Gym Thread/Fitness Thread

[RaveRadbury]

I've had some cool conversations on the discord with people about the gym so I thought a thread might be cool, too. I've heard anecdotally that having a place to talk about it can be pretty encouraging and helpful.

I've been going to the gym mostly daily since mid-December. It was my New Year's Resolution and I've been pretty alright at staying on top of it. I go in late and do like a half hour of interval on an elliptical, then 3 sets of 10 reps on the gym machines while alternating leg and arm days. I try to keep it under an hour because even after doing 3 months of it now I still think that working out is terrible and I'd rather be gaming. Having that said I am seeing results and that's pretty cool.

Anybody else go to the gym or have an exercise routine and feel like sharing?

[BeeSting12]

Been trying to get into one but it's been difficult with school. Feel like I spend all my time doing schoolwork and sleeping so it's hard to fit the gym in. Was doing decent earlier this year, I use workouts recommended by the caliber workout app and log them. Feel like 80% of my problem is diet. Cut out sodas three months ago for the most part, but I just turned 21 so they've been traded for alcohol which is no better lmao. Lost about 8 pounds just from not drinking soda and I've gained maybe half of that back.. Will get back on my cooking grindset in a week or two, too much schoolwork right now.

Do you do back/shoulder workouts? I had a friend who had never bothered with them and when he started deadlifting he discovered a whole new muscle group lol.

[RaveRadbury]

Been trying to get into one but it's been difficult with school. Feel like I spend all my time doing schoolwork and sleeping so it's hard to fit the gym in. Was doing decent earlier this year, I use workouts recommended by the caliber workout app and log them. Feel like 80% of my problem is diet. Cut out sodas three months ago for the most part, but I just turned 21 so they've been traded for alcohol which is no better lmao. Lost about 8 pounds just from not drinking soda and I've gained maybe half of that back.. Will get back on my cooking grindset in a week or two, too much schoolwork right now.

My schedule can get a bit irregular but I noticed that I can always manage a late night workout so I just cope and go in then. I'm the kind of lazy where committing to a minimum amount of time everyday is the only way I'll be able to stay on it, otherwise I'll try to move days around and cheat it. Sometimes I'm not even up for using the machines but I stay on getting the 30 minutes of cardio done, I've heard that there are a lot of brain benefits to keeping your circulatory system in good shape and that's what I'm most interested in.

I've been using the FitNotes app that oranges posted in maintainerbus a few months ago. I'm a bit leery about having workouts recommended to me because I'm starting from a place of not being at all concerned with fitness so I feel like I'm still working on a foundation before I subscribe to anything particularly involved.

I got a brita filter water bottle to try and get myself to drink fewer carbonated sugar-free drinks and that's been going alright. I've also been drinking protein shakes on the regular, especially after workouts. Got into pre-workout as well, apparently you can just cheat cardio with caffeine and that is totally alright. Blew my mind.

Do you do back/shoulder workouts? I had a friend who had never bothered with them and when he started deadlifting he discovered a whole new muscle group lol.

The gym I'm at has a bunch of machines that are all lined up and I've roughly lumped them into legs and arms, the legs area has a crunch machine and the arms area has chest press, mid-row, and lat pulldown. So it's kinda just general upper body vs. lower body. The most significant development I've seen so far is in my middle trapezius muscles, feelin real football team with those muscles on either side of my neck.

[Domitius]

I really enjoy going at the crackass of the gym opening. It's mostly empty and once I get my feet in the door I'm more likely to actually get a good workout in. Also means I spend the rest of the day in hedonism because I've already been to the gym so yeah I can ignore other smaller chores.

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[oranges]

I started going nearly 2 years ago after I injured my neck and it helped with the pain.

Just started full bar squats (just 75kg for now) and I'm looking at deadlifts, my row is 80kg for 10 reps and leg press is 387kg for 3 so my PT thinks I could do pretty decent deadlifts.

[wesoda25]

God I’ve been waiting for this thread.

Lately I’ve reached a new level in my gym discipline. I don’t smoke or drink anymore and limit my caffeine intake to 300mg on leg day, so once a week. For a couple months I was practically just living for leg day. The first hour is like ecstasy, I just sip my energy drink and blast hype music and feel fucking awesome. Then I get in there full of confidence and energy and it’s just me and the weight. Shit is awesome. I’ve finally gotten my squat up to 2 plates which I’m really happy ab considering a year ago when I got serious about lifting I could barely leg press a plate. When I go home it SUCKS tho, I swear I get a really sucky come down from the caffeine

Lately ive been getting back on the running wagon though and unfortunately that’s kind of tanking my body, but oh well. Shoutout @citrus and any other runners, we should totally do a tg running challenge competition or something

[oranges]

Don't go home, go for a walk first, it will moderate your comedown

[wesoda25]

Yeah that does indeed help

[NikNakFlak]

Been going since July of 2022. Usually 2-3 times a week but now more like 1-2 times a week.

Had a coworker help me for a little while and got a trainer for a little while too since I was starting from never having worked out in my life, not knowing how to do it, nothing.

I was pretty balanced for awhile doing 1 day of upper body, 1 day of lower body, and a dedicated core/ab day.
Now, I skip leg day way more than I should but I'm out hiking very often, just not doing weights as much as I should on legs. Never do cardio.

I didn't change my diet much at all except increasing protein intake. I consume sugar free everything and haven't cut out carbonated drinks or alcohol.
I regularly increase my lifting weights 5-10 pounds every 2-3 weeks. Body weight never changes.

[kinnebian]

i want to go to the gym more often but I've just had trouble balancing it with study and lectures, doesn't help that i live in bumfuck nowhere so the nearest gym is 30+ minutes away

[kieth4]

One of my favourite parts of summer is cutting down by counting calories and my macros and shit. It helps me focus on what I'm eating as opposed to chowing down on slop which is really nice. Recommend everyone give it a try because you'll probably be shocked by the results

[wesoda25]

Eating smart is huge. I’ve been having a lot of fun with fitness college-oriented baking channels. Simple, quick meals that are yummy, cool and good in protein. I’ve definitely been slimming up which is neat since I’m barely even running these days.

Also started tracking my protein which is such a game changer. I wasn’t getting nearly enough for such a long time and now that I am I have to fight a lot less for actual progress. Pseudo plateaus begone

My BIGGEST enemy these days is sleep. Ill wake up at 3 one morning and 7 the next for work and it’s just driving me literally insane. Really the effect it has on my lifting is the least of my worries but bc I refuse to miss my splits im getting a lot more useless workouts in these days

[kieth4]

When I started I was shocked at how much fast food I could still eat, had a sub the other day and it was only like 700 cals.

[oranges]

i should count calories but I have too much adhd or something I always forget, so I just burn 4k a day instead and it probably averages out

also my PT blew a disc in his spine squatting some crazy weight so he's not working right now, so deadlifts are off the menu, just in a maintenance phase right now.

[wesoda25]

new haircutt + shitty day at work = gainesville usa. Never been more in the zone in my LIFE

[kieth4]

Man, I injured my shoulder 2 weeks ago and still can't bench it's so cringe. Hope it stops hurting soon

[oranges]

i'm currently dealing with a rotator cuff issue, physio said I can't do any presses.

on the plus side I lost 4kg of fat since my last scan and replaced it entirely with skeletal muscle mass.

[wesoda25]

Started doing running training again which of course means my squat has started to nosedive. Cannot fing win legs are the worst thing in the gd universe

[oranges]

Rotator cuff is mostly better, back to pressing.

[Capsandi]

I have 2 adjustable weights I call them gurdy and ur-gurdy.

That is all.

[kieth4]

I've finally gone and booked physio! Whoop

[kinnebian]

not living in the country anymore, starting anew at a local gym; any general advice?

[kieth4]

not living in the country anymore, starting anew at a local gym; any general advice?

The biggest tip I can give you is set up some kind of routine. E.g Monday cardo, tuesday legs Wednesday cardio thurs arms and chest. You want to split shit up

[mindstormy]

I've been getting back into the gym recently after taking a break from ultra running for a bit. Going in three days a week now and just kind of doing all the weight machines to get a feel for where I am and what I should be progressing towards. I know I need to go a bit heavier on pulling vs pushing to fix some shoulder imbalance stuff I've got going on. I've never tried doing heavy weight squats before, maybe I should look into that. Still do 2-3 days a week of running, on trails if I'm lucky but it feels semi weird not running 6 days a week. I didn't realize we had other runners around here. What kinda races y'all been training for?

[oranges]

Did 100kg on the rackpull my first two plater yay.

[wesoda25]

I've been getting back into the gym recently after taking a break from ultra running for a bit. Going in three days a week now and just kind of doing all the weight machines to get a feel for where I am and what I should be progressing towards. I know I need to go a bit heavier on pulling vs pushing to fix some shoulder imbalance stuff I've got going on. I've never tried doing heavy weight squats before, maybe I should look into that. Still do 2-3 days a week of running, on trails if I'm lucky but it feels semi weird not running 6 days a week. I didn't realize we had other runners around here. What kinda races y'all been training for?

Got a half later this month. Maybe this time I will actually continue running after achieving my goal... (it wont happen). By ultrarunning do you mean those crazy marathon+ distance races?

[mindstormy]

Got a half later this month. Maybe this time I will actually continue running after achieving my goal... (it wont happen). By ultrarunning do you mean those crazy marathon+ distance races?

Yeah I did my first 50k two years ago in about 6 hours and it took me so long because I had just finished two marathons within the 3 months of doing that race. Plus it was a weird 10x5k setup. Run a 5k every hour on the hour for 10 hours but total running time was near 6. I think the timeline was December (marathon 1), then in late February I did a 6 hour fun run (1.5 mile loops at a farm) of which I stopped after I got to marathon distance after about 4.5 hours, then the 50k in late march. Doing everything back to back def fucked me up a bit and set my training back, hence taking this year (or two) off racing to build up base miles and work on some cross training in the gym. I did a marathon last December in about 4:12 so I am getting close to being a real running with a sub 4 hour marathon but I've got a ways to go. I only really got into running when I quit smoking the ciggys back in 2020. I do have aims of getting a 50 miler under my belt but I want to work on general strength and speed first. My happy slow mile pace for training is about 9:30 and I'd like to get that comfortably to 8:30 before I start training for my 50 miler.

[oranges]

not living in the country anymore, starting anew at a local gym; any general advice?

go regularly, everything else is a cherry on top of that.

[wesoda25]

Got a half later this month. Maybe this time I will actually continue running after achieving my goal... (it wont happen). By ultrarunning do you mean those crazy marathon+ distance races?

Yeah I did my first 50k two years ago in about 6 hours and it took me so long because I had just finished two marathons within the 3 months of doing that race. Plus it was a weird 10x5k setup. Run a 5k every hour on the hour for 10 hours but total running time was near 6. I think the timeline was December (marathon 1), then in late February I did a 6 hour fun run (1.5 mile loops at a farm) of which I stopped after I got to marathon distance after about 4.5 hours, then the 50k in late march. Doing everything back to back def fucked me up a bit and set my training back, hence taking this year (or two) off racing to build up base miles and work on some cross training in the gym. I did a marathon last December in about 4:12 so I am getting close to being a real running with a sub 4 hour marathon but I've got a ways to go. I only really got into running when I quit smoking the ciggys back in 2020. I do have aims of getting a 50 miler under my belt but I want to work on general strength and speed first. My happy slow mile pace for training is about 9:30 and I'd like to get that comfortably to 8:30 before I start training for my 50 miler.

Extremely impressive, good for you. Just running a half puts me in the grave for a couple days, I can't imagine doing over 26. Have fun in the gym

[wesoda25]

not living in the country anymore, starting anew at a local gym; any general advice?

Find a buddy to go with to show you the ropes + make it less scary. A trainer to show you proper form is also a really good idea.

Did 100kg on the rackpull my first two plater yay.

Good work

[mindstormy]

Been pretty consistent at the gym for a few weeks now and things are going well. I am still struggling to find a good program other than, just do a bunch of machines to try and do a fully body workout 3 times a weeks then add running in on off days with a rest day once a week. Did a 7 mile trail run a few days ago after a gym session and it went much much better than I anticipated.

[kieth4]

Finally starting shoulder rehab. The physio told me to use 2.5kg weights and it feels so over bros...feel like all the progress is gone but we hustle

[oranges]

Finally starting shoulder rehab. The physio told me to use 2.5kg weights and it feels so over bros...feel like all the progress is gone but we hustle

I'm at eight weeks and it gets better! I"m back to normal, in fact my shoulders are stronger than ever.

[kieth4]

Finally starting shoulder rehab. The physio told me to use 2.5kg weights and it feels so over bros...feel like all the progress is gone but we hustle

I'm at eight weeks and it gets better! I"m back to normal, in fact my shoulders are stronger than ever.

Yeah, my biggest mistake was not starting earlier- getting physio ASAP is the way to go and getting a guide on what to do. For any other gym goers in this thread, take my epic L as a lesson

[wesoda25]

I find the whole concept of weight-lifting "muscle memory" really interesting. Do you bounce back faster because you have better form + a greater ability to push yourself to true fail than when you started, or is it because the biology of your muscles has permanently changed? Let us know how it goes kieth, good luck

[theREALsomah69]

I find the whole concept of weight-lifting "muscle memory" really interesting. Do you bounce back faster because you have better form + a greater ability to push yourself to true fail than when you started, or is it because the biology of your muscles has permanently changed? Let us know how it goes kieth, good luck

Ya pretty much all of that. Your form is just like 100x better than when u were a noob and your used to heavy weight. I think for bio if I reamber its like the axons are used the shealth around them becomes like tighter so the signal is faster.

[kieth4]

I'm a point where I'm doing the same exercises I was doing (chest p ress or smth) but I'm doing them at slightly off angles so it's like starting fresh almost? very weird experience. Nice to see progress tho

[oranges]

I find the whole concept of weight-lifting "muscle memory" really interesting. Do you bounce back faster because you have better form + a greater ability to push yourself to true fail than when you started, or is it because the biology of your muscles has permanently changed? Let us know how it goes kieth, good luck

you have more fibres to recruit even from baseline.

[wesoda25]

Managed to crack an 8 minute pace for my half which marks the first measurable progress I've seen since HS. The race was a total blast but it did sort of kill me physically and emotionally for a couple days, oh well! I think for once I might take advantage of the foundation I've built up and sign up for more races, I need that high again...

[oranges]

Did my first deadlifts today, with a hex bar, so not full deadlifts, but felt pretty good, managed two twenties and a ten each side.

[wesoda25]

Maturity is grunting at the gym

[oranges]

Managed a 3 plate deadlift at the gym, feel that 4 plates is in reach this year.

Mind you, it was with the hexbar, not the normal bar.

[oranges]

err next year rather

[Higgin]

Managed a 3 plate deadlift at the gym, feel that 4 plates is in reach this year.

Mind you, it was with the hexbar, not the normal bar.

Hexbar is legit, gets more force and activation. Nice work!

[Timonk]

my body is perfect as it is i dont need muscles

[Itseasytosee2me]

my body is perfect as it is i dont need muscles

wait until this mf hears about the heart

[Timonk]

my body is perfect as it is i dont need muscles

wait until this mf hears about the heart

i dont need muscles

[Jonathan Gupta]

my body is perfect as it is i dont need muscles

wait until this mf hears about the heart

i dont need muscles

wait until this mf hears about the gluteus maximus

[kieth4]

I'm back to like, 60-80kg yipe!! I do need to focus a lot about slamming the weights down on my chest because I've really bruised myself doing it recently as my right side is just weaker but yeah, the journey back to 100+ is slow

[Timonk]

you lift 10-30kgs more than i weigh