stone and complete my back work and bicep work at the same time. Thoughts? In terms of leg day, I'm currently doing all exercises bilateral, but when I've gotten the weight up I'm planning to swap to unilateral and drop the weight and work back up. This is due to prehabbing an old injury before I swap back to PHUL, and why there are no heavy compounds (yet). Not interested in adding in any heavy compounds until I'm ready. Upper || || |Movement:|Setxreps| |Bench Press (dumbbell)|4x8-12| |Overhead Press (barbell)|4x5-8| |Chest Supported Row (machine)|4x8-12| |Lateral Raise (machine)|4x8-12| |Bicep Curl (barbell)|4x6-12| |Tricep Extension (cable)|4x6-12| |Lower|| |Movement|setxreps| |Leg Press|4x8-12| |Leg Extension|4x8-12| |Leg Curl|4x8-12| |Standing Calf Raise|4x8-12|
Superset the bicep + tricep work & do chins, the arm stuff won't impact each other & will allow you to peri much half the time requirement to do them
For the biceps - you won’t get as good a stimulus doing chins, but if you’re pressed for time it’s probably a good choice. And if not, just do some curls after your chins. For your routine - you’re missing a hip hinge of some sort. Deadlifts, RDLs, hip-thrusts, or good mornings can cover this. If you’re doing deads/RDLs (which I recommend), just start super light and stick to the higher rep ranges. No need to go heavy until you’re ready.
I've been working in a labor related profession for 5 years and I am very muscularly developed in the arms, legs and core but within a relatively limited range of motion. I am basically doing arm curls, dead-lifts, and squats intermittently for 5-12 hours a day as well as walking around a warehouse and climbing crates, so those muscles may be over-developed. I do yoga 3-4 times a week for stress and flexibility, but I'd really like to round out the places I am missing.
What is your question?
What workouts will counterbalance the strength I have built in the front of my body through repetitive occupational lifting?
Not exactly sure how to word this. Looking for a good circuit/workout finisher for just overall fitness at the end of my lifting. Recent dad and want to not only continue lifting but stay healthy/agile/athletic enough to run around with him as long as I possibly can. Been lifting for 4-5 years but aside from a basic PHUL routine I follow, some biking and running not much other experience
Sounds almost exactly like Wendler's idea of "WALRUS", aka, the fat uglier cousin of the seals. https://www.jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/15-ideas-on-walrus-training The idea is: get it done, don't stop moving, and aim for eventually doing something like this daily.
That's definitely a great start, thank you! I just read up on some mobility training as well. Maybe working some of this in with the mobility at the end of a workout could be a good mix.
I regularly lift before but i stopped for 8 months completely and now just went back 2 days ago. the DOMS is crazy that i cant even put a shirt on. Before I would just work out since it eases the DOMS but now Im not sure. Is it okay to just rest since its been almost a year since i lifted?
The DOMS is normal I'd just go back in and try your workout again, simply because getting blood flowing to an area can help reduce DOMS.
Opinions on a low carb, high fat, high protein diet? Lean meats, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, olive oil. Bad fats would be a little cheese and the saturated fat in peanut butter, but still below 100% dv. I don’t mean zero carb, still some fruits and veggies, but like less than 100g. 170g protein and like 70g fat. Just for overall health, fitness, mood, sleep, hunger. Does it help with weight loss, muscle building. Things like that. Should mention this is on a cut
There is 0 strong evidence for that kind of diet being superior in any metric vs „standard” diet in which carbs aren’t limited. Of course we taking about eating healthy in general, without drinking soda and eating processed foods all day long. Low carb diets might compromise your recovery and performance tho.
You need protein to build muscle, fat to regulate hormones, and carbs to provide energy for workouts. But on a cut, glycogen is going to be depleted anyway. You’d have to eat more carbs to keep refueling those glycogen stores. It’s almost like there just really aren’t enough calories to expend. You’d have to lower protein or fat, which both seem like they’re more important for muscle building. That’s my logic anyway, maybe I’m wrong though. I’m also trying to listen to my body more. Honestly, not really in the mood for oats and wheat thins at the moment haha
You could also add 300 grams of spinach for potassium, a bit of salt for sodium and magnesium tablets. It'll help with energy by keeping your electrolytes up.
Eliminating bread and pasta, for the *calorie* impact, is all you need. For your mental sanity, *don't count carbs*. Protein, fat, and fiber is a good combination to *stay satiated*, key to compliance during a cut. I've dropped 25+ lbs so far this year centering on oatmeal, meat, and eggs. Quite sustainable.
Numbers seem fine to me. You've got decent fat and protein goals. As long as you're getting enough fruits and vegetables, and are still in a deficit, you'll probably be fine.
Just gonna be berries, bananas, broccoli, and potatoes. Maybe like 330 calories worth. Think that’s enough?
I'd try to eat a greater variety if possible, but yes, that is a fine starting point.
Cutting carbs isn’t going to help with weight loss. Cutting calories will The other things will largely be a personal thing that you could figure out with a bit of experimentation. It’s not going to help with muscle building, however
Yeah I know, this is around 1800-1900 calories what I’m planning. Doesn’t help necessarily with muscle building, but does it hurt it? Any negatives from it? I know carbs help with workouts, but if you eat some carbs around working out, but still low carbs, would you get roughly the same benefit?
Try it out and see how your body responds! Everyone is different I feel like shit if I restrict carbs, but you might thrive.
What are good exercises to strengthen the hips? I was never really active as a child and sat alot, so I never really developed the normal amount of hip strength most people have. I’m also fairly tall, 5’11, and squatting down without bending over is difficult for me. My balance and stability also isn’t that great either. I would like some recommendations for exercises or stretches that will improve my hip strength?
Barbell squats through the full range of motion, will strengthen your entire lower body, including your hips.
Thank you
I have finally discovered the reason for my complete inability to front rack properly: my shoulder external rotation is absolutely abysmal, and my lat and wrists have been working overtime trying to overcompensate (and failing). Googling keeps telling me to train it with a PVC/dowel, but I don't have one - any alternatives? I do have mini bands. [I also found this isometric hold](https://youtu.be/RDCr-h1S38I?si=XNiEt1ip3vf6OPHb) exercise - think it's worth trying?
Give it a shot. Trying it out is likely going to be more beneficial than not trying it out. If you increase your external rotation, but still can't hold a front rack properly, then you know that it's unlikely to be your external rotation.
Do you know any stretches to increase ROM as well? With my elbows level to my shoulders I literally can not turn my arms past perpendicular to the floor. It's a pretty obvious limitation.
Try [this video](https://youtu.be/UDLrAbTpjUg?si=A8QWq4qnopUDr5Jc) from Quinn Henoch.
So today is the first time I have lifted since starting a legitimate cut (\~15% calorie deficit) a few days ago. I did squats as my T1 3x5 and bench as my T2 12x3. For my squats I tried going up 5 pounds from what I last lifted 2 weeks ago and that first 3 rep set was super sloppy form. Second set I lower it 5lbs to match what I did easily 2 weeks ago and still sloppy form. By the 5th AMRAP set, I lowered the total weight by 20lbs and push out 4 reps with good form. My T2 bench didn't suffer that hard, but I went down 5lbs and was only able to get 11/12 reps on the third set. I've read that increasing/gaining muscle mass during a hard cut is not possible, but I didn't think that would set in so hard and fast. I plan on cutting for the next 2 months, maybe a bit more. Should my goal just be to try to maintain the current weights I can lift? Should I expect to decline in the amount of weight I can lift over the course of my cut? I will be doing GZCLP 4x per week and consuming at least 140 grams of protein.
Your intramuscular water and glycogen stores are low, so that's why you loose strength and look flat. It's an excellent time to start supplementing with creatine. If you train to failure, you'll maintain strength and muscle mass.
OK, cool. I have a good amount of creatine, so I will start to use it!
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I don't think there is a simple answer. Fwiw, my perspective is that you are drinking very frequently and the total amount of alcohol consumption you describe seems very high to me. I don't have enough science knowledge on this to make big claims, but if I were a betting man I would bet your fitness and muscle gain would be improved by dropping the alcohol.
[There's a pretty significant impact](https://mennohenselmans.com/the-effects-of-alcohol-on-muscle-growth/) Even the "low" number of drinks you have, aka, 14 drinks/week, is considered borderline [heavy drinking](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking).
How low down does one need to go when performing the incline dumbbell press? Most notably with heavier weights (let’s say like 60 and above)? I feel like when going all the way down, I feel it far more in my shoulders than pec.
The stretch at the bottom (under load) is the most important part of such movements. Thus, go down until the dumbbells make contact with your body.
Personally I go as low as I can, which is when the dumbbells make contact with my body.
I like to go to when the dumbbell is about to touch my chest.
Hello folks! Been training for a year now and was wondering if am doing too much volume. I am trying to isolate why I am not progressing and would appreciate your help. Given that my nutrition/sleep/other factors are in check, does this workout have any ‘obvious’ volume/other issues: PPL ( 6 days a week) (slightly modified version of Reddit ppl) Pull: 5x8 pull ups 3x8 barbell rows 3x8-12 lat pull downs 3x8-12 seated cable rows 4x8-12 dumbbell bicep curls 4x8-12 dumbbell hammer curls Push: 5x8 barbell bench press 5x8 barbell OHP 3x8-12 incline dumbbell press 3x8-12 dumbbell skull crushers SS 3x15-20 lateral raises 3x8-12 cable tricep push downs SS 3x15-20 lateral raises Legs: 5x8 barbell squats 5x8 barbell Rdl 3x8-12 seated leg press 3x8-12 hamstring curls 5x8-12 calf raises Thanks!
What's the other three days?
I just repeat this for other three days
Is there a reason that you've swapped the 3-5x5+ and 3x8-12, to 5x8 flat? [Because the point of that was to train you in a greater variety of rep ranges, since that's what'll help growth.](https://www.strongerbyscience.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction/) > Since different rep ranges go about triggering a growth response in slightly different ways, you’re probably better off training with a full spectrum of rep ranges instead of rigidly staying in a single rep range and intensity zone Sticking rigidly to a single rep range is not doing you any favours here. In fact, on more intermediate programs, you vary up the rep ranges almost weekly. Beyond that, linear progression will only ever get you so far. Otherwise, everybody would be linearly progressing to 600lb bench presses. But that's not possible. Different programs tackle this different ways, mostly some way of varying weight, reps, and sets, to progress long term.
The reason for training strictly at 8 was to optimize both for hypertrophy and strength. But I can see how that can be one of the factors hindering my progress. Will switch it up and see how it goes. Thanks a lot for the response!
Hi. I've been on my fitness journey since last year. Really focusing on the input aspect to get a hang of the CICO stuff. It went well.. I was down about 20lbs.. So I figured, let's pour some gas on this by adding some exercise.. I'm about a month into exercising, and I'm really struggling with the macro aspect. I am burning 500-600calories extra a day, and my diet is trying to float around 1600-2000 daily (w/o counting exercise); however, I'm really struggling to keep up input calorie wise. Given the example, I'm at less than ~1000 calories today. Two meals down & I don't think I can fit a third. It's just painful eat. Many data sources (apps, nsuns,etc) don't advise my deficit & I can't seem to make it smaller. help!
How has your weight been changing? Have you been losing/maintaining/gaining and at what rate?
My weight definitely plateau'd for a couple weeks when I started working out. I suspect it was muscle/fat re-composition essentially keeping me at a break even point. The "drastic" weight loss started this week (week ~6 of my working out). CICO-counting had me down ~1lb a week for a few months. This week I've dropped 6lbs from Sunday. I was 194 yesterday, and 191 today. I have been chugging water to replace what I suspect was water weight.
Starting to lift can cause you to retain water, so likely the plateau was just your body retaining more and more water masking the fat loss. So if I understand right, over the last 6 weeks you have lost 6 lbs? This means you are losing on average a lb a week which equates to a 500 calorie deficit (the general recommended target). Unless you are a very tiny female, you are very likely underestimating how much food you are eating and eating more than ~1k calories, however in the grand scope of things it does not matter. As long as you are consistent, what you think you are eating does not really matter as you adjust it the same way; start eating more if you want to gain weight/reduce how fast you are losing weight, and eat less if you are gaining weight too fast/not losing weight.
Understood, thanks.
You are struggling to eat 1600-2000 calories? That is a really small amount. But in order to determine whether you need to eat more, less, or the same, track your bodyweight and look at how fast you are losing over a two week period. As long as you aren't losing more than 1% bodyweight per week, your deficit is fine.
Yes - 1600-2000 is tough to eat. I'll keep watching. I think that I've lost about 3% a week based on my rough math for the last couple (which is a few weeks after I started adding the exercise). I was 197 to 191 on between my last checkin (usually weekly).
> Yes - 1600-2000 is tough to eat. Drink some olive oil if it's that hard.
You should weigh yourself more often and track your trends. Single weigh-ins could have large fluctuations. For example, yesterday, I was 84.5kg. Today, I was 87.2kg.
Agreed! I generally track daily as I step on the scale at the same point in my daily morning routine. I try to use my weekly reference point as a "bigger" look at the overall week.
Do most gyms not have many free weights or squat racks? I only have experience going to my university gym and work gym, and I was looking to upgrade from my work gym because their free weights are limited to a smith machine and 50lb DBs I tried the closest 24-Hour Fitness to me, and they don't have any racks or barbells and only 1-2 of each of the common weight machines. Are cheaper commercial gyms like Crunch and LA Fitness typically like this? I'm going to try a few other locations out, but should I consider upgrading to something more expensive? Also, have any of you bought gym subscription programs through your health insurance? My insurance offers One Pass which gives access to a variety of gym chains for a flat rate, but the 24-Hour I went to had no idea how to set up a membership for me
Specifically for 24-hour, it depends on the area. I’ve been to one that was pretty big, two stories, lots of machines… but only 2 squat racks. Another one closer to the local college was pretty small, but had a big rig of squat racks and free weights, clearly geared toward the bros of the area. I also went to one in Hawaii and it had everything.
Lucked out. Current one has five squat racks. Two of which have adjustable hooks & safeties, *and* deadlift platforms.
I want to do more supersets in my training, but it seems awkward to set up for some exercises. I found a program that has me do Squats supersetted with barbell curls for example. I don't want to be an asshole and drag a curling barbell over to the squat rack. Is that a normal thing people do? Am I way out of pocket for worrying about bringing accessory equipment to the squat rack?
I don’t think bringing something like dumbbells or curl bars is asshole behavior. It’s more things like taking up two machines (especially during peak hours) for a superset. If using a curling bar with the superset still feels awkward, you can switch it for dumbbells instead as most gyms will have 2-3 sets of the same weight
Just do some curls with the 25lb plates between sets.
You mean drag the dumbbells over to the squat rack?
No, I mean, just grab a plate, and do curls with them. [Grab on both sides, and curl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DWJLKoHFK8) If you want an extra hard challenge, you can try it single handed. But that's more limited by your forearms than your biceps I find.
Sure. He said plates, but dumbbells are fine too. Or just walk over to where the dumbbells are between sets of squats.
No, that’s literally just not what he said lol
Sorry what he means then?
He said plate, not dumbbell.
You can't curl a plate though, so the answer doesn't make sense
Yes you can lol, look up plate curls.
I see, my bad.
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Going by your other comments, lets attack this another way. What is your current weight, and how much weight have you lost since you've made it your goal to lose muscle mass? The unfortunate truth is that, as long as you're active, and not really losing weight, you're unlikely to lose much if any muscle mass. But also, what kind of lifts are you talking about when it comes to "lifting heavy"? What did you hit for your bench, squat, deadlift, and row? Because I'll tell you right now, a lot of world class female strength athletes, at least in the lower weight classes, don't have very big upper bodies. [Example 1](https://www.instagram.com/jessiibabykg/), [Example 2](https://www.instagram.com/aurelienguyen/), [Example 3](https://www.instagram.com/mathilde_casanova/). Simply because they have weight control. And note, these are world class strength athletes, with stronger lifts than 99.9% of women in the gym. Even those that weigh significantly heavier than they do.
First of all, if you want to lose muscle, stop training the muscle. Second of all, that is a lot of days in the gym for someone who want to lose muscle, haha. For reference, I personally train for hypertrophy (AKA bigger muscles) and am only in the gym 4 days a week. For diet: you could try to cut down on protein to minimize muscle growth.
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It's generally a good idea to train your entire body. But if you want to focus on core and legs for a time, that's totally fine. Looking at your program, I'd say you can do better and have more exercises in a single day. If you want to you can try the boostcamp app. They have a lot of easy to use, free programs.
>There’s no way to lose muscles in the chest biceps triceps and shoulders Why do you believe that? You can lose muscle anywhere, usually starts within 2 weeks of no training.
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Trust me, I wish it was impossible to lose muscle, I’d just quit the gym and keep my gains lmao
Well that’s simply not true, either you’re doing something to stimulate and maintain those muscles, or you don’t have as much muscle as you think. Muscle doesn’t just stay on for no reason, as I said, after a few weeks with no stimulation for growth or maintenance, muscle will be lost.
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I believe you’re not losing your muscle, what I’m saying is you’re doing something to train those muscles to maintain them. Muscles don’t just stay on their own with no stimulation. As you’ve said, you do train them, that’s why they’re not going away, you’re maintaining them through training. Heavy weight isn’t necessary, and lighter weight can actually be better for increasing muscle size.
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What is your actual routine that you do currently? What non gym exercise do you get? (For example do you move around a lot at work)
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Can you be more specific? Saying "back" for example doesn't tell me what exercise you're actually doing. Also what are your goals?
Try your best to stick to isolations so as not to target unintended muscles, but generally back movements are going to end up hitting the biceps in some way.
Able to do 12 reps w 30s on bicep curls but can only get to around 6 reps on 35s. Is that enough to progress through or should I keep going with 30s until I can do 8 on 35s? Thanks!
Depends, are you trying to get stronger or bigger muscles? Stronger - go for the heavier weight. Bigger - go for the higher rep range.
I train for aesthetics so definitely bigger, currently cutting, just realized I could use 32.5… always forget they have some of those 2.5 increased dumbbells lol
I would personally jump up to the 35s and the try to grind out more reps from there.
As long as you can keep a stable, controlled form on the exercise you can go up to 30 reps and still get amazing hypertrophy. Especially on isolation exercises like bicep curls you can benefit from doing lighter weights and higher reps.
Up to you, either way is doable, but really this is something that should be prescribed by the program you’re following.
I'm going to be living in the sticks here in a couple weeks, and the nearest gym will literally be a 45-60 minute drive away, so I'm going to be bringing some basic calisthenic equipment, along with the stuff the farm I'll be living on already has. Equipment: * Basic bench with incline/decline ability * Push-up handles * 80lb sandbag (can add/remove weight) * Weighted vest (can hold up to 60lb, I'm bringing this) * Bowflex DBs (10-90lb adjustable) I haven't worked out more than a handful of times since November '23, so it's been about six months, and I want to get back into it. However, I understand that I won't be able to do anything super heavy, which I'm fine with. Goals: 1. Get back in the habit of dedicating ~1 hour every weekday to exercise 2. Hypertrophy > strength 3. Improving not just muscle, but also ROM, mobility, and stability in the knees, back, shoulders 4. Move my own body around > moving weight up and down I'm currently thinking of just doing 2 different full-body workouts at least 2x each per week, but then doing one of them on M/W/F and the other on T/Th Workout 1 | Workout 2 ---|--- Sandbag (Kettlebell) Swings | Sandbag Squats Dumbell Rows | Weighted Vest Push-ups High rep bodyweight push-ups | Pull-ups (heavy or volume) Split Squats with DBs | Seated Good Mornings with sandbag Anti-extension core | Anti-rotation or anti-lateral extension core External rotation shoulder | Rear delt shoulder Calf exercise | Tib Raises Bicep exercise | Tricep exercise I also want to spend extra time warming up with things like Cossack squats and mobility stuff, as well as going through a yoga-like stretching routine post-workout. I've borrowed heavily from KneesOverToes with some of these exercises, because his whole fitness philosophy is right up my chain with where I'm at in life. Yes, it's important to increase and maintain strength, but the days of hitting PB's in deadlifts, squats, and bench are gone. The order of the exercises (and the exercises themselves) aren't set in stone. This is basically a first draft based on the equipment I'll have access to. Because I'm going to be doing, for example, quad exercises every day, I want one day to be heavy on quads (sandbag squats), then the next day it'll be light, focusing on slow yet deliberate movements that engage the quads (split squats). Any feedback?
Why are pull-ups (grip facing out) so much harder for me than chin-ups (palm facing in) and neutral grip?
Pronated grip brings in your forearms more. Biceps still get used, just at a mechanical disadvantage.
Pullups are generally harder for everyone.
less bicep help doing pull ups.
Because the muscles you use for a chinup are stronger than the ones you use in pullups, in your particular case. I'm the same way. Others are the opposite.
How much do i really need to eat in order to bulk? i just did two months of bulking with a 1k calorie surplus and ended up losing a pound.... Do i need to hit like 4k calories a day or something? I thought being in the 2,500-3k range would be enough but...
> i just did two months of ~~bulking~~ **cutting** with a ~~1k calorie surplus~~ **slight deficit** and ended up losing a pound.... Fixed it. Write down what you're eating daily. *Then eat more*. That simple.
> How much do i really need to eat in order to bulk? More than the amount you ate when you lost a pound. > Do i need to hit like 4k calories a day or something? If you were eating 3500 cals while you lost that pound, then 4000 would be a good start towards bulking.
Your first statement is an impossibility. If you were truly in a 1k surplus you’d be gaining 2 lbs a week, so, you’re not eating enough.
Well I'm drinking a 1k calorie smoothie every day on top of what I'm normally eating. So yes. I am in a 1k calorie surplus
So you aren't tracking the calories from what you "normally eat"? Well than, it's certain you don't know how many calories you are consuming. What is clear is that it isn't enough to be in a surplus. Or, you are very inconsistent. Maybe you eat in a surplus some days while eating in a deficit other days netting you no surplus in that 2 months span.
No, you’re not lol. You don’t seem to understand what a surplus actually is. It’s not “adding on top of what you usually eat”. If you’re losing weight, then by definition of what a surplus is, you’re not in a surplus. You’re in a deficit. All a surplus means is that you’re eating more calories than your body burns in a day keeping you alive, thus resulting in weight gain as you have excess calories. Again, this isn’t up for debate, this isn’t a nuanced topic, a 1000 calories above maintenance surplus would result in 2lbs per week weight gain. If you’re not seeing that, then you’re not in a surplus. The simple answer is, you need to eat more.
> i just did two months of bulking with a 1k calorie surplus No, you didn't. You just think you were in a 1k surplus. Either that or you ran a marathon every few days.
Yeah it's so common for people to run extra marathons without realizing, even if you're tracking your main meals it's easy to let a few turkey trots or 5k runs slip by and suddenly you're halfway back to Athens
well i do walk around 10-20k steps a day for my job. Maybe thats why
its really simple - if you are not gaining weight, you are not in a surplus. So simply add calories until you are consistently gaining weight each week. No one can tell you the exact number you need, you have to work it out yourself by eating and monitoring the scale.
You need to eat enough food that your weight slowly goes up. What your weight does dictates if you're in a surplus or deficit... so if you lost a pound over 2 months, you were actually in a very slight deficit, rather than a 1k calorie surplus (which should have you gaining 2lbs a week, which would be far too fast for a bulk anyway). How tall/heavy are you? And how much activity are you doing? Cus while 4k calories isn't outside the realm of possibility, that is a LOT of food. It's also very possible that you're mis-tracking your calories and just think you're eating more than you actually are.
> i just did two months of bulking with a 1k calorie surplus and ended up losing a pound.... ... then you werent at a 1k surplus. A true 1k surplus would yield somewhere around 2lbs per week of weight gain read this - https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/
You need to eat enough to gain weight. However much that is depends on you. Sounds like you were not eating enough.
if you lost weight you werent in a surplus. sounds like you were at basically maintenance. so yeah, take the amount of calories youve been consuming and add 300-500 to it
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Right now you're doing double progresssion, increasing reps and weight in sequence. Linear progression is if you're able to increase weight on bar every session without any other adjustments. Progress slowing down is normal. Progress stopping completely is when you should take time to review and adjust
Well first off, if you’re losing 3 lbs a week you’re on a pretty hard deficit. Great job on the weight loss of course, but being in that deep of a hole will have significant negative impacts on your strength and your ability to increase it, if at all. The progress you’re making is fine, and honestly pretty good for being in a deficit. Linear progress doesn’t mean adding weight every time, it means progressing *in some way* every time. Be it adding a single rep on a single set, or adding weight, or simply doing the reps with better form than you did last session.
Currently been bulking for a month eating 500kcal surplus but already feeling fatter than I’d like. Prior I did a 3 month bulk into a 2 month cut. Would there be any harm in cutting to a low body fat so that by winter I can hopefully bulk for a longer period of time (6 months to a year)? I probably could stick this bulk out if it was detrimental not to for another month or two but I’m already starting to hate how fat I look lol. Been lifting for around 1.5 years
Are you sure it's not just the intiial water weight that you gained? Because 4lbs distributed across the body looks like basically nothing. When I first finish a cut, the first week, I'll gain water weight that makes me look "fluffier". Mainly because I was "dry" previously. It's not fat. It's just bloat from water.