Sounds stupid , but actually train , I’ve seen countless people show up every day and be very consistent but absolutely lack any intensity and grit in their training and are simply going through the motions. I don’t know how new you are but as you get more comfortable with training safely don’t be afraid to push very hard , diet is a huge factor , sleep and tons of patience. Protein of course is very important but don’t neglect carbs! As far as supplements go creatine mono anything else is almost always a waste of time in terms of building muscle.
A great point. TONS of people go to the gym and go through the motions, do reps way too fast, or get into a bad habit of just doing the same weight without ever increasing it. Anyone that has the idea of "my weight" in their head is admitting they're training poorly.
A great rule of thumb, and easy to test, is that you should NOT be able to do [reps in a set]+3. Let's say you do a lift for 3 sets of 10. If you were to try doing more than 10, the 11th should be very difficult, the 12th should be almost a failure, and the 13th should actually be a failure with you unable to complete the rep. This is easy to test on any exercise, just do an AMRAP for the first set. If you're able to do rep number +3 or more, you need to do one of increasing the weight, increasing the reps, or slowing down your reps.
I've trained with people who were doing 3 sets of 15 for a lift where I knew they'd been at that weight too long, so I made them do an AMRAP set. They got 35 reps. If you're doing a lift for 3x15 when you can do 35 reps, you're wasting your time. That lift is cardio. Add weight.
This. If you’re not struggling by the last set for a particular exercise and prescribed rep range, then it’s too fucking light.
Me personally, if I’m not praying to every god in the universe to help me reach the minimum of the rep range on my last set, it’s time to up the weight next go around.
Something to consider would be what their program calls for. Or, in my case, what weights and reps the “sports scienced-based” app tells them. I had to delete an app because no matter what, for weeks the weight would barely change unless it was a deload. After that, back to prescribing the same weight I’ve been lifting since i downloaded the app.
All fitness programs worth two shits should call for some way, shape, or form of progressive overload.
Also, I’m certainly not calling you out or talking down to you, but none of that makes any sense to me.
If I’m using an app and it said I’m doing 4 sets of 6-10 of overhead press at 135lbs, and I log 10/10/10/9, then I expect the app to up it to 140lbs next go-around.
Good on you for deleting the app. You knew something was off when it had you lifting the same exact weight for weeks on end.
It was maybe over 10 years ago and I’m kind of exaggerating the “back to the same weight as week one”. For example it would tell me to lift 45/50/50 for 3x5 or something like that. I would instead lift 45/50/60 because it was too light and record it on the app with feedback. The next week with the program still says 45/50/50. I’d lift 50/60/70 record it. Take a wild guess at what the program recommended the next week. And this was one of those apps that’s based on your feedback like how you felt going into the workout and after. I gave it some time until they started charging (more) to use it and I went 👋🏾
It’s cool. The app actually was pretty decent on giving me different exercises that I still use today plus had programs designed around sports for in season and offseason use so that was a cool idea. My best guess is it was really for middle school/ high school athletes based on how low the weights were. I’d give my metrics, personal bests and it seemed to never go past “alright bud. Let’s see you do DB Bench Press 3x10 at 45/50/50”
Also they probably don't having a schedule of particular exercises and sets to hit. So they just hit random machines every time and can't maintain a consistent pattern.
Yep. Following some circuit on your fitness app or an influencer might be enjoyable and is vastly better than doing nothing, but it’s really not going to get you to look like said influencer.
Have a specific goal in mind for today, tomorrow, next month, next year…and train for it. There is a massive difference between exercise and training.
80% of the people I see in the gym are lifting less than me, and I've only been there for 9 weeks doing linear progression, and my numbers are still within the "novice" range for my weight class. Most folks come in for a couple months, lift what feels right, get bored, and leave. Committing to a plan and showing up is way more than half the battle.
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u/Slime2278 12h ago
Sounds stupid , but actually train , I’ve seen countless people show up every day and be very consistent but absolutely lack any intensity and grit in their training and are simply going through the motions. I don’t know how new you are but as you get more comfortable with training safely don’t be afraid to push very hard , diet is a huge factor , sleep and tons of patience. Protein of course is very important but don’t neglect carbs! As far as supplements go creatine mono anything else is almost always a waste of time in terms of building muscle.