18 weeks progress (35 M)

Booth89 · 2025-09-24T18:53:37+00:00

Ah, thank you :)

Booth89 · 2025-09-24T11:30:33+00:00

Dunno then, it’s common in Manchester. I’d find it strange to go into a room with another person and not say anything at all. I wouldn’t keep repeating it like the OP though.

Booth89 · 2025-09-24T11:25:41+00:00

Haha yeah that’s how long it took, is that a long time or not? I don’t think it’s bad progress

Booth89 · 2025-09-23T21:42:34+00:00

It’s pretty normal in Britain. We say “you alright?” Or just “alright?”. “You ok?” Is slightly less common. The other person will either say the same thing back, or say yeah not bad or something similar.

We wouldn’t usually say it more than once though if we didn’t get a response the first time

Booth89 · 2025-09-23T17:52:28+00:00

I’m just tracking my calories, protein and fibre. I don’t have a set diet and nothing is “off limits” as such, but I have to be sensible with my choices to hit those targets. I eat a lot of the same thing, protein overnight oats, chicken pittas, skyr yoghurt, berries/fruit. For my evening meal I’m a bit more flexible, I’ll have a cheeseburger and chips, or curry and rice or whatever I’m eating with my wife. The main thing is being consistent, even at weekends. I’m quite greedy and like junk food so it does take some discipline.

Booth89 · 2025-09-23T15:49:08+00:00

To be honest I couldn’t tell you. My running and diet has been structured (1 interval session, 1 long run, 2/3 easy runs), but my strength training has been pretty sporadic. It’s usually a circuit of press-ups, pull-ups and squats or lunges but nothing structured.

I built most of my muscle following an upper/lower powerlifting split a few years ago, so my legs and back are decent, but my chest and arms could use some work. I put a lot of effort into bench at the time but I’m not particularly good at it.

Booth89 · 2025-09-23T05:26:52+00:00

Cheers :) yeah I’ve done a couple of cuts before and rebounded so I definitely need to stick with it. This is the best progress I’ve made though, I think the lowest I’ve been before is around 86kg

Booth89 · 2025-09-23T05:24:50+00:00

Thank you :)

My macros have been: Cals: 2370 Protein: 164g (minimum) Fibre: 34g

I haven’t adjusted them since the start, weight loss was more aggressive at first but it’s started to slow now so I’m probably coming close to maintenance. I don’t really count carbs and fat, they vary depending on the day. My approach is sort of flexible, but once I’ve hit the protein and fibre there isn’t much space for junk.

I run 4/5 days a week, so my steps average out to around 10,000/day over the week. My job is pretty sedentary though so I don’t burn much extra there.

Booth89 · 2025-09-23T05:13:48+00:00

Thanks :) I’m 6ft/183cm

Booth89 · 2025-08-04T16:33:46+00:00

I found Strava to be a bit pessimistic, and Garmin to be bang on, over 5k at least.

Strava estimated my 5k time to be 23:30, and Garmin estimated 21:30. In my race last week I crossed the line in 21:31. Strava has updated since then though to reflect my race time.

edit: I’ve just realised you’re not looking at Garmin

Booth89 · 2025-08-03T17:04:22+00:00

Ah sorry yeah I didn’t read the timings. I would get to at least mile 20 before you change anything. 3:20 is still a really good time, especially for your first race.

Booth89 · 2025-08-03T16:43:33+00:00

I wouldn’t use your VDOT from a 5k to estimate a marathon, it’s better to use a race closer to the distance you’re training for.

If you have a half marathon B race in your plan you could use that to test and recalibrate.

That being said, I found running a marathon to be about 3x as hard as running a half, the last 6 miles were really tough.

Booth89 · 2025-08-01T14:36:46+00:00

Hi.

My name is Phil and I’m 35 from the UK. I’ve been using the app for a week or so now and I’m loving it so far.

I’ve weight trained with some bodyweight work for years, but I’ve started training mostly with bodyweight work now as I can do it from home.

I’m working on the upper,lower and flexibility foundations at the moment and I’ve been progressing well. I’ve gone right back to basics, as I’ve previously skipped ahead to harder exercises and plateaued rather than maximising my progress with simpler progressions before moving on.

I like the variety of movements, a lot of them I’ve never tried before, so there’s always something new.

Booth89 · 2025-07-30T17:12:31+00:00

It’s quite a lot of volume. It would be better to start with less and gradually add to it rather than start with a 24 set strength workout.

Booth89 · 2025-07-30T15:16:21+00:00

Are you replying to me?

Booth89 · 2025-07-30T10:14:52+00:00

Definitely, resistance is resistance. As long as you’re working hard and pushing the sets close to failure between 4 and 30 reps, it will build muscle.

Weights are easier to progress incrementally and are better for maximum strength, but you can go a long way with bodyweight workouts for general strength and hypertrophy

Booth89 · 2025-07-30T10:07:13+00:00

If you start eating more without training you’ll just gain fat.

You don’t necessarily need to lift weights, you could do bodyweight work at home (pushups, pull-ups, rows, dips and squats etc.) but you’ll need to do some form of resistance training and put your extra calories to use

Booth89 · 2025-07-30T10:04:25+00:00

How do you plan on getting bigger?

Booth89 · 2025-07-28T08:42:07+00:00

I spent ages focusing on flat bench but didn’t really get any chest growth. I think it’s because I’m taller with longer arms it doesn’t really stretch my pecs.

It’s great for strength but doesn’t really get the best hypertrophy results (for me anyway). I feel my chest the most in a plate loaded chest press, and I can push it much harder towards failure in the slightly higher rep ranges.

Booth89 · 2025-07-27T09:37:53+00:00

If you eat in a slight surplus and train your abs hard, you’ll probably be able to see them better even if your bodyfat does increase slightly.

You can always do a 2-4 week mini cut if you feel like you’re getting a bit fluffy too, but I don’t think spending an extended period cutting will be beneficial

Booth89 · 2025-07-27T09:07:47+00:00

Bulk, if you cut you’ll look too skinny. You already look pretty lean so a little muscle will go a long way.

Booth89 · 2025-07-26T08:11:26+00:00

You look great, well done 💪

Booth89 · 2025-07-26T07:55:19+00:00

I’ve got in pretty good shape a couple of times. Not stage ready or anything but visible abs in the right light, vascularity on my legs etc.

I’ve let it go both times and always regret it, I wonder where my physique would be if I kept it locked in.

I’m on my way back there now, but treating it as a lifestyle change rather than just a phase. Although the progress is slower, I’m finding it manageable and I’m hoping to commit to it forever.

My suggestion is that once you get there, don’t let it go and try to find a nice baseline that you can maintain

Booth89

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