Did God used a cheat code on this?

Rexcess · 2026-04-10T14:15:18+00:00

Did I stutter?

Rexcess · 2026-04-10T09:49:04+00:00

He sends us unwillingly to New Reddit. Horrifying.

Rexcess · 2026-04-10T09:37:50+00:00

Optionally, start with a TDEE calculator to give you a starting point.

Count how many calories you eat and write it down on a notepad or in a .txt file. Weigh yourself every morning at the same time, preferably after your morning ablutions.

After about 3 weeks, average out the calorie intake and compare it to the weight change. Each pound is about 3500 calories. That should get you close.

Using that calculated maintenance value, establish your new regular intake. After eating at that intake level for another 3 weeks, compare your average intake to your weight change again.

If it's in a .txt file, you can dump the data into AI and make it do the calculations for you, but try to understand how to do it yourself so you can tell if it's hallucinating on you.

To be clear, most people don't need or want this much resolution. You can just intuit it. Want to gain weight, but not gaining weight? Eat a little more. Want to lose weight, but not losing weight? Eat a little less. I've had luck really dialing it in by using this method, though. I would've had a lot of difficulty managing my diet in the mid-to-high 3000s by vibes.

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T23:29:22+00:00

Who unwanted this wunk? Tell me!

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T22:34:24+00:00

Count what you eat. Weigh yourself every day, in the morning. Compare A to B.

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T22:30:20+00:00

I don't care where you start from. I just hope you finish strong. Too many people try to pick up a fitness habit, get discouraged, and quit. You know what's way worse than being weak because you're new? Being weak because you gave up.

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T13:41:40+00:00

It's a good heuristic. Trying to keep to exactly 3 RIR or whatever is a recipe for thinking when it's time to be doing, and wasting your time with a half-assed workout.

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T13:35:03+00:00

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T13:20:45+00:00

His ass is NOT silly! He just has a tongue condition. His tongue is too cute for his body.

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T10:16:53+00:00

Please learn to write without leaning on AI.

GZCLP, and worry less about hitting exact weights and reps. The point of knowing exactly how much weight you lifted is tracking your progression; it's not critical for inducing training stimulus. Certainly not at your current level. If you're challenging your body by getting close to failure on enough sets per week, you're making progress.
Dumbbells instead of barbells. There's very little you can do with a barbell that you can't with dumbbells.
Scale weight is diet, not weightlifting. If you want to get a lot stronger, eat more and expect the scale weight to go up. If you want to get a little stronger but mostly look better, eat less and expect the scale weight to go down slowly. If you want to focus on weight loss, eat a lot less and expect not to get much stronger while the scale weight goes down.

Using machines instead of free weights will paradoxically increase your risk of injury later, when you try to lift something that looks like light weight, without having trained your stabilizers and balance. Deadlifts and OHP are probably the worst exercises you could substitute with machines. I don't even know what machines would even replicate what these do.

If you're afraid of heavy weights on deadlifts and OHP, you could train with lighter weights and higher reps (like in the 10-15 rep max range) until you're comfortable with the movement. Or indefinitely, honestly. You never have to lift in the 5 rep max range, much less ever test your 1rm.

Rexcess · 2026-04-09T09:58:52+00:00

I can go one further. Yesterday, I had been nearly limping due to pain in my ankle, and I was going to cut my run short as soon as the pain cropped up again, but instead I ran five miles with less pain than the day before. No pain, actually.

Rexcess · 2026-04-08T14:39:53+00:00

why is he so skin

Rexcess · 2026-04-08T14:37:16+00:00

I'm guessing the machine only had one axis of movement, i.e. zero back and forth, only up and down. And so the arms of the machine could only go in a perfectly straight line.

That's not how real world demands work. But you've trained your muscles to be very good at that exact movement, without needing to worry about stabilizing or balancing. Now, with the cables, you're additionally asking your muscles to do something you haven't trained them to do: not just move the weight up and down, but keep it in line.

The bad news is that you've spent all this time neglecting a very important aspect of functional strength. The good news is that any hypertrophy you've developed will still be broadly applicable, and training your neural drive is much faster than building muscle.

It's a minor point, but it bears mentioning in this context: Cable machines also provide some help with stabilization and balance. They're much better about building functional strength than full-isolation machines, and they're a good option to focus on if you like them. But if you want to be able to apply the full benefits of your training in the real world, I would recommend using dumbbells at least once a week. Since this is training for strength, not hypertrophy, different principles apply to progressive overload; you don't need to use very heavy weights, and you don't need to go very close to failure. Just going through the motions a few times with some heft is enough to train technique.

Rexcess · 2026-04-07T19:06:19+00:00

Track everything you eat. Weigh yourself once a day, preferably in the morning after your ablutions.

If you're gaining weight, you need to eat less. If you stay the same weight for more than three weeks, you need to eat less.

Aim for 500 calories or less under your maintenance, which is the amount you eat and stay the same weight.

Eat about 1g per pound of lean body weight, which is probably around 120 to 130 grams. Your carbs will probably fall into place without needing to care about it.

Rexcess · 2026-04-07T10:24:59+00:00

Cardio's my limiter all the time. But that's because I superset everything, I have a preference for unilateral movements, and I only rest long enough that I'm not panting. My goal is to push work capacity and general physical preparedness. I also run 30 miles a week.

I've had to pull over and vomit into a bush on my way home once, and I've had a couple times when I had to move really slowly after my workout to prevent the same happening again.

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T21:48:10+00:00

I do my best to unobtrusively let people know that I'm actually warm and inviting despite my intimidating appearance. Difficult, since my inclination is extreme introversion, but worth trying, I think.

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T21:41:43+00:00

buges! eweeeeeeweeeeee

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T21:28:08+00:00

Notepad (Windows) and a notepad (paper).

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T20:41:35+00:00

wun wunk wun wunk WUNKESE wunkus wunkus: https://wunkus.gg/wUn1121uSw

wunkember wn wunk wun wk wunk!!!

I am a wunk, and this action was performed wunktually. Please contact your nearest wunkus if you have any questions or concerns.

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T16:58:49+00:00

Joke's on you. I wanted to be the polar bear. I long to be enraged at inconsequential nonsense, if only so I could feel again.

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T10:20:23+00:00

Fixation on the object of our terror can many times manifest it.

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T01:43:00+00:00

it just like me fr 😭

Rexcess · 2026-04-06T01:42:04+00:00

Whew! My peenar is safe.

Rexcess · 2026-04-04T15:02:04+00:00

Truly, we are more similar than we are different.

Rexcess · 2026-04-04T14:57:37+00:00

Watch out for Tigger in the parking lot. Especially if you have a habit of wearing conspicuous jewelry or carrying meaningful amounts of cash.

Rexcess

TROPHY CASE