r/leangains

I’ve heard different opinions on this question.

What do you guys think?

I understand the premise of double progression just fine. If my program states a rep range of 3x 8-12, once I am able to hit 12 reps for all three sets, I'm to add weight - easy day. Where I'm confused is when RPE is factored into the equation. I've read you can either start at the bottom of the rep range and progress the sets from there, or start at the top of the rep range, and neither of these makes any sense due to the RPE requirement.

Using the example programming is 3 sets of 8-12, with an RPE of 8-10:

If I pick a weight which allows me to get an honest 8 reps on my first set, my second and third sets will be lower than 8 reps, so that doesn't seem to work.

If I pick a weight which allows me to get an honest 12 reps my first set, then the following week if my second set is 12 reps, that must mean my first set was more than 12, so that doesn't seem to work.

How can I possibly find myself hitting 12 reps on all three sets at the prescribed intensity?

Hello! So, short background, I (26M) used to be a dedicated lifter and athlete in very good shape, had a TBI at the gym, and a TIA as a result, and my life got flipped upside down. I am finally able to retake my life. I am very overweight (started at 105KG/177cm, now 97Kg). I have had my Dexa scans done, and now I have lost a little of the weight I wanted to start lifting again but there is some serious mental block. Every time I want to go something about being there stops me and I can't get passed the anxiety associated with my accident.

To combat this, I bought myself a treadmill, bench and a dumbbell/Barbell set that id adjustable to a maximum weight of 40Kg. This is far, far lower than the weight I used to practice with. My question is, will this be enough to simply maintain what muscle I have left during this cut to avoid being "skinny fat"?? As my FFMI actually scores very well, with (according to my Dexa) well above average muscle left under all this fat, and I don't want to lose it all.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

im already very lean, like if I lost any more I’d be underweight. I’m just trying to gain some tone and muscle definition and lose some small remaining fat. Is it possible to see any difference in less than 2 months? For context

5 ft 7, 19F, around 115 lbs, trying to train 4-5 x per week

I'm 6'0", 152 lbs, and I lift 4 days a week for about an hour each workout. Does this macro split look good?

140g protein, 450g carbs, 60g fat (~2,900 calories).

Hi everyone, I recently started my fitness journey after years of on and off messing around the gym (wouldn't even count it as working out, to be honest).

For context, I'm 5'7", M20, and have a skinny-fat build. During the beginning of June, I started off at 155lbs and worked out x3/week (did PPL only once) before switching to ULUL. After upper body sessions, I do 30 minutes of Zone 2 cardio (walking at 13 incline at 3 speed for 30 minutes) about three times per week (with two of them being after training Upper).

As for macro tracking, I average around 140g to 160g protein per day, 130g carbs, and 50g to 70g of fat. My TDEE calculator initially told me that my maintenance was around 2000kcal (I have an otherwise sedentary lifestyle outside of the gym: regular desk job, little/no commute) which made sense. From there, I'm doing a 150 to 250 kcal deficit per day. I use Cronometer for tracking, and I'm an incredibly lazy chef: my entire diet is pretty much just whole foods that I cook and make myself at home (think eggs, whole wheat bread, brown rice, frozen veggies). If I can't track calories for it, I don't eat it. I sometimes grab takeout twice a week or have the occasional snack if offered, but it always stays within my budget for the deficit and I make sure to research and log it. I also make sure to stay hydrated, and drink around 3L of water per day.

In the month since I've started, I've started feeling much better. I'm making progress strength-wise at the gym (moving up 5lbs per workout, I'm keeping it simple for now) and follow the 3x8/10/12 scheme across all my workouts for the time being (I can provide the routine if needed, but didn't want to info dump too much!).

Visually, I've noticed my face lean out a little, waist tighten, core tighten, and it's harder to pinch fat (but it's still there). For Month 1, everything's going as expected.

The thing is... I've lost 15lbs in a month. I started off at 155lbs, and I while my diet did consist of purely high-sodium takeout on a daily basis prior to all this (college student activities), surely it can't ALL be water weight? I noticed a 10lb drop in the first week, which made sense. But between June 7 and June 30, I've consistently lost 2 to 3lbs per week. I don't notice any muscle loss or issues with strength at the gym, and I only weigh myself one a week every Sunday morning. I'm currently at 139.9lbs.

I'm worried I'll just end up even more skinny fat if I keep going on like this, but there's been literally no adverse effects on my life so far. While I was a little hungry during the deficit at first, my body's adjusted and I'm never really that hungry anymore.

What do you guys think? Is this something I should be concerned about?

Hi , i'm a 28 years old male , I work a full time job and run my own business, so my time is really full , I started working out 2 months ago and I can only free up time for 3 times a week , im doing an upper lower upper split and i'm seeing good results , I wanna ask can I keep this split going for a year or more and keep seeing result and if there's a better split i can incorporate in my busy schedule.

This is my first post here and I’d like to make it short and simple. I have been working out consistently for over 5 years, have taken two personal training lessons in the beginning month and ventured off by myself thereafter. I have gone through various, likely most, fitness and diet regimens out there and have learned to optimize my own schedule to fit my current lifestyle. Here are the main points I want to express to people jumping to different fitness plans:

- Nutrition is not the cure to losing weight, there is no need for calorie counting or meal prep
- Consistency and exercise intensity is the most important to building muscle, time in the gym is not
- Cardio is possibly the most important factor in overall physique and health

Now these are three main points I want to cover in areas related to nutrition, muscle building (training), and cardio.

You do not need to workout for 2 hours every day.

Be consistent, weight training should be 25-30 minutes of focused work, cardio should be 30-45 minutes. Be aware of what you eat but do not feel the need to eat perfectly, you will not get fat or gain too much weight due to cardio.

It’s not very difficult if you’re consistent.

(M19, 168cm, 64kg/141 lbs)

​I've been on a weight loss journey for the last 2 years and managed to go from 98kg/214 lbs down to 64kg/141 lbs. However, now I'm left feeling "skinny-fat." I still have a bit of fat around my abdominal area, but my arms are quite skinny.

​I was wondering how I could gain a bit of muscle while losing the remaining fat right now. Also, I have almost zero experience, so any advice on what I should do at the gym would be highly appreciated

Hi all,
I’m 79kg/36M/5ft10. Been lifting for years but have been coasting. About three months ago I thought I’d dial in again. Estimated my maintenance at 2500-2600 and initially set out eating at just below 2400. I’ve been progressing in the gym but the scales haven’t moved. I’ve dropped to below 2300 and the scales haven’t gone up. I’m currently 80kg. My issue is that my activity is fairly high but my days are sedentary. I’m therefore caught between being hungry and static. Has anyone else experienced this. I get that it’s CICO but I’m surely eating well below maintenance? My average resting cals are 1879 last month and my average exercise calories just under 700? How do I drop weight whilst eating enough to perform

I do 8-10k steps per day, 3-4 short Pilates workouts at home per week. My maintenance is about 1700-2000. Vegan. I aim for 80g protein but idk if it’s enough for the gains. I really want more muscle y’all

Update: I'll increase to 90g and see how I go :) thanks everyone. More comments are welcome!

Hi all M36/5ft10/79kg

I’m looking for advice from PTs or experienced lifters.

I’ve been struggling to cut from 79kg to 75-76 for around 6 weeks and am looking for some basic advice. Lifts have gone up but weight is stagnant and don’t feel any leaner.

Current routine: Gym Am 4 x P/P/L & Hypertrophy session and Run PM x 3. *whilst active, I work a desk job 5 days per week.

Current Macros: 2200-2300, approx 180P/50F/remainder Carbs.

If I was your client or even yourself, where would you do or advise me to do to hit my goal? I’m becoming so frustrated with everything.

Thanks

I’ve gained some good muscle but now want to get toned and planned on doing a 1-2 week aggressive cut ( around 1k kcal deficit per day).

I’m gonna keep strength training 4-5x a week and keep my protein intake high (2.0-2.5 g per pound).

Does anyone have any experience or advice?

Thanks in advance

i’m 17 5’6 160 lbs day 43 of my cut consistently 43 days of 20k+ steps 5-6 training till failure in the gym , 1600-1750 cal deficit , fruits, supplements, sun everything i should be doing. i’m not proud with the body i have now but i don’t feel like it’s working anymore ( weight stalled for 8 days 160.4) and i just don’t see any more progress especially love handles, lower belly fat , belly fat , abs not showing . i wanted to talk to somebody to get guidance.

I want to lean bulk without gaining much weight etc like every other person. Here’s something to note, I am 6,1 and weigh 70kg. I want to gain muscle and strength so I figure the lean bulk is my best option. I don’t think I have relatively high body fat percentage I am at probably around 19% body fat. My macros right now are 410g carbs, 75g of fat and 150g of protein a day. I am hitting my goal of 2,900 calories for the past 4 days. Do you think I am going in the right direction?

Note: is it bad if carbs are high, I prefer to use carbs as a way to get my intake in.

M29, 174cm height and 93kg weight.

4 days of strength training with 20 min cardio

8:30 am - protein shake+ 100g of cooked rice.

11:30 am - 1 whole egg, 1 egg white (boiled).

1:30 pm - 200g rice, some vegetable gravy, 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites.

4:00 pm - 1 whole egg, 1 egg white.

8:00pm - 200g rice, 140g curd, 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites, 15-20g spicy peanut powder.

Weekly 2 time 5km brisk walk after dinner.

After a whole month of doing this my weight was still 92+ kg

​

For the past several months I've maintained my weight while doing a very high amount of activity:

●~30,000 steps every day

○30–60 minutes of cardio 6 days/week

●Weight lifting 6 days/week

●108 Surya Namaskars on the 7th day instead of lifting

I'm currently on vacation and want to use this time to reduce my baseline activity because my current routine isn't very sustainable long term.

Time and working out on vacation isn't accessible anyways.

My plan is to stop the extra cardio. Do about 20 minutes of calisthenics each morning while averaging around 20,000 steps/day. I'm not looking to cut calories any further because I'm already eating a small amount to beging with.

My concern is whether dropping my activity this much will cause me to gain body fat, or whether my body will adapt over time if I keep my calorie intake the same. I know my weight might fluctuate from water and glycogen, but I'm specifically asking about fat gain.

Has anyone here gone from an extremely high activity level to a more reasonable one while maintaining their weight? How did it go, and is there anything I should watch out for?

i’ve been cutting for the past 4 weeks, eating at about a 1000 calorie deficit daily and it’s been super successful— down around 8-10lbs. for reference i’m at 180lb and trying to get down to 175lbs

today I completely lost control and ate what I’m estimating was around 7,500 calories in about a 2-hour window. It was my usual breakfast, then a ton of free food at the office including multiple chipotle bowls, multiple mediterranean plates, chips/guac, cookies.

i know one day doesn’t ruin a month of progress but im worried how much this will set me back

A few questions:

Is this kind of rebound binge after a long cut fairly common?

Would you go right back to your normal calories tomorrow, or would you do a lower-calorie/high-protein day before returning to the usual plan?

Any advice for getting mentally back on track instead of letting one bad day turn into a bad week?

I’ve been lean bulking since late March, I’m 6.2 and about 175 -180, I was originally 170. I’m eating 3500 calories a day and I’ve only gained 5-10 pounds. How? I’m hitting the gym as PPL and going 6 times a week ideally, but some weeks less (maybe 3-5) as I only really go when my gym bros go. Anyway, I’ve been finding it hard to bulk as 3500 of clean foods feels really crazy and i don’t know what to be eating. I’m trying to keep my fat under 110g a day, but it feels like it’s impossible to eat 3500 with only 110g of fat.

26F, 5’2/5’3 ish. Hard to get a consistent weight but around 56-58 kg. 23.5% body fat. I want to lose weight and gain muscle to make my face leaner specifically.

I was on a cut for a few months, 1300/1400 but it’s so hard now in the summer with my social life. I know when you build muscle, your maintenance goes up, I def have gained muscles, can see that with my biceps but how do I know what my maintenance is now? Or am I getting this wrong?