[27M] I did the Recommended Routine for 3 months. Lost 8lbs. Regained my abs. Gained strength. Here is my post about the entire journey

@kevin9626 That's awesome! Congrats on your progress! And yeah, you can expect to gain a good amount of muscle during your first year! The Noob gains they call it!

@kevin9626 Hey, I have similare aspects and goals atm. Have you made any changes in the diet for gaining good muscles?

@missymckibben Yes, I try to eat as much as I possibly can and that's it haha. Every morning I drink a shake with:

1 banana

Oats

Blueberries & raspberries

One spoon of olive oil

One big spoon of peanut butter

Two spoons of Chia seeds

Sunflower seeds

400 ml Milk (3% fat)

I don't live on the US so I don't use cups etc but if you wanna know the exact amounts send me a PM! Also I will add Whey protein powder to the shake once I order some!

And on top of that I try to just eat a lot of rice, potatoes and pasta and I use extra olive oil for every meal I make and in-between meals I snack on peanut butter sandwiches and bananas!

And sometimes I buy like gainomax drinks with extra protein to drink post-workout, anything with a lot of protein!

I am a bit noob when it comes to working out/gaining weight so I might not be doing it the most optimal way but this works for me so I'ma stick with it! I'm not much of a breakfast guy which is why I prefer the shake because it's fast and tastes okay and I can drink it on my way to work!

Edit: I also want to add that you could probably drink two shakes a day or eat two big meals a day, the reason I don't is because I honestly can't afford it. Food here is quite expensive and especially nuts and fruits so I'm already pushing my monthly food budget just by buying bananas and sunflower seeds..

@kevin9626 Thanks for giving some insight on your diet. As you said, the budget can come in the way, so I am gonna have to eat some good cheap high protein stuff. It will definitely help me a lot in achieving my goals. And also good luck on achieving yours.

@missymckibben Yeah I try to combine high calorie + high protein food! Chia seeds are amazing, 16g protein and 490 calories per 100g, also you can make chia pudding which is also super good if you put some vanilla sugar in it! Good luck and thank you!

@kevin9626 I knew the benefits but never had Chia seeds maybe because it's not easily available here and it's price. I will try if I can include it.

@lorpro Congrats on your transformation! How long have you been doing bodyweight exercises before you started this journey? Your beginning numbers, specifically on weighted pullups and ring dips, are very impressive.

@pheonic I've been doing bodyweight exercises here and there for about 3 years I'd say, often in conjunction with weights and what not.

I've found that I have a pretty strong upper body and my shoulders can handle instability very well, hence the weighted ring dips. I think most people start strength training with barbells. I started with the rings & kettlebells so that's probably why my shoulder stability is above average.

@lorpro This is awesome. I’m curious though what the before and after pics are like when your not flexing. I’m trying to figure out how much of a difference I could expect, as I’m just starting to get into the RR.

@hookemhornz lol, they would most likely wouldn't look as good. Bad angles can really ruin it. It definitely looks better in person.

@lorpro I feel you on the high volume. Due to my level and equipment restrictions, my routine has multiple exercises that require separate left/right sets. I'm fine with being tired when nearing the end of a workout but I'm often frustrated it took so long too.

@thytotodile Yeah I'm very curious on what an actual beginner would say on the volume

@lorpro OP's so ripped he still looks shredded in bad lighting

@mandym Lol

@lorpro Can you talk about your diet? Sounds like you were pretty meticulous about calorie counting. This has always been a hurdle for me. Did you do anything to make calorie counting easier?

@durkon On days I didn't eat out, I basically ate almost the exact same thing every day. It's not sexy, but it gets the job done. I have found that eating the same meal makes calorie counting and meal prep much easier since you don't have to think about it

@lorpro What did you typically eat? I'm ok with eating the same thing over and over, but idk what that would look like for the week

@lorpro Also curious of how you chose your starting weights in your progression. It's entirely subjective, but did it feel like you were eeking out that last bit of performance where you started as like when you ended? Or where in the regiment, did you first encounter that harder wall? (it might have been the start, idk)

Your modified liberties taken with the routine suggests you already had the abs, and seems to conflate the routine with 'results' when a diet shift would have revealed them faster than the routine?

@estralam I based my starting weights on what I could do in the past. But I did make sure I started a little lighter to account for the shorter rest times.

The hardest wall was honestly the rest time, and I felt it immediately. I'm used to taking 3+ minutes for strength work.

Yeah, I probably could've gotten the results by just dieting. It's just that the exercises in this routine seemed to make them "prettier". But that's subjective so idk.

@lorpro It's certainly worth it to have your whole body look 'perky'.