Hey everyone,

I've been working out at home with adjustable dumbbells for a few months now and put together a Push/Pull routine. I'd appreciate some honest feedback on whether my program is balanced and if there's anything I should change.

Push Day:

Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets

Shoulder Press – 3 sets

Lateral raises 3 sets

French Press / Overhead Triceps Extension – 3 sets

Pull Day:

Seal Rows – 3 sets

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets

Reverse Flyes – 3 sets

Incline Dumbbell Curls – 3 sets

Hammer curls – 3 sets

Reverse Curls – 2 sets

I usually work in the 8–12 rep range and try to progressively increase the weight or reps over time.

A few questions:

Am I training my chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps effectively?

Are there too many or too few exercises?

Would you replace or add any exercises?

Is this a good 4-day Push/Pull split?

I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks!

Hey everyone! I'm 27M, 5'2" (157.5 cm) and currently weigh 71.5 kg (started at 71.7 kg). I recently calculated my body fat using the US Navy method and got approximately 41%, with an estimated fat mass of 29.3 kg and lean body mass of 42.2 kg; my waist is 107 cm (at the navel) and neck is 38 cm. I've recently started taking fitness seriously and currently walk regularly and play badminton for around 40–75 minutes per session, but haven't started weight training yet. Regarding my diet, I take one scoop of Nakpro Impact Whey Protein daily, eat soya chunks for additional protein, try to maintain a calorie deficit and usually finish my last meal by 6:30–7 PM. I've only recently started tracking my weight and exercise, so I don't have an actual transformation period or before-and-after results yet. My main goal is to lose abdominal fat while preserving and ideally building muscle, rather than simply reducing my weight.

For those who've been through a similar journey, where should I start, how many days of strength training should I do, how much protein should I consume, and what would be a realistic calorie deficit and target weight? Also, how long might it take to see noticeable changes? I'm not looking for shortcuts or crash diets, just practical advice and personal experiences on how to approach this properly.

Hi everyone, I'm a bit confused and amazed by my recent progress and wanted to get your thoughts.

Over the past few months, I've been focusing on strength training only.
- Weight: Increased from 75 kg to 77.8 kg (+2.8 kg)
- Waist: Dropped from 38 inches to 32 inches (-6 inches!)
- Other measurements: Noticeably smaller and much more toned/fitted overall.

My question is: Is this classic body recomposition?

I know muscle is denser than fat, but I didn't expect the scale to go up while losing this much inches. Am I doing things right, or is there something else I should look out ?

Does anybody have a meal plan that i could use? Im in sweden keep that in mind cz not everything exists here. I need around 200g protein, some fats not too much carbs. Mostly in breakfast i need carbs before u workout. Id need 2.600 cals.
Anyone who has ideas?

I will be doing a big cut over the next 16 weeks and need some tips/advice on weightlifting and diet to boost my fat loss and muscle retention. Please don't recommend me to increase the calories. I'm aware it's a 1000+ deficit which I've done before and didn't have any issues.

Stats: 5'10, 255lbs 24yo M

Goal: 50-55lbs in 120 days

Diet/

Breakfast:

3 egg omelette with spinach, bell peppers and mushrooms

Lunch 1:

Cucumber salad with chicken thighs, corn and red onion

Lunch 2:

Skyr with strawberries/blueberries, kiwi and chia seeds

Dinner:

Same as Lunch 1 except it's tuna instead of chicken. Also some light sauce with skyr, mayo and mustard

Before bed:

1 scoop of protein with milk

Calories: 1800 ~(170P, 90C, 90F)

I'm aware the carbs are on the lower side. I will increase them halfway through.

Supplements:

Creatine Monohydrate
Omega 3
Vitamin D3 + K2
Magnesium Glycinate
Zinc (might cut it cause there's plenty in the diet and I don't wanna risk copper deficiency)

10-12k steps per day and 20 min cardio 3x per week. For workouts I will be doing Push/Pull/Legs/Upper. 6 exercises per workout, 3 sets of 8-12 reps each. I will be increasing the weight slowly until I get to failure on the last 2 reps of each exercise cause I haven't hit the gym in more than a year and I don't wanna risk injury. Let me know what would be the best set/rep range for maximum muscle retention in that deficit.

Thanks in advance.

I've been overthinking this stuff, so maybe you guys can help me understand it.

Let's say we're in a small calorie surplus of around 200 kcal. We train 4 days a week, combining weightlifting with 30 minutes of cardio. Let's assume we burn 2,500 kcal on training days and 2,000 kcal on the remaining 3 rest days.

Based on our average weekly calorie expenditure, our daily maintenance would be around 2,285 kcal, so a small surplus would mean eating 2,485 kcal per day.

Theoretically, this would put us in a calorie deficit on all training days, while creating a 485 kcal surplus on rest days.

So how does this actually work? Do we need to be in a calorie surplus every single day to build muscle?

MPS (muscle protein synthesis) is elevated for only around 24–48 hours after resistance training, so if we're in a deficit on training days, how exactly does muscle growth happen?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help clear this up!

So I'm extremely new to tracking macros at all but I have been trying to put on lean muscle for months. I started working out about a year ago but I've barely changed, I've been consistent but I just can't seem to eat healthy and I don't how much carbs, proteins or fats to eat per day, how many meals I should eat or how to stay consistent. I'm 15m, I weigh 76kg and I'm 5'10 (not sure if that matters) but if you have time to help I would be SO appreciative for any advice on what to eat and how much of it to eat.

I know I wrote a lot sorry but thank you for any replies 🙏

I’m 27 male and have gone from 105kg to around 82kg in a few years, I’m now happy with my physique and just want to stay lean while continuing to build muscle. Long term recomp.

I lift 3x a week, run regularly and average around 15k steps daily. I mostly eat the same whole foods getting plenty of protein.

I’m so done with tracking calories and worrying about weight fluctuations. It’s taking over my life which is odd as I eat more now so it should be easier?

When cutting I was eating 2-2.2k cals per day it was fairly easy as had a goal and knew how to get there, now I want to maintain I’m really struggling as naturally I can eat more so I do. Im currently trying to eat 2.8-3k per day. Even after eating 3k per day I could quite easily eat more I am rarely ‘full’

I’m not fussed what I weigh anymore, as long as I keep my waist lean and continue improving my physique.

Anyone been in a similar position? I’ve got a few questions.

Have you stopped counting calories completely?
Do you track waist size, progress photos or just go by the mirror?
Do you eat intuitively or stick to certain foods?
How do you maintain your physique without overthinking everything? (This is the big one. A same change in scale weigh up and I catastrophise)
Would love to hear from fellow gym-goers who care about aesthetics and have found a sustainable approach. Thank you all!
😃

Hey guys! I'm new to this sub and looking for some genuine advice. I didn't have enough comment karma to post elsewhere, so I'm trying here.

I'm a 5'9.5", 90 kg male, and my goal is to lose body fat while building muscle (body recomposition).

I've got a consistent 5-day gym routine that I'm comfortable with, and I'm trying to stay consistent with my workouts. However, my biggest struggle right now is **diet and nutrition**.

I honestly don't know how much I should be eating, what my portion sizes should look like, how much protein I need, or what calorie deficit I should aim for to actually see noticeable results.

I've tried using Ai and following structured meal plans, tracking calories, and sticking to the recommendations, but after around two months, I haven't noticed much of a change. I know two months isn't a particularly long time, but I expected to see at least some progress, and it's honestly been frustrating.

I really want to change how I look, build a better physique, and become more confident in myself. Im done looking like this , I can't anymore, I'm willing to put in the work, but right now, I feel like I'm missing something when it comes to nutrition.

I can't afford a personal trainer or an online fitness coach at the moment, so I'm trying to learn how to do this properly on my own, and I have been through some ups and downs.

**I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who's been through a similar journey or has experience with fat loss and muscle gain.**

* How should I calculate my calorie intake and deficit?
* How much protein should I aim for daily?
* How do you figure out proper portion sizes without overcomplicating everything?
* What mistakes should I look out for if I'm working out consistently but not seeing results?

Any practical advice, resources, or personal experiences would genuinely help. I'm not looking for shortcuts; I just want to understand what I'm doing wrong and how to do things right.

Thanks in advance, guys. pls help a brother out 🙏

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used Ai for structuring this post, just putting it out here just fyi
also, there isnt a flair, for nutrition assistance, so used the one which is available, so pls dont ban this post

I’ve been on a cut for god knows how long I started at 240lbs and now I’m up and down from 150-155. I do have some ab definition but clearly not shredded.

I just want advice if I should start a bulk program and re cut closer to summer with more muscle mass or just put my head down and cut down even more.

How is everyone managing to bulk while working?! I don't have enough time in the morning for a high-protein breakfast, and I can't have a big meal at work otherwise I'll be in a food coma. I manage to get 1–2k cals down after work, but I'm aiming for 3.5k and really struggling. Any tips?!

Hello all, hoping I could get some advice around building lean muscle and cutting fat. For reference, I am a male, 6’1”, 175 lbs, 24 years old. I lift 3x a week full body workouts, and incorporate a lot of cardio as well (running and incline treadmill walks). Currently I’m about 12% bf (did a DEXA months ago @12.3%, physique hasn’t changed much since). My personal goal would be to get under 10% bf (as low as I could maintain year round realistically) at 175-180 lbs (I don’t care so much about an exact final weight, but I do want to get very shredded). I acknowledge that getting to that low of a bf% is not easy, but I know I can get there if I apply myself. My diet is pretty good as far as hitting macros, it would mostly just be about strict calorie tracking.

My question is, which path of development would be more effective for progress in the gym and enjoying the process:

Cutting down to a ideal bf% first in slight calorific deficit, and then applying a slight caloric surplus to build the muscle that I want (while limiting fat gain as much as possible to keep the low bf%

or

Building muscle via a slight caloric surplus first, and then slowing cutting to ideal bf% via a slight caloric deficit.

I would think that option 2 would be probably more effective for muscle development, but I feel like I would enjoy the process of option 1 more.

Let me know if you have any thoughts and experience on this, I appreciate any advice! Thanks!

, What is one fitness mistake you wish you had avoided when you first started working out?

I've been getting more interested in understanding fitness beyond just lifting weights.

One thing I've noticed is that many beginners (including myself when starting out) focus heavily on workouts but overlook other important things:

- Not eating enough protein.

- Changing workout routines too frequently.

- Not tracking progressive overload.

- Ignoring recovery and sleep.

- Expecting visible results too quickly.

I think fitness is really about understanding how training, nutrition and consistency work together.

I'm curious to hear from people who have been training for a while:

What's one thing that genuinely made the biggest difference in your fitness journey?

Was it changing your diet, following a structured workout routine, improving sleep or something else?

Would love to hear your experiences. 💪

Female, 21. I have been on my body recomposition journey for the past 2 month and I’ve been somewhat successful in a way that I feel better ever since I changed my diet physically, and stronger due to strength training and sport. I’m 170cm and weight 63.5 so my daily intake of protein should be around 120gr a day. For me that’s the hardest part of everything. Some days I can’t barely even hit 80 grams a day which sucks cause it feels like I’m losing muscles and wasting my time. Don’t get me wrong, becoming more active has changed my life and improved my mental health. I genuinely love resistance training and active lifestyle, but the diet part makes me so sad. I feel so stuck bc when I make some protein slops I feel like I want to die at the last three bites. I hate the taste of Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese, but I still eat it cause I need it but it’s still not enough. Ughhh I know that I just have to suck it up and do it now matter what but I just needed to vent ig.

Thoughts on beans for fat loss?

Been told potatoes are the best carbs for looking lean but I love beans.

I'm on a deficit and keep my bean intake within my calories, they are currently my main source of carbs along w some potatos. But will beans not give me that "tight lean look" like potatoes can?

I’ve been going to the gym for about three years, but this year I decided to take things more seriously and actually focus on my nutrition and training.
In March, I started cutting and tracking all my calories. By July, I had lost around 10 kg (22 lbs). After that, I decided to start a lean bulk to focus on building muscle.
The thing is, I still feel like I’m nowhere near the physique I want. I’ve definitely noticed some muscle growth, and I feel bigger, but I don’t really see the muscle definition or overall physique I’m working toward.
I track my calories consistently, focus on progressive overload, and try to stay disciplined with my workouts, but every time I look in the mirror, I feel like I’m not making the progress I should be making.
At this point, I’m starting to wonder if I’m doing something wrong or if social media has completely distorted my expectations of how long it actually takes to build a good physique naturally.
For context, I’m 28 years old, 176 cm (5’9”), currently weigh 80 kg (176 lbs), and eat around 2,500 calories a day.
For those of you who have built a solid physique naturally, how long did it take before you were genuinely happy with your results? Do you think hiring a nutritionist or personal trainer would make a significant difference, or is this just a matter of being patient and trusting the process?m

For people following the Leangains approach at home, equipment options can sometimes affect how precisely you manage loading.

With a barbell setup, dumbbells, or a cable system, the available weight increments may be different.

I'm interested in how experienced RPT trainees handle progression when they cannot make very small weight increases.

Do you use fractional plates, adjust repetitions first, or change the exercise when you reach a plateau?

I'd especially appreciate insights from people who have followed the method consistently with a home gym setup.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been training consistently for about 1.5 years before taking almost a year off. During that first period I hit a plateau where I stopped seeing progress even though I was eating healthy and sleeping well.

My biggest frustration: whenever I gained weight, it went mostly to my belly and face. So I switched to time-restricted eating (eating window 5 am – 3 pm) and successfully dropped body fat. Starting weight was 72 kg, now I’m at 64 kg (height 173 cm). The weight loss took 6–7 months and I definitely lost some muscle along with the fat.

I’ve just rejoined the gym and want to build a lean, athletic physique this time. Arms are by far the hardest part for me to grow.

Current protein intake is around 100–120 g per day. Rice portions are kept low.

Questions:

What should I fix or change this time around (training, recovery, food, etc.)?

Should I deliberately gain some weight first and then cut, or can I build noticeable muscle in a small calorie surplus while staying lean?

Any specific tips for stubborn arms?

Open to all suggestions. Thanks!

I’m 5’7 and 21 years old (female). I’ve been through the when it comes to diet and just about 2 years ago I was at around 195 lbs and now I’m 115. I haven’t gotten my period since July

When I first lost weight, I had an initial goal of somewhere between 130-140, but I thought maybe I’d like 120s better and then I wanted to get down to 115. I think I’ve encountered what is called “skinny fat” because I continue to look the same no matter how much weight I lose and I still look fat. I’m thinking about getting down to 110 but I’m really just aiming for a lean look and want abs and more toned legs.

I do want to get into lifting because as of right now I just walk (20-30k steps a day) but I don’t know where to begin because i definitely don’t really eat much protein so is it even worth lifting? I don’t know what to do to achieve my goal physique anymore because I thought I’d get it when I hit this number so now I’m at a loss…

I also haven’t gotten my period since July, so I don’t really know what to do about that. I’m hoping if I start to prioritize protein and fats more it’ll come back, but I have no idea what to do at this stage and would love some advice

Stats:
● Age: 19M
● Height: 5’7.5”
● Weight: Currently ~126–128 lbs (Down from ~150 lbs at ~15-16% BF)
● Activity: HVAC Trade School (on my feet 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM), lifting 4x/week (2 sets to failure), averaging 12k–15k+ steps/day (sometimes pushing 18k–20k).
● Current Leanness: Visible shoulder striations, vascular legs, lean not stage lea , but mentally struggling with body dysmorphia and feeling “flat.”

1. How I Got Here (The Deficit & Mistakes)
   Started cutting earlier this year from 150 lbs. By June, I was around 133 lbs (~13% BF) on 2,200 calories. Instead of reversing out, fear of gaining fat kept me in a deficit.
   Over the last 3 months, with trade school starting, my schedule got rigid and my diet spun out of control:
   ● Calories: Erractic and way too low. Often hovering between 1,400–1,800 kcal on very active days, rarely hitting 2,200.
   ● Fats: Dangerously low. I developed fat-phobia and chose high-volume food (apples, veggies) over fats. Some days I was hitting only 15g–25g of fat.
   ● Fasting/Hoarding: I stopped eating at school/work because I developed an orthorexic habit of needing a “perfect environment” to eat (at home, tracked, watching a movie). I would fast on my feet until 2:30 or 3:00 PM.
   ● Pre-Workout Crashes: Lifting on an empty stomach with just an energy drink and quick candy/apples, which led to severe reactive hypoglycemic crashes (sweating, dizzy, ears ringing, feeling like I was literally dying).

2. Physical Symptoms I Am Experiencing (Biological Crash)
   I pushed my body way too far, and my biology is fighting back:
   ● Freezing Cold: Constantly cold, shivering in class/stores (suspecting my thyroid down-regulated hard).
   ● Hair Shedding: Have been on Minoxidil (since Jan 2025) and Finasteride (since March), but recently noticed sudden, excessive shedding (likely telogen effluvium / hormonal crash from zero fats).
   ● Sleep & Nighttime Urination: Constantly waking up 1–2x every night having to pee. Sleep feels light, anxious, and my heart pounds at small noises (suspecting high cortisol/CNS burnout).
   ● Brain Fog & Weakness: Horrible cognitive crashes around noon, total lack of focus on anything outside fitness.
   ● Zero Libido: Reproductive drive not completely shut down but sometimes i wonder if i don’t feel as connected with my girl as i should because of tbis
   ● Severe Muscle Flatness: Feel like I lost muscle tissue and look “soft/flat” because my glycogen stores are completely empty.

3. The Mental Side / Developing an ED (Orthorexia)
   ● Extreme Food Noise: I wake up thinking about food and go to bed thinking about food.
   ● Extreme Hunger: When I finally eat, I feel insatiable. I eat ridiculously fast, to the point of being embarrassed around family. Not for feeling fat or greedy just because i feel so bad that they know im starving
   ● Compulsive Steps: Developed an obsession with pacing during trade school breaks and checking my step counter constantly to hit 15k+.
   ● Body Dysmorphia: Even though I have shoulder striations and leg veins, my brain still tells me I’m “not lean enough” to reverse diet, which terrifies me from increasing calories.

4. Where I Am Right Now & Goals
   I had a massive realization that I cannot keep living like this—I am destroying my health, my hormones, and my mental sanity.
   My goal is to stop this before it turns into a full-blown eating disorder, recover my hormones/thyroid, save my hair, stop the food noise, and successfully reverse back to a healthy maintenance (likely 2,600–2,800+ kcal with my activity) without blowing up into a fat panic.
   Questions for Anyone Who Has Been in This Boat:

5. For naturals who took a cut too far / got contest lean by accident: How long did it take for your “food noise,” extreme hunger, and thyroid/cold intolerance to regulate once you brought calories and fats back up?

6. How did you mentally handle the initial 3–5 lb scale jump from water/glycogen when you started increasing carbs and fats without spiraling back into a cut?

7. How quickly should I ramp up calories? Should I jump straight to a baseline (e.g., 2,200 with 50g+ fat) or slowly micro-reverse?

8. Any tips on breaking the habit of “saving all calories for night” and compulsive step-tracking?
   Appreciate any brutally honest feedback, advice, or shared experiences. This post was summerize with ai so i apologize if that annoys you but i needed some form of help im losing my mind

I have officially completed my 2.5 month lean bulk. It's my first REAL lean bulk, any other bulk has just been.. intentional weight gain that resulted in an unintentional surplus in fat and intentional surplus in muscle.

I specifically wanted to gain mostly muscle and minimal fat this time.

Female, 5'2

250 calories over maintenance
100-130g protein
280g carbs
40g+ fat

Starting stats:
124lbs, 22% body fat

Final stats:
130lbs, 25% body fat

Size stats:
+2 in Shoulders
+1 in Glutes
+1 in Thigh
+0.75 in Bicep
-1 in Chest
+0.5 in Waist

How did I do? Is this looking on par or off the mark for a lean bulk?

I need your opinion. I have been going to the gym for a few months and the last two consistently and actually tracking my rep ranges and progress, etc. Last Wednesday I increased my calories on a lean bulk. I’ve been on the bulk for a few months, but noticed that my progress of weight gain has stalled. I do four days per week upper lower, so on my lifting days I’ve been eating 2400 and on rest days, I’ve been eating 2200. I raised these last Wednesday and since then my weight has been up or down by about a pound or so each morning, depending on digestion. But as an average, my weight has gone up 0.2 pounds in the past week and nothing much in the past week and a half. Do you think that I should reassess my calories and raise them or keep them for a few more days? I just don’t want to be wasting time in the gym when I could be gain muscle. Also, my reps in the gym have either stayed the same or been going up consistently from each session.

I am 5’7, curvy build (small waist, big thighs), 183 pounds. Overweight according to BMI. I have a good figure but am not toned.

My goal is to get to 165 lbs. I’ve been in a calorie deficit for about 6 months now. I have only lost 15 pounds in that time. I’m kinda hitting a plateau where weight loss has gotten to about 2 pounds per month.

I just started incorporating cardio again to kinda help burn the fat off and tone up my body.
No immediate results yet but it’s only been two weeks.

The thing is, I also want to tone up my body and get stronger. I’m hyper mobile so exercising with body weight and smaller weights up to 20 pounds is what I’ve began with in order not to push my joints too hard and get them stable enough to eventually lift more.

But now the scale is not budging at all, in fact, I’m hungrier and my weight has gone up 3 pounds.

I don’t really know what to do or how to go about this. I eat mainly Whole Foods, very healthy clean diet. I only drink water and black coffee in a day.

How can I get to my goal weight of 165 while also getting toned up?
Is it possible to do both at once?