141–150 of 162 posts
My recommendation would be to rent a rowing machine and try that first.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rippetoe and Baker talk about this in Practical Programming for Strength Training. Heavily depends on the movement. 3x10s are fine for accessory exercises but will be too much volume for compound movements (if strength is the focus) and can actually retard progress in later stages (because training for strength is incredibly taxing once you go heavy enough). That said, literally anything will work when you're just ge…
I like the 3x5 y’all are touting. I’m an old man and 3x10 is “how I was taught” but I’m open to new research and see how 3x5 would be easier on someone new to it. But what y’all all seem to omit is the core of my suggestion: how and when to add more weight. Would you say the weight increase signal I suggest is good, just go 3x5 rather than 3x10, or what does your literature say on that?
For example, lifts that work small muscles, like the military overhead press or power cleans, might only go up by 1 lb/session, as a +5 lb progression might cause premature failed lifts. (You need to buy micro plates if you are serious about strength training; gyms won't have anything lower than 2.5lbs and if they do, they don't have many of them.)
Re: programming. anyone can make progress on 3x10 at first. The problem is that recovery will outrun your program as your training gets more advanced, which will eventually stall your progress early. See this article that talks about this: https://startingstrength.com/training/3-sets-of-5.
Now, 3x10 or more can be good for hypertrophy if you're using light weights. I use 3x12s in my program for big assistance lifts, like dips and pull/chin-ups, but you can't get big without getting strong, so why not do it right the first time? Elite physique bodybuilders can usually move insane weight for this reason.
To me, strength training is all about making life past your 60s suck less. It's a savings account for your body; put in the work now so that you _might_ continue to be active and mobile at 80. It also helps make you look good without having to eat like a bird, which is nice also.
> vigorous weightlifting for 1 hour may burn up to 440 calories nah, you still have to eat like a bird.
You have to eat more to lift more.
Doesn't mean you have to go full NFL Combine mode and eat 7000+ calories/day. But 1800 cals/day won't cut it (unless you are trying to cut weight, wherein progress will stall for a while).
Does anyone have a tip on how to start? I despise gyms, and would really love a tutorial to get an operation going in my garage. Maybe also an app recommendation?
I also think about this regularly. I'm with the author regarding the metrics (time efficient, healthy, skill component). But still, I find strength training extremely boring and going to the gym annoying. I tried a few times but it never clicked for me – what am I missing? Does anyone have other ideas for incorporating exercise into my daily routine? I enjoy a bit of walking, cycling, and doing 5-10 minute mobility e…
Nothing, TBH it's just not for everyone. I like how boring strength training is. I like listening to podcasts for a couple hours and taking long rests between sets with little bursts of dopamine rush getting the perfect reps. But IMO there's also big genetic component, some people don't respond well to strength training, and after a while, unless you dedicate inordinant time to progression it does feel like pushing rope. Some people hit the wall very early, and the rewards feel meagre. Alternatively, if you build a good base after a few years of training, you can do fuck all to maintain and accrue all the beneifts (look good naked, increased metabolism).
One of my hangups to start strength training at the ripe age of 41, is that I'm terrified of hurting myself. Apparently to do "proper" strength training you need to focus on the free weights, or compound lifts, rather than gym machines that guide your movements. I.E. squats, deadlifts, bench presses, etc. The problem is that these are EXACTLY the type of exercises that an untrained, anterior pelvic tilted computer lo…
On the other hand, nothing like desire to improve numbers to drive one to unfuck their their body.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's pretty linear at first, especially like this person who has been doing it a few months. You should be able to add 2.5kg to your major lifts every week if you're recovering well, and that's recommended by the starting strength program. It definitely starts to become logarithmic after while though.
This is bad advice, because it’s ambiguous. > You should be able to add 2.5kg to your major lifts every week When you couple progression with a time frame but fail to address the time frame of the workouts it is more dangerous than helpful. This would be bad advice for anyone who only trains once a week or twice a month. > if you're recovering well I’ve been strength training for 20 years and even I’m unsure what thi…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rippetoe and Baker talk about this in Practical Programming for Strength Training. Heavily depends on the movement. 3x10s are fine for accessory exercises but will be too much volume for compound movements (if strength is the focus) and can actually retard progress in later stages (because training for strength is incredibly taxing once you go heavy enough). That said, literally anything will work when you're just ge…
I like the 3x5 y’all are touting. I’m an old man and 3x10 is “how I was taught” but I’m open to new research and see how 3x5 would be easier on someone new to it. But what y’all all seem to omit is the core of my suggestion: how and when to add more weight. Would you say the weight increase signal I suggest is good, just go 3x5 rather than 3x10, or what does your literature say on that?
I'm a big fan of double progression + RPE / RIR (rate of percieved exercion / repititions in reserve) for people who don't want to bother with percentages and complicated training cycles and platemath. You do 2-4 sets of an compound exercise with a setXrep goal in mind, i.e. 3x8 on bench with 135lbs. you start with 3x5, then add 1 rep to 1 set, i.e. 5/5/5 then 6/5/5 then 6/6/5 until you get to 8/8/8 with a RPE/RIR in mind, where RPE/RIR is how many reps you can still do after that set. Usually you start with 2-3 RIR = you pick weight you where you can do 8 reps but only do 5 (3 reps in reserve), and maybe at the end of the cycle you can do all 8 reps but still feel you can do another 2, so theoretically you went from 8 rep max to 10 rep max. Then add 5/10lbs and repeat. It's slow, it's boring, but it's simple, it's systematic and works pretty well, since +1 rep means you're always accumulating more volume each session until you reach the end where build up to doing 40% more volume/work @3x8 vs @3x5, and then you reset back to 3x5 and ramp up at a slightly higher baseline with slightly mroe weight.
Does anyone have a tip on how to start? I despise gyms, and would really love a tutorial to get an operation going in my garage. Maybe also an app recommendation?
I also think about this regularly. I'm with the author regarding the metrics (time efficient, healthy, skill component). But still, I find strength training extremely boring and going to the gym annoying. I tried a few times but it never clicked for me – what am I missing? Does anyone have other ideas for incorporating exercise into my daily routine? I enjoy a bit of walking, cycling, and doing 5-10 minute mobility e…
Depends what your goals are - if those include planning to be healthy into old age, then definitely not. For me weightlifting is somewhat fun to figure out how to get control over my will to get my body to do things it doesn’t want to do. But it’s also rewarding in that I see changes in my body over time that make me feel good, and can only be achieved by putting in the effort; and it feels responsible long term sinc…
> All the fit-looking athletes you can imagine, also strength train to become that way.
These are two flagrantly false assertions; to think they are actually true you have to be living inside a weight-lifting bubble.