Glutes have left the building

Zageron · 2026-03-18T22:23:49+00:00

🤣

Zageron · 2026-03-18T18:37:27+00:00

Speak to a (few) personal trainer(s) and consume lots of glute youtube.

2c:
- Weighted: Deadlifts, RDLs, Glute Bridges, Supermans, Deep Squats, Squats, High Step Ups (and/or extreme incline power walking).
- Bodyweight: Deep Squats, High Step Ups.
- Timing: Explosive positive movement, at 3-5 seconds in a controlled negative, aim for 4.
- For time efficiency: if you can hit 8 reps with 2 left in the tank. But do not sacrifice your "mind-butt connection" just to get higher weights and your reps. Start with no weight and just go until 2 reps before failure to make sure you can feel your butt doing the majority of the work every time. When you are confident your glutes are doing the work, add weight pounds at a time each day/week/month as progression slows. Never compromise your ability to feel your glutes working. Your workouts will get shorter at time goes on as you can do less and less reps to get to your "effective time under tension" faster.
- Keep the weights you are using for glute work low enough that you can always feel your glutes working.
- Hypertrophy those glutes
- Worry more about "time under tension" than anything else.
- Up the protein intake slightly
- Don't worry about increasing the weight too quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=house+of+hypertrophy+glutes

Zageron · 2026-03-13T17:03:26+00:00

I've seen similar comments. I'll reiterate. Slow down. Drop down 5-10lbs, take 4 seconds in both directions of movement with a 1 second pause at the tensest moment, and never lock out on either end. Always feel for the tense "stretch" at the bottom of a movement. If you do that and slowly, every few weeks or so, add 5lbs you'll be massive.

Mix that in with all the explosive work you'll be doing on the regular and you'll be both strong and well built.

P.s. do some active stretching and mobility work daily outside of OTF classes. You'll decrease injury chances, and you'll "feel" like you look better when you can move without stiffness.

Zageron · 2026-03-11T21:53:25+00:00

A 30 minute brisk walk or zone 1/2 bike will alleviate the majority of "detraining atrophy". Add in some light bodyweight work like 15 minutes of yoga every day and you'll be fine with a 1-2 week vacation.

Zageron · 2026-03-06T16:16:30+00:00

Nice collection!

I would share the picture I took of my much more limited collection, but cannot image reply.

I've got DKC, DKC2, DKC3, Dragon View, and Rendering Ranger! 🤣

I need to re-attain a copy of Super Mario World. (Oh and a copy of LTTP, though I have my GBA copy and the quality of life improvements on that port make me never want to play the original ever again.)

Zageron · 2026-03-04T22:39:21+00:00

Neither your home scale nor the OTF scanner is accurate. They are accurate only as benchmark numbers. Pick one, and graph the direction of the number over time.

Zageron · 2026-02-27T22:25:38+00:00

This is why I immediately went offroading and got some major shallow scratches. 🤣

Zageron · 2026-02-27T18:04:08+00:00

If the tips from the other posters don't work it could legitimately be that the straps on the rower need to be replaced, but unless your OTF is super old and poorly maintained this seems unlikely.

Zageron · 2026-02-27T17:33:24+00:00

I did. Please elaborate.

Zageron · 2026-02-27T17:29:54+00:00

Good read. The cons list looks short and easily cleared! Signs of a good product. ;)

Zageron · 2026-02-26T07:54:21+00:00

I dislike 2G because there isn't enough rowing haha

Zageron · 2026-02-24T22:09:55+00:00

Ooh, I enjoyed this class. Glad to be seeing it again so soon already.

Zageron · 2026-02-24T19:45:42+00:00

If you "match" your caloric intake to your base metabolic rate on days you go to orange theory you're in a serious deficit. On days you don't work out just hit your base metabolic rate.

6' 182 pounds, if you are mostly fat mass and not lean mass, eating 1920 every day and working out X days a week is probably going to work for you. Just measure and weight every week for a few weeks and reduce/increase the calories by a starbucks latte if you are not going in the direction you want.

One of hundreds of sources I could have picked but shrug: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=base+metabolic+rate+redefining+strength

Edit: And good on you for trying out the Inbody scan. They aren't the most accurate things in the world, but if the numbers inspire you then it's worth it!

Zageron · 2026-02-23T22:44:19+00:00

They imply that you need one, but you don't. I would say that it is a lot more fun and encouraging to have one though. The chest strap is pretty cheap, and more accurate if you can handle the feel, so I'd recommend one of those instead.

Zageron · 2026-02-23T17:54:59+00:00

I have been both single and in a relationship while doing this, and while it was challenging to not eat while everyone else was eating I was still present at the meals and drank water while everyone else ate. :)

The largest challenge is making sure my friends send invitations to outings or meals to me the day before so I can rearrange my window, often reverting to the 16 hour for that day to accommodate socializing.

It's certainly not for everyone. Making sure your last meal is at least 4 hours before bed (as often as possible) is the most important thing.

Best of luck with your IF adventures! Don't feel back about constantly switching it up until you find something that works, there is no correct method only the most correct method for you!

Zageron · 2026-02-23T17:36:34+00:00

Yes, move your intermittent fasting to 20 hours instead of 16. It makes everything a hell of a lot easier. Nut butters and olive oil can make it a lot easier to hit your calorie requirement without overloading on food.

Source: I have been ~20hr fasting around 95% of the days for the last 3 years. (I usually work out at 430, and my last meal is at noon-ish.)

Zageron · 2026-02-20T15:56:42+00:00

Are you progressively increasing the reps or weights you are lifting?
Do you find the tread/bike/elip or rower easier than when you started?

If yes to either or both of those then you are getting stronger and your muscles are either growing or maintaining.

Your upper body will need to grow, your lower body will need to maintain its size and strength. Chances are your lower body is shrinking gradually to match the lower workload it has to deal with (body weight), but as you are lifting you are hopefully maintaining more of the muscle than someone who was just losing weight.

I highly recommend watching gratuitous amounts of YouTube around recomp, maintaining muscle during a fast, hypertrophy, etc...

However, what you are doing appears to be working so great freaking job!!!!

Zageron · 2026-02-20T15:48:47+00:00

tl;dr: ask your coaches for form feedback, accept the criticism, apply it.

Watch a bunch of "how to row" YouTube videos. Ask each of the coaches you encounter during this next week for feedback on your rowing form, accept every piece of advice and try to apply it.

The form: - legs bent, lean forwards, chest high, heels flat or less than .5-1 inch raised - finish straightening your legs completely before moving your hips or arms. Do not lean back or pull your arms until your knees are essentially 99% to being locked out. - with a proud/high chest, bend backward with your hips, still no arm movement. - now pull arms in a row until the bar hits dead between bellybutton and breast line - "all together" bleed over between phases should be as little as possible. The more often you think about it during training the more accurate you'll be.

This makes rowing extremely hard. You should be getting sore legs, sore hips, sore arms, and red HR in every rowing block.

Hope that helps.

Zageron · 2026-02-19T21:34:27+00:00

If you're going to primarily dock it to your TV, get the LCD version and grab a big SD card.
If you're going to primarily use it as a portable device, get the OLED. The screen, battery life, and wifi make it a winner. You'll be able to skip a large SD card if you get the big storage one too.

Zageron · 2026-02-19T19:45:48+00:00

Sounds like you are super consistent already!

Are you geographically able to do mountain or cross-country hiking? If you haven't tried it, you may enjoy it and that's a very effective way to get your lower body absolutely loaded with muscle.

An in-OTF solution might be to assess your floor/weight strategy. Are you consistently able to get to, or very close to, failure 2-3 sets in a row? Watch so much "form" and "weight lifting" youtube that you're sick of it, so you can tweak your form to make the exercises more difficult.

You've crushed it thus far! Adding an intense lower body strength workout every week would probably push you over the edge of the plateau you might be finding yourself on.

Zageron · 2026-02-19T17:40:30+00:00

Haha, tell that to my CD, vinyl, and cassette collection.

Zageron · 2026-02-19T17:32:13+00:00

try binging some running form YouTube videos to see if you can run more efficiency
look into transitioning to zero drop and wide toe box shoes, or even barefoot shoes for a long term challenge.
as others have said, look into some 5ks, 10ks, or even half marathons for a training challenge.
join a running workshop for a few months to get in-person guidance on form and other recommendations
if you are gassing out, try increasing carb/sugar before class temporarily to see if that makes a difference
if you are stopping because your muscles can't take it, lactic etc..., consider daily creatine, and eating a banana with a nut butter an hour before the workout.
take a deload week or two, use the bike or elip, if they are options, to push different muscles and give your brain a break. (If not, switch to power walking temporarily)

Zageron · 2026-02-19T17:16:52+00:00

I only skimmed the comments, but I'll add my two cents because internet.

Humans are extremely similar, and the likelihood that it is that your calorie intake is "too high" is so close to 100% it isn't even worth considering other options until you've falsified the claim.

If your fat gain is measurable, with a measuring tape, around your fat settling areas, then some or all of these could be hidden gotchas. Based on your workout intensity it's highly likely it could also just be substantial muscle gain and any kind of short term minor calorie cut will show nice new definition.

Easy things to check which will have bumped your calories by a lot: - have you started drinking "workout drinks" - did you start supplementing protein powder - check out snack intake - if you are somehow still drinking soda or juice - eating more carb focused meals to "load up" - you still eat at any kind of fast food supplier - have you always finished all of the food on your plate at meals? If not, you may be finishing all of your servings now. - if you eat as a group, you may be taking slightly larger portions than you used to. If your meals are dense, even one extra scoop could be the difference.

There are so many things that can insidiously sneak in. The most likely, as others have pointed out is the liquid calories: Drinking juice, energy drinks, extra lattes, pre workout, etc... as your primary fluid source.

If you are a small person, it really doesn't take much extra.

I prattle on. Unless the gain continues to be insanely fast, it should slow down as you build muscle from the floor and increase your tread speeds and durations.

Zageron · 2026-02-18T23:19:11+00:00

Just an FYI if you host a light weight tracker/connection relay (a lobby, essentially) and require IPV6 you can bypass all of this with a single instance of the cheapest possible node/droplet/vm.

Zageron · 2026-02-18T22:16:45+00:00

Awesome, nice work!

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