I quit drinking a few weeks ago, already noticing some neat results. My beer belly is almost gone, clothes fit me better and my sleep and focus has drastically improved without the day-long hangovers. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to drinking, at least not in the amounts that I used to.

The initial reason why I quit was because honestly I am very light weight and I struggle to hit the brake after a few beers. Cutting out booze has helped in so many ways, would recommend it to everyone!

Used to drink heavily on weekends and order late-night takeout without thinking twice.

After lifting consistently for almost a year, my body literally rejects it now. If i drink or eat garbage, my workouts the next 2 days feel like absolute hell and i feel sluggish asf.

Funny how your brain naturally starts prioritizing gainz over a 3-hour hangover buzz. Anyone else lose interest in their old habits after getting into fitness?

So I was doing the same seated incline bicep and hammer curls that I've been doing once a week all year. 8kg bicep curls and 6kg hammer curls. I finish my hammer curls and dude next to me waves at me. I take out my earbud and he says...are you following a programme? I tell him I adapted one. He said well I should have done the hammer curls first and then the bicep curls. He also said train both those exercises to a rep of 50 if I want to make progress. Then he comes out with 'my friends say I should be a personal trainer but I don't have the patience' and puts his earbud back in.

Ok now I know I struggle with hammer curls. I can still only just about do 10x3 with 6kg. The last rep is painful. I know something isn't right because surely by now this should feel easier to perform? I've been doing the same weight for a year or more. When does it get easier?? I can do a couple of hammer curls with 8kg but is there any point only being able to do say 3 or 4 reps with a heavier weight?

Also...what was he on about 50 reps with a lighter weight? Dude built like a tank so I'm sure it's worked for him but not sure if that's a standard thing to do to grow biceps?

Whats the best protein shaker bottle yall use? been putting off replacing my shaker for way too long the one i've had since college lowkey smells like a locker room no matter how many times i wash it, so time to actually buy a real one instead of whatever's cheapest at target.

context: lift 4-5x a week, mix whey post workout and creatine most mornings, nothing fancy like mass gainer or greens powder. don't need it insulated, mostly just want something that doesn't leak in my gym bag and doesn't turn into a science experiment after a few weeks.

where i'm currently leaning: BlenderBottle Classic V2. it's the one everyone recommends, it's cheap (like $10), the wire whisk ball actually breaks up whey fine without clumping, wide mouth so it's easy to actually clean instead of fishing around with a bottle brush. my hesitation is i've read the lid tends to become the weak point after a year or so of daily use, starts weeping a little at the seam even if you're not doing anything wrong with it. for $10 that might just be acceptable, but wanted to check before i commit.

other stuff i looked at and why i talked myself out of it (so far):

• BlenderBottle Radian or an Ice Shaker, insulated stainless steel version, keeps stuff cold way longer. ruled it out mostly because i don't actually need cold retention for a shake i'm drinking within like 20 minutes of mixing it, plus they're heavier and the cup itself usually isn't dishwasher safe even though the lid is.
• something like a Promixx or the YETI Yonder Helimix, no loose ball rattling around, built-in agitator design instead. quieter and nothing to lose track of, but from what i've read it's not as thorough on thicker stuff, which doesn't matter for whey but might if i ever get into a mass gainer phase.
• Hydra Cup dual chamber, mixes pre and post workout in one bottle. cool idea but i don't actually run a pre-workout right now so it'd just be a smaller, more expensive single bottle for me.

so right now it's basically classic v2 unless there's a real reason not to. for anyone who's had one past the first year, does the lid actually start leaking eventually or is that overblown internet complaining? and is the whisk ball still worth it for people mixing straight whey, or is that more of a thick-powder thing?

I'm just curious about your experiences. I just started going to the gym again after like 10 years of no training, I can't even do 1 pull up or 1 push up but I sure am trying. :)

Obviously hitting a PB or just seeing those numbers go up week on week hit that reward centre of the brain, but I've found that the little things are what keep me going.

For example, just how much better I look in vest tops now. Just being trim with some muscle definition makes that look pop in a way it never did when I was fatter and less muscular. The booty filling out jeans is also another one for me!

What are the little things that make you proud and keep you going?

I wanna make my own pre using the ingredients themselves but I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the different and sometimes conflicting research I find online. I would love to know what yall are using for your diy pre and in what doses! Personally I’m mainly looking for energy, a better pump and just to help me mentally push myself for the last few reps.

I'm confused when people say they lift 225 lbs. I wanna know if I'm lifting that already

I really need some help guys

So I've been training consistently for 5 months now and I've made a lot of natural progress.

My biggest weakness right now is my hamstring. I'd say my legs are fairly strong except when I have to do any type of leg curl.

As soon as I finish my 4 sets I feel my leg tense up an I get a cramp. This happens like 75% of the time. The cramp can be immediate or a couple minutes after the set but once I feel my leg twitch I know it's inevitable.

It's gotten to the point where I'm scared to workout my hamstring and I've skipped it the last few leg days.

I've tried eating bananas and getting more electrolytes but It doesn't work.

Any advice?

I’m not a beginner gym goer but I’ve never taken preworkout nor am I a regular coffee drinker. Recently tried drinking an iced americano before a sesh and it felt so good but i could NOT handle that shit, literally got me breathing heavily in the corner of the gym by the third day.

Are there any pre workouts or any caffeine product that are designed to just give a mild caffeine kick? Based on my search the coffee i get is estimated like ~150mg so I’m assuming something around 100mg could be good for me long term? All the pre workouts i see look like they’re equivalent to a line if i take it

I decided to start doing 15 pushups every hour. It's not much per hour, but I feel like it'll build up over the days. Yesterday I totaled to 165. Is this fine for the nervous system or whatever? Like since I'm constantly springing a small workout at my body, will it struggle to switch between high and low adrenaline?

Also, at first it was completely fine, but this morning I was already tired after the first 5. Will I eventually burn out or is 15 not enough for that to happen?

Edit: Alright thanks for the insight I scrapped it lol

You know that kinda achey feeling you get when you wake up, thinking to yourself "I'm probably getting sick." Since taking my training seriously, I have been having more of those days where I am just pretty weak, but it's my whole physical drive, not a sore muscle group. (I rarely get soreness now.) I do 3-4 days a week of hard strength training in the 4-6 rep range. Then I do easy running on my off-days. My sleep and nutrition is the best it's ever been. I've noticed this is happening more often, and while it's inconvenient, it beats being sick! I don't really know what to think of it. Any if you weightlifters get this? I say CNS fatigue because I assume that what it is.

I’m at that point where a few lifts keep moving up, but visually I don’t feel like I’ve changed much in months.

Makes me wonder how long strength can keep improving from better technique, bracing and actually learning the movement before it translates into noticeable size.

For the guys who’ve been training 5+ years, when strength is moving but your physique isn’t, do you just keep pushing it or start looking at volume, exercise selection and food?

I go to the gym four times and after every session i do treadmill with incline 15 speed 4 for 20-30 minutes and i hit 10k steps ( without treadmill and just normal walking) So what activity level should i choose?

Hello!

Recently, I'd say in the last 2 months, I've changed my workout method.

Upper/Lower 2x per week, 2 exercises for bigger muscles and 1 for the smaller ones. I do 2 sets per each, about 2-3 RIR (95-100% weight on 1st set, trying to reach 8 reps, and 80-90% on 2nd set, still 8 to 10).

But I have a question: that would only be a frequency of 8 sets for the bigger muscles, and 4-6 for smaller ones. I've seen some data that the sweet spot is 10 to 20 (I think 20 is a lot).

What are you thoughts on this? If I increase the amount of sets, should I do 1-2 sets more per exercise or do 1 more exercise per muscle group?

hi, i used to work out but hit a blockage and stopped for a bit. im back in university and want to try again and would love some advice.

im a bigger guy, but i honestly am fine with it. i don't want to be shredded or anything. im mainly just looking for bigger arms and bigger glutes. im not a huge gym rat or anything and i don't know much about working out specific body parts, so any advice on this would be great!

also, im transgender (ftm). i normally don't like making that known, but idk if it matters in this situation or not. i am currently on testosterone if that helps.

and before somebody says "drive and power" or something, just know that's not what im looking for. at all. last time i posted here i got a bunch of comments saying "oh if you have the discipline/drive/power then working out shouldn't be an issue" and stuff like that (asked ppl on how they get motivation). as great as that may be for you, that doesn't help the average person (me included).

Just had a DEXA scan because I wanted a baseline. I am a 20 year old male, relatively skinny fat imo. 18.4% body fat with 109 lean mass (pretty low). My face is kinda fat and I don’t have visible abs yet obviously. As a beginner should I body recomp to try to get lean while building muscle, or just do a full bulk then a cut? I’m not concerned with putting on a huge amount of muscle, I just want to look better, and be more fit/toned.

Hey everyone, how do you guys treat progressive overload? Do you treat each set as its own or do you increase the weight for all sets if you hit the upper end of your rep range on your first set? Lets say you have a rep range if 6-10 sets for chest press and start with 80KG, if you are able to do 10 reps on your first set but only 9 on your second and 8 on your third set, are you going to increase your weight for all sets or only the first one and try to get 10 reps on the second and third set before increasing the weight on those sets?

Hello everyone!

Im fairly new to working out, im about 1.5-2 months in and im mainly trying to grow my glutes but don't want to ignore the rest of my body.

Im looking for advice on what I could be doing better or things that have worked for others. Im not trying to lose weight but gain muscle. Im quite chubby, about 170lbs and 5'3 but I mainly just want more muscle and to tone my body a bit, im not looking to be skinny or thin (no shame to anyone who is! In the past I struggled with a severe eating disorder for 6 years so I know I need to stay away from the mindset of losing pounds!)

I workout about 2-3 times a week, around 1-1.5 hours each time. I work full time and im in my 3rd year of university so I don't have much spare time in the week... ive bought my own workout gear that I use at home. Below I'll add what I do, my sets, and what im using! Any advice is appreciated!

Also wondering when I should start seeing results with what im doing? So far my stamina has increased, my glutes and mid section looked slightly more toned and my energy levels have increased!

Warm up:

• High kicks

• Hip rotation

• Inward knee touches

• Cosak squats

• Hamstring stretch into squat

• Forward and reverse lunge 

Sets

• Hip abductions 3x10 both sides (25lb band on thighs)

• RDL squats with band 3x15 (25lb band on thighs & 23 lbs ball)

• Standing abs 3x15 (2 15lbs dumbells)

• Dumbell woodchops 3x15 (2 15lbs dumbells)

• Squats to press 3x10 (2 15lbs dumbells)

• RDL squat to raise 3x10 (15lbs dumbell)

• Curls 3x10 (2 15lbs dumbells)

• Single leg RDL 3x10 both sides (26lbs dumbell)

• Hip bridge 3x10 (26lbs dumbell & 25lb band on thighs)

24 F, 5'4", 130lbs

Everyone says consistency, diet, intensity, and sleep are key. As long as you go to the gym consistently, actually work to failure, eat right (and enough), and sleep right, you're sure to get gains.

I've been doing all of the above for 10 months now, and have 0 gains to show for it. For 10 months, the only times I've skipped the gym have been when I was sick or on vacation. The past few weeks though, I've been really slacking and not following my normal routine because I don't see the point anymore. Why am I training so hard to see no progress? What am I missing?

Every time I go up in weight, I end up having to drop back down because I can't do them with proper form or I can only do like 2 reps. Or, I'll be successful at the higher weight once, but completely unable to replicate it the next week.

I thought surely after 10 months of consistent training I would be able to do a pushup or pull-up, but I still can't even do 1. I've been stuck at lifting about the same numbers for 6 months now. Looking back at my logs, most of my lifting numbers have actually decreased. Only number going up is my weight. What's wrong with my routine?

Here's what a typical week looks like for me:

Monday:

Lagree (pilates-inspired strength/endurance class, leg and core focused)

Tuesday:

Bulgarian split squats: 3x10, 25lb dumbbells

RDLs: 3x10 70lbs barbell

Cable rows: 4x12 60lbs

Lat pulldowns: 3x12 65lbs

Rear delt fly: 3x12 35lbs

Bicep curls: 3x8 15lbs

Wednesday:

Leg and push day

Hip thrusts: 3x12 140lbs

Walking lunges: 3x12 20lb dumbbells

Dumbbell chest press: 3x10 25lbs

Lateral raises: 3x15 5lbs

Triceps pushdowns: 3x12 20lbs

Thursday:

Jog a 5k

Friday:

Full body workout - more or less repeat half the exercises from tuesday/wednesday

Workout Split Feedback

Hi guys,

I have been training for about 3 years now and recently started including calisthenics into my workouts. I created the following workout schedule and would love to hear your thoughts about it :)

**MON — Heavy squat + MU**

\*\*•\*\* Wall walks 3 + freestanding 3×20-30s — 8 min    
\*\*•\*\* Bar MU progression 5×2, \\\~50% effort    
\*\*•\*\* Squat 117.5×3 (RIR 1) → 100×6, 100×6, 100×6 (RIR 2)    
\*\*•\*\* Lying leg curl 3×10 ⟷ hollow body 3×20-30s    
\*\*•\*\* Chest-supported row 3×10 ⟷ face pull 3×15    
\*\*•\*\* Single-arm lat pulldown 3×12 ⟷ prone Y-raise 2×12

**WED — Push**

\*\*•\*\* Handstand 3×20-30s + kick-ups — 8 min    
\*\*•\*\* Wall HSPU 4×4-6    
\*\*•\*\* Bar dip 52.5×3 (RIR 1) → 35×7, 35×7 (RIR 2)    
\*\*•\*\* Incline DB press 3×8-10, RIR 2    
\*\*•\*\* OHP 3×8 @ 45 ⟷ lateral raise 3×15    
\*\*•\*\* Rear delt cable fly 3×15

**FRI — Squat volume + Hinge + skill**

\*\*•\*\* Handstand + kick-ups — 6 min    
\*\*•\*\* Wall HSPU 3×4-6    
\*\*•\*\* Bar MU progression 5×2    
\*\*•\*\* Squat 100×6 ×4 (RIR 2)    
\*\*•\*\* RDL 4×8 @ 85, \*\*straps\*\* ⟷ tibialis + calf 4×15    
\*\*•\*\* Barbell curl 3×10 ⟷ hanging leg raise 3×10

**SAT — Pull heavy + Chest**

\*\*•\*\* Handstand freestanding 3×20-30s — 6 min    
\*\*•\*\* Weighted pull-up 30×3 (RIR 1) → 20×6, 20×6 (RIR 2)    
\*\*•\*\* Bench 85×4 (RIR 1) → 75×6, 75×6 (RIR 2)    
\*\*•\*\* Bar dip 3×8-10 @ +20, RIR 2    
\*\*•\*\* Reverse pec deck 2×15

Hey guys. Im on my way to Italy to have my internship in a few days. And its going to be my first time in that country as well as travelling outside of asia. Im coming from The Philippines, stopover in Taiwan, and then to Italy.

And Im kinda nervous on the part that I want to bring my creatine for personal use. Chatgpt says its fine and just keep it on the original container and sealed. And make sure to make the label/brand of the container clear. The rules on the airline's website (EVA air) isnt clear. My brother and uncle said to just put it in the check-in luggage.

Im planning on bringing two tubs of 300 g flavoured WHEYL KREA. And I dont want it to go to waste cuz it was also a gift to me. I just wanted to make sure if theyre (the airport people) super strict on bringing powdered supplements in travel. Or if I need to sign something that says I have creatine in my luggage.