[floridaorange]

How's it going?

What muscle groups are feeling strong, which ones are not?

What changes have you made to your workout that have helped?

[c1pher]

I splurged on a Tonal last year since it is always home and there’s no excuse to not work out. What I like about it is that it tracks your “Strength score”. It is relative to the Tonal and of course part of my strength score increasing is the system learning my limits but I can definitely say I am stronger. I have averaged.a 46% increase overall and according to Tonal I am in the top 16% of strength scores. Not bad for a 60 year old guy.

[mosstiel33]

im too old for this

[Littierally]

You’re old because you don’t do this 😏

I’m 41 years old, 6’4” tall, built. I had a goal to hit 260lbs body weight this year, started at 251 in January.

I’ve dialed in my calories the entire year, 5500/day, 300g protein, 700g carbs, and the rest fat.

We all know water intake is key, when I fall off, I deflate and lose several lbs immediately.

I’m lifting heavy, doing long workouts 2-3hrs, largely 5x5 or 6x6 sets every other day.

I’m up to 256 as of now, which puts my goal of 260 well within striking distance.

[floridaorange]

Electrolytes during workouts that are not overly high in magnesium and raw organic liver have helped me with my lifts - finally back to repping 315 on deadlift feels good. Im 45 200 lbs 6’2. Gym 3 days, home lifts 3 days. Rest completely 1. I do need to drink more water on my non gym days.

[hooligan_F39]

Originally Posted by Littierally

You’re old because you don’t do this 😏

I’m 41 years old, 6’4” tall, built. I had a goal to hit 260lbs body weight this year, started at 251 in January.

I’ve dialed in my calories the entire year, 5500/day, 300g protein, 700g carbs, and the rest fat.

We all know water intake is key, when I fall off, I deflate and lose several lbs immediately.

I’m lifting heavy, doing long workouts 2-3hrs, largely 5x5 or 6x6 sets every other day.

I’m up to 256 as of now, which puts my goal of 260 well within striking distance.

Have you thought of increasing your volume a little? If you're training to gain mass more than training to gain strength, 5x5/6x6 could be a little light on volume?


https://rpstrength.com/blogs/article...zGtRoL3Hz-yGcU

Also, are you really eating 5,500 cals/day? My BMR at 6'4" and 240 is about 3500/day.

[CBO]

I've been a weight lifter for about 15 years. Started a desk job 2 years ago and really started holding weight. So, 6.1.24 I started counting macros, limiting carbs to under a 100g a day, 2000 calories and running everyday. Starting was 235 pounds (I'm 5'11") and about 25% body fat.

I'm currently 165 pounds, up to 5 miles a day at a 7 minute pace and 7% body fat. Still lifting every day too but no where the same amount of weight.

Not really a 'new year' goal but thought I'd share. It's been one hell of a journey

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by CBO

I've been a weight lifter for about 15 years. Started a desk job 2 years ago and really started holding weight. So, 6.1.24 I started counting macros, limiting carbs to under a 100g a day, 2000 calories and running everyday. Starting was 235 pounds (I'm 5'11") and about 25% body fat.

I'm currently 165 pounds, up to 5 miles a day at a 7 minute pace and 7% body fat. Still lifting every day too but no where the same amount of weight.

Not really a 'new year' goal but thought I'd share. It's been one hell of a journey

You must be feeling like a completely new person after that change!

[Mason Hatcher]

62 years old, 5'9" and weighed 250 in June 2023. I joined a group fitness training class (weight lifting, rowing and treadmill) and began tracking macros and calories in/out. In less than a year I was down to 183, with a BF of 21% and lean muscle way up, and I was stronger and faster. The program I was in had a lot of benchmarks, and I enjoyed tracking my progress.

Last summer I added cycling because my coach was training for a triathlon and hadn't ridden a bike since childhood. Being comfortable on one and owning a bike, I started cycle training her on Sundays.

Last October I ran my first Spartan. It was epic. However, I had maxed out on the group training, I felt like I was no longer improving. I could have maintained an excellent fitness level there, but I wanted to improve. In November of 24 I joined a traditional Gym and began strength training on my own. My program is as follows

Lower body 2 day split (no running on leg days, PTs orders)
Upper body 2 day split - I also do running intervals on these days
Two group fitness endurance days (or one day and a easy long run day)
Sundays are either cycling followed by a workout or run.

I am doing Yoga after leg workouts and try to hit the sauna twice a week

I really didn't know what I was doing for leg days, and my workouts did not account for a weak gluteus Medius and TFL that I didn't even realize I had. I was training for my first Half Marathon scheduled for mid February of this year, and in December 8 miles into a 10 mile run my left heel began to feel like a knife jabbing into it. I stopped running for a while and after a few weeks I decided to go back to my Sports Physical Therapist who had fixed my shoulder last year. She diagnosed Planters Fasciitis caused by an imbalance in my hips, specifically gluteus medius and TFL. She put me on the two day lower body split with a lot of unilateral work. I had noticed my hips getting tight on runs over 6 miles, but I was able to run the 13.2 mile race with no pain and no tightness. I love my PT.

I have been able to increase the weight I am lifting on all areas of my upper body, and am noticing an additional increase in muscle mass, both on the scale and visually. Adding the strength-training days has helped enormously.

My current multi-faceted approach is hybrid. I completed a second Spartan last month, a Super (6 miles and 25 obstacles) I have a Hyrox race scheduled for November.

Traditional Strength training
Group fitness training- HIIT (this is the endurance piece)
Running-cycling-rowing-Skierg
Recovery work like Yoga and Sauna
Macro tracking- 216 grams of protein per day

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by c1pher

I splurged on a Tonal last year since it is always home and there’s no excuse to not work out. What I like about it is that it tracks your “Strength score”. It is relative to the Tonal and of course part of my strength score increasing is the system learning my limits but I can definitely say I am stronger. I have averaged.a 46% increase overall and according to Tonal I am in the top 16% of strength scores. Not bad for a 60 year old guy.

I watched a couple of reviews of the Tonal 2 or 3 years ago. It is a fascinating piece of equipment. I considered it, but the social aspect of the gym/fitness routine is important for me.

What do you do for cardio, if any?

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Littierally

You’re old because you don’t do this 😏

Truth. I didn't realize I had knee pain until I started working out and we did lunges. Two years later, I am doing walking lunges with weight and zero pain. I'm 64, he needs to get moving!!

I’m 41 years old, 6’4” tall, built. I had a goal to hit 260lbs body weight this year, started at 251 in January.

I’ve dialed in my calories the entire year, 5500/day, 300g protein, 700g carbs, and the rest fat.

We all know water intake is key, when I fall off, I deflate and lose several lbs immediately.

I’m lifting heavy, doing long workouts 2-3hrs, largely 5x5 or 6x6 sets every other day.

I’m up to 256 as of now, which puts my goal of 260 well within striking distance.

5500 per day!? What is your BMR?

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by CBO

I've been a weight lifter for about 15 years. Started a desk job 2 years ago and really started holding weight. So, 6.1.24 I started counting macros, limiting carbs to under a 100g a day, 2000 calories and running everyday. Starting was 235 pounds (I'm 5'11") and about 25% body fat.

I'm currently 165 pounds, up to 5 miles a day at a 7 minute pace and 7% body fat. Still lifting every day too but no where the same amount of weight.

Not really a 'new year' goal but thought I'd share. It's been one hell of a journey

7% BF!? Holy crap, that's amazing That pace is solid! What is your age?

[Tambohamilton]

Gone from 83kg/183# in December to 77kg/170# now. Cycling FTP is up from ~220W to 260W. Can now reliably do 10 chin ups in one set, where I started only being able to do about 5. Still too fat and weak, but I feel a lot better!

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

I watched a couple of reviews of the Tonal 2 or 3 years ago. It is a fascinating piece of equipment. I considered it, but the social aspect of the gym/fitness routine is important for me.

What do you do for cardio, if any?

I also have a Peloton Tread.

What I like about the Tonal is it keeps track of all my numbers and helps me reach new gains. It also has different movements I wouldn’t typically do so I feel like my overall strength is more varied. One aspect of the tonal I felt was weak was the leg part, but I bought a recommended weight belt with cable attachments and that pretty much solved that problem. Not sure why Tonal doesn’t sell something like that as an accessory.

I don’t ever talk to anyone at the gym, most people seem to be afraid to talk to others or think you’re going to do something to them. I used to work out on base and that was very familial.

[CBO]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

7% BF!? Holy crap, that's amazing That pace is solid! What is your age?

35, I'll be 36 in a few months. Took me a while to get up to this pace. I was at about 9/minutes per mile for 2-3 when I really got into it.

[CBO]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

You must be feeling like a completely new person after that change!

Absolutely!! I can finally keep up with my kids haha

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

I watched a couple of reviews of the Tonal 2 or 3 years ago. It is a fascinating piece of equipment. I considered it, but the social aspect of the gym/fitness routine is important for me.

What do you do for cardio, if any?

I have had a tonal 3 years and love it.

The pros:
Lots and lots of workouts and programs for all levels.
If you're not really trying to do heavy bodybuilding, there is plenty of weight to be had. And even if you are, if you max out, you can add volume.
It's in your house. Zero excuse to skip.
You can very easily get a cardio workout from one of the many HITT workouts. Trust me, you do not need any adder for cardio, unless you want to (I bike)

Cons:
If you don't pay the monthly subscription the machine becomes pretty dumb. Not only do you lose the access to the programs, but also several nifty features like burnout mode, spotting mode, custom workouts, etc. So you're pretty much locked into the subscription forever to get the best bang for your buck.
Not practical if you're going to move a lot or don't own where you are (especially if you're in an apartment with steel studs).

[Chihuahua]

Threw out my back yesterday doing barbell squats. Didn't even have a lot of weight on. I'm retiring from barbell squats. Hacks, walking lunges, machines only from here on out. I'll be 50 in January.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

Threw out my back yesterday doing barbell squats. Didn't even have a lot of weight on. I'm retiring from barbell squats. Hacks, walking lunges, machines only from here on out. I'll be 50 in January.

Bulgarian split squats. You'll hate me later but damn do they work.

[ShynedGlo]

Very good currently 160lbs bw with a one rep max of 270 on flat bench looking to get 315 within the next 4 months. 19 years old with a little under 2 years into lifting. What really works for me is maximum intensity typically 3x8 for every excersise without compromising form. As well as making sure I get 250+ grams of carbs at least 2 hours before a lift so my body has the energy as well as general 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

Threw out my back yesterday doing barbell squats. Didn't even have a lot of weight on. I'm retiring from barbell squats. Hacks, walking lunges, machines only from here on out. I'll be 50 in January.

Best advice out there…, i followed it exactly and was back to squatting in a week. I had a pop and numbness and pain - the whole thing. Front squats with kb, walks, etc worked great.

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Bulgarian split squats. You'll hate me later but damn do they work.

Yes they do.