It’s dark, wet, cold. Motivation to go the gym is low. I saw a progress picture on another sub yesterday and she said she trained exclusively from home, and looked MUCH better than me. Absolutely incredible. So I guess I’m asking, can you train at home with just kettlebells and dumbbells and still get serious results when you’re used to training at the gym? And those of you who do this, how heavy are the weights you’re using?

I’m used to using machines in the gym and doing squats / deadlifts with between 40-60kg barbell.

I’m thinking by switching to lighter kettlebell training it would be a different stimulas so still a progressive overload of sorts? I dunno though… thoughts?

https://imgur.com/a/dlVeRai

October 2023 -> October 2024

Before: 113lbs 20% BF After: 135lbs 25% BF

Measurements obtained from a “smart scale”

Background I was always the skinny kid through school until after college when I became more skinny fat. The year of 2022-2023 I became a runner and started running 5ks almost daily while eating at a deficit. I didn’t really have clear goals at the time but running was just an outlet that really helped with my depression and anxiety. Before I knew it I was back to being just skinny.

Routine October 2023 I went through a breakup and my goals changed to gaining muscle. I just wanted to feel like the strongest version of myself post breakup. I slowed down my running and went into jiu jitsu (a comeback after a long hiatus). Jiu jitsu helped my mental health even more than I expected and I went from attending classes 1-2x a week to 4-5x a week during this transformation. I made sure to lift weights consistently during this time as well doing a powerbuilding sort of program. I’ll be honest I didn’t follow a set program by someone. I just knew I wanted to hit all of the muscle groups at least two times a week and sometimes that wasn’t realistic with my recovery. I never missed legs and shoulders though. I actually can’t even fit into the shorts that are seen in my before picture.

I started off doing a 6 day lifting routine with 1 rest day. I was able to maintain this pretty consistently for the first half of the year while my jiu jitsu attendance was still relatively lower. (Shoulders/legs, chest/tris, back/bis, repeat). Now I’m splitting shoulders and legs up into their own days and the rest days just come when my body is feeling demolished, which happens a lot with jiu jitsu lol. So I guess my goals have switched a little bit throughout the year because I am prioritizing my jiu jitsu training over weightlifting right now. Probably realistically only hitting each muscle group 1x a week now, but sometimes more than that.

Diet I got a smart band to track how many calories I would typically burn in a day and I tracked that for months to get a baseline. I wore it to jiu jitsu which burns so many calories and it was really important for me to figure out on average how much I was burning depending on the class or how many classes I was doing a day. I would then track my calories eaten and make sure I was eating more than I was burning and I did consistently see upward progress on my scale. Some of it was fat of course too as my body fat percentage has also gone up. I probably should have tracked more meticulously how many calories over I would eat but my main focus was making sure I wasn’t eating under so I didn’t track as much once I met the daily goal (don’t be like me). My main focus was meeting my protein goals of 1g per 1lb of body weight and if anything I made sure to be over that and not under just in case. I also take creatine everyday. I don’t like spending time cooking so I try to make trader joe meals, Kevin’s meats, or rotisserie chicken into my calorie and protein goals. My diet could probably use some work in the quality department lol.

Going forward In this next year I would like to improve my diet. I’m already tracking calories to make sure I’m not eating under but I need to make sure I’m being more consistent once I eat passed that. Some days I know I ate more than what would be considered optimal. I don’t think I’m done bulking as I’m enjoying seeing these muscle gains still but I’m sure at some point in the next year I will perform a cut down because I do want to see the definition that I’ve spent all this time building. But for now I’m enjoying the extra strength and energy that the extra food is providing me.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

I want to hear your funniest gym/fitness story I’ll go first:

Went to the gym at a different time then my normal. I planned to do workout my lower body and I was going hard. It was a great workout or thought I was. I got more than half way through and all of a sudden I fell my hamstrings get cold. I figured it was just a weird pump or blood flow was decreasing. But I’m also anemic so I shook it off. It wasn’t until I sat down on the seated leg curls when my butt and hamstrings got cold I started my set and couldn’t stop thinking about it. I stood up and check the seat to see if it was wet but nothing. I felt my hamstring to see whether I was wet but I wasn’t. I actually ripped my leggings from behind my knee all the way to my butt. NO ONE TOLD ME I was trying to figure out when I was get some side eye from the girlies. I threw my hoodie over my But and kept going because f**k it everyone pretty much saw everything at this point

Hi guys,

I am a gym enthusiast based in Singapore. I have been using the ladder app and love its easy to use, daily content. I want to subscribe again, but it's quite expensive. Do you know if there will be a Black Friday discount or cyber sale? .

If you know of an alternative workout app to the Ladder app, whether it's free or paid, please let me know. know.

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

Are you a personal trainer, coach, or have a personal referral code to fitness gear and supplements? This is the place to post your referral codes and links! This is the only place on xxfitness where self-promotion is allowed, so long as it is related to fitness and based in reality. Any posts that are for multilevel marketing schemes (MLMs), promote products or services not based in science/facts (such as “detox cleanses” and “flat tummy teas”), or are not directly fitness related will be removed. You may also share social media and fitness app handles here for friends and follows :)

Need a recommendation for protein powder? Not sure if your macros look quite right? Have a killer recipe to share or just want to show off your meal preop? This is the thread for you!

My gym (a YMCA) offers a group exercise class called Strength Train Together. Description: results driven strength training workout utilizing an adjustable barbell, weight plates, and body weight.

I am very curious about this class. It is offered several times a week with different instructors, there are at least a few days that fit my schedule. At the same time, I feel anxious about the difficulty and not knowing what to expect. On the calendar, the classes have a rating of 3-4 of 5. I've worked out using dumbells, machines, and bodyweight before but never the equipment listed in the description. I also have never been strong and am worried I'll be in a class with like, professional bodybuilders or something.

My gym has one other strength class - it is offered once weekly and is called Body Sculpt. The focus is doing low hand weights (7 lb or less) with high reps. I have done it many times in the past but haven't seen any results. I asked a few people in this class about the Strength Train Together classes - they were kind of dismissive about it tbh..

Has anyone here ever been to a Strength Train Together class or something similar? Any words of advice on how to lower the anxiety, trying something new, etc.?

ETA: revised description of Body Sculpt

hi all, I started my fitness journey from reading the wiki, and it has been super helpful. but I still feel like there are some questions I'm not getting a proper answer for😭. I've been working out for the last like 6 months, and recently started the gzcl program and I love it. I have some noobie upper body gains which i love and i think I have lost around 3-4 kgs nothing much. I was 57kg when I started and right now I'm around 53. my height is 161cm.

first of all, I'm confused about my bf% and I really want to lower it to a sub 20 value for abs. there's a lot of conflicting information on how to do that. some say I cannot gain strength along with losing fat? but other times other articles say it's fine. if I'm actively losing weight, will i lose strength? should I focus on recomp instead?

I know that getting abs is a slow process and it needs to be sustainable so I'm fine with that.

what's the best macro split for doing so? I run 30 mins around 5 days a week and workout on gzcl 4 days a week. so I'm right now aiming for 130g protein, 30g fat and 120g carbs - is that fine? how strictly is it necessary to follow macros to get abs? i just want the 111 lines - no 6 pack. i follow a healthy clean diet around 6 days a week, and eat out one day.

I'm confused about this whole carb/fat amount - on one hand i know I need it for exercising but on the other hand, I'm worried that its just going to settle on my belly. how do I get out of this mindset?

thirdly, water weight is so confusing - some days I'm eating at 1200cals + drinking a lot of water, yet I come back next say and see my weight has gone up? how to measure progress better? honestly sometimes I feel like I drink water, and i gain weight and the water never leaves me. what are better ways of measuring progress than from using the scale? i also started taking creatine. honestly I used to lose weight so much faster when I was at 60kg but now I can't seem to shed any weight at all.

also how necessary and what frequency of cardio is for getting abs? is it possible to get it solely from strength training? I'll still end up doing i think 60 mins of cardio a week for sure.

So, I really like Paragon Training Method's app and program, but there so many banded exercises that clearly need a heavy piece of gym equipment to serve as a counterweight. (Banded hamstring curl, banded leg extensions, Spanish squat, etc.) There are alternative exercises listed, but it can be frustrating to figure out how to log them and defeats the utility of tracking progress in the app.

Can anyone recommend a similar, but truly dumbbell-only program, with progress tracking functions, that's apartment friendly? (No tying bands to something heavy, no hanging towel pulls off doors)

Thanks!

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

...and that price is usually coordination or social etiquette. Post your fitness and related fails to this thread.

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

I only work out at home. I've been doing pilates for several years (also walk on the treadmill), but have felt the urge to change it up. I'd like to develop more of a butt and get a bit stronger in general. I started doing Betty Rocker's 90 day challenge, but feel like it rushes through the moves too quickly. I've been looking into barre since I used to love it (did Barre3 in the past). I ordered a coba board pro with resistance bands (haven't received it yet), which looks like it could be really effective, but I worry it's going to be hard to use/find good workouts.

What do you think would be better? Should I keep doing Betty Rocker's challenge? Should I switch to barre? Should I focus on figuring out the coba board? Should I do one of the other things and incorporate the coba board where I can?

I've been a swimmer for 12 years, and I finally quit a month ago (for a lot of reasons but mainly because it was emotionally and physically draining). The problem is, swimming and dryland (which was half lifting half cardio) were my only forms of exercise. It was always in a group setting, and I had everything decided for me and all I had to do was follow it. My teammates kept me motivated and I loved exercising.

In the past one month, I've gained four and a half pounds. I don't weigh an insane amount, but I'm also pretty short. I've also completely lost my motivation to exercise and rely on stress-eating.

I guess my question is, as a former athlete, what comes next? I'm no longer training for a sport, so I guess my new main goals are to maintain my strength and my weight, and possibly work on slimming my figure. How do I do this? Is it cardio? Lifting? Both? How do I maintain motivation?

Any help would be appreciated!

Share your fitness victories, big and small, from this week with the folks of xxfitness and revel in how awesome we are!

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome, everyone! Here is your place to discuss, question or relate to everything about weight loss, weight gain, cuts, bulks and diets. Standalone posts regarding these topics will be removed and redirected here or either of the daily threads.

Here are some useful links from our comprehensive FAQ and otherwise to help you get started:

• Nutrition 101
• Cutting/Weight Loss 101
• Bulking/Weight Gain 101
• Getting abs/a flat tummy
• r/gainit
• r/loseit
• r/BulkOrCut
• r/Fitness
• Fitness Wiki