TL;DR: 35M, 5’5”. Lost 12.5 kg in one year, went from zero athletic background to lifting 5x a week, and logged 200+ workouts (Hevy). Started because I didn’t like how I looked in photos. Ended up enjoying lifting more than I expected

I used to see people who were so consistent with fitness and wonder how they managed to stay that disciplined. Yung tipong working out was already part of their lifestyle, while I couldn’t even imagine myself doing the same.

Funny how things change. Eventually, I stopped wondering if I could do it and just started showing up. One workout at a time, until it became part of my routine. October 15 marks my first year of taking fitness seriously.

For context, I’m 35, working a full-time job, and was never really into sports growing up. As in zero athletic background. Apparently, my athletic era needed 34 years of character development. 😅

Started in our condo gym in October 2025, then moved to Anytime Fitness that December. Original goal ko lang naman was to lose weight and look better in photos.

MY WORKOUT SPLIT (5 DAYS)
Day 1: Push (Chest, shoulders, triceps)
Day 2: Pull (Back, biceps)
Day 3: Legs (Quad-focused)
Day 4: Upper (Mixed upper body)
Day 5: Legs (Hamstrings, glutes)
Optional: Active recovery (recently got into Pickleball)

Usually train after office hours. Some days motivated, some days gusto ko na lang umuwi. But showing up has become part of my routine.

NUTRITION & SUPPLEMENTS
Calories: Mostly 1,800 during my initial cut, eventually increased to 2,000 to support heavier training
Protein: 160–180 g/day target
Food: Chicken, fish, eggs, rice, veggies, fruits, and basically whatever fits my macros
Supplements: Creatine (5 g daily), whey, fish oil, psyllium fiber
Tracking: Hevy, SnapCalorie, food scale, and occasional InBody scans

No extreme diets, no removing rice from my life (hindi ko kaya haha). Mostly calorie tracking, enough protein, and trying to be consistent.

SOME THINGS I LEARNED

Weight loss isn’t linear. May weeks na parang walang nangyayari, tapos biglang may movement sa scale. Recovery matters more than I initially thought, and apparently, getting an extra rep can be ridiculously satisfying.

Also, body image is weird. Even after losing more than 12 kg, may days pa rin na I don’t feel like I’ve changed much. Still working on appreciating progress beyond the mirror.

I’ve missed workouts, traveled, dealt with minor injuries, and had days na tinatamad talaga. Turns out, consistency doesn’t mean being perfect every single day.

YEAR 2 GOALS

Build more muscle, improve body composition, eventually do weighted pull-ups and dips, and keep getting stronger. Also trying to take sleep and recovery more seriously.

Original target ko was 70 kg, but I’m no longer too obsessed with the number. Mas interested na ako sa strength and overall physique improvements.

ONE YEAR LATER…

I started because I wanted to look different. I stayed because I genuinely enjoyed getting stronger.
12.5 kg lighter, a lot stronger, and surprisingly excited to keep going. Still have a lot to learn, but pretty happy with how far I’ve come.

Not bad for someone who spent 34 years avoiding anything remotely athletic. Haha.

Apparently, my midlife crisis came with tubs of creatine and a Hevy Pro subscription.

Here’s to Year 2! 💪

Hi just want to share my 9 month progress I still have a lot to improve and i still have to lose a lot of weight. But I just want to stay thank you for the kind words from my previous post. It gave me a lot of confidence on my progress.

10 kg left for my goal weight 💪

I tried filming my back progress because I want to achieve that winged-back look in the upper pic, but instead, I noticed that I have winged scapula😭 For those who have this, what worked for you? What exercises could help? Thank you!

Hey guys, just wanted to share my progress so far and get some feedback. I started hitting the gym consistently last Sept 25.

When I first started, I panicked and put myself on an extreme starvation diet (basically just eggs, canned tuna, and a single slice of wheat bread daily). I quickly realized that wasn't sustainable for building an athletic physique at 183cm, so I've recently started reintroducing clean carbs (rice/mais) around my workout windows to fuel my lifting sessions (currently running a Push/Pull split).

I’m aiming for a lean, athletic build. Glad to see some upper ab lines breaking through, but I want to make sure I'm on the right track. Any advice on sustaining this body recomposition without hitting a plateau? Salamat!

I’m looking to build a good V-taper and would like some honest opinions on my current physique. Based on my shoulder width, waist, clavicles, and overall proportions, do you think I have the potential to develop a wide-looking upper body with a narrow waist?

Any recos for swimsuit na oks gamitin for aquathlon or triathlon?
I’m thinking of Speedo, Anta, Nike, Adidas swimwear pero meron pa ba iba na natry kayo and di sya mabilis masira and helpful sa hydrodynamics.
Im planning to join aquathlon soon kasi and triathlon sooner. Any recos sa nagsi-swim here?
Thank you!

Hi! Baka meron kayong recommendation na sports bra na for small cups pero medyo pang medium to big build? Technically, pang flat chested pero di petite haha di na ko makahinga sa gamit ko kaso sakto lang kasi yung cup nya. Baka kapag nagbigger size ako, magkaroon ng friction everytime i run kasi di sya fit or may space. TIA

To gym goers around during the night (especially after 10pm), ako lang ba or sobrang init sa gabi? They turn off almost half the air condition units. I’ve been complaining about it pero walang nangyayari. I can’t be the only person who notices na sobrang init?

To gym goers during the day: pinapatay din ba yung air-condition units in the morning/afternoon?

Any recommendaed straps (mas ok kung yung 3 in 1) for small wrists? My wrist is 5.9 inches in circumference and the smallest 3 in 1 straps I’ve seen is for 6.2 inch wrists. Gusto ko sanang itry magstraps pero ayokong gamitin yung nasa gym kasi di ako sure kung nililinis ba yun.

I started working out consistently 6 months ago. Went down from 108 to 105. At some point made it to 102 but gained back 3kgs. Now at 105 for the last couple of months.

Sleep; 6-8hr but in different times due to travel and work schedule
Workout: 2-4 times weekly. 70% lifting, 30% cardio.
Food: not tracking in details but heavy on protein based food with bread. I used to eat too much desert, now eating less sweets.
Supplements: Creatine 5mg, D3, Zinc, Magnesium all daily. Whey protein when I workout.

Only improvement I see is that my arms and shoulders are no longer soft, got a big muscle growth but my belly and upper legs are still bloated and saggy :/

Is this gyno ba po?

About me:

5'7

65 kg

20 y/o

Diet: none

Currently taking istoretinoin

And pwede po pala makahingi ng workouts niyo para matarget ko chest ko, consistent na gym goer po ako for about 6 months Nov 2025-May 2025 (Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull) rest days are thursdays and sundays) and stopped because of ojt (walang malapit na gym sa pinag ojthan) kaya naintroduce sa running.

Tapos how do you balance running and going to the gym po pala.

Btw tapos na po pala yung ojt pero busy pa din ng onti because of acads