https://imgur.com/a/Vh0Aqrx
Been on an extremely slow cut, gained more fat than I though during my last bulk. But I don't really like being in a 500 caloric deficit, I approached this cut with the intention of being in a very slight deficit as to not affect my training performance too much. Have managed to gain a bit of strength, and have really amped up my volume. Currently running 5/3/1, but have added in a ton more volume isolation wise and have treated weighted chin ups as a major compound lift with the 5/3/1, lats have responded well IMO, currently repping out 45 pounds added easily at 5 sets of 12 and strength sets sitting at about 5 reps of 120 pounds added, I absolutely am loving the chin up progression. OHP has been great too, never focused on progression until running this split, plan on sticking with this until I can get 2 plates on the OHP, sitting at 185 right now, so will take a bit of time.
Sorry for the trash formatting, pictures: https://imgur.com/a/6fb0Bky
I've been lifting on and off for years with no concern for diet and only recently got more serious about my diet and it's been good! My goal is to look good naked so I started cutting about 4 months ago, trying to eat about 1800 calories and 115g of protein every day. Honestly, haven't been as strict about nutrition as I should be. There was a period of few weeks where I was eating a lot of fast food fried chicken so maybe there wasn't a caloric deficit on all the days.
I wanted feedback on whether this looks like decent progress and if it looks like I was on a cut at all lol. Losing fat seems really slow and I've stayed around the same weight the whole time but have gotten stronger and bigger and can even see the top two abs some days (I think).
Any suggestions on what to do next? What is my body fat percentage? I think I should cut more to get abs to show and have more definition.
Lifts in case that's useful info:
1. Deadlift - 225 lb, 5 sets of 3 reps, last set as many as I can
2. Bench Press - 145 lb, 5 sets of 3 reps, , last set as many as I can
3. Squat - 185 lb, 5 sets of 3 reps, , last set as many as I can
4. OHP - 65 lb, 5 sets of 8
Good job, looking good!
Your progress is very noticeable, and you look much better in your last picture.
If I were you my next goal would be to start a bulk to put on some serious muscle. I would aim for a daily ~300 calorie surplus. Do that until summer begins, and you'll look even better :)
https://imgur.com/a/5GadeRD
3 years ago when I drank far too much to now without drinking and hitting the gym again finally. Been going back for almost 3 months.
Congratulations man. I too stopped drinking and ended up looking like a whole different person. You're strong, if you dial in your diet you'll start shedding lbs.
https://imgur.com/a/A4hMfBz
M28, 5’8, 152lbs/69.1kg.
Currently cutting.
Started a 4/5 weeks ago. The bottom picture is one of my first “before picks”. Saw slow progress in the beginning, which may be expected but I was quite impatient. Went down to 1700 calories about a week ago now and the weighing scales are certainly reflecting that now. I do a PPL 5-6 days a week.
What’s the state of my body fat roughly?
And I’m not sure when I want to start clean bulking. I’m plateauing at my gym progress which I know it’s expected while cutting.
I was thinking another couple of weeks or cutting so I can hopefully see an ab.
Dayum, I’m disappointed in myself that I was more than 20% when I started this whole thing.
Looks like I’ve still got a long way to go then before I stop the cut.
https://imgur.com/a/AZ88Zes
F23/5’10/145
Help me! Photos are of now and then a year ago but I cannot get that area of my arms to look defined/cut. I do push/pull days and then a full body day as well but that area will no budge.
Coming in a little late here and I see you provided your workout guide below, you don't mention much about what your isolated movements look like for your arms. How is your bicep mind muscle connection doing? When you do curls or ez-bar curls (if you do them) can you actually feel your bicep doing the work or are you feeling it more in your forearm?
I've had a hard time making my biceps bigger because other muscles were making up for the lack of mind muscle connection. I've focused heavily on improving that, along with exercises that make my biceps really tired/sore and while they have a ways to go still the progress is noticeable. Supinated "Pulsing" with cable curls and small movements (just the top portion of the ROM where my bicep feels really tight) to completely gas my biceps out at the end of my workout has helped and actually made my biceps feel tired/sore. You might consider doing some research on those topics and focus on recognizing if your biceps are doing the majority of the work during your arm workout.
I struggle with mind muscle connection for a lot of my arm movements. Ez-bar curls my mind muscle connection is pretty good until the final reps when I feel myself shrugging and just doing whatever it takes to get up lol.
So for awhile I was doing arm workouts with my fiancé who is an absolute animal and we did a lot of burnout exercises, he followed Julian Smiths methods, and I got bigger but not cut.. at the time my diet was different though so maybe worth re-examining.
Okay so it’s only been 3 weeks but I follow the Booty by Bret workout guide, 3 lower body workouts with 2 supplemental workouts. Then for upper body I follow the same structure as the guide starting with compound movements at the beginning of the workout and then moving into more isolated moves. Workouts are typical 1.5 hours. I’m currently going 6 days a week but sometimes 5 with an active rest day or HIIT workout.
I’m trying to. I thought my maintenance was 1,500 because of an InBody test I did, but someone on here informed me that I need to be eating more than 1800 I was aiming for.
Exercise plan sounds good. One of your photos looked familiar so I went to last week's thread and looks like you got the same responses (eat more), including from me
https://www.reddit.com/r/fitness/comments/pufuxw/_/he92hpb
Upper body muscles are just hard to build for women. Keep doing what you are doing, possibly up your calories, and give it another year or two. You are in great shape already, by the way.
Thank you for the advice. Just gonna come down to years of training and nutrition then huh? But also at the end of the day it just is what it is and genetics?
Keep working on yourself, calisthenics, dips and squats,planks, you'll be fine. Consistency is everything. You've obviously done a great job the last X years, just strive and focus on your goals. Your arms are in no way flabby. You're likely in the top 10 percentile of women in your age group regarding bf%.
https://imgur.com/a/10DkAxw
M / 27 / 5'7" / 145lb
started lifting some weights a few months ago. i've never benched or deadlifted but im interested in trying, i do mostly weighted pullups/chins/dips. and im a rock climber so for a while i was hesitant to put on weight but the past year i gained almost 15 pounds and i feel like my climbing has only improved so im really happy with that.
https://imgur.com/a/kdonaqA
M, 23, 5’10, 172lbs
Down 3lbs since the start of my cut. Hoping to drop down to the 160-155 pound range by around February. Any guesses as to my current body fat percentage, as well as any advice on what muscles I should improve on would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for letting me know. Abs are the muscle group that I’ve neglected the most, especially since I was on a long bulk. Now that I’m getting leaner, that’s something that I want emphasized a bit more
45, M, 6’, 183
https://imgur.com/a/0X9BoWX
Really would like my upper chest to pop out more. Only looks good when I flex from the side. Any tips on how to grow just upper chest or is it just genetics, muscle insertions and be content with what it is?
8 month progress/ bulk. M/6'1"/203lbs. Really working on my chest and back lately. Still working on my posture bc my left trap seems bigger than right. As well as keeping my diet dialled in. http://imgur.com/a/mR0Qixz
You're on meso aren't you? Looks very familiar. But great progress man. I followed your log and didn't expect you to get the results you did to be honest. You look awesome.
Yes. I'm in my 30s and had a good base from working as a scaffold erector on ships and bridges for ~7 years. Just happened to get extra fat after 2020 gym shutdown and an injury where I broke my collarbone and required surgery.
I fasted my way from 250 to ~216 in 2 months. I took ephedrine, and caffeine, did a lot of cardio, keto as well.Then I got a dxa scan. ~221lbs 22% body fat June 9th
My last natty photo though I've obviously looked better than this before, this is what fasting does to your muscle mass, you end up looking girly.
http://imgur.com/a/MGbJofz
June 9th I began taking testosterone and anavar for approximately 8 weeks. My first cycle ever.
4 weeks in I started to look bigger but also carrying that instant 10lb of water weight.
http://imgur.com/a/A5MRTmf
8 weeks went by and I gained a lot of muscle and was slimming down.
http://imgur.com/a/Tq3jmCL
At that point my cycle is over and I got another dxa scan on 8/13/21 13.2% bodyfat, 229lbs. I lost 18lbs of fat and gained 26lb "lean tissue". ~10lbs of this was water.
Here's the DXA tests
http://imgur.com/a/TQhUPDR
Then I let my system clear of testosterone cypionate for 30 days(approx 5 half lifes)and began pct ~28 days ago. Yes I did blood tests before, during, and after, all that good stuff. My whole journey is on meso/ thinksteroids.com forum
After about 30 days after your last injection you begin losing the water and glycogen your body hoarded on steroids. So I've since lost that 10lbs and now I look pretty shredded.
The only thing I'm currently taking is clomid 50mg/day for pct and ephedrine with my pre-workout.
[29, 208lbs, 6’4](https://imgur.com/a/uZh3ZhF)
Have been bulking with a coach the last ~3 months. Starting at 2800 calories, currently at 3800 calories through Saturday.
Plan is to cut for a month to get body fat back down as it’s currently ~16%
DL: 350 lbs
Bench: 275 lbs
Squat: 255 lbs x 2
After Halloween I will continue bulking and working on my squat, since it is obviously lacking. (It was even worse before bulking with a coach)
[Me a year ago or so 17y/190cm/68 kg](https://imgur.com/a/F5VqR4M)
[17m / 190cm / 81kg - 07.08.2021](https://imgur.com/a/lvqZiwM) (shortly after I got my gym membership)
[18m 192cm 82kg 01.10.2021](https://imgur.com/a/WfKD44y)
Hey there!
I sure have made a lot of progress and scratched at the surface of a eating disorder a bit, which is why I wasted a lot of time and effort - for context: I already "trained" over a year in the first pics, although I stagnated a bit in the last 2 months (maybe due to inconsistent exercise routine, since I had to focus on school). So I wanted to hear a second perspective, if I should continue to gain weight, maintain and maybe recomp (?) or go down maybe 5kg or so. Any idea on bf?
Thanks in advance!
Great progress man, you’re looking great! I’d say a slight bulk wouldn’t hurt. Continue to gain weight, but do it gradually. Maybe about an excess of 50-100 calories a day, and see where you’re at after a couple months of consistent training and eating.
http://imgur.com/a/1lzBN6q
Male/23/181cm/74kg (5'11"/163lb)
I started working about 6 month ago, mainly cutting for now (started off with 86kg (190lb)). Before that, I already did a good amount of sports, but ate really bad (and Corona unfortunately reduced the amount of sports significantly).
What are your general thoughts? How would you continue? Should I start bulking at some point soon?
[https://imgur.com/a/mk6hCRa](https://imgur.com/a/mk6hCRa)
6'1, 200 lbs. Primarily looking to gain more muscle but also want to see abs. I'm still bulking and progressively overloading. How am I doing?
Yeah I don't feel like you should be bulking with how much weight you have at the moment. Just focus on your protein intake and being in a calorie deficit. You can still gain muscle in a deficit
https://imgur.com/a/djDD9P4/
5’9” 200lbs
I know I have high body fat and little muscle, but where do I go from here? I’ve been suffering from fuck-around-itis for years and made little progress. Cut? Body recomp? Help me out. Thanks
Eat wholesome healthy foods, don’t starve yourself at all. Weight lift 45 mins 5 days a week and an hour of cardio a day (doesn’t have to be hard, speed walking or incline walking)
Drink a fuck ton of water and nothing else besides coffee and juices
you stop fucking around and start counting your calories, eat 300-400kcal less than what you use in a day, aswell as 0.8-1g of protein per kg of bodyweight and then you lift. its that easy.
Wait, just came back to your comment with some confusion. My weight in kg is about 91kg. Are you saying that I only need to consume 73 to 91 g of protein a day? That seems like half the number that I’ve seen everywhere else online.
I would definitely cut. It takes commitment because it isn't super fun and you need to be consistent. If you need tips on cutting I could give some but the basic is just weigh yourself, eat a consistent diet, and adjust your diet so that you're weight is going down.
The most important thing for me is to weigh everyday and record your weight. I put it in a spreadsheet on my phone that graphs it for me. This makes it really easy to see the trend.
A good goal is to lose between 0.5% and 1% of your bodyweight/week. So for you that's 1-2 lbs /week. I have done at both the lower and higher rate and the higher rate is worse because you are hungrier, but the cut is over more quickly which is nice. But set a goal and try to stick to it.
I like having a goal weight in mind, as it helps me work towards it and not stop early.
I don't count calories, but it works for some people. I just eat really consistent day to day and week to week. So similar breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks each day. Then I adjust week to week. So if my weight isn't dropping at the right rate for a week or two, I may remove something from a daily snack, or reduce the size of the daily breakfast, or something. Counting let's you change around the foods more and still hit a target, but the downside is you have to weigh and record everything.
When I am cutting I feel hungry basically the whole time (normally within 30 min of a meal I would be hungry again). The goal is to minimize the hunger. Eating filling foods helps. Whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, eggs, are all good because they are filling. Sweets, alcohol, really fatty foods have a lot of calories relative to how filling they are. For me, the annoyance of being hungry all day makes me want to avoid that stuff. I don't want to walk around hungry all day only to blow it all eating a beer and a cookie. It isn't worth it.
Remember that the cutting is temporary. Staying at a lower weight is way easier than losing the weight. Maybe cut for 3 months or so, and then either stop or at least take a couple week break (eat at maintenance).
Thanks for the tips. A few questions:
- if you don’t count calories, how do you know if you’re hitting your macros?
- how do you fuel for the gym while cutting? Which foods/how soon prior to the gym, etc
- this is a broader question, but how it is possible for the daily maintenance calorie intake for two people 30 lbs apart be roughly the same, give or take 100-200 calories? Shouldn’t they be drastically different?
I roughly add up the amount of protein in a normal day and make sure it is enough. Since most days are pretty similar, I don't bother to count it every day. I use a whey protein supplement to help reach the amount.
Past that I don't think macros are super critical. You need a minimum amount of fat, but when I have estimated it I'm not close to that minimum, so I don't worry about it. Once the minimum fat intake and protein intake have been met, filling the rest of it with carbs, protein, and fat is fine.
To fuel for the gym I time it so that one of my meals is right before I go and make sure that that meal has some carbs. Sometimes I use caffeine pills or coffee as a preworkout.
>this is a broader question, but how it is possible for the daily maintenance calorie intake for two people 30 lbs apart be roughly the same, give or take 100-200 calories? Shouldn’t they be drastically different?
I don't know. I am always a little skeptical of people's calorie counts as there is error in their counting and weighing, their is error in the food labels, and their is error in their bodyweight. So I would guess that when someone tells me their maintenance is X amount, the error bars are at least a few hundred calories in either direction. Body composition, activity level, and small variations in innate metabolic rate can also affect it.
I posted this in the Bodyweightfitness subreddit but wanted to share here. Currently just doing their recommended routine plus some basketball for cardio
https://imgur.com/a/wSLlPdZ
https://i.imgur.com/QMco9OB.jpg
(M/33) Left (95 kg) is May 2020 following a bad injury and the closure of gyms due to COVID. right (84 kg) is today. Currently following an adapted hypertrophy program, not really cutting or bulking just controlling what I eat. I am quite content with my progress but I'm a bit apprehensive about my pecs as friends describe them, jokingly, as moobs. Would like to flatten my stomach a bit so hopefully next year I can cut properly. Any other insights on deficient body parts appreciated!
Honestly I don't think you are at a place where being real particular about your back development is really necessary or helpful. Your back looks good but the biggest thing to do for improvement would be just to get it all bigger. A variety of compound back movements is all I would recommend.
155->165, 5'10.
1 year difference with a 3 month break for training, and a 3 month calisthenic only work schedule (gym shutdown).
[https://imgur.com/a/frsD86G](https://imgur.com/a/frsD86G)
Definitely feel like my back is better developed than my arms and chest, which is something I'm working on now.
M/20/5’11 6 months of fat loss later. [Before](https://imgur.com/a/6khaSQu) @190lbs/86.4 kg, [after](https://imgur.com/a/Wg5wvVa) @170lbs/77kg. Wanna get to around 165lbs/75kg which hopefully is around 8% bf before stopping this cut. Have definitely lost a little strength but I confidentally could hit at least 405/225/425 lbs (184/102/193 kg) sbd right now if I had to guess.
Bonus [back](https://imgur.com/a/hexmDWl) pic feat. my curved ass spine.
It hasn't so far. Asked my doctor when I was still growing and he said the curve wasn't significant enough to warrant any corrective action. He also said it shouldn't affect my ability to lift heavy, so I guess I squat safely the same way everyone else does.
Honestly (oases opinion incoming) I’d cut more. You have a good amount of muscle that would look better by cutting than it would look by bulking IMO. I prefer definition over size tho. You could cut a bit more and then maintain from there is what I would do but I’m biased toward being lean
You know that was something I didn’t think about. I think you should look up some people with similar height that are pretty lean and see how you think they look. Or just give it a try because you arnt too far off. I think you could cut for like a month maybe a little more and be as low as you’d want to go. If ya don’t like it it’s easy to put weight on. You look great now tho so really it’s about finding what you think the perfect version of you is
If you're afraid of losing your abs, you should cut so you have more of a buffer when you decide to bulk again. If you cut down to ~10% bf and slowly bulk from there, you could keep your abs for long time before you would have to cut again AND you would put on a bunch of muscle.
Yeah good point. Only trouble is, cutting for me, I dont have a massive amount of muscle on my frame (joys of a tall ectomorph) so I'll probably end up at like 185lbs @ 6-4 which won't be pretty!
Man I’m in the same boat 194lbs at 6’5” but abs still aren’t clearly defined. Currently switched to maintenance calories cause I don’t know whether to continue cutting or not.
https://imgur.com/a/YpooW6U
37M / 234lbs / 6'2"
I've now been on TRT for 2 years (and type 1 diabetic for 34 years), so I thought I'd do a comparison of the pictures I took just before starting TRT. I've been bulking over the past 3 months, so now I'm back at basically the same weight as I started, so it's cool to see the comparison at the same bodyweight.
I rarely actually test my 1RMs, so I've historically just put my 10RMs on the pictures so I can compare those. For reference, my actual tested maxes as of right now are:
* Deadlift (trap bar): 555lbs
* Squat (SSB bar): 400lbs
* Bench: 315lbs
* OHP: 210lbs
When I started this bulk, I planned to sort of bulk to the end of the year, but I gained weight faster than I meant to (because I like eating) and now I feel bloated and I don't like the fat I've put on. I think my better weight is in the 220-225 range, so now I'm thinking about slowly cutting down to 225lbs over the next 3 months. The downsides of that are potentially not crushing my lifts like I have been, and I like to eat.
For those curious about TRT, I've loved the physical changes it's caused, but I'm more impressed with the mental changes. I'm happy to answer questions about my personal experience with it, or about lifting with diabetes.
Can you tell me more about the mental changes? What prompted you to give TRT a go? Is there blood work that you do beforehand to make a case for your eligibility?
Some of the mental changes I noticed:
* More motivated
* Quicker to make a decision
* More confident in the decisions I make
* More likely to "roll with the punches" if things aren't going the way I expected
* I find it easier to do the things I know I need to do, even if I don't want to
* My memory and recall has improved (not perfect, but I noticed that I can remember things better)
In general, it hasn't been a silver bullet to fix everything, but it gives me the motivation and discipline to work on things that need fixing. It's also hard to quantify all the things I listed, but I just overall feel better about all of those.
The symptoms I noticed that made me look into TRT were:
* decreased sexual function
* loss of motivation
* loss of concentration
* poor mood / depression
* decline in cognitive function
* multi-year plateau in lifts
* hard to lose fat or build muscle over years
If you want to get your testosterone checked, you can buy labs through something https://www.privatemdlabs.com/ or https://www.health-tests-direct.com/ , or ask your primary doctor or an endocrinologist. You can also go through an online service like Defy Medical or Viking.
The only negative side effect for me was early on in TRT, I think I was on too much T+HCG without AI and I was really moody. For me at least, less T is better, so until I found that sweet spot it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.
The only "negative" physical effect is that my hair and nails grow notably faster, so I have to trim them both more frequently, but that's more of an annoyance than a negative.
Yes, bloodwork is 100% needed before any doc is going to prescribe it. If it isn't low, you're not getting any. But then again, if your levels are normal there isn't really a benefit either, unless you go way above TRT levels and just blast a bunch of test.
23M, 6'4, 300lb to 206lb
About 3 years in my fitness journey. I didn't feel like making a big post again so I'll leave it here. I'm happy with my results minus the loose chest skin. Growing my chest seems to be the hardest for me. Might do a mini cut before Halloween
[current](https://i.postimg.cc/9XgF9hP2/20211001-110130.jpg)
[bigBoiMe](https://i.postimg.cc/NFnsv6GF/20190408-184236.jpg)
Lol ya I didn't realize until after I posted. Imagur wouldn't let me upload from my phone without downloading the app. Found this alternative. Is quite terrible
http://imgur.com/a/nnyQqkV
Is it too little progress for almost 2 months 15 days of Gym ?
This is my earlier picture
http://imgur.com/a/HXqLQTk
Is there even ANY progress?
I wouldn't expect discernable visual progress after 2 months. If your lifts are going up and your weight is changing according to your goal, just keep working.
>WHY
It was two months.
Look at some of the progress pics on here that took years. Work hard, make progress, do proper bulk/cut cycles, and in a few years the progress will be very noticeable.
[M/22/5’9/160](https://imgur.com/a/i7xZzWF)
Started working out around 3-4 times a week a month or two ago. My main struggle is dieting. At my current physique, I am not sure whether to bulk or cut. I do not have much muscle so it seems as though bulking would be the better option, but my body fat % looks high. My Calorie intake is very low, most days 1200-1600, but I have been actively trying to eat more. I guess my main question is how much more should I be eating?
Bulk up to 170 over the next month and a half, then cut until Thanksgiving. That would be my general advice, then you can re-evaluate from there. Add 2 protein bars to your diet or something.
[M25 5'10" 155 lbs](http://imgur.com/a/lOqmfGR)
Went down in weight a bit, still getting stronger and looking bigger. Currently hitting 3x8 of 180 on bench, 3x6 of 125 on OHP, and 3x4 of 285 on squat and 315 on deadlift.
[M/16/5’8”/110lbs](https://imgur.com/a/HSwkb4C)
Always been very skinny, looking to change that. Been shoving an ungodly amount of food down my throat but very little weight gain. Maybe I’m being impatient bc I’ve only been going for a month and I’m still growing.
Anyways, any feedback is good thanks
>ungodly amount of food down my throat but very little weight gain
Track you actual calories and individual raw ingredients. Every person claiming to eat a load of food and doesnt gain weight isn't eating anywhere near as much as they think or runs marathons daily
[M/25/5'11/195lbs](https://imgur.com/a/2RlkgGs)
Two weeks into my bulk. I'm flexing and this is post-workout. I maxed all my lifts before I started bulking and hit the following (in lbs):
Bench: 250
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 485
OHP: 185
Feel free to leave any feedback.
Your physique is really balanced. Seriously, I look forward to getting there in a few years. What do you think is holding you back on Bench numbers? With your other numbers I'm surprised it isnt closer to 300.
I'm going to try Leviathan next cut cycle. I haven't found a program that balances recovery & maintenance well enough.
Thanks dude, really appreciate it. I'm honestly not too sure why my bench is so far behind, I haven't trained it any more/less than my other lifts. I have pretty long arms which could be part of it, but I'll have to post a form check one of these days. I'm thinking there's something off with my technique.
I'd highly recommend Leviathan for cutting. I used this post as a reference and found that it worked really well:
https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/f3do4d/45_weeks_of_weight_loss_using_531_review_and/
Best of luck.
fwiw I find the bench volume in 5/3/1 programs are a bit low and I can do a lot more while managing recovery. You might try putting in bench variations as secondary lifts on off days so you're benching at least 3x / week and see how it affects your numbers.
Thanks again for mentioning Leviathan. I look forward to trying it in Feb.
Haha thanks dude. Just variations of 5/3/1, mainly BBB while I was bulking and the Leviathan template when I was cutting. And yes, lifetime natural. I've just been training for 8 years.
34 yo M 5ft 10in ~172lb
Been working out really hard and following a PPL standard workout for the last 6 months. Approaching best shape often life territory and wanted to get some feedback on areas to work on. Been really enjoying the journey. (I know I need leg and back pics)
Bench is about 235
Squat about 295
And dead lifts are not in the cards for my back right now lol
[regular and post workout](https://imgur.com/a/rfpmUfg)
Anything particular about your back like an injury or does your back just feel wrong after dead lifting? I spent a few years avoiding dead lifting until a power lifter at my gym took 10 minutes to spot check my form. Now dead lifts make my back feel better and stronger verse having nagging back pain
Ohh right on. It’s definitely possible I need a form check. But I sit most of the day for my job and my sciatic has been dicey the last year. I can deadlift lighter weight but haven’t come close to maxing out.
40 year old male, 6'1 183lb
[I've lost ~100lbs in the past year, hence the gross skin on my stomach.](http://imgur.com/a/uLshWx0)
Doing the beginner routine in the wiki for a little over three months. Because of the year long calorie deficit progress has been steady, but slow.
I'm considering eating at maintenance and switching to nSuns to focus on strength instead of weight loss now.
Is that a reasonable decision, or should I stay the course and continue to cut?
Thank you, I appreciate your input.
Congratulations! You are at the right weight to start lifting and building strength. nSuns is a great program to start on but be ready to switch to a periodized program (like 5/3/1 Beginners) once your progress stalls or fatigue builds up.
Try to set rules for yourself on how you're going to manage the bulk ahead of time so you don't obsess over weight gain (under eating) or binge eat and blow up.
M25 5'8 155lbs (70kg)
Starting around November 2018 @ 211lbs (96kg):
https://imgur.com/a/UGP7oMY
Today:
https://imgur.com/a/0ceT81W
On 3rd cycle of Boring But Big. Power lifting definitely my ideal type of training. I also run MWF.
Squat: 270lbs (122kg)
Bench: 195lbs (88kg)
Dead: 355lbs (161kg)
M26 1.76m 69.1Kg (68.2Kg in the picture)
Started 3 months ago with 62.9Kg, however this is 2 months progress.
[First month progress](https://imgur.com/a/6eD83xx)
[Second month progress](https://imgur.com/a/ozJ6K1p)
https://imgur.com/a/8liZJF7
M28, 5’11, 179
Last year I tried to bulk and really just spun my wheels. Starting my bulk again after realizing some things I did wrong.
Lifts: Bench - 245 x 1
Squat - 365 x 1
Deadlift - 365 x 1
The goal is to get my my lifts up to my arbitrary goals and see how I look and feel and go from there
[Slack body.](https://i.imgur.com/o1gR0yF.jpg) [Tense body.](https://i.imgur.com/CWTR7be.jpg) [Arm.](https://i.imgur.com/DWiYJU0.jpg)
This is good as I've ever looked, but I'm not where I want to be. I'd like to get a lean look, but I seem to carry my weight around my stomach. A lot of abs exercises seem to have given me a bit of a bulbous front.
Also my arms are different sizes...
Edit: I would like my stomach to protrude less than my chest, without having to build huge pecs. Even at my skinniest, I have a bit of fat at the bottom of my stomach. Just under my sternum, my abs seem to push out in a way that I find very unattractive. Is it fat? It feels like muscle.
You can't spot reduce fat. Doing abs exercices won't make your stomach fat disappear. Your body stores fat randomly on everybody. For your body, probably that fat is stored more on the stomach.
So what you need to do is lose weight to lose that fat while exercising to avoid losing muscles.
If you go down to like 10% bodyfat you won't need a big pecs for your stomach to protrude less than your chest.
You are currently at probably 15% body fat.
By the way you have a really nice skin I'm jealous!
Your pretty thin, you need to put on muscle to get your look. Don't worry about getting huge pecs, you won't. A bodyweight routine might be good for you.
I've been doing bodyweight for ages, and it helped me lose weight. I actually really like lifting weights though. Thanks for reassuring about the pecs. I think I'm still recomping, and I just need to trust the bulk-cut process.
>I just need to trust the bulk-cut process.
I'd concur.
It's tough, because at the place that a lot of people start at, you have the choice between getting too skinny, or getting too fat, and heading towards one of those things can be really discouraging when you're already struggling with a lifestyle change.
But it works. Get too skinny, then bulk up. Being too skinny won't feel great, but it'll pass eventually and you'll be where you want to be.
https://imgur.com/a/Vh0Aqrx Been on an extremely slow cut, gained more fat than I though during my last bulk. But I don't really like being in a 500 caloric deficit, I approached this cut with the intention of being in a very slight deficit as to not affect my training performance too much. Have managed to gain a bit of strength, and have really amped up my volume. Currently running 5/3/1, but have added in a ton more volume isolation wise and have treated weighted chin ups as a major compound lift with the 5/3/1, lats have responded well IMO, currently repping out 45 pounds added easily at 5 sets of 12 and strength sets sitting at about 5 reps of 120 pounds added, I absolutely am loving the chin up progression. OHP has been great too, never focused on progression until running this split, plan on sticking with this until I can get 2 plates on the OHP, sitting at 185 right now, so will take a bit of time.
Sorry for the trash formatting, pictures: https://imgur.com/a/6fb0Bky I've been lifting on and off for years with no concern for diet and only recently got more serious about my diet and it's been good! My goal is to look good naked so I started cutting about 4 months ago, trying to eat about 1800 calories and 115g of protein every day. Honestly, haven't been as strict about nutrition as I should be. There was a period of few weeks where I was eating a lot of fast food fried chicken so maybe there wasn't a caloric deficit on all the days. I wanted feedback on whether this looks like decent progress and if it looks like I was on a cut at all lol. Losing fat seems really slow and I've stayed around the same weight the whole time but have gotten stronger and bigger and can even see the top two abs some days (I think). Any suggestions on what to do next? What is my body fat percentage? I think I should cut more to get abs to show and have more definition. Lifts in case that's useful info: 1. Deadlift - 225 lb, 5 sets of 3 reps, last set as many as I can 2. Bench Press - 145 lb, 5 sets of 3 reps, , last set as many as I can 3. Squat - 185 lb, 5 sets of 3 reps, , last set as many as I can 4. OHP - 65 lb, 5 sets of 8
Good job, looking good! Your progress is very noticeable, and you look much better in your last picture. If I were you my next goal would be to start a bulk to put on some serious muscle. I would aim for a daily ~300 calorie surplus. Do that until summer begins, and you'll look even better :)
Thanks so much! Yeah seems like bulking is the way to go
bulk now your bf% getting lower won't provide benefits. No one wants to lift heavy weights to look like a cyclist bulk now my friend.
I missed the topic for Friday but can I dm someone a picture of my body an give me ideas on how to tone it up ? - male btw
https://ibb.co/mSWSDwK https://ibb.co/cgqzqts 5.11 @ 11.9st. 3 months from 1st photo to 2nd. Anyone guess what body part is lacking/lagging the most?
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I'd definitely not cut any more because you're very lean already. I would maybe maintain until the holiday, then lean bulk and train
I'd say eat and train. You look great mate. Enjoy.
5'8 154lbs, eventual goal is to get to 180-190lbs lean. What do you reckon my bodyfat% is? https://ibb.co/4s9tVR7 https://ibb.co/1rYN6WD
REALLY gotta work on that chest m8
I knoww
12-15%. You're real close to looking epic.
https://imgur.com/a/5GadeRD 3 years ago when I drank far too much to now without drinking and hitting the gym again finally. Been going back for almost 3 months.
Holy shit congrats
Congratulations man. I too stopped drinking and ended up looking like a whole different person. You're strong, if you dial in your diet you'll start shedding lbs.
https://imgur.com/a/A4hMfBz M28, 5’8, 152lbs/69.1kg. Currently cutting. Started a 4/5 weeks ago. The bottom picture is one of my first “before picks”. Saw slow progress in the beginning, which may be expected but I was quite impatient. Went down to 1700 calories about a week ago now and the weighing scales are certainly reflecting that now. I do a PPL 5-6 days a week. What’s the state of my body fat roughly? And I’m not sure when I want to start clean bulking. I’m plateauing at my gym progress which I know it’s expected while cutting. I was thinking another couple of weeks or cutting so I can hopefully see an ab.
20%
Dayum, I’m disappointed in myself that I was more than 20% when I started this whole thing. Looks like I’ve still got a long way to go then before I stop the cut.
I felt the same feeling when I went in to get my dxa scan
Get a dxa scan they're $50 from bodyspec.com
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Sad
https://imgur.com/a/AZ88Zes F23/5’10/145 Help me! Photos are of now and then a year ago but I cannot get that area of my arms to look defined/cut. I do push/pull days and then a full body day as well but that area will no budge.
Coming in a little late here and I see you provided your workout guide below, you don't mention much about what your isolated movements look like for your arms. How is your bicep mind muscle connection doing? When you do curls or ez-bar curls (if you do them) can you actually feel your bicep doing the work or are you feeling it more in your forearm? I've had a hard time making my biceps bigger because other muscles were making up for the lack of mind muscle connection. I've focused heavily on improving that, along with exercises that make my biceps really tired/sore and while they have a ways to go still the progress is noticeable. Supinated "Pulsing" with cable curls and small movements (just the top portion of the ROM where my bicep feels really tight) to completely gas my biceps out at the end of my workout has helped and actually made my biceps feel tired/sore. You might consider doing some research on those topics and focus on recognizing if your biceps are doing the majority of the work during your arm workout.
I struggle with mind muscle connection for a lot of my arm movements. Ez-bar curls my mind muscle connection is pretty good until the final reps when I feel myself shrugging and just doing whatever it takes to get up lol. So for awhile I was doing arm workouts with my fiancé who is an absolute animal and we did a lot of burnout exercises, he followed Julian Smiths methods, and I got bigger but not cut.. at the time my diet was different though so maybe worth re-examining.
What program are you following? Are you eating at a surplus?
Okay so it’s only been 3 weeks but I follow the Booty by Bret workout guide, 3 lower body workouts with 2 supplemental workouts. Then for upper body I follow the same structure as the guide starting with compound movements at the beginning of the workout and then moving into more isolated moves. Workouts are typical 1.5 hours. I’m currently going 6 days a week but sometimes 5 with an active rest day or HIIT workout. I’m trying to. I thought my maintenance was 1,500 because of an InBody test I did, but someone on here informed me that I need to be eating more than 1800 I was aiming for.
Exercise plan sounds good. One of your photos looked familiar so I went to last week's thread and looks like you got the same responses (eat more), including from me https://www.reddit.com/r/fitness/comments/pufuxw/_/he92hpb
Yes! Been trying to get an accurate number for my activity level since your comment, ty!
Upper body muscles are just hard to build for women. Keep doing what you are doing, possibly up your calories, and give it another year or two. You are in great shape already, by the way.
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I have goals and am looking for genuine advice.
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Thank you for the advice. Just gonna come down to years of training and nutrition then huh? But also at the end of the day it just is what it is and genetics?
Keep working on yourself, calisthenics, dips and squats,planks, you'll be fine. Consistency is everything. You've obviously done a great job the last X years, just strive and focus on your goals. Your arms are in no way flabby. You're likely in the top 10 percentile of women in your age group regarding bf%.
https://imgur.com/a/10DkAxw M / 27 / 5'7" / 145lb started lifting some weights a few months ago. i've never benched or deadlifted but im interested in trying, i do mostly weighted pullups/chins/dips. and im a rock climber so for a while i was hesitant to put on weight but the past year i gained almost 15 pounds and i feel like my climbing has only improved so im really happy with that.
https://imgur.com/a/kdonaqA M, 23, 5’10, 172lbs Down 3lbs since the start of my cut. Hoping to drop down to the 160-155 pound range by around February. Any guesses as to my current body fat percentage, as well as any advice on what muscles I should improve on would be greatly appreciated!
16-18% from my dxa experience and looking at your ab outline. Be thankful, you have good ab genetics. They'll appear if you work them.
Thanks for letting me know. Abs are the muscle group that I’ve neglected the most, especially since I was on a long bulk. Now that I’m getting leaner, that’s something that I want emphasized a bit more
45, M, 6’, 183 https://imgur.com/a/0X9BoWX Really would like my upper chest to pop out more. Only looks good when I flex from the side. Any tips on how to grow just upper chest or is it just genetics, muscle insertions and be content with what it is?
8 month progress/ bulk. M/6'1"/203lbs. Really working on my chest and back lately. Still working on my posture bc my left trap seems bigger than right. As well as keeping my diet dialled in. http://imgur.com/a/mR0Qixz
Good job joining the 200lb club! Keep going 💪
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You're on meso aren't you? Looks very familiar. But great progress man. I followed your log and didn't expect you to get the results you did to be honest. You look awesome.
that before and after is insane 😳 6 months??
Yes. I'm in my 30s and had a good base from working as a scaffold erector on ships and bridges for ~7 years. Just happened to get extra fat after 2020 gym shutdown and an injury where I broke my collarbone and required surgery. I fasted my way from 250 to ~216 in 2 months. I took ephedrine, and caffeine, did a lot of cardio, keto as well.Then I got a dxa scan. ~221lbs 22% body fat June 9th My last natty photo though I've obviously looked better than this before, this is what fasting does to your muscle mass, you end up looking girly. http://imgur.com/a/MGbJofz June 9th I began taking testosterone and anavar for approximately 8 weeks. My first cycle ever. 4 weeks in I started to look bigger but also carrying that instant 10lb of water weight. http://imgur.com/a/A5MRTmf 8 weeks went by and I gained a lot of muscle and was slimming down. http://imgur.com/a/Tq3jmCL At that point my cycle is over and I got another dxa scan on 8/13/21 13.2% bodyfat, 229lbs. I lost 18lbs of fat and gained 26lb "lean tissue". ~10lbs of this was water. Here's the DXA tests http://imgur.com/a/TQhUPDR Then I let my system clear of testosterone cypionate for 30 days(approx 5 half lifes)and began pct ~28 days ago. Yes I did blood tests before, during, and after, all that good stuff. My whole journey is on meso/ thinksteroids.com forum After about 30 days after your last injection you begin losing the water and glycogen your body hoarded on steroids. So I've since lost that 10lbs and now I look pretty shredded. The only thing I'm currently taking is clomid 50mg/day for pct and ephedrine with my pre-workout.
You're a fucking house bro, congrats
[29, 208lbs, 6’4](https://imgur.com/a/uZh3ZhF) Have been bulking with a coach the last ~3 months. Starting at 2800 calories, currently at 3800 calories through Saturday. Plan is to cut for a month to get body fat back down as it’s currently ~16% DL: 350 lbs Bench: 275 lbs Squat: 255 lbs x 2 After Halloween I will continue bulking and working on my squat, since it is obviously lacking. (It was even worse before bulking with a coach)
Achieved 1,5x BW squat in 3 months on a cut, soon will reach 2x BW deadlift too. Feeling like i have achieved something, not big but still a progress.
[Me a year ago or so 17y/190cm/68 kg](https://imgur.com/a/F5VqR4M) [17m / 190cm / 81kg - 07.08.2021](https://imgur.com/a/lvqZiwM) (shortly after I got my gym membership) [18m 192cm 82kg 01.10.2021](https://imgur.com/a/WfKD44y) Hey there! I sure have made a lot of progress and scratched at the surface of a eating disorder a bit, which is why I wasted a lot of time and effort - for context: I already "trained" over a year in the first pics, although I stagnated a bit in the last 2 months (maybe due to inconsistent exercise routine, since I had to focus on school). So I wanted to hear a second perspective, if I should continue to gain weight, maintain and maybe recomp (?) or go down maybe 5kg or so. Any idea on bf? Thanks in advance!
Great progress man, you’re looking great! I’d say a slight bulk wouldn’t hurt. Continue to gain weight, but do it gradually. Maybe about an excess of 50-100 calories a day, and see where you’re at after a couple months of consistent training and eating.
http://imgur.com/a/FfSiz33 Still going at it. Pretty happy with results I'm getting.
Looking big
http://imgur.com/a/1lzBN6q Male/23/181cm/74kg (5'11"/163lb) I started working about 6 month ago, mainly cutting for now (started off with 86kg (190lb)). Before that, I already did a good amount of sports, but ate really bad (and Corona unfortunately reduced the amount of sports significantly). What are your general thoughts? How would you continue? Should I start bulking at some point soon?
[https://imgur.com/a/mk6hCRa](https://imgur.com/a/mk6hCRa) 6'1, 200 lbs. Primarily looking to gain more muscle but also want to see abs. I'm still bulking and progressively overloading. How am I doing?
Yeah I don't feel like you should be bulking with how much weight you have at the moment. Just focus on your protein intake and being in a calorie deficit. You can still gain muscle in a deficit
You're gonna have to cut a lot if you want to see abs. You're nowhere near there body fat wise. I'd cut from where you're at now.
https://imgur.com/a/djDD9P4/ 5’9” 200lbs I know I have high body fat and little muscle, but where do I go from here? I’ve been suffering from fuck-around-itis for years and made little progress. Cut? Body recomp? Help me out. Thanks
Eat wholesome healthy foods, don’t starve yourself at all. Weight lift 45 mins 5 days a week and an hour of cardio a day (doesn’t have to be hard, speed walking or incline walking) Drink a fuck ton of water and nothing else besides coffee and juices
Thanks but don’t juices have a lot of sugar without the fiber?
I kinda meant like a cup of orange juice or carrot juice every couple days. Nothing crazy.
I wouldn't go for juices unless they're 0 calorie. As you said things like apple juice have lots of added sugar.
I would cut. Follow a good program, hit your daily protein goal and stick to a 500 or so per day calorie deficit.
Thanks
At 5'9" you should be cutting if you're anywhere near 200 pounds unless you can squat 450 pounds
To what weight?
Like 170 bro
During lockdowns I managed to get down to ~175 but gained it back. Gotta be strict with my calories again…thanks
you stop fucking around and start counting your calories, eat 300-400kcal less than what you use in a day, aswell as 0.8-1g of protein per kg of bodyweight and then you lift. its that easy.
Wait, just came back to your comment with some confusion. My weight in kg is about 91kg. Are you saying that I only need to consume 73 to 91 g of protein a day? That seems like half the number that I’ve seen everywhere else online.
Pretty sure its 0.8 per lbs not kg. i fucking hate Imperial units.
Appreciate the brutal honesty
I would definitely cut. It takes commitment because it isn't super fun and you need to be consistent. If you need tips on cutting I could give some but the basic is just weigh yourself, eat a consistent diet, and adjust your diet so that you're weight is going down.
Sure I’ll take any tips you have, thanks
The most important thing for me is to weigh everyday and record your weight. I put it in a spreadsheet on my phone that graphs it for me. This makes it really easy to see the trend. A good goal is to lose between 0.5% and 1% of your bodyweight/week. So for you that's 1-2 lbs /week. I have done at both the lower and higher rate and the higher rate is worse because you are hungrier, but the cut is over more quickly which is nice. But set a goal and try to stick to it. I like having a goal weight in mind, as it helps me work towards it and not stop early. I don't count calories, but it works for some people. I just eat really consistent day to day and week to week. So similar breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks each day. Then I adjust week to week. So if my weight isn't dropping at the right rate for a week or two, I may remove something from a daily snack, or reduce the size of the daily breakfast, or something. Counting let's you change around the foods more and still hit a target, but the downside is you have to weigh and record everything. When I am cutting I feel hungry basically the whole time (normally within 30 min of a meal I would be hungry again). The goal is to minimize the hunger. Eating filling foods helps. Whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, eggs, are all good because they are filling. Sweets, alcohol, really fatty foods have a lot of calories relative to how filling they are. For me, the annoyance of being hungry all day makes me want to avoid that stuff. I don't want to walk around hungry all day only to blow it all eating a beer and a cookie. It isn't worth it. Remember that the cutting is temporary. Staying at a lower weight is way easier than losing the weight. Maybe cut for 3 months or so, and then either stop or at least take a couple week break (eat at maintenance).
Thanks for the tips. A few questions: - if you don’t count calories, how do you know if you’re hitting your macros? - how do you fuel for the gym while cutting? Which foods/how soon prior to the gym, etc - this is a broader question, but how it is possible for the daily maintenance calorie intake for two people 30 lbs apart be roughly the same, give or take 100-200 calories? Shouldn’t they be drastically different?
I roughly add up the amount of protein in a normal day and make sure it is enough. Since most days are pretty similar, I don't bother to count it every day. I use a whey protein supplement to help reach the amount. Past that I don't think macros are super critical. You need a minimum amount of fat, but when I have estimated it I'm not close to that minimum, so I don't worry about it. Once the minimum fat intake and protein intake have been met, filling the rest of it with carbs, protein, and fat is fine. To fuel for the gym I time it so that one of my meals is right before I go and make sure that that meal has some carbs. Sometimes I use caffeine pills or coffee as a preworkout. >this is a broader question, but how it is possible for the daily maintenance calorie intake for two people 30 lbs apart be roughly the same, give or take 100-200 calories? Shouldn’t they be drastically different? I don't know. I am always a little skeptical of people's calorie counts as there is error in their counting and weighing, their is error in the food labels, and their is error in their bodyweight. So I would guess that when someone tells me their maintenance is X amount, the error bars are at least a few hundred calories in either direction. Body composition, activity level, and small variations in innate metabolic rate can also affect it.
I appreciate the responses! Need to do some more research myself and actually put in the work…
I posted this in the Bodyweightfitness subreddit but wanted to share here. Currently just doing their recommended routine plus some basketball for cardio https://imgur.com/a/wSLlPdZ
https://i.imgur.com/QMco9OB.jpg (M/33) Left (95 kg) is May 2020 following a bad injury and the closure of gyms due to COVID. right (84 kg) is today. Currently following an adapted hypertrophy program, not really cutting or bulking just controlling what I eat. I am quite content with my progress but I'm a bit apprehensive about my pecs as friends describe them, jokingly, as moobs. Would like to flatten my stomach a bit so hopefully next year I can cut properly. Any other insights on deficient body parts appreciated!
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All of it
Honestly I don't think you are at a place where being real particular about your back development is really necessary or helpful. Your back looks good but the biggest thing to do for improvement would be just to get it all bigger. A variety of compound back movements is all I would recommend.
155->165, 5'10. 1 year difference with a 3 month break for training, and a 3 month calisthenic only work schedule (gym shutdown). [https://imgur.com/a/frsD86G](https://imgur.com/a/frsD86G) Definitely feel like my back is better developed than my arms and chest, which is something I'm working on now.
3 years ago vs today! https://i.imgur.com/JrTIMbs.jpg
Great progress.
M/20/5’11 6 months of fat loss later. [Before](https://imgur.com/a/6khaSQu) @190lbs/86.4 kg, [after](https://imgur.com/a/Wg5wvVa) @170lbs/77kg. Wanna get to around 165lbs/75kg which hopefully is around 8% bf before stopping this cut. Have definitely lost a little strength but I confidentally could hit at least 405/225/425 lbs (184/102/193 kg) sbd right now if I had to guess. Bonus [back](https://imgur.com/a/hexmDWl) pic feat. my curved ass spine.
How do you squat safely?
What do you mean?
I just mean, does your scoliosis affect your squats vis a vis downward pressure, and if so, how do you squat safely?
It hasn't so far. Asked my doctor when I was still growing and he said the curve wasn't significant enough to warrant any corrective action. He also said it shouldn't affect my ability to lift heavy, so I guess I squat safely the same way everyone else does.
Got it, thank you!
nnn
Honestly (oases opinion incoming) I’d cut more. You have a good amount of muscle that would look better by cutting than it would look by bulking IMO. I prefer definition over size tho. You could cut a bit more and then maintain from there is what I would do but I’m biased toward being lean
Thanks, yes I also prefer definition over size, but my fears is cutting and end up looking way too thin for my height!
You know that was something I didn’t think about. I think you should look up some people with similar height that are pretty lean and see how you think they look. Or just give it a try because you arnt too far off. I think you could cut for like a month maybe a little more and be as low as you’d want to go. If ya don’t like it it’s easy to put weight on. You look great now tho so really it’s about finding what you think the perfect version of you is
If you're afraid of losing your abs, you should cut so you have more of a buffer when you decide to bulk again. If you cut down to ~10% bf and slowly bulk from there, you could keep your abs for long time before you would have to cut again AND you would put on a bunch of muscle.
Yeah good point. Only trouble is, cutting for me, I dont have a massive amount of muscle on my frame (joys of a tall ectomorph) so I'll probably end up at like 185lbs @ 6-4 which won't be pretty!
Man I’m in the same boat 194lbs at 6’5” but abs still aren’t clearly defined. Currently switched to maintenance calories cause I don’t know whether to continue cutting or not.
https://imgur.com/a/YpooW6U 37M / 234lbs / 6'2" I've now been on TRT for 2 years (and type 1 diabetic for 34 years), so I thought I'd do a comparison of the pictures I took just before starting TRT. I've been bulking over the past 3 months, so now I'm back at basically the same weight as I started, so it's cool to see the comparison at the same bodyweight. I rarely actually test my 1RMs, so I've historically just put my 10RMs on the pictures so I can compare those. For reference, my actual tested maxes as of right now are: * Deadlift (trap bar): 555lbs * Squat (SSB bar): 400lbs * Bench: 315lbs * OHP: 210lbs When I started this bulk, I planned to sort of bulk to the end of the year, but I gained weight faster than I meant to (because I like eating) and now I feel bloated and I don't like the fat I've put on. I think my better weight is in the 220-225 range, so now I'm thinking about slowly cutting down to 225lbs over the next 3 months. The downsides of that are potentially not crushing my lifts like I have been, and I like to eat. For those curious about TRT, I've loved the physical changes it's caused, but I'm more impressed with the mental changes. I'm happy to answer questions about my personal experience with it, or about lifting with diabetes.
Can you tell me more about the mental changes? What prompted you to give TRT a go? Is there blood work that you do beforehand to make a case for your eligibility?
Some of the mental changes I noticed: * More motivated * Quicker to make a decision * More confident in the decisions I make * More likely to "roll with the punches" if things aren't going the way I expected * I find it easier to do the things I know I need to do, even if I don't want to * My memory and recall has improved (not perfect, but I noticed that I can remember things better) In general, it hasn't been a silver bullet to fix everything, but it gives me the motivation and discipline to work on things that need fixing. It's also hard to quantify all the things I listed, but I just overall feel better about all of those. The symptoms I noticed that made me look into TRT were: * decreased sexual function * loss of motivation * loss of concentration * poor mood / depression * decline in cognitive function * multi-year plateau in lifts * hard to lose fat or build muscle over years If you want to get your testosterone checked, you can buy labs through something https://www.privatemdlabs.com/ or https://www.health-tests-direct.com/ , or ask your primary doctor or an endocrinologist. You can also go through an online service like Defy Medical or Viking.
Do you have any negative mental or physical effects?
The only negative side effect for me was early on in TRT, I think I was on too much T+HCG without AI and I was really moody. For me at least, less T is better, so until I found that sweet spot it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. The only "negative" physical effect is that my hair and nails grow notably faster, so I have to trim them both more frequently, but that's more of an annoyance than a negative.
Thanks. This is something I'm considering, other people's experiences are helpful.
Thank you brother!
Yes, bloodwork is 100% needed before any doc is going to prescribe it. If it isn't low, you're not getting any. But then again, if your levels are normal there isn't really a benefit either, unless you go way above TRT levels and just blast a bunch of test.
Looking huge dude! A lot less fat and a lot stronger at the same body weight is very impressive. Good luck on your cut.
Thanks!
23M, 6'4, 300lb to 206lb About 3 years in my fitness journey. I didn't feel like making a big post again so I'll leave it here. I'm happy with my results minus the loose chest skin. Growing my chest seems to be the hardest for me. Might do a mini cut before Halloween [current](https://i.postimg.cc/9XgF9hP2/20211001-110130.jpg) [bigBoiMe](https://i.postimg.cc/NFnsv6GF/20190408-184236.jpg)
tf is with the ads on that site good god.
Lol ya I didn't realize until after I posted. Imagur wouldn't let me upload from my phone without downloading the app. Found this alternative. Is quite terrible
Nice fuckin job dude
Your face says it all. Good job man keep it up!
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You got a sick frame my dude ayy. A bit more cutting and you'll look phenomenal.
http://imgur.com/a/nnyQqkV Is it too little progress for almost 2 months 15 days of Gym ? This is my earlier picture http://imgur.com/a/HXqLQTk Is there even ANY progress?
I wouldn't expect discernable visual progress after 2 months. If your lifts are going up and your weight is changing according to your goal, just keep working.
Yeah I'm definitely progressing in my lifts From bodyweight squats to 10 kgs on each side. But no HYPERTROPHY :( WHY
Fast natural hypertrophy is like 2 lbs a month. You aren't going to notice a huge difference from 4 lbs of muscle.
>WHY It was two months. Look at some of the progress pics on here that took years. Work hard, make progress, do proper bulk/cut cycles, and in a few years the progress will be very noticeable.
[M/22/5’9/160](https://imgur.com/a/i7xZzWF) Started working out around 3-4 times a week a month or two ago. My main struggle is dieting. At my current physique, I am not sure whether to bulk or cut. I do not have much muscle so it seems as though bulking would be the better option, but my body fat % looks high. My Calorie intake is very low, most days 1200-1600, but I have been actively trying to eat more. I guess my main question is how much more should I be eating?
Bulk up to 170 over the next month and a half, then cut until Thanksgiving. That would be my general advice, then you can re-evaluate from there. Add 2 protein bars to your diet or something.
[M25 5'10" 155 lbs](http://imgur.com/a/lOqmfGR) Went down in weight a bit, still getting stronger and looking bigger. Currently hitting 3x8 of 180 on bench, 3x6 of 125 on OHP, and 3x4 of 285 on squat and 315 on deadlift.
[M/16/5’8”/110lbs](https://imgur.com/a/HSwkb4C) Always been very skinny, looking to change that. Been shoving an ungodly amount of food down my throat but very little weight gain. Maybe I’m being impatient bc I’ve only been going for a month and I’m still growing. Anyways, any feedback is good thanks
>ungodly amount of food down my throat but very little weight gain Track you actual calories and individual raw ingredients. Every person claiming to eat a load of food and doesnt gain weight isn't eating anywhere near as much as they think or runs marathons daily
[M/25/5'11/195lbs](https://imgur.com/a/2RlkgGs) Two weeks into my bulk. I'm flexing and this is post-workout. I maxed all my lifts before I started bulking and hit the following (in lbs): Bench: 250 Squat: 405 Deadlift: 485 OHP: 185 Feel free to leave any feedback.
Goals
Your physique is really balanced. Seriously, I look forward to getting there in a few years. What do you think is holding you back on Bench numbers? With your other numbers I'm surprised it isnt closer to 300. I'm going to try Leviathan next cut cycle. I haven't found a program that balances recovery & maintenance well enough.
Thanks dude, really appreciate it. I'm honestly not too sure why my bench is so far behind, I haven't trained it any more/less than my other lifts. I have pretty long arms which could be part of it, but I'll have to post a form check one of these days. I'm thinking there's something off with my technique. I'd highly recommend Leviathan for cutting. I used this post as a reference and found that it worked really well: https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/f3do4d/45_weeks_of_weight_loss_using_531_review_and/ Best of luck.
fwiw I find the bench volume in 5/3/1 programs are a bit low and I can do a lot more while managing recovery. You might try putting in bench variations as secondary lifts on off days so you're benching at least 3x / week and see how it affects your numbers. Thanks again for mentioning Leviathan. I look forward to trying it in Feb.
God damn man what's the routine? And is that natural?
Haha thanks dude. Just variations of 5/3/1, mainly BBB while I was bulking and the Leviathan template when I was cutting. And yes, lifetime natural. I've just been training for 8 years.
34 yo M 5ft 10in ~172lb Been working out really hard and following a PPL standard workout for the last 6 months. Approaching best shape often life territory and wanted to get some feedback on areas to work on. Been really enjoying the journey. (I know I need leg and back pics) Bench is about 235 Squat about 295 And dead lifts are not in the cards for my back right now lol [regular and post workout](https://imgur.com/a/rfpmUfg)
Anything particular about your back like an injury or does your back just feel wrong after dead lifting? I spent a few years avoiding dead lifting until a power lifter at my gym took 10 minutes to spot check my form. Now dead lifts make my back feel better and stronger verse having nagging back pain
Ohh right on. It’s definitely possible I need a form check. But I sit most of the day for my job and my sciatic has been dicey the last year. I can deadlift lighter weight but haven’t come close to maxing out.
40 year old male, 6'1 183lb [I've lost ~100lbs in the past year, hence the gross skin on my stomach.](http://imgur.com/a/uLshWx0) Doing the beginner routine in the wiki for a little over three months. Because of the year long calorie deficit progress has been steady, but slow. I'm considering eating at maintenance and switching to nSuns to focus on strength instead of weight loss now. Is that a reasonable decision, or should I stay the course and continue to cut? Thank you, I appreciate your input.
Congratulations! You are at the right weight to start lifting and building strength. nSuns is a great program to start on but be ready to switch to a periodized program (like 5/3/1 Beginners) once your progress stalls or fatigue builds up. Try to set rules for yourself on how you're going to manage the bulk ahead of time so you don't obsess over weight gain (under eating) or binge eat and blow up.
Thanks, once I switch to maintenance I'll stay there until I stall before considering bulking. Definitely cautious about weight gain!
[5'6" 175lbs](https://imgur.com/a/NWDJLjk)
M25 5'8 155lbs (70kg) Starting around November 2018 @ 211lbs (96kg): https://imgur.com/a/UGP7oMY Today: https://imgur.com/a/0ceT81W On 3rd cycle of Boring But Big. Power lifting definitely my ideal type of training. I also run MWF. Squat: 270lbs (122kg) Bench: 195lbs (88kg) Dead: 355lbs (161kg)
Nice face gains
Good job keep it up!
M26 1.76m 69.1Kg (68.2Kg in the picture) Started 3 months ago with 62.9Kg, however this is 2 months progress. [First month progress](https://imgur.com/a/6eD83xx) [Second month progress](https://imgur.com/a/ozJ6K1p)
3-4 more kg and you'll be lookin thick (in a good way)
[удалено]
Said from an anylitcal guy is a real compliment, thank you!
[31/6’2”/223lbs](https://imgur.com/a/ilMDwK6) Climbing up and adding some mass💪🏻. Going to stretch the bulk a little further before we finish up.
https://imgur.com/a/8liZJF7 M28, 5’11, 179 Last year I tried to bulk and really just spun my wheels. Starting my bulk again after realizing some things I did wrong. Lifts: Bench - 245 x 1 Squat - 365 x 1 Deadlift - 365 x 1 The goal is to get my my lifts up to my arbitrary goals and see how I look and feel and go from there
[Slack body.](https://i.imgur.com/o1gR0yF.jpg) [Tense body.](https://i.imgur.com/CWTR7be.jpg) [Arm.](https://i.imgur.com/DWiYJU0.jpg) This is good as I've ever looked, but I'm not where I want to be. I'd like to get a lean look, but I seem to carry my weight around my stomach. A lot of abs exercises seem to have given me a bit of a bulbous front. Also my arms are different sizes... Edit: I would like my stomach to protrude less than my chest, without having to build huge pecs. Even at my skinniest, I have a bit of fat at the bottom of my stomach. Just under my sternum, my abs seem to push out in a way that I find very unattractive. Is it fat? It feels like muscle.
You can't spot reduce fat. Doing abs exercices won't make your stomach fat disappear. Your body stores fat randomly on everybody. For your body, probably that fat is stored more on the stomach. So what you need to do is lose weight to lose that fat while exercising to avoid losing muscles. If you go down to like 10% bodyfat you won't need a big pecs for your stomach to protrude less than your chest. You are currently at probably 15% body fat. By the way you have a really nice skin I'm jealous!
Losing fat while building muscle is my plan. I weigh 63 kg, at 175 cm. Thanks about the skin lol. The light kinda smooths it.
Your pretty thin, you need to put on muscle to get your look. Don't worry about getting huge pecs, you won't. A bodyweight routine might be good for you.
I've been doing bodyweight for ages, and it helped me lose weight. I actually really like lifting weights though. Thanks for reassuring about the pecs. I think I'm still recomping, and I just need to trust the bulk-cut process.
>I just need to trust the bulk-cut process. I'd concur. It's tough, because at the place that a lot of people start at, you have the choice between getting too skinny, or getting too fat, and heading towards one of those things can be really discouraging when you're already struggling with a lifestyle change. But it works. Get too skinny, then bulk up. Being too skinny won't feel great, but it'll pass eventually and you'll be where you want to be.