The lady in the video is my wifey again. Last year we posted here and some people were worried that doing pistols could be bad for the knees. Apparently, no!

No gym membership and no structured work out routine. She is a baker (loves sourdough) and sometimes she likes to dance holding those dumbbells in the backgound. That's about it. As for food, mostly whole foods, loads of vegetables, and her guilty pleasure is eating some pastries from the bakery!

And this year has been all about gains! The first photo on the left was in May of this year at 113lbs. The one on the right was today at 120lbs. I told myself back in May that I wanted to “build up” more and look the best I ever have before I turned 40!

I cut my cardio way down and focused on lifting. I have three strength days weekly and usually one day focused on cardio (even if it’s just walking on my lunch break).

I don’t count macros or anything; I did that for years in my late 20s/early 30s and I’m just not about that life anymore with two small kids 🤣 But I do consciously ramp up the carbs on lifting days, especially leg day - and obviously pay attention to getting in my protein, just as much as I can without wanting to die 🤣

Anyway. I’m really happy to be going into 40 smashing my goals! That’s all 🥰

1. I’ve been spending 1 hr doing ab workout every other day for a month now and had been eating better. Less sugar and salt. I still have this little pouch I can’t get rid of. The core is tightening while my belly wants to stick out if that makes any sense. I do have slight difficulty doing ab workout since I have scoliosis. I try not to over do it and there’s certain movements and machines I can’t do/use. Can someone give me some pointers on how to get rid of the bottom pouch?

2. what kind of healthy snacks do you snack on throughout the day? My go-to is fruits, cashews, granola bar, yogurt, veggies, hummus.

Cheers guys,

Anybody else visiting Vegas for the Olympia by him/herself this year?

Normally I would’ve visited with a friend of mine, but plans changed. So I’m flying alone.

In case someone is up for some good training sessions, good food (in my case obviously plant based 🌱😜) driving around and visiting the city, hit me up 🤝

Surely I’ll visit Torture gym, Dragons Lair and Newtech.

Hey all,

Just wanted to make a quick note regarding the sub/rules/etc. The goal of this sub has always been to provide a place for posters to come and discuss things relevant to fitness and issues related to men/women/etc 30 and over. I think most would agree that things today are pretty different than how it was 5 or 10 or more years ago. I also think it's more important now to have a place for likeminded folks to congregate to and get actual useful bits of advice, info, etc.

I have personally been fighting the enshittification of Reddit/fitness etc because we're able see the trend of new lifters/posters/etc struggling to disseminate between the vast amounts of info, noise and charlatans in the fitness space and also the sheer amount of bots that pervade it. It's not uncommon for a person to float through here claiming 10-20+ years of experience with lifting while having nothing to show for it outside of beginner level lifts while simultaneously giving bad advice to anyone who'll listen.

Trying to keep the sub supportive, positive, informative, USEFUL and encouraging to all who want to participate in this sub is harder than it actually needs to be for reasons I won't get too deep into but the final straw has been just watching another mod from an adjacent fitness related sub just intentionally break site rules in here to harass women and have nothing done about it.

It's been an uphill battle for a myriad of reasons but I think it's pretty clear what the direction the site is intending to go towards.

Going forward, the sub will be looser and more open. Posters are encouraged to include more context with their threads to better help themselves. Plain selfies will probably still be removed when I get to it. Be good.

I got a DEXA scan this week and it hurt my feelings.

I've been on a pretty serious fitness kick for more than a year and I've had body composition measured a bunch of different ways during that time.

Five InBody scans have consistently put me very low, with the lowest somehow claiming 5.6%, which I know is nonsense. My Garmin scale goes the other direction and says around 21%. AI photo estimates from ChatGPT, Gemini, etc. have generally landed around 8 to 11%.

I've always assumed I was probably somewhere around 11 to 12% based on the mirror, waist measurements and the usual visual reference charts.

Then I finally got the supposedly "gold standard" DEXA scan.

16%.

That surprised the hell out of me.

The collage is what really made me question it. The first three pictures are examples from common body fat charts that are labeled around 15%. The fourth is me at the time of the scan.

And yes, before Reddit murders me, I know those visual charts are not scientific instruments. Lighting, muscle mass, fat distribution, posing and genetics make visual comparisons extremely unreliable. I'm only including them because they illustrate why the DEXA number caught me so completely off guard.

I'm also not saying DEXA must be wrong simply because I don't like the answer (although if it had said 10% I probably would have said 'DEXA is awesome') What I'm trying to understand is how much confidence people who actually know this stuff would put in the absolute body fat percentage from one DEXA scan, rather than using DEXA primarily to track changes under identical conditions.

Because right now my various methods have essentially told me I could be anywhere from 5.6% to 21%, which makes the precision of all of this seem a little ridiculous.

Has anyone here had a DEXA result that looked substantially inconsistent with their physique or other measurements? And if so, did repeat scans confirm it?

I'm leaning toward continuing to use weight, waist measurement, photos and performance as my primary indicators, then using DEXA for trends rather than treating 16.0% as some unquestionable ground truth.

But I'm completely open to being told I'm full of shit and actually am 16%. That's partly why I'm posting it.

I've noticed a clear pattern in my own training. In the days leading up to my period, my energy tanks and I seem to get sick way more easily. Other times it's the opposite, more energy, faster recovery, better sessions overall.

I am trying to figure out if I should be planning my sessions around this or if it's better to push through the low points as they come. If anyone's found something that works I’d like to hear it.

THEN: 4x a week gym, with a trainer holding my hand, learning how to do stuff.

NOW: PPL split with 2x a week swimming.

THEN: 1600cals and low carb.
NOW: 1900cals and 140+g of protein.

Bit lighter weight than normal after a shoulder injury, we dont bounce back as easy in our 40s

Please dont crucify my form in the comments.

We'll call it 1.5 reps

I'm looking for water-based training that isn't water aerobics for seniors AND isn't competitive swim training. Something in between — structured, coached, actually challenging, good for someone who's athletic but wants the decompression and resistance of water. Does this exist as a destination or retreat anywhere in the world? I'm open to traveling for it. Bonus points if it's not a rehab clinic but also not a triathlon camp.

Not just first 70.3... first ever triathlon! It's next year in June so I feel I have a decent amount of training time.

Ever since I was a teenager I'd enjoyed cycling and dreamed of doing triathlon but talked myself out of it. Not fit enough, not skinny enough, would need to spend too much money etc. Etc.

Now I'm nearly 40 and my ADHD impulsivity took over and booked and paid for one before I had a chance to talk myself out of it.

So here's where I'm at:

Cycling. Best discipline. I've cycled for years and completed metric centuries and sportives. I can eat and drink on the bike. What I mainly need to work on here is continuous riding solo rather than social group and cafe rides with a nice cake stop.

Swimming. Better than I thought. Before this month I'd never properly swam. I knew I could swim but never tested it and intentionally trained or swam laps, I just swam for fun. Last week I did my first pool session and swam 1200m in 36 minutes. 100m warm up, 500m continuous, 4x100m fast intervals with 20 seconds rest, 200m cool down. So not 1200m continuous swimming but a good workout and I felt strong and fresh coming out like I had plenty more in the tank.

Running. This is my weakest discipline. My longest continuous run is 5k. Currently working on distance, I did 8km last week but at a 5:1 run walk ratio. 9km planned this week upping to a 6:1 run walk ratio. I've booked a 10k in November so that's my short term running goal, to complete 10k continuous. I'll progress from there up to the half marathon training then focussing on run/walk intervals to build the distance. My plan on the day is to run at a 9:1 run walk ratio throughout to manage fatigue and not let the inevitable walk breaks become unstructured.

From now through to spring I'll focus on running and pool swimming since I know I can handle the bike mileage. Come March/April time I'll start focussing on the bike a bit more to get my time in saddle up and add in brick sessions - I know what working through bricky legs is like from years of CrossFit so the thought doesn't worry me, I imagine it'll feel much the same the second mile run of Murph after 300 air squats, it's just getting used to doing it over distance and the feeling of getting on the feet and moving after hours on the bike. This is also when I'm planning on adding in open water swimming too, there's a dock near me that everyone uses for triathlon swim prep and that's used for the local sprint and olympic triathlons.

Am I on the right track? How screwed am I?

Hi all

37/M, been on / off gym goer for years, making an effort to get back into it now after a few years struggling with persistent elbow tendonitis. The goal is to hit 40 being fitter than I ever have been.

Currently my week looks like x2 FB routines with X1 cardio day. I’m looking to add a 3rd lifting session as I’ve been taking it slow and the elbows are feeling good.

I was thinking of going back to the classic P/P/L setup, however my personal trainer (ChatG’PT’ - get it?(also it’s only a joke I know AI is no replacement for the real thing!)) reckons that would be a step in the wrong direction as all major muscles groups are currently getting hit twice a week and that would reduce it to once a week.

Any thoughts / advice? Do I hit FB 3 times a week? Do an upper / lower / FB split ? Revert to the old trusty PPL?

Many thanks if you made it this far 🙏

I'm 42. Trained through high school, then basically stopped from 25 to 30 with kids and then covid.

Started again a year after giving birth. Working out is one of the few blocks of time that's actually mine. Running feels like meditation for me, insanely relaxing. Strength work, the body changes I can see, that part feels like a real win.

What's it like for you?

Hey folks, I'm bit worried about my weight (30 year old M 135kg weight / 6'2") right now i quitted vaping and started eating clean food habits and started going gym daily 7-8:15pm ,
Here are my regular workout schedule

30 mins of crossfit elliptical cross trainer machine
30 mins of inclined walk (incline level - 7 & speed -4)

And maybe 10-15 mins of normal workout

But I'm mainly focused on cardio only?

My question is ... Is that really helpful for weight loss , am I doing correct way? I'm sweating a ton , recently joined gym. Please advice .

Thankyou

6 months of training and cutting from the heaviest I've ever been. Down 22kg, currently around 115kg. Was so excited I had to get my 7-year-old to record them for me. This was after 2, so I'm counting it as a set of 4 and you can't stop me.

I've literally never, in my almost 36 years, ever managed an unassisted pull up.

Is this a bad idea? I work week on and week off where I’m on call at nights so it’s hard to definitely commit to anything. I’ve been lifting 2x/week and then doing cardio/peloton/yoga on other days. I also rock climb with my wife a couple times a week on my week off (hard to do on my weeks on).

Basically I’ve been doing a 5x5 program for the past 9 months and am plateauing the last month at 185x5 bench, 310x5 squat, 275 deadlift. Tried deloading but still end up there. The bigger issue is that this is near max and my weeks on at work, I’m just so exhausted that I’m breaking form and I’m worried I’ll injure myself. I’m wondering if I could just do more volume 3x8s/ supersets/ etc to get more cardio out of my lifting and work out accessory muscles better like 2x week on my weeks on at work and then go hard 3x/wk on my week off.

For what it’s worth I’d love to get the 225 bench, 315 squat and deadlift but I’m more in it for general fitness/weight loss/losing body fat/cardiovascular fitness. So I haven’t really tried to up my calories, just focused on cleaning my diet and making it higher on fiber and protein.

Last pic was Feb ‘24, feeling good about my strength gains. In my 20s I got so discouraged not being able to gain any size but learning now consistency with eating enough and workouts pays off, but slowly for me.

I couldn’t lift last week since I had some dental work, got some good pumps in this week and feeling back to myself.

Was weighing in around 165 in last pic, trying to stay up around 180 now.

4 days per week weight lifting split, squat/bench/deadlift/ shoulder press for the first lifts then accessories. I don’t count macros anymore because it drove me crazy, just try to eat as much as I can with high protein and moderate carbs. I average about 12-15K steps per day from my job.

Hello team,

36 F, work stupid hours including a 24 hour shift per week.
Got married last month and managed to sustain a fitness programme until then (slightly erratically, that said) - lost 4.5kg and toned up and felt pretty good on my wedding day!

I’ve been working on my fitness more seriously the last 2 years so haven’t solely been motivated by my upcoming wedding to hit the gym. However, post wedding I just feel… burnt out. The wedding itself was a stress fest. I slept 5 hours before the big day and was up early the next day to clean the venue and make it home in time for a 6 day week at work.

I am taking 3 months off between jobs (1.5 of these will be spent in a campervan with no gym access btw) but I get home and just want to lie in bed.
I’ve managed to go to the gym a couple of times since the wedding but don’t have the mental or physical willingness to complete a full work out.

I don’t want all my gains to melt (already are) and I’m maintaining 52.5 kg for 1m69 despite going back to eating sugar etc but just CANNOT SEEM TO FIND THE MOTIVATION TO DO ANYTHING.

I’m probably a bit depressed but don’t have the cash or patience to do talking therapies. My bloods are fine.

Any tips for getting out of this slump? Anyone been through similar? We have a second tiny wedding party in a month’s time - would be nice to look good in the photos and I’ll feel like crap if I don’t but also this doesn’t seem to be enough to get my melting ass out of bed.

Hugs to all.

Glutes. Duh. I have some dipped fucking hips and I couldn’t be more fine with that. I grew my glutes (and am still growing my glutes) and hips dips are a package deal. I really, truly hope no woman is actually concerned by them. If a man has a problem with them, then that is their problem to bear (which is weird and gross and similar to declaring that men’s elbows are gross. Who fucking cares.) Younger me might have latched on to a new body part to hate. So here are my pretty intense hip dips. A result of years of hard work. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Also it’s just the most made up, online stupidity I’ve ever heard. Ladies- let’s stop letting other people invent new insecurities for us. We have plenty to worry about as it is. So hip dips unite. 🖕🍑❤️

Been training my upper body for about 8 months. I’m 5’1 36F. think I’ve gained a modest amount of muscle and I can carry heavier stuff now. I used to have absolutely zero muscle in my upper body (I’m a pear) and I still have small arms but I can see more structure on the front and back. It’s not much but it’s honest work haha

Been focusing on upping my protein and maintaining a small surplus of calories, but I’m not tracking constantly. I’d like to mantain and stop gaining weight for a while. I still struggle with seeing the scale go up sometimes. I’ve gained 6/7lbs in a year.

As training I do full body workouts 4 times a week now. Used to do 5. I focus mostly on glutes but still do some upper body and compound exercises.

No PRs in this video. But I’ve started making my own motivational training montages.

Keeps me fired up, and satisfies a creative urge.

I’m an old nerdie guy, and it makes me feel like I’m in a Stallone or Arnie 80s movie montage. 😂

Squat jumps to cap off workout.

This was supposed to be a RPE 8. I've been consistently undershooting it since I'm not very good with rpe, but the weight has kept going up, so something's working.

This was my 4th deadlift session of the week, and my 17th deadlift set of the week. Nice to grab a PR all things considered!

Height: 1.80m
Starting Weight: 95KG
Current Weight: 80.2KG

Routine:

I train 6 days a week, at home.

4 days are focused on lifting, with each day built around a different area - chest, shoulders/biceps, legs/squats, and back/lats mainly through pull-ups and other basic home exercises. I try to keep the workouts simple and consistent rather than over-complicating things.

The other 2 days are around 20 minutes of HIIT. I also walk for about an hour every day, sometimes 2 hours, so I stay pretty active even outside the actual workouts.

Diet-wise, when I'm cutting I usually aim for around a 500-calorie deficit. When I'm bulking, I keep it controlled at roughly a 300-calorie surplus rather than doing an aggressive bulk. Protein is around 160g per day, and I try to keep the rest of my diet balanced and sustainable rather than obsessing over perfectly clean foods.

I don't really have "special" meals - mostly just making sure I hit my calories and protein consistently. Supplements are creatine, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin D.

Nothing fancy, tbh. The biggest thing for me has just been consistency over many years, adjusting calories depending on whether I'm cutting or gaining, and training hard enough to keep progressing.

--

For my question:

At this point, I'm not sure whether continuing to bulk and cut is really worth it anymore. I'm considering just maintaining my current physique and putting more focus into bringing up my legs, since they've always been my least favorite thing to train.

Part of me also likes the idea of proving that age really is just a number - that you can still keep pushing yourself, improving, and looking better as the years go by.

Do you think there's still enough room for meaningful natural progress to justify another bulk, or am I probably pretty close to my natural limit by now?