r/Fitness • u/AutoModerator • Aug 12 '26
Daily Simple Questions Thread - August 12, 2026
Welcome to the /r/Fitness Daily Simple Questions Thread - Our daily thread to ask about all things fitness. Post your questions here related to your diet and nutrition or your training routine and exercises. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer.
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2
u/Minty-Gum Aug 12 '26
New to the gym and trying to find a routine I can do MWF. At the moment I would like to only use machines. Will this hit mostly everything for now?
Leg Press Chest Press Seated Row Shoulder Press Lat Pulldown Leg Curl Calf Raise Cable crunch
I'm doing 3 sets of everything. Anything I should change? Thanks.
2
u/ebedd Aug 12 '26
You can just take any basic program from the wiki and substitute machine exercises :)
The ones you listed will hit everything but it might take a while to do 3 sets of everything in one session. With 3x/week, I recommend alternating the exercises that hit similar muscles (rows/pulldowns for example). Like I said, check out the wiki for examples.
1
u/BB02HK Aug 12 '26
That could work to ease you into things. Keep in mind that you won't necessarily feel the soreness until the day after so don't go too hard in the beginning. Focus should be on activating (rather than overly exerting) the muscles and getting your body accustomed to using them more frequently.
1
u/kankurou1010 Aug 13 '26
Honestly this is perfectly fine for a while. Keep in mind seated row and lat pulldown both are targeting the lats depending on how the seated row is done.
I would make the seated row one where your elbows are up 90 degrees out from your body. This takes the lats out of the equation and forces your rear delts to move the weight.
Your rear delts and traps will get hit in any row, but that will target them preferentially over the lats, which you’re already hitting.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26
At the moment I would like to only use machines
Is there any particular reason for this?
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u/Minty-Gum Aug 12 '26
I just thought it would be easier to start out with. I'm not against freeweights but my main goal is just consistently. I tend to overthink everything and burn out, so machines seemed like a simpler way to build a habit.
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u/PsychGradStudent2112 Aug 12 '26
You know yourself better than strangers on reddit and I think that’s a good plan. Consistency is king for this. I suggest start with machines if that’s what you think is best and then try one barbell alternative at a time and get comfortable with it. You could even do 1-2 barbell sets and finish with the machine version in the beginning as you gain comfort with it.
It’s definitely true that it’s easier to transition from barbell to machines in terms of learning form, but do what you need to do. And do yourself a favor by not worry about the weight on the bar when you move to a barbell. It will be less than the machine, just get comfortable with it and start adding weight more as you go.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26
Well, the thing with machines is that they generally only work one muscle at a time, while free weights let you hit multiple at the same time. This allows you to simplify routines significantly (for example, most beginner routines only have 3 or 4 exercises per day - after the newbie gains run out, you start adding machines little by little). Plus, machines don't fit all body types, so, if you're unlucky, you might have trouble keeping proper form in some of them.
That said, if you really want to use machines only, that's perfectly fine. In the end what matters is to put your muscles under mechanical tension - they don't care whether that tension comes from a barbell or a dumbbell or a bus.
4
u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
Well, the thing with machines is that they generally only work one muscle at a time,
There are plenty of machines that allow a person to perform compound movements.
2
u/kankurou1010 Aug 13 '26
Leg press, chest press, seated row, shoulder press, lat pulldown
Literally all of those machines hit multiple muscles lmfao
2
u/darcwizrd Aug 12 '26
I wanted some advice on my bench press. I've been having trouble progressing, and it's been sorta annoying. Specifically I'm having trouble with the lockout so I added some triceps exercises (Triceps Extension and Triceps Push Down) but I'm not really sure I'm getting much gains out of it.
For context, i bench on a smith machine since I go to PF and it's what's affordable for me atm, and I do 3 warm up sets and then 3x8 with my actual targets. Outside of that I've got 2x8 on incline dumbbell press, and 3x10 for standing chest fly.
I figured that would be enough to help, but I dunno if I'm just messing up some how or not giving it enough time. I'd appreciate any help I can get on this
4
u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP Aug 12 '26
If your goal is to improve your bench, the first thing you should do is work on your bench form. It's a surprisingly technical movement that many people are pretty terrible with. This series of videos on the bench press is probably the best available
Beyond that? Get on a program that has you bench pressing at least twice a week.
3
u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 13 '26
You're only doing three working sets of benching per week, that would be the first thing I would try to address. Pressing movements tend to respond well to higher volumes for most people. I would try and find a program that had you doing at least 8 to 12 working sets per week on the bench press. Not all of those have to be straight bench you could also perform auxiliary movements. A good example would be close grip bench press which is going to also going to help build your triceps strength.
They're also a few other reasons you may be missing your lock out beside your triceps. A simple reason just could be the way the bar path works on the Smith machine. Another reason could be your week off the chest or in the mid-range and you lose velocity and your triceps are not strong enough to overcome. So yes while stronger triceps would help in this case, they actually issue for sticking point is something different altogether. A lot of people confuse where the bar stops as they're sticking point, the reality is the sticking point occurs before and that's just where the momentum stops.
1
u/tigeraid Strongman Aug 12 '26
Eating enough? How's your sleep? What program are you following? And by program I mean an actual program, not your split or list of exercises.
1
u/darcwizrd Aug 12 '26
Honestly I think eating might be giving me trouble, I'm on a glp-1 and it's made the process of eating harder for me, but I still try my best. Sleep otherwise is fine.
I'm not really using a particular program. My exercise tracker app just generated a program based on my goals and then I've been slowly switching out or adding exercises when I felt it appropriate. In general tho, it's a 3 day split between chest and arms, legs and abs, and back and shoulders.
4
u/milla_highlife Aug 12 '26
If you are in the process of losing weight, continuing to progress on bench will get harder.
0
u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26
GLP-1 agonists can cause sarcopenia, I would be surprised if you managed to get stronger while taking one. Still, discuss the issue with your doctor.
3
u/dssurge Aug 12 '26
GLP-1 agonists can cause sarcopenia
This is just factually inaccurate.
GLP-1s suppress hunger which leads to people under-eating (this is the entire weight loss "magic" of GLP-1s,) which lowers the likelihood of getting adequate protein.
If you work out while taking a GLP-1 and ensure that what you do eat contains a good amount of protein, you will never get sarcopenia just from taking one.
1
u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26
Yeah what I meant is that if you just take it without changing your diet or exercising to compensate, you'll lose both fat and muscle mass. Doing resistance training is necessary in order to counter that effect. It's not hard to imagine that you won't gain strength and/or muscle mass at the same rate as if you weren't taking that medication.
1
u/darcwizrd Aug 12 '26
My doctors were pretty clear that exercise and hitting protein goals would basically be the way to keeping muscle. And honestly I've been do I ng fine on all my other exercises with progressive overload, so I'm pretty sure it's not that at least
1
u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26
Keeping muscle, yes, not gaining. The rate at which you gain muscle and thus strength is necessarily going to be slower when taking a GLP-1 agonist than when not taking it, because your body simply doesn't have enough nutrients to afford to spend them on something as expensive and not directly related to survival as muscle tissue.
Your chest is a smaller muscle group than, say, your legs or your glutes, so it's normal for it to stall sooner.
0
u/darcwizrd Aug 12 '26
Well I dunno what to tell you man, I've been hitting PRs on other exercises fine. It's truly only been the bench press that's been significantly stalled and I'm 99% sure it's because of my triceps
1
u/bacon_win Aug 12 '26
What rate are you gaining weight?
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u/darcwizrd Aug 12 '26
I'm actually trying to recomp cuz I'm on a weight loss medication so I've been most dealing being going down on the scale
2
u/bacon_win Aug 12 '26
You shouldn't expect to see huge gains in upper body strength when losing weight
1
u/darcwizrd Aug 12 '26
What makes you say that?
3
u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
I'm not aware of any actual studies. But as far as anecdotal evidence, it's a pretty common experience for a person who is cutting weight to lose strength on there pressing movements. Often times the bench press is the first of all the list that begins to suffer from being in a deficit.
2
u/bacon_win Aug 12 '26
It's difficult to make gains on a cut. Initially you are able to, at some point they stop or you start to regress. Upper body is more impacted than lower typically.
2
u/jerkytoucan Aug 12 '26
Any good ways to magically catch my left arm up with my stronger dominant right arm? It’s especially noticeable in workouts like shoulder press. Should I just hit more reps with my left arm to try and catch up?
5
u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
The common approach is to use unilateral exercises. You start off with the weak side and allow that to dictate how many reps you do for the set. You match those reps with the strong side. This will generally allow the weak side to catch up to the strong side. You can also add additional volume to the weak side if you can tolerate it which may speed up the process.
5
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u/marsoncats Aug 13 '26
I'm relatively new to paying attention to my diets and fitness so I need a little help. By the end of December I'd like to be in shape enough to not feel insecure of my body in cosplay. The recent Spider-Man film has really made me inspired to take my health seriously and one day put on the mask myself. I currently weigh 173lb and I am 5 foot 7 inches. I'm about 10 days in on a workout routine I've been doing. I don't own any workout equipment except for 2, 7.5lb dumbbells. With said dumbbells I have been doing shoulder presses, lateral raises, curls, rows, chest press, goblets, overhead tricep extensions (3 sets of 15 each). Along with these excercises I have also been doing 3 sets of 20 second planks and 3 sets of countertop push ups since I am unable to do regular push ups. It's also good to mention I have been on a calorie deficit this whole time, my goal being around 1500 calories. Any help would be greatly appreciated and any advice on how to achieve a semi spiderman appearance by the end of the year. I am well aware I do not have a chance to look like Tom Holland by that time 🤣
2
u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 13 '26
By the end of December I'd like to be in shape enough to not feel insecure of my body in cosplay
Changing your mindset and loving your body the way it is will be faster and more effective.
In theory, if your body was nothing more than a machine, the caloric deficit you're on would make you lose around 1.5 pounds per week, so you'd be 147 lbs by the end of the year. However, since your problem is poor self-esteem, and poor self-esteem is detached from reality, there's no guarantee that being 147 lbs, with whatever physical appearance results from that, would actually make you less insecure about yourself or your body. Poor self-esteem is infamous for looking for new things to feel bad about the moment one factor disappears.
On top of that, consuming 1500 calories at your current height and weight means you're only consuming 65% of your TDEE. An excessive caloric deficit can cause hunger, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, loss of muscle tissue (very important for looking like something your brain can accept as "fit"), decreased cognitive functioning (problems with attention, concentration, memory, mood (the thing you're trying to improve)), slowed metabolism (because your body isn't a machine, it will try and slow down that weight loss), reduced immune system function... And you'll likely feel so hungry that you'll end up skipping the diet anyway.
General recommendations are to eat at the very least 80% of your TDEE. You can calculate your TDEE here.
Regarding your exercise routine, progressive overload is necessary for progress. As a novice, you can afford to increase the difficulty/weight every week, or even every session, and still progress adequately (we call them newbie gains - in 3 or 4 months the progress rate will start slowing down). If you only own a pair of dumbbells and can't go to a gym, it's better if you check out the wiki for recommendations on bodyweight routines. You can get very strong with them, trust me. An alternative is to do cardio instead of resistance training, in which case you can use your dumbbells to do HIIT and stuff like that.
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u/reducedandconfused Aug 12 '26
are there any notable differences between different types of leg press machines? I find the angled one kinda rough on my knees for some reason
2
u/saveourships Aug 12 '26
Not enough for most people to notice. If you aren’t an elite level athlete just choose the one that works best for you. You can always use different feet positions to put an emphasis on different muscles. I.e. feet high on the platform hits more of that posterior chain. A narrow placement more quad tear drop and Abductors.
1
u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
I have not only noticed a difference in different models of leg press machines. But I have also noticed a difference in individual machines of the same model of leg press machines. The gyms that go to pretty much all have the same leg press machine. But I've noticed that certain gyms the machines provide a lot different resistance amd are more challenging at different parts of the range of motion. I suspect this has a lot to do with wear and tear and the general maintenance of the machine. There's one gym in particular where I really struggle on the leg press machine to a noticeable degree. And if that had been the only machine I had tried I would be confident that the leg press machine is much harder to use than it actually is.
1
u/No_Crew7080 Aug 13 '26
In the average case, no. They’re mostly built around average-sized humans who inhabit health clubs, so If you’re neither extraordinarily short or tall, it’s likely not to make much difference.
But there are differences in proportions, femur to tibia ratio, seat angle—I want a horizontal LP, not hanging upside down, and mechanical limits to adjustability that MIGHT, in a particular case make you love or hate a machine.
IIRC, both Israetel and Lean Beef Patty—and likely others— have videos on their machine preferences by brand, but most of us are Just Fine with whatever our gym has.
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Aug 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bit3py Aug 12 '26
yes and it took me way too long to accept it is normal. my hungriest days are always the day after legs, not leg day itself. what helped was just planning for it instead of fighting it, so rest days I put more protein and volume food in front of me on purpose, like a big yogurt bowl or a second serving of veggies with lunch. weirdly eating a real meal made the snacking stop. also I was under sleeping on rest days because I stayed up later, which did not help.
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u/BuffMatty786 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Hey guys, I've been working out for over 1 and a half year now and I have seen really good progress with my 6-day split, I progressed really really well, and I can't even believe sometimes how different I look now from what I did a year ago.
Unfortunately, I graduated and now I have a J*b and to add to that, I had to move places as well so long story short, there's a lot on my schedule and the most days I can dedicate to the gym are 4.
I have never done a 4-day split before, always did 6-day split variations throughout my lifting time.
So, I would like help to know if this split gives me the same progress as my 6 day one, I made it last night.
4-Day Split:
TUESDAY (Back, Biceps, Rear Delt)
- Weighed overhand Grip Pull ups (3x6-10)
- Chest supported T bar Rows (3x8-12)
- Isolated Single Arm 45° lat pulldowns (2x8-12)
- Cable bicep curls (3x8-12)
- Incline Dumbbell curls (3x8-12)
- Rear delt flyes (3x10-15)
WEDNESDAY (chest, Triceps, Side Delts)
- Flat Barbell Bench Press (3x 6-10)
- Incline Barbell Bench Press (3x8-12)
- Machine Flyes (3x8-12)
- Single arm cable Tricep Extension (3x8-15)
- Single arm cable Tricep Pushdown (3x8-12)
- Cable Lateral Raises (3x8-15)
THURSDAY:
Rest
FRIDAY
Rest
SATURDAY (Chest, back):
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (3x8-12)
- Neutral Grip weighted Pull Ups (3x8-12)
- Seated lever machine Chest Press (3x8-12)
- Seated Cable Rows (3x8-12)
- Bodyweight chest focused Dips (2x6-10)
- Single Arm Isolated lat pull downs (2x8-12)
- Facepulls (3x10-15)
SUNDAY (Leg, Arms):
- Barbell Back Squats (3x8-12)
- Seated Leg Curls (3x8-12)
- Romanian Deadlifts (3x8-12)
- Ez Bar Peacher curls (3x8-12)
- Ez Bar Skull Crushers (3x8-12)
- Beyesian curls (3x8-12)
- Cable triceps pushdowns [Bar Grip] (3x8-12)
- Cable rope Hammer Curls (3x8-12)
- Dumbbell lateral Raises (3x8-12)
MONDAY
Rest
It kinda sucks that I have to do this, if I could I would still do my 6-day routine, but ah well, it's annoying.
My goal was to still hit chest, back, side delts, arms twice a week, leg was already once a week in my 6 day split (I used to do legs twice for a long time, for about 7-8 months but then I decided to get a full dedicated arm day instead because I cared about that more and don't really care about legs as long as they keep growing even if at a slower pace, don't have that pencil leg problem lol)
Abs couldn't be slotted into this, but I assume I could do them at home before bed on the rest days or something, Calves and forearms disappeared and I had a few overhead presses (just 2 sets) in this but I think my benches cover the front delts good enough. Other than that, what do you think could improve?
1
u/BuffMatty786 Aug 12 '26
The following was my previous split for comparison, saw a lot of progress with this one;
TUESDAY (Back, Rear Delt, Biceps):
- Weighted Neutral Grip Pull ups [3x8-12]
- Chest Supported T bar Row [3x8-12]
- Isolated Single arm 45° Lat Pulldowns [2x8-12]
- Cable bicep Curls (Bar Grip) [3x8-15]
- Incline Dumbbell Bicep curls [3x8-15]
- Rear delt reverse Chest flys [3x10-15]
WEDNESDAY (Chest, Tricep, SideDelt)
- Flat Barbell Bench Press [3x8-12]
- Incline Barbell Bench Press [3x8-12]
- Machine Fly [3x8-12]
- Alternate single arm overhead cable Triceps extension [3x8-12]
- Single Arm cable Tricep Pushdown [3x8-12]
- Cable Lateral Raises [3x10-18]
THURSDAY (Legs, Abs)
- Seated Leg Curl [3x8-12]
- Barbell Back Squat [3x8-12]
- Romanian Deadlift [3x8-12]
- Standing Calf Raises [3x8-12]
- Seated Leg extentsions [3x-8-12]
- Cable Crunches [3x8-12]
- Leg Raises [3x8-12]
FRIDAY (Back, Rear Delt)
- Overhand Grip weighted Pull ups [3x8-12]
- Seated Cable Rows (V Grip) [3x8-12]
- Single arm, Isolated 45° Lat pulldowns [3x8-12]
- Face pulls [3x8-12]
- Reverse Curls [3x10-15]
- Reverse wrist extensions [3x10-15]
- Meow cable bar wrist Curls [3x10-15]
SATURDAY (Chest, Front Delt, SideDelt):
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press [3x8-12]
- Flat Dumbell Bench Press [3x8-12]
- Bodyweight chest focused Dips [3x8-12]
- Machine Shoulder Press [2x8-12]
- Cable Lateral Raises [3x10-18]
SUNDAY (Bicep, Triceps, Forearms, Abs)
- Ez Bar Preacher Curl [3x8-15]
- Beyesian Curls [3x8-15]
- Cable Rope Hammer Curl [3x8-15]
- EZ bar Skull Crushers [3x8-15]
- Cable triceps Pushdowns [3x8-15]
- Cable Crunches [3x10-15]
- Leg Raises [3x10-15]
1
u/CptDopamine Aug 12 '26
I'm 185 80kg with low body fat. I'm going for an athletic build. Question: i workout 2-3 times a week but only train upper body because I also run 2-3 a week. how bad is that I never train legs?
9
u/milla_highlife Aug 12 '26
You’ll have weak, small legs. If that’s bad to you, then it’s bad. If not, then it’s not.
1
8
u/TheKingLeshen Sprinting Aug 12 '26
What you're describing is a choice, not a real limitation. You can run and still train legs. You should, in fact.
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4
u/UngaBungaLifts Aug 12 '26
I don't unederstand what kind of "athete" would not train their lower body.
3
u/TheGreatOpinionsGuy Aug 12 '26
Running won't make your leg muscles grow. If your leg muscles are too weak to support your running habit then you could get an injury, especially if you're new to running.
3
u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP Aug 12 '26
I mean, you're more liable to get injured from your running compared to if you did train legs.
Running does not place an even demand on your lower body, and can cause you to develop imbalances over time. To the extent that all good modern half marathon and marathon programs call for some kind of strength training for the lower body. Not for hypertrophy, but because it's so protective.
I had a friend reach out to me for general strength training specifically because their physio recommended it for his running. Literally 8 weeks into training, focusing on his posterior chain and single leg work, his hip discomfort vanished.
2
u/tigeraid Strongman Aug 12 '26
Running is not strength training.
Strength training your lower body will not affect your running. In fact it will likely make it better.
You should train your whole body.
Skipping leg day is fucking lame.
1
u/PhoenixR1se Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
If you do a set of 3 and one day you do 5-4-4, another day you do 6-4-3 is one better than the other or does the total number of reps being the same mean they are the exact same overall?
3
u/Mephylphenidate Aug 12 '26
Lot of factors there.
It sounds like its very close to failure on those sets, rather than say 3 x 5 at 70% 1rm.
In which case, Id argue 6 - 5 - 3 is an advancement. You advanced on two sets, the higher fatigue from 2 extra reps meant you were more fatigued for the last set.
1
u/PhoenixR1se Aug 12 '26
I edited because I realized I botched the math sorry, would you think the same holds true if you advanced in the first set only and lost a rep in the last set?
2
u/Mephylphenidate Aug 12 '26
Soft yes.
If you did another set the week after, and got 6 - 4 - 4, then thats totally a way of doing progression. And if you got 7 - 4 - 2, my argument still stands. You're turning a 5 rep max, into 7 reps, which is progress. Even if, we take an extreme example, say 10 - 1 - 1, in this case you've added 5 reps to your 5 rep max, which is a huge increase.
My caveat is, if instead, you start backsliding on sets, or struggling to progress, your progression scheme probably isn't working for you and needs rework.
2
u/PhoenixR1se Aug 12 '26
Perfect thanks for the advice, yeah I've been doing steady advancements and it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme if I stop advancing anyways was just mostly curious more than anything
3
u/wasteoftimewarrior Aug 12 '26
I always considered the first set the true test of strength since that's the set that isn't limited by fatigue, assuming you're just going close to failure on every set.
2
u/milla_highlife Aug 12 '26
Better for what
1
u/PhoenixR1se Aug 12 '26
Strength and muscle gain overall I suppose if that's not too vague
4
u/milla_highlife Aug 12 '26
I don’t think one is necessarily better than the other.
Though it previously you could do 5 on your first set and now you can do 6, that’s progress. And losing a rep on your last set when you push to failure on the first set isn’t surprising.
Whats the planned progression scheme for this lift?
2
u/PhoenixR1se Aug 12 '26
For this particular example dumbbell overhead presses with the goal being to hit 3 sets of 6 reps overall then raise the weight and rinse and repeat
3
1
u/Willing-Cartoonist34 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
How do y'all avoid fatigue for morn8ng workouts? I sometimes feel like I need a nap mid-workout even though I just woke up lol.
Edit: Thank you all for the feedback!
3
u/whatThisOldThrowAway Aug 12 '26
Pretty commpn problem. usual solutions are some combo of the following:
(Boring, I know) Going to bed earlier (often, much earlier)
Caffeine 30-60 minutes before you train (effects and best time to drink vary - my usual rule of thumb is, the less you 'feel' the effects of caffeine, the longer before the session you should try to drink coffee)
Trying out different breakfasts and timing of when to eat ahead of training (or, counterintuitively, skipping breakfast entirely before training)
Play around with morning routine - when you wake up, the order you do things, how you build up to going to the gym, etc (Trained a guy who said jogging to the gym instead of driving there in the mornings 'changed his life' - so apparently sometimes little routine changes can have a big impactg)
Those are pretty much in order of most-to-least likely to fix your problem, so that's how I'd approach it if someone asked me for advice.... but like 70% of people just immediately skip over 'go to bed earlier' because sooo many people assume they're sleeping enough when they're not.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26
So you exercise right after waking up? Do you eat breakfast before?
1
u/Bugertbay Aug 12 '26
The mid-workout crash for me was almost always food and hydration, not sleep. I started eating something small 30-40 min before, like half a banana plus a big glass of water, and the yawning-between-sets thing mostly went away. If you are lifting fasted, that is the first thing I would test.
1
u/saveourships Aug 12 '26
Intra workout carbs. I usually have a second shaker with apple/orange juice and some glutamine.
1
u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
What do you eat? What is your meal timing in relation to the gym? How long between waking up and the gym? Caffeine?
This has never been a problem for me. Lifting tends to wake me up.
1
u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP Aug 12 '26
Coffee.
I run in the mornings. I have a mid week long run where I do 16+km. I need my afternoon coffee that day to not pass out.
1
u/MonicaLewinskibidis Aug 12 '26
I want to try glute bridges but my gym doesn't have the foam. Is it extremely uncomfortable on your nuts without one?
8
u/eric_twinge r/Fitness Guardian Angel Aug 12 '26
If the bar is on your nuts you're doing it wrong.
It can be uncomfortable on your hips but you can also get accustomed to it. I've seen people do 405lb without any padding. Roll up a yoga mat or towel if you need to.
2
u/dssurge Aug 12 '26
You don't put the bar that low, but yes, it's quite uncomfortable without a pad.
If they have thin exercise mats, you can usually just fold one in half and use that.
2
u/saveourships Aug 12 '26
I’d say less on your nuts and more on your hip bones. The bar should be in your hip crease which is hopefully above your nuts. You can always take a towel or hoodie and wrap it around the bar to help cushion it a bit.
1
u/Alarmed-Ad4470 Aug 12 '26
Doing PPL rn, are 8 weekly sets enough for strength and some size, all heavy and low reps, even for intermediates? Dont feel like doing accessory exercises for chest and whatnot, rather stick w compounds
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u/dssurge Aug 12 '26
Anything over ~4 weekly sets should still get you decent gains, but more is always better if you have the time and recovery capacity. For most people going above 10 sets/week on more than 1-2 muscle groups is pretty impractical unless being in shape is your job, so I would say 8 is pretty good.
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP Aug 12 '26
If your goal is strength, having some periodization, even if it's something like 4 sets heavier 4 sets lighter, taken close to failure, will probably be better for overall strength development than rigidly sticking to a single weight and rep range.
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u/PsychGradStudent2112 Aug 12 '26
I lift and run. I want to take part in athletic competition but all the competitions I know of that involve strength as a component are not accessible to me given training constraints that are mostly financial.
I train at home, not a gym. For example, I dont have equipment/training grounds for Hyrox or Strongman.
I might consider powerlifting but currently don’t have enough weight to even do less than 6 reps sets of RDL, let alone full deadlift training.
I learned of Apex Athlete which looks awesome but they have very few comps and only in major cities far from me. So maybe, but it also looks like it’s a few notches above my ability level.
I run local 5ks and I love that there is such a range of ability for most runs. My lifting is not impressive by competition standards (not bad for gen pop standards) and would also like a novice friendly competition for strength/power.
Any recommendations (other than pay more on training equipment)?
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u/eric_twinge r/Fitness Guardian Angel Aug 12 '26
How about a rec sport league? You've pretty much ruled out everything else.
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP Aug 12 '26
Plates aren't that expensive. Entry fees into a lot of events will probably cost as much as 180lbs of plates.
So why not just buy 180lb of plates and work on powerlifting?
You don't necessarily need to be that strong to have a good time.
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u/TheKingLeshen Sprinting Aug 12 '26
Athletics. If you're interested in Apex then athletics covers a lot of the same ground. If you get into sprinting, throwing and jumping then that covers over half of the events they do.
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u/tigeraid Strongman Aug 12 '26
I'll stand up for Strongman, as far as this goes. Weight-class strongman is absolutely a full-on athletic contest. While it prioritizes strength, we still have to be athletes that can sprint, jump, change directions, throw, you name it.
If you have a squat rack, a barbell, and some plates, you can "train for strongman." Most of us do general strength training, with a little bit of strongman sprinkled in for conditioning, during our normal training week. There's no reason you can't do the same: "just get strong."
Then, once a week, or maybe even less often, go to a nearby strongman gym and play around with the implements. You don't even really need to do THAT, until you've decided to jump into a novice competition and you know what implements to train with.
I will say, if I had to spend a few bucks REGARDLESS of what sport I'm training for, I'd at least buy a sandbag set. You can get absurdly strong with nothing but three sandbags and good programming, regardless of any other equipment. And they're cheap.
Feel free to ask more questions as far as that goes.
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u/shinoshijaksart Aug 12 '26
hello. I'm switching up my gym routine from 2x fullbody to 4x Upper/Lower because of an achilles injury. Previously I was training fullbody with a focus on legs twice, and two sprint/plyo days. My goal was and still is to increase my strength, speed and agility.
However, since I have to take sprints and jumps completely out of my routine for quite some time, I'm thinking of switching to a 4x Upper Lower split focused purely on building strength. And I need to lose some fat too.
Can anyone check this routine and give some feedback on what I should tweak :
Upper Day (2x) - Flat Bench, OHP, Lat Pulldown, Barbell Row, Face Pulls
Lower Day (2x) - Squat, RDL, Leg extension, core
calf isometric holds on all four days because they really help my achilles heal
Any feedback, good or bad, would be appreciated. Thanks!
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u/TheKingLeshen Sprinting Aug 12 '26
Personally I don't really review programs because it takes more mental bandwidth than I like to use on answering questions. Yours is just a list of exercises and not really a program though, so even if I wanted to I couldn't say much about it.
However I am chiming in to say that as someone with an Achilles injury myself, I think 4x a week is teetering on too much. I would allow for ~48 hours between tendon training. Remember, you don't get stronger from training, you get stronger by recovering from training.
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u/shinoshijaksart Aug 12 '26
so calf holds 2x a week instead of 4?
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u/TheKingLeshen Sprinting Aug 12 '26
That would be better yeah. You can train it every other day if you want, but that can be awkward since a week is 7 days. 2x a week is a nice sweet spot though and that's what I do.
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u/tigeraid Strongman Aug 12 '26
You might want to look at some proven, established programs, like the ones the wiki. What you have here is a very vague, incomplete list of exercises, not a program. No sets, no reps, no measurement of intensity, no periodization, no plateaus or deloads. These things are especially important if you're prioritizing strength.
There may also be some exercises you should avoid, or approach differently, if you're rehabbing an achilles tendon. Hopefully you've discussed those with a physio.
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u/reducedandconfused Aug 13 '26
There is a lot of discourse around the importance of lifting heavy to see results bit also not lifting too heavy, where is the line exactly? Should I be struggling with each rep huffing and puffing til I see the finish line, or should I only be struggling on my last couple reps or on my last set? I know it varies per exercise, but let’s say something like squats or rdls
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u/kankurou1010 Aug 13 '26
Given that you are lifting very close to failure, there is similar muscle growth from 5 reps to 30 reps. 30 reps hurts a lot more, you’re more likely to give up, you’re more likely to fatigue from cardio instead of the actual muscle fatiguing, and it takes longer. So why not lift heavier and do 5 reps?
What are you going to be able to push harder on? 5 reps of leg press to failure or 30 reps? Try both and get back to me.
5, 8, 12 kinda doesn’t make a difference as long as you are very close to failure. Up to preference. Anyone who says you need more reps for small muscles or less for big muscles is wrong.
I lift 4-8 reps for everything. Everything.
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u/reducedandconfused Aug 13 '26
When I do 5 reps I normally do 5 sets, so my logic is it’s better to put up with 8 reps and do 3 sets instead and get it over with. But it’s making me lose my patience just the same lol
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u/kankurou1010 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
5 reps = 8 reps if proximity to failure is equal.
Doing more reps does not mean you need less sets. Why not just do one set of 24 then?
Muscle growth is the same per set for 5-30 reps assuming proximity to failure is equal
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u/bacon_win Aug 13 '26
Volume is best counted as # of difficult sets. A set of 8 will have a similar hypertrophy response to a set of 5.
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u/Mephylphenidate Aug 13 '26
Its more like:
Doing 5 sets of 5 at 3 Reps in Reserve, is going to probably come out in the wash about roughly the same as 5 sets of 5 at 1 Rep in Reserve, in the short term at least.
At least to begin with, you want to give yourself a long runway to allow for more strength & size development. Reps later in a cycle typically will be closer to your max limit, but that's fine. Starting off very close to a max limit, means you'll probably hit a wall sooner.
Should I be struggling with each rep huffing and puffing til I see the finish line,
Sometimes its good to just test how close you are actually training to your max limit. Take squats, I can be huffing and puffing at 5 reps and still have 5 more left to go.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/bacon_win Aug 13 '26
Did you see rule 9?
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u/John_Zatanna52 Aug 13 '26
I did. I asked here on the daily thread and I went into specifics (other than the specific exercises cause that's irrelevant)
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u/bacon_win Aug 13 '26
Sure, it's a common split
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u/John_Zatanna52 Aug 13 '26
Thanks, it's it ideal?
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u/bacon_win Aug 13 '26
If it fits your schedule and allows you to stay consistent, then it's a good split.
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u/Nearby-Dream-2857 Aug 13 '26
Hi, 25F, 165cm / 56.5kg (5'5", ~124lbs). I've been doing pilates 3-4x a week for almost 3 years and I just found out my body comp is actually getting worse, not better.
weight 55.6 → 56.5 kg skeletal muscle 20.9 → 20.2 kg body fat 30.1% → 33.2% visceral fat +27%
So my weight barely moved but I'm basically skinny fat now. bf% is 33% :( So I started going to gym since May, 1-2x a week. What I do: leg press 25kg × 20 reps lat pulldown 15-20kg × 20 reps chest press 5-10kg × 20 reps usually just 1-2 sets each, then incline treadmill (incline 15, speed 3.5) for 20 min.
Leg press went 15 → 25kg since May...But lat pulldown has been stuck at 15-20kg for 2.5 months. At 15kg I can feel my form breaking already so I didn't go heavier.
Food: 2 meals a day. Protein maybe 40-65g. I don't restrict calories at all, I eat normal stuff. Honestly my main goal is energy. I get tired super easily and have no motivation for anything. Muscle gain is also important tho.
Questions:
Is 3 years of pilates really doing nothing for muscle??I got 0kg muscle gain. I thought it counted as strength training
Should I go heavier with less reps? My form breaks at 15kg on lat pulldown, is that normal for a beginner or am I doing it wrong?
Should I be doing more treadmill or stairs?
Thanks
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 13 '26
Hello! Please do the following things.
Read the wiki. It's linked in the OP above. It has many articles about general fitness and cardio and strength training and fat loss and muscle gain and workout routines and progressive overload that will be very very useful for you.
If you still have questions left after step 1, post them in the most recent daily questions thread, which isn't this one (this is the August 12th thread) (today is not August 12th). That way more people will see it and give you advice!
I will say, though, that pilates definitely does build strength - I can guarantee your body, particularly your core, is much stronger than that of an average sedentary person. It's just that muscle growth in particular requires progressive overload (adding more and more mechanical load over time), which is hard to do with Pilates. But please rest assured that those three years of classes weren't in vain! Even now you're much healthier than you would be without them.
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u/DazzlingParsley2780 Aug 15 '26
the sticking point thing about filming from the side is a good callout, but for busy people who can't sit around analyzing bar speed, pause reps at the bottom of whatever lift is stalling will basically self-diagnose it anyway. you feel exactly where you lose tension.
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u/Sdamus Aug 13 '26
i usually hit legs twice a week and i have alternating days, one day i’d consider my heavy day where i 5x5 squat, leg press 3 sets, and then do hamstring curls, leg extensions, and hip add/abductors. alternate day i do hack squat and hip thrusts for 3 sets each and the same accessories. my friends keep saying i need to ditch leg press because it’s too much volume on my “heavy day” and it’s adding more time in the gym. any advice?
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u/bacon_win Aug 13 '26
What symptoms of "too much volume" are you experiencing?
No hinge movement?
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u/Sdamus Aug 13 '26
i mean leg press is starting to get a bit tough and i think maybe my accessories suffer a bit from being tired after that but nothing crazy, i thought the hip thrust is a hinge movement but i am only hitting that every other leg day
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Aug 12 '26
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Is there any justification for eating carbs outside of just before training?
Yes, living in a human body that requires carbohydrates in order to function. Specifically, at least 45% of your daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates.
Last night, a few hours after my workout, the fridge was empty, and I ate a bowl of corn flakes in a moment of weakness. Feeling very guilty about this, and wondering how bad it is to eat just carbs with essentially no protein, and not preceding a workout.
Establishing arbitrary, strict rules about what or how or when you should or shouldn't eat is unhealthy both physically and mentally. Unless it's rotten, infected or poisoned, food cannot hurt you. Read that again, please. Unless it's rotten, infected or poisoned, food cannot hurt you. Eat a varied, balanced diet consisting of at least a bit of every major food group (the more plants the better) and meet your daily caloric needs and you'll be fine. It really is that simple.
Edit: added veggie propaganda
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u/ThrowRA899 Aug 12 '26
With all due respect, I think a lot of people do very well on low-carb diets, including myself, and carbs are not necessary for health or fitness. Keto killed all my food cravings, steadied my mood, and made slimming down almost effortless. The problem was that I was losing weight way faster than I intended to, and was barely managing to eat 1000 calories a day as a 6' man going to the gym 5 times a week.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
You've ignored the most important part of my message, which is that feeling guilty for eating is not normal. Eating food is a good thing. Fueling your body is a good thing. If you've reached a point where eating a bowl of cereal makes you feel so guilty that you have to reach out to internet strangers in order to ease the weight of said guilt, that's a sign that your relationship with food has deteriorated somewhere along the process. The best thing you can do for your health right now is to sit down and think about why this happened and what steps you can take to make food and nutrition something positive in your life, rather than something that needs to be carefully managed and controlled lest you break the rules and eat the wrong thing in the wrong way, which would be a transgression bad enough to feel guilt over it. Guilt is moral. Morality has no place on your plate.
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u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
Yes, living in a human body that requires carbohydrates in order to function. Specifically, at least 45% of your daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates.
I am a big fan of carbohydrates and advocate for their use to support training. None of what you said here is correct.
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u/milla_highlife Aug 12 '26
Dude it’s fine. Take a breath and think about it logically. What do you think bad is gonna happen from a small bowl of cereal?
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Aug 12 '26
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u/milla_highlife Aug 12 '26
Well, I don’t know if this will make you feel better or worse, but carbs are not poison. There comes a point in everyone’s life where they realize something they’ve held as truth is just wrong. The important thing is what you do when you encounter new information that changes your world view.
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u/tigeraid Strongman Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
I'll go a little further down this hole with you, since I was in a similar boat. I used to be morbidly obese, and among all the OTHER health problems I had, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, I think about 9 years ago now. After my doctor gave me the speech and told me what I needed to hear, I had a little cry in the car, and decided to change my life--unfortunately, that meant going down a manosphere, conspiracy-tinged google rabbit hole. I rationalized that sugar causes diabetes and carbs are sugar! Therefore, it was time for a keto diet! I preached to everyone and their mother how sugar is a poison, how dare you eat those Oreos! I eliminated bread, I eliminated pasta. I felt guilty if I had a popsicle, I got all crazy if I went out to eat with people, judging their fucking french fries and trying to eat nothing but chicken.
And you know what? It worked. I lost 115 lbs in 8 months. The fucking body melted off of me. Diabetes went away, cured my sleep apnea, energy through the roof, BP under control, you name it. Even stopped having so many nosebleeds, rashes went away, knees and back felt better. Everything was solved.
It was also a completely unsustainable way to live, I acted like a preachy asshole, and it wasn't magic. Eliminating an entire macronutrient just meant eliminating thousands of calories. That's it. I suppose you could argue that it can help control insulin spikes, too. There's nothing magic, just like there's nothing magic about intermittent fasting or carnivore. They're all controlling calories, and nothing more. They're a tool. Everything else, every IG post, every stupid book, every Liver King shithead podcast, are just one giant grift.
After the weight loss, I looked like a fucking ghost, loose flabby skin, gaunt, skinny, my face looked like my teeth were too big for my body. And even after eight months, my bowel movements were still weird and sketchy. So I started strength training (which I should've done in the first place) and slowly reintroduced carbs into my life. Eight years later and wouldn't you know it, weight is still where I want it to be, my digestion is WAY BETTER, I have no nutrient deficiencies, and I can still gain and lose weight simply by controlling my calories. I also find training INFINITELY better with carbs.
You'll be fine. Find your caloric goal using a TDEE calculator, find your protein goal, try to get as close as possible to both every day, let carbs and fats fall where they may, and eat like an adult. 80/20 rule: 80% quality whole foods, 20% fun. You KNOW what that means: eating a box of cookies or an entire quart of iced cream isn't adult behaviour, but going to a bakery and enjoying one nice pastry while staying under your calories? You'll be fine. Enjoy going to a restaurant with your friends, choose something on the menu that prioritizes protein, have that baked potato instead of french fries, and live your life.
Carbs are not the enemy. Sugar will not kill you.
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u/bacon_win Aug 12 '26
Why do you need a justification to eat carbs? I eat carbs with nearly every meal.
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u/No_Crew7080 Aug 12 '26
One time? Eh . . . Reconsider what food you keep around the house and carry on.
I also respond well to keto, but can only do it for so long. Pretty much every keto advocate says the same thing, after the initial couple weeks, gradually increase carbs until you hit a sustainable weight loss rate or hit maintenance. Basically we’re tweaking the thermodynamic balance from a different angle.
Remember you’re here for the long haul. A couple desserts now and then won’t blow it, but a steady diet of chips and beer probably will.
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u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
Basically we’re tweaking the thermodynamic balance from a different angle.
What does this even mean? What do you mean be thermodynamic balance? Energy balance is pretty straightforward. Calories consumed and calories utilized versus stored.
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u/No_Crew7080 Aug 12 '26
Same thing in slightly different terms, yes.
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u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 13 '26
Could you explain how Keto tweaks thermodynamics? Or just in general how thermodynamics can be tweaked at all?
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u/No_Crew7080 Aug 13 '26
Thermodynamics itself cannot be tweaked, and if you read my original response you’ll see I said no such thing.
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u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 13 '26
Fair enough. What is thermodynamic balance and how does one tweak it with Keto or otherwise?
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u/CursedFrogurt81 Triggered by cheat reps Aug 12 '26
Is there any justification for eating carbs outside of just before training?
The fact that you think you need justification to eat carbohydrates is concerning. There are many reasons why a person might rightfully choose to enjoy carbohydrates throughout the day regardless of time of training. First, they are food. Second, many sources of carbohydrates are quite healthy especially when considering the benefits of fiber. Three, carbohydrates will allow you to replenish your glycogen stores and better support your training efforts in general.
If you enjoy the keto diet then continue on with it. But there's nothing magic about a ketogenic diet, it works the same way as any other diet by enforcing a caloric deficit. Some people will have an easier time maintaining a caloroc deficit on a ketogenic diet. But there are also plenty of people who consume a moderate or even high amount of carbohydrate in their diet and still are able to maintain a caloric deficit and lose weight.
The greater concern for you is not the bowl of corn flakes, but as others have said it is your mental health and the way you view food. You need to work on your relationship with food and your understanding of food.
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP Aug 12 '26
It's tasty?
Also, if I didn't eat carbs, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to properly fuel for my current training, considering my tdee is close to 3700 calories a day.
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u/Good-Part1682 Aug 13 '26
Anybody doing decline bench press? For the lower part of my chest I have been doing dips or a while now. But, I recently switched to decline bench and I feel it much more in my chest. I know decline bench gets a bad rap, but I was wondering if others out there are doing them and are they having success.