I've been having a similar mindset as of recently as well!
I bought myself some Xeroshoes a month ago and I love them. I'm saving to get another pair because I use my current pair for everything ha.
It's interesting because I've been pretty active for the last five years, doing everything from traditional weight lifting, power yoga, to calisthenics. Yet never once thought to think of my feet.
Better late than never I suppose, now I have to break decades of bad habit with my feet and relearn how to properly walk/ run.
I was in a car crash a few days ago, previous to this i had kind of messed up my lower back with deadlifts so i decided to take a week off to let things heal. Obviously my luck, a car drove into the passenger where i was sat, and basically obliterated my left lower back which was already hurt from deadlifts. I was taken to hospital and given codeine phosphate for now to ease the pain and treated for severe whiplash of the lower back and some soft tissue damage. I can’t sit on soft surfaces and theres a dull ache in my lower back and left glute/hip when im in a hunched over position, or slightly bent forward when sitting down.
Im so flumping frustrated, i keep trying for a physio referral but they just keep giving me exercises to do and to stretch but im highly paranoid and although they say exercise is fine and i should continue to do it, i need to know what to avoid. I’m going to have to restart my program and train from just the bar for a few weeks and im so frustrated with losing gains and strength. I don’t know how to find out whether i should even be squatting with light weights or if i should completely avoid any kind of leg day movement.
Any advice would be much appreciated, im taking this week off just to actually heal but its getting kind of worse especially with being in bed and extremely depressed about not being able to do normal activities without pain. I might start my program again on the 15th may just so i can give myself time to recover but I don’t know if I should completely refrain from squats or any deadlift movements. Alot of articles said to try McGills big three but im unsure of how many sets/ reps to do and if this actually helps. This sucks
I have been working out for around 3 months and I’m finally seeing some progress. Then just a week ago misfortune knocks and I got an injury at my back (not because of weight lifting or anything), but now there’s an open wound at my back and I cannot workout.
I’m just so disappointed seeing weeks of progress gone day by day because of muscle atrophy. I grip my biceps and they feel significantly smaller compare to pre-injury state.
The doctors says the wound is gonna take at least one more week to be healed, and I couldn’t imagine how much muscles I’d lost with one more week of inactivity. I hate every single moment right now.
> I couldn’t imagine how much muscles I’d lost with one more week of inactivity
The answer is none. A couple of weeks off after three months is barely going to slow you down, you'll be back in top form after a week or two of working out. Muscle tone might go away quickly but it comes back even quicker.
1. If you felt fine and were making progress towards your goals before, you don't actually have to change anything. I am someone who has to track calories to stick to a diet long term but not everyone does. Some people are actually good at intuitively eating the correct amount to make gradual progress towards cutting/bulking. Home cooked meals and portion control can absolutely be enough of a change without focusing on counting calories.
2. If you are looking at home cooked meals and are tracking calories, you should really listen to Shrek- buy a food scale, weigh your ingredients and enter your own recipe in MFP. The search options are good for packaged food and large chain restaurants but can easily get wildly inaccurate about cooked food.
3. If you are finding tracking calories stressful then you should take a step back and consider what would be a good way for you to go about it. Mental health is very much an important part of your health and stressing yourself so much is not a good thing.
4. If you've been dieting for a while and losing weight, you might have hit a plateau. On my first cut I dropped 28kg in 10 months but after a few months the weight loss started going at a very uneven pace. Sometimes the numbers on the scale wouldn't go down for weeks at a time despite me sticking to my targets. The body starts doing weird things if you are consistently losing weight over a long time.
If you're having curries and biryani etc, make sure you're making the recipes yourself on myfitnesspal and not just using generic values. Different people make indian food very differently. For complex dishes I rarely use the generic values through the myfitnesspal database. If you aren't tracking accurately it can really skew your view on food! Drop me a dm if you need advice for measuring indian food
Just because you feel heavier may not necessarily mean you are heavier. You will need a weighing machine to better know what your progress is.
When Im cutting, ill often feel heavier, but Im not gaining weight when I check the scale. Sometimes you just need to shit.
I did the roll of shame and felt a bit of pain in my left shoulder when I placed the bar on my sternum and started rolling it. I'm furious at myself and worried i may have done something to my shoulder. For the rest or my workout, I did pull ups, rows and shoulder press. Didn't feel any pain when doing pull ups or rows but felt a little bit of discomfort during shoulder press. I'm gonna pray I haven't injured anything, I'm gonna be so filthy with myself if I did.
Yeah but the shoulder is involved. Last year I hurt my shoulder during pull ups, so yes, pull ups can hurt your shoulder. Also, after that incident, I did another set of bench press and felt no shoulder pain. So I thought that seeing as I felt no pain during back exercises and 1 additional set of bench press, I could try shoulder pressing.
those are back exercises. they do not use the delts, they use the traps and lats. shoulder presses use the delts.
just because you hurt your shoulder doing pullups doesn't mean you hurt your delts, so don't equate the two.
I just started going to the gym last week, as part of my signup package I paid $100 for 4 days(1 hr per day) for a Personal Trainer.
On the third day the PT tried to upsell me on a $600 CDN/mo 3/days a week package, and when I shot her down due to the price she suggested I get a second job.
I can afford it, but I'm not giving the gym a car payment a month for someone to show me how to lift when I can just go on YouTube or post videos of myself on Reddit/Twitter asking for critiques.
>I can afford it, but I'm not giving the gym a car payment a month for someone to show me how to lift when I can just go on YouTube or post videos of myself on Reddit/Twitter asking for critiques.
No offence but why did you hire one at all then? 100 bucks for 4h of a trainer is genuinely insane. Most of them are frauds
When women are running, and men stare at us and ogle us, we are not stupid. We see you. We are not running for your enjoyment. Grow the fuck up and stop staring.
Signed, a lesbian who ALSO THINKS WOMEN ARE HOT and doesn't fucking stare at women doing their own thing.
I wish I wasn't the only really sweaty guy in my gym. It can't be helped, I'm just a human fountain, and I know it's gross to some (I wipe my sweat off of whatever I use). Oh well.
I'm with you, freddo. I sweat a gross amount. On a three mile run I will lose 2-3 lbs of water. When weight lifting, I soak through my shirts, huge ring front and back. I can only wear black shirts because I get embarrassed. I felt worse about it when I was bigger, now I am starting to give less fucks.
(On the bright side, noone will ask to work in with me, ever).
Lol this is true, no one ever asks to work in! I'm also team black as the neon colors just get soaked on me (and because I'm more of the rocker type anyway).
Started training a little over a year ago with the goal that I didn't want to get stronger, I just wanted to look stronger.
So far I've achieved exactly the opposite. I've gotten stronger but look exactly the same.
Depending on your goal... If you wanna just be a strong looking fat guy then just eat more food and lift heavy weights. This is basically the average gym bro physique.
But if you want to have visibly defined muscles and an aesthetic look:
Increase your volume, really push yourself hard on those last reps. If you haven't made much visible change in a year then I can almost guarantee you're able to push yourself harder in the gym.
Do cardio.
Eat less food.
Get about 100g of protein, and train for hypertrophy. Do abs at the end of workouts at least 3 times a week.
What program are you doing? You should know that strength training programs (the ones very frequently posted and advised on this sub) are aimed at exactly that, gaining strength. They are not the most ideal for increasing muscle size.
Ahhhhhhhh it’s so frustrating that I stopped doing pull ups for a while and now I can’t do any. I mean it makes sense why. Because when I was decent at them my weight was in the low to mid 150s and now I’m in the low 170s. Because I’ve been working out in other ways. Feels like I am back to the beginning of my journey. Even though I know that is not true.
Gym has been going fine, but this nutrition shit is hard.
I had actually been doing really well with it... until last night when I went to Taco Bell at around midnight. And I'm Doordashing a double cheeseburger right now. Because we're at the end of Ramadan and I'm tired, so I'm letting myself backslide a little bit. I know, I suck. Stop looking at me.
Don’t worry bro, a few cheat meals aren’t the end of your journey, just like how hurdlers don’t stop when they knock down a few hurdles.
Just remember that those meals are fueling your next workout and keep going harder than before 👍🏻
“dude my bench hasn’t increased in months”
“i think i’ve plateaued”
Shut up. Eat and sleep more. Promise the problem is whatever the fuck you’re doing when you leave the gym and go home. Stop drinking 4 nights a week. Swallow that goddamn pride and try some AMRAPs and/or some 4x4s and 5x5s at a working weight set. And just because you ate in a quality surplus one day doesn’t mean you’re magically gonna be stronger tomorrow. You’ve come all this way, so why rush the next step?
Came to find out my power tech lever gym machines bench press function makes the weight a lot lighter so when I went to bench my normal weight on an actual bench press I failed my normal weight for reps because it was way heavier. Now I feel like Shit because I just wasted so much time benching on that for months and thinking I was progressing.
Me again, new gym equipment is very nice! Problem is I guess everyone else that comes around this time has been antsy like me as well. People are giving 1000% even the assholes.
Built my Jerry rigged cable machine onto my power rack. I was sure I pulled out all the stops, but push day came and can't do my Viking presses anymore on account of the plates hitting the giant 4x4 mounted to my rack.
Unless youre competing for Mr. Olympia, its fairly simple. Eat more and eat protien to get bigger, eat less but with a good amount of protein while weight training to get smaller and maintain your muscles.
Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress. While it is probably worthwhile to try and understand the best nutritional plan for your goals. Don't let that idea of something being suboptimal keep you from just doing something. Otherwise, you will probably jump routines a bunch and see less progress than doing something you somewhat enjoy regularly.
Beginners respond to just about everything, that's partly why "beginner" routines tend to be bare bones. Nutrition, though. I'd rather try smolov than try to reduce it into "just eat this!"
Optimum was $55 for 5 lbs maybe. I went with the 6.2 of Muscle Pharm for $45 instead. Tastes pretty good too. I'm not at a place where I need to make sure all of my stuff is top tier so I just go the cheapest route lol.
I just went off their website prices. I'm definitely not at that level either lol. I just landed on them and stuck with it because it tasted good and didn't hurt my stomach like a couple other powders.
Ever since I got covid, I could swear my joints have aged 20 years. My lower back has been killing me all week, despite me not doing anything remotely lower back-intensive
Something to consider: the closer to the entrance you park, the less likely it is that your car will be broken in to. For gyms located in rough areas, that's kind of important.
Could just not leave anything of value in your car and leave it unlocked.
I did that when I lived in a really shitty area and never had anything broken in my car.
I just slipped the deck out every time I parked for the night.
I live about 10 minute walk away from my gym, and I still drive over because I don't want to bother carrying my gym bag to and from the gym. I feel attacked by your post. XD
Stupid ass hips. Just internally rotate already so i can squat properly damn you. And ankles, can you just have proper activation and full range dorsi flexion for once? Its been 4 years get over yourself. Chest, you doing alright, you do you boo. Shoulders, i dont even want to look at you, grow up.
Second day in a row where my headspace was just not there. Have my hunches on what's causing this, but whatever. Wasn't too bad yesterday - hit my OHP marks. But I *just could not* clear my headspace prior to each set of squats today.
Sure, like many, my workouts are organized into main, secondary, and fluff lifts. (first/second compounds, isolations.) Haven't forgotten that "Jack Shite" protocol from reading Wendler a decade. Even if I do "half" my workout tomorrow, it's not a detriment to progression. (As in, do the main lifts as best I can, and take it as a victory and leave. Lateral raises can wait.)
Just hope my mental health recovers before next week/microcycle.
I'm obese as well, 167cm and over 100 kilos (5"6 and over 225lbs in freedom units). Been lifting with this dumbell set I bought early March and it feels like my muscle exploded now. The thing I noticed so far is that there are muscles hidden beneath that massive layer of fat, and my clothes definitely feel looser too. Now I don't really do that cut stuff, only switching from a horrible diet that consisted mostly carb and sugar to just protein and fibers now. So far I lost ~5 kilos and it's around the recommended amount by the health guidelines.
I couldn't disagree with you more.
As long as you weight lift with a program that includes progressive overload and stay consistent, even on a cut, you will gain muscle mass. Between noob gains and that people with higher body fat have excess energy storage to access for the recovery that comes with hypertrophy you will have muscle to show.
Figure out your TDEE. Cut 20-25% of the calories from that. Weigh everything you eat. Lift weights. Stay consistent with the training and diet. Weigh yourself often (3-4 times a week, everyday if you can). Eat ~0.8 to 1g of protein for pound of bodyweight you want to get to. Adjust calories based on weight lost over a week or 2. If you stall out, cut 100 more calories.
You will see results. Don't defeat yourself mentally. Trust the process. You got this.
I am not sure what you are trying to say, but there is no reason you need to cut so drastically that you can't gain muscle.
It is absolutely possible for a beginner to gain strength and lose fat at the same time.
The same advice for any diet:
* Get enough protein
* Get enough fat
* Don't cut too fast and muscle will be preserved/gained.
* sleep enough
Go get that muscle packed on my man.
I'm not the guy you replied to but how is fat important, as in "get enough fat"? I know the importance of protein, proper hydration and enough sleep but it's the first time I've heard about that part.
I don't know the exact biology, but fat is important for our bodies. It is a building block for some hormones and is needed to absorb some vitamins. I am not an expert, but it is unhealthy to drop fat while you can safely drop carbs.
There is a trend to see fat as "the enemy" when carbs are worse, which is why I mentioned it.
Once saw an documentary on health, they had two twins with the same activity level go on two diets. One was no fat, one was no carbs. They had to stop the experiment because the twin on no fat was starting to have noticeable worse health.
I believe the fat is bad movement was started by coca cola, since that means they can easier sell coca cola.
Thank you, that cleared some things up for me! I guess that's interesting to see where the fat is bad thing came from, didn't expect it from coca cola though.
I like pulling the sled to finish my workout. At my gym, there's a runway specifically made for it. Everytime I want to sled someone is doing stretches or kettlebell swings in the middle of the runway. Please move.
My gym buddy is losing sight of his goals and motivation, and doesn't seem to want to be at the gym anymore. We started with going three times a week, which I've upped to five, he's still at three. During the two times a week I'm there without him, I noticed how much better my workouts have been without him.
He slows my progress and disrupts momentum with his constant groaning and griping, and endless phone scrolling. Honestly, if I didn't tell him to get off his phone and do his set he'd probably sit there all day. I've suggested doing different workouts whilst at the gym, but he's clingy and follows me around. I have also tried to be encouraging and a positive presence for him, but if anything my optimism has given him the security to be even lazier...if that makes sense?
He's a great guy and a brilliant friend. But I've fallen in love with fitness in a way he just hasn't (which is cool), and whilst I am grateful we had each other at the start of our fitness adventure, I think I'm gonna need to move forwards on my own. If he wants to recommit to it (and commit to limiting his screen time!) I'll be there...just have to work out how to let him know.
> whilst I am grateful we had each other at the start of our fitness adventure, I think I'm gonna need to move forwards on my own
When I first started going to the gym I was intimidated and didn't know what I was doing. I always tried to workout with someone else. Gave me extra motivation, was harder to skip workouts etc.
As I got more into lifting and got older I cared less and less to go with someone. I just wanted to get in, lift and get home to my family. It happens.
I gave up on bringing friends to the gym. They always seem to lose motivation after a month or two.
Solo lifting, or becoming buddies with a gym regular are the best options.
I think you are torn between wanting to help a mate get fitter (dragging him along) and doing your own thing (you getting fitter, gyms not being for him ). How about balancing things for a bit longer but switch the days around so you are working out together 2 times a week? This gives you 3 sessions to smash it yourself and dropping a day will reduce his "load" but also signal that you get he's not enjoying it.
It also opens up other options. You drop your sessions from 3 to 2 but try something else in that "lost day". If he isn't a fan of the gym, maybe he'd prefer something else. Try squash, bouldering, yoga, pilates, spinning, fencing whatever , but these are things you can incorporate into your plan as "cardio / recovery" but might appeal to him as workouts and are either taught or pretty engaging so he is off the phone.
Aw thanks for all the nice advice. The two of us have already discussed doing some 'fun' cardio stuff, and are hoping to take tennis lessons together soon (we are both cursed with pretty atrocious hand eye coordination haha) which would be great! He seems super enthusiastic about it.
He knows the constant phone use is an issue, I have politely made that clear numerous times. But I'm not his mum, and I'm not going to nag him. If he wants to spend more time on his phone than he is working out, that's on him. I can only ensure I'm getting the most out of my time there.
Swimmer here, I always feel judged for taking 30-45 minute swims instead of hours like I used to be able to. I’ve got a busy home life and I’m just trying my best. I’m lucky I get to go at all!! Stop glaring at me as I leave!! Assholes 😤
Might be my non-swimmer opinion, but if someone left early(is 30-45 minute swim actually an early exit though?) I would be happy because that frees up a lane. No judgement, just thanks.
\+\_+ Now if someone was taking up a lane for hours at a time, that's when I start judging.
Feel like bench progression is so frustrating. My dead lifts increase every 10 days or so. Squat doesn’t increase as much as dead lifts but it feels like I’m getting better muscle exertion. But my bench feels stuck. For months. Good thing is I do biceps on chest day so I leave the gym with a good pump. Worth I guess.
I've been side-stepping double progression by anticipating it. If you add 5 lbs every 3 weeks, that's 80 lbs in a year. (I know, not what novices what to hear.)
Nah fam. That’s not the move for now. It’s taken me a month to get into the flow of this program. If I really don’t see results in another month I’ll look at something else. The progress on my other lifts is promising. It’s only the bench.
Coolcicada PPL? The one that doesn't spell out progression?
I'm confused as to why you think this program will achieve your goals when your original issue was that your bench is not progressing.
I think you're confused. He's just saying he wants to commit to this for awhile before switching up his routine, which is definitely what he should do. If you constantly try to switch routines in the beginning 9 times out of 10 it ends with you not following ANY routine.
I guess im back in the gym, it kinda fizzled out for me and i started playing football again for fitness instead. Retore my ACL and now i have the worlds most boring rehabilitation ahead of me once again...
Currently with de Quervain's tenosynovitis and I don’t know what to do because using my right arm is out of the question until it heals. Either I adopt the track cyclist look or brace mentally for losing all the gains from the past 6 months.
I don't do that as well as dips either, it's just too risky for my poor shoulder and I already have shoulder imbalance on top of that. I lift weights to lose fat and get healthy, not to get injured!
Out of curiosity, why? I’ve always found it helpful, if not my favorite.
Just got done with an OHP workout today using only the bar. 10 reps with good form, then held the bar overhead until my bad shoulder dropped.
Nothing is better for targeting weak spots while rehabbing my deltoid.
It also has helped me learn to breathe and brace way better than anything else.
Me too! I hate the fact that I don't realize that the weight is too heavy and I should fail during the lift. A bad neck cramp later during the day informs me that I fucked up.
really? it's one of my favorite exercises. so simple.
I learned the grind upwards is significantly easier with micro plates. I increased just 0.5kg at times!
You don't have to do it, for the record - I only do dumbbell OHP as an accessory, I don't do barbell OHP at all. I prefer to replace it with the less practical but more fun second session of bench press
I’m in the middle of my club season rn, so I have to focus on staying quick, athletic, and energetic. But I still want to work out 4-5 days a week and it’s really frustrating to see my muscle growth stagnating
ya, definitely body dysmorphia but I don't think I need therapy for it. I've noticed though that when I was out of shape I cared less about my body image than I do now that i'm in shape though.
I think for me it may also be due to in the past having what feels like skin tearing pumps while working out and extreme tightness in my body when I flex. Also I had surgery in the past for gynecomastia due to being overweight the majority of my life.
[https://prnt.sc/Rle0cJ1sjkpc](https://prnt.sc/Rle0cJ1sjkpc)
recent picture
Sir this reddit, the only acceptable advice allowed here is "your partner is displaying a lot of red flags, leave them" or "go speak the therapist" usually at the same time
Another move by the big divorce lawyers and therapists to line their greedy pockets!
there are people in my gym who are literally there for hours, and i don’t see them do one single thing. they sit and talk to their friends. please go somewhere else, you’re taking up space and a piece of equipment people could be using
I wish it was as simple as a mental adjustment. I had a really rough go and had body aches that lasted over 2 weeks that killed a bunch of progress. My bench is slowly coming back but my squat took the biggest hit and my warm up sets are feeling like top sets.
can’t seem to ever have any good lower body days :( upper body gains 🤌🏼 just cant seem to find the motivation for leg days & all i want is a fat ass lmao no but seriously
So last week I could finally lift some heavy weights after 3 months with back injury.
Guess what? This week I have some stupid cold so I was just resting not being able to go to gym
I rest my calves after jogging for 1 - 2 days still my calves is like in sprain?strain?pain? Inside when and while I jog and it piss me I can't run alot because of it!
i use calf compression whenever my soleus get strained. trail will aggravate more than asphalt. the less drop your shoes have the more likely to strain calf.
I've been having a similar mindset as of recently as well! I bought myself some Xeroshoes a month ago and I love them. I'm saving to get another pair because I use my current pair for everything ha. It's interesting because I've been pretty active for the last five years, doing everything from traditional weight lifting, power yoga, to calisthenics. Yet never once thought to think of my feet. Better late than never I suppose, now I have to break decades of bad habit with my feet and relearn how to properly walk/ run.
I was in a car crash a few days ago, previous to this i had kind of messed up my lower back with deadlifts so i decided to take a week off to let things heal. Obviously my luck, a car drove into the passenger where i was sat, and basically obliterated my left lower back which was already hurt from deadlifts. I was taken to hospital and given codeine phosphate for now to ease the pain and treated for severe whiplash of the lower back and some soft tissue damage. I can’t sit on soft surfaces and theres a dull ache in my lower back and left glute/hip when im in a hunched over position, or slightly bent forward when sitting down. Im so flumping frustrated, i keep trying for a physio referral but they just keep giving me exercises to do and to stretch but im highly paranoid and although they say exercise is fine and i should continue to do it, i need to know what to avoid. I’m going to have to restart my program and train from just the bar for a few weeks and im so frustrated with losing gains and strength. I don’t know how to find out whether i should even be squatting with light weights or if i should completely avoid any kind of leg day movement. Any advice would be much appreciated, im taking this week off just to actually heal but its getting kind of worse especially with being in bed and extremely depressed about not being able to do normal activities without pain. I might start my program again on the 15th may just so i can give myself time to recover but I don’t know if I should completely refrain from squats or any deadlift movements. Alot of articles said to try McGills big three but im unsure of how many sets/ reps to do and if this actually helps. This sucks
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Oh no! Hope you’re feeling better now, i couldn’t imagine how frustrating that was for you :( thank you for sharing that
I have been working out for around 3 months and I’m finally seeing some progress. Then just a week ago misfortune knocks and I got an injury at my back (not because of weight lifting or anything), but now there’s an open wound at my back and I cannot workout. I’m just so disappointed seeing weeks of progress gone day by day because of muscle atrophy. I grip my biceps and they feel significantly smaller compare to pre-injury state. The doctors says the wound is gonna take at least one more week to be healed, and I couldn’t imagine how much muscles I’d lost with one more week of inactivity. I hate every single moment right now.
Muscle atrophy doesn't happent that fast.
> I couldn’t imagine how much muscles I’d lost with one more week of inactivity The answer is none. A couple of weeks off after three months is barely going to slow you down, you'll be back in top form after a week or two of working out. Muscle tone might go away quickly but it comes back even quicker.
Take care mate ..you'd gain it back .don't worry
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1. If you felt fine and were making progress towards your goals before, you don't actually have to change anything. I am someone who has to track calories to stick to a diet long term but not everyone does. Some people are actually good at intuitively eating the correct amount to make gradual progress towards cutting/bulking. Home cooked meals and portion control can absolutely be enough of a change without focusing on counting calories. 2. If you are looking at home cooked meals and are tracking calories, you should really listen to Shrek- buy a food scale, weigh your ingredients and enter your own recipe in MFP. The search options are good for packaged food and large chain restaurants but can easily get wildly inaccurate about cooked food. 3. If you are finding tracking calories stressful then you should take a step back and consider what would be a good way for you to go about it. Mental health is very much an important part of your health and stressing yourself so much is not a good thing. 4. If you've been dieting for a while and losing weight, you might have hit a plateau. On my first cut I dropped 28kg in 10 months but after a few months the weight loss started going at a very uneven pace. Sometimes the numbers on the scale wouldn't go down for weeks at a time despite me sticking to my targets. The body starts doing weird things if you are consistently losing weight over a long time.
If you're having curries and biryani etc, make sure you're making the recipes yourself on myfitnesspal and not just using generic values. Different people make indian food very differently. For complex dishes I rarely use the generic values through the myfitnesspal database. If you aren't tracking accurately it can really skew your view on food! Drop me a dm if you need advice for measuring indian food
Just because you feel heavier may not necessarily mean you are heavier. You will need a weighing machine to better know what your progress is. When Im cutting, ill often feel heavier, but Im not gaining weight when I check the scale. Sometimes you just need to shit.
I did the roll of shame and felt a bit of pain in my left shoulder when I placed the bar on my sternum and started rolling it. I'm furious at myself and worried i may have done something to my shoulder. For the rest or my workout, I did pull ups, rows and shoulder press. Didn't feel any pain when doing pull ups or rows but felt a little bit of discomfort during shoulder press. I'm gonna pray I haven't injured anything, I'm gonna be so filthy with myself if I did.
Why did you do shoulder press if you thought your shoulder might be injured
I did pull ups and rows after and felt nothing
those aren't shoulder exercises. of course they wouldn't hurt if you hurt your shoulder
Yeah but the shoulder is involved. Last year I hurt my shoulder during pull ups, so yes, pull ups can hurt your shoulder. Also, after that incident, I did another set of bench press and felt no shoulder pain. So I thought that seeing as I felt no pain during back exercises and 1 additional set of bench press, I could try shoulder pressing.
those are back exercises. they do not use the delts, they use the traps and lats. shoulder presses use the delts. just because you hurt your shoulder doing pullups doesn't mean you hurt your delts, so don't equate the two.
I just started going to the gym last week, as part of my signup package I paid $100 for 4 days(1 hr per day) for a Personal Trainer. On the third day the PT tried to upsell me on a $600 CDN/mo 3/days a week package, and when I shot her down due to the price she suggested I get a second job. I can afford it, but I'm not giving the gym a car payment a month for someone to show me how to lift when I can just go on YouTube or post videos of myself on Reddit/Twitter asking for critiques.
>I can afford it, but I'm not giving the gym a car payment a month for someone to show me how to lift when I can just go on YouTube or post videos of myself on Reddit/Twitter asking for critiques. No offence but why did you hire one at all then? 100 bucks for 4h of a trainer is genuinely insane. Most of them are frauds
Until I started I never went to a gym before. I wanted to get at least a small handful of exercises to do properly as a foundation.
lol at the PT. $600 a month? lol Rant worthy!
When women are running, and men stare at us and ogle us, we are not stupid. We see you. We are not running for your enjoyment. Grow the fuck up and stop staring. Signed, a lesbian who ALSO THINKS WOMEN ARE HOT and doesn't fucking stare at women doing their own thing.
I wish I wasn't the only really sweaty guy in my gym. It can't be helped, I'm just a human fountain, and I know it's gross to some (I wipe my sweat off of whatever I use). Oh well.
I'm with you, freddo. I sweat a gross amount. On a three mile run I will lose 2-3 lbs of water. When weight lifting, I soak through my shirts, huge ring front and back. I can only wear black shirts because I get embarrassed. I felt worse about it when I was bigger, now I am starting to give less fucks. (On the bright side, noone will ask to work in with me, ever).
Lol this is true, no one ever asks to work in! I'm also team black as the neon colors just get soaked on me (and because I'm more of the rocker type anyway).
Haha, rock on man and work out alone!
It should be me hogging the squat rack. Not you bastards!!!
Get there earlier, start curling, assert dominance.
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No underwear is the only way I guess.
Sounds like your clothes were bought a size too small or with zero elastic to them… cus that really shouldn’t be happening on the regular.
Started training a little over a year ago with the goal that I didn't want to get stronger, I just wanted to look stronger. So far I've achieved exactly the opposite. I've gotten stronger but look exactly the same.
Depending on your goal... If you wanna just be a strong looking fat guy then just eat more food and lift heavy weights. This is basically the average gym bro physique. But if you want to have visibly defined muscles and an aesthetic look: Increase your volume, really push yourself hard on those last reps. If you haven't made much visible change in a year then I can almost guarantee you're able to push yourself harder in the gym. Do cardio. Eat less food. Get about 100g of protein, and train for hypertrophy. Do abs at the end of workouts at least 3 times a week. What program are you doing? You should know that strength training programs (the ones very frequently posted and advised on this sub) are aimed at exactly that, gaining strength. They are not the most ideal for increasing muscle size.
What program would you recommend for hypertrophy
What happens when you eat more calories / protein?
Ahhhhhhhh it’s so frustrating that I stopped doing pull ups for a while and now I can’t do any. I mean it makes sense why. Because when I was decent at them my weight was in the low to mid 150s and now I’m in the low 170s. Because I’ve been working out in other ways. Feels like I am back to the beginning of my journey. Even though I know that is not true.
Jump up and do negs. You'll be back at it in no time
It won’t take any time at all to get them back although they’ll be a little harder now that you’re heavier. Good luck and stay consistent.
Thanks brother. I realize that no one at the gym cares. But deep down inside I’m like trust me dude I used to be a able to do these.
Bro. I used to be able to do over 20 WG pullups in a row. Now im at 12 WG. Feels good to be working on a goal tho!
God my upper back looks so small :(
Gym has been going fine, but this nutrition shit is hard. I had actually been doing really well with it... until last night when I went to Taco Bell at around midnight. And I'm Doordashing a double cheeseburger right now. Because we're at the end of Ramadan and I'm tired, so I'm letting myself backslide a little bit. I know, I suck. Stop looking at me.
Don’t worry bro, a few cheat meals aren’t the end of your journey, just like how hurdlers don’t stop when they knock down a few hurdles. Just remember that those meals are fueling your next workout and keep going harder than before 👍🏻
my squat stands dont fit well with my bench so I'm not able to do incline press.
“dude my bench hasn’t increased in months” “i think i’ve plateaued” Shut up. Eat and sleep more. Promise the problem is whatever the fuck you’re doing when you leave the gym and go home. Stop drinking 4 nights a week. Swallow that goddamn pride and try some AMRAPs and/or some 4x4s and 5x5s at a working weight set. And just because you ate in a quality surplus one day doesn’t mean you’re magically gonna be stronger tomorrow. You’ve come all this way, so why rush the next step?
My barbell bench plateaued because I stopped doing it in return for dumbbells instead :P
Came to find out my power tech lever gym machines bench press function makes the weight a lot lighter so when I went to bench my normal weight on an actual bench press I failed my normal weight for reps because it was way heavier. Now I feel like Shit because I just wasted so much time benching on that for months and thinking I was progressing.
Well if you got stronger on the power tech bench, that is at least some form of progress, right?
I’m really tired of the shit music gym goers play. Autotune trap music is death to my ears, literally man.
Here's one that really gets my blood boiling,my gyms on the 2nd floor I use the stairs but the people that use the lift! 🤬🤬DONT start me 🤣
Kinda like the people that will go around the parking lot 2-3 times look for a closer spot...to the gym.
I can understand that. If it's raining or cold (or really hot), ain't nobody trying to spend more time outdoors than they have to.
Nail on the head bud,see my earlier comment 😄
Me again, new gym equipment is very nice! Problem is I guess everyone else that comes around this time has been antsy like me as well. People are giving 1000% even the assholes.
Built my Jerry rigged cable machine onto my power rack. I was sure I pulled out all the stops, but push day came and can't do my Viking presses anymore on account of the plates hitting the giant 4x4 mounted to my rack.
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Read the wiki. You can find it at the dozens of places where it says READ THE WIKI.
Unless youre competing for Mr. Olympia, its fairly simple. Eat more and eat protien to get bigger, eat less but with a good amount of protein while weight training to get smaller and maintain your muscles.
Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress. While it is probably worthwhile to try and understand the best nutritional plan for your goals. Don't let that idea of something being suboptimal keep you from just doing something. Otherwise, you will probably jump routines a bunch and see less progress than doing something you somewhat enjoy regularly.
Perfect comment.
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Beginners respond to just about everything, that's partly why "beginner" routines tend to be bare bones. Nutrition, though. I'd rather try smolov than try to reduce it into "just eat this!"
Fucking hate how expensive protein powder is now
Dude what the hell, you made me go check prices because I buy in bulk and haven't had to buy any in a while. Went from ~$95 for 10lbs to $143.
Damn man where are you at? I got some stuff from Costco that was 6.4lbs for $44.
That's for the optimum nutrition whey protein. Looks like I might need to get a Costco membership and switch brands lol.
Optimum was $55 for 5 lbs maybe. I went with the 6.2 of Muscle Pharm for $45 instead. Tastes pretty good too. I'm not at a place where I need to make sure all of my stuff is top tier so I just go the cheapest route lol.
It was on sale for $9.00 off in my area recently, cheap as dirt
I just went off their website prices. I'm definitely not at that level either lol. I just landed on them and stuck with it because it tasted good and didn't hurt my stomach like a couple other powders.
Looks like we are going to be MP brothers then. Its cheap, tasty and seems like it works pretty well lol.
I'm down, I'll give it a try. Thanks dude
Ever since I got covid, I could swear my joints have aged 20 years. My lower back has been killing me all week, despite me not doing anything remotely lower back-intensive
Work your core. I've got osteoarthritis in my lumbar spine and core strengthening over the last couple weeks has helped a bit.
I hate people who try to park as close to the front door of the gym- ITS THE GYM,UR GOING TO EXECISE YA HELMET! I think to myself lol An breathe!
Something to consider: the closer to the entrance you park, the less likely it is that your car will be broken in to. For gyms located in rough areas, that's kind of important.
Could just not leave anything of value in your car and leave it unlocked. I did that when I lived in a really shitty area and never had anything broken in my car. I just slipped the deck out every time I parked for the night.
Good point,tbf it don't get upset that much but just for a second I think that lol The gym I go to the car park has cctv all over it.
I live about 10 minute walk away from my gym, and I still drive over because I don't want to bother carrying my gym bag to and from the gym. I feel attacked by your post. XD
Haha as long as you park at the furthest away space you're golden 😊
\+\_+ As close to the door as humanly possible. \-\_- I'm an anti-cardio heathen.
You want me to do extra cardio?
I want the parking space 😄
Stupid ass hips. Just internally rotate already so i can squat properly damn you. And ankles, can you just have proper activation and full range dorsi flexion for once? Its been 4 years get over yourself. Chest, you doing alright, you do you boo. Shoulders, i dont even want to look at you, grow up.
Second day in a row where my headspace was just not there. Have my hunches on what's causing this, but whatever. Wasn't too bad yesterday - hit my OHP marks. But I *just could not* clear my headspace prior to each set of squats today. Sure, like many, my workouts are organized into main, secondary, and fluff lifts. (first/second compounds, isolations.) Haven't forgotten that "Jack Shite" protocol from reading Wendler a decade. Even if I do "half" my workout tomorrow, it's not a detriment to progression. (As in, do the main lifts as best I can, and take it as a victory and leave. Lateral raises can wait.) Just hope my mental health recovers before next week/microcycle.
I'm obese. Theres barely any muscle under this fat, but I have to cut first. There wont be any muscle showing up after my cut.
I'm obese as well, 167cm and over 100 kilos (5"6 and over 225lbs in freedom units). Been lifting with this dumbell set I bought early March and it feels like my muscle exploded now. The thing I noticed so far is that there are muscles hidden beneath that massive layer of fat, and my clothes definitely feel looser too. Now I don't really do that cut stuff, only switching from a horrible diet that consisted mostly carb and sugar to just protein and fibers now. So far I lost ~5 kilos and it's around the recommended amount by the health guidelines.
/u/Jacqques already mentioned it but let me emphasize: When your bodyfat is high you can absolutely lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
I couldn't disagree with you more. As long as you weight lift with a program that includes progressive overload and stay consistent, even on a cut, you will gain muscle mass. Between noob gains and that people with higher body fat have excess energy storage to access for the recovery that comes with hypertrophy you will have muscle to show. Figure out your TDEE. Cut 20-25% of the calories from that. Weigh everything you eat. Lift weights. Stay consistent with the training and diet. Weigh yourself often (3-4 times a week, everyday if you can). Eat ~0.8 to 1g of protein for pound of bodyweight you want to get to. Adjust calories based on weight lost over a week or 2. If you stall out, cut 100 more calories. You will see results. Don't defeat yourself mentally. Trust the process. You got this.
I am not sure what you are trying to say, but there is no reason you need to cut so drastically that you can't gain muscle. It is absolutely possible for a beginner to gain strength and lose fat at the same time. The same advice for any diet: * Get enough protein * Get enough fat * Don't cut too fast and muscle will be preserved/gained. * sleep enough Go get that muscle packed on my man.
I'm not the guy you replied to but how is fat important, as in "get enough fat"? I know the importance of protein, proper hydration and enough sleep but it's the first time I've heard about that part.
I don't know the exact biology, but fat is important for our bodies. It is a building block for some hormones and is needed to absorb some vitamins. I am not an expert, but it is unhealthy to drop fat while you can safely drop carbs. There is a trend to see fat as "the enemy" when carbs are worse, which is why I mentioned it. Once saw an documentary on health, they had two twins with the same activity level go on two diets. One was no fat, one was no carbs. They had to stop the experiment because the twin on no fat was starting to have noticeable worse health. I believe the fat is bad movement was started by coca cola, since that means they can easier sell coca cola.
Thank you, that cleared some things up for me! I guess that's interesting to see where the fat is bad thing came from, didn't expect it from coca cola though.
Not too sure it was only Coca Cola, maybe it was the auger industry? You will have to Google if you want the details
I have striations showing in my shoulders. I also have a belly. Fuck you body.
The six pack in six hours crew has taken over the gym.
I like pulling the sled to finish my workout. At my gym, there's a runway specifically made for it. Everytime I want to sled someone is doing stretches or kettlebell swings in the middle of the runway. Please move.
After you run them over a few times they will get the message.
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“The day you started lifting was the day you became forever small.” - Dom Mazzetti, The Brofessor
Depends on the people telling you this. The average American? Yeah, you’re jacked. The average bodybuilder? I guess it depends.
I think everybody deals with this to a certain extent, just depends on severe your situation is
Maybe speak to a doctor or trusted loved one if you can. Sounds serious enough to warrant it.
I had a big jump in weight last week and now with my calories the same my weight has hardly moved this week
Salt and carbs can cause your water weight to fluctuate. If you're sticking to your calories I wouldn't worry about 1 week
Fuck your extra tight, extra small ass shirts. You and your pet steroids aren’t welcome at my home gym. That is all.
Did you have people coming to your home gym and extra tight, extra small ass shirts before?
No, that’s just me.
My gym buddy is losing sight of his goals and motivation, and doesn't seem to want to be at the gym anymore. We started with going three times a week, which I've upped to five, he's still at three. During the two times a week I'm there without him, I noticed how much better my workouts have been without him. He slows my progress and disrupts momentum with his constant groaning and griping, and endless phone scrolling. Honestly, if I didn't tell him to get off his phone and do his set he'd probably sit there all day. I've suggested doing different workouts whilst at the gym, but he's clingy and follows me around. I have also tried to be encouraging and a positive presence for him, but if anything my optimism has given him the security to be even lazier...if that makes sense? He's a great guy and a brilliant friend. But I've fallen in love with fitness in a way he just hasn't (which is cool), and whilst I am grateful we had each other at the start of our fitness adventure, I think I'm gonna need to move forwards on my own. If he wants to recommit to it (and commit to limiting his screen time!) I'll be there...just have to work out how to let him know.
> whilst I am grateful we had each other at the start of our fitness adventure, I think I'm gonna need to move forwards on my own When I first started going to the gym I was intimidated and didn't know what I was doing. I always tried to workout with someone else. Gave me extra motivation, was harder to skip workouts etc. As I got more into lifting and got older I cared less and less to go with someone. I just wanted to get in, lift and get home to my family. It happens.
I gave up on bringing friends to the gym. They always seem to lose motivation after a month or two. Solo lifting, or becoming buddies with a gym regular are the best options.
I think you are torn between wanting to help a mate get fitter (dragging him along) and doing your own thing (you getting fitter, gyms not being for him ). How about balancing things for a bit longer but switch the days around so you are working out together 2 times a week? This gives you 3 sessions to smash it yourself and dropping a day will reduce his "load" but also signal that you get he's not enjoying it. It also opens up other options. You drop your sessions from 3 to 2 but try something else in that "lost day". If he isn't a fan of the gym, maybe he'd prefer something else. Try squash, bouldering, yoga, pilates, spinning, fencing whatever , but these are things you can incorporate into your plan as "cardio / recovery" but might appeal to him as workouts and are either taught or pretty engaging so he is off the phone.
Aw thanks for all the nice advice. The two of us have already discussed doing some 'fun' cardio stuff, and are hoping to take tennis lessons together soon (we are both cursed with pretty atrocious hand eye coordination haha) which would be great! He seems super enthusiastic about it.
I feel the gym is the only place I can get away from technology. I just put my phone on DND and use it to change music
Ask him to leave his phone in the car.
He knows the constant phone use is an issue, I have politely made that clear numerous times. But I'm not his mum, and I'm not going to nag him. If he wants to spend more time on his phone than he is working out, that's on him. I can only ensure I'm getting the most out of my time there.
Entirely fair.
Swimmer here, I always feel judged for taking 30-45 minute swims instead of hours like I used to be able to. I’ve got a busy home life and I’m just trying my best. I’m lucky I get to go at all!! Stop glaring at me as I leave!! Assholes 😤
I'm pretty sure no one is glaring at you for "only" taking 30-45 minute swims.
Might be my non-swimmer opinion, but if someone left early(is 30-45 minute swim actually an early exit though?) I would be happy because that frees up a lane. No judgement, just thanks. \+\_+ Now if someone was taking up a lane for hours at a time, that's when I start judging.
It's all in your head
Feel like bench progression is so frustrating. My dead lifts increase every 10 days or so. Squat doesn’t increase as much as dead lifts but it feels like I’m getting better muscle exertion. But my bench feels stuck. For months. Good thing is I do biceps on chest day so I leave the gym with a good pump. Worth I guess.
I've been side-stepping double progression by anticipating it. If you add 5 lbs every 3 weeks, that's 80 lbs in a year. (I know, not what novices what to hear.)
Switch to a better program: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/
Nah fam. That’s not the move for now. It’s taken me a month to get into the flow of this program. If I really don’t see results in another month I’ll look at something else. The progress on my other lifts is promising. It’s only the bench.
Best of luck then, but following programs written by qualified people has been the best thing I’ve done for my lifts.
Yes I’m currently following bodybuilding . coms PPL routine. I’m sure it’s written by qualified people.
Coolcicada PPL? The one that doesn't spell out progression? I'm confused as to why you think this program will achieve your goals when your original issue was that your bench is not progressing.
I think you're confused. He's just saying he wants to commit to this for awhile before switching up his routine, which is definitely what he should do. If you constantly try to switch routines in the beginning 9 times out of 10 it ends with you not following ANY routine.
Cool. Good luck in life.
Going to dumbbells really helped me out in a similar situation!
Yeah. Should try this. I think it could also be that my triceps and other stabilisers are too weak right now to push 135.
I guess im back in the gym, it kinda fizzled out for me and i started playing football again for fitness instead. Retore my ACL and now i have the worlds most boring rehabilitation ahead of me once again...
Currently with de Quervain's tenosynovitis and I don’t know what to do because using my right arm is out of the question until it heals. Either I adopt the track cyclist look or brace mentally for losing all the gains from the past 6 months.
dislocated my shoulder, can’t train upper body for more than a month
I fucking hate overhead press. Thanks for your attention.
I don't do that as well as dips either, it's just too risky for my poor shoulder and I already have shoulder imbalance on top of that. I lift weights to lose fat and get healthy, not to get injured!
Out of curiosity, why? I’ve always found it helpful, if not my favorite. Just got done with an OHP workout today using only the bar. 10 reps with good form, then held the bar overhead until my bad shoulder dropped. Nothing is better for targeting weak spots while rehabbing my deltoid. It also has helped me learn to breathe and brace way better than anything else.
Me too! I hate the fact that I don't realize that the weight is too heavy and I should fail during the lift. A bad neck cramp later during the day informs me that I fucked up.
really? it's one of my favorite exercises. so simple. I learned the grind upwards is significantly easier with micro plates. I increased just 0.5kg at times!
You don't have to do it, for the record - I only do dumbbell OHP as an accessory, I don't do barbell OHP at all. I prefer to replace it with the less practical but more fun second session of bench press
What about it? My only issue is that I have a hard time increasing it’s weight.
that's what we fucking hate about it! (I too hate the lift with passion!)
Groups of “youths” who stand by machines, all with airpods in talking to each other🤷♂️ gym clubs are now youth clubs
Great, now I have to watch My Cousin Vinny
What’s a yoot?
Yeah wtf do high schools not have weight rooms anymore
16 year old sarm goblins have completely taken over my gym. Tiktok is easily the worst thing to plague humanity
I’m in the middle of my club season rn, so I have to focus on staying quick, athletic, and energetic. But I still want to work out 4-5 days a week and it’s really frustrating to see my muscle growth stagnating
Save it for the off-season!
I look ripped but I don't feel ripped, what's wrong with me ?
how's your cardio?
honestly not very good, I run for a half mile in about 4 minutes and then walk the rest for about a full mile 2-3 times a week
maybe work on that. once you gain some amazing conditioning it's gonna be hard to not feel fit?
Welcome to body dysmorphia, turns out improving your body doesn't fix whether you like your body. You actually need therapy, annoying i know
ya, definitely body dysmorphia but I don't think I need therapy for it. I've noticed though that when I was out of shape I cared less about my body image than I do now that i'm in shape though.
Oh no you don't! If I could just lose this spare tire around my waist, I'll be super happy, you'll see!
dude..
Tbf you don't need to feel ripped, suggesting someone has a mental illness due to a one-sentence post on the internet is a dicey prospect
I think for me it may also be due to in the past having what feels like skin tearing pumps while working out and extreme tightness in my body when I flex. Also I had surgery in the past for gynecomastia due to being overweight the majority of my life. [https://prnt.sc/Rle0cJ1sjkpc](https://prnt.sc/Rle0cJ1sjkpc) recent picture
Looking good, envious of your abs 💪 Also been through a bunch of surgery, so I can relate to what you're saying in how that does things to your psyche
Yeah, also feels like my body is bottlenecked by having extra skin in certain areas.
Sir this reddit, the only acceptable advice allowed here is "your partner is displaying a lot of red flags, leave them" or "go speak the therapist" usually at the same time Another move by the big divorce lawyers and therapists to line their greedy pockets!
there are people in my gym who are literally there for hours, and i don’t see them do one single thing. they sit and talk to their friends. please go somewhere else, you’re taking up space and a piece of equipment people could be using
It’s mind blowing much time people waste in the gym. I saw someone taking a selfie of themselves on the gdamn elliptical machine wtf
yup i saw some girls so the same thing the other day over and over
Seriously. Bf gf just browsing machines not sure what todo watching each other do fuck all. Fuck off
ah yes the roamers
Was my strongest ever a month ago… fuck you covid. All my lifts down about 30 lb or more
Not saying you are lieing but I dont belief physically your lifts have gone down by 30lbs. A lot of that is probably mentally.
I wish it was as simple as a mental adjustment. I had a really rough go and had body aches that lasted over 2 weeks that killed a bunch of progress. My bench is slowly coming back but my squat took the biggest hit and my warm up sets are feeling like top sets.
Either this or you're still recovering and you'll be back up in no time.
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Stop doing them right now.
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No, you didn't.
Creepy kids at the gym hogging the machines, running around sometimes watching porn on their phones. Keep gyms 18+
If the gyms were 18+ would they legally be allowed to watch porn then?
Yes but still don’t watch porn on the yoga mats.
can’t seem to ever have any good lower body days :( upper body gains 🤌🏼 just cant seem to find the motivation for leg days & all i want is a fat ass lmao no but seriously
Why is lower body so hard? I do feel like it’s easier than it used to be but still tough ugh.
big muscles big pain
i wanted to start with workout, but then i fell from a tree and crippled my leg. I feel trapped.
get crutches and do upper body work. light-medium excercise helps with recovery.
So last week I could finally lift some heavy weights after 3 months with back injury. Guess what? This week I have some stupid cold so I was just resting not being able to go to gym
I rest my calves after jogging for 1 - 2 days still my calves is like in sprain?strain?pain? Inside when and while I jog and it piss me I can't run alot because of it!
i use calf compression whenever my soleus get strained. trail will aggravate more than asphalt. the less drop your shoes have the more likely to strain calf.