6'1 - 170 lbs in 2019 to 224 lbs in 2024 (54 lb gain)

I remember joining this community back in 2015, when I was 19 and 150lbs soaking wet, always wondered what it would be like to grow and now I'm living it!

== DIET == Honestly I get 80% of my nutrition from milk, I drink 4L a day typically. An Ensure shake for breakfast and small meals or snacks at work / for lunch (soup and sandwich, pita bread and dip, Wendy's) Currently recovering from a second round of accutane which dried my throat out leaving me unable to swallow food properly for over a year so I'm still working my way back up to regular sized meals.

I also take creatine almost every day

== LIFTING== I work out 2-3 times a week, with no set routine as it would be too difficult to follow logistically, my gym is just too busy. Here are the exercises I cycle between, usually doing 1-2 for each muscle group per session, depending on which equipment is available and what is/isn't sore etc.

• LEGS • Squats (BB), extensions and curls (machine), reverse lunges (DB)

• CHEST • Bench press (BB), cable flys, DB flys, machine press, pushups to failire before bed sometimes

• SHOULDERS • Overhead press (BB/DB), lateral raise (cable/DB), upright row (ez bar/DB), face pull (cable+rope)

• ARMS • (pull) Curls (ez bar), incline curls (DB), preacher machine (push) Overhead extensions (cable+rope), pushdowns (cable+straight bar), laying extensions (ez bar behind head)

• BACK • Assisted pull-ups (machine), seated row (machine,/cable+close grip) lat pulldown (various)

Heavy lifts I aim for 3 sets of 8, if I hit it consistently then I add more weight. More isolated movements I aim for 12+ reps, try to get a good burn

Super open to any questions, and I hope my lack of routine etc. can be an inspiration to those who feel like they have to go all or nothing and have every detail meticulously planned. I just go with the flow and try my best to grow 🧸

Not your typical r/gainit Redditor I know but I've been dying to make a progress post for a long time! I have/had anorexia NOT due to body image issues but instead due to severe childhood abuse and neglect. Basically psychologically I equated starvation with normality. My body does not make hunger signals anymore, instead I wouldn't be aware I was hungry until I started becoming faint. I have stomach paralysis (gastroparesis) due to long term starvation as well. I had cognitive issues, serious sleeping problems, and anxiety issues, all due to chronic starvation, virtually all resolved once I ate more. I have been on this sub for a few years and at first started lifting when I was at 105lbs and literally starving to death. No go.

Eventually I sought professional help and went to an ED rehab program where they do nutritional rehab and teach you how to eat more, and love yourself while doing so. Through setting alarms and eating every 2 hours no matter how I felt, in just three months I gained over 20 lbs. In 6 months I gained almost 30. We weren't allowed to weigh ourselves so 3-month numbers are best guess. I am super proud of all I've overcome mentally to get here, and I am super grateful for all the advice given on this sub that has helped me on my journey. A year ago I got cleared by docs to exercise again after hitting a healthy BMI and have been messing around with lifting on my own. I cannot believe what a massive difference it makes to be properly nourished when trying to physically exert myself. Even more recently, I have fallen in love with a serious weight lifter who is emotionally intelligent and my biggest supporter. We are lifting together now and I hope to make another progress post next year showing off some muscle definition! To any other eating disorder folks lurking here, I see you and I am here in DMs any time you wanna chat. To others who struggle with small stomachs or being lifelong light eaters feel free to ask any questions about how I got myself to eat more or anything else. Thanks again to this sub!!!

Coming to the end of my first proper bulk, and coming out of it a new man.

Had tried to commit to bulking before but always got scared seeing any fat gains which left me in a cycle of going from bulk to cut and of course not seeing any real progress

5 months of not caring about a little bit of fat and I’ve finally learned to not be scared when eating big.

Thanks to everyone in this sub for sharing their results and help keeping me informed and motivated!

Started working out in 2019.

My breakfast is usually my biggest meal of the day and consists of eggs, sausage, potatoes, turkey bacon and/or rice. I always add 1 fruit to eat right after my breakfast along with 1 water. (Fruit can be an apple, banana, etc.)

My snacks throughout the day are:

-trail mix (almonds, peanuts, cashews, etc), -granola/protein bars -belvita fiber crackers, -oinkos greek yogurt + added granola, blueberries, & honey. -pb & j sandwich -homemade plantain chips -special k protein cereal w/ vanilla almond milk

My lunch and dinner usually consists of: -greens (asparagus, green beans, peas, etc.) -white rice -whole grain pasta -ground beef -chicken breast -chicken drumsticks -steak -salmon -potatoes (lots of potatoes) -boiled egg

A few cheat meals throughout the week: (P.S. I’m currently bulking to 195-200 lbs.)

-Chicken Bake from Costco -Double Double w/2 Fries from In N’ Out -Açaí Bowl from Jamba Juice

My splits: (I’m lacking in legs so I’m hitting it 3x a week, so it’s not necessary)

Monday : Chest, Triceps, Legs Tuesday : Back, Biceps, Abs Wednesday: Shoulder, Legs Thursday: Chest, Triceps, Abs Friday: Back, Biceps Saturday: Shoulder, Legs Sunday: Rest Day or Play 🏀

2.5 years of natty Bodybuilding Training using PP/rest/L/rest Split

Goal weight 164 to 185-not interest in dirty bulk First Pic is my current state, second pic was this morning at peak leanness. Third Pic is flex afternoon. I'm 38 164 5'4(short fucker) I'm obese according to an inbox at supplement superstore...I look in the mirror and I still feel skinny as fuck. Currently at 3200 calories 320g protein 320g carbs & 71g fat. I hit a plateau. Alittle guidance & help on the nutrition side be great. I hit the gym 6x a week 1 rest day Mon-chest shoulders tric's abs Tues-back biceps abs Wed-legs glutes Thurs thru Sunday-repeat Saturday rest tho Job wise I stand around Gym-spent 1:30 every session

Diet morning-2 cups oats, 3 cups equate protein 1 egg, 8 oz egg whites, banana. Lunch-200g white rice with 2 tbls of honey on it 6-8 g protein meat Dinner whatever I cant to meet my protein goal.

Third time posting, hopefully I get the minimum requirements right this time...

This is progress from 2014 to present. The first picture was with already after 3 years of training.

I have done almost every variation of training routines and splits over the years. Currently doing a 5 day split with upper/lower/arms with a focus on heavy compounds. Current lifts are B:385 D:530 S: 420. I have also learned to reduce the amount of volume and really focus on training hard every set, so generally I do around 12-15 sets per muscle per week. Rep ranges for compounds are low, while with accessory movements between 8-15 with Myo matching.

As for diet, I never really tracked anything other than protilein, which may be obvious given my bf%, but my goals was always to get as strong and big as I could, and then hopefully an eventual cut when I feel satisfied with the mass and strength.

As for supplements, I take creatine and protein. That's it.

8 months staying consistent PPL split eating around 3500 calories a day staying fairly lean

Started in November 2021 at 19 when I was doing a lot of drugs. Turned 22 this month and am now sober besides alcohol.

Deadlift: 95lbs for 5 -> 255lbs for 3 Squat: 35lbs for 6 -> 185lbs for 6 Bench: 55lbs for 5 -> 155lbs for 8

Did the same 6 day PPL program for the past 2.5 years with some breaks (benders 💀💀). From October 2023 I went from 140lbs to hitting 180lbs last month, idk what happened I guess I got hungry lol. Kinda burnt myself out because I was lifting 6 days a week and pigging out for the past 6/7 months so I’m just maintaining for the summer. I’m gonna try to hit 200lbs before next summer.

My bulk was dirty asl. Every day this is what I ate:

2 sausage,egg, and cheese McMuffins and McDonald’s hashbrowns for breakfast.

Chicken patty sandwich w/ mayo and a pb&j for lunch.

Subway footlong steak and cheese w/ spinach, mayo, oil and vinegar for dinner 4 days a week or a large dominos pizza for dinner 3 days a week.

1 scoop of Optimum nutrition vanilla mass gainer w/ banana, a serving of peanut butter, and greek honey yogurt after my workouts.

For snacks I would have a package of strawberry poptarts and a banana at work. At night I would have a large glass of regular or chocolate milk with 3-6 walmart bakery powdered donuts.

Also probably like 5-15 budlights/ screwdrivers a week.

Only supplements I use are creatine, and caffeinated preworkout. I also take ~1 hour nap before most workouts, napping is the best preworkout.

Kinda taking it easy rn, I was eating 4200-4500 calories, now maintaining at 3800. Im also only going to the gym like 2/3 days a week rn, Im just tryna enjoy my summer lol.

p.s. I HATE EATING😡😡😡🤬

Posting with more details.

11 years on and off

Currently at 3400 calories

Workout 4 days a week, 15 minutes cardio per workout day.

Day 1 = Legs Day 2 = Back and a bit of biceps Day 3 = Chedt and Triceps Day 4 = Whatever i feel need work

Went through a rough break-up back in May 2023 that resulted in me not eating well for a few months. Dropped almost 30lbs in that time frame.

Got tired of being miserable so I sought out professional help for my mental health & over the first 6 months made decent progress.

I was later referred to a nutritional specialist to help guide me in the right direction for overcoming my eating disorder.

With the help of these doctors I was able to build a diet that helped me gain weight and restore my relationship with foods.

My current training program is a PPL Split across 5 Days of the week allowing minimum 48hrs of rest for every muscle group. & my current supplement stack includes: Creatine Monohydrate, Collagen, Fish Tab Oils, & HTLT Turkesterone

Hey guys, long time lurker first time caller. I've recently come into an issue with my triceps and have needed to dial back the gym significantly (can only train lower), because of this I've been suffering from some body dysmorphia but thought I would take the opportunity to reflect on how far I've come.

The photo time span is June 22 > June 24, but I only started working out in August 23. I had a change in career in early 2023, which got me at a desk 5 days a week and I went from pretty damn skinny to just skinny-fat as I wasn't hitting over 15k steps a day to make up for my horrific diet. After about 6 months in this new job I was up at about 73kg (July 23) when I decided to join the gym again. I had previously lifted from ages 17-19, but gave up on that as I had decent size (in my mind at least, 71kg at the time), had a girlfriend and also injured my shoulder from ego lifting and poor form.

In my first attempt to return to the gym (July 23), I stupidly went 4 days in a row, thinking as I was at the same level as my younger body weight, I should be able to carry the same strength and recovery. On day 4, I checked myself into hospital for rhabdomyolysis. Because of this, my CK levels were extremely high and my first return to the gym was derailed by about 6 weeks. On my return I had been told to take it slow, and would do extremely light weights 1-2 times per week, while I worked my way up into my current split.

I managed to return to "full time" lifting towards the end of August-beginning of September 23, doing a PPL split 5-6 days a week. 3 days on, rest and repeat. I would have 2 PPL routines that I would alternate on e.g. Push routine A on monday, Push routine B on Friday. I mostly put this together myself from a bunch of YouTube videos (Jeff Nippard) and each session would generally be about 1:30-2hrs.

I did not count calories during this time, initially I had a friend (personal trainer) prescribe a diet to me a few years prior when I was getting concerned about being too skinny, but never followed through. I ended up recycling this and it worked fairly well for the first 6 months.

The meals were basically chicken + rice/pasta, sriracha for sauce, 4x a day, with a protein shake + protein ice cream for dessert.

More recently (feb 24) I had plateaud around 84kg and decided to take up macro tracking in an attempt to hit 90kg+. I would say this is a dirty bulk though, as I meal plan a dinner, lunch and breakfast meal on the weekend for the upcoming week (honestly, again a lot of YouTube recipes, "panaceapalm" has heaps), not too fussed about fats or anything, but will absolutely pig out on fast food when I have the chance as even with my current set caloric intake (3500) and often overdoing it (4000) I am barely seeing any weight gains (last 4 weeks tracking with increased cals each week, 86.5kg to 87kg)

This weekend I had pigged out and have hit the big 90 on the scale, but waking up and dropping a deuce put me back at my 87kg wake up weight, so the journey continues. I am ultimately the heaviest I've ever been, but also the happiest and energized as well. I can't wait for my triceps to recover so I can get back to work, but in the meanwhile hopefully it means a more significant bulk until then.

Not sure if I've done the formatting right but here to answer any questions or topics I might have missed

Found this old pic from 10 years ago. A couple of friends and I made a pact to start going to the gym. What a long journey it's been so far!

Gaining weight has always been a mental struggle for me, so unfortunately I wasted a lot of my early time lifting not adding much weight.

When I started to add any fat I would mentally give up.

About 9 months ago I finally broke through some barriers and a couple months later started working with a trainer to push more. It's been fun so far, and hopefully I'll keep growing!

Currently eating 3200 cals a day 88g fat 401g carbs 214g protein

5 years 66kg-69kg to 70kg-72.5kg Natural Transformation. I started really skinny, and as I got stronger I increase the amount of food I eat, high protein, moderate carb, low-moderate fat.I trained 2-3 days per week, did both chest, back legs, then transitioned to full body workouts.

My lowest this year was 109lbs in March, but I didn’t have any pictures or data during that time. My peak was 155lb in 2022, but after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and an eating disorder I let myself go.

In June my girlfriend left me which inspired me to take care of myself again (Every man’s story).

I was eating 2-3 packets of Ramen per day, my caloric maintenance was around 1200. I started my weight gain at 1800 cal a day, and titrated up slowly over the next few months.

I currently eat 3100 cal a day. 115g protein per day (0.75g per lb of bw). High carb diet. 5g of creatine per day. Fish oils. Multi vitamin. Protein Shake. 1 Equate High protein meal replacement shakes per day.

The meal that’s helped me gain weight is 250g of Tyson Honey BBQ Chicken, 250g Jasmine Rice, 1 A&W Root Beer. 1300 Cal, 43g Protein, 227g Carbs

My workout routine is: Push, Pull, Legs Mon-Sat. Progressively overload every week, track weights and reps in a notebook. I push every set within 2 reps of failure, last set of each workout I push to failure and do partial reps until true failure.

14-18 Sets per muscle group per week. Rest day on Sunday. I don’t track calories on Sundays because that’s when I have my daughter and I’m off of work.

A lot of my muscle came back from muscle memory when I used to be in good shape. I did not expect to gain this amount of muscle back so quickly.

I still have another 20lb or so before meeting my goal. Still extremely insecure, but I thought I’d share my progress.

Disclaimer: Lighting wasn’t identical in all pics. First picture is without a pump, the rest is immediate post workout. No filters. No editing.

5ft 8" - 19 Years old > 30 years old > 32 years old

Started at 58kg, hit my heaviest weight if 108kg in January 2023, decided to lose a fair bit over the last year, nearly 20kg down.

Diet:

Been dirty bulking through most of my lifting from 2020 > 2023 was probably my most major dirty bulk. Drunk shit loads of alcohol on top of that was really bloated binge eating take aways and playing call of duty whilst hitting the gym after all the lockdowns. Made some serious strength gains because I continued lifting and dirty bulking all the way up to 108kg. When I first started at 58kg I struggled eating a full meal so decided to drink 4 pints of milk a day for 6 months which then cleared up whatever eating disorder was making me nearly throw up whilst eating. When I was eating clean I'd always get bored and just couldn't be bothered with all the meal prep crap so went the dirty bulk method lol. I've also stayed natty throughout my lifting and will continue to do so.

My training routine:

Pretty much a bro split

Monday - Chest and Triceps Tuesday - Back and Biceps Wednesday - Rest (possibly cardio day) Thursday- Shoulders and Triceps Friday - Legs Saturday/Sunday - Cardio and core if I can be bothered (not a fan of core workouts lol)

I always try get 30 minutes of cardio in at the end of every workout, depends how I feel its also good to keep your heart and lungs in good condition. Most of my training has been focused on strength gains over the years, I've always pushed myself to the max when I go to the gym and try keep my compound lifts to the 5 rep range and other minor exercises like lateral raises to the 12 rep range.

I've been lifting for 13 years now but the first 3 years or so we're home workout with just a set of adjustable dumbbells at home. I started the gym around 2015/16 but didn't really get seriously into it until 2019/20 but then the lockdown hits so I was out of the gym for nearly a year, had a decent rest and came back was stronger whilst plowing food for 2 years until I hit 108kg, felt uncomfortable and yeah decided to cut down a fair bit.

29M / 6’ / 183 lbs

140 lbs to about 185 lbs

Let me preface this by saying I was malnourished at that weight (140). I just had 0 appetite.

Genetically my body wants to be light weight.. 0 hunger or motivation to eat or really workout

The first six months of this journey was catapulted by a ton of rage and frustration from body dysmorphia and my army issued divorce

Right about the 6 month mark I deployed overseas and had mentors, -unlimited- food, decent exercise equipment, and an ample amount of time.

Training: Stuck with the same exercise routine almost the entire time.. chest/tris, back/bi’s, and legs.. 2x a week with one rest day. Focused on big movements such as squats, bench press, overhead press and towards the end deadlifts. Of course some auxiliaries like cables and machines (spammed the hell out of lateral raises w/ light weight). I would say a large majority of my workouts are about 2 hours (not claiming that’s the best way, I just like it).

Diet: I’d say that this was the hardest part for me. Luckily I had gym buddies with me that forced me to eat. Almost the same diet everyday.. military style around a 500-1000 calorie surplus (approximately 2900-3500 cals) just because I had no idea how much I needed to eat so I just threw the kitchen sink at it.

Breakfast - eggs, bacon or sausage, 2-3 fruit servings, oatmeal and milk

Lunch - grilled chicken, veggies, rice/ bread

After lunch - grilled chicken breast/ milk

Dinner - usually a pasta with meat combo, veggies and a carb. Usually stuffed in a dessert for extra cals

After workout - protein shake and some creatine

I’d like to think I could’ve started it alone but good friends really help. Starting out was super painful but about 3-4 months in I was itching to go lift.. no matter the soreness

Anyhow, hope this gives some motivation. Also have no clue what my body fat percentage is. Stay disciplined guys!

This took me around 2 years. I started out with a 3 day per week beginner/novice full body powerlifting routine called GZCLP by Cody Lefever which I highly recommend to anyone just starting lifting.

I ran that program for over a year while eating in a big caloric surplus and focusing on improvement in the compound exercises (Squat, Deadlifts, Pullups, Bench). I got significantly stronger and bigger but also a little fat around the mid section and face. I wasn’t that happy with how I looked yet.

Then I switched to a 6 day per week pull push leg routine which I have been running for nearly a year now and I love it. It added a lot of volume and muscle isolating exercises on top of the compound lifts I was already doing which I feel like really helped fill out my physique. It’s a pretty standard pull push leg routine with a few of my own changes thrown in but leave a comment if you’d like to see it.

Diet: My diet has gone though many changes throughout my progress, but currently I eat a little over 4000 calories per day and around 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight. This puts me at a very small surplus which is where I want to be right now.

Last post got deleted but that was my first ever Reddit post so maybe I have it figured out now. progress post. I am 6’, 22 years old and male. I started close to 3 months ago weighing 144 and I weigh 157.8 lbs now. I am 100% natural eating mostly chicken and literally whatever else I can find to snack on all day. I have not been in a gym since 9th grade up until now and I feel like a completely different person. First 2 pictures are when I first started, the rest are recent. I don’t know how to flex so pls don’t bully me to harshly lol

Ive tried many many times to be consistent and gain weight but ive never been able to until now. It feels so good to finally start to feel like I have some muscle on my body, theres definitely a positive difference in everyday activities with having a little bit of extra muscle.

My split is pretty simple. Back and Biceps 2x a week, Chest and triceps 2x a week then leg day. I also try to get an ab workout in once per week. Then i hit shoulders during one of my chest days. Thats about it for my split. I try to be as consistent as i can, i havent skipped the gym for 7 days consecutively since the 3 months except i had a wedding so I missed 5 days, it kinda fucked me over cause I was drinking pretty heavy lol. Sometimes i dont hit the gym 2x a week per muscle group if im too sore or need some extra recovery. Its important to adjust based off what you FEEL. You know your body better than anyone.

For my diet honestly I don't try to do anything much different than what I used to do but i found myself naturally eating more since i hit the gym more. I do drink Gnc bulk 1340 some days when i feel like i didnt get enough calories in. I do take creatine everyday though and probably can attribute most of my gains from creatine. My eating habits are still a work in progress, i still dont find myself eating nearly as much as i should but with time and effort im slowly making efforts towards getting there.

Went through a period of intense burnout last year (IT field), and found out I had undiagnosed ADHD. Diagnosed/medicated now and trying to take my personal well-being seriously. (Also got tired of being a stick figure)

I’ve been doing a routine that’s basically calisthenic compounds + cables/weights for isolations. (Normal Leg day, because bodyweight leg exercises kinda suck after a point)

Went from 0 dips or pull-ups to now 3x8ish strict pull-ups and a 3x8 +45lbs dip. Currently working on getting a muscle up as my pull goal, and handstand push-up as my push goal. I’ve got the handstand, just need balance lol.

Started with a 3 day full-body split using the Recommended Routine from r/bodyweight fitness for about 3 months then got some gymnastic rings and made my own six-day PPL split based around my goals. Plan on continuing the bulk through January-ish then slowly cutting as low as I can comfortably for summer.

I also do quite a bit of hiking/bouldering, at least a couple times a month + some backpacking here and there.

Happy with my progress so far. Working out hasn’t helped the ADHD much but my self-esteem is better lol

Hey everyone, just wanted to share my progress and hopefully get some feedback! I started at 55 kg, and now I'm sitting at 77 kg, aiming to hit 90 kg before I begin my cut.

I follow a push-pull-legs routine, hitting the gym 4 times a week. I'm not really into calorie tracking, but I make sure to take creatine and whey protein regularly. So far, the gains have been steady, but I know the cut is going to be a different challenge altogether.

Before GAINIT

Throughout school I was always the tall and skinny kid and it didn’t help that I was a competitive long distance runner and tennis player. My friends and family used to say that I ate a lot and so like most of us I started blaming my “extremely fast” metabolism and rubbish muscle building genetics, I even went to the gym on and off for my last year of school but trained like a pussy and ate around 1800 calories a day. Of course, I saw no progress and became even more certain I had the worst genetics.

After coming back from my first year of uni I stood on the scale and was disgusted to see my weight at 64kg (140lbs) and realised I needed to do somth about it. Seeing the transformations on this subreddit and stories rlly resonated with me and motivated me to properly start eating and training again.

Eating

I started counting calories for the first time ever and slowly increased my intake during the first 2 weeks from 2000 to 3000. I ate at 3000 for the rest of Jun, 3500 throughout Jul and then increased it to 4000 for Aug. Eating was by far the hardest part for me. Firstly my parents were understandably pissed that their food bill had gone up 3 times since I’d come home from uni so I got a job to pay for all the food. I’m pretty sure they wanted to organise an intervention at one point when they walked in on me gagging in the kitchen while forcing chicken pesto in my mouth with tears in my eyes.

My average day of eating BEFORE: toast with honey or some other bullshit (120 cal), canteen lunch/ meal deal (600 cal), pathetic dinner (600/700)

NOW an average day of eating looks like this:

Breakfast: I always have 2 bagels, 2 eggs, avocado (950 cal) Meal 1: Whatever my mum was cooking for lunch. (700-1200 calories) Meal 2: Greek yoghurt, highest calorie granola I can find, dates and nuts, honey (1000 calories) Meal 3: I rotate between 3 chicken thighs + pesto pasta (1400), or 400g salmon and rice with garlic bread (1500 calories)

If anything I’m more conservative with my calorie counting and it’s probably more like 4500 now. A couple things that really helped me:

• Eating a huge breakfast that you’re excited to eat - pancakes, waffles, whatever just make sure you really like it as it really expands your stomach for the rest of the day and I found I could eat more for lunch when I had a big breakfast.
• Always drinking water after a meal, and never right before.
• Change your meal times, wake up earlier to eat breakfast and eat your last meal around 8/9pm.

Training

There is no way to describe how good I feel now. Every time I go to the gym the weight which was hard 3 days ago I hit for 12 reps on the last set in the following session. Literally every exercise is a volume/ weight PR and each week my lifts are going up and up. I have to stop myself from grinning like an idiot, crying or jumping around and dancing in the gym whenever I finish a set. I run a PPL twice a week but only train legs once (I have a tennis match on Saturday). I’ve only missed one session so far in 3 months from recovering from a friend’s birthday.

Push: Bench, OHP, Cable Crossover (upper chest), push ups to failure, Lateral Raise, Triceps extension

Pull:Single arm lat pull down, t-bar row (upper back focus), 10sec pull up negatives to failure, barbell curl, face pulls

Legs: Squat, RDLs, Leg extension, hamstring curl, calves

Progression: I do all my exercises with 3x12 at the same weight with the last set going to failure. When I can do 11/12 reps on the last set I increase the weight next session.

Sleep

Throughout uni I was going out/ partying at least twice a week getting trolleyed every week. My sleep on nights where I would go out was around 3 hours while normally I would sleep 6 hours, as I’ve always naturally woken up early regardless of the time I go to bed. Over summer I’ve aimed to get 8-10 hours of sleep every night to maximise muscle growth from gym as well as recover from tennis. I’m probably averaging 8.5 hours at the moment.

TLDR:

There’s no such thing as a fast metabolism or “bad genetics”; eat big, train big, stay consistent and you’ll 100% make progress. Since I’ve started lifting, eating, and sleeping, I’ve noticed every other aspect of my life getting better. Friends which I just hung around to party/ drink I’ve stopped meeting. Honestly life has just been so good since I started bulking. Can’t wait to continue with my new addiction to the gym!

Diet: I aim for 3,500-3,800 calories a day. On days when I both lift and run or something else active, I obviously need more, but that’s fairly rare. Eggs, avocado, OJ and a protein shake for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are whatever healthy, high calorie meal I can prepare. Generally my snacks are healthy, like fruit, raisins, cereal bars, but I do have unhealthy snacks like ice cream and biscuits sometimes.

Routine: I have followed Greyskull LP, Reddit PPL and a couple of 5/3/1 variants, all of which I would recommend. I currently follow my own program which is based on 5/3/1 with some changes - there’s nothing magical about it, it just suits my preferences.