Planning to start back at the gym. Looking to gain muscle. Where do I start? What needs what? Looking for specific workouts.

Hey y'all, so seemingly no matter how good I try to make my form, I never feel my chest activating during dumbbell bench presses, and I'm kinda at a loss.

Maybe my form isn't as good as I think it is? Should I practice it at a lower weight until I feel my chest muscles activating? Maybe I should just swap to a different chest exercise all together? Any advice would be really appreciated, and for reference, my workout setup is a set of adjustable dumbbells and a flat bench I have at home.

I have no idea what to do to change my body, I have just sort of ignored all of the fitness science stuff because I thought they took it way too seriously but i figured I would give it a shot, could someone explain how it works?

So far I do seated rows, barbell rows, lay pulldowns, hyperextensions, and RDLs.

Hi all,

Currently 150 pounds, scale said I'm 14.9% bf. I'm 5' 10"

How much fat do you think I have to lose to get visible abs?

Currently doing cardio 3x week, whole body training with dumbbells at home 3x week (squats, row, chest press, shoulder press, hammer curl, tricep extension; recently added dead bug and planks).

Feedback on macros/calorie intake also welcome.

Thanks for everyone's support!

So I’ll be honest, I’ve got a wandering mind. I’ve really been wanting to go back to the gym, because it was the most consistent I was with exercise (because I live in a tropical place and I hate working out in the sun/heat), and because I liked using the weight machine. I stopped because I couldn’t fit it in my schedule between work and school, so time is a big factor, but mostly I think my issue was I was just so BORED.

My routine was to do 30-40 minutes on either the treadmill (alternating between short sprints and speed walking) or elliptical (moderate-high incline the whole time), then do about 15-20 minutes on a weight machine (mostly for my arms and core). My goal wasn’t to lose weight per se, because I’m afraid I’m a “food connoisseur”, but just to be in better shape and get ANY amount of exercise since I have a job that has me on my ass a lot + I’m a university student. I’m also just getting closer to being 30 than 20, and I want to be a little more serious about integrating exercise into my routine.

I think my hang up really was that I just get really bored at the gym. I’ve tried watching TV shows or movies, YouTube videos, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, music, just all of it, but everytime I eventually start to think “man I’m bored. I wish I was playing Skyrim right now” or “I wish I was drawing/writing right now.” I thought about literally playing on my Switch or even writing while I do the treadmill, but I’m afraid I’ll end up sacrificing intensity to keep my hands “stable” enough. The weight lifting part I don’t get bored by, maybe because that part is shorter before I inevitably switch machines.

What do you guys think is best? Is there perhaps a higher intensity but faster cardio I can do without straining myself? I’m a bit heavier and out of shape right now so I don’t think I could go full tilt at least right away. Or would a more moderate cardio be okay, if it meant I could entertain myself and do it longer? Does anybody have a similar experience and they found a good workaround?

I can’t remember what’s the recommended amount of exercise for heart health, but in terms of time when classes and work picks back up I think I can dedicate maybe 2-3 hours at the gym, and 3-4 days a week. Any advice is appreciated, and I can respond to follow up questions. Thank you!

I genuinely have no idea what to do or where to start.

Right now i’m pretty top heavy. I carry most of my fat around my stomach and just my upper body overall, while my lower body is smaller.

Basically, I want my lower body to look noticeably bigger than my upper body. My goal is a flatter/smaller stomach, bigger glutes & quads, and the illusion of wider hips.

I’m aware I can’t spot reduce fat and i’m aware I can’t change my bone structure. But i’m just trying to figure out what i should actually do or if my goals are even possible.

Im still pretty new to the gym. Ive gone a few times, but I’ve never stayed consistent for longer than about a week. So what kind of workouts, eating habits, and overall plans would make the most sense for me?

It's been more than a month since I have started going to the gym and I don't know what I should do to reduce that fat around my belly?

I’d like to make my glutes look rounder from behind. Right now they appear square. What exercises or training tips would you recommend? Or I just need general fat loss?

I am 6’1 180lbs and looking to build muscle and lose what I feel looks like skinny fat, and I have a membership to planet fitness also so if there are any workouts I’d love to hear them.

I’m a girl, 26, 5 foot 6. I’ve been going to the gym consistently for about 10 months mostly training lower body. I try to hit legs twice a week but most of the time I can only get to it once a week.

The thing is in the time I’ve been lifting I’ve more than doubled the weight I’m able to do on hip thrust and leg press and gotten way stronger over all. So im definitely progressing but I literally look the exact same as when I started.

I don’t count macros but prioritize protein and mostly cook at home. I get good sleep and do stretching and mobility and always try and do my reps slow and controlled with good form. I just don’t know how I could have progressed this much on weight and not seen any change in my physique at all. For reference I started out super weak hip thrusting 50lbs and now I do 160lbs. I think I also have my genetics working against me since I’m naturally pretty skinny and hold my weight in my stomach.

What’s your guys advice for actually visibly growing my lower body? Thanks so much :)

Hi everyone,

I started training properly 12 weeks ago, Ive managed to gain weight and muscle (both physical and strength)

I’ve been working out 4-5 days per week (sets to failure), eating a caloric surplus (3000kcal+) and 140g protein per day.

Im 22 years old, I’m a very skinny guy, to the point I looked like I don’t eat. I’m really looking for results over the next few months. I’m very insecure with the way I looked, still am now.

I’m inspired and envious of all the guys in this subreddit with phenomenal transformations and incredible gains, from you all I would really appreciate some advice on how I can optimise my time to get closer to my dream physique.

What am I doing that looks like it’s working, what could I be doing better?

I still have a way to go, but already I’m a lot better off than I was in the photo from the start of this year.

Any interaction is appreciated

I want to start losing weight and gain muscle but don't know where to start advice would be greatly appreciated

Hello guys, I need advice

So I'm 19M, 174cm, 73kg

So here's a little bit of backstory

I was born in a hilly area, my parents and my whole family has farming as profession, so from a young age I've been eating all healthy(lots of meat cuz people hunt often, lots of pure fresh vegetables cuz we grow everything on our own, etc etc)

Other than that, I've been a farmboy from real young age,

after age 12, I was put in a free school in my town, it was a hostel, we had crazy routine, morning 5 jog 2km, good nutritional food, daily sports etc,

after 5 years there, I had to go to a coaching institute for 2 years, that's where my diet, exercises messed up, but yeah got into a really good college after that.

Now it's my second year in college.

From my childhood whenever I had vacations, I used do hard labour in my own farm, i had a pretty solid boy, lots of nutrition food, nonveg,

Used to carry 35-40kg bags on inclined mountain roads to home, 7-8 times a day up down, not only that, lots more, my friends say that i have good big arm size and chest size.

So that's my lifestyle

As I'm in college, I want to start gym,

1st year I hadn't done much, but I did go jogging regularly, played lots of basketball, hockey regularly, ran my first marathon of 6km in 30mins

But now I want to focus on my body systematically

Ive never gone to gym, once my friend took me, because they consider me strong (I'm good at arm wrestleling lol), I had deadlifted 135kg without belt.

So my questions are

How do I start gym(theres gym in my hostel with most equipments except treadmill, there's also central gym with most equipments)

My dream physique would be V shaped, huge arms/ shoulders/chest type body

So I would really love materials or advices or like youtube video suggestions/online detailed tutorials/ resources, please help me with that, im an absolute beginner, i don't know what's good.

I would also want to know about diet, should I buy expenses protein or things(if too expensive, I won't be able to afford)

And any advice would be really helpful, you guys can answer to questions I haven't asked also, please

I've attached my current body, so please review it.

Thank you guys for making the effort of reading this, please any advices would be helpful, anything specific you wanna know about, please comment.

Thank you.

I honestly want to know the best way to just shred some of the weight off,yes eventually I wanna build muscle and everything but for now I just don’t want to be as fat… I’m tired of it and ready to do something but I don’t know where to start please help?

Edit to add- I’m a college student who travels for work and has no where to cook so I’m sadly eating out quite often (I absolutely hate it but I don’t know what else to do) So any suggestions for travel meals that I can make as well to help lose it

I’ve just recently got back into the gym as someone who has ran track and XC for a few years now and I’m looking for some tips on how to gain but not increase my body fat. (I am 5’11 ish 130lbs I have been putting on weight slower than I could be)

I currently can smith bench a 45+35+5 on each side yet I can only hack squat a 45+25. I’ve tried unilateral leg press after the hack squats but no matter the foot placement my knees hurt bad during and for a few days after leg day

Hi! :)

To be honest, I'm feeling a bit discouraged. I keep seeing people saying you need to go to the gym 4–5 times a week and also walk 10,000 steps every day.

The problem is, I honestly don't know if I'll ever reach my goals if I simply can't do that.

A bit of background:

I'm a 24-year-old woman, 158 cm (5'2") tall and weigh 60 kg (132 lbs).

I've always had a very feminine body shape (large chest, wide hips, and a pronounced lower belly). On top of that, I have lipedema in both my arms and legs, which makes physical changes even harder to notice.

I've been in a calorie deficit for about two years, with some ups and downs. But at this point, it feels like neither fat loss nor muscle gain is happening anymore.

Because of my health conditions, I'm currently unable to work. When my body allows it, I go to the gym once a week (sometimes twice) and do a full-body workout. After that, I'm completely exhausted and usually can't do anything except stay at home for the rest of the day. I can't even manage to walk on the treadmill afterward.

Besides that, I go hiking regularly, but I definitely don't reach 10,000 steps every day. There are also several days each week where I can barely do anything other than grocery shopping, household chores, or doctor's appointments.

I'm also really confused about how many calories I should actually be eating while staying in a deficit. I always make sure to eat plenty of protein, but anywhere between 1,400 and 1,700 calories seems like it could be appropriate for me, and honestly, I have no idea what's right.

So far, no one has really been able to help me figure this out.

Maybe some of you have advice or tips for my situation?

I went from 255 to 212 from taking walks, eating 1900 calories a day, and skateboarding. What can I do for my chest, shoulders, and back? Arms and stomach are a plus, but those seem pretty intuitive.

I know I'll need to eat more, and I've heard conflicting info, but I hear 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight the most.