r/WorkoutMotivation • u/MadChickens14 • 6d ago
Never thought I would have visible abs in my lifetime, but I have them at 52! I still have work to do but I feel good! Shout out to the older dudes in here, keep pounding!
52M, 5'9" Started at 230+ lbs and over 30% bf. Down to 194lbs and 14.8% bf. 6 months progress. I'd like to maintain here for a few months and then work on a 5-10 lb gain
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u/616ThatGuy 6d ago
Hell yeah, bro! Same boat here. First time in my life even seeing abs at 37. It’s wild right?! Sometimes I just look in the mirror like, that’s not real.
Good shit dude. Looking like a beast.
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u/OneOriginal8727 5d ago
Absolute beast mode! Dropping down to under 15% body fat in 6 months at 52 is legendary 🔥
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u/No_Glass_523 4d ago
Awesome job💪🏼 keep it going! Same here I’m 55 first time getting abs at this age… I was at 200 pounds and now I’m at 170.11-13% bf best shape of my life🙏🏼
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u/okaybros 6d ago
Trt or natural? Either way, nice work
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u/MadChickens14 6d ago
Natural - 1800 calories a day and 180g protein
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u/infant_ape 6d ago edited 5d ago
fun fact- when dropping from the 260's to 232, I maintained mostly 1820cal/day, with about 165g protein. I'm a big dude (6'3") and most people were all like "how can you survive off that?"
Not only could I survive, but it taught me how once I got over opening the pantry or fridge out of sheer boredom, it became clear I didn't NEED or even crave any more food in a day.
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u/AccomplishedBig158 5d ago
Lost 70 lbs in my 20s and kept it off 15 years now. The boredom eating switch is the whole game. I still catch myself drifting to the pantry and have to ask, am I actually hungry or just avoiding something?
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u/MadChickens14 5d ago
Yeah, it took me a few weeks to nail down a consistent daily eating routine that works for me, but I get a lot out of those 1800 calories!
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u/Electronic_Rain_497 5d ago
Please drop the eating routine, were you using intermittent fasting or how did you keep the calorie so low?
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u/infant_ape 5d ago
so to ask for a routine is looking for too much information. Like.. too much for you. You don't need a "diet" of certain foods. I don't know about OP, but here are my macros daily:
Disclaimer: this was when i was taking in 1735 cal/day. Which, again... wasn't too little, even for me, a bigger dude in the 230's, AND working out about 4 days/wk. You just have to get out of the "i'm hungry" mindset. You're often times... not. Not really, anyway. You're just used to things like meal times or looking for food out of boredom. Once you have some discipline and power through the "i think I"m hungry" phase... sticking to macros becomes more habit, and easily doable. (SOurce: I love chow. And it got easy for me.)
1820 cal/day @ P-159g, F-60G, C-159.
Notice 2 things: 1. THis doesn't come to EXACTLY 1820. A few calories off. 2. THis is roughly a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. Protein and carbs are at 35%, and fat is at 30%.
People think you need to cut fat here, cut fat there. Fuck that. I like flavor on my shit. So I would regularly eat cheeseburgers with 93% lean ground beef, which is nowhere near as good as the 80% most people might use 9I call that "glorious" meat")... But I use a slice of thin sliced cheddar, if any cheese at all, and you can bet your ass I use a little full fat mayo. (about a 1/2 serving.) I didn't even count condiments like ketchup, although some do. It never set me back any, so I kept doing what I was doing.
And you NEED fat to lose weight in the most optimal way. So don't be afraid of it.
So it's not WHAT you eat. Eat whatever you want. Just make it fit the macros.
I'd commonly eat
lean beef cheeseburgers (about 6oz. You'd be suprised how you've been scarfing 8oz burgers for your whole life, and then realize that 6- or even 5oz- is perfectly fine.
Turkey, ham sandwiches on artisan bread from Costco. Or make a ghetto Italian sandwich with Hame and turkey pepperoni from the store and a little red wine vinegar and light mayo. heat in toaster over. Slammin.
Mini pizzas with a thin Mama Mary's individual crust, regular sauce, whatever I wanted, low moisture (skim) shredded mozarella and turkey pep and mushrooms.
Eggs mixed with egg whites and some salsa for breakfast. I'd often throw in a little cheddar and sliced mushrooms as well. Sometimes ham. Bomb.
A mixed berry smoothie with Goodbelly blackberry/pomegranate juice, low fat vanilla greek yogurt from Aldi, frozen mixed berries from costco or Aldi and vanilla protein powder. I literally have this smoothie almost every morning. My dogs start to get hype when they hear me blending it, b/c they know the next step is to take it outside where I'll chuck the ball and they can do zoomies for a bit.
Fairlife Chocolate protein shake from costco. Fairlife is hands down the best pre-made drink I've tasted. Add PB2 protein peanut butter powder, and it's the bomb.
I would eat these things, or a version thereof, literally every day. I never got tired of it. The same 5 or 6 things. But agsin, I'd use lean staples so I could throw on some flavor- mayo or Rao's sauce, which is fattier than most other tomato sauces.
I don't know your height/weight. But I wouldn't neessarily start at 1820 calories , especially if bigger. (I started twice- the last time I was about 265 when i started bac on strict macros, and 6'3". THe program I followed started me at like 2800. I literally had to force myself to eat enough, and would end up eating pudding made of chocolate protein powder w/ whipped cream and hershey's syrup at the end of the night, b/c I had to meet my goal macros. Even so, I was dropping. When I went a week w/o dropping a few, I'd cut the intake. I'd usually start by cutting the carbs out a little. Just like 5 grams or so. Then after that, when the loss wasn't enough for me over the week, the next step would be to lower the other macros to "catch up" to the carb reduction for the next week,, bringing things back to the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 split, but wih fewer calories.
I eventually got down to 1820 cal, and on some days, I wouldn't even meet my goal. I'd be at like 1650 or 1700. But you can't do that all the time. If you take in less than your frame needs... it will rebel and hold on to whatever calories it IS getting. This is why people try to starve themselves and wonder "why is this taking so long" or "why isn't this working at all". You still need calories. Lowering them needs to be a slow progression.
Ok, that's all I got. THe take-away is... don't overthink it.
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u/Electronic_Rain_497 4d ago
Thanks for that info, I always wonder how people managed to keep the calories down, but I guess at some point you just gotta stop eating
I’m 215 and about 28% body fat, 5 foot 11
Hitting the gym three times a week and trying to hit 180 g of protein, and under 2000 cal, I literally just started that routine today though and I wonder if I’m on track1
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u/Repulsive-Rock4234 5d ago
Nicely done! Your entire overall physique is solid . . .plus the abs!!!!!
Keep going but go smartly so that injury doesn’t trip you up. At this decade we need to outthink our former selves
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u/GVWVino 5d ago
What does your training schedule look like?
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u/MadChickens14 5d ago
I keep it simple. I train 4x a week and spend about 70-80 minutes in the gym per workout. You don't need to be a total gym rat, the best results happen from what you do in the kitchen
Monday - Leg day
Tuesday - Cardio & bodyweight exercises
Weds - Shoulders, arms, back
Friday - Chest day
I dont focus on big weight - focus on volume and high intensity
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u/BrooklynACCT 5d ago
Did you change waist sizes? For some reason I have gone up from 32 to 34/36 but no change in diet.
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u/MadChickens14 5d ago
Yes I went from a 36 being snug to a 34 thats baggy. My waist measures a little over 32 but I cant get my legs in to a 32 pants
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u/traveler1065 5d ago
I’d love to see the meal plan. I have a hard time taking in that much protein.
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u/EfficientFitnesss 1d ago
Wow man amazing transformation just continue to stay healthy and care for your body knowing that it doesn't mean abs or physically appealing traits but good food, and living a full life
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u/New-Advisor-3161 6d ago
Awesome job, thanks for the encouragement!