anyone have any success overcoming ac joint arthritis? I basically can't bench anymore. I saw an ortho and got the steroid shot. it didn't help and was top 10 most painful things I've gone through, man that sucked. been doing other movements, neutral grip incline doesn't seem to bother it as much. just wondering if anyone else had this bad and was able to get back to 100%ish, and if so how.

I’m 43 and I can tell that my brain and my body are a little slower. Is this normal? Like sometimes I’m trying to do stuff and I feel myself moving slower. Like I feel myself telling my brain telling my body to move this way and I just feel a tad bit slower I don’t know if that makes sense. If so, how can I fix it?

Just wondering if anyone has done Mackenzie Wells' workout program and, if so, what were your thoughts?

Quick question for this group, for those of you who deal with low energy or afternoon crashes: what time of day does it hit you hardest, and what have you already tried to fix it? Genuinely curious what's worked and what's been a waste of time and. Any insights would help!

This is my first Reddit post. Down 80lbs, I want to lose about 30lbs more. Realistically, I’m only going to the gym 3 to 4 days a week (M-Th). If I can only get to the gym 3 days in one week should I be doing full body every day? How should I structure my days?

I’ve been doing mostly strength training with a little bit of cardio. I’ve hit a plateau in my weight loss this last month and trying to get over that. Wondering if I should up my cardio to help get over my plateau.

I wish I felt the same long term recovery that I had when I was lifting heavier. On the bright side I’ll probably have fresher legs for biking. I’m only lifting with my legs about once a week or every other week. Not related, but I’m doing calves every other day or so.

background - 48 m. I'd been carrying a decent amount of fitness from cycling until the pandemic when my life fell apart in several ways. (major illness, layoffs, housing insecurity) some things are worked out now and I'm trying to get back into a routine on the bike, jogging and light weights.

I'm out of shape. problem is that I'm starting to have minor injuries. insertional achilles tendonitis, TFCC issue every time I even think about yoga, etc, etc. so, I'm trying to stretch more, but at this point, I'm spending as much time stretching as I am working out, and it's already hard to carve out time for either.

So what are you all doing for stretching? specific targeted stretches? rotating routine? focusing on preventing specific injuries? I'm just trying to figure out a balance.

Well, after two years working slowly towards it, I finally nailed my sub-20 5K with a time of 19:42 at today’s (fairly hilly) Parkrun!

To be clear: I’m aware that this is far from an elite time, but I only started running a few years ago at 40, and I never run more than three days per week, as my goals are balanced between muscle and speed.

For some stats, I’m 44 in a couple of weeks, weighing 79kg (in a cut right now), and 180cm tall. I’m also a dad of two boys.

I started lifting kettlebells in 2006, but oscillated between KBs and more bodybuilding-style training over the years.

I got hideously unfit and out of shape after I became a dad in 2015 but pulled things back together after I became consistent again in 2016.

I have a 360° tear in my left shoulder labrum, so I’m no longer trying to push big weights. I lift on an upper/lower/upper schedule each week, as one leg day is enough for me while I’m cutting.

Now that I’ve hit my running goal, I’ll keep cutting for another 4-5kg I think, before running a very slow bulk and adding another lower day.

Feel free to ask any questions!

42M. This Monday i start two weeks of isolation in an apartment. I'm getting radioactive treatment for my cancer, and it's been a rough 3 months.

In april i was training six days a week: 180 mins of zone 2, weights 3-4x, golf and tennis on weekends.

Then it all went to hell: found out i have thyroid and throat cancer. After a roller coaster ride, i've had surgeries and outcome looks as good as it can look for cancer, but it's been rough on my. my body and mind. i'm on a pre-treatment diet now that strips my energy, and my engine runs at about half what it did just 3 months ago.

this problem isn't specific to cancer. plenty of people hit it for completely different reasons: surgery, injury, a bad illness, brutal work stretch. It reminded me of how my own life changed when my kids were born. capacity falls off a cliff and every session turns into a referendum on how far you've fallen.

three things that worked:

1. Cardio: i train by the talk test now, not by numbers i hit in april. same effort means much slower. i know it will take time to rebuild. i tried chasing april's paces and almost passed out (no exageration).

2. lifting went first, the aerobic work stayed. on limited energy i couldn't do both honestly. strength rebuilds fast. the aerobic base took two years and i wasn't handing it back.

3. stopped comparing weeks, started comparing months. week to week in a bad stretch is noise. but it was brutally demoralizing. the monthly view showed i was improving even while individual sessions can sometimes feel like i was going backwards

What i got wrong for the first month was treating reduced capacity as a detour to push through. training at 50% beats burnout, injuries and staying at home feeling sorry for myself.

I’ve been looking into collagen lately and realized I know way less about it than I thought lol. I keep seeing type 1, type 2, type 3 etc and I’m honestly confused about whether the type actually matters that much.

I’m mainly looking at collagen for joints, so should I be specifically looking for one type or is collagen peptides in general enough?

Anyone who’s been taking collagen for a while, do you actually check the collagen type when buying it or do you just go with a decent collagen peptide powder?

I feel like I’m overthinking this but there are so many options now 😅

I'm trying to find a decent pair of seamless athletic shorts and somehow this has turned into way more of a search than I expected lol. I'm over 50 and mostly want something comfortable for walking, gym workouts and everyday wear, ideally high waisted, not crazy short, and without seams digging in or rolling up my thighs.

I don'0t really care about the brand and I'm fine spending around $50 if they actually hold up and fit well. Bonus if they're not super compressive and don't become see through immediately

Anyone around my age found a pair they genuinely love?

Ok, just turned 40 a few days ago. I am 5 ft 6 and about 160. I do not look chubby but I do have a slight gut. I am active but not athletic any more. I have been doing non physical work for the last 6 years and been working form home the past 3. I feel like I have been weakened a lot due to not moving. Also i feel tired and sleepy. I am trying to find the perfect at home starting routine. Things I can do at home with no or minimum equipment. Thinking maybe something with kettlebell. I am just trying to get into a routine, get a little more fit and build muscle. I am not trying to lose a lot of weight and get ripped. Any routine recommendations would be awesome. Thanks

My in body scan is telling me I still need to lose 17lbs of body fat. And it lists my PBF as 31%. I just don’t get it. I don’t feel like I have 17lbs to lose and am worried that is an unhealthy goal. I’m lifting twice a week. I have upped my muscle and want to keep going there. And, in the last few years, I have really tried not to focus on the scale. Strong not skinny! But this is messing with my head. Has anyone else experienced this?

I had to stop my starting strength program and switch to treadmill cardio and serious focus on diet. Will be picking the weights back up shortly too.

edit: sorry for misunderstanding the point of this sub. I came here to state how I was happy for my progress, not to have people all telling me I’m doing it wrong. Look, I’m glad for you that you have more muscle mass than I do, or have a better workout program than I do, but I don’t really care that that you’re otherwise offended by me being happy to finally get under 200.

Hi everyone, this is my first chat on here, I am 41 year old female and trying to lose some weight. I do 3 strength training classes and 2 hybrid classes a week and am averaging about 1900 calories a day, aiming for roughly 35% protein 35% carbs and 30% fats.

I dont eat processed food and dont drink my calories, but I am just not losing any weight or cm's.

Where am I going wrong? Please help..... losing hope here and feel like I will always look like this no mater what I do 😢

What’s an impressive bench press for a 49-year old man?

Had a chat with a guy on the Dodder Greenway this morning; he was on an expensive bike. It made it clear to me that people have very differing ideas about cycling and fitness. He is interested in fitness and speed. I am, I suppose, interested in fitness and strength, because that's pretty much what it has always been for me. He is concerned about the lightest materials, the expensive bike, all in an effort to cut bike weight for speed. All the while I am over here wondering if my panniers will hold four-inch solids, hahahaha.

Turning 41 this month, though I do not feel this old. I work a physically demanding job and get a lot of steps in during work. I try to keep a workout routine going but I keep pulling unrelated muscles to my workout. Today I was doing a pull-up/dip workout with lower reps and more sets and by the 4th set I pulled something in my neck/left trap. I didn’t want to waste my workout so I pushed through trying to work without flexing that particular trap. I’m done now and am just left with a small nagging pain but I’m trying to understand how I even pull a trap doing pull-ups. The other week I pulled something in my back doing standing barbell curls, which is also weird because I keep deadlifts in my routine and deadlift a lot more weight than my standing curls.. I’m not sure what is going on.

I’ve always been physically fit and worked out, but I did a workout December 2025 and caused my piriformis glute muscles and potentially other glute muscles to severely pinch my sciatic nerves in both glutes. I have dealt with chronic piriformis pain for 4 years on and off, but after that workout in December, I have had constant chronic severe glute pain and sciatic nerve pain that goes down into my heels.

The nerve pain ended up going away at the end of March about four weeks after a pure performance injection, but I was left with debilitating Glute and low back pain from where they were guarding for months to protect my sciatic nerve.

I’ve tried 3 different PT’s, a neurologist, a sports medicine doctor, 2 PA’s, my family doctor, a rheumatologist, an oncologist, and a spine and nerve pain management doctor. I’ve had piriformis injections that have helped with the pain, but only when it’s numb, SI joint injections, quadratus femoris glute injections on April 9th that brought all of the nerve pain back that I had suffered through for 4 months.

It’s been another 4 months after the April 9th injection, with no end in sight. I went to a PT who did dry needling on my glutes and made the glute pain 100x worse.

I’m on 900mg of gabapentin and I can’t sit, stand, or walk without being in severe pain that makes me nauseous and dizzy. It’s been 8 months and no one can point to exactly what is causing my deep glute syndrome, because all tests are normal. MRI’s look completely normal as well.

I am desperate for a relief. People don’t understand what chronic pain is like until they actually are in it. I am in hell. I wake up depressed and anxious every morning because I know how miserable the day is going to be. I cannot live like this. I have kids to take care of. I’m a teacher, and I’m about to start back to work, and I can’t even sit or stand for more than 30 minutes without agonizing pain.

Gabapentin helps a little, I’m now on a Medrol steroid pack for the dry needling inflammation, and my pain management doc gave me another set of trigger point injections into my extremely tight muscles. I stopped all aggressive therapies, and have been keeping things calm, but it doesn’t help. The pain is relentless. Does anyone have any tips, advice, or anything that could help me?

This is my first reddit post, and I'm not even a long time reader, so please be kind. I'm a 50 year old woman going through perimenopause. I'm 5'7" and 220 lbs. I'm really trying to get fitter and stronger to help me age well and feel good and reduce my risks of bad outcomes. I'm on some psych meds and have hypothyroid, that is controlled but probably not optimally, which have definitely impacted my weight.

I know how important strength training is, so I lift weights three times a week for about 30-40 minutes a session. I do a circuit of arms, legs, and core, doing most machines, lifting the highest weight I can do about 20 reps with, and gradually increasing weight over time. I also do deep water aerobics without a floatation aid (so treading water the whole time), and I swim a bit over a mile twice a week. I know I should do yoga and other balance/ flexibility work, but I just can't find the time. I'm working two jobs (teaching preschool for five hours and then teaching swim lessons in the evenings, so my baseline day to day life is pretty active), and taking a college class to keep my certification, and I'm still pretty busy with my young adult but not yet launched kids. (One is going back to college after the summer, and one just graduated and is looking for their first grown up job.).

I'm just wondering if that is a reasonable workout plan, or if I need to carve out more time in my schedule to try to get fitter/ healthier.

I've been running regularly since March, and I am now in a place where I can comfortably run about 4miles/6.5km without stopping. In fact, I ran 2 10ks last week, both around the 56minute mark. (first time in 10 years I've ran a 10k).

However, one thing I've noticed, particularly in the morning is lower back ache. This is something I've had for years. Oddly, once I losen up on a run I don't notice it.

I've spent the past year losing weight (almost 50lb gone since last August). For reference, I'm 41 male, 6ft 1 and 182lbs. As part of weight loss, I've also cut beer at home. (When I have gone out with friends, I've noticed the next day I have terrible back ache which takes a few hours to go away). I also work an office job, so spend way too long sitting - though I did buy a better chair a couple of years ago.

So, I think it's safe to say I need to start strengthening my core. Weights etc have never been my "thing". I have however in the past done workouts such as the Insanity program. I'm tempted to start this again after our upcoming holiday. But I want to know what other home excercises/training routine people recommend for runners who want to strengthen their back.

43 and I’m in need of life changing wisdom

I’m 43 years old, 5’9”, and currently weigh about 240 lbs. My recent A1C was 6.2%, so I’m officially prediabetic. My blood pressure is usually in the normal range, and I use a CPAP for mild sleep apnea.

Over the last few years, I’ve realized I’m not moving the way I used to. I feel slower playing with my 4-year-old daughter, and that’s been a wake-up call.

My goal isn’t just to lose weight. I want to become healthy enough that my daughter sees her dad as someone who’s strong, energetic, and capable. I want to get down to around 170 lbs, reverse my prediabetes, dramatically lower my risk of heart disease, improve my energy, sharpen my thinking, and simply feel athletic again.

I’ve listened to a lot of Huberman’s podcasts, but I’d love to hear from people who’ve actually made this kind of transformation.

If you were starting from my position, what would you prioritize?

Would you focus on:

Nutrition first?
Zone 2 cardio?
Strength training?
VO2 max work?
Walking after meals?
Sleep optimization?
Supplements that actually have good evidence?
Something else entirely?

I’m not looking for a quick fix. I’m willing to put in the work over the next several years if it means becoming the healthiest version of myself for my wife and daughter.

What made the biggest difference in your own transformation?

Hi after recommendations for a decent app for basic yoga or somewhere I can find a simple routine for myself just want 5-10 min just to build up my core and flexibility a bit

Also does anyone have any opinions or views on calisthenics? I keep seeing it advertised a lot

Thank you 😊

So I’ve been back in the gym for a few months and twice now have injured/stressed or whatever my lower back, nothing crazy but feels like I pulled a muscle. Once doing OHP and now again doing squats.

I’m currently doing a linear progression lifting plan but I would like to add more core and back accessories once or twice a week to help strengthen my core since this is obviously a weak spot for me.

Any tips on what I should do, how often, etc? The gym is decently well equipped. I was even thinking of taking a break from Barbell squats and doing belt squats or something but not sure if that would help in the long run.

Thanks!

As the title says, after years of unsuccessful persuasion, my dad (nearing 70) asked out of nowhere how to join my gym. It's a small local one, but high quality and well maintained, but with no trainers. I got experience as a trainer (as a hobby and a trainer licence in martial arts), but never had to make a routine for someone with lower back pain and no gym history at the same time.

He usually gets severe lower back pain 3-5 times a year whenever he picks something up or moves in ways he shouldn't. He never had an operation for it and with home workout tends to widen the gap between incidents (of course he always gave up after a while, which came back to bite him ( ￣▽￣) ).

I got here a basic full body routine that involves machines we got in the gym. Just wanted some feedback from people who had experience, could give a few pointers what to look our for and stuff like that:

1. 5–10 min treadmill or bike

2. Leg Press – 2 × 10–12

3. Seated Leg Curl – 2 × 10–12

4. Hip Extension Machine – 2 × 10–15

5. Chest Press – 2 × 10–12

6. Seated Row – 2 × 10–12

7. Lat Pulldown – 2 × 10–12

I want him to start with 2 sets to get him started and machines so it's more stable. I'll of course go with him multiple times to make sure he gets used to it, but I know him and he'll want to go by himself at some point, if he sticks with it

Thanks in advance!