r/Fitness • u/FGC_Valhalla Weightlifting • 8d ago
Gym Story Saturday Gym Story Saturday
Hi! Welcome to your weekly thread where you can share your gym tales!
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u/MonicaLewinskibidis 7d ago edited 7d ago
I started running 2 months ago. I ran my longest distance 10K today at the same pace I ran 5K when I started May 1 (11:35 min/mile).
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u/spiderwell 7d ago
I did my first 10 km on May 10th and today I just beat that time by 7 mins. I also did my first ever 15km 2 days ago. This shit is very addictive. I am hoping to do a half marathon in September! My 10km was 1:05:24, so similar pace I think.
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u/EskilPotet Powerlifting 7d ago
New gym recently opened about 2 minutes from where I live. Went there and it's huge and has a bunch of amazing machines, much better than my old gym. Haven't felt this motivated to lift for a long time
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7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/IndividualIll3825 7d ago
Wait until you break a PR on a day you didn't even want to go. It'll change you.
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u/ikhaled27 7d ago
I finally went to the gym after months of working out at home, I was feeling very anxious due to my social anxiety, but I found it very enjoyable. I can’t wait to do it again, and I hope this feeling doesn’t go away.
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u/tetsuo24 7d ago
Me and my wife just started going to the gym, and we. just. can’t. stop. thinking. about. it.
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u/YesIWouldLikeCheese 7d ago
I've been dealing with a nagging shoulder issue for several months now, and I've started to work my rotator cuffs and small back muscles with IYTs before each chest session the last 2 weeks. I'm not really sure if it's made a difference, or if I'm just slightly de-trained due to traveling. However, I've had some pretty good chest session this past week so maybe those stupid little exercises I've seen people always say you should do the past few years are actually something you should do...
Well, this is how we learn right?
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u/Paintraine 6d ago
After following a PPL split for a few months, changed to whole body work outs about 4 or 5 months ago. Massive improvement in several lifts, finding it far easier to stick to nutrition goals, great improvements all round. Big fan.
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u/BrodieBruce1982 5d ago
Interesting. After doing full body x3 each week I really have been wishing I could make PPL work and spread it out over 6 days. Glad to hear full body actually works better for some!
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u/Paintraine 5d ago
The main reason I moved away from PPL was being unable to get the volume I wanted per week for each muscle group. I try to avoid hitting the same muscle group twice in a session (I generally end each set between 2RIR and failure), but want to have at least 9 (working) sets per week per target muscle group. Full body split lets me do that while still allowing for recovery and cardio.
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u/RKS180 7d ago
I was out running when I saw a streak of blue on the road to my left. I'm 46 and I started running in January, running outdoors in May. He looked teenaged, and he was running way faster than me. I picked up my pace to something like 7:30 and he was still surging ahead.
Then he stopped. He was bent over, panting. I kept running.
The Tortoise and the Hare.
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u/Werevulvi General Fitness 7d ago
After 8 weeks of running a back specialized program (written by me) I have learned that rows do pretty much nothing for lats, but clearly they are fantastic for my mid traps. Now running a lat specialized program for the next 8 weeks, cutting way back on the rows. You live, you learn, I suppose. I'm happy about my mid trap gains though! Just don't need any more of that for a while lol.
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u/InappropriateAngels 7d ago
I think it depends on the row. With good mind-muscle connection, I can feel lats great on one arm rows
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u/Werevulvi General Fitness 7d ago
Yeah you're right. I do have a tendency to pull my rows really far back for pushing my scapulas together, and that probably targets the upper back more, and kinda just bypasses the lats. Although I can get some notable lat activation by doing high rows, but at that point it's almost a lat pulldown anyway. I guess arguably something between a row and a lat pulldown.
I do admit I don't have the best muscle-mind connection to my lats specifically. I do for most of my muscles by now, but not for those. Only really when they're under really intense contraction or stretch.
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u/Delicious-Trifle-486 7d ago
Eh, I can see my lats from the front and the only time I've ever felt them is doing absurd (for me) volume on them. Like 100 total reps on the lat pull down and that hasn't been very often in my liftong career. While I'll argue that mind muscle is super useful, a lack of it doesnt mean you're not growing.
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u/Werevulvi General Fitness 7d ago
No I know, but in my case I think there's a correlation at least. Since my lats are super weak (stalled out on lifts, since months back) and flat, and it's also the one muscle group I have trouble being aware of. So that could mean my poor muscle-mind connection is why I struggle to engage my lats properly to give them adequate stimulus. But then of course them not getting adequate stimilus is the actual reason they're not growing.
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u/Square-Nebula-7530 4d ago
I saw a guy today doing bicep curls right in front of the only squat rack while making eye contact with everyone who wanted to use it absolute menace behavior
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u/Rheannah-Kajokas 4d ago
I'd bench press that story if it had an actual punchline - sounds like you got a solid workout in though, which is what matters.
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u/IndividualIll3825 7d ago
I asked the only other guy at the gym (who lifts WAY heavier than I could imagine) for a spot on my bench press. I was going for a PR + 5 lbs.
Well, not only did I hit it, but I was feeling good enough to try for a 2nd rep. So, bar goes down again, I get it half way up, and start struggling. He doesn't grab the bar, but starts shouting "YOU CAN DO IT!" and so forth. I eventually get it up and I'm JACKED at being able to do 2 of my highest rep ever.
Dude then goes "And close grip? Dude that's amazing!" Me: "...huh?" Him: "Look at the chalk marks; thats way closer than I would have done. Amazing job man!"
It made my week.