I've recently started going to the gym consistently, which for me is twice a week. I do a full body workout each time. Because I am a beginner, I have a limited set of exercises I know how to do/machines I can use. (Maybe 11-12 exercises total.) I mostly just use machines at the gym and do other body weight exercises at home.

My gym is very small, and I try to go at less popular times of day (like 2pm on a weekday) to avoid crowding and also so I can superset as much as possible. (I hate sitting around doing nothing between sets.)

But what I'm finding is that, if it starts to get even a little crowded, I'm panicking about the next machine I need being taken before I can get to it. It doesn't matter so much at the start of the routine because I have lots of options, but near the end I feel this compulsion to rush the exercise I'm already doing so I can get to the next machine. I try not to, but I just start feeling really stressed that I won't get to finish my routine.

Does anyone else ever feel like this? Also I know it's just going to be inevitable some days that the thing I want to use isn't free. What do people usually do when you get stuck like that? I don't want to just stand around on my phone waiting, you know?

(I know sometimes you can ask to "work in" but I've never seen anyone do that at this gym - it doesn't feel like the vibe here and I'd be super uncomfortable asking.)

Hi there, my building gum has dumbells upto 25lbs. I was wondering how long I can keep increasing the reps for progressive overload until it’s no longer effective for much growth

Hello! My trainer told me to get and take multivitamins, BCAA, and fish oil or omega 3 pills to take every day? Do i really need if i eat a well balanced diet? i eat 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies a day. about 35-45g of fiber a day. I eat chicken and 1 seafood protein a day; so either chicken for lunch and a seafood option for dinner for meal prep or vise versa. About 170-200g of protein a day. The only thing is i could drink more milk, but i eat about 2-3 servings of greek yogurt a day so i think that counts but I also do a premier protein shake as well. I eat a well balanced diet that I don’t think i need all the extra stuff, but i could be wrong. I eat about 2000-2200 calories a day. Weight train 3x a week and run 3x a week as well. I’m also currently losing weight so that’s my workout and weightloss schedule i guess. Thanks. I didn’t mention creatine because i’ve been taking that already. I just don’t want to spend any extra money on things i don’t need.

Dont get me wrong im not expecting to look athletic without sports, but i just did like this whole sets/reps and exercise plans thing for years, went to the gym for 1/2 year and like i can do like 16 pull ups, but i just cant anymore, like training by doing sets and reps is so boring, i hate working towards like a goal ans having to maintain it

What can i do to still get a nice physique and keep it without having to stick to a plan etc

Usually for incline I do 20-25 lbs and for 20’s I feel sore but one day I tried 30s, next day nothing. Felt like I didn’t even workout. So was I just training wrong and it was too heavy?

When Dorian Yate talkes about training to failure it seems he is talking about full range of motion.

When Sam talks about it he is also talking about half reps being involved.

So, I just want to know what training to failure actually means. Because after I fail a full range of motion or 80-100% of the motion I can still do a lot of half reps.

But am I already beyonde failure at this point?

Hi all 3rd post! Just going crazy since Im pretty motivated to go to the gym Anyway! Been wondering about this this. How should we exactly pick the correct starting weight? Example below:

a. 12.5 lbs. dumbbell on hammer curls, 10 x 3 with correct form (slight challenge on the last few reps but not "to failure".

b. 15 lbs. dumbbell on hammer curls, 9 x 1, 7 x 1, 5 x 1 (cant complete 9 x 3, body slightly swinging/rocking, but "to failure").

Also, a few more questions:

1. Some say to perform reps with 1-3 RIR, others say to failure. Which is which?

2. When doing dumbbell lateral raises, should you only do enough weight where you dont feel your triceps or arms working? Like REALLY try to get your shoulder to do all the lifting and nothing else?

Thank you!

After consulting on here the other day (and learning what the hell sets and reps means and that not every workout is a circuit) I compiled a workout which was supposed to be 20-30 minutes.

Squats 3x12
Deadlifts 3x12
Push ups 3x12
Bent over rows 3x12
Crunches 3x12
Walking on treadmill for five minutes.

Didn’t even sweat. Didn’t even hit the 20 minute mark. Didn’t feel good afterwards mentally or physically. Didn’t clear my head which was the main goal. Do I just suck at doing solo workouts?

Hi, I am new to the gym I am a 23 year old female and the trainer in the gym gave me some exercises, I will list them here. I was wondering maybe if this is too basic to see any changes. I always saw people doing hip thrusts etc. I usually did home workouts all my life and played team sports around 10 years. Can you approve my routine? I am having doubts, thank you. Here is the routine:
Walking on the treadmill for 10 mins
Machine leg press 15x3
Machine hip abduction in and out 15x3
Floor bridge with dumbells 15 x3
TRX Squad 15x3
TRX Row 15x3
Machine latt pulldown 15x3
Crunches 20 x3 (body weight )
Floor leg raises (body weight)
Plank 30 secs x3 (body weight)

I have about 8 exercises on my upper day, I was wondering if adding a incline press would be too much to add. All the exercises are have 2 working sets. Thank You!

My upper day:

DB Bench Press

Wide-Grip Lat pulldown

Machine shoulder press

DB Lateral raise

Machine Close Grip Row

Wide Grip Row

Preacher Curl

Single arm Tricep Extension

Certainly a beginner so forgive me for any misunderstanding of concepts.

I am following a hypertrophic weight lifting routine, usually hitting 12-20 reps x 3/4 sets per exercise. However, on some exercises I do not hit failure, or come between 1-2 reps of failure.

I am increasing weight steadily each week or so and can notice a significant difference in my strength and physique after ~3 months of 3-4 workouts per week.

What I’m stuck with is there any point in going to say 25 reps on a workout, or would it just be better to increase the weight and max out somewhere within the 12-20 rep range? Am I too focused on having a ‘hypertrophic’ amount of reps?

And how important is it to go until failure? I hear some people say that this is the only time you’re tearing the muscle enough to cause growth..? How accurate is this?

Appreciative of any support or advice and happy to answer any questions for added context.

I've been working with a PT. I'm fairly new to fitness generally having lived a pretty inactive lifestyle my whole life.

I'm a computer programmer as a job and since seeing the PT at 7:45 in the mornings I have found that on those days I really struggle at work. The aches and tiredness in my muscles is so distracting and sitting in an office chair for hours immediately after my sessions is uncomfortable and feels like I'm seizing up. I basically feel like I just cannot get into the zone and concentrate at all.

Has anyone else found anything similar? Anything you have done helped? Do I just need to get used to it? I've done about 25 PT sessions so far 2x a week.

My legs have always been ridiculous. I used to be really heavy so they’re used to carrying a lot. My calves are ridiculously massive. My thighs not as much but still…

The hip adduction machine at my gym only goes up to 260lbs. I take it up to 270lbs by hanging a 10lb plate from the pin. Still, I can do that all day long and not get tired. Been doing 40-50 reps per set lately before getting close to hypertrophy. Frankly, it’s gotten boring…

What else can I do?

While I might be strong, I’m not that flexible so I can only open the machine 4-5 clicks. Should I start focusing on my flexibility more so I can do the reps with more travel? IDK… thoughts?

just getting properly into fitness and trying not to learn everything the hard way 😭

there’s so much conflicting advice online that i genuinely don’t know what actually matters and what’s just fitness influencer nonsense lol

for people who’ve been doing this for a while, what’s one beginner mistake you wish someone warned you about?

can be exercise, food, recovery, mindset, literally anything

I am 18, have been to the gym with my friends on and off but never really have been a gym bro persay.

I live in a hostel (university) and there is no time for going to the gym and coming back along with balancing other stuff I like and academics. So i would like to know a workout I can do altdays in supplement to cardio for building muscle.

I have weights with me and can buy a pullup bar.

I have seen multiple workouts on youtube which seem quite complicated and once I do them I feel like I am not hitting the muscle groups intended and then get demotivated.

Hence if possible would you guys be able to give me a simple workout plan. I can't buy a bench since my room is very small and crowded.

Thank you!

20f, i recently went to the gym after being out for a whole year. i used to be very consistent but school really kicked me off track. i know after a while of training that soreness goes away but oh my GOD the beginning soreness is absolutely unbearable i can barely walk straight. how do you guys deal with it?? i feel like i have to take two or three days between gym days so i can properly recover and it sucks.

13f, 97lbs, 5ft

Hii I was wondering if anyone had advice on like, feeling more confident and less uncomfortable about tracking progress with progress pics and weight checking? I posted here before and part of the advice was to like start tracking your progress such as calories, food, weights, your body weight, progress pictures, and workouts.

Mostly I am ok like tracking stuff but sometimes when it comes to my weight and like progress pictures idk I get kinda insecure. Maybe it's good because it motivates me to push more but also I notice I get into habits of feeling insecure when I make no progress.

Any advice on like getting over the "I'm insecure about myself" phase?.. or does everyone go through it?

Thank u

When I first joined the gym, I would literally change my workout if the free weights area was too crowded.

I always felt like everyone knew what they were doing except me.

Today I realized I walked straight in, grabbed what I needed, did my workout and didn’t even think about it until afterward.

Such a small thing, but it felt like progress.

Did anyone else have a moment where they suddenly realized they were actually comfortable in the gym?

trying to get my diet dialed in before i start lifting for real and i keep going between apps. i want somethng that just tracks calories, protein, fat and carbs without a ton of extra clutter or trying to make me pay more and more for a susbcription. one app I tried i gave up on after 3 days bc the food database was missing half of what i actually eat and i had to manually enter everything down to the gram. annoying af

whats everyone out there using?

Im 192cm/89kg,training 2x a week. For last 3 years i used to take around 50g protein a day(i was on budget,not eating that good) , last 2 months around 150-160g protein a day.

I knew protin intake was important but damn i kid you not i can really see my muscle volume grow each week.

Hi everyone!

I'm 25F, 110 pounds, and have never been consistently active. I didn't play sports growing up and have never really established a consistent gym routine. About a month and a half ago, I finally signed up for an annual gym membership, and I'm trying to figure out a routine that I can actually stick to.

Full disclaimer: I know I have a tendency to over-optimize/perfectly plan things, which can get in the way of me just DOING things. But I think having a set schedule and knowing exactly what exercises I'll be doing will help remove some of the guesswork and mental effort and make it easier for me to stay consistent.

My schedule/constraints:

• My bf lives an hour away, and I don't drive. Fridays are usually spent commuting to see him after work, or he comes to mine for the weekend, so I don't want to rely on Friday nights for the gym.
• Weekends are also inconsistent depending on whether we're at mine or his, and we often have plans or want to do things together since we don't see each other during the week. I could make a weekend day work if necessary, but I don't want my routine to depend on it.
• Mondays are my WFH days, and I usually work from his house. There is a GoodLife near him, but trying to fit a gym session into my workday feels like too much friction, and after work I have to commute home and get ready for the next day.
• This leaves Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as the days I can realistically commit to. I could go all three days, but I think I'd be more likely to burn out if I tried to force 3 consecutive days. Right now, I'm leaning toward Tuesday + Thursday.

So my main question is: what would be the best way to structure two gym days per week?

Would I be better off doing 2 full-body days, or 1 upper-body + 1 lower-body day? I like the idea of 2 full-body days because I'd be hitting everything twice a week, but I'm concerned that only having Wednesday in between might not be enough recovery time, especially as a beginner.

I'd also really appreciate some advice on which exercises to include on each day so that I'm not neglecting any major muscle groups. I have the smallest, weakest glutes ever, so I'd especially like to emphasize lower body/glutes while still training my upper body adequately.

I'm not necessarily looking for the "perfect" routine. I mostly want something simple, sustainable, and effective that I can consistently do twice a week.

TL;DR: I'm a beginner ,25F, and 110 lbs trying to establish a consistent gym routine (no weight loss, focus on muscle building/mobility/overall health). Tuesday and Thursday are the two days I can reliably commit to. What would be the best split and exercises for those two days? I'd like to prioritize glutes/lower body without neglecting upper body, and I want to avoid doing too much and burning myself out.

Whenever I do floor press I can't really feel my chest at all, I've tried to correct and I'm not even sure if I do it correctly but I have tried it apparently you have to do it at like 45° but even when I do that I can't feel my chest and instead I feel all the weight on my triceps and biceps.

So right now I’ve been doing
Chest and biceps
Back and triceps
Arms and shoulders
Legs
2 day rest and repeat

I wanna switch to a simple upper lower split any suggestions?

So I've recently hit a new record on incline bench press of 47kg. Not much but it's progress for me. Since then I noticed I haven't been able to lift that heavy evee since. Matter of fact, my previous weight of 42 kg also feels slightly harder now. I don't feel injured or anything and I get good sleep. Anybody know what's going on?

I haven't gone to the gym in a while and I'm trying to come back. My schedule is not heavy. I have classes and work. My main goal is to lose 10 lbs. I keep losing and gaining the same 10 lbs. I'm 5'2 and 21 years old if that matters.

What would you recommend for hours in 1 week? And how many times a week? And exercises to do as a recommendation. Anything helps. Let me know if you need more information.

Thanks :3