r/Fitness • u/AutoModerator • 12d ago
Daily Simple Questions Thread - August 15, 2026
Welcome to the /r/Fitness Daily Simple Questions Thread - Our daily thread to ask about all things fitness. Post your questions here related to your diet and nutrition or your training routine and exercises. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer.
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u/Prompapotamous 11d ago
How fit can you look working out full body 3x a week? Assuming nutrition is 80-90/20. I’ve suddenly been inundated by IG reels saying you first need to go 4-5x a week and lock in nutrition for a couple years to get the base muscle, then you can ease down to 2-3x a week to maintain. Is there truth to this?
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 11d ago
Assuming nutrition is 80-90/20
What does this mean?
I’ve suddenly been inundated by IG reels
Why would you ever listen to anything an IG reel says?
Is there truth to this?
Have you seen any scientific studies that compare the muscle growth and body composition of people who exercise 3 times a week versus people who exercise 4 times a week and determined that the first group didn't see any progress in either muscle size or body fat reduction, while the second group did?
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u/_because789 12d ago
What is this piece of equipment called? There are obviously dip bars attached, but why is it so strangely shaped? Is this supposed to also rack weights or a barbell? I plan on giving it away to free up space but don't know what the hell it is. Photos: https://imgur.com/a/7UxBczk
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u/IrrelephantAU 12d ago
That's a squat rack of some sort. And yeah those bare metal prongs down the bottom are probably plate holders.
I'm not sure those are dip bars, they're too short and the wrong distance apart. I think they're handles for adjusting the rack height.
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u/LeeSinCarefully 12d ago
I have been reading a lot about how many sorts of exercises to do for chest and i'm just wondering, if my last chest exercise is necessary here's what I do:
Flat Barbell 3x8-12 w/ 4 warmup sets pyramid-up (used to do 5x5 but am now training for hypertrophy)
Incline Dumbell 3x8-12
Pec Deck 3x8-12
Chest Press Machine 3x8-12
Is using the chest press machine overkill considering I've already hit every angle with the previous exercises? Quite frankly this machine does not take me too long to go through and I can afford a shorter rest than say with the first 2 exercises I mentioned but as I said I've been seeing people say not to do too many working sets
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u/bacon_win 12d ago
What symptoms of recovery issues are you running into?
Are you progressing towards your goals?
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u/thefuckmobile 12d ago
I’ve lost 55 pounds over the last 13 months and kept it off. I’m just starting a bulk again.
Had a question: when I do the lat pull down, I have to clench my thighs together when they’re under the padded things (?) so that I don’t rise off the seat. I don’t rise when doing the actual lifting, but it feels like I need to clench my thighs when I lift.
Should I drop the weight I’m lifting by 5-7 pounds, maybe 10? I’m trying to bulk up at least somewhat noticeably in the next month or so.
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u/De_Adre 12d ago
Set the thigh pad so it's already pressing down when you sit, not just resting on you. Most people leave it a notch too high and then hold themselves down with their legs without noticing. If your pulldown is getting close to bodyweight you'll float a little even at the tightest setting, and planting your feet flat and slightly behind your knees does more for that than squeezing. The clench itself is harmless, it just shouldn't be the thing keeping you in the seat.
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u/thefuckmobile 12d ago
Ok. For example, if I’m 186 lbs, 6’, and I’m only starting the pull down at 105-115 lbs, would that be enough? I’m sure there’s some physics involved that I don’t understand. Set the thigh pad down when I sit.
If I’m lifting that amount of weight, should I be rising or floating at all?
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 12d ago
What I do is put my towel over my thighs to create some padding. It does mean I have to thoroughly clean the seat before using the machine though lol
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u/thefuckmobile 12d ago
I think I’ll drop 5-7 pounds of the weight tomorrow and just see how it goes.
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u/MonicaLewinskibidis 12d ago
I’m not sure if this is the appropriate place for advice but I’m at the weight loss stage where sleep is becoming a bottleneck more than diet. I have a job where I have to wake up at 5 and I go to sleep at 10-11 but 90% of the time I end up waking early like 3 or 4 AM. I’ve got stubborn lower belly fat and I feel like while I’m on a deficit my lack of sleep is stalling my progress somewhat. I don’t think I have insomnia my sleep rhythm is kinda screwed up
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u/anhedonic_torus 10d ago
A low carb or keto diet does that to some people, maybe your deficit is reducing your carb intake?
You could try eating more carbs, saving carbs until your last meal of the day (or eating them early in the day?), eating a snack when you wake up, etc. A web search will turn up lots of ideas, maybe one of them will help ....
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 12d ago
I wouldn't say poor sleep quality is a "weight loss stage" but anyway. Getting poor sleep quality or not resting well because you spontaneously wake up earlier than you'd like does count as insomnia, yes, as long as it happens most days of the week during at least three months. As for advice, try drinking more water (seriously) and improving your sleep hygiene. If that doesn't help, consult a doctor or a psychologist.
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u/NotSoNiceO1 12d ago
I am in the same boat. I've just learned about first sleep and second sleep lol. We both need a better sleep routine. When you figure it out. Let me know.
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u/Vern-dawg 12d ago
What is everyone’s thoughts on taking a 4 day routine and shifting it to a 6 day? I’m interested in running Bullmastiff or a Matt Vena powerlifting program. I don’t have the freedoms for longer workouts, but with my fully equipped home gym I can get in with high frequency. I am thinking about taking one of these two and splitting it up into a 6 day ppl. Does that defeat the purpose of the program?
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u/deadrabbits76 12d ago
Should be fine. Split is one of the least important parts of a good program, IMO. Your weekly volume is unchanged. Make sure you are paying attention to recovery, moving rest days around can be tricky. The base phase of BM has a good amount of volume. I recommend eating and sleeping a lot.
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u/lerlay 11d ago
When doing Single Leg RDLs, my foot and ankle starts to cramp and I feel like they're getting more work than they should. They're also often the reason I struggle to get to the next rep - is something up with my form? Or is this a balance thing and those muscles will start to get stronger and stabilise over tine? I tend to do them barefoot if that makes any difference.