Consistently terrible F45 results

nasa321

New member
So I’ve been going to F45 classes 5-6 times per week for the last 4-5 months. I’m F30, 5’4”.

On November 15 2023 I got an InBody scan that showed I was:
Total weight 171 pounds,
dry lean mass 28.4 pounds,
body fat mass 66.3,
water in body 76.3, and
percent body fat was 38.8%

On March 14 I got another scan, and I’m:
Total weight 177 pounds,
dry lean mass 28.7,
body fat mass 71.3,
Total body water 77.2,
PBF was 40.2%.

I’m obviously really frustrated, and I know fat loss is mostly calories, but what I’m struggling with is how I didn’t even gain a pound of muscle after 5 months of working out very intensely.

What the hell am I doing wrong? I know lifting at the gym is best for gaining muscle but I love the class and community. Lifting feels very boring to me, the class is what gets me out of bed. But I’m at my wit’s end here. I feel like I have nothing to show for a ton of work (except slightly sore knees and rosacea from the intensity). Does anyone have any advice (especially looking for advice from women or specifically for women’s bodies / hormones etc etc)
 
@nasa321 You need to track what you eat, and I mean everything you eat. You need to eat more protein. Talk to a nutritionist and put together a plan to lose weight and gain muscle.
 
@agoodmeasure Yeah I definitely need to do this. I was just frustrated that I didn’t gain any muscle besides gaining weight, which I figured was happening in these classes even if I’m eating too many calories
 
@nasa321 F45 is a hoax.

They write one workout for their entire community around the globe.

I’ve been a PT for 7 years.

Very rarely do people have the same goals and abilities. There’s a zero percent chance you’re getting the type of workout that YOU need when you’re doing a workout that was designed for thousands of people.

Tracking your macros will help, but go hire a coach that will program for you specifically.
 
@kitten22 I don't know if I'd call it a hoax. It's a fun, quick, convenient worhout. I'm not a full-fledged member. I've done their promos and I'm a Classpass member. First U.S. location opened in my city. I love group training but I've always looked at as cardio. I have been lucky enough to take some small group training fitness classes where it's more personalized. But that was 3-5 people in a class. These were not franchises. As far as chains go I enjoyed D-1 but fewer people allows for better programming for sure!
 
@shadownsmoke I use to work at a burn, our burn was blessed to have a master trainer who understood programming and would change the workouts if head quarters sent over non-sense. So it really just depends on your location. Hope this insight helps
 
@shadownsmoke I find Burn to get repetitive at times or too much time spent in one station. I consider them similar in as far as the results from both for me would be the same. The high fives are so annoying!
 
@lukulugosha Ya probably 99% of group fitness is a sham.

People think obesity is a problem — it is, but the problem the fitness industry should be solving is, “how many lbs of skeletal muscle mass can we add to the average ‘unhealthy person’ looking to get into better shape”.

Effectively executed strength programming that biases hypertrophy and coordination would have a far greater impact on average person than mindless fluttering about of weights for the sake of calories burned or total number of reps achieved in ____ time.

Programming and coaching that focus on throughputs more than outputs will get you jacked.

Throughput = how tired is the muscle/muscle group I intended to train today?

Output = how many beads of sweat did my new lulu top acquire in the last hour/how many calories did my fancy watch tell me I burned since I started my workout.
 
@kitten22 As someone who tracked their hot Pilates workout this morning on my Apple Watch while wearing full lulu (not kidding lol) I feel personally attacked.

Would you say the best for fat loss is often a mix of strength (for building muscle which in longer term constantly burns more calories) and cardio (which short term directly burns more calories)?
 
@lukulugosha I would say the best fitness for being healthy strong and upright for an extended period of time is strength training and hypertrophy. Fat loss is a byproduct of what happens in the kitchen more often than not.
 
@lukulugosha Some* cardio.

But the acquisition of cardiovascular health is a lot easier than hypertrophic gains. Walk on a treadmill. Ride a bike. Do the stairmaster a couple times a week as an accessory to the important part of the program (the strength training).
 
@lukulugosha The term "functional fitness" and similar are just over-hyped buzz words people use. Climbing a rope or doing box jumps is no more "functional" than doing back squats or bicep curls.

When was the last time you had to climb a rope outside a gym setting? Unless you're a climber, chances are slim to none.

The only thing the average person needs is lifting for strength gains and some form of cardio that can be literally anything that gets your heart rate up.

Some people will have specific needs/goals such as an athlete needing to improve their vertical jump or someone recovering from an injury.

But for the vast majority of healthy adults, you just need a solid gym routine and some cardio.

And calories in vs. calories out.
 
@kitten22 What’s wrong with burpees? Great bang for the buck exercise in my opinion. If this is just an attempt at humor good job, I did laugh even though I disagree.
 
@kitten22 There are plenty of gym bodies that are terrible at anything remotely functional. I see it all the time. Most of them have no real mobility, no core strength and just end up getting injured.
 
Back
Top