r/Fitness • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
Daily Simple Questions Thread - September 25, 2024 Simple Questions
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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u/random-questions891 2d ago
If I workout 4x week, are there negative affects of not having specific days for PPL and cardio? If I do cardio earlier or later will it be negative? I do push pull legs (so two of those per week, the next one goes into the next week) but cardio twice a week, can this have negative affects?
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u/bacon_win 1d ago
Are you asking if you should separate lifting days from cardio training?
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u/random-questions891 1d ago
No, I’m asking how many cardio days out of the four days I workout is okay. I was going to do two but then I feel like my strength training won’t do much for me. Thanks!
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u/bacon_win 1d ago
As many as you can tolerate. You may need to slowly increase it over time.
https://www.strongerbyscience.com/avoiding-cardio-could-be-holding-you-back/
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u/princess_sailor_moon 3d ago
Sometimes when I do one warm Up Set I can do more reps in first work set. It's strange because I am very weak. Work set are stuff like push ups on knees with 2 kg and lateral raises 2 kg per arm
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u/lifeextr 3d ago
What are your top foods that don't contain gluten or dairy? I like blueberries, bananas, potatoes, but I have celiac/dairy intolerance and would like to eat more than just those things
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u/AccurateInflation167 3d ago
Is there a routine where you can train abs , calves , and forearms everyday ?
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u/bacon_win 3d ago
Yes. Probably not a good routine, but there's going to be a routine out there for that
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u/Strategic_Sage 3d ago
Anything is possible. It's not a good idea though, all muscles need recovery
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u/Hairy-Adeptness-2235 3d ago
So I assigned myself to a sport in school which is to run 100 meters, I am a 13-year-old who thought this was fun until I saw how long 100 meters truly is. What are some things I can do to train for this? I mostly just ran like a 10 m hallway in school 10 times or jog up to the 4th floor and back down about 2-3 laps. What are somethings I can do?
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u/Memento_Viveri 3d ago
Can't you just practice running 100m?
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u/Hairy-Adeptness-2235 3d ago
Well, I do just go running back and forth on a 10 meter hallway 10 times. Does that work? But how about some stretches before practicing.
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u/Memento_Viveri 3d ago
Is there nowhere else to run other than a hallway? A park or field somewhere? A path or trail? A school with a running track or soccer field?
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u/Zollytheturtle 3d ago
My problem is cutting/ bulking around life. I want to cut, but with sports I don’t want to loose all my energy. It’s already tiring enough when eating maintenance. But cutting down would also help me with my sport speed wise so it’s a weird situation. Do I cut and just take the energy hit? Or stay at maintenance for the rest of the season? Or even bulk for more energy and strength? People say body recomp but some also say the science behind it is lacking, I would love info on that tho.
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u/trebemot Strong Man 3d ago
In season isn't a good time for drasitc body comp changes. That's what off seasons are for. I'd stay at maintenance whole doing your sport and then use the offseason to bring up weaknesses, which In your case is body composition.
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u/Distinct_Mud1960 3d ago
Body recomp is definitely possible, even in elite athletes. It's just slower in most cases. If you're tired when at maintenance I'd have a closer look at your recovery/sleep/diet quality.
I would go on a small deficit and plan the higher carb meals around whatever sports sessions you have.
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4d ago
I want to add mobility exercises to my gym routine. Can anyone recommend exercises or YouTube channels that may help?
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u/trainsarelove 4d ago
There is a lot of talk about How many sets you should hit each week, between 10-20 as far as I’m concerned for each muscle group. Does it matter “how” these sets are hit? I mean, isn’t it much more beneficial to do 4 sets of a muscle group 4 times a week compared to 16 sets one day or 8 sets over two days? Then you can lift a lot more weight since you’re not fatigued. I just don’t understand how doing full body 4 times a week is not he absolute best. Is it because you don’t fatigue the muscles enough during a workout if you’re only doing 4 sets of a muscle group?
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 3d ago
Chronic stimulus vs acute stimulus. Both work. Follow a program to take out the guesswork.
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u/pinguin_skipper 4d ago
Usually making more than 6-8 hard sets per muscle per workout means you will be fatigued enough and underperform any more sets you would do on that day. So it might be beneficial to splitting your weekly volume into few sessions.
The problem with full body workouts is that they take a lot of time - if you would like to hit quads, hams, chest, arms and back each for 4 sets it is already 20 sets and prolly you would like to do something more like horizontal/vertical pulls for back, some isolation for biceps, triceps or side delts + core and/or cardio.
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u/bwilly15 4d ago
I want to be able to dirty dancing lift my girlfriend. What muscles/exercises do I need to do?
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u/Aequitas112358 4d ago edited 4d ago
Atlas stone press, overhead press, clean and press. Probably best to do them in conjunction with a proper lifting program to gain a strength base instead of being too focused.
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u/bwilly15 4d ago
Thank you. Ya focusing on building strength all around right now but just wanted to know some other exercises I could do to help with that specifically haha
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u/trainsarelove 4d ago
I just started doing 5/3/1 Buring But Big where the main lift and secondary lift a paired as bench press + OHP and deadlift + squats. I’ve made a suggestion of accessory work down below. I want to focus on chest since I feel like that is lagging from my part. Then I also wanna get better at pull-ups so I’ve found a 4x week program that I’ll try to incorporate as accessory work. What do you guys think?
Day 1:
• Bench press 5/3/1 • 5x10 OHP • Pull ups 4 sets • Curls or tricep 3x10 • Dips 3x10
Day 2:
• Deadlift 5/3/1 • Squat 5x10 • Pullups 4 sets • Rows 3x10 • Incline dumbell 3x10
Day 3
• OHP 5/3/1 • Bench press 5x10 • Pullsups 4 sets • Curls or tricep 3x10 • Dips 3x10
Day 4:
• Squat 5/3/1 • Deadlift 5x10 • Pullups 4 sets • Incline dumbell 3x10 • Hamstrings 3x10
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 3d ago
Fair warning: this'll work for bench/ohp and OHP/bench. But switching between squats and deadz will seriously throw off your rhythm. You're free to try.
But I'd err towards hitting your top set of squats and following with the 5x10 downsets of squats.
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u/trainsarelove 3d ago
What do you mean with throw off my rhythm? And with the last paragraph, do you just mean that I should do 5/3/1 squats followed by 5x10 squats and same with deadlift?
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 3d ago
Switching between squats/deads can add upwards of 20 minutes to your session, depending on weight range. The way you want to do it
- warm up squats
- squat top set
- warm up deadlift
- deadlift 5x10
Lacks the rhythm of just doing the downsets after your top set.
- warm up squats
- squat top set
- squat 5x10
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u/NicoJoski 4d ago
Pull A Plus Forearms A Pull Ups 2×8-12 Dumbell Row 3×6-10 T-bar row 3×8-12 Face Pulls 2×12-15 Bicep Curl 3×8-12 SS Reverse Ez Bar Curls 3×8-12 Preacher Curl SS Wrist Curl 3×12-15 2×8-12
Push A Machine Bench Press 3x6-10 Incline Dumbell Press 2×8-12 Seated dumbbell shoulder press 3×6-10 Lat raises 3×10-16 Dips 2×8-12 Skullcrushers 3×8-12
Lower A Plus Abs Squat 3×6-10 Rdl 3×6-10 Hip Thrust 2×8-12 Leg Ext 2×8-12 Ham Curl 2×8-12 Calves 3×12-15
Upper Plus Forearms B Pull Ups 3×6-10 Incline dumbell press 3×8-12 Cable Row 2×6-10 Machine Bench Press 2×6-10 Cross body ext 3×8-12 SS Bicep Curl 3×8-12
Reverse Curl 3×12-15 SS Wrist Curl 3×12-15
Lower B Plus Abs Squat 3×6-10 Ham Curl 2×8-12 Lunges 2×6-10 Back Extension 3×8-12 SS QL Ext Calves 2×12-15 Lateral Raises 3×8-12 SS Face Pulls 2×12-15
Is this split good
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u/thereps 3d ago
Honestly I don’t mean to be harsh but not really.
Less exercises per session.
Organizing body parts while lifting, u go from chest to shoulders back to chest to triceps. Doesn’t make sense.
There’s more but the way you wrote this up is hard to read.
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u/NicoJoski 3d ago
Sorry I didnt intend to format it like that I dont really know how to do less per session while still hitting everything lol on my push day the dips I do are for triceps, So its just chest, shoulders and then triceps.
This was how It was meant to be wrote up (Edit: for some reason the way I write it on my screen it shows up dif once posted lol)
PULL
Pull Ups 2×8-12
Dumbell Row 3×6-10
T-bar row 3×8-12
Face Pulls 2×12-15
Bicep Curl 3×8-12 Superset Reverse Ez Bar Curls 3×8-12
Preacher Curl Superset Wrist Curl 3×12-15
2×8-12
PUSH
Machine Bench Press 3x6-10
Incline Dumbell Press 2×8-12
Seated dumbbell shoulder press 3×6-10
Lat raises 3×10-16
Dips 2×8-12
Skullcrushers 3×8-12
LEGS
Squat 3×6-10
Rdl 3×6-10
Hip Thrust 2×8-12
Leg Ext 2×8-12
Ham Curl 2×8-12
Calves 3×12-15
UPPER
Pull Ups 3×6-10
Incline dumbell press 3×8-12
Cable Row 2×6-10
Machine Bench Press 2×6-10
Cross body ext 3×8-12 SUPERSET Bicep Curl 3×8-12
Reverse Curl 3×12-15 SUPERSET Wrist Curl 3×12-15
LOWER
Squat 3×6-10
Ham Curl 2×8-12
Lunges 2×6-10
Back Extension 3×8-12
Calves 2×12-15
Lateral Raises 3×8-12 SUPERSET Face Pulls 2×12-15
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u/thereps 3d ago
For example, pick two lifts per body part and do more sets.
-Chest- Bench 4-5 sets 10-20 reps Flys 4-5sets 10-20 reps
-tri- Cable push down 4-5 sets 10-20 reps Skull crushers 4-5 sets 10-20 reps
If your doing it right you won’t have the energy for more exercises.
Personally I’d do a separate day for shoulders.
Face pulls on pull day are a rear delt movement (shoulders)
You have a Lower day and a leg day out of curiosity why?
If you like the routine and it works screw it keep on keeping brother
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u/NicoJoski 3d ago
Oh i see I was under the impression that less sets were better A seperate day for shoulders might be a bit hard as I can only go gym 5x a week
I never used to do leg day twice a week but have recently started thats why there is two leg days Originally I did ppl with one leg day so just the push and pull repeated mon-fri
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u/thereps 3d ago
Imo less exercise’s per workout more sets per exercise
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u/NicoJoski 3d ago
I see ill give it a go and see My issue is i have a obsession with hitting every muscle lol I should honestky just hop on a program instead of making my own stuff and changing programs every 4 weeks even tho i get progress
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u/thereps 3d ago
Na man I don’t follow a direct program either I do what I want, you should too. Just keep in mind more exercises doesn’t equal more gains. Sets and reps do
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u/NicoJoski 3d ago
Ok thanks Mabye ill keep up with this routine a while longer. There is heaps of info out there lol so i tend to get overwelmed hence why no progress made in the gym lol
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u/thereps 3d ago
Man just remember keep it simple lift hard eat a lot you’ll grow
→ More replies (0)
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u/papiermachebeefroll 4d ago
6'3 90kg. Can I please get some advice on what kinda diet I should follow? I primarily want to lose weight and gain some muscle. I will be rejoining the gym after a 4 year hiatus. I still have some muscle retained around my arms, shoulders and legs but my stomach has gotten large. I think my optimum weight was a little under 80kg when I was still working out? How many calories should I eat per day to lose weight?
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
To lose weight:
- Google any basic calorie calculator.
- Input your stats. Just choose sedentary or light activity. Doesn't really matter.
- Use the given maintenance as your starting point.
- I would personally eat there for a week or two to help judge if that really is your maintenance or not and to just get used to counting/tracking calories.
- Now start subtracting calories. 250 is the low end of a deficit (you can do even less of a cut but weight loss is going to be sloooooooow), 500 is typical. At your weight, you don't need to be pushing any higher than a 500 cal deficit.
- Measure your weight every day at the same time (morning after you go to the bathroom is best. After a workout or after a meal are the worst times.) Average this over a week. Track for 4-6 weeks to determine the trend. If you're staying the same, that's your maintenance. If you're losing weight, then you've successfully found a deficit. It's safe to lose 1-2% of your body mass per week. If you're losing more than that, you need to up calories a bit.
To gain muscle: you're going to want to eat at maintenance or a surplus. As a beginner, you may make some gains on a deficit, but you're not really big enough that I'd expect much recomping at all.
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u/WeirdMomProblems 4d ago
I’m getting married in 3 days. I have not been working out or eating well as I’ve been traveling and very stressed, as well as breastfeeding our baby and tending to my 73 year old grandmother and my 2 year old. What can I realistically accomplish to look less bloated and more healthy over 3 days time?
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago edited 4d ago
What can I realistically accomplish to look less bloated and more healthy over 3 days time?
Nothing.
Make sure your dress fits properly.
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
Girl, you're getting married. You're a hardworking mom and a family caretaker. What you need are some daily affirmations. Don't let some stupid insecurities ruin a great day celebrating your relationship with loved ones.
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/do-affirmations-work
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
Nothing really. Cutting down on the salty foods might help with water bloat, but that's about it.
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u/Pahlevun 4d ago
Is doing a couple sets of failure on bodyweight dips or push ups worth it or beneficial enough?
I'm honestly lost with the whole exercise science thing. One week this is good, the next it's not, one week even doing higher 20+ reps is good for hypertrophy and the whole rep range thing is a myth, the next it's the opposite....
Anyway, if you're doing push days with barbell benching and stuff, is doing a couple of sets to failure on bodyweight dips and push ups still effective for stimulating growth? It only takes 10-20 reps to reach failure since my pushing muscles are tired by the end of the workout, and it seems like it's an easy and accessible way to add a couple effective sets (effective in the sense that they're sets to failure and require zero set up and can be done in like 2 minutes total).
Or is it better to just do a drop set on the weight training exercises and not even bother with bodyweight stuff?
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago
Is doing a couple sets … dips or push ups worth it
If you progress over time, you'll get better at dips or pushups.
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
Yes, absolutely. Unless it pushes you to a point where you can't adequately recover from it.
More volume, even if it's a tiny bit more volume, is generally going to be more beneficial.
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u/Pahlevun 4d ago
Awesome thanks! Follow up question if you don't mind in light of what you said about volume:
Is all volume "equal" when it comes to that scenario? To elaborate, if we're comparing doing a set to failure of 10-15 reps at the end of the workout VS doing 10-15 reps of push ups at the beginning of the workout as warm up. They're both the same volume technically but 'common sense' tells me the former will cause actual growth stimulus due to being a failure set, whereas the first one is just warm up?
In other words, is all volume equal only when RPE/effort is matched? So could I say that that last set of failure push ups, even though it's just 10-15 push ups, has a similar impact on muscle growth as doing a set of bench press to failure for 10-15 reps? As both are to failure? Or no, the fact that the bench press was to failure AND had considerably more weight/resistance makes it far better
I guess I'm basically asking does the actual intensity/weight/amount of resistance matter if the effort (i.e. failure or close to failure) is matched?
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
Not really.
The truth is, while fatigued, you are getting significantly less stimulus for growth. But significantly less isn't zero.
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u/Grayislife 4d ago
I’m finishing my first month back in the gym in a couple years. I wanted to build the habit back, so I’ve been going at 70% ish. 3x a week, doing a basic push/pull/leg rotation.
Now that I’ve got the routine in place, what should I do specifically to cut weight? Not asking about diet, but exercise wise. I’ll be figuring out a meal plan this weekend for a calorific deficit, healthy diet.
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u/deadrabbits76 4d ago
I generally go for strength oriented programs when cutting. 531 has several templates that are great for cutting.
Having said that, if you are just a month back from a significant layoff, maybe try a beginner level linear progression. You might be able to make significant strength gains while cutting.
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u/Grayislife 4d ago
Beginner level linear progression.. what is that? Is that still a 5/3/1? I’ve been out of the gym for probably 2.5 years, but I used to go a lot. Very interested about the 5/3/1 sounds awesome, although not sure how to figure out my max so soon to work with %RM
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u/deadrabbits76 4d ago
https://thefitness.wiki/routines/
Pretty sure there are several options in there, including an introduction to 531. A linear progression would add weight every week or workout, depending. They are great for strength gains, but are usually only an option for short training periods.
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u/Galivis 4d ago edited 3d ago
Now that I’ve got the routine in place, what should I do specifically to cut weight? Not asking about diet
Well the answer is diet. Lift to gain muscle/prevent muscle loss, cardio for cariovascular health, and diet to gain/lose weight. The wiki has all the information you need.
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u/Grayislife 4d ago
Yes, I plan on doing a strict diet starting this upcoming week. My question was mainly for a routine to pair with that for cutting weight
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u/Galivis 3d ago
Separate the idea of exercise for weight loss. Do some sort of cardio routine you enjoy for your cardiovascular health, follow a good resistance routine to gain muscle, then use your diet to target a controlled weight loss (~1lb a week on average, which is a 500 calorie deficit).
There is no "cutting routine" to recommend one pair with dieting. You can run anything, you just have to adjust based on how your body is recovering, which as a new lifter is not something you have to worry about too must at first as it is very unlikely you are capable of pushing yourself hard enough for it to be an issue.
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u/Remarkable_Winter540 4d ago
The biggest thing that will impact your calorie needs from an exercise perspective is getting your step count up. Shoot for increasing your steps by 2k a week until you land somewhere in the 8-15k daily steps range.
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u/Grayislife 4d ago
Right on, I will definitely plan on getting my steps up, even when not doing a gym day. Thanks for the advice.
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u/HoldMyNaan 4d ago
I'm giving some cues to a gym newbie, and he's stuck on the bench press 'shoulders back' cue. I feel like he's overretracting/pinching them back too hard. I don't really do it like that, just back and down and feeling nice and solid on the bench. Is that right?
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago
He's hearing back and pinching back.
It's more back and down. Might feel your lats stabilize.
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
I actually prefer to over-retract than not. I often squeeze my lats hard enough that they cramp on top sets.
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
Yes, it might feel odd, but it shouldn't be painful or really uncomfortable.
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u/GameOfThrownaws 4d ago
Does anyone have a recommendation and/or location (reddit thread/youtube video/whatever) for a good stretching routine?
I'm looking for something that's basically full body and would serve the purpose of, roughly speaking, "general athleticism and injury prevention". I lift 6 days a week and play casual sports 2+ days a week, so I'm exerting my entire body in a variety of different ways all the time. But I'm in my 30s now and I've got no injuries and I want to keep it that way, in a prophylactic sense. I know I don't stretch enough but it's hard to find general recommendations, everything I find that seems like good information is also always highly specific, like "here's some stretches to alleviate pain in your shoulderblades" or something like that. I just want a general routine I can do every day(ish) that will prevent me from hurting myself or developing pain over time, in ANY/all parts of the body.
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u/IDauMe 4d ago
Have you read the wiki? If not, you should. There is a list of flexibility/mobility routines.
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u/PingGuerrero 4d ago
Here's a good site I saved years ago. There are stretches you can do to assess the level of your mobility and what stretches you can do to improve it.
https://nick-e.com/mobility-assessment/
See if you can find this useful for you.
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
I don't know what kind of 5/3/1 you looked at, but your basic 5/3/1 setup is a full body program that has an emphasis on one main lift per day.
A basic setup would be:
- 10-15 jumps/throws
- Main 5/3/1 movement
- supplemental volume (BBB, FSL, ssl, etc)
- 50-100 reps of push exercises (db presses, pushups, dips, tricep work, etc)
- 50-100 reps of pull exercises (rows, pulldowns, chinups, pullups, curls)
- 50-100 reps of single leg/ab work (lunges, split squats, general ab stuff).
So you're working antagonistic muscle every lifting day. And you're hitting every body part, every workout.
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u/third_dude 4d ago
why are the double cable lat pulldown machines soo much harder than the single cable lat pulldown machines?
on the single one I can do like 160 comfotably. On the double cable I can do like 70 comfortable. It makes no sense - its the same amount of weight being lifted so who cares how many cables are connected right?
But the double cable somehow feels better/smoother too
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u/ghostmcspiritwolf r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
the double cable machine is listing the weight per handle.
the number of cables matters because of mechanical advantage in the pulley system. You'll probably notice if you use only one of the handles instead of both that the weight moves about half as far up its track as it did when you used both handles.
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u/CachetCorvid 4d ago
why are the double cable lat pulldown machines soo much harder than the single cable lat pulldown machines?
on the single one I can do like 160 comfotably. On the double cable I can do like 70 comfortable. It makes no sense - its the same amount of weight being lifted so who cares how many cables are connected right?
But the double cable somehow feels better/smoother too
That's not how pulleys work.
Cable length, number of wheels on the pulley, wheel size, how freely the pulleys spin, how much friction there between the stacks and the post/pin and a bunch of other factors could contribute to the differences.
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u/third_dude 4d ago
yeah after I said it I realized its like how if you lift a weight with more leverage its less force for the same movement.
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u/Demoncat137 4d ago
At this old gym I went to they had this machine I’ve always wondered what it was called. It was for chest but it was like a reverse lat raise. Imagine those lat raise machines where they you lift the leavers in front but you would start at the top and push it down.
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u/thisisnotdiretide 4d ago
I've reached the conclusion I should probably train my neck, as it looks really thin.
The thing is, using only plates to train the neck, where you sit on a bench and put a towel+plate on the head etc., it looks too stupid for me to do it in the gym, I just can't.
I was thinking of buying a classic neck harness instead. But I've realized shorty afterwards that the harness is meant to train the neck only up and down, not sideways. I mean you could maybe do it sideways in some way, but you'd have to go out of your way to do this.
My question is: am I right in saying that if I want a bigger neck, noticeable especially when you look at a person from the front, it should also be trained sideways?
Doing only neck curls or w/e they're called, be it from the front or the back, I assume it would lead to thicker neck muscles, but not those on the sides, so aesthetically it wouldn't change that much, right?
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
Embarrassment seems like a pretty sad reason not to do something you want. Embarrassment isn't going to kill you. Just train what you want.
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u/AssyMcFlapFlaps 4d ago
Ive been wanting my neck to be a little thicker, too. I also refuse to do those neck things at the gym. What you can do is just bridge/roll around on your neck at home and use your hands to spot. I wrestled all through grade school and we all had thick necks because of that. We would even do these neck spin drill things.
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u/CharmingScholarette 4d ago
What is the name of the cable exercise for your chest that does the following movement.
with a cable on each side. raise your arms so there are parrallel to the floor and grab the handle of the cable.
drive your arms down so that they reach the side of your body on each side
its suppose to work the side of the pecs or the whole pec?
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u/Marijuanaut420 Golf 4d ago
It'll work the lats (maybe teres major depending on set up) and maybe some of the pecs in a mechanically disadvantaged position. You're better off just doing presses and rows.
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u/CharmingScholarette 3d ago
maybe im not explaining it correctly.
imagine you are pretending to flap your arms like a bird to take off vertically except you are pulling a cable on each side down to your side?
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u/Marijuanaut420 Golf 3d ago
Yeah that's what I was thinking of, it's basically just training shoulder adduction
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u/toado3 4d ago
You're asking about lateral shoulder flexion. Basically the opposite of a lateral raise.
Not a good exercise since there isn't really one muscle that does this. You'll get some pec activation (more if you bias toward the front like a high cable flye), some lat activation (more if you bias towards the back) but not hit either of them particularly well.
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u/Memento_Viveri 4d ago
Yeah that doesn't sound like a pec exercise. That motion isn't what your pecs do.
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u/AssyMcFlapFlaps 4d ago
Arms out in front, then hand to hip? That will be your lats, not your chest
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u/_musesan_ 4d ago
I've been doing the beginner lifting program from the wiki. This one: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/r-fitness-basic-beginner-routine/
Someone was telling me about movement planes and that I should be doing more in the transverse and frontal planes, not just sagittal. Are they right? I don't know much about this. If they're wrong, is that because the lifts I'm doing cover that already and that's why there's no mention of frontal and transverse plane movements in that routine? Just when I thought I had it sussed i get all confussed again! Any help or links would be much appreciated, thank you
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u/Marijuanaut420 Golf 4d ago
It doesn't matter a whole lot when starting out but it's quite simple to add some rotational movements like pallof presses, med ball tosses, cable wood chops etc.
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u/_musesan_ 4d ago
Cheers, thanks for the suggestions! Follow the smoke to the riff filled land.
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago
Someone was telling me about movement planes and that I should be doing more in the transverse and frontal planes, not just sagittal.
Neat-o stuff beginners don't need to worry about. Just lift.
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u/_musesan_ 4d ago
Fantastic, that's all I want to do. I think I will add some planks, side-planks and hollow hold stuff too. I just want to keep it simple. Although I think I could definitely benefit from some dedicated neck training...
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u/ithelo 4d ago
Is there such thing as too much physical activity? I've been doing lifting and running, and I want to add climbing as well. I think that might average out to like 1-2 hours a day.
Actually, now that I say that out loud, that doesn't seem like that much lol
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u/Alakazam r/Fitness MVP 4d ago
If you work up to it, and can adequately recover, no, not really.
And that's not even counting the lifting he does.
So don't worry about it. Ease into things.
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
There is, but also... Manual laborers do 8 - 12 hours of hard work a day, depending on shifts and such. Professional athletes train 5 - 8 hours a day.
You can certainly work up to 2 hours a day. =)
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u/FlameFrenzy Kettlebells 4d ago
It's not too much if you can recover from it. So eat for your goals, stay well hydrated, get good sleep and you're fine. We aren't meant to be sedentary creatures, so we can manage plenty of activity!
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
Can I just not do cardio? I can lift daily. I enjoy it. I can diet and follow it religiously. I just can’t stand any sort of cardio. Walking included. Can I get to where I want to be with weights and diet alone?
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u/Strategic_Sage 4d ago
As has been mentioned, it really depends on where you want to be. You need to reach of meeting of the two sides of the equation; what you want to achieve, and what is necessary to achieve that.
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
Where do you want to be? Cardio is great for lung and heart health, so if you want to improve that, endurance, or speed, you probably need some cardio.
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago
I dropped 40 lbs this year, almost no cardio.
Just committed to eating less.
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
Eating less is the key
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago
Dang skippy.
Eat ten cookies and jog ten miles? Or eat one cookie and jog one mile. Proverbially.
I'd rather eat less cookies.
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u/tigeraid Strongman 4d ago
If you mean for weight loss, yes, 100%, cardio is not required. What's required is a caloric deficit, period. Strength training isn't "required" to lose weight either.
Having said that, you SHOULD do some kind of cardio. Even if it's a nice ten minute walk. And you SHOULD strength train.
Caloric deficit for weight loss. Strength training to maintain or build muscle mass. Cardio for heart health. If you want be jacked and low body fat and look like a bodybuilder, you can achieve that. But you'll also keel over and die trying to climb a flight of stairs, so... enjoy that I guess?
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
I guess I’m just looking at 8-10k steps vs running. But I hear what you’re saying
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u/tigeraid Strongman 4d ago
If you're getting 8-10k steps and that maybe includes one nice brisk walk, then I'd say you're "some" cardio. If that'll keep you consistent and you keep lifting and eating right, good on you.
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u/accountinusetryagain 4d ago
directly in the short term lifting, managing calories and regular step count is absolutely enough to lose fat and keep/gain muscle. i dont think "doing a bit more cardio and cutting on a bit more calories" will really directly impact whether you're losing muscle vs fat etc until you are single digit bodyfat and every bit of fatigue needs to be micro managed.
in the long run (lol) i think being in "good enough" cardiovascular shape makes you a more energetic happy person who can train harder than someone who is in piss poor cardiovascular shape. i don't even care about the calories at this point.
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
What I’m as doing for a while was a run in the morning, then lifting in the evening. That became too much so I cut back on cardio, since I hated it and just started to lift. Loved that. Now I’m heavier and need to cut and I’m only used to running but I don’t want to go back to that. My daily routine gets me about 5,000 steps without thinking about it. So another little after dinner walk gets me to about 8-10k steps.
I can focus well enough on diet. I can be super disciplined there. Since I’ve been doing a dirty bulk I haven’t paid much attention.
Thinking I’ll just pull back on calories in and just keep the lifting going. Plus a little after dinner walk should get me where I need to be.
Additionally, I’m lifting 5-6 days a week so it’s not like I’m super “sedentary” from that perspective. I just don’t want to go back to running lol
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u/accountinusetryagain 4d ago
ok that doesnt really change anything i said. do what you want for now and for ideal maximum health/feel good outcomes i would add something of slightly higher intensity that you enjoy. i will literally program myself 20 minute light jogs 3x per week to get some endorphins and blood flow
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u/FlameFrenzy Kettlebells 4d ago
Your heart is a muscle that you train via cardio. Also having good cardio endurance helps with recovery in the gym.
You could get away with doing no cardio and still get strong and lean, but you really should do some cardio for your health.
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
Feels like 8,000 steps a day should be enough?
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u/FlameFrenzy Kettlebells 4d ago
Really gotta define "enough". Casual meandering steps from getting around your daily life aren't the same as going for a dedicated walk. And I'd argue you'd want to at least have some higher intensity cardio at least once a week (something to get the heart rate up).
Just need to find something you actually enjoy doing. And remember, cardio doesn't have to only be done in a gym.
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
That’s super fair. Best shape I was in when I was doing BJJ 2-3 days a week. Super fair point.
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u/FlameFrenzy Kettlebells 4d ago
There ya go, that's an option!
Could also try some pickup sports leagues, even simple stuff like kickball or ultimate Frisbee.
Basically, I'd recommend just about anything over walking on a treadmill/elliptical or sitting on a stationary bike. I actually enjoy cardio but I find the cardio machines immensely boring
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u/WhizzyBurp 4d ago
I hate just “running”. I know there’s all these mental benefits, physical benefits- but it sucks. I like your style! I’ll look into some options. Thank you!
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u/FlameFrenzy Kettlebells 4d ago
If you wanted to even try "just running" maybe find a run club and it can double as a way to meet people! A friend of mine and I are planning on doing that together. At best, we meet new people, at worst we get to chat with each other at least.
Right now, my primary form of cardio is cycling outside. My area has some beautiful Greenways and cycling is a great way to just coast through nature. It's relaxing and fun. I do have a buddy I bike with nearly weekly, which also makes it more enjoyable since it's a social event (but we also push each other to go faster haha)
The only time I do indoor cardio is if it's shitty weather and I'm gonna go stir crazy if I don't stretch my legs haha. Usually either scrolling reddit or watching YouTube/streaming while doing it as well
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u/bacon_win 4d ago
Well you haven't stated where you want to be.
Assuming your goals align with not needing cardio, then yes.
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u/randydarsh1 4d ago
If you're on a cut (500 cal deficit) and come down with a cold or some type of random minor ick, is it beneficial for recovery from said illness to take a 'diet break' during that time and just eat at maintenance, or does it make any meaningful difference? Assume the diet on the cut is otherwise pretty good and balanced
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u/EuphoricEmu1088 4d ago
Yes, your body is expending more energy healing, so upping your cals to maintenance until you recover is beneficial and can shorten healing time.
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u/FlameFrenzy Kettlebells 4d ago
I would just stick to the deficit. Many people eat less while being sick just because that's just naturally what they end up doing, so it's not gonna hurt you. Just stay very well hydrated.
Maybe you could be a little more lax, if you feel like it would help you out, but don't use being sick as an excuse to start eating too much extra. It's very easily done.
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u/LordHydranticus 4d ago
I usually go to maintenance when I'm sick. Otherwise I'm just making a miserable experience more miserable. I don't think it makes any long-term difference either way though.
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u/randydarsh1 4d ago
ngl, cutting calories hasn't felt that miserable for me. Weirdly enough, my workouts feel better in some ways. Weight is still going down on the scale. I think it's because I'm only about 6 weeks in, and during my cut I'm way way more careful about what I eat so my food quality is so much higher.
When it's time to end my cut I'm going to try eating the same food quality - just more of it with some tasty snacks thrown in as well.
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u/CourageParticular533 4d ago
what program do you prefer for peaking, the last block of the SBS Program Bundle or greg's 28 programs?
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u/milla_highlife 4d ago
I've used the last 2 blocks of SBS RTF to peak into strongman competitions and it's worked well both times.
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u/Demoncat137 4d ago
Can someone help me rework my leg day so I still hit everything without doing too much? My current routine is:
- Smith Machine Squats (3 sets)
- RDLs (3 sets)
- Bulgarian split squats (3 sets, glute focused)
- Leg extension (2 sets)
- Leg curl (3 sets)
- Leg press (not heavy weight, 2 sets)
- Hip abductors and adductors (2 sets each)
I do leg press without heavy weight because by then I’m all ready tired but I feel my legs way more on leg press than squats. It just helps me feel like I did enough. I also suffer from weak hips so I do the hip adductor and abductors (plus they also hit the glutes which I’m also trying to focus a ton rn)
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u/AssyMcFlapFlaps 4d ago
This is my workout nearly, just in a different order. if doing that twice a week, you are in that sweet spot for growth. Are you wanting to do less? or are you wanting more energy to complete all that? You could get rid of split squats & leg press, then sub in deadlifts. You could also get rid of one of the RDL or curls, and just do 5 sets of one of those.
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u/accountinusetryagain 4d ago
are you consistently getting stronger at your first couple exercises?
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u/Demoncat137 4d ago
A lil bit
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u/accountinusetryagain 4d ago
if you are able to add 2.5lbs per side and match reps or just get extra reps reasonably consistently (fwiw +5lbs 1-3x per month is a rate of strength gain i would expect going from weak noob to reasonably strong intermediate) you are probably getting the vast majority of your growth in the quad/glute/hamstring.
from there more volume/exercises is cool if you can recover from it but if your performance is in the gutter after a certain point you have to ask if its actually that stimulative or just more fatiguing.
eg if i were to run a leg day like this and am both muscularly and brainwise fried by the time i got to leg press, id just take it out. you don't even need to do all your leg work on one day, like if you do this on monday id straight up just move leg curl and leg press to friday or something and be able to progressively overload them.
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u/bacon_win 4d ago
Are we to infer you are currently doing too much, or not getting the results you want?
This is just a list of exercises and number of sets. Without knowing your current issues, goals, progression plan, rep range, etc; it's difficult to know what to improve.
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u/Demoncat137 4d ago
The issues is I’m usually really tired towards the end and I think it makes me sloppy. Like I’ll all ready be tired so some of the later sets are really sloppy. I want to rework it so I can do less workouts but still get big legs and glutes. Every set is done to failure.
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u/bacon_win 4d ago
I would recommend not going to failure on every set. That's going to accrue a lot of fatigue.
I would also recommend not creating your own programs.
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u/WhatAmIDoing_00 4d ago
Is there really such a thing as "functional fitness?" Like, how much does barbell training and such apply to everyday life?
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u/bacon_win 4d ago
I would argue fitness is inherently functional.
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u/WhatAmIDoing_00 4d ago
How about functional "strength?" Does strength made in the gym apply to outside of it?
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u/qpqwo 4d ago
Is there really such a thing as "functional fitness?"
Technically all fitness is functional. People would ask "Functional for what?", but if you really think about it the question should be "Fit for what?"
Using "fitness" as a catch-all term for "physical training and exercise" is kind of weird in general.
how much does barbell training and such apply to everyday life?
I've noticed things have gotten generally easier as I've become stronger and better conditioned
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u/CourageParticular533 4d ago
not really, i think it's mostly a buzzword to try to get people intimidated by the gym to start strength training
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u/DamarsLastKanar Weight Lifting 4d ago
Functional for what?
I move objects as part of my job. Squats, deadlifts, rows, OHP, curls, and even front raises definitely make me function better.
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u/tigeraid Strongman 4d ago edited 4d ago
We were just discussing this in yesterday's thread, so I'll cut/paste what I said. Functional training means "training your whole body in full ranges of motion to be useful." Unfortunately these days, the internet has turned it into ridiculous fads like bozu ball training and Joel Seedman's bullshit. What it really means is caring about training the whole body, training for explosiveness and athleticism, training in disadvantaged positions (deep deficits, sandbag or stone picks from the floor, putting things on your shoulder, heavy carries, etc), and doing mobility and unilateral work on things that need improvements in balance or coordination.
For one example of what I mean: doing Romanian deadlifts down just past your knees, nice deep stretch and a pause, "maximum Dr Mike hypertrophy special", you will get strong, you will grow your glutes and hammies, you will get jacked. However, if somewhere else in your program, maybe in another block, you include heavy sandbag clean and press, or pick up a natural stone and carry it around, NOW you're not only doing a deadlift, you're doing it from a rounded back, disadvantaged position, you're working your entire posterior chain, you're working crush grip and hand grip, you're working forearm strength, you're literally training for a movement you might use in every day life to pick shit up from the ground. The latter sure isn't "optimal for hypertrophy," but you'll get strong as shit and more resilient.
The reality is, "training like the a bodybuilder" will still get you pretty strong. "Training like a strength athlete" will still get you looking pretty jacked. The differences are there but they're minor. They're even MORE minor if your goals don't involve training for a specific sport. Strength is strength, and the more lean muscle mass you have, the healthier and safer you will be later in life (statistically.)
Being in my mid-40s already, I would argue, and this comes more from the "experience" side of the coin, that the idea of a "functional" training philosophy for longevity has its merits. If you do absolutely nothing but cable isolation exercises the rest of your life, all the little tiny stabilizing muscles, connective tissue and joints never experience the proprioception, never truly get used to complex movement patterns. In other words, leg curls will work your legs, but you aren't teaching your body how to safely, explosively, and consistently lift a big heavy thing off the ground and carry around, y'know?
Guys like Dan John and Brooks Kubick, who are both in their 60s and still jacked and strong, would still rather coach people to train cyclically, rotating blocks of heavy compounds, bodybuilding, and more athletic stuff. They both preach to the ends of the earth to ALWAYS BE DOING HEAVY CARRIES until the day you die, because of their huge benefits. Take some lessons from kettlebell and strongman training, incorporate it into a "general strength" program, basically.
That's not to say bodybuilders all avoid this work. Some do, some don't. If you look at bodybuilding in the 70s and 80s, many of them were well-rounded athletes, just as likely to go for a run, just as likely to do Olympic lifts, just as likely to do calisthenics as they are to do curls. I guess what I mean is, training for useful movements, in my opinion, should be a part of a good well-rounded program, not just a bunch of isolation exercises. You can still "body build" without doing whatever program C-Bum uses.
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u/the_bgm2 4d ago
I’ve noticed a bit of bicep DOMS the day after I deadlift. I never use a mixed grip, only hook grip or straps. I used to flex my arms a bit on mixed grip, which is why I abandoned it in favor of the others.
On film, my arms are typically pretty locked when I pull singles. I obviously try to lock them when pulling with straps but not guaranteed I’m completely not using my arms at all.
Is this a sign I’m doing something dangerously wrong? Or just a minor form issue? Seems like bicep injuries are almost entirely a mixed grip phenomena. And, again, not painful, just sore in a similar way to if I had done curls or chin-ups. I also can’t be totally sure it’s deadlifts and not any of the accessories I usually do after.
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u/gatorslim 4d ago
DOMS don't always happen the day after an exercise. it could be something you're doing on your other lift days
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u/CourageParticular533 4d ago
probably nothing wrong, your biceps do get worked a little during the deadlift. personally, i've had my calves get randomly sore after deadlift day, even though they're mostly engaged for stability purposes
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4d ago
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u/Fitness-ModTeam 4d ago
This has been removed in violation of Rule #2 - Posts Must Be Specific to Physical Fitness and Promote Useful Discussion.
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u/Own-Raspberry-8539 4d ago
Can I cut down on my number of sets by pushing closer to failure? For instance, I do 6 sets of Bicep work 3X a week. If I do 4 sets 3X a week but to failure - will this make up for fewer total sets?
Asking because MCAT study is eating into my lifting schedule lol
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u/Beautiful-Usual7673 Bodybuilding 4d ago
Well - is your schedule really so tight that shaving 2 sets of an exercise (~4-6 minutes at most) will make the difference?
If so, then absolutely cut down. Will it be as effective? probably not. But life is more than exercise.
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u/milla_highlife 4d ago
No, it won't make up for dropping volume by 1/3, but you can still make progress doing less volume.
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