What’re some Websites that promote fitness for more casual folks like me?

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imjustme123

New member
What’re some websites/personalities that talk about health and fitness for average folks with limited time/income to dedicate?

I find that so much fitness discourse ok the internet revolves around some pretty toxic attitudes and pursuit of body images that are unrealistic for most people

(the ‘getting ripped in 30 days’ ‘bulging biceps’ type of mentality that permeates YouTube for example. I don’t really need to see some ripped dude with a six pack telling me how I can look like him, as I don’t even really want to. I’m not in bad shape, I do some lifting/running but I’m an average slightly chubby 30something dude with a job and family, I have no desire to give up the occasional beer or piece of cake, and I have neither the time nor the desire to dedicate hours upon hours every week to tracking calories, protein intake and navel-gazing about gains (but hey good on ya if that’s what u want)

I enjoy fitness but it’s not the most important thing in my life, and looking for a discourse that is a little more approachable for people like me. Even r/fitness is a great resource for information, but not that approachable for more casual fitness oriented folks, though this sub is better.

The two resources that I’ve found that do approach fitness with this in mind are
  • The Vitals section on Lifehacker.com
  • Ask A Swole Woman on Vice
 
@prececetun1976 primarily to not die. If I put on any muscle mass that's a nice plus.

But the main point of my post was websites/personalities who have a more approachable discourse for more 'average' folks like me that work full-time, have kids/families/other hobbies, and acknowledges that most people will never have a bulging a sixpack or whatever
 
@imjustme123 It’s difficult for two pretty blunt reasons 1) it’s about what sells isn’t it - getting extreme results sells magazines and gets articles clicks for fitness organisations, so that’s what they’re focused on, being average doesn’t, so there will be limited stuff out there for you 2) your goal is too vague to give you a good answer isn’t it - not to die and add muscle - just eat what you like and lift weights a bit?

I’d say subscribe to men’s health or something - it will give you a few good tips and focus on lifestyle, but unlikely to push you into awesome shape
 
@prececetun1976 Yeah I mean that’s fair and I appreciate the candid answer. I get what you are saying about what sells, It does suck that say most YouTubers look like or promote a body type that is only attainable for a select few with the right genetic disposition, the time and mind space to dedicate to protein intake/counting calories, the money for trainers and/or nutritionists etc.

it’s not especially realistic for most people, and I think that may be a barrier to fitness for some is the lack of realistic discourse meant for more ‘average’ people

I imagine there may be a lot of people like myself lurking on these forums. I posted a couple above that do approach fitness from this more approachable point of view and I just wanted to start a discussion about any others people might have
 
@imjustme123 For what it’s worth - I think you need to refocus your goal. It might not be to get sub 10% body fat and reveal 8 abs, but I don’t know, you might want to be able to bench your body weight, or do more than x chin ups, or improve your posture or add size to your arms - you’ll probably end up feeling less lost.
 
@prececetun1976 I appreciate your answer but I’m not sure I’m being understood here because we may have very different approaches. That’s fine, I respect that. I didn’t say I was lost - I do actually bench more than my own body weight, I work out fairly regularly and have some idea of what my goals are.

I’m not looking for specific advice for my own routine though, my purpose in this post was to share websites/bloggers/YouTubers that discuss fitness in a way that is approachable to people who may have limited time/resources, may be intimidated by mainstream fitness culture, may not have the right genetic predisposition. I do appreciate the suggestion of Men’s Health, and I’ve shared a couple others that do have this approach above. Thank you!
 
@imjustme123 I've been in the gym for 20 years. In good shape at 38 years old. I work a full-time job & have all the normal responsibilities. I train less than 4 hours per week.

It's not rocket science. You just need to lift moderately heavy weights (relative to your level) with safe form, move for some cardio & eat a little more protein whilst reducing overall calorie intake a fraction with CONSISTENCY.

Anything else is just noise in my experience. If you want to pack on more muscle mass then some people use drugs. Most supplements will give nothing other than placebo.

Credentials:
Ex professional athlete
MSc Strength & Conditioning
 
@dawn16 Wow just four hours? Do you do a MWF lifting routine or something?

Agreed about the noise. Because there’s so many people trying to sell things in this area, there’s so much confusing and conflicting information
 
@imjustme123 I lift weights 3-4 times per week for 40minutes & I'm lucky enough to have a pool in my apartment building so I swim average 3 times per week for 30 mins or so. 4 hours total.

My weight training is nothing new just the basics really - bench press, box squat, pull-ups, stiff leg deadlift, military press, rows, bicep curls, close grip press.

Yes, the entire industry sells the dream of an asthetic which 99% of the time has and can only be obtained by drug abuse.

The only secret is consistency. Controlling portion sizes & consistency with your exercise. It won't happen overnight just have to stick with it.

As others have mentioned, small goal setting is a good idea as you will have some purpose & a reason not to reach for the huge bag of chips!

For example in Thailand where I live the lock down has recently been eased & my gym has reopened. I had put on 14lbs during lockdown! So my first goal was to slowly reduce my weight & start to gain some strength again. I gave myself 8 weeks to accomplish this.
 
@imjustme123 I suppose to link you to people who might be useful depends on knowing a bit more specifically about what you’re after - I.e. people are trying to give you suggestions but then from your responses feels like they’re not particularly useful for you, and I’d say that’s because you’re asking for something general, and / or it sounds like your goals are either too wooly to address, or you don’t fully know what they are.

A great example is ‘Joe Wicks’ aka ‘the body coach’ - he markets himself toward people who want to get in ‘better shape’ using basic resistance exercises, Hiit and carb cycling, he encourages you not to exclude any foods and enjoying yourself and liking your body. This suits my girlfriend - who just wants to be a bit fitter and toned, but it doesn’t suit me - who wants tangible results for specific goals. Would it suit you? - because based on what you’ve said this should really fit the bill, if not, then we need more information about what you’re after.

And I’m not sure I agree about the ‘genetics’ stuff - it’s possible for pretty much everyone to look great with the right training and diet, if you look at the classic ‘encyclopaedia of modern body building’ by Arnold, he shows that with the right training application a lot of competitors are relatively indistinguishable. For a lot of the ‘endomorph’ guys it’s quite astonishing. It’s a tired old trope that some people have ‘gifted genes’ and that’s why they look great - no you can’t change your bone structure, but you absolutely can change what’s on it, and I think for a lot of people ‘I don’t have the genes’ can be ‘I don’t want to have to work that hard to get the results’.
 
@prececetun1976 Thank you! I do really appreciate you engaging with my post and trying to understand what I was getting at, because a lot of people here weren’t. There’s a lot of toxic discourse surrounding fitness that keeps a lot of people away, and there definitely are a subclass of writers/influencers trying to address that discourse in a way that’s more welcoming and approachable.

People here might not get it because they’ve been in the lifestyle for so long, but being on the outside looking in can feel intimidating

I will definitely check out that Joe Wicks

In terms of genetics, I think it means that for example for many of us it would be nigh-on impossible to have Chris Hemsworth’s body, even though his body is the most idealized body shape for men. Aside from him likely having good genes for muscle mass... are you saying genetics don’t matter so much? I understand that some people have it easier/harder losing weight, some people put on muscle easily, some don’t etc... this doesn’t make a huge difference in the gym?

Not to mention that, someone of his means he has nearly unlimited resources, money and time to dedicate to trainers and nutrition (what was his crazy routine, working out twice a day and 6+ meals?? Ain’t nobody actually working for money to survive got time for that)
 
@imjustme123 I definitely get how hard it is to reach out with a question! Often people seem to very quickly go on the attack in fitness forums, which I don’t really understand - because in my experience gyms are one of my favourite places in the world - honest, down to earth, positive, and everyone trying to do something good whatever their goal. So I don’t get it when people get shot down for asking about stuff.

I really don’t think genetics matter so much - there’s positives to whatever genetic diversity you have. At the end of the day it’s cheesy, but it’s ‘I against I’ and you against you’ - you’re right no one will have Hemsworth’s body other than him, but you can still look and feel great about yourself, you can still turn heads for all the right reasons with the body you have and be proud of yourself - whether that’s for being strong as hell, great with body weight lifts, or having a great set of guns, etc etc. Just make the best with what you have, but don’t allow yourself to be limited by false constraints.

E.g. Mate of mine has an unreal back - and I just can’t get the width and definition he can no matter what I do - I could train pull 3x a week and not get anywhere near him, but I’m just as strong and look alright and I love training, whereas he really struggles getting size and shape on his triceps compared to me - I only have to look at a dumbbell and my triceps swell - so everyone will have aspects their genes naturally allow them to excel at - but that’s part of the fun and the challenge I think - enjoy what your body is already adapted to, and make it better by working on what you find hard.
 
@prececetun1976 Thanks mate, I appreciate that. Gym culture can often be really terrible, and I would have been in better shape a lot younger if more people were as willing to create a welcoming space for curious folks as you
 
@imjustme123
work full-time, have kids/families/other hobbies, and acknowledges that most people will never have a bulging a sixpack or whatever
Click to expand...

You may need to rethink your criteria. Case in point: MythicalStrength has a full-time job, a family, other hobbies, and acknowledges that most people will never have a six pack. While I enjoy reading his stuff and think reading his blog would be extremely helpful for anyone pursuing any sort of strength or fitness related goal, it is likely not what you are looking for.
 
@bournes No, I didn’t elaborate on my own goals in great detail because it wasn’t relevant to what I was saying (I’m not looking for advice on my own routine). I just wanted to create a list of a certain progressive class of blogger/influencer as described above
 
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