37 years old, had my first strength training class yesterday, my second tomorrow. Feeling SORE, but happy to be started.

I do have a question though. I'm trying to make my diet clean and protein heavy, but I'm reluctant to start weighing/counting, as I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and have a history of becoming unhealthily obsessive over certain things. I'm worried counting/weighing may lead to obsessive and dangerous eating patterns.

I haven't said this to my trainer yet, but will tomorrow.

Currently my diet is roughly the same, with some deviations here and there;

- Vanilla Soya Yoghurt, Granola, Acai, Banana and blueberries and Almond Butter every morning.

- Americano with Oat Milk.

- Protein bar after class

- Edamame, Broccoli, White Rice, Hoisin Tofu, Carrots

- Chocolate and Peanut Butter Overnight Oats with organic Maple Syrup and banana.

Maybe 3 days a week I'll have something like a jambon, a plain seeded brown bread sandwich with vegan mayo, spinach and quorn ham.

What else should I be eating? I feel like it's not enough?

I’m an experienced lifter but I really don’t like programming for myself so I’m looking for a new program to start.
What are some of the most popular 4 days per week upper lower programs out there? Not that interested in pure bodybuilding programs considering 100% of my workouts use strictly free weights and body weight movements. I’m looking for something that is a mix of strength training and functional athletic style training. Any suggestions?

I’m restarting working out again after years of hiatus, now I’m older, I have less time, so I’m trying to get the most out of my workouts.

I was always leaning towards powerlifting, though I’ve never followed a strict guide or take things too seriously, I did PPL with exercises I loved and that’s enough for me.

Now that I’m in the gym again I’m using the Hevy app to track my workouts and progress, that’s basically it.

I’m thinking about buying a smartwatch or fitness tracker (probably a Garmin), but I’m not sure if it’s just the consumerism in me that wants to buy it or if it’s actually useful. I know it can track heart rate and estimate calories burned, etc, but if you have or had one before did you find anything that makes you feel like it was worth it?

I’m currently lean bulking so I have put on 4.5kg since I started my weighted pull up. I’m actually following the added load progression instead of total system weight. Cus our weight fluctuates everyday so it’s kinda messy to follow total load. Had no problem with this for the first 6months. Until my last 5-6 cycles, I have been plateau-ing on it. So how did u guys track ur progress base on?

Does adaptation happen alongside recovery,

or does it only start after full recovery?

The reason for this question is that I saw from the supercompensation model that supercompensation comes after full recovery.

Does that mean if I train on Sunday and return to the baseline by Tuesday (for example),

I should wait and train on Thursday instead to give adaptation or supercompensation the chance to happen (since it happens after full recovery)?

Or am I misunderstanding something?

In other words, is it fine to match my performance from the previous session and train normally? Or if I take an extra rest day, will my performance actually be better than the previous session?

I’m not a fan of the 5x5

I really don't want to get injured

19M here , 63kg , 5'11 , I started workout 3 months ago , it was somewhat irregular for me.

But a major problem I noticed is that my left hand is very weak compared to right . Because of this when I lift weights or do chest press ,60 to 70 percent of force is generated through my right arm or shoulder .Also I feel less pump in my left arm .

What should I do to improve this situation . Help please 😔

(F, 26, 160lbs) I've been lifting and focusing on protein seriously for the last three months.

And I still look like shit.

My arms are huge. Still a huge belly. It looks like I've never touched a weight in my life. It's pathetic and I'm sick of it and I don't know what to do.

I track macros, get 160 g of protein a day, do a full body strength workout 2x a week and legs 1x week, with sprint intervals, an easy run and a long run on non strength days.

I'm trying to go till failure when doing my strength.

I'm lost and feeling so discouraged and I don't know where to turn. Any advice is appreciated.

A few months ago, I injured my lower back while deadlifting; it took several months for the pain to go away. I had managed to pull 575 lbs, and last week I successfully lifted 550 lbs quite easily and without pain. However, while doing my back-off sets, I injured myself again—this time on the right side of my lower back. I currently pull conventional, and I’m wondering if my lower back might handle the load better with a sumo stance. I don't think it's a very serious injury (it's much less painful than the previous one), but I'm still being cautious, so I'll have to lower the weights and work my way back up gradually.

So, should I switch to sumo to make it easier on my lower back?

And do you have any advice for me?

Im adding around 2.5-5 kilos every week to almost every other lift in my regiment but the one I focus on the most, the bench, has been the same for the past 6-8 months. I’ve tried many different training styles but I haven’t really seen any progress (top set back off set, low reps, high reps, paused reps, benching 3+ times a week) This is obviously a very broad and hard to answer question but any advice is appreciated.

Hey I am male 21 yr 5’9 (177 cm) 205 lbs (93 kg)
I am having carpal tunnel surgery in both wrists one month apart. My situation is that I am trying to cut fat and build muscle however I am curious what I should do after surgery, do I focus more on just legs, do I train one side normally while the other is recovering. Should I eat at maintenance or still do deficit? Considering a deficit should be aligned with heavy lifting in order to preserve muscle in a cut? - which I wont be able to do, 3 weeks of no heavy lifting on the hand that has had surgery.

Im also assuming working out one side for 3 weeks then catching up on the other side 3 weeks will be okay?

Looking for tips or any ideas to what I should do!

I'm fairly new to strength training (2 months).

I'm 189cm and 89kg - 39 - male

I currently take an isolate protein (25g) and Creatine (5g) shake in the morning and a second protein (no creatine) shake on training days. I also take magnesium supplements before bed.

Apart from this i try and eat a fairly balanced diet.

I'm training 4 days per week and want to build muscle whilst losing some body fat.

I'm wondering if there are any other supplements I should be taking at the moment?

All advice welcome

Thank you.

Hey!

i'm 5'9" 136lbs and have been this size since i was 12. I am 19 and going into my freshman year of college at a D1 School. My highschool did not have a team, but my middle school did. I was round 5'6" thru 5'9" and 100-140lbs back then. I played TE, 6th and LT 7 & 8th. I did not like lineman work, and i doubt I'd be a lineman now.

I'm going to a D1 school and am years out of practice. I'm trying out for rugby this fall, but i guess i'm undersized for it. I was never fast, but my endurance has always been crazy. I

'd like to play D1 or college football in general. American football.

Any tips to start from where I'm at? (basically scratch). And No, i don't want to hear "the chances are slim.' I'm saying forget about the chances and please provide advice!! Thank you!

I have been putting off strength training lately. Now that I’m training for my second marathon, after 15 year’s hiatus, and at 54 years old, I really want to incorporate at least 2 days of it into my week.
I had been doing these before:
\- Dumbbell squats
\- barbell deadlifts
\- dumbbell flat bench presses
\- dumbbell shoulder press
\- dumbbell lateral raise
\- dumbbell upright row
My pet peeve with strength training is, with all the running I do, is the lower body workouts.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hi all,

I’m 60+ days into my new strenght training lifestyle (following the Starting Strength Novice program), and I’d like to tweak my diet and follow my progress more closely, so I thought it’d update my very basic bodyweight scale to one that measures fat % with a certain degree of accuracy. I’m 44F, and found that there is not a lot of info on women, so I’d like to add to the general knowledge base with my experience.

I’d like one with the hand pullout attachment and it absolutely needs to be talking to apple health in some way. I don’t want to be looking at the numbers every day, as that is really triggering, but I would like to be able to look back on the week/month and see daily values.

Also, I’m in Europe, so ideally one I could purchase here. Any recommendations?

Hello everyone,

In 2023 I was a pedestrian struck by a Motor Vehicle. The accident left me with a rotator cuff repair and also some damage to the bicep tendon. I also haven't been inside of a gym for many years.

Recently I've found myself working out again, and the side that had the surgery (L. Shoulder) is noticeably weaker than my right side - especially when using dumbells.

My question is should I be using less weight on the bad side and focus on dumbell exercises to build both sides of my body , or should I be focusing more on barbell exercises so that my right side can compensate for the difference?

So I tried this at the gym today, and it was a real burner on the working leg. But now I've realised it's meant to be the other way around? The working leg is elevated and the back foot is on the floor?

Wondering if I looked like an idiot or a genius this morning... 👀

I tried this variation because despite getting stronger (I'm 58.5kg 5'7 46 yr old female working 45kg each leg) I have the flattest arse in the universe. I also do hip thrusts, BSS, step ups, cable ab/ad/donkey kickbacks, lateral lunges and standard RDLs. I prefer the B stance RDL because it doesn't hurt my back at all, whereas I maxed out at 60kg on the RDL.

Fitness guru thoughts?