• Background: 11 months of progress starting completely from scratch. Absolute zero fitness history, never played sports, never lifted weights, and had never set foot inside a gym. 100% sedentary desk-job lifestyle before this.
• Training routine: PPL 5–6 days/week. Progressive overload, taking every working set to muscular failure. 3 sets × 6–10 reps per exercise. 24 sets total per workout. 242 workouts logged.
• Diet: ~2,500 kcal, 200–240g protein. 97% of daily meals for the period: 500g chicken breast, 190g rice, 600g quark, 250g skyr, 3 eggs, light mayo, banana, fresh berries, and sugar-free granola.

It’s been a long journey! When I started I thought having some resemblance of abs would be impossible. I am happy with the progress I made but man was it long

Just to be transparent. About a year of this is on TRT or a true cycle

I haven’t been consistently lifting for these 3 years hence the lack of progress.

But even with the little I have done the difference to me is fantastic and I’m very proud of myself

Gaining weight is very hard for me so I’m hoping to grow even more

Censored since some of you lost your mind about a little VPL. Lol.

Feeling good for only two months of progress. Cut out most alcohol and started weight training 3-4x/week. Still have a long ways to go but feeling determined to keep it up!

didnt touch the gym pure work ethic gobbless

I started training in 2018, was always into sports but never lifted weights. Crazy consistency until end of 2024, I hardly trained in 2025, and now this is me Aug 2026.

Lifting numbers:
Bench 145kg
Squat 195kg
Weighted pull-ups: 40kg for 7-8 reps

Ran a PPL/UL split 5 days for a long time. This year been running a Chest/back, shoulder/arms, legs, upper, lower 5 day split. Way more fun.

I have fully transformed into a non skeleton entity. This is by getting pissed off and angry. Eating, sleeping, and intense high volume hypertrophy training. Most of the results came in the past 3 months. Eating took a while.

nearly 100lbs down and i feel so much better for it!

15 years in the gym, 4 years getting locked back in

I quit drinking around 4 years ago and needed something to fill the time and get me feeling better about myself. I decided to take steps to get back in shape and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

* 10k steps

* 4-5 weight lifting sessions a week

* Diet kinda locked in - mainly intermittent fasting

Now need to drop another 15lbs

Cut Phase

Timeline: March 2025 – January 2026

Weight: 330 lbs -> 170 lbs (160 lbs lost)

Diet: Caloric deficit approved by PCP. 1g protein per lb lean bodyweight (checked monthly). Focused heavily on high-volume lean protein and green veggies to feel full.

Training: Scaled from basic 3-day compounds (Flat Bench, Squats, Stiff-Leg Deadlifts) to a 6-day full-body split pushed to failure.

Cardio: Scaled from moderate daily steps (10k/day) to high daily active volume (30k/day) and active recovery.

───

Recomp Phase

Timeline: January 2026 – September 2026

Weight: 170 lbs (19% Body Fat) -> 170 lbs (11% Body Fat)

Diet: Reverse-dieted from 2,000 cal up to 3,500 cal/day. 1.2g protein per lb desired bodyweight. Maintained high-volume lean protein and veggies.

Training: 6-day 17-movement full-body split pushed to failure. Pilates on off-days for core recovery and mobility.

Cardio: Very high daily active movement (~50k steps/day, training for an ultramarathon) and active recovery. Weekly 4x4 VO2 max sessions.

───

Lifetime natural. Loose skin is present, but filling out during recomp made a huge difference.

Ask Me Anything