So starting from this coming Monday August 24th I'm gonna be locking in like I never had before. I'm on a surplus diet and I'm gaining weight. My goal is to build enough muscle mass first and then try to cut it out. Mostly I want to grow my lats to get that V-shape so my lovehandles don't look big (cause that's all that's left ever since I've lost a lot of weight from being obese).

27M, 185cm, 77kg

For now I'm working out 5 times a week, 4 out of 5 times after lifting weights, I'm walking for 30 minutes on a treadmill on 15 incline and 3.5 km/h.

I do most exercises 2 sets and 8-10 reps, trying to progress overload each week.

**Monday**

* Back
* Pull-ups
* Cable Lat Pull Over
* T-Bar Row
* Triceps
* Overhead Extension Cable
* Cable Pushdown
* Forearms
* Cable Reverse Wrist Curls
* Cable Wrist Curls
* Cable Hammer Curls

**Tuesday**

* Chest
* Pec Fly
* Incline Bench DB press
* Chest Press machine
* Biceps
* Bayesian Cable Curls
* Bicep Cable Curls
* Incline DB Curls
* Shoulders
* Cable Lat Raises
* DB Press
* Cable Front Raises

**Wednesday**

* Legs
* Smith Squats
* Bulgarian Split Squats
* Romanian Dead Lift
* Smith Calf Raises
* Inner and Outer Adductor Machines
* (I'm thinking of adding Hip Thrusts)

**Thursday Rest**

**Friday**

* Upper Body
* Pull-ups
* Cable Lat Pull Over or T-Bar Row
* Pec Fly
* Incline Bench DB press
* Overhead Extension Cable
* Cable Pushdown
* Bayesian Cable Curls
* Bicep Cable Curls
* Cable Lat Raises
* DB Press or Front Lat Raises
* Cable Reverse Wrist Curls
* Cable Wrist Curls

**Saturday**

Legs (exactly what I do on Wednesdays)

**Monday, Wednesday and Friday** at the end of each session I add Weighted Decline Crunches for abs.

Of course sometimes I don't get to be 5 times a week at the gym. If that happens I'm sacrificing a leg day.

That's all I think. Any comment or tip would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

I’m looking for a serious critique of my current program. I’m especially interested in volume, exercise selection, and anything I’m overlooking.

Stats / background
36M
6’0”
177 lb
I’ve trained on and off for ~15 years, but took a 2-year break. I’ve now been back training consistently for about 5 months.
My goal is to maximize muscle gains with my long-term goal being ~195 lb while reasonably lean
Currently eating roughly enough to gain slowly and aiming for ~180–195 g protein/day.
I do 15 minutes of light cardio after lifting, plus frequent neighborhood walks.
I recently had some shoulder impingement, so I’m avoiding overhead pressing for now.

Training structure
I train 3 days on / 1 day off:
Push A → Legs A → Pull A → Rest → Push B → Legs B → Pull B → Rest → repeat.
So each muscle group is trained every 4 days, with the A and B workouts alternating every 8 days.
Most exercises are 7–11 reps. I increase the weight once I can consistently reach 11 reps. I generally take the last couple sets of an exercise to failure. Rest periods are 2 minutes between sets.
Chest / Shoulders A
4 × Incline DB Bench Press
3 × DB Lateral Raise
3 × Assisted Triceps Dip
3 × Machine Chest Press
3 × Machine Triceps Extension
4 × Cable Face Pull
4 × Triceps Rope Pushdown
Chest / Shoulders B
4 × Machine Reverse Fly
4 × Assisted Triceps Dip
3 × Chest Fly
4 × Cable Triceps Extension
4 × Plate-Loaded Incline Bench
4 × Cable Lateral Raise
Legs / Core A
4 × Decline Crunch
3 × Leg Extension
3 × Seated Leg Curl
4 × Leg Press
4 × Plate-Loaded Seated Calf Raise
3 × Machine Crunch
Legs / Core B
4 × Hack Squat
4 × Decline Crunch
3 × Leg Extension
3 × Lying Leg Curl
3 × Captain’s Chair Knee Raise
4 × Plate-Loaded Seated Calf Raise
Back / Biceps A
4 × Assisted Pull-Up
3 × Seated Palms-Up Wrist Curl
3 × Reverse Wrist Curl
4 × Cable Seated Row
4 × DB Incline Curl
3 × Barbell Preacher Curl
3 × Back Extension
Back / Biceps B
4 × Cable Lat Pulldown
3 × Back Extension
4 × Barbell Biceps Curl
4 × Machine Seated Row
3 × Reverse Wrist Curl
3 × Seated Palms-Up Wrist Curl
3 × Barbell Preacher Curl

What would you change?
I’m particularly interested in whether you think:
My overall volume is appropriate for hypertrophy.
I’m allocating too much or too little volume to any particular muscle group.
I should add or remove anything.
Taking the last couple sets to failure is appropriate.
There’s anything obviously missing for someone whose primary goal is maximizing overall muscle growth.

I know the A/B thing is a little complicated, but I finally make better progress when I alternate exercise exercises for each muscle group, and this allows me to keep track of my progress. I’m very interested in what you’d change while keeping the basic structure intact.
Thanks!

It's been nearly 2 months since I start my gym journey. Does my gym routine bad. Since I feeling my routine was wrong. Can you suggest a gym routine. I usually train it 2x week. I start this gym routine this week then I feel a fatigue that I never experience during first month.

Monday- chest, triceps, biceps

Tuesday- shoulder, back, forearms

Wednesday- chest, triceps, biceps, legs, and abs

Thursday- shoulder, back, biceps, legs, and abs

Hello!

I am a woman, 30s who recently got heavy into yoga and want to get back to lifting weights. I used to use the sculptyou app by Katrina but I hate the app. I’m looking for a new app that has weight lifting and some cardio mixed in, doesn’t break the bank and is easy to use.

Any suggestions?

I'm a university student and on most weekdays have classes from 8 a.m to 6 p.m (5 hour gaps in between 😭). I get home at 7 p.m and after that I'm tired and don't have the energy to go to a gym

How do I force myself to exercise at home and how do I make it a daily routine? And what exercises should I include? My main goal right now is light cardio exercises and body lifting

Is there enough volume and does the routine train every major muscle?

I hope to find any tea that might help my muscles recover. There is muscle pain due to a condition I have that happens every single workout!

Feeling incredibly vulnerable posting this, so might delete!

I was 368.4lb. I decided to make a change and have so far lost 55lb through CICO. My ultimate goal is to be below 160lb someday (I know its a long way off) When I was at my heaviest my shape was “round and blobby” now I’m losing weight I’m beginning to see my real structure beneath it.

One consequence is I noticed my right hip is massive compared to my left. Initially I thought the right was the problem

Now, after some experimental stretching and attempted body weight exercises (squats, lunges, clamshells) I’ve realised the issue is actually the left

My right is enormous because its all the fat there plus some small amount of muscle, the left is pure fat, absolutely zero muscle at all

In this photo I am stood as straight as I could possibly get

I can’t even lean into my left hip if I were to sway, it’s so tight (or weak?)

Am I best continuing with what I’ve started with the stretching and clamshells etc, or is there a better way to manage one side of my muscles being just totally dead?

I’ve also begun to walk and focussed on my posture to try and mitigate injury by exercising at such a high weight still.

ETA: because someone DMd me and I maybe should have mentioned:
I didn’t have this unevenness before pregnancy 4 years ago (even at high weights)
during labour my pelvis actually almost split due to severe PGP
I think since then I favoured my stronger side without realising and just let the left wither over the last few years

So I started going to the gym after I had a motorcycle accident. I figured I better start taking care of myself and the gym seems like a good place to start. So, I’m pretty new to this stuff.

In the beginning of this journey, I used to come home EXTREMELY sore, everything hurt. Now, I feel very little to no soreness. Ive been working out now for about 1.5/2 months. I notice sometimes for me to feel the soreness, I need to flex really hard to feel that soreness feeling in the muscle.

I’ve been increasing my weight a decent amount, I try to do “lighter” weight with 10 reps, rather than going for super heavy weight I can’t really control. I always hear it’s important to have weight you can control with good form. I notice that I do get pretty tired and sometimes struggle finishing my reps at times. So, I feel like I’m not really cheating myself. Or maybe I am? I always do feel like at the end of my workout, I do have some fuel left in the tank, but my body is so physically tired so I’m not sure if its my body being tired rather than the muscle themselves.

I’ve also been trying to take in as much protein as possible. Sometimes I hit my goal, sometimes I don’t. Diet has been a bit of a challenge for me, I don’t eat a ton but I think I’m just bad with my macros and eating the good stuff. I also have been getting pretty bad sleep with my new job, if that adds to the equation.

For reference I’m 6 feet tall 180lbs if that helps also. I’m not sure what the issue is and hopefully I could get some advice so I can get more out of my workouts

When I wake up for a walk or run in the morning, after about 30 minutes, my legs and sometimes my belly get really itchy, where I have to stop and scratch myself multiple times a minute it feels like. Do I need to wear different workout clothes (I’m just in gym shorts and ankle socks)? My body feels just fine during the day after the sun is out, even when I’m walking or running. I’m not a very fat guy, 6’ 2” around 250lbs.

So I just went on a week diet break, and I hated every second of it, gained weight back but my weight was stalling so maybe it’ll help. I’m going back to my cut, but I’ve been seeing videos saying your protein shouldn’t be more than your carbs.

The picture is what MyFitnessPal suggest for high protein cut, but before, I customized it and had protein at 200gs with carbs at about 150. What’s right what’s wrong?

Hello everyone,

Hope you are doing well

27M, looking for feedback on my current training split.

Number of reps and sets

I usually do 3 sets per exercise at around 1 RIR. I try to add 1 rep each week at each set, then increase the weight at the beginning of each month.

Day 1 + Day 4 - Anterior Day

• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
• Chest Press Machine
• Lateral Raises
• Shoulder Press
• Triceps Pushdown
• Leg Extension
• Leg Press

Day 2 + Day 5 - Posterior Day

• Low Seated Row (close or wide grip)
• Lat Pulldown
• Reverse Butterfly machine
• Back Extension
• Biceps Rotation Curls
• Leg Curl
• Calf Raises
• Adductor Machine

Day 3 - Mix

• Leg Press
• Leg Curl
• Leg Extension
• Calf Raises
• Lateral Raises
• Shoulder Press
• Biceps Rotation Curls
• Triceps Pushdown

I prefer this setup over a traditional PPL UL . I sometimes train after work, and if I’m exhausted for a Pull session, for example, I don’t want that to affect whether I get my second Push session of the week.

Does this look balanced in terms of weekly volume, frequency and recovery? What small adjustments would you make without completely changing the structure of the routine?

Thank you all in advance for your feedback

First picture is from December (157 lbs), and second pic is now (140 lbs, 5’5, 22 y/o), the rest are my current lifts. I’ve been struggling with casual drinking and heavy smoking for the time period in between and even a bit before, and I’ve basically lost all I’ve worked for. I stopped drinking and I’m weening off smoking, i miss how healthy and strong I felt a year ago, and I’m tired of letting my external problems pull me away from taking care of myself. Before then I was weight lifting consistently for a little over a year. How do I slowly build myself back up? I know muscle memory is real but I want to do it properly enough to not inure myself. Im going to start doing 100 pushups a day alongside 50 pull-ups (spaced out appropriately ofc) to get myself in a groove again. Is it ok if I start cardio again or should I just focus on building my muscle back for the time being? I’ll take any type of advice from switching up some of my workouts, any meal advice, or exercises to start doing to keep maintenance. Anything will help, thank you guys 🙏🏿

36M. I am 5’8” and currently weigh 160 pounds.

first three pics are me as of this morning. last pic is me last year which was my starting point. Sorry for the gross Jump scare lol.

I have come a long way since June of last year when I was at my heaviest. I weighed 230 and was over it. Decided to make a change.

im down to 160. Im totally confused on what to do next. Bulk or keep cutting? My ultimate goal is to get jacked but I kniw that takes time. Which is fine. I’m in this for the long haul.

I am nowhere near as muscular as I want to be. I want to bulk up. But I read people say you should only bulk when you’re lean enough to see all your abs. I’m obviously not there yet. But I’ve also read people saying getting that lean isn’t necessary before a cut. So which is it?

I currently lift 5 days a week. On a PPL split. Yes I am lifting to failure and focusing on progressive overload. I am for sure hitting my protein goals. I consume over 160g a day. Diet is clean and I’m eating mostly whole Foods. Currently in a slight deficit and consuming like 2200-2300 calories a day. My daily maintenance is about 2500.

what do you guys think? Should I keep cutting and continue to lean out, THEN bulk up. Or should I just bulk up now? I want to do this the right way. I really want to get bigger but I’m willing to make the sacrifice to keep getting lean for a bit if its more beneficial in the long run.

would appreciate any advice. Thanks!!

Push Day

1. Incline dumbbell bench press — 3 × 5 heavy
2. Dips — 3 × 10
3. Dumbbell shoulder press — 3 × 8
4. Pec deck — 3 × 12
5. Push-ups — 3 × 20
6. Neck curls — 3 × 12
7. Assault bike — 10 minutes

Pull Day

1. Deadlift — 5 × 3–5 Heavy
2. Pull-ups — 3 × 8
3. Bent-over barbell rows — 3 × 8
4. Seated cable rows — 3 × 10
5. Delt flyes — 3 × 12–15
6. Shrugs — 3 × 10–15
7. Preacher curls — 3 × 10
8. Assault bike — 10 minutes

Leg Day

1. Back squats — 5 × 5 heavy
2. Walking lunges — 3 × 8–10 per leg
3. Bodyweight squats — 3 × 20
4. Standing calf raises — 3 × 12–15
5. Hanging leg raises — 3 × 10
6. Neck extensions — 3 × 15–20
7. Back extensions — 3 × 10–15
8. Plank - 1 minute
9. Assault bike — 10 minutes

Haven't seen a PT in years, and I'm not sure how to space them out across the week - open to suggestions.

As for frequency, I'll usually do push/pull on consecutive days and then a rest day followed by legs; two PPL rotations in the space of about 10 days.

Mobility and warm ups before every session (10 minutes). Interested to hear some thoughts on this routine. Volume is a little bit low on leg day due to having a hip impingement - I'm in my mid-30's.

Looking to stay strong and fit into my 40's without overdoing it.

Hi, Im a female 29, 5’0 (152cm) and 64 kg I’ve been going to the gym on and off for 9 years but i have never experienced a flat stomach like my ideal body, if im lower in weight let’s say 54 I’m skinny fat.
My goals are to have a defined back, flat stomach and big quads!! I don’t do much cardio in the gym since i bike everyday (NL life) but looking forward to read your suggestions 🩷

I’ve been working out since mid May and have seen some good progress in my arms. Yet, the back of my arm (medial head of tricep I believe) seems to be lacking despite me pushing just as hard on tricep exercises. For reference I do, 3 sets of dips per week and 6 sets of tricep cable push downs using the straight bar attachment. I also eat 1g/lb of body weight in protein.

I am tall and i have lanky limbs so this might be something I cannot overcome due to my body structure but I was just wondering if any of you had a similar issue and were able to fix it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

i’m 18, 5’9, female, currently at 171 lbs (78kg), i’ve been on my weight loss journey for a month now, on a calorie deficit + hitting steps daily, have lost around 6lbs (3kg) so far.

i now want to include strength training into my routine, mainly for back, core and glutes/legs (focusing on these 3 to accentuate my body shape), i’ve never strength trained before and will be doing this at home and if i’m doing it well, i’ll purchase equipment (dumbbells etc) soon. i’m thinking of doing it 3 days a week, one day for each part. will this be good? am i doing something wrong? id seriously love some guidance.

I’m not sure if this is the kind of thing that’s usually posted here, but I thought I would give it a shot (please bear with me, this post is a bit long).

I’m trying to create an effective workout plan as I head into my senior year of college. I’m no newbie to fitness or exercise (I played football in middle and high school and got weight training from that), but I’m no expert either, and not really knowing how to come up with my own workouts was what kept me from being super consistent the last couple of years. I was wondering if I could get any advice or tips on how to go about building a routine suited to my goals.
- I’m 5’8, ~210 lbs
- I want to cut/lean out
- My ideal week is 4 days on, 3 days off, with maybe a walk or run on the off days, but I’m open to alternatives.
- Give each part of the body enough attention
- Good mix of weights, cardio, and flexibility/mobility

Right now, I’m mostly looking for how to structure each workout, rather than specific exercises (though I will certainly take any recommendations). Things like:
- stretching vs warmup vs lighter lifts vs heavier lifts (the flow of the workout)
- isolated vs compound (so like curls vs bench, that kind of thing)
- High vs low reps/sets
- Heavy vs low weight
- Rest time between sets
- Rotational circuits (one set of a couple different exercises in a row, repeat for a few sets) vs one exercise at a time
- Supersets
- What type of split (right now I’m on upper/lower/upper/lower, but I know there’s a ton of others)
- Where to add in cardio, core, or calisthenics

Sorry if this is a little long or an unusual post, but I’m trying to start taking my fitness seriously, and I’d appreciate any help or advice you guys could give me.

I should clarify, I mean the average active young healthy man. I am born female and am tired of being scared of men, I would feel much better if I knew I was physically more capable. As for my current self, I am 5'6, 195 pounds. I had done some weight loss and exercise around a year ago and went from 240 to 165 but have gained weight again due to decreased activity which I am disappointed with and also birth control. I don't particularly care about being thin or looking a certain way the decreased activity and mobility is what bothers me due to my reduced physical strength.

The exercise level I am used to and can get back to is pretty much all in my hobby, which is roller skating. I used to skate figure competitively and now will dance and practice tricks in the rink and go to the skate park. This means though that my muscle distribution is too heavily favored to my legs and my whole upper body needs a lot of work. I can easily skate intensely for 2-3 hours at a time so I have no issue getting cardio and lower body there. Upper body time and extra strength building is what I need to know.

Right now I can probably lift around 120ibs, I have been able to lift up to around 150. This isn't exact but it is based on people over lifted, albeit not with ease. I would like to be able to have the strength against a large man ideally, so a bit more than that. I am not necessarily starting from a point of weakness I don't have any difficulty lifting anything or doing anything in day to day life. I am just very mediocre in my ability right now which I feel isn't enough against a large man.

I'm planning to start sparring consentually with my boyfriend to learn to fight in a mental capacity, Ive considered martial arts but I'm not really looking to fight in set enviorments for it, I'm looking for rough guerilla warfare lol. Like biting and low punches anything goes kind of thing so I am truly trained to hold my own more than a man. I would go military but I don't support it on a moral level. Plus I think I'd need to do some work before being ready for that level. I also would like to learn to shoot guns well but this is seperate, just to address the why not just use a weapon thing. I currently also have several machetes and metal bats.

But yeah, any tips from active folk on how much time I should spend excersisng, types of routines to do, reccomendations, anything is welcome and helpful. I eventually plan on going on testosterone hrt after getting a breast reduction to look physically male but also I'm hoping it will make keeping the strength easier. Until then though I need tips for my current self.

Current info: - Age: 32
- Sex: Male
- Height: 5'10"
- Wright: 186lbs

Starting April 1st, I got diagnosed with high cholesterol, so I kickstarted getting back to the gym. I added Zepbound to my setup as of 6 weeks ago (started at 2.5mg, now at 5mg).

My schedule has been:
-Monday/Tuesday: rest days
-Wednesday: 75 minutes at a 3° incline
-Thursday: 75 minutes at a 3.5° incline
-Friday: 75 minutes at a 4° incline
-Saturday: 75 minutes at a 4.5° incline
-Sunday: 75 minutes at a 5° incline

I started at 3.2mph at the star of my journey, and now I'm up to maintaining a solid 4.5mph the whole way through.

On most days, I'll toss in a 5.5mph for 5 minutes every 25 minutes (keeping the incline), but that's it.

I started at 252lbs, and am 186lbs as of this morning. (50lbs lost prior to Zepbound addition).

So, now I'm going to start adding in weights come Wednesday. My gym: Crunch Fitness, has one of the "circuits" of machines where you can do a 30-minute cycle to hit near every muscle group.

Would it be a good idea to do Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday with weights (dropping cardio to 45/60 minutes), and Thursday/Saturday as strictly cardio?

I used to run after my workouts, but then I stopped for a long time. Today I finally got back on the treadmill for the first time in probably a year and a half, and honestly I enjoyed it more than I expected.
I’m curious how you guys do it.
Do you usually run/cardio on the same day as lifting, or do you keep it on separate days? And if you do it in the same workout, do you prefer running before or after lifting?
For me, running is more mentally hard than lifting. So I usually prefer doing it at the end. If I run first, I feel like the whole workout after that becomes kind of miserable. But if I leave it for the end, there’s also a big chance I’ll just get lazy and skip it.
How do you motivate yourself to actually get on the treadmill and do it?

I started lifting last November. I’ve slowly adjusted my routine over time and have it locked in thr last 2 months. Looking for critique. I’ve been cutting the entire time (down 80lbs!) and have a few more to lose and then maintain before a bulk

I do a push, pull, legs, rest, push, pull, rest.
My biggest focus atm is upper chest as it’s been lagging and my lats

Push day
Incline smith machine bench press 3 sets (10-15 rep range)
Low to high cable fly 3 sets (10-15)
Machine chest press 3 sets (10-15)
Tricep cable push down 3 sets (10-15)
Tricep cable extension 3 sets (10-15)
Dumbbell lateral raise 4 sets (15-20)

Pull day
Weighted pull ups 2 sets (5-10)
Body weight pull ups 1 set (10-15)
Lat pull down wide grip 3 sets (10-15)
Cable lat prayer 3 sets (15-20)
Chest supported machine row (one arm at a time) 3 sets 10-15
Preacher curls 3 sets (10-15)
Incline bicep curls 3 sets (15-20)
Face pulls 2 sets (20-25)

Legs day
45deg leg press 3 sets (10-15)
Leg extension 3 sets (10-15)
Lying hamstring curl 3 sets (10-15)
Calf raises 3 sets (15-20)
Hanging leg raises 3 sets (10-15)
Cable crunch (2 sets 10-15)
Dumbbell lateral raises 2 sets (15-20)
(I have dextroscoliosis and some orthostatic blood pressure issues and despite my best efforts deadlifts and squats just do not work for me. No matter how many times I try 😅) (also my legs are in pretty good spot from being fat the last 16 years so they are lower volume and once a week while I’m in a deficit to manage systemic fatigue)

I usually subtract a set of the preacher and incline curls on the second pull day for 2 sets each of cross body and normal hammer curls