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Chalkby Reckoner

Answers

Short, plain answers to the questions lifters ask most.

31 answers

  1. Woman standing barefoot on a digital bathroom scale, looking at her stomach in the mirror while checking her weight.Scale weight3 November 2026Why did the scale go up when I started lifting?Almost always water, not fat. Recovering muscles hold fluid, stored fuel comes with water, and your cycle adds its own swing. Give it a month and judge by the tape and the bar.Reckoner · 3 min read
  2. Woman preparing to lift a loaded barbell from the floor during a deadlift at the gym.Short sessions3 November 2026Short on time? A shorter session keeps your strengthYes. Keep the weight on the bar and cut the amount of work, and your strength holds. That is what a shorter session on Reckoner does: it keeps every weight, puts your main lift first, thins the sets to fit the time, holds what does not fit over to next time, and counts nothing against you.Reckoner · 4 min read
  3. Two people standing side by side against a white background, wearing black athletic clothing and white sneakers, with pink and yellow resistance bands around their ankles.Bands31 October 2026Why don't band colors match between brands?Because a band color is a maker's own label for its own range. The same color can sit in a different place from one brand to the next, so read your bands against each other, not against a chart.Reckoner · 2 min read
  4. Colorful loop resistance bands of varying thicknesses hang from wall-mounted hooks against a dark, textured brick wall in a gym.Pull-ups31 October 2026Which band should I start with for pull-ups?Start with the lightest band that lets you do five full reps with good form. Your own reps find that band. Its color and the number on the pack cannot.Reckoner · 3 min read
  5. Side view of a shirtless man performing a pull-up on a metal bar in a gym. His arms are bent and his chin is near the bar, with white brick walls and exposed wooden ceiling beams in the background.Pull-ups31 October 2026Can slow lowers get me to a first pull-up?They help, and they work best beside your pulling work rather than in place of it. Step up from a box, then lower yourself slowly to straight arms, with no band.Reckoner · 2 min read
  6. Woman performing a standing hip abduction with a red resistance band around her ankles. She balances on one leg while raising the other sideways, standing on an exercise mat in front of a wooden wall.Glutes31 October 2026What does loop hip abduction train, and who needs it?It trains the sides of your hips and some of your glutes. Nobody needs it to get strong, and it is a handy extra if you want more hip work or train with little kit.Reckoner · 2 min read
  7. Rear view of a muscular woman gripping an overhead pull-up bar in a dark gym. She wears a black cross-back sports bra, with her back, shoulders, and arms visibly engaged.Pull-ups31 October 2026How many band assisted pull-ups should I do?Start with two or three sets of five to eight full reps, twice a week. Reach eight on every set, with every set rated Clean or Fair, and you have earned the next lighter band.Reckoner · 3 min read
  8. Alt text: Man in a black T-shirt stretching a red resistance band horizontally between his outstretched hands at chest height, standing in front of an exposed brick wall.Warm-up31 October 2026Are band pull-aparts a good warm-up for your shoulders?They are a sensible way to get the back of your shoulders working before you lift. No trial has tested them as a warm-up, so treat them as an easy extra and keep your lighter sets of the lift itself.Reckoner · 2 min read
  9. A man in a black T-shirt stretches a blue resistance band horizontally between his hands at chest height, standing in front of an exposed red brick wall.Pull-ups31 October 2026Can I use a band for chin-ups too?Yes. A band sets up the same way for a chin-up as for a pull-up. Turn your palms toward you, keep your hands about shoulder width apart, and find your band for this lift on its own.Reckoner · 3 min read
  10. Man performing an overhead resistance band exercise in a gym, leaning forward with his arms extended while pulling against a band anchored behind him.Bands31 October 2026Are resistance bands as good as weights?For general strength, the trials so far put them about level. For a heavy one rep max, weights win. For muscle size in trained lifters, the direct comparison has not been done.Reckoner · 2 min read
  11. Man sitting on a gym bench with his hand against his forehead, resting beside a loaded barbell.Sleep29 October 2026Should I lift after a bad night's sleep?Usually, yes. One short night costs a little on your heaviest lifts, most of all later in the day, and very little on lighter work. Train, take some weight off the big lifts, keep the reps clean, and leave records for a rested day.Reckoner · 3 min read
  12. Woman resting her arms on a loaded barbell in a squat rack at the gym.Pelvic floor27 October 2026Is it normal to leak when you lift?It is common, and it is not something you have to live with. Plenty of women who lift leak a little on heavy sets, pelvic floor training helps most women with this kind of leaking, and a doctor is the place to start.Reckoner · 4 min read
  13. People strength training in a gym, with one person performing a dumbbell row and another doing a dumbbell bench press.Splits22 October 2026A push pull legs plan for beginnersThree sessions: push, pull and legs, four or five lifts each, every set stopped with two or three good reps left. Run it once a week to start, or twice through on six days so every muscle is trained twice. Add reps first, then weight.Reckoner · 5 min read
  14. Roasted chicken served with a green salad as part of a protein-rich meal.Protein15 October 2026How much protein do women need to build strength?About the same per kilo of bodyweight as anybody who lifts: roughly 1.4 to 2.2 grams a day, spread across your meals.Reckoner · 3 min read
  15. Woman performing a dumbbell row during a strength training workout at the gym.Myths14 October 2026Will lifting weights make me bulky?No. Muscle does not arrive by accident, and lifting tends to take a little fat off rather than pile size on. What you can count on is getting stronger.Reckoner · 2 min read
  16. Person holding a dumbbell in each hand in an outdoor setting, demonstrating the starting position of a farmer’s carry.Loaded carries12 October 2026Which loaded carry should I do?The farmer's carry for the simplest start and the heaviest weights, the suitcase carry for a trunk that has to fight a sideways pull, and the front rack carry when your grip gives out first.Reckoner · 3 min read
  17. A sign that reads Gym Entrance to the right.Readiness12 October 2026What does a rough day change?Today only. Answer Rough before your first set and this session's weights come down about ten per cent. Next week never adds weight off the day, and nothing about it counts against you.Reckoner · 3 min read
  18. Woman preparing for a barbell back squat with weights across her shoulders in a gym.The menstrual cycle10 October 2026Should I change my training around my cycle?Mostly, no. Keep lifting through your whole cycle, and let how you feel on the day decide how hard to push, not a chart on the wall.Reckoner · 4 min read
  19. A man sitting on a bench in the gym with his hands together. Gym anxiety6 October 2026How do I stop feeling stupid at the gym?Walk in knowing what you are there to do, start light enough to learn the movement, and learn the few manners that matter. The people around you are paying far less attention to you than it feels.Reckoner · 5 min read
  20. Woman sitting on a gym bench checking her smartphone during a workout, with earphones in.Privacy5 October 2026What Reckoner learns from, and how to turn it offReckoner learns from a copy of your training records, with you taken out of it, and only while you let it. Two switches on the Account page decide what goes in, and turning either off changes nothing about your plan.Reckoner · 3 min read
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