Redditor Rick_Persson says he was always skinny growing up, crediting his slender frame to playing too many video games. Everything started to change, however, when he got a gym membership at 17 years old. That’s not to say things changed, quickly – quite the contrary, in fact. “I had no clue of what I was doing and so I made absolutely zero gains,” he explains in a post to r/fitness, “Half a year later I gave the weights another try, this time without the friends involved.”
At just 5’8” and 110 pounds, Rick knew that he had to eat at a calorie surplus in order to gain muscle. That very first summer of lifting he managed to gain 20 pounds, noting that “Having always been skinny I did not have a lot of appetite, therefore I had to force eat a lot.” Forced eating eventually led to him gaining 50 pounds, putting him at a “straight up fat” 190 pounds.
Enter: the cutting phase.
So I started dieting at 190 and In my head i thought that i would be ripped at 170…oh how wrong i was. My diet lasted for just over 8 months, and i got A LOT better at dieting as time passed. As ripped as i thought I would be at 170, I was at 145.
This is what a typical day of dieting at 2000 calories would look like:Breakfast(Pre workout): Oats, banna, blueberries, and my secret to dieting: Peanut flour(this shit is golden)
Lunch(Post workout): Cod with plain cooked potatoes and broccoli
Dinner: Chicken/steak/beef and plain cooked potatoes
After shedding the fat, Rick is now sitting at an absolutely shredded 145 pounds and says that he is currently reverse dieting from his 8 month cut so that he can “begin a lean gaining phase as lean as possible.” The before and after photos are nothing short of incredible:
Before:
9 Months Later:
At 190 Lbs.:
After Cutting For 8 Months:
For those of you out there who are now hoping to emulate rick, his workout routine is as follows:
My workout routines:
1st year of lifting (5 day split):
1.Chest and tri
2.Back and bi
3.Legs
4.Shoulders and traps
5.Arms
rest
rest2nd year – 4 day split
1.Chest and tri
2.Back and bi
3.Shoulder and traps
4.Legs
rest3rd year – 3day split(PPL)
1.Push
2.Legs
3.PullAnd this is the routine that I am now following, it is a modified PPL with a 4th day of push. I set this up myself, and I do not recommend you follow it, unless you want to focus on Chest, shoulders and tri’s!
• Push (chest focus)
• Back
• Rest
• Push (shoulder focus)
• Legs
• Rest
repeat1.Push (chest) Bench 5×5>2×8> dips 4×8> behind the neck ohp 4×10> 1triceps of choice 5×8>1side laterals of choice 5×10 (25sets total)
2.Back + Abs Pull ups 3×8(weighted)2×8(drop 10kg)>bb row 5×8> 1pulldown of choice 3x8s> 1back exercise of choice 3×8> 1curl of choice 4×8> 1hammercurl of choice 4×8> 1abs of choice 5×10 (29sets total)
3.rest
4.Push (shoulders) Ohp 5×5> narrow bench 5×8> incline db press 5×8> upright row 4×10> 1triceps of choice 4×8> facepull 4×10 (27sets total)
5.Legs + calves Squats/front squats 5×5> 1 compound of choice (i.e lunges) 4-5sets>1quad of choice 5×8> 1hamstring of choice 5×8> calves 5×6 standing and 5×12 seated (30 sets total)
6.rest
This routine is heavily focused on “push” and in my opinion it has a lot of rest. Its basically 2 days on and one off, and the volume is quite moderate. This is how it looks for now, when i stall, I will increase volume where I see fit.
[Via Reddit]