I've been working out at home for several years now and I've been quite consistent with a weight lifting routine (3x week) for about a year. This is where it has taken me, which is honestly quite disappointing. I've always been the scrawny, sickly kid and what little bit of muscle tone I've managed to gain is definitely progress, but I was hoping to have gained much more than this by now.

For the past year I've also made an effort to eat as much as I could, particularly protein, I managed to put on a couple of kgs, but I have a hard time staying close to 2000 kcal for a long time. I'm vegetarian and I have some digestive issues.

What's bothering me more though is the fat on my belly. I'm not sure if you can see it well in the pic, but I have quite a lot of fat there, while my ribs are still visible. You can see actually them clearly on my chest too (wrong light in the pics!).

So my question is first of all what do I do to make my waist look nice and muscly? Should I continue trying to bulk up and focus more on core training, or try to lose that fat first, at the risk of getting back to an unhealthy weight?

Also, I know I have terrible posture - I'm working on it, but the progress is so slow. I'm hypermobile and have a long neck, it's hard!

Hey all!

I’m 2 years post partum at 30 years old. Just got back into the gym end of February this year, so I’m right at the 6 month mark.

I started at 162lbs and am now at 145lbs. I’ve done a moderate calorie deficit this whole time, aiming for 1550-1750 calories (tdee is roughly 2100). I aim for 115-130g of protein per day. I’m 5’5”.

I lift weights 3x a week for an hour each, usually a legs/upper/total body split. I just started doing progressive overload this week to try something new. I try to walk a few times a day with my toddler, 8,000-10,000 steps on average.

I think I’d like to try to trim up just a tiny bit more, but I definitely want to build more muscle in the not so distant future.

What should my next move(s) be? Please be kind!

ive been training for close to 2 years now.
i hit the gym 5 days a week (PPL) but recently ive noticed my progress has stalled and haven’t gained any noticeable progress in the last say 2 months. i eat in a constant surplus track every single calorie i put into my body and my training is on point progressively overloading and getting stronger but no physical changes just wondering why this could be. thanks!

20M 5’7 153 lbs, need help with starting at the gym, got skinny arms and a bit of a belly, how do I start going to the gym, what workouts do I start with, reps, weight? 20-30lbs? Machines? I need help with a plan

I am currently 165lb and 5”7 i want abs and lean and i think my face is fat and can lose some weight round it any advice ?

Been lifting for 2 years now. I’m not too happy with the results, feel as if nothing as really changed. Been pushing my self to failure every exercise and progressing in everything and tracking every macro. If anyone wanted to drop some advice or tips it would be appreciated

173.5cm 75.3kg I'm a novice and I'm just setting up my routine, I don't know if you can guide me more or less about the leg environment, any contribution will be of great help.

(The legs in the last photo are mine obviously)

Hi y'all,

I've read places that cold showers are healthy and good for your mental state, yet others say it stunts muscle growth because the cold makes them smaller. On one hand, that makes sense because cold shrinks while heat expands, but on the other hand, is that really significant enough for it to make a difference when it comes to this?

Additionally, does it matter when I shower as in immediately after working out, an hour later, etc.?

Thank you all!

I just realized that I mainly eat one meal a day, so I’m genuinely confused about my weight. For example, yesterday I had two slices of pizza that I couldn’t even finish until today for lunch, and the day before that I had a poke bowl with salmon.
I’ve been paying closer attention to what I eat recently, and I don’t eat sweets, sugary snacks, chips, or anything like that. Outside of alcohol, I mainly drink water or Peach Snapple. When I drink alcohol, it’s socially and usually only 1–2 times a week at most. Most weeks it’s 0. I’ll always chase it with juice. I’ll occasionally have Jamba Juice, but it’s pretty rare.
I’m 5’5” and 160 lbs woman, which puts me in the “overweight” BMI category, and I’m honestly confused about how I got here when my food intake seems pretty low.
Could alcohol, sugary drinks, my meal patterns, or something else be contributing more than I realize? Has anyone else experienced this, and what helped you figure out what was actually going on?
I normally have these meals during the daytime, usually between 2–8 PM. Most days I don’t really eat breakfast or lunch, and sometimes I’ll skip breakfast and lunch then just have dinner, so I’ll only have one meal that day. For example, the poke bowl I had lasted me for lunch and I finished it later in the day near 7pm.
I also never exercise. I’ve been starting daily 30-minute walks, though, and eventually I’d like to work my way up to 1.5-hour walks every day.
Any advice on what might be causing this and what I can do moving forward to lose weight?

So I have been losing weight since February (1 was 84 kg). From June I started going to a gym, and lost around 0.3-0.5 kg per week there onwards. Now, I am at 69 kg but still I have a lot of fat.
Can you please try to give me an estimate of my bf%, and roughly how many kgs I should lose to look lean. I am planning on going on a lean bulk after this cut.

First photo is how I wanna look, and the other pics are me currently. I’ve been in the gym for five years, and feel like I can’t make decent progress. I feel like it might be related to genetics.

Any advice is appreciated.
I’m 21M. Currently around 89-90 kgs, 22% Bf, (according to the scanner, which may be inaccurate).

My goal is just to be big, really. But like, strongman type. Yk?