Howdy there folks. Hope everyone is doing good! I found a picture of me all the way back in 2020 in the middle of COVID and after having lifted for six or so months.
I recently took a picture again with the same pose and… wow. It kind feels like I’ve made no progress. It makes me feel a little down, all things considered.
Here’s the pictures so you know what’s up.
https://imgur.com/a/a88T82B
First pic with the buzz cut is 11/19/20 and second pic is today 6/22/24. I’m about the same weight in each of the photos. I had bulked up to 160lbs about a year ago but due to money constraints and a battle with mental health I dropped all the way down to 132lbs. I’m now 142lbs again. 5’7” as well.
I’ve trained for strength primarily all my lifting career, but even then, my total is only 585lbs so it kinda feels like I’ve barely made any progress in terms of my lifting career.
Hope this doesn’t come off as whiny just, damn, you know?
hey, i think you should focus on eating much more calories to help muscle growth. you are quite slim and even a bit more fat wouldn‘t hurt. you will gain mass/strength easier
The fun and also annoying part about fitness is that it isn't linear. I've gotten into great shape only to lose it again due to poor diet and regimen currently working back towards the goal. However, what you have it the key ingredient. The discipline to be consistent through even through mental health down turns and other thing for 4 years thats impressive. Life's tough don't beat yourself up too much. Keep running Boring but Big and keep your protein up you'll see more results in no time.
Over the past two months, 5x5 Boring but Big and already starting to see the changes in strength and I’ve gained a few pounds since starting. Plan to continue out with it until I can’t no more.
Pic from when i turned 48 a few days ago. Been trying to loose bf for about 4 months,, goal was around 10-12% but didnt come down that low. Started at +20% so over all happy. Any comments or critique is appriciated. [48](https://imgur.com/a/i72TyQD)
22M, 194 cm, 91 kg
Been on a bit of an extended cut recently, starting to bulk up again a little, but pretty happy with the definition and size I’ve gained over the last year
https://imgur.com/a/FvWdUfa
Been cutting/recomp for around 6 months, 5 years lifting experience. Would like to coast at around 12 - 14% but not sure if I should bulk first?
I'm not a body builder but would like a well rounded physique so any advice on that appreciated as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BulkOrCut/s/sWZw7aARD0
28M, 189cm, 89kg
I've been on a cut for 4 weeks and lost 2kg. Plan to cut for another 4-5 weeks and drop the calorie deficit further.
Thoughts?
https://imgur.com/a/KA3YdMp
Traps look really large, seeing that bicep vein, some abs outline, I think you’re on a good path my guy, keep up the good work💪🏻💪🏻 if you want any critique at all I’d say try to beef up the chest/lats some more if you can, that’ll make your waistline look and feel even thinner. But you’re looking 🔥🔥🔥🔥 my guy
Thanks mate.
I agree with the critique particularly of chest. I always say God took my chest genetics away and whammed them all into traps.
After my cut I'm gonna spam cheat and hopefully see some growth
Showing off progress. Bulked from 101 to now 105 lbs about 17 months ago. Pre-bulking weight was 97 lbs.
5’2, 30s
[https://imgur.com/a/jMw4vwp](https://imgur.com/a/jMw4vwp)
Don't overthink it. You can definitely get more muscular and leaner (or as lean) at the same time from where you are. I would do a slight clean bulk. Train hard. Eat healthy and plenty to fuel the hard training and muscle gains. I don't think you will gain much fat this way but I can for sure say that your muscles will grow pretty well if you do progressive overload and eat a big mighty bowl of healthy foods every now and then.
Yeah I think thats what im going to do. To cut I was tracking calories and protien, I think to bulk I am just going to track protein and try to up it a bit to like 200g a day (I've been doing like 160-180).
Im gaining a lot of body fat, more than muscle because ive been having trouble with over eating. Im F/5’4/157 pounds. I go to the gym every day 6x a week. I do pull/push workouts.
Im lately more concerned with me being overweight in terms of body that, that I am considering stopping the gym for a week and fasting as much as I can.
How much muscle would I lose? Would it make a huge difference to my strength when I return to it? Controversial question i know…
Do not stop the gym and do not go crazy fasting. It will only make everything worse if not immediately then on a longer run. Keep training consistently, maybe drop the volume a bit down if you feel you cannot manage a stricter diet with so much training. 6 days a week is probably unnecessary. You can train 2-3 times a week but put more effort into those trainings. The diec will do the thing.
Be disciplined, cut all the crap from your diet, plan your meals, eat healthy lowish calories foods and give it time. Eat less but don't starve yourself. Be honest with yourself about how many calories you are eating and if it's going in the right direction for you. If yes, keep the course. If not, re-evaluate everything again, adjust the plan and keep going.
Be disciplined and dedicated but don't go too hard on yourself. You don't get any bonus points for suffering, only the caloric deficit counts.
Why would you stay out of the gym and fast for a week?
If you'd like to lose fat, track your calories. Calculate how much you need to eat to maintain, then eat a few hundred calories less than that. If you don't lose weight, drop the calories by 100 for a couple of weeks. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Did I mention you should track your calories?
Don't stop going to the gym. You need to keep on strength training so you DON'T lose muscle as you cut. It's not going to be a quick process—you should probably aim to only lose about one percent of your body weight per week to minimize muscle loss. But trying to do it fast and chewing up any muscle will mean you burn fewer calories at rest, so that'll be detrimental to your goals.
Slow and steady. Learn to be hungry and be okay with it. Learn to eat high-volume foods to stay full (air-popped popcorn; most veggies; some fruits). It's not a race to see who can get the thinnest the fastest. :)
Thanks. Really appreciate this and thanks for being kind. I already track my calories intensely and still overeat. My tdee is around 2300 calories based off what i do in my day to day. Tbh i tend to binge eat and im working on stopping completely. Its gotten way better than how it was 2 months ago
Try to meet your micronutrient needs and eat filling foods such as chicken and veggies to keep that hunger at bay.
When I’m trying to lose weight I do not keep high calorie dense foods at home.
I feel you, friend. I do the same thing when I'm hungry. One cup of popcorn can lead to eating the entire contents of my fridge!
But keep in mind that being so hungry you lose all willpower is what drives that powerful primal urge to eat, so our strategy should be to make sure the food we eat keeps us full(er). Cutting ain't never going to be fun, but with volume eating and making sure you get tons of protein in, hopefully it won't be too bad. You can do this!
I feel you, friend. I do the same thing when I'm hungry. One cup of popcorn can lead to eating the entire contents of my fridge!
But keep in mind that being so hungry you lose all willpower is what drives that powerful primal urge to eat, so our strategy should be to make sure the food we eat keeps us full(er). Cutting ain't never going to be fun, but with volume eating and making sure you get tons of protein in, hopefully it won't be too bad. You can do this!
Personally I'd keep bulking, but start to take it a bit slower. Like 1lb a week max to keep the fat gains to a minimum. It looks like you still have some beginner gains on the table, keep at it.
Overall I think you just need to add more muscle all around. But you have some good chest and arm size.
Shoulders could use some specialized attention, I'd suggest some side delt specific movements like lateral raises at least twice a week to make them pop out.
Maybe throw in some weighted ab movements if you want them to pop out as well. You're at a low enough body fat % where you could have visible abs if you add some size onto them.
Can't see your legs or back, are you happy with your progress on both?
M, 29, 6’0
Been working out from home gym consistently for the last 2 years.
I can definitely see progress but nothing too drastic. Been messing with my diet and have mostly gone high protein while keeping an eye on junk food. Tend to stick to a maintenance calorie goal. Not sure whether to bulk or cut down pretty drastically.
Any suggestions appreciated!
[last 2 years progress w/ scale weight, bmi, and est. body fat](https://imgur.com/a/cuMe5cr)
First of all I am pretty sure the bf estimation is considerably wrong. From the first to the last picture I would definitely say you went from 26% to around 21-22%. In my experience when you are around this bf percentage, weight can very misleading. You have definitely gained some muscle which makes you heavier and also lost some fat, as you see it’s kind of like both cancel each other out resulting in your weight barely changing. What I would recommend you is to prioritize muscle growth and stay in your maintenance. For that you should definitely go to a gym. Bigger muscles means a higher maintenance, with a higher maintenance, cutting will be way easier.
Thank you. This is something else I considered since I really doubt the step-on scale is too precise in calculating body fat. Do you recommend an actual gym for targeted workouts w/ machines? I've been running mostly compound exercises at home w/ free weights, squat rack, and adjustable dumbbells.
As for me it's about what kind of training sticks to you. If training at home works for you and you don't feel limited by your equipment then do it for sure! However, I would recommend exploring a gym and all the variety of equipment to gain that experience. Home gym is a bit of an advanced move for experienced people I think. It's when you train consistently and you know what works for you so you just want to save time/money on going to the gym.
I go regularly to the gym at the moment because it fits my schedule. In case it doesn't we have a barbell with enough plates and some other basic things at home. Tomorrow might actually do a home training because the day's schedule will be pretty tight.
Looks like you’ve lost about 2 pounds in 2 years while staying about the same body fat from the a starting point and now. This means you’ve built very little muscle and barely lost any weight. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a little progress but for 2 years, you’d expect more. You should dial in your diet and try and lose another 20-25 pounds before you go into another muscle building phase
Fair enough. I'd never done any sports or committed to anything "fitness" related even in my younger days. My lifts have grown quite substantially since I started and I feel much stronger, but aesthetically it's not too obvious in pics. I've gone on deficits before for months at a time and have gotten down to \~165lbs, but felt too weak and hungry at that point. I think jumping back on the deficit train and adding some kind of extra core workouts might be best for my goals.
Yep, that sounds good. My recommendation would be to try and get down to about 12% bf and start a bulk from there. But you’ve got some ways to go before you get there. It says 16% on your last picture but I believe you’re most definitely over 20% bf. That’s nothing to be mad about tho, just be consistent, track cals and you’re gonna get there
Thanks so much
>Adding size to your side delts
Working on it. Always been really thick (front to back) in the shoulders, but not wide...
>For aesthetics, losing weight would be the move.
Yeah, the plan was to be way leaner for the summer, not just for aesthetics, but also comfort (I hate being hot), but it wasn't meant to be (== I ate a lot of shit).
Howdy there folks. Hope everyone is doing good! I found a picture of me all the way back in 2020 in the middle of COVID and after having lifted for six or so months. I recently took a picture again with the same pose and… wow. It kind feels like I’ve made no progress. It makes me feel a little down, all things considered. Here’s the pictures so you know what’s up. https://imgur.com/a/a88T82B First pic with the buzz cut is 11/19/20 and second pic is today 6/22/24. I’m about the same weight in each of the photos. I had bulked up to 160lbs about a year ago but due to money constraints and a battle with mental health I dropped all the way down to 132lbs. I’m now 142lbs again. 5’7” as well. I’ve trained for strength primarily all my lifting career, but even then, my total is only 585lbs so it kinda feels like I’ve barely made any progress in terms of my lifting career. Hope this doesn’t come off as whiny just, damn, you know?
hey, i think you should focus on eating much more calories to help muscle growth. you are quite slim and even a bit more fat wouldn‘t hurt. you will gain mass/strength easier
The fun and also annoying part about fitness is that it isn't linear. I've gotten into great shape only to lose it again due to poor diet and regimen currently working back towards the goal. However, what you have it the key ingredient. The discipline to be consistent through even through mental health down turns and other thing for 4 years thats impressive. Life's tough don't beat yourself up too much. Keep running Boring but Big and keep your protein up you'll see more results in no time.
What sort of program have you been running?
Over the past two months, 5x5 Boring but Big and already starting to see the changes in strength and I’ve gained a few pounds since starting. Plan to continue out with it until I can’t no more.
The 531 programs have a good reputation for results. If you’re starting to see results that’s great.
Pic from when i turned 48 a few days ago. Been trying to loose bf for about 4 months,, goal was around 10-12% but didnt come down that low. Started at +20% so over all happy. Any comments or critique is appriciated. [48](https://imgur.com/a/i72TyQD)
wow looking sharp! keep up the good work man
22M, 194 cm, 91 kg Been on a bit of an extended cut recently, starting to bulk up again a little, but pretty happy with the definition and size I’ve gained over the last year https://imgur.com/a/FvWdUfa
Been cutting/recomp for around 6 months, 5 years lifting experience. Would like to coast at around 12 - 14% but not sure if I should bulk first? I'm not a body builder but would like a well rounded physique so any advice on that appreciated as well. https://www.reddit.com/r/BulkOrCut/s/sWZw7aARD0
28M, 189cm, 89kg I've been on a cut for 4 weeks and lost 2kg. Plan to cut for another 4-5 weeks and drop the calorie deficit further. Thoughts? https://imgur.com/a/KA3YdMp
Dang! Looking good my brother!
Traps look really large, seeing that bicep vein, some abs outline, I think you’re on a good path my guy, keep up the good work💪🏻💪🏻 if you want any critique at all I’d say try to beef up the chest/lats some more if you can, that’ll make your waistline look and feel even thinner. But you’re looking 🔥🔥🔥🔥 my guy
Thanks mate. I agree with the critique particularly of chest. I always say God took my chest genetics away and whammed them all into traps. After my cut I'm gonna spam cheat and hopefully see some growth
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Solid! What do you do for core work?
I don’t do any dedicated core workouts, but I do climb
abs look solid. good job
Showing off progress. Bulked from 101 to now 105 lbs about 17 months ago. Pre-bulking weight was 97 lbs. 5’2, 30s [https://imgur.com/a/jMw4vwp](https://imgur.com/a/jMw4vwp)
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Don't overthink it. You can definitely get more muscular and leaner (or as lean) at the same time from where you are. I would do a slight clean bulk. Train hard. Eat healthy and plenty to fuel the hard training and muscle gains. I don't think you will gain much fat this way but I can for sure say that your muscles will grow pretty well if you do progressive overload and eat a big mighty bowl of healthy foods every now and then.
Yeah I think thats what im going to do. To cut I was tracking calories and protien, I think to bulk I am just going to track protein and try to up it a bit to like 200g a day (I've been doing like 160-180).
Im gaining a lot of body fat, more than muscle because ive been having trouble with over eating. Im F/5’4/157 pounds. I go to the gym every day 6x a week. I do pull/push workouts. Im lately more concerned with me being overweight in terms of body that, that I am considering stopping the gym for a week and fasting as much as I can. How much muscle would I lose? Would it make a huge difference to my strength when I return to it? Controversial question i know…
Do not stop the gym and do not go crazy fasting. It will only make everything worse if not immediately then on a longer run. Keep training consistently, maybe drop the volume a bit down if you feel you cannot manage a stricter diet with so much training. 6 days a week is probably unnecessary. You can train 2-3 times a week but put more effort into those trainings. The diec will do the thing. Be disciplined, cut all the crap from your diet, plan your meals, eat healthy lowish calories foods and give it time. Eat less but don't starve yourself. Be honest with yourself about how many calories you are eating and if it's going in the right direction for you. If yes, keep the course. If not, re-evaluate everything again, adjust the plan and keep going. Be disciplined and dedicated but don't go too hard on yourself. You don't get any bonus points for suffering, only the caloric deficit counts.
Why would you stay out of the gym and fast for a week? If you'd like to lose fat, track your calories. Calculate how much you need to eat to maintain, then eat a few hundred calories less than that. If you don't lose weight, drop the calories by 100 for a couple of weeks. Lather, rinse, repeat. Did I mention you should track your calories? Don't stop going to the gym. You need to keep on strength training so you DON'T lose muscle as you cut. It's not going to be a quick process—you should probably aim to only lose about one percent of your body weight per week to minimize muscle loss. But trying to do it fast and chewing up any muscle will mean you burn fewer calories at rest, so that'll be detrimental to your goals. Slow and steady. Learn to be hungry and be okay with it. Learn to eat high-volume foods to stay full (air-popped popcorn; most veggies; some fruits). It's not a race to see who can get the thinnest the fastest. :)
Thanks. Really appreciate this and thanks for being kind. I already track my calories intensely and still overeat. My tdee is around 2300 calories based off what i do in my day to day. Tbh i tend to binge eat and im working on stopping completely. Its gotten way better than how it was 2 months ago
Try to meet your micronutrient needs and eat filling foods such as chicken and veggies to keep that hunger at bay. When I’m trying to lose weight I do not keep high calorie dense foods at home.
I feel you, friend. I do the same thing when I'm hungry. One cup of popcorn can lead to eating the entire contents of my fridge! But keep in mind that being so hungry you lose all willpower is what drives that powerful primal urge to eat, so our strategy should be to make sure the food we eat keeps us full(er). Cutting ain't never going to be fun, but with volume eating and making sure you get tons of protein in, hopefully it won't be too bad. You can do this!
I feel you, friend. I do the same thing when I'm hungry. One cup of popcorn can lead to eating the entire contents of my fridge! But keep in mind that being so hungry you lose all willpower is what drives that powerful primal urge to eat, so our strategy should be to make sure the food we eat keeps us full(er). Cutting ain't never going to be fun, but with volume eating and making sure you get tons of protein in, hopefully it won't be too bad. You can do this!
19M/195/6’2” [physique](https://imgur.com/a/IKH6g0b) should i start the cut? or bulk more?. i’m coming off a 50 pound bulk. i was underweight before
Personally I'd keep bulking, but start to take it a bit slower. Like 1lb a week max to keep the fat gains to a minimum. It looks like you still have some beginner gains on the table, keep at it.
if you don’t mind me asking, what do you think are some strong points/ weak points of my physique currently?
Overall I think you just need to add more muscle all around. But you have some good chest and arm size. Shoulders could use some specialized attention, I'd suggest some side delt specific movements like lateral raises at least twice a week to make them pop out. Maybe throw in some weighted ab movements if you want them to pop out as well. You're at a low enough body fat % where you could have visible abs if you add some size onto them. Can't see your legs or back, are you happy with your progress on both?
back absolutely. but i need to make my legs a little bigger
thanks for your input!
What are your goals?
and to just stay healthy
mainly just to have a bigger chest. get my shoulders more rounded and have a good physique naturally
You could do that by getting leaner. Smaller midsection will accentuate the rest. Or you can just keep on adding mass. How many calories you eating?
currently 3000 for maintenance. it keeps me at the same weight
M, 29, 6’0 Been working out from home gym consistently for the last 2 years. I can definitely see progress but nothing too drastic. Been messing with my diet and have mostly gone high protein while keeping an eye on junk food. Tend to stick to a maintenance calorie goal. Not sure whether to bulk or cut down pretty drastically. Any suggestions appreciated! [last 2 years progress w/ scale weight, bmi, and est. body fat](https://imgur.com/a/cuMe5cr)
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Agree and he can probably take advantage of a decent amount of early stage muscle building still. Good time to transition to a gym and program.
First of all I am pretty sure the bf estimation is considerably wrong. From the first to the last picture I would definitely say you went from 26% to around 21-22%. In my experience when you are around this bf percentage, weight can very misleading. You have definitely gained some muscle which makes you heavier and also lost some fat, as you see it’s kind of like both cancel each other out resulting in your weight barely changing. What I would recommend you is to prioritize muscle growth and stay in your maintenance. For that you should definitely go to a gym. Bigger muscles means a higher maintenance, with a higher maintenance, cutting will be way easier.
Thank you. This is something else I considered since I really doubt the step-on scale is too precise in calculating body fat. Do you recommend an actual gym for targeted workouts w/ machines? I've been running mostly compound exercises at home w/ free weights, squat rack, and adjustable dumbbells.
As for me it's about what kind of training sticks to you. If training at home works for you and you don't feel limited by your equipment then do it for sure! However, I would recommend exploring a gym and all the variety of equipment to gain that experience. Home gym is a bit of an advanced move for experienced people I think. It's when you train consistently and you know what works for you so you just want to save time/money on going to the gym. I go regularly to the gym at the moment because it fits my schedule. In case it doesn't we have a barbell with enough plates and some other basic things at home. Tomorrow might actually do a home training because the day's schedule will be pretty tight.
Looks like you’ve lost about 2 pounds in 2 years while staying about the same body fat from the a starting point and now. This means you’ve built very little muscle and barely lost any weight. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a little progress but for 2 years, you’d expect more. You should dial in your diet and try and lose another 20-25 pounds before you go into another muscle building phase
Fair enough. I'd never done any sports or committed to anything "fitness" related even in my younger days. My lifts have grown quite substantially since I started and I feel much stronger, but aesthetically it's not too obvious in pics. I've gone on deficits before for months at a time and have gotten down to \~165lbs, but felt too weak and hungry at that point. I think jumping back on the deficit train and adding some kind of extra core workouts might be best for my goals.
Yep, that sounds good. My recommendation would be to try and get down to about 12% bf and start a bulk from there. But you’ve got some ways to go before you get there. It says 16% on your last picture but I believe you’re most definitely over 20% bf. That’s nothing to be mad about tho, just be consistent, track cals and you’re gonna get there
33m/196/6'1" [Physique ](https://imgur.com/a/3dOlk9r). Not sure which direction to go
Without much context I'd say go heavy upper but keep it lean, you have solid shoulder and chest genetics.
Solid physique already, so do you wanna get bigger or leaner?
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Share your secrets
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Chin ups? Pull ups? Dips?
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Cool, thanks
Been feeling good recently, even though bodyfat is higher than I'd like. Any thoughts? [27m/180cm/~90kg+](https://imgur.com/a/OlX4MCS)
You’re a unit. Keep it up
Thanks bud
Nice, looking huge. I agree like a 10 lb cut would probably be good. Looking very powerful though.
Thanks. Yeah, I've been on a "quick 10lb cut" for like 8 months now.
Story of my life 🙃
I think you’re looking big as fuck my guy
Some years ago that would have been an insult, but now I'll gladly take it, thanks 😅
Impressive size. Adding size to your side delts would be a place for improvement. For aesthetics, losing weight would be the move.
Thanks so much >Adding size to your side delts Working on it. Always been really thick (front to back) in the shoulders, but not wide... >For aesthetics, losing weight would be the move. Yeah, the plan was to be way leaner for the summer, not just for aesthetics, but also comfort (I hate being hot), but it wasn't meant to be (== I ate a lot of shit).