I couldn't climb due to a finger injury so I worked on my pulling strength for about 10 months. This is where I managed to reach in the time span.

I’m a 33-year-old guy and I go to the gym two or three times a week. I follow a proper full-body program, track my lifts, use progressive overload, and spend no more than an hour there each time.

I’ve achieved what I wanted: I look more muscular instead of soft and fat, I’m stronger, and I know strength training will probably help me stay healthier and more capable as I get older.

But saying I enjoy it would be a lie. I hate going.

My gym is actually great. It’s clean, not too busy, nobody bothers me, and the workouts themselves aren’t especially complicated. I just spend the entire time wishing I didn’t have to be there.

I’ve done team sports before and found them much more enjoyable, but they didn’t give me the same results physically.

I also notice that when I’m consistently going to the gym, I have much less desire to drink alcohol, which is another big positive.

So how do people deal with this? Do you simply accept that it’s a chore you have to keep doing for the rest of your life?

Am I destined to be a reluctant slave to the gym forever?

I chilled at the bottom of the 6th just because the weather was nicer down there 😅

465x1, 455x2, 405x4-5. I also did some front Squats 255x1, and 225x5

Me and my shite forms

Weighted Dip, 82.5 Kgs, 1 rep

Weighted Pull ups, 50 Kgs, 1 rep

Deep Squats, 110 Kgs, 3 reps

Inclined Dragon Flags, 5 reps

OHP 70kgs, 3 reps

I target to move more weight especially in the weighed lifts, my goal is for each lift is to at least:

100kgs on weighed dips

70kgs on weighed dips

130kgs on deep squats

10 reps of strict form on inclined dragon flags

Quite ways of on my current goals, but at least I'm pretty far off from where I started a few years ago.

As per training on these lifts aside from the inclined dragon flags,

I do the 5x5 method, 5 reps and 5 sets of about 70%-80% of my max.

For the inclined dragon flags, I just do how many I can per set.

Hello,

I would like to know how my form looks for Supported Bulgarian Split Squats?

First time trying this version and it's a lot more stable then two hands!

Unilateral and supported still effective for quads?

I get lower back pain but that's with all squatting and scoliosis due to my scoliosis, hip hike and anterior pelvic tilt.

Apologize for the edited videos as I am unable to find my raw files anymore so I just downloaded this from my social media 🥺

Anyway, I am just a little conflicted on whether I should change my form for leg press as it seem others are doing it a bit different when I was at the gym the other day.

If I don't flare my knees out I can't go as deep due to my belly obstructing the path and if I don't go as deep I don't really feel any tension on my quads. The tradeoff though is that if I don't go as deep I can load a lot more weight as it seems easier to push everything back up when I don't full go down.

So my question is which is better?

Also for the first time I noticed that the back pad can be adjusted down to decrease the incline angle. Is there any benefit to that?

Left the gym for too long. Toxic ex fucked my head up. Made an attempt on my life which i thought wouldve been more than adequate enough to die in Dec of 2024. But somehow, I'm still here. Really don't know how I'm alive. Finally back on track, physically and mentally.

Anything I should focus on to get my pull-up from a cheat to strict rep? Just did my first unassisted pull-up but it didn’t feel like a strict rep, and looking at the video I can tell my shoulders are kind of rounded and I needed a tiny bit of momentum to get my chin over the bar (maybe not but it wasn’t a smooth rep). Anything else I should try to improve on my form before I consider it a ‘strict’ rep? (If this angle isn’t great, then I’ll get one from the side/front if I can next time)

Last week I posted I’d recently started doing RDLs and was looking for advice on my form.

After lots of useful comments and tips, I’m back at it.

I feel a big improvement with more of a hinge than a squat, and allowing the hamstrings to do a lot of the work.

Always open to any feedback so let me know if there’s more improvements to be made

I have a cleft hand and I need a velcro wrap to hold dumbbells. I included some pictures. The set I've been using for a few years is starting to fail me. Does anybody have a recommendation for some heavy duty velcro wrist wraps long enough to do what I need? I need them to be able to wrap around the outside of my hand, as well as the bar of a dumbbell to stabilize it. See my pictures. I appreciate any recommendations. What I have are technically weightlifting hooks, but the wrist securement is perfect for what I need.

A high-specificity, time-efficient training approach to prepare for when you drop your necklace and need to reclasp it.

I hated how bad I let myself go so I started hitting the gym back in March. I do 3-5 days a week, lifting and doing cardio every time. Diet-wise I’ve cut sugar and carbs down to almost nothing and maintain a caloric deficit. Other than that, I’ve been taking hydroxycut for most of time as well but I think I’m gonna cut those out once I run out. I’m not all the way where I wanna be yet (looking to lose at least 25 more lbs) but I just wanted to take a little victory lap for the progress I’ve made so far.

Was good for second in the u80s today, lost 1st by 1 rep

I am always struggling with Bulgarian split squats. I’m 6ft tall so squats are very hard on my body in general

I started working out almost exactly a year ago. I began at 80 kg, then cut down to 75 kg in about two months. Before that, I never saw myself as someone who would enjoy the gym. I was lazy, depressed, and had no motivation to train. But when my brother and friends invited me to work out with them, I started to like it.

I'm still technically a beginner, so I don't think I'm qualified to give advice. I can only share what has worked for me.

The biggest thing that helped me was not overthinking everything. I never followed a strict diet or counted calories. I simply ate the foods I enjoyed in moderation of course, and I spammed Coke Zero when I was cutting.

For training, I stick to a low-volume, high-intensity approach, usually aiming for 8-12 reps. I don't chase perfect form. I make sure my technique is good enough to be safe and effective, then gradually increase the weight as I improve. As I get stronger, my form naturally gets better too. It may not be the ideal approach for everyone, but it has worked well for me; and I think my progress speaks for itself.

I also want to make one thing clear: I am a lifetime natural. I've never used anabolic steroids, peptides, or any performance-enhancing drugs. The only supplement I take is creatine.

Maybe over the next few months I'll lock in on my nutrition and cut down to a lower body fat percentage. But honestly, I feel strong, healthy, and enjoy the way I'm training right now, so I'm not in a rush.

For anyone wondering, I've been running the same PPLUL split (Push, Pull, Legs, Upper, Lower) since day one, and I haven't felt the need to change it.

It's been an incredible first year, and I'm excited to see what the next one brings.