I wish I understood this....I've lifted off and on for 20 years but most of the lingo is so over my head its not helpful.
When I was lifting last winter, I'd go about 3-4 times a week rotating between push day, pull day, and leg day.
Help! I'm Fat - *** Official Exercise and Weight Thread ***
- Thread starter cyclone4L
- Start date
I wish I understood this....I've lifted off and on for 20 years but most of the lingo is so over my head its not helpful.
When I was lifting last winter, I'd go about 3-4 times a week rotating between push day, pull day, and leg day.
Their gas prices are usually the lowest and then add in their credit card for some cash back, and it's practically a free membership.
It took some experimenting but I really started to enjoy Zwift with a smart trainer (I’m using a Wahoo). This is a good time of year to find a great deal on one.
Not sure where you’re at geographically, but I rode it routinely through the winter in my garage, with a fan blowing on me, wearing bibs and a t shirt (t shirt usually came off), with outside temps in the 20s. I was worried about those temps with a fancy monitor or tv so I just ran the video on a mid level 10” tablet
I know I run hot, but I truly don’t understand how people can ride them in a normal temperature indoor setting.
For me I found I enjoyed the races and group workouts the most. Aimlessly exploring the Zwift world was pretty boring.
Strava should work, but you may have to pay for the premium version for analysis.
I think those would be just fine.
Yoga too. That's something I've missed the boat on too much and probably would have prevented my current hamstring issues.
I think I need to take a look at the 5X5 thing. I do 3-4 sets X 8-10 reps but only lift 3ish days a week. Would be good to maybe throw in the heavier/less reps thing in there.
Weight programs could be the ultimate rabbit hole. Maybe protein is number 2.
I've come to the conclusion that as long as I'm doing something (anything?) it's better than nothing.
I'm rotating out of 5x5 for a few and into a higher rep range to keep it fresh. Then I'll rotate into the 5x5 or something similar.
But as long as you do something with a bit of intensity you'll be more healthy
Yep, but my guess is you'll start to get to the end of the weights pretty quickly.
The strength gains in a short period of time are kind of shocking
The way I heard it, a big advantage of 5x5 is that it’s a time efficient way to get a great amount of work in. All the exercises are big compound movements that hit multiple muscle groups.
When I was actually in shape I was doing a 5x5 program just 1-2 times per week and it kept me strong-ish while doing tons of running and biking and staying very lean.
"5x5" (five by five) means doing 5 repetitions of the movement (reps) 5 times (sets). So it's a total of 25 repetitions per exercise each workout. Whether lifting for strength or growth (hypertrophy), you want to get within 1 to 4 reps of failure. If you pick a higher weight, you'll end up doing fewer reps. This tends to bias results towards strength gains. If you pick a lower weight, you'll do more reps which will bias results towards muscle growth. 5 to 6 reps is generally considered the "crossover point" where <5 reps will be more strength oriented and >6 reps will be more size oriented. So the 5x5 program is a good compromise between strength and size for many people.
ETA: There's nothing wrong with NOT getting to that range of 1-4 reps from failure in each set. If you just want to maintain what you have, or are just trying to burn some calories, significantly less work is needed. People can still benefit from resistance training without trying to maximize their gainzZz.
Mine only go up to 25 pounds each so probably. Didn’t want to spend the big money for the 50 pound ones.
I need to look up more on this--can this help in just toning up too? I don't need any real 'gains' but just basically maintenance and keeping the extra fat off. I'd actually like to slim/trim up a bit.
I'm finding it hard to keep pushing myself to workout because I have a physical job. I have SI joint issues and have been trying to get my alignment back but it's been bothering me a couple weeks and makes work extra laborious. Even walking is uncomfortable and how I originally hurt it when out on a hike. The struggle is real.
How many different lifts do you do the 5x5?
Typically I've just done 3 sets of 8 or 10 at where the 8th or 10th I'm probably 2-3 away from not being able to do it.
Just eat the kids leftovers but once they are teens you will have no leftovers.
there is an app called 'stronglifts'. its all about 5 x 5. try it out.
Last edited:
I assume by "toning up" you just mean looking more athletic without getting big. To me, that translates to moderate muscle gain with fat loss. Building a little muscle will increase the calories you burn 24/7, making it easier to stay a little leaner.
In that case, you'd want to lean towards the higher rep ranges, anywhere from 6 to 30. Lower for big compound exercises (6-12ish), higher for isolation movements (8ish-30ish) on whatever body parts you want to improve. As long as you get enough stimulus, protein and sleep you can build muscle for a while even in a slight calorie deficit though it will be slower than eating a surplus. But the slight deficit should help you lean out and then you can shift to maintenance by eating a little more and continuing to work out at a slightly lower intensity.
It's a very non-linear path though - the key is consistency over the long (loooooong) term.
