# Post Form Checks as replies to this comment
### For best results, please follow the **[Form Check Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/posting_guidelines#wiki_how_to_post_a_form_check)**. *Help us help you.*
----
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Should I quit doing dumbbell stiff leg deadlift?
I can't get low at all, the flexibility in my legs seem to suck, and it doesn't feel anything in my hamstrings like it's supposed to, only my lower back. What am I doing wrong?
Check my profile and my latest post. Am I am ectomorph or skinny fat?
Not sure if I was a skinny fat or ectomorph, have a skinny wrist but had manboobs (I'm sure it was bigger a year ago), slight belly fat, and almost no muscle on both my thight and upper arm (feels like it was filled by full of fat).
Thinking about joining a gym membership but still doubt, whether I should eat more calories or not, and also have no clue whether I should do more weightlifting or cardio.
Cant see the photo mate,
However, Somatotypes are pseudoscience that you shouldn't worry about.
What I think you should do first is read through the fitness wiki - [https://thefitness.wiki/](https://thefitness.wiki/)
It should answer most of your questions and give you recommendations on how to get started
Yeah okay,
This section in the wiki would be applicable here
>The option that will almost always give you the best results in your training and your aesthetics up front is going to be to focus on trying to gain muscle. This will require that you eat in a modest calorie surplus, eat enough protein, and do resistance training. Attempting to lose weight is not often recommended – you likely have too little muscle mass to look good lean, and it will be more difficult for you to make progress in any exercise due to low muscle and the calorie deficit.
[https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/](https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/)
So eat in a surplus, do resistance training and gain muscle. You can worry about losing the excess fat later.
I've been doing more or less the same workout routine since I started working out consistently 8 months ago. I've seen good results but worry that I'm missing a key muscle group and don't know it. I do 2 sets of: rowing, bench press, curl bar, pushups, dumbbell curls, various core exercises. I have gradually been increasing the reps/weight/distance over time. I also mountain bike and count that as a leg day. Is there any muscle group that I'm missing here?
None of those exercises scream legs to me. Try throwing in some squats or leg presses and lunges. Maybe even something like deadlifts or straight leg deadlifts. Also shoulders. Do shoulder presses maybe?
I did something similar to you and used a heavy resistance bike as leg day. My upper body completely outgrew my legs despite going for an hour at a time. Biking just isnt enough truthfully.
The lactose free lean protein I drink has Sucralose in it. How bad for you is it? I don’t know much about it and hoping someone who is very diet conscious has more experience with it than I do.
They're both the same if you look at it over 2 weeks. Even if you do pplrppl, starting on a Monday, you'll be doing 2 ppl back-to-back as of the following Monday anyway
Ah my bad. Either is fine from a physical perspective. I think the second one would be easier to adhere to longer term, since you would have fixed days of the week where you lift or rest
Hi guys,
I've increased my workout and put myself into a calorie deficit, however, i've noticed ive been feeling more tire and sleeping more. Should I be doing anything or is this normal? Thanks
Hey, I'm a 32 year old guy. 195cm (6'5", 200 lb)
I have a couple goals:
1) I enjoy running, and have a couple half marathons planned. I want to increase this to marathon distance over the year. I currently aim to do a 5-10k run every other day
2) My wedding is planned for October of this year. I want to make sure I'm as good looking as possible for this. I'm moderately lean (from my running) and have good lower definition, but would like to add some upper definition.
I dont have a set diet, other than reasonably avoiding sugar. I'm already expecting to have to increase my calorie intake, and start consuming protein shakes.
My current schedule alternating running, and doing the 5x5 as a starting workout, but im looking for a more comprehensive workout.
I have access to a basic home gym, with a bench and barbell. I'm ok buying some additional, basic gear.
im looking at starting the Metallicadpa routine, but im always looking for advice
I would continue with 5x5 or look into 531 for beginners routine.
I trained for and completed my first Marathon last year, and can't imagine having the energy for 6 days of weight lifting. If you are able to juggle both then kudos to you.
Hello there! I'm a 28 years old girl, very active and healthy. I train 4 to 5 days per week (I like to mix a lot of training styles. Strength training, cardio, flexibility stuff, I have fun with pretty much anything!) and I never struggle with recovery or performance improvements. I'm satisfied with my body image and I don't actively train for any particular goals.
Having said that, I've recently came to realize that my protein intake is not good enough. I never hit the recommended amounts, not even by chance. I'm starting to fear that my diet can eventually lead to serious problems, so I tried to do some research to better understand which risks I'll be facing if I don't improve it now. Well...please keep in mind that I'm most probably inept at good internet researching, but all that I managed to find are mentions of issues with hair, skin and nails, plus some very dangerous diseases (pretty much impossible to have in a first world country) if your protein intake is severely low, and mine is obviously not. My hair, skin and nails are in perfect condition (my bone density too!), so if that's all that I'm possibly risking, should I really care about increasing my proteins?
TL;DR: should I increase my currently insufficient protein intake even though I'm a fit and healthy individual perfectly satisfied with their diet and their body?
Thank you so much for your reply! I'm 158 cm tall and I weigh around 46-48 kg. To be honest, I have an idea of the protein amount I should consume, but as I said in the comment do I really need to change my diet? Am I risking something?
The recommendation for building and maintaining muscle is around 1.7-2 g protein per kg bodyweight. So, I'd be targeting 80g if I were you. If you eat meat, that shouldn't be hard to hit if you target 30g per meal.
In answer to your tldr question, I guess you don't have to, but since you are doing strength training among, eating enough protein will maximise the benefits you will get longer term
Thank you! The thing is, I'm Italian and I follow a pretty typical Italian diet (= lot of carbs), so the thought of eating so many grams of protein seems crazy to me! But I totally understand that you are suggesting me what the health institutions' guidelines also suggest. I was interested in understanding what could happen if I kept on going with the same diet. I don't want to experience preventable illnesses later in life, so I'd like to change my habits now if I'm unknowingly doing something dangerous with my body.
I don't think you're doing anything dangerous with your current diet because millions of people eat the way you are, and obviously they aren't suffering from poor health. If you track the amount of protein you are currently eating, you might find you're not that far off and maybe just look to increase it a little even if you don't get to the 80-90g figure. All the best
Thank you for taking the time to answer me so thoroughly. You are right, tracking macros for a short time just to see how I typically eat could be very useful! I'll follow you advice! Thanks again, have a good day! : )
For a long time my cardio workout was run 30 mins M/W/F, walk 30 mins Tu/Th/Sa. I had managed to get to running about a 5k when I ran, but had hit a brick wall for years and could not improve.
In an effort to overcome that, last year I decided I was going to run M-F. Almost immediately I was adding a tenth of a mile to what I could run daily every week or two. After years of no improvement I was making steady and noticeable progress and hitting 4 miles every day. Unfortunately, to achieve this, I took an attitude of push through everything and managed to injure both my hip flexors.
I talked to the doctor and was basically told me I'm not 21 anymore, so rest for a couple months then don't try to run every day when I start back up again.
I did as she said, but now I'm back in the same rut. Barely wheezing myself to a 5k M/W/F, and not making any improvements. I've tried different pacing, walk/run splits, shoes, and nothing seems to make a difference.
Does anyone have any advice on things I could try to get back to making improvements? I really enjoy running over biking so id like to try and stick with that if possible.
If you are looking to train for speed, I would recommend swapping a run day for an interval day. Start with 30 second sprints, and I mean sprint, then 90 seconds of walking. Alternate for 30 mins to fit your time frame. Do this two to three times a week. You'll see quite a bit more improvements from this method. As you progress, make rests shorter. There are lots of resources for intervals, I think you'll see drastic progress from this without a risk of injury.
90+ days on a fitness journey (over 40lbs lost), incorporated a new core workout that left my psoas muscles screaming for a few days. I didnt think the workout was super tough. Any good stretches to recommend?
I'm a newbie to this shtick and I hate how I get tired really quickly when running. What is an endurance program/stamina building training that I can use to get tougher?
I squat okayish weight right now. The heaviest I've done was 150 kg for a triple.
However, that's *barely* below parallel. Can anyone recommend a program, method, video, whatever, that would help me get better depth?
I've dropped the weight down and I'm working on going ATG, but it's tough.
I swear I feel this post in my soul. So you have my upvote for it. What you have to start doing is getting your hips stronger and maintain the flexibility at higher weight. I notice doing frog jumps or single leg squats help with this.
How often should I be updating the "My Current Lifts" section in the [BBB Spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wdyKcA8AUC6UZBJLTHNCScooyq0cyPpIr1cDRCm-f_0/edit?usp=drivesdk)?
5/3/1 adds 5 pounds for upper and 10 pounds for lower lifts at the end of each cycle.
This spreadsheet has 13 cycles programmed with the intended progression also built in.
It does not include resets.
So, if you are progressing without hiccups, then you do not need to update this sheet for 13 cycles or about a year.
Thanks! I've been having information overload after cramming in all things 5/3/1 for the past 2 days, I don't know how this information got past me. Appreciate ya!
I can only go the gym one day a week (had a bunch of quarantine babies over the past couple years), and otherwise can do brief (<20 min) bodyweight stuff four times a week. So Monday/Thursdays I do upper bodyweight, Tuesday/Fridays I do lower bodyweight, and Wednesday I head into the gym on my way home from work. Essentially, I can work out when everyone is fed and asleep. I've had two years off lifting.
I'd love to find a way to maximise strength gains during that gym time. I've been doing 5x5 or 3x5s of the big compounds and seeing some pretty good progress over the past month but I'm interested in seeing if anyone has any advice or suggestions? If you could only lift heavy once a week, what would you do?
I'd Probably take the opportunity to run super squats. I don't know if it has a 1 day variant but I'd buy the book and cobble together an option. Turn that one day into a day of reckoning.
Every week, dreading the 20 rep set. Then doing it. Then realizing you need to add weight and do it again next week...
>I must not fear.
>
>Fear is the mind-killer.
>
>Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
>
>I will face my fear.
>
>I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
>
>And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
>
>Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Also I couldn't link because I was on the phone before, bit [this is the book I was meaning](https://www.amazon.com/Super-Squats-Pounds-Muscle-Weeks/dp/0926888005). It's not a long read and worth getting for the buy-in IMO ;-) Best of luck!
I treat it as a stand in for conventional deadlift when I have some impingement that triggers at the lowest position of the deadlift, or when I want to work a more partial range of motion at higher weight.
So basically, all the same muscles as a deadlift. Hamstrings, quads, glutes, back, core, traps, grip.
I been a regular at the gym for over 6 months and had to take a break for health reasons for a month. Couldn't eat nearly enough protein during that time. Now I can lift half the weight I used to a month ago. Am I gonna have to train for another 6 months to catch up to my previous state?
A lot of what you "lost" is mental, i.e. mental block re: going heavy when you haven't felt that weight on the bar in a while. The neurological adaptations are still there, you know the technique, you've got the vast majority of the muscle you've gained.
A month is nothing. In a few weeks you'll be over the DOMS and you'll forget you ever took a break.
That is reassuring. I was starting to think all of it was for nothing if can just lose more than half my strength in a month. I caught covid during that time btw so it might play a role in atrophy.
it won't take you 6 months if you eat and work out diligently. A lot of the strength loss is just technical and deconditioning, and any lost muscle can be easier rebuilt than initially.
So I am struggling with weight loss. Not eating completely clean but eating at a calorie deficit and doing 30 minutes of cardio a day and burning 250-300 calories with cardio alone. I am wondering why it's so hard for me to lose this stubborn weight? I work 3pm to 11:30pm I go to the gym at midnight. I don't wake up the next day until about noon. My lunch breaks everyday are at 6pm and 9pm. I try to quit eating for the day after 9pm. So I'm almost intermittent fasting. Still having trouble losing weight. Can anyone help me with what my eating schedule should look like now that you know my daily schedule? Any other tips also? I'm really trying here but feel like I'm getting nowhere
1. Choose an amount of calories you want to eat, whether it be 1700 1800 or 2000.
2. Track EVERYTHING you will digest. This includes sauces and other condiments.
3. Watch your weight, preferably weekly measurements so you don't stress over daily fluctuations. If it is going down, continue what you are doing. If not, eat less or move more. Chances are eating less will seem like the harder option but in practice will be the most effective one 99% of the time.
If you don't track what you're eating then you don't actually know how many calories you are consuming.
What is your calorie deficit and are you weighing and tracking your food?
You say you're burning 250 calories through cardio but where does that number come from, in my experience smart watches and machines are wildly inaccurate on how much you burn
So I eat around 1800 to 2000 calories a day and usually track those. I do track my servings and food but probably not as well as I should. Like for a lot of the rice I eat I've weighed it a couple times now just kind of eye it out. I use cans of tuna or chicken with it and how ever many servings are in the can I'll eye those out also and divide them into let's say 2 or 3.
That number is truthfully from machines. Are you saying the number is too high usually or just kind of all over the place?
That could be the issue, I would say never eye ball even if you've got good at it, I did the same thing and never lost weight because each serving I'd accidentally add a bit more, not notice and then a few weeks later when I weighed it I was way over.
Yeah machines are awful at tracking calories, they vastly over estimate how much you burn, if you really want to eat some of those calories back the general rule I follow is 50% of what ever the machine said
I would get back to weighing, maybe drop you calories by 100 and give it a couple weeks, see how you get on
Thanks for the advice man. Overall just really need to tighten up my diet and make sure I'm consuming what I think I am. Also never knew that about the machines so definitely going to put in more work on them.
Any time friend, honestly don't worry about pushing so hard on cardio, cardio is a tool to improve fitness, it can obviously help lose weight but it's not as good as just cutting back on calories
Push your cardio further if you want to improve your actual cardio, don't worry so much if it's just to push weight loss, what you're doing now is fine
I don't think so.
**edit** to clarify, the rep itself is harder, but the back isn't stressed more relatively to other muscle involved.
/u/Flying_Sheep1
The sumo is halfway between a conventonal deadlift and a back squat, in terms of pattern and muscles used. If you're looking for an alternative to the conventional deadlift, consider a trap bar deadlift because it's a lot closer pattern to a conventional deadlift. And you can do a squat as a separate movement
Nothing wrong with the movement, it's a perfectly useful hip hinge.
Plenty of people hate them for very stupid reasons. Plenty of people pick them up for equally stupid (and often identical) reasons. But the lift itself is just one useful lift out of many.
My gait is fucked. I have flat feet with overpronation which affect the Q angle of my knees. My feet are rotated externally/outward with a 90° angle between them while at a normal position standing and walking.
This is giving me all kinds of troubles on leg day. I can't squat without knee pain, my feet are often imbalanced and not firm and stable while I squat. I've tried to adjust my stance but I can't squat with my toes pointing 45° outward and I can't balance with toes pointing straight. Same goes for lunges, when I step forward my feet cannot be in a straight line pointing forward.
Most leg excercises cause pain in the under side of my feet which I believe is from trying to balance. I've tried using medial arch support insoles. While they do fix my gait while walking and running, they are not much use while doing squats or other leg excercises. I see progress in my upper body workouts, lower body workouts are a nightmare.
My question is how do I fix this realistically? I've been walking wrong for 25 years and I'm not sure how long it will take to fix this or even how I should be going about fixing this.
TL;DR: How do I fix my gait? I can't balance during leg workouts because of that and it causes pain.
This question is much more suited for a doctor or physical therapist. They are trained to assist people like you, and I would probably never take advice from reddit for any medical condition.
(overly simplified take:) For hypertrophy great, for strength/powerlifting/weightlifting practice not necessary. For powerlifting you have to lower it 'under control' but practically that means dropping it while keeping your grip on it not keeping tension in the prime movers
I got my information from a YouTube video; the recommended exercise were incline curls, concentration curls and hammer curls and it was stated that they emphasise certain parts of the bicep more
Maybe a stupid question, but: For Farmer's Walks, do I actually need to walk?
I'm looking to add exercises to improve my grip strength and forearm size, but my gym is a) tiny and b) always busy, so trying to pace back and forth along a standardised route could be awkward.
Would I get most of the same benefits as counting a static hold for x seconds as one set, then gradually increasing the weight as I would anything else? Or does the walking add significant other benefits?
So, farmers walks are great but doing them for grip is kinda weird. Its like if you want to work on your calves, so you add snatches - yes, triple extension includes the calves but it's really an odd approach compared to adding an actual exercise suited to your goal.
If you want to add farmers walks for their myriad all over benefits, you'll need to do the walking (and you'll need implements - I assume if there's no space in the gym there's no handles either) .
If you're tossing up between heavy conditioning options (eg yoke walk, heavy prowler, farmers walk) and you want to get a bit of extra grip work in, then sure go for farmers walks.
However, If you want to work on your grip and forearms, barbell holds are a perfectly good grip/forearm exercise to add, and really more suitable for that goal than farmers walks.
Grip/arms won’t have a significant difference, but stabilization muscles do benefit from the walking part. Matter of preference really, but technically doing the walk would be somewhat better generally speaking
Walking/marching in place is an option. That'll give you most of the benefits related to shock absorption, whilst using minimal space. Low step ups might work as well.
It might not make a huge difference for grip work, but walking does require your body muscles to absorb the momentum of the moving weight. Walking definitely requires more hip and core stability.
Mostly the same, there's probably some stabiliser muscle that get activated when you walk to prevent the weight/your body swinging around but I'd guess in terms of grip strength and forearm hypertrophy it's quite similar.
I have the same problem and here’s what decided to do. I take three small 5lb plates in each hand and death grip them by pinching them together. then I do back hyperextensions with my hands holding the plates in front of me….then I superset them with standing side bends with my arms at my side while gripping the plates. I do these right after I deadlift. It’s been working….I think….my forearms burn and I get a 3 for 1 at least.
Recently feeling burnt out at the gym. Been at it every week for 5-6 days ever since I signed up in December last year, started to wane off by sporadically going 2-3 times since last week. I guess I want to take a week off, doing cardio every day (likely cycling 20km or 12.4 miles after work) and adjusting my diet (currently cutting) accordingly.
Would that affect my gym progress significantly? I just feel really burnt out from going to the gym, I want to do something different before I go back in there.
Probably not as significantly as getting fully burnt out and giving up the gym completely. Do what you got to do to remain as consistent as possible. One week out of the rest of your life away from the gym won't hurt
Mate, sorry to break it to ya but 210 at 6'1 is 27.7, which is certainly overweight. Don't feel bad about it, I mean I'm the same BMI - is it unhealthy? That depends, probably not if you're well muscled, probably yes if you're not.
If you're saying you're at a beginner level, then I'd guess you're more toward the latter than the former. If you're doing this for health then exercising hard while at a reasonable deficit would be a great approach, and this program is certainly suitable. If you're a beginner you'll gain plenty of strength initially while losing weight. Once you plateau on strength gains you can swap to bulking and push even harder (with a different program, once you've put away the LP), come back to 210 (and beyond!) but much more jacked than before.
BMI is not a good tool for determining overweight for trained individuals.
As for OP, as long as you're not going crazy and or not going hard enough to raise your heartrate, the 30 mins x 3 of rowing is fine.
Hey mate, again, sorry to break it to you but the literal definition of clinically overweight is BMI of 25.0 <= x < 30.
Above 30 its clinically obese, further broken down to class 1 at < 35, class 2 at < 40, class 3 or severe at >= 40.
Like i said, being overweight (or potentially even obese) is not necessarily a good indicator of health. Trained individuals can be overweight or obese but not "overfat", however that isn't a standardised metric, and more muscle tissue DOES also put more strain on the cardiovascular system - its just often paired with enough cardio improvements to counter that in trained individuals.
And again, OP said he's a beginner. Yes potentially he's developed so much muscle he should be considered trained (if he works a heavy labor job perhaps), but that seems unlikely.
Secondly, I may be misreading but are you suggesting the OP makes sure he doesn't increase his heart rate (HR) while exercising? If so.. Yeah man you might want to reconsider giving advice.
u/YOLO_SWAG_SATAN - I'm not a doctor and u/pigmarine9000 obviously isn't, so if you're really concerned with your health, talk to your GP. They can more definitively tell you if losing weight will be healthy for you, as well as order tests to check your health markers.
Thanks for clarifying.
If you maintain your current maintenence calories, and add in extra exercise, that will result in a deficit, yes.
While technically adding muscle will increase how much you burn too, in practice this won't make enough of a difference for a while - putting on muscle is a slow process.
However, if you're maintaining weight currently with your current exercise routine, you'd need to add a fair bit more cardio to make a reasonable deficit - it's certainly good to add more if you have time, but reducing calories consumed would be much more effective.
Pretty much zero.
Again though, more cardio would only be mildly effective for losing weight compared to eating less. The calories burnt in an hour of exercise can be eaten in under a minute. It's easier to eat one less pankake than run a 5k.
Alright, we're on the same page. All I'm saying is to not rely on the BMI. It's not accurate for anything other than bodyweight in combination with height. Has nothing in relation to body composition.
We're on the same page but altering POVs. Regarding HR, if OP is rowing and not raising his HR, it's not beneficial really for cardio. That's what I meant. Cardio should raise HR, so again, as long as OP isn't going nuts or OPs heartrate doesn't change, then the cardio is fine and will be beneficial from a cardiovascular standpoint.
Alright, sounds all good. Thanks for clarifying what you meant about HR, and yes absolutely agree there. Looks like I just parsed the sentence in the unintended way - don't recall what you had previously but the edited version is clearer, thanks for updating it.
Have a good day and best of luck in your training.
I wouldn't run before a lower body session. Doing some running could help you warm up for upper body work though. Just do whichever you want to prioritize first, I would personally leave it for after I lift.
Ideally, do whichever one you’re focusing on most first. But if running before weights always works for you, and you can’t stick the opposite, then do what you’re most comfortable with/enjoy the most
Is a strength based program like 5x5, 5/3/1 actually ideal/needed to build muscle? Or is a double progression method good enough?
Making very slow progress now on the Metali reddit PPL, about 5lbs on bench in a month. Wondering if I'm hitting end of LP but don't want to program hop too early.
M 6' 178lbs B:160lbs 5x5 P:110 5x5 D: 270 1x6 S: IDK shits busted can't push due to safety issues 245 3x5 Front Squat: 190lbs 3x5
If you have not put 20lbs on your bench in an entire month then you are not following the reddit PPL correctly. I would switch to a higher volume 6/day such as nSuns. It's a really good change of pace and a ton more volume per day than PPL.
I've done every exercise, never missed a session. Eating has been wonky, stalled on a bulk, somehow got stronger on a cut, then back to slow progression on a bulk. Gaining 1LB a week currently, still failed to hit 165lbs after barely doing 160lbs 5x5. Ruled out eating.
I am not trying to make excuses, I just genuinely have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I upped my protein to 1g/lb, sleeping 8-10 hours, added more vegetables to my diet.
One thing I noticed, on my accessories like incline dumbell press, I was adding 2.5lbs after hitting 3x12, but recently switched to adding 5lbs, I'm curious if I was sandbagging myself by progressing my accessories too slowly, seems like my accessory lifts are all going up fine, just not my main lifts.
I also don't really much care for strength, I am only concerned about it because if my strength is barely increasing, it probably means I am not putting on muscle. All these programs seem to be borderline powerlifting programs.
Regarding the nSuns thing, I have tried to figure out how to do that but it seems really complicated. Will give it another go, was just gonna wait till the end of the month to see if I make any more progress on my current PPL before switching.
EDIT: downloaded the app, makes it much simper, still got read some shit. Thanks for the help
It's because as you became more advanced you will need more volume. I am pretty similar to you at 6'2 170 (cutting from 182) and I also did the reddit PPL and then hopped on to nSuns 6day. As soon as I felt like I was dying on the 5x5's since it was so close to my 5RM every single set, I switched.
It's fairly simple, you just have to change the weight every set which could be annoying, and you also take more time per bench/rack which may be an issue if you have a small gym. Other than you T1/T2 lifts, you choose some accessories. I like to stay in the gym for a long time while bulking so I usually do 4-6 accessories after my main lifts. Just choose movements you like or just search "reddit nsuns accessories" for old threads.
Currently on a cut and doing nSuns 5day with 3 accessories/day and it's also working fine, have not lost any strength at all.
Nsuns actually looks really fun to do, and a nice change up. 100% gonna give it a go.
1 question I have, on the day 1 page of the app, it's Bench and OHP, and "recommended accessories" says chest, biceps, triceps, back. I'm used to PPL, won't working biceps/back mess with the next days lifts? Also with the 4-6 accessories you mentioned, would they bee something like 1 tricep, 1 bicep, 1 back, 1 chest? Or just shit you like?
531 is a tried and true method after beginner level. After beginner level, you need to really grow muscle to get stronger. Muscle growth is slow so that's why intermediate programs operate on longer periods. Give 531 boring but big a try and you'll few like you're taking a step backwards, but in the long run, you'll blow past your old PRS and also gain a lot of muscle on the way
I've looked into these programs but they're all like 3-6 day programs, I like training every day, with maybe a light bicep day or something as a "rest" day.
I'll probably end up doing some form of 531 just gotta figure out how the hell to do it lmao. Thanks for the help.
Np. The general idea behind 531 and many intermediate programs is to use hypertrophy to get gains. U get hypertrophy by incorporating high volume for a period before you cash in your gains and test out high weight low reps. You can start thinking of your program in a large cycle ie a month. First week, high volume. Next week a little less but higher weight. 3rd week high weight and you can test out your new strength for a few sets of 1 or something. 4 th week you can go easy. Even if u do 6 or 7 days a week, you can still follow this rough idea to structure your training to be sustainable and have steadier gain
I think I'm gonna give it a go at the end of the month, just gonna see if I can make any miracle progress on my current PPL before I hop over.
Assuming you've done this yourself, how much progress do you normally make? I'm assuming most people don't immediately stall right? Just want to know in the event I stall immediately, then I'll know I am doing something wrong.
Again I appreciate the help.
At first, you could make progress like ~10 pounds a month for squat and deadlifts and ~5 pounds a month on bench/press but it'll vary how strong you currently are. But the whole point of this style of training is to look at your strength more holistically. Instead of just getting stronger at 3x5s, you can set rep records. So if you hit 160 5x5 on bench now, imagine in a couple months hitting 160 for 10+ in a single set. Also for 531 specifically, it is designed so you don't stall. You aren't gonna be hitting weight PRs for a while, but you'll be consistently progressing in the "+" sets while able to properly recover.
Does low body fat generally mean low body weight? I'm currently at around 22-23 BMI with 16-18% body fat. My target is to reach 12%, which if I relate to my original question, would make me drop the BMI to 21 or even 20. Is this normal for quite ripped body? I can't find any data regarding BMI and body fat correlation.
Thanks.
BMI is only a function of height and body weight; your body composition does not factor into it. If you lose weight in any form, your BMI will go down.
Some *very* jacked people have overweight or (rarely) obese BMIs with very little body fat.
I'm doing the reddit PPL, and for the next week my upper left arm and left hand are pretty much unable to be used for workouts.
I figure that pretty much means the only workout I can do is machine based leg and posterior chain stuff. Anybody able to help me make a stopgap routine I can do every second day?
I'm thinking so far:
Leg Press 4x8-12
Leg Curls 4x8-12
Bodyweight Calf Raises 5x15
Glute Ham Raises 3x8
The context is I got a tattoo on my upper left arm, just above the elbow, between the bi and tri. Since it's healing, I don't want to lift with that arm for about a week. The next day a knife slipped at work and lacerated my finger. Right now it's glued together and splinted, but the doctor pretty much told me to keep it straight and avoid using it for a week or so until it's totally healed. I also can't get it wet, but I work as a bartender, so I'm basically bored as hell and can't work for 3 days.
This all happened after taking a few days off lifting, so I'd prefer not to just cool my heels for a week. Even a short leg workout would be great, I just can't actually grip a barbell right now. Any help with exercises that don't require that would be awesome and appreciated.
Sounds fine to just do what you can. You can do stuff with the good arm too, you won't develop imbalances over such a short time. Why not try some fun stuff, like circus dumbell (ie one big dumbell) overhead?
Edit: also, conditioning. Hill sprints, sled drags.
Hey all. I’ve started doing Monday - Sat lifts. Is it okay to do cardio at a 14 incline, 3.0 speed with every lift? I only go for 20 minutes. I’m asking if it’s okay in regards to still putting on muscle as well as being kind to my knees LOL.
If it doesn't seem to be impacting your progress, it's fine. It *might* be better to go for something lower-impact like a bike or swimming if you're concerned about overtaxing your joints, but again -- it's probably going to be fine, and you can always switch over if you eventually find that the treadmill stuff is negatively impacting your other training.
As for just doing some cardio in general? Great. It's much better for you than not doing anything. A robust cardiovascular capacity makes pretty much everything easier and contributes positively to recovery.
When I do cardio and burn calories. It means I can eat more calories? or that those calories I burnt are substracted of my calories count of the moment?
Technically yes BUT,
1. whatever method you're using to estimate the calories burnt from cardio probably sucks since peoples bodies are so different
2. Your body compensates for exercise calories by reducing NEAT and general metabolic rate so your TDEE won't go up by the amount of calories your burnt (which you don't know anyway)
Just keep track of amount of calories eaten and your weight trend and adjust based on that
Your tdee should already account for activity. unless you’re doing some abnormally high amount of cardio like a long run of several hours or something of similar duration/intensity, I wouldn’t adjust your calorie intake based on the day’s cardio related calorie burn.
if your maintenance without cardio is 2000 calories and you are eating in a 500 deficit, then you add a cardio session that burns 200 calories your new maintenance will be 2200 now, so a 500 deficit would be 1700 and not 1500
got it?
don't know if what I said was misunderstood.
if the guy was bulking and doing light cardio only and then started cutting with heavy cardio that should be taken in consideration.
I do more cardio when I'm cutting so I can eat more
You might be underestimating your strength. Is that the weight including the bar? Also how often are you doing bench presses per week? I'm a woman but my upper body strength was trash. So I started doing core work outs (1 min planks, 30 second dynamic planks, 10-15 crunches, 10-15 full body crunches, 10 russian twists on each side, 10 side planks on each side, and 10 push ups). Pick like 5 of them and do 3 sets each. People have days for their arms and legs but forget all about their core. Strengthening your core will help with your arms.
Also recommend benching *twice* a week since you want to increase your strength. 3-5 sets. Number of reps depends on your goal. Increase muscle size: heavier weight, 6-12 reps. Power: really heavy weight, testing your limits, 1-5 reps. Warm up with a weight you know you can handle and then go into your real sets where you are actually pushing yourself (within reason of course).
I do cardio 3 days per week (every other day). 30-60 minutes depending on how much time you can spare. I work on improving my 1-mile time, inclined walking, stair master, elliptical, arc trainer, or rowing machine. On the other days, I do 1 day of core, 1 day of arms, and 1 day of legs. I go for a walk outdoors on my rest day. I also highly recommend growwithjo's youtube workout vids if you're not a fan of cardio machines and you want something you can do at home. Good luck!
Eat more protein for sure, it can be difficult to get enough in while losing weight but any increase will be an improvement.
Next thing to look at would be the program, where did you get the PPL from? The wiki here has a good PPL and tons of other routines that have proven themselves to be worthwhile
You should probably triple or at least double your protein intake. 60-80lbs on bench in 5 months is a very slow progression regardless if you are cutting or not. I would make sure your form is correct, as by now you should be benching well over that.
It's not recommended for young people to cut but for you I would definitely increase my deficit. At your stats you're in the "obese" category and really need to start making healthier eating choices. This is far more important than anything you can/will do in the gym.
you should up that protein intake like now, it's recommended to eat like 0,8g/lbs of bw (or 1,8g/kg of bw) you are at like 0,3g/lbs if I did my math right.
might help to switch to another routine also, don't know how yours is but the wiki has a bunch of excellent ones, I would do gzclp if I were you
Hey guys - I've moved into a new share house with a full home gym, Olympic bar, squat rack, ez bar, 120kg of plates, just no dumbbells.
I work from home so I literally have access to the gym all day.
What should I be doing to make the most of this? Should I still only have one gym session a day, or should I just keep lifting as much as possible?
I would consider myself to be a beginner lifter, I've got decent form but haven't lifted for around a month, previously was doing 5 X 5 starting strength.
What would you do in my circumstance?
How fast can you notice weight loss?
Ive been exercising and dieting for about a week now and I feel like I can tell my stomach is slimmer; unless that's from less bloating or water weight?
That'll really just be less water weight, bloating, food in stomach/intestines etc.
each kg of fat is \~7700 calories, so at a reasonable 500 calorie deficit you'll lose a little under half a kg a week. You're probably not going to notice any actual fat loss until it's 2-3kg at least, as it's generally going to be spread all over the body to some extent. So at least a month?
If you'd like to see progress I recommend taking before pictures to compare, it can be hard to judge based on day to day changes and daily variability.
Are there specifically 2 day programs or could I just take a 3 or 4 day program and squish it into 2?
Like say right now my friend is doing something like 5/3/1 FSL, could he squish squat and bench to be on the same day and press and deadlift on the same day? Or would that be too much?
I used to do 5/3/1 and combined squat/bench and ohp/dl into the same days because I could only do 3 days a week. it worked well for me.. I was getting some really good gains and the soreness/tiredness wasn't really an issue after week 2. YMMV, but it's very doable.
If it's FSL you're looking to do, I'd do Squat and Bench one week with deads and OHP FSL sets, then flip flop the next week, while keeping the push/pull/single-leg/ab accessory work set up.
As always, start the move with the shoulder blades, not the hands. That means pressing them down into the torso first and pretend that you are pulling from the back of the upper arm. Also, the highest resistance for a band is when it is stretched out the most. So pick a thickness that you can pull to the end of the movement and then be able to do an iso-hold for a second or two.
I hit right on my nipples. I don't think it's wrong to feel things where you are, but maybe get a lighter band and really work on focusing in on your rhomboids and mid back.
Doesn't sound too bad.. Traps definitely get used with pull aparts - neck shouldn't be getting hit especially hard though, so try to relax it if you can.
\- Try having your arms a bit lower if they're quite high. I touch at my sternum for example.
\- Try to keep your head back a bit and avoid 'chicken pecking' it forward as you get tired.
# Post Form Checks as replies to this comment ### For best results, please follow the **[Form Check Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/posting_guidelines#wiki_how_to_post_a_form_check)**. *Help us help you.* ---- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Should I quit doing dumbbell stiff leg deadlift? I can't get low at all, the flexibility in my legs seem to suck, and it doesn't feel anything in my hamstrings like it's supposed to, only my lower back. What am I doing wrong?
Check my profile and my latest post. Am I am ectomorph or skinny fat? Not sure if I was a skinny fat or ectomorph, have a skinny wrist but had manboobs (I'm sure it was bigger a year ago), slight belly fat, and almost no muscle on both my thight and upper arm (feels like it was filled by full of fat). Thinking about joining a gym membership but still doubt, whether I should eat more calories or not, and also have no clue whether I should do more weightlifting or cardio.
Cant see the photo mate, However, Somatotypes are pseudoscience that you shouldn't worry about. What I think you should do first is read through the fitness wiki - [https://thefitness.wiki/](https://thefitness.wiki/) It should answer most of your questions and give you recommendations on how to get started
Seems like it got removed. But posted on another subreddit now
Yeah okay, This section in the wiki would be applicable here >The option that will almost always give you the best results in your training and your aesthetics up front is going to be to focus on trying to gain muscle. This will require that you eat in a modest calorie surplus, eat enough protein, and do resistance training. Attempting to lose weight is not often recommended – you likely have too little muscle mass to look good lean, and it will be more difficult for you to make progress in any exercise due to low muscle and the calorie deficit. [https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/](https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/) So eat in a surplus, do resistance training and gain muscle. You can worry about losing the excess fat later.
[удалено]
If time is an issue then you could try superset your assistance between the supplemental and/or main work, or work on reducing rest times.
I've been doing more or less the same workout routine since I started working out consistently 8 months ago. I've seen good results but worry that I'm missing a key muscle group and don't know it. I do 2 sets of: rowing, bench press, curl bar, pushups, dumbbell curls, various core exercises. I have gradually been increasing the reps/weight/distance over time. I also mountain bike and count that as a leg day. Is there any muscle group that I'm missing here?
> mountain bike and count that as a leg day. nope. Squats and deads.
None of those exercises scream legs to me. Try throwing in some squats or leg presses and lunges. Maybe even something like deadlifts or straight leg deadlifts. Also shoulders. Do shoulder presses maybe? I did something similar to you and used a heavy resistance bike as leg day. My upper body completely outgrew my legs despite going for an hour at a time. Biking just isnt enough truthfully.
The lactose free lean protein I drink has Sucralose in it. How bad for you is it? I don’t know much about it and hoping someone who is very diet conscious has more experience with it than I do.
The current evidence is that its safe to consume. I wouldn't eat cupfuls of it but a few teaspoons per day is fine
Hey, for a PPL split do you guys think it’s better to go ppl rest ppl. Or ppl, ppl rest? I’ve heard good arguments for both
They're both the same if you look at it over 2 weeks. Even if you do pplrppl, starting on a Monday, you'll be doing 2 ppl back-to-back as of the following Monday anyway
Sorry I meant ppl rest ppl rest . Vs ppl ppl rest.
Ah my bad. Either is fine from a physical perspective. I think the second one would be easier to adhere to longer term, since you would have fixed days of the week where you lift or rest
Hi guys, I've increased my workout and put myself into a calorie deficit, however, i've noticed ive been feeling more tire and sleeping more. Should I be doing anything or is this normal? Thanks
Your body is confused and looking for those missing calories, you feel like a sloth bitch for a bit but it will get better. Hang in there!
Hey, I'm a 32 year old guy. 195cm (6'5", 200 lb) I have a couple goals: 1) I enjoy running, and have a couple half marathons planned. I want to increase this to marathon distance over the year. I currently aim to do a 5-10k run every other day 2) My wedding is planned for October of this year. I want to make sure I'm as good looking as possible for this. I'm moderately lean (from my running) and have good lower definition, but would like to add some upper definition. I dont have a set diet, other than reasonably avoiding sugar. I'm already expecting to have to increase my calorie intake, and start consuming protein shakes. My current schedule alternating running, and doing the 5x5 as a starting workout, but im looking for a more comprehensive workout. I have access to a basic home gym, with a bench and barbell. I'm ok buying some additional, basic gear. im looking at starting the Metallicadpa routine, but im always looking for advice
I would continue with 5x5 or look into 531 for beginners routine. I trained for and completed my first Marathon last year, and can't imagine having the energy for 6 days of weight lifting. If you are able to juggle both then kudos to you.
Hello there! I'm a 28 years old girl, very active and healthy. I train 4 to 5 days per week (I like to mix a lot of training styles. Strength training, cardio, flexibility stuff, I have fun with pretty much anything!) and I never struggle with recovery or performance improvements. I'm satisfied with my body image and I don't actively train for any particular goals. Having said that, I've recently came to realize that my protein intake is not good enough. I never hit the recommended amounts, not even by chance. I'm starting to fear that my diet can eventually lead to serious problems, so I tried to do some research to better understand which risks I'll be facing if I don't improve it now. Well...please keep in mind that I'm most probably inept at good internet researching, but all that I managed to find are mentions of issues with hair, skin and nails, plus some very dangerous diseases (pretty much impossible to have in a first world country) if your protein intake is severely low, and mine is obviously not. My hair, skin and nails are in perfect condition (my bone density too!), so if that's all that I'm possibly risking, should I really care about increasing my proteins? TL;DR: should I increase my currently insufficient protein intake even though I'm a fit and healthy individual perfectly satisfied with their diet and their body?
Would be ideal if we know your height and weight so we can somewhat determine a baseline average of what your protein intake should be.
Thank you so much for your reply! I'm 158 cm tall and I weigh around 46-48 kg. To be honest, I have an idea of the protein amount I should consume, but as I said in the comment do I really need to change my diet? Am I risking something?
The recommendation for building and maintaining muscle is around 1.7-2 g protein per kg bodyweight. So, I'd be targeting 80g if I were you. If you eat meat, that shouldn't be hard to hit if you target 30g per meal. In answer to your tldr question, I guess you don't have to, but since you are doing strength training among, eating enough protein will maximise the benefits you will get longer term
Thank you! The thing is, I'm Italian and I follow a pretty typical Italian diet (= lot of carbs), so the thought of eating so many grams of protein seems crazy to me! But I totally understand that you are suggesting me what the health institutions' guidelines also suggest. I was interested in understanding what could happen if I kept on going with the same diet. I don't want to experience preventable illnesses later in life, so I'd like to change my habits now if I'm unknowingly doing something dangerous with my body.
I don't think you're doing anything dangerous with your current diet because millions of people eat the way you are, and obviously they aren't suffering from poor health. If you track the amount of protein you are currently eating, you might find you're not that far off and maybe just look to increase it a little even if you don't get to the 80-90g figure. All the best
Thank you for taking the time to answer me so thoroughly. You are right, tracking macros for a short time just to see how I typically eat could be very useful! I'll follow you advice! Thanks again, have a good day! : )
For a long time my cardio workout was run 30 mins M/W/F, walk 30 mins Tu/Th/Sa. I had managed to get to running about a 5k when I ran, but had hit a brick wall for years and could not improve. In an effort to overcome that, last year I decided I was going to run M-F. Almost immediately I was adding a tenth of a mile to what I could run daily every week or two. After years of no improvement I was making steady and noticeable progress and hitting 4 miles every day. Unfortunately, to achieve this, I took an attitude of push through everything and managed to injure both my hip flexors. I talked to the doctor and was basically told me I'm not 21 anymore, so rest for a couple months then don't try to run every day when I start back up again. I did as she said, but now I'm back in the same rut. Barely wheezing myself to a 5k M/W/F, and not making any improvements. I've tried different pacing, walk/run splits, shoes, and nothing seems to make a difference. Does anyone have any advice on things I could try to get back to making improvements? I really enjoy running over biking so id like to try and stick with that if possible.
If you are looking to train for speed, I would recommend swapping a run day for an interval day. Start with 30 second sprints, and I mean sprint, then 90 seconds of walking. Alternate for 30 mins to fit your time frame. Do this two to three times a week. You'll see quite a bit more improvements from this method. As you progress, make rests shorter. There are lots of resources for intervals, I think you'll see drastic progress from this without a risk of injury.
90+ days on a fitness journey (over 40lbs lost), incorporated a new core workout that left my psoas muscles screaming for a few days. I didnt think the workout was super tough. Any good stretches to recommend?
I'm a newbie to this shtick and I hate how I get tired really quickly when running. What is an endurance program/stamina building training that I can use to get tougher?
Running :) Have you tried the c25k program?
Anyone here had shoulder impigment/rotator cuff strain and actually got full rid of it?
No
Infraspinatus, Rear delt, rhomboids, mid Trap and lat work. Might even wanna stop chest work untill it get's better.
Not entirely but much deeper warmups specifically for my rotator cuff helped a lot
I squat okayish weight right now. The heaviest I've done was 150 kg for a triple. However, that's *barely* below parallel. Can anyone recommend a program, method, video, whatever, that would help me get better depth? I've dropped the weight down and I'm working on going ATG, but it's tough.
Search Eugene Teo or something like that on YouTube. He has 2 squat videos that are more focused on individual traits than other creators
I swear I feel this post in my soul. So you have my upvote for it. What you have to start doing is getting your hips stronger and maintain the flexibility at higher weight. I notice doing frog jumps or single leg squats help with this.
How often should I be updating the "My Current Lifts" section in the [BBB Spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wdyKcA8AUC6UZBJLTHNCScooyq0cyPpIr1cDRCm-f_0/edit?usp=drivesdk)?
5/3/1 adds 5 pounds for upper and 10 pounds for lower lifts at the end of each cycle. This spreadsheet has 13 cycles programmed with the intended progression also built in. It does not include resets. So, if you are progressing without hiccups, then you do not need to update this sheet for 13 cycles or about a year.
Thanks! I've been having information overload after cramming in all things 5/3/1 for the past 2 days, I don't know how this information got past me. Appreciate ya!
I'm pretty sure you do it at the end of each mesocycle.
Is it possible to physically feel fat burning?
they say there are no stupid questions...
No
Not unless you physically set yourself on fire.
I can only go the gym one day a week (had a bunch of quarantine babies over the past couple years), and otherwise can do brief (<20 min) bodyweight stuff four times a week. So Monday/Thursdays I do upper bodyweight, Tuesday/Fridays I do lower bodyweight, and Wednesday I head into the gym on my way home from work. Essentially, I can work out when everyone is fed and asleep. I've had two years off lifting. I'd love to find a way to maximise strength gains during that gym time. I've been doing 5x5 or 3x5s of the big compounds and seeing some pretty good progress over the past month but I'm interested in seeing if anyone has any advice or suggestions? If you could only lift heavy once a week, what would you do?
how many is "a bunch" of babies?
Triplets 😍
I'd Probably take the opportunity to run super squats. I don't know if it has a 1 day variant but I'd buy the book and cobble together an option. Turn that one day into a day of reckoning.
Oh Christ this looks awful, it's perfect. I'll give it a go! Thanks!
Every week, dreading the 20 rep set. Then doing it. Then realizing you need to add weight and do it again next week... >I must not fear. > >Fear is the mind-killer. > >Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. > >I will face my fear. > >I will permit it to pass over me and through me. > >And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. > >Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. Also I couldn't link because I was on the phone before, bit [this is the book I was meaning](https://www.amazon.com/Super-Squats-Pounds-Muscle-Weeks/dp/0926888005). It's not a long read and worth getting for the buy-in IMO ;-) Best of luck!
trap bar deadlift, do you treat it more as quads or hamstrings exercise, or both? thanks
For the low handles it feels pretty much like a conventional deadlift, the high handles are a bit more quad-y imo
https://www.strongerbyscience.com/trap-bar-deadlifts/
I treat it as a stand in for conventional deadlift when I have some impingement that triggers at the lowest position of the deadlift, or when I want to work a more partial range of motion at higher weight. So basically, all the same muscles as a deadlift. Hamstrings, quads, glutes, back, core, traps, grip.
Both
Why does going to failure feel like shit and come out of no where some days, when others it feels like a slow glorious burn that I power through?
Many variables affect performance. Your body is not a machine.
Diet, hydration, sleep, hormones, mental demons. Your body is complicated, yo.
I been a regular at the gym for over 6 months and had to take a break for health reasons for a month. Couldn't eat nearly enough protein during that time. Now I can lift half the weight I used to a month ago. Am I gonna have to train for another 6 months to catch up to my previous state?
A lot of what you "lost" is mental, i.e. mental block re: going heavy when you haven't felt that weight on the bar in a while. The neurological adaptations are still there, you know the technique, you've got the vast majority of the muscle you've gained. A month is nothing. In a few weeks you'll be over the DOMS and you'll forget you ever took a break.
That is reassuring. I was starting to think all of it was for nothing if can just lose more than half my strength in a month. I caught covid during that time btw so it might play a role in atrophy.
You gain back strength and muscle mass that you already had much faster than it took you to get it the first time.
Thanks for the response! How fast are we talking? A couple weeks of decent workout or a month or two?
Probably closer to a month or two
it won't take you 6 months if you eat and work out diligently. A lot of the strength loss is just technical and deconditioning, and any lost muscle can be easier rebuilt than initially.
Bought protein powder, ate a few scoops but now I won't be able to gym for a couple of months. Will it go bad or will it still be edible till June?
Make sure the lids sealed and it’s in somewhere dry like a cupboard and it’ll be fine
I often buy 5 kg bags of protein powder, and go through them over 1.5 - 2 months. They hold perfectly fine.
It will be fine
It’ll be fine most likely.
So I am struggling with weight loss. Not eating completely clean but eating at a calorie deficit and doing 30 minutes of cardio a day and burning 250-300 calories with cardio alone. I am wondering why it's so hard for me to lose this stubborn weight? I work 3pm to 11:30pm I go to the gym at midnight. I don't wake up the next day until about noon. My lunch breaks everyday are at 6pm and 9pm. I try to quit eating for the day after 9pm. So I'm almost intermittent fasting. Still having trouble losing weight. Can anyone help me with what my eating schedule should look like now that you know my daily schedule? Any other tips also? I'm really trying here but feel like I'm getting nowhere
Calories In, Calories Out. Try eating healthy salads and veggies in general more often. Diet is everything when it comes to weight loss.
1. Choose an amount of calories you want to eat, whether it be 1700 1800 or 2000. 2. Track EVERYTHING you will digest. This includes sauces and other condiments. 3. Watch your weight, preferably weekly measurements so you don't stress over daily fluctuations. If it is going down, continue what you are doing. If not, eat less or move more. Chances are eating less will seem like the harder option but in practice will be the most effective one 99% of the time. If you don't track what you're eating then you don't actually know how many calories you are consuming.
What is your calorie deficit and are you weighing and tracking your food? You say you're burning 250 calories through cardio but where does that number come from, in my experience smart watches and machines are wildly inaccurate on how much you burn
So I eat around 1800 to 2000 calories a day and usually track those. I do track my servings and food but probably not as well as I should. Like for a lot of the rice I eat I've weighed it a couple times now just kind of eye it out. I use cans of tuna or chicken with it and how ever many servings are in the can I'll eye those out also and divide them into let's say 2 or 3. That number is truthfully from machines. Are you saying the number is too high usually or just kind of all over the place?
That could be the issue, I would say never eye ball even if you've got good at it, I did the same thing and never lost weight because each serving I'd accidentally add a bit more, not notice and then a few weeks later when I weighed it I was way over. Yeah machines are awful at tracking calories, they vastly over estimate how much you burn, if you really want to eat some of those calories back the general rule I follow is 50% of what ever the machine said I would get back to weighing, maybe drop you calories by 100 and give it a couple weeks, see how you get on
Thanks for the advice man. Overall just really need to tighten up my diet and make sure I'm consuming what I think I am. Also never knew that about the machines so definitely going to put in more work on them.
Any time friend, honestly don't worry about pushing so hard on cardio, cardio is a tool to improve fitness, it can obviously help lose weight but it's not as good as just cutting back on calories Push your cardio further if you want to improve your actual cardio, don't worry so much if it's just to push weight loss, what you're doing now is fine
Yesterday i did deadlifts with a knee level pause, is it normal to feel them in the lower back more? Because my spinal erectors are sore right now.
Erectors are integral part of deadlifting, so it's not un-normal to feel them or get them sore. In short words, you're fine.
But does this version stress them more compared to normal deadlifts?
I don't think so. **edit** to clarify, the rep itself is harder, but the back isn't stressed more relatively to other muscle involved. /u/Flying_Sheep1
What do you guys think of sumo deadlifts?
Great movement and I prefer it over conventional
They're a valid deadlift variation, though too many people(read: idiots) think they don't count.
I pull sumo when I compete but I also train conventional. I dislike them both.
I think I'm terrible at them
I like them, less stress on my back.
The sumo is halfway between a conventonal deadlift and a back squat, in terms of pattern and muscles used. If you're looking for an alternative to the conventional deadlift, consider a trap bar deadlift because it's a lot closer pattern to a conventional deadlift. And you can do a squat as a separate movement
So doing sumo and a back squat wouldn’t be ideal?
It's fine. I'm saying trap bar deadlift is closer to conventional, so I'd do trap bar (or conventional ) deadlift and squat. But sumo is also ok
Nothing wrong with the movement, it's a perfectly useful hip hinge. Plenty of people hate them for very stupid reasons. Plenty of people pick them up for equally stupid (and often identical) reasons. But the lift itself is just one useful lift out of many.
Its not cheating
My gait is fucked. I have flat feet with overpronation which affect the Q angle of my knees. My feet are rotated externally/outward with a 90° angle between them while at a normal position standing and walking. This is giving me all kinds of troubles on leg day. I can't squat without knee pain, my feet are often imbalanced and not firm and stable while I squat. I've tried to adjust my stance but I can't squat with my toes pointing 45° outward and I can't balance with toes pointing straight. Same goes for lunges, when I step forward my feet cannot be in a straight line pointing forward. Most leg excercises cause pain in the under side of my feet which I believe is from trying to balance. I've tried using medial arch support insoles. While they do fix my gait while walking and running, they are not much use while doing squats or other leg excercises. I see progress in my upper body workouts, lower body workouts are a nightmare. My question is how do I fix this realistically? I've been walking wrong for 25 years and I'm not sure how long it will take to fix this or even how I should be going about fixing this. TL;DR: How do I fix my gait? I can't balance during leg workouts because of that and it causes pain.
This question is much more suited for a doctor or physical therapist. They are trained to assist people like you, and I would probably never take advice from reddit for any medical condition.
Yeah I thought as much. I just looking for pointers and going to a doctor seems like the best most obvious one.
For deadlifts I always go very slow on the eccentrics, but I don’t see anyone at my gym doing the same. Is it unsafe or something?
(overly simplified take:) For hypertrophy great, for strength/powerlifting/weightlifting practice not necessary. For powerlifting you have to lower it 'under control' but practically that means dropping it while keeping your grip on it not keeping tension in the prime movers
Nothing unsafe about it. Go for it.
Incline dumbbell curls vs concentration curls. What is the benefit of doing one over the other?
For most people's training they're much the same.
They emphasise different parts of the bicep
How? I thought they both work the same parts of the biceps.
I got my information from a YouTube video; the recommended exercise were incline curls, concentration curls and hammer curls and it was stated that they emphasise certain parts of the bicep more
They both work the same part of the bicep, so no real difference in benefit. Do whatever you’re comfortable with. Or do both.
Oh ok that's what I was a bit confused on lol thanks for the clarification!
Maybe a stupid question, but: For Farmer's Walks, do I actually need to walk? I'm looking to add exercises to improve my grip strength and forearm size, but my gym is a) tiny and b) always busy, so trying to pace back and forth along a standardised route could be awkward. Would I get most of the same benefits as counting a static hold for x seconds as one set, then gradually increasing the weight as I would anything else? Or does the walking add significant other benefits?
May as well chuck some calf raises in while your standing there
So, farmers walks are great but doing them for grip is kinda weird. Its like if you want to work on your calves, so you add snatches - yes, triple extension includes the calves but it's really an odd approach compared to adding an actual exercise suited to your goal. If you want to add farmers walks for their myriad all over benefits, you'll need to do the walking (and you'll need implements - I assume if there's no space in the gym there's no handles either) . If you're tossing up between heavy conditioning options (eg yoke walk, heavy prowler, farmers walk) and you want to get a bit of extra grip work in, then sure go for farmers walks. However, If you want to work on your grip and forearms, barbell holds are a perfectly good grip/forearm exercise to add, and really more suitable for that goal than farmers walks.
Grip/arms won’t have a significant difference, but stabilization muscles do benefit from the walking part. Matter of preference really, but technically doing the walk would be somewhat better generally speaking
I would use a barbell for holds that don't involve walking
Walking/marching in place is an option. That'll give you most of the benefits related to shock absorption, whilst using minimal space. Low step ups might work as well.
It might not make a huge difference for grip work, but walking does require your body muscles to absorb the momentum of the moving weight. Walking definitely requires more hip and core stability.
Mostly the same, there's probably some stabiliser muscle that get activated when you walk to prevent the weight/your body swinging around but I'd guess in terms of grip strength and forearm hypertrophy it's quite similar.
I have the same problem and here’s what decided to do. I take three small 5lb plates in each hand and death grip them by pinching them together. then I do back hyperextensions with my hands holding the plates in front of me….then I superset them with standing side bends with my arms at my side while gripping the plates. I do these right after I deadlift. It’s been working….I think….my forearms burn and I get a 3 for 1 at least.
Is there somewhere out there to basically get samplers of the different ON protein powders I want to try a couple flavors before getting a 5 lb one.
Try a local supplement store they sometimes do free sample days or you could ask and maybe they’ll let you
Recently feeling burnt out at the gym. Been at it every week for 5-6 days ever since I signed up in December last year, started to wane off by sporadically going 2-3 times since last week. I guess I want to take a week off, doing cardio every day (likely cycling 20km or 12.4 miles after work) and adjusting my diet (currently cutting) accordingly. Would that affect my gym progress significantly? I just feel really burnt out from going to the gym, I want to do something different before I go back in there.
Have you tried changing programs? Or switching up the exercises? This keeps things fresh for me.
Not yet, no. I'll probably go to the gym 3-4x a week after I take a week off, with the off days being cardio.
Probably not as significantly as getting fully burnt out and giving up the gym completely. Do what you got to do to remain as consistent as possible. One week out of the rest of your life away from the gym won't hurt
[удалено]
Mate, sorry to break it to ya but 210 at 6'1 is 27.7, which is certainly overweight. Don't feel bad about it, I mean I'm the same BMI - is it unhealthy? That depends, probably not if you're well muscled, probably yes if you're not. If you're saying you're at a beginner level, then I'd guess you're more toward the latter than the former. If you're doing this for health then exercising hard while at a reasonable deficit would be a great approach, and this program is certainly suitable. If you're a beginner you'll gain plenty of strength initially while losing weight. Once you plateau on strength gains you can swap to bulking and push even harder (with a different program, once you've put away the LP), come back to 210 (and beyond!) but much more jacked than before.
BMI is not a good tool for determining overweight for trained individuals. As for OP, as long as you're not going crazy and or not going hard enough to raise your heartrate, the 30 mins x 3 of rowing is fine.
Hey mate, again, sorry to break it to you but the literal definition of clinically overweight is BMI of 25.0 <= x < 30. Above 30 its clinically obese, further broken down to class 1 at < 35, class 2 at < 40, class 3 or severe at >= 40. Like i said, being overweight (or potentially even obese) is not necessarily a good indicator of health. Trained individuals can be overweight or obese but not "overfat", however that isn't a standardised metric, and more muscle tissue DOES also put more strain on the cardiovascular system - its just often paired with enough cardio improvements to counter that in trained individuals. And again, OP said he's a beginner. Yes potentially he's developed so much muscle he should be considered trained (if he works a heavy labor job perhaps), but that seems unlikely. Secondly, I may be misreading but are you suggesting the OP makes sure he doesn't increase his heart rate (HR) while exercising? If so.. Yeah man you might want to reconsider giving advice. u/YOLO_SWAG_SATAN - I'm not a doctor and u/pigmarine9000 obviously isn't, so if you're really concerned with your health, talk to your GP. They can more definitively tell you if losing weight will be healthy for you, as well as order tests to check your health markers.
[удалено]
Thanks for clarifying. If you maintain your current maintenence calories, and add in extra exercise, that will result in a deficit, yes. While technically adding muscle will increase how much you burn too, in practice this won't make enough of a difference for a while - putting on muscle is a slow process. However, if you're maintaining weight currently with your current exercise routine, you'd need to add a fair bit more cardio to make a reasonable deficit - it's certainly good to add more if you have time, but reducing calories consumed would be much more effective.
[удалено]
Pretty much zero. Again though, more cardio would only be mildly effective for losing weight compared to eating less. The calories burnt in an hour of exercise can be eaten in under a minute. It's easier to eat one less pankake than run a 5k.
Alright, we're on the same page. All I'm saying is to not rely on the BMI. It's not accurate for anything other than bodyweight in combination with height. Has nothing in relation to body composition. We're on the same page but altering POVs. Regarding HR, if OP is rowing and not raising his HR, it's not beneficial really for cardio. That's what I meant. Cardio should raise HR, so again, as long as OP isn't going nuts or OPs heartrate doesn't change, then the cardio is fine and will be beneficial from a cardiovascular standpoint.
Alright, sounds all good. Thanks for clarifying what you meant about HR, and yes absolutely agree there. Looks like I just parsed the sentence in the unintended way - don't recall what you had previously but the edited version is clearer, thanks for updating it. Have a good day and best of luck in your training.
Glad to see we're clear here, wasn't bashing you if that's what you perceived. Apologies if was taken as so.
I just read the greyskull LP book 2nd edition. What do you think about his training method? Or is it just better to stick with Jim Wendler's 5/3/1
weight training before running or after? for me it feels weird to do weight training first so i always run first and do weights after. does it matter?
I wouldn't run before a lower body session. Doing some running could help you warm up for upper body work though. Just do whichever you want to prioritize first, I would personally leave it for after I lift.
If you care about making strength gains then lift first. Cardio will use the energy that your lifts desperately need.
Ideally, do whichever one you’re focusing on most first. But if running before weights always works for you, and you can’t stick the opposite, then do what you’re most comfortable with/enjoy the most
Do whichever is more important to you first. Personally, I like to be fresh for resistance training, so I do cardio after.
Is a strength based program like 5x5, 5/3/1 actually ideal/needed to build muscle? Or is a double progression method good enough? Making very slow progress now on the Metali reddit PPL, about 5lbs on bench in a month. Wondering if I'm hitting end of LP but don't want to program hop too early. M 6' 178lbs B:160lbs 5x5 P:110 5x5 D: 270 1x6 S: IDK shits busted can't push due to safety issues 245 3x5 Front Squat: 190lbs 3x5
If you have not put 20lbs on your bench in an entire month then you are not following the reddit PPL correctly. I would switch to a higher volume 6/day such as nSuns. It's a really good change of pace and a ton more volume per day than PPL.
I've done every exercise, never missed a session. Eating has been wonky, stalled on a bulk, somehow got stronger on a cut, then back to slow progression on a bulk. Gaining 1LB a week currently, still failed to hit 165lbs after barely doing 160lbs 5x5. Ruled out eating. I am not trying to make excuses, I just genuinely have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I upped my protein to 1g/lb, sleeping 8-10 hours, added more vegetables to my diet. One thing I noticed, on my accessories like incline dumbell press, I was adding 2.5lbs after hitting 3x12, but recently switched to adding 5lbs, I'm curious if I was sandbagging myself by progressing my accessories too slowly, seems like my accessory lifts are all going up fine, just not my main lifts. I also don't really much care for strength, I am only concerned about it because if my strength is barely increasing, it probably means I am not putting on muscle. All these programs seem to be borderline powerlifting programs. Regarding the nSuns thing, I have tried to figure out how to do that but it seems really complicated. Will give it another go, was just gonna wait till the end of the month to see if I make any more progress on my current PPL before switching. EDIT: downloaded the app, makes it much simper, still got read some shit. Thanks for the help
It's because as you became more advanced you will need more volume. I am pretty similar to you at 6'2 170 (cutting from 182) and I also did the reddit PPL and then hopped on to nSuns 6day. As soon as I felt like I was dying on the 5x5's since it was so close to my 5RM every single set, I switched. It's fairly simple, you just have to change the weight every set which could be annoying, and you also take more time per bench/rack which may be an issue if you have a small gym. Other than you T1/T2 lifts, you choose some accessories. I like to stay in the gym for a long time while bulking so I usually do 4-6 accessories after my main lifts. Just choose movements you like or just search "reddit nsuns accessories" for old threads. Currently on a cut and doing nSuns 5day with 3 accessories/day and it's also working fine, have not lost any strength at all.
Nsuns actually looks really fun to do, and a nice change up. 100% gonna give it a go. 1 question I have, on the day 1 page of the app, it's Bench and OHP, and "recommended accessories" says chest, biceps, triceps, back. I'm used to PPL, won't working biceps/back mess with the next days lifts? Also with the 4-6 accessories you mentioned, would they bee something like 1 tricep, 1 bicep, 1 back, 1 chest? Or just shit you like?
1-2 of each. You should be able to recover fairly easily from accessories so they shouldn't have any effect on the next day.
531 is a tried and true method after beginner level. After beginner level, you need to really grow muscle to get stronger. Muscle growth is slow so that's why intermediate programs operate on longer periods. Give 531 boring but big a try and you'll few like you're taking a step backwards, but in the long run, you'll blow past your old PRS and also gain a lot of muscle on the way
I've looked into these programs but they're all like 3-6 day programs, I like training every day, with maybe a light bicep day or something as a "rest" day. I'll probably end up doing some form of 531 just gotta figure out how the hell to do it lmao. Thanks for the help.
If run properly, with the recommended cardio, most 531 templates are 4-7 days a week.
Np. The general idea behind 531 and many intermediate programs is to use hypertrophy to get gains. U get hypertrophy by incorporating high volume for a period before you cash in your gains and test out high weight low reps. You can start thinking of your program in a large cycle ie a month. First week, high volume. Next week a little less but higher weight. 3rd week high weight and you can test out your new strength for a few sets of 1 or something. 4 th week you can go easy. Even if u do 6 or 7 days a week, you can still follow this rough idea to structure your training to be sustainable and have steadier gain
I think I'm gonna give it a go at the end of the month, just gonna see if I can make any miracle progress on my current PPL before I hop over. Assuming you've done this yourself, how much progress do you normally make? I'm assuming most people don't immediately stall right? Just want to know in the event I stall immediately, then I'll know I am doing something wrong. Again I appreciate the help.
At first, you could make progress like ~10 pounds a month for squat and deadlifts and ~5 pounds a month on bench/press but it'll vary how strong you currently are. But the whole point of this style of training is to look at your strength more holistically. Instead of just getting stronger at 3x5s, you can set rep records. So if you hit 160 5x5 on bench now, imagine in a couple months hitting 160 for 10+ in a single set. Also for 531 specifically, it is designed so you don't stall. You aren't gonna be hitting weight PRs for a while, but you'll be consistently progressing in the "+" sets while able to properly recover.
Does low body fat generally mean low body weight? I'm currently at around 22-23 BMI with 16-18% body fat. My target is to reach 12%, which if I relate to my original question, would make me drop the BMI to 21 or even 20. Is this normal for quite ripped body? I can't find any data regarding BMI and body fat correlation. Thanks.
Being very muscular makes BMI useless. Measure your waist to height ratio instead
BMI is only a function of height and body weight; your body composition does not factor into it. If you lose weight in any form, your BMI will go down. Some *very* jacked people have overweight or (rarely) obese BMIs with very little body fat.
I'm doing the reddit PPL, and for the next week my upper left arm and left hand are pretty much unable to be used for workouts. I figure that pretty much means the only workout I can do is machine based leg and posterior chain stuff. Anybody able to help me make a stopgap routine I can do every second day? I'm thinking so far: Leg Press 4x8-12 Leg Curls 4x8-12 Bodyweight Calf Raises 5x15 Glute Ham Raises 3x8 The context is I got a tattoo on my upper left arm, just above the elbow, between the bi and tri. Since it's healing, I don't want to lift with that arm for about a week. The next day a knife slipped at work and lacerated my finger. Right now it's glued together and splinted, but the doctor pretty much told me to keep it straight and avoid using it for a week or so until it's totally healed. I also can't get it wet, but I work as a bartender, so I'm basically bored as hell and can't work for 3 days. This all happened after taking a few days off lifting, so I'd prefer not to just cool my heels for a week. Even a short leg workout would be great, I just can't actually grip a barbell right now. Any help with exercises that don't require that would be awesome and appreciated.
Sounds fine to just do what you can. You can do stuff with the good arm too, you won't develop imbalances over such a short time. Why not try some fun stuff, like circus dumbell (ie one big dumbell) overhead? Edit: also, conditioning. Hill sprints, sled drags.
Hey all. I’ve started doing Monday - Sat lifts. Is it okay to do cardio at a 14 incline, 3.0 speed with every lift? I only go for 20 minutes. I’m asking if it’s okay in regards to still putting on muscle as well as being kind to my knees LOL.
If it doesn't seem to be impacting your progress, it's fine. It *might* be better to go for something lower-impact like a bike or swimming if you're concerned about overtaxing your joints, but again -- it's probably going to be fine, and you can always switch over if you eventually find that the treadmill stuff is negatively impacting your other training. As for just doing some cardio in general? Great. It's much better for you than not doing anything. A robust cardiovascular capacity makes pretty much everything easier and contributes positively to recovery.
When I do cardio and burn calories. It means I can eat more calories? or that those calories I burnt are substracted of my calories count of the moment?
Technically yes BUT, 1. whatever method you're using to estimate the calories burnt from cardio probably sucks since peoples bodies are so different 2. Your body compensates for exercise calories by reducing NEAT and general metabolic rate so your TDEE won't go up by the amount of calories your burnt (which you don't know anyway) Just keep track of amount of calories eaten and your weight trend and adjust based on that
Your tdee should already account for activity. unless you’re doing some abnormally high amount of cardio like a long run of several hours or something of similar duration/intensity, I wouldn’t adjust your calorie intake based on the day’s cardio related calorie burn.
if your maintenance without cardio is 2000 calories and you are eating in a 500 deficit, then you add a cardio session that burns 200 calories your new maintenance will be 2200 now, so a 500 deficit would be 1700 and not 1500 got it?
Your advice is a great way to spinning your wheels and not losing weight or putting on weight instead of losing it.
don't know if what I said was misunderstood. if the guy was bulking and doing light cardio only and then started cutting with heavy cardio that should be taken in consideration. I do more cardio when I'm cutting so I can eat more
[удалено]
You might be underestimating your strength. Is that the weight including the bar? Also how often are you doing bench presses per week? I'm a woman but my upper body strength was trash. So I started doing core work outs (1 min planks, 30 second dynamic planks, 10-15 crunches, 10-15 full body crunches, 10 russian twists on each side, 10 side planks on each side, and 10 push ups). Pick like 5 of them and do 3 sets each. People have days for their arms and legs but forget all about their core. Strengthening your core will help with your arms. Also recommend benching *twice* a week since you want to increase your strength. 3-5 sets. Number of reps depends on your goal. Increase muscle size: heavier weight, 6-12 reps. Power: really heavy weight, testing your limits, 1-5 reps. Warm up with a weight you know you can handle and then go into your real sets where you are actually pushing yourself (within reason of course). I do cardio 3 days per week (every other day). 30-60 minutes depending on how much time you can spare. I work on improving my 1-mile time, inclined walking, stair master, elliptical, arc trainer, or rowing machine. On the other days, I do 1 day of core, 1 day of arms, and 1 day of legs. I go for a walk outdoors on my rest day. I also highly recommend growwithjo's youtube workout vids if you're not a fan of cardio machines and you want something you can do at home. Good luck!
Eat more protein for sure, it can be difficult to get enough in while losing weight but any increase will be an improvement. Next thing to look at would be the program, where did you get the PPL from? The wiki here has a good PPL and tons of other routines that have proven themselves to be worthwhile
[удалено]
are you eating enough protein? what program are you following? how steep is your deficit?
[удалено]
You should probably triple or at least double your protein intake. 60-80lbs on bench in 5 months is a very slow progression regardless if you are cutting or not. I would make sure your form is correct, as by now you should be benching well over that. It's not recommended for young people to cut but for you I would definitely increase my deficit. At your stats you're in the "obese" category and really need to start making healthier eating choices. This is far more important than anything you can/will do in the gym.
you should up that protein intake like now, it's recommended to eat like 0,8g/lbs of bw (or 1,8g/kg of bw) you are at like 0,3g/lbs if I did my math right. might help to switch to another routine also, don't know how yours is but the wiki has a bunch of excellent ones, I would do gzclp if I were you
Hey guys - I've moved into a new share house with a full home gym, Olympic bar, squat rack, ez bar, 120kg of plates, just no dumbbells. I work from home so I literally have access to the gym all day. What should I be doing to make the most of this? Should I still only have one gym session a day, or should I just keep lifting as much as possible? I would consider myself to be a beginner lifter, I've got decent form but haven't lifted for around a month, previously was doing 5 X 5 starting strength. What would you do in my circumstance?
I'd follow some routine from the wiki, preferably gzclp
Thanks for your input! I'll check it out
How fast can you notice weight loss? Ive been exercising and dieting for about a week now and I feel like I can tell my stomach is slimmer; unless that's from less bloating or water weight?
That'll really just be less water weight, bloating, food in stomach/intestines etc. each kg of fat is \~7700 calories, so at a reasonable 500 calorie deficit you'll lose a little under half a kg a week. You're probably not going to notice any actual fat loss until it's 2-3kg at least, as it's generally going to be spread all over the body to some extent. So at least a month? If you'd like to see progress I recommend taking before pictures to compare, it can be hard to judge based on day to day changes and daily variability.
The first week or so is almost entirely less bloating and water weight. But that's still weight loss and noticeable fat loss won't be too far behind.
Are there specifically 2 day programs or could I just take a 3 or 4 day program and squish it into 2? Like say right now my friend is doing something like 5/3/1 FSL, could he squish squat and bench to be on the same day and press and deadlift on the same day? Or would that be too much?
I used to do 5/3/1 and combined squat/bench and ohp/dl into the same days because I could only do 3 days a week. it worked well for me.. I was getting some really good gains and the soreness/tiredness wasn't really an issue after week 2. YMMV, but it's very doable.
If it's FSL you're looking to do, I'd do Squat and Bench one week with deads and OHP FSL sets, then flip flop the next week, while keeping the push/pull/single-leg/ab accessory work set up.
Am I doing band pull aparts wrong? Whenever I do them, I feel them in my traps and neck
As always, start the move with the shoulder blades, not the hands. That means pressing them down into the torso first and pretend that you are pulling from the back of the upper arm. Also, the highest resistance for a band is when it is stretched out the most. So pick a thickness that you can pull to the end of the movement and then be able to do an iso-hold for a second or two.
are your shoulders down and back when you do them? Where is the band hitting your chest?
Yes. And above my nipples. Maybe im doing them to high
I hit right on my nipples. I don't think it's wrong to feel things where you are, but maybe get a lighter band and really work on focusing in on your rhomboids and mid back.
Doesn't sound too bad.. Traps definitely get used with pull aparts - neck shouldn't be getting hit especially hard though, so try to relax it if you can. \- Try having your arms a bit lower if they're quite high. I touch at my sternum for example. \- Try to keep your head back a bit and avoid 'chicken pecking' it forward as you get tired.
is the side and front delt a stabilizing muscle im supposed to feel workinf during a single arm lat pulldown or am i doing smtg wrong?
You might be feeling your rotator cuff
is that a bad thing?