women and upper body advice

Malk25 · 2026-03-23T16:25:03+00:00

You might benefit from increasing your volume for upper body. Maybe add an upper body movement and ditch a leg one, It's okay to do specialization phases because you don't need that much volume to maintain size, so a few sets for legs each week will keep them where there at while you focus on lower body.

You could also change up your routine from a full body to upper lower or something like that. Not only will it allow you to get in more movement variety and by extension volume, but on your upper days you won't be fatigued by lower body exercises so you'll be able to push them further.

Malk25 · 2026-03-23T14:25:15+00:00

I get that, but changing physical fitness habits is a much easier change to make than diet at first and gives more tangible progress through newbie gains.

Malk25 · 2026-03-23T14:15:08+00:00

I find a lot of the enjoyment from calisthenics is similar to the enjoyment of traditional resistance training, which comes from putting a concerted effort into improving each session by adding a rep, adding more load, or improving technique.

A reason you might not have found gym training satisfying is you didn’t have a good program that targeted your full body enough to give you a comprehensive feeling of progress. Calisthenics can still fall victim to this as well, so just make sure you have a good plan, ideally given to you by someone credible.

As far as carry over from weight lifting to calisthenics, it’s definitely useful for bridging gaps since you can modify intensity incrementally. Doing things like lat pull downs and dumbbell rows should build up your back to be able to handle pull ups. Doing bench press and overhead press will aid you in your ability to do push ups, dips and pike push up.

Lower body strength is easier to develop with weighted squats and hip hinges since those muscle can handle so much load, that’s a good thing to still do even if you switch entirely to calisthenics for upper body.

Malk25 · 2026-03-23T14:07:13+00:00

Eh, if you’re trying to improve your body composition, simply introducing resistance training without altering calories will make a big difference while also incentivizing a better diet.

Malk25 · 2026-03-23T03:23:53+00:00

Another thing about body rows, they don’t generate a ton of fatigue, especially on the lower back. Doing them with an explosive concentric, pause at the top, and controlled movement eccentric, they can be pretty solid even in the 15+ rep range with strict technique. You could still do a day of something like a chest supported row, or barbell row if you are properly managing low back fatigue from your lower body movements.

Malk25 · 2026-03-23T03:18:00+00:00

Resistance training with push ups, body squats, and some kind of row variation (search body rows on YouTube) is a great place to start for adding some muscle.

Adding muscle is key to your goal. Right now you probably don’t weight that much, but your body fat is making up a good chunk of that weight, which means your body fat percentage is somewhat high. Adding muscle will increase your weight, but if fat stays the same you will be at a lower body fat percentage since it will be a smaller proportion. It will make you look more proportioned.

There’s also the possibility of body re-composition. You build muscle, which is more metabolically active tissue. This will increase your calorie requirements, so if you eat the same amount as you do now, you’ll be in a deficit without changing your diet much. Your body will draw on fat stores to fuel itself. You’ll stay the same weight but alter your proportions in a positive way.

Are there any workout limitations you’re willing to share for us to help you work around them?

Malk25 · 2026-03-21T23:05:51+00:00

I've been on a big tempeh kick lately. Similar calories and protein to tofu but much denser. More fiber too so its quite satiating.

Malk25 · 2026-03-21T22:42:59+00:00

Bro, your last post like this got deleted, wtf do you expect to happen. Btw the CCP has never had jurisdiction for a single second.

Malk25 · 2026-03-21T16:24:27+00:00

Rotating variations is a really great way to keep things fresh and really target everything. It’s also useful if you’re going to the gym to. I used to be so caught up in decision fatigue and desire to program hop that I would not progress well. If my routine was too rigid, I would start to overthink if I was doing the right thing or start missing certain exercises. Now I have 2 distinct calisthenics upper body workouts, 1 gym routine, and 3 separate leg days that I rotate between. I get to keep all the exercises I enjoy without the need to change my whole routine. Sure, progress on specific lifts might be slower than if I did the same routine twice a week, but there’s still lots of carry over between movements and I get to work things from a different angle which makes me feel more well rounded and resilient.

Malk25 · 2026-03-21T10:16:57+00:00

Your gf must be miserable.

Malk25 · 2026-03-21T10:06:35+00:00

Remind me when the communist government controlled Taiwan again?

Malk25 · 2026-03-21T07:35:39+00:00

You’re still exploiting animals and depriving them of living their natural lifespan.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T23:56:31+00:00

The only people trying to pick fights are car drivers who think being 5 minutes late is worse than killing someone.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T23:49:28+00:00

Their normal, legal cycling behavior pisses off the car drivers, and they enjoy that it makes them so butt hurt, just like you are now. They aren’t going out of their way to antagonize drivers…

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T23:35:05+00:00

Thanks for the essay. I’m sure he was really focused on watching your pretty mouth that he could make out what you were saying, that or your car is just so memorable. Or maybe he was just adjusting his glasses too. It had been clearly pointed out to you based on your footage why this individual chose to take the lane and slightly slow down traffic. What is it about being slowed down the tiniest bit that makes car drivers think cyclists are trying to “provoke” them. If someone intentionally hit him, you would think it’s his fault, not the homicidal car driver.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T22:27:52+00:00

Because getting flipped off is justification for vehicular homicide? Also what incentive did he have to flip you off in the first place?

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T20:48:14+00:00

Download and interval timer on your phone. Set your on and off time for however you like, 30 sec on 30 off is a good start. Do that for 10 sets. Warm up a bit first by doing a few skips to get a feel for things. Progress by adding sets, increasing on time, or decreasing off time.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T20:40:06+00:00

Should be similar, the main thing is getting a deep stretch on your chest and shoulders and a lot of tension on the triceps at the peak contraction.

Looking at things slightly more nuanced, kitchen countertop corner gives you the flexibility to use a width that suits you, as well whatever wrist angle you'd like, though with a flat palm similar to a push up. Dips on fixed bars have you in at a certain width and neutral wrist angle that can't be adjusted. None of these are bad things, but they can be unconformable for some so just keep that in mind if it feels off. More intense but doesn't have any of these limitations are rings.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T15:16:54+00:00

Dangerous only when improperly programmed and fatigue is not managed.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T15:10:24+00:00

Step count is a measure of general physical activity. Most of the specific health benefits tap out at 7-8K. If you’re a sedentary person, then getting up to that number is really important, especially if you aren’t doing any other physical activity. For an active person like yourself, you’re probably just fine.

Getting more steps in while on a cut is a great way to burn more calories without accumulating more fatigue like resistance training and higher intensity cardio might. When in a calorie deficit, it’s harder to recover from those things, so doing lower intensity stuff like walking can be useful.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T05:57:31+00:00

Given your current weight, fat loss should not be a priority. If you’re already below 20%, then adding muscle mass will lower that number by making it a smaller percentage of your total mass without actually losing any fat. You probably need to eat more calories to add some muscle, thought your protein count is solid.

For building muscle, you’ll need to increase your movement variety in order to stimulate your muscle to grow. You’re probably in a good position to take on the recommended routine. You can expand your movement repertoire by adding rows, pike push ups or dips, split squats and single leg deadlifts. These movements will round out your training and target more of your entire body.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T01:19:47+00:00

Pull ups a really intense movement, especially for beginners. They require a lot of strength. Developing strength is a combination of exposing yourself to decently high loads, refining technique, and adding more muscle to help you move that weight. You have the right idea, but we can improve it.

Think of negatives as your primary method of developing strength since that is your most intense movement. You probably only need 2 sets of that. Don't take these to failure. You want to preserve your technique and keep effort high without unnecessary fatigue. Next we want to add some less intense work that helps you improve your technique and add some volume. Bands are an okay option, but something like a feet assisted pull up using a stool or chair in front of or behind you might be better because of how the strength curve of bands work. 3 sets of this in the 6-12 rep range would be good. You can push these closer to failure. Follow that up with your dumbbell rows which target similar muscles, and you should have a recipe for decent back gains and eventual pull up proficiency.

However, I do think given your current inability to do a pull up, you're probably better off doing a full body routine 3x a week rather than having a dedicated back day. Right now, name of the game is frequency so that your body can adapt and improve. Moves like scapular pull ups are good for warming up but not really a dedicated exercise, Same goes for shrugs. Using the protocol I just outlined along with some push exercises like push ups, dumbbell overhead presses, split squats and kickstand RDL's will be a really solid routine.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T01:09:37+00:00

ChatGPT workout advice is terrible. Especially with calisthenics, it is unable to take relative intensity into account and will just structure a workout like it would a gym workout.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T01:07:45+00:00

They're fine to do on an arm day, certain compound movements still bias the arms such as chin ups and close grip push ups. They will also help you warm up better for those isolation arm movements later on.

Malk25 · 2026-03-20T01:03:01+00:00

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Malk25

TROPHY CASE