I have not much money, little space, and no gym access, how do I get absolutely swole like handsome shrek? Is this possible from calisthenics only, or alternatively, is there some equipment that is 10/10 great to have?

It can be time consuming due to the sheer length and duration, but I have found fat falling off in the places I have most issues (lower abdomen, chest, and back). It's free, it's super chill, and I have found it clearing my mind too. In combination with more intense regime, I think it is a a necessary supplemental exercise. I think walking outside is probably better (it feels more natural to me at least), but just a plain ol' treadmill or other cardio machine will probably get those steps up. Its super low-impact, easy, and do-able.

I'm dropping weight and I'm finding my brain rebooting in some places as well. It's overall super great and I encourage every Hexbear to increase their step count.

Hey gang! I have a (maybe dumb) and very specific question that I couldn't exactly find the answer to, so I'd love it if you could weigh in a bit.

TL;DR: Newbie, strength training 4x a week, eating window is 11:00-17:00, is it okay to train at like 17:30?

I'm usually a long distance runner but decided to exclusively do strength training this winter. I've also been on a fairly strict 18/6 IF schedule since about June and I'm really happy with it and used to it by now, so I don't like the idea of quitting IF just to accommodate lifting. IF is more for health reasons than for weight loss for me, it stops me from going goblin mode on junk food in the evenings and really helps with mental clarity in the mornings.

IF and running in the evening after my window worked great together, never had any complaints about it, and the first two weeks of regular strength training with this schedule seemed pretty good as well. I've eaten at a bit (maybe 300-500 kcal but idk) above maintenance with about 1-1.5g of Protein/kg during my window and visually my muscles have already improved and I've gained about 1kg. That's okay for newbies, right?

Recovery seemed fine so far as well, a good bit of new stimulus DOMS in the first week, but it's noticeably easier after the second now despite hitting technical failure on a few exercises each workout (still figuring out my limits lol). AFAB people supposedly recover faster anyways I've heard, so I'm not super worried about delayed recovery due to fasting tbh.

The most common answer I've found when researching fasting after a workout has been ✨ Eating after a workout will replenish your Glycogen stores. ✨

...which is such a nothing-burger of an answer! The goal of fasting IS to empty the Glycogen stores. I don't get what this answer can be useful for..

Further, when I search up resources on fasting and weightlifting in general, I usually just get answers regarding lifting in a fasted state in the morning, which (unless a 15 minute Cardio warmup puts me in a fasted state lol) I'm not doing.

I've also read that the anabolic window isn't really relevant for casual lifters, it's more for serious athletes that actually benefit from optimizing muscle gain by like 5%.

So yeah, after all that rambling: am I doing any serious harm in the long-run? Not just "eh, it could be a bit more efficient" but actual damage? Because I feel good, I perform like expected and I don't want to quit IF as a lifestyle. I may be swayed to compromise and have like, a protein bar or something like that after training if the benefit is great enough I guess, or I'd be down to move my training into my eating window. What do you think?

I liked the Xero shoes I got for running like a year ago so I wanted to get another pair for the gym and a pair for my husband to try out... the prices were so ridiculous tho Amazon and other resellers scalp the shit out of them for some reason AND have shittier stock.

They're like a third of the price if you get them from the website on sale (there's always a sale on less popular models/colors/sizes)

just letting y'all know in case you were looking into getting some anyways

megan knees just means strong knees. how do i strengthen my knees, i have injury from a year ago that get sore too. should i ignore the soreness? dont tell me to go to physical therapy lol i dont wanna.

I’ve lifted pretty seriously in the past, though always under guidance, so something like rippetoe might be too long winded on exercise explanations, but from a progress perspective I’m closer to a beginner— aside from having previously developed some of the neural pathways. 5/3/1 was my go-to in younger days but now I’m older and looking for more general fitness and athleticism as opposed to size/strength specific.

I’ve been using gambetta’s athletic development and it’s been great for circuit training and overall increase of work capacity but I’m finding that when it comes to programming it sort of falls flat in that recommendations are very generic. I would like something that would educate me on the whys and let me come away with the ability to design my own programs depending on situational needs. Any recs would be appreciated

I’m down 10 lbs and am currently at 22% bf, starting to see more definition but am definitely pretty small under there above the waist. I’d like to maybe build out my back a bit more. Wondering what a good point is to target for a cut to end before starting to try to add weight. My original target of 150 would put me at ~12% which might be a little too lean and I’m reading might make muscle gain more difficult later. Also am generally sick of dieting and the macro requirements are really starting to bite (my TDEE is probably 2500-2700 and MacroFactor has me eating just shy of 2k, I am very tired). Also it just seems like bulking through the holidays makes more sense socially.

I definitely still have fat to lose and don’t want to run the clock back on 3 months of progress, but am having trouble deciding when to stop.