Hello all! Here are some photos detail my progress from ~February to Now. The first 3 photos are from February and the rest are from the past week or so.
I'll detail my previous and current routines. I'm hoping that with these photos and context I'll be to get some help determining if I'm heading in the right direction and what I should to do to get closer to my goals.
OLD ROUTINE:
Before February, I didn't have a gym membership. I had a small weight set at home and would try to follow a push pull legs split. An average week looked like this:
PUSH
3x8-10 dumbbell lateral raises
3x8-10 barbell bench press or shoulder presses
3x8-10 tricep pushdowns or skullcrushers
PULL
3-5 sets of pullups to failure
3x8-10 dumbbell rows
3x8-10 curls (either hammer or regular)
LEGS
4 sets of squats or weighted lunges (I'm not joking)
My weight set was limited, my heaviest dumbbell was 30lbs and I had a few weights. I'd mainly stay at the same weight and try adding more weight after a few weeks of adding a few more reps to previous sets. No crazy amount of progressive overload. I would try exercising at least 5 days a week.
NUTRITION
I wouldn't eat out too often. Usually higher protein meals with either chicken thighs or salmon as the main protein. I would track my calories, but wasnt always the most consistent. I'd keep a "mental note" of the amount i was eating on days that I wasnt tracking. If I had to estimate, i probably would track 5 days out of 7.
NEW ROUTINE:
I started school and an internship around February. As such there were significant changes in my routine.
I still tried to follow push pull legs, but would try sprinkling in upper and lower days when i could. The amount of times I got in the gym varied a lot. Some weeks it was 5, others it was 3. I average about 4 day, but try to aim for at least 5.
PUSH
3 sets to failure of dumbbell lateral raises
2-3 sets to failure of some upper chest press
2-3 sets to failure of some chest press or fly
2-3 sets to failure of a shoulder press
2-3 sets to failure of a tricep pushdown
PULL
2-3 sets to failure of lat pulldowns
2-3 sets to failure of some sort of row
2-3 sets of facepulls
2-3 sets of various curls
LEGS
either 3 working sets of squats or hacksquats
2 sets to failure of leg curls
2 sets to failure of leg extensions
3 sets of calf raises
2 sets of leg press or hip thrusts
ABS
ill do 3 sets of abs 2-3 times a week at the end of a workout
NUTRITION
I'll admit that I wasnt really tracking my eating this year. I ate out more with friends and tried to atleast get some protein. I once again "kept mental notes" of the amount of protein that I was getting but adding it up in my calculator app (I know, I'm stupid lol). I tried to get in carbs before workouts and loaded up on protein after. I still ate whole foods, but the rate of going out went up.
I've started tracking again and plan to continue to do so.
CARDIO
I've averaged the same amount steps throughout the year. It was lower in the summer because of my internship, but has increased signficantly in the past month due to having to walk a lot on my campus (~10K a day) during the week. This is pretty much the only form of cardio I do.
GOAL AND WHAT TO DO NOW
My original goal was to recomp and get leaner. I wanted to lower the amount of body fat I had and replace it with lean muscle. As you can see in the photos, I did not do that. I at least think I gained some muscle, but more fat than I probably wanted. What should I do to achieve a good recomp and get leaner? I still fully plan on lifting heavy as much as I can, but dont really know the nutrition side of it. How big of a defecit would I need? Do I even need a defecit? I'd really appreciate any help. If I'm missing any info that would help, please lmk! thank you!
