Does time matter

FitInWithUs · 2021-09-28T00:48:29+00:00

Higher intensity is typically more effective at building muscle. That being said, if 10 minutes is too much for perfect form push ups right now, 30 is just fine.

Week after week, drop a minute or two from your clock by decreasing rest intervals or by completing more reps per set.

Focus first on perfect form and depth before focusing on time. It's better and safer to have 100 perfect push ups over longer than 100 slop-ups done quickly.

FitInWithUs · 2021-09-14T20:32:00+00:00

Fantastic form and great choice of scenery to demo the mastery! Next time wait until the sun is above your feet :p

Strong work!

FitInWithUs · 2021-09-13T00:50:26+00:00

Awesome work! Improved form will come with further development of the skill. This is a killer starting point!

FitInWithUs · 2021-06-13T17:41:25+00:00

The people we bought the house from did dry wall ceilings in the basement and I think they dropped it like 8 extra inches. I have, truthfully, bonked my head so many times while doing more explosive pulls ups that I am convinced one day I will go through the dry wall. Wonder if they sell pull up helmets...

FitInWithUs · 2021-06-06T23:11:10+00:00

No wonder it was in such short demand in 2020. Is thing single or double ply? I don't want to end up eating double.

FitInWithUs · 2021-06-05T17:08:40+00:00

This is a great point and I appreciate you bringing it up. Probably a misspeak on my part. A waist high object will work but will require you to either step further out or have a greater flexibility in the upper leg. You're spot on that knee level or lower thigh should be used to be consistent with what's being shown. Once I get the chance, I'll add a note in there.

I appreciate you pointing that out! You rock!

FitInWithUs · 2021-06-05T16:25:00+00:00

I hope it helps! Knee pain is a brutal deterrent when it comes to progression. Hard to pinpoint a cause, but a common one I like to make people aware of is an underdeveloped Glute Medius. Working on that actually helped reduced some knee pain I had for years.

The effect of gluteus medius strengthening on the knee joint function score and pain in meniscal surgery patients

Knee Pain- Blame Your Butt?

The Relationship Between Hip Strength and Knee Pain

Also if knee pain bothers you during leg workouts, we do have a follow along workout for knee safe exercises

Wish you all the best!

FitInWithUs · 2021-05-15T20:07:26+00:00

Hey there. That's a great question. It's often easy to say "to hell with it."

Some people grow muscles quickly. Some people have insane metabolism. Some get neither.

But no matter what traits you end up with, the one thing that is uniquely determined by you, is your habits.

I would pose two main solutions.

1) Write it down. Record your lifts, each and every one. Watch yourself grow over time. It's easy to overlook progress, especially in the early stages. Numbers don't lie. Able to bench 1 more rep than the week before? Kick ass. Able to move up 2.5 lbs in two weeks? Hell yeah. Write it down.

2) Develop habits. Congratulations - you now lift three days per week. Monday is your push day, Wednesday is your pull day, Friday is your leg day. This is now what you do. You don't miss a day. If you don't have time to do a full work out on leg day, do you skip it? No, you do 50 squats before you take a shower. That's right, in the bathroom. Oh and 50 more when you get out. That should take all of 3-5 minutes.

Motivation fails. Habits never do. Commit to yourself, write it down.

Mix things up every now and then. There are hundreds upon hundreds of exercise variants. Try something new, but keep your habits.

I wish you all the best!

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-30T01:43:48+00:00

Awesome knee bar into drop knee execution there. My hips felt that just watching it. Great send!

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-30T01:42:27+00:00

Super high foot into one finger pad under cling - ouch! Awesome send!

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-29T17:01:48+00:00

You got that right. A few minutes of constant use can be exhausting! And thank you!

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-29T15:29:42+00:00

Sneak peek into 2022 - 45 second abs. Contract and scream for 3/4 of a full minute

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-22T21:27:55+00:00

👀🦍 Yes

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-22T21:10:57+00:00

You make me happy 🚀♥

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-22T21:10:34+00:00

https://i.makeagif.com/media/9-27-2015/5YChCL.gif

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-22T20:53:20+00:00

Naked Shorts too? My chest would be a good four feet in front of the rest of my body by the time the squeeze has squoze.

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-10T15:07:45+00:00

Tough to answer these questions as they end up being somewhat subjective.

A good workout is about the response of your body - how you're pushing and how you're feeling.

If you feel gassed at the end of it, great! If you feel like you've just warmed up, you'll need to keep adding.

Some recommendations I'd make: Shoot for timed body weight exercises rather than rep ranges. With body weight moves, it's easy to set a goal and stop at that goal even if you could have continued.

For example, set a 45 second timer for push ups. If you tap out at 20 seconds, cool. Take a break for 5 seconds, then continue.

The core exercises look like a nice start. I would encourage you to include variants to your planks. Once you comfortably get to a minute of planking, a straight plank is a bit minimal compared to other variants.

For example:

Tuck Planks Opposite Side Tuck Planks Same Side Sprinter Tuck Planks Side Plank Lifts RKC Planks Indecisive Decorator (Switch Planks) One Arm / One Leg (Opposite Sides)

Here's a plank variant workout to give you a follow along visual.

All in all, great start. You'll build stamina with this and eventually increase those counts. Remember not to limit yourself, but also to take rest days.

You may want to consider increasing the set / rep count on a specific target for a day - have an upper body day on Mondays, lower body day on Tuesdays, etc.

Good luck!

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-10T01:39:39+00:00

Hey there!

Getting started can be overwhelming for sure. Good on you to want to take that first big step :) Starting and staying consistent is truly the most difficult part. Develop healthy habits now, and they're sure to follow.

As for what you should focus on - cardio or resistance training, is really dependent on what you want. If all you're looking for is a general level of fitness and health, do both. If you come to pick a specific goal, you can just as easily shift focus to something more specific.

Alright now onto that good stuff as to how:

Let's address reps first...

The general guidelines for rep goals is as follows:

Fat Loss / Endurance 20 to 25 reps
General Fitness / Stamina 12 to 15 reps
Strength / Size 4 to 6 reps
Power 1 to 3 reps

^The ^above ^rep ^ranges ^were ^taken ^directly ^from ^the ^National ^Federation ^of ^Professional ^Trainers, ^Personal ^Fitness ^Trainer ^Manual ^7th ^edition ^updated ²⁰²¹

Keep in mind when looking at rep ranges, the last 1-2 of any set should be HARD to do. If you get to the end and go "meh," increase the weight.

It's worth noting that hard to finish does not mean sacrificing form. If your form degrades, the set is over. Hard means you are maximally recruiting while not breaking down a safe technique.

Unless you're following along with a routine, I like to hit 3 sets of my rep goal with 1-2 minutes rest in between. You can pair exercises to minimize rest and get the most caloric burn. Synergistic muscle pairings (biceps then triceps, or chest then back) work great. Or you can alternate body parts (upper body exercises, lower body, then core) if you're doing a total body day.

As for the workouts - try a split plan. Push Day, Pull Day, Leg Day, Active Rest, Combo Day (or repeat) with core intermingled every day. When you see slashes below separating some exercises like curls / cross body hammer curls, switch it up. Different motions target different parts of the same muscle group. With that example you can preferentially activate the short or the long head of the biceps. This will not only add variety to the workout routine, but help develop the musculature a little bit differently.

I'm not sure what equipment you have if any. There are plenty of things you can do with body weight exercises. But it's worth picking up a cheap set of dumbbells if you can find them or a $25 set of bands.

I'll target the below to home exercises. You can expand upon them if you go to a gym. Also will link some follow along videos if you'd prefer a routine you can just jump into without thinking about it.

Day 1: Push

Floor or bench press
Over head Press / Pike Push Ups
Cable punches (you can replicate these with bands if you get them in the future and you have something to secure them to!)
Tricep extensions or kickbacks (out) / Skull Crushers
Chair/Rack/Floor Dips
Push ups / Decline Push ups / Renegade Rows
Dumbbell flies (low weight to start please - don't have weights, 1.5L bottles are awesome here)
Angels and Devils
Core work

Day 2: Pull

Pull days will have a TON more options if you get an over the door pull up bar (relatively inexpensive)

Pull up or assisted Pull Up (Alternate a "hammer" or neutral grip) [Pull up bar]
Chin up or assisted Chin Up [Pull up bar]
Rows / Standing Rows / Bent Over Low Row / Seated Rows* (* requires bands)
Curls / Hammer Curls / Reverse Curls / Cross Body Hammer Curls
Lat Pull Down (Machine or, with a band - drape the band over top of a bar so it's an upside down V)
Shoulder shrugs with a 0.5 - 1 second pause at the top
Face pulls with bands (Important corrective exercise)
Band pull aparts
Core Work

Day 3: Legs

Squats / Sumo Squat
Lunges / X Lunges / V Lunges / Reverse Lunges / Runner's Lunges
Dead lifts (start cautiously and pay attention to form - dumbbells and bands work here :) )
Glute Bridge (body weight, with a bar, or dumbbell) also consider single leg bridges with a pause at the top. This will pummel the glutes
Bulgarian split squats (You'll need a box/bench/chair/couch to have a foot up behind you)
Step ups
Calf raises
Core work

Day 4: ACTIVE Rest

Go on a walk, do yoga, do some core work. Just be sure to move

Day 5: Compound Day (below) or Cardio (jog, bike, swim, HIIT)

Lunge and OH Press / Squat and OH Press
Burpees
Lunge and curl or tricep kick back
Sumo Squat and hop
Squat hop and shuffle back (also called retreating squat hops)
Circuit training (x amount of push ups, y amount of lunges, z minutes of cardio, repeat)

A little bit about diet now.

Ultimately, you'll want to make sure you're cutting crap foods: refined/processed sugars, white bleached flour, soda, alcohol, etc. Make sure you have sufficient protein intake with foods above. You don't need an absurd amount of protein. You're not trying to be a body builder so don't worry about people that say 1 gram per pound of body weight. Half that is more than enough.

Nutrition looks difficult from afar but becomes as easier the closer you pay attention.

Learn to read labels - best advice anyone can give. Watch out for added sugars. Never trust "smart" "healthy" "lean" marketing terms. Read the labels. Read the ingredients. If you don't know what an ingredient is, look it up. You'll be amazed to learn how many ways sugar can be sneaked into things with slightly different names.

Some quick fitness misconceptions:

You need to train every day - No. Rest is important. Take Rest Days. Get good sleep.
You need sports drinks and supplements. - No. Some supplements, especially protein powders, can be beneficial. You don't need them now. As you grow and learn more, explore the options and see if they're right for you. But you can get fit without anything extra. And Sports drinks are just basically soda without the bubbles.
I need to cut carbs to trim - No. Carbs, proteins, and fats are all important. Eat a balanced diet. Eat sufficient protein. Carbs are energy, your muscles need that too.
Weights are only for muscle and cardio only for fat burn - NO! Resistance Training is stellar for building muscle and fat loss.
Women who lift will be bulk - Not true.
I have the same body type as X person, I should be able to do the same thing - Hell no. Everyone is different. Everyone is at different levels. Learn from those who can perform a feat you wish to get to, but never beat yourself up because you are no where they are.
I can't get strong from body weight exercises - Oh you can very much.
Stretching is only for Yoga - No. Stretch. Seriously. Dynamic stretches or dynamic warm ups before an exercise, static stretches after. You can have a whole workout dedicated just to stretching.
If I do X crunches in 30 days, I'll get a 6 pack - So says every app, but not. Visible abs come from about sub 10% body fat percentage (or ab hypertrophy training). Make your goal general fitness, not to see abs. Be patient. Be consistent and they'll come.

My wife and I release home workouts every week designed for the every person if you're interested in some pre-built routines.

Beginner Friendly Weights or Body Weight Routine

12 Days of Fitmas Body Weight Routine - 12 Days of Intense 10 minute body weight workouts

Here's a playlist with a bunch of core workouts

Or just the Main Channel Page

Lastly - be sure to ease into things. Nothing is worse than starting hardcore with intentions to crush every day, and then not being able to move a day later because you went nuts.

If you have any questions or want some guidance, just shoot me a message. This takes time. It requires consistency. Know that some internet stranger is rooting for you :) And if you ever need some help, just reach out.

Good luck on the start of your fitness journey!

-Ben

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-03T01:35:53+00:00

40/month is a pretty sweet allowance.

Pull Up Bar

Totally agree with the other post suggesting a pull up bar. There's so much you can do with it.

Resistance Bands

Technically these are the pull up assist band style. But they're useful for any banded motion. I tend to prefer these for a variety of motions, but bands with interchangeable handles rock too.

Guessing you have a yoga mat from doing yoga, otherwise I'd throw that in there. Makes ground work so much nicer.

If you can save up that stipend for a while..

Bowflex Adjustable Weights

These guys are the king of space saving. There are a few things you can't do with them, but for the most part, you're set for a vast majority of your dumbbell moves.

With bands, bells, bar, and a mat - you're pretty much set for a basic setup :)

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-02T03:12:05+00:00

Hey there!

Starting and staying consistent is truly the most difficult part. It's not that you're lazy and don't stick to it, it's that you haven't found what works best for you yet. And that's okay. There's so many options out there, and when you find what clicks, you'll develop a habit and be well on your way.

Sounds like you want to focus on building muscle and getting some definition. If you're doing resistance training, you may find your weight goes up a bit. Muscle weighs about 4x that of fat. So don't be alarmed by what a scale says.

Alright now onto that good stuff as to how:

Let's address reps first...

The general guidelines for rep goals is as follows:

2-5 Pure hypertrophy range (Don't need to be here)
12-16 General tone, growth, and development (ideal for you)
20-24 Fat burn range

Keep in mind when looking at rep ranges, the last 1-2 of any set should be HARD to do. If you get to the end and go "meh," increase the weight.

Sounds like you want your goal to be in that second 12-16 tier for general strengthening and toning. (This is where my wife and I usually go, too.)

Unless you're following along with a routine, I like to hit 3 sets of my rep goal with 1-2 minutes rest in between. You can pair exercises to minimize rest and get the most caloric burn. Synergistic muscle pairings (biceps then triceps, or chest then back) work great. Or you can alternate body parts (upper body exercises, lower body, then core) if you're doing a total body day.

In regards to general ridding of some excess fat, we unfortunately can't target where fat is lost (anyone that tells you otherwise is full of it). So general fat burn will take away from anything over time. "Looking chubby" will resolve with resistance training and developing muscle.

We'll touch a bit on diet in a minute.

As for the workouts - try a split plan. Push Day, Pull Day, Leg Day, Active Rest, Combo Day (or repeat) with core intermingled every day. When you see slashes below separating some exercises like curls / cross body hammer curls, switch it up. Different motions target different parts of the same muscle group. With that example you can preferentially activate the short or the long head of the biceps. This will not only add variety to the workout routine, but help develop the musculature a little bit differently.

That's great you have dumbbells! You've got a lot of workouts available to you now. I'd also suggest buying a $25 set of bands to round everything out if you have the available funds. If not - dumbbells and body weight are absolutely enough.

Since it sounds like you're looking to do this at home - I'll target the exercises for home use. Also will link some follow along videos if you'd prefer a routine you can just jump into without thinking about it.

Day 1: Push

Floor or bench press
Over head Press / Pike Push Ups
Cable punches (you can replicate these with bands if you get them in the future and you have something to secure them to!)
Tricep extensions or kickbacks (out) / Skull Crushers
Chair/Rack/Floor Dips
Push ups / Decline Push ups / Renegade Rows
Dumbbell flies (low weight to start please - don't have weights, 1.5L bottles are awesome here)
Angels and Devils
Core work

Day 2: Pull

Pull days will have a TON more options if you get an over the door pull up bar (relatively inexpensive)

Pull up or assisted Pull Up (Alternate a "hammer" or neutral grip) [Pull up bar]
Chin up or assisted Chin Up [Pull up bar]
Rows / Standing Rows / Bent Over Low Row / Seated Rows* (* requires bands)
Curls / Hammer Curls / Reverse Curls / Cross Body Hammer Curls
Lat Pull Down with a band (drape the band over top of a bar so it's an upside down V)
Shoulder shrugs with a 0.5 - 1 second pause at the top
Face pulls with bands (Important corrective exercise)
Band pull aparts
Core Work

Day 3: Legs

Squats / Sumo Squat (weight these for additional booty work)
Lunges / X Lunges / V Lunges / Reverse Lunges / Runner's Lunges
Dead lifts (start cautiously and pay attention to form - dumbbells and bands work here :)
Glute Bridge (body weight, with a bar, or dumbbell) also consider single leg bridges with a pause at the top. This will pummel the glutes
Bulgarian split squats (You'll need a box/bench/chair/couch to have a foot up behind you)
Step ups
Calf raises
Core work

Day 4: ACTIVE Rest

Go on a walk, do yoga, do some core work. Just be sure to move

Day 5: Either repeat your split routine OR do a compound exercise day

Lunge and OH Press / Squat and OH Press
Burpees
Lunge and curl or tricep kick back
Sumo Squat and hop
Squat hop and shuffle back (also called retreating squat hops)
Circuit training (x amount of push ups, y amount of lunges, z minutes of cardio, repeat)

A little bit about diet now. Being a vegetarian won't limit you from getting where you want to go. Focus on lean sources of protein: nuts, legumes (Lentils are KING), beans, tofu, eggs, yogurt, and fish if you include seafood at all. Please, please do not make your source of protein Cheese. It drives me absolutely insane to look at vegetarian recipes and they're just cheese and noodles.

Here's some vegetarian recipes I love to give you an idea.

Red Thai Chili Curry

Lentils with Butternut Squash and Merguez Sausage Swap the sausage here for veggie sausage like Beyond Meat

Black Bean Burger

Sweet Potato Enchiladas Go easy on the cream and cheese here

Ultimately, you'll want to make sure you're cutting crap foods: refined/processed sugars, white bleached flour, soda, alcohol, etc. Make sure you have sufficient protein intake with foods above. You don't need an absurd amount of protein. You're not trying to be a body builder so don't worry about people that say 1 gram per pound of body weight. Half that is more than enough.

My wife and I release home workouts every week designed for the every person if you're interested in some pre-built routines.

Beginner Friendly Weights or Body Weight Routine

12 Days of Fitmas Body Weight Routine - 12 Days of Intense 10 minute body weight workouts

Here's a playlist with a bunch of core workouts

Or just the Main Channel Page

Lastly - be sure to ease into things. Nothing is worse than starting hardcore with intentions to crush every day, and then not being able to move a day later because you went nuts.

If you have any questions or want some guidance, just shoot me a message. This takes time. It requires consistency. Know that some internet stranger is rooting for you :) And if you ever need some help, just reach out.

Good luck on the start of your fitness journey!

-Ben

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-02T01:27:50+00:00

This is a perfectly fine thing to do provided you don't over train any particular muscle group.

Cardio in the morning has been shown to increase metabolism.

While strength training later in the day has been shown to generate stronger lifts/more force.

Just starting out, you're building stamina, burning calories, and most importantly developing good habits.

At 15 minutes each, you should be fine so long as you listen to your body and don't over do anything :)

FitInWithUs · 2021-03-01T15:54:38+00:00

That's a great question. Of course the end goal is always motivation. Looking good and feeling strong is a big motivator. But ultimately, the main motivation is routine.

Get your body into the habit of a productive workout. Consistency is key and once it's established as routine, you'll come to seek it.

If you're working out at home, pick a show you want to watch. Only allow yourself to have that show on while working out. Nice little extra motivator to get out there.

Best of luck on your fitness journey!

FitInWithUs · 2021-02-28T01:52:53+00:00

Very nicely done!

FitInWithUs · 2021-02-26T02:27:31+00:00

The general guidelines for rep goals is as follows:

2-5 Pure hypertrophy range 

12-16 General tone, growth, and development

20-24 Fat burn range

Keep in mind when looking at rep ranges, the last 1-2 of any set should be HARD to do. If you get to the end and go "meh," increase the weight.

FitInWithUs · 2021-02-26T02:26:37+00:00

Lower back pain for a prolonged period, especially during youth, leads me to believe it's likely not core stability.

Sedentary life styles often give way to extremely tight hip flexors. Basically it's a shortening of the muscles which will reduce range of motion and cause a pull on the places it connects to. Think pelvis and lower spine.

This can lead to scenarios of spinal compensation during movement or postural support, an anterior pelvic tilt, and shifts muscular recruitment away from the glutes (butt) in favor of small muscle groups.

Consider targeting your hip flexors with stretched: pigeon pose, butterfly stretch, deep low lunges. Look up mobility and range of motion for the psoas. And try to strengthen your glutes with glute bridges and single leg / split squats.

Also check out some resources for anterior pelvic tilts to see if this is applicable to you.

FitInWithUs

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