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

lorpro

New member
Hey everyone!

So I gave the Recommended Routine a spin for 3 months and I am here to report my results! I’m 6’0. I weighed 172lbs and had a 33inch waist at the start of the program. I had gained a little bit of winter padding so I wasn’t fat, just a bit soft.

I compiled the video footage and talk about my entire journey here:​



Final Strength tests start at 5:39

I’ll write it out for those of you who prefer reading:

My main goals were to (in order)

1) Trim the fat & regain my abs

2) Gain strength

I did so by eating at a 500 calorie deficit 5-6 days out of the week and eating at maintenance 1-2 days. It came out to around 2000 calories on my deficit days and ~2500 for maintenance.

I used the 0.8g of protein per pound rule, so I aimed to eat at least 137g of protein each day. Didn’t really track carbs and fats but I tried to keep it balanced.

I chose the following exercises for my progressions:

Pull Up: Weighted Pull Ups (Starting at 53lbs x 5 reps)

Squat: Pistol Squat (Starting at bodyweight x 5 reps)

Dip: Weighted Ring Dip (Starting at 44lbs x 5 reps)

Hinge: Barbell Hip Thrust (Starting at 135lbs x 8 reps)

Row: Tuck Front Lever (Starting at 20s)

Push Up: One Arm Push Up (Starting at 8 assisted reps each side)

Anti-Extension: Ab Wheel

Anti-Rotation: Pallof Press

Extension: Reverse Hyperextension

You might have noticed that I took a few creative liberties with the progressions (hip thrust and one arm push up). That’s because I’m not a beginner and I wanted to work on those exercises in particular.

I did the program as written for the first few weeks.

I quickly noticed that 90s was not enough for me to really push hard during the strength exercises. But I also noticed that increasing all the rest times to 3 minutes made the workout a little too long for my liking.

So I made some changes:

I would take 3 minute rests for the first strength pair. That way I would be fresh and really able to push the envelope. The 2nd and 3rd strength pairs I kept the 90s rest and did whatever I could with the energy I had left.

And because I would be fresh for the first pair, I made sure to rotate the exercises throughout the week so I was fresh for each of them once a week. Pull-ups/Squats on Monday. Dips/Hinge on Weds. Row/Push Up on Fri.

This change allowed me to gain a significant amount of strength. I was basically going up in weights or reps every week. It also made the workout not take as long as I was happy about that as well.

Unfortunately tho, I was still pretty tired by the time I got to the core triplet each workout and didn’t have much juice left. As a result of that, I pretty much just went through the motions and didn’t progress as much on those exercises. Oh well.

About 8 weeks in, I decided to do a check-in.

I noticed that I was 8lbs lighter at 164 and my waist went down to 31.5 inches. So I basically lost a pound a week during the first 2 months. I regained my abs and decided that was enough cutting so I brought my calories back up to maintenance levels for the final month of the program.

Eating at maintenance felt much better than being at a deficit. I was less tired during and after the workouts. I continued to make progress for the remainder of the program, hitting a PR pretty much every week.

My final strength tests were as follows:

Weighted Pull Up: 82.5lbs x 5 reps & 123lbs for 1 rep

Pistol: 35lb 1 rep max on the left, 53lb 1 rep max on the right

Weighted Ring Dip: 72.5lbs x 5 reps

Hip Thrust: 275 x 15 reps (could have gone more but didn’t really test it)

Front Lever: One Leg Front Lever x~10s

One Arm Push Up: 5 reps one arm push ups on the left. 1 rep one arm one leg push up on the left. 5 reps one arm one leg push-ups on the right.

Here are my before and after pics:


So there you have it! That was my journey on the RR!

What have your experiences been like on the program? I personally found it to be an excellent program.

My only critique is that it seems really high volume. I mean, there are 27 total sets! There is no way I would have been able to do that if I was an actual beginner and I struggled with the volume even as an intermediate.

Would love to hear your thoughts!
 
@promachos I’m 6’0. I’ve done a variety of strength training in the past. Dumbbells, barbells, bodyweight etc. but no strength sports (no so powerlifting, Olympic lifting, bodybuilding etc)
 
@lorpro Dude, this is so awesome and much needed! I won't be able to work out at a gym for a few months, and I was aiming to lose about 10-15 pounds. I'm at your starting weight and a similar build, so this is really inspiring.

How tall are you if you don't mind me asking?
 
@lorpro Great post and video my only suggestion for the video is the weird completely side face shots should be cut out in future videos. They seem like they’re added to make the video dynamic, but the lighting in those side shots blows out your entire face and just makes the shot awkward. You totally don’t need them as the rest of the video is shot well and has good content. Trust that your audience won’t get bored as your content is interesting enough.

If you really wanna emulate that style of shooting you’ll need to work on better lighting and the angle the shot is being shot at.
 
@lorpro Thanks for this, I’m at work so can’t give it my full attention right now, but I’ll certainly be returning to it. I’m almost exactly the same dimensions as you were at the start, v slightly heavier at 175lbs. Great progress, well done 👍🏻
 
@cbsmel Thanks for the support! Currently working on a rings program so I can build up that endurance. Would like to be able to chain moves together into a flow.
 
@dawn16 Thanks! Currently working on a rings program so I can build up that endurance. Would like to be able to chain moves together into a flow.

I would like to get a full front lever someday, but it's not a high priority. I'm also doing handstand practicing on the side when I have time so I can eventually do a freestanding handstand!
 
@lorpro Looks awesome! I've been looking for progression posts from people following the recommended routine! I started about 2-3 weeks ago although I am trying to gain weight and not lose any. I'm about 5"7 (I think? 178 cm) and about 125-130 lbs so I'm quite thin..

Since I am so thin already just the two weeks of working out is really showing and I'm really enjoying the progress however I also feel that I need to switch out some exercises but I'll do that once I progress a little further.

Today I did my first set of complete dips (3x6) after doing only negative dips, I also increased my pull-ups from 3x5 to 3x7 and I actually feel the difference in strength!

Thanks for inspiring me to continue working out! :)

Edit: I was 126 lbs when I started and I just weighed myself and it showed 135 so I've already gained 10 lbs!
 
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