Ed’s 365 Gym Project - Back on track!

Ed_

Ed_

Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Goal
Get Laid
Age
36
Location
Boston, MA
My 365 day project: I will work towards my ideal body everyday for 365 days

Why I’m committing to this:

#1 reason of this goal (and ultimately the only reason, 10x more important than any other reason): I want to have multiple, hot fuck buddies. I want these women to be young (18 to 21 years old), I want them to be very attractive, I want to have sex with them quickly (first date ideally), I want to be non-committed to them, and I want to have sex with them on an ongoing basis (not just one-night stands -- they want to keep coming back to me).

In order to achieve my ultimate goal, it’s basically a requirement for me to have a significantly "above average" physique -- solid muscle mass and low body fat. Even if I get my style, dating photos, approach anxiety, and social skills perfectly in order, I’m still going to struggle with achieving my ultimate goals if I’m not in really good shape.

I've been going to the gym on-and-off since 2011 and basically haven't had any noticeable improvement. There have been a few months at a time when I made some gains, but either I didn’t stick to my diet or I didn’t stick to my programming, and my results were unsatisfactory.

For every day during the next 365 days, idealing I will complete all of these tasks:

  • Go to the gym (except on rest days)
  • At the gym, do my full workout 100% (no half-assing, skipping sets, etc.)
  • Eat my caloric and macro requirements
  • Meal prep (on days required)
  • Take my vitamins and supplements
  • Get enough sleep
  • Record my weight

If work or something else significant gets in the way, I won’t beat myself up for missing a few tasks once in a while, but I’m really focusing on planning ahead and avoiding excuses for not accomplishing all of these every day.

I’m tracking my tasks daily using the app HabitBull . I’ll be posting updates on my weight, progress photos, and other details in this thread.

Attached are my starting photos. 133 lbs, 5'6".
 
What are your actual training goals?

You got a particular weight you wanna hit or numbers you want to get up to strength wise in the gym?
 
I don't have any interest in powerlifting or achieving certain lifting goals, so I don't have any specific strength goals.

My goals are entirely physique/aesthetics. I'm not sure how to specifically describe them. Since I'm 5'6" tall, I think I'd need to about 135 - 140 lbs and 10% bodyfat to achieve the look I'm going for. I looked on reddit and found some dudes about my height with the body I'm looking for.

I'm not expecting to achieve this in just one year -- my 365 goal is only to stick to my gym and diet program. The results will take as long as they take.

"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years"

"Everyone lives life at their own pace"
 
hey dude,

love what you're doing here. this shit resonates with me, since my current physique and stats are not that far off from yours. I actually saved pictures of the guy in your 2nd pic off reddit as well. small world!

even if you're not interested right now, I would recommend you still set some intermediate goals. they are likely to help you maintain the intensity needed to succeed in changing your physique.
 
I'm off to a good start. Seven days (October 26 to November 1) with hitting pretty much all of my planned tasks.

I'm tracking a few extra daily habits in this app, but the ones that really matter for this 365 project are in red.
 
Here's the workout program I've been doing for the past 5 weeks.

A Day
  • Trap bar deadlift
  • Hack squat
  • Pull up
    • Bicep curls
      • Leg raise (abs)


        B Day
 
Here's the workout program I've been doing for the past 5 weeks:

A Day
  • Trap bar deadlift
  • Hack squat
  • Pull up
  • Bicep curls
  • Leg raise (abs)

B Day
  • Incline bench press
  • Seated rows
  • Overhead press
  • Triceps push-down
  • Lateral raise
  • Russian twist (abs)

I workout every other day, so A and B days repeat every 4th calendar day.

I've been working with a trainer at the gym, but it seems like he's constantly pushing me to add lifts, swap exercise, and make it more complicated. I have to keep reminding him I want a simple program and to focus on consistency and doing a few exercises with correct form.

Is this common for paid trainers? This has been my exact experience with 4 previous trainers -- changing up the program every month or so. I've never done the same program for more than 6 weeks tops, in my 10 years of lifting. How long do you guys stick with the same program before making changes?
 
Yeah the trainer is probably just trying to make you think you need to constantly change things so you keep paying him. The program looks good. What I think you should do is switch the hex bar deadlift, hacksquat to normal deadlift and squat. Get your trainer to make sure you're getting the form right, then once you get the form right start doing it on your own.
 
Ed_ said:
I don't have any interest in powerlifting or achieving certain lifting goals, so I don't have any specific strength goals.

My goals are entirely physique/aesthetics. I'm not sure how to specifically describe them. Since I'm 5'6" tall, I think I'd need to about 135 - 140 lbs and 10% bodyfat to achieve the look I'm going for. I looked on reddit and found some dudes about my height with the body I'm looking for.

I'm not expecting to achieve this in just one year -- my 365 goal is only to stick to my gym and diet program. The results will take as long as they take.

"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years"

"Everyone lives life at their own pace"
Click to expand...

Fukkin dude - first of all solid motivation. I love seeing you take action like this.

Second - thx for the inspiration photos... I'mma steal the first two to motivate myself.
 
The trainer I had a year ago swapped my program after 12 weeks - and I fucking hated the change.

The trainer I have now changes my programs every 10 weeks. Absolutely loved the first program, hated the second. The current one seems like it'd be pretty solid but I stopped following it several weeks ago.

While I definitely prefer consistency, I now realize WHY they're changing the programs all the time. Checkout Westside Barbell podcast.

And on that note, even if you're going 100% physique, I'd expect it'd be more fun + motivating if you're training every workout rather than just trying to survive a workout. I definitely feel accomplished knowing that I hit a new PR, every workout. Of course they're not usually 1RM. There are many ways to PR: daily weight lifted, new max reps at given weight for given exercise, new max 5x5 etc.
 
I broke down and cried in my car as soon as I left the gym today.

My ankle was hurting after only the first five sets on the leg press, I was getting cramps and light headed after my second set of pullups, and my neck was stiff and hurting. I stopped my workout only half way into my second exercise.

Here's what I wrote my trainer while in my car:

I'm really struggling with working out the past few weeks.

I feel like I’m running in circles. I keep getting injured. It’s really frustrating. It doesn't feel fair -- what’s wrong with me? What do other people not have to suffer like this? This is the same pattern I've had every time I've been lifting in the past 10 years.

I can't even do two exercises without feeling light headed and cramping (that's what happened to me today in the middle of pullups). My ankle was also bothering me after doing only five sets of leg press. I'm also feeling a ton of tightness and pain in my neck.

I don’t want to keep being injured, it feels like shit. I don't want to quit, but I can't keep going on like this. I can’t keep getting injured, this can’t be what it feels like every week.

I'm not sure the solution. I think we need to make injury prevention the number one goal -- regardless of my what gains in making. Maybe simplify the workouts more to get to a point where I'm lifting heavy and consistently avoiding injury. Maybe I need to see a physical therapist, chiropractor, sports massage, etc to help with my issues.
Click to expand...
 
My ankle was hurting after only the first five sets on the leg press,

How many sets are in your program???

Injuries are the worst dude. And pain is a GOOD reason to stop a workout. The whole "no pain no gain" thing is bullshit. Something closer would be "no exertion no gain."

I obviously don't know the solution for you and seeing a physical therapist might be the best thing. I've had various gym injuries and they have all fallen into two categories

1) ergonomics (shitty elbows / shoulders if I'm working all day at a non-ideal set up)
2) overtraining with bad form (a while ago my trainer had me go for 100 thrusters even though I don't have the mobility to rest the bar on the anterior deltoids; that was the stupidest thing. It was only 45 lbs too).

I'm still trying to get my squat pain-free. Probably will have to find a strength coach if I don't figure it out with my trainer today. How many personal trainers have you seen / how long have you seen this one?
 
For most of my lifts, I'm doing a warmup set and 4 working sets (8 - 14 reps each). For accessories at the end, I'll only do 3 working sets.

After talking with my trainer, he's going to have me focus on doing much lower weight and shooting for sets of 20 reps. Focusing on doing every rep 100% correct form -- I'm not sure how this is going to work when I'm on m own, since I obviously don't know what the correct form is.

This is the 4th personal trainer I've worked with in the past 6 years. I've been working with him for 6 weeks now.

All the previous trainers have had pretty much the same issues. I did find a Starting Strength only gym near me, that specializes in only the basic barbell exercises. I guess this is my fallback if things don't work with this trainer. These barbell lifts are my lest favorite exercises and I don't like the squat/deadlift focus of the SS program. But if it's the only way I can work out consistently without getting injured, then I guess I have to go with it.
 
benstrong26 said:
@Ed_ why don’t you like the squat/deadlift focus of starting strength?
Click to expand...

  • I don't like the focus on powerlifting and maximizing weight lifting over aesthetic goals. Like I said earlier in my log, my only goals with working out are aesthetic -- so I'd constantly be bumping heads with the Starting Strength idology and unmotivated by their "lifting more weight" goals.
  • I've found squatting and deadlifting very technical movements with lots of details that all have to be perfectly aligned in order to be successful. I'd prefer more simple movements and using machines more. If I'm having all these issues with leg press and pullups, then heavy back-squat is going to be even more of a problem.
  • The textbook Starting Strength program is very leg intensive and light on upper body work (weekly volume: legs=70, shoulders=22, chest=22, upper back=22). Again, this doesn't align with my goals.
 
If gym is injury-inducing to you, why dont you try calisthenics and bodyweight exercise instead?
It may be less effective for building massive amounts of muscle (not sure what are your endgoals), but neither is getting injured. And it is very unlikely getting injured with bodyweight.

Not a gym expert at gym myself, but maybe its something worth thinking about.
 
IMO you definitely need to have performance/strength goals in the gym even if you're only after aesthetics e.g. hitting X weight for 8-12 reps in a specific lift.
To quote More Plates More Dates:
While you do see a lot of pros in training videos online doing relatively light weight for their size, this is typically because they have already reached their desired size and are trying to bring up lagging body parts and remain uninjured.

You have to understand that a bodybuilder's source of income is their physique, so remaining injury free and maximizing their longevity in the sport is hugely important.

I guarantee during their rise to their pro cards though when the majority of their muscle was packed on, these guys were all trying to beat their strength numbers in the gym each week and continuously get stronger on each movement.

If you don’t try and get stronger, you won’t give your muscle a reason to adapt and grow.

Progressive overload is your ticket to giving your body the stimulus it needs to adapt and be forced to grow to accommodate that additional work load.

If this additional workload isn't exerted upon your body and you use the same weight for years on end, your progress will stagnate and plateau entirely at some point.
Click to expand...

If you don't enjoy lifting, just find some other physical activity, train it with a good level of intensity(e.g muay thai, rock climbing, calisthenics, ...) and eat right. Looking athletic is more than enough to get girls.
 
Damn man I'm sorry to hear about what happened!!! Nothing quite as shitty as injuries. I probably guaranteed I will be in a wheelchair when I'm 70, all because of (mostly) squatting injuries.

Do what you can to avoid injuries as best as you can from now on. You feel any 'bad' pains then stop immediately.

Take it easy bro. We are all hear for you and rooting for your success!
 
Big update here: The past few weeks have gone very well at the gym -- no significant issues with lifting, pain, injuries, diet, or morale.

I’ve made a couple changes:
  • Lowered the weights that I’m lifting and increased the rep range to 16 to 20 reps for each set. This is probably the biggest difference. I think high weights was causing most of my injury issues.
  • Minor exercise replacements: Hack squat and leg press instead of deadlifts, front raises instead of overhead press, etc.
  • Reduced carb intake on non-workout days, while keeping protein high. I feel better, less bloated, and it’s easier to reduce my calories. Also meal prep is way easier (just grill some burgers or Instant Pot some chicken).
  • I’m working out with my trainer at least twice a week. This is giving me much better feedback and faster addressing any lifting issues I have -- instead of just texting my trainer after a bad workout. It kinda feels like I’m “throwing money at the problem” (about $100 a week for all this help), but I can afford it and it’s getting me the results I’m looking for.
  • It’s taken some work, but I think I have my trainer on my side. He really knows his stuff and I think the issues with him recommending the wrong stuff (too complicated routines, diet, etc) were just growing pains as he got to know me.
 
AnemicBruh said:
IMO you definitely need to have performance/strength goals in the gym even if you're only after aesthetics e.g. hitting X weight for 8-12 reps in a specific lift.
Click to expand...

this times 10 - building muscle requires more stress and progressive overload over time. You don't have ramp up insanely fast, but over time always be increasing the weights. You always have to stress the muscle and when it adapts to a given weight or reps it will stop adapting until you push it again
 
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