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Should I bulk, cut, or recomp?
Looking for advice on whether I should bulk, cut, or recomp at this point! I’ve been attempting a slight caloric deficit over the past year (slow cut) because I wanted to lose 10-15 lbs. I did, but now I still want to be able to see my abs more and just look more toned overall. But I also want to add more muscle,…
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Hard to see progress in myself
Like most, I'm my own worst critic, and after years of on-and-off weightlifting it's been hard to see any real progress. Last summer I was very consistent with my working out, but didn't bother to really count my calories. I've been trying to gain muscle all this time, so I later learned I had just been sabotaging lots of…
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Eating too much fat?
I'm in a bulk right now and trying to minimize fat gains. I notice all the macro calculators I've used suggest I eat around 0.45 grams of fat per lb of body weight per day, but at 122 lbs, I find that nearly impossible to achieve. I'm fine with protein, I've been surpassing my goal most of the time. But like today I had…
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Simplifying workouts
Currently I'm following StrongLifts 5x5, but I follow each workout with workouts including different accessory exercises. I have a day for lower body, a day for upper body, and for the third one I add a glute and ab workout (I also work out my abs a separate day of the week and my fifth workout day is cardio). However, I'm…
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To trust calculated TDEE or my fitness tracker?
I've calculated my BMR and TDEE to be 1300 and 1950, respectively. My goal is to gain muscle with about a 250 cal surplus. However, my Microsoft Band tells me I usually burn around 1700 calories on my lifting days (which are 5 days/week). Which is more accurate?
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When to stop bulking and start cutting?
I've attached front, side and back photos - unflexed and flexed. Currently I'm 120 lbs, 5'4", and ~20% BF. I've been bulking, but when should I start cutting a little? My core is very strong and I can feel that my abs are quite developed, so I'm really looking forward to when I'll be able to see them more once I cut. But I…
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Guess my body fat percentage
These are all very recent pictures. Currently I'm doing a slow bulk and a lifting program. What do you think my body fat % is and should I start cutting soon? I just don't want to look too skinny if I do that and I want to gain some significant muscle and progress in my butt first.
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College students! What school do you go to and what do you study?
I go to UCLA, going to be a junior, and am a physics major! Btw if anyone goes to same school you should add me :)
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Weights of various barbells
I know the standard barbell you can find at a squat rack is 45 lbs. Can anyone tell me how much the barbell weights on the Jones Machine (like a smith machine but with an extra dimension of freedom)? And also how much it weighs on the standard smith machine. I go to Crunch Gym.
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Squat rack/bench press vs. smith machine
I recently started StrongLifts 5x5, but often times at my gym the squat rack is taken, so I've been using the smith machine or this other similar machine that's like a smith machine but has some extra degrees of freedom (backward and forward as well as up and down). I prefer the latter simply because it's more free than…
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How much protein do you really need?
For building lean muscle mass, I've seen recommendations anywhere from 0.6 grams per pound of body weight to 1 or even 2 grams per pound of body weight. The latter seems very high, and even though it'll probably do the trick, unnecessary. For someone like me -- female, about 117 lbs, I find it very hard to eat about 117…
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Working out 6 days a week?
Is it okay to work out 6 days a week? To specify, 3 of those days would be heavy lifting (5x5 StrongLifts) followed by some accessory exercises using weights. One of the other days would be mainly cardio for an hour (using some free weights), another day would be mainly cardio for 30 mins and abs, and the last day would be…
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Best supplements for building lean muscle?
Everyone knows about protein, but what else really helps with building lean muscle? I haven't tried creatine, but I hear good thing about it. What else would be helpful for a woman with these goals, with limited side effects?
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My workout plan: Balancing weight training and cardio
I've always been naturally slim with decent muscle tone, but it's really hard for me to build noticeable muscle mass. I also have a hard time eating in a caloric surplus every day. My goal is to build muscle and strength, keeping fat at a minimum and staying lean. For a while, I've solely focused on weight lifting and…
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Gaining muscle + defining abs
Currently I'm at 115 lbs and ~19% BF which for a woman is between the "fitness" and "athlete" categories. I have some ab definition and when I flex I can definitely feel my abs and they are rock hard, but I feel like the definition isn't as apparent as it has been in the past. I don't want a chiseled six pack, but I want…
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Really how important is eating completely clean to get defined abs?
I know having defined abs is all about having a low enough BF percentage so that your abs are able to show. You really just need to get that extra fat off your stomach so that you can see your abs, and no matter how many ab workouts you do they won't become any more defined if you still have some extra fat hiding them. So…
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Calorie goals and exercise
I'm a little confused. Various online calculators have told me my maintenance calorie intake is about 2000 with my active lifestyle of going to the gym 5 days a week. So since I'm trying to put on muscle mass, I'm trying to eat about 2300 calories every day (300 cal surplus). But I recently got a Vivosmart fitness band…
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Confused... what's happening here?
My Vivosmart (a device similar to Fitbit) says that my BMR today was 1512 calories, and that I also burned 644 active calories, meaning I burned a total of 2156 cals. So this is my TDEE for today, yes? So since I want to gain weight, I want to eat at around 2300 calories today and since this trend and my exercise is…
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Female trying to gain muscle
I'm a 19 year old girl trying to build about 7-10 lbs of muscle and also lose just a couple lbs of fat at most. Currently I'm 115 lbs, 18% BF. My goal is to be about 120 lbs with a slightly lower BF percentage (14-16%). Since May I've been working out 5 days a week. I do a lot of weight training and also work a lot on my…
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Difference between clean bulk and body recomp?
I'm 5'4" and 115 lbs currently. 18% BF. Ideally I'd like to gain about 7-10 lbs of lean muscle and maintain my body fat weight. I wouldn't complain if I lost a couple pounds of fat, but overall I'd like to maintain it, and I really don't want to gain fat because my definition (especially my abs) is very important to me.…
