I feel guilty every time it happens and keep thinking I’ll lose all my progress. What do you do during those weeks—rest, walk, or still push yourself to work out? How do you deal with the mental side of it?

I used to skip workouts if I couldn't do an hour. Big mistake.

So I started doing just 5 minutes. Squats, push-ups, plank, bridges, jumping jacks. No equipment. No excuses.

Most days I keep going after 5. Bad days? I stop at 5 and still call it a win.

Question for pros: Does this actually help physically or just mentally?

How do you deal with zero energy days?

TLDR: 5 mins daily nothing. Worth it or not?

I've been "skinny fat" my entire life. I'm like 5'10 and before this, my weight stabilized around 130-140.

I've always wanted to be fit and eat what I want (and I keep a balanced diet filled with fresh fruits and lots of veggies and eat at max 2000 calories a day).

This year, after a horrific car accident, the stars aligned and ive been able to hold a consistent every-other-day exercise regimen for the last 5 months (incorporating long walks on the off-days).

The point was always to build my body. I never wanted to lose weight, just recomp it into muscle. Overall I was and am happy with how I look.

But i stepped on the scale last night and it said 156. This is the highest number I've ever seen on the scale.

I was aware that I would probably gain weight. My googlebot tells me muscular women (like im trynna be) of my height are often 150-180 pounds.

I know this is the natural consequence of strength training. I know muscle weighs more than fat. I know this is probably perfectly normal for somebody who is working as hard as I am to build a body while not following a strict diet (I love me some yums).

And, again, I'm happy with how I look! I see myself tone up. I feel better. I can do things easier. I love it!

But dam.

Someone tell me my dream body is going to weigh a lot more than I think it is because I'm trying to get a beefy butt and my flatass got a LONG way to go.

I’m officially at a year of consistently going to the gym! I honestly am not sure I see much of a physical difference (besides feeling stronger).

Can someone give me the basics of eating better to assist my workouts? I hear people talking about cutting calories or something. Can someone give me an idea of where to start?

I am really new at this so some kindness when explaining would be nice!

Hi everyone!

I'm new here and this is actually my first Reddit post, so please be kind. 😊

I've been going to the gym consistently for about a month now. I rarely skip workouts, and I'm genuinely trying to build healthier habits instead of looking for a quick fix.

The problem is... I don't really see much difference yet.

I'm feeling a little demotivated because it really feels like everyone transforms in 30 days on social media but I am not able to see much of a difference. I know real progress takes time, but I'm not sure if I am doing the right thing. Sometimes I feel like I should go for weight loss injections but I know there are side effects.

Can anyone guide me if I am going in the right direction.

Hi! I am trying to finally lose weight and somewhat tone. I am 10 months postpartum and ready to lose my baby weight. I am about a month in to doing the gym a few times a week and haven’t seen much progress.
Any ideas on machines I should be doing?

I want to lose my back fat and tone down some of my belly flab.

Again, I’m not looking to be a supermodel but just a more healthier me.

Thank you!

Edit: I forgot to add, I am still nursing so I am trying to lessen my calorie intake while still being mindful.

I'm not attempting to lose a lot of weight or train for a marathon; instead, I'm focusing on developing healthy habits and feeling better every day. Is anyone else taking a low-pressure approach this summer?

Hello everyone. M 30 here. Height 5’8 and weight 70 kgs. Most of my fat is towards the belly and love handles and im sick of it. Never been to gym, have a very sedentary lifestyle but want to change it. Can someone please point me to the right direction and right subs to read and ask questions and to start my fitness journey?

23M. 193CM.

I started lifting 4-5 months ago, and really like squats.

However, I've stagnated over the last few weeks at 65kg.....

I go really hard, till failure on every set (sometimes I cant even get up on my final rep, and have to drop the barbell onto the safties.).

However, I cant seem to get anywhere.

I've had a few thoughts myself, but would love to get some input on what common mistakes are.

-Currently I'm cutting weight. I've been fat most of my life, so decided enough is enough... dont know how much weight I've cut, but have gone dow 2... almost 3 belt holes in 2 months... could that be a problem? I heard you lose strength during a cut... but feel since Im so new and lift such light weights... it shouldnt stagnate already.... but maybe Im wrong

-Maybe I just dont get enough carbs??? - my diet is very heavy on protein.... In fact, I barely consume any carbs... just a few slices of fruits..... and some times some oatmeal?? - maybe thats the problem?

---

Regarding form... I do believe, I have quite good form. I've worked on it a lot, and I go deep, and control the negative fairly well I'd say...

One thing is though, that towards the end... My knees start to cave, and I struggle with balance... I start swaying back and forth, and it tbh feels kinda sketchy......... I feel like I have strength for many more reps ... but my balance just wont allow it.... - perhaps that's just my weakest muscles giving out; and it'll get better with time?

--

Are any of my thoughts rational? or does it sound like lunacy. Plz enlighten me:)

I’m (40M) generally decently active (7-10K steps a day, some stair climbing due to my job when there) but never have really actively “worked out” beyond the basics (or lifting of the child, etc) or outside of when needed for the job.

I’m wondering what kind of home routines would be helpful for me to be doing daily. Don’t really have much equipment other than a resistance band (I have a significant pain in L side of my neck/base of skull that leads to my shoulders/neck often being in pain / left-hand general weakness throughout the body). Not actively trying to lose weight or gain weight, but just be as healthy as I possibly can (I’m on day 14 of eating no sugar added and very minimal processed foods).

Thanks for any ideas/advice!

Well I do have a few ideas, I tried searching for gym workout routines and set of exercise I could try but there is too many videos regarding gym workout. I don't know which routine I should listen to, I wanted to lose some weight and build muscle.

I'm 64 kg, 156 cm. I'm overweight, I never tried going to the gym because my anxiety is not letting me, I keep backing out. But I wanted to change that and try to overcome my fear. I wanted to start as soon as possible. getting a gym coach is not an option in my situation as I'm still a student and I live in a province.

Just asking, what gym work outs I should try and what's the routine?

Does lifting weights can help me? Or I should lose some weight through cardio before I consider lifting weights?

(Sorry not sorry for my bad English. it's my second language and I never converse with anyone in english before)

Does anyone have any tips on how I can not necessarily lose weight, but just get my chest and stomach more defined? Like an actual workout? I'm 15, 5'9 roughly 175-180 pounds, but I got man boobs, and I got a pretty big stomach, not terrible. I just want to try and work towards a more defined chest, and possibly abs

Soy principiante y quiero ir al gimnasio pero no puedo porque queda muy lejos de donde vivo, así que yo entreno en casa.
Hago lagartijas, abdominales y sentadillas pero no sé si eso ayude mucho ya que mido 1.90 y peso 79-80kg, Lo que quiero es ganar músculo y tonificar un poco mis músculos ya que soy delgado pero con grasa localizada en mi abdomen y mi pecho.
Si hago esos ejercicios cuantos debería de hacer aproximadamente o qué más puedo complementar para notar buenos cambios?

My boyfriend 25m is trying to "stay in shape" so he started doing bodyweight exercises throughout the day like pushups and situps. He gets excited to tell me that hes gone from 80 situps in one day to 100 situps in one day. He achieves this by doing 15 situps every couple of hours.

I proposed to him that maybe it would be more beneficial to do more reps in one sitting instead of spreading it out. 100 situps sounds impressive but it seems unnecessary to have it spread out like that rather than just waiting a few minutes between sets or increasing reps.

He can apparently do way more than 15, but said he doesn't want to be sore, and also he's not training to get bigger muscles, just to stay in shape. Even though he doesn't break a sweat or struggle at all or feel a burn or anything from doing 15 situps every hour, he says it's better than nothing, which I agree with. I just can't help but wonder if there's a better way.

What do u guys think? For the most part I'm wondering if it looks somewhat optimal. I have been running this for last 5 months and it feels pretty good and I have made some good progress

ARMS/SHOULDERS- 1. 3x7-10 cable lateral raises 2. 2x10-12 Lateral raise machine 3. 2x7-10 dumbell skull crushers 4. 2x7-10 straight bar tricep extensions 4. 2x 7-10 overhead extensions with rope 5. 2x7-10 Seated curls 6. 2x7-10 preacher curls(machine or bar) 7. 3x10-12 reverse cable curls

LEGS-  1. 2x7-10 hack squats 2. 10-12 leg press 3. 3x7-10 seated curls 4. 2x10-12 leg extension 5. 2x10-12 lying down leg curl 6. 3x10-12 adductor 7. 3x10-12 abductor 8. 4x12-15 standing calve raises

CHEST/BACK(starting with chest because it needs work. Just recovered from a shoulder injury which was hindering my chest workouts) 1. 2x7-10 chest press machine or smith machine press 2. 2x7-10 dumbell flys 3. 2x7-10 incline dumbell or incline smith. 4. 2x7-10 lat pull downs 5. 2x10-12 lat push downs 6. 3x10-12 seated v bar rows 7. 2x10-12 dumbell or smith shrugs

Hey everyone, I’m new to weightlifting and would like to know any recommendations for stores that I can buy the cheapest at home weights from relative to other stores. I went to Walmart but theirs is very limited, so Walmart is off the table. Thanks in advance

Edit: Just for dumbbells

After I substitued sodas with 0 sugar I was able to lose around 6 kilograms and that motivated me a lot. And now I started tracking my calories with journable. I just want to know if that app is good or if there are better affordable options. I can see that it is not that accurate when it comes to photos that is why I calculate the calories myself and input it in the app.

If you have any advice or suggestions I want them all. Thanks in advance

Basically title. Does anyone have any recommendations for strength/muscle training specifically for women? I am a runner, however want to get lean and toned. Have no idea where to start. I do not want to just exercise, I want a plan.

Walk a lot and do these 5 exercises once/week https://fitnesscfgyms.com/stop-wasting-time-the-5-best-dumbbell-exercises-for-a-quick-workout/

My girlfriend and I are trying to lose weight, but we feel like we've hit a plateau and could really use some advice.

She is 95 kg and 162 cm tall, and I'm 100 kg and 170 cm tall.

We've been trying to eat healthier. Most of our meals are things like lean meat with vegetables and either rice, noodles, or potatoes. We don't drink soft drinks often, we've been trying to control our portions, and we mostly drink sugar-free flavored water because we both struggle to drink plain water. I can usually drink plain water while exercising, but my girlfriend can't.

For exercise, we go to the gym regularly. We mainly use the exercise bikes, do some leg machines, and I also do weight training. We haven't started running because we don't have the stamina yet, and honestly the bouncing is uncomfortable at our current weight.

The problem is that our weight doesn't seem to change much. I usually stay between 98–100 kg, and she stays between 94–96 kg.

Are we doing something wrong? Should we be focusing on different exercises, doing more cardio, lifting heavier, or changing our diet? We'd really appreciate any advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I lived a very sedentary lifestyle for years, and eventually developed severe tendinopathy and a small tear in my gluteus medius/minimus tendons—the tendons on the outside of the hip that help stabilize the pelvis and leg.

In January, I had Tenex, a minimally invasive procedure that removes damaged tendon tissue to help it heal. I completed physical therapy afterward and was cleared to begin exercising independently while continuing the exercises they taught me. Toward the end, though, PT no longer felt particularly challenging.

My current problem is that my glutes are still extremely weak. I have a very hard time feeling them working during exercises, and it seems like my quads and hamstrings compensate for them during almost everything. I’ve now developed tendinitis-like pain where my quad tendon attaches at the top of my kneecap, especially with stairs, squatting, and certain exercises.

I feel stuck in an awkward middle ground. I don’t know whether my form is the problem, whether I’m choosing the wrong exercises, or whether my other muscles are overcompensating because my glutes still aren’t strong enough. I’m finally trying to change my sedentary lifestyle and become stronger and more active, but every attempt seems to cause pain somewhere else. It’s becoming really discouraging.

Would a knowledgeable personal trainer be able to evaluate my form and help me progress safely, or does this sound like something that requires going back to physical therapy? If a trainer could help, what qualifications or experience should I look for?

​

Hello everyone👋

I have just started going to gym last week and its a corporate gym for now, where im planning to get used to and in habit of doing gym and then will transition to a proper gym, tho theres almost everything available in the gym.

My main question is, what should I be doing in the gym to actually see improvements and make progress? Im 175cm with 64kg weight, and so far in 3 days of gym I have done

Hammer 5kg

Bisceps curls 5kg

Row 25kg

Push down 20kg

Leg curl 30kg

Bench press 20kg

Lat-pull down 25kg

Shoulder dumbbell 2.5kg

Triceps overhead dumb bell 2.5kg

These are the excercises I did over the course of 2-3 days as the trainer suggested them.

I plan to hit gym for 3 days a week for now, till I get into the habit of it.

Also being a vegetarian, how should I be doing my diet to compliment this? I have started taking creatine daily but thats all plus oats soya chunks rice daal and paneer are what I eat mostly.

Would love the help and to get to know from people more knowledgeable than me abt this

Okay so I know stretching is important. I know I should do it. But after a hard session? I'm done. Lie down > stretch every single time 🧘‍♀️

Fast forward a few months, my calves are getting shorter and wider. Not the vibe.💔

So I'm genuinely asking, how do you do it?
Are you just super disciplined?
Do you do it while watching something?
Do you have a routine that's so short it doesn't feel like a chore?

I need real tips. Or just tell me I'm not alone in this struggle

When you're just getting started with fitness, it feels like everyone gives different advice.

Some people say to focus on cardio first walking, running, cycling, or other forms of cardio to improve endurance and lose weight before touching weights.

Others recommend starting strength training right away, saying that building muscle early makes it easier to stay on track and improves long-term progress, with cardio playing more of a supporting role.

For those who made it past the beginner stage, what worked best for you during your first 3–6 months? More importantly, what helped you stay consistent without getting burned out?

I'd really like to hear real experiences rather than the "perfect" answer. What made the biggest difference for you?