brinayesterday
New member
My 4-year bodybuilding journey (from 16 to 20 years old, 2016-2020)
Bit of background info:
- I’m 5 foot 7 (174cm), weighing at around 80kg as of now
- Currently studying medicine at uni in the UK
- Current physique at 20:
Since a young age, I have been heavily involved in sports such as basketball, track and field etc. I was always a skinny kid, but pretty athletic. I started going to boarding school in the UK at 13 and discovered rugby. Loved the sport, but again I was scrawny so kept getting smashed on the pitch lol. Around 14/15 I started doing bodyweight exercises but had no idea what I was doing.
2016:
It was the summer after I did my GCSEs (when I was 16) I was introduced into the gym. I was around 66kg. Fell in love with training instantly. Didn’t have a coach, I just looked on youtube. This was how I looked 2 months into training.
I started becoming obsessed with the gym and just wanted to get swole af. Had no knowledge about nutrition whatsoever, so I just ate as much as I can cuz “you gotta eat big to get big, bRo”. I was also taking every supplement imaginable (whey, casein, creatine, BCAAs, mass gainer, 2-3 scoops of preworkout for every session, etc). Training was fun and I fucking loved it but looking back it was far from optimal. I ran the classic bro split for a few months, then went on bodybuilding.com/muscle and fitness and just chose random programs (I remember using Jim Stoppani’s, Kris Gethin, Mike o Hearn, etc). Even though I followed the overall structure of each program, exercise selection was up to how I felt everyday. I trained to failure nearly every set, lifted heavy compounds, had shitty form but I was so consumed by my ego cuz I was getting compliments by my friends about how quickly I progressed. (big mistake).
Physique in December 2016: https://imgur.com/a/l4HywIq
2017:
By June 2017 I already had 1 year of training under my belt. Was still dirty-bulking like mad in a massive caloric surplus. I also started becoming obsessed with numbers, particularly my bench. I was following Mike o Hearn and Russwole and they kept preaching about powerbuilding. I then started benching 3 times a week, hoping to bench 2 plates asap. Finally did 100kg for 1 rep in April 2017 (I was 17) and needless to say I was gassed. I was one of the guys who benched the most in my high school rugby team and this just tickled my ego even more. I was also rapidly gaining size, I remember weighing at 85kg in May 2017 (that’s a 19kg gain since May 2016).
Some of my ego-lifting clips here:
Rugby season would also start in September 2017 so I wanted to get as big and strong as I possibly could. (I played loosehead prop btw) Over the summer from June to September I was back at home in Hong Kong and joined a local gym. Trained every day, ate everything, watched tons of Ronnie Coleman. I then hit a 110kg bench in August too. Went back to school in September weighing at 90kg. https://imgur.com/a/2tHtbrp
Throughout the rugby season from September to December I was playing for the school’s 1st XV, and I was heavily involved. We had 3 training sessions weekly plus a game every Saturday. I still tried to keep up with the gym and lifted 3 times per week. But due to the vast amount of cardio I was doing in rugby I started to lose weight unexpectedly. At the December, after rugby season was over, I was around 86kg.
2018:
This is when I did my first ever cut, after that 18-month perma-bulk I did.
Since it was my last year in school, me and the lads planned to go to Magaluf after we’ve done our A-levels. Obviously had to look shredded for the lads trip so I had to lose the fluff and get lean.
Had no knowledge about how to cut other than you need to be in a caloric deficit and keep eating a high protein diet. From Jan 2018 I cut right to July 2018 and weighed at 75kg then. I lost 15kg over 6 months. Training was still the same, I trained like a cunt, lifted heavy, shitty form, you get the gist. I did get lean but imo I was quite skinny.
We went for a week in Magaluf and it’s safe to say that I experienced a massive rebound. Went out every night drinking and partying, going to Maccies after every night out, ate like shit for a whole week. Gained around 3kg in that week.
This summer from July to September was the most time I’ve had in my life since I’ve done my A-levels and was just waiting on my results in mid-August to determine if I got into Medicine or not. I trained literally everyday this summer and reverted back to my bro-split. I started gaining some knowledge about diet and wanted to lean-bulk up over the Summer.
INJURY
Since Jan 2018 I have been experiencing pains in my left shoulder. It started off as barely noticeable pain but by September 2018 it was so bad I went to the doctor and got an MRI. Turns out I tore my labrum, had tendinitis in my supraspinatus and subscapularis tendons, and post-traumatic arthtritis in my AC joint. This was a combination of both overtraining and rugby.
I also found out that I fucked up my A-levels and I didn’t get into medicine. I then decided to take a year out to re-apply for medicine and re-do my A-levels.
From September to December 2018 I barely trained at all. I lost most of my motivation for the gym. But I also started following people like Jeff Nippard, Eric Helms and I also discovered evidence-based training. With my time out the gym I read shittons and researched a lot to learn about proper training, periodization and diet. I read muscle and strength pyramid training and nutrition by Eric Helms, Layne Norton’s books, Brad Schoenfelds, followed people like Jeff Nippard, the 3dmj crew, RP guys (Mike Israetel, Jared Feather), Eugene teo, etc.
2019:
I also realized my leg training was shit before my shoulder injury. Since I was still recovering from my injury, I decided to focus all my effort into my legs. I trained twice per week, ranged around 16-22 sets of weekly volume. I had a lot more knowledge about training at this point, and from Jan to June 2016 I hit legs consistently. I still ate in a caloric surplus as I wanted to preserve as much muscle in my upper body as possible and wanted to get my legs bigger. My shoulder was healing but it was healing very slowly. I also gained a lot of fat in my upper body and I also lost muscle. https://imgur.com/a/sGlesGY
I re-took my A-levels in June 2019 and my shoulder has also recovered to about 90% at that point. I was weighing at around 78kg, but with a lot of fat and obviously small upper body.
I wanted to train upper body again but I knew my form was shit so I got a coach in Hong Kong. He wrote me a program, proper diet and corrected a lot of my form. I then went on a body recomp- was very strict with my diet. Ate at maintenance calories, didn’t cheat at all. I was running a upper-lower split, training at 4 days a week. Sleep was on point, and I took my recovery seriously. This lasted till the start of September and in those 2 months I dropped 4kg but I looked much better. Muscle memory worked wonders and my gainz were coming back. 2 weeks into restarting proper training: https://imgur.com/a/E6ASpfP
At this point my mindset has completely changed. I didn’t care about the weight lifted at all. It was now all about execution, internal intent, proper form and ROM, etc.
In August I also got the brilliant news that I did well in my A levels and successfully got into Medicine!!
By September 2019 I was in uni and started lean bulking up until now.
Sept 2019 physique: https://imgur.com/a/QS0aI3u
2020:
I was lean bulking, didn’t track my calories too much (IIFYM) and I still went out every weekend in uni. Thankfully, I was already more conscious about my diet so I didn’t drink much on nights out. Since September 2019 I’ve been running a push-pull-legs program, training 6 days a week. Training was much better, I focused on form and execution. I massed from September 2019 to May 2020, with 2 minicuts in between.
Lean bulking in uni: https://imgur.com/a/S9a4n2B
I am now back in Hong Kong and currently cutting. Luckily gyms in Hong Kong are open and I’m still able to train properly. Hope you enjoyed my transformation!!
I’m far from my ideal physique but trust the process!
People I think give out brilliant information: Jeff Nippard, Joe Delaney, Matt Ogus, 3dmj, RP, revive stronger, eugene teo.
My Instagram is @trevortam_ , if you got any questions feel free to hit me up!
This is my first ever reddit post! Thanks for the support
Bit of background info:
- I’m 5 foot 7 (174cm), weighing at around 80kg as of now
- Currently studying medicine at uni in the UK
- Current physique at 20:
Since a young age, I have been heavily involved in sports such as basketball, track and field etc. I was always a skinny kid, but pretty athletic. I started going to boarding school in the UK at 13 and discovered rugby. Loved the sport, but again I was scrawny so kept getting smashed on the pitch lol. Around 14/15 I started doing bodyweight exercises but had no idea what I was doing.
2016:
It was the summer after I did my GCSEs (when I was 16) I was introduced into the gym. I was around 66kg. Fell in love with training instantly. Didn’t have a coach, I just looked on youtube. This was how I looked 2 months into training.
I started becoming obsessed with the gym and just wanted to get swole af. Had no knowledge about nutrition whatsoever, so I just ate as much as I can cuz “you gotta eat big to get big, bRo”. I was also taking every supplement imaginable (whey, casein, creatine, BCAAs, mass gainer, 2-3 scoops of preworkout for every session, etc). Training was fun and I fucking loved it but looking back it was far from optimal. I ran the classic bro split for a few months, then went on bodybuilding.com/muscle and fitness and just chose random programs (I remember using Jim Stoppani’s, Kris Gethin, Mike o Hearn, etc). Even though I followed the overall structure of each program, exercise selection was up to how I felt everyday. I trained to failure nearly every set, lifted heavy compounds, had shitty form but I was so consumed by my ego cuz I was getting compliments by my friends about how quickly I progressed. (big mistake).
Physique in December 2016: https://imgur.com/a/l4HywIq
2017:
By June 2017 I already had 1 year of training under my belt. Was still dirty-bulking like mad in a massive caloric surplus. I also started becoming obsessed with numbers, particularly my bench. I was following Mike o Hearn and Russwole and they kept preaching about powerbuilding. I then started benching 3 times a week, hoping to bench 2 plates asap. Finally did 100kg for 1 rep in April 2017 (I was 17) and needless to say I was gassed. I was one of the guys who benched the most in my high school rugby team and this just tickled my ego even more. I was also rapidly gaining size, I remember weighing at 85kg in May 2017 (that’s a 19kg gain since May 2016).
Some of my ego-lifting clips here:
Rugby season would also start in September 2017 so I wanted to get as big and strong as I possibly could. (I played loosehead prop btw) Over the summer from June to September I was back at home in Hong Kong and joined a local gym. Trained every day, ate everything, watched tons of Ronnie Coleman. I then hit a 110kg bench in August too. Went back to school in September weighing at 90kg. https://imgur.com/a/2tHtbrp
Throughout the rugby season from September to December I was playing for the school’s 1st XV, and I was heavily involved. We had 3 training sessions weekly plus a game every Saturday. I still tried to keep up with the gym and lifted 3 times per week. But due to the vast amount of cardio I was doing in rugby I started to lose weight unexpectedly. At the December, after rugby season was over, I was around 86kg.
2018:
This is when I did my first ever cut, after that 18-month perma-bulk I did.
Since it was my last year in school, me and the lads planned to go to Magaluf after we’ve done our A-levels. Obviously had to look shredded for the lads trip so I had to lose the fluff and get lean.
Had no knowledge about how to cut other than you need to be in a caloric deficit and keep eating a high protein diet. From Jan 2018 I cut right to July 2018 and weighed at 75kg then. I lost 15kg over 6 months. Training was still the same, I trained like a cunt, lifted heavy, shitty form, you get the gist. I did get lean but imo I was quite skinny.
We went for a week in Magaluf and it’s safe to say that I experienced a massive rebound. Went out every night drinking and partying, going to Maccies after every night out, ate like shit for a whole week. Gained around 3kg in that week.
This summer from July to September was the most time I’ve had in my life since I’ve done my A-levels and was just waiting on my results in mid-August to determine if I got into Medicine or not. I trained literally everyday this summer and reverted back to my bro-split. I started gaining some knowledge about diet and wanted to lean-bulk up over the Summer.
INJURY
Since Jan 2018 I have been experiencing pains in my left shoulder. It started off as barely noticeable pain but by September 2018 it was so bad I went to the doctor and got an MRI. Turns out I tore my labrum, had tendinitis in my supraspinatus and subscapularis tendons, and post-traumatic arthtritis in my AC joint. This was a combination of both overtraining and rugby.
I also found out that I fucked up my A-levels and I didn’t get into medicine. I then decided to take a year out to re-apply for medicine and re-do my A-levels.
From September to December 2018 I barely trained at all. I lost most of my motivation for the gym. But I also started following people like Jeff Nippard, Eric Helms and I also discovered evidence-based training. With my time out the gym I read shittons and researched a lot to learn about proper training, periodization and diet. I read muscle and strength pyramid training and nutrition by Eric Helms, Layne Norton’s books, Brad Schoenfelds, followed people like Jeff Nippard, the 3dmj crew, RP guys (Mike Israetel, Jared Feather), Eugene teo, etc.
2019:
I also realized my leg training was shit before my shoulder injury. Since I was still recovering from my injury, I decided to focus all my effort into my legs. I trained twice per week, ranged around 16-22 sets of weekly volume. I had a lot more knowledge about training at this point, and from Jan to June 2016 I hit legs consistently. I still ate in a caloric surplus as I wanted to preserve as much muscle in my upper body as possible and wanted to get my legs bigger. My shoulder was healing but it was healing very slowly. I also gained a lot of fat in my upper body and I also lost muscle. https://imgur.com/a/sGlesGY
I re-took my A-levels in June 2019 and my shoulder has also recovered to about 90% at that point. I was weighing at around 78kg, but with a lot of fat and obviously small upper body.
I wanted to train upper body again but I knew my form was shit so I got a coach in Hong Kong. He wrote me a program, proper diet and corrected a lot of my form. I then went on a body recomp- was very strict with my diet. Ate at maintenance calories, didn’t cheat at all. I was running a upper-lower split, training at 4 days a week. Sleep was on point, and I took my recovery seriously. This lasted till the start of September and in those 2 months I dropped 4kg but I looked much better. Muscle memory worked wonders and my gainz were coming back. 2 weeks into restarting proper training: https://imgur.com/a/E6ASpfP
At this point my mindset has completely changed. I didn’t care about the weight lifted at all. It was now all about execution, internal intent, proper form and ROM, etc.
In August I also got the brilliant news that I did well in my A levels and successfully got into Medicine!!
By September 2019 I was in uni and started lean bulking up until now.
Sept 2019 physique: https://imgur.com/a/QS0aI3u
2020:
I was lean bulking, didn’t track my calories too much (IIFYM) and I still went out every weekend in uni. Thankfully, I was already more conscious about my diet so I didn’t drink much on nights out. Since September 2019 I’ve been running a push-pull-legs program, training 6 days a week. Training was much better, I focused on form and execution. I massed from September 2019 to May 2020, with 2 minicuts in between.
Lean bulking in uni: https://imgur.com/a/S9a4n2B
I am now back in Hong Kong and currently cutting. Luckily gyms in Hong Kong are open and I’m still able to train properly. Hope you enjoyed my transformation!!
I’m far from my ideal physique but trust the process!
People I think give out brilliant information: Jeff Nippard, Joe Delaney, Matt Ogus, 3dmj, RP, revive stronger, eugene teo.
My Instagram is @trevortam_ , if you got any questions feel free to hit me up!
This is my first ever reddit post! Thanks for the support