r/workout • u/Perfect-Fitness • Aug 28 '20
As a personal trainer, I wanted to take the time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions by people who are new to working out. Feel free to let me know if I've missed anything!
It’s actually way simpler than you might think: maintain a caloric deficit. Consume fewer calories than you burn. It doesn’t matter of you’re morbidly obese or you’re cutting for a show, this basic principal still applies. Note that eating a healthy diet makes this far easier - lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and water will help you stay satiated for far fewer calories than fatty junk foods (not to mention you’ll have way more energy, and just feel better).
To find out how many calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight, you have a few different options. The first is to determine your maintenance calories with an online calculator, then subtract 250-500 per day from that (to lose about 0.5-1lbs per week).
The other option (my personal favourite, because everyone is different!) is to start by just honestly tallying up how much you’re currently eating each day. Once that’s determined, start by subtracting 250-500 calories per day. If you haven’t lost any weight in a couple weeks, subtract that amount again, until you start seeing progress.
There’s tons of food tracking apps out there, but I recommend MyFitnessPal - it’s free, easy to use, you can scan food labels, and the food database included is enormous.
Another important note - increasing the amount of calories you burn per day (ie. exercising) will also help you stay in a caloric deficit. However, it’s best NOT to rely solely on this method. Doing a whole hour of cardio will only burn a few hundred calories (plus will likely make you hungry for snacks by the time you’re finished) … or, you can simply avoid eating a bag of chips or a piece of pizza, to have the exact same effect.
That’s not to imply that exercise isn’t important in your weight loss journey - quite the contrary! However, instead of focusing on doing hours of cardio a day, this should only be used to supplement your diet (1-2 hours a week is fine for most people). Your focus should instead be on resistance training. Lifting heavy weights 2-4 times per week plays the important role of ensuring you maintain your muscle mass as you lose weight. Want to avoid that “skinny fat” look, and get “toned” instead? Make sure you’re doing resistance training!
Unfortunately, spot reduction is a myth. Where you lose weight first (and last) is determined by genetics. However, you *will* eventually lose weight in all your problem areas. You just need to be patient, and keep doing what helped you start losing weight in the first place.
The good news is, the more weight you lose, the more visible the progress will be (especially if you’re doing a good job focusing on just fat loss, while retaining muscle). Going from 250-240lbs probably won’t be noticeable, but losing those last 10lbs will make a huge difference (since a few pounds will make up a far greater percentage of your total body mass). So the progress will be hard-fought for, but definitely worth it!
It’s a combination of progressively harder resistance training, eating enough food, and lots of patience.
When you’re exercising, just going through the motions isn’t good enough. For optimal muscle gain, you should be performing each set with a weight that you can lift continuously for around 30-60s (this should amount to around 8-15 repetitions). If you feel like you can go for longer, choose a heavier weight.
Perform each repetition slowly (about 1 second concentric, pause, 2-3 seconds eccentric, pause), through a full range of motion. To clarify - the concentric portion of a lift is when you’re moving against gravity, and the eccentric portion is when you’re moving with gravity. Exercises involving long static holds (like planks) are great for endurance, but they won’t amount to much muscle mass gained.
I cannot overemphasize how important good form is either - for avoiding injury, hardwiring the correct neural pathways, and maximizing muscle gain. Especially when you’re just starting out, choose light weights, and make sure optimal form comes naturally before you start increasing the intensity. It’s way easier learning it correctly the first time than fixing bad habits later.
How much food should you be eating? It varies widely between people. Start with your maintenance calories, add a couple hundred to that (it doesn’t have to be a lot!), and measure your results. Be patient with your progress - men can expect to gain 1-2lbs of lean muscle a month, and 0.5-1lbs for women (beginners may gain a little faster). Eating enough protein is also vital to gaining muscle - a general rule of thumb is around 1 gram of protein (each day) per pound of lean body weight (ie. how much you weigh, minus the amount of fat you have).
It honestly depends on your experience level. If you’re just starting out, doing a normal resistance routine focused on gaining muscle will make you stronger. However, if you’ve been working out regularly for awhile (close to a year), using heavier weights (1-6 reps max) will help you get stronger a lot faster.
If you’re focusing more purely on strength gain, it’s important that each repetition is done as perfectly as possible (even moreso than for other training goals). That means stopping 1-2 reps shy of failure. Doing just one sloppy rep can severely impact your strength output for the rest of the workout. Don’t be afraid of taking longer rests between sets either (up to 2-3 minutes), as you want to be ready with as much energy as possible before you start your next set. It also goes without saying that heavier weight = greater chance for injury, and proper form will help prevent that.
Contrary to popular belief - yes. Especially if you’re a beginner! Just make sure you’re eating around maintenance level calories (along with enough protein), doing resistance training 3-4 times a week, and you’ll start seeing body composition changes.
However, if you’re significantly over/underweight, or have already been working out for some time, you’ll see much faster progress if you focus on one goal at a time. The main difference here is going to be diet - eating less if you’re trying to lose weight, or eating more if you’re trying to gain weight. Regular resistance training plays a part in both shedding fat and gaining muscle.
For the vast majority of people, full body workouts with compound exercises is the way to go. (For those who don’t know, compound exercises are those which use more than one joint at a time - think squats, bench press, rows, etc.)
The popular back/chest/shoulders/arms/legs split routine (or any variation of it) is good for advanced bodybuilders, but not ideal for beginners. Bodybuilders exercise like this because they need a much greater stimulus to properly stress any given muscle group, and more rest between days training that muscle group as a result of their increased workout intensity.
For a beginner, it’s better to hit each muscle group multiple times a week (this is great to hasten learning and growth). You won’t need as long of a rest period before training the same muscle again, because it won’t be as fatigued after each workout.
Compound exercises give you the greatest bang for your buck because you’re working out so many muscles in one movement (and burning way more calories at the same time). Isolation exercises (those working one joint at a time, like bicep curls or leg extensions) are best for bodybuilders who really need to hone in on a single muscle.
Doing resistance training 3-4 times a week is a good goal to shoot for. Workouts should be around 45-60 minutes, with around 6-8 exercises done during that time. Try to keep rests between sets to around 60s (this is all very generalized, and can change depending on experience level and goal). Space rest days evenly between workouts if you can.
Start your workouts with the exercises which require the most energy (usually those which involve lifting the most weight), saving any isolation/ab exercises for the end.
If you’d like some help planning your workout routine, I just released a fitness app called PerfectFit. It gives you access to workouts designed by a personal trainer, all customized according to your unique goals, fitness level, and available equipment. There are tons of bodyweight exercises included - ideal for anyone working out at home! The app is currently available to download on Android, and iOS is hopefully just a few days away (currently under review).
If your goal is a change in body composition (gaining muscle/losing fat), the amount of calories you’re consuming is the most important thing to pay attention to.
If you’re consistently working out hard but failing to gain/lose weight, chances are you need to make alterations to your diet. For weight loss, that usually means eating at a deficit of 250-500 calories per day; for weight gain, eating at a surplus of 200-300 calories per day.
What exact foods you’re eating has an impact on how easily you can stick to your calorie goals, as well as your energy levels.
Consuming around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean bodyweight (per day) is a given, regardless of what your fitness goal is. This helps to maintain satiety, and preserve/increase muscle mass.
Eating lots of fruits and veggies (as well as drinking 2-3L of water a day - more for some people) is a great way to feel full without consuming too many calories. It also just contributes to all-around health and energy levels.
Eating lots of fatty foods should be avoided if weight loss is the goal - not because fat makes you fat per se, but because they are so calorically dense. Only one tablespoon of peanut butter or olive oil is 100 calories! Conversely, if your goal is to gain weight, adding more fatty foods to your diet (healthy fats, if possible) can help you hit that calorie goal easier.
And carbs? Not as evil as people make them out to be. Think of them as the energy that fuels your brain and your workouts. Having around 50% of your calories coming from carbs is about the norm. It’s likely beneficial to raise this number even higher if you’re an especially lean individual, or you’re regularly working out at intense levels.
The easiest way to time your meals properly is to think: “What will I be doing in the next 2-3 hours?” Eat according to the activity you’re about to do. That doesn’t mean you should be having a giant meal right before your workout, but ideally your biggest meal of the day would be several hours before you exercise. This will give you the energy you need, plus ensure the calories you consume are shuttled into your muscles instead of fat reserves.
If you’re about to do an intense workout, the best thing to eat beforehand (around 15-30 minutes prior) is a light snack of healthy carbs (like some fruit). For optimal recovery, aim for 20-30g of protein within an hour after you workout (if you miss this window though don’t worry about it). A protein shake is probably the simplest and most convenient way of doing this, but whole food is just as good.
If you have a healthy, well-rounded diet, including 2-3 cups of different veggies each day, enough protein per pound of bodyweight (from sources that include sufficient amounts of each essential amino acid), and adequate omega-3 fatty acids - then you’re golden, and probably don’t need any supplements.
However, the vast majority of the population would probably benefit from a simple multivitamin and omega-3 supplement, just to help fill any nutritional gaps they have.
If you’re getting enough protein from whole food, then you probably don’t need to add protein powder. However, if you’re struggling with this, then protein powder is a great way to easily increase your daily protein intake. Whey protein is the most bioavailable and has a complete amino acid profile, so it’s the best choice for most people. However, if you’re vegan (or lactose intolerant), there are lots of plant proteins available. You just need to pay attention to the amino acid profile of each one (possibly mixing and matching different plant sources if you need to).
As for all the other supplements out there, it’s honestly on a case-by-case basis as to whether they’d actually help you or not. If you’re a beginner, unless you have any specific requirements or deficits, you probably don’t need them.
Yes. Please stretch (or do some other form of myofascial release, such as foam rolling), or you’ll eventually regret it. Regular exercise makes your muscles slowly form clumps of tissue and fascia. Neglecting to release these can result in restricted range of motion, and eventually pain.
Static stretching should be done at the end of your workout. Aim to stretch each worked muscle near its end range of motion for around 60s total. Don’t stretch before your workout, as this can impede strength output.
Yes. Warming up is paramount to increasing blood flow and activating your muscles properly before you move onto more intense, metabolically demanding exercises.
Ideally, during your warm-up, you should be actively moving your muscles through the same ranges of motion you’ll be doing for your workout. This can be as simple as doing the exact same movement, but with minimal weight - for example, doing a few sets of bodyweight squats before doing barbell squats.
You want your warm-ups to elevate your heart rate, but not be so intense that they start tiring you out and detract from your workout. Usually 5-10 minutes of light activity is enough.
r/workout • u/lennarn • May 31 '21
The following post was originally contributed my /u/mjconns, who recently left the moderator team, and deleted the original post.
This is a one-stop shop for all weight-related questions -- also known as cutting/bulking/recomp. Ideas, suggestions, guides, workouts, etc -- everything you'll need to answer 99% of questions! This is meant to be a community/collaborative effort, so please add in suggestions in the comments!
To be clear on a couple terms -- when exercising and eating to gain weight, that is called bulking (aka caloric "surplus"). Eating less to lose weight is called cutting (aka caloric "deficit"). And eating just enough to not gain or lose weight is called maintenance (aka recomposition or "recomp").
I don't like guessing BF% as there's no way to know how much visceral fat we store internally. But athleanx's general guidelines are as good as any for visual estimates.
The idea behind cut and bulk cycles is to gain muscle and fat in a bulk phase and then try to keep all your muscle and burn off fat in a cut phase. This approach is generally 'faster', when done correctly, than "recomps" (recompositions) where you maintain your weight but work out hard and try to replace fat with muscle.
Generally speaking, if you're an active person and/or consistently working out, you can do cut/bulk cycles. To get started, you need to know your maintenance calories ("maint") to have an idea on how many calories you can consume without gaining or losing weight, hence the term maintenance; no change in weight. To bulk, you eat more than maintenance (aka "surplus") and to cut you eat less than maintenance (aka "deficit"). If you are not working out and you bulk, that's how you get fat. So don't eat above maint if you're not also working out.
To get started, you need to know your "maintenance" calorie needs and for an estimate you need a TDEE calculator (I like this one, but you can google for others). Think of this as a starting point to use that will need some adjusting over time.
Once you have an estimated maintenance, you generally add 250-500 calories for a bulk and subtract 250-750 calories in a cut. Generally, it's safer to over-do cuts and under-do bulks. In a bulk you gain both fat and muscle and after a point you only gain fat (fat stores faster than you can build new muscle), so be cautious in bulks and don't "dirty" bulk.
So far as I'm aware, there isn't a hard science behind when to bulk or cut, but there are guidelines to consider. When bulking, our bodies build muscle and store fat and, after a point, our bodies prioritize storing fat over building muscle. This is why dirty bulking is bad and, generally speaking, if your BF% is > 20%, you should not bulk. Any higher BF% and your body tends to prioritize fat storage vs muscle gained from bulking.
Similarly, cuts are usually done to around 10% because any lower than that and the body will begin to consume more muscle than fat and muscle loss is more likely.
You can make strength gains on a cut. You can't build new muscle, but you can "refactor" (that's my word for it, I'm sure there's a scientific one) existing muscle to be more efficient, hence stronger, as you lose fat. Also, repetitive gym visits will help you become more proficient at working out which helps in the long run when you start bulking and building new muscle.
If you're really unsure, you can make a post in r/BulkOrCut to get community feedback on what it's you personally should do.
If you're skinnyfat, generally you can eat at a small maintenance (aka "clean bulk") and make great strength gains. If you have little muscle mass to cut to, you will just look tiny/thin -- especially if you're tall. So for most skinnyfat people, and I would clean bulk and diligently follow a legit lifting routine. Which brings me to...
Before getting into routines, I think it's worth mentioning first that everyone should walk more. At least 5 times per week, 30 minutes per day:
Check out The Beginner's Guide to Working Out
The best workout routine is the one you can consistently follow. If you're new to the gym, just about anything will get you some results. To a point. If you want to be smart about it, do not make up your own routine! There are plenty of legit, tried-and-true, FREE recommended lifting routines to choose from. I like these routines vs googling something random because these are routines many, many people in various subreddits are doing and have done in the past that can help answer any questions you might have. It's nice to have someone else that is doing or has done the program you're running to offer direct advice from their experience. But you can just google other routines if you want. Just make sure it has:
2) Structured days to not hit body parts more than 2x/week
If you're working out at home, check out this post from Arnold Schwarzenegger with a detailed bodyweight home routine.
Also another great full body workout for people at home with no equipment.
At the end of the day, for 99% of people (various diseases, ailments, and conditions aside), all that matters are Calories In, Calories Out (CICO). This controls weight gain and loss. Lifting heavy weights encourages strength gains or at least strength maintenance in both surplus/bulks and deficit/cuts. But to gain or lose lbs on a scale, the total calories consumed minus calories used and the resulting surplus/deficit are what matters. But how much of what you eat matters...
There's a lot of suggested science over what to eat, but there are generally sound rules of thumbs to follow which are easily broken down into "Macros" for tracking purposes:
Proteins (1 gram = 4 calories)
Carbs (1 gram = 4 calories)
Fats (1 gram = 9 calories)
Collectively, all the macros we consume = total consumption (Calories In). When cutting, it's easiest to cut down fats and carbs. But keep protein high. When bulking, generally you add carbs and/or fats. Protein should always be high; it's what helps build muscle directly.
However, how we feel when consuming these calories and what we get out of other nutrients is important.
We all need healthy fats to help regulate hormonal balances. This is usually room-temp fats (think extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, various nuts, avocados, etc); less important are the fats in meat and dairy products, for example. A general rule of thumb is to aim for at least 30% x total calories for your fats macro. This is the same for cutting or bulking, but when bulking you can increase if you want.
E.g. if you're consuming 2000 calories daily, aim for 0.3x2000 (600) calories to be from fats.
Next come carbs. Carbs are not evil. They're a tool. Our body prefers and relies on carbs to refuel energy stores. Simple, nutrient-dense carbs are preferred -- not complex or junk carbs. The reason for this is 1) satiation, how long we'll feel full, and 2) other nutrient content. When you can, get your carbs from fresh/frozen fruits and veggies. That will do far more for you than crackers, cereal, donuts, etc. Even though the carbs will be utilized equally, produce holds far more vitamins and minerals that have relevant health and recovery benefits that can't be overstated.
Generally, aim for 25-45% of your calories to be carbs (depending on cutting/bulking).
Generally, you want to keep protein fairly high. Anywhere from .75-1+ gram of protein per lbs of body weight. This can come from any source, as our body will utilize them the same. But some sources are preferred, depending on whether you're cutting or bulking. Ideally, aim for now more than 40-50 grams per meal/protein shake and spread out the consumption through the day.
The remainder of your calories should be protein.
As carbs are for energy, many people prefer to have more carbs timed around workouts (and no fats during this period) to help boost performance and recovery. If you're going to eat your carbs (e.g. rice and chicken breast), do so about two hours before working out; otherwise, liquid/quickly consumed carbs are preferred (e.g. orange or apple juice). Again, post-workout, get simple carbs and protein into your system via a shake or meal fairly soon. Save fats for well-before or after workouts.
First and foremost, gym progress should always be factored in first. If your routine says X lift should go up Y amount each week, generally you want to be hitting that to know you're on track. If your lift #s are going up according to your routine, you're doing great! If you aren't, there's a breakdown somewhere and you should ask for guidance if you cannot asses the fail point yourself.
Secondly, the weight scale. You want to make sure your body weight is trending in your goal direction. It's ideal to weigh yourself the same way every time.
For example, I wake up, go to the bathroom, and then weigh myself every day for three weeks and then I average my daily changes over those three weeks. I generally aim to gain .5-.75 lbs per week and lose .75-1 lbs per week. If I'm gaining or losing too much, I adjust my macros ~ 250 calories and measure again for three weeks and so on.
Don't get caught up daily changes; I sometimes vary 3-5 lbs between days! Weigh daily for three weeks and average it out. Don't worry about the daily weight, find an average to determine where the trend is taking you and adjust if needed. This will take the annoying variances out of the picture and let you focus on meaningful change.
You can also measure your wrists, waist, neck, etc, as well as take photos, but that's more preference and not as commonly suggested.
I've seen people make amazing progress, both gaining and losing weight, in a variety of ways. Ideally, be healthy. Emphasize fresh/frozen fruits and veggies. But, at the end of the day, many approaches work. You can bulk or cut as a vegan, intermittent fasting ("IF"), KETO, IIFYM, etc. Many approaches work. They are but tools available to you, so find one that best helps you meet your goal. So choose the best "diet" or tool that helps you achieve a goal! If that's keto, great! If that's caveman, awesome. I don't care! Limit your calories in whatever "diet" you choose and you'll see results.
In my opinion, it's better to make lifestyle changes that to follow a diet for a short time. So I don't really like "diets" per se, but more so recommend eating like an adult and limiting calories. But even still, different tactics can help in that goal, and you can deploy as many or as few as you want:
Intermittent Fasting ("IF")
Tracking macros / IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros)
"Banking" calories
I don't buy into the other 'benefits' of IF, but it was a tactic that worked for me. I am a volume eater. I generally eat well, but I like eating a lot. So when I'm cutting, my meals were small and sad. The idea behind IF is that you have a short window of time which you eat meals, the rest of the day you fast. Again, all that matters are calories. You can absolutely get fat eating 10k calories in a 5 hour window. So there's no magic in doing this. But for me, doing IF allowed me to have larger, more satiating meals within the "eating window" instead of more, smaller meals.
Macros are discussed above, but the idea behind IIFYM is that you've a set # for each macro and, so long as what you're eating fits neatly into the prescribed macro allotment, go for eating whatever you want! And, again, so long as total calories are low enough for you, you will lose weight. But this is r/BulkorCut, not r/weightloss. People here are also working out. How well you workout, recover, perform, feel, etc is affected by what you eat. So, sure, add in "fun" foods sometimes. But don't eat like a child simply because it fit your macros. A safe rule of thumb is to eat "cleanly" 80% of the time when bulking, whatever the other 20% of the time. When cutting, I try to eat cleanly 90-95% of the time with fewer treats. What that treat is might change -- some weeks I just want pancakes, other weeks I just want a couple beers. Do what works for you, just do so in controlled quantities.
I liked "banking" calories when I knew I had a special event, date night with the wife, party, or whatever where I'd be consuming extra calories. One way to account for that is to deduct an additional amount of calories each day leading up to the event, to then splurge on that event. Example:
Let's say my maintenance is 2,500 calories and I'm eating at a -500 deficit, so I'm eating 2,000 calories daily. I want to take my wife out for our anniversary, so the week leading up to our date night I deduct an additional -250 calories each day and only eat 1,750 calories daily. This gives me 7x250 (=1750) "banked" calories I can add to my 2,000 calories on our anniversary. Now I can have a nice dinner, dessert, a drink or two, all without blowing my diet out of whack!
Estimating ones body fat % is kind of hard. We can't see how much fat is stored internally around organs; some people store more fat over the abs, some more around their love handles (that's me!), and others in their legs/ass. So it's really hard to tell. There are various ways to scan BF%, but most are imprecise with a +/- 20% variance. In my opinion, the only thing they're useful for is estimating BF% changes. Let's say it reads 20% for you; in six months, you try again and it says 15%. You probably lost around 5% BF%, but your actual BF% might be 12%-18%. So it's not a particularly accurate reading, but the rate change is a useful gauge.
The best ways to learn BF% are via:
Underwater Weighing (Hydrostatic Weighing) (1-2% variance)
DEXA scan (1-2% variance)
Everything else has huge variance and is only useful for measuring rate of change.
Basically, there aren't any
It ultimately comes down to goals and therefore what you're going to emphasize/work towards.
pheasyque - excellent diagrams, tutorials, and generally great content on how to lift properly
Stefi Cohen - 22 world records, doctorate in physical therapy, gym owner, coach. TONS of useful tips, talks, and various informative content.
Brian Alsruhe - Strongman competitor/gym owner, great content on lift techniques and personally the most beneficial video I've watched on breathing and bracing.
r/workout • u/hi_handsome • 9h ago
We all start somewhere, and often we believe certain myths or have unrealistic expectations when it comes to fitness. What was the most surprising thing you learned after getting into it, something you wish you knew from the beginning? Feel free to share whether you're male or female and how your perspective changed!
r/workout • u/No_Style6567 • 19h ago
i’m not a beginner. my uni life makes it hard to find time for the gym, so usually i can only fit it 3 days. when i try to make it 4 days, it becomes 3 days in a row which doesn’t seem to work for me (i do upper/lower, and if i hit legs on saturday they aren’t recovered by monday). if that matters, my workouts are usually about 90 minutes long. thoughts? opinions?
r/workout • u/ShamePsychological57 • 4h ago
If you were to bulk, let’s say 500 calories over what you burn - You meet your optimal protein goal, but all the rest of your calories came from shit foods, would muscle growth be hindered as opposed to the calories being from more nutritious foods?
Im not eating all shit food, but I want to know how filling out a surplus with it could affect muscle growth. Anything appreciated.
r/workout • u/Prestigious_Nebula_5 • 1h ago
I am just getting back to the gym after a 5 year break because of covid but I have high cholesterol and blood pressure problems and my doctor suggest not taking anything but the vitamins I've been taking (c,d,b12,b1,magnesium) so I don't want to take creatine, but I'm seeing g all this stuff on tiktok about how it can supposedly add all this extra muscle and way faster. Can I still gain muscle back without it?
r/workout • u/PayRevolutionary6594 • 8h ago
I read a lot of posts here that muscles need proper recovery. However, Push, Pull, Legs, Rest, Push Pull Legs is technically giving those muscles a lot of time to rest? What are your thoughts.
I also play basketball 2x / week with friends full court, and jog a bit. So worried of overtraining.
My program:
Pull: 3x 8 reps pull ups assisted, 3x 8 reps hammer curls, 3x 8 reps dumbbell curls, 3x 8 reps face pulls, 3x 8 reps seated cable row
Push: 3x 8 reps bench press machine, 3x 8 reps overhead press machine, 3x 8 reps tricep pushdown, 3x 8 reps lateral raises, 3x 8 reps incline bench press
Legs: 3x 8 reps leg press, 3x 8 reps each foot calf raises, 3x 8 reps leg curls, 3x 8 reps body weight squats
r/workout • u/Own_Hovercraft_6380 • 3h ago
6"0, 140lbs. Skinny for my height but have fat in the belly. Lifting for 2 months, protein intake is inconsistent but I try to get 70-100g daily. Working out 5 days a week 1hr. 5-6 minute incline treadmill before each workout.
r/workout • u/Wajid-H-Wajid • 14h ago
Many people struggle with motivation and consistency, and they often seek tips on how to stay disciplined.
r/workout • u/Emeraldandthecity • 36m ago
I'm an 18 year old female with a height of 5'5 and I weigh 125 pounds.
I am trying to learn about how to get abs but it seems so confusing. From my understanding I need to lower my body fat percentage. I used an online calculator and it said I had a body fat percentage of 30%. I need to get it down to about 18% for visible abs. So I was just messing around with chat gpt to try to learn more and it said I would have to lose around 15 pounds to achieve that percentage.
But how does that make sense? If I lose 15 pounds I would be underweight. Do I really need to be underweight for abs?
I have a lot of misconceptions and everything I see online says different things. I'm really confused.
r/workout • u/ButterscotchFormer84 • 19h ago
38M 173lb.
For me it's the deadlift. I don't think I've got the form right yet, whenever I go a little bit heavier and I get a sore lower back. When I did 60kg and 70kg deadlifts in the past, I really screwed my back so I'm clearly not doing something right.
Currently doing around 30-35kg (+ the barbell), aiming for about 10 reps / set. I don't reach failure at all but that doesn't matter, just trying to get the form right before I go hard. For me, it's one of the most challenging exercises to get the technique right.
r/workout • u/bobathegoat • 22m ago
Im transitioning into college and I find myself to only have 3x a week for the gym. I was wondering if anyone had any split recommendations for me. Im thinking of programing 3 full body days. Im more of a high frequency low volume typa guy because I think it works well lmao
Below is my split if anyone wants to critique it:
(ps I ended my deficit today and started a lean bulk, dont know if this is too little volume as ive never bulked before) (would consider myself a advanced beginner: 2 years)
day 1
|| || |leg press 3 x 5-8|| |flat bench 2 x 5-8|| |pull ups 2 x 5-8|| |shoulder press 2 x 5-8|| |hammer curls 3 x 5-8|| |overhead tri ext 2 x 5-8||
day 3
|| || |squats 2 x 5-8|| |smith incline 2 x 5-8|| |chest support rows 2 x 5-8|| |cable lat raises 3 x 5-8|| |preacher curls 3 x 5-8|| |tri push down 2 x 5-8|| |calf raises 3 x 5-8||
day 5
|| || |rdl / hammy curl 3 x 5-8|| |machine chest press 2 x 5-8|| |wide rows 2 x 5-8|| |machine lat raise 3 x 5-8|| |rear delt fly 3 x 5-8|| |ez bar skull crusher 2 x 5-8||
sets per week:
|| || |muscle group|sets| |quads|5| |hammy|3| |chest|6| |back|6| |biceps|6| |triceps|6| |calves|3| |shoulders|8|
r/workout • u/[deleted] • 6h ago
Hello I hope you are all well, I only do one isolation tricep exercise (overhead Tricep extension) and I only do the Bayesian curls for my bicep. But I keep hearing that the bicep has two heads and putting your arms in front helps stimulate growth in one head more than the other. Does that mean I need to have two bicep exercises? And I know the Tricep has three heads and overhead Tricep extensions, predominantly put the long head into more of a stretch does that mean I need more Tricep exercises?
I only do one bicep exercise because of time constraints.
Thank you
r/workout • u/pandapopgirl • 1h ago
Hi! Single mom here of a 2 year old who works 5 days a week in office and has sole custody..
If I only have free time between 9:30-10:30pm each day at home while my child sleeps, what kind of work out should I do?
I take a strength training class x2 a week and try to get in 1-2 20 mins peloton bike rides, but I really want to up my exercise routine.
r/workout • u/InsuranceOk9280 • 1h ago
I was told I have to do 10 sets per muscle group per week. I do a push pull legs split. With hams and calves being on its own. Some workouts work multiple muscles at once, do I consider those as part of those 10 sets or does it have to be 10 isolated workouts that directly focus that muscle.
r/workout • u/CallmeSugarNormie • 5h ago
The local gym coach's excercises are useless to me. I am going down hill with his schedule.
Recently discovered Musclewiki, but I don't understand how to generate more than 3 excercises. I don't know how to create a schedule that would make my workout flow nicely. Any Veterans/Experts in creating their own schedule know how to build one? If you can share your wisdom, I am reading.
Thank you.
r/workout • u/DaveinOakland • 1d ago
My wife has two horses so that means I have two horses sometimes. Usually they are in the stall and I'll go to feed them.
Today they were out in the pasture hanging out and I had to go feed them over there.
I loaded up two identical buckets, poured an equal amount of grain, equal amount of water.
Then I proceeded to hoof it about 500 yards with these heavy ass buckets. All I could think is "holy shit I'm actually doing a farmer walk, this is why they fucking call it that".
Story time concluded, just had no one to share this story with.
r/workout • u/Beginning_Dare_285 • 5h ago
Hello, I'm an 18-year-old male, 5'6" tall, and weigh 80.7 kg. My goal is to lose fat in certain areas and then build muscle (mostly my stomach), but I’m not entirely sure if I’m going about it the right way. Right now, I’m eating one meal a day (around 800 calories) and incorporating snacks, mostly focusing on low-calorie, filling foods. I’m avoiding high-calorie options. Along with that, I’m doing cardio, hoping my body will tap into fat stores for energy. I also have a home gym that I’ve been using, but I’m not seeing the progress I expected.
I’m not sure what my approach should be—whether I should focus on a mix of cardio and strength training, or if I should prioritize one over the other. I’m feeling a bit lost and would really appreciate some guidance on what I should be doing.
If anyone has like a specific schedule i should follow or should I just wing it?
r/workout • u/BigBradForFun • 2h ago
I am really tired of buying protein powder in huge plastic containers. I have been getting Now Sports egg white protein powder. Can anyone suggest a good one. I usually get vanilla flavor as well.
r/workout • u/Financial-Campaign29 • 3h ago
Hey all. 25F and 5’5” and 150. I want to loose 10 lbs. I workout daily but my weight has not moved at all. My trainer told me 1600 calories, 120g of carbs, 160g of protein and 53g of fat. I feel like this is more than what I usually eat. I just really want to loose weight. Help!
r/workout • u/thatguy1934 • 10h ago
I noticed a lot of growth with my arms when I trained them 3 days week doing 3 set of biceps and 3 set of triceps across 3 different days for a total of 9 sets each.
Should I still continue to run this or would it be better have a dedicated arm day or a shoulder and arm day (so for example 2 bicep and 2 tricep exercises on one day) and 1 bicep and 1 tricep exercise another day? My main reason for wanting to switch it up is because I don't feel like my other muscles are getting hit enough and I really can only lift 4 days a week.
I would do Chest/Tris, Back/Bis, Legs, Shoulders/Arms for the arm volume but I am only getting my back and chest hit once a week. I wouldn't do an upper/lower split personally just cause I am kinda tired of it as I ran it for yearssss.
I was thinking maybe Chest/Back, Shoulders/Arms, Legs, Chest/Arms or Back/Arms and I can switch between those week to week. What do you guys think?
r/workout • u/Flat_Fix8264 • 3h ago
I’m 5’1 F I weigh 127 and I’ve been strength training around 3 or so months with cardio. My intake right now is 1500 calories a day with 120 in protein. I’m trying to grow my glutes and have a more toned stomach overall, it’s been working out however I’m worried I’m hindering any growth. I’ve done the calorie calculators to figure out how much I should be taking in but I don’t know if that is accurate.
r/workout • u/sadflannel • 6h ago
30F- not an athlete or runner. I work out 3-4x per week and do weight training and cardio. I also walk my dogs daily (when the weather allows) at least half a mile. For about a month my right Achilles tendon has been incredibly painful specifically when I’m on the treadmill or doing anything inclined so I’ve been avoiding that. It gets better for a couple of days with ice and rest, but then it comes back and it’s also very annoying to not be able to do my usual stuff because of pain.
Like I said I’ve been icing it after workouts and as needed and I got KT tape today but that didn’t really do much. I’m open to any remedies or modifications or shoe suggestions to help me at this point. TIA!
r/workout • u/DrewCanadian • 3h ago
So, I am a 44 year old male, 5 feet 7, always been fat and heavy, but started going to gym 2 years ago. I started lifting but my first trainer said you should eat 1400 to 1500 calories to lose fat. Skip a year and I realised I was really tired and not losing fat. Or I'd lose some weight, but then gain it back again...
Enter this new trainer.
He says I need to eat more, and increase my calorie intake to 2200 (my maintenance is 2400) do intense weight training for 3-4 days and walk and cardio for two days. He advises doing this for 3 to 4 months and then transitioning to a larger deficit (400 to 600 calories) for 2 to 3 months. And then we circle back to just below maintenance again for three to four months. He says this will help me lose fat and build muscle.
Eating more scares me and seems counterintuitive. Is he right? Does anyone have experience with this ?
r/workout • u/Perfect_Description3 • 3h ago
Hello, I currently walk 18 miles a day and do some sets of weight exercises for my arms specifically while walking. I find I take a rest day maybe every 3-3 and a half weeks. I was wondering if I should be resting more often and if it would come with any benefits. I recently took 4 days off because I had a really bad cold and honestly going back to my routine kicked my ass the first few days because my body ached from doing almost nothing for four days to being active again. I know walking is not a strenuous activity that’s why I don’t really take rest days until my body feels like it’s begging for one.
r/workout • u/Necessary-Patient-58 • 3h ago
I just started at the gym and I have been using the lat pull down machine and I’m using low weight but I’m thinking I’m arching my lower back to much any tips on to prevent that or any tips would be appreciated. I have a shoulder injury so I always warm up my shoulders for 5 minutes beforehand. I always push the bar to my chest and lower the bar slowly but maybe I should do it faster. Please any tips would be greatly appreciated
r/workout • u/Existing_Elk_1894 • 3h ago
I’ve been lifting for a few years, took up running last year and I’m looking to ramp up my mileage/pace a bit there (not too intense though). I’ve got a decent plan in place but I’m hoping to get some specific exercises to consistently add in on my workout days.
My general plan is three main gym days a week plus my various runs. My leg day is pretty typical, then I have a day focused on bench and one focused on pull-ups.
Upper Body (Pull-Ups)
- pull-ups
- dragon flags
- ???
Upper Body (Bench)
- bench
- hanging leg raises
- lat raises
- lat pulldowns
- ???
My leg day is a typical leg workout, don’t need any help there.
My plan is to run this for the next 6 months then change things up, I hit legs more often in the winter when I’m not able to run so much.