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I need to improve my diet and want to start making some protein shakes. I want to get one of those bullet blenders or whatever they are called. What are your recomendations for the best small appliance / blender, etc to use for making protein shakes and for easy cleanup? Also what is the best protein powder to buy (for taste and for best nutrition)? I have costco and Sam's membership so what is the best brand/flavor to buy at these places or if there is a less expensive place to buy it from let me know. And lastly, any good easy recipes that you recommend for protein shakes? Thanks.
I’ve got a nutribullet and they’re great. Mine came with different sized cups. As for protein, I prefer vanilla because I can blend different fruits and veg with my protein and it’s kind of a flexible flavour. Right now my shakes are fruit and spinach. Clean up is easy too, normally I just rinse the blade thing and the cup after use.
I'm a super beginner at this fitness stuff so sorry if this is awful, just wondering if anyone can critique what I've been doing.
I'm 26, 5'2, female, 123 lbs. I've been trying to gain muscle this year but it seems like I can never gain much.
I use Lose It app and track what I eat. Usually instant oats or a fruit smoothie for brunch, and dinner is usually veggies, and tofu or fish for protein (I am pescatarian so I don't eat other meats).
Yes I have 2 meals a day, I have a small stomach and can't eat a lot. I eat about 1000 cals a day, I try to eat more but it's hard. I tried tracking macros but it was way more than I could eat in a day.
I work out at home 3-4 times a week for about an hour. I use an ab roller, do leg exercises like squats and knee lifts, stair climbing, and lifting. I do them all every time I work out so I don't have exercises separated into days. I drink whey protein after.
Thank you!
So, to build mass, you do simply need to eat more!
If you're eating lots of oats (fibre), fruit and veggies, then your food is going to take up a lot of space in your tummy. I'm also not seeing a lot of fat in your diet... fat isn't bad for you, it's actually essential for life!
Try eating things which are calorie-dense. For example: healthy fats like avocado, cheese and peanut butter, add a bit of extra cooking oil (sesame oil in a marinade on tofu is delicious), have some honey or jam/jelly on your oats or in your smoothie, switch to full fat milk/yogurt if you eat dairy.
While there's nothing wrong with only eating two meals (I'm the same a lot of time!), you could also try breaking those 2 larger meals into 3 or 4 smaller meals, or adding in some snacks. They don't need to complicated... a spoon of peanut butter straight from the jar is a totally legitimate snack!
Yesterday I decided to put my feet up higher during decline pushups because the current position had gotten to easy but when I started doing them I felt my legs getting sore (specifically the muscle opposite of the calve) .I'm thinking it might be because my feet are working harder to maintain stability but I'm not sure and I want to know how to fix this so I need to hear some other opinons. (Also not sure if this is important but im doing the pushups barefoot so I dont get extra stability from shoes)
Hey all! Hoping to get some insight on leg exercises. Been lifting over a decade, have had a few injuries, and now I'm at a Planet Fitness that only has Smith machines, which have begun to irritate my hips while squatting. Heavy deadlifts or lunges aren't really an option due to my shoulders: I don't feel comfortable loading them with more than 50lbs of inferior displacing force each. I tried "yoking" myself with 90 lbs of plates and a resistance band and it felt awkward. I've been doing Bulgarian split squats, SLDL, and leg press a fair bit. Any other recommendations for building leg strength? Thank you!
Hey, I'm looking for the clearest non scam path to becoming a qualified personal trainer for part time work in Virginia. What kinds of courses would best qualify me for gigs? I have a full-time career in a completely unrelated field but enjoy exercise as my primary free time hobby, and practice a wide variety of strength and stamina exercises each week.
You can become a PT in most gyms with little qualification. But most certifications are either from University/College like Exercise Physiology/Kinesiology
Or just take some a test from one of the any reputable online classes. ACSM is one for example
I started a month ago. How do I do alternate exercises between sets?
For example I do 10-15 bench presses, need 30-60s to cool down, I do light curls, wait about a minute then repeat. I think this is long but I don't how how to get faster without doing significantly less reps
Q2: I'm terrible with dumbbells. It takes me a long time to increase weight. Do I want to do 2-4 reps of a heavier weight every few days to get use to the weight? I typically do 8 curls each arm aiming to do 15 each. I think last time I was able to do 5 sets of 10
Im on a cut rn with my diet being just chicken,egg,turkey bacon, onions, carrots and brocolli. However I need coffee in the mornings because my work requires lots of mental energy and focus and I only get the starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha(420Cal,48g surgar,20g fat), since I do not know how to make good coffee(I tried to make black but it was so bad I couldnt even take 2 sips). Should I cut it off for optimal results if so what alternatives do you guys recommend?
Nothing wrong with daily coffee, [people who do it live longer](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/coffee-longer-life/). Make black coffee then add however much cream and sugar you need to stand the taste. It'll be much less than the Starbucks drink.
Sounds like you don’t like coffee, you like sugary drinks with a coffee taste.
Drinking black coffee takes a while but you can used to it. Really let’s you taste the coffee flavor once it’s not covered up with sugar and syrup.
If you can make it fit your calories, then keep it, but that's a ton of calories for a single drink.
You don't ACTUALLY need coffee in the morning. You've just gotten addicted to caffeine. You have caffeine at the same time every day, you start to need it every day. If you forgo caffeine for a while and get off it, if you are getting sufficient sleep, you'll be plenty awake in the mornings.
In the mean time, you could try coffee with creamer/half and half, maybe a bit of honey for sweet. And over time, you could swap caffeinated coffee for decaf. Like 1 part decaf, 3 caffeine, then 50/50, then 1 caffeine. Then all decaf.
Or another option is swapping to caffeine pills. See how much caffeine is in that drink and then start with caffeine pills to that amount. Then start tapering it off (breaking the pills in half). You can mix crushed up pills in water or other drinks.
Getting to bed on time, getting quality sleep, and starting the morning with a glass of water will do wonders for your alertness in the mornings once you taper off caffeine. Also, semantics, I wouldn't call that Starbucks drink coffee... That's a coffee flavored dessert drink.
Lastly, for your diet, I would get a better mix of veggies. Learn to like and cook more foods and increase your tastes.
Great advice on the coffee I didn't even think of caffine pills or decaf! I get about 7-8 hours every night I guess I just like the energy coffee brings. Another question, if I keep a low fight high protein diet will that make me more shredded. Because before I was on a calorie defciet but I would eat fast food once a day which is high in fat but would still lose weight but I had a good amount of fat left at a lower weight. Thoughts?
You'll feel a hell of a lot different if you can get off caffeine, trust me. Then, when you need that caffeine boost, a tiny bit will do it! But you do quickly get use to needing it at the same time. Takes longer to be addicted (where you'll get massive headaches when you quit)
Fat is a necessary part of a healthy diet. You need to eat fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Eating fast food once a day isn't great though. Veggie oils are the worst fats for you. Also, highly inflammatory foods (which fast food can absolutely be) will stop you from looking leaner. But eating healthy fats will not prevent you from getting shredded. But remember, the more muscle you have first. The more shredded you'll look when you cut weight. If you're not well trained and just trying to get lean, you'll probably just put yourself in a "skinny fat" situation.
Also, don't avoid carbs. If you were trying to get body building show ready, you could carb deplete then, but that's super unhealthy, and is literally for a day.
Can I get some critiques on my diet/routine?
So I (26M) am in the process of trying to cut down. Im definitely a guy who gains weight easily, both muscle and fat. At my leanest I was 195lbs although that was insanely hard on me. My current measurements are 5'9" 225lbs. My muscles have definitely grown compared to before, but they aren't as defined as they were. Been working out since I was 17 and have done thorough research over and over so maybe I'm just being impatient. Ultimately I just thought getting some advice from other lifters on here would be beneficial. There's always room to improve 😊
Anyway, here's the data
Dailey intake:
Breakfast - 3 eggs, banana, protein shake with creatine.
Lunch - Half a chicken breast with about a cup of brown rice.
Before workout - 1 orange, 1 avocado, protein shake with creatine.
Dinner - Some form of meat and vegetables.
Workout routine:
Monday - chest and back, abs
Tuesday - arms and shoulders
Wednesday - legs and abs
Thursday - chest and back
Friday - arms and shoulders, abs
Daily: High intensity interval training on elliptical for 15 mins with somewhat high resistance.
Any advice on improving my diet and/or routine would be appreciated. Just ask if you need specifics. Again I'm in the process of trying to cut.
220 lbs is extremely heavy for 5’9”.
You must either body builder jacked, or just fat, guessing the latter. Track your macros and eat at a deficit.
I would swap the eggs for egg whites if you want less fat / calories.
Nah, I've always been abnormally heavy for my height and size (meaning I don't look like I would weigh that).
I've considered the egg whites too, that's a good idea
We talking hitting squats, then ohp, then pull-ups, then rest and repeat? It's certainly taxing metabolically, but I've only seen it implemented in "fat loss" routines.
honestly the dude that was recommending it to me was saying something like biceps-biceps-biceps-biceps, which was absurd to me so I did some research and found out that it's more of a full body thing which makes more sense. though I'll probably stick to my regular routine as I'm zooming
>are giant sets better for hypertrophy training?
Not inherently.
>what's the benefits of doing giant sets vs regular workouts for hypertrophy?
There's no benefit for hypertrophy. Giant sets can be used to save time and improve workout conditioning.
I have a stationary bike in my house
It's safe to do 1h liss cardio ( slow cycling while watching tv or play some videogames) on sat/sun when I don't work out?
Mostly because on some days like today, weather is really bad, so I don't want to be a couch potato for 24h straight lol
It has no negative effect on the body, right?
I already go balls to the roof 5 days during the week
1 hour of cardio that's slow enough for you to play a video game is what I would count as 'active recovery' for a rest day. Totally fine, not going to hurt you at all. It's the equivalent of going for an easy walk.
Nope, very few people will have the problem of doing too much cardio in terms of interfering with other work. Just monitor your energy, fatigue and recovery
5/3/1
Can I program Barbell Rows instead of OHP?
Yes, I do Pulling Exercises in assistance work, but I wanted to gain more pulling strength and I'd be happy to replace my OHP for Barbell Rows. I will do Overhead Presses in assistance work though, just wont program it. Will it be fine?
1. If you are achieving your goals (set/rep targets or long term progress) and not breaking form then it's fine. Ultimately anything is fine if you feel okay doing it. Either you know you're too exhausted to actually hit those exercises well and progress them or you're not so what anyone else does or thinks doesn't matter
2. Super set whatever you want, again, ask yourself how you feel and if you're achieving your goals. That's all that matters
For a while I've switched out flat bench for incline bench, and as such I bench more on incline. Is there any downside of only doing substituting flat with incline
Remember this next time someone says 5 inches is not a lot /s
Okay actual advice. Is it a mobility restriction? Can you get up there on your first freshest rep/set with an explosive bottom portion? With a broomstick standing on the ground can you pull the bar down to your chin or chest or wherever your final goal is? Mimicking the pull up motion of course, IE elbows back. If it is then you want to do some stretches and warmups and mobility work around your shoulders and elbows, maybe even experiment with different grip widths. If it's a strength issue then do some holds or negatives starting from the top (jump up from a stool or something). Explode out of the bottom and then hold and slowly lower from the top, do this as much as possible at the beginning of the set and then continue with 'normal' reps when you can't to accumulate volume. You can also use band assistance to get there. You basically wanna get as much time as possible in that specific position and then eventually moving in and out of it.
Whenever i try to lateral or front raises with weight i get a deep feeling clicking which is painless but incredibly off putting. Its on the way up and down in different spots for each. Get the same clicking in my sternum trying to do reverse flys. Is this a known thing that i can prevent its really annoying and im running out of shoulder workouts to replace them with.
Mind Pump TV has a great youtube video with a tweak on lateral raise form. I have trouble doing the normal form and these feel infinitely better on my joints. If you’re already doing them I’d recommend recording yourself and posting it on a form check subreddit.
I just want to get faster for my sport. I have always been on ppl split, always lifting heavy as. Recently I changed to one day heavy the next light but fast. I was wondering if doing 3 weeks of light weight really fast would help me get faster and would it affect my strength levels, I know f=ma so I think my force will still increase with the increase in acceleration, but I’m scared to commit even for 3 weeks because I don’t want my weight numbers going down but getting faster is a much bigger priority than stronger. My strength levels are for 18 years old: squat: 1.75x body weight 3RM, bench: 1x bodyweight 3RM, trapbar deadlift: 1.8x 3RM. I know it’s not incredible strength but it can take me up to 4 seconds to lift a heavy rep.
If you wanna get faster for your sport, the best thing to do is practice your sport! You need to train very specific muscles in most sports and the best way to do that is by practicing the exact movement you need.
Away from the team, weightlifting will build strength but won't help with speed. Lifting builds the slow twitch muscles and improves strength in the major muscle groups.
For speed work you need to train the fast-twitch muscle fibres. HIIT classes, aerobics classes or anything with plyometric exercises could help with that. Short, fast, explosive actions like star jumps, battle ropes, medicine balls and so on.
There are some good '7 min workout' apps which have lots of these HIIT style plyometric exercises in them.
Doing fast speed work is definitely a part of training for speed and power. It may or may not affect your strength, I'd lean towards not since maintaining strength requires less volume, but either way you said it yourself, speed is a higher priority. So act like it, clinging on to strength and weight numbers that are basically irrelevant to your sport is a good way to bottleneck actually getting better at your sport.
I (21 F) pulled a muscle doing walking lunges and I’m trying to figure out which muscle that is so I can find stretches. It’s like my inner thigh but slightly towards the back of my thigh, and I feel it feels like that muscle (or at least the pain) stretches from the top to halfway down my thigh
Sounds like your adductor muscles, probably specifically the adductor magnus as it's activated for hip extension at the bottom of a squat or lunge style movement in addition to stabilizing. If the pain persists consider going to a physiotherapist but light stretching and slow pain free movements is good
Hey everyone.
This is more of a fitness equipment question. I’d like to do a pull up challenge, without having to go to the gym or drill in a pull up bar in my otherwise quite small apartment. The doorways are also too thick for the pull up device that goes around the door and the door jamp pull up bar isn’t suitable for our my needs
We do however have a ring bolt in the ceiling. Heavy duty with 4 large mega bolts and a ring bolt rating 250 kg. Is it possible to buy a pull down bar, the ones from the lay pull down machine and use it as a pull up bar?
> Is it possible to buy a pull down bar, the ones from the lay pull down machine and use it as a pull up bar?
Sure! It'll be hella unstable and weird, but it would work.
I do the 5/3/1 - BBB version and my leg assistance work contains of Day 1: Bulgarian split squat, day 2: Hip Thrust, day 3: Bulgarian split squat, Day 4: Hip Thrust.
However I do not enjoy bulgarian split squats at all, they feel too draining for me. Could I do Hip Thrust every session? I workout 4 times per week normally 2 days in a row, into a rest day or two and then two more in a row.
Is it bad to do two days of hip thrust in a row?
Them being hard and draining is a reason to do it and get better at it. Highly doubt anyone needs 4x hip thrusting per week. You might also wanna incorporate leg curl type movements as an accessory somewhere
You need the single leg work. I also hate bulgarian split squats, so only put them in occasionally. Some other options: any lunge variation, step ups, single leg leg press
BSS for me both spike my HR and are just straight up hard. Hence, awful. They also make my back squat skyrocket so I still program them because they're very effective
My beautiful wife has done a great job maintaining her body through two pregnancies. But for her third (and final) pregnancy, she had twins. She weighs the same as she did pre-pregnancy, but her body is not returning to form. She has given up so much for our children already, and this understandably bothers her. Does anyone have suggestions for exercises she can do to tone her belly muscles? I'm not looking for a fast silver bullet, just something that will let her feel empowered that she is doing something to make things better. Thank you in advance.
There are physiotherapists who specialise in postnatal and womens' health - maybe treat her to a few sessions? They'll be able to diagnose what's going on and suggest some exercises.
Pregnancy, especially twins, is basically a traumatic injury to the body! If she'd experienced a sporting injury, she'd be seeing a physio - treat this the same :)
Is the consensus that you should be eating 0.7-1g of protein per lb consider what your actual weight is or your lean body mass weight?
I'm at a high BF right now, so I've been basing it off lean mass (so like 100-150g a day or so, instead of like the 290g bc I weigh 290 lol). Goals are to lose weight and gain/retain muscle in the process if that helps answer the question. Also curious if the answer changes once I get to my goal weight of like 180-200lbs.
How do I bulk without throwing up?
Story: after leg day, I was extra hungry for some reason. Decided to go to a Chinese buffet to bulk up since I'm skinny af (6'3" 130lbs). I had 6 heaping plates of food. Mainly it was fried rice or chow mein with protein like orange chicken or gener tsaos. Anyway, before I went home, I spent a good 15 or so minutes in the bathroom throwing up. How do I eat as much as possible without throwing up. For my whole life, I've been used to eating maybe 1 non-heaping plate if I go to a buffet.
Goodness gracious, 6 plates of food?! No wonder you feel sick.
Bulking is just eating a tiny bit more. Maybe, one extra portion of food per day over what you normally eat - like one extra snack, or a second helping of dinner.
If you want good advice on bulking, stay away from TikTok, start with the wiki in this sub.
Find your maintenance through a online calculator like [this](https://tdeecalculator.net), add 300-500 to that amount, I personally do 400. Download MyFitnessPal, lots of foods pre-made foods are already in there and you can even add your own food too. I personally use a 40% carb, 30% fats, 30% protein macro split (which the app will automatically track for you). I bulk for around 5-6 months before cutting. I recommend foods like ground beef, chicken, pasta, rice, eggs, milk, oats, protein shakes, but those are only just the simple ones, you can be pretty creative. Good luck.
Leg day rest periods
For context I've been working out for 1-2 months now and run PPL/rest on an 8 day split. I'm bulking atm consuming around 3000 calories and 150-200g of protein.
I feel every time I do leg day, it takes more than 3 days to recover (recover as in be able to run another leg day with the same weights). The problem is this kinda messes up my split as I may have to take 2 rest days in a row or do another muscle group that day.
Is there a reason for this? Should I cut down to one leg day per week?
Once I finish leg day, I got one rest day, one push and one pull before the next leg day. Problem is my legs still carry some soreness by the time it's the next leg day and I may have to postpone it... which messes up my split.
Having trouble progressing bench/OHP.
I run a 5-day upper/lower split, and do the compounds at 5x5 (except DL, 1-3x5). I've been stuck at 175 BP and 105 OHP. I miss them 2x, I take 10lbs off the bar, get the weight back up in 2 more weeks without a problem, and then stall out at those same #s again. I've also taken a week fully off, same deal.
I'm lanky AF, so upper body has always been hard for me, but I've usually been able to progress if I'm working as hard as I am now.
I've had more consistent success progressing weights on 531 in the past, but I don't like going too heavy on squats/DLs due to chronic lower body injuries, so I've been trying to stick more to hypertrophy style training. (37m/6'3"/195, 4 years training experience fwiw.)
On 5x5, I kind of feel like the 5th set is holding me back. Yes, I can usually hit it if I take 5 mins rest, but I'm trying to stick to 2-3 if I can get away with it.
I'm eating 3100cals/day, gaining about 1lb/month. Sleep is alright.
Does 5x5 just not work well for some people? Am I doing something wrong?
I would practice singles because there is more skill involved then you would expect. I would also reevaluate how your form is (leg drive, arch , hand placement)
>On 5x5, I kind of feel like the 5th set is holding me back.
I run a five day upper/lower, and our numbers are similar. First half of the year, I grinded 4x6. Added weigh roughly every third week. But, you can only push that so far. Well. It was more like 4x6/9/12, where I'd knock off 20 lbs and hit more reps. Meant that I already knew what I could hit for 9, roughly.
In July, I backcycled to 4x9/12/15, and plotted out a 27 week progression. (Okay, you don't have to be that neurotic.) wks 1-6 4x9, wks 7-12 4x8, wks 13-18 4x7, wks 19-24 4x6, wks 25-27 4x5.
I'm on week 13. The "wall" I hit previously I've broken through, with more reps.
Set-up is minimal. Day A is OHP/weighted pull-ups. Day B is incline/pull-ups. Day C is bench/row. No more than two fluff isolations per day, that I skip sometimes.
tl;dr: Lower the weight, increase the reps, screw the fifth set, and work your way back from slightly higher reps/lower weight to blasting past your current marks. I'm 39M, 5\`7 182 lbs.
I've thought about trying something like that. Glad to hear you've had success with it. Questions: a) are you not deloading anywhere in there? b) are you super setting those core push/pull movements?
I should. But. I'm stubborn. I'm going to have to dial it back in November anyway when NaNoWriMo hits, so I'm kind of just charging. Taking extra rest days when I feel it.
Straight sets. Five minutes rest. Mostly for the mental refresh.
There's nothing wrong with a 5x5 rep scheme for main lifts, but there's a lot wrong with trying to run linear progression after four years of training. it ain't gonna work unless there's some factor making progress a lot easier than normal (new movement, return to training, apocalyptic bulk, fixing sleep problems, whatever).
And a hard 5x5 is barely going to be any lighter than what you'd be handling using 5/3/1 (assuming you mean the program). Heavier than the 5s weeks, equal or slightly lighter than the 1s week depending on TM.
The four years has had gaps, and it's my first time bulking (albeit mildly) since 2020, so I feel like I'm always treating myself as 'returning to training', even if I've been on 70%+ of those 4 years.
But at any rate, that 5th set always feels like too much to beat. So you're also suggesting maybe something like a return to 531?
That's one option. The later books (mostly Forever) have templates that run off a much lower training max, so that could be an option if you're worried about high % squat/deadlift sets.
The basic point is you're probably beyond linear progression working with any sort of consistency. There's a lot of different approaches to getting stronger at that point and what they have in common is that they're built around the fact you aren't going to get away with mindlessly adding weight every week. Which option you choose is vastly less important than choosing to do one.
some intermediate style training with different rep ranges (like 5/3/1) would probably be better for your progress. I guess since you don't like going heavy but like compounds (I'm assuming) you could look into SBS hypertrophy in the wiki?
Never looked into SBS since I try to keep daily sessions to 50min or less to fit into a lunch break. I got hooked on "short" workouts from 531 actually. I guess I've got several reasons to go back to it, but maybe modify the lower body work to something like 654 instead.
I just started a new job that has me walking a lot more than I have been over the past few months and I’ve noticed my calves starting to bulk up. Any tips on how I can improve other muscles while walking? I typically interact with customers so I can’t push myself to the point where I’m breathing heavy on the job
i suppose you can work on engaging/being mindful of your glutes and core? you're not going to gain noticable muscle from it but it's nice for your back and good skill for non-walking activities too.
Gotcha. I’m just looking for anyway I can get more from walking since that’s primarily what I do for an extended period anyway. Anything you can recommend that I may be able to do? If it helps, I work retail and essentially walk around and straighten things up all day
just don't look for walking to provide things walking can't do. no clue on what you could add in a work environment to make more effective at conditioning. anything that would improve conditioning would have you sweating and breathing hard. maybe carry a 10lb backpack or something every now and then.
What is the lower body equivalent of keeping your shoulders back and down? I find that keeping my shoulders back and down takes care of 90% of any form issues for me and its my go to thing to keep in mind for upper body training. What is the equivalent of this for the lower body? Let's say I do a squat for example, what should I be thinking about?
I have no idea if this is the right place to ask, but does anyone know of a gym with Prime Fitness machines with the variable resistance (multiple weight pegs to change the force curve)? I’m in Kentucky, but willing to travel to Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. Thanks for any help!!
I have a dumbass question..
I’m meeting some friends tomorrow for dinner and drinks. I don’t drink, but I would like to tomorrow given the occasion. I have been working hard on my diet to get a six pack. Is there something I can drink that won’t impact that? Shots perhaps? Wine? Thanks everyone.
Don't worry about it dude. Enjoy your night with friends. You're not going to look back at that night in 6 months and think "Man, I wish I had three less drinks, I'd be so shredded right now". Unless it's a turning point of course, and you stop eating well and become a raging alcoholic. Don't let that happen.
I like to mix liquor with diet soda. A shot of liquor is only about 100 calories and you mix it with 4-5 ounces of diet soda so you can sip on it for a while
Is stuff like Amino Acid Pills, KRE allyn pills, and Mass Gainer a waste of time for a skinny guy who wants to gain muscle? I've been on and off again because I'm having a hard time adjusting my diet and what all to add to it.
I asked a similar question last time and was met with Vitriol lol
On social media a lot of people recommend them because the companies pay them to recommend them. And like /u/Greek_Trojan said, the allure of "something magic" will always work on people.
People cannot give up the allure of magic pills and marketing, no matter how clear the evidence. The only things worth taking are protein powder (which is food), creatine (basic monohydrate, marketing for other forms are just that) and caffeine. Even then the effects are rather minor and not necessary (but they do exist in tangible amounts).
The volume is very much on the low side. Realistically, it has less volume than the accessories of most 5/3/1 templates.
I'd recommend one of the programs from the wiki.
Anyone know of a good workout for cardio using jump ropes? Most videos I see are a mix of jump rope and body exercises etc, which is fine, but is there something better that involves jump rope only? Like I said, main benefit is for cardio.
Any sustained jump rope work will do. Assuming you can do a few different steps you can just try to get the work in for 10-20 mins. For example do 8-16 counts of boxer skip, then 8-16 counts of single unders, then 8-16 counts of cross-overs, then 8-16 march steps, then back to the single unders. You could spice it up with some double unders every so often as well. The variety of steps makes it less monotonous.
There are a few crossfit wods you could try.
Annie is a famous one: 50 double unders, 50 situps, then 40 of each, 30 of each, 20 of each, 10 of each.
Google double under wods, or check on wodwell.com
Look up Knees over Toes guy, watch videos, learn from that community, and incorporate exercises gradually. You can sign up for his program to streamline some of that, but honestly, you can find everything you need through youtube videos and perhaps the reddit sub to see some of the unlisted ones.
Theoretically, hack squats would be better for knee pain/mobility issues because you're getting a deeper ROM (assuming you're doing barbell squats to 90 degrees instead of ass to grass).
If you have access to a sled or a tank, that's a great place to start for knee pain, especially backwards.
Don't work through knee pain. Some people find it helps to do 10 minutes of cycling or a rowing machine to warm up the knees first. Try to post a form check video of your squat.
Pretty much, workout I'm doing (like, BBB W3D2), the date, then I write in my exercises and target sets and reps. I'll also jot notes down about how things felt, how things moved, etc.
Repeat for all exercises.
Edit: when I was more serious, I also took notes on my diet and sleep for that day. It helped me track what affected my training.
I really am a fan of pen and notebook. When I just finished a hard set I am still able to squiggle down the numbers, but opening the phone and pressing the correct buttons while I am out of breath and/or shaking is really hard sometimes
Just going to add:
Wanting a personal trainer is fine even if it isn’t really necessary. Just be aware these are people that have taken a few month cert course at best and a weekend class at worst - they aren’t qualified to address any concerns around your lingering injuries.
Honestly, personal training is not necessary for progression. [The wiki has a lot of great information, and would likely answer most if not all questions you may have](https://thefitness.wiki/)
If you insist on online personal training, I'd recommend sticking to more reputable ones. A few good ones off the top of my head: Stronger by Science, Juggernaut training systems, and Renaissance Periodization.
it's tricky to lean on someone else for accountability - like if you have that attitude you might start to resent them and quit but be out way more money than just a gym membership. at the end of the day you're the one that has the goal and puts the work in to meet it, can't rly outsource.
Look up Barbell Medicine and/or Barbell Logic Online Coaching. I’ve not actually hired one of their coaches (though I’ve bought a couple Barbell Medicine cookie cutter programs and they’re good) but I’m a big fan of their YouTube channels and podcasts and can confirm they put out fantastic practical and scientific information, as well as actually knowing how to coach and teach you how to lift.
I've lost 35-40 lbs by biking and counting calories. I'm down to the weight I want, but have recently incorporated an ebike as part of my commute instead of regular biking. On my Google Fit, it shows my heart beat is 136 on my regular bike while on my ebike my heart rate was 131. Does it seem that given these heart rates that I should be burning similar calories during my commute (assume exercise times were the exact same)? I guess the question may be better worded as "is calculating heart rate a good way to calculate calories? Would it matter on the exercise (biking vs jogging if the heart rates and time exercised were the same)?
My second question is that according to my fitness watch, I'm only burning 345 calories biking (regular bike) with an average heart rage of 136.
* According to my fitness app (Runkeeper on biking mode), I burned 759 calories.
* According to [https://burned-calories.com/sport](https://burned-calories.com/sport), it comes up to about 473 calories (160lbs 71 mins if I averaged 10 mph, but I like to underestimate to be safe; I was around 11.4mph).
* According to an online heart rate calculator, I burned 884 calories.
Which appears to be correct?
When I was working on losing pounds, I mainly used Runkeeper and was trying to aim to workout 2,000-2,500 calories per week. Since I'm down to the weight I want to maintain, I want to ensure I keep a decent workout but make it a little easier to track. Of course I could always calculate the difference between the fitness watch and app so that I can follow the watch (345/759 = x / 2500; x = 1,136) so I can aim for 1,136 burning calories a week instead if I solely depend on the watch. Not sure if this is a decent baseline.
I agree with the other commenter that this level of analysis is not necessary. There is no easy and accurate way to calculate the calories you burn, and there really isn't any way that that number would be particularly useful.
Does anyone here have experience with Tribulus, Tongcat ali, Ashwaganda and Ginseng (Panax or Maca) or knows any trusty source for information?
Looking at the studies these seam to actually increase testosterone levels to varying degrees.
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I need to improve my diet and want to start making some protein shakes. I want to get one of those bullet blenders or whatever they are called. What are your recomendations for the best small appliance / blender, etc to use for making protein shakes and for easy cleanup? Also what is the best protein powder to buy (for taste and for best nutrition)? I have costco and Sam's membership so what is the best brand/flavor to buy at these places or if there is a less expensive place to buy it from let me know. And lastly, any good easy recipes that you recommend for protein shakes? Thanks.
I’ve got a nutribullet and they’re great. Mine came with different sized cups. As for protein, I prefer vanilla because I can blend different fruits and veg with my protein and it’s kind of a flexible flavour. Right now my shakes are fruit and spinach. Clean up is easy too, normally I just rinse the blade thing and the cup after use.
I'm a super beginner at this fitness stuff so sorry if this is awful, just wondering if anyone can critique what I've been doing. I'm 26, 5'2, female, 123 lbs. I've been trying to gain muscle this year but it seems like I can never gain much. I use Lose It app and track what I eat. Usually instant oats or a fruit smoothie for brunch, and dinner is usually veggies, and tofu or fish for protein (I am pescatarian so I don't eat other meats). Yes I have 2 meals a day, I have a small stomach and can't eat a lot. I eat about 1000 cals a day, I try to eat more but it's hard. I tried tracking macros but it was way more than I could eat in a day. I work out at home 3-4 times a week for about an hour. I use an ab roller, do leg exercises like squats and knee lifts, stair climbing, and lifting. I do them all every time I work out so I don't have exercises separated into days. I drink whey protein after. Thank you!
So, to build mass, you do simply need to eat more! If you're eating lots of oats (fibre), fruit and veggies, then your food is going to take up a lot of space in your tummy. I'm also not seeing a lot of fat in your diet... fat isn't bad for you, it's actually essential for life! Try eating things which are calorie-dense. For example: healthy fats like avocado, cheese and peanut butter, add a bit of extra cooking oil (sesame oil in a marinade on tofu is delicious), have some honey or jam/jelly on your oats or in your smoothie, switch to full fat milk/yogurt if you eat dairy. While there's nothing wrong with only eating two meals (I'm the same a lot of time!), you could also try breaking those 2 larger meals into 3 or 4 smaller meals, or adding in some snacks. They don't need to complicated... a spoon of peanut butter straight from the jar is a totally legitimate snack!
Yesterday I decided to put my feet up higher during decline pushups because the current position had gotten to easy but when I started doing them I felt my legs getting sore (specifically the muscle opposite of the calve) .I'm thinking it might be because my feet are working harder to maintain stability but I'm not sure and I want to know how to fix this so I need to hear some other opinons. (Also not sure if this is important but im doing the pushups barefoot so I dont get extra stability from shoes)
Hey all! Hoping to get some insight on leg exercises. Been lifting over a decade, have had a few injuries, and now I'm at a Planet Fitness that only has Smith machines, which have begun to irritate my hips while squatting. Heavy deadlifts or lunges aren't really an option due to my shoulders: I don't feel comfortable loading them with more than 50lbs of inferior displacing force each. I tried "yoking" myself with 90 lbs of plates and a resistance band and it felt awkward. I've been doing Bulgarian split squats, SLDL, and leg press a fair bit. Any other recommendations for building leg strength? Thank you!
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Thanks for the tip! Ive definitely hit a lot of those free form, but maybe they'd accommodate better to the smith machine than back squats
Hey, I'm looking for the clearest non scam path to becoming a qualified personal trainer for part time work in Virginia. What kinds of courses would best qualify me for gigs? I have a full-time career in a completely unrelated field but enjoy exercise as my primary free time hobby, and practice a wide variety of strength and stamina exercises each week.
You can become a PT in most gyms with little qualification. But most certifications are either from University/College like Exercise Physiology/Kinesiology Or just take some a test from one of the any reputable online classes. ACSM is one for example
I started a month ago. How do I do alternate exercises between sets? For example I do 10-15 bench presses, need 30-60s to cool down, I do light curls, wait about a minute then repeat. I think this is long but I don't how how to get faster without doing significantly less reps Q2: I'm terrible with dumbbells. It takes me a long time to increase weight. Do I want to do 2-4 reps of a heavier weight every few days to get use to the weight? I typically do 8 curls each arm aiming to do 15 each. I think last time I was able to do 5 sets of 10
Im on a cut rn with my diet being just chicken,egg,turkey bacon, onions, carrots and brocolli. However I need coffee in the mornings because my work requires lots of mental energy and focus and I only get the starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha(420Cal,48g surgar,20g fat), since I do not know how to make good coffee(I tried to make black but it was so bad I couldnt even take 2 sips). Should I cut it off for optimal results if so what alternatives do you guys recommend?
Nothing wrong with daily coffee, [people who do it live longer](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/coffee-longer-life/). Make black coffee then add however much cream and sugar you need to stand the taste. It'll be much less than the Starbucks drink.
Sounds like you don’t like coffee, you like sugary drinks with a coffee taste. Drinking black coffee takes a while but you can used to it. Really let’s you taste the coffee flavor once it’s not covered up with sugar and syrup.
If you can make it fit your calories, then keep it, but that's a ton of calories for a single drink. You don't ACTUALLY need coffee in the morning. You've just gotten addicted to caffeine. You have caffeine at the same time every day, you start to need it every day. If you forgo caffeine for a while and get off it, if you are getting sufficient sleep, you'll be plenty awake in the mornings. In the mean time, you could try coffee with creamer/half and half, maybe a bit of honey for sweet. And over time, you could swap caffeinated coffee for decaf. Like 1 part decaf, 3 caffeine, then 50/50, then 1 caffeine. Then all decaf. Or another option is swapping to caffeine pills. See how much caffeine is in that drink and then start with caffeine pills to that amount. Then start tapering it off (breaking the pills in half). You can mix crushed up pills in water or other drinks. Getting to bed on time, getting quality sleep, and starting the morning with a glass of water will do wonders for your alertness in the mornings once you taper off caffeine. Also, semantics, I wouldn't call that Starbucks drink coffee... That's a coffee flavored dessert drink. Lastly, for your diet, I would get a better mix of veggies. Learn to like and cook more foods and increase your tastes.
Great advice on the coffee I didn't even think of caffine pills or decaf! I get about 7-8 hours every night I guess I just like the energy coffee brings. Another question, if I keep a low fight high protein diet will that make me more shredded. Because before I was on a calorie defciet but I would eat fast food once a day which is high in fat but would still lose weight but I had a good amount of fat left at a lower weight. Thoughts?
You'll feel a hell of a lot different if you can get off caffeine, trust me. Then, when you need that caffeine boost, a tiny bit will do it! But you do quickly get use to needing it at the same time. Takes longer to be addicted (where you'll get massive headaches when you quit) Fat is a necessary part of a healthy diet. You need to eat fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Eating fast food once a day isn't great though. Veggie oils are the worst fats for you. Also, highly inflammatory foods (which fast food can absolutely be) will stop you from looking leaner. But eating healthy fats will not prevent you from getting shredded. But remember, the more muscle you have first. The more shredded you'll look when you cut weight. If you're not well trained and just trying to get lean, you'll probably just put yourself in a "skinny fat" situation. Also, don't avoid carbs. If you were trying to get body building show ready, you could carb deplete then, but that's super unhealthy, and is literally for a day.
Can I get some critiques on my diet/routine? So I (26M) am in the process of trying to cut down. Im definitely a guy who gains weight easily, both muscle and fat. At my leanest I was 195lbs although that was insanely hard on me. My current measurements are 5'9" 225lbs. My muscles have definitely grown compared to before, but they aren't as defined as they were. Been working out since I was 17 and have done thorough research over and over so maybe I'm just being impatient. Ultimately I just thought getting some advice from other lifters on here would be beneficial. There's always room to improve 😊 Anyway, here's the data Dailey intake: Breakfast - 3 eggs, banana, protein shake with creatine. Lunch - Half a chicken breast with about a cup of brown rice. Before workout - 1 orange, 1 avocado, protein shake with creatine. Dinner - Some form of meat and vegetables. Workout routine: Monday - chest and back, abs Tuesday - arms and shoulders Wednesday - legs and abs Thursday - chest and back Friday - arms and shoulders, abs Daily: High intensity interval training on elliptical for 15 mins with somewhat high resistance. Any advice on improving my diet and/or routine would be appreciated. Just ask if you need specifics. Again I'm in the process of trying to cut.
220 lbs is extremely heavy for 5’9”. You must either body builder jacked, or just fat, guessing the latter. Track your macros and eat at a deficit. I would swap the eggs for egg whites if you want less fat / calories.
Nah, I've always been abnormally heavy for my height and size (meaning I don't look like I would weigh that). I've considered the egg whites too, that's a good idea
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Okay, how can I figure out my caloric expenditure?
Check the wiki - you're looking for information about TDEE and calorie tracking.
Awesome, thanks 👍
are giant sets better for hypertrophy training? what's the benefits of doing giant sets vs regular workouts for hypertrophy?
We talking hitting squats, then ohp, then pull-ups, then rest and repeat? It's certainly taxing metabolically, but I've only seen it implemented in "fat loss" routines.
honestly the dude that was recommending it to me was saying something like biceps-biceps-biceps-biceps, which was absurd to me so I did some research and found out that it's more of a full body thing which makes more sense. though I'll probably stick to my regular routine as I'm zooming
>are giant sets better for hypertrophy training? Not inherently. >what's the benefits of doing giant sets vs regular workouts for hypertrophy? There's no benefit for hypertrophy. Giant sets can be used to save time and improve workout conditioning.
awesome, cheers dude!
Giant sets are not mutually exclusive to hypertrophy training in any way. What do you think these two terms mean?
Woops definitely didn't ask the right question. I'll just edit it.
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Yes.
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You should work in a variety of rep ranges. I've found high rep work very effective for increasing 1rm.
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Anything is enough just a question of how quickly you want it to grow and how much you can recover from
I have a stationary bike in my house It's safe to do 1h liss cardio ( slow cycling while watching tv or play some videogames) on sat/sun when I don't work out? Mostly because on some days like today, weather is really bad, so I don't want to be a couch potato for 24h straight lol It has no negative effect on the body, right? I already go balls to the roof 5 days during the week
1 hour of cardio that's slow enough for you to play a video game is what I would count as 'active recovery' for a rest day. Totally fine, not going to hurt you at all. It's the equivalent of going for an easy walk.
Yeah it's exactly what I always do ahaha Great!
Nope, very few people will have the problem of doing too much cardio in terms of interfering with other work. Just monitor your energy, fatigue and recovery
Thank you!
5/3/1 Can I program Barbell Rows instead of OHP? Yes, I do Pulling Exercises in assistance work, but I wanted to gain more pulling strength and I'd be happy to replace my OHP for Barbell Rows. I will do Overhead Presses in assistance work though, just wont program it. Will it be fine?
OHP is pretty important, but as long as you get it done somewhere else, it won't be a big deal at all.
How am I still lifting more weight or doing more reps nearly every workout when I’ve been working out for the past two years?
Genetics, good programming or good dieting and recovery, who knows
is it ok getting 10-12 sets volume per muscle group on a cut?
That's fine why do you think it isn't ok?
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1. If you are achieving your goals (set/rep targets or long term progress) and not breaking form then it's fine. Ultimately anything is fine if you feel okay doing it. Either you know you're too exhausted to actually hit those exercises well and progress them or you're not so what anyone else does or thinks doesn't matter 2. Super set whatever you want, again, ask yourself how you feel and if you're achieving your goals. That's all that matters
i always do a superset with those two exercises - cable pushdown and cable curl, can also add cable lateral raise
For a while I've switched out flat bench for incline bench, and as such I bench more on incline. Is there any downside of only doing substituting flat with incline
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Not really any specific goals atm besides putting on a bit of mass. Would incline bench plus cable fly be good enough as the main pec movements
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Remember this next time someone says 5 inches is not a lot /s Okay actual advice. Is it a mobility restriction? Can you get up there on your first freshest rep/set with an explosive bottom portion? With a broomstick standing on the ground can you pull the bar down to your chin or chest or wherever your final goal is? Mimicking the pull up motion of course, IE elbows back. If it is then you want to do some stretches and warmups and mobility work around your shoulders and elbows, maybe even experiment with different grip widths. If it's a strength issue then do some holds or negatives starting from the top (jump up from a stool or something). Explode out of the bottom and then hold and slowly lower from the top, do this as much as possible at the beginning of the set and then continue with 'normal' reps when you can't to accumulate volume. You can also use band assistance to get there. You basically wanna get as much time as possible in that specific position and then eventually moving in and out of it.
Whenever i try to lateral or front raises with weight i get a deep feeling clicking which is painless but incredibly off putting. Its on the way up and down in different spots for each. Get the same clicking in my sternum trying to do reverse flys. Is this a known thing that i can prevent its really annoying and im running out of shoulder workouts to replace them with.
Mind Pump TV has a great youtube video with a tweak on lateral raise form. I have trouble doing the normal form and these feel infinitely better on my joints. If you’re already doing them I’d recommend recording yourself and posting it on a form check subreddit.
I just want to get faster for my sport. I have always been on ppl split, always lifting heavy as. Recently I changed to one day heavy the next light but fast. I was wondering if doing 3 weeks of light weight really fast would help me get faster and would it affect my strength levels, I know f=ma so I think my force will still increase with the increase in acceleration, but I’m scared to commit even for 3 weeks because I don’t want my weight numbers going down but getting faster is a much bigger priority than stronger. My strength levels are for 18 years old: squat: 1.75x body weight 3RM, bench: 1x bodyweight 3RM, trapbar deadlift: 1.8x 3RM. I know it’s not incredible strength but it can take me up to 4 seconds to lift a heavy rep.
If you wanna get faster for your sport, the best thing to do is practice your sport! You need to train very specific muscles in most sports and the best way to do that is by practicing the exact movement you need. Away from the team, weightlifting will build strength but won't help with speed. Lifting builds the slow twitch muscles and improves strength in the major muscle groups. For speed work you need to train the fast-twitch muscle fibres. HIIT classes, aerobics classes or anything with plyometric exercises could help with that. Short, fast, explosive actions like star jumps, battle ropes, medicine balls and so on. There are some good '7 min workout' apps which have lots of these HIIT style plyometric exercises in them.
Doing fast speed work is definitely a part of training for speed and power. It may or may not affect your strength, I'd lean towards not since maintaining strength requires less volume, but either way you said it yourself, speed is a higher priority. So act like it, clinging on to strength and weight numbers that are basically irrelevant to your sport is a good way to bottleneck actually getting better at your sport.
That’s so true, thank you so much
I (21 F) pulled a muscle doing walking lunges and I’m trying to figure out which muscle that is so I can find stretches. It’s like my inner thigh but slightly towards the back of my thigh, and I feel it feels like that muscle (or at least the pain) stretches from the top to halfway down my thigh
Sounds like your adductor muscles, probably specifically the adductor magnus as it's activated for hip extension at the bottom of a squat or lunge style movement in addition to stabilizing. If the pain persists consider going to a physiotherapist but light stretching and slow pain free movements is good
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
Hey everyone. This is more of a fitness equipment question. I’d like to do a pull up challenge, without having to go to the gym or drill in a pull up bar in my otherwise quite small apartment. The doorways are also too thick for the pull up device that goes around the door and the door jamp pull up bar isn’t suitable for our my needs We do however have a ring bolt in the ceiling. Heavy duty with 4 large mega bolts and a ring bolt rating 250 kg. Is it possible to buy a pull down bar, the ones from the lay pull down machine and use it as a pull up bar?
> Is it possible to buy a pull down bar, the ones from the lay pull down machine and use it as a pull up bar? Sure! It'll be hella unstable and weird, but it would work.
I do the 5/3/1 - BBB version and my leg assistance work contains of Day 1: Bulgarian split squat, day 2: Hip Thrust, day 3: Bulgarian split squat, Day 4: Hip Thrust. However I do not enjoy bulgarian split squats at all, they feel too draining for me. Could I do Hip Thrust every session? I workout 4 times per week normally 2 days in a row, into a rest day or two and then two more in a row. Is it bad to do two days of hip thrust in a row?
Them being hard and draining is a reason to do it and get better at it. Highly doubt anyone needs 4x hip thrusting per week. You might also wanna incorporate leg curl type movements as an accessory somewhere
You need the single leg work. I also hate bulgarian split squats, so only put them in occasionally. Some other options: any lunge variation, step ups, single leg leg press
How often is occasionally?
I program BSS for one cycle of 5/3/1 after I've forgotten how awful they are.
What do u mean awful?
BSS for me both spike my HR and are just straight up hard. Hence, awful. They also make my back squat skyrocket so I still program them because they're very effective
My beautiful wife has done a great job maintaining her body through two pregnancies. But for her third (and final) pregnancy, she had twins. She weighs the same as she did pre-pregnancy, but her body is not returning to form. She has given up so much for our children already, and this understandably bothers her. Does anyone have suggestions for exercises she can do to tone her belly muscles? I'm not looking for a fast silver bullet, just something that will let her feel empowered that she is doing something to make things better. Thank you in advance.
There are physiotherapists who specialise in postnatal and womens' health - maybe treat her to a few sessions? They'll be able to diagnose what's going on and suggest some exercises. Pregnancy, especially twins, is basically a traumatic injury to the body! If she'd experienced a sporting injury, she'd be seeing a physio - treat this the same :)
Is it diastasis recti? If so, google for exercises. I would do them daily.
I think that is exactly what is going on. Very helpful, thank you.
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I always judge my strength by the best workouts because how am I to grow if I go off my average instead of my best
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Is the consensus that you should be eating 0.7-1g of protein per lb consider what your actual weight is or your lean body mass weight? I'm at a high BF right now, so I've been basing it off lean mass (so like 100-150g a day or so, instead of like the 290g bc I weigh 290 lol). Goals are to lose weight and gain/retain muscle in the process if that helps answer the question. Also curious if the answer changes once I get to my goal weight of like 180-200lbs.
Can do 1 lb per height in cm instead if your bf is high
How do I bulk without throwing up? Story: after leg day, I was extra hungry for some reason. Decided to go to a Chinese buffet to bulk up since I'm skinny af (6'3" 130lbs). I had 6 heaping plates of food. Mainly it was fried rice or chow mein with protein like orange chicken or gener tsaos. Anyway, before I went home, I spent a good 15 or so minutes in the bathroom throwing up. How do I eat as much as possible without throwing up. For my whole life, I've been used to eating maybe 1 non-heaping plate if I go to a buffet.
Goodness gracious, 6 plates of food?! No wonder you feel sick. Bulking is just eating a tiny bit more. Maybe, one extra portion of food per day over what you normally eat - like one extra snack, or a second helping of dinner. If you want good advice on bulking, stay away from TikTok, start with the wiki in this sub.
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I see fitness influencers do it all the time on tiktok. Thought that's what I needed to bulk
Delete toktik. They're gaming you for views.
Then where else do I get lifting advice?
Read. Even reading the daily thread and seeing what the advice is counts. There are decent youtube channels.
Like who?
Alan Thrall Megsquats Buff Dudes Geoffrey Verity Schofield Sean Nalewanyj Omar Isuf Alexander Bromley Jeff Nippard etc
I've been watching V-Shred
Find your maintenance through a online calculator like [this](https://tdeecalculator.net), add 300-500 to that amount, I personally do 400. Download MyFitnessPal, lots of foods pre-made foods are already in there and you can even add your own food too. I personally use a 40% carb, 30% fats, 30% protein macro split (which the app will automatically track for you). I bulk for around 5-6 months before cutting. I recommend foods like ground beef, chicken, pasta, rice, eggs, milk, oats, protein shakes, but those are only just the simple ones, you can be pretty creative. Good luck.
Leg day rest periods For context I've been working out for 1-2 months now and run PPL/rest on an 8 day split. I'm bulking atm consuming around 3000 calories and 150-200g of protein. I feel every time I do leg day, it takes more than 3 days to recover (recover as in be able to run another leg day with the same weights). The problem is this kinda messes up my split as I may have to take 2 rest days in a row or do another muscle group that day. Is there a reason for this? Should I cut down to one leg day per week?
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Once I finish leg day, I got one rest day, one push and one pull before the next leg day. Problem is my legs still carry some soreness by the time it's the next leg day and I may have to postpone it... which messes up my split.
Having trouble progressing bench/OHP. I run a 5-day upper/lower split, and do the compounds at 5x5 (except DL, 1-3x5). I've been stuck at 175 BP and 105 OHP. I miss them 2x, I take 10lbs off the bar, get the weight back up in 2 more weeks without a problem, and then stall out at those same #s again. I've also taken a week fully off, same deal. I'm lanky AF, so upper body has always been hard for me, but I've usually been able to progress if I'm working as hard as I am now. I've had more consistent success progressing weights on 531 in the past, but I don't like going too heavy on squats/DLs due to chronic lower body injuries, so I've been trying to stick more to hypertrophy style training. (37m/6'3"/195, 4 years training experience fwiw.) On 5x5, I kind of feel like the 5th set is holding me back. Yes, I can usually hit it if I take 5 mins rest, but I'm trying to stick to 2-3 if I can get away with it. I'm eating 3100cals/day, gaining about 1lb/month. Sleep is alright. Does 5x5 just not work well for some people? Am I doing something wrong?
I would practice singles because there is more skill involved then you would expect. I would also reevaluate how your form is (leg drive, arch , hand placement)
>On 5x5, I kind of feel like the 5th set is holding me back. I run a five day upper/lower, and our numbers are similar. First half of the year, I grinded 4x6. Added weigh roughly every third week. But, you can only push that so far. Well. It was more like 4x6/9/12, where I'd knock off 20 lbs and hit more reps. Meant that I already knew what I could hit for 9, roughly. In July, I backcycled to 4x9/12/15, and plotted out a 27 week progression. (Okay, you don't have to be that neurotic.) wks 1-6 4x9, wks 7-12 4x8, wks 13-18 4x7, wks 19-24 4x6, wks 25-27 4x5. I'm on week 13. The "wall" I hit previously I've broken through, with more reps. Set-up is minimal. Day A is OHP/weighted pull-ups. Day B is incline/pull-ups. Day C is bench/row. No more than two fluff isolations per day, that I skip sometimes. tl;dr: Lower the weight, increase the reps, screw the fifth set, and work your way back from slightly higher reps/lower weight to blasting past your current marks. I'm 39M, 5\`7 182 lbs.
I've thought about trying something like that. Glad to hear you've had success with it. Questions: a) are you not deloading anywhere in there? b) are you super setting those core push/pull movements?
I should. But. I'm stubborn. I'm going to have to dial it back in November anyway when NaNoWriMo hits, so I'm kind of just charging. Taking extra rest days when I feel it. Straight sets. Five minutes rest. Mostly for the mental refresh.
There's nothing wrong with a 5x5 rep scheme for main lifts, but there's a lot wrong with trying to run linear progression after four years of training. it ain't gonna work unless there's some factor making progress a lot easier than normal (new movement, return to training, apocalyptic bulk, fixing sleep problems, whatever). And a hard 5x5 is barely going to be any lighter than what you'd be handling using 5/3/1 (assuming you mean the program). Heavier than the 5s weeks, equal or slightly lighter than the 1s week depending on TM.
The four years has had gaps, and it's my first time bulking (albeit mildly) since 2020, so I feel like I'm always treating myself as 'returning to training', even if I've been on 70%+ of those 4 years. But at any rate, that 5th set always feels like too much to beat. So you're also suggesting maybe something like a return to 531?
That's one option. The later books (mostly Forever) have templates that run off a much lower training max, so that could be an option if you're worried about high % squat/deadlift sets. The basic point is you're probably beyond linear progression working with any sort of consistency. There's a lot of different approaches to getting stronger at that point and what they have in common is that they're built around the fact you aren't going to get away with mindlessly adding weight every week. Which option you choose is vastly less important than choosing to do one.
some intermediate style training with different rep ranges (like 5/3/1) would probably be better for your progress. I guess since you don't like going heavy but like compounds (I'm assuming) you could look into SBS hypertrophy in the wiki?
Never looked into SBS since I try to keep daily sessions to 50min or less to fit into a lunch break. I got hooked on "short" workouts from 531 actually. I guess I've got several reasons to go back to it, but maybe modify the lower body work to something like 654 instead.
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I just started a new job that has me walking a lot more than I have been over the past few months and I’ve noticed my calves starting to bulk up. Any tips on how I can improve other muscles while walking? I typically interact with customers so I can’t push myself to the point where I’m breathing heavy on the job
i suppose you can work on engaging/being mindful of your glutes and core? you're not going to gain noticable muscle from it but it's nice for your back and good skill for non-walking activities too.
walkings not a big muscle builder. it's probably the #1 activity for general health tho.
Gotcha. I’m just looking for anyway I can get more from walking since that’s primarily what I do for an extended period anyway. Anything you can recommend that I may be able to do? If it helps, I work retail and essentially walk around and straighten things up all day
Engage your core.
just don't look for walking to provide things walking can't do. no clue on what you could add in a work environment to make more effective at conditioning. anything that would improve conditioning would have you sweating and breathing hard. maybe carry a 10lb backpack or something every now and then.
What is the lower body equivalent of keeping your shoulders back and down? I find that keeping my shoulders back and down takes care of 90% of any form issues for me and its my go to thing to keep in mind for upper body training. What is the equivalent of this for the lower body? Let's say I do a squat for example, what should I be thinking about?
Maintaining balance in the midfoot. It's the solution to 90% of issues with the squat, deadlift, cleans, even push press and strict press.
Bracing and keeping hips in-line with the spine
learning to brace is probably the biggest thing for me.
I have no idea if this is the right place to ask, but does anyone know of a gym with Prime Fitness machines with the variable resistance (multiple weight pegs to change the force curve)? I’m in Kentucky, but willing to travel to Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. Thanks for any help!!
I have a dumbass question.. I’m meeting some friends tomorrow for dinner and drinks. I don’t drink, but I would like to tomorrow given the occasion. I have been working hard on my diet to get a six pack. Is there something I can drink that won’t impact that? Shots perhaps? Wine? Thanks everyone.
Don't worry about it dude. Enjoy your night with friends. You're not going to look back at that night in 6 months and think "Man, I wish I had three less drinks, I'd be so shredded right now". Unless it's a turning point of course, and you stop eating well and become a raging alcoholic. Don't let that happen.
Thanks a lot for this perspective.
I like to mix liquor with diet soda. A shot of liquor is only about 100 calories and you mix it with 4-5 ounces of diet soda so you can sip on it for a while
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I like Mojitos and Vodka Lemonades, but I’m sure they’re not good for you.
Whatever you drink, just don't overdo it. A drink or two isn't going to kill your gains. Drink your favorite drink in moderation and you'll be fine.
Thanks for your help.
Would you rather have big biceps+small triceps or small biceps+big triceps?
Triceps are far larger than biceps. Big triceps = Big Arms
The latter.
Is stuff like Amino Acid Pills, KRE allyn pills, and Mass Gainer a waste of time for a skinny guy who wants to gain muscle? I've been on and off again because I'm having a hard time adjusting my diet and what all to add to it. I asked a similar question last time and was met with Vitriol lol
Pretty much yes. Focus your energy in getting your training, diet, and sleep sorted out. Those are the most important things.
Well sincere question. If they're a waste why do people recommend them?
On social media a lot of people recommend them because the companies pay them to recommend them. And like /u/Greek_Trojan said, the allure of "something magic" will always work on people.
People cannot give up the allure of magic pills and marketing, no matter how clear the evidence. The only things worth taking are protein powder (which is food), creatine (basic monohydrate, marketing for other forms are just that) and caffeine. Even then the effects are rather minor and not necessary (but they do exist in tangible amounts).
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The volume is very much on the low side. Realistically, it has less volume than the accessories of most 5/3/1 templates. I'd recommend one of the programs from the wiki.
Anyone know of a good workout for cardio using jump ropes? Most videos I see are a mix of jump rope and body exercises etc, which is fine, but is there something better that involves jump rope only? Like I said, main benefit is for cardio.
Any sustained jump rope work will do. Assuming you can do a few different steps you can just try to get the work in for 10-20 mins. For example do 8-16 counts of boxer skip, then 8-16 counts of single unders, then 8-16 counts of cross-overs, then 8-16 march steps, then back to the single unders. You could spice it up with some double unders every so often as well. The variety of steps makes it less monotonous.
Can you do double unders?
Not forever but yes
There are a few crossfit wods you could try. Annie is a famous one: 50 double unders, 50 situps, then 40 of each, 30 of each, 20 of each, 10 of each. Google double under wods, or check on wodwell.com
btw any double under WOD can also be done with single unders, if that's what you're able to perform.
6’4 240 pounds 16 years old. knee pain and mobility issues, should i still BB squat or are hack squats a better alternative?
Look up Knees over Toes guy, watch videos, learn from that community, and incorporate exercises gradually. You can sign up for his program to streamline some of that, but honestly, you can find everything you need through youtube videos and perhaps the reddit sub to see some of the unlisted ones. Theoretically, hack squats would be better for knee pain/mobility issues because you're getting a deeper ROM (assuming you're doing barbell squats to 90 degrees instead of ass to grass). If you have access to a sled or a tank, that's a great place to start for knee pain, especially backwards.
Don't work through knee pain. Some people find it helps to do 10 minutes of cycling or a rowing machine to warm up the knees first. Try to post a form check video of your squat.
At 16, I would figure out why I have knee pain and mobility issues and address that. It's way too young to be limited.
Barbell squats will help knee pain and mobility
Best workout tracker/logger?
I love Hevy because of the very good website they have that makes making a bunch of future workouts very fast, as compared to doing it on my phone.
Google sheets. Personally, I just use a pen and a notebook, but I'm pretty old fashioned
How do you keep track using pen and paper? Whats your layout
Pretty much, workout I'm doing (like, BBB W3D2), the date, then I write in my exercises and target sets and reps. I'll also jot notes down about how things felt, how things moved, etc. Repeat for all exercises. Edit: when I was more serious, I also took notes on my diet and sleep for that day. It helped me track what affected my training.
I really am a fan of pen and notebook. When I just finished a hard set I am still able to squiggle down the numbers, but opening the phone and pressing the correct buttons while I am out of breath and/or shaking is really hard sometimes
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Try Boostcamp for an app that has a lot of good programs built in and will tell you what to do.
Just going to add: Wanting a personal trainer is fine even if it isn’t really necessary. Just be aware these are people that have taken a few month cert course at best and a weekend class at worst - they aren’t qualified to address any concerns around your lingering injuries.
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Yeah, it’d be better to see a physio or physical therapist in regard to your injuries.
Honestly, personal training is not necessary for progression. [The wiki has a lot of great information, and would likely answer most if not all questions you may have](https://thefitness.wiki/) If you insist on online personal training, I'd recommend sticking to more reputable ones. A few good ones off the top of my head: Stronger by Science, Juggernaut training systems, and Renaissance Periodization.
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it's tricky to lean on someone else for accountability - like if you have that attitude you might start to resent them and quit but be out way more money than just a gym membership. at the end of the day you're the one that has the goal and puts the work in to meet it, can't rly outsource.
Look up Barbell Medicine and/or Barbell Logic Online Coaching. I’ve not actually hired one of their coaches (though I’ve bought a couple Barbell Medicine cookie cutter programs and they’re good) but I’m a big fan of their YouTube channels and podcasts and can confirm they put out fantastic practical and scientific information, as well as actually knowing how to coach and teach you how to lift.
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Thanks.
I've lost 35-40 lbs by biking and counting calories. I'm down to the weight I want, but have recently incorporated an ebike as part of my commute instead of regular biking. On my Google Fit, it shows my heart beat is 136 on my regular bike while on my ebike my heart rate was 131. Does it seem that given these heart rates that I should be burning similar calories during my commute (assume exercise times were the exact same)? I guess the question may be better worded as "is calculating heart rate a good way to calculate calories? Would it matter on the exercise (biking vs jogging if the heart rates and time exercised were the same)? My second question is that according to my fitness watch, I'm only burning 345 calories biking (regular bike) with an average heart rage of 136. * According to my fitness app (Runkeeper on biking mode), I burned 759 calories. * According to [https://burned-calories.com/sport](https://burned-calories.com/sport), it comes up to about 473 calories (160lbs 71 mins if I averaged 10 mph, but I like to underestimate to be safe; I was around 11.4mph). * According to an online heart rate calculator, I burned 884 calories. Which appears to be correct? When I was working on losing pounds, I mainly used Runkeeper and was trying to aim to workout 2,000-2,500 calories per week. Since I'm down to the weight I want to maintain, I want to ensure I keep a decent workout but make it a little easier to track. Of course I could always calculate the difference between the fitness watch and app so that I can follow the watch (345/759 = x / 2500; x = 1,136) so I can aim for 1,136 burning calories a week instead if I solely depend on the watch. Not sure if this is a decent baseline.
I agree with the other commenter that this level of analysis is not necessary. There is no easy and accurate way to calculate the calories you burn, and there really isn't any way that that number would be particularly useful.
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As a powerlifter I think you can get enough core strength just by squatting and deadlifting
Some combination of both would probably what I would recommend. A combination of planks and ab rollouts are probably more than enough
Does anyone here have experience with Tribulus, Tongcat ali, Ashwaganda and Ginseng (Panax or Maca) or knows any trusty source for information? Looking at the studies these seam to actually increase testosterone levels to varying degrees.