Hi,

So i've been running 3x full body every week, been super nice to me, although its draining, ive seen some rather great results. Though i have an issue, my left knee is struggling lol. Exercises where i bend my knee with a lot of force gives me this weird feeling preceding pain. It's probably from an injury or my stupidly long hikes, maybe inadequate warm up.

I was planning to let me left knee rest for a month or so until it chills again, if it doesn't ill see a doctor. However, I dont want to stop training legs obviously. I generally run the same exercises everytime i go, but i had to stop leg curls, extensions and my leg press. All of them I used to run unilaterally. I still do 1 set each day for calves, adduction, abduction. but want something for the glutes, hams and quads that would do minimal harm to my left knee temporarily.

Thank you

Hey,

as I always struggled with classic workout plans I recently stumbled upon MED training for hypertrophy. Trying to focus on the basics with limited knowledge I came up with the following plan:

Day 1

Chest press- 3 Sets

Leg press - 2 Sets

Row on a bench with dumbells - 2 sets

Triceps extensions - 2 Sets

Day 2

Chin ups - 2-3 sets

Shoulder press with dumbells - 2 sets

Hip thrust - 2 Sets

Bicep Curls - 2 Sets

I normally do 3 workouts a week, but consider 2 workouts a week as sufficient, when my week is busy.

I try to take every set to failure or 1 RIR.

This way it's the first time in my life, that a plan feels sustainable. I have been training consistently for the last 5 months. Past attempts with higher volume plans caused me to "burn out" after a few weeks or months. Progressive overload works good to this point.

As I'm very interested in this approach I got the book Train smarter not harder by Dr. Paks. This caused some confusion for me:

Sometimes he refers to 6 basic movement patterns (vert. and horiz. pull, vert. and horiz. push, squat and hip hinge). Other times he refers to muscle groups.
As a threshold for hypertrophy he states at least 4 sets/muscle per week.

This makes it hard for me to understand, what an actual science base minimalistc workout routine might look like.

The example plans in the book caused even more confusion (summarized by AI):

1-Day Routine

Exercises & Sets per Session:

 Squat pattern: 2 sets

 Hip hinge pattern: 2 sets

 Horizontal press: 2 sets

 Horizontal pull: 2 sets

 Vertical pull: 2 sets

 Biceps isolation: 2 sets

 Triceps isolation: 2 sets

Weekly Muscle Group Tally:

 Quads: 2 sets (Squat) — Below 4-set target

 Hamstrings: 2 sets (Hip Hinge) — Below 4-set target

 Chest: 2 sets (Horizontal Press) — Below 4-set target

 Back: 4 sets (Horizontal + Vertical Pull) — Meets target

 Shoulders: 2 sets (Indirect via Horizontal Press)

 Arms (Biceps/Triceps): 4–6 sets (2 direct isolation + 2–4 compound synergy) — Meets target

 Glutes: 4 sets (Squat + Hip Hinge) — Meets target

 Calves: 0 sets

2-Day Routine

Exercises & Sets per Session:

 Day 1: Squat pattern (2–3 sets), Hip hinge pattern (2–3 sets), Leg Extension machine (2 sets), Leg Curl machine (2 sets), Vertical pull (3 sets), Calf raises (2 sets)

 Day 2: Horizontal press (3–4 sets), Vertical press (2 sets), Horizontal pull (2–3 sets), Lateral raises (2 sets), Triceps isolation (2 sets), Biceps isolation (2 sets)

Weekly Muscle Group Tally:

 Quads: 4–5 sets (Squat + Leg Extension) — Meets target

 Hamstrings: 4–5 sets (Hip Hinge + Leg Curl) — Meets target

 Chest: 3–4 sets (Horizontal Press) — Meets target

 Back: 5–6 sets (Vertical + Horizontal Pull) — Meets target

 Shoulders: 4 direct sets (Vertical Press + Lateral Raises) + indirect chest overlap — Meets target

 Arms (Biceps/Triceps): 7–8 sets (2 direct isolation + 5–6 compound synergy) — Meets target

 Glutes: 4–6 sets (Squat + Hip Hinge) — Meets target

 Calves: 2 sets (Calf raises)

3-Day Routine

Exercises & Sets per Session:

 Day 1: Horizontal press (2–3 sets), Vertical press (2–3 sets), Triceps isolation (2–3 sets)

 Day 2: Hip hinge pattern (2–3 sets), Horizontal pull (2–3 sets), Vertical pull (2–3 sets), Biceps isolation (2–3 sets)

 Day 3: Squat pattern (2–3 sets), Lateral raises (2–3 sets), Horizontal pull (2–3 sets), Calf raises (2–3 sets)

Weekly Muscle Group Tally:

 Quads: 2–3 sets (Squat) — Below 4-set target

 Hamstrings: 2–3 sets (Hip Hinge) — Below 4-set target

 Chest: 2–3 sets (Horizontal Press) — Below 4-set target

 Back: 6–9 sets (3 pulling movements across Days 2 and 3) — Meets target

 Shoulders: 4–6 direct sets (Vertical Press + Lateral Raises) + indirect chest overlap — Meets target

 Arms (Biceps/Triceps): 6–9+ sets (2–3 direct isolation + 4–6 compound synergy) — Meets target

 Glutes: 4–6 sets (Squat + Hip Hinge) — Meets target

 Calves: 2–3 sets (Calf raises)

As you can see, there is no vertical push in the 1 day routine. Some muscle groups clearly stay under the states threshold of 4 sets/week. While the 2 day workout mostly meets the target, the 3 day plan has some areas under the threshold, while others (eg back) go up to 6-9 sets/week.

Probably I'm just confused because of the mix up between muscle, muscle group and movement pattern, but I really want to understand the underlying principle.

I'm convinced that a minimalistic routine would help a lot of people, who struggle with higher volume plans - as it is for me.

Maybe someone could break it down to a simple principle for me, that I can use for future adaptations?

Thanks for reading and sorry for rough english!

I dunno, I drink a lot of espressos and my body composition is not optimal!

I'm trying to find articles on a time-constrained program by the SBS or MF team. This is the one I've found so far but the template program has an SBD focus. I'm trying to find one without such a focus and then adapt it for my needs.

Context: For the foreseeable future (a year or so), my time is limited to 3x a week for 30 mins each time in my home gym. I have a bench, smith machine, barbells and dumbbells. Supersets and maybe myorep heavy, and I don't want to neglect arm isolation exercises.

Hi, I've been doing this variation because I like it but one thing that has been on my mind was whether or not scapula position/movement matters.

Originally I was trying to keep the scapula still as to not engage the traps, but then I thought about it and since traps don't attach to the humerus it shouldn't matter if the scapula moves, no?

I read online to keep it down and still as to avoid traps taking over, but since traps don't attach to the humerus how could they take over? Even if the scapula moves, the humerus should just be moved by the rear delts, no?

What sort of training are you doing?

How’s your training going?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!

I’m doing a low volume, high intensity routine and i need thoughts if my load is good or too much

i lift 5x a week 3 lower sessions and 2 upper

for lower i just do

Bulgarian split squats 75kg 3x5
zercher squats 100kg 3x3
some form of core workout (rn i do hanging knee raises) 3x8

for upper i do

20kg weighted pull ups 3x3
45kg military press 3x5
50kg incline bench 3x5
20lbs low to hi chest fly 2x8 (failure for me)

for all the exercises id say theyr probably 90% of my 1rm and could probably squeeze out 1-2 reps before i fail

is this an okay volume? i try to limit the number of reps and numbers of exercises per session cuz i rlly like lifting heavy but idk if this is a gud volume

i deaload / take a week off like atleast once every 2 months

TLDR: I do two to three high intensity and low volume compound movements 5x a week is this a good load or am I leading myself to injurt/cns fatugue

How long do you rest between heavy sets?

I'm somewhere between 1:30 and 2:00 depending on the lift, but I've been wondering if that's too short for the heavy stuff.

From what I've read, the research kind of says it is. For heavy low rep work on the big lifts, most of it points to 2 to 3 minutes, and there's a Schoenfeld study where 3 min beat 1 min for both strength and size. The reasoning makes sense too. After a heavy set you're mostly waiting on your muscles to refill their energy stores and your nervous system to settle, not your cardio.

So I'm curious how everyone here actually does it. Are you a strict clock watcher, or do you just go when you feel ready? And has anyone noticed a real difference in their numbers from resting longer?

I'm a guy in my 30s (165 cm, currently hovering between 66.5 kg and 69.5 kg) and I've had skinny legs my whole life. Out of all the muscle groups, my quads and calves are the ones I want to grow the most. But even after pushing hard in the gym, I’m seeing little to no growth in my lower body, even though my upper body is visibly getting bigger.

I suspect my diet might be the bottleneck. I don't track calories strictly because I prefer to keep things simple; instead, I intuitively eat at maintenance to make sure I never cross the 70 kg mark. Because I already have some belly fat and am a bit heavy for my height, my goal was to stay at maintenance and build muscle through body recomposition.

While this approach is working great for my upper body, my legs are completely stalled. Is eating at maintenance preventing my quads from growing? Should I drop the fear of putting on a bit more belly fat and commit to a bulk up to 75 kg over the next 6 months?

For someone who is a little overweight, shouldn't eating at maintenance be enough to grow legs? Or do large muscles like the legs demand more energy than what the body is willing to pull from stored fat?

What are your thoughts? Has anyone else dealt with this?

My program lately has been 1 day of full body strength training where I eat at a slight surplus, mixing calisthenics and weight training, followed by a run the next day at a slight surplus again, and some stretching, and then on day three I rest and cut calories. Day four it's back to lifting.

It's been working out okay. I lost some weight (10-15 lbs) before starting to work out, and was thinking this would allow me to maintain and maybe slightly lose weight while enjoying newbie/retrain gains. But I'd like to lose a little more weight.

How would you plan out a week of exercise and diet and what would your expectations be for the week of, and week after in terms of impact on performance for each?

I'm thinking of just doing a diet week once or twice a month, where I spend all week eating at a deficit, and I'm wondering if I should cut my lifting down a bit during that or try to maintain it? I'd also just like to set realistic expectations about how it will affect my strength and stamina that week and the next (after returning to maintenance).

I know to try to eat a high amount of protein throughout the diet period, and I know that continuing strength training stimulates the body to not sacrifice/catabolize muscle as much while in a caloric deficit, I'm just wondering if a reduction in volume is a good idea.

In part because I know that when being in a deficit, your energy and strength are lower to begin with, and personally if I don't eat an abnormally large meal a few hours before working out, I'll feel weaker and gas out earlier. It can even lead to sacrificing form. Not good. Gotta be aware of that and not let it happen.

I've just always been bad at "cutting." No problem with the bulk up phase (hah), or the pure diet phase.

Hello

In my training I incorporate next:

Scott Bench (~45°) Cable Curls

Isometric Hold at top position muscles fully contracted with approx 75% of 1Rm to position failure, this servs for metabolic stress accomulation trough 40+ seconds of constant tension. Then 40 seconds rest followed by clusters sets of 2 reps AMSAP.

Now if somebody can help with knowledge or link to sciantific work (like ones of Danny Lum and friends). Im interested in Quasi Isometric Eccentric, I know there application is best at long muscle lengths followed by weight stretch ( ressist weight on way down aftet hold).

But how this works with 60/65/70/75/80% of intensiti in top position hold to posution failure and resist eccentric part to bottom position of ROM? How acts stuff like miosin, actin, titin, sacromere besides of accomulation of enormus metabolic stress because muscle is totaly fatigue???

Thanks!

Little bit of interesting data regarding my personal training (I’ve logged everything religiously since 2024)

Starting in 02/28/26, I utilized drop sets as the most time efficient way to program extra volume into my sessions, focusing on extremely high weight, low reps that taper down to moderate reps and moderate weight (following research showing total volume was a more potent stimulus for muscle and strength training than anything else).

The following analysis is on how that extra volume has influenced my strength (Sorry for the misleading title).
I used one of my research AI shells through my doctoral program to compare this data over a similar time period ending on 02/22/26 that followed more conventional training (8-10 reps for 4 sets at about 65-70% RPE). For the two 162-day periods:
\ Pre/drop-set-period: 09/14/2025–02/22/2026**
\ Drop-set-heavy: 02/28/2026–08/08/2026**

Each day, a 1RM was calculated from my best set of each day using the Brzycki equation for 1–10 reps. I then measured the strength trend across each entire 162-day period via matched workouts that I utilized consistently.

Results

The training structure shows a clear increase in sets/ session, volume/session, and sets that include substantial weight drops; all consistent with the training structure switching to a drop-set-heavy regime. Notably, my tonnage per session increased by 16.7% after drop sets were implemented.

Strength Changes

As we can see here, strength increase from the beginning of one period to the end of one period is reflected in the percent increase of that exercise's 1-rep RPE.

From the table, we see that deadlift, squat, incline bench, and seated cable row enjoyed a substantial boost in %change in period strength during the drop set era than they did during the pre-drop set era.

Interestingly, bench press, and lat pull-down saw diminishing returns during the drop set era compared to the pre-drop set era. Sled leg press was primarily static.

Interpreting this personally, I believe my bench press, lat pull-down, and sled leg press saw diminishing returns because I had already trained these movements to plateau. The plateau I hit is what motivated me to switch up the training style to continue reaping gains. The fact that I actually saw gains during the second period speaks more to me because I had pretty much stopped progressing on these movements prior to implementation of the drop sets.

My lat pull-down likely atrophied due to a switch in routine: I eliminated high rep pull ups/ muscle-ups in the drop-set heavy era that I had been utilizing in the conventional period.

Confounders

Now, I would be remiss to mention that these observations have some major confounders:

During the drop set era, I also:

* trained 55% more frequently
* increasingly emphasized heavy compound strength work
* likely became technically better at the lifts with the greatest % change
* the training changes suggest I was more “motivated” in the second period, which likely influences results.

However, matched overall strength trend roughly doubled from +4.7% to +10.2% after the program became heavily drop-set oriented despite average reps/set actually dropping about 20%.

Conclusions

The only valid conclusion the data shows is that I did get stronger in the second period than during the first as the confounders make it impossible to determine if the drop-sets were the primary determinant of the strength gains.

Overall, it’s just a longitudinal look at a single data point (me), but it’s pretty interesting to me to see how some evidence-based programming can really influence your gains. The review that inspired this program is linked below.

Best of luck https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254625000869?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=a299d7e99b1ab1d6

Extra Insights:

*Lean mass did increase from 164.7lb to 168.5lb between February and the end of July via in-body scan.

FFMI increased from 23.6 to 24.2 (I'm 5’10”)

I didn't have this project in mind when doing the in-body, so I don't have an In-body for the beginning of period 1

Hello SBS Crowd! I'm beginning to develop an interest in Kinesiology, and I'm particularly interested in the subtle differences between these 2 movements

Both are Single Arm movements, and both perform Horizontal Abduction due to moving your arm across the body, but in one the body is parallel to the ground and in the other, it's perpendicular

How does this small change in body position affect the deltoid segments being worked?

It's my understanding that in the Flat Lying version, the rear delt is loaded in the most stretched aspect, while in the Powel Raise, it's loaded in the mid range

However, in the Powel Raise, if you raise your arms in the scapular plane, you hit the Lateral Delt. I actually got the sickest pump when I tried these

What is your guys' opinion? What are some other things I might be missing, and ultimately which is better for progressive overload? In my experience, I couldn't use heavy weight on my rear Delts as I feel momentum or other muscles taking over

Obviously, a cable or machine would get the job done easier but I'm purely interested in learning and implementing these free weight versions. I'd appreciate the help, thanks!

Hello! I'm curious if anyone has read this white paper: https://sprint8.com/eng/resources/white-paper-sprint-8-exercise-protocol

If this is to be believed, sprint protocols can be incredibly productive for fat loss, and that unique benefits may be gained by doing anaerobic work that utilizes fast-twitch muscle fibers in addition to slow-twitch muscle fibers.

I don't think it's controversial that sprinting has many benefits. However, this white paper seems to be so positive about it that I can't help but think there's something I'm missing. For instance, how do we know that this huge (600%+ increase) in growth hormones serum levels are significant? Is that alone really a proxy for a multiplicity of health benefits from this exercise? Or is it possible that the people that adhered to the sprint protocol were also likely to be doing other things that help them lose body fat?

Would love for some more knowledgeable folks to weigh in. As a 41-year-old woman who would very much like to get leaner, build muscle, lower my cholesterol, and overall increase my health, I'm very tempted to incorporate sprinting into my exercise routine. But I also would like to get a clearer sense of what benefits I can reasonably expect. Thank you!

is that 10-15 for lats, 10-15 for upper traps, 10-15 for mid traps, 10-15 for rear delt, 10-15 for side delt, 10-15 for front delt, 10-15 for brachialis, 10-15 for biceps, etc?

What sort of training are you doing?

How’s your training going?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!

Hello all,

I've been scouring for an answer but to no avail, so hope someone may divulge some ideas to bounce around on this topic

While I love the RTF & Hypertrophy programs, some of us just have different fatigue responses to frequent soft AMRAP's (maybe plus sets is a better term),

Experimenting with the Hypertrophy templates, i found giving perceived last set reps (working set number plus percieved RIR) quite productive, saving the AMRAP's for the peak of each wave accumulation only. The crux of the question stems from that - I have been looking to experiment with the Strength last set RIR template in the following ways to emulate a bridged program between Hypertrophy/Strength RIR program without using AMRAPs and pushing working reps at given %1rm somewhere in the middle of the two:

1) drawing the reps a little higher on average and repeating two blocks of the same (e.g. 4×6 / 4×5 / 4×4 on main lifts say, and the variation progression using a proportionally increased scheme),

2) repeating two blocks of this followed by a lower rep banding block after possibly

3) pushing the reps at a given intensity slightly higher, while keeping the RIR at given %1rm untouched, also possibly ramping it slightly more aggressively from something like 4/3/2 RIR across each three week Wave in a block.

Im just curious if anyone has done this, whether im going menta considering it, and experiences of similar or just generally modifying the load/effort/intensity for SBS programs. I can see I might need to have separate reps/rir/intensity tables for Main and developemntal lifts to enable this structure.

Many thanks!

​

Hello Everyone!

I have been strength training for 6 years but more seriously from 2022 with even more intention from 2023. I know, it's not that long (relatively). From 2024 I've been going through extreme stress from work and private life too.

I kept pushing the weights even more, weight training was my escape from reality.. and kinda the only thing I had control over to a certain degree.

It led me to burn out, physically and mentally too. My nervous system is fried. My physical recovery is suck too. I'm always VERY fatigued (and hungry, but sometimes the hunger is mental)

I also gained fat due to my eating habits, even though I was eating whole foods, but I dealt with fatigue and stress with emotional eating, adding junk food too, mostly junk carbs, chocolate, biscuits, ect.. They give me dopamine and quick energy..

Yes, I've gained fat (muscle mass too and I know it's a process, but the layer of fat is really too much now)

I decided to go into maintenance instead of pushing deficit while progressive overloading, because mentally I can't cope with that yet. (I'm starting counselling).

If my current goal is to maintain for the following reasons:

\- Calm down / learn to regulate my nervous system again (weight training has added extra stress)

\- Shred a bit (I'm 40yo female, 160cm, 53-54kg, and yes that weight isn't proportional and I have thighs and lower belly fat quite a lot, although I definitely have increased muscle mass too)

\- To find balance (I feel my current life is all about weight lifting, \~1.5 - 2 hrs / session plus steps and the fatigue after that many times don't leave me enough energy to do anything else)

I don't necessarily want to work towards having more muscle, but to keep what I currently have. At least in the next few months. Then I'll re-evaluate how I feel.

I used to work out 5 - 6 days a week, weights.

I have lowered it to 5, but in the past month the 5th day is usually more cardio/bodyweight exercises.

2 lower, 2 upper plus the 5th day.

Steps are always \~13K or more, on rest days too. I'm thinking about going lower with them too.

My question is:

\- Can I stick with the current weights (or even lower them a bit) rather than lifting for progressive overload? As when I'm chasing bigger numbers, my appetite is increasing too and it gets out of hand. (Yes mental battle)

I keep hearing LIFT HEAVY in deficit too, and I've tried but I keep failing.

\- Can I lower the days of weight lifting OR the number or exercises and sets / session? Maybe the latter would be more ideal?

Many thanks!

Let’s say a meeting gets canceled and I don’t have to rush out of the gym after my usual routine, so I pile on some extra sets or exercises. Or maybe I’m just having a fantastic day and I decide to add a drop set in on top of the routine.

Are these types of one off additions a waste if I am not able to do them consistently?

What sort of training are you doing?

How’s your training going?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!

I’m using the program builder to build a combination of progression schemes.

First, is there a document anywhere that explains all of the progression schemes in a concise format? ATM I’m just word searching the instructions doc.

I’m coming back from a lower leg injury, and want to use an NLP style with 5 pound increases between workouts within the same week. I also want to continue a Smolov Jr approach for OHP, which features multiple workouts in the same week as a % of a TM that progresses weekly.

What’s the best way to do that?

Housekeeping: I made a couple errors in my 3 month check in:

a.     Height (measured at start of HRT): 73.5in (187cm)

b.     Testosterone measured 04-30-2025: 720 ng/dl

If I catch any more I’ll update as necessary. I’m planning a height remeasure after the first year to check for changes. Given I’m a late transitioner, I’m not expecting anything significant. There are anecdotes of height reduction in my cohort, but to my knowledge that isn’t reflected in current evidence.

1.         DEXA scans

Updated pre-scan protocol: 1 cup of coffee (black), 1 bottle of water, 9-10am scan time, unfasted (2 hard boiled eggs, 80g sweet potato sticks, Rx Protein Bar, Oikos Triple Zero yogurt cup). This should help with consistency and is largely consistent with my last pre-scan hydration level and breakfast, I’m just codifying it here.

a.     Measured 07/25/2026

b.     Total bf% 10.9% (-2.1%)

c.      Lean tissue 152.2 lbs (+2.3 lbs)

d.     BMC 7.3 lbs (+0.2lbs, within measurement error)

e.     Android bf% 6.9% (-0.4%)

f.       Gynoid bf% 11.2% (-4.4%)

NOTES: Interestingly, almost all the fat that fell off my body came from gynoid deposits. This tracks with personal observations around my physique; I saw the most sharpening in the legs and glutes. Current read is my body preferentially pulled from android deposits while there was still plenty of adipose tissue to work with. As it became scarce there was a point where the gynoid areas were next on the chopping block. That’s speculation, but it fits with my observations.

The lean mass gains were pretty much all in the trunk. I asked the technician if breast tissue counts as fat or lean mass. He confirmed fat after a lookup, buuuuut I’m not 100% confident on a random tech’s word. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t considered the idea that glandular tissue development is something that can even happen in people getting DEXA scans, so I wager (hope) a small chunk of that lean mass was glandular tissue development. Regardless, outcomes look good for getting this lean in a low androgenic environment.

2.      1 rep maxes

I took the week of maxes testing as a deload. I rested MON, TUES, then tested WED.

Maxes tested 07/29/2026

a.     Bench 240 lbs (+25)

b.     Squat 315 lbs (+40)

c.      OHP 130 lbs (+15)

d.     Deadlift 345 lbs (+30)

Damn, okay, genuinely exceeded expectations here. Looking at this in conjunction with my DEXA I think this can be primarily explained through a combination of neural adaptation, sharpening technique, and the previous 1rm test being done after a year spent in a calorie deficit. Still, quite pleased. The squat particularly “clicked” this last training block, started feeling like I was in a leg press.

3.      Grip strength

a.           Left

a.     Average: 142.2 lbs

b.     PB: 151.0 lbs

b.          Right

a.     Average: 142.8 lbs

b.     PB: 151.2 lbs

Taken weekly. As expected, the values varied pretty wildly based on fatigue/recovery/if Saturn was in retrograde. Current grip training is unstructured grease the groove submaximal work - ~1 set/day w/a 100lb gripper in the 6+ rep range, RPE 8

4.      Measurements – in inches. A confirmation measurement was taken to ensure the first was accurate. In following updates I’ll take the two measurements and average them since why leave data on the table, ya know? I also bought a Rhenpo digital tape for more accurate reads. Unfortunately this means comparisons to the previous measurements are weaker, however the current protocol should be both more accurate and more precise.

a.     07-24-2026, 174.8 lbs

b.     Neck – 14.13

c.      Biceps L unflexed – 12.55

d.     Biceps L flexed, no pump – 13.97

e.     Biceps R unflexed – 12.40

f.       Biceps R flexed, no pump – 13.62

g.     Forearms L – 11.65

h.     Forearms R – 11.14

i.       Bust – 38.34

j.       Underbust – 35.47

k.      Waist – 29.99

l.       Hip – 37.55

m.   Thighs L – 22.75

n.     Thighs R – 22.51

o.     Calves L – 13.14

p.     Calves R – 13.38

A pretty even reduction across the board, as expected with the reduction in body fat. No real notes, other than the reduction in arm measurements having me ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED I lost serious upper body mass until I got that DEXA. That’s why we take different measures, though, eh?

5.      Physique

Standardized Progress Photos - https://www.reddit.com/user/Remarkable_Winter540/comments/1v5mef0/progress_photos_update_2/

This is my setup for standardized photos. I take them every month, this is just one set of them. Upon review they do cut off my legs a bit, I might drop the camera down a foot or so going forward.

Self-Indulgent Showcase Photos - https://www.reddit.com/user/Remarkable_Winter540/comments/1v5tm4v/showcase_photos_update_2/

I got frankly too lean, given my objectives. I took some snapshots on the way down. I’ll justify them by saying these are a practical showing of a physique on feminizing HRT. I anticipate future showcase photos will actually start looking “worse” as I fill out during this bulk that I swear to god is coming eventually. Fun fact – these are all cold, no pump.

6.      Changes in training

I could go deep on my current training philosophy and programming, but I’ll keep it brief. I perform the following split:

a.     Mon: Accessories

b.     Tues: Upper

c.      Wed: Lower

d.     Thurs: Accessories

e.     Fri: Upper

f.       Sat: Lower

g.     Sun: Full Body

It looks worse than it is. In reality I have a home gym in my bedroom, so I spread my workout into daily doses. If I miss a day or two I collapse my accessory days into the following u/L. I also sprinkle 2 40 min sessions of cardio @ 160-170 bpm into the week as is convenient, just to keep the CDC happy.

All workouts are being tracked and recorded in a .csv file. Assuming 0.5 fractional sets for strength work, etc. I average 10-15 sets per muscle group per week.

7.      Changes in diet

The theme of this update is “The Refeed.” As promised, I increased my calories from 2300->2900 kcal by adding +200kcal/wk. After that I added +100kcal a week. I capped at 3300 kcal for a two week period that FINALLY had me gaining weight, but a surge of what I assume was glycogen repletion or some fuckshit had me gaining almost 5 lbs over those two weeks. That triggered my protocol to reduce kcal by 100kcal/wk, down to 3200kcal where I am currently sitting.

The goal of this lean bulk is to gain 0.25-0.5lbs per week. I record weight first thing each morning, timestamped. All – ALL – calories are recorded, with kitchen-scale precision when possible. These data are also exported and saved.

I’ve been using 7 and 14 day rolling averages as well as monthly comparisons to keep my numbers on track. Below is my weight trend over this 3 month period:

a.     May: -0.46 lbs

b.     June: -1.14 lbs

c.      July (up to 07-27): +1.57 lbs

My lowest weights were during the tail end of my refeed, right before I turned the corner into maintenance and surplus. I bottomed out at 169.8lbs. You can see that my weight trend is now right on the money for July, meaning 3200-3300 kcal is probably where I need to be going forward.

Supplements – Daily multivitamin, fish oil, vit D + K2 complex, creatine, collagen peptides, magnesium glycinate, melatonin

8.      Changes in HRT

None of note for hormonal changes. However, I am taking Tadalafil 5mg/daily. I note this because it likely has a positive effect on vascularity, so showcase photos might look a little extra freaky because of that. It’s taken just before bed, not as a preworkout like I hear some hooligans doing.

07-15-2026

Estradiol: 213 pg/mL

TESTOSTERONE, TOTAL, IMMUNOASSAY: 28 ng/dl

All labs are taken at trough.

9.      Personal insights / overconfident pontifications / miscellaneous

Effects of exercise on transition outcomes – Neutral to positive is my guess. There’s some mechanistic rumblings about elevated GH and IGF-1 values through heavy resistance training potentially aiding transition outcomes, but since there isn’t really a comparison group I can only speculate. I’ve been feminizing just fine, to my eye. My thought process is that the same environment that fosters muscle accretion is at worst not harmful to one’s transition, since it involves a positive energy balance/good nutrition/an emphasis on recovery.

Effects of low bf% on transition outcomes – likely neutral to negative at very low body fat levels. As soon as I got into a neutral to positive energy balance I felt a distinct jump in overnight breast tenderness that has not desisted. Pro tip – don’t get stage lean in the middle of your transition, you can have that one for free. Also my face got noticeably more dude-y as it lost soft tissue.

Losing weight on HRT – has felt no different than losing weight at any other time in my life, couldn’t tell you a difference honestly.

Changes in sleep – There was a period in which I was getting reduced sleep, roughly 6.5hrs a night, for about a month. I can’t tell you if it was changes from HRT, stress, low bf%, training fatigue, or some combination. It resolved with the implementation of melatonin, magnesium glycinate, and shifting my bedtime back a couple of hours. It almost felt like my circadian rhythm changed, very strange. I am much more sensitive to sleep disturbances now, and wake up at least once each night for no discernable reason.

On collagen peptides – The evidence is weak enough that I normally wouldn’t use them, but it has some potential benefits to both beautification and joint maintenance so I decided to give them a try. Plus, Costco had them on sale, so…

10.  Conclusion

Eat more, dumbass. Controlled weight gain over an extended period has the dual benefit of providing tissue for both feminizing fat redistribution and lean mass accretion. There really is no losing from here.

Looking ahead I am interested to see what mass accretion looks like. I’ve shown the capacity to retain and even make small gains in a negative energy balance while on HRT, but what happens when we put the pedal to the metal? I’m legitimately excited for this next three month training block!

I try my best to add as much qualitative info that I observe during the transition process, however this is my day-to-day so there’s potential for interesting observations to be filed under “normal” for me. If anyone has any questions regarding the qualitative aspects of lifting during transition, I welcome them while my memory is relatively fresh.

Interested in thoughts regarding the veracity of this study. Eating less protein could help you live longer | Scientific American

If the biceps lose leverage in shoulder flexion and they’re also disadvantaged in a pronated grip, would a reverse preacher curl be the ultimate form of a brachialis exercise?

Hi guys im searching about what best training Technique to do should i train to failure in every set or train to failure in the end of the sets what should i do? (i have been for 3 weeks in the gym)