I found it more cost effective just to buy a few pairs of standard dumbbells.

How’d you land on what weight?

My Bowflex dumbbells which had been collecting dust have obviously become a godsend this year. Big fan.

If you can't find those, I believe the Powerblock dumbbells go up to 90 pounds (might need to purchase additional attachments for this) per hand and looks like they're available on Walmart.

Just since August I've used adjustable dumbbells on my way up from 5 kg to 17.5 kg in 2.5kg increments, so that would be 6 different sets if I was going to buy them separately.

In Europe but I found the cement-based ones were cheaper than the metal-based ones.

I bought the lightest I thought I'd need, the heaviest I thought I'd need (not the heaviest I could lift, but the heaviest I'd use on a few lifts), and then one in the middle. For me, that was 20 lbs, 90 lbs, and 50 lbs.

I bought the 20s because it was during lockdown and they were available. If I had a selection, I'd have gotten 35s over 20s, but the concept still holds.

Having some problems with golf flexibility. My lead arm is starting to break too much around 10.30 in the back swing. Can feel tension across the whole of the upper back.

Going to start some yoga to fix the problem. If anyone has any better ideas I'd be grateful.

Clarify in my thread what you mean by "break too much". Likely need to do mobility work around your spine as well across your chest and upper arms.

Probably stretch your pecs and lats, roll out your t-spine and do some thoracic rotation drills

So most Gym flooring sites seem to recommend a minimum of 8mm to the rubber padding, but none seem to mention why this is. I am just trying to cover a concrete floor due to exposed adhesive, anyone have any idea if 3mm is fine? I'm obv not worried about damaging concrete but no one really explains why else you need so much depth.

Anyone ever hear of 75 Hard? I'm going to start that in the new year.

I'm kind of lay when it comes to home gyms, but I do work in the construction industry. Probably the 3 mil stuff is just less hardy and will wear down more quickly with repeated impacts and thermal expansion/contraction cycles. I think this is the kind of thing that you only need to buy once in your whole life if spend an extra buck and get quality.

That makes a lot of sense. I was def looking for a short cut rather than waiting on delivery and spending more. But it sounds like the right choice. Thanks

Never heard about it but I read some reddit posts about it. I usually say to each his own with stuff like this but your fitness log indicates that you're a person who doesn't stick to stuff very well. Don't you think that committing to two 45 minute workouts per day along with a bunch of other stuff is a little bit tough to stick to? Maybe you're one of those people who can't do anything unless you go hard, but has this strategy worked well for you in non-fitness arenas?

No offense intended, I mean it in the most constructive way possible.

Thanks posted response in my thread

Sorry for extreme grunch, can anyone here give me some tips on aerobic exercise (home elliptical machine) scheduling in relation to intense studying / competitive game playing.

Assume just eating / sleeping / studying / fitness for simplicity

I only drink black coffee, green tea, and water

I'm just trying to get a grasp on what schedule is most conducive to memory, brain function, and overall memory levels. I'm not trying to be a body builder or competitive athlete, but just increase energy levels & brain function while staying healthy.


Happy New Year

Anyone ever heard of someone doing a DIY assisted pull up machine?

What I mean is you take a frictionless rope with a loop for your feet on one end and a weight on the other and throw it over the pull up bar. Then you do pull ups. It's like doing pull ups with a resistance band, but the assistance force will be equal at all parts of the pull, unlike with resistance bands where the assistance is heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top. It's mimicking the function of a pull up assist machine.

My pull ups have been stalled for a while and I'm looking for ways to improve. I do bodyweight rows as well. I haven't been going to the gym, just a nearby park with a pull up bar and dips bar. I've heard that resistance bands are not ideal due to the unequal assistance they give. Are lat pulldowns good to do as well once I get back to the gym? I've also heard of the "grease the groove" method. I can only do maybe 4 pull ups max in one set anyway, so driving down to do 2 pull ups and then leave and doing that multiple times a day takes up a lot of time.

That's a neat idea that I've never heard of, but I think that pulldowns and rows are better overall than assisted pullups. It affects the balance and cadence and applies uneven resistance like the bands, though in a different way. I wouldn't even think about that machine if I could do 4 unassisted reps.

Just increase your volume (total reps per week) and do lots of sets of 3 and 2 and focus on improving your form. It's not a lift that you're going to be able to improve by leaps and bounds every week. You might add a rep every month or two and that's a fine rate of progress.

A frictionless rope is great in theory (I have a degree in mechanical engineering and in school we did lots of problems with "frictionless" ropes because they simplified the problem down to the basics), but in reality ropes over bars aren't smooth. They stick, then move. They slide around too, as there's no pulley to guide them. The weights will probably hit you (or at least contact you) on the way up and down. And, rubbing a rope against a bar like that will result in wear pretty quickly.

You may be able to overcome these difficulties and get something to work, but why reinvent the wheel? Just use a band. Sure, they provide more assistance at the bottom than the top, but you're just using it until you're stronger. And, it's easier to carry a band to the park than it is to carry a rope and counterweights.

If you can only do 4 pullups and you are stalled, it means you are too fat. Lose weight and you will become a pull-up master.

Yeah the DIY pull up assist machine is probably impractical.

I'm 5'8" @ 165lbs and def need to lose some fat. BF% is probably in the 20s.

+1 to Renton's suggestion of just greasing the groove with 8-10 sets of 2 throughout a day for a month or so. Lots of volume and technique practice with minimal fatigue. Losing weight will definitely also help.

Online you see people do challenges like "100 pushups a day for 30 days." And when you look at the before/after results, they are marginally positive. But if you really want to build muscle and strength you need rest days, right? Seems like they are sabotaging their progress by overtraining like that. And after a point you get diminishing returns without progressive overload.

Are these challenges just gimmicks people do to show off on social media?

I’ve gained like 60lbs in the last yr due to laziness, poor eating and tearing my acl skiing. Before that I was probably already like 60lbs over my goal weight

I’m betting a buddy on a weight crossover bet as a means of motivation to lose this weight. Terms are if my weight ever gets lower than his in 18 months I win

My current wt: 296 (5’9”, 28yo)
His weight: 215 (6’0” 28yo)

I used to work out quite a bit and played sports my whole life, but haven’t done anything consistently in at least 3 yrs

What would fair odds be for this bet. Initial thought is 10-1, but not 100% sure

Body weight exercises like push ups are a lot easier to recover from than things like heavy barbell lifts.

I think these types of challenges do have a social media aspect to them, but also just give people some type of "cool" goal to try to do. I think it's more about demonstrating some level of commitment and discipline more than the physical benefits you get out of it. It's something easy to remember and try and stick to which is why I think it's typically targeted to people that are newer to physical training.

Yeah you're not going to get jacked or super strong doing something like that, but I think it's just something to start with.

Depends what kind of shape your friend is currently in. Like would it be relatively easy for him to also cut down in the meantime or is he like 10% bf at 215? Like how difficult would it be for him to get to 200 or 190? But also a lot depends on you. How disciplined and determined can you be? That's something only you truly know.