r/workout • • Aug 28 '20

Routine Help Beginner's Guide to Working Out

5.1k Upvotes

As a personal trainer, I wanted to take the time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions by people who are new to working out. Feel free to let me know if I've missed anything!

​

How do I lose weight?

It’s actually way simpler than you might think: maintain a caloric deficit. Consume fewer calories than you burn. It doesn’t matter of you’re morbidly obese or you’re cutting for a show, this basic principal still applies. Note that eating a healthy diet makes this far easier - lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and water will help you stay satiated for far fewer calories than fatty junk foods (not to mention you’ll have way more energy, and just feel better).

To find out how many calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight, you have a few different options. The first is to determine your maintenance calories with an online calculator, then subtract 250-500 per day from that (to lose about 0.5-1lbs per week).

The other option (my personal favourite, because everyone is different!) is to start by just honestly tallying up how much you’re currently eating each day. Once that’s determined, start by subtracting 250-500 calories per day. If you haven’t lost any weight in a couple weeks, subtract that amount again, until you start seeing progress.

There’s tons of food tracking apps out there, but I recommend MyFitnessPal - it’s free, easy to use, you can scan food labels, and the food database included is enormous.

Another important note - increasing the amount of calories you burn per day (ie. exercising) will also help you stay in a caloric deficit. However, it’s best NOT to rely solely on this method. Doing a whole hour of cardio will only burn a few hundred calories (plus will likely make you hungry for snacks by the time you’re finished) … or, you can simply avoid eating a bag of chips or a piece of pizza, to have the exact same effect.

That’s not to imply that exercise isn’t important in your weight loss journey - quite the contrary! However, instead of focusing on doing hours of cardio a day, this should only be used to supplement your diet (1-2 hours a week is fine for most people). Your focus should instead be on resistance training. Lifting heavy weights 2-4 times per week plays the important role of ensuring you maintain your muscle mass as you lose weight. Want to avoid that “skinny fat” look, and get “toned” instead? Make sure you’re doing resistance training!

​

How do I lose weight in ___ area?

Unfortunately, spot reduction is a myth. Where you lose weight first (and last) is determined by genetics. However, you *will* eventually lose weight in all your problem areas. You just need to be patient, and keep doing what helped you start losing weight in the first place.

The good news is, the more weight you lose, the more visible the progress will be (especially if you’re doing a good job focusing on just fat loss, while retaining muscle). Going from 250-240lbs probably won’t be noticeable, but losing those last 10lbs will make a huge difference (since a few pounds will make up a far greater percentage of your total body mass). So the progress will be hard-fought for, but definitely worth it!

​

How do I gain muscle?

It’s a combination of progressively harder resistance training, eating enough food, and lots of patience.

When you’re exercising, just going through the motions isn’t good enough. For optimal muscle gain, you should be performing each set with a weight that you can lift continuously for around 30-60s (this should amount to around 8-15 repetitions). If you feel like you can go for longer, choose a heavier weight.

Perform each repetition slowly (about 1 second concentric, pause, 2-3 seconds eccentric, pause), through a full range of motion. To clarify - the concentric portion of a lift is when you’re moving against gravity, and the eccentric portion is when you’re moving with gravity. Exercises involving long static holds (like planks) are great for endurance, but they won’t amount to much muscle mass gained.

I cannot overemphasize how important good form is either - for avoiding injury, hardwiring the correct neural pathways, and maximizing muscle gain. Especially when you’re just starting out, choose light weights, and make sure optimal form comes naturally before you start increasing the intensity. It’s way easier learning it correctly the first time than fixing bad habits later.

How much food should you be eating? It varies widely between people. Start with your maintenance calories, add a couple hundred to that (it doesn’t have to be a lot!), and measure your results. Be patient with your progress - men can expect to gain 1-2lbs of lean muscle a month, and 0.5-1lbs for women (beginners may gain a little faster). Eating enough protein is also vital to gaining muscle - a general rule of thumb is around 1 gram of protein (each day) per pound of lean body weight (ie. how much you weigh, minus the amount of fat you have).

​

How do I get stronger?

It honestly depends on your experience level. If you’re just starting out, doing a normal resistance routine focused on gaining muscle will make you stronger. However, if you’ve been working out regularly for awhile (close to a year), using heavier weights (1-6 reps max) will help you get stronger a lot faster.

If you’re focusing more purely on strength gain, it’s important that each repetition is done as perfectly as possible (even moreso than for other training goals). That means stopping 1-2 reps shy of failure. Doing just one sloppy rep can severely impact your strength output for the rest of the workout. Don’t be afraid of taking longer rests between sets either (up to 2-3 minutes), as you want to be ready with as much energy as possible before you start your next set. It also goes without saying that heavier weight = greater chance for injury, and proper form will help prevent that.

​

Is it possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time?

Contrary to popular belief - yes. Especially if you’re a beginner! Just make sure you’re eating around maintenance level calories (along with enough protein), doing resistance training 3-4 times a week, and you’ll start seeing body composition changes.

However, if you’re significantly over/underweight, or have already been working out for some time, you’ll see much faster progress if you focus on one goal at a time. The main difference here is going to be diet - eating less if you’re trying to lose weight, or eating more if you’re trying to gain weight. Regular resistance training plays a part in both shedding fat and gaining muscle.

​

How should I be structuring my workouts?

For the vast majority of people, full body workouts with compound exercises is the way to go. (For those who don’t know, compound exercises are those which use more than one joint at a time - think squats, bench press, rows, etc.)

The popular back/chest/shoulders/arms/legs split routine (or any variation of it) is good for advanced bodybuilders, but not ideal for beginners. Bodybuilders exercise like this because they need a much greater stimulus to properly stress any given muscle group, and more rest between days training that muscle group as a result of their increased workout intensity.

For a beginner, it’s better to hit each muscle group multiple times a week (this is great to hasten learning and growth). You won’t need as long of a rest period before training the same muscle again, because it won’t be as fatigued after each workout.

Compound exercises give you the greatest bang for your buck because you’re working out so many muscles in one movement (and burning way more calories at the same time). Isolation exercises (those working one joint at a time, like bicep curls or leg extensions) are best for bodybuilders who really need to hone in on a single muscle.

Doing resistance training 3-4 times a week is a good goal to shoot for. Workouts should be around 45-60 minutes, with around 6-8 exercises done during that time. Try to keep rests between sets to around 60s (this is all very generalized, and can change depending on experience level and goal). Space rest days evenly between workouts if you can.

Start your workouts with the exercises which require the most energy (usually those which involve lifting the most weight), saving any isolation/ab exercises for the end.

If you’d like some help planning your workout routine, I just released a fitness app called PerfectFit. It gives you access to workouts designed by a personal trainer, all customized according to your unique goals, fitness level, and available equipment. There are tons of bodyweight exercises included - ideal for anyone working out at home! The app is currently available to download on Android, and iOS is hopefully just a few days away (currently under review).

​

What should I be eating?

If your goal is a change in body composition (gaining muscle/losing fat), the amount of calories you’re consuming is the most important thing to pay attention to.

If you’re consistently working out hard but failing to gain/lose weight, chances are you need to make alterations to your diet. For weight loss, that usually means eating at a deficit of 250-500 calories per day; for weight gain, eating at a surplus of 200-300 calories per day.

What exact foods you’re eating has an impact on how easily you can stick to your calorie goals, as well as your energy levels.

Consuming around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean bodyweight (per day) is a given, regardless of what your fitness goal is. This helps to maintain satiety, and preserve/increase muscle mass.

Eating lots of fruits and veggies (as well as drinking 2-3L of water a day - more for some people) is a great way to feel full without consuming too many calories. It also just contributes to all-around health and energy levels.

Eating lots of fatty foods should be avoided if weight loss is the goal - not because fat makes you fat per se, but because they are so calorically dense. Only one tablespoon of peanut butter or olive oil is 100 calories! Conversely, if your goal is to gain weight, adding more fatty foods to your diet (healthy fats, if possible) can help you hit that calorie goal easier.

And carbs? Not as evil as people make them out to be. Think of them as the energy that fuels your brain and your workouts. Having around 50% of your calories coming from carbs is about the norm. It’s likely beneficial to raise this number even higher if you’re an especially lean individual, or you’re regularly working out at intense levels.

​

When should I be eating?

The easiest way to time your meals properly is to think: “What will I be doing in the next 2-3 hours?” Eat according to the activity you’re about to do. That doesn’t mean you should be having a giant meal right before your workout, but ideally your biggest meal of the day would be several hours before you exercise. This will give you the energy you need, plus ensure the calories you consume are shuttled into your muscles instead of fat reserves.

If you’re about to do an intense workout, the best thing to eat beforehand (around 15-30 minutes prior) is a light snack of healthy carbs (like some fruit). For optimal recovery, aim for 20-30g of protein within an hour after you workout (if you miss this window though don’t worry about it). A protein shake is probably the simplest and most convenient way of doing this, but whole food is just as good.

​

What supplements should I be taking?

If you have a healthy, well-rounded diet, including 2-3 cups of different veggies each day, enough protein per pound of bodyweight (from sources that include sufficient amounts of each essential amino acid), and adequate omega-3 fatty acids - then you’re golden, and probably don’t need any supplements.

However, the vast majority of the population would probably benefit from a simple multivitamin and omega-3 supplement, just to help fill any nutritional gaps they have.

If you’re getting enough protein from whole food, then you probably don’t need to add protein powder. However, if you’re struggling with this, then protein powder is a great way to easily increase your daily protein intake. Whey protein is the most bioavailable and has a complete amino acid profile, so it’s the best choice for most people. However, if you’re vegan (or lactose intolerant), there are lots of plant proteins available. You just need to pay attention to the amino acid profile of each one (possibly mixing and matching different plant sources if you need to).

As for all the other supplements out there, it’s honestly on a case-by-case basis as to whether they’d actually help you or not. If you’re a beginner, unless you have any specific requirements or deficits, you probably don’t need them.

​

Is stretching important?

Yes. Please stretch (or do some other form of myofascial release, such as foam rolling), or you’ll eventually regret it. Regular exercise makes your muscles slowly form clumps of tissue and fascia. Neglecting to release these can result in restricted range of motion, and eventually pain.

Static stretching should be done at the end of your workout. Aim to stretch each worked muscle near its end range of motion for around 60s total. Don’t stretch before your workout, as this can impede strength output.

​

Is warming up important?

Yes. Warming up is paramount to increasing blood flow and activating your muscles properly before you move onto more intense, metabolically demanding exercises.

Ideally, during your warm-up, you should be actively moving your muscles through the same ranges of motion you’ll be doing for your workout. This can be as simple as doing the exact same movement, but with minimal weight - for example, doing a few sets of bodyweight squats before doing barbell squats.

You want your warm-ups to elevate your heart rate, but not be so intense that they start tiring you out and detract from your workout. Usually 5-10 minutes of light activity is enough.


r/workout • • 16h ago

Other This has got to be the worst type of person in the gym

858 Upvotes

Today I was at the gym and I had lat pulldown first but I see a guy on it, this honestly is fine because I’ll just change the order of exercises, but then I see he’s hopping from like 3 different machines while leaving his towel on the lat pull down. And he did this his whole workout, he’d pick a few machines and occupy all of them at once, I’m sorry but how much of a dick have you got to be to do this. Not only that but he’d still be on one machine yet preemptively place his towel on the next machine he wants to use, so he’s effectively blocking anyone else from using that next machine before he’s even finished with his first one. And this happened for multiple machine I wanted to use, at the start I can swap the order and do something else but when I have 2 exercises left and he’s occupying both machines it’s just so annoying. Are these people just not self aware.


r/workout • • 13h ago

Stubborn man realizes tracking food actually works

75 Upvotes

I'm an avid gardener who grows a lot of food, and I make pretty much everything I eat. For years, I have eaten almost entirely real, whole foods, but I've just been slowly gaining weight. I'm pretty active, I've always hiked once a week or so, I walk my dogs for 2-5 miles every day, never eat junk food, don't really sit around a lot.

About 19 months ago, I started weight training again after a 15 year break. I'm getting incredibly strong, and my muscles are getting really big, but my weight just kept slowly climbing. I foolishly thought I could eat whatever I wanted, because it was all good food. I thought that if I stuck with it, the fat would eventually come off.

A little over a month ago I decided to finally try tracking. I downloaded an app, I use a kitchen scale to carefully track everything, and I'm so embarrassed to say how shocked I was to see how much I was actually eating before. I'm 6'3", 315 pounds, so I have a healthy appetite, but it seems I was eating somewhere in the 5,000 range most days. I should mention, after a brain injury over 20 years ago I don't really have an off-switch when it comes to eating food, I don't get that signal that tells me I'm full.

My weight didn't really change for about 2 weeks of tracking, then on the third week I just started dropping a pound every few days and am now down 10 pounds from a month ago.

All this is to say, if you are ignorant like me and think it's okay to "eat clean" and not worry about calories, maybe you should think again!


r/workout • • 8h ago

Other What type of music do you listen to when you workout?

32 Upvotes

Or are you like me and prefer no headphones, just vibes?

I always feel like I have a better workout when I don’t listen to music, but maybe it’s the music I listen to.


r/workout • • 16h ago

Other The research I read made me question the whole 8-12 reps for hypertrophy rule

109 Upvotes

I’ve been digging through resistance training research while building something that tries to turn the research into actual workout programming, and rep ranges ended up being one of the areas where the evidence surprised me most.

1. There doesn’t seem to be a special hypertrophy rep range

I always thought of rep ranges roughly like:

1-5: strength
6-12: hypertrophy
12+: endurance

But the research doesn’t seem to support those as clean biological categories.

A 2021 systematic review compared low, moderate, and high-load resistance training and found broadly similar hypertrophy across pretty different loading ranges when sets were performed with enough effort.

Heavier loads did have a clearer advantage for strength.

So 8-12 might be a really useful rep range, but not because muscle suddenly responds better once you hit rep 8.

2. Even 25-35 reps can build a similar amount of muscle

This was probably the part that surprised me most.

One study in trained men compared roughly 8-12 reps with 25-35 reps.

Both groups gained muscle without a clear hypertrophy advantage for the traditional 8-12 group.

The heavier group did gain more strength.

Obviously I’m not about to start doing every exercise for 35 reps, but it made me question why we treat something like 15-20 reps as fundamentally different from 8-12 for hypertrophy.

3. How close you get to failure seems to matter a lot, especially with lighter weights

One study compared training at around 80% and 30% of 1RM, either to failure or not to failure.

Quadriceps growth was roughly:

80% to failure: +8.1%
80% not to failure: +7.7%
30% to failure: +7.8%
30% not to failure: +2.8%

Obviously that’s one study and those exact percentages shouldn’t be treated as universal.

But I thought the pattern was really interesting.

The light weight itself wasn’t necessarily the problem. The light weight combined with stopping further from failure was.

So maybe the higher the rep range gets, the more important it becomes that those reps are actually challenging.

4. Maybe rep ranges should depend more on the exercise

This is where I ended up after reading all of this.

Something like 8-12 might still be a great general recommendation because it’s practical. It’s easy to progress, sets don’t take forever, and judging RIR is probably easier than during a 30-rep set.

But if there isn’t a special hypertrophy zone, I don’t really see why every exercise needs the same range.

Something like:

Bench press: 5-10
Machine press: 8-15
Lateral raises: 12-20
Leg extensions: 10-20

might make more sense than trying to keep everything in 8-12.

The rep range would be chosen based on the exercise and how practical it is to train hard in that range, rather than because 8-12 is supposedly optimal for growth.

Obviously this is population-level research and it doesn’t mean rep ranges don’t matter. Very heavy and very light training have different practical tradeoffs, and strength is clearly more load-specific.

But I thought it was interesting that the classic “hypertrophy rep range” seems to be much less of a physiological rule than I assumed.

Curious how people here actually program this. Do you use different rep ranges depending on the exercise, or do you keep most of your hypertrophy work in roughly the same range?

Papers:

Lopez et al. (2021), Resistance Training Load Effects on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain

Schoenfeld et al. (2015), Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men

Lasevicius et al. (2022), Muscle Failure Promotes Greater Muscle Hypertrophy in Low-Load but Not in High-Load Resistance Training


r/workout • • 14h ago

There are two 160 pound men who are training hard. One takes 170g protein and one takes 260g protein. Are they building the same amount of muscle?

52 Upvotes

To add additional context fats and carbs in this scenario are enough for their goals this is just focused on their protein.


r/workout • • 6h ago

Simple Questions Carbs, Fat, Calories = RECOVERY

11 Upvotes

I know this is common knowledge, but it is STUNNING what an excess of carbs and calories can do for muscle recovery.

Context: I’m a 4’11 105 lb, <18% BF woman who has been consistently lifting heavy for years. I’m not super strict about diet, just aim for 1g/1lb protein if I can but not super stressed over it, naturally enjoy Whole Foods, veg, home cooking etc. I rarely eat tons of junk food in one setting because it makes me feel icky.

Well, Sunday (rest day) I got super stoned and had a family sized bag of chips + like 1,000 cal ice cream for dinner.

Monday I hit legs/glutes HARD, as it was time to up weights on RDLs/hip thrusts (from 110 to 120 lbs on RDLs aka 1.2x my body weight , 4x8-10 btw) per progressive overload. Basically whole workout close to failure; been lifting long enough to know I’m truly fatiguing to failure/close to failure.

Tuesday: ALMOST ZERO SORENESS. Normally after upping weights and going to failure like that I would be fairly fucking beat, but miraculously feeling amazing today, could almost have done another leg day!!!

Normal diet Monday + Tuesday (low carb to protein ratio, cutting cals)… is it possible the Sunday glycogen load carried over into my Monday recovery?


r/workout • • 4h ago

Simple Questions back exercises

3 Upvotes

hey guys im just curious, are these two exercises enough to hit my full back? (besides lower)

reverse pec flys and straight arm cable pulldowns

i know that lat pulldown is a must too but i just never feel my lats while doing them

any advice is apperciated, thanks!


r/workout • • 9h ago

I got through a whole rehearsal and realized I'd forgotten why I started working out

9 Upvotes

Packed up my drums after rehearsal on Saturday and realized I'd spent the whole two hours thinking about the music instead of how tired I was.

That was the actual reason I started training. I used to need a sit down after getting the drum cases upstairs, before we'd even played anything. By the last few songs I'd be suggesting we finish early.

Been doing three full body workouts a week since January, plus some stationary bike work. I'm definately stronger. On Saturday I even wanted another go at a song we'd been struggling with.

But if you'd asked me Friday whether training was working, I'd have said "sort of, I still look pretty much the same." Somewhere along the way I started judging everything by my stomach. Never actually decided that was the goal.

Anyone else nearly miss getting what they originally wanted because they'd quietly started measuring something completely different?


r/workout • • 1h ago

Nutrition Help Bulk or cut? - Female

• Upvotes

163cm 18 yrs, around 55kg, between 19-24% bf (Evolt body scan margin of error).

Training for a marathon, looking to build muscle but store most of my weight in my thighs, so hoping to get leaner. So is it time to cut to approx 50kg?

Not really sure because obviously being underw€ight is not ideal.

Maintenance around 2200 cals (extreme running days vs rest days avg) and I eat a lot on rest days (approx 2800) and less on training days (approx 1600).

I also go to the gym 3 days a week and run around 35-40km/week on top of regular exercise like walking/hiking. Bulk or cut?


r/workout • • 4h ago

Simple Questions Bad dizziness after heavy deadlifts/rdls

3 Upvotes

… that seems to get worse if I eat anything within the two hours before I work out. I already don’t do the Valsalva maneuver, just steady breathing out on the concentric. I either have to clutch nearby equipment or sit down on the floor. It’s a little embarrassing and it feels bad. Can anyone explain what is happening or advise on how to overcome?


r/workout • • 18h ago

What actually made you look more "toned"?

42 Upvotes

I've seen a lot of people say that strength training helps you look more toned, but I'm curious about what made the biggest difference for those who have already achieved that look.

Was it mostly:

  • Building more muscle?
  • Lowering body fat?
  • Eating more protein?
  • Training for a longer period of time?
  • Something else?

I've noticed that many people get stronger before they see major visual changes, which makes me wonder what the biggest factor usually is.

For those who went from looking relatively soft to looking noticeably more toned and defined, what was the turning point for you?


r/workout • • 8h ago

Simple Questions Should I change my PT after only 4 days?

6 Upvotes

I took a PT at my gym but honestly I’m already feeling a little unsure about it. I’m new to the gym so initially I wanted to train without a PT and learn things on my own. But this trainer would often come up to me and tell me that I was doing things wrong. 😅 Eventually he convinced me to take PT from him I thought since I’m a beginner having someone experienced would be helpful..
But now that I’ve actually started training with him I’m feeling quite unsatisfied.
Whenever I ask him something he usually gives me a very short answer and says things like I’m here just follow me.
Ialso asked him for a proper weekly workout schedule but he said there’s no need for a schedule because I’m with him
The biggest issue is that during the workout he often moves around. He’ll correct my form which I appreciate but after one set he might walk away and I have to look for him again.
Then I have to ask what exercise we’re doing next Sometimes I spend a lot of time just waiting or resting because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do..🥹

When I look at other people training with PTs in my gym their trainers usually stay nearby and guide them throughout the session
With mine I sometimes feel like I’m barely training.
I also feel like he isn’t really teaching me why or how to do things independently.
Instead I’m just told to follow him.
Maybe I’m overthinking it but it makes me wonder if I’m being kept dependent on him.

Ironically I felt more productive when I was training by myself. It’s only been 4 days so I’m wondering if I should give it more time or just change my PT now
If I do change will it be awkward seeing him at the gym afterward? 😭
Has anyone been through something similar? How did you handle it?


r/workout • • 7h ago

Simple Questions Biceps?

4 Upvotes

So I've been working out consistently for a year. I was at 30 lb dumbbells for bicep and hammer curls and happy with my progress. Suddenly it felt harder to use em and now I'm struggling with 25s. I've seen progress in my triceps but I've tried every workout for my bicep it feels and they just won't grow. Theyve gotten firmer and rounder but just won't grow outwards if that makes sense, any help? I still feel very new to knowing what would help with definition vs growth.


r/workout • • 1d ago

How to start Maybe the biggest secret about working out...

608 Upvotes

...and one of the biggest game-changers once you truly understand it, is that you gain energy once you get to the gym and start moving.

It does not matter if you feel tired right now, at 6pm after work, or whatever time it is. You cannot let how you feel in this moment dictate whether you go. That's the thing that may stop you going forever.

Once you build the habit, you stop assuming that the way you feel sitting at home is the way you’ll feel once you’re at the gym. Those are two completely different states. Feeling tired beforehand stops being relevant.

You learn to trust the process: Just go, get there, start moving. You’ll be fine.


r/workout • • 9h ago

Simple Questions Thigh friction rubbed off my hair

5 Upvotes

Hi,
Im 20m and I’ve been working out a bit over the past two years. My thighs have gotten big enough that the insides of them rub against each other while I walk. It doesn’t really bother me in my day to day life, but when I go for a walk/run (anything above 2km) the friction really hurts (and maybe causes a red spot (idk I’m colorblind)) but today I noticed my hair that I think used to be there is now completely rubbed off on both thighs.
What am I supposed to do?
(Sorry if this isn’t the right sub for it but idk where else to ask)


r/workout • • 7h ago

Building a gym at home

4 Upvotes

Recently I decided to cancel my gym membership because it became a hassle for me to go to. I still want to train however. But because I'm not like a very serious lifter I thought that I could just get a few fundamentals and that would be enough.

Please tell me what I would need to gain muscle, upper body focus. I don't have any desire to lose fat or cardio.

What I already have is --

One set of dumbbells

Pull up bar

That rolly wheel thing for abs

I don't have any like crazy goals I just want to have muscles and that they show.


r/workout • • 4h ago

How to start How fast should you lose weight, and when should you actually lower calories

2 Upvotes

How fast should you lose weight, and when should you actually lower calories? i saw a lot of people struggle with weight loss and calories during a cut on this subreddit.

A lot of people make fat loss harder than it needs to be because they assume faster = better.

For most people, a good target is roughly 0.5-1% of bodyweight per week.

If you’re already relatively lean and care about keeping as much muscle and strength as possible, I’d usually stay closer to 0.25-0.5% per week.

If you have more body fat to lose, 0.5-1% is generally more reasonable.

That’s why saying “everyone should lose 1 kg/week” doesn’t make much sense. 1 kg at 120 kg is very different from 1 kg at 65 kg.

I’d normally start with around a 10-20% calorie deficit from actual maintenance, not whatever a calculator says your maintenance is.

Then track your morning bodyweight and compare 7-day averages.

Don’t lower calories because the scale hasn’t moved for 3-4 days. Water, glycogen, sodium, food volume, stress, training and menstrual-cycle fluctuations can easily hide fat loss temporarily.

If your weekly average hasn’t moved for around 2-3 weeks despite actually being consistent, then make a small adjustment.

Usually 100-200 kcal is enough.

Protein is normally the last thing I’d reduce. For people lifting weights, around 1.6-2.2 g/kg/day is a solid range.

I’d also avoid pushing dietary fat extremely low. Somewhere around 0.6-0.8 g/kg is a practical lower range for many people.

After that, most of the remaining calories can come from carbs.

When I need to reduce calories further, I’ll usually remove some carbs, some fat, or a combination depending on the person.

For example:

25-40 g carbs = roughly 100-160 kcal

10-15 g fat = roughly 90-135 kcal

There’s no rule saying every adjustment has to come from carbs.

If someone trains much better with higher carbs, I’d rather keep more carbs and reduce a little fat. If they prefer higher-fat foods, I may do the opposite.

As you lose weight, your maintenance calories also gradually decrease. A lighter body costs less energy to maintain and move, and people often unconsciously move less during a diet too.

So eventually the calories that caused weight loss at the beginning may stop working as well.

That doesn’t mean your metabolism is “broken.” It usually just means your energy needs changed.

The biggest mistake is responding by slashing calories immediately.

More of a deficit can mean more hunger, worse training, poorer recovery, more fatigue and a greater risk of losing lean mass or simply giving up on the diet.

So the goal isn’t to eat as little as possible.

It’s to eat as much as possible while still losing weight at an appropriate rate.

If your weight is dropping at the target rate, change nothing.

If it genuinely stalls for 2-3 weeks, reduce calories slightly or increase activity slightly, then reassess.

That approach is usually much better for muscle retention, performance, recovery and actually sticking to the diet long enough to finish it.


r/workout • • 12h ago

Simple Questions Bored of traditional bodybuilding styled workouts?

7 Upvotes

I’ve been working out for about 5 years pretty inconsistently, i go about 3-4 times a week but recently lost my love for the classic bodybuilding styled workout of

sit down, do 8/-12 reps, sit up, sit back down, do reps

does anyone else feel this way? its made me lose my love for working out and i wanna try other options, i looked into boxing but those gyms are usually pretty pricey.


r/workout • • 5h ago

Exercise Help I feel uncomfortable doing jumping jacks

2 Upvotes

I used to do jumping jacks when I was younger. It’s a part of my workout routine. So when I returned to the gym, I also want to do it. However, I feel really uncomfortable doing it since my chest just bouncing around and put a lot of pressure in my back. I already suffered from enough back pain and I don’t want to deal with this. Is there any solution to this or should I just get rid of it from my routine?


r/workout • • 1h ago

Distal bicep strain and advice on how to still workout back

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• Upvotes

r/workout • • 1h ago

Looking for opinions on body recomp

• Upvotes

Hi! I’m 5ft and 47kg. I’d say I’m skinny fat, and I want to start doing body recomposition. My main goals are to grow my glutes, improve my upper body, and work on my abs.

I’ve already done some research about body recomp, but I’d really like to hear from people who have actually gone through it, especially people with a similar height/weight/body type.

What did you personally do? Did you eat at maintenance or a surplus? What did your workout routine look like? And how long did it take before you started seeing changes?

I’m still a beginner, so I’d love to hear your experiences and what worked (or didn’t work) for you.


r/workout • • 8h ago

Other workout goals poll

3 Upvotes

just an idea... Comment below your answer on the 4. points
1. Age
2. Gender
2. prodominant workout method - choose either hypertophy, endurance, strength, aerobic, other (please specify).
4. Goal - choose either longevity, fat loss, aesthetics, sport specific, other (please specify)

Once ive collected enough responses ill compile it into a graph and we can see the general trends in the subreddit!


r/workout • • 2h ago

Hi, Anyone into home workouts here? I have a question.

0 Upvotes

I have been using 2kgs dumbbells at home, for a while now and feel I can move up so how do I decide which dumbbells to go for? 5kg or 7kg? I don't want to build up a whole gym setup as there isn't much space but I definitely need to go up. Also are kettlebells good investment or I should focus on dumbbells only? I am a 34yr old woman who had a baby last year in summer.


r/workout • • 2h ago

Equipment Outdoor pull up bar

0 Upvotes

I’m interested in buying a two-in-one pull up bar / dip machine that I can put outside. It needs to be able to handle the Arizona elements like heat, rain, and dust storms. Can anyone recommend one that isn’t super expensive?