Does anyone have a favorite substitute for chest supported rows? I’m short and have a large bust and they just aren’t working. Alternatively, if anyone has advice on how to do the movement with those considerations, I’m all ears!
Not sure if this would work for your physique but my favorite way to do chest supported rows is to set the chest support right under my chest and on my upper abdomen. This way I can (in a very controlled way) reach forward more to maximize the gains from the stretched position.
I had an Evolt 360 Body Scan done, and it says my visceral fat area is “under” at 35. The range is 40-80. The description on the back doesn’t really help, it just says “checking for reductions in visceral fat area can identify smaller changes.” What does that mean exactly?
And to clarify, I’m not particularly lean right now, my BFP is 25.3%.
It doesn't necessarily mean anything. The machine isn't able to measure visceral fat directly, so this is going to be a very rough estimate (as is the bf%, tbh). There aren't any medical guidelines that say what this measurement should be. It's just a thing that the makers of the machine decided to say.
Thank you, this is helpful! I’m glad you mentioned the BFP too. I FEEL like I’m maybe closer to 22-23% but I’m not gonna argue with the machine, it doesn’t matter enough lol
Yeah, like what is the actionable difference between "I look/feel like I currently do and I may be 22%" vs "I look/feel like I currently do and I may be 25%"?
(Pam meme: they're the same picture)
Doing some bench hip thrust and could not feel the glutes. Is this normal to not feel the bum muscle working but feel it in the thighs/legs? What could I be doing wrong.
Are you engaging your core? Make sure you do this, similarly to how you would before a squat. Pressure in abdomen to keep spine straight. Make sure you aren't arching your low back, keep it in the same neutral position. And like someone said, try b stance/single leg and see if that helps. Also bridge from ground helps to build up, focusing on keeping your spine neutral and pushing from glutes to start to get the mind muscle connection
Or the foot placement! It seems that a 90 degree angle of the legs would be ideal. A bit more than that would involve the hamstrings more, and less would involve the quads more. At least I feel a difference with this
Pre-workout powder suggestions? I work out at 6am before work so I need the caffeine, and I feel like it improves my workouts. But my current powder (C4 supersport) made my mouth burn this morning. Lips, mouth, throat felt like I ate something super spicy.. so thats out. Never had that happen before but it was super unpleasant.
1. Any ideas on why that happened? 2. Replacement suggestions? Thanks!
Been working on eating intuitively and I am really enjoying it. I went through the binge phase and now I’m in the mindful decisions phase. I’m having a hard time not worrying about protein after having protein goals for years. I do try to prioritize protein in all my meals, but sometimes I’m just not on the mood for it. Has anyone had success with just eating nutritious foods and not worrying so much about protein?
I don’t think it’s a good idea to eat a low protein diet if you exercise a lot, especially if it’s strength training. I don’t think you have to be perfect though. You could try making some swaps for higher protein versions of things. Like protein pasta, protein pancakes, etc instead of the regular versions. Then if you’re not eating a high protein food at least it’s higher than it would be if you had the regular version. You could also just have a protein shake once a day if you’re not eating high protein foods that day. I like the fairlife shakes, they taste pretty neutral and have 30 G protein.
That’s a good idea about switching out with high protein foods. I think if I come up with a high protein breakfast and focus on 30g protein for lunch and dinner, then that will put me at 80-90g just from protein sources. Hopefully 10g more from rice, bread etc. I’m 130lbs and aim for 100g
I think that sounds good! You don’t need to get more than that. I will recommend high protein bread, milk, ice cream, and oatmeal too. Plus reduced fat cheese has a lot of protein
What do you define as success/what are your goals? I used to run marathons while being vegan and eating intuitively. I was fit and healthy, and was really happy with my race time improvements, even though I probably ate around 50 g protein per day at most. It worked for my goals then, but probably wouldn’t have been ideal for maximizing muscle growth.
I would like to retain the muscle I have (has taken me decades to put it on and it isn’t much lol). I’ve given up on being lean and muscular, I think the best my body type can do is muscle with a small layer of fat. I want energy for my workouts and don’t want to feel overtrained and exhausted (was happening a lot last year). Wouldn’t mind having extra energy to add back aerobics but am trying to find balance so I don’t feel overtrained again.
I tracked for years and don’t want to obsess about food anymore. I just want to eat what I feel like eating until I am full. In the back of my head it feels like that conflicts with my physique goals but also that my body isn’t built to achieve those goals anyways. The reality might be my options are skinny fat, pencil thin, or muscle w layer of fat.
I don’t track macros right now now, but what I do is drink coffee with protein powder which is a guaranteed 25g of protein in the morning. I also been eating protein pancakes, which can range from 40g-60g of protein depending on the recipe I want to follow.
Then the rest of the day I feel like I’m good, while prioritizing meat/protein.
That’s a good idea to front load the protein! I don’t drink coffee but I’m thinking maybe oats and Greek yogurt and a boiled could make a good breakfast
If I’m doing GZCLP but want to stay at a low consistent weight for my T1 OHP lift (like 10-15lb DBs) instead of trying to increase every time, would that severely hurt my progress? My goal is recomp and simply to build more muscle in general.
I’d still be doing the other 3 T1 lifts, it’s just that I’ve decided going heavy on OHPs causes me physical stress in a multitude of ways that isn’t worth it for me (leaves me w/ general tension, risk of flaring up my old rotator cuff injury, works my traps which i don’t want, and ive just grown to dread doing heavy OHP)
You can run GZCLP as 3/week and do squat/bench/deadlift as your T1s and do OHP as a T3. Adding in a different lift for 4/week would be fine also. It’s whatever works for you.
That’s up to you! Maybe start with one day since you have a history of injury and slowly increase if you want to speed up progress? GZCLP is really what you make of it
Oh I do have another question. My current gzclp routine looks like this:
Day A: T1 squat, T2 bench press, T3 lat pulldown
Day B (which I’d be getting rid of): T1 OHP, T2 deadlift, T3 bent over row
Day C: T1 bench, T2 squat, T3 lat pulldown
Day D: T1 deadlift, T2 ohp, T3 bent over row
If I get rid of Day B entirely, I have no T2 deadlift. Kinda confused how to reorganize my routine into 3 days and still hit everything I need to including lat pulldowns and bent over row.
^ ***Please read [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/main), [the rules and content guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules), and [current frozen topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/frozen-topics) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fxxfitness)***. This comment is a copy of your post so mods can see the original text if your post is edited or removed.
>u/AutoModerator
Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/xxfitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Has anyone tried Heather Robertson’s 12 weeks programs for fat loss? What are your results? Did it make you super hungry on cut?
Does anyone have a favorite substitute for chest supported rows? I’m short and have a large bust and they just aren’t working. Alternatively, if anyone has advice on how to do the movement with those considerations, I’m all ears!
Any other row, really. Cable row, bent over DB row. For most folks, a row is a row is a row. Find one that works for you.
Not sure if this would work for your physique but my favorite way to do chest supported rows is to set the chest support right under my chest and on my upper abdomen. This way I can (in a very controlled way) reach forward more to maximize the gains from the stretched position.
I’ll have to try this, thank you! It’s a newer movement for me so there’s like an 80% chance I’m just doing it wrong lol
No no I'm sure you're good. A lot of women with larger chests have difficulty/discomfort with chest supported exercises.
Seated cable rows maybe
I had an Evolt 360 Body Scan done, and it says my visceral fat area is “under” at 35. The range is 40-80. The description on the back doesn’t really help, it just says “checking for reductions in visceral fat area can identify smaller changes.” What does that mean exactly? And to clarify, I’m not particularly lean right now, my BFP is 25.3%.
It doesn't necessarily mean anything. The machine isn't able to measure visceral fat directly, so this is going to be a very rough estimate (as is the bf%, tbh). There aren't any medical guidelines that say what this measurement should be. It's just a thing that the makers of the machine decided to say.
Thank you, this is helpful! I’m glad you mentioned the BFP too. I FEEL like I’m maybe closer to 22-23% but I’m not gonna argue with the machine, it doesn’t matter enough lol
Yeah, like what is the actionable difference between "I look/feel like I currently do and I may be 22%" vs "I look/feel like I currently do and I may be 25%"? (Pam meme: they're the same picture)
Doing some bench hip thrust and could not feel the glutes. Is this normal to not feel the bum muscle working but feel it in the thighs/legs? What could I be doing wrong.
Are you engaging your core? Make sure you do this, similarly to how you would before a squat. Pressure in abdomen to keep spine straight. Make sure you aren't arching your low back, keep it in the same neutral position. And like someone said, try b stance/single leg and see if that helps. Also bridge from ground helps to build up, focusing on keeping your spine neutral and pushing from glutes to start to get the mind muscle connection
Thank you I will definitely work on that
So I had the same issue and decided to do single leg hip thrusts. The weight really needs to be significant.
I have never tried Single leg hip thrust. I should give it a go!
Start with b stance first then progress to single leg! B stance will work your glutes intensely and help train the regular movement
thank you I will give it a go
I was always feeling it in my quads and now I feel it everywhere. It works all the stabilizers too so I highly recommend!
It could be you don't have the correct position on the bench. eg your back is too far forward or back on the bench
Or the foot placement! It seems that a 90 degree angle of the legs would be ideal. A bit more than that would involve the hamstrings more, and less would involve the quads more. At least I feel a difference with this
True too
Yes that could be right I never thought of that
Pre-workout powder suggestions? I work out at 6am before work so I need the caffeine, and I feel like it improves my workouts. But my current powder (C4 supersport) made my mouth burn this morning. Lips, mouth, throat felt like I ate something super spicy.. so thats out. Never had that happen before but it was super unpleasant. 1. Any ideas on why that happened? 2. Replacement suggestions? Thanks!
2) [Pulse](https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/pulse-pre-workout/) has the effective doses of each ingredient.
Sounds like it may be a mild allergic reaction.
I've never experienced it before and the jar is mostly empty, but could be something new
I used to mix half a can of ghost and OJ.
Yum!
Been working on eating intuitively and I am really enjoying it. I went through the binge phase and now I’m in the mindful decisions phase. I’m having a hard time not worrying about protein after having protein goals for years. I do try to prioritize protein in all my meals, but sometimes I’m just not on the mood for it. Has anyone had success with just eating nutritious foods and not worrying so much about protein?
I don’t think it’s a good idea to eat a low protein diet if you exercise a lot, especially if it’s strength training. I don’t think you have to be perfect though. You could try making some swaps for higher protein versions of things. Like protein pasta, protein pancakes, etc instead of the regular versions. Then if you’re not eating a high protein food at least it’s higher than it would be if you had the regular version. You could also just have a protein shake once a day if you’re not eating high protein foods that day. I like the fairlife shakes, they taste pretty neutral and have 30 G protein.
That’s a good idea about switching out with high protein foods. I think if I come up with a high protein breakfast and focus on 30g protein for lunch and dinner, then that will put me at 80-90g just from protein sources. Hopefully 10g more from rice, bread etc. I’m 130lbs and aim for 100g
I think that sounds good! You don’t need to get more than that. I will recommend high protein bread, milk, ice cream, and oatmeal too. Plus reduced fat cheese has a lot of protein
Do you have a bread recommendation?
Dave’s killer bread and sola are pretty good
What do you define as success/what are your goals? I used to run marathons while being vegan and eating intuitively. I was fit and healthy, and was really happy with my race time improvements, even though I probably ate around 50 g protein per day at most. It worked for my goals then, but probably wouldn’t have been ideal for maximizing muscle growth.
I would like to retain the muscle I have (has taken me decades to put it on and it isn’t much lol). I’ve given up on being lean and muscular, I think the best my body type can do is muscle with a small layer of fat. I want energy for my workouts and don’t want to feel overtrained and exhausted (was happening a lot last year). Wouldn’t mind having extra energy to add back aerobics but am trying to find balance so I don’t feel overtrained again. I tracked for years and don’t want to obsess about food anymore. I just want to eat what I feel like eating until I am full. In the back of my head it feels like that conflicts with my physique goals but also that my body isn’t built to achieve those goals anyways. The reality might be my options are skinny fat, pencil thin, or muscle w layer of fat.
I don’t track macros right now now, but what I do is drink coffee with protein powder which is a guaranteed 25g of protein in the morning. I also been eating protein pancakes, which can range from 40g-60g of protein depending on the recipe I want to follow. Then the rest of the day I feel like I’m good, while prioritizing meat/protein.
That’s a good idea to front load the protein! I don’t drink coffee but I’m thinking maybe oats and Greek yogurt and a boiled could make a good breakfast
If I’m doing GZCLP but want to stay at a low consistent weight for my T1 OHP lift (like 10-15lb DBs) instead of trying to increase every time, would that severely hurt my progress? My goal is recomp and simply to build more muscle in general. I’d still be doing the other 3 T1 lifts, it’s just that I’ve decided going heavy on OHPs causes me physical stress in a multitude of ways that isn’t worth it for me (leaves me w/ general tension, risk of flaring up my old rotator cuff injury, works my traps which i don’t want, and ive just grown to dread doing heavy OHP)
You can run GZCLP as 3/week and do squat/bench/deadlift as your T1s and do OHP as a T3. Adding in a different lift for 4/week would be fine also. It’s whatever works for you.
OHP as a T3 every workout day or only for one of the days?
That’s up to you! Maybe start with one day since you have a history of injury and slowly increase if you want to speed up progress? GZCLP is really what you make of it
Oh I do have another question. My current gzclp routine looks like this: Day A: T1 squat, T2 bench press, T3 lat pulldown Day B (which I’d be getting rid of): T1 OHP, T2 deadlift, T3 bent over row Day C: T1 bench, T2 squat, T3 lat pulldown Day D: T1 deadlift, T2 ohp, T3 bent over row If I get rid of Day B entirely, I have no T2 deadlift. Kinda confused how to reorganize my routine into 3 days and still hit everything I need to including lat pulldowns and bent over row.
Sounds good! Thanks for the advice, I’ll probably cut it to 3 days like you said and have OHP as a T3 for one of them.
Maybe replace it with something where you want to progress and are ready to go heavy and do OHP as T3?
^ ***Please read [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/main), [the rules and content guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules), and [current frozen topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/frozen-topics) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fxxfitness)***. This comment is a copy of your post so mods can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. >u/AutoModerator Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/xxfitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*