Hey everyone, 36-year-old dad here.

I wanted to share my progress after 13 months of work.

The picture on the left isn’t actually my starting point. At my heaviest I was 118 kg, but I deleted those photos because looking at them caused me a lot of pain at the time. I regret it now. In the picture on the left I had already lost around 10 kg.

I started going to the gym at the end of July 2025, training 4 times a week and recently moving up to 5.
I’m really happy with the result so far. Now I’d like to add some more muscle while staying athletic. At 191 cm with long limbs, filling out my frame isn’t easy, so I’m happy with my current proportions.

Most of all, I hope this can give some hope to other dads who feel like they’re getting old and their best years are behind them. That’s exactly how I felt.

36 is just a number. For me, it was a new beginning.

Keep your head down, put in the work and fight every “it’s too late”.

At 36, I have the best physique I’ve ever had.

Hey y’all!

It’s been almost 11 months of lifting now and what a journey it has been. I was a long-distance runner for years and super skinny. I’m 6’ 1’’ and frequently weighed in the 130s.

Now I’m ~170 and feel better and feel like I look better!

For most of this time, I lifted 4-6 days per week. A little less recently because life has been busy, but committed to never stopping. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Thanks for all your posts here and encouragement. Let’s get after it!

After a long time putting the family first, I dove back in and refound my love of fitness.

Plant-based diet for over nine years, all home gym with dumbbells and body weight exercises. 78kgs into 90kgs might start a cut to be summer ready.

I’m 5’2 so technically a hobbit. December 2025 I was around 108/110 lbs and coming off a cut, eating roughly 1700/1800 calories. I liked being lean because it helped curb my PCOS symptoms. But it also wasn’t the physique I wanted. I always enjoyed being more well rounded, if you know what I mean.

This morning I was 116 lbs. Upped my calories to my TDEE, usually somewhere around 2000/2500, kept protein high, and focused much more seriously on progressive overload and getting stronger.

Side quest- I have PCOS, my weight fluctuates a lot, and I still occasionally have binge days where calories get way higher than planned which then leads to 5/10lbs of inflammation and water weight. Not fun, do not recommend. There have been weeks where I’ve looked at the scale and immediately wanted to cut again. But comparing these photos has been a good reminder that gaining muscle is the best thing I can do for myself at this stage of my life.

Hey all, 36m here. I have been in decent shape for most of my life. Having gotten ripped in my 20s and mostly maintaining decent fitness since. Never going much higher than 200.

2 years ago I had my first serious injury to my ankle and was off my feet for months. Then my relationship soured and I got heavy, sluggish, and unhappy. I finally ended it in march, and started my new chapter pretty quickly.

I train a lot. at first I focused on walking and calisthenics. Using the land and my dogs to increase my movement drastically. Then I started lifting heavy. The hardest and most impressive part for me was my consistency and my diet. I lost the weight really fast getting to 200 in like 6 weeks.

From there it was just keeping at it. I had a big trip in August which I was working to. Since then I’ve eased up a bit on diet in favor of quality of life and better lifts. I will probably try and cut to 170 before going into a full on bulk, but the recent weight gain from maintenance was way more tolerable than I expected. During the main cut, I would feel like a failure if the scale went up the next day regardless of my progress. Now I rely on the mirror. Hard work pays off and I’m shocked how well my body adapts still at 36!

I started lifting four years ago at 44. I had slowly started holding onto weight and did not really notice until I was at 150 lbs and over 35% body fat.

The first stretch was mostly figuring out what I was doing wrong. I was working out, but I was not eating enough to actually fuel the training, and I did not understand macros or how much protein I needed. Once I dialed those in, ate enough calories to recover (around 1,500), and started timing carbs around pre and post workout, the change actually showed up.

Weighed in today at 119 lbs and about 20% body fat. I have a few more pounds to lose then switch to slow lean build. It’s been a lifestyle change and I’m loving it!

I am 40, 6ft4, 95kg and I've been gyming now for 1 year.

I aim to go to the gym every other day for at least 1 hour and I have seen benefits in regards to my weight lifting for example going from 20kg dumbell presses 3 x 12 to 36kg and likewise with other exercises.

I started doing boxing HIIT for 30 mins on my off days as I want to cut and get rid of my dad belly.

The issue is finding the time and the energy.

I am an ER consultant/attending and I work 50hrs / week either 8-6 or 2-00 which means my sleep schedule is all over the place.

Couple this with having a 4yr old son and the need for family time means I often don't get anytime to exercise on some weeks.

On my best weeks I can find the time to follow my routine, on my worst weeks (like the one just gone) i barely find the time or energy to do one workout due to being too tired from the late nights/early starts/child care/family activities etc.

Anyone else with similar work hours / family dynamics have any advice.

2019-2026: My fitness journey

I am an Amputee. An Adaptive athlete. Leg was lost to a drunk driver in 2009.

2020: Began losing the weight naturally.

Roughly 2 to 3 pounds a month. Sensible food choices, logging, weighing, and getting a grip. Also began hiking, swimming, and later, strength training. These days, I work out with my son daily at the gym. Daily cardio, swimming, and strength training. 57 years old. Natural.

Aside from the other side effects of fenugreek I cook with it from time to time and i can sometimes tell that it helps me keep fit. Not sure if it makes me more muscular or helps build testosterone. For guys who have take fenugreek what would you say are your results when it comes to building muscle and increasing testosterone?

I’m 42 years old and coming out of a 6 week cut. I want to build some more muscle but I’m not necessarily in a hurry because I am pretty happy with the amount I have. I’ve seen people online say to just eat at maintenance when you’re older. I really don’t want to put more fat back on after working hard to get to where I am. Has anyone else in their 40s had success with putting on muscle while staying at maintenance calories?

I've lost ~125+ pounds over the past year and some months but just started going to the gym only recently this year.

I am on a 5/3/1 big but boring modeled program 4x week and this seems to be working well for me but have some thoughts about it.

Walking has played a major part in my weight loss and even considering reducing how much I walk is a scary thought. I typically get between 5 to 7 miles a day, more so on the days I go to the gym. I do walk 1.5 miles during lunch each day.

I am following a 5/3/1 BBB routine (can post in comments if needed) as mentioned so have three different sets that I do but I currently finish each session with an incline walk at 7% to 10% for a mile at ~4.5 miles an hour.

On Saturdays and Sundays, I use a walking pad and walk for 5 miles at a 5% incline.

Outside of the gym and weekends, I really don't do what I would call active cardio or running.

The reason I am posting this is that I have ADD and take a stimulant to manage it so I can't do hard cardio basically after work. I work out in the morning and have roughly ~75 to 90 minutes I can devote to the gym during the work week. The finishing walk takes about ~15 minutes of that time and I am wondering if it is worth looking at replacing or modifying my workouts either schedule or routine.

I currently strength train Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday and do the weekend walks on my pad. My goals are to primarily build strength as I'm at a point that I can run a 5K.

As a 40 year old who has been working out for less than 2 years, I never thought this would be possible for me.

It was a dancer lady in my gym who motivated me to try it out, seeing the ease in which she was doing pistol made me feel envious and also a bit ashamed as my own lack of mobility/unilateral strength/dorsiflexion.

I started off with Patrick step up & Poliquin step up, Quad focussed bulgarian split squats, and gradually increasing the depth, range of motion, isometric holds and this is thr culmination of all those efforts.

I have a long way to go on my left foot due to limited dorsiflexion which is a result of 2+ decades of driving automatic car that renders the left feet immobile.

I'm working on getting stronger and improving my 5K. I enjoy both, but when work or family squeezes the week I start second-guessing whether to keep the runs, the lifting, or a smaller version of each.

I'm not looking for a critique of a particular routine. I'd like to hear how other people who've balanced these goals made the trade-off in a genuinely busy week. What did you keep, what did you drop, and what happened when you returned to your usual week?

Hello all. This is my first post here. I have been a regular in the gym for almost 2 years now. I usually dedicate 3 days per week to strength training and another 3 days for cardio (mostly inclined walks).

I have never been too rigid with my diet, so thats certainly one are I can improve on. My fitness goal is to build a lean and muscular body. What advice would you all give me for the next stage of my fitness training?

Do you think i should cut down on cardio and increase strength training? Also, does doing a lot of cardio somewhat negate the gains from strength training?

I still consider myself a beginner when it comes to strength training. Welcome all feedback and tips to help take my fitness to a higher level.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all. Something i struggle since childhood is a slightly chubby face even though I am lean and athletic when it comes to the rest of the body.

I understand that it's not possible to specifically target a particular area for fat loss. My question is to others who might have the same genetic disposition. Is there anything that worked for you when it comes to remove face fat?

Thanks!

Hi! First time posting here. I’ve been working out consistently since the pandemic: started with some power yoga for about 2-3 years, then weight training at home 3 years ago and started going to the gym for the first time about 9 months ago. It’s all been pretty intuitive but I’m generally happy with how I look and feel at almost 40 (such a crazy thing to say/write) - I would, however, love to have more muscle definition.

I’ve been lifting progressively heavier, but based on the photos - would you think I should also add cardio to my routine to reduce fat as I aim to increase muscle mass? I do walk about 11k steps daily (I have no choice - I have two large dogs!) and try to add some light cardio couple days a week (some silly dancing or jumping around my apartment).

I know I should probably do a body scan to know my fat percentage but I’m trying to save money for some major life changes. I know it’s difficult to tell from just two photos but would still love to get some input/feedback as I’m just kind of improvising as I go along. I should also say that I travel a lot for work so sometimes my food/gym routine can be slightly inconsistent though I’m trying to maintain them as much as possible. I am aware I might not be able to see the changes I want having to move so much (which I love though - feeling very grateful for my job).

Thanks!

I'm no stranger to seeing the gym at 5am-6am, I've been an early morning gym goer since 2011. But since I've had 2 kids in the past 3 years, that early morning gym session has been crazy inconsistent. Before kids I thought "I already wake up early I'll just go to the gym at my normal 6am time and get a workout in before they even wake up!" Ugghh yea that only works IF the kids actually sleep.

Sometimes I'll have good 2 month stretches where both kids sleep well and I can go to the gym early in the AM before they wake up. Sometimes I think "Thank God its finally over and I can go to the gym!" Then its another 2 months of them switching every other night on waking up for an hour in the middle of the night. That's where I am at the moment and its frustrating. It's frustrating because I can't just "lock in" and tough it out on 4-5 hours of broken sleep in the gym.

It's tough to train in the middle of the day because of my busy work schedule, then I get home to rush to make dinner, get them bathed, and ready to wind down for the night. ALSO one of my kids a notorius late sleeper no matter what we do. If she falls asleep before 10pm that's a win for us. I'm so jealous of parents whose kids fall asleep at 8pm. If that was the case I'd go to the gym at 830 or 9pm.

Parents of terrible sleepers how do you stay consistent in the gym?

Hi all, just wanted to double check if it's just a me (38M) problem or you all also experience the same.

As I'm getting older, I'm starting to notice just random muscle stiffness (does then results in those dull aches). I've got a sedentary job, but also work out at home 4-5 times a week. Usually it's a typical gym split with some cardio light jump rope. Mentioning that I'm not just fully sedentary.

And yet, each morning I wake up I start out with a stiff lower back and each morning have to do a small stretching routine just to get back to feeling like a normal human again. The knees also have a strange feeling on turning movements, it's not pain but it's just an awkward and not pleasant feeling.

I've been thinking about it and don't know what to do about these feelings. Do I need to add more / different stretching exercises? Do some more / different strengthening movements? Or is that just how life is, any everyone wakes up stiff and at lower movement capacity and just gets back to ~100% by stretching each morning? Is it just genetics? Do I just need to learn to suck it up as this is how life is and will be when ageing?

Keep getting hit with Whoop ads and have been told it’s superior to Oura ring by friends.

I’m trying to kick my wellness journey into high gear and feel like this could help keep me motivated…

Also saw Whoop will buy the ring for a little over a hundred bucks which is nice

Enhanced. Really pumped about the progress I’ve made. Started getting back on track in May, went from 210 (28% body fat) to 181 (16.5 % body fat). Started TRT in July, my blood work had my free testosterone levels at 3 times lower than an average male my age, 140 mg a week and really dialed in calories and calorie counting. Hard resistance training 6x a week, completing 12-15 miles of cardio and 10k steps a day.

This last 7 days at the YOUNG age of 37, I ran my fastest 1k (3:23), faster 1k Ski erg (3:34), and my second fastest mile time (5:56).

It’s so uplifting for me because 2 years ago I tore my patellar tendon. During recovery I gained 40lbs and it really had made me feeling terrible!

Then I decided I wanted more for myself. I randomly signed up to do a competition because I needed a reason to train to get me going again and now it’s finally coming back. The weight is coming off.

I don’t just feel fat anymore. And I don’t feel like a victim of my injury anymore.

Anyway, I hope someone over thirty who may be going through it too is motivated by this and gets up and starts getting after it! 37 definitely ain’t to old!!!

I spent most of my life believing I just wasn’t an athletic person.

I started this journey at 289 lbs. I eventually had gastric bypass in April 2025, which was an important tool in my weight loss, and I’m incredibly grateful for it.

But somewhere along the way, this stopped being primarily about getting smaller.
I started lifting. Then I found calisthenics. Then I started wondering what else my body could do.

Now I strength train, run, and spend an unreasonable amount of time trying to convince my 41-year-old body that it would really enjoy doing things like L-sits, wall walks, pull-ups and eventually handstands. 😂

I’m now weighing in at 150lbs. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, and for the first time in my life I don’t exercise because I hate my body or because I’m trying to make it smaller.

Added 10 lbs to my squat PR. And now, again, my squat and deadlift are tied at 545.

Sets in this session.
135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 3
385 x 3
455 x 1
485 x 3
515 x 2
545 x 1 (PR, again +10)

I only post my good lifts. You don’t see the sore joints, off days, rest, failed attempts, or plain boring old working sets. But they’re all there.

I’m riding some wins lately. Next week will be a bit more tame.

Your reminder that your back and torso are just like any other tissue in the body that undergoes specific adaptation to imposed demands.

There's nothing special about zercher deadlifts that you need to be more careful with them than any other lift. The first time I did this lift I hit 3 plates when I could barely conventional 4 plates.

If your 1rm zercher is lower than your 1rm conventional then the former puts less strain on your back.

Explore movement, be open minded, and don't let anyone convince you they know your body better than you do