Hey comrades-

Here’s my set-up:

-Rowing Machine

-Pull up bar

-20 lbs kettlebell

-Yoga mat

-Access to (shared gym space) a cable machine, treadmills, and a weight-bench w/ free weights

I’m re-establishing a fitness routine - my previous routine was mostly body-weight exercises and long ass jogs. This time I’d like to make use of the equipment listed above.

One problem I’m having is that the equipment in my apartment seems to be hitting all the same muscle groups, so I don’t really have a good “circuit” going. My abs and legs are getting obliterated while my upper body could be doing more. Suggestions on what exercises to add in to balance things out would be welcome.

Aside from that, I’m, not really looking to “get huge” or anything like that - honestly my primary motivator is weight loss. But, I’m fine with building some muscle along the way - so I’m looking for a pretty basic nutrition regiment that isn’t super time consuming and won’t break the bank, either. I’m considering doing the protein power smoothie thing but I’m also just looking for good advice on this because I’m mostly flying blind which will make me easy prey for online marketing regarding “Supplements”. At the same time I don’t want to just blindly not ingest a tried-and-true nutritional staple for fitness-minded people.

I am very comfortable in the kitchen so healthy recipes are definitely also welcome. I’m already eating as much broccoli and bok choy as is humanly possible. Though I do want to lose weight, I’m not looking for a keto diet - a life without carbs is not worth living. I’d prefer to intermittently fast if necessary.

  • WhatDoYouMeanPodcast [comrade/them]@hexbear.netMEnglish
    4·
    2 months ago

    If your main goal is to lose weight, then your focus in nutrition is energy balance. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) calculator asks you for a binary gender, but it’s the gold standard of estimation[1]. One time I went to a medical campus to do a bomb calorimeter test and it was within 5% of the online estimation. The weight loss game has a few rules to it:

    1. you have a single pool of energy (you cannot choose where you lose fat from)

    2. there are (as far as you’re concerned) 3500 calories in a pound of body mass

    3. you will burn some ratio of muscles:fat

    4. resistance training (bodyweight/weights) and protein make sure the ratio is as small as possible (and you do want that)

    5. you want 2g of protein per day per kilogram of mass. For example if you weigh 100kg you want 200g protein/d.

    A good baseline is to try and record what you eat[2], analyze how many calories you are consuming, and then endeavor to eat 500 less calories than you expend. How you do that is your own prerogative. If you’re like me, you might find the deficit too harsh or your daily activity dependent on taking more calories than what’s on the paper - you may have to adjust by consciously adding more calories. Our sticky to the right of the comm has a good list of resources from R*ddit regarding meal prep, fitness meals, recipes from lifters, etc. you can make your own[2].

    Let me start with the conventional wisdom for the purpose of lifting weights and then speak to the resources you currently have. The idea is that you are trying to undergo a practice called progressive overload. In essence, exercise will rip your muscle fibers apart. Like a callous for skin getting ripped, if your muscles get adequate building blocks (protein) and rest then they will build back stronger than they were before. At that point, if you continue to use the same weights, your muscles will have adapted and no longer rip appreciably. Therefore, you need to use a more intense workout (usually bigger weights and sometimes 1-3 more reps) to continue to rip them so that they grow back bigger and stronger. Bodybuilding is the art of using the most efficient methods of targeting individual muscles with the most muscle tearing, growth signals, fuel, and conditions to help the muscle grow.

    Your goal of weight loss is typically seen as antithetical to muscle growth. If you don’t have enough calories then you’re losing mass instead of gaining it. Therefore the #1 easiest way to get someone to engage with your youtube channel is to answer the question “can I lost weight and gain muscle at the same time?” And the answer is sometimes if you’re super dedicated and precise. I don’t like recommending unattended newbies shoot for that. If you’re having trouble taking turns in Mario Kart, I wouldn’t recommend you switch from auto to manual steering. Once you know your lifts, you have a nutrition plan, and you don’t have much need for my advice, you’re better equipped for exploring unconventional ideas.

    I think, most fundamentally, a split (a schedule of lifting that separates different muscle groups for different days) might consist of

    A - back & bicep

    B - chest & tricep

    C - shoulders & legs

    x - rest day (see: cardio)

    Then during your 7 days of the week, you might split it up

    AxBxCxx

    So Sunday back & bi, Wednesday chest & tri, Friday shoulders & legs. As much as I’d rather just recommend you a full routine, running off to find someone to teach you how to squat and deadlift is both difficult and not fun. It also sounds like you’re more committed to doing your own thing with additions. So, for my money, I’d just look at ExRx’s directory and do whatever looks fun with the cables and dumbells[3]. Anything with dumbells you could probably do with a kettlebell. I’d just mess around with it, do plenty of cardio, and look back at all this if/when you actually want to build muscle to get more regimented. I just wouldn’t expect to build a significant amount of muscle on a deficit without a plan.

    [1] https://tdeecalculator.net/

    [2] https://thefitness.wiki/improving-your-diet/

    [3] https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory (note: to avoid overwhelming yourself, it’s much more approachable to just look at the headers. For example I would look for lifts for your thighs, not for your quadriceps.)