General Health & Fitness - Stay/Get Back in Shape

[4thgenheel]

I wish I had your ability to leave it alone

Since I mainly cook everything I eat, and have found the foods that I prefer to eat, I use an excel spreadsheet. I add the food name and the weight (in gram) and it does the rest.

you gotta take a break sometimes, dude!

what are your daily macros, if you don't mind me asking? pretty sure you're a dude and i'm a 155lb female, so i'm sure they're quite different but im always curious what other people who track theirs are consuming. i've managed to average an @ 300-400 calorie deficit for about a year now and have lost about 20 lbs while adding muscle mass.

 

[DiehardHeelFan]

Don’t count macros but have a decent idea of what I am eating.

 

[stankeylegjones]

you gotta take a break sometimes, dude!

what are your daily macros, if you don't mind me asking? pretty sure you're a dude and i'm a 155lb female, so i'm sure they're quite different but im always curious what other people who track theirs are consuming. i've managed to average an @ 300-400 calorie deficit for about a year now and have lost about 20 lbs while adding muscle mass.

That is awesome! Congratulations! It's very hard to lose weight while adding muscle mass.

I know, but the obsession is strong!

I'm male, early 40s. 182 cm, bodyweight has been 72-75 kg for the past several years. This past week (a typical week) my daily averages were: 91.6 g fat, 379.1 g carb, 199.7 g protein, 3020.4 cals (2814.2 effective calories), which gives 27.3% of cals coming from fat, 50.2% from carbs, and 26.4% from protein.

 

[4thgenheel]

That is awesome! Congratulations! It's very hard to lose weight while adding muscle mass.

I know, but the obsession is strong!

I'm male, early 40s. 182 cm, bodyweight has been 72-75 kg for the past several years. This past week (a typical week) my daily averages were: 91.6 g fat, 379.1 g carb, 199.7 g protein, 3020.4 cals (2814.2 effective calories), which gives 27.3% of cals coming from fat, 50.2% from carbs, and 26.4% from protein.

its taken a LOT of consistency and discipline.

i lift 4-5 days a week along with moderate cardio and i get in strenuous cardio on the non-lifting days. 10k+ steps every day. very clean diet 90% of the time and i've had maybe 10 alcoholic bevs total in 2025.

 

[stankeylegjones]

its taken a LOT of consistency and discipline.

i lift 4-5 days a week along with moderate cardio and i get in strenuous cardio on the non-lifting days. 10k+ steps every day. very clean diet 90% of the time and i've had maybe 10 alcoholic bevs total in 2025.

Hey, this sounds like me

I train 5 days a week - it's about an hour of getting ready to life (elliptical, mobility work, light exercises) and then an hour(ish) of lifts/exercises. Outside of that I walk, a lot, for recovery and burning calories. My diet is pretty clean and simple, eating a lot of oats, rice, wheat eggs, seafood, meats, veggies, fruits, ghee and evoo, and some others, but I do treat myself to a meal that I didn't cook every week.

Now that I'm at a weight/body composition that I'm happy with, I view it as the more calories I burn the more food I get to eat - I've always enjoyed eating, and eating a lot.

What type of lifting?

 

[Heelsandeers]

I'm male, early 40s. 182 cm, bodyweight has been 72-75 kg for the past several years. This past week (a typical week) my daily averages were: 91.6 g fat, 379.1 g carb, 199.7 g protein, 3020.4 cals (2814.2 effective calories), which gives 27.3% of cals coming from fat, 50.2% from carbs, and 26.4% from protein.

What is your squat/bench/deadlift? Assuming you do any of those lifts

Curious because we're about the same size. Only I don't lift or eat enough

 

[stankeylegjones]

What is your squat/bench/deadlift? Assuming you do any of those lifts

Curious because we're about the same size. Only I don't lift or eat enough

I don't bench. I don't (really) deadlift, the closest thing would be like a very heavy clean pull, but I feel confident that I can currently deadlift 175 kg, maybe/probably more. A max squat currently would probably be around 175 also - I hit a triple at 160 not too long ago.

 

[4thgenheel]

Hey, this sounds like me

I train 5 days a week - it's about an hour of getting ready to life (elliptical, mobility work, light exercises) and then an hour(ish) of lifts/exercises. Outside of that I walk, a lot, for recovery and burning calories. My diet is pretty clean and simple, eating a lot of oats, rice, wheat eggs, seafood, meats, veggies, fruits, ghee and evoo, and some others, but I do treat myself to a meal that I didn't cook every week.

Now that I'm at a weight/body composition that I'm happy with, I view it as the more calories I burn the more food I get to eat - I've always enjoyed eating, and eating a lot.

What type of lifting?

very nice, it sounds like you've got your routine really dialed-in.

mostly machines, some free weights here and there. i changed my split earlier this year to include 2 leg/push days (one day quad focused and one glute/ham focused) and 1 pull day and i simply rotate those 3 days. 6-12 rep range to failure on everything.

 

[stankeylegjones]

very nice, it sounds like you've got your routine really dialed-in.

mostly machines, some free weights here and there. i changed my split earlier this year to include 2 leg/push days (one day quad focused and one glute/ham focused) and 1 pull day and i simply rotate those 3 days. 6-12 rep range to failure on everything.

Nice!

 

[hedge]

I train 5 days a week - it's about an hour of getting ready to life (elliptical, mobility work, light exercises) and then an hour(ish) of lifts/exercises. Outside of that I walk, a lot, for recovery and burning calories.

I'm not surprised to hear this if you're consuming 3000+ calories a day and still maintain a weight of 160-165 lbs..

 

[Heelsandeers]

I don't bench. I don't (really) deadlift, the closest thing would be like a very heavy clean pull, but I feel confident that I can currently deadlift 175 kg, maybe/probably more. A max squat currently would probably be around 175 also - I hit a triple at 160 not too long ago.

Pretty good. I would say my goal is 85% of that. In terms of relative strength

I'm eager to start back squatting heavy. Should be at it by end of summer

Mentioned earlier in the thread but that has not been part of my routine yet

Not sure of max deadlift but I was getting 300 5x5 there for a while

 

[stankeylegjones]

I'm not surprised to hear this if you're consuming 3000+ calories a day and still maintain a weight of 160-165 lbs..

One thing that really stood out to me when I started weighing my food and calculating calories was that I was really underestimating my caloric intake when I was eyeballing food. 3000 calories seems like a lot, and it is, but not as much food as many would think. I'm pretty confident that I'm not unique to underestimating calories, and this is a big reason why many overweight folks tend to be overweight.

 

[stankeylegjones]

Pretty good. I would say my goal is 85% of that. In terms of relative strength

I'm eager to start back squatting heavy. Should be at it by end of summer

Mentioned earlier in the thread but that has not been part of my routine yet

Not sure of max deadlift but I was getting 300 5x5 there for a while

5 x 5 on deadlift, or anything really at sets of 5, at heavy weights sounds brutal.

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

What is your squat/bench/deadlift? Assuming you do any of those lifts

Curious because we're about the same size. Only I don't lift or eat enough

You didn’t ask me but I have been doing more powerlifting type exercises the last few years.

Just did squats today. I chickened out on 335 and didn’t get near depth but did a couple of reps of 315.

I deadlifted 345 the other day.

I don’t know about bench because I usually use dumbbells or machines. If I had to guess I was say 275.

My goal is to reach 1000 total. At 53 I might have started that too late.

One thing I did recently was take my shoes off to squat and deadlift. I think it made at least 20-25 pound difference. I was much stronger. Guess that is the force to compress the spring before moving the weight.

 

[GoHeelsweeeehoooo]

I've been working out pretty consistently since January - started out pretty light in January - back then I was doing around 20 minutes a day on weekdays and each month I've increased that - now my goal is to do 40-45 minutes on the treadmill in the morning before I have breakfast - do about 18-20 minutes on the treadmill after I have lunch and then around 20-25 minutes on the treadmill when I get done with work - trying to also do some light weight training with hand weights 3 days a week - my main goal is to lose weight - try to keep my diet balanced with protein and carbs and I do take a multivitamin and I take some fish oil capsules - I have noticed improvements in my cardiovascular health and probably lost at least 30 lbs since January

 

[Heelsandeers]

Planning to upgrade the home workout setup soon to allow heavy back squats and presses

It's been a long time coming but finally added a proper squat rack + bench and new barbell + weights

Major upgrade from the walmart specials I've been using since I was probably 16-17 years old. Wish I could have went with a full size rack with pullup bar but it wasn't going to fit in the space I needed it

Can't wait to squat. Need to decide on a program to start but thinking fairly intense 2-3x a week. May shelve deadlifting for a while until I get my squat up somewhere close to it

 

[Ddseddse]

It's been a long time coming but finally added a proper squat rack + bench and new barbell + weights

Major upgrade from the walmart specials I've been using since I was probably 16-17 years old. Wish I could have went with a full size rack with pullup bar but it wasn't going to fit in the space I needed it

Can't wait to squat. Need to decide on a program to start but thinking fairly intense 2-3x a week. May shelve deadlifting for a while until I get my squat up somewhere close to it

My Rouge Monster Lite rack is my prized possession. Not cheap, but worth every penny. The one big purchase I would unhesitatingly do again if I had the same choice to make. I'm so glad I took the plunge. I lucked out and bought it literally 3 month before COVID, and then you couldn't get them for love or money for the next 18 months or so.

At my peak during lockdown I PRed my powerlifts at 1045. I'm way weaker than that now. I need to get serious again.

 

[Heelsandeers]

My Rouge Monster Lite rack is my prized possession. Not cheap, but worth every penny. The one big purchase I would unhesitatingly do again if I had the same choice to make. I'm so glad I took the plunge. I lucked out and bought it literally 3 month before COVID, and then you couldn't get them for love or money for the next 18 months or so.

At my peak during lockdown I PRed my powerlifts at 1045. I'm way weaker than that now. I need to get serious again.

I also went with Rogue and their monster lite squat stand with spotter arms. Tiny footprint and didn't want to compromise on quality for a stand where stability is already limited

I needed a short rackable barbell and Rogue sells a 72" barbell with 9" sleeves. To accommodate the short sleeves I went with their low profile calibrated steel plates. Very impressive quality. The 55 lb plates are under 2" thick

No regrets and worth the premium imo. Everything was shipped and arrived at my door in less than 48 hours of placing the order

 

[Ddseddse]

I also went with Rogue and their monster lite squat stand with spotter arms. Tiny footprint and didn't want to compromise on quality for a stand where stability is already limited

I needed a short rackable barbell and Rogue sells a 72" barbell with 9" sleeves. To accommodate the short sleeves I went with their low profile calibrated steel plates. Very impressive quality. The 55 lb plates are under 2" thick

No regrets and worth the premium imo. Everything was shipped and arrived at my door in less than 48 hours of placing the order

I had to decide between the spotter arms and the spotter straps. I went straps and have LOVED that decision (just throwing this out there for anyone who might make a future buying decision). I have literally one setting inside my rack I leave them on and it works for both squatting and benching (if you lift alone, I recommend teaching yourself to squat inside the rack not outside, no big deal once you get used to it.)

Bonus is that if you're too lazy (or indecisive, like me) to bolt you're rack down, then the physics makes it impossible to tip you're rack over once you start squatting heavy and are really loading the bar up.

 

[Heelsandeers]

I had to decide between the spotter arms and the spotter straps. I went straps and have LOVED that decision (just throwing this out there for anyone who might make a future buying decision). I have literally one setting inside my rack I leave them on and it works for both squatting and benching (if you lift alone, I recommend teaching yourself to squat inside the rack not outside, no big deal once you get used to it.)

Bonus is that if you're too lazy (or indecisive, like me) to bolt you're rack down, then the physics makes it impossible to tip you're rack over once you start squatting heavy and are really loading the bar up.

Tbh I didn't know safety straps were a thing. Those do look like the way to go. Not an option for stands though since it's a singular set of rails. Supposedly you can convert the stands to a half or full rack but rogue doesn't officially endorse it

The one component I'm not thrilled about are the j-cups it came with. Not a large amount of clearance to re-rack. The upgraded lower profile j-cups they sell are uhh, pricey as you might expect