@jva Right!! I do A LOT of cardio because I'm training for a half marathon so recently I have been dropping like 1.75 a week. But I'm running most days (3-5 miles a day) and walking on a treadmill on rest days. I'm very sedentary at my job and if I don't run or walk I will get like 2500 or less steps!
@themutebassplayer Kudos to y'all runners. My cardio sucks and I got no extra time lol, but I'm jealous. How much time you run/train a week, just curious? I just eat at 1200 a day, lift 3-4x a week (mostly 3 lol), and call it a day. Lazy person approach, but works for me.
1.75 a week sounds like a fairly fast pace. Might wanna be a bit careful about muscle loss, if you care.
@jva I run about 12 miles a week, 4 times a week. The other 2 days I walk and do strength training with kettlebells/dumbbells/bodyweight and walk on the treadmill on a high incline while I watch TV for at least 30 mins. If its a nice weekend ill do a really long walk one day like 6 or 7 miles. I eat 1350 and am 5'1. I don't think I'm losing muscle but i definitely have noticed my pms hasn't come because of all the cardio
@fadeaway XD I have enough stress in my head without accounting for physical health.
If you’re burned out at anything, scale back and reassess. Right now I can only manage a minimal daily routine. Walking breaks. Plan some easy meals (yes there’s some protein), I even ditched tracking. But sleep is
@fadeaway If you want to lose weight and get fit, it needs to be a lifestyle. For most people changing your lifestyle isn't an easy or quick process. Don't expect to do it all at once! Pick one or two things and incorporate it into your life before adding another one.
For example pick getting enough sleep and eating more fruits and vegetables. Work on those two things and when they became a habit add another.
Or choose going for 30 minute walk three times a week and eating more protein everyday. Once that becomes a habit add something else in.
Yes, this takes a while, maybe a long while but it is not as difficult as trying to do everything at once and it makes for sustainable habits that lead to lasting change.
@fadeaway I feel this like everyone else on here too. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that everyone is trying to be “beast mode” or “ripped up” or “jacked” or whatever. It’s hard to find a workout regimen for those of us who just want to be healthy, not compete in a fitness competition. Most if these influencers and trainers from the internet don’t understand how we don’t have the time to fit all this in because fitting it in is their JOB. If my job was to track my macros and do workouts all day and stay jacked, I’m sure it would be a lot easier than trying to do it while working a full-time office job and raising a small child, volunteering, trying to have some semblance of a relationship with my partner, and the smallest social life.
It’s overwhelming. Like you, I’m tired of being made to feel like I HAVE to fit it in or I’m a failure. I recently did a heavy strength program with a trainer, and as the program went on, the workouts got longer and longer and longer. There were some days I was lifting for an hour and a half and then trying to add in some cardio after. It was exhausting and having to schedule it into my day stressed me the F out. Add in an hour every evening trying to plan out every single thing to put in my mouth the next day to “fit my macros” and I was done for. And then it hit me, that I didn’t want to be jacked or ripped or have a six pack. I just want to lose a little fat and be heart healthy. So I’m now focusing on eating fewer snacks, eating less refined sugar, and working out when it fits in. And I no longer consider a power walk a wasted day.
Check in with your goals. Do you want the body of these program creators? Or do you just want to be a bit healthier? I opt for the latter.
Do what you can. It might not be reasonable to do everything optimally, so prioritize the things that are the most important to you.
When I was first trying to lose weight, I focused on cutting out sugar and finding exercise I actually enjoyed. It wasn't everything, and progress was slow-going in some respects, but it was a manageable and meaningful change.
@fadeaway If people would learn that more is not better, better is better, we wouldn't be here right now. People eat too much protein (no you don't need to eat 1 grams/lbs or more). People obsess over macro's to the point I wonder if they're some secret professional athlete. People obsess over step counts and rep counts. People stress out so much over sleep they're not getting it. More cardio more steps more lifting more protein more sleep more more more. Then cortisol comes to stay and eats your amino acids to make glucose instead of it building muscle, makes you poofy and tells the body to store fat. Stress and doing too much is why there's no progress.
Also am living proof that chronic stress and sleep deprivation does not prevent muscle gains. My body adapted wonderfully to the situation . Of course I'd prefer sleep and less stress but since that's not an option I'll take it. Could do with a little less stress poof but hey, can't have it all.
@amandasaved77 There was a time around 26 when I slept avg of 6 hours and was making gains too! Now 5-6 hours of sleep means I’m not functional for work and sluggish if I try to do a workout that’s not yoga or stretching.
@pollyjetix That sucks Are you able to sleep the 8 hour average? I do hope you get the sleep you need.
I have chronic imsomnia since I was a baby. It used to be a mix of onset, maintenance and early morning insomnia but it progressed to barely sleeping in my late teens, to not being able to sleep at all. I was diagnosed with chronic imsomnia at 26 by a psychiatrist. I'm medicated but even with meds I don't sleep long. An average of 5 hours a night according to my FitBit. If I'm lucky it's 6 hours, a few handful of times a year I'm extremely lucky and I sleep 7 hours. But most of the times it's 5 or less. I don't nap either.
I'm 35 now so I've not been sleeping properly for a very long time. My body got used to the 5 hour average. 3 hours or less means no recovery so no workout. Doesn't mean I'm well rested, I'm chronologically running on fumes. But I do make good progress with muscle gains and fat loss. I guess 8 hours is ideal but life isn't ideal for a lot of people.
@fadeaway every time i stumble across a fitness account or site i think maybe they’ll be able to lay things out in a digestible way and it never happens. it’s too much
150 minutes of cardio and at least 2 days of strength a week. Cardio is anything that makes you breathe hard. Strength is anything that works your muscles more than usual. If you are breathing hard and your strength is tested it literally doesn’t matter what you do. More than 3/4 of Americans don’t hit this recommendation, and if you’re part of that large majority, there’s no reason to make it more complicated than that until you reach that level. People who make basic fitness sound complicated are trying to sell you something.
@alan lol i work out throughout the week i’m talking about things like body recomp and “here’s why you’re not hitting your gains” macros etc. it’s more than just getting off the couch.
@robloxgod1337 The optimal diet and training is complicated. But most of us who aren’t competitive athletes have a lot more juice we can squeeze out of simple, consistent effort, always increasing the total workload, over a long period of time. The “dumb gym bro” stereotype isn’t fair, but there’s a kernel of truth to the idea that being dumb as a rock hasn’t stopped anyone from getting jacked. Gains aren’t got by thinking, reading or analyzing; gains come from doing. Lift more and heavier, run longer and faster, etc. Eat more and lift lots if you want more muscle. Eat less and still lift lots if you want to lean out. That’s 80% of it all.
Have you checked out the Stronger by Science templates? They might fit what you’re looking for (excel spreadsheets that spit out what you should be lifting based on your TM for squat, bench, and deadlift… barely any accessories at all, and no excess verbiage). r/weightroom is a good resource for finding programs.
@robloxgod1337 I hear you! I like Justine Ercole's video and megsquats video, and they both explain that body recomp is actually an advanced technique that is very slow. From reading on other sites it seems so simple and straightforward but it's not!
