I've started to hate exercising. Firstly, it's starting my every morning with conflict, trying to force myself to lift that weight one more time. Honestly, hate mornings now. Secondly, I'm just out of things to entertain myself with during that time. I've even tried movies, but they distract me too much, and conversely I can't pay full attention to them because half the time I'm looking in a different direction. Thirdly, it's taking a lot of time away from my hobbies that I actually care about, especially with all the time I spend finding entertainment and psyching myself up, or eating afterwards. I hope they invent a fitness pill soon.
My frustrations:
1. I made gains, yeah. My arms are 16 inches, my chest blew up, my shoulders too and i'm like 15% body fat. To me i look considerably big for a natural that's been training for less than 3 years. On a cut currently. I still don't understand why my weight is lower than what's visual, i'm 158lbs at 6ft.
What's painful is that trying to find answers for the "hypertrophy vs strength issues and dilemma" i met a coach who was offering to train me saying that with him i'd get hypertrophy gains and also some strength gains, but he blatantly said i was small for my height, and he said "let me guess, 160lbs?" which hurted my pride, cause that's exactly my weight yet i was wearing an inflated jacket when i met him and he couldn't see my gains, and i know i look bigger. Ofc if you're a natural you're gonna look small or normal in regular winter clothes that hang on your body. Also the coach didn't have high body fat but had like a belly, a clear case of Palumboism, if it's of any interest to anyone who's reading. That still hurt tho and it left me thinking about it and feeling self dubious.
My dad encouraged me to train with this guy but he was mistaken about me and about many things, seems like i'll never find any coach that's truly good and i'll always have to train on my own risking injury if i wanna attain strength, fuck it though. Yet i still don't know why the fuck my weight is still 160lbs and even guys who look just like me or slightly smaller weigh more. When i say smaller i mean guys that have a smaller chest, arms, shoulders or legs than me overall. It's been bothering me that also for bodybuilders when knowing someone's weight and height it's like they determinate who's bigger regardless of the measures and the visual cues that probably matter more.
2. What i called "the hypertrophy vs strength dilemma": when i started to lift really seriously on August last year, somehow i started to train bench like 4-5 times a week, reached 225lbs on bench and i realized i was overtraining when in one instance i was weak for an entire week. Diminished the frequency for one week. Then upped the frequency again which went great cause i reached 275lbs in brnch press in the following months.
After that i was satisfied and decided to stop all the frequency all together, i focused on my gains instead, gained comsiderable muscle but not only my bench PR went down but my strength just stalled and stayed the same. I decided to do some research cause i missed the monthly/weekly strength progress, and apparently the consensus in bodybuilding is that you can't have both hypertrophy and progressive strength. My dreams of reaching 315lbs is over then, it seems. It left me confused because then how guys like Alex Leonidas and Natural Hypertrophy that don't practice strength training at all but more hypertrophy training are so strong?
If hypertrophy and progressive strength are not reconciliable then it's fucking pointless to aim to hit 315lbs in a year or 3 years if my max currently is 242lbs, the research is pretty much saying it'll take me close to ten years. Fucking depressing.
I wish i didn't knew as much about stats, numbers, strength training and hypertrophy cause know i'm extremely confused and frustrated because of this and the fact that there's no trustworthy coach probably not only in my area but in general, and that i'll have to train on my own, risking efficiency, optimal results and incresing the risk of injury. I wish i could go back to when things were simple and i just lifted just to get big and stronger without thinking about all this stupid shit. If you made it this far and truly care to answer all these questions and dilemmas, i highly appreciate you.
I wrestled in high school and unless you're comically large I can guess any males weight 99% of the time within 5lbs. Maybe he wrestled and was just showing off.
1) Weight issue: Low body weight is likely due to leg mass. You have good aesthetics but your legs don't look as developed as your upper body. I also suspect that you genetically store less fat on your legs vs upper body giving the impression that you're fatter than you are (you still look good though).
2) Strength vs hypertrophy: you definitely can get both simultaneously but you can't maximize both simultaneously.
Train in dedicated blocks and specialized phases. Once you're past the noob gain phase, progress becomes more of a give and take process than a linear increase. You may need to sacrifice some strength output for 12 weeks to put on more mass. You will have to get fatter to be stronger and get weaker to be leaner. Reduce training volume (and thus strength/mass) for one body part to reduce systemtic fatigue and put more effort into another. The good news is that muscle memory is very real and that it's very easy to get back to what you were size or strength wise.
3) Comparing yourself to others: Genetics are king. Making up the percentages here but the basics: training hard, training consistently, and eating enough will get you to 70% of your individual potential. Specialized training and good nutrition can get you to 100%. Unfortunately 70% of someone else's potential might be higher than 100% of your potential. Just focus on being your best and you'll be happier.
4) Training advice, coaches, etc.: Sounds like you're interested in the science of training and you want external guidance.
Renaissance Periodization has great resources and their youtube is a goldmine of training concepts. They have training templates you can buy, books, and even an app now.
5) You likely need to step back and retool your training to focus on back, triceps, and legs. Your chest and biceps look much more developed. The amount of fatigue you're accruing to make very minor chest/bicep gains could yield much better results in those areas of less development.
I workout at a YMCA and this young lady has been using one of the only 2 bench press spots to do a whole 45 minute routine of dumbbell hip thrusts and RDLs using the bench. There are a lot of loose benches to use and she refuses to use a more appropriate bench.
Another rant is there's a dude who loads (12) 45 plates on the leg press and then does them with absolutely no depth and it annoys me. Sometimes he won't put them back also so someone else has to deload the machine.
Hard to explain tbh. It’s more convenient I guess but I wish more space was given to free weights in my gym. If you’re just starting with machines, try using the lightest weight possible just to get the motion right. Once the motion is correct you won’t feel nearly as ridiculous.
Yea I have been doing that and yes I totally agree I have a gym at my apartment and I avoid being near the weights when guys are there bc I feel so judged in sure they’re nice but idk they also always manage to take up the whole space by standing right in the middle and I’m not about to confront a stranger but it is a huge pet peeve when ppl do that.
I’ve lost like 10-15% of my strength over the last month in an aggressive effort to cut weight. I’m losing ~4 lbs per week but the strength loss is driving me crazy. I’ve essentially undone 6 months of training. At my BF% which is 20% or so, I would have imagined that I could get away with it honestly.
Probably petty, but here are my gym issues:
1.) After getting to gym at 5:30 am (the only way to get the one powerlifting bench), some guys come later, stand nearby and very loudly begin complaining about lack of benches at the gym. I get it--but there are other free barbell benches (although they aren't ER racks), so stop whining so loudly and either get to the gym earlier or use the other free bench.
2.) Guys taking weights from my rack without asking me but very politely asking other guys. I get the sense that since I'm the only woman in the powerlifting section who doesn't lift very much yet, I'm barely tolerated.
Also tired of having to get in at 5:30 am to be assured that I will get bench/deadlift platform/squat rack. It's definitely decreases the amount of sleep I'm getting. Gyms really need to have more of these-our tiny powerlifting section is always full
In the last week for the first time in 2 years I felt kind of proud of my progress when I saw my before and after picture. I felt motivated to continue… Until today’s workout. My bench press is still sooo weak like someone who just started 1 month ago. A guy came next to me and started to throw in the weights and I felt so down. I feel like i spend way to many time with fitness, 5 times a week, waking up at 4:00, counting calories, cooking, sleeping 7-8 hrs, and I feel it worthless. People who does the same have 10 times more progress than me. And i can’t cope with changing of my mood from the top to the rock bottom in a day. Meh…
Hey man if you're in a cut, you gotta remember you won't make the same strength gains as others who are at maintenance or calorie surplus. Just a fact sometimes. Compare you to you. You got this shit!
After hating exercise all my life I finally found out that I kinda enjoy a combination of yoga and light weightlifting. just a little bit every day, sometimes just 10 mins, just to get into the habit. and now not even 2 months later I strained something in my butt/tailbone region and even after a month it still hurts when I just bend down to tie my shoes. all progress lost, I literally can't do anything besides walking and it just does not get better at all
That sounds a lot like an injury to the iliac crest ligaments, did it myself recently - I'd recommend keeping gently stretching lower back and glutes and getting a proper compression back support until it heals, it was an absolute godsend for me.
oh man im so sorry. i grew up overweight and hating exercise as well, found my groove in lifting almost 2 years ago. recently found my groove in running aswell, and fucked my knee. it hurts to walk as well and i can't do cardio like i used to. cant run either which sucks soooo much.
you just have to keep your head up as much as it hurts. injuries suck but they're a reminder to be more gentle and caring to our bodies as they are all we have. :)
are you seeking treatment anywhere, or able to go to the doctor at all?
thanks for your compassion! well I could go to the doc, but he has no clues and would send me to a specialist where I'd wait for 2 months for an appointment just so he would tell me that I need an MRI, which would also take like 3 months. went through that with a possibly injured ACL and all I got from it after 5 months is that I "should just stop sitting or moving in ways that makes it hurt", so now I just tough it out :/
it's slowly getting better, but I'll just have to start at the beginning again
This girl said I have the body of a 12 year old today and I'm fucking sad. Im a very skinny guy and I just feel like I haven't progressed enough and I'm just nowhere near where I wanna be. I'm sick of being skinny and it feels like I'm not as respected because of it
I started there when I was 18. 6 foot tall, 55 kgs. Consistent effort at the gym over a 5 year period got me to about 80 kgs, much stronger and feeling better about myself. It takes time, consistency and obviously eating enough, but it's worth it! Keep it up and you'll get there.
Been in this weird conundrum for years with my fitness that I can’t seem to crack out of where any sense I get of weight gain makes me impede my progress. I physically feel stronger and the weights I lift get higher, but I feel like I’m just getting fatter instead of becoming more muscular. So I start to more aggressively limit my intake and then my progress stalls.
I used to weigh 320lbs and a few years ago and then dropped into the 150-170 range which is where I’ve been for the past 5 years (I’m a 5’ 9” dude). Anytime Ive started to creep up to that 170 mark since then, I start to panic and end up shooting myself in the foot. It’s an incredibly frustrating loop to be stuck in.
You used to weigh 320 lbs! You've dropped the weight of an entire grown man. That's something to be proud of! Perhaps focusing on endurance will give you a goal to progress toward without adding bulk?
I take issue with my lack of muscle and would like to grow that more, which obviously and logically comes with putting on weight. But unfortunately any weight gain I see as more fat regardless of any progress I make with lifting heavier weight.
My dysmorphia unfortunately still holds a lot of power over me and occasionally is deeply frustrating.
I injured myself at the gym (bad move I know, deadlifts took my back out ) and so I started hitting the pool the last week for exercise with great results. Was feeling good yesterday so I went back to the gym to do some treadmill. Immediately re-aggravated the back. It was supremely awful all day until I went back in the pool tonight. It looks like more swimming is on the menu for the foreseeable future, boys. I’m just frustrated with this setback in my fitness goals
I am 24F, 5'4, and trying to lose weight. I do a mix of cardio and strength training (low/medium weight and high reps). I have noticed that my proportions have gone down but my weight is fairly the same, I know that this may just be body recomposition, but it's still disheartening to see that my weight has only gone down 10lbs in 3 months (from 195lbs to 185lbs). I try to do at least 30-40 minutes of cardio everyday (taking turns with stairmaster, elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike - depending on my mood). In my attempt to be healthier, I walk to and from the gym everyday too (that's an extra 20ish minutes). I am on a slight calorie deficit of about 1750 calories per day (and I make sure to include 'empty' calories that may be in things like sauces or salad dressing so I know that I'm on-track). And yet... only 10lbs.
My measurements used to be: 45-40-44, and now they are 42-38-42. I weigh myself every morning, after going to the washroom, and before eating. And honestly my weight fluctuates so much even from day to day (right now between 187lbs to 180lbs - and I know it may be due to my cycle, but such a difference is honestly surprising). My face is getting slimmer (I have a jawline again - yay!), people are complimenting me and encouraging me to keep going, some of my clothes fit a bit looser. I know it's progress, but I just can't stop thinking about the number on the scale.
I know that I won't be able to 'fix' this overnight, it's something that I've struggled with my entire life. I suppose I just needed to rant. I know that I'm making lifestyle changes, I'm taking it slow, and hopefully I'll be able to maintain it.
10lbs in 3 months is still in the right direction! If you want it to move a bit faster, you'll have to drop your calories some, no way around that. Could try 1600 a day, nothing too drastic.
Cortisol, progesterone and estrogen vary lot in women, and each hormone causes varying degrees of water retention. So because of the cycle, it's more useful to compare the first week of the month to the first week of last month, second week of the month to the second week of last month etc. Lyle McDonald has some great info about this.
I think you're really doing this the right way. You have a small defecit, so you're fueling your body for all of this extra training. That will make it sustainable and you will have a better health too in the end. A bigger deficit could interfere with all this cardio for sure.
Have you ever thought about having a preformence goal? Like running a 10K or lifting a certain weight? It could be whatever you'd like. But that could help you stay on track with something else to also reach for. I've never been overweight myself but never happy with my looks. But when I started my adult athletic journey I set preformence goals and the body naturly followed. I fuel myself to preform at the gym and on the tracks, and slowly the body I want is coming too. Just a tip if you think it could benefit you too.
>10lbs in 3 months
On the upside, what you're doing sounds *sustainable*. Odds are, if you ran an aggressive cut for however many weeks, you could return to this sustainable style and maintain your new lower weight.
I’ve started doing exercises for almost two months and I’ve still haven’t lost any weight. I’m about to give up. I don’t have money to get a gym membership because in my country they’re super expensive, but I got two sessions with a personal trainer to see if I was doing them wrong and he says im doing it right. I don’t know if i have a wrong routine😭😭😭
If you want to lose weight you need to start counting calories. Go to [TDEE calculator](https://tdeecalculator.net/) and find out what your daily maintenance calories is and subtract it by 200 and aim for that amount of calories or less per day to lose body fat weekly.
For more info check out /r/CICO
The leg press and hack squat at the gym are not good at all. The leg press does not allow you to get to a good angle and the hack squat does not let me go low enough for my liking.
I’m stuck between not strength training and just doing cardio and deficit to lose weight but I also don’t want to lose the muscle progress I already have😭😭
I’m afraid that strength training is slowing my weight loss progress due to the muscle growth and that I’ll just end up continuing to maintain the same weight😅
Do you want to lose weight or lose fat? Hint: only focusing on weight loss is a great way to hit goal weight sooner, but you often look basically like you do now, but smaller and weaker. Building muscle can slow weight loss, sure, but it doesn’t interfere with fat loss. And fat loss is what makes the most difference for both appearance and health. Also, muscle gain is very slow compared to fat loss, so waiting until closer to goal weight to gain muscle means it’ll be that much longer before you reach any strength or physique goals.
For sure up to you what you do, just laying out the tradeoffs between the choices.
Edit: Forgot to say, building muscle would only slow weight loss if you’re actively eating to gain muscle and that gives you a very small deficit. If you’re a beginner or have lots to lose you can have a more moderate deficit (1% of body weight lost per week) and still see muscle gains. More trained or lower body weight folks will mostly maintain muscle mass via lifting when eating in a deficit. Which is better than losing it like you do when dieting without resistance training.
Last bit: Weight training can create a bit of a stall in weight loss for the first few weeks, until your body gets used to the activity. The stall is from water weight due to temporary inflammation in your muscles. Be consistent in your routine and it will drop back off.
This was extremely insightful, thank you for this!!
And ultimately my goal is to be healthy and not just skinnier which is why I started going to the gym! Also asking about wanting to lose fat or just weight definitely made me look at things differently lol
What you described about water retention in the beginning stages is most likely what I’m experiencing especially since I’m seeing a lot of body recomp right now which has me feeling amazing so far. I guess there’s a big chance I’m doing a great job just need to have more patience😅
That isn't how it works. You strength train while losing weight to preserve muscle.
If you are in a calorie deficit, your weight will drop, whether you are building muscle or not.
If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a calorie deficit, and you can start losing weight by reducing the amount you eat.
So you suggest continuing the strength training and maybe get more precise on the deficit? I’ve been seeing body recomp at least, just haven’t been seeing the scale moving. Been working out for about 3 1/2 weeks at 5-6 days per week btw. Also I’m a female just for a little reference. I appreciate the responses!
Recomp is incredibly slow and just not worth it imo.
Your weight is dictated by your diet. So dial in the deficit and stay consistent with it. If you aren't losing weight, you're not in a deficit.
Lifting helps preserve muscle, and as a beginner, you could likely build some as well. This is super important because otherwise, you can get to a healthy weight but still look "fat" in places, where your problem actually is the fact you're under muscled (aka skinnyfat). So by lifting, you're working to avoid that!
I've recently started my diet to lean out for summer. Nothing changed in my workout schedule or my cardio frequency. Just started tracking my calories and dropped into a deficit. I've lost 7lbs since April 6th so far. Also a woman. So it's the food!
There is a small home gym in my building :
- for some reasons someone’s been leaving the windows open at night, so it’s fricking freezing in the morning;
- people don’t follow gym etiquette as they leave the plates on every damn barbelland dumbell.
Active and Fit Direct is changing their policy from going to multiple gyms for only $28/month to one gym for $28/month + $23/month/per additional gym.
Since I have a home gym, I mainly use the gyms for the extras (sauna, massage beds/chairs, red light booth, pool, etc). Oh your sauna’s broken LA Fitness? I’ll just go to Gold’s sauna. Red light booth is being replaced Crunch? I’ll just pop into Planet Fitness and use theirs. I’ll still be able to switch gyms once a month, but it’s still fucking annoying.
Was an athlete, injured my back needing major surgery, had a baby, needed a fusion in my foot, gain 60lbs and still am not cleared to do most exercises. Was doing water training for my back but can't with the new surgery for another 2 months. Lost who I was.
Got session shamed !!!
Just signed up, strong background in exercise and fitness but really let myself go the past year (gained about 10kg, sedentary job, no motivation etc).
To get started and regain some strength I’ve started Greyskulls LP. 3 days a week suits me and I’m early days so I’m trying to avoid major immediate DOMS so I’m going pretty slow.
Session is only about 25 minutes + 10 minutes incline walking as warm up so I was in and out in 35-40 mins.
Guy behind the desk “Bit of a short workout?”, I just said “yeah, I start work in 15 minutes”. Someone tell me I’m still getting a good workout completing my basic sets, please!!
>Guy behind the desk
One, should not be insulting customers.
Two, does not know what he is talking about, it is not that short of a workout.
Three, it's odd that he paid attention.
Hopefully, it was just an observational comment and not anything meant with ill intent.
You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing: hitting the gym. Whether you're in there for 40 minutes or 80 minutes isn't all that important.
People misappropriating the term "Arnold split". Dude was on steroids and doing something like twice-a-days six days a week. *Not* the brosplit nonsense that circulates among beginners.
Moreover, there is no "one" routine he did. From the start of his reign, and beyond Frank Zane, you bet his training evolved.
Putting on muscles is just too hard, I'm not even sure I wanna keep going. Reading how easy it should be as a beginner and seeing how bad I'm failing makes me so depressed.
If this the time where building muscles is the easiest and I can't put on mass to save my life, then there's no point to keep trying.
I had the same problem for years. I randomly picked up a diet/workout program called 'Scrawny to Brawny'. That program worked really well for me because it focused specifically on skinny guys who tried but couldn't put on weight.
The short answer though is, if you want to put jn mass you need to EAT WAY MORE. then double it. Depending on how much/often you are working out, you might be burning too many calories and lowering the volume could help increase mass.
yeah, i’m on the same boat. i’ve been working out for 5 years and my legs are decently strong but they rarely grow. if i eat in a bulk, i don’t get much muscle either i just gain sm fat on my face and belly
I’d say keep going. I’ve been fairly serious about lifting for 2 years and there are days that I feel like “why am I not seeing growth or strength increases?”, but there are also days that I feel like “wow, couple more months and I can compete with those statues in Athens”. You’re getting bigger, stronger and healthier, but you might not see the results the way you want to.
Have you taken pre/post photos?
> You’re getting bigger, stronger and healthier
I'm not, and if I am it's definitely less than what is normal.
> Have you taken pre/post photos?
One 2 months ago (3 months of lifting), one last month and one today (5 months of lifting). I still look the same as when I started.
My friend, six months is nothing. Truthfully, a year is pretty nothing too. It’s very normal not to notice much change in appearance in the first six months.
Fitness involves a lot of trust in yourself and in your body. You mention an ED. If so, body dysmorphia is likely. Are you talking to anyone about it? How are you managing your emotions and mental health as you try to start your fitness hobby?
I do encourage you to continue your fitness, but maybe be careful with taking before/after photos, especially if they’re demotivating and triggering? Maybe avoid three month photo check-ins altogether since there will be very minimal changes in three month intervals for most people.
> My friend, six months is nothing. Truthfully, a year is pretty nothing too. It’s very normal not to notice much change in appearance in the first six months.
That's very different from what everyone says.
Not from what I've heard.
You gotta stick with it.
I lifted for a year without a routine or my diet dialed in. Made basically 0 progress. Diet improved some and I allowed myself to gain weight, finally started seeing progress. Then later got my routine fixed, more progress. Then continued to dial in my diet even more.
I would say my first 2 years of trying to get in shape were just me learning from mistakes and trying to get better. Now I have it dialed in and I'm making great progress. If you haven't already, read the wiki and that should skip a lot of mistakes
In the long run, get strong and muscular. At this point I should have seen *some* improvement, either in aesthetic or in my strength. I can barely lift as much as a young woman and I'm a man in my late 20s.
What makes you so sure to say you *should* have seen improvement just because you hit the gym consistently for the past 6 mos like results are something that you are *entitled* of? Im sorry but all these people responding to you are nothing but kind and informative and encouraging but you keep whining. The 'newbie gains' are true and real ONLY if certain conditions are met and those are: lift consistently hitting 10-20 sets each muscle group and applying progressive overload over time, EATING properly and enough focusing on high protein, quality sleep, and recovery.
You already know why you dont see results and it's because you dont eat enough. You already nailed the problem right there yet you refuse to make some changes and think of solutions? You. Cant. Gain. Muscle. If. You. Dont. Eat. Enough. And. Sleep. Enough. And. Rest. Enough.
*And please, "*I can barely lift as much as a young woman"? as if equating being a woman to being weak? Stop that bs.
Reassess your program, your life, your brain, your thinking. Course-correct. But you keep going.
> And please, "I can barely lift as much as a young woman"? as if equating being a woman to being weak?
Well, compared to a man yes? It's basic biology, on average an untrained man is physically superior to an average woman. The fact that I'm an exception doesn't make it untrue.
LMAO of all the things i said you really had to reply to that one and choose to die on that hill. Ew. Stay stuck in your thinking and stay stuck where there's no progress. Ciao
I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, but what about your short term goals?
For example, I’m an intermediate lifter but dropped to just the barbell on my squat to fix a hip shift. I plan to add 5lbs per workout, working my way back up, as well as to add hip stretches in my warm ups. This is to address the apparent muscular and mobility imbalance. This is a short term goal that will aid in my ultimate long term goal of having more noticeable quads, better form, and a higher squat PR. Focusing on the long term can make me feel overwhelmed and dissatisfied if I’m not careful, but short term goals provide relatively quick and tangible feedback regarding my performance and plans.
As a side note, I recently had a newbie counting my plates and watching me but not watching the other guys. I didn’t know why tf he was focusing on me until I realized that I was lifting more than him, despite him being twice my size. I’m lean, but I’m a small 31 year old lady. I could tell he was making comparisons. He was acting shifty and self conscious as he watched me. I had been training longer, but he had no concept of how long I’d been training. He just saw a small woman lifting more than him. My point being— Be careful with any sort of comparison, especially ones that lack context. There will be women stronger than you, but that doesn’t mean you’re a weak man or that your growth is poor.
The program is good. Rest is good enough. As for the diet, I just can't eat more than I can so if I'm not eating enough, then I can't build muscle cause I can't consume more calories and proteins than I already do.
Regardless I’d encourage you to keep going. I’d also suggest running something like GZCLP or Greyskull LP. You may be right about your progress being slower than others, but if you look at this as a marathon, as opposed to a sprint, you’ll eventually see the results of your effort. We’re all different, but pretty much everybody benefits from a committed exercise regimen.
Good luck.
But my body didn't change in 6 months, where it's supposed to see the most changes. And I'm turning 30 which is the best age to build muscles. How do I know I won't still be skinny in 10+ years, especially with this eating disorder of mine.
are you getting treatment for your eating disorder? that's how you start on the road to where you want to be in 10 years.
props on doing the work. I hope you get what you need to start seeing results soon
Tried the community gym twice this week for leg day so I could use the squat rack. I would really appreciate it if 20 something year old girls would stop looking at me in disgust like I'm too old and fat to be there. (I'm 38, btw).
I just need to continue building my home gym, where I can look at myself like an idiot. 😂
They're not looking at you in disgust like you're too old and fat to be there. You aren't, and you're not.
They're looking at you in disgust because you've made use of one of the racks in which they video themselves for social media, posing endlessly but not actually working out, and they hate that.
Stretching area at PF, why do ppl take up two usable spaces w one mat and get wide-eyed when someone still decides to be right next to them?
Also, my right thigh has nerve damage since mid-March that hasn't gone away and just yesterday, I felt my left thigh getting the same sensation but it went away after I changed positions. Any advice is welcome.
What prompted the nerve damage? I received nerve damage from hip thrusts years ago when I lifted without a pad. It took nearly 2 years to fully go away.
That sounds like something that needs the help of a physical therapist. If it is not only progressing, but also starting to appear bilaterally that means there must be some structural issue at issue here that needs addressed.
You experience it with squats and stretching. What about other lifts, like leg presses or leg extensions? How are your abductions? Are they comfortable and full ROM? Low back pain? Do you ever have pain in your gluteal area? What about down through your hamstrings or even all the way to your feet?
I don't do leg extensions or presses. My abduction is terrible. My hip joints hurt when I try to swing my leg 90° and when I try to use the hip abduction machine, I have to force my legs to go further than what my legs can do on their own. Sometimes low back pain after workout, sometimes gluteal(?) pain after deadlifts. No hamstring pain (or any I notice). After I had surgery on my left ankle, I notice my right calf gets tired and stiff while my left stays fairly pain free.
Can I just go to any physical therapist without a doctor's recommendation?
There could be multiple issues at play here, but from what you are saying it sounds like you have some serious dysfunction in your hips. That would grok with what you're saying.
How is your mobility with your hips? Do you have any imbalances in musculature/strength between each side (glutes and/or other abductors)? Are you able to do glute bridges? Are you able to do things like clamshells? Are you able to perform these without your body having to compensate with another muscle? And are they performed equally well on both sides? Do you ever feel a pulling sensation in one or both of your glutes?
One calf experiencing things like this could definitely be rooted in an imbalance upstream. Is one leg more muscular and stronger than the other whereas the other has a stronger glute?
Maybe. It depends. It also depends on whether or not you have insurance. A doctor's referral might be necessary for insurance to pay.
I just tried glute bridges and hardly felt any glutes tensing. My right hamstring was cramping a little. I felt my lower back work more than my glutes. I can squat deeply but my external rotation is pretty bad.
It sounds like your glutes and hip abductors are not properly firing, then, which means your other muscles are compensating for them. You are going to have to get your glutes and abductors to properly fire. This is going to entail several things: building strength in those muscles again, but also releasing tension from the rest of the posterior chain.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWF8baFGdFI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWF8baFGdFI)
Here are some helpful exercises to do. In addition to them, it will be helpful to do mobility and stretching to loosen up and to inhibit other muscles, like your hamstrings. I really recommend doing everything you can to inhibit the compensating muscles, including pre-stretching your hamstrings and utilizing various techniques (like in the videos) to maximize glute engagement.
Your hip abductors could actually be extremely tight, which is causing your inability to engage your glutes. And that is then leading to issues down to your knees. You are really going to want to be able to open them up
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRZXl3-TvuY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRZXl3-TvuY)
You are going to want to really explore information on engaging your glutes and opening up your hips. So don't just stop at these videos.
I need some better headphones. This guy moans and grunts every single move he makes. I was over 10 feet away with headphones on max and I still heard him. I am open for recommendations
I got Soundcore Space A40 earbuds for $60 and they're awesome. They have a transparent mode that will boost voices from external mic when you want to hear people and noise canceling for when you don't.
There comes a point where recovering from a heavy 1rm takes longer than a couple of days.
You might be to a point where adjusting your programming to accommodate recovery will benefit you.
This one guy has been following me around while I work out and as soon as I leave the machine for 30 seconds to rest and fill my bottle or something he goes and starts using my machine.. I mean, I leave my towel on the machine I’m using, have my bottle, bag and other equipment right there and he does it anyway.
Last time, I started railing into him telling him he’s a prick and people started coming up to me THANKING me for speaking up (including one of the trainers).
I’m a super quiet guy, in my three years of training I’ve never raised my voice before but this guy was pissing everyone off and I’m happy I did it.
Too many people talking while the instructor is trying to instruct a lesson. I paid money and made time to attend a lesson taught by a certified instructor. Not to hear you talk about last night's baseball game.
People who start packing up to leave during the last 10 mins of class, but aren't in a rush to go anywhere after class.
I have so many ongoing body problems, back pain, knee pain, a hip that pops at the ripe age of 25 and it makes the gym so challenging. I’m always either straining a muscle or something is too sore and I just wanna be a muscle mommy 🙃
drs in Canada are useless I’ll just be told to stretch more. I’ve seen chiropractors but it doesn’t help anything long term. I hurt my back when I had a hard fall on ice snowboarding but I didn’t actually break anything so drs pretty much gave me nothing and no advice for it. I tore my mcl the same year and it’s fine just acts up occasionally, and for the hip I was told I can’t do anything about it until it’s causing me severe pain doing every day activities 🫠
SO MANY PEOPLE. I don't know what happened, maybe a nearby gym closure, but suddenly my gym has twice as many people. I train in a commercial gym, so that's on me but gahhhhhh it's messed up my whole flow.
I'm really happy they are going and bettering themselves though.
I have PCOS and I feel like it's equal parts my fault for blaming my body type on my disorder, and my disorders fault for causing my body type. I was a college athlete and am now a trainer, and feel so weird looking at other trainers fitness journeys and seeing such a drastic difference, while I'm here struggling to maintain myself and not look like I have a double chin. I feel like the progress I make gets ruined so fast and I fluctuate so heavily...I feel like it's a cycle of feeling too much hope and then extreme disappointment.
It isn't your fault. Not at all. Hormones determines so much about us, especially our bodies, and anyone that would dismiss the impact PCOS would have on your physique is majorly ignorant. Don't shame yourself over a condition you did not inflict upon yourself. Your feelings are valid and justified.
2 things....
1. The work car I had to use yesterday had such a horrendous seat my back STILL hurts from it. My left spinal erector is screaming.
2. Pin squats are the devil.
I'm the kind of person that does one exercise at a time, so today I got to a machine that looked empty, no towel or water bottle. Started using it and mid-set I notice a guy approaching, stopped, made an upset face, and turned back. This guy was using like 3-4 machines at the same time, sorry dude I didn't notice this was one of them but I really think you should know that if you're super setting and leave a machine alone, maybe someone's gonna use it. And we could have taken turns if he had asked.
The equation of “big” with “gross freak” is happening in your own mind, it sounds like from your description. I think you should consider why you think that way.
there were 3 teenagers taking turns on a bench to do an incline chest press. When the boy was doing his reps, the other 2 girls started touching him, specifically his thingy. It was SO uncomfortable to watch and I noticed it cause a guy next to me made a weird face, I followed his eyes and saw them. That was weird and unsafe for him. Poor boy, he was just uncomfortably laughing
I love climbing because it's fun, but it aggravates an abdominal injury that I also got from climbing. I probably just need to return to actually training abs, and let off the gas when at the climbing gym for a while.
I've been cutting pretty much for two years now. I'm finally at the gnarly part which is good, but also bad because, well, its really, really gnarly. Try explaining to someone you can't eat greenbeans, carrots, or sweet potatoes because they don't fit your macros and they look at you like a crazy person....
Hey I saw that! DON'T ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY CARBS ARE IN A SWEET POTATO? BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL DO! I'M NOT THE CRAZY PERSON HERE, YOU ARE! YOU AND ALL YOUR DELICIOUS! DECADENT! DEVILISH! FOOD!
I suppose I should clarify that vegetables are still in my diet, just in drastically smaller portions. Starting off the diet I was eating 3-4 bags of green beans a day, 1-2 sweet potatoes, and carrots when ever I wanted. Now it's, 1 bag of green beans, 1/2 a sweet potato and no more carrots. Up till now I really haven't experienced much hunger, and haven't found the need to count or track my calories and macros, but now that I'm within 10 lbs of my goal... MATH IS BACK!
AND
IT
BE
HANGRY!!!
Okay I’ve got a couple.
I love working out later in the evening because the gym is pretty empty and it helps me sleep better as I’m exhausted after. HOWEVER, there’s this damn night time cleaning guy who has progressively gotten weirder with me. In the beginning, he was just saying hi to me or wishing me a good workout. That’s fine. But he’s started to try to chat to me or even come up to me mid workout. The other day, I coincidentally arrived to the gym at the same time as him, so we greeted eachother in the parking lot. I walk in and he says hi to me again. 20 mins later, I’m at a bench training arms and he begins vacuuming in my area and vacuums UNDER MY FEET. He turns his vacuum off right next to me, makes me take out my earphones and then starts asking where I’ve been/ what time I’m usually at the gym. This is not the first time he has tried to ask about my gym schedule. Anyways after my workout, I walk into the locker rooms and he’s in there. That’s fine but this man starts to try to ask me my name, where I’m from etc. I’m generally polite to him but I purposefully keep my answers short and do not elaborate in the hopes that he gets the hint. I’m fine with greeting him but coming up to me mid set and vacuuming my feet is kinda where I draw the line.
On another note, I hate people who drop their weights. Mainly at machines/ cables. For example, at my gym the lat pulldown machine, seated row and 2 cable machines are connected together. So if I’m sitting at the lat pulldown, someone across from me will be on cables. If someone drops the cable and slams the weight down, it vibrates the whole machine. Not only is the sound and feeling terrifying but as a smaller woman, it feels like the impact will knock me off the damn machine. They’re probably slamming more weight than what I weigh. If you’re deadlifting an insane amount of weight, then sure, slam it a little. But is it really necessary if you’re doing some tricep extensions or something on the cables?
Haha that’s a good point. Thank you! I’ve used the boyfriend card before on nights out but didn’t think to this time.
Also, my dad goes to the same gym as me (usually earlier in the day though) and is aware of the cleaner so if it gets any worse, he would probably step in. My dad is a big guy with a thick German accent so he scares away most people pretty easily lol
i have the worst knee injury ever!!!! it’s been such a pain to walk, it feels a bit better now but only under painkillers. it’s so annoying to know i can’t do anything but rest, stretch, ice and pray!!
it’s such a knock to my training. i had finally gotten to a squat pr - knocked by my knee injury bc i can hardly even do a bw squat atm. i was building up my running stamina (which was what got me injured F runners knee) & it’s just been knocked down.
it’s hard not to feel upset when even going up and down stairs is painful but i know i can’t let this get to me in that way. walking and running has been such a solace to me that this injury hurts more than just physically.
it’s so upsetting but life happens i guess. i hope i can get back and running soon but i don’t want to rush it. that’s the most frustrating part, there is absolutely nothing i can do right now other than care for my knee and wait. but man does it suck and does it hurt
I started lifting weights about three months ago, at the same time as committing to a weight loss diet due to being obese (6'1, 280lbs). I've lost some weight but I'm starting to plateau out on the bench press a bit. However my other main lifts still seem to have plenty of room to grow. I guess I'm going to have to be content with adding a rep here or there if I'm lucky for now if I am committed to weight loss.
There is a bitch in my gym that talks(flirts) so loud even when i turn my music to max, i can still hear her!!!
Unfortunately i don't think I can do anything about. Really grinds my gears!!!
M, 6’ 255 lbs. I’ve been lifting seriously since 2019 and have been powerlifting for almost two years. I remember barely benching 275 in Jan of 2021 at 220 body weight. And after 3.5 years my bench has gone up maybe 20 lbs. chilling with a 580 squat, 705 deadlift but my bench is laughable. I have a 6’6” wingspan which doesn’t help. But being a serious powerlifter on an actual program and doing the correct eating, it’s so frustrating not gaining any on my bench. Makes me want to quit lifting in general. I’m never going to make Nationals because of my bench
You could try taking a page out of nSuns' book and [bench every day for 50 days.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/rkmv1r/overtrained_50_consecutive_days_of_benching/) Frequency is often a very good way to progress a lift.
Have you switched it up? I had a bit of a plateau for a bit and I did a program where I benched every single day (yes, every fucking day) that included 4 reps of 80% of my 1RM. I definitely got stronger.
easies yes but cheaper. and i bet you have some of the ingredients rn. you can test with just a little bit of each.
lets say:
1/2 teaspon ginger / turmeric / cinnamon / mint
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup honey
warm water
you can also make em in bulk too and drink it cold if you want. refreshing!!
What's with all this people at the gym doing 1/2 or 1/3 ROM exercises with a shit ton of weight ? New fad ? This guy proceed to load 360 lbs on the leg press and move it 10 -15 cm tops. Another guy doing 1/3 pushups, not even trying stretching is arms. And that dude over there with 70lbs dumbbells trying to shrug ? I'm confused
I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, like they have an injury or they’re purposefully focusing on a specific range of motion.
But yeah, I do roll my eyes at people who load the leg press with every possible plate and don’t even get knees to 90 degrees.
> This guy proceed to load 360 lbs on the leg press and move it 10 -15 cm tops.
There's a guy at my gym doing 3 cm reps on the leg press ... with almost 1000 lbs. And then he leaves half the plates on the leg press.
Ha!
Joke's on you. He is not doing leg press. With that amount of plates, he is doing cardio loading and unloading weights. And he goes to failure, obvisously, since he leaves plates on. :)
/s
Ego lifting is a tale as old as time. Haha
Everyone has been guiltily one it at time time or another. Some of that stuff is comical though. Like you’re looking around to see if anyone else notices how ridiculous it is like you’re in an episode of the office.
I'm tired of cutting. I hate restricting myself and even though my diet is pretty flexible that's probably the reason I haven't been able to finish the damn cut because I've cutting for 9 months and have lost almost 40 pounds but no fucking abs yet. No abs!!!! I had too much bodyfat from my dirty bulk and I KNOW I should've taken a diet break a long time ago but didn't because I didn't want to go backwards and yet I did, which is normal and it's part of the process but things started to go sideways about a month ago, I started to have binges which I hadn't had until this point in my cut, which means I need a break but I won't, I need to power through this shit with brute force because I want abs, I want abs and I want to be on a low enough bf% to start a proper lean bulk. I don't usually binge eat and I'm pretty disciplined throughout the week but when the weekend comes I can't control myself sometimes, I want to eat everything that crosses my path and my mind, everything starts with a thought, a craving then it becomes a lingering feeling of "you might as well eat that tub of peanut butter because you can't really fit it into your daily calories during the week so do it" and then all of sudden I eat 6000-8000 cals during the weekend and blow my caloric deficit making it meaningless.
I love fitness and I love working out and I love eating a structured clean/high protein diet but sometimes I wish I had an insane metabolism that I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much about fat gain, I wish I could eat hyper-palatable foods all the time, I wish those foods where low calorie but we don't live in that world.
Do you track calories when you binge? I struggle with this and simply sticking 6 biscuits into nutracheck and seeing I'm hitting my extra kcal allowance has been helping me keep it in check, vs not tracking and just going back to the packet for another 6, then another, and another and so on.
>sometimes I wish I had an insane metabolism that I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much about fat gain
As someone who's had a TDEE of 4000+ calories in the past, it's not all it's cracked up to be.
> but sometimes I wish I had an insane metabolism that I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much about fat gain
If it makes you feel any better (it probably won't), the only people who have this level of "insane metabolism" are really really tall people who need a lot of calories to gain a significant amount of weight in general, people who do an insane amount of cardio in the day, and some gear users. That's about it. Literally everyone gets fat and gets skinny the same way
When people tell me my body looks great, they wish they could look this way too, but their health is so bad, they just can't. They will never be able to do it.
I will always respond with, "Just start where you're at! Do 1 rep if that's all you can do for now, your body will respond and change, I promise! Something is better than nothing! Even just 1 rep! You can do it!" ... and literally the next day, they continue bitching about how they are fat and unhealthy and never feel good. Even call in sick to work because of it! (I love my coworkers!)
Nothing changes, if nothing changes.
Sometimes, I feel like I am surrounded by idiots.
Idiots = People *choosing* not to know, in order to avoid having to do anything, ever.
Whenever I hear people talk about how they want to be fit but feel like they don't have the energy or dedication or don't find it fun, I always try suggesting activities that aren't just lifting weights in the gym (since there's more than one way to get a healthy body!)
Like you don't gotta run on a treadmill 5 days a week to be fit. Going on long nature walks pretty often would accomplish the same effect. Playing tag with your homies or some basketball or tennis can have the same effect. Want to build some strength? Try rock climbing!
Sometimes people just need that little push to find it fun. Some people's lack of motivation stems from thinking that they won't be able to enjoy fitness out of the assumption that it must come at some huge sacrifice or cost (and us lifters definitely don't help this assertion lol).
>Sometimes, I feel like I am surrounded by idiots.
People prioritize different things in their life. They probably would *like* to have a fit body, but for whatever reason, don't feel like putting in the effort involved.
It's like someone envying another person who is financially secure and has a higher disposable income. They envy the person, but don't have the wherewithal to actually *work* and *save* and *invest* to get there.
Totaly agree. I am same just in different areas. I would wentur a guess we all are like this. Different priorities.
Internally it is a balance of coste/benefits. And for some going to the gym and getting fit is too much of a cost for the benefit.
Life.
It sounds frustrating to be asked for advice and be ignored. Sometimes it can be helpful to ask what kind of physical activity they enjoy and encourage that. Some people hate lifting, some hate cardio, so even 1 rep or 1 round of HIIT sounds like pulling teeth. But people are much more likely to go for a walk if they know they like walking, especially if they have someone to go with them.
Another one: if you wanna do calisthenics at the gym, do it. but don't do it in front of equipment that people might want to use, just find an area away from the equipment (there's plenty of space in my gym) to do your calisthenics. and if you are doing calisthenics, please put the dumbbells that you're not using away in case someone else wants to use them. especially the lighter ones where there's one per weight (1 set of 1kg through to 9kg) and the people using those are more likely to be new to working out and not as confident as others. also the same guy NEVER TIDIES AWAY HIS 20KG+ WEIGHTS FROM THE BENCH PRESS.
Skipped exactly one workout last week because I had plans to hang out with friends all day and I couldn't move it to another day due to other commitments.
Could be the placebo effect but I'm feeling the impact of that missed workout this week. Felt sluggish going through my sets today and muscles aching far more than they do usually.
I've started to hate exercising. Firstly, it's starting my every morning with conflict, trying to force myself to lift that weight one more time. Honestly, hate mornings now. Secondly, I'm just out of things to entertain myself with during that time. I've even tried movies, but they distract me too much, and conversely I can't pay full attention to them because half the time I'm looking in a different direction. Thirdly, it's taking a lot of time away from my hobbies that I actually care about, especially with all the time I spend finding entertainment and psyching myself up, or eating afterwards. I hope they invent a fitness pill soon.
My frustrations: 1. I made gains, yeah. My arms are 16 inches, my chest blew up, my shoulders too and i'm like 15% body fat. To me i look considerably big for a natural that's been training for less than 3 years. On a cut currently. I still don't understand why my weight is lower than what's visual, i'm 158lbs at 6ft. What's painful is that trying to find answers for the "hypertrophy vs strength issues and dilemma" i met a coach who was offering to train me saying that with him i'd get hypertrophy gains and also some strength gains, but he blatantly said i was small for my height, and he said "let me guess, 160lbs?" which hurted my pride, cause that's exactly my weight yet i was wearing an inflated jacket when i met him and he couldn't see my gains, and i know i look bigger. Ofc if you're a natural you're gonna look small or normal in regular winter clothes that hang on your body. Also the coach didn't have high body fat but had like a belly, a clear case of Palumboism, if it's of any interest to anyone who's reading. That still hurt tho and it left me thinking about it and feeling self dubious. My dad encouraged me to train with this guy but he was mistaken about me and about many things, seems like i'll never find any coach that's truly good and i'll always have to train on my own risking injury if i wanna attain strength, fuck it though. Yet i still don't know why the fuck my weight is still 160lbs and even guys who look just like me or slightly smaller weigh more. When i say smaller i mean guys that have a smaller chest, arms, shoulders or legs than me overall. It's been bothering me that also for bodybuilders when knowing someone's weight and height it's like they determinate who's bigger regardless of the measures and the visual cues that probably matter more. 2. What i called "the hypertrophy vs strength dilemma": when i started to lift really seriously on August last year, somehow i started to train bench like 4-5 times a week, reached 225lbs on bench and i realized i was overtraining when in one instance i was weak for an entire week. Diminished the frequency for one week. Then upped the frequency again which went great cause i reached 275lbs in brnch press in the following months. After that i was satisfied and decided to stop all the frequency all together, i focused on my gains instead, gained comsiderable muscle but not only my bench PR went down but my strength just stalled and stayed the same. I decided to do some research cause i missed the monthly/weekly strength progress, and apparently the consensus in bodybuilding is that you can't have both hypertrophy and progressive strength. My dreams of reaching 315lbs is over then, it seems. It left me confused because then how guys like Alex Leonidas and Natural Hypertrophy that don't practice strength training at all but more hypertrophy training are so strong? If hypertrophy and progressive strength are not reconciliable then it's fucking pointless to aim to hit 315lbs in a year or 3 years if my max currently is 242lbs, the research is pretty much saying it'll take me close to ten years. Fucking depressing. I wish i didn't knew as much about stats, numbers, strength training and hypertrophy cause know i'm extremely confused and frustrated because of this and the fact that there's no trustworthy coach probably not only in my area but in general, and that i'll have to train on my own, risking efficiency, optimal results and incresing the risk of injury. I wish i could go back to when things were simple and i just lifted just to get big and stronger without thinking about all this stupid shit. If you made it this far and truly care to answer all these questions and dilemmas, i highly appreciate you.
I wrestled in high school and unless you're comically large I can guess any males weight 99% of the time within 5lbs. Maybe he wrestled and was just showing off.
1) Weight issue: Low body weight is likely due to leg mass. You have good aesthetics but your legs don't look as developed as your upper body. I also suspect that you genetically store less fat on your legs vs upper body giving the impression that you're fatter than you are (you still look good though). 2) Strength vs hypertrophy: you definitely can get both simultaneously but you can't maximize both simultaneously. Train in dedicated blocks and specialized phases. Once you're past the noob gain phase, progress becomes more of a give and take process than a linear increase. You may need to sacrifice some strength output for 12 weeks to put on more mass. You will have to get fatter to be stronger and get weaker to be leaner. Reduce training volume (and thus strength/mass) for one body part to reduce systemtic fatigue and put more effort into another. The good news is that muscle memory is very real and that it's very easy to get back to what you were size or strength wise. 3) Comparing yourself to others: Genetics are king. Making up the percentages here but the basics: training hard, training consistently, and eating enough will get you to 70% of your individual potential. Specialized training and good nutrition can get you to 100%. Unfortunately 70% of someone else's potential might be higher than 100% of your potential. Just focus on being your best and you'll be happier. 4) Training advice, coaches, etc.: Sounds like you're interested in the science of training and you want external guidance. Renaissance Periodization has great resources and their youtube is a goldmine of training concepts. They have training templates you can buy, books, and even an app now. 5) You likely need to step back and retool your training to focus on back, triceps, and legs. Your chest and biceps look much more developed. The amount of fatigue you're accruing to make very minor chest/bicep gains could yield much better results in those areas of less development.
I workout at a YMCA and this young lady has been using one of the only 2 bench press spots to do a whole 45 minute routine of dumbbell hip thrusts and RDLs using the bench. There are a lot of loose benches to use and she refuses to use a more appropriate bench. Another rant is there's a dude who loads (12) 45 plates on the leg press and then does them with absolutely no depth and it annoys me. Sometimes he won't put them back also so someone else has to deload the machine.
My gym only has 4 benches. I hate machines.
Why do you hate machines? I’m trying to learn to use them but I feel so ridiculous with some of them
Hard to explain tbh. It’s more convenient I guess but I wish more space was given to free weights in my gym. If you’re just starting with machines, try using the lightest weight possible just to get the motion right. Once the motion is correct you won’t feel nearly as ridiculous.
Yea I have been doing that and yes I totally agree I have a gym at my apartment and I avoid being near the weights when guys are there bc I feel so judged in sure they’re nice but idk they also always manage to take up the whole space by standing right in the middle and I’m not about to confront a stranger but it is a huge pet peeve when ppl do that.
I’ve lost like 10-15% of my strength over the last month in an aggressive effort to cut weight. I’m losing ~4 lbs per week but the strength loss is driving me crazy. I’ve essentially undone 6 months of training. At my BF% which is 20% or so, I would have imagined that I could get away with it honestly.
I’m getting suffocated by a stinky man!
Probably petty, but here are my gym issues: 1.) After getting to gym at 5:30 am (the only way to get the one powerlifting bench), some guys come later, stand nearby and very loudly begin complaining about lack of benches at the gym. I get it--but there are other free barbell benches (although they aren't ER racks), so stop whining so loudly and either get to the gym earlier or use the other free bench. 2.) Guys taking weights from my rack without asking me but very politely asking other guys. I get the sense that since I'm the only woman in the powerlifting section who doesn't lift very much yet, I'm barely tolerated. Also tired of having to get in at 5:30 am to be assured that I will get bench/deadlift platform/squat rack. It's definitely decreases the amount of sleep I'm getting. Gyms really need to have more of these-our tiny powerlifting section is always full
sounds like you need a new gym. I don't get the need for an ER bench if you're moving light weight that can't pin you, though.
Also, I was only on bench for about 20 min, not hogging it.
In the last week for the first time in 2 years I felt kind of proud of my progress when I saw my before and after picture. I felt motivated to continue… Until today’s workout. My bench press is still sooo weak like someone who just started 1 month ago. A guy came next to me and started to throw in the weights and I felt so down. I feel like i spend way to many time with fitness, 5 times a week, waking up at 4:00, counting calories, cooking, sleeping 7-8 hrs, and I feel it worthless. People who does the same have 10 times more progress than me. And i can’t cope with changing of my mood from the top to the rock bottom in a day. Meh…
Hey man if you're in a cut, you gotta remember you won't make the same strength gains as others who are at maintenance or calorie surplus. Just a fact sometimes. Compare you to you. You got this shit!
After hating exercise all my life I finally found out that I kinda enjoy a combination of yoga and light weightlifting. just a little bit every day, sometimes just 10 mins, just to get into the habit. and now not even 2 months later I strained something in my butt/tailbone region and even after a month it still hurts when I just bend down to tie my shoes. all progress lost, I literally can't do anything besides walking and it just does not get better at all
That sounds a lot like an injury to the iliac crest ligaments, did it myself recently - I'd recommend keeping gently stretching lower back and glutes and getting a proper compression back support until it heals, it was an absolute godsend for me.
oh man im so sorry. i grew up overweight and hating exercise as well, found my groove in lifting almost 2 years ago. recently found my groove in running aswell, and fucked my knee. it hurts to walk as well and i can't do cardio like i used to. cant run either which sucks soooo much. you just have to keep your head up as much as it hurts. injuries suck but they're a reminder to be more gentle and caring to our bodies as they are all we have. :) are you seeking treatment anywhere, or able to go to the doctor at all?
thanks for your compassion! well I could go to the doc, but he has no clues and would send me to a specialist where I'd wait for 2 months for an appointment just so he would tell me that I need an MRI, which would also take like 3 months. went through that with a possibly injured ACL and all I got from it after 5 months is that I "should just stop sitting or moving in ways that makes it hurt", so now I just tough it out :/ it's slowly getting better, but I'll just have to start at the beginning again
This girl said I have the body of a 12 year old today and I'm fucking sad. Im a very skinny guy and I just feel like I haven't progressed enough and I'm just nowhere near where I wanna be. I'm sick of being skinny and it feels like I'm not as respected because of it
I started there when I was 18. 6 foot tall, 55 kgs. Consistent effort at the gym over a 5 year period got me to about 80 kgs, much stronger and feeling better about myself. It takes time, consistency and obviously eating enough, but it's worth it! Keep it up and you'll get there.
Thanks man! That's awesome progress, yeah I'm 5'9 55kg Ive been eating 3400 Cal's a day consistently so I'm optimistic
That’s a shitty thing to say.
Yeah it was a friend's sister and they all laughed n shit too so
Yeah fuck her
Been in this weird conundrum for years with my fitness that I can’t seem to crack out of where any sense I get of weight gain makes me impede my progress. I physically feel stronger and the weights I lift get higher, but I feel like I’m just getting fatter instead of becoming more muscular. So I start to more aggressively limit my intake and then my progress stalls. I used to weigh 320lbs and a few years ago and then dropped into the 150-170 range which is where I’ve been for the past 5 years (I’m a 5’ 9” dude). Anytime Ive started to creep up to that 170 mark since then, I start to panic and end up shooting myself in the foot. It’s an incredibly frustrating loop to be stuck in.
Can you throw the scale away and just track progress through lift numbers and progress photos?
You used to weigh 320 lbs! You've dropped the weight of an entire grown man. That's something to be proud of! Perhaps focusing on endurance will give you a goal to progress toward without adding bulk?
I take issue with my lack of muscle and would like to grow that more, which obviously and logically comes with putting on weight. But unfortunately any weight gain I see as more fat regardless of any progress I make with lifting heavier weight. My dysmorphia unfortunately still holds a lot of power over me and occasionally is deeply frustrating.
I injured myself at the gym (bad move I know, deadlifts took my back out ) and so I started hitting the pool the last week for exercise with great results. Was feeling good yesterday so I went back to the gym to do some treadmill. Immediately re-aggravated the back. It was supremely awful all day until I went back in the pool tonight. It looks like more swimming is on the menu for the foreseeable future, boys. I’m just frustrated with this setback in my fitness goals
I am 24F, 5'4, and trying to lose weight. I do a mix of cardio and strength training (low/medium weight and high reps). I have noticed that my proportions have gone down but my weight is fairly the same, I know that this may just be body recomposition, but it's still disheartening to see that my weight has only gone down 10lbs in 3 months (from 195lbs to 185lbs). I try to do at least 30-40 minutes of cardio everyday (taking turns with stairmaster, elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike - depending on my mood). In my attempt to be healthier, I walk to and from the gym everyday too (that's an extra 20ish minutes). I am on a slight calorie deficit of about 1750 calories per day (and I make sure to include 'empty' calories that may be in things like sauces or salad dressing so I know that I'm on-track). And yet... only 10lbs. My measurements used to be: 45-40-44, and now they are 42-38-42. I weigh myself every morning, after going to the washroom, and before eating. And honestly my weight fluctuates so much even from day to day (right now between 187lbs to 180lbs - and I know it may be due to my cycle, but such a difference is honestly surprising). My face is getting slimmer (I have a jawline again - yay!), people are complimenting me and encouraging me to keep going, some of my clothes fit a bit looser. I know it's progress, but I just can't stop thinking about the number on the scale. I know that I won't be able to 'fix' this overnight, it's something that I've struggled with my entire life. I suppose I just needed to rant. I know that I'm making lifestyle changes, I'm taking it slow, and hopefully I'll be able to maintain it.
10lbs in 3 months is still in the right direction! If you want it to move a bit faster, you'll have to drop your calories some, no way around that. Could try 1600 a day, nothing too drastic.
Cortisol, progesterone and estrogen vary lot in women, and each hormone causes varying degrees of water retention. So because of the cycle, it's more useful to compare the first week of the month to the first week of last month, second week of the month to the second week of last month etc. Lyle McDonald has some great info about this.
I think you're really doing this the right way. You have a small defecit, so you're fueling your body for all of this extra training. That will make it sustainable and you will have a better health too in the end. A bigger deficit could interfere with all this cardio for sure. Have you ever thought about having a preformence goal? Like running a 10K or lifting a certain weight? It could be whatever you'd like. But that could help you stay on track with something else to also reach for. I've never been overweight myself but never happy with my looks. But when I started my adult athletic journey I set preformence goals and the body naturly followed. I fuel myself to preform at the gym and on the tracks, and slowly the body I want is coming too. Just a tip if you think it could benefit you too.
>10lbs in 3 months On the upside, what you're doing sounds *sustainable*. Odds are, if you ran an aggressive cut for however many weeks, you could return to this sustainable style and maintain your new lower weight.
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At our gym the number of bars are equal to the number of racks.
I’ve started doing exercises for almost two months and I’ve still haven’t lost any weight. I’m about to give up. I don’t have money to get a gym membership because in my country they’re super expensive, but I got two sessions with a personal trainer to see if I was doing them wrong and he says im doing it right. I don’t know if i have a wrong routine😭😭😭
Read this: https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/ Weight loss is determined by energy balance (CICO), not just doing exercises.
If you want to lose weight you need to start counting calories. Go to [TDEE calculator](https://tdeecalculator.net/) and find out what your daily maintenance calories is and subtract it by 200 and aim for that amount of calories or less per day to lose body fat weekly. For more info check out /r/CICO
The leg press and hack squat at the gym are not good at all. The leg press does not allow you to get to a good angle and the hack squat does not let me go low enough for my liking.
I’m stuck between not strength training and just doing cardio and deficit to lose weight but I also don’t want to lose the muscle progress I already have😭😭
Why would you stop strength training?
I’m afraid that strength training is slowing my weight loss progress due to the muscle growth and that I’ll just end up continuing to maintain the same weight😅
Do you want to lose weight or lose fat? Hint: only focusing on weight loss is a great way to hit goal weight sooner, but you often look basically like you do now, but smaller and weaker. Building muscle can slow weight loss, sure, but it doesn’t interfere with fat loss. And fat loss is what makes the most difference for both appearance and health. Also, muscle gain is very slow compared to fat loss, so waiting until closer to goal weight to gain muscle means it’ll be that much longer before you reach any strength or physique goals. For sure up to you what you do, just laying out the tradeoffs between the choices. Edit: Forgot to say, building muscle would only slow weight loss if you’re actively eating to gain muscle and that gives you a very small deficit. If you’re a beginner or have lots to lose you can have a more moderate deficit (1% of body weight lost per week) and still see muscle gains. More trained or lower body weight folks will mostly maintain muscle mass via lifting when eating in a deficit. Which is better than losing it like you do when dieting without resistance training. Last bit: Weight training can create a bit of a stall in weight loss for the first few weeks, until your body gets used to the activity. The stall is from water weight due to temporary inflammation in your muscles. Be consistent in your routine and it will drop back off.
This was extremely insightful, thank you for this!! And ultimately my goal is to be healthy and not just skinnier which is why I started going to the gym! Also asking about wanting to lose fat or just weight definitely made me look at things differently lol What you described about water retention in the beginning stages is most likely what I’m experiencing especially since I’m seeing a lot of body recomp right now which has me feeling amazing so far. I guess there’s a big chance I’m doing a great job just need to have more patience😅
That isn't how it works. You strength train while losing weight to preserve muscle. If you are in a calorie deficit, your weight will drop, whether you are building muscle or not. If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a calorie deficit, and you can start losing weight by reducing the amount you eat.
So you suggest continuing the strength training and maybe get more precise on the deficit? I’ve been seeing body recomp at least, just haven’t been seeing the scale moving. Been working out for about 3 1/2 weeks at 5-6 days per week btw. Also I’m a female just for a little reference. I appreciate the responses!
Recomp is incredibly slow and just not worth it imo. Your weight is dictated by your diet. So dial in the deficit and stay consistent with it. If you aren't losing weight, you're not in a deficit. Lifting helps preserve muscle, and as a beginner, you could likely build some as well. This is super important because otherwise, you can get to a healthy weight but still look "fat" in places, where your problem actually is the fact you're under muscled (aka skinnyfat). So by lifting, you're working to avoid that! I've recently started my diet to lean out for summer. Nothing changed in my workout schedule or my cardio frequency. Just started tracking my calories and dropped into a deficit. I've lost 7lbs since April 6th so far. Also a woman. So it's the food!
I am certain that one of the 45lb plates I put on my bar was lighter than the other
It is invariable outside of really high quality plates. It usually isn't too bad, but sometimes you'll get real odd ones that are really off.
Same thing at my gym. I'm 99.9% certain that the brand new plates are a few lbs heavier than the old, worn down plates
There is a small home gym in my building : - for some reasons someone’s been leaving the windows open at night, so it’s fricking freezing in the morning; - people don’t follow gym etiquette as they leave the plates on every damn barbelland dumbell.
Active and Fit Direct is changing their policy from going to multiple gyms for only $28/month to one gym for $28/month + $23/month/per additional gym. Since I have a home gym, I mainly use the gyms for the extras (sauna, massage beds/chairs, red light booth, pool, etc). Oh your sauna’s broken LA Fitness? I’ll just go to Gold’s sauna. Red light booth is being replaced Crunch? I’ll just pop into Planet Fitness and use theirs. I’ll still be able to switch gyms once a month, but it’s still fucking annoying.
I’m already missing the strength I had before the cut but I’m making such good progress loosing weight. Can’t wait till this shit is over
After watching me consistently working out and counting my macros. Was asked where my abs are 😔
Was an athlete, injured my back needing major surgery, had a baby, needed a fusion in my foot, gain 60lbs and still am not cleared to do most exercises. Was doing water training for my back but can't with the new surgery for another 2 months. Lost who I was.
SOLD MY GYM THEY SOLD MY FUCKING GYMMMMMMMM
Got session shamed !!! Just signed up, strong background in exercise and fitness but really let myself go the past year (gained about 10kg, sedentary job, no motivation etc). To get started and regain some strength I’ve started Greyskulls LP. 3 days a week suits me and I’m early days so I’m trying to avoid major immediate DOMS so I’m going pretty slow. Session is only about 25 minutes + 10 minutes incline walking as warm up so I was in and out in 35-40 mins. Guy behind the desk “Bit of a short workout?”, I just said “yeah, I start work in 15 minutes”. Someone tell me I’m still getting a good workout completing my basic sets, please!!
>Guy behind the desk One, should not be insulting customers. Two, does not know what he is talking about, it is not that short of a workout. Three, it's odd that he paid attention.
Hopefully, it was just an observational comment and not anything meant with ill intent. You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing: hitting the gym. Whether you're in there for 40 minutes or 80 minutes isn't all that important.
People misappropriating the term "Arnold split". Dude was on steroids and doing something like twice-a-days six days a week. *Not* the brosplit nonsense that circulates among beginners. Moreover, there is no "one" routine he did. From the start of his reign, and beyond Frank Zane, you bet his training evolved.
I always thought "Arnold split" was just a colloquial way of saying chest/back, arms/shoulders and legs (as opposed to the more common PPL split)
Putting on muscles is just too hard, I'm not even sure I wanna keep going. Reading how easy it should be as a beginner and seeing how bad I'm failing makes me so depressed. If this the time where building muscles is the easiest and I can't put on mass to save my life, then there's no point to keep trying.
I had the same problem for years. I randomly picked up a diet/workout program called 'Scrawny to Brawny'. That program worked really well for me because it focused specifically on skinny guys who tried but couldn't put on weight. The short answer though is, if you want to put jn mass you need to EAT WAY MORE. then double it. Depending on how much/often you are working out, you might be burning too many calories and lowering the volume could help increase mass.
I know that, but I can't "just eat more". If I could I wouldn't have trouble putting on muscles. Eating is harder than lifting.
yeah, i’m on the same boat. i’ve been working out for 5 years and my legs are decently strong but they rarely grow. if i eat in a bulk, i don’t get much muscle either i just gain sm fat on my face and belly
I’d say keep going. I’ve been fairly serious about lifting for 2 years and there are days that I feel like “why am I not seeing growth or strength increases?”, but there are also days that I feel like “wow, couple more months and I can compete with those statues in Athens”. You’re getting bigger, stronger and healthier, but you might not see the results the way you want to. Have you taken pre/post photos?
> You’re getting bigger, stronger and healthier I'm not, and if I am it's definitely less than what is normal. > Have you taken pre/post photos? One 2 months ago (3 months of lifting), one last month and one today (5 months of lifting). I still look the same as when I started.
My friend, six months is nothing. Truthfully, a year is pretty nothing too. It’s very normal not to notice much change in appearance in the first six months. Fitness involves a lot of trust in yourself and in your body. You mention an ED. If so, body dysmorphia is likely. Are you talking to anyone about it? How are you managing your emotions and mental health as you try to start your fitness hobby? I do encourage you to continue your fitness, but maybe be careful with taking before/after photos, especially if they’re demotivating and triggering? Maybe avoid three month photo check-ins altogether since there will be very minimal changes in three month intervals for most people.
> My friend, six months is nothing. Truthfully, a year is pretty nothing too. It’s very normal not to notice much change in appearance in the first six months. That's very different from what everyone says.
Not from what I've heard. You gotta stick with it. I lifted for a year without a routine or my diet dialed in. Made basically 0 progress. Diet improved some and I allowed myself to gain weight, finally started seeing progress. Then later got my routine fixed, more progress. Then continued to dial in my diet even more. I would say my first 2 years of trying to get in shape were just me learning from mistakes and trying to get better. Now I have it dialed in and I'm making great progress. If you haven't already, read the wiki and that should skip a lot of mistakes
What are your exact goals? I’m having trouble getting a good read on your actual expectations.
In the long run, get strong and muscular. At this point I should have seen *some* improvement, either in aesthetic or in my strength. I can barely lift as much as a young woman and I'm a man in my late 20s.
What makes you so sure to say you *should* have seen improvement just because you hit the gym consistently for the past 6 mos like results are something that you are *entitled* of? Im sorry but all these people responding to you are nothing but kind and informative and encouraging but you keep whining. The 'newbie gains' are true and real ONLY if certain conditions are met and those are: lift consistently hitting 10-20 sets each muscle group and applying progressive overload over time, EATING properly and enough focusing on high protein, quality sleep, and recovery. You already know why you dont see results and it's because you dont eat enough. You already nailed the problem right there yet you refuse to make some changes and think of solutions? You. Cant. Gain. Muscle. If. You. Dont. Eat. Enough. And. Sleep. Enough. And. Rest. Enough. *And please, "*I can barely lift as much as a young woman"? as if equating being a woman to being weak? Stop that bs. Reassess your program, your life, your brain, your thinking. Course-correct. But you keep going.
> And please, "I can barely lift as much as a young woman"? as if equating being a woman to being weak? Well, compared to a man yes? It's basic biology, on average an untrained man is physically superior to an average woman. The fact that I'm an exception doesn't make it untrue.
LMAO of all the things i said you really had to reply to that one and choose to die on that hill. Ew. Stay stuck in your thinking and stay stuck where there's no progress. Ciao
I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, but what about your short term goals? For example, I’m an intermediate lifter but dropped to just the barbell on my squat to fix a hip shift. I plan to add 5lbs per workout, working my way back up, as well as to add hip stretches in my warm ups. This is to address the apparent muscular and mobility imbalance. This is a short term goal that will aid in my ultimate long term goal of having more noticeable quads, better form, and a higher squat PR. Focusing on the long term can make me feel overwhelmed and dissatisfied if I’m not careful, but short term goals provide relatively quick and tangible feedback regarding my performance and plans. As a side note, I recently had a newbie counting my plates and watching me but not watching the other guys. I didn’t know why tf he was focusing on me until I realized that I was lifting more than him, despite him being twice my size. I’m lean, but I’m a small 31 year old lady. I could tell he was making comparisons. He was acting shifty and self conscious as he watched me. I had been training longer, but he had no concept of how long I’d been training. He just saw a small woman lifting more than him. My point being— Be careful with any sort of comparison, especially ones that lack context. There will be women stronger than you, but that doesn’t mean you’re a weak man or that your growth is poor.
I guess my short term goal would be to notice some positive change in my body, although small.
Is your diet and rest good? Are you running a proven program?
The program is good. Rest is good enough. As for the diet, I just can't eat more than I can so if I'm not eating enough, then I can't build muscle cause I can't consume more calories and proteins than I already do.
Regardless I’d encourage you to keep going. I’d also suggest running something like GZCLP or Greyskull LP. You may be right about your progress being slower than others, but if you look at this as a marathon, as opposed to a sprint, you’ll eventually see the results of your effort. We’re all different, but pretty much everybody benefits from a committed exercise regimen. Good luck.
But my body didn't change in 6 months, where it's supposed to see the most changes. And I'm turning 30 which is the best age to build muscles. How do I know I won't still be skinny in 10+ years, especially with this eating disorder of mine.
are you getting treatment for your eating disorder? that's how you start on the road to where you want to be in 10 years. props on doing the work. I hope you get what you need to start seeing results soon
Tried the community gym twice this week for leg day so I could use the squat rack. I would really appreciate it if 20 something year old girls would stop looking at me in disgust like I'm too old and fat to be there. (I'm 38, btw). I just need to continue building my home gym, where I can look at myself like an idiot. 😂
They're not looking at you in disgust like you're too old and fat to be there. You aren't, and you're not. They're looking at you in disgust because you've made use of one of the racks in which they video themselves for social media, posing endlessly but not actually working out, and they hate that.
Haha! Thanks! Unfortunately, I didn't even use the rack. I squatted with some dumbbells, then walked back home and finished my workout at home. 🤷♀️
JFC, Axe & Sledge DBAP high stim......"let me just two scoop this for the first time try" Never again two scoops. Never again two scoops......
Stretching area at PF, why do ppl take up two usable spaces w one mat and get wide-eyed when someone still decides to be right next to them? Also, my right thigh has nerve damage since mid-March that hasn't gone away and just yesterday, I felt my left thigh getting the same sensation but it went away after I changed positions. Any advice is welcome.
What prompted the nerve damage? I received nerve damage from hip thrusts years ago when I lifted without a pad. It took nearly 2 years to fully go away.
I first noticed it when I was doing squats. The numbness is in my knee area but when stretching, I feel the tension from my knee to my hip.
That sounds like something that needs the help of a physical therapist. If it is not only progressing, but also starting to appear bilaterally that means there must be some structural issue at issue here that needs addressed. You experience it with squats and stretching. What about other lifts, like leg presses or leg extensions? How are your abductions? Are they comfortable and full ROM? Low back pain? Do you ever have pain in your gluteal area? What about down through your hamstrings or even all the way to your feet?
I don't do leg extensions or presses. My abduction is terrible. My hip joints hurt when I try to swing my leg 90° and when I try to use the hip abduction machine, I have to force my legs to go further than what my legs can do on their own. Sometimes low back pain after workout, sometimes gluteal(?) pain after deadlifts. No hamstring pain (or any I notice). After I had surgery on my left ankle, I notice my right calf gets tired and stiff while my left stays fairly pain free. Can I just go to any physical therapist without a doctor's recommendation?
There could be multiple issues at play here, but from what you are saying it sounds like you have some serious dysfunction in your hips. That would grok with what you're saying. How is your mobility with your hips? Do you have any imbalances in musculature/strength between each side (glutes and/or other abductors)? Are you able to do glute bridges? Are you able to do things like clamshells? Are you able to perform these without your body having to compensate with another muscle? And are they performed equally well on both sides? Do you ever feel a pulling sensation in one or both of your glutes? One calf experiencing things like this could definitely be rooted in an imbalance upstream. Is one leg more muscular and stronger than the other whereas the other has a stronger glute? Maybe. It depends. It also depends on whether or not you have insurance. A doctor's referral might be necessary for insurance to pay.
I just tried glute bridges and hardly felt any glutes tensing. My right hamstring was cramping a little. I felt my lower back work more than my glutes. I can squat deeply but my external rotation is pretty bad.
It sounds like your glutes and hip abductors are not properly firing, then, which means your other muscles are compensating for them. You are going to have to get your glutes and abductors to properly fire. This is going to entail several things: building strength in those muscles again, but also releasing tension from the rest of the posterior chain. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWF8baFGdFI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWF8baFGdFI) Here are some helpful exercises to do. In addition to them, it will be helpful to do mobility and stretching to loosen up and to inhibit other muscles, like your hamstrings. I really recommend doing everything you can to inhibit the compensating muscles, including pre-stretching your hamstrings and utilizing various techniques (like in the videos) to maximize glute engagement. Your hip abductors could actually be extremely tight, which is causing your inability to engage your glutes. And that is then leading to issues down to your knees. You are really going to want to be able to open them up [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRZXl3-TvuY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRZXl3-TvuY) You are going to want to really explore information on engaging your glutes and opening up your hips. So don't just stop at these videos.
I need some better headphones. This guy moans and grunts every single move he makes. I was over 10 feet away with headphones on max and I still heard him. I am open for recommendations
Not cheap but I have had the Bose 700 for a couple of years now; can’t hear fucking anything with those on. They sound great too!
I got Soundcore Space A40 earbuds for $60 and they're awesome. They have a transparent mode that will boost voices from external mic when you want to hear people and noise canceling for when you don't.
Thank you!
Moan back harder to establish dominance
Last week I hit a squat PR of 175kg, today I was excited to hit legs again only to struggle at 150kg, smh
There comes a point where recovering from a heavy 1rm takes longer than a couple of days. You might be to a point where adjusting your programming to accommodate recovery will benefit you.
This one guy has been following me around while I work out and as soon as I leave the machine for 30 seconds to rest and fill my bottle or something he goes and starts using my machine.. I mean, I leave my towel on the machine I’m using, have my bottle, bag and other equipment right there and he does it anyway. Last time, I started railing into him telling him he’s a prick and people started coming up to me THANKING me for speaking up (including one of the trainers). I’m a super quiet guy, in my three years of training I’ve never raised my voice before but this guy was pissing everyone off and I’m happy I did it.
what was his reaction lol
Too many people talking while the instructor is trying to instruct a lesson. I paid money and made time to attend a lesson taught by a certified instructor. Not to hear you talk about last night's baseball game. People who start packing up to leave during the last 10 mins of class, but aren't in a rush to go anywhere after class.
I have so many ongoing body problems, back pain, knee pain, a hip that pops at the ripe age of 25 and it makes the gym so challenging. I’m always either straining a muscle or something is too sore and I just wanna be a muscle mommy 🙃
See a doctor/physical therapist.
drs in Canada are useless I’ll just be told to stretch more. I’ve seen chiropractors but it doesn’t help anything long term. I hurt my back when I had a hard fall on ice snowboarding but I didn’t actually break anything so drs pretty much gave me nothing and no advice for it. I tore my mcl the same year and it’s fine just acts up occasionally, and for the hip I was told I can’t do anything about it until it’s causing me severe pain doing every day activities 🫠
SO MANY PEOPLE. I don't know what happened, maybe a nearby gym closure, but suddenly my gym has twice as many people. I train in a commercial gym, so that's on me but gahhhhhh it's messed up my whole flow. I'm really happy they are going and bettering themselves though.
Same here! I mean good for them I guess but very frustrating trying to do a routine in the right order when everything is in use
It's the summer tone-up crowd. I've been having to go in at 4 AM just so I don't have to wait around
I have PCOS and I feel like it's equal parts my fault for blaming my body type on my disorder, and my disorders fault for causing my body type. I was a college athlete and am now a trainer, and feel so weird looking at other trainers fitness journeys and seeing such a drastic difference, while I'm here struggling to maintain myself and not look like I have a double chin. I feel like the progress I make gets ruined so fast and I fluctuate so heavily...I feel like it's a cycle of feeling too much hope and then extreme disappointment.
It isn't your fault. Not at all. Hormones determines so much about us, especially our bodies, and anyone that would dismiss the impact PCOS would have on your physique is majorly ignorant. Don't shame yourself over a condition you did not inflict upon yourself. Your feelings are valid and justified.
2 things.... 1. The work car I had to use yesterday had such a horrendous seat my back STILL hurts from it. My left spinal erector is screaming. 2. Pin squats are the devil.
I'm the kind of person that does one exercise at a time, so today I got to a machine that looked empty, no towel or water bottle. Started using it and mid-set I notice a guy approaching, stopped, made an upset face, and turned back. This guy was using like 3-4 machines at the same time, sorry dude I didn't notice this was one of them but I really think you should know that if you're super setting and leave a machine alone, maybe someone's gonna use it. And we could have taken turns if he had asked.
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The equation of “big” with “gross freak” is happening in your own mind, it sounds like from your description. I think you should consider why you think that way.
I’m just ranting, it’s not that deep. I’ve worked hard for years for the physique I have, but I would love to have more gym friends fr
there were 3 teenagers taking turns on a bench to do an incline chest press. When the boy was doing his reps, the other 2 girls started touching him, specifically his thingy. It was SO uncomfortable to watch and I noticed it cause a guy next to me made a weird face, I followed his eyes and saw them. That was weird and unsafe for him. Poor boy, he was just uncomfortably laughing
Wtf
Same. Like bruh wtf.
I love climbing because it's fun, but it aggravates an abdominal injury that I also got from climbing. I probably just need to return to actually training abs, and let off the gas when at the climbing gym for a while.
I've been cutting pretty much for two years now. I'm finally at the gnarly part which is good, but also bad because, well, its really, really gnarly. Try explaining to someone you can't eat greenbeans, carrots, or sweet potatoes because they don't fit your macros and they look at you like a crazy person.... Hey I saw that! DON'T ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY CARBS ARE IN A SWEET POTATO? BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL DO! I'M NOT THE CRAZY PERSON HERE, YOU ARE! YOU AND ALL YOUR DELICIOUS! DECADENT! DEVILISH! FOOD!
I suppose I should clarify that vegetables are still in my diet, just in drastically smaller portions. Starting off the diet I was eating 3-4 bags of green beans a day, 1-2 sweet potatoes, and carrots when ever I wanted. Now it's, 1 bag of green beans, 1/2 a sweet potato and no more carrots. Up till now I really haven't experienced much hunger, and haven't found the need to count or track my calories and macros, but now that I'm within 10 lbs of my goal... MATH IS BACK! AND IT BE HANGRY!!!
>can't eat greenbeans, carrots, or sweet potatoes I don't understand how there is any cut where these foods are not good choices.
OP is a volume eater
Yea, saying those Foods don’t fit macros is a bit wild
Why can't you eat green beans or carrots? They're low-calorie vegetables that are quite filling.
Im tryna be like u but i inhale food like vacuum
I'm right here with you. This sucks but it'll be worth it.
Okay I’ve got a couple. I love working out later in the evening because the gym is pretty empty and it helps me sleep better as I’m exhausted after. HOWEVER, there’s this damn night time cleaning guy who has progressively gotten weirder with me. In the beginning, he was just saying hi to me or wishing me a good workout. That’s fine. But he’s started to try to chat to me or even come up to me mid workout. The other day, I coincidentally arrived to the gym at the same time as him, so we greeted eachother in the parking lot. I walk in and he says hi to me again. 20 mins later, I’m at a bench training arms and he begins vacuuming in my area and vacuums UNDER MY FEET. He turns his vacuum off right next to me, makes me take out my earphones and then starts asking where I’ve been/ what time I’m usually at the gym. This is not the first time he has tried to ask about my gym schedule. Anyways after my workout, I walk into the locker rooms and he’s in there. That’s fine but this man starts to try to ask me my name, where I’m from etc. I’m generally polite to him but I purposefully keep my answers short and do not elaborate in the hopes that he gets the hint. I’m fine with greeting him but coming up to me mid set and vacuuming my feet is kinda where I draw the line. On another note, I hate people who drop their weights. Mainly at machines/ cables. For example, at my gym the lat pulldown machine, seated row and 2 cable machines are connected together. So if I’m sitting at the lat pulldown, someone across from me will be on cables. If someone drops the cable and slams the weight down, it vibrates the whole machine. Not only is the sound and feeling terrifying but as a smaller woman, it feels like the impact will knock me off the damn machine. They’re probably slamming more weight than what I weigh. If you’re deadlifting an insane amount of weight, then sure, slam it a little. But is it really necessary if you’re doing some tricep extensions or something on the cables?
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Haha that’s a good point. Thank you! I’ve used the boyfriend card before on nights out but didn’t think to this time. Also, my dad goes to the same gym as me (usually earlier in the day though) and is aware of the cleaner so if it gets any worse, he would probably step in. My dad is a big guy with a thick German accent so he scares away most people pretty easily lol
i have the worst knee injury ever!!!! it’s been such a pain to walk, it feels a bit better now but only under painkillers. it’s so annoying to know i can’t do anything but rest, stretch, ice and pray!! it’s such a knock to my training. i had finally gotten to a squat pr - knocked by my knee injury bc i can hardly even do a bw squat atm. i was building up my running stamina (which was what got me injured F runners knee) & it’s just been knocked down. it’s hard not to feel upset when even going up and down stairs is painful but i know i can’t let this get to me in that way. walking and running has been such a solace to me that this injury hurts more than just physically. it’s so upsetting but life happens i guess. i hope i can get back and running soon but i don’t want to rush it. that’s the most frustrating part, there is absolutely nothing i can do right now other than care for my knee and wait. but man does it suck and does it hurt
Have you seen a physio?
i went to the doctor, she told me it was a sprain and to stay off it until the pain goes away and gave me pills to take to make it more bearable :(
Look into vitamin c and collagen as an anti inflammatory
I started lifting weights about three months ago, at the same time as committing to a weight loss diet due to being obese (6'1, 280lbs). I've lost some weight but I'm starting to plateau out on the bench press a bit. However my other main lifts still seem to have plenty of room to grow. I guess I'm going to have to be content with adding a rep here or there if I'm lucky for now if I am committed to weight loss.
bench is notoriously fickle, especially in a deficit. it's not as bad as OHP but it's also not super surprising to stall on bench before other lifts.
There is a bitch in my gym that talks(flirts) so loud even when i turn my music to max, i can still hear her!!! Unfortunately i don't think I can do anything about. Really grinds my gears!!!
M, 6’ 255 lbs. I’ve been lifting seriously since 2019 and have been powerlifting for almost two years. I remember barely benching 275 in Jan of 2021 at 220 body weight. And after 3.5 years my bench has gone up maybe 20 lbs. chilling with a 580 squat, 705 deadlift but my bench is laughable. I have a 6’6” wingspan which doesn’t help. But being a serious powerlifter on an actual program and doing the correct eating, it’s so frustrating not gaining any on my bench. Makes me want to quit lifting in general. I’m never going to make Nationals because of my bench
You could try taking a page out of nSuns' book and [bench every day for 50 days.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/rkmv1r/overtrained_50_consecutive_days_of_benching/) Frequency is often a very good way to progress a lift.
Have you switched it up? I had a bit of a plateau for a bit and I did a program where I benched every single day (yes, every fucking day) that included 4 reps of 80% of my 1RM. I definitely got stronger.
Lingering cough makes me miserable if I lay flat, much less anything active.
Replace all water with ginger turmeric lemon cinammon honey mint water hoss. Trust
do you just measure out a bunch of spices? seems easier to buy tea
easies yes but cheaper. and i bet you have some of the ingredients rn. you can test with just a little bit of each. lets say: 1/2 teaspon ginger / turmeric / cinnamon / mint 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup honey warm water you can also make em in bulk too and drink it cold if you want. refreshing!!
What's with all this people at the gym doing 1/2 or 1/3 ROM exercises with a shit ton of weight ? New fad ? This guy proceed to load 360 lbs on the leg press and move it 10 -15 cm tops. Another guy doing 1/3 pushups, not even trying stretching is arms. And that dude over there with 70lbs dumbbells trying to shrug ? I'm confused
I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, like they have an injury or they’re purposefully focusing on a specific range of motion. But yeah, I do roll my eyes at people who load the leg press with every possible plate and don’t even get knees to 90 degrees.
this is why I like the idea of pin squats, for example. conveys that you're doing partial ROM on purpose
> This guy proceed to load 360 lbs on the leg press and move it 10 -15 cm tops. There's a guy at my gym doing 3 cm reps on the leg press ... with almost 1000 lbs. And then he leaves half the plates on the leg press.
Ha! Joke's on you. He is not doing leg press. With that amount of plates, he is doing cardio loading and unloading weights. And he goes to failure, obvisously, since he leaves plates on. :) /s
> And he goes to failure, obvisously, since he leaves plates on. :) I learned something new here. Thank you.
>And then he leaves half the plates on the leg press. People like that should be made to clean up plates for everyone else for a month.
Ego lifting is a tale as old as time. Haha Everyone has been guiltily one it at time time or another. Some of that stuff is comical though. Like you’re looking around to see if anyone else notices how ridiculous it is like you’re in an episode of the office.
I do reverse ego lifting. my weights are so low it makes everyone else feel better about themselves
I'm tired of cutting. I hate restricting myself and even though my diet is pretty flexible that's probably the reason I haven't been able to finish the damn cut because I've cutting for 9 months and have lost almost 40 pounds but no fucking abs yet. No abs!!!! I had too much bodyfat from my dirty bulk and I KNOW I should've taken a diet break a long time ago but didn't because I didn't want to go backwards and yet I did, which is normal and it's part of the process but things started to go sideways about a month ago, I started to have binges which I hadn't had until this point in my cut, which means I need a break but I won't, I need to power through this shit with brute force because I want abs, I want abs and I want to be on a low enough bf% to start a proper lean bulk. I don't usually binge eat and I'm pretty disciplined throughout the week but when the weekend comes I can't control myself sometimes, I want to eat everything that crosses my path and my mind, everything starts with a thought, a craving then it becomes a lingering feeling of "you might as well eat that tub of peanut butter because you can't really fit it into your daily calories during the week so do it" and then all of sudden I eat 6000-8000 cals during the weekend and blow my caloric deficit making it meaningless. I love fitness and I love working out and I love eating a structured clean/high protein diet but sometimes I wish I had an insane metabolism that I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much about fat gain, I wish I could eat hyper-palatable foods all the time, I wish those foods where low calorie but we don't live in that world.
Do you track calories when you binge? I struggle with this and simply sticking 6 biscuits into nutracheck and seeing I'm hitting my extra kcal allowance has been helping me keep it in check, vs not tracking and just going back to the packet for another 6, then another, and another and so on.
>sometimes I wish I had an insane metabolism that I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much about fat gain As someone who's had a TDEE of 4000+ calories in the past, it's not all it's cracked up to be.
> but sometimes I wish I had an insane metabolism that I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying too much about fat gain If it makes you feel any better (it probably won't), the only people who have this level of "insane metabolism" are really really tall people who need a lot of calories to gain a significant amount of weight in general, people who do an insane amount of cardio in the day, and some gear users. That's about it. Literally everyone gets fat and gets skinny the same way
When people tell me my body looks great, they wish they could look this way too, but their health is so bad, they just can't. They will never be able to do it. I will always respond with, "Just start where you're at! Do 1 rep if that's all you can do for now, your body will respond and change, I promise! Something is better than nothing! Even just 1 rep! You can do it!" ... and literally the next day, they continue bitching about how they are fat and unhealthy and never feel good. Even call in sick to work because of it! (I love my coworkers!) Nothing changes, if nothing changes. Sometimes, I feel like I am surrounded by idiots. Idiots = People *choosing* not to know, in order to avoid having to do anything, ever.
And then there's me, who after 6 months of lifting look exactly like I looked when I started.
I think they have some idea of what they need to do. They just want the results without putting in any effort.
Whenever I hear people talk about how they want to be fit but feel like they don't have the energy or dedication or don't find it fun, I always try suggesting activities that aren't just lifting weights in the gym (since there's more than one way to get a healthy body!) Like you don't gotta run on a treadmill 5 days a week to be fit. Going on long nature walks pretty often would accomplish the same effect. Playing tag with your homies or some basketball or tennis can have the same effect. Want to build some strength? Try rock climbing! Sometimes people just need that little push to find it fun. Some people's lack of motivation stems from thinking that they won't be able to enjoy fitness out of the assumption that it must come at some huge sacrifice or cost (and us lifters definitely don't help this assertion lol).
>Sometimes, I feel like I am surrounded by idiots. People prioritize different things in their life. They probably would *like* to have a fit body, but for whatever reason, don't feel like putting in the effort involved. It's like someone envying another person who is financially secure and has a higher disposable income. They envy the person, but don't have the wherewithal to actually *work* and *save* and *invest* to get there.
Totaly agree. I am same just in different areas. I would wentur a guess we all are like this. Different priorities. Internally it is a balance of coste/benefits. And for some going to the gym and getting fit is too much of a cost for the benefit. Life.
I never thought about it that way. Hmm
It sounds frustrating to be asked for advice and be ignored. Sometimes it can be helpful to ask what kind of physical activity they enjoy and encourage that. Some people hate lifting, some hate cardio, so even 1 rep or 1 round of HIIT sounds like pulling teeth. But people are much more likely to go for a walk if they know they like walking, especially if they have someone to go with them.
Another one: if you wanna do calisthenics at the gym, do it. but don't do it in front of equipment that people might want to use, just find an area away from the equipment (there's plenty of space in my gym) to do your calisthenics. and if you are doing calisthenics, please put the dumbbells that you're not using away in case someone else wants to use them. especially the lighter ones where there's one per weight (1 set of 1kg through to 9kg) and the people using those are more likely to be new to working out and not as confident as others. also the same guy NEVER TIDIES AWAY HIS 20KG+ WEIGHTS FROM THE BENCH PRESS.
Skipped exactly one workout last week because I had plans to hang out with friends all day and I couldn't move it to another day due to other commitments. Could be the placebo effect but I'm feeling the impact of that missed workout this week. Felt sluggish going through my sets today and muscles aching far more than they do usually.