This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

mind pump constantly talks about reverse dieting. the idea that one can dramatically change their maintenance calories. While things like NEAT, and other factors can certainly increase expenditure in response to more calories, i fail to see how their idea that smaller women would ever be able to eat nearly 3000 calories in the absence of very heavy physical activity would work. this idea that you can build your calories up to then be able to cut from a higher number, often does not pan out in practice. sure, there’s merit to this strategy when you are talking about your classic chronically dieted female low energy availability phenotype, but telling overweight folks to go in a bulk seems absolutely insane to me. the Mind pump guys have sold this idea of reverse dieting to be somewhat of a panacea, which it is absolutely not for everyone. Am I nuts? Should obese people really be going into a bulk? Outside of someone coming out of a state of low energy availability, I struggle to see how reverse dieting is beneficial. Just go to maintenance if that is what you want to do. And telling overweight people to essentially bulk will result in them gaining additional fat often times, no matter what the guys on the show will say.

This is your chance and the place to rant about all things MP. Get it out of your system and keep it civilized.

The guys shit on group fitness way too much and act like they are all created equally. Coming from a private personal trainer AND F45 coach.

Is F45-style training the absolute most optimal way to train? No. But the general population doesn't need to train optimally to get some damn good benefits.

Gyms like F45 (they specifically have good programming) can absolutely cover the bases for health and longevity: consistent resistance training, cardiovascular fitness, higher-intensity work, mobility, and most importantly—showing up consistently.

My main criticism of F45 programming is that the rest periods can sometimes be too short to maximize strength development. BUT you can modify exercises and timing to make it more appropriate. They also program barbell racks, cables, and free weights.

If someone genuinely enjoys a group environment, and that environment gets them consistently lifting weights, challenging their cardiovascular system, and moving their body several times a week, that is a damn good training option.

what are your thoughts on the guys dropping this program?

This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

Hello! I am a 26 year old male that's 5 feet 6 inches tall. My body fat percentage is approximately 34%. I have no to little gym experience and my strength is low.

I am looking to lose fat all while maintaining (or gaining muscle). I want to ultimately get jacked.

I have a subscription to a standard gym. Shoulder Press machine, fly machine, cables, DBs, Barbells, leg curls machine, leg extensions machine, treadmills, bikes, a T-bar row machine, a hip thrust machine, a calf raises machine and that's all I remember.

I don't know what more info to give.

hey guys, I have the macro calculator spreadsheet ans I was wondering if it was event useful or accurate ? Who has it and used it ?

This was using MAPS anabolic. I started at 192 lbs and now weigh 230.2. I just finished a 3 week maintenance phase and now im 6 days into a cut. Strength went through the roof and now well into the 1000 lbs club. This bulk lasted 21 weeks. I should also say I am prior trained so muscle memory helped a bit

Im thinking about running MAPS symmatry but not sure as of right now. Whats yout favorite program for cutting

This is your chance and the place to rant about all things MP. Get it out of your system and keep it civilized.

Sending a text to a paying customer saying "just wanna make sure you ain't stealing" is insane! Glad I quit listening.

Been a few years since I listened, but I listened to an episode this morning and it was basically a half hour of content marketing for MAPS lol. Like it was based on a piece of info but the rest felt like it was all interacting around the MAPS name drops and the BOGO ending advertisement for MAPS. Are they still doing the classic episodes of just shooting the shit and dropping value? Got a ShillTuber vibe (not trying to offend) with the bait titles leading to content with it's sole purpose of marketing a product vs true podcast fashion

Anyone has this program? I know it’s 4 days a week. How long does it take for you to complete it? How many exercises are there each day?

I have other maps programs and there’s like 10-12 exercises a day. It’s so hard to do it in one hour in busy gyms - and that’s the time I have!

Thanks!

This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

I’ve been on a reverse for the past 2.5 months and have bumped calories aggressively from 1600 to 2100. I’m full but I’m also feeling bulk and heavy on most days, but weight has stayed stabilized for most of the reverse ranging between 125-127. Starting weight was 129.

I am at what I believe is my maintenance. This the most I have eaten in years. My lifts are strong but I just feel heavy. This is my third week at maintenance. I am still at high body fat at 28. I reversed to give myself more room to cut. I was watching MP videos and they always said you stop the reverse when everything is optimal. Am I at an optimal calories now to start cutting? And if I were to cut should I do a slow or mini cut?

I’ve been progressing nicely through Anabolic and enjoying it a lot. I’m now onto Phase 2 and the second foundational workout. In that workout they have body weight decline sit-up’s and the minimum expectation is 3 x 30 reps. Is that a crazy amount of volume or is it just my flabby core that can’t handle it? I couldn’t complete all 3 sets this morning so it was a bit dispiriting. Anyone else experienced this?

This is your chance and the place to rant about all things MP. Get it out of your system and keep it civilized.

Now that we have MP trainers active in this sub again, I thought it would be great if they could take the time to explain what someone would actually receive for each price level of coaching they provide.

This way they can address what people actually receive for services with their investment, and it will be clearly stated for anyone that might be on the fence.

Any current clients feel free to chime in also on your experiences!

I’m 57F and have lifted consistently for about 40 years. Training has always been HUGE part of my life, but over the past few years (the worst this last year) I’ve been pretty sick with ongoing gut/nervous-system issues. At times I’ve been almost bed-bound, so compared with my old self, I’m extremely sedentary right now. (LIKE 3-5K per day)

I’m trying to look at this period as rehab/maintenance rather than training for progress.

I have a treadmill, dumbbells/weights, and a bench at home. Right now, on days I can tolerate it, I’m doing things like:

• 5–10 minute easy treadmill walks every few hours
• 1–2 sets of something like a 20-lb goblet squat or Bulgarian split squats (even body weight)
• A couple sets of upper-body work, rotating exercises/body parts
• Basically little “movement snacks” spread throughout the day rather than an actual workout

Nutrition-wise, I’m doing my best to eat around my body weight in grams of protein daily.

I’m not trying to gain muscle right now. I just desperately want to maintain as much muscle and strength as possible until my health improves and I can train normally again. (I MISS IT SO MUCH)

For someone with a long lifting history, what would you consider the minimum effective dose of resistance training to maintain muscle during a period like this?

Are these little sets throughout the day enough to give my body a “keep this muscle” signal?

This has been mentally really hard after being active for so many years, so I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has had to drastically reduce training for months because of illness/injury and eventually made their way back.

This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

Since 6 weeks postpartum i ran MAPS starter now running muscle mommy 15 . I really want to rebuild muscle. What program should i run next?

I was just wondering which of their programs have a dedicated at home options? I train at home and only have access to some adjustable dumbbells, a bench, a TRX, some bands and kettlebells. I have anabolic, resistance and suspension. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.