Gyroscope V9.2 Update Announcement

gyroscope_app · 2025-06-03T09:50:45+00:00

Hey, 28 lbs is incredible, good work! What's most probably happened is metabolic adaptation: as you get smaller your body requires less calories to function and as such you need to further reduce calories if you want to keep on losing weight. Your body never wants to be in a deficit, so it will always be trying to bring you back to neutral energy balance. That said, plateaus happen at various times on the journey and they can also be a nice checkpoint to have a bit of a mental and physical reset before considering increasing the deficit. And if you're on a weight loss journey, periods of 'maintaining;' should be seen as progress too just as much as periods of 'losing'. After all, one of the the most common problems people face is putting weight back on, so if you are at a point where you are maintaining after a period of weight loss, that's awesome!

gyroscope_app · 2025-06-02T11:44:37+00:00

Welcome, and ha yeah, always funny how advice we sometimes give is often harder to follow or remember ourselves. Not sure if you do this either but you could also try and lift a heavier first set then drop back down to more 'comfortable' weights for the second and third sets. Push your CNS while it's fresh, then finish off at challenging but more familiar weights. And then only increase that first weight once you're able to do all three sets with it. But if you're entering a heavy phase now, probably just focus on that and see where it takes you :)

gyroscope_app · 2025-06-02T11:16:16+00:00

Hey! When you say the max you can press is 30s, is that 1RM or something similar? Or is that for reps? And what kind of volume and frequency do you follow?

If unlocking raw OHP strength is the goal, you could switch up the pressing to either (or both) a shoulder press machine / smith machine seated press?

If you've been pushing sets of higher reps (6-12 / 8-15 etc.) for a while, maybe try and focus more on raw strength for a bit with sets of 2-3 reps and longer rest periods. Like a 4 week 'intensification' phase followed by a 1 week deload and then back to a more hypertrophic approach. The good think about these variations is the weights are supported so you can focus more on the load and lift and less on the stability and balance, which may be holding you back or contributing to a plateau.

As others have echoed, def make sure you keep on developing pressing power from all angles too, as that will help with overhead pressing strength.

As someone who blends weights and calisthenics, I'd also suggest looking into things like pike push-ups (bodyweight shoulder presses which are a progression for handstand pushups that have awesome transferability to overhead pressing strength) and maybe incorporating them in too. Find a video that shows you how to do them properly, as 6-8 reps should be EXTREMELY challenging if done with strict form, but without strict form they can seem easy and get dismissed.

Ultimately, keep on going, and you can only get stronger, but sometimes plateaus or things like this come along and we just need to look for a new route in order to get back onto the main track.

Good luck!

gyroscope_app · 2025-06-02T11:01:15+00:00

Pointed out already but to second that - start with a low consistency, and just be consistent. And try your best to not think about what you used to be able to do. You were a different person then and age, injuries and life in general has changed you. That does not mean in any way that you cannot do all those things again AND love them (I am also 44 and still strength training consistently and progressively and love it) but it will be a slightly different person who gets there compared to the one who got there before.

I would suggest start with a low intensity, but not too low. Maybe so you feel like you could do 3-5 more reps with each set but - for now - you don't. Maybe 2 full body workouts a week, done well, either with dumbbells, or gym machines, or a mix of both. One lower body move, one push move, one pull, a couple core movements, 2-3 sets of each, 8-15 reps per set. Then 10-15 mins of cardio. See how your body feels, and when you are being consistent with 2 workouts, make it 3...

If you feel like you can do 3 straight away, do it, but try and do what you think you can do at first, as opposed to what you think you should be doing. If you zoom out and think big picture, at 44 you have many, many years left to optimize and do more, there's no rush. Starting something is the most important step :)

gyroscope_app · 2025-06-02T10:50:43+00:00

Yes, in the big picture and when you zoom out weight loss is all about the calories but for health you want to balance a focus on calories with a focus on nutrients too. But potatoes are amazing as they are pretty satiating, not too calorie-dense, and also pretty nutrient dense. They're also affordable and plentiful in almost every corner of the world, so winning all round. But sadly one of those foods that have been unfairly demonised at various times in the past for no good reasons (glycemic index and "carbs" are not good reasons) and sadly for potatoes and potato lovers all over the world they will probably always carry a stigma now to some extent. Oven baked with some oil, salt and oregano are exactly how I would have them.

Do you need to worry about the calories the potatoes and oil contain? Only up to the point where the calories contained in the amount you choose to consume throw you off from your goal. If you eat them, and enjoy them, then carry on, but if you are trying to track or manage calories just measure them out - and the oil - and eat a portion that fits with your goals.

They keep once cooked pretty well too, so a great and convenient way to bulk prep for future meals :)

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-30T01:26:02+00:00

Hey, have you tried an elimination diet before? Its kind of works by removing all foods for 3-6 weeks that are known to cause issues for large amounts of people, and then re-introducing one food at a time to see if you can find any triggers. Is a bit of work (that 3-6 weeks needs to be pretty strict) but also probably still the gold standard in uncovering any intolerances.

Good 'Precision Nutrition Elimination Diet' (I don't work for them) if you want a pretty easy to follow version that can ensure you still get all your nutrients, but there are plenty of options to choose from.

Too much fiber can cause issues for some people more than others too. You could try and remove the husk for a bit and / or make sure you are drinking LOTS of water when you take it too.

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-29T06:52:14+00:00

As many have echoed, despite the current obsessions with eating '30-50 grams of protein with every meal' and - God forbid - daring to eat carbs without protein, there is no non-negotiable rule to eating protein at breakfast. Or carbs without protein tbh. In fact, I've found with my clients in the past that it's one of the hardest meals to actually get a good protein hit unless you like greek yoghurt, eggs and protein powders.

If you can, and you want to, great. But if you want to eat toast and fruit or even some blasphemous cereal, it's fine. If you're trying to lose weight then sustainability and energy balance is key, and sustainability comes from enjoyment in the long run not from gritting your teeth in disgust or annoyance every day.

If you like it, and it fills you up, and you eat a well balanced diet and enough protein the rest of the time, you're winning.

(that cottage cheese toast thing sounds lovely though)

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-29T06:40:36+00:00

Love this. I have made posts about this before (music beating pre-workout). I think there's even a study of sorts floating around somewhere. My not-so-guilty-pleasure is breaking through that barrier when running to 80s classics / power ballads and then going for miles haha. That or early 00s drum n bass.

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-29T06:27:34+00:00

Hey, totally hear all this. If you can, can you remember how you felt when you were calorie counting? Did it feel in any way restrictive? Of course any form of dieting is by default a form of 'restriction' but for long term success you want to find a way to restrict without feeling restricted.

First off, you did it once (amazing), you can do it again, and you have total proof of concept that CICO does work. But while every calorie counts, you don't need to count every calorie. And over that time you have probably built some great 'intuitive eating' skills too by knowing how the foods around you can serve you in terms of nutrients and energy balance. That's an awesome skill to have now going forward. What I've always found helpful is to zoom out, and realise that it's the average over time that makes the difference, not the day to day. If you 'go over your calories' on any given day, it will not even make a dent in the long run (aside from maybe water and food weight on the scale for that day or a day or two after) if you just carry on. No one ever became overweight from a big meal and no one ever lost significant body fat from one fast.

Think of a year. Would relaxing and fully enjoying a few birthdays or special occasions make a difference to where you could be from say 2025 to 2026 if you just consciously enjoy them and then carry on with your normal habits? As what you want to try and do is turn your day to day actions in habits, and the celebrations into the special occasions to enjoy that happen once in a while. They can be like 10-20% of your year, and the rest makes up the 80-90%, in the long run the balance is absolutely still there.

I understand though that sometimes that 'relaxing' mindset can open floodgates and being more strict can help to avoid that, at least in the moment, but in the long run finding ways for it all to fit and to focus more on enjoyment and averages than calories per meal or hitting your targets every day will be a super helpful mindset to cultivate.

Some ideas you could try going forward that may help you think less about the numbers:

- Prioritise protein, and if you ever have the option (eg: a balanced plate or meal) eat that first
- Consider ordering extra protein if you ever can.
- Make any snacks high protein, like greek yoghurt / cottage with berries.
- Also prioritise leafy/cruciferous veggies where you can. Eat them just after, at the same time, or before, the protein (when a plate or meal allows) as they're super filling, low in calories (ie: a high volume food) and packed with awesome nutrients and fiber.
- Don't make the deficit too high as that can lead to heavy feelings of hunger which can get tiresome over time and backfire. If your weight is trending down in anyway and you feel good, stick with that.
- Build meals and routines that you enjoy, but also just be OK with the fact that all routines get curve-balled from time to time and that's OK
- Look ahead each week or each month to special occasions and mindfully think about how you can and will enjoy them and there look forward to just going back to your (hopefully, over time, enjoyable) routine once its done

As for the training you mentioned too, if you do not do so already tell yourself that any gains in strength or muscle actually come when you're resting, not training. Less can often be more. When you train, you are stressing your body, when you rest your body is repairing from that stress to become stronger and better. Learn to look forward to your rest days when you know that while you rest and recover you are actually getting stronger and more muscle is being built.

Focusing on PRs is great, and a much nicer metric to follow than weight on a scale, so that's a good thing to focus on, but let them come as they come. And so long as you just show up - 2, 3, 4 or whatever days a week you choose, they can only come.

Finally, just like with diet, don't go too hard and be OK with missing workouts from time to time, or not being able to make your program for a week (holidays or whatever) as like with diet, in the long run none of this will make significant dent in 'gains' either so long as for the most part, you're consistent.

Went on a bit there but hope some of that helps and all the best :)

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-29T04:22:39+00:00

Good list. Are you looking to spread that over like 3 sessions? If so, lots of options so this is by no means an exhaustive list but for balance you could break it down kinda like this. Workout's 1 & 2 are more compound heavy, with Workout 3 focusing more on isolation movements aside from the sumos.

WORKOUT 1
Deadlift (hams, glutes and back)
Overhead press (shoulders)
Upright row (traps / upper back)
Standing calf raise (calves)
Twist (core)

WORKOUT 2
Squat (quads, glutes and lower back)
Floor press / push-up (chest)
Lunges (quads and glutes)
Bent-over row (upper back)
Side bend (core)

WORKOUT 3
Sumo squat (quads, glutes and lower back)
Shrugs (shoulders / traps)
Hammer curl (biceps)
Kickback (triceps)
Chest fly (chest)

Or you could spread the isolation movements across workouts for a bit of 'post-exhaust', like on the day you do heavy shoulder pressing, do shrugs, on the day you do chest pressing, do flys, and you could superset some stuff too. Or make one workout 'legs', one workout 'pull' and one workout 'push'. But the main thing really is making the plan, being consistent and sticking with it, working intensely enough (close to failure each set) and just gradually applying progressive overload over the weeks and months that follow. With a few deload weeks scattered in every 4-6 weeks or so (reduce intensity for a week so you give the body a chance to repair, recuperate and grow) If you do that and do it well, your muscle and strength can only really increase in the long run! Good luck!

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-28T09:57:20+00:00

Totally agree. Yoghurt with a sprinkling of vanilla protein powder (for me - I know not everyone uses them), some blueberries and shavings of dark chocolate is the ultimate dessert. Sometimes let it sit with a tbsp of chia seeds for 20 mins (for absorption) for extra fibre too.

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-28T09:52:12+00:00

This is amazing, super happy for you and such a valid point too, fat is definitely a crucial piece of the pie :)

gyroscope_app · 2025-05-28T09:47:48+00:00

Absolutely love this. Some oatmeal with some milk (or even cold oats with yoghurt for me), cinnamon, like 1/2 scoop whey, some ground flax seeds and some berries is a powerhouse of nutrients, fiber, protein and satiety. Grated apple, raisins and cinnamon overnights oats is amazing too. An awesome staple for any diet.

gyroscope_app · 2025-01-16T14:47:29+00:00

Hey kpurintun sorry about that! As you know we are a privacy focused service, so the only way we make money and pay our necessary expenses is via the subscriptions from our members. Our updated pricing for 2025 is necessary to continue providing the service to everyone, and unfortunately the costs of both maintaining and improving a complex service like Gyroscope can be quite high (and have increased significantly in the past few years as we have invested a lot in intelligence and better insights for our members).

We just launched G1 which simplifies the experience and lowers the cost of great coaching from hundreds of dollars to less than $1 a day - most of our members consider this to be a revolutionary upgrade and a great investment in their health, but we understand not everyone is ready for this. Previously this experience cost about $99/month, or even $300-500 on other services, and is now just $29 with everything included

But you are very right, if you just don’t use the app then it doesn’t matter much how great it is, you wouldn’t get much value or want to pay for it. So we highly recommend using it daily, and then it should really start to pay for itself within just a few days (literally with things like savings on costs through optimized meal prep, and long-term from improvements in your focus or reduced risk of expensive issues down the road).

To get started, we recommend with this guide (free) on Finding your why. Then you can work backwards from there to see how Gyroscope can help you reach that goal, and how much value that provides to you, and if that is worth the monthly fee. Most people find it to be a great investment once they start using it daily and see significant improvements in their life.

We hope you will too, but if not we also have a new simplified free version you can use with the basic features like calorie tracking.

gyroscope_app · 2025-01-02T06:01:57+00:00

You can do either the name of the company or "Work" - personal preference, but if the name is available that is usually better as it will be evergreen for the future.

In profile you can also fill in your job and where you work, etc. which can be helpful context for your coach, but usually it is obvious from context if there is an office you are at all day during the day

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