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Shoes for lifting
Okay, so I've read that it's best to wear flat soled shoes when weight lifting. I know a lot of lifters like to wear Converse. How important is it? I wear regular running shoes, but I'm wondering if I'd have a more firm support base if I switched to properly flat shoes.
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How much do you trust your Fitbit?
So, I have a Fitbit Charge 2, and I dont pay much attention to the calorie burn calculation it gives me at the end of each day. I just track my intake on here, add exercise manually, and leave it at that. (What's the point in having a Fitbit then, you ask? Good question!) How many of you do? Should I risk trusting it.…
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Macros & recomp
So, I'm just wondering, if I tweaked my macros to be higher protein, lower carb, would that have any effect on recomp, speed it up, or not? I'm currently on 40/30/30, so that's about 180g carbs, 60g fat, 135g protein. I weigh 147lbs at 5'10", I'm 41, and working hard to build muscle & lean out.
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Hip thrusts
How do you do barbell hip thrusts if you don't have a spotter? Any tips? I thought I could use the smith machine, but I can't get it low enough.
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Recomp questions
Okay, so I'm still battling psychologically the maintenance/recomp process, and could use some reassurance/feedback. I think my main problem is, I've always either been on a diet or a total eating free for all - I've never successfully maintained my weight before (I don't think I've stayed the same weight for more than a…
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Unloaded barbell weight
Does anyone know the weight of a standard barbell in U.K. gyms? Unloaded, not Olympic. I would say it's 5' long.
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65 lbs down, with pics
I posted a couple of weeks back in the photos only success thread, but my after shots were pretty rubbish, so I've taken some better ones. This is me in 2011, 211lbs, 41/36/47" (5'10"), UK size 18/20. This is me now, 146lbs, 34/26/38", UK size 8/10.
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Gym Hair, DO Care!
Ladies who workout daily (or close), how do you style your hair? I currently have a long bob, but it's a real pain washing longer hair every day. I don't really want to go short, but it sure would be easier to care for. I'm considering a short bob with an undercut, to make washing & drying easier and quicker. But then I'd…
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Ladies who lift - do you wear shorts to the gym?
I've been looking for shorts for the gym, but I'm beginning to think the perfect shorts are not out there for me. I'm an XS from the waist up, but I have chunky thighs (partly muscle, partly still excess fat). I've been trying looser style running shorts, but to get them to fit at the waist I've got to go down to at least…
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Cardio & muscles
Okay, new question. I'm trying to figure out a way to get in some cardio every day to help with winter depression, without sacrificing my weight training. If I did 30 minutes cardio a day, which is just about long enough to get the mental health benefits, would that impact negatively on my efforts to build muscle? Or is…
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How cardio is weight training?
Badly phrased title, but you get the gist! My Fitbit tells me that my heart rate is in the cardio range when I'm strength training, but I know that's not to be relied on, since heart rate goes up due to the anaerobic quality of strength training. I'm concerned, not because of calorie burn, but because of mental health. I…
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Is it time for recomp?
Okay, help me decide if it's time for me to begin a recomp, or if I need to lose more weight first. Here are my stats: 5'10", 147lbs (I have a small frame though, for example my wrists are 5.5"), 34/26/38. As you can see from that, I carry my weight more in my lower body. My scales say I'm 26% body fat, but as well as…
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Pull-up bar
I'm on my way with my 2017 goal to be able to do unassisted pull-ups, now that we have a pull-up bar in the house. I've done some hanging time, and I also used a band to help me do some pull-ups, but my hands are letting me down. It's partly lack of grip strength, partly sweaty hands. I put gloves on, that solved the…
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If every day was like today.....
Something seems off with my goal settings and the messages you get when you complete your diary. I've got it set to 1/2lb loss a week, but when I complete the days diary and my calorie intake matches my output, the weight it tells me I would be in 5 weeks if I ate that many calories every day is equal to a 1lb loss every…
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Push-ups
So, I've been following a structured lifting programme for 12 weeks now, and there's no question I'm getting stronger, my lifts are getting bigger pretty much every week. But I still can't do full push-ups!! My sticking point is on the way up, I can't seem to get up from the floor without piking my hips. Can someone tell…
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Ravenous after cardio
I really think I'm going to have to give up steady state cardio; the last few times I've gone on my exercise bike I've had to cut the session short to eat something, because I got so hungry and shaky I couldn't go on. And I ended up eating more calories than I'd just burned!! This only seems to happen when I'm on the bike,…
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Started weighing food.....
..... instead of measuring by volume (cups) or size (medium sweet potato), and I'm shocked at how many more calories I've been eating than I realised. Like, 500 more a day!!!! And yet, I've steadily continued to lose weight and inches. I can only assume that my calorie output is also higher than I realised!
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Bruising after weight lifting sessions
Does anyone else get this? I'm not anemic, in good health other than fibromyalgia (which is under control). But when I lift weights, I get little bruises over the area of the muscles I've worked hard. I did a leg day on Saturday, and now my thighs look terrible, I have little bruises peppering each leg. It's not from…
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Building strength while in calorie deficit
I understand that it's difficult (impossible?) to build muscle mass when eating at a calorie deficit, but does that also automatically mean you can't increase muscle strength unless you are eating at maintenance or above? Would increasing protein offset a small deficit? I'm trying to build strength, and worried that my…
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Slippy hands when lifting
I have very sweaty hands, and this is becoming a big problem at the gym. Working with free weights isn't so bad, but swinging kettlebells can be pretty dangerous when the handle is slipping around in your grip! I really don't want to have to wear gloves unless I have no choice - has anyone found anything else that works? I…
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Has anyone tried this?
I've set my calories to maintenance, but I've also set it to not subtract my exercise calories. I workout hard for 45-60 minutes, six days a week, so I figure I should still lose. Has anyone tried this approach?
