Firstly I would like to thank everyone on r/fitness for all their advice & motivation, you guys are awesome! It’s been a massive help & really helped me in my journey. Although this is 5 year progress I didn't start lifting & taking fitness seriously until the beginning of 2017 when I stumbled across r/fitness.

Although I have a long way to go I feel that at almost 40 I am in better shape now then I was back in my 20's!

Background

I Separated from my ex in 2013. Weighed 195lb, smoked & drank way too much. Office job & very unfit. Decided I needed to make a change. Initially started doing the Insanity workouts in my living room then progressed to cycling. Started with a low carb diet then just simply watching what I was eating. From 2013 to 2016 I was yo-yo dieting & hovered around 152lb until I finally quit drinking & started counting calories seriously. Dropped to a very low weight of 118lb by the end of 2016. I eventually joined a gym at the end of 2016. Started to lift free weights in February 2017.

Lift Progress 5RM

Exercises

Squat - Really found this exercise hard to master. Started with low bar, then high bar & now back to low bar.

Bench Press - This was probably one of the easiest exercise to learn.

Deadlift - Another tricky exercise to learn. Had some real problems keeping my lower back from rounding. I have swapped to trap bar deadlifts recently as I find it easier on my back.

Overhead Press - I tried progressing on this lift too quick when I started & ended up hurting my shoulder. I swapped for seated smith OHP a while back & find it a lot more easy on my shoulders.

Other exercises -

Stats and Pictures

Comparison pic: Comparison Pic

Training

2013 to 2016 - Insanity DVD & cycling

2017 to 2018 - Started following a 3 day full body routine called Fierce 5. After around 3 months I wanted to get into the gym more so I switched to the PHAT routine which I absolutely loved. Followed this for 6 months & I shoved loads of food down my throat. I basically dirty bulked until I realised I had put on a massive amount of fat on. From April 2018 I switched to the Reddit PPL which can be found in the side bar & it's a fantastic routine. I followed this throughout my cut. My lifts dropped a bit which I expected on a cut. But, relative to my current bodyweight my lifts have not suffered much & I am hoping that I can get these back up now I have started eating at maintenance.

Tips

Don't forget to warm up & stretch. Spend the first 10 to 20 mins warming up before you dive into lifting. Forget what other people are lifting & how big they are, they have more than likely been lifting years. Ask people if you need help or advice, most people in the gym enjoy helping. Pick a routine that matches your goals & above all else pick one that you enjoy. There's no point doing a routine that you cant stand as you will not be consistent & will more than likely half ass it.

Diet

I have a very small frame & my TDEE is very low. This caused a problem when bulking because it was just so easy to over eat.

Bulking Calories - 2300.

Cutting Calories - 1400.

Macro split - 35/35/30% C/P/F.

Supplements used - BCAA, creatine monohydrate.

Drinks - 3 cups of coffee per day. Probably 3 drinks of alcohol per year.

Snacks - I have been having a carb reefed once per week during my cut eating a lot of cereal & my favourite pancakes with peanut butter a jam........mmmmmmmmm I can feel one coming on right now!

Typical days eating during my cut would be:

Breakfast - Protein shake.

Lunch - Brown sandwich with 100g sliced ham.

Dinner - 140g Chicken breast with steamed veg.

Supper - 40g Peanut butter, 1 apple.

Pre workout snack - 250g Greek Yoghurt with 35g oats, banana.

My bulking days would be similar but i would add some oats with breakfast, double my lunch sandwich & add a protein shake post workout.

Do's & Dont's

Do's

• Weigh & count everything that passes your lips including sauces & other little things that you may not consider but they do make a difference. Get yourself a good electronic food scale & use an app like My Fitness Pal.
• Whether your bulking or cutting make sure you weigh yourself at the same time each week after the toilet. I use a great app called Libra that lets you enter your weight & it gives you an average over the week / month.
• Do include at least some cardio just for cardiac health. Your blood pressure & heart rate will thank you for it. Plus you will feel more energetic to lift. Just don't over do it.
• Do drink plenty of water & limit alcohol intake
• Do concentrate on your compound lifts, Bench, squat, deadlift, OHP. Give all your energy & effort to these & make sure they are first in what ever routine you try.
• Do pick a routine from the side bar & not try to make your own.

Dont's

• Don't yo-yo diet. Pick cut / bulk / maintain & stick with it for at least 3 months.
• Don't stop eating the things you enjoy. If they fit within your calorie allowance its fine. Even if they dont, dont deny yourself. The odd piece of cake will make little difference in the grand scheme of things & will keep you motivated.
• Don't think the more you eat the more muscle you will add. You can only add a certain amount of muscle per year. There's a lot of different opinions of this but my research suggests from the bottom end of around 10lb per year to around 20lb. This is for beginners & is dependant on diet / rest / routine.
• Don't be sacred of cutting. Keep protein high & the weight on the bar as high as possible & you will lose very little muscle if any.
• Don't be scared of a fluctuation in scale weight. You can add 2lb to 3lb over night with an increase in carbs. This will stabilize over the week.

Going forward

I am going to maintain for a couple of weeks then start a slow lean bulk with a surplus of around 200 to 300. I want to concentrate on increasing my compound lifts so I may drop the accessories a little. I'm also considering adding 5/3/1 BBB progression to PPL or may even switch to 4 day 5/3/1 BBB for a while & add 2 days of conditioning. My goal for the next 2 years is to add 10lb of muscle per year. I would love to be a lean 150lb.

Thanks for reading & I hope someone might get some use from this post.

Edit: Thank you so much for all the kind, wonderful & inspiring comments. I truly never expected this kind of reaction. Your support & encouragement is why r/fitness is so awesome together with all you guys who are awesome too!

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