At home/limited equipment workout resources

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The place for all of your fitness based interpersonal encounters (is someone being creepy at the gym? Is your family telling you you’re getting too muscular? Do you want to date your personal trainer?), but also the place to talk about motivation, self-esteem and body image, and all the ways fitness affects your life.

Want to ask how mothers juggle family and fitness? How to structure Intermittent Fasting? When to work out when you do night shift? How to deal with being the only person in your friend group who works out? If you're feeling emotional, want to up your mental game, or need ideas for how to juggle everything on your plate, this is the place for you!

Welcome to Check Me Out Tuesday-flex-. The place for shameless selfies, physique questions, accountability, and small progress posts that aren’t detailed enough for a standalone post.

Goal: strength & mental health

History: I debated whether to share this update, but I use this account to document my fitness journey including the highs and the lows. And I know others may be facing similar challenges.

I've been absent from the gym for quite some time now. Over the past six months, I've only managed to go a handful of times.

In October, I fell extremely ill, and since then, I've been fucked over by continuous bouts of sickness. My doctor advised against exercising, and honestly, I don't feel up to even a walk. However, I'm hopeful that with a new specialist and treatment, I'll start feeling better in the coming months. I’m determined to return to the gym soon!

Before this recent setback, I was sedentary for many years due to a bad foot injury. I began weight lifting for the first time April 2022.

Routine: I have PT write my programming- centered around squat, bench, deadlift.

Lifts: Lifts from just before I stopped in October 2023, my SBD heaviest sets were

3x3 paused squat @ 200lbs

3x4 bench @ 100lbs

3x3 dl @ 215lbs

bodyweight lifts: Heel elevated push ups 4x10 @ 10lbs, Pistol squats 3x3 @ 45lbs, Pull ups 0 lol

Diet: I’ve lost ~40lbs from my highest weight :( I’m trying my best to not lose anymore. I’ve been stable at this weight for a few months now. I’m ready to bulk when I return!

I’m anticipating starting from damn near square one in terms of muscle tone, but I accept it. My knowledge of technique and muscle memory will help me progress a little faster than I did the first time around.

I can’t wait to go back to the gym!!

I really upset some guy at my gym today, and I'm wondering where it went wrong.

Today I went to the gym and wanted to start with hip thrusts. It's a popular machine, so I wasn't surprised when there was a guy on the machine. I went on to do RDLs instead, thinking he would be done soon. After RDLs, I went on to hyperextensions bc he was still on it. After I finished hypers, I peeped him out and he's STILL on it at 12:45 (and I got to the gym at 12:02).

I see he's doing some weird shit where he gets in the machine and holds it up half way, like isometrics, and then he has a looong rest between them. Each of my sets is one to two min long with a one min rest. I have to leave to go back to work at 12:50. I wait for his next break and ask him if I can work in and he says sure. So I do one set and then I wait. And wait. I realize it's been 4 min and hes still not ready.

I go to the next room and try to do some thrusts with a folding chair and kettlebell, but I'm just not able to get enough weight on and I don't have a pad. So I go back to the machine and he's just about to start again, so I'm just standing there looking at my phone and he's about to start, but then he stops and gets back up.

He's clearly very upset, shaking and mumbling and tells me to just get it over with. He pulls the weights off the machine and puts them away, practically steaming at the ears. He literally looks like he wants to kill me. I said, "What's the big deal? Did I do something wrong? How long are your rests, I can come back after that time." And he says his rests are "None of my business, mind your own business." Like I want to copy him, lol?

I'm really confused and the way he is acting makes me feel like I've done something wrong, so I apologize and he doesn't respond and just leaves the room.

I'm new to the gym, I thought working in with someone was relatively simple but this was weird. Did I just encounter a giant man-baby on the squat thrust machine? Is it normal for someone to use one machine for 50 min? Or was I doing something wrong?

What is your protocol for working-in on a busy machine, so I can avoid drama like this again.

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

Hi everyone!

I do an hour long reformer pilates class nearly every morning before my 9-5 work day begins (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Friday, and then I'll usually pick Sat or Sun depending on my energy levels). I know that I also need to be incorporating strength training, but I'm wondering how to incorporate it into my pilates schedule. Or, is just doing pilates enough?

I've tried nearly every workout, from barre to cycle to Orange Theory, and I feel like pilates is the most sustainable for me because 1) i don't dread waking up for it 2) it's low impact.

For background, I'm a woman in her mid 20s, looking to increase muscle, bone density, etc and have sustainable healthy habits to carry me throughout my life.

Thanks!

I’ve (26F, 5’4, 183lbs) have been stuck at 75lb bench press (including bar weight) for 1.5-2 months now. Truthfully I don’t have a strong desire to have super strong arms. Mostly I’m focused on lower body. However with weight loss I noticed my arms have a lot of body fat and I’m trying to minimize the amount of loose skin I get by building my arms. (I can’t do a whole lot about the loose skin, genetically)

For more context my arms are by far the weakest muscle group for me lol. Back in October I couldn’t bench the bar and was at 30lbs. I strength training/lift heavy 3X/week. I do bench press probably once a week but other arm exercises throughout the week.

I’m also wondering if this is the plateau I’ll hit without eating more calories? My main priority is fat loss. At 1400 cals and 120-130g protein/day I’d say overall it’s been good. It’s just odd to me bc I can continue to progressively increase weight for all other muscle groups.

I found this video from Dr. Mike/Renaissance Periodization on differences in training for men and women. I know I've wondered about programming, as basically I do programs aimed at men (and not necessarily natty men) and I wonder if I would get better results if someone more experienced than me adapted these programs for (natty) women.

Why Men and Women MUST Train Differently

I know there are some dedicated lifters here, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Your place to find an accountability buddy / be an accountability buddy / post for your own accountability. A place where we can all motivate each other to keep working towards our goals.

Hey everyone! I was an ACE certified GFI but life got in the way and I never renewed my certification. I’m getting back into a personal fitness routine now and I’m thinking I want to start teaching again.

My first instructor gig was shortly before COVID, at an awesome women’s only boutique gym doing strength and HIIT classes. I didn’t love it. I feel like I wasn’t motivating enough, I was bored walking around saying “keep it up” and “you got this”, etc.

My fave way to workout myself is cardio dance and Zumba. Everytime I take a class, I have so much fun, I’m like UGH I should do this!!

So. A couple of questions:

1. How hard (and expensive) is it to renew a cert that has been expired more than 3 years?
2. What cardio dance programs would you recommend for someone starting out? Other than Zumba- the market is saturated in my area. Also: I’m a mom of 3 young boys so my availability for teaching is weekends only- if that changes your dance program recommendations.
3. If I complete a dance program, do I NEED to re-certify with ACE to begin teaching?

Thanks!!

Currently I do the following:

Monday - lower body, easy run ~ 2 miles Tuesday - upper body & coach 2 hrs Wednesday - 6 mile, tread incline intervals Thursday - lower body & coach 2 hrs, easy run ~ 2 miles Friday - upper body Saturday, 4 mile tread run, coach 4 classes Sunday - 5.5 mile trail run.

I also have a full time job in addition to all of the the above, but luckily it's very flexible (I sometimes lift during lunch on my coach days).

Goals - run a trail marathon before the end of the year. I've completed two trail half marathons and signed up for a 35k in June.

I absolutely love weight lifting and don't really want to give that up, but I do need to add miles onto my training to get up to the distances I need to get used to.

Our routine is a bit crazy, my husband and I wake up at 4am almost every day, we are in the gym at 4:30ish and head home around 7 (including 20 mins in the sauna). We are in bed around 8/8:30pm (and are exhausted, he has a physically demanding job, I have a mentally demanding one). We have managed to keep this going for about a year so far, but I've only just started running 20 miles a week for the last 3 weeks. I want to increase this.

Something has to give, my question is, what should it be? One of each lift day? I would love to fit more stretching and flexibility into my routine.

Help please! Thank you!

I’ve been working out regularly for about six months. Mainly lifting—progressive overload with a little cardio.

When I was younger (I’m a 46f) I remember feeling energized when I worked out regularly.

Honestly, now I just feel tired.

I track macros and aim for over 100 grams of protein a day. I don’t really restrict carbs to any greater degree than my other macros. I average between 100-130 grams per day.

I get 6-7 hours of sleep.

Where’s my endorphin rush? Could I be sabotaging myself in my diet somehow?

I've been a regular at my gym for almost a year paying $49 per month (paid more to have access to another location near work), but as of next month, I will be switching officially to Classpass which I can still use to access my gym. I enjoy running a lot for cardio and with the weather being so nice, I know I'd be spending more time running outdoors than at the gym which was one of the main reasons I was cancelling my membership.

Having tried a couple different fitness classes which I loved, the idea of having more flexibiity and variety plus still being able to go to my regular gym through Classpass just made more sense for my schedule. Having friends who want to work out at their gyms with guest passes definitely influenced my decision as well.

This year so far:

• Classpass ($89/month..recommend taking advantage of the free trial period trial. Love taking Barry's classes and looking to try different pilates studios as well.)
• Orange Theory (20 class pack for $380 = $19/class)
• Gym outfits (~$130)
• Supplements (~$150..mostly post-workout hydration/electrolytes and trying different protein beverages this year)
• Race fees (~$240 as of April)

I'm curious to see what other folks spend on average on fitness (gym, equipment, clothing, classes, subscriptions, supplements, etc.) here and what have you found to be worth it/not worth it in your experience.

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

I hear this so often when following stretches and ab exercise videos but I just can’t seem to do it! I understand I don’t have a strong core and my mind muscle connection is pretty bad too as I struggle to “flex” muscles or “feel” them in movements (though I have made progress with this through working on my weight lifting).

I believe they suggest keeping your lower back to the floor in these movements to ensure your core is engaged (please correct me if I’m wrong!) but it just makes me feel stiff, unable to complete the movement if movement is involved and does not make me feel anything in my ‘core’ (though being completely honest I’m not sure if I would recognise it if it did)… I feel like I’m going mad!

Has anyone experienced this or have any tips to rectify it?

My 18-year-old sister was a junior swimming competitor, and after finishing swimming, she started going to the gym. I'm really proud of her; she follows a really healthy lifestyle, and sports help her maintain both her physical and mental health. In my opinion, she looks really good. My problem is when I mention it to people who know very little about her, mainly older individuals or men above 30 who never exercise, they express concerns that she might become too muscular and lose her femininity. I find their opinion shallow and frustrating, and I never know how to respond. Usually, I just smile and nod. I wonder if those of you who regularly go to the gym have any smart responses to deal with these types of judgments?

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

Have been a member of this community for a while and would love insights from anyone who’s had a similar experience and what they did.

I’ve been a Lagree student for many years now (6? 7? years) and have taken classes 2-4 times per week with dozens of instructors across 4 studios. I am not an instructor myself but feel like I have a decent grasp on the practice after that time period.

Last year, my current studio hired a new instructor who I have taken about half a dozen classes with. I wasn’t a huge fan after the first class. A lot of their uses of the machine just felt…Cumbersome? I’m a big fan of the accessibility of Pilates and so many of the instructor’s exercises were the exact opposite of that. But I’ve given their classes a try off and on with the understanding that teaching skills evolved over time and we all have our off days.

However, today was definitely my last time for the reasons I’ll describe below, but I’m kinda in a predicament where I’m wondering if I should say something to the studio?

Throughout today’s class multiple people complained they were in pain and flagged down the instructor. This is pretty abnormal. I think we all expect megaformer / Lagree to be hard! But these students were saying they were in actual pain from the way we were setting up exercises. I also didn’t find the instructor sympathetic. They kinda shrugged it off.

To give an example, one exercise involved heel drops off the front bars of the megareformer while laying down - with approx. 200 lbs of added resistance. I chose to take some load off but I kept thinking, this feels dangerous. Other examples included massive loads on exercises with all weight born on wrists or shoulders alone. And I’m sure you can get a challenging workout from doing them, but I have to ask if it’s worth the injury risk given the relatively pedestrian nature of these classes. It’s not like anyone is really getting individualized attention or modifications throughout class to ensure they aren’t hurting themselves.

Anyways, I’ve decided for my own needs this instructor’s class is a bad fit. But I’m kinda starting to wonder if any of these warrants a note to the studio manager (who doesn’t supervise classes). On one hand, not every practice is for me, and I’m okay with that. The easiest thing to do is to just not attend this instructor’s classes myself. But I also kinda wonder if these are bad practices that should be brought to attention overall, and worry for the risk of others who might walk into a class without an understanding of their own limitations / typical practice. What would you do?

I’m (25F, 146lbs, 5’5”) feeling extremely dejected ever since I got my first ever DEXA scan yesterday. I’ve been paying attention to macros for 1.5 years and weight training for the past 2.5 years so I was curious to see where my body composition was at. I found out I have an extremely overweight body fat percentage (39%) and very low muscle and a RMR of 1214 cals. It feels crushing to hear this but at least I know there’s improvement to be made.

At the start of my journey I was doing 4 weight training days (upper and lower body split), but last year I went down to 3 and then this year I’ve been maintaining 2 days. I’ve felt like I’ve been stagnate for a long time, not ever hitting close the physique I want, I’ve made progress but not nearly enough for where I want to be. At the start of this year I decided to add some HIIT to my weekly exercise but transitioned to 10k steps a day instead since that feels more sustainable. I’m eating 1400 calories and around 110-125g of protein a day (I’m also on hormonal birth control ).

I’d love to hit around 23% body fat and build up more lean muscle. I know there’s a ton of room for improvement for what I could be doing but at times it feels like I’m doing all that I can do, I want to keep my lifestyle sustainable but I also want to meet my goals. Do you have any suggestions for what I could be doing differently or what I should add to my day to day?

Need a recommendation for protein powder? Not sure if your macros look quite right? Have a killer recipe to share or just want to show off your meal preop? This is the thread for you!

Your place to talk about anything fitness shopping and style. Whether you want to ask where to buy the best gym leggings or most supportive sports bra, which shoes or belt to get for your favorite activities, the latest on headsets and sports watches, how many times you should wash your hair when you're working out lots, how to deal with body odor, any skincare questions, or how to stop your makeup running when you sweat through a spin class. This thread can include photos of you in your favorite fitness outfits, or requests to find the perfect app, playlist, or fitness technology so you can kill your workouts.

We also allow sharing promotion codes and sales for fitness-related stuff, keeping in mind that our rules on self-promotion and affiliate links still apply.

Welcome to our Daily Simple Questions thread - we're excited to have you hang out with us, especially if you're new to the sub. Are you confused about the FAQ or have a basic question about an exercise / alternatives? Do you have a quick question about calculating TDEE, lift numbers, running times, swimming intervals, or the like? Post here and the folks of xxfitness will help you answer your questions, no matter how big or small.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread! Tell stories, share thoughts, ask questions, swap advice, and be excellent to each other! Though we all share fitness as a common hobby or interest, the discussion here can be about any big or little thing you choose. The mods ask that you do mind the Cardinal Rules as they relate to respecting yourself and others, calling out any scantily clad photos as NSFW, and not asking for medical advice.

Hi, sorry previous post got deleted, typing out in more detail again.

I am 25F, fairly fit and decided to sign up for MMA. I used to do judo when I was in school but then my parents kind of discouraged me, saying girls don't do that and that was the end of it. Now that I am kind of settled career wise and have a bit more free time during the weekends, I tried to rekindle my passion for martial arts again.

I joined a muay thai class, where I train with 16-20 year old boys who have been there much longer than I have. Compared to them I feel extremely clumsy, especially wrt footwork. It's kind of affecting my self esteem a little bit but at the end of the session, it also feels good because I have challenged myself a lot.

I want to know, is it too late to be starting this at 25? My trainer said it's fine, anyone can learn. Does it get better? How do I improve my footwork especially? I have taken up skipping a bit everyday along with my gym routine for that( and to my dismay, I am utterly clumsy at that as well, but improving a bit). Any other advice that you can share?

Thought this could be a fun spot to learn from each other's past mistakes, and ask questions for anyone who maybe didn't realize a certain thing was a scam or not true.

I'll keep "scam" broadly defined - anything that's a waste of money given the cost or not evidence based (backed by science). Myth is anything that's just not true as a whole.

I'll start

Scam: I went down the supplement road and was taking like 5 different supplements for skin and workouts (including pre workouts). Literally only creatine and protein are helpful, and science based, in my situation. So much wasted money!

Myth: I really thought it was possible to put on muscle way faster than realistic, and that's partially why I got into supplements. I wasn't eating or sleeping enough, so if course I wasn't seeing fast improvement. Women only get around 1lb of muscle gain per month under ideal circumstances. There was no way I was going to build a butt in 3 months while under eating when it's literal years of work for many.

Myth: Needing to cycle exercise with the menstrual cycle. According to current evidence most women benefit from continuing to workout throughout their cycle and it can actually help pain. Some individuals with more painful periods or cysts may need to further modify due to individualized medical need, but for most women with normal periods there is no benefit to cycling and it's unnecessarily reducing workout load. Other factors like sleep and diet tend to be more impactful. The more I've looked into this the more it falls under weird traditionalist/conservative ideologies.

(I'm not saying we shouldn't modify if we need to, just saying that this is more of a medical accomodation for women to consider, like going gluten free because of celiac, rather than something all women should be doing just because of social media.)

Scam: Various social media influencer programs. Now I try to keep with people who seem 1. Like decent people, 2. Who are evidence based, 3. Ideally who are AFAB or women. No more supporting abusive men thank you.

What myths or scams have you fallen for over the years?