r/NextGenMan

I’ve never really had an issue with the gym, but in the last days I’ve been struggling hard because my best friend/gym bro just moved to Argentina for a study abroad program.

I realized that having someone to push me was the only reason I stayed so consistent. Since he’s been gone, I’ve had to find ways to "simulate" having a gym bro. If your workout partner also decides to abandon you for latinas, here’s my blueprint for staying on track:

1. We aligned our workout days and times, so we call each other pre and post-workout just to check in and make sure we’re both hitting it.
2. We have a shared note on the phone where we log our split for the day or list the exercises we finished. It’s like a digital scoreboard.
3. When he’s too hungover or busy to motivate me (which is happening way more often now, lol), I replace him with daimon using it like a pocket PT. I asked to keep track of my workout progress and helps me to stay motivated.
4. We have a collaborative Spotify playlist where we add new tracks we discover during the week, so we can share the vibe.

It probably sounds a bit weird lol, but honestly, it’s working. Still miss the bro though ;(

I lost 26 kg (98 to 72 kg) in a year. The hardest part was staying disciplined since I live in company accommodation and don’t really have full control over what I eat most days. Had to rely on oats, whey, and whatever was available. Despite this, I stayed consistent with training and diet. Today I feel more confident, energetic, and disciplined compared to before. My next goal is achieve visible abs.

My workout split looks something like this:

Mon - Upper strength (bench press or incline bench 3-5×5, barbell rows 3-5×5, overhead press 3×6-8, pull ups, then finish with some tricep and bicep work)

Tue - Lower strength (Mostly back squats 3-5×5, Romanian deadlifts, split squats, calves, and core work)

Wed - Zone 2 + mobility (25-40 min easy cardio and 10-15 min hips/shoulders)

Thu - Upper hypertrophy (dumbbell press 3×8-12, lat pulldown 3×8–12, lateral raises/face pulls 3×12-15, cables/arms 2-3×12-15)

Fri - Lower hypertrophy (front squat or leg press 3×8-12, hamstring curl 3×10-12, walking lunges 2-3×12/leg, core 3×10-15)

Sat - Conditioning or sport (10×30s hard/90s easy or a long brisk walk)

Sun - Rest day/light cardio, I let my body fully recover before starting the next week.

In terms of what i eat:

Most of my diet ended up being a mix of whatever I could get from cafeteria meals when available, plus simple stuff like oats, whey protein and potatoes depending on what was served. I track my intake through Mena AI just by taking a photo of my meal and let it break down the ingredients, portions, and macros. I do cheat meals now and then but most of the time I completely avoid processed food and sugar. I change my normal cardio to HITT sessions to burn more calories to lose faster.

Just wanted to share my progress with you guys, because I'm really happy with the results I've achieved so far and honestly even shocked when I look at old pictures and see how much my body changed. It motivates me to keep pushing even harder to see how far I can go. Feel free to ask me anything, I will be reading y'all!

SUCCESS. This is the universal goal. It is a factor that is inherent in every man's endeavours, and, that leads to the achievement or otherwise of a person's or group's specific and unique goals and objectives. Failure to achieve it often leads to an abandonment of an activity being carried out. On the other hand, the achievement of success in the small or lower-level tasks often leads or generates a desire to move on to the next level. It creates a momentum within a person or a group of people.

I've been training on and off for a 5 years. I’ve made decent gains but i had uncle in the union physique/ any character in the sopranos physique. I’ve always wanted to be lean, but never really committed enough to get there, the exercise came as a way to simply be healthier and have some more muscle but never pushed through to actually get a physique of someone who actually goes to the gym, and not just strong chungus physique which I think is something a lot of us can relate to. I am doing my best to finally commit and not let go after a few weeks and this is my before/after of the last 5 months (never skipped a single day)

Training

Full body three times a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I stopped overcomplicating it and just followed Jeff Nippard's Full Body Program. I've been watching his videos for a while and it just made sense to actually run one of his programs instead of admitetly just hitting chest, squat and over head press 4 times a week. Every session hits everything, compounds first, accessories after. roughly an hour each.

Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are rest days. I used to feel guilty about rest days like I was falling behind, but lifting and training is something that should ideally give you energy for daily life not for training itself. It sucks walking around sore and tired all day, i felt like a penguin in a cast.

10k steps every day:

This one is a huge one that compounds with time, I just use the fitness app on the iphone to make sure im consistently hitting them. Plus I have two dogs and I started taking them on actual long walks instead of the lazy loop around the block I'd been doing for years. They are absolutely losing their minds with happiness every single day and I'm hitting my steps without it feeling like exercise at all. It's a win for me, a win for them, and honestly the walks have become the part of the day I look forward to most. If you have a dog and you're not using them as your accountability partner you are leaving so much on the table, because now they guilt trip me if we dont do the long walk. Not to mention the wonders it does to my mental health since I work from home all day.

Cutting alcohol:

I really love beer. A few on a Friday, a few on a Saturday, maybe a couple mid week if it had been a long day. It felt harmless in the moment because it kind of was, in the moment. The problem is it was never just the beer. It was the beer plus the late night disgusting burger that came with it plus the garbage sleep plus waking up the next day puffy and unmotivated and looking to order on uber eats something greasy to feel human again. Saturday I'll still have a drink or two if I'm out with friends and I'm not stressing about it. I think its important at least for me to not become black and white about my habits because having a couple beers with friends once a week is something that brings me so much joy, and idc if andrew huberman says beer is evil. Im not trying to be jocko willink that sounds like a horrible way to live life. Its not in my life goals to wake up at 2am and do push ups because I hate my dad ( i dont i love you dad).

Food:

I had never tracked my macros until now, I used to eat like a trucker, not really care about calorie count just making sure I get enough protein. I've always found calorie tracking tedious and this actually made it something I do without thinking. I'm now using Mena AI to track my calories you just take a picture of whatever you're eating and it breaks down the macros and tracks everything automatically, but you can use myfitnesspal or whatever one you prefer.
I also give myself one relaxed day a week, usually Saturday. Just a day where I'm allowed to enjoy myself a little. I'll eat out, have dessert, and let the weekend feel like a weekend.

Sleep:

Sleep is king, I mean it. Seven to eight hours, phone out of the room, same bedtime every night as close as I can manage.If you’re hitting the gym hard, and not sleeping enough you might as well start smoking because you wont last long. your body NEEDS to recover!!

Eight weeks in and the difference in how I look and feel compared to this time last year is day and night. Im much more athletic now

The balance is key, you don’t have to be jock wilink or David Goggins. Its ok to indulge in the things that bring you joy, (beer and pastries for me lol) they also feel infinitely better when you take care of yourself. The hardest thing for me was actually figuring out that balance and really not being hard on myself when I slipped and not throwing away all the progress because of an off day. Im not sure what the exact point of this post was, I just wanted to share a bit of my journey.