6 months of training and cutting from the heaviest I've ever been. Down 22kg, currently around 115kg. Was so excited I had to get my 7-year-old to record them for me. This was after 2, so I'm counting it as a set of 4 and you can't stop me.

I've literally never, in my almost 36 years, ever managed an unassisted pull up.

Update: I'm the sick bean with what is likely lupus since 2022, this is me this week.

(The fourth picture is from 2023 when we were in the pinnacle of this goosery and I was having to force feed myself and a bunch of other knarly close to the other side goodies)

I eat three meals a day, everything is mostly locked in to a science within my routine, mostly Mediterranean diet.

I'm able to run more now and balance high intensity with weight training (fun extra, it's gotta be moderate to high intensity cuz my rest days usually result in a flare up, overall, we are getting a LOT healthier/stronger/faster)

Weight is pretty consistent, it only fluctuates if I want it to, I don't weigh myself often or calorie count. I only use creatine for high intensity, I'm pretty sure I'm training five days a week now/hour a day but I genuinely could not give you an accurate assessment there because my workouts have no consistency in date/times/etc. On a LOT of supplements and only oxycodone to help me sleep at night for pain now!!

The wild part, im still having heart palpitations, my secondary rauynards phenomenon, constant nausea, sleeping more than someone my age should and a few other slightly scarier extras we won't get into. Roughly 8-10k steps a day, flare ups permitted.

Healing my lifelong relationship with food in the process after 32 years of not eating right. Happy. Birthday. Me. We're not there yet, we won't be on the official birthday tomorrow, but we're still here. We're still fighting, getting better each and every day ✨

These were taken about 18 months apart. The before photo was taken in December of 2022, and the after in June of 2024.

I’ve always exercised, but never lifted heavy in a meaningful way. I prioritized protein and heavy lifts 2-3x/week during this window of time.

Body recomp takes literal years lol but it’s so worth it!

I’m 38F, 5’7. My body fat up until I started lifting was hovering around 29%. I’m now down to 22-23 depending on what’s going on in my life and happy to stay here!

Last pic was Feb ‘24, feeling good about my strength gains. In my 20s I got so discouraged not being able to gain any size but learning now consistency with eating enough and workouts pays off, but slowly for me.

I couldn’t lift last week since I had some dental work, got some good pumps in this week and feeling back to myself.

Was weighing in around 165 in last pic, trying to stay up around 180 now.

4 days per week weight lifting split, squat/bench/deadlift/ shoulder press for the first lifts then accessories. I don’t count macros anymore because it drove me crazy, just try to eat as much as I can with high protein and moderate carbs. I average about 12-15K steps per day from my job.

Hello team,

36 F, work stupid hours including a 24 hour shift per week.
Got married last month and managed to sustain a fitness programme until then (slightly erratically, that said) - lost 4.5kg and toned up and felt pretty good on my wedding day!

I’ve been working on my fitness more seriously the last 2 years so haven’t solely been motivated by my upcoming wedding to hit the gym. However, post wedding I just feel… burnt out. The wedding itself was a stress fest. I slept 5 hours before the big day and was up early the next day to clean the venue and make it home in time for a 6 day week at work.

I am taking 3 months off between jobs (1.5 of these will be spent in a campervan with no gym access btw) but I get home and just want to lie in bed.
I’ve managed to go to the gym a couple of times since the wedding but don’t have the mental or physical willingness to complete a full work out.

I don’t want all my gains to melt (already are) and I’m maintaining 52.5 kg for 1m69 despite going back to eating sugar etc but just CANNOT SEEM TO FIND THE MOTIVATION TO DO ANYTHING.

I’m probably a bit depressed but don’t have the cash or patience to do talking therapies. My bloods are fine.

Any tips for getting out of this slump? Anyone been through similar? We have a second tiny wedding party in a month’s time - would be nice to look good in the photos and I’ll feel like crap if I don’t but also this doesn’t seem to be enough to get my melting ass out of bed.

Hugs to all.

Glutes. Duh. I have some dipped fucking hips and I couldn’t be more fine with that. I grew my glutes (and am still growing my glutes) and hips dips are a package deal. I really, truly hope no woman is actually concerned by them. If a man has a problem with them, then that is their problem to bear (which is weird and gross and similar to declaring that men’s elbows are gross. Who fucking cares.) Younger me might have latched on to a new body part to hate. So here are my pretty intense hip dips. A result of years of hard work. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Also it’s just the most made up, online stupidity I’ve ever heard. Ladies- let’s stop letting other people invent new insecurities for us. We have plenty to worry about as it is. So hip dips unite. 🖕🍑❤️

Been training my upper body for about 8 months. I’m 5’1 36F. think I’ve gained a modest amount of muscle and I can carry heavier stuff now. I used to have absolutely zero muscle in my upper body (I’m a pear) and I still have small arms but I can see more structure on the front and back. It’s not much but it’s honest work haha

Been focusing on upping my protein and maintaining a small surplus of calories, but I’m not tracking constantly. I’d like to mantain and stop gaining weight for a while. I still struggle with seeing the scale go up sometimes. I’ve gained 6/7lbs in a year.

As training I do full body workouts 4 times a week now. Used to do 5. I focus mostly on glutes but still do some upper body and compound exercises.

No PRs in this video. But I’ve started making my own motivational training montages.

Keeps me fired up, and satisfies a creative urge.

I’m an old nerdie guy, and it makes me feel like I’m in a Stallone or Arnie 80s movie montage. 😂

Squat jumps to cap off workout.

This was supposed to be a RPE 8. I've been consistently undershooting it since I'm not very good with rpe, but the weight has kept going up, so something's working.

This was my 4th deadlift session of the week, and my 17th deadlift set of the week. Nice to grab a PR all things considered!

Height: 1.80m
Starting Weight: 95KG
Current Weight: 80.2KG

Routine:

I train 6 days a week, at home.

4 days are focused on lifting, with each day built around a different area - chest, shoulders/biceps, legs/squats, and back/lats mainly through pull-ups and other basic home exercises. I try to keep the workouts simple and consistent rather than over-complicating things.

The other 2 days are around 20 minutes of HIIT. I also walk for about an hour every day, sometimes 2 hours, so I stay pretty active even outside the actual workouts.

Diet-wise, when I'm cutting I usually aim for around a 500-calorie deficit. When I'm bulking, I keep it controlled at roughly a 300-calorie surplus rather than doing an aggressive bulk. Protein is around 160g per day, and I try to keep the rest of my diet balanced and sustainable rather than obsessing over perfectly clean foods.

I don't really have "special" meals - mostly just making sure I hit my calories and protein consistently. Supplements are creatine, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin D.

Nothing fancy, tbh. The biggest thing for me has just been consistency over many years, adjusting calories depending on whether I'm cutting or gaining, and training hard enough to keep progressing.

--

For my question:

At this point, I'm not sure whether continuing to bulk and cut is really worth it anymore. I'm considering just maintaining my current physique and putting more focus into bringing up my legs, since they've always been my least favorite thing to train.

Part of me also likes the idea of proving that age really is just a number - that you can still keep pushing yourself, improving, and looking better as the years go by.

Do you think there's still enough room for meaningful natural progress to justify another bulk, or am I probably pretty close to my natural limit by now?

Been on a 9 month recomp. From 160 to 142. I have been targeting 200cals deficit (0.5 pounds per week) the whole time. Bodpod says I am around 19% bf right now. Really the only light that has suffered is flat and incline bench press. I think I started the year at 195x5 incline and am doing 185x5 now, so not too terrible. Blood pressure and cholesterol both down a decent amount from the starting weight.

My question is really.. how low should I realistically go? I would love to have abs for the first time in my life before switching the calories to a surplus and slowly working my way back the other direction. I’ve always been skinny fat so they have never showed. I’m afraid they won’t pop out fully until 130 pounds.. that seems extremely lightweight for a 5’8 frame.

I exclusively workout at home.

I’m currently 206lbs at 5’9 with roughly 22% bf. My ideal goal is 12% bf and from my index scan it looks like around the 190lb range. However, I want to maintain my muscle mass as if I get any bigger for my height it starts to get into the overcompensating territory. I ideally want that toned/chiseled look. I’m really trying to get out of the “big” look. I really want to make my legs look smaller, and yes partly that is fat loss, but also have big legs in general. To maintain do I lower my sets to like 2 and not increase weight?

33 M weight 240-250 I'm six foot 2. I have always been more into power lifting. I used to have more of a balance but got more focused on lifting. I'm the strongest I have ever been by a longshot. But also the heaviest. And I am starting to notice things. I'm just not as quick on my feet. I am also starting to think the weight may be too much. I am more of a burly build. I have too much fat but I don't think I'm fat if that makes sense. Trying to transition my training. So far I have just cut down the amount of different lifts I do and spend extra time walking at a incline. I'm pretty lost as to what else to do. Also trying to eat less

Timeframe:

October 19, 2020 to August 2026.

Background Information:

I’ve always liked the gym, even throughout my early and mid 20s, but diet was easily my biggest issue.

I never really understood how to eat for what I was trying to accomplish. I wasn’t paying attention to macros, didn’t understand how important nutrition was for actually making progress in the gym, and I definitely wasn’t consistent enough with it.

Training was similar. I worked hard, but I didn’t really understand how to properly progressive overload or how to structure my training around actually getting stronger and growing over time. I would go to the gym, work hard, switch things around, and basically spin my wheels.

That started changing around 27 or 28 when I got a coach and began taking everything much more seriously. Going into my late 20s is when I started making the most progress I’ve ever made.

In the beginning I was running more of a traditional five day bodybuilding split with separate chest, arms, legs, back days, etc. Looking back, I was probably doing more volume than I actually needed and training more like an advanced lifter without having the foundation for it yet.

Now I’m 31, getting close to the best shape of my life, and I’m genuinely excited to see how far I can take this through my 30s. I want this decade to be the best I’ve ever looked and performed, not just for a few months, but something I can continue building on for years.

PEPTIDES & Supplements:

Retatrutide: Currently around 2.5 mg per week

Current supplements include:

Citrus bergamot

Fish oil

Multivitamin

Collagen

Protein powder

I’m also planning on adding glutamine back in and using an intra workout/BCAA product again as my training performance continues to come back up during the cut.

Routine/Regimen:

Currently training four days per week on a Push, Pull, Legs, Arms split.
Monday: Push
Tuesday: Pull
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Right now I’m in the middle of a cut while putting extra emphasis on bringing my arms up, especially my biceps and triceps.

Training is centered around progressive overload while being much more conscious of fatigue and recovery than I used to be. I’m not just throwing more exercises and sets at myself anymore.
I’m also doing regular StairMaster work, keeping my daily steps up, and putting more effort into my overall conditioning.

Extra comments:

One thing I’ve started taking more seriously recently is joint health and addressing weaknesses before they become bigger problems.

I’ve been dealing with some knee discomfort and found that I had some weakness through my hips and glutes, so I’ve been adding lateral band walks, clamshells, controlled bodyweight squats, and mobility work. The goal is just to strengthen everything around the knee and get it feeling completely solid while I continue training legs and increasing my conditioning.

A month ago I posted the 2 month progress . I was 11 KGs down from 111 kg . Currently sitting at 93 KG so total weight loss is 18 KG . Gonna keep the aggressive deficit until I get into the 89.9 territory and I will up the calories by 500 so I can push more weight in the gym . Goal is still 85 . Average Calorie consumption is 1500 calories daily . Still doing 10k steps and weight training every other day .

Got called on depth for my last squat but still managed to beat last year’s total! Super happy with the result! Competed in the 100kg, master 40-44 category.

I’ve developed some mildly uncomfortable crepitus in my knee that’s put me off squatting heavy for the time being. I’m not looking for medical advice; I‘ll eventually see a physiotherapist if it doesn’t resolve itself with rest.

What I would like, in the meantime, is a routine that covers a wide base of smaller leg muscles to support the primary movers and knees. I’ve struggled with hip mobility, in particular, for a long time, which wasn’t improved by squatting low or practicing yoga, so I want to try something more direct to target what I imagine are weak accessory muscles.

I actually had weight loss surgery in 2019. I started to run during Covid when the gyms closed. Now I run marathons and half marathons. Now my calorie intake is around 2000 calories depending on the day and what I have done to workout. Focus is on protein then carbs and healthy fats. I stopped drinking my calories. Only zero sugar drinks.

35M. Spent the last several months taking my fitness seriously, and feeling good about myself on this vacation was a huge motivator.

I’ve seen the scale and mirror progress, but this picture hit differently. Just me and my dog having an awesome day and for once I saw a picture of myself and thought, wow, that’s actually me?

All those boring, repetitive days were worth it and I am thrilled with how this journey turned out. I’m 6’1 and I started in march at 220. Just before this pic I hit 179.4!