Welcome to the Monthly Fitness Pro-Tips Megathread!
This thread is for sharing quick tips (don't you dare call them hacks, that word is stupid) about training, equipment use, nutrition, or other fitness connected topics that have improved your fitness experience.
This is not a questions thread. Do not ask for help or advice in here.
Been tracking my workouts for like 6 months now and honestly the biggest game changer was writing down rest times between sets. Used to just wing it and wonder why my lifts were inconsistent as hell
Turns out I was resting anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on how distracted I got lol. Now I actually set a timer and my progress has been way more linear
I've been using the Hevy app for this recently and it's been an absolute game changer. Tracking sets and rests were really a missing ingredient.
Second Hevy, been using for a year now, really like it. Free version is pretty solid and the lifetime version is relatively cheap. Also can be used via browser which a lot of these apps don't have.
Other features I like are the graphs for best-set estimated 1RM or volume for all my workouts and the side by side pic comparison. Both let me easily visualize strength and physique improvements.
Meaningless pet peeve I have is there's a little notification on dumbbell exercises that says you should combine dumbbell weight when tracking it. Yeah, I'm not doing that. It's one of those meaningless things like the pronunciation of "gif" or not using the oxford comma that make my eye twitch when seeing it done the other way.
So do you rest exactly a minute now, or…? I do chess problems while I rest, might be pausing a bit too much lol
The best piece of advice I ever got was, when you're lifting, it should suck.
The reps should be HARD. You should be struggling to lift it. Obviously if you feel sharp pains in your joints, that's a no-go, but if your muscle is burning and you're making faces, you're doing it right.
Second best piece of advice I ever got was, when you're cutting, you're going to be hungry. Just expect it. Cutting sucks, hunger sucks, and when I get hungry I like to pretend it's a sign of the fat melting off (it isn't, but psychologically it helps).
Another thing that really helped me was eating lean meats/steamed veggies every other day, and then eating at maintenance on the other days. That way, when I got hungry, I could just tell myself I could eat tomorrow. I cut down 22 lbs last year after going ham on my bulk - it was a long cut, so knowing I had a maintenance day really helped me power through the hunger. If you think in terms of weekly deficit instead of daily deficit, it'll be easier to have some wiggle room.
Third bit of advice is something I learned last year: when you're bulking, don't pig out. Just stick to a modest 250 calorie surplus, track your weight, and don't use it as an excuse to inhale an entire bag of family-sized chips because it's carbs and tomorrow's leg day :P
One thing I realized fiber causes a lot of satiety for me. If I could my meal with a lot of fiber I don't really get hungry that quickly. Also liquid calories have very little satiety so you need to take them out. I guess it depends on the amount of cut you're doing. But I'm off the opinion in what's the hurt when cutting.
I disagree with this. The best advice I've heard if your training is completely on point: 33% of the time you should feel amazing and incredible, 33% of the time it should seem brutal and hard, and 33% of the time manageable and ok. If it's too far in one direction you're not training optimally. Trust me, I've trained extremely intensely both in cardio and strength, and proper programming is essential to pushing into and past the intermediate level. I'm gonna turn this into a main comment actually.
Yup, I agree, the 33% rule definitely applies workout to workout (high gravity days vs feeling amazing vs normal). I was more talking about beginners who are just mindlessly moving weight and don't know how to push towards failure during their sets, eg stopping at the point of discomfort when you still have 5 reps in reserve
Good point! Since I've been training for years my issue is I often push myself too hard, but you're totally right you should feel the challenge of the set and the burn or you won't see progress especially in hypertrophy!
There can be nuance to this. "Struggling" will look different between different rep ranges and different exercises. Highly fatigued, grindy reps are great for hypertrophy but might not help as much if your goal is to improve technique or speed
Started cutting a few weeks ago. Can confirm that every day I'm hungry, even though my eating frequency and meal portion sizes are still roughly the same, just less calories and no calories from drinks.
Cutting sucks. Definitely try the every other day approach if you haven't already, it's not for everyone, but I definitely found it easier to power through a 1000-calorie deficit knowing I could eat normally the next day instead of cutting 500 calories daily and being nonstop miserable
Periodize your training AND your eating. And, in fact, by doing the former, you'll do the latter. Hypertrophy phases of training are going to necessitate a larger energy intake, whereas intensification phases won't need that same support. And with periodization, you set yourself up for success in your next phase of training/eating, vs just slamming your head against the wall trying to do the same thing over and over again.
Hey man, quick question if possible! I’ve seen your posts about making gains in the gym on low sleep. I’ve been dealing with bad sleep for a while now because of work circumstances I can’t control, and I’m worried it will impact my gains. Just looking for some hope really - do you think it’s possible to make most of your progress on 5 hours of sleep a night if all other variables are in check (diet etc)? Thanks!
Hey dude,
You will make more progress training hard with 5 hours of sleep compared to not training with 5 hours of sleep. If you can't control the sleep, all you can do is control the other stuff.
True! Appreciate the words of encouragement
It’s the first time I’ve dealt with this and the internet makes you believe anything under 8 hours will steal your gains, so I’m just trying to gather personal experiences from people to have a bit more of a nuanced take on it
There was a really interesting study put together at the behest of USSOCOM that evaluated average sleep cycles from a bunch of Raiders IIRC. It showed that to a statistically significant average, sleep cycles (light/REM/deep) completed about every 90 minutes. Moreover, it posited that you'd do better to try and time your wakeup at the end of a cycle right at that 90 minutes than to get extra sleep and awake mid-cycle.
IE: a dead-on 6 hours or 7.5 produced better cognitive and physical recovery results than going up to 8.5. Food for thought when people try to make those kinds of absolute statements.
It affects some people more than others. If you're training too much for the amount of sleep you're getting, you'll know. Lifts will go down, soreness won't go away. It won't be a situation where you feel like you're doing well and making progress, but getting 8 hours instead of 5 would make you grow 200% faster.
For those struggling to hit protein goals without feeling bloated: Egg Whites. You can add 100g of liquid egg whites to a protein shake or oatmeal. They are flavorless, add zero texture issues, and provide a massive lean protein boost without the extra fat/calories of the whole egg.
Good idea, but I would recommend cooking them instead of consuming them raw in a shake, etc. as you are still at risk of ingesting salmonella.
You know your training is on point if 33% of the time training you feel amazing, heavy weights feel light, you're strong, you recover fast, you can do anything. Then 33% of the time it should feel hard as hell, pushing hard for those reps, burning, recovery seems tough. And 33% of the time you feel ok, you're recovering well, the next workout your reps are moving, not best ever not horrible suck.
Gravity just isn't as strong on some days!
Man I was deadlifting pretty heavy today was seeing colors and everything right after finishing a set, and let one rip while on the platform lmao during a rep. I looked around and thank god everyone had there headphones in. Definitely not having a banana milkshake before hand again lol
Gym farts when lifting heavy should be normalized and not judged. I can't count how many times I've been deep in a squat or deadlift rep only to feel one right on the edge of release and having to struggle to keep it in based off of what other people might think of me...
Schedule your workouts in your work calendar. This is the only trick that was worked for me to ensure that I keep fitness as a priority. If work stuff comes up, you can still shift the appointment just like you would any other meeting. Try it!
Pro tip: stop judging your workouts by reps or sets alone.
If strength or muscle gain is your goal, consistency of effort matters more than the number of reps you hit.
A controlled tempo and actually approaching muscular failure will tell you far more about workout quality than whether you did 8 or 12 reps.
Two people doing the “same” reps can have completely different stimulus depending on speed, control, and range of motion.
Tracking effort and execution beats counting every time.
It's less about WHEN you go to the gym. Timing doesn't matter. Consistency is what matters.
And if you're curious on how to transform your body if you’re out of shape, overweight, or obese.
It starts with:
One decision at a time.
Say “no” to the next craving or impulse that puts you further in health debt.
Say “yes” to your next workout.
Say “yes” to your next nutrient dense meal.
Don’t overcomplicate it.
Simplify.
Remember, if someone in public calls you skinny because you're lean, challenge them to a pushup contest. They'll either back down, or you'll get some good gains and probably beat them in the competition! It's a win-win 🤣