My physique at various body fat %'s (32 / 5'4" / 127 lbs)

[teatimebabe28]

@trinity50

The switch from training purely for strength (and subscribing to the dogma of "ONLY LIFT BIG TO GET BIG") to a pure hypertrophy program was a welcome adjustment. It required me to leave my ego at the door (primarily working with 10RM weights), but yielded fantastic results that I either haven't seen on my body before or enhanced previous weak areas (much wider shoulders, I actually have pecs now, thighs and ass grew thicc, wider -shaped back).

I have found the same thing and wish I switched sooner. Not only because I grow like crazy, but I'm stronger too- stomping my old e1rm for a ton of reps. I bet you'll be hitting your old strength weights for a bunch of reps pretty quickly when you start squatting again. As well as pack on muscle, higher rep back squats are the bomb.

 

[trinity50]

@teatimebabe28 Right there with you — saw decent size gains training for strength, but increased volume through hypertrophy specific training was the game changer that made me look like I lift.

I moved recently and got a squat stand so I’m back to doing barbell work. Yesterday was the leg-focused day on RP and HOOOO! Pumps from high rep squats are unreal.

 

[tommy114]

@trinity50 Nice to see someone in their 30s doing the work, thanks for sharing!

 

[kalistos]

@trinity50 In 3 months you lost almost 5% of your body fat. That’s like competitive body builder status. Was it terrible?

 

[trinity50]

@kalistos BRUTAL. It was awesome at first because the results were quickly noticeable, pretty much by the week. Having that feedback (and external validation from friends) kept me going but I could tell I was running on fumes near the end.

Again, wouldn’t recommend unless contest prepping. And it probably felt worse from starting out lean in the first place. I’ve just never been shredded in my and wanted to check it off my list.

 

[aligirl1964]

@trinity50 I’m currently at 19.9 and look/weigh similar to your picture. It’s such a relief to see it in another person and not get caught up in the numbers/mental aspect of it. I’ve been really hard on myself and this gives me motivation to keep pushing. Thank you! You look great!

 

[matthew0101]

@trinity50 Depending on the Dexa system your scanned on; if feet position and legs are not positioned in same spot for the scans you will get skewed results for the "sum %". I noticed the toes pointed in on first scan but not on thr others could be a reasoning for % differences. Were you scanned on the same dexa table for all 4 test?

 

[trinity50]

@matthew0101 The very first scan was done in my hometown from a different company, where they (for some reason) strapped my ankles, hence the inverted feet position. The remaining three scans were all done where I live now by the same company. Every scan was done under the same conditions: first thing in the morning with only a cup of coffee ingested.

The tables have grid lines directly on them and the consultant ensures your body parts are aligned in the correct areas.

I was my heaviest and definitely my fattest in the first pic. Whether I was truly 27% or 25% or +/- x% doesn’t matter to me; I’m focused on relativity and trends.

 

[ferrarl]

@trinity50 Really interesting! Thank you

 

[tubarri]

@trinity50 This is so cool to see! Thanks for all the details.

 

[nadanothing]

@trinity50 Thank you for this post OP, I’ve been having a hard time in my area rn since ecq keeps happening and the gyms have been closing, so it got rather difficult for me to maintain whatever progress I gained. At least, this gives me comfort to know that progress is always progress and that slowly but surely I can get to this dream bod as well.

 

[nathanielrh]

@trinity50 Last pic is my body goals

 

[rocky24]

@trinity50 First of all, thank you SO MUCH for the visual representation of you at different BF%, seeing as this picture has been the only available one so far (ime). (Ofc, I hope for your privacy’s sake that it doesn’t go viral)

And also, fantastic write-up! Are you going to continue with RP’s program, or looking to switch to another that’s free, or paid?

 

[trinity50]

@rocky24 Thank you! And YES — I’ve only ever seen that picture as a body fat comparison for women. It’s all different women in photos that don’t even show their full physiques.

I’ve purchased RP’s Powerlifting template awhile back with the idea of switching over after a cycle or two on the Physique template, but just looking at it makes me feel like I will potentially lose my hypertrophy gains; the PL template is — as expected — more Squat / Bench / Deadlift focused. My strategy is to focus on gaining size first, then moving back to strength work (“bigger muscles = stronger muscles”).

Sure, I could throw in some accessory work, though I generally prefer following programs as-written. Juggernaut is often mentioned as a solid strength program, so that’s likely my next stop.

 

[dawn16]

@trinity50 Very interesting. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your fitness journey! You look great and extremely strong !

 

[calso]

@trinity50 What an excellent post! Thank you for the detail & attention. I love that there is so much here I can relate to. Gaining muscle has been the best thing I’ve done for myself & your 80/20 approach to diet & lifting is exactly the path I’ve chosen myself.

• Gaining even just a little bit more muscle can make a noticeable difference. Your body not only becomes more efficient at burning [stored] fat, but your relative body fat % may even decrease.

Also this! I weigh the most I’ve ever weighed as an adult (pregnancies aside) & I’m the leanest I’ve ever been. I truly feel muscle gain is the way.

We’re both about 8lbs away from hitting 100lbs lean mass & I’ll be so eager for an update when you get there, please. Congratulations on your progress!

 

[dawn16]

@trinity50 This is an excellent post. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[mdenic]

@trinity50 Very personal opinion, but you look sooo much better in the last picture, is gorgeous.

I know the previous one is an achievement and probably the ability to reach that feels like a badge of honor, but damn lady, you look great in the last pic!

 

[specialdsdaddy]

@trinity50 Your results are phenomenal. Can you share the name if the training program? I searched their website but didn’t find any results under “female physique template”.
I’m looking for a new program so keen to hear what you used!

 

[dynamitex]

@specialdsdaddy https://renaissanceperiodization.com/female-physique-training-templates

I've run 3 of their templates and absolutely recommend them. Although I always wait until they're on sale. But they are worth the money if you have enough experience to know you're going to stick with it.

https://renaissanceperiodization.com/rp-store?selected=training-templates-menu_store