‎Hey everyone! I'm 19F and I really want to start working out, but I'm so freaking lost about where to begin.

‎My main goals are to get defined back muscles, arms and thighs, and maybe some slight abs? Idk. I'm not really concerned about my weight or having a flat stomach. Idk if it's relevant or not but my physique is neither too healthy nor skinny its just somewhwere in between ig. I just wanna be fit and to have something to look forward to.

‎I used to be pretty active in my childhood to my early teens caz of PE classes and I used to dance as well, but ever since I stopped, I've become really inactive. Now, even running for 15 minutes or dancing for 20 minutes leaves me breathless, and sometimes my stomach hurts too.

‎‎I don't have access to a gym or any equipment rn, so I'm thinking of starting with home workouts and maybe running? If that helps with my goals. I've looked through youtube and pinterest, but everything feels so scattered, and I can't seem to find a proper routine that just combines everything.

‎‎For those who've been in a similar situation, where should I start? How do I build back muscles without equipment, improve my stamina and structure a weekly workout routine as a complete beginner? I'd also love recommendations for youtube channels or online beginner programmes that actually follow a structured plan.

‎‎I just wanna get my lazy ass moving and feel fit again, but I'm so lost about how to go about it. Any advice would be appreciated!

18M 117lbs, should I be focusing on going to the gym, trying to get abs to show by doing home workouts (idk what those home workouts will be but just one youtube search away) or should I focus on gaining weight before trying to get muscle/abs? I mean will it make a difference at all, problem is I don’t wanna spend a million dollars on food every week to gain weight so not sure what food id be buying because I have. a part time job and still in high school

26yo, AFAB. 5ft 6, 115lbs. I get 15-20k steps a day and workout 5 days a week, pretty trad PPL/UL with some kettlebells here and there. Have been consistent with this routine for 6 months or so. I am working on finding my maintenance and have 2 spreadsheet calculations going. Initially believed it to be between 1900 and 2000. Increased calories slowly for a few weeks, starting at 1700, and recently had a weight jump. Wondering if this means I may be in a slight surplus and should pull back or see it through.

TDEE calc 1

TDEE calc 2

I'm 18M weighing 86kg and about 171cm tall. I was at home for about a year without going out much and just eating eggs and bread everyday. Used to lift heavy due to working on a farm and eat a whole lot but never got big or weighed a lot until I was home for a year and got big. I don't have any strength right now as I struggle to even lift 20kg. Where do I start from and what do I prioritise as someone wanting to becoming a better person?

Hi guys

When I do my seated shoulder press on the machine I feel a lot of pressure in my collarbone area. What am I likely doing wrong? Thanks !!

For about a year I’ve been going through streaks where I go to the gym 3-4 times a week for about 2-3 weeks then it gets cut down to 2 days a week and then 1 and then I stop going. Even got to the point I canceled my gym membership since I was wasting money. Since I canceled my gym membership I have gained about 10 pounds in 6 months. I hate the way I look and feel, i hate that i keep losing momentum and just let myself go.

I’m currently a full-time grad student and a full-time employee. I work, do homework/make dinner till late in the evening, and then I finally find time for myself to relax around 10/11 pm. I know my best option is to wake up early and go to the gym but i cannot for the life of me convince myself to get out of bed. I’m also not very familiar with what type of workouts would be best for me and my goals/ideal body. When I would go to the gym, I’d do the stair master for 30 mins to an hour and then do weights for about 30 mins. I never felt like I was doing it right which discouraged me further. I’m starting a new job soon which will finally give me a consistent Monday to Friday work schedule 8am-5pm with a half day on Fridays.

My meals normally consist of a protein bar in the morning, peanut butter crackers for lunch, 2-3 cheese sticks when i get home from work, and dinner reallt varies.. sometimes it’s a can of spagehttios, sometimes its take out (more often then id like to admit) and other times its a home cooked meal. I don’t drink sugary soda, if I drink soda it’s always diet or zero sugar. I’m not sure how I’ve gained so much weight when I feel like I barely eat. I’ve tried counting calories but I seemingly can’t get it right even with using apps like my fitness pal.

Any advice for someone like me?

I walk 30K at work almost daily and lift heavy as well. I know your body needs carbs for energy, but does the amount matter if I'm doing that much activity? The fitness app says I should consume no more than 350g of carbs daily, but most times I go over that to 450g-470g simply because the basic foods for high calories (white rice, oats, potatoes, etc) are high in carbs. Should I cut back on those carbs and switch them out for higher protein foods with less calories then such as ground beef or chicken breast? This is for a maintenance or recomp diet.

I’m starting to go back to the gym after two years. I miss my ass.

Before I was going to a military gym (thanks to my ex) in the middle of the night when no one was around. I had no anxiety, it was private and quiet. Plus I had a gym buddy at the time.

Now I just signed up for a planet fitness membership and due to my work schedule i can only go during peak busy hour, and have no one to go with.

Part of my new workout routine is hip thrusts on the smith machine. But when it came time to do it I got this overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety and could not bring myself to do it.
I felt like I was going to do it wrong and be judged. Everyone around me is using it for arms/chest/whatever, and I don’t want to be taking it away from someone who could use it more. Those around me are fit and know what they’re doing. Plus they are the busiest machines in the gym.

How do I get over that fear or is there a similar workout/alternative I could do? I know gyms are supposed to be a judgement free zone but my mind always thinks of the worst. I want to build a solid leg routine and get back to where I was. And maybe if I had maintained myself over the years it wouldn’t be so bad.

Oh my gosh. I'm actually going insane. I want to work on my back and lats and stuff, but not matter how I change my form I don't feel it there.

Lat pulldowns. I have my shoulders rolled back and down. A little over shoulder width apart. Elbows tucked in. Driving my elbows down. SHOULDERS. BICEPS. FOREARMS.

Dumbbell rows. My shoulders are retracted. I'm not rotating. Pulling my elbows back rather than up. SHOULDERS.

And cable rows. My chest's high. My posture's tall. My shoulders are like moving with the weight. And it's still in my BICEPS.

I'm genuinely so freaking frustrated. And then the next morning, my lats hurt? Is this a joke? Please someone tell me what to do 🙏🏼

Hey everyone!
I’m a 23-year-old guy, 5’7”, and I’ve been consistently lifting weights four days a week for about 3–4 months now.
When I started, I weighed around 140–145 lbs and was a little out of shape. Since then, I’ve dropped to about 130 lbs and have definitely noticed some improvements in my physique.
My ultimate goal is to build a muscular, lean, and strong physique with visible six-pack abs. I want to gain muscle size and get significantly stronger while staying relatively lean.

I’m also extremely active outside of weightlifting:
Weightlifting: 4 days per week
Tennis: 3–4 times per week (around 10 hours total)
Swimming: 2–3 times per week (around 3 hours total)
Other activity: I generally try to get at least an hour of physical activity every day.
I’ve been told that I should start eating in a calorie surplus since I’ve lost quite a bit of weight, especially considering how active I am.
I’m thinking about starting a lean bulk, increasing my protein intake, and possibly taking creatine.

A few questions for those with more experience:
Would a lean bulk be the best approach for someone in my situation?
How much of a calorie surplus would you recommend given my activity level?
Can I build significant muscle and strength while continuing to play tennis and swim this frequently?
What’s the best way to develop visible abs while also gaining muscle?
Any other advice for someone who’s relatively new to lifting?
I’m willing to put in the work and understand that building a great physique takes time and consistency. I just want to make sure I’m approaching it correctly.
I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks everyone!

There seems to be the same types of posts on repeat. What is a good program for me? How do I start going to the gym and what do I do? I'm nervous about walking into the gym. How do I stay consistent? I'm this weight and I wanna look like this, what do I do? What do I do about food? ETC ETC ETC ETC

I know everyone has their challenges that feel very personal to them, but can I ask you to do a scan through previous posts to see if your questions are answered before making a post? You can search by words just within the group if that helps.

And of course, who cares what I think- I'm just a general member.

I also get that people are asking questions and needing validation and encouragement too.

It's just as the title asks. I hate doing pushups with a burning passion. Skull Crushers take too long. I just bought a "Home Gym Triceps Rope Workout Equipment" set off of Amazon a month ago, and I’m a huge fan of doing Rope Pulldowns with it. Will doing Rope Pulldowns 2-3 times a week be enough to fully grow my triceps over time? I wish I could upload a picture of the equipment that I'm talking about, reddit won't let me.

21 M (65kg,177cm)

I’ve been going to the gym for 4 months now and for the first 2-3 months I was progressive overloading all the time (every session) but now that’s not the case

I’ve been stuck on the same weight on my push days for my shoulder press and tricep push downs for a little while now (multiple sessions back to back)

I am eating 1.8-2 x protein per kg, I’ve been losing weight slowly on a slight deficit (300-500kcal) so what am I doing wrong?

I’m eating enough carbs before the gym and getting 6-8 hours of sleep too!!

I’m cooked…

Hi all,

Starting the gym next week. Just bought the membership. Been putting it off but just purchased my uni’s membership, it'll get me to go, I swear!

My main objective is to just get in better shape. Not get ripped, but I'd really love to have a 6-pack with some semi-decent muscle definition.

I'm 196lbs at 5'7 and have lost 50lbs so far just through jogging and calorie deficit, but wanna start lifting and get out of my comfort zone. What workouts can I do and what programmes can I do to achieve my goal?

And other questions:

1.) What can I wear?

2.) What is the timeline to reach my goal (roughly)?

3.) Is it true that going to the gym alongside a deficit will make visual appearances far more pronounced even if the scale number doesn’t necessarily go down?

4.) How much protein should I eat? What foods should I buy?

5.) I’m a student, so times are a bit tight. Free on weekends, Mondays and Fridays are crowded. How many times a week should I go? 3-4?

6.) How do I even know what weights to lift?

i run a PPLxUL split and on my pull days, i do lat pulldowns and cable rows, but on upper day, i have more exercises to do as you'd expect, so i don't like doing cable rows because i'm getting a bit tired of it, and i'd prefer doing it on pull days only.

so on upper days, i only really do 1 form of back exercise which is the lat pulldown.

is this inherently wrong? i'm still training my back 2x per week, just with only 1 back exercise on my upper day.

Hello, I (m 33) have started going to the gym 3 months ago. I am quite skinny so my goal is to gain some weight. It has been going very well so far and I am enjoying my time in the gym. I train 4 times a week. Two times upper body and two times lower.

Recently I have started to go for runs again because I miss doing sports in nature. After a 10 km run my legs are quite sore for a day or two so training legs in the gym is not possible for a time.

So my question is: Does training legs once a week in the gym and doing a 10 to 15 km run make it more difficult to build up muscle compared to only going to the gym?

I’m a beginner at the gym (almost 2 months), but I’m experienced with calorie counting. I lost 10 kg and have maintained my weight for a year through calorie banking, eating less on most days and more on Fridays.

Now that I’ve started lifting, I’m wondering if I should continue doing this. My maintenance is around 2,100 calories and I currently eat 2,000 on gym days (Monday and Wednesday), 1,800 on rest days and around 3,400 on Fridays (which is also a workout day) using the calories I’ve banked throughout the week.

Since I’m relatively light and have little muscle mass, my goal is to eat at maintenance and build muscle.
Could calorie banking negatively affect my workouts, recovery or muscle growth? Or is it fine as long as my weekly calories balance out?

Its early doors for me but I've recently added to my original training of 3x a week running, and I've added 3x lifting sessions so now training 6x a week.

I've done it for 2 weeks and I'm just feeling like I've got fatigue constantly cumatively building up.

Did that feeling every just disappear for those of you who've done it for an long time? Or is it just something you live with

I've been doing leg curls and extensions for a while now and I've gotten bored of it but want to still target these muscles.

Any suggestions ?

I recently got into training and going to the gym for pretty much the first time ever. I have ZERO core strength since having my daughter and have recently learnt that I have an anterior pelvic tilt whether it be from pregnancy/post partum, or my foot health (I have relatively flat arches) - I feel alllll my glute workouts in my lower back and thighs, never in my glutes like I used too.
I have seen a billion tik toks saying that having an anterior pelvic tilt can make it more difficult to engage glute muscles so I’m thinking that may be the case??
But I have no clue how to engage my glutes and/or fix the pelvic tilt.
Anyone have any suggestions, guidance and/or tips on how to fix this???

TLDR; recently discovered anterior pelvic tilt, wear core after pregnancy, feeling all glute workouts in thighs and lower back.

I want to get rid of this fat and get lean and more strong. I can do no push ups. My upper body especially arms are really weak. I have protruding belly, hips are not defined.

I'm just spiralling in the cycle of overwhelm. I don't know how and where to start. I've limited sugar intake and fast food

​

I feel like the body quickly recognizes when you move your body part in wrong direction or over push yourself leading to muscle strain or possibly an injury. My concern is how to safely life weights and do exercises that we see people doing it on YouTube or simply observing others are the gym. There is so many tiny practices that feels important but often gets overlooked like proper form posture or deep breathing inhale and exhale. Taking it slow instead of being explosive.

Hey everyone!

I’m a 25-year-old woman, 62 kg and 164 cm tall. I recently joined a gym and would love some advice from women who’ve been in a similar situation.

I’m slowly getting comfortable with leg workouts and cardio, and I can manage those without much support. However, I’m struggling a LOT with upper body workouts.

My form is often incorrect, and even lifting 10 kg feels really difficult for some exercises. It gets a little disappointing when I compare that with my leg workouts. For context, I can leg press 50 kg, but upper body exercises feel like a completely different story.

I also have a wedding coming up in January, so I’d love to look more toned and feel confident in my outfits by then. I understand that it takes time, and I’m not expecting drastic changes overnight. I just want to make the most of the next few months and build a sustainable routine.

I have a few questions:
1. What does your weekly workout routine look like?
2. How do you split upper body, lower body and cardio?
3. How did you learn the correct form, especially for upper body exercises?
4. Should I reduce the weights significantly and focus on form first, even if it means lifting just 2–5 kg?
5. Would you recommend hiring a personal trainer (PT), even just for a month to learn the basics? Or is it 6. possible to learn everything on my own?
What should I focus on to look more toned by January — strength training, cardio, diet, or a combination of everything?
7. Any tips for building upper body strength without feeling overwhelmed?

I’d especially love to hear from women who started out as beginners and gradually became confident working out independently. Please share your routines, what worked for you, and any mistakes I should avoid!

TL;DR: 25F, 62 kg, 164 cm, recently joined the gym. Legs and cardio are manageable, but upper body workouts, form and even 10 kg weights are challenging. I have a wedding in January and want to look more toned by then. Should I hire a PT to learn proper form, and what workout routine would you recommend for a beginner?

I’m a trans guy and swapped my workout routine from mostly lifting to the one linked below. Most of my strength lessened at first but now its mostly plateuing to what it was at first. Not to mention any muscle I had has visibly disappeared. I want my muscles but I want a masculine build too. Is this workout just bs or could I be doing something wrong to make it bs?

https://youtu.be/15Atu7P6aTk?is=tyXCdusCAYWNMe4d

Im 120 KGs and 178 cms, I’ve recently started to workout. Weight lifting and cardio is my routine but every where i check whether with a PT or online it says i have to take 1.6-2.2g protein per kg which means 192g - 264g of protein daily!
I barely hit 120g a day, do i need to abide to that rule or is what im doing enough? Would really appreciate the help