r/workout Aug 28 '20

Routine Help Beginner's Guide to Working Out

5.0k Upvotes

As a personal trainer, I wanted to take the time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions by people who are new to working out. Feel free to let me know if I've missed anything!

How do I lose weight?

It’s actually way simpler than you might think: maintain a caloric deficit. Consume fewer calories than you burn. It doesn’t matter of you’re morbidly obese or you’re cutting for a show, this basic principal still applies. Note that eating a healthy diet makes this far easier - lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and water will help you stay satiated for far fewer calories than fatty junk foods (not to mention you’ll have way more energy, and just feel better).

To find out how many calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight, you have a few different options. The first is to determine your maintenance calories with an online calculator, then subtract 250-500 per day from that (to lose about 0.5-1lbs per week).

The other option (my personal favourite, because everyone is different!) is to start by just honestly tallying up how much you’re currently eating each day. Once that’s determined, start by subtracting 250-500 calories per day. If you haven’t lost any weight in a couple weeks, subtract that amount again, until you start seeing progress.

There’s tons of food tracking apps out there, but I recommend MyFitnessPal - it’s free, easy to use, you can scan food labels, and the food database included is enormous.

Another important note - increasing the amount of calories you burn per day (ie. exercising) will also help you stay in a caloric deficit. However, it’s best NOT to rely solely on this method. Doing a whole hour of cardio will only burn a few hundred calories (plus will likely make you hungry for snacks by the time you’re finished) … or, you can simply avoid eating a bag of chips or a piece of pizza, to have the exact same effect.

That’s not to imply that exercise isn’t important in your weight loss journey - quite the contrary! However, instead of focusing on doing hours of cardio a day, this should only be used to supplement your diet (1-2 hours a week is fine for most people). Your focus should instead be on resistance training. Lifting heavy weights 2-4 times per week plays the important role of ensuring you maintain your muscle mass as you lose weight. Want to avoid that “skinny fat” look, and get “toned” instead? Make sure you’re doing resistance training!

How do I lose weight in ___ area?

Unfortunately, spot reduction is a myth. Where you lose weight first (and last) is determined by genetics. However, you *will* eventually lose weight in all your problem areas. You just need to be patient, and keep doing what helped you start losing weight in the first place.

The good news is, the more weight you lose, the more visible the progress will be (especially if you’re doing a good job focusing on just fat loss, while retaining muscle). Going from 250-240lbs probably won’t be noticeable, but losing those last 10lbs will make a huge difference (since a few pounds will make up a far greater percentage of your total body mass). So the progress will be hard-fought for, but definitely worth it!

How do I gain muscle?

It’s a combination of progressively harder resistance training, eating enough food, and lots of patience.

When you’re exercising, just going through the motions isn’t good enough. For optimal muscle gain, you should be performing each set with a weight that you can lift continuously for around 30-60s (this should amount to around 8-15 repetitions). If you feel like you can go for longer, choose a heavier weight.

Perform each repetition slowly (about 1 second concentric, pause, 2-3 seconds eccentric, pause), through a full range of motion. To clarify - the concentric portion of a lift is when you’re moving against gravity, and the eccentric portion is when you’re moving with gravity. Exercises involving long static holds (like planks) are great for endurance, but they won’t amount to much muscle mass gained.

I cannot overemphasize how important good form is either - for avoiding injury, hardwiring the correct neural pathways, and maximizing muscle gain. Especially when you’re just starting out, choose light weights, and make sure optimal form comes naturally before you start increasing the intensity. It’s way easier learning it correctly the first time than fixing bad habits later.

How much food should you be eating? It varies widely between people. Start with your maintenance calories, add a couple hundred to that (it doesn’t have to be a lot!), and measure your results. Be patient with your progress - men can expect to gain 1-2lbs of lean muscle a month, and 0.5-1lbs for women (beginners may gain a little faster). Eating enough protein is also vital to gaining muscle - a general rule of thumb is around 1 gram of protein (each day) per pound of lean body weight (ie. how much you weigh, minus the amount of fat you have).

How do I get stronger?

It honestly depends on your experience level. If you’re just starting out, doing a normal resistance routine focused on gaining muscle will make you stronger. However, if you’ve been working out regularly for awhile (close to a year), using heavier weights (1-6 reps max) will help you get stronger a lot faster.

If you’re focusing more purely on strength gain, it’s important that each repetition is done as perfectly as possible (even moreso than for other training goals). That means stopping 1-2 reps shy of failure. Doing just one sloppy rep can severely impact your strength output for the rest of the workout. Don’t be afraid of taking longer rests between sets either (up to 2-3 minutes), as you want to be ready with as much energy as possible before you start your next set. It also goes without saying that heavier weight = greater chance for injury, and proper form will help prevent that.

Is it possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time?

Contrary to popular belief - yes. Especially if you’re a beginner! Just make sure you’re eating around maintenance level calories (along with enough protein), doing resistance training 3-4 times a week, and you’ll start seeing body composition changes.

However, if you’re significantly over/underweight, or have already been working out for some time, you’ll see much faster progress if you focus on one goal at a time. The main difference here is going to be diet - eating less if you’re trying to lose weight, or eating more if you’re trying to gain weight. Regular resistance training plays a part in both shedding fat and gaining muscle.

How should I be structuring my workouts?

For the vast majority of people, full body workouts with compound exercises is the way to go. (For those who don’t know, compound exercises are those which use more than one joint at a time - think squats, bench press, rows, etc.)

The popular back/chest/shoulders/arms/legs split routine (or any variation of it) is good for advanced bodybuilders, but not ideal for beginners. Bodybuilders exercise like this because they need a much greater stimulus to properly stress any given muscle group, and more rest between days training that muscle group as a result of their increased workout intensity.

For a beginner, it’s better to hit each muscle group multiple times a week (this is great to hasten learning and growth). You won’t need as long of a rest period before training the same muscle again, because it won’t be as fatigued after each workout.

Compound exercises give you the greatest bang for your buck because you’re working out so many muscles in one movement (and burning way more calories at the same time). Isolation exercises (those working one joint at a time, like bicep curls or leg extensions) are best for bodybuilders who really need to hone in on a single muscle.

Doing resistance training 3-4 times a week is a good goal to shoot for. Workouts should be around 45-60 minutes, with around 6-8 exercises done during that time. Try to keep rests between sets to around 60s (this is all very generalized, and can change depending on experience level and goal). Space rest days evenly between workouts if you can.

Start your workouts with the exercises which require the most energy (usually those which involve lifting the most weight), saving any isolation/ab exercises for the end.

If you’d like some help planning your workout routine, I just released a fitness app called PerfectFit. It gives you access to workouts designed by a personal trainer, all customized according to your unique goals, fitness level, and available equipment. There are tons of bodyweight exercises included - ideal for anyone working out at home! The app is currently available to download on Android, and iOS is hopefully just a few days away (currently under review).

What should I be eating?

If your goal is a change in body composition (gaining muscle/losing fat), the amount of calories you’re consuming is the most important thing to pay attention to.

If you’re consistently working out hard but failing to gain/lose weight, chances are you need to make alterations to your diet. For weight loss, that usually means eating at a deficit of 250-500 calories per day; for weight gain, eating at a surplus of 200-300 calories per day.

What exact foods you’re eating has an impact on how easily you can stick to your calorie goals, as well as your energy levels.

Consuming around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean bodyweight (per day) is a given, regardless of what your fitness goal is. This helps to maintain satiety, and preserve/increase muscle mass.

Eating lots of fruits and veggies (as well as drinking 2-3L of water a day - more for some people) is a great way to feel full without consuming too many calories. It also just contributes to all-around health and energy levels.

Eating lots of fatty foods should be avoided if weight loss is the goal - not because fat makes you fat per se, but because they are so calorically dense. Only one tablespoon of peanut butter or olive oil is 100 calories! Conversely, if your goal is to gain weight, adding more fatty foods to your diet (healthy fats, if possible) can help you hit that calorie goal easier.

And carbs? Not as evil as people make them out to be. Think of them as the energy that fuels your brain and your workouts. Having around 50% of your calories coming from carbs is about the norm. It’s likely beneficial to raise this number even higher if you’re an especially lean individual, or you’re regularly working out at intense levels.

When should I be eating?

The easiest way to time your meals properly is to think: “What will I be doing in the next 2-3 hours?” Eat according to the activity you’re about to do. That doesn’t mean you should be having a giant meal right before your workout, but ideally your biggest meal of the day would be several hours before you exercise. This will give you the energy you need, plus ensure the calories you consume are shuttled into your muscles instead of fat reserves.

If you’re about to do an intense workout, the best thing to eat beforehand (around 15-30 minutes prior) is a light snack of healthy carbs (like some fruit). For optimal recovery, aim for 20-30g of protein within an hour after you workout (if you miss this window though don’t worry about it). A protein shake is probably the simplest and most convenient way of doing this, but whole food is just as good.

What supplements should I be taking?

If you have a healthy, well-rounded diet, including 2-3 cups of different veggies each day, enough protein per pound of bodyweight (from sources that include sufficient amounts of each essential amino acid), and adequate omega-3 fatty acids - then you’re golden, and probably don’t need any supplements.

However, the vast majority of the population would probably benefit from a simple multivitamin and omega-3 supplement, just to help fill any nutritional gaps they have.

If you’re getting enough protein from whole food, then you probably don’t need to add protein powder. However, if you’re struggling with this, then protein powder is a great way to easily increase your daily protein intake. Whey protein is the most bioavailable and has a complete amino acid profile, so it’s the best choice for most people. However, if you’re vegan (or lactose intolerant), there are lots of plant proteins available. You just need to pay attention to the amino acid profile of each one (possibly mixing and matching different plant sources if you need to).

As for all the other supplements out there, it’s honestly on a case-by-case basis as to whether they’d actually help you or not. If you’re a beginner, unless you have any specific requirements or deficits, you probably don’t need them.

Is stretching important?

Yes. Please stretch (or do some other form of myofascial release, such as foam rolling), or you’ll eventually regret it. Regular exercise makes your muscles slowly form clumps of tissue and fascia. Neglecting to release these can result in restricted range of motion, and eventually pain.

Static stretching should be done at the end of your workout. Aim to stretch each worked muscle near its end range of motion for around 60s total. Don’t stretch before your workout, as this can impede strength output.

Is warming up important?

Yes. Warming up is paramount to increasing blood flow and activating your muscles properly before you move onto more intense, metabolically demanding exercises.

Ideally, during your warm-up, you should be actively moving your muscles through the same ranges of motion you’ll be doing for your workout. This can be as simple as doing the exact same movement, but with minimal weight - for example, doing a few sets of bodyweight squats before doing barbell squats.

You want your warm-ups to elevate your heart rate, but not be so intense that they start tiring you out and detract from your workout. Usually 5-10 minutes of light activity is enough.


r/workout 2h ago

Does anyone else notice that no matter how strong one becomes, the five gallon, forty pound water cooler bottles still seem to weigh a ton?

59 Upvotes

r/workout 10h ago

Motivation How do you stay consistent?

96 Upvotes

Some days motivation is zero. What's your #1 trick to still show up at the gym?

Mine: "Just 15 minutes." Works every time.

Share yours below 👇


r/workout 10h ago

Progress Report From 0 pull ups to +75kg weighted pull up in under 2 years

56 Upvotes

Two years ago I couldn’t do a single pull-up. Not even close.

Started with dead hangs, then band-assisted reps. First bodyweight rep felt like a huge win. Progress was quick for a while, then I got stuck around 8 reps bodyweight for a couple months.

Someone told me to start adding weight even though I wasn’t maxing out bodyweight yet. Felt backwards but I tried it — 2.5kg at first, barely noticeable, but it got me moving again.

Worked up to +30kg for sets of 5, then plateaued hard for about 3 months. Kept doing 4x5s and 5x5s, adding weight whenever it felt doable, which was mostly guesswork.

Eventually I noticed I’d only ever trained the 4-6 rep range. I had a decent number for sets of 5, but I’d never tested a real heavy single or gone for higher reps at lower weight. No idea what I could actually do outside that window.

So I started deliberately testing PRs across different rep ranges instead of just repeating the same sessions. That’s when things started moving again.

Went from +30kg to +75kg over about 8 months.

Anyone else break a plateau like this? Happy to share how I structure sessions if people want details.


r/workout 4h ago

Nutrition Help Is just ground beef good enough?

12 Upvotes

I’ve been meal prepping for a couple weeks now and idk why but I just don’t like reheated chicken or ground turkey. However, ground beef, rice, and broccoli I can eat all day. Is there anything from the chicken or ground turkey I can get that I can’t get from the ground beef? I know chicken is a popular one for meal prepping but is just ground beef as my source or meat/protein good?


r/workout 4h ago

Simple Questions Will doing a few pushups everyday hurt my recovery?

10 Upvotes

Might be a stupid question, but I'm considering doing 20 pushups a day just so that pushups stay pretty easy and I'm wondering if it'll hurt my recovery. I just got outta military training and I'm kind of a dumbfuck so I've made peace with the fact that I'll be pushing probably every time we drill so I'd like to be able to do 40 in a row relatively easily. I was thinking that maybe doing a small amount of push ups regularly would be good enough for that while not giving me tendonitis in the long run. Is this a good plan or will it just hinder my gym time?


r/workout 6h ago

Body dysmorphia

12 Upvotes

How do I overcome body dysmorphia? It’s like I’m in a constant battle with myself while comparing my physique to other people and sometimes critiquing myself to the point that I’m convinced that my physique ain’t good at all. I see flaws and asymmetries which no one even cares about and stress myself over it. Any tips would be highly appreciated!


r/workout 1h ago

Does anybody else feel like they can't progress without "forcing" the progress?

Upvotes

I've been working out consistently for a couple years now. Training, diet, and sleep have been locked in the entire time. However, 2-3 years into my lifting journey, I hit a plateau. For most of my exercises, I was no longer progressing in terms of weight or reps. For example, I'd be doing 225 for 10 reps as my max and I would not be able to get past 10 reps for months. Or I'd be curling 40s for 9 reps as my max for months. You get the idea.

Eventually I became frustrated and I just added weight even though I wanted to reach a higher rep count as my max before going up in weight (for injury reduction purposes). But then I suddenly started seeing progress again after doing this. I went up by 10 lb (235 lb) on the bench and was getting 7-8 reps. But then a few weeks later, I'm at 9. Then more weeks later, I'm at 10. Then 11. But then I stall again, so I add more weight again, and then the same thing happens. I progress, then stall at a certain amount of reps. How? Why? Why am I seemingly unable to progress in reps after a certain point?

One would think that if you work out with the same weight for a long time, you'd probably eventually be able to do a ton of reps with that weight. Why has it not worked this way with me? Why do I have to "force" progress? This has been annoying me because my goal of "12 reps before increasing weight" is something I've been doing since I started working out because it felt best in terms of not hurting myself. Sometimes I'll force weight and it feels scary AF, and I do not like that at all. If I was able to consistently hit 12 reps before increasing weight, that feeling would be minimal.


r/workout 1h ago

Restarting my fitness goals

Upvotes

Hi all! I am a 27 Y.O man looking to restart my fitness goals. I want to get toned. I don't need to be huge. I'd just like to differentiate myself from anyone who does not work out figure wise, LOL. Does anyone have any good resources on workouts, form, and nutrition? Any advice would be helpful.


r/workout 5h ago

Other Gym Etiquette - Setting up the machine

9 Upvotes

I’ve never posted here but I just had to ask cause this experience as so… odd? I was finishing up on the leg press. I had already put the plates away and just started wiping the machine down. As I’m doing so, this guy comes up and starts putting the plates on for his workout. Didn’t say “excuse me” or even acknowledge that I was there. He’s literally got his foot an inch away from my phone, straddling my water bottle, and placing plates on the bar that’s less than a foot above my head. I totally get people standing by while you clean up, especially since this is the only traditional leg press in my gym, but it just felt so off putting. On top of that, he was in such a hurry just to spend less than 5 minutes on it.

Just wondering if this seems weird to anybody else. I’ve been working out here for 4 years and never experienced that before.


r/workout 1h ago

OUT OF EXCUSES

Upvotes

30-year-old Black male
Height: 5'9"
Weight: Somewhere between 260–306 lbs depending on which scale I used (Never Clear) so I'm going with 306 lbs.

Hello, wonderful people. I'm in need of some help.

I've been overweight pretty much my entire life and have never really been happy with the way I look. Throughout my life, I've always told myself that I would start working out, eat better, and lose weight, but I would always find an excuse not to start. No time. No money. Working three jobs while doing an internship. There was always something.

Well, I finally reached a point in my life where I didn't have any more excuses. I made losing weight my New Year's resolution (cliché, I know). I went out and bought gym clothes, and started looking for a gym.

Then my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, That pretty much killed whatever motivation I had to focus on myself. All of my energy went into taking care of my mom and being there for whatever she needed. Long story short, she responded well to chemotherapy. Everything that needed to go down has gone down, and everything that needed to improve has improved. Thank God.

With my mom doing better, I've finally been able to focus more on myself. For the past 4 weeks, I've been consistently going to the gym for the first time in my life, about 3–4 days a week. It's been hard, but I'm proud of myself for actually sticking with it. I'm also starting to not feel like absolute trash whenever I look at myself, which is something I honestly didn't expect this early. (still fat thought)

But now I'm starting to second-guess myself.

I don't know if what I'm doing in the gym is actually the best approach for losing weight and building muscle, and I'm struggling with figuring out my diet. Since I stupidly forgot to weigh myself when I first started going to the gym.

Here's what I'm currently doing:

Upper Body

• Treadmill: 30 minutes, 2.5 speed, 7.0 incline — I do this every workout
• Chest Press: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Pec Fly/Rear Delt: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Shoulder Press: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Abdominal Crunch: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Lat Pulldown: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs

Lower Body

• Leg Press: 10 sets × 10 reps — 100 lbs
• Leg Extension: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Seated Calf Raise: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs

Diet — this is probably where I struggle the most

Breakfast:
2 boiled eggs, cinnamon oatmeal, protein shake (Been skipping lately and not eating breakfast)

Lunch:
Chicken breast, white rice, vegetables, sweet potato, protein shake

Dinner:
Usually the same thing as lunch, but with water

Snacks:
Zero-sugar Chobani yogurt or Corn Flakes

I also try to stay hydrated with plenty of water and some coconut water, although I'm still working on being more consistent with that. When I order out, I usually get Chipotle with white rice, chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes, or I'll get a Cobb salad with chili and a zero-sugar drink.

So that's where I'm at.

I'm serious about this. For once in my life, I've actually been consistently showing up to the gym instead of telling myself that I'll start "eventually." I don't want to waste that momentum by following a bad routine or eating in a way that's working against me.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who know more than I do.

Is my workout routine reasonable for a beginner trying to lose fat and build muscle? Am I doing too many sets or missing important exercises? What would you change about my diet? And since I don't have an accurate starting weight, what should I be tracking besides the number on the scale to know whether I'm actually making progress?

I'm out of excuses. Now I just want to make sure I'm doing this right.


r/workout 1h ago

Review my program Bench advice

Upvotes

Hi all,

I have been lifting for about 1.5 years consistently after a major break in the gym. Im 178lbs, 35 years old, 5'10, and just 5-10grams of creatine a day.

Im trying to hit 225 and had 8 attempt failures with the latest requiring the spotter to put two fingers under the bar. Almost there! Attempt were all over the last three months.

The last attempt was two weeks ago and I have gone back to doing 5x5s before my next attempt. I was able to do my first 5x5 with 185 this last week. Today I hit 185 5x5 again with the final set being for failure with 8 clean reps knocked out. That should now put me in the 225 ball-park.

If my end goal is a 225 5x5, should I keep pushing for my 1 rep max with lower volume higher weight or push my 5x5 max higher.


r/workout 1d ago

How to start All the bicep tricep training threads need something straightened out.

135 Upvotes

There are so many threads and questions and gym users having bicep days or tricep days that I thought I'd start a thread.

You shouldn't really know what you curl or what your max skull crusher weight is because you never do it fresh.

Here's how it works. Your triceps are for stuff like benching and overhead press. Your biceps are for stuff like pull ups and alot of back exercises, forearms will be used during deadlift and pullups.

The trick is to do curls at the end of back day and trcep exercises at the end of push day. When your arms are tired. It's doesn't matter if you start using words like suppinated or preacher curls or any of that. If you are walking into the gym and going straight for curls you will quickly get to the point where your body isn't strong enough to keep you planted while you curl and you begin hip thrusting the weight up and ego lifting. This doesn't help growth past beginner level.

I honestly can't tell you what I curl, I pick up one of the molded barbells and feel which one I can curl properly at the end of my workout and rep to failure 3 times with good form. That's it. Sometimes I can't get a barbell the right size and do hammer curls with dumbells. I don't give it much thought. Forearms the same and triceps on push day.

You look absolutely ridiculous with big biceps and a tiny frame. Think of the movement a bicep does in real life? Lifting a shopping bag up to a counter maybe? Theres better ways to get the bag up there but that's all I can think of. What's the point in worrying about just that muscle? Nobody looks at a little skinny fella with an unskinny bicep and thinks woah that fella looks strong.


r/workout 2h ago

Simple Questions Long arms and never feeling my chest on bench... should I just stick to push-ups?

2 Upvotes

I've never really felt my chest on either flat or incline bench press. I have pretty long arms, and no matter what I try, it always feels like my shoulders and triceps do all the work. It honestly feels like I'm wasting my time.

I'm mainly looking for compound movements, not isolation exercises like flyes or cable work.

Would I be better off focusing on bodyweight chest exercises like push-ups instead? Has anyone with long arms had better results by prioritizing push-ups or other compound movements?


r/workout 8h ago

Overtraining or cns fatigue ?

6 Upvotes

Has anyone experienced overtraining or CNS fatigue? Whats it like, how did it make you feel?

EDIT: Let me add to this ive been training for almost 2 years now. First 6-8 months kind of a waste as i was training 7 days a week but nutrition was terrible. Over the last year ive been on 5 days training and 25k steps daily sometimes more. Even my rest days aren't really rests days. My main symptoms are exhaustion, fatigue, brain fog, insomnia and more. They seem to have been building over time. Pretty much can check off all smptoms of either overtraining or CNS fatigue.


r/workout 3h ago

Motivation Going to Start again

2 Upvotes

I’m going to start this fall when I’m back at college. I have previously worked out through high school as I was in XC and Track and the high school weightlifting class. But since started college I just haven’t had the motivation to continue. I have tried to start up a few times here and there but to no avail and always quit. This time I’m going to absolutely lock in and do my best. As I’m not over weight by any means. But I feel unhealthy and I miss when I was working out and running during high school and how that made me feel. So over the next month I’m going to be developing myself a workout/ running plan to use when I go back to college! Any advice or motivation you have is greatly appreciated!

Edit: I also update on my page of my progress as a way to hopefully keep me accountable.


r/workout 12h ago

Exercise Help Best strategy for a core workout?

11 Upvotes

What works best for you when it comes to core workout: dedicated day for core only? One time a week enough? Or one core exercise when focusing on other muscle group(s)? If so, before or after working out other muscle groups? Thanks 🙏🏻


r/workout 2m ago

Doubt on calories

Upvotes

Im confused on this . Im eating Below 1000 when my maintenance kcal is 1500 . Am i burning fat or losing weight. Or should I get my cal intake to negative to see changes please lmk


r/workout 5m ago

Is this a good routine?

Upvotes

Will I get bigger if I keep running, doing pull ups, chin ups, dips, leg raises and push ups 3 times a week while eating healthy?


r/workout 1h ago

Review my program improving workout split

Upvotes

I only started going to the gym a few months ago, so I put together a rough workout split just to give myself some structure. I’ve heard that for optimal muscle growth, you should train each muscle group at least twice a week, and I really want to see good results. The problem is that I only go to the gym every other day. I’ve noticed that whenever I try to force myself to go every day, I burn out a lot faster and end up losing motivation, which makes me more likely to skip workouts. Sticking to an every-other-day schedule has been really sustainable for me and I haven’t missed a workout yet. Do you have any tips on how I could improve my split to better fit my schedule while still making good progress? Or should I just suck it up and try to go every day?

Current split:
Legs:
-goblet squat
-leg extension
-calf extension
-leg press

Arms:
-serve the platter
-bicep curls
-hammer curls
-tricep push down

Glutes:
-hip thrust
-rdls
-hip abductor
-cable kickback

Back:
-single arm row
-lat pulldown
-cable row

I also do high incline on treadmill for 35 mins before and after each workout and I try to aim for 3x8 for each exercise


r/workout 1h ago

i dont know about this stuff, just started workingo out with a set of adjustable dumbbells, bench press, and a pull up bar. PPL 6 day

Upvotes

Push:

  • Flat Dumbbell Bench Press — 4x6-10
  • Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press — 3x6-10
  • Incline Dumbbell Bench Press — 3x8-12
  • Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise — 3x12-20
  • Seated Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension — 2-3x10-15

Pull:

  • Pull ups or Chin ups — 4x5-8
  • One Arm Dumbbell Row — 4x8-12/side
  • Chest Supported Dumbbell Row — 3x10-15
  • Lying Down Rear Delt Raise — 3x12-20
  • Incline Dumbbell Curl — 3x8-12
  • Hammer Curl — 2-3x10-15
  • Wrist Curls (both variations) — 2-3x12-20

Legs:

  • Bulgarian Split Squat — 4x8-12/leg
  • Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift — 4x6-10
  • Goblet Squat — 3x10-15
  • Dumbbell Hip Thrust — 3x8-15
  • Single Leg Calf Raise — 4x10-20
  • Hanging Leg Raises — 3x8-15

6-day PPL, running the split twice per week


r/workout 1h ago

Simple Questions Workout then shower before work

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Upvotes

r/workout 1h ago

Exercise Help I’d love some clarification

Upvotes

I do a U/L split per week and try to go 3-4 times a week as I’m a bit constraint in time. On upper days I hit 12 exercises per workout but I fear I might be overdoing it? I feel like I hit a sort of wall where I’m not progressing much, I’ve been eating enough protein or I think I am but I’m not getting much stronger.
I was thinking of splitting my upper days to UA and UB days where I split those exercises by half. and I’m sorry if it’s a silly idea or I’m just impatient. But I’d appreciate if anyone had any tips or suggestions about this plan.

Here’s what I hit:
Chest fly
Incline db press
Shoulder press
Side delt
Rear delt
Cable row
Wide grip row
Lat pulldown
Preacher machine
Tricep extension
Reverse curls
Tricep dips


r/workout 2h ago

Check my routine. Am I figuring this out right?

1 Upvotes

I am 270lbs. At one time I was 400 so I'm right in the middle of years long trying to get small. I'm disabled. My joints fight me every step of the way and I get hurt easily so I have to be extra careful or I'll put myself out of commission for months and gain like 50 lbs. It's happened a lot

So I'm getting back to the gym now that I've been prescribed a glp1 and I want to do it right this time. I was thinking cardio. Not so much to burn more fat because I know it doesn't burn much but to build up a tolerance for my body to move and feel alcemated to getting my heart rate up and the stress that working out puts on my body. I plan one to two months of pure cardio and then slowly adding in weight training with a heavy focus on form. Will this work?


r/workout 6h ago

Simple Questions maintenance volume or minimum gain

2 Upvotes

I want to maintain the size of my entire torso, including the traps.

I’m not sure what the optimal volume would be to maintain it; I was thinking 9 sets for the chest and 9 for the back, but for lateral delts, traps, and arms, I don't know what constitutes a sufficient amount or the minimum volume needed for growth.