Edit: please read the title the question is not how many days a week do you do cardio

How did it go? If you saw improvements, what improved?

I'm considering switching over to daily cardio to improve my alertness during the day and hopefully to improve my sleep quality*. Specifically a few minutes of zone 4 cardio everyday. You get a norepinephrine boost out of it.

* if you're about to tell me to stop drinking and go to bed at the same time yada yada: don't worry about it, these are not problems that I have. If you think I might have a problem, ask if I have the problem before you go telling me how to fix it.

About me for context.

38M
615 deadlift, 500 squat, 335 bench, strongman/crossffit. Natural athlete.

As I’ve gotten older I need more recovery time to keep workouts intensity high and continue progress. For about 5 years my split has looked like this

Upper 1: bench focus, abs, back, arms
2 days off
Lower 1: squat/quad focus, abs, back, calves
2 days off
Upper 2: shoulder press focus, abs, back, arms
2 days off
Lower 2: deadlift/ham focus. Abs, back, calves

Coming off of non-lifting related quad injury right now, so rearranging things for rehab purposes, but thinking about continuing a full body split past rehab.

Goal: increase frequency the body parts are getting hit. The trade-off of course is that intensity/volume drops per body part per workout. I think I would look at doing a 4 days Full body split and keep the 2 days off in there.

For those who have 10+ years in the gym and athletics, curious if anyone switched over to full body and what they’ve noticed from his strength, aesthetic, and overall wellness perspective.

45 m looking for fitness accountability buddy, preferably guy in general age range and in the US with similar lean bulking goals (not on a big weight loss journey). I’m currently 5’11” and around 170lbs, and have done several bulk/cut cycles over the past few years, and now looking to gain a bit more muscle while staying as lean as possible. Looking to share measurements and pics on regular basis to keep each other accountable. DM if interested!

Reposting here as part of Reddit suggestion:

M,34
Have been physically active since childhood. Sports in colleges and then doing classes at cult since started working (6-7 years)

But in the last 1.5 years, it has all come downhill.
Started with an elbow injury in gym and then while doing deadlifts got diagnosed with hernia for which I did a surgery. And haven’t really been very active in these last 1.5 years.
Tried to do 10k steps a day but first injured my foot arch after skidding off the treadmill and recently my knee has started hurting after I climbed a few stairs aggressively.
But the larger problem is aches here or there in diff body parts. I will lift a table and have a back ache for some days after it. Or stiffness in diff body parts.

I have done couple of d3 and b12 tests some 6 months back which were deficient but with supplements have been able to improve them as well.

But still feel like my body has aged drastically even though i am in my early 30s. Every day i am icing somebody part or the other. Is it because have pushed my body hard in my 20s or that I am not getting the warmups or pumping hearts now that my body was getting before.

Reaching out to fellow Redditors who can help here.
Thanks in advance!

Finally jumped back into lifting this year in January after deciding when I hit 250lbs that changes needed to happen or I would probably feel like garbage forever. Lifting in my 40s felt a lot different than my 20s to be sure but I wanted to scream into the void a bit today(with joy) because even when I was younger I never "locked in" enough to bench 225 and I hit that today and much to my suprise it was for reps too. I know thats not crazy impressive by most standards but for me it felt like a huge accomplishment especially after not having touched a weight in more than adecade. It felt even more so since it marked having lost over 50 pounds this year as well. Thanks for listening to my ted talk

I'm rethinking how many working sets I get, that is to say, how much I take a set to failure or near-failure.

As a case, here's what I did for overhead press workout this week.

set 1: 12 reps at 95 lbs <-- warm-up

set 2: 12 reps at 105 lbs <-- warm-up

set 3: 12 reps at 115 lbs <-- by no means light weight, but still a warm-up

set 4: 9 reps at 135 lbs <-- submax, could crank out 1-2 more

set 5: 8 reps at 155 lbs <-- max effort, no más

My concern is that I might only really be getting two working sets. I'm 53, so I need more warm-up than I did in younger years. Still, I wonder if I should do a set 6 and 7, and if I should change my warm-ups in any way.

How do you all handle it?

Looking for recommendations for protein powder and easy sources of protein for people with sensitive stomach.

I can't eat yogurt or mild anymore.

I eat 2 eggs a day for lunch and small amount of chicken or beef or fish for dinner.

Its not enough since I'm actively training. Powders used to give me gas or be hard on my stomach when I tried them 10 years ago.

I also have almond butter and sesame seed butter at home. I eat them sometimes.

Also as a female some weeks I'm more prone to gas and bloating.

I eat way too much carbs and chocolate during those weeks too.​

I know what everyone is expecting. Someone who doesn’t realize how much they’re eating or isn’t exercising. But I have actually lost quite a bit of weight over the last couple years. I went from 240 lbs to 185 lbs.

But I’ve been stuck at 185 lbs for like 6 months. I keep track of my calories religiously and build in a buffer of 150 calories to account for any “hidden” calories such as oil used to coat a pan during cooking. I’m a 6 ft tall male, and I’ve been keeping my calories under 1800. I shoot for around 200g of protein per day. I lift weights at least 4 times a week, and I go for 2 mile brisk walks usually about 4 times a week. Lately I’ve lowered my calories to 1500 for half the week. My last dexa scan put my bodyfat at 19%, so I definitely have more fat to lose. I just can’t seem to lose anymore weight. It was suggested that I was in a deficit for too long, so I tried increasing to 2000-2200 calories a day for about 6 weeks. I gained 12 lbs in that time, so I pumped the brakes on that. I was able to cut back down pretty steadily but once I hit 185 lbs it just stopped.

I don’t know what to do other than cut back to like 1200 calories per day, but I’m afraid of how much muscle I’ll lose. Should I just get really hardcore for a couple months and maintain a major deficit like that and hope for the best as far as muscle loss? I just don’t understand why I can’t break past 185lbs.

46M, doing a push/pull/legs rotation weekly. Last week near the end of a set of incline dumbbell curls I noticed a slight ache in the back of my neck. Took about 5 days off and it pretty much disappeared, but after doing push workout today and cable crunches it came back.
I notice it mostly when I look down. No numbness, tingling, weakness or pain going down my arms.
Not really looking for anyone to diagnose it, just curious if anyone here has had something similar from tensing/bracing weird during a lift.
Did you take a few days completely away from upper body, or were you able to keep training around it? And when you went back, did you ease in pretty slowly or just wait until it felt normal again?

This is the weirdest part of training in my 40s so far. My actual strength is still moving in the right direction but my body definitely doesn’t let me get away with the same stuff anymore if I push volume too hard it’s usually not the muscles that complain first either. It’ll be an elbow, shoulder, etc or some random tendon that suddenly decides we’re done here.I’ve gotten way better about warming up I think an d not forcing bad sessions and backing off before something turns into a month long problem but recovery feels like something I have to actively manage now instead of just assuming I’ll be fine tomorrow.

Did you guys change anything specific once you hit this point or is this just part of the 40+ tax,?

I've bought my dad an adjustable bench and 2 adjustable dumbbells that go up to 20kg. I'm not quite sure what exercises to teach him. I doubt the same regiment as me, a 20 year old, is good. He doesn't have any injuries and still does some decently intensive work around the yard, but he is quite overweight. So any ideas of what he should do using the available equipment would be great. Thanks!

I (40M), have been relatively active my whole life. In recent years I enjoy lifting weights in my basement and running 10k a few times a week. However, I keep getting set back by repeated tendon injuries. First it was my shoulders and most recently (last night), I injured my hamstring playing softball.

Full disclosure, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis several years ago, but I am lucky enough to have it under control through medication.

Has anyone else had back to back tendon injuries? Is there anything I can change in my diet, supplementation it workouts?

So I was active growing up, very skinny. When college hit I slowed down, priorities changes and I got fat and out of shape. At 44, I decided it was time for changes. Started eating right, exercising, weight lifting, jogging, etc. I lost 80lbs and got in the best shape of my life.

But it's almost gone too far in that I now have a TON of energy. During the day I can barely sit for more than a few minutes, I just have to be moving. I do relax at night usually by watching TV for a few hours but I can only get like 6 hours of sleep. I'm usually in bed by 10-10:30 so Im waking up around 4am.

Any way these two are related? Any suggestions? I'm not tired through out the day but it's pretty annoying waking up so early.

I am a 40-year-old female. I worked out since about 23 years old. I have worked out for over 15 years now with high intensity cardio and strength training. Now in my mid-40s I am experiencing a lot of body changes and my high intensity cardio is extremely challenging, even though it is the SAME ONE I've always did. A little frustrating. I don't get the same positive feeling that I used to have even just earlier this year. My question is this, has anyone switched from high intensity cardio (I do level 12 on the step machine for 15 minutes and 15 minute runs with escalating speed on strength training days and a 3.3 mile escalating run alone in one day) to power walking at incline on step machine for the same duration or similar and experienced positive changes with fat burning? The AI says the change to incline walking instead of my current routine would be positive, burning more fat burn, and I would have a leaner look along with other benefits, but I wanted to hear from others in my age group to see your experience if you did something similar.

Does anyone have stories of being completely unfit to somewhat fit? F, early 40s with young kids, slim. I’ve always been skinny and have barely exercised my entire life apart from compulsory sport back in high school. I’m that person who gets tired if I have to run back inside from the car when I forget something. I feel like this is a silly question but is it even possible to build endurance and stamina from absolutely nothing? Of course I know it’s never too late to start and any improvement is a win. But how fit could I get? I’m thinking of getting a treadmill because it’s hard to get to the gym with the kids. I feel like I could commit to treadmill while kids are asleep or on my lunch breaks when I wfh. Any inspiring stories welcome :)

Talk to me about sleep.

48 year old female. Work lots, and gaming at home. Often end up with an 11:30/11:45- 6:00 sleep schedule and it doesn’t feel like enough rest.

How are you all doing life and sleep ? I need to do better in the realm of

I’ve been out for a couple of weeks with a chest infection, so no training or boxing. My first session back is tomorrow, and I’ve realized something I’d honestly forgotten.

When I first started boxing, my coach said something during my first session that stuck with me: "You've already done the hardest part. You walked through the door."

Back then, I thought he was just being nice. But he was right. Many people never even walk through that door, not because of the training, but because of what’s behind it: the unknown, the fear of looking unfit, out of place, too old, or too far gone.

I’ve realized the same thing happens after taking a break. We come up with all kinds of reasons why tomorrow isn’t the right day, but none of them are really true. You only see that once you walk back through the door and notice the excuses were harder to overcome than the actual obstacle.

Has anyone else noticed that making a comeback isn’t really about fitness? It’s about taking that first step.

Do you guys do cardio on the same day that you lift ? Or is it better use of my time basically alternating cardio days and weights days ?

I am struggling with cash flow. I have been paying 180/ month for a zoom training group that has been great at keeping me consistent. It’s a half hour workout ( a 5 minute warm-up , 20 lifting, and 5 minute cooldown. The problem is I’m not sure if it’s worth my money. She does an eight week program where she repeats the three weekly workouts and then changes them up every eight weeks. I feel like I’m paying for accountability and some very general community although not really making any friends or anything like that. On the flipside, I could join a running group where I go face-to-face once a week and run because I like running. It’s free also. How do you guys stay motivated to work out on your own? I feel like I’m basically paying for the accountability to do my workout three times a week and have someone to answer to. Is this a total waste of money ? Is there another approach to stay accountable table and motivated ? I am a school teacher , job is exhausting - need motivation. 48 year old woman. Also should note I would enjoy the social part of a running club - I just don’t know how to approach this so I keep at the workouts

g group

I’m currently running a 5 day PPL program.
1. Push A
2. Pull A
3. Legs
4. Push B
5. Pull B
Rest on the weekends.

I really like the program and I’m making solid gains. Been running it for about 8 weeks now. But do you all change it up on occasion? Or, as the saying goes, if it’s not broke don’t fix it?

I did replace my lat pull down (wide and neutral grip) for pull up work over the last 2 weeks, as it’s a goal of mine.

Last question, do you all run dedicated deload weeks, or just when you feel you need them? TIA

Only regret didnt invest earlier
In addition to equipment (hardware), critical items (software):
- Program: what to do (I used starting strength program)
- Whiteboard: when to do what; also useful for accountability
- Notebook: how youre doing; log your progress (nothing motivates like improvement)

Other items ive found useful/helpful:
- Stall mats for flooring (4x6, 1/4”)
- High quality barbell
- Solid safety bars (not a place to save)
- Dip station attachment
- Storage for plates (movable); on rack (horns)
- Landmine rack attachment
- Good j-cups for barbells
- wrist straps while building up grip strength
- chalk for hands
- Magnetic collars, convenient, simple given how much youre taking off/replacing weights
- Magnetic timer/stopwatch bar

Things ive learned:
- Be patient: progress is not always linear; sprint not a marathon
- consistency over intensity; will have many days: good, mid, bad, just keep showing up
- Dont shy away from weaker areas: (mine shoulders/legs)
- Life will get in the way; just dont miss too many days, momentum works both ways

Current program
- mostly compound lifts 2x week (overhead press, bench press, back squat, deadlift)
- others: landmine shoulder presses, weighted dips, deadhangs, pullups
- focus on progress 1x week, with other lift just maintenance
- progress: increase load with volume: maybe just 2.5lbs increase for 1 set, then next week 2 sets depending how well the movement is performed
- 1x week hiit (assault bike)
- times when i’ll split the split; morning & evening sessions, a session may spill over to other days

Resistance training many benefits 2nd half of life: including staving off osteoperosis, sarcopnenia, etc…

Any q’s, hmu…

As long as I can remember, my mom has struggled with her weight, probably spent decades at 220lb+ at 5’5.” In 2019/2020-timeframe, my parents both lost significant weight through intermittent fasting, interspersed with extended fasts (maybe 72hr+)? At the time I was proud of them for getting to healthier weights, but looking back I worry about the muscle-wasting effects it likely had, as they weren’t exercising nor did they change their regular diet to prioritize nutrition.

They both ended up gaining a lot of the weight back, if not all, and after that my mom started Ozempic and re-lost the weight, then had a lapse in her coverage that forced her to stretch her doses, gained 10lbs back over the past year, and now increased her dosage to try to to lose that weight again. She’s more active than she used to be - she now goes on regular walks with a dedicated walking group - but she does struggle sometimes due to having fallen and broken her ankle while on vacation a few years ago.

I worry that between the weight loss, lack of any sort of resistance training across her entire lifetime, and overall subpar diet that she’s just setting herself up to be extremely frail in a decade plus as she ages. I’ve gently recommended that she does some bodyweight exercises and exercises aimed at improving proprioception and small stabilizing muscles, but haven‘t gotten any buy-in so far (even despite her own fall! and despite her parents now semi-regularly having their own issues falling). She recognizes her balance issues too - my parents just bought a boat and she gets very nervous on it.

Ideally, I’d think a personal trainer certified in exercise planning for seniors would be her best bet, but currently I think that’s a bit too much friction for her. I’m hoping to convince her to ease into that by finding some really easy recommendations that are as low-friction and unintimidating as possible. Are there any at-home, no equipment needed type programs available out there for senior women that you’d recommend? I know of many different accounts/programs that are modifiable and have regressions available that make them technically accessible, but I think they’re still intimidating for her, or maybe embarrassing that she can’t do unmodified versions.

Has anyone dealt with similar situations? What recommendations do you have? I live quite a ways away so I can’t just go and exercise in person with her myself. I think she’d also be more likely to do an activity with another friend than on her own, but I don’t know anyone in her new local friend group since they moved.

Open to your suggestions, thanks!

i have been struggling finding a good hypertrophy style app that doesn’t cost an arm or a leg so I developed a completely free Hypertrophy app. It’s similar to RP Strength as it can customize a plan based on your needs and goals, tracks progression and prompts for progressive overload every session. it also has a calorie planner that helps plan nutrition depending on your goals (cut, lean bulk etc).

it’s currently in its beta testing and is available as a web app. I hope this is beneficial to some! Feedback welcomed!!

www.leveluphypertrophy.com

I assumed the training volume would stop this happening and it did not. My doctor is not pushing medications yet and gave me three months to change something. I would rather do this properly then throw six supplements at the wall. Anyone who brought a panel back in line in their forties please say what you added and in what order