https://twitter.com/MargBarAmerica/status/1738046889252057105?t=0loQ9_rcqn41gOW2OqF2TA&s=19

I have not much money, little space, and no gym access, how do I get absolutely swole like handsome shrek? Is this possible from calisthenics only, or alternatively, is there some equipment that is 10/10 great to have?

It can be time consuming due to the sheer length and duration, but I have found fat falling off in the places I have most issues (lower abdomen, chest, and back). It's free, it's super chill, and I have found it clearing my mind too. In combination with more intense regime, I think it is a a necessary supplemental exercise. I think walking outside is probably better (it feels more natural to me at least), but just a plain ol' treadmill or other cardio machine will probably get those steps up. Its super low-impact, easy, and do-able.

I'm dropping weight and I'm finding my brain rebooting in some places as well. It's overall super great and I encourage every Hexbear to increase their step count.

Hey gang! I have a (maybe dumb) and very specific question that I couldn't exactly find the answer to, so I'd love it if you could weigh in a bit.

TL;DR: Newbie, strength training 4x a week, eating window is 11:00-17:00, is it okay to train at like 17:30?

I'm usually a long distance runner but decided to exclusively do strength training this winter. I've also been on a fairly strict 18/6 IF schedule since about June and I'm really happy with it and used to it by now, so I don't like the idea of quitting IF just to accommodate lifting. IF is more for health reasons than for weight loss for me, it stops me from going goblin mode on junk food in the evenings and really helps with mental clarity in the mornings.

IF and running in the evening after my window worked great together, never had any complaints about it, and the first two weeks of regular strength training with this schedule seemed pretty good as well. I've eaten at a bit (maybe 300-500 kcal but idk) above maintenance with about 1-1.5g of Protein/kg during my window and visually my muscles have already improved and I've gained about 1kg. That's okay for newbies, right?

Recovery seemed fine so far as well, a good bit of new stimulus DOMS in the first week, but it's noticeably easier after the second now despite hitting technical failure on a few exercises each workout (still figuring out my limits lol). AFAB people supposedly recover faster anyways I've heard, so I'm not super worried about delayed recovery due to fasting tbh.

The most common answer I've found when researching fasting after a workout has been ✨ Eating after a workout will replenish your Glycogen stores. ✨

...which is such a nothing-burger of an answer! The goal of fasting IS to empty the Glycogen stores. I don't get what this answer can be useful for..

Further, when I search up resources on fasting and weightlifting in general, I usually just get answers regarding lifting in a fasted state in the morning, which (unless a 15 minute Cardio warmup puts me in a fasted state lol) I'm not doing.

I've also read that the anabolic window isn't really relevant for casual lifters, it's more for serious athletes that actually benefit from optimizing muscle gain by like 5%.

So yeah, after all that rambling: am I doing any serious harm in the long-run? Not just "eh, it could be a bit more efficient" but actual damage? Because I feel good, I perform like expected and I don't want to quit IF as a lifestyle. I may be swayed to compromise and have like, a protein bar or something like that after training if the benefit is great enough I guess, or I'd be down to move my training into my eating window. What do you think?

I liked the Xero shoes I got for running like a year ago so I wanted to get another pair for the gym and a pair for my husband to try out... the prices were so ridiculous tho Amazon and other resellers scalp the shit out of them for some reason AND have shittier stock.

They're like a third of the price if you get them from the website on sale (there's always a sale on less popular models/colors/sizes)

just letting y'all know in case you were looking into getting some anyways

megan knees just means strong knees. how do i strengthen my knees, i have injury from a year ago that get sore too. should i ignore the soreness? dont tell me to go to physical therapy lol i dont wanna.

Picture semi-related. I can more-or-less actually wear my 1970s Soviet overcoat. It's still a bit tight but I can now close all the buttons. Appropriate enough for pictures now.

Maybe if I shave off yet another 10KG, I'll be ready to be a true Soviet Marshal

Death to America

I’ve lifted pretty seriously in the past, though always under guidance, so something like rippetoe might be too long winded on exercise explanations, but from a progress perspective I’m closer to a beginner— aside from having previously developed some of the neural pathways. 5/3/1 was my go-to in younger days but now I’m older and looking for more general fitness and athleticism as opposed to size/strength specific.

I’ve been using gambetta’s athletic development and it’s been great for circuit training and overall increase of work capacity but I’m finding that when it comes to programming it sort of falls flat in that recommendations are very generic. I would like something that would educate me on the whys and let me come away with the ability to design my own programs depending on situational needs. Any recs would be appreciated

I’m down 10 lbs and am currently at 22% bf, starting to see more definition but am definitely pretty small under there above the waist. I’d like to maybe build out my back a bit more. Wondering what a good point is to target for a cut to end before starting to try to add weight. My original target of 150 would put me at ~12% which might be a little too lean and I’m reading might make muscle gain more difficult later. Also am generally sick of dieting and the macro requirements are really starting to bite (my TDEE is probably 2500-2700 and MacroFactor has me eating just shy of 2k, I am very tired). Also it just seems like bulking through the holidays makes more sense socially.

I definitely still have fat to lose and don’t want to run the clock back on 3 months of progress, but am having trouble deciding when to stop.

Thinking about getting into an exercise routine to help me quit smoking and help with my hypoglycemia which is starting to get noticeable and I was thinking about this martial art. Figure if seniors can do it it'd be about my level being out of shape as I am. I used to do some very casual martial arts and sparing when I was part of a club in college so I'm not totally a novice.

What do you think, if you do it what's it like?

Too tired to explain the history of my body but long story short, I have TMJ and knee pain from the stress of manual labor and busting myself through grad school while working full time, commuting, doing physical therapy twice a week plus gym 4 times a week and I have severe chronic insomnia from..... idk, been 2 years now since i've slept an entire week in a row and my doctors just tell me to "work out until your exagusted like really tired yoo.

As if I haven't maintained my 3-4 day a week workout schedule or that trying to do that renders me semi-immobile for 2-4 days because my muscles can't heal and then i'm both sleep deprived AND in immense physical pain.

I fucking hate doctors, We make it not only so disabled people can't practice medicine but even able bodied people can't do it. You have to be an ubermensch from a rich family and it produces a system of people who are constitutionally incapable of imagine a person having a health problem that comes from anything other than a moral failing.

Today was my birthday weekend. Because my immune system was shoot from a particularly bad insomniac boat this week I failed to go to the gym and failed to avoid being sedentary for 4 days in a row. As a result when I went to the city today my bad knee put me in cripling full body pain to the point where I was holding back tears, having small hallucinations (nothing super crazy just having my field of vision being manipulated and seeing things move that were still) and almost fainting at like 2-3 points.

So that basically ruined the whole day for me and I came back dead tired. Wanted to go to the emergency room but I know for a fact that if you can still walk and perform basic motor function that doctors will refuse to give you muscle relaxers. Wanted to go home and relax but I knew I had to do a bunch of stretches or else risk waking up immobile and having to call the hospital anyway.

On top of that a DSA comrade called me out of the blue asking me to explain why my legal name on my venmo is different than the name I go by. In zoom calls I try to specify that I go by (they/them) and I don't really try to explain that I want to transition but want to be more economically stable first because I have a right-wing family so I'd rather just go by something that isnt my dead name in queer and political spaces. So I'm going to have to explain my gender over text or else he's gonna get sus. The thing is that he's a very good comrade and theres a chance he'll understand but ***I just really, really don't want to fucking bother with this when a few hours ago it felt like every tendon was trying to pull my body apart from the inside like one of those mediaeval executions where your limbs are tied to horses going in opposite directions but coming from inside your body instead.

I'll admit that I can't really imagine anyone can provide anything really productive here, just wanted to get it off my chest and vent.

Long story short I want to get a daily push up routine in addition to my gym schedule and being perfectly honest I don't see myself having the strength to do a regular push up for a long time if ever. The issue is that I'm just quite tall and at a 25 BMI while I'm not particularly "fat" I am heavy in absolute terms and I just dont realistically see my upper body getting strong enough to support that weight without a level of training that I doubt I have the capacity to do.

So that leaves me with doing push ups where I support my lower body with my knees. The issue I'm finding is that my knees are also not that great at supporting my weight (even if I didn't have a bad knee I'm sure it'd be pretty normal for them to hurt in this situation) and my pillow isn't stable enough to get a good push up without changing my position slightly with each push up which isn't great for multiple reps.

Are there any good solutions you can think of where I wouldn't have to buy anything to put under my knees? Household goods or other methods? I know I can buy an exersize mat but I don't really use them for other workouts and I want to cut down on the amount of money I spend

Hey Swoletariat

I’m looking into incorporating dynamic stretching as a warmup before lifting my weights. Currently my warmup is honestly horrid as it consists of only my main compound lift. I’m currently doing a StrongLifts 5x5 3 week split as I only have acess to a barbell and weightplates, but I’m looking into switching to PPL once I get some adjustable dumbells.

Anyways I’ve noticed that as my lifts get heavier my performance degrades and a big culprit of that I believe is the inadequate warmup. I want to get a warmup routine going and I know in the past dynamic stretching has worked for me.

So I come to you for some help; does anyone have any recommendations or plan for a dynamic stretching routine I can adopt into my warmup session pre-lifting?

So I've been trying to work on my abs without going to the gym (because no time). I've been getting sick of planks and I hate crunches with a passion, so I followed some advice and got an ab wheel.

The moment I saw some videos on how to use it, I'm like, "I'm gonna faceplant so hard when I try this". So when it arrived, I tested it and sure enough, faceplant. Obviously, my abs aren't strong enough to keep me up, so more strength and practice in that area would definitely help. But is there anything I can do in the meantime to get there? Some kind of half-rep or something to help me build up my core? Or should I just go back to planks and reverse crunches?

haven't done much but a lot of dancing, and basic body weight exercises. Im still scared of the gym. also my new ultimate safe food is cauliflower, I eat it everyday, i do pan fry it but hey its better than french fries or most of my other safe foods. fiber is great yall. i want to loose weight for my wedding/ elopement.I feel hot, maybe just need to lose another 15 and ill be HOT HOT. only sad thing is im not loosing weight in my boobs so far, so im just sittin at a 45 bust (uhg) with a 35 waist (yay snatched waist) which is just a pain. any transfems want some boob?

Due to WFH shenanigans, I've been working out from home for almost 6 months now using a treadmill and a pair of adjustable dumbells. And while I'm making some modest but non-negligible gains on my chest and have lost considerable fat on the waist, I've also been losing fat on my glutes at an alarming rate. This is no joke, my ass is looking flat and unsexy. I've been using this dumbbell program, and it works out well enough for upper body, but I just don't feel it in my glutes, the squats simply don't go heavy enough and I can't really fit a squat rack in my small apartment. Does anyone have an alternative exercise that trains glutes? Do resistance bands work? What do you recommend for butt

Weigh currently around 250, 5'7 in height Lowest I ever got two years ago was 235

I keep yoyoing on weight my whole life I fall off the workout wagon and spiral

I've been working out consistently for a month swimming, hiking or running and doing weights, I feel healthier I'm much more active, and feel less winded

But I may have an undiagnosed eating disorder, i can stress eat on anxious levels, before I could drop weight easier but I'm worried my weight is catching up to me because it's not shedding like it used too.

I'm very self conscious about my weight, and I want to be healthy in the event of anything in the future. My eating is starting to cost me and I'm starting to realize this is detrimental to my overall well-being.

Any recommendations?

I swim laps for at least 45min to hr Or run 3 miles Or hike 2-5 miles depending on time before sunset

Edit: i also added burpees recently when I don't have time to do everything in the gym, because I do work and go to school as well.

Plus I always do some weights at the gym with a warmup full body workout.

My eating is destroying my progress. I also do not get good sleep, I'm trying to work on that.

Unfortunately I'm not on HRT and won't be for the foreseeable future. But as I'm working on shaping up my butt and legs, i want my waist to get thinner. I'm pretty tall and trim, but I'm worried that without HRT any efforts on my core are just going to square me off and not help me build the hourglass figure I want. Any input is appreciated!!

I gained around 15 pounds since the last time i was actually active regularly, so i decided to do a 5k training program I found. I used to play recreational team sports before Covid, have been sedentary for a while, so I decided to download an app and do their 5k training plan.

The problem is that the plan is for people who can already run, but want to tune themselves for doing a 5k quickly. My body is not used to running, and now i probably need to take a week or more break. Parts of my knee/leg which have never been sore before in my life are now sore.

My advice for myself if I could go back in time 3 weeks: Just because you were active before at some point in your life, doesn't mean your body can do the same stuff still. DON'T INCREASE YOUR MILEAGE BY MORE THAN 10% A WEEK, AND WARM UP AND STRETCH PROPERLY.

@Finger@hexbear.net

I busted my back last week on a dodgy squat lift. walking sucks, bending sucks, everything sucks. I've booked an appointment with my physio for next week, but do y'all have any advice on dealing with the flare-up in the mean time?

I'm so tired right now I kept looking for c/exercise instead of c/fitness.

So proud of you!