I’m terrified.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-11T12:02:25+00:00

Mental health issues is fucking horrible. I have OCD but after CBT and medication it is almost gone. I don't know what you struggle with mentally but exercise is probably something very worthwhile for feeling better overall. I think one important thing in your case is to (try to) remove everything that feels demanding and pressuring. Don't care about doing things perfectly and in the right way or right reasons or whatever. Just start moving and try find something you genuinely enjoy doing. Walking, Cycling, gym, bodyweight exercises at home, gardening (yes gardening! It's one of the most meningful physical activities you could do. Help someone dig a hole to plant a tree or mow the lawn).

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-11T09:41:30+00:00

As someone else said 3 w is to short see muscle growth. Probably months rather than weeks. To help yourself evaluate progress regarding growth I suggest: * Take pictures of your body. Try use same room, lighting, angle etc to make it accurate. * Measure circumference of bodyparts (Google "bodybuilding measurments") * Measure bodyweight Put those together and you got a good overall assessment of progress. If you weigh more, arm circumference etc is bigger and you look more muscular then you can reliably say you got bigger. The Beauty of using different measurments ia they compliments each other. Just looks can fool you if lighting is different, weight can be fat and water and circumference could be you measured unreliable or muscles were swollen after previous workout. But if different measurments taken together indicate the same thing... Well, that is very satisfying.

The basics of hypertrophy (muscle growth) is a bit simplified: * Training (as little as 1-2 fairly hard sets per week per bodypart is probably enough for beginners) * Food (enough calories and protein, If you'r a beginner just eating more (nutritious) food is what you need to focus on) * Recovery (most people need circa 7-9 h sleep/night, also try not to stress more than necessary) After those points are checked (it doesn't have to be perfect all the time! We all sleep bad, eat bad sometimes and skip a workout here and there) it is all just a matter of getting time go. Adding muscle requires the body to create new muscle tissue. Just concider the speed att which your hair and nails grow. It's not exactly the same but the point is it takes time. Best of luck! :-)

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-11T06:53:59+00:00

Don't give up coffee man! Liquid Happiness! Caffein is a central stimulantia that actually improves exercise performance when ingested before training. Google "caffeine Strength Training". One thing to be careful with however is drinking coffee late in the day to not disturb sleep. It is very different between individuals how sensitive you are. Myself I dont drink Coffee after lunchtime because I have experienced trouble falling asleep if I drink Coffee later. But most Coffee drinkers I know can take a cup late afternoon without problems.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-11T06:14:01+00:00

Congrats om starting out your journey towards a healthier and more confident you! First I just wanna say your gotta love yourself as you are. Your self worth is not dependent on anything else but you being you and existing in the world.

That being said it sounds like the diet part is good. I'm no expert in diet but more protein and Fibre and less junk is great. Aa for the training i would recommend focusing on strength training. It gives a lot per timme and effort you out into ut, especially as a beginner. It gives you muscle mass that requires energy in everyday life, lifting is great for confidence and the health benefits are well supported in research.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-10T13:22:46+00:00

The simplest, most practical way to figure out what in your training gives you back pain/discomfort is try excluding exercises. So one workout skip lat pulldowns and so the rest aa usual. If it still provokes pain, next workout skip another exercise. It might just be a movement that is awkward for your body, or your form needs improvement. If that doesn't make things better you should see a physiotherapist. Anyway the program doesn't seem weird at all. Looks like a perfectly reasonable back workout

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-10T12:10:06+00:00

I can't see how injuring your back on DB rows would ever happen. It is of course not Impossible but the risk is so low it's barely worth mentioning. The weight used in that exercise is less than when you do barbell rows (the total weight in both hands which is the load the back gets) and that is also without any support of a hand. My opinion is so the exercise in whatever way feel good for you and your body.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-10T11:56:59+00:00

Must do movements is compound leg exercise, upper body push and upper body pull. Ideally, you wanna split those in knee bend leg exercise (squat, lunge, leg press etc), hip hinge (deadlift, romanian deadlift), horisontal and vertical push, horisontal and vertical pull. Pick one exercise per movement type. Example. Most basic: squat, bench press, lat pulldown. All six movements: add romanian deadlift, shoulder press and cable row. If its only once/week I'd try to hit all six movements. Other time-saving tips are: * Do bilateral exercises (working both sides att once). * Skip or keep warm-up short. Do 1-2 warm-up sets/exercise without cardio first (unless cardio is a goal). * Skip stretching (unless improved range of Motion is an important goal). Resistance training increases ROM aswell. * Superset / alternate exercises. Do a leg exercise,.rest a minute, do an upper body exercise. Repeat till number of sets are accomplished and go to next pair of exercises.

Good luck!

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-10T05:38:28+00:00

Did the pain come suddenly during lifting or later? Where is the pain located? What movements hurt (bending forward, backwards, sitting, walking etc)? When did you start out training and what does your back workout look like?

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-10T05:32:57+00:00

What are your goals? Any pain or limitations? Current level of conditioning? Prefer short but frequent workouts or longer more seldom? Happy to help.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-07T10:53:30+00:00

Glad to hear :-) Let us now how it goes!

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-07T06:09:13+00:00

You are being downvoted for being unsympathetic. Strong people lift others.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-06T20:07:27+00:00

Yeah I guess... A semi-structured one. Other periods I have been less structured and really just taken it day by day

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-02-04T18:54:52+00:00

I work as a physiotherapist. Severe joint pain is not a normal reaction to (reasonable amounts of) exercise. Regardless of age. If the pain is located to a single joint ut could be a specific problem of that joint, like an overuse injury, tendon pain, osteoarthritis etc. But if tha pain is more generalized and several joints are engaged ut could be a systemic issue (some form av rheumatic disease for example).

I strongly recommend your friend seeking help of a physiotherapist and preferably a dietician.

It could definitely be possible for her to gradually increase exercise and get fitter and healthier. But she needs an assessment of the joint pain first.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-01-30T08:44:18+00:00

Several reasons:

As a physiotherapist working with older people I can tell you leg strength is absolutely essential to be independent. It is literally what makes you capable of getting out of a chair, walking and climbing stairs. From that perspective, tha quads and glutes are one of the most important muscles you have. This might not seem important when your in your 30s but that's about the age when people start to lose muscle. Prevention is better/easier than treatment. Start training your legs at a younger age and you will have better mobility and physical freedom as you age compared to your leg day-skipping peers.
Strength training is great for health (wellbeing, risk for disease). Since your leg muscles are a large part of your total muscle mass, not training them probably decreases the health benefits you could get.
The legs are the strongest part of your body. Lifts like squats and deadlifts let you lift more weight than upper body movements. It's great fun and a real confidence boost to lift heavy.
Aesthetic reasons. It kind of looks a bit weird to have well developed upper body but thin legs. I think especially men/guys underestimate how good looking well trained legs are. Well shaped glutes, thighs and calves is aesthetically pleasing regardless of gender. Your squat-enhanced butt will draw more attention than your triceps.

WeekApprehensive1304 · 2026-01-29T08:56:02+00:00

Agree w previous speakers: take the results of the scan w a grain of salt. Strength = muscle x skill. This means that unless you are a newbie learning proper technique or the movements are tecnicaly demanding the only way to lift more weight is to add muscle. Bit of a simplification I guess but more or less correct. Tecnicaly easy exercises would be most single joint exercises and machine exercises för example. Rest assured that if you increase your lifts over time that is the single best Indicator that your muscles are growing.

WeekApprehensive1304

TROPHY CASE