r/askfitness

lifting weights consistently for a while now and I'm definitely getting stronger. but I feel like Im getting stiffer too. like my range of motion is actually getting worse, in my shoulders and hips.

I stretch, I foam roll, I do the whole mobility thing. but nothing seems to really help with the tightness. it's like my muscles are just getting shorter and more compact or something lol.

friend suggested reformer pilates for mobility work. said it helped her cause its not just static stretching, it's moving through ranges with resistance.

looking at some home pilates reformer options but not sure if it's worth it. anyone here tried this approach? did it help with tightness or am I better off just stretching more?

I take lagree once a week, not as a strength training replacement, but rather a way to work on some strength training in a setting that’s enjoyable for me. I hear a lot from people that it’s too much time under tension and too tense for the body, how do yall feel about it?

Hello everyone! I've been doing weight training 3-4x a week for 2 months now, but I still have issues with daily protein intake. I've always find it hard to gain weight and muscle, also I don't eat big portion in general, so I want to add as much protein to my diet. I just ordered this protein coffee and creamer, each has 10-14g of protein...thought they would be a good additional protein in the morning and I love coffee anyway. I'm also usually feel sluggish if I have a full breakfast so maybe a protein coffee can help.
Anyone here have tried protein coffee? and any tips for protein packed snacks/drinks?
Thank you.

Hello, just curious if there's any research, or anyone's anecdotal evidence on the efficacy of over the counter testosterone booster capsules. I'm natty and I'll stay natty, so no TRT for this guy, but at 47 years of age I figure it can't hurt. I've been seeing good progress so I guess if it ain't broke, I won't change anything, unless this stuff is demonstrably placebos

Workout and nutrition plans are easily accessible and often free nowadays. I understand high income earners and celebrities use them for targeted goals but couldn’t that be achieved with some moderate discipline? Not to mention the individuals I see being “trained” are often socializing and putting in what appears to be moderate effort at the gym.

I have been skinny most of my life like many others, right now I am on 6th level on tricep pulldown and stayed there for multiple months. I tried different exercises, grips, more volume, but it doesn't really help. I am 16 and weigh ~56kg. Question is, should I even expect to be able to gain more muscle mass?

I’m down 77lbs so far (310-233) and I’d love to hit 200-190lbs, which at 5’10 isn’t unbelievable.

I calorie track and try to stay around 2000 calories. I intermittent fast on weekdays, rarely snack, and typically eat 1 meal a day.

I work out 6 days a week minimum. I do jiujitsu 6 days a week, striking 4 days a week, and mixed in triathlon training.

Hello, I’ve recently gotten back into working out. I’ve been gaining more strength, but have been putting off getting enough protein and carbs, as that’s a whole other can of worms I’ll get to eventually. I understand that you build muscle very quickly as a beginner. My question is: do you “waste” newbie gains from gaining strength but not optimizing it with proper diet? Also how long do newbie gains typically last before they platue? I’m guessing that it’s extremely variable, but maybe there is a set timeline who knows.

I mean I get the idea that prisoners work out all day since they have nothing to do, but isn't that a bad thing when I've been told on reddit that it's bad to workout until soreness?

Is working out all day like they do better for building muscle and than just doing a 45-minute routine recommended on the /r/fitness wiki?

This is probably more of a rant than anything. I (46, m) had rotator cuff surgery on July 16th from an injury on June 8th. In the background, this has been a really tough year mentally and physically overall. I feel like I'm hitting some sort of wall that started around 45 that was a bit extra onto what I hit around 42. Before the injury, my schedule was lifting 3-5 days per week + BJJ 4 days per week. I'd also often go for walks. I also eat like a bit of an a**hole. I'm a guy that has been tired and done it anyway for a very long time until about late last year. Fast forward to now, recovering from rotator surgery.

Started PT about 2 weeks ago and not entirely comfortable with how weak I am and I can actually already see physical changes (not that I'm super fit or anything, but I at least kinda look I lift). I know I'm not going to start rolling again anytime soon but am looking to get back at BJJ in maybe 2-3 months, just doing warmups and light drilling as much as I'm able. Weights might be more of a battle but I'm pushing to start very light strength training through PT in a few weeks. ROM is progressing normally. Still feeling some pain, stiffness, and definitely weak AF. I'm aware the recovery time is roughly 9 months.

All that said, I feel like walking is just going to have to be my bread and butter for quite a few months until I can get back at it. I'm trying to use this time to calibrate how I view my overall fitness and focus on longevity so I'm healthy for a long time for my family. I'm also trying to lock in on nutrition while I don't have the same focus on exercise.

Not exactly sure how I'll keep my sanity for the long haul recovery. As I heal, I'm looking to just change my mindset on weight training away from sort of meathead-ish to just giving my body what it needs, incorporating yoga and just more movement in general. I feel like I'll need to build muscle back, but I also want to keep longevity in mind.

Right I feel awful about myself. I feel somewhat lazy and kind of embarrassed. I'm just really frustrated.

Rant over. . .

Hey guys! I hope this is the right place to ask-

I'm about to have a lot less time, have have to shorten my gym sessions. if I do four to six sets of 10 to 12 reps of 5 to 6 lifting exercises, five days a week (i split it: legs, back, chest, glutes, and arms)- will cycling to work and the gym, etc be enough cardio? It's about 20 to 30 minutes of cycling five days a week.

I also do 20 to 40 minutes of yoga a day.

My goals are losing 3 kilos and gaining more muscle.

thanks!

Im quite petite and I think ive really screwed up haha ya girl has just realised 2,000 calories is not good for tiny gals like moi 😭👆💔💔🤣

Any advice on slimming down for fall?

I’m 48 years old female who is 5’1 191 lbs who is apple shaped with mild vertigo please tell which is best for me to loss weight

Looking to integrate legs back into my workouts. I have a sport hernia so not looking to go crazy and have it pop on me.

I generally do squats, rdls and the quad and hamstring machine.

Anything else I should do ? Or do you think that’s enough ?

Goal: Aesthetics (lean, defined, not huge) and long-term health.

​Currently running a hybrid schedule: 2x gym, 1x rock climbing, 2x running/swimming. I love the variety, but I know I'm trading off peak performance in any single discipline.

​From a purely aesthetic and health standpoint, is this all-rounder approach better than focusing 100% on just one sport?

Might be a stupid question, but I see all over the place people saying that they can’t stand properly or wobble and hobble away from their leg workouts.

Like yea I understand your legs are your biggest muscles, and working them out effectively would presumably be very taxing. But I’ve never personally felt like I couldn’t walk after my leg exercises beyond maybe a bit of temporary weakness if I stand up too quickly from a set.

Are people exaggerating when they say that they’re wobbling out the door? Like am I just not putting enough effort in? Please tell me I’m just getting meme’d 😭

I'm 26M, 6'1" and around 165lbs. I'd say I'm probably at an average fitness level, I run 3 times a week and do lower back and arm workouts at least twice a week but I'm moving up to 4.

I've always been lanky and for most of my life I was very under-weight. I want to build more muscle but I don't want to bulk out. What kind of diet should I be looking at? I don't really have any allergies that I know of or anything.

For 6+ years I have been dealing with random 1-3 week periods of poor gym performance or just my body is refusing to switch on when exercising. I seem to be alert and genuinely motivated to exercise but as soon as I try to exert/push myself, my energy systems don’t kick in and I just feel blunted, if that makes sense. This has been years of monitoring food/carb intake, sleep, hydration, blood reports but nothing is consistent. I have been to a few doctors and reviewed blood reports but they can’t pinpoint anything substantial. On the opposite side when I am feeling good and energised in the gym, it doesn’t matter if I have been slack with my diet, hydration, alcohol or sleep, I can still smash out a solid workout.

Even just trying to de-load or take it easier doesn’t address the core issue. I am really looking for some specific advice as I have top-down worked through all the basics stuff. Anyone else dealt with this?

Vittamin D, Iron, testosterone and thyroid are all in healthy ranges

guys I know im skinny and prolly need to get fit first before asking ts questions but the internet has gotten me rly worried abt this .

my bone to bine biacromial width is around 16 inches or smth my waist is 26.5 inches .I am 6ft does my height make me look even more narrow

Im 5’7 and 42kgs and I have until the end of this year to change (i.e. reach 60kgs and not be underweight for the firdt time in my life). I wanna know what I should do and eat and preferably what apps (free) can I utilize?

Background:
Ive always been like this. Main reason is that I can go days without even realizing that im hungry. If theres work that needs to be complete, i can delay eating until the next day or day after if needed.

Eating has always been a painful task so id rather just make a smoothie or something and gulp it fown with my nose closed because im such a picky eater. Eating a plate takes me hours… Forget about cooking btw.. literally dont have time for that atm and im such a bad cook its not even funny. The amount of times I “meal prepped” and had to throw food in the garbage cuz it was either burnt or just tasted like vomit.

My plan (so far):

I have a gym membership (its 10 min walk away). I wanna know what I should do.

As for the eating part.. i have no idea. For the workout, i thought id go 4 days a week (upper - bench, rows, bicep curls, tricep, lat pulldowns. Lower - squats, deadlift, crunches, leg ext, leg curl). I plan to stay in the gym \~45 mins to an hour max.

If going more often or doing more exercises will help lmk.