discussion 🏋️‍♂️ Fitness Thread 🏋️‍♂️do u even lift bro?

[DanyelP23]

On 7/28/2024 at 2:46 PM, John Slayne said:

took like 9 months of consistent routine but i feel like i'm finally gaining some weight. it still feels like a bit of a struggle sometimes and like i'm force feeding myself, but building habits made it easier

 

also yes i can vouch for squats making your cake bigger! i had to buy new trousers recently because they just feel so tight in my crotch area due to my booty growing 

I feel the same. I've been struggling for like 3 weeks almost up to a month and I'm still circling around 155 lbs (I'm supposed to get to 165).

---

I don't know if it's an eating disorder [potential trigger warning] but I kind of love the feeling of slight hunger & being on an empty stomach makes me feel like a Feather.mp3 

I usually eat a zero sugar protein bar with high fiber and ¬20 grams of protein and a fruit salad (around 500 grams) in the morning after my 1h gym session, and then I end up eating the next meal at like 2 or 3pm The gag is that at the end of the day I always feel full, and get the same force feeding sentiment. Plus, the fact that I don't feel like I'm gaining weight as fast as I want makes me stressed which makes me go on long walking strolls so I burn some calories that way without even wanting

[Hephaestus]

Hello divas, first time poster in here 

 

I've been training regularly for a couple months now (3 times a week) and even if the results are barely noticeable (a bit disappointing since a few people told me I'd see results quickly being on the skinnier side), I'm trying my best to be consistent with it and see where it leads me. I've also been trying to eat more and to me that's definitely the most difficult part, but I'm not stressing over it because I don't want the whole process to feel like a chore.

[John Slayne]

4 hours ago, DanyelP23 said:

I feel the same. I've been struggling for like 3 weeks almost up to a month and I'm still circling around 155 lbs (I'm supposed to get to 165).

---

I don't know if it's an eating disorder [potential trigger warning] but I kind of love the feeling of slight hunger & being on an empty stomach makes me feel like a Feather.mp3 

I usually eat a zero sugar protein bar with high fiber and ¬20 grams of protein and a fruit salad (around 500 grams) in the morning after my 1h gym session, and then I end up eating the next meal at like 2 or 3pm The gag is that at the end of the day I always feel full, and get the same force feeding sentiment. Plus, the fact that I don't feel like I'm gaining weight as fast as I want makes me stressed which makes me go on long walking strolls so I burn some calories that way without even wanting

it takes me literally months to gain just 1kg of weight and then i skip one meal and i lose it almost immediately. the struggle for us hard gainers is real, some people will never understand 

[John Slayne]

3 hours ago, Hephaestus said:

Hello divas, first time poster in here 

 

I've been training regularly for a couple months now (3 times a week) and even if the results are barely noticeable (a bit disappointing since a few people told me I'd see results quickly being on the skinnier side), I'm trying my best to be consistent with it and see where it leads me. I've also been trying to eat more and to me that's definitely the most difficult part, but I'm not stressing over it because I don't want the whole process to feel like a chore.

my trainer told me most people won't see results for the first 3 months. a good measure of whether or not your body is changing is your clothes - if they still fit the same way they used to, you've probably not changed much. if they start being loose/tight in certain areas, your body is changing.

[Hephaestus]

12 hours ago, John Slayne said:

my trainer told me most people won't see results for the first 3 months. a good measure of whether or not your body is changing is your clothes - if they still fit the same way they used to, you've probably not changed much. if they start being loose/tight in certain areas, your body is changing.

Oh interesting, thanks for the info! 

 

I mean, I wouldn't say I have noticed anything substantial with the clothes I usually wear, but I when I look in the mirror after a shower I can tell there's... Something more there if it makes sense? Like it's probably unnoticeable to other people, but me knowing my body I kinda see some small changes. It's mostly in the arms and chest area, they look sliiiiightly bigger.

 

It's not a lot and if it wasn't for that + being able to actually lift heavier compared to when I started, I'd swear I was wasting my time!

[glitch]

13 hours ago, John Slayne said:

it takes me literally months to gain just 1kg of weight and then i skip one meal and i lose it almost immediately. the struggle for us hard gainers is real, some people will never understand 

 

16 hours ago, Hephaestus said:

Hello divas, first time poster in here 

 

I've been training regularly for a couple months now (3 times a week) and even if the results are barely noticeable (a bit disappointing since a few people told me I'd see results quickly being on the skinnier side), I'm trying my best to be consistent with it and see where it leads me. I've also been trying to eat more and to me that's definitely the most difficult part, but I'm not stressing over it because I don't want the whole process to feel like a chore.

I struggled with eating enough at the start, but it does get easier the more you do it! You'll just naturally start to feel hungrier as you lift heavier.

 

I used to make shakes with bananas, peanut butter, berries, protein powder and milk to get in some extra calories (you can add oats too but that really thickens it up and makes it harder to drink). Not super sustainable in the long term, but it's a good way to put on some muscle at the start.

[DanyelP23]

Just went to the gym 3 days in a row.

I feel so good.

 

[Kern]

since I have a boyfriend my diet has gone a little loose but at the same time I work out more so I'm getting bigger 

 

most progress I have is with cardio surprisingly. If only my headphones were waterproof

 

 

[Kern]

Does anyone have tea on doing steps and how much they burn? Because I see a lot of bs on the internet - I refuse to believe 10k steps burns 500 kcal, that's literally about the same amount that running would do. And how much does it help with weight loss since 10k daily is not even that a lot for most people?

[Vrx.]

On 8/29/2024 at 6:40 AM, Kern said:

Does anyone have tea on doing steps and how much they burn? Because I see a lot of bs on the internet - I refuse to believe 10k steps burns 500 kcal, that's literally about the same amount that running would do. And how much does it help with weight loss since 10k daily is not even that a lot for most people?

A general rule of thumb I like to use is 100kcal per us mile (1.6km), so try to go based off of that. And yes, walking and running a mile burns the same amount of calories, just at different levels of intensity and in different time amounts. 

Edited August 30, 2024 by Vrx.

[Vrx.]

35 pound cut finally finished 

Never dirty bulking again 

Edited August 30, 2024 by Vrx.

[Ichinaru19]

Hellooooo, so looking for advice on my current workout routine and what I could do to add or to improve to it. I am 30, weigh about 160-165 pounds. I tend to do some kind of PPL with a shoulders day (since my shoulders have been lacking). I usually go through this routine once a week, and maybe hitting push or pull days twice a week. Each workout session, I usually end with 20-30 minutes of an incline treadmill walk at 3 mph and 7.5 incline or higher. 

I've been consistently working out at the gym for about 3-4 years now, and I do try to increase the weight for the exercises overtime. Here is my workout routine (they are generally in order of what I prioritize first to last). Most exercise I am hitting somewhere between 6-12 reps. I do some other forms of exercise depending on availability at the gym.

Push

• 4x Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 
• 4x Dumbbell Bench Press 
• 4x Machine Fly 
• 4x Machine Decline Mts Press (?)
• 4-6x Tricep Pushdown (Cable or Machine)
• 4x Tricep Dip (Machine)

Pull

• 4x Wide Lat Pulldown
• 4x Close Grip Lat Pulldown
• 4x Row (Cable, Machine or T-bar Row)
• 4x Rear Delts (Machine, Cable) 
• 4-6x Preacher Curls
• 4x Incline Dumbbell Curl or 4x Hammer Curls

Leg

• 4x Machine Leg Press
• 4x Machine Leg Extension
• 4x Machine Leg Curl (Prone or Sitting)
• 4x Machine Hip Abduction or 4x Machine Calf Press

Shoulder

• 4x Shoulder Press (Dumbbells, Machine)
• 4x Lateral Raises (Dumbbells. Machine or Cable)
• 4x Front Raises (Dumbbell or Cable)
• 4x Rear Delts(Machine or Cable) or 4x Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs

Anyways, should I axe any exercises? Should I add in any new ones? Should I have different variants of push and pull days and alternate between them? Any advice is appreciated, thank you! 

[coney island]

28 minutes ago, Ichinaru19 said:

Push

• 4x Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 
• 4x Dumbbell Bench Press 
• 4x Machine Fly 
• 4x Machine Decline Mts Press (?)
• 4-6x Tricep Pushdown (Cable or Machine)
• 4x Tricep Dip (Machine)

Pull

• 4x Wide Lat Pulldown
• 4x Close Grip Lat Pulldown
• 4x Row (Cable, Machine or T-bar Row)
• 4x Rear Delts (Machine, Cable) 
• 4-6x Preacher Curls
• 4x Incline Dumbbell Curl or 4x Hammer Curls

Leg

• 4x Machine Leg Press
• 4x Machine Leg Extension
• 4x Machine Leg Curl (Prone or Sitting)
• 4x Machine Hip Abduction or 4x Machine Calf Press

Shoulder

• 4x Shoulder Press (Dumbbells, Machine)
• 4x Lateral Raises (Dumbbells. Machine or Cable)
• 4x Front Raises (Dumbbell or Cable)
• 4x Rear Delts(Machine or Cable) or 4x Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs

 

I only have some very minor recommendations based on what I found has worked for me:

 

I would recommend removing machine decline mts press in favor of incline skullcrushers, preferably with dumbbells (those are my favorites and if you do them slowly and focus on the movement, you will really feel and see the results). Those with tricep dips (by far the best exercise imo especially if you have the good tricep dip machine at your gym) helped grow my triceps the most as far as isolation exercises are concerned. 

 

I would recommend re-ordering legs so that you hit leg curls first, then go to leg press. I find leg curls work great before leg press. Additionally, do the abductions as well as the calf press. You can superset to save time.

 

I would repurpose the shoulder day for shoulders and arms and perhaps do them before legs, so you can hit legs and then go into your next block without needing to rest triceps if you so want. Biceps are fine to be hitting two days in a row, especially if you adjust the routine to accommodate for that. Personally I prefer hitting rear delts before shoulder press movement.

Edited September 3, 2024 by Gladiator

[Ichinaru19]

22 hours ago, Gladiator said:

I only have some very minor recommendations based on what I found has worked for me:

 

I would recommend removing machine decline mts press in favor of incline skullcrushers, preferably with dumbbells (those are my favorites and if you do them slowly and focus on the movement, you will really feel and see the results). Those with tricep dips (by far the best exercise imo especially if you have the good tricep dip machine at your gym) helped grow my triceps the most as far as isolation exercises are concerned. 

 

I would recommend re-ordering legs so that you hit leg curls first, then go to leg press. I find leg curls work great before leg press. Additionally, do the abductions as well as the calf press. You can superset to save time.

 

I would repurpose the shoulder day for shoulders and arms and perhaps do them before legs, so you can hit legs and then go into your next block without needing to rest triceps if you so want. Biceps are fine to be hitting two days in a row, especially if you adjust the routine to accommodate for that. Personally I prefer hitting rear delts before shoulder press movement.

I was under the assumption that the Decline Mts Press worked mostly chest? I want to keep my sets for chest to be about 15 sets.

Tricep dips seem to be pretty good, I have one stationary one and a moveable one. I tend to like the cables the most. Also I used to do skull crushers with an EZ bar but I stopped because I was kinda getting tired of it, never tried incline with dumbbells though so I would have to give that a try.

And I'll try that out for leg day! For abductions they have one that works the inner thigh, and one that works the outer thigh, should I do both the same day? I usually try to alternate between sessions.
 

I like the idea of making the shoulder day a mixed with arms as well, I guess I would take the number of sets slightly down for shoulders to include enough time to do arm exervises again. How many sets do you think I should do for biceps and triceps? 8 each?

And for rear delts, I feel like I am still getting the hang of working that part out, I've just been tacking it on shoulder and pull days because they are a bit underdeveloped for me.

Thank you for the feedback!

[coney island]

1 hour ago, Ichinaru19 said:

I was under the assumption that the Decline Mts Press worked mostly chest? I want to keep my sets for chest to be about 15 sets.

Tricep dips seem to be pretty good, I have one stationary one and a moveable one. I tend to like the cables the most. Also I used to do skull crushers with an EZ bar but I stopped because I was kinda getting tired of it, never tried incline with dumbbells though so I would have to give that a try.

And I'll try that out for leg day! For abductions they have one that works the inner thigh, and one that works the outer thigh, should I do both the same day? I usually try to alternate between sessions.
 

I like the idea of making the shoulder day a mixed with arms as well, I guess I would take the number of sets slightly down for shoulders to include enough time to do arm exervises again. How many sets do you think I should do for biceps and triceps? 8 each?

And for rear delts, I feel like I am still getting the hang of working that part out, I've just been tacking it on shoulder and pull days because they are a bit underdeveloped for me.

Thank you for the feedback!

Well for chest, what you have already is more than sufficient. Most recommend a fly movement, an incline movement, and a flat movement. Decline is okay, but you're already hitting it with the flat dumbbell press and for most people, targeting your chest and getting a full range of motion dumbbell movements are generally preferred. 30 sets of chest a week (I am assuming you hit it twice a week) is on the high end. Especially for a natural. You can get away with half of that which offers faster muscle recovery and less room for injury. Always be mindful of that. 

 

Incline skullcrushers with dumbbells are my favorite tricep exercise. Nothing makes me feel it more than that exercise. Sometimes I'll do some burnout sets to failure afterward with highest ez-bar weight I can. But you definitely will need an overhead movement so I hope you choose to try them for a while. 

 

I don't actually do abductions so I can't speak to them. But when I was with a coach back before COVID happened, when I was having aspirations for going into competitions, my coach had me do both. Also leg curls before pressing helps with muscle activation so you're less prone to getting injured and it really helps you with really focusing on whatever muscle (hamstring or quad) you're focusing on the leg press. Though leg position also is important. 

 

On my arm day I do 4 sets of X with 3 exercises for biceps and 3 exercises for triceps. But my focus on that day is arms, not shoulders. I have a weird split now where I do a chest and delt focus workout, a back and arms focus workout, legs and delts, chest and arm focus, and then back and delt focus. I do lightly hit biceps/tricep respectively on the shoulder focus day with back/chest, but only 4 sets of a single exercise. This is the one I've found to enjoy the most. 

 

I throw in an arm day on days where I feel I can (but never before a chest workout). It's really just an "I need an arm pump dopamine hit" kind of thing more than anything else. I tend to go in on Fridays for that or days I have bad days. But the workout structure apart from that.

 

My rear delts are the weakest head on my shoulders. I'm trying to bring them up as well. 

Edited September 4, 2024 by Gladiator

[Ichinaru19]

23 hours ago, Gladiator said:

Well for chest, what you have already is more than sufficient. Most recommend a fly movement, an incline movement, and a flat movement. Decline is okay, but you're already hitting it with the flat dumbbell press and for most people, targeting your chest and getting a full range of motion dumbbell movements are generally preferred. 30 sets of chest a week (I am assuming you hit it twice a week) is on the high end. Especially for a natural. You can get away with half of that which offers faster muscle recovery and less room for injury. Always be mindful of that. 

 

Incline skullcrushers with dumbbells are my favorite tricep exercise. Nothing makes me feel it more than that exercise. Sometimes I'll do some burnout sets to failure afterward with highest ez-bar weight I can. But you definitely will need an overhead movement so I hope you choose to try them for a while. 

 

I don't actually do abductions so I can't speak to them. But when I was with a coach back before COVID happened, when I was having aspirations for going into competitions, my coach had me do both. Also leg curls before pressing helps with muscle activation so you're less prone to getting injured and it really helps you with really focusing on whatever muscle (hamstring or quad) you're focusing on the leg press. Though leg position also is important. 

 

On my arm day I do 4 sets of X with 3 exercises for biceps and 3 exercises for triceps. But my focus on that day is arms, not shoulders. I have a weird split now where I do a chest and delt focus workout, a back and arms focus workout, legs and delts, chest and arm focus, and then back and delt focus. I do lightly hit biceps/tricep respectively on the shoulder focus day with back/chest, but only 4 sets of a single exercise. This is the one I've found to enjoy the most. 

 

I throw in an arm day on days where I feel I can (but never before a chest workout). It's really just an "I need an arm pump dopamine hit" kind of thing more than anything else. I tend to go in on Fridays for that or days I have bad days. But the workout structure apart from that.

 

My rear delts are the weakest head on my shoulders. I'm trying to bring them up as well. 

I might hit chest twice a week, but sometimes only once depending with work and my weekend routine. Would you suggest 12 sets total then?

And okay, I will try the incline skull crushers, its nice to have different options when so many of the cables or machines are full.

And yeah I've seen some videos recently with how leg placements on the leg press changes which parts you are hitting, I want to hit my quads more so I think that's placing your feet on the lower bottom portion.

 

Also thanks for sharing your current routine, I'm a little confused by what you mean by " I do 4 sets of X with 3 exercises for biceps and 3 exercises for triceps.". Do you mean you do 4 sets each for three exercises (12 sets total???)

[Pepo]

On 9/3/2024 at 5:14 AM, Ichinaru19 said:

Hellooooo, so looking for advice on my current workout routine and what I could do to add or to improve to it. I am 30, weigh about 160-165 pounds. I tend to do some kind of PPL with a shoulders day (since my shoulders have been lacking). I usually go through this routine once a week, and maybe hitting push or pull days twice a week. Each workout session, I usually end with 20-30 minutes of an incline treadmill walk at 3 mph and 7.5 incline or higher. 

I've been consistently working out at the gym for about 3-4 years now, and I do try to increase the weight for the exercises overtime. Here is my workout routine (they are generally in order of what I prioritize first to last). Most exercise I am hitting somewhere between 6-12 reps. I do some other forms of exercise depending on availability at the gym.

Push

• 4x Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 
• 4x Dumbbell Bench Press 
• 4x Machine Fly 
• 4x Machine Decline Mts Press (?)
• 4-6x Tricep Pushdown (Cable or Machine)
• 4x Tricep Dip (Machine)

Pull

• 4x Wide Lat Pulldown
• 4x Close Grip Lat Pulldown
• 4x Row (Cable, Machine or T-bar Row)
• 4x Rear Delts (Machine, Cable) 
• 4-6x Preacher Curls
• 4x Incline Dumbbell Curl or 4x Hammer Curls

Leg

• 4x Machine Leg Press
• 4x Machine Leg Extension
• 4x Machine Leg Curl (Prone or Sitting)
• 4x Machine Hip Abduction or 4x Machine Calf Press

Shoulder

• 4x Shoulder Press (Dumbbells, Machine)
• 4x Lateral Raises (Dumbbells. Machine or Cable)
• 4x Front Raises (Dumbbell or Cable)
• 4x Rear Delts(Machine or Cable) or 4x Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs

Anyways, should I axe any exercises? Should I add in any new ones? Should I have different variants of push and pull days and alternate between them? Any advice is appreciated, thank you! 

Too much volume.

If I were you, I'd halve the sets, and increase the rest interval between the reps (at least 3 minutes, or even more for heavier weight).

 

I gained 3% of muscle and lost 6% of body fat in just a few months by doing so. There are a few American science-based trainers who are literally impacting bodybuilding as a whole.

Edited September 5, 2024 by Pepo

[Ichinaru19]

20 minutes ago, Pepo said:

Too much volume.

If I were you, I'd halve the sets, and increase the rest interval between the reps (at least 3 minutes, or even more for heavier weight).

 

I gained 3% of muscle and lost 6% of body fat in just a few months by doing so. There are a few American science-based trainers who are literally impacting bodybuilding as a whole.

Thanks for the info! Imma try it out! 
 

Also just in the middle of trying the incline dumbbell skull crushers but I don't think I'm getting the form right lol, I am hitting the dumbbell on the sides of the bench occasionally but I do feel it in the triceps

[Maneater]

Been working out consistently for the first time in my life and finally putting weight back on. Was down to 67kg after losing my taste 3 years ago (and prep kills my appetite) and up to 74kg now and actually getting compliments on my body.

 

Speaking of prep, will my kidneys be ok if I start taking creatine whilst I'm on prep? 

[coney island]

18 hours ago, Ichinaru19 said:

Also just in the middle of trying the incline dumbbell skull crushers but I don't think I'm getting the form right lol, I am hitting the dumbbell on the sides of the bench occasionally but I do feel it in the triceps

If you're having issue with that from the incline, you get the same range of motion from it flat and it allows you to lay further up on the bench - but also be sure to have your elbows and starting position high enough. Starting with your elbows too low will cause you to hit the bench.

 

On 9/4/2024 at 11:03 PM, Ichinaru19 said:

Also thanks for sharing your current routine, I'm a little confused by what you mean by " I do 4 sets of X with 3 exercises for biceps and 3 exercises for triceps.". Do you mean you do 4 sets each for three exercises (12 sets total???)

That's just an example of one of the arm focused workouts (I have about 3 that I rotate depending on what gym I go to since some gyms have different equipment available). But I generally do 3-4 exercises for triceps and 3 exercises for biceps on the days where I exclusively hit arms, and I do 4 sets of [x]. x usually ranging between 8-12 reps depending on the exercise.

Edited September 6, 2024 by Gladiator

[Goaty]

4 hours ago, Maneater said:

Speaking of prep, will my kidneys be ok if I start taking creatine whilst I'm on prep? 

This is not medical advice - but yes. Kidney function is assessed with something called serum creatinine. When the kidneys are distressed, they don't work as well, and your serum creatinine goes up. 
 

Creatine will make your serum creatinine value go up, but only because it will increase the amount of creatinine floating around in your blood. It doesn't actually harm the kidneys in any way. BUT this means it can look like your kidneys are hurting - just make sure you communicate this to your doctor next time you get blood work.
 

My PCP had me do an extra blood test to make sure my slightly elevated creatinine was stable instead of trending up, and now it's no big deal. 

[MonsterJohn]

I want to dedicate 1 day to train glutes but it's kinda em looking like I'm throwing ass with many guys around 

 

I actually asked chatgpt to make my workout plan I actually see better results and gain weight faster than last year tho

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

What workout playlists do you guys listen to?

[jakeisphat]

19 hours ago, Mr. Peanutbutter said:

What workout playlists do you guys listen to?

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace 

[Cesar]

recently switched over to a very gay friendly gym, and it's been the best decisions in my life.  great community, good vibes, and they have the best gym equipment in the city, i've noticed way more muscle growth after switching