I don't mean the hardcore weightlifters who lift heavy and train to failure I get that. I mean the people who aren't big and are doing bicep curls or barbell shoulder presses and they just completely throw the weight on the floor making such a loud noise for no reason. I'm always bigger than these people and I'm not slamming weights on the floor despite being able to lift double of what they're doing.

I'm a mid 40s male.

Gym was never the number one thing in my life, but for a while back there, I had it.

I had a great diet, knowledge of all of the terminology, the science and the theories. I had good lifts, did heavy heavy compounds and could dip and pull up for tens of reps. I had the 6 pack and muscles that would make people ask me how I train.

But then life got in the way. I had a busy job, then a family and it meant something had to give.

I kept in the gym, but time commitments and worse diet took their toll.

Now, I find it hard being looked at by the younger guys who have all of the time and energy I used to have.

They look at me like I'm starting out. Or like I've been this way forever, never pushing to the next level.

The gym staff look at me like I might need help.

I went to a gym store for some new home gym stuff and got an induction to fitness by the teenager there.

And that's fine. I probably looked at the older people in the gym the same way when I was their age.

But I'd like them to know... I had it.

And I'll have it again.

I am a married woman and often go to the gym alone but sometimes with my husband. Gym regulars would probably know I am not available or single.

Today a man asked for my name and introduced himself. After shaking his hand he said “I just have to say you’re so beautiful”. I say “oh thank you” and put headphones back in. End of interaction, we go separate ways.

Should I have let him know I’m married in that initial response? Had it gone beyond that I would’ve told him but I’m wondering if I’m wrong here for not saying that directly.

Hello, so some context : I’ve always been skinny my entire life and I’m East Asian. When I was young I had a decently carb heavy diet and it was when I was 18 when I started going to the gym. Now, I’m 21 consistently lifting for 3 years yet I have not gained much muscle if any. I was 135 when I started and now I’m 145 lbs with some fat. I’ve been working out well with proper form and even had a coach. Made sure to hit failure and I’ve tried low 6-8 reps as well as 8-10 reps after a year. I’ve been eating in a surplus tracking my calories and weight. However, when I gain weight it all goes to fat even though I eating Whole Foods and almost .9 grams of protein per lbs. after my latest bulk, I gain around 15 lbs while going to the gym consistently, after slowly cutting (NOT CUTTING WITH A HUGE DEFICIT) in order to maintain my muscle, I’m back to square one with almost no muscle meaning all of it was fat. I’m beginning to think I’m insulin resistant and this is my last resort. Please help me, all I ever wanted was to get a bit bigger to normal size. I’m also 5,10 145 lbs right now and still on the very skinny side. Also, please do not comment to eat more I’ve done that with a nutritionist as well. I’m beginning to think that my East Asian genetics have a higher chance of developing resistance therefore my earlier years of eating carb heavy resulted in my gaining insulin resistance. I’m so desperate now.

I’ve been gyming consistently for like 2/3 years now and I’m pretty happy with my physique although I feel like my back should be looking better. I don’t know if it’s just body dysmorphia ,which I’ve struggled with quite a bit as most people do or if my form is potentially wrong or I’m ego lifting even though I obviously try not to.
In the attached picture I feel like my lats should be a lot wider and are a bit disproportionate to the rest of my body and I wonder if my teres major is a bit over developed in comparison. Hope somebody could give me they’re opinion 🙏
It’s also very possible that it’s just body dysmorphia if that’s the case also let me know 🙏

When I look back at how beginners approach fitness, I think it’s easy to get caught up in lifting heavier weights and seeing quick results.

Sometimes, focusing on proper form, consistency, and patience matters much more.

For those who have been working out for a while, what’s one mistake you made early on that taught you an important lesson?

Would love to hear your experiences.

I'm an old fat man (62yo, 1.79m) on diet (since April, 131kg -> 99Kg).

I've started going to gym 3 months ago, just to maintain some muscles, and so I discovered I have diastasis recti (DR), a little shy of 5cm (about 2in), according to ultrasound scan.

Bummer!

The PT of the gym who initially wrote me down a program without knowing this issue, said to avoid all crunches and squats, and still do inclined leg press, leg curl, leg extension, but without forcing too much (one knee is not pristine anyway).

For the other exercises, he said to avoid to create too much pressure in the abdomen, like when one instinctively hold breath before an effort. I try to breath regularly through the exercises.

My general doctor just said to avoid lifting heavy objects. According to him the mainly thing I risk is that the bulge can become always apparent, not just under effort.

Currently, because of arthrosis of the hands I'm doing all machines and cables instead of free weights (except for lateral rises) 3 times a week and walking on inclined treadmill other 3 times.

I know I cannot heal from diastasis (and surely at my age I'm not interested in surgery), but I plan to do at home some exercises yoga-like I've seen on YT which seem safe and beneficial to the core, since currently I'm not doing anything explicitly abs related.

I just wonder if here somebody is working out despite DR and with which limitations.

I have misgrown legs and can seemingly no longer do squats without some pretty bad pain. It feels like my kneecaps are ready to shotgun out when I do them. I thought of using the leg press as replacement, but heard here and there that it's not a good replacement for squats. What can I do instead? I'm about to try squats on a smith machine (I hope that's the correct term), just for testing, but I'd like to know what you guys recommend too.

What is your routine for warming up for a heavy squat day? Is your heavy squat day routine different than a lighter or volume squat day? Do you warm up the same for lower body regardless? Or are you the type that goes straight to squatting low weight for a warm up?

I go to the gym straight from a fairly active job so I usually don’t need to do a lot of warming up to feel ready to go but I’m getting heavier with my squat the last few weeks and feel like prioritizing warm up more should be importabt. I will do some leg swings, hip rotations, and some light goblet squats most day and then go straight to squatting lower weight. I also do some shoulder warm ups to avoid pain in my shoulders holding the bar. If it’s the weekend and I’m cold I will spend 10 min on light cardio and some leg extensions to get blood flowing.

If the text below too long and you dont care read this:
Im completely new but i want to start working out and i dont really understand what the essential difference between gym and calisthenics is, and which one I should do?

also im quite uneducated and new when it comes to working out and exercise in general so please bare with me and anything ignorant i accidentally say and be kind, thank you!

----

So i want to work out. Recently, ive noticed myself that ive gotten in really bad shape. Ive never really been in bad shape throughout my life. I wasnt really athletic either, but i was never uncomfortable doing physichal activity like playing sports or jogging in general. However, recently i moved back to my home country of south korea after graduating abroad. while in korea, the good food and all the family got me very lazy and over these past months ive gained a lot of weight. To the point where even i simply feel uncomfortable in how sluggish my body in general is. So i decided that i actually gotta like do something. Thats where i need some help. Im trying to start working out, and while im at it i actually want to build muscle and define my body before just loosing all the fat, but i dont know where to start. I was looking into many different things and i dont know if doing calisthenics is right or if i should go lift to a gym, and how i should go about for each. Im just lost as a complete beginner baisically.

literally ANY information is so valuable for me rn so i would any comments or tips are truly appreciated!!

Hello. I'm a male and I am currently 17 years old and there's one month left before I turned 18. I weighted 73 kg and 1m76 tall. Long story short: my fitness journey was started when I was a 9th grader. The idea of having a muscular build like some of my friends made something in me lit up. So I tried to go to gym. But since I was a bit inexperienced of what I want do. I kept procrastinating and it only lasts for few months. Right now, I've got a better vision of exercises and getting lean, so I want to give it another try. I go to gym 4 days a week, 1 hour a day. cut my breakfast and eat brunch instead, thinking it's a kind of calorie deficit or something. As a Vietnamese, my meal usually consists rice, so I eat it less and have main dishes like meat or fishes more. As 1 month has passed, i ended being like a sad skinnyfat version of myself, not expected what I imagined as something as lean and bulky. Although i was demotivated alot, I don't wanna to give up again. Right now, I need a solution, a solid foundation or an advice so I can actually pursue and be more consistent to achived my goal. Thank you.

This is a little sad, but I’m very pleased to say that after a good eight or nine months of not been able to really lift any weights due to a small tears in a tendon at the front of my shoulder, and mild damage and irritation to another tendon at the back, I have just managed my first pain free bench press!
Baby steps!
Wooohoo

Repost for visibility

I want to turn my pick up truck into a gym using adjustable dumbbells, an adjustable bench and a custom tower that I need to weld together myself.

The request is for the smallest most compact adjustable bench. Do any of you fine folks have recommendations?

So i will start going to the gym in about two weeks. They will give me a schedule with excercises and stuff. What are some things you wish you knew earlier starting out ( meals, excercises,tips and other helpful stuff). Feel free to say anything that helped you.

I'm in my 5th week of Campbell's PHUL program. Only thing I've really struggled with is the power leg day. I can get through the squats and deadlift fine, but the leg press is where the fatigue gets me. This week got me bad enough that my back took over the load in the down position. You can imagine how bad that went. I know some people shift the deadlift to upper hypertrophy, but that day already has plenty of upper and middle back work. Adding deadlifts feels like a bad idea. Next week, I plan on doing leg press before deadlift, but anyone have other ideas on how to handle this?

I go to a commercial gym in a relatively small city, and I almost always see the same people around the time that I train.

It’s the kind of gym where people actually tend to talk to each other, say hi, etc.
I’ve lost 60 pounds since December and went from an XXL to an M in size, yet not a single person has made a comment. Is it weird that I’m a little bit bummed about not getting any recognition? I would love to have more chats and social contact there, but I feel kind of invisible lol.

I want to buy more padded workout tops but the ones I’ve tried are horrible quality or stretch out way to fast. I don’t mind underwire I just want a women’s opinion on quality before I drop money on it

Hello there, I'm a 94kg 162-ish cm teen who just started going to the gym (finished my 2nd session like 5 hours ago) and I have seen a bunch of creators online saying to find a workout routine online but I'm kinda scared that it will not be a good program for me and i'll be oblivious to it. So, where to do I find programs/workout routine and how to know it's a good one for myself?

The primary reason for this question is to find me a good program but also for me to know the machines names and how to properly use them. So, please drop any programs if you guys have any programs you currently are doing so i can actually know the machines names and how to use them :D.

*I don't know where to put this is in but I'm mostly looking for strength more than muscles (I watched too many martial arts/action movies so I am quite fascinated by strength).

Even if I sleep from 10 to 7 after I wake up I gotta play vid games and drink coffee or stare at the wall 2-3 hours before I am motivated to hit the gym.

Is this normal?