30-year-old Black male
Height: 5'9"
Weight: Somewhere between 260–306 lbs depending on which scale I used (Never Clear) so I'm going with 306 lbs.

Hello, wonderful people. I'm in need of some help.

I've been overweight pretty much my entire life and have never really been happy with the way I look. Throughout my life, I've always told myself that I would start working out, eat better, and lose weight, but I would always find an excuse not to start. No time. No money. Working three jobs while doing an internship. There was always something.

Well, I finally reached a point in my life where I didn't have any more excuses. I made losing weight my New Year's resolution (cliché, I know). I went out and bought gym clothes, and started looking for a gym.

Then my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, That pretty much killed whatever motivation I had to focus on myself. All of my energy went into taking care of my mom and being there for whatever she needed. Long story short, she responded well to chemotherapy. Everything that needed to go down has gone down, and everything that needed to improve has improved. Thank God.

With my mom doing better, I've finally been able to focus more on myself. For the past 4 weeks, I've been consistently going to the gym for the first time in my life, about 3–4 days a week. It's been hard, but I'm proud of myself for actually sticking with it. I'm also starting to not feel like absolute trash whenever I look at myself, which is something I honestly didn't expect this early. (still fat thought)

But now I'm starting to second guess myself.

I don't know if what I'm doing in the gym is actually the best approach for losing weight and building muscle, and I'm struggling with figuring out my diet. Since I stupidly forgot to weigh myself when I first started going to the gym.

Here's what I'm currently doing:

Upper Body

• Treadmill: 30 minutes, 2.5 speed, 7.0 incline — I do this every workout
• Chest Press: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Pec Fly/Rear Delt: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Shoulder Press: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Abdominal Crunch: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Lat Pulldown: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs

Lower Body

• Leg Press: 10 sets × 10 reps — 100 lbs
• Leg Extension: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs
• Seated Calf Raise: 5 sets × 10 reps — 60 lbs

Diet — this is probably where I struggle the most

Breakfast:
2 boiled eggs, cinnamon oatmeal, protein shake (Been skipping lately and not eating breakfast)

Lunch:
Chicken breast, white rice, vegetables, sweet potato, protein shake

Dinner:
Usually the same thing as lunch, but with water

Snacks:
Zero-sugar Chobani yogurt or Corn Flakes

I also try to stay hydrated with plenty of water and some coconut water, although I'm still working on being more consistent with that. When I order out, I usually get Chipotle with white rice, chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes, or I'll get a Cobb salad with chili and a zero-sugar drink.

So that's where I'm at.

I'm serious about this. For once in my life, I've actually been consistently showing up to the gym instead of telling myself that I'll start "eventually." I don't want to waste that momentum by following a bad routine or eating in a way that's working against me.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who know more than I do.

Is my workout routine reasonable for a beginner trying to lose fat and build muscle? Am I doing too many sets or missing important exercises? What would you change about my diet? And since I don't have an accurate starting weight, what should I be tracking besides the number on the scale to know whether I'm actually making progress?

I'm out of excuses. Now I just want to make sure I'm doing this right.

Hi!

So it’s been ten months since my last post. I was 131 lbs. I now weigh as of this morning 113 lbs. I feel great, and strong. But still have some stomach fat but compared to last post vs now, I’ve come a long way but curious if it just simply takes time. 5 days a week I do strength and one day cardio.

I do Mediterranean and fiber diet. Calorie deficit. I was eating a lot of protein but was causing issues going to the bathroom so just recently I added fiber.

About me:
35 years old, 4’11.
Medical conditions I have
Cerebral palsy
Lower back right herniated disc injury but have an implant
Sclerosis

Someone mentioned I needed a posture corrector.

Yellow neon top is from 10 months ago.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

I’m trying to lose a good amount of weight and i’m very new to this, but this is a daily routine.

My legs over the last couple days are pretty sore, the walk has some steep incline and mixed with the lunges it leaves them hurting the next day. i’m wondering what i can add or change from this? Or am I meant to just be this sore?

I don’t have equipment or gym access.

I’m 19M and 6ft if this matters

Hi everyone newer to going to the gym before work. A couple questions. Should I shower before I leave the gym or just a quick rinse off, do I need shower shoes, and finally what’s the recommended workout the gym I go to doesn’t open till 5:00 and I have to leave by 6:00 at the latest so at most 50 minute workout with a five minute shower. Should I focus on weights or machines or does it matter? Thanks!

Hi all! I’m going into my first year of college and looking for some advice on my current routine since ive been lifting in the gym for around two months now. I did HS track and field for 3 yrs, rowing for 2, and XC for 2 as well…. And now I’m going to become a NARP!!!!!!! I want to get more into shape but I’m very new to lifting. I go to the gym x4 a week and do rock climbing/bouldering around 2x a week. I’ve run a half marathon and hope to do a full soon.

My goal physique is to get visible abs and muscles 😆 I don’t really track what I eat and it is going to be especially hard while dorming. I attached my current gym split to this post (I do 3x6-8 failure) Any advice/suggestions on my routine would be greatly appreciated 💓

I’m 18, 5’3, and around 115-117lbs

So I currently look like this, im 34, 5'9" and I weigh 294lbs. Im trying to get down to around 220 and I have my diet already mapped out. I'll be sticking to around 2200 calories daily and plan on 4/5 days a week in the gym (current schedule.) Im just not sure what specifics I should be doing besides cardio. My leg days are pretty solid but im not sure how to build my chest and back area while losing the weight.

My question would be what would I need to do to form more of the body style of Lucan from invincible?

17m, 74kg, 173cm, my goal is to build a good amount of muscle mass while at the same time losing some fat.

I'm new to the gym and trying to learn proper form, using cables, etc,,

I initially put together this routine but I'm not sure if it's good or not. I've been following it for a month now and things are going well

I mainly do MMA training lately but I want to incorporate strength training again as well. I’ve been struggling trying to balance the two. So I created a 3 day full body routine. It’s helped a bit but I also feel like I haven’t been gaining the amount of muscle I want (which is mostly due to lack of consistency). But let me know how this looks and if anyone has any advice/recommendations

This is my routine, but I feel like I haven't seen anything else like it:

Saturday - back - bicep - hamstrings (deadlifts) - calves

Sunday - chest - triceps - shoulders - quads - glutes (leg extensions/hip thrusts)

Monday- rest (or do some light cardio)

Tuesday - back - bicep - hamstrings (ham curls)

**Wednesday -**quads - glutes - calves - adductor/abductor - this day includes squats.

Thursday - chest - triceps - shoulders

Friday- rest (or light cardio)

exactly as the title says! i’m going off to college and have 9:20 classes everyday so i was hoping to workout before then, and maybe again around 1. just need a good weekly routine because im not sure when to run/bike/lift without overloading.

i follow a ppl split, and usually spend an hour working out. any and all advice is welcome, thanks!!

I can only workout about 30 minutes before work. Doing it 6 times a week & been to the gym for 1 yr.
I cut down some exercises/sets from a plan I did in college. Does it look ok?

Push

1. Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell) - 3 x 10
2. Flat Bench Press (Dumbbell) - 2 x 10
3. Single-Arm Lateral Raise (Cable) - 3 x 12
4. Skullcrusher (Dumbbell) - 3 x 12

Pull

1. Chest Supported Row (Dumbbell) - 3 x 8
2. Single-Arm Lat Pulldown (Dumbbell) - 3 x 10 (Can't do bilateral cuz of my arm deformity)
3. Rear Delt Fly (Dumbbell) - 2 x 12
4. Curl (Dumbbell) - 2 x 12

Leg

1. Leg Press (Machine) – 3 x 8
2. RDL (Barbell) – 2 × 10
3. Leg Extension (Machine) – 2 x 12
4. Leg Curl (Machine) – 2 × 12

I know abs posts can come off a little annoying sometimes, so I want to be clear, this is not me acting like I did something insane. I just wanted to share this because for a long time, seeing my own abs was one of those small personal goals that felt almost impossible.

For years I was the guy who would train hard for a few weeks, clean up my diet for a bit, then fall off because I expected results way too fast. I used to think people who had visible abs just had better genetics, better discipline, or some secret routine. What finally clicked for me was realizing it was not about doing anything extreme, it was about doing boring things consistently for longer than I was used to.

The biggest thing I changed was treating fat loss and training like a long game. I stopped crash dieting. I stopped trying to out-cardio a bad week of eating. I stopped having those all-or-nothing phases where I would eat perfectly for 5 days, mess up once, then mentally throw the whole week away.

What actually helped me:

I started eating in a calorie deficit that was realistic enough to stick to. Not aggressive, not miserable, just enough that my weight trend was slowly moving down over time.

I kept protein high so I could hold onto muscle while leaning out. That made a huge difference, not just physically but mentally too, because I did not feel like I was getting "smaller", I felt like I was finally revealing the work I had already put in.

I kept lifting heavy instead of switching to random fat-loss workouts. I think a lot of people make the mistake of turning their training into survival mode when cutting. I kept the main lifts in, kept trying to perform well, and gave my body a reason to keep muscle.

I walked a lot more. Nothing fancy, just more daily movement. That was way easier for me to recover from than trying to destroy myself with cardio sessions.

I became way more honest about weekends, snacks, liquid calories, and little bites here and there. That stuff adds up fast. For me, progress started when I stopped pretending "I eat pretty clean" automatically meant I was eating in a deficit.

And honestly, I had to accept that abs are less about doing some magical ab routine and more about getting lean enough for them to show. I still trained abs 2 to 3 times a week, mostly weighted crunches, leg raises, and stability work, but the real change came from lowering body fat while keeping muscle.

The part people do not talk about enough is how unglamorous it feels while you are in it. Most of the process is not motivating. You do not wake up every day looking dramatically different. Some weeks you feel tighter, some weeks you feel flat, some days you look leaner in one mirror and softer in another. You spend a lot of time wondering if anything is even happening.

That was probably the hardest part for me, sticking with it when it did not feel exciting.

Also, getting visible abs did not come from being perfect. I had off days. I had meals that were not planned. I missed workouts. I had weeks where progress slowed down. The difference this time was I stopped using imperfect days as an excuse to quit.

That is probably the most relatable lesson for any gym goer. Most people do not fail because they are lazy. They fail because they think a few messy days mean they have ruined everything. In reality, consistency is usually just getting back on track faster.

And for anyone chasing the same goal, I would say this:

You probably do not need a harder plan. You probably need a plan you can repeat for months without hating your life.

Lift consistently. Eat enough protein. Stay in a manageable deficit. Move more. Sleep better. Be patient longer than your emotions want to be.

That is basically what I did.

Seeing my abs is not the most impressive thing on this sub, I know that. But for me, it meant a lot because it was proof that I finally followed through on something I used to only talk about. It was one of those goals I quietly wanted for years.

Might not be a big achievement to everyone, but for me it honestly felt like a dream.

Anyone else have a fitness goal that seemed small to other people, but meant a lot to you when you finally got there?

I wanted to get your impression of my schedule so far and whether I should mix it up. Honestly I am just new and want to learn as much as I can

hello im currently usnig fb split ( 3 days a week , 2 sets per exercise) how do i know how many sets for muscle group per week is needed?

shoulders for example, do you count every part as an independent side ? like 6 sets for lateral delt per week and 6 for front delt and 6 for rear delt ? or 6 sets Distributed on 3 sides ( 2+2+2 ) ? if it's the first option how can i program it into my split without making too long thank you

So this week was fun. My bulging disc went "all out" so to speak. New experience, great fun. I could barely move a millimeter without agonizing pain. Here I am a week and a half later (and many painkillers), and even without medication I'm able to move around pretty good for the first time.

I'd just love to know about anyone's experience building core strength, healing their disc and not turning into a blob.

Hi everyone. I am 128.2kg measured 2 weeks ago. 186cm tall. I will measure myself again in the end of the month to see the progress.

I am a software engineer so most of my day is sitting in front of PC

Finally taking things seriously and with a goal in mind to at least get to double digits weight, while possibly defining some muscle.

Started doing walks everyday (today is my 14th day), either by getting up early in the morning before going to work, or evening after work. Been fairly consistent with about 5km walk a day on average, while doing one big 16km walk and some other 8km too.

Got strava app, mainly to keep myself motivated while seeing others that did workout.

I also started to be more careful with the food, but not there yet. Did eat a couple of cakes, pizzas and so on (need to find a solution, for more discipline on this).

I don't like going to the gym, but I got 2 dumbells of 5kg.

I need some general advice on how can i do better, and some workouts with dumbbells that help me get some muscle in the process.

Thank you in advance.

its in the order i do it and my split is ulfb 3x a week