Random Fitness Questions

I started lifting heavy stuff in my 30’s. 37 actually. Always had a bad back. I used to look at guys in the gym deadlifting 80kg and squatting 60kg and I’d think no way I could do anywhere near that, not in a million years.

nowdays those weights are the start of my warm ups. So trust me, 100kg is well achievable. Just got to stick to your program. I’ve had loads of time off during these years from injuries, busy work schedule, moving house, babies etc but I always get back to it. Probably for me, using the log forum here on boards and the help of a good few people on here I’ve kept going. I was exactly where you were and I asked all the questions you asked and more.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057683427/getting-stronger-getting-older#latest

hes probably already eating you out of house and home but you’re gonna have to up there food intake and do some or any weight training program

I think as you've alluded to, it's all about the volume sweet spot that allows you to progressively overload within that 'practical hypertrophy rep range' of 6-12ish.

I'll often drop volume temporarily to help me get some extra weight on the bar, as it's generally easier to add reps to a challenging weight, than add weight to a large volume of reps.

Does anyone regularly use the pure caffeine tabs from Bulk or MyProtein?

I'm looking to use them instead of coffee coming into the summer but there seems to be mixed reviews on their effectiveness.

I normally go with 4 espresso shots before a workout which I estimate at 280mg caffeine. The caffeine tablets list at 200mg each so I'd likely go with 1.5 tabs.

What's the best type of pushup to do for visible results?

No prob. DOMS and recovery are poorly correlated, but that's kind of an aside. I know the ab exercise you mean yeah.

I would say that core isolation exercises are probably some of the least bang for buck you could be spending time on. I certainly wouldn't do more than one in a session. Most people really only need 4-6 exercises in a session. If you're way over this, it might explain why you run out of time.

The core matters, but no more than your legs, arms etc. There’s a lot of unsupported claims around core training.

Big bang for buck exercises are multijoint ones that train multiple muscle groups at once (including the core) and are basic movement patterns for everyday life. These are things like squats, presses, deadlifts rows.

An example session I run beginners through:

A1 Barbell bench

A2 Goblet squat

A3 Dumbell row

B1 Sit up

B2 Back raise

A fitbit seems to tick your boxes.

One of the cheaper Fitbits, like the Inspire 2, would do. It gives more than I'd expected it to. Sleep and steps and then other bits and bobs like resting heart rate, calories etc.

I was given a fitbit Charge and when it died, I didn't want it enough to spend €150 to replace it. Got an Inspire which had more info on it than the Charge did anyway

Planks and situps work the rectus abd.

But this minutia is not something you need to focus on for your level of experience. Focus on those compounds I mentioned and you’ll get better results.

So you were confused because the below was two separate related sentences, instead of a single sentence with a comma. I'm sorry but that's pretty ridiculous.

The exercise does target the transverse abs. I don't how to make that less confusing for you.

But I see now you are focusing on lower abs. There is no lower ab muscle. It's an area of a single muscle. Maybe stop obsesing over youtubers who just want clicks