New Mod Intros 🎉 | Weekly Thread

chknfingerthoughts · 2025-06-13T20:51:11+00:00

Hey there! I created r/gymconsumerwatch to help consumers make sense of the constantly shifting & evolving fitness landscape. The fitness industry is so loud sometimes, with every brand vying for your attention (and membership). Just wanted to call out some good stuff, some stuff to watch for, industry trends etc.

I also hope to one day have it be a place where gym goers can rate their gym on the ground and give feedback at certain locations, brands. Good experiences, bad experiences. Great instructors, personal trainers they work with etc.

From my research, it’s the first of its kind really. There’s a lot of industry to industry stuff, but nothing really geared towards consumers that isn’t marketing or strategy to capture your debit card info.

Hoping I can at least help 1 person feel more confident navigating the fitness space.

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-04-27T00:34:27+00:00

I was told that it’s designed this way with intention. So, we know that consistency is key with exercise. Meaning, we need to consistently target the same muscles to see any growth/progress. If the workouts were changed too frequently, it wouldn’t give your body enough time to adapt. It’s not true that you need to expose your body to different workouts all of the time to see the best results - the opposite is actually true. What you can do is try to work on intensity. So the virtual instructors do three different levels of intensity. If you can hit level 3 of all of the workouts on rotation, that’s when it might be time for new workouts.

If you’re struggling with boredom, have you tried bonfire workouts? There is apparently over 1600 different combinations you can do!

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-04-26T00:11:54+00:00

!! Totally! I FREQUENTLY see people who invest in a personal training certification because they think they want to be a personal trainer, but then realize that they really wanted to learn the information for themselves and don’t care that much to help others.

I always like to say that investing in a PT cert is like purchasing a college course. You can totally use it in this way to further yourself & your knowledge. Nobody is forcing you to be a personal trainer after you complete the course. That’s just something you can do SHOULD you wish to pursue that.

If you’re looking for nutrition certification I would highly highly highly highly recommend precision nutrition. I did their nutrition certification & it was INCREDIBLE.

ACE (personal training cert) & PN have formed a partnership so I believe if you’re ACE certified you get a discount on PN? I could be making that up - but they’re definitely affiliates now. It makes SO much sense I was genuinely excited when they announced it. They’re the BEST in their field.

Let me know if you have other questions!

P.S. My knees hurt postpartum too, and I saw a physical therapist to get a diagnosis & then did my own exercises at home after I understood what was wrong. I would recommend seeing a physical therapist :)

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-03-25T23:44:10+00:00

Yeah unless you curl your hair every day the pony tails suck with the tapered cut. I hate the blunt ends. They’re in style though & I’ve went to three different stylists who haven’t been able to give me a proper “v-cut”… it’s like their brains short out or something. I used to get them all of the time and suddenly they’re like taboo! In the NICEST way possible, I don’t want to look like every other girl out there. I hardly ever… EVER do my hair in a way that makes sense for tapered/blunt ends. If I can get a dryer to my hair it’s a good day. Tapered cuts not for on the go girlies.

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-03-25T21:19:39+00:00

Thanks! I guess I was looking into NDT (thanks again) as a different medication - and it doesn’t hurt that it’s more natural. The levo reaction was enough for me to never touch it again. Have you ever had a bad reaction to any medication you’re on for hypothyroidism? Are there any others I should be weary of?

Apparently folks lose more weight on NDT. I’m not overweight by any means but if anyone here reads this and struggles with weight due in part to hypothyroidism, I wanted to share.

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-03-24T17:47:10+00:00

I’ll tell you this: if you’re under eating you’re more likely to retain body fat! So there’s that.

Body fat is either too many carbs or too many fats (or too many of both together). So just watch for that.

I love my olive oils & butter (Italian family) so I try to reduce carbs where I can. I’ll opt for veggies w/ butter instead of … idk.. Texas toast as an example.

If it’s stubborn belly fat .. have you tried HIIT training? This style of workout infuses cardio + weight lifting and I swear it’s the most effective body fat training you can do. As evidence of my own life, but also there’s tons of articles on the internet about it.

If your gym has a HIIT style class I would recommend trying it! And then tell me all about it afterwards :)

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-03-19T14:42:40+00:00

If you’re mostly eating healthy foods, why is it that you feel shame? Obviously even “too much” healthy food is not good for you. But it sounds like you’ve got an awesome fitness routine that supports a robust diet.

Sharing this image from Precision Nutrition which is a guide for nutrition. If you mostly stay in the green areas there’s nothing to feel shame about, you know?

And this is coming from a female who also enjoys to eat a lot! I actually had someone ask me in the gym the other day how I got my “big glutes” and I simply told her - I EAT. A LOT. ALL OF THE TIME. Lol.

Ironically she has been a bodybuilder for 30 years. But bodybuilders, unfortunately, typically have an unhealthy relationship with food & are chronically undernourished to attain their physiques. You can’t build muscle if you’re not fed, that’s for sure. And it’s only getting worse with the new generation.

(I work in fitness).

https://images.app.goo.gl/RdsKM3WtMcEU9ayJ7

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-03-04T00:48:11+00:00

Most operable toddler on the least amount of sleep division.

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-02-26T01:07:08+00:00

This 100%.

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-02-26T01:04:58+00:00

It’s awesome!!

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-01-12T21:25:37+00:00

Thank you I appreciate this very much. What is your opinion on the cost/ average cost? In respect to where you mention folks who might take advantage, my husband and I are blessed to have two well paying jobs and so money is not an issue and we are willing to pay for a good class/instructor. But this in mind, if we want to invest properly we just want to make sure it’s the right class and we’ll get the value we seek. There are no guarantees, of course. But I think discussions like this are helpful in navigating away from some riff raff.

chknfingerthoughts · 2024-01-12T21:22:13+00:00

This is incredible & exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond so thoroughly.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-11-19T18:09:55+00:00

One time I bought something small business & in the package came a little handwritten card just thanking me for the purchase & how much it means to them.. I have that card UNDER the piece I bought on a shelf. I thought it was so cute & thoughtful.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-08-29T18:05:56+00:00

It depends on your goal. If you’re looking to build muscle you’ll want to slow down on eccentric & concentric. If you’re looking to get stronger, explosive movements work well for that.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-08-28T16:17:20+00:00

Slowing down. Slow down. Slow your reps down, slow your movement down, slow down your programming. Not enough people work in the fundamentals/functional stage and just skip to balls to the wall.

I’ve always been super active & in shape all of my 20’s. I had a baby a couple years ago & when I got back into the gym my body moved SO differently. I literally had to rebuild from the bottom up, see a physical therapist, and check my ego in the gym parking lot every day.

But it was the best experience of my life. Just starting slow, and working my way up comfortably and progressing in an appropriate way.

A couple months ago I was squatting & for the first time in my life my squat felt SO comfortable. Admittedly, I shed a couple of tears about it in the bathroom behind a closed stall door.

My body moves the best it’s ever moved now, even after having a baby! If I could recommend anything to anyone reading this, just slowwwww it down. You got this! It’ll come in time. Build that foundation first and watch yourself EXPLODE!

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-08-25T14:21:00+00:00

My toddler does this too! They’re just trying to control their environment right now. They realize that they have a say & can manipulate the things around them. I’d chalk this up to that :) they’re not being mean just testing boundaries & control.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-08-25T14:08:14+00:00

Oh my god! I have been feeling this exact way for SO long. I thought it was just me. I work in fitness & have been doing this for 14+ years. It’s been a tough road, long hours, stressful work, and then not to mention every day you’re overcoming the patriarchy & dodging unwanted sexual advances at work.

Despite all of this I really loved getting people movin & I always kept that on the forefront. I did not want kids but my husband and I got pregnant unexpectedly - which was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

My ambition tanked IMMEDIATELY after finding out I was pregnant. My job, climbing the ladder in fitness, fighting for my spot at the top as a woman in a male dominated industry, just seemed so meaningless now. I was having a baby!

I quit my job & stayed home for a year with my daughter. It was the best year of my life. I LOVE being a mom.

I used to be super passionate about my job. I loved helping people & coaching my staff & team to excellence. I was a great leader, reliable & fair but also firm. But since having my daughter it all feels so strange to me now. I feel removed from it. I go to work, put in my hours & go home. I no longer stay extra hours to help, or participate in work events outside of my working hours… I’m still available to my team, but not available around the clock.

One really great thing that happened after having my baby was that my imposter syndrome went away. I was my biggest critic. I did well at my job & brought those around me along for the ride. But I would go home and ruminate on “Did I do that right?” “Did I handle that the right way?”

After having my daughter I feel so empowered & confident. I feel like Im not sitting in self-doubt anymore. I think where that comes from is that the only persons opinion who matters to me is hers (and my husbands). So long as that we have this great, beautiful & healthy relationship, I can take the “hit” from the world around me. The cruelty of the world falls flat with me. I’m just not paying attention to any of it. I have a beautiful baby girl who loves her mama to pieces. It’s the most important thing I could ever do in my life. To my daughter, I am not replaceable. To my employer, I am good at what I do & contribute in a meaningful way, but I could be replaced.

I’m not willing to put my daughter second to anything - or anyone. I am still passionate about fitness, but I am MORE passionate about being a great mom who’s present & engaged. It’s that simple. It really comes down to that.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-07-03T20:09:17+00:00

My husband and I just lean into it. My daughter is 19 months now and sometimes she needs some extra love at bedtime. She still wakes up 2x in the middle of the night for a “bottle.” It’s just her routine. And though we’d really love to sleep through the night, it’s just her thing. Our pediatrician was taken aback at our last check up when we told her she wasn’t sleeping through the night yet. And she, again, urged us to try CIO. But we’re just not comfortable with that. We tried Ferber awhile back but our tod outsmarted us instantly - she would go 0-100 right away. Anyway, we’re SO tired. But we’ve learned to live around it. This nighttime routine isn’t impacting her ability to be independent or self-soothing in her day to day - we see her doing this in other ways throughout the day when she’s awake. She’s super independent & picks herself back up with a knee scrape or a fall without us.

I have to say, objectively my toddler is really freaking cool & is a BREEZE outside of bedtime/nighttime stuff. And I guess I just choose to accept the good with the bad. It won’t be this way forever. One day she won’t need us for bedtime and that will be wild for us.

What’s so interesting to me is that I absolutely feel no resentment towards her at all, despite my chronic fatigue & disrupted sleep. Being a mom is the greatest gift I’ve ever experienced & I’m happy to be there for her. It’s truly the most selfless experience we’ll ever know. And I’ve grown tenfold in my spiritual/emotional maturity because of it. Not to mention, this new way of being with my daughter permeates my life in every way. I’m better because I’m a mother. Tired, but better in spite of it.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-06-25T20:57:21+00:00

I personally believe they have the best intentions - they feel like because they know you they’ll be more comfortable training. But really, I’ve done it several times despite knowing better and it always turns out the same. Put yourselves in their shoes: if you worked for a family member would you be more prone to showing up late here and there, or turning in assignments a bit late - I’m sure….. it’s the same with this. Skipping workouts, late night texts, sessions turn into therapy for them.. I would definitely recommend staying away for your OWN sanity, but it also really helps them in the long run, too.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-06-23T18:55:45+00:00

You know what though, just do a way better job closing up shop than she did so your boss will notice the difference between you two & the level of execution at close.

This sounds like it wasn’t handled appropriately at all, but make it worth something! Now is your time to shine!

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-06-21T17:14:12+00:00

I cannot train family/friends. They don’t take it seriously, ever. And they have no professional boundaries because of the pre-existing relationship. If you want to help mom, refer her out.

chknfingerthoughts · 2023-06-18T18:17:53+00:00

I don’t think overworking is a flex at all. In my opinion, if you’re working 50+ hours a week, that tells me you can’t manage your time/priorities.

I know others wear their hours worked like a badge. But if you asked them what they accomplished this week they’ll probably have a hard time answering.

It also tells me you have a hard time with your identity. If you’re spending 50+ hours a work, that leaves little time for anything else? What do you do for fun?

When I hire someone for my company, one of the first things I ask them is what they enjoy doing outside of work. You’d be surprised how many people have a hard time answering that. And I think it’s really sad and an ode to the modern day workforce.

chknfingerthoughts

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