my self-improvement journey: skinny to shredded, slowlane to fastlane

[the hawk of dawn]

hi everyone, this thread is gonna be used to document my personal self improvement journey: primarily, i will focus on my health transformation as well as the development of my financial literacy and knowledge.
in regards to health, currently i'm quite skinny-fat, height is 168cm (5ft 6inches), weight is between 47kg to 48kg.
however, over the course of the past month, i have been taking many steps (literally and metaphorically!) towards improving several aspects of my health, including my workout routine, diet changes and many lifestyle changes to increase overall activity and productivity
i shall detail the steps i've taken in more detail in a separate comment
in regards to wealth, i have mainly been reading a lot of books about business, entrepreneurship, investing, and more broadly, the true way to actually be wealthy and successful, as well as watching content on YouTube from the likes of Ali Abdaal (productivity youtuber) and Hamza Ahmed (self-improvement youtuber)
additionally, i've been experimenting with content creation, i've uploaded some videos on youtube, which i record on a weekly basis

at the moment, my main priority has been my health: i feel that my physical health is something i have much more leverage and control over, as opposed to wealth: i can't go ahead and build a business right now, huh!?
i think that the root to success in all roads of life is health: whether success means happiness, money, family, experiences, contribution to the greater good.

so without further ado, follow along with me on this journey... i wonder how it'll go

 

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[the hawk of dawn]

Every morning…​

• Diamond push-ups x 6 reps
• Back widows x 30s
• Bicep curls x 30s
• Deadhangs x 30s
• Squats x 15 reps
• Russian twists x 1m
• Skipping x 7m

Day 1: PUSH (Upper Chest, Triceps, Delts)​

• Decline push-ups 20s | 3 sets | 10s rest
• Diamond push-ups 20s | 3 sets | 10s rest
• Pull-ups 6 reps | 2 sets | 20s rest
• Overhead tricep extensions 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Lying dumbbell skull crusher 8 reps | 2 sets | 10s rest
• One dumbbell side raises 30s | 2 sets/arm | 10s rest
• Rotating front raises 30s | 2 sets/arm | 10s rest
• Double front raises 30s | 3 sets | 10s rest

Day 2: PULL (Lats, Traps, Neck, Biceps, Forearms)​

• Superman’s 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Pulse rows 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Angels and devils 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Leg shrugs 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Back & forth + side neck tilts 45s | 1 set
• Chin-ups 6 reps | 2 sets | 20s rest
• Single dumbbell bicep curls 45s | 2 sets/arm | 10s rest
• Wrist curls 45s | 2 sets/arm | 20s rest
• Deadhangs 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest

Day 3: LEGS (Legs, Abs)​

• Kneel-over 10 reps | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Dumbbell swing 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Side-scissors 1m | 2 sets/leg | 10s rest
• Squats 1m 30s | 2 sets | 20s rest
• Bicycle crunches 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• ‘21’ crunch 12 reps | 2 sets | 20s rest
• V russian twists 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Starfish crunches 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest

this is my workout routine: it follows a push-pull-legs cycle, and while i have very little equipment (just one dumbbell and a pull-up bar), i try to use a mix of bodyweight exercises and weight training.
for maximum efficiency and efficacy, I have been progressively overloading this routine on a weekly basis - just simply increasing rep counts/time durations, slightly lowering rest times, and perhaps replacing exercises with more effective and challenging ones when it suits best. this way the routine stays difficult and stimulates consistent muscle growth within my body

(mon - push
tue - pull
wed - legs + abs
thu - push
fri - pull
sat - legs abs
sun - REST DAY)

furthermore, every morning is a small, low-intensity workout - i'm training muscles that i feel could be strained more in my regular workout routine (e.g. my routine doesn't train my back delts too much, so i've added back widows for back delts in the morning)
the morning routine also consists of skipping (currently i am able to do 7 mins with minimum rests, however i have been progressively increasing this time duration by a minute every 5-ish days) to really raise my pulse, improving my cardiovascular health and to train my legs a bit

(btw some of the exercises might have different names to what they are formally called - this is just for my convenience so when im doing the workout i can easily remember what exercise each one is haha)

many of these exercises have been taken from a youtuber called athlean X - he's quite a credible source and truly gives great workout tips - do check him out!

 

[the hawk of dawn]

Breakfast​

Protein Shake x 2

• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
• 2 TBSP protein powder
• 2 TBSP nuts-seeds powder (homemade)
• 1 TBSP Chia seeds
• 1/3 TSP peanut butter
• 2/3 water; 1/3 milk

Lunch​

either…

Couscous and sabji

• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Chickpea salad/scrambled eggs
• Homemade yoghurt

or…

Omelette sandwich

• Cucumber and lettuce
• 2 eggs; 1 bread
• Chickpea salad/sabji

Dinner​

either…

Roti and sabji

• 3 chapatis
• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Chickpea salad/yoghurt/scrambled eggs

or…

Couscous and sabji

• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Chickpea salad/scrambled eggs
• Homemade yoghurt

Snacks​

Post workout meal

• 2 biscuits of Weetabix with milk, honey and chia seeds

Fruit time
(after post workout meal)

• Banana/apple/pear grapes/blueberries/strawberries

Nighttime

• 1 cup of milk mixed with 1TSP nuts-seeds powder (homemade)

---

hi all, this is my typical daily diet
as you can tell, im indian, so you might not understand some of the words listed (e.g. sabji - which is basically some vegetables cooked in a gravy, there are many different sabjis so i've just wrote sabji for general purpose)
in regards to calories, i am trying to get on a calorie surplus
my calorie maintenance level: 2,139cal - 2300cal (this is based on an online calorie calculator)
my calorie surplus level: 2,389cal - 2,639cal

i began this diet about a week and a half ago - before this, my diet was less consistent as i didn't get consume protein shakes regularly, however i've now fixed that problem. additionally, i try to eat a good amount of salad/scrambled eggs with my lunch or dinner - btw the reason i don't eat eggs every day is bcoz of my religion (on tuesday and thursday, im not allowed any meat, and annoyingly, my parents consider eggs as "meat")

i try to keep as much of my diet within my own control as possible, however, my lunch and dinners are sometimes affected by what my mum cooks at home, altho she mostly makes healthy food anyways

on average i am consuming roughly... 2350 - 2500 calories a day (this is based on a calorie tracker app that I use - MyNetDiary)

i would appreciate it if you could give suggestions on how to improve my diet - ideally don't give too much suggestions involving meat (esp. pork, beef) as i would not be able to consume those regularly enough in my diet
also what would you recommend for a calorie tracker app - i think the one i am using is good enough but idk if it's that accurate

anyways thanks for taking the time to read this! the journey continues....

 

[the hawk of dawn]

Every morning…​

• Diamond push-ups x 6 reps
• Back widows x 30s
• Bicep curls x 30s
• Deadhangs x 30s
• Squats x 15 reps
• Russian twists x 1m
• Skipping x 7m

Day 1: PUSH (Upper Chest, Triceps, Delts)​

• Decline push-ups 20s | 3 sets | 10s rest
• Diamond push-ups 20s | 3 sets | 10s rest
• Pull-ups 6 reps | 2 sets | 20s rest
• Overhead tricep extensions 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Lying dumbbell skull crusher 8 reps | 2 sets | 10s rest
• One dumbbell side raises 30s | 2 sets/arm | 10s rest
• Rotating front raises 30s | 2 sets/arm | 10s rest
• Double front raises 30s | 3 sets | 10s rest

Day 2: PULL (Lats, Traps, Neck, Biceps, Forearms)​

• Superman’s 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Pulse rows 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Angels and devils 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Leg shrugs 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Back & forth + side neck tilts 45s | 1 set
• Chin-ups 6 reps | 2 sets | 20s rest
• Single dumbbell bicep curls 45s | 2 sets/arm | 10s rest
• Wrist curls 45s | 2 sets/arm | 20s rest
• Deadhangs 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest

Day 3: LEGS (Legs, Abs)​

• Kneel-over 10 reps | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Dumbbell swing 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Side-scissors 1m | 2 sets/leg | 10s rest
• Squats 1m 30s | 2 sets | 20s rest
• Bicycle crunches 1m | 2 sets | 10s rest
• ‘21’ crunch 12 reps | 2 sets | 20s rest
• V russian twists 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest
• Starfish crunches 45s | 2 sets | 10s rest

this is my workout routine: it follows a push-pull-legs cycle, and while i have very little equipment (just one dumbbell and a pull-up bar), i try to use a mix of bodyweight exercises and weight training.
for maximum efficiency and efficacy, I have been progressively overloading this routine on a weekly basis - just simply increasing rep counts/time durations, slightly lowering rest times, and perhaps replacing exercises with more effective and challenging ones when it suits best. this way the routine stays difficult and stimulates consistent muscle growth within my body

(mon - push
tue - pull
wed - legs + abs
thu - push
fri - pull
sat - legs abs
sun - REST DAY)

furthermore, every morning is a small, low-intensity workout - i'm training muscles that i feel could be strained more in my regular workout routine (e.g. my routine doesn't train my back delts too much, so i've added back widows for back delts in the morning)
the morning routine also consists of skipping (currently i am able to do 7 mins with minimum rests, however i have been progressively increasing this time duration by a minute every 5-ish days) to really raise my pulse, improving my cardiovascular health and to train my legs a bit

(btw some of the exercises might have different names to what they are formally called - this is just for my convenience so when im doing the workout i can easily remember what exercise each one is haha)

many of these exercises have been taken from a youtuber called athlean X - he's quite a credible source and truly gives great workout tips - do check him out!

oh and just to add, i am now doing swimming at a moderate - high intensity for 30 mins a day, 5 days a week (monday through to friday)
since i can't access a proper gym, this is the next best thing, as swimming can be an effective way to get a full body workout
so far it's especially trained my traps, neck, triceps, and legs, which feels great!

 

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[The-J]

Breakfast​

Protein Shake x 2

• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
• 2 TBSP protein powder
• 2 TBSP nuts-seeds powder (homemade)
• 1 TBSP Chia seeds
• 1/3 TSP peanut butter
• 2/3 water; 1/3 milk

Lunch​

either…

Couscous and sabji

• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Chickpea salad/scrambled eggs
• Homemade yoghurt

or…

Omelette sandwich

• Cucumber and lettuce
• 2 eggs; 1 bread
• Chickpea salad/sabji

Dinner​

either…

Roti and sabji

• 3 chapatis
• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Chickpea salad/yoghurt/scrambled eggs

or…

Couscous and sabji

• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Chickpea salad/scrambled eggs
• Homemade yoghurt

Snacks​

Post workout meal

• 2 biscuits of Weetabix with milk, honey and chia seeds

Fruit time
(after post workout meal)

• Banana/apple/pear grapes/blueberries/strawberries

Nighttime

• 1 cup of milk mixed with 1TSP nuts-seeds powder (homemade)

---

hi all, this is my typical daily diet
as you can tell, im indian, so you might not understand some of the words listed (e.g. sabji - which is basically some vegetables cooked in a gravy, there are many different sabjis so i've just wrote sabji for general purpose)
in regards to calories, i am trying to get on a calorie surplus
my calorie maintenance level: 2,139cal - 2300cal (this is based on an online calorie calculator)
my calorie surplus level: 2,389cal - 2,639cal

i began this diet about a week and a half ago - before this, my diet was less consistent as i didn't get consume protein shakes regularly, however i've now fixed that problem. additionally, i try to eat a good amount of salad/scrambled eggs with my lunch or dinner - btw the reason i don't eat eggs every day is bcoz of my religion (on tuesday and thursday, im not allowed any meat, and annoyingly, my parents consider eggs as "meat")

i try to keep as much of my diet within my own control as possible, however, my lunch and dinners are sometimes affected by what my mum cooks at home, altho she mostly makes healthy food anyways

on average i am consuming roughly... 2350 - 2500 calories a day (this is based on a calorie tracker app that I use - MyNetDiary)

i would appreciate it if you could give suggestions on how to improve my diet - ideally don't give too much suggestions involving meat (esp. pork, beef) as i would not be able to consume those regularly enough in my diet
also what would you recommend for a calorie tracker app - i think the one i am using is good enough but idk if it's that accurate

anyways thanks for taking the time to read this! the journey continues....

You do a lot of exercise so I'll bet your TDEE is higher than the calculator says it is. If your plan doesn't work, add 2x-3x more ghee, butter, or oil on your roti. The easiest calories to add are fat.

Weigh yourself frequently. Daily is best. Weekly is fine, but it needs to be at the same time (Saturday morning after your morning piss, for example)

Indians have a hard time getting jacked because they don't eat much meat. You don't need meat to get muscular but you do need to eat enough protein. Protein powder will be your best friend. If you drink water/milk w/ a single scoop (~35-50g) of protein powder with every meal you will get enough protein I promise you. Once you get enough protein then it's just a matter of getting enough calories to grow.

Tracking and measuring food is much more important than tracking calories, because you can just tweak and adjust over time. But you're so small that almost anything will work and any gain will be a net positive for you.

I went from 136 lbs to 168 lbs in 14 months or so, I'm much stronger and bigger now. I'm 5'7"

 

[the hawk of dawn]

You do a lot of exercise so I'll bet your TDEE is higher than the calculator says it is. If your plan doesn't work, add 2x-3x more ghee, butter, or oil on your roti. The easiest calories to add are fat.

Weigh yourself frequently. Daily is best. Weekly is fine, but it needs to be at the same time (Saturday morning after your morning piss, for example)

Indians have a hard time getting jacked because they don't eat much meat. You don't need meat to get muscular but you do need to eat enough protein. Protein powder will be your best friend. If you drink water/milk w/ a single scoop (~35-50g) of protein powder with every meal you will get enough protein I promise you. Once you get enough protein then it's just a matter of getting enough calories to grow.

Tracking and measuring food is much more important than tracking calories, because you can just tweak and adjust over time. But you're so small that almost anything will work and any gain will be a net positive for you.

I went from 136 lbs to 168 lbs in 14 months or so, I'm much stronger and bigger now. I'm 5'7"

hi!
thank you so much for writing this, i appreciate the time taken! this is extremely helpful!

i'm planning on weighing myself every sunday morning, right after my morning skipping (sunday is my rest day)
just waiting for sunday to come by lol

i shall definitely start adding more ghee/butter - what's cool is that my mum makes pure butter (white butter) and pure ghee at home, so compared to normal butter/ghee from grocery stores, it's not as harmful, meaning it's safer to increase the quantity of this. thanks for the tip

i'm currently not consuming much protein powder on purpose (im quite low on protein powder atm haha) but when i buy more, i will defo start adding more to my protein shakes, as well as having it with water here and there during the day
(also, would you recommend whey or mass gainer protein powder? i currently use mass gainer from Optimum Nutrition)

also, congrats on your transformation! keep grinding, you're a beast

once again thanks a lot, take care and peace

 

[The-J]

(also, would you recommend whey or mass gainer protein powder? i currently use mass gainer from Optimum Nutrition)

Mass gainer is just sugar and fat with some protein in it. For most people I wouldn't recommend it at all, and I personally would not consume it. But you're so skinny that it's probably OK for you. It's not a replacement for protein powder, it's just an add-on.

I generally recommend whey protein with no other additives.

 

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[the hawk of dawn]

Mass gainer is just sugar and fat with some protein in it. For most people I wouldn't recommend it at all, and I personally would not consume it. But you're so skinny that it's probably OK for you. It's not a replacement for protein powder, it's just an add-on.

I generally recommend whey protein with no other additives.

thanks, when i buy more protein powder soon, i'll buy whey instead

 

[the hawk of dawn]

update:
-> the mass gainer has officially been substituted for whey protein! getting about 4x - 5x more protein per serving of protein powder now, and managed to get the whey protein at an affordable price! got strawberry flavour, tastes fab
(honestly i realize now how pointless the mass gainer was after a bit of research, thank goodness)

-> currently experiencing a nasty cough, it's very annoying but i've continued to workout and keep up with my routine

-> swimming has been a success so far! on my first session, I was very rusty (i've done swimming in the past when i was 5 yrs to 9 yrs old) as i'd forgotten some of the fundamental rules (e.g. exhaling underwater instead of just holding ur breath) so it was a rough swim. but from the second session onwards, i've improved my breathing drastically, now im breathing correctly and have seen a little bit of progress too! wasn't able to go today due to the cough, but it is what it is really

-> i've updated my workout routine a bit: like i said in a previous post, i have been upping rep counts and decreasing rest times on a weekly basis. just been slowly but surely progressing my routine and keeping it at a high intensity level: high enough to leave me sweating/aching afterwards, but obviously not too high to risk injury. feeling good about this, and with a much improved and more protein-heavy diet, i feel excited for more progress. this will be a long and gruelling journey, with its highs and lows... but i'm looking forward to it.

-> some other random stuff:

- increased water intake from 6 glasses per day to about 7 or 8​

- trying to be less sedentary, i now get up and walk around every 30 mins if i'm sitting at my desk (usually in the afternoon and evening)​

- weighing myself every morning now, usually after my morning skipping sessions​

- now skipping for 8 mins every morning (with no rest unless i trip up lol), soon will increase to 9 mins​

- I've now started nightly meditation for roughly 5 - 10 mins (honestly it feels quite calming after i've done the meditation, but for some reason, i keep feeling like im about to fall over while meditating lmao)​

​

thanks for reading if you're reading, feel free to give suggestions or ask any questions
over and out

 

[Rollio]

update:
-> the mass gainer has officially been substituted for whey protein! getting about 4x - 5x more protein per serving of protein powder now, and managed to get the whey protein at an affordable price! got strawberry flavour, tastes fab
(honestly i realize now how pointless the mass gainer was after a bit of research, thank goodness)

-> currently experiencing a nasty cough, it's very annoying but i've continued to workout and keep up with my routine

-> swimming has been a success so far! on my first session, I was very rusty (i've done swimming in the past when i was 5 yrs to 9 yrs old) as i'd forgotten some of the fundamental rules (e.g. exhaling underwater instead of just holding ur breath) so it was a rough swim. but from the second session onwards, i've improved my breathing drastically, now im breathing correctly and have seen a little bit of progress too! wasn't able to go today due to the cough, but it is what it is really

-> i've updated my workout routine a bit: like i said in a previous post, i have been upping rep counts and decreasing rest times on a weekly basis. just been slowly but surely progressing my routine and keeping it at a high intensity level: high enough to leave me sweating/aching afterwards, but obviously not too high to risk injury. feeling good about this, and with a much improved and more protein-heavy diet, i feel excited for more progress. this will be a long and gruelling journey, with its highs and lows... but i'm looking forward to it.

-> some other random stuff:

- increased water intake from 6 glasses per day to about 7 or 8​

- trying to be less sedentary, i now get up and walk around every 30 mins if i'm sitting at my desk (usually in the afternoon and evening)​

- weighing myself every morning now, usually after my morning skipping sessions​

- now skipping for 8 mins every morning (with no rest unless i trip up lol), soon will increase to 9 mins​

- I've now started nightly meditation for roughly 5 - 10 mins (honestly it feels quite calming after i've done the meditation, but for some reason, i keep feeling like im about to fall over while meditating lmao)​

​

thanks for reading if you're reading, feel free to give suggestions or ask any questions
over and out

What protein powder are you taking?

 

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[the hawk of dawn]

What protein powder are you taking?

hi, im now using Sci-MX ultra whey protein 800g strawberry flavour

it comes with a 45g scoop, which has roughly 35g of protein (per scoop)

 

[Rollio]

hi, im now using Sci-MX ultra whey protein 800g strawberry flavour

it comes with a 45g scoop, which has roughly 35g of protein (per scoop)

Nice, unfortunately I’m alergic to dairy so can’t drink whey based protein powder and stick to Bulk’s vegan protein powder

 

[Spenny]

Indians have a hard time getting jacked because they don't eat much meat. You don't need meat to get muscular but you do need to eat enough protein. Protein powder will be your best friend. If you drink water/milk w/ a single scoop (~35-50g) of protein powder with every meal, you will get enough protein, I promise you. Once you get enough protein, it's just a matter of getting enough calories to grow.

I can vouch for this. I saw no progress for seven months just because I didn't have enough protein & calories. I now have 50g of whey & 500ml milk as a shake, which helps me push up to my 150g target. Been on it for four months, and my growth is blowing up.

Another big thing to keep in mind is consistency. So many people jump into the gym, then take a break, then jump back in again. Just keep going; I'm rooting for you.

 

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[Aidan04]

I can vouch for this. I saw no progress for seven months just because I didn't have enough protein & calories. I now have 50g of whey & 500ml milk as a shake, which helps me push up to my 150g target. Been on it for four months, and my growth is blowing up.

Another big thing to keep in mind is consistency. So many people jump into the gym, then take a break, then jump back in again. Just keep going; I'm rooting for you.

Another thing I notice is that people stack on too much too fast often leading to burnout.

Common rule:
Fitness is 70% diet, 30% exercise.

This isn't to say to go easy in the gym of course, you definitely should be going hard, but when you first start you may end up damaging muscle tissue if you've never lifted before. I have scars down my back and shoulders from lifting way too much weight as a young teenager.

Consistency is certainly key, and I think a lot of people forget this and would rather ego-lift instead. I've been at this consistently for about 2 years now and the results speak for themselves.

Also: do not freak out if you miss a day or two, or eat food that might not be great with your friends once in awhile. Live a little and be human. over-restricting yourself will only lead to a total relapse/collapse of your regimen.

 

[the hawk of dawn]

I can vouch for this. I saw no progress for seven months just because I didn't have enough protein & calories. I now have 50g of whey & 500ml milk as a shake, which helps me push up to my 150g target. Been on it for four months, and my growth is blowing up.

Another big thing to keep in mind is consistency. So many people jump into the gym, then take a break, then jump back in again. Just keep going; I'm rooting for you.

hi, thanks for taking the time to write this! much appreciated!

i totally agree about the consistency part. in the past, i've tried starting workout routines, but simply lacked the discipline to keep going after a couple of weeks, once my "motivation" ran out.

i believe it's something to do with the "goal-gradient", where when you set a goal, you initially have a surge of motivation, but this quickly runs out and then you must start using discipline instead to build consistency towards achieving your goal.. that's like the jist of it, i think it's discussed in one of andrew huberman's podcasts.

also, congrats on your gains! keep grinding, and im rooting for you too

 

[the hawk of dawn]

Another thing I notice is that people stack on too much too fast often leading to burnout.

Common rule:
Fitness is 70% diet, 30% exercise.

This isn't to say to go easy in the gym of course, you definitely should be going hard, but when you first start you may end up damaging muscle tissue if you've never lifted before. I have scars down my back and shoulders from lifting way too much weight as a young teenager.

Consistency is certainly key, and I think a lot of people forget this and would rather ego-lift instead. I've been at this consistently for about 2 years now and the results speak for themselves.

Also: do not freak out if you miss a day or two, or eat food that might not be great with your friends once in awhile. Live a little and be human. over-restricting yourself will only lead to a total relapse/collapse of your regimen.

hi, thank you for writing this, this is very helpful!

i resonate with your last point, i've had experiences in the past where missing a day of exercise or having the occasional fast-food makes me feel like i've messed up all the progress i've made lol, but now i realize that sometimes (very occasionally but sometimes) it's fine to go slightly off-track.

what i've found is that it's more important how you handle that anomaly than the anomaly itself: do you let it demotivate you and screw up your entire routine, or do you just move on, bounce back and keep pushing. of course, the latter is the better option

also well done for your 2 year journey! i can't really begin to imagine the dedication you've put into this, keep it up!

 

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[the hawk of dawn]

hi again!
just gonna give some updates on my progress so far + changes made to improve my fitness, diet, lifestyle etc.

-my new workout routine (most the same, with some more exercises + changes in rep/set/rest counts):

Every morning…​

Morning stretching…

• Decompression deadhang x 45s x 1 set
• Abs deadhang x 45s x 1 set
• Bridge reach-overs x 8 reps/direction x 1 set
• Pelvic forward bend x 1m x 1 set
• Pike position x 30s x 1 set

Skipping (9 minutes)

Day 1: PUSH (Upper Chest, Triceps, Shoulders)​

• Decline diamond push-ups 30s | 3 sets | 5s rest
• Pull-ups 8 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Overhead tricep extensions 30s | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Lying DB skull crusher 10 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest
• DB cheat laterals 8 reps | 3 sets/arm | 5s rest
• DB upper limit laterals 12 reps | 3 sets | 5s rest
• DB isolation alternating front raises 12 reps | 1 set/arm | 5s rest
• DB rear delt rows 12 reps | 3 sets/arm | 5s rest
• One-DB hip huggers 15 reps | 3 sets/arm | 5s rest

Day 2: PULL (Lats, Traps, Neck, Biceps, Forearms)​

• Angels and devils 1m 30s | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Pulse rows 1m | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Bottom up 1m | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Trap DB raises 12 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Self-resisted neck side flexion hold 1m | 1 set/side
• Chin-ups 8 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Single DB bicep curls 1m 15s | 2 sets/arm | 5s rest
• DB wrist curls 1m | 2 sets/arm | 5s rest
• Deadhangs 1m | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Reverse curls 12 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest

Day 3: LEGS (Legs, Abs)​

• DB single leg RDL 12 reps | 2 sets/leg | 5s rest
• DB hip thrusts 10 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Sissy squats 10 reps | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Side-scissors 1m 15s | 2 sets/leg | 5s rest
• Goblet squats 1m | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Bicycle crunches 45s | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Scissors 45s | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Drunken mountain climbers 1m | 1 set | 5s rest
• ‘21’ crunch 10 reps | 3 sets | 5s rest
• V russian twists 1m 30s | 2 sets | 5s rest
• Starfish crunches 1m 15s | 2 sets | 5s rest

-diet has been mostly the same, getting a surplus of 100-400 calories most days of the week, and getting a lot more protein thanks to the whey protein i bought (below are my macros on a typical day):

CARBS: ~294g | PROTEIN: ~126g | FATS: ~90g | Calories: ~2639cal

-skipping every morning for 9 minutes now, broke my old PR's by skipping 313 jumps in a row (according to my fitness tracker). planning to move to 10 minutes skipping per morning on Wednesday or Thursday

-meditating every night for 10 mins, haven't missed a day, I find that meditating on the floor against a wall helps a lot in terms of maintaining the meditative posture (straight back and relaxed) and i don't feel like im "sinking in" any more

-started waking up lil bit earlier (used to wake up at 7.45am, now waking up at 7.15am). i plan to wake up 30mins earlier every week or so, so that in 2 ish weeks i'll be waking up at around 6.15am, which is when school starts, so that i can maintain positive morning habits and have time to prep for school

-now drinking 1 bottle of water (the bottle i use is roughly 450ml / 2 glasses of water) first thing every morning. when we spend 8 hours sleeping our body becomes quite dehydrated, it's important to rehydrate asap. overall, it means that im drinking AT LEAST 4 of my 450ml bottles (= roughly 1800ml, excludes water i use for my protein shakes), and on most days im getting about 5 of these bottles (around 2250ml) a day

-cough is now mostly gone! (thank goodness) feeling much better, and can go swimming for frequently as a result

-took a cold water bath yesterday! apparently it's beneficial in terms of increasing blood circulation and stuff, one of my friends gave it a go and so i decided to one up him (lol). it felt quite nice, i think doing it every 2 weeks would be reasonable and somewhat effective

Short term goals atm:
- start meditating every morning as well as every night
- begin jogging on the weekends/days when i don't go swimming
- start sleeping earlier as i begin getting up earlier and earlier

Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave questions/suggestions/advice below!

 

[EngineerThis]

Inspirational effort!
As others mentioned, health is 90% diet.
I eat almost Keto, with very low sugar and carbs.. I don't drink alcohol anymore.
So fruit, veggies, meat, nuts, and dairy..
I AVOID anything with SOY and SEED OILS, they're full of Estrogen, and I Feel F'n awesome!
I bike at least 5miles daily, use elastic bands for a full body workout daily (Almost)
I generally get 8 hrs of sleep (Needed)
I've never felt better! Keep on man! You're doing great!

 

[the hawk of dawn]

Inspirational effort!
As others mentioned, health is 90% diet.
I eat almost Keto, with very low sugar and carbs.. I don't drink alcohol anymore.
So fruit, veggies, meat, nuts, and dairy..
I AVOID anything with SOY and SEED OILS, they're full of Estrogen, and I Feel F'n awesome!
I bike at least 5miles daily, use elastic bands for a full body workout daily (Almost)
I generally get 8 hrs of sleep (Needed)
I've never felt better! Keep on man! You're doing great!

thank you so much for this heartfelt message! much appreciated!

congrats on quitting alcohol! i am so happy for you and the progress you've made!

 

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[the hawk of dawn]

completely unrelated to health but...
Completed The Millionaire Fastlane ! 9.5/10, no BS, just honest and straight to the point. Only reason it's not a 10 out of 10 is coz I already had some knowledge on some of the stuff mentioned in the book due to previous reads and knowledge obtained from other sources
but nonetheless, the book has truly opened my eyes and made it clearer what must be done and how it must be done in order to obtain wealth.
shall be purchasing Unscripted soon!

 

[the hawk of dawn]

hey once again! Sorry for not having updated this in a while, been caught up in life a little!

Updates are...

• Workout routine durations have changed - the workout routine was starting to take up a bit more time than I was comfortable with; this was due to a combination of things, such as the increasing of reps, sets, etc. and the small amounts of accumulative time that is wasted during the workout, setting up the next exercise, checking what the next exercise is, dealing with distractions in the house (e.g. parents). A shorter but more intense routine has therefore been made. It is mostly similar, but some of the exercises I used to do have either been made more intense with less volume, or replaced with better, more effective exercises that lead to muscle growth stimulation faster and more efficiently, without needing to do that one exercise for too long. This not only is way more efficient, but saves me a lot of time, especially when doing abs, which before was gruelling and intense but primarily due to the high volume, whereas now volume has been lowered but the intensity is still the same, but in a shorter time frame. (btw this change was somewhat necessary for me as school starts in under a week and due to exam stress and the extra studying that would need to be done, I don't think it would be feasible to have my home workouts be longer than 25-30 minutes - of course, high intensity can still be achieved within this time frame, so all should be good)
• Diet (will soon) change - due to school starting soon, my current diet plan won't work (i.e. the timings at which I would eat some of my meals gets screwed). Therefore, I have reorganised my diet to be optimised for school so I am consuming the same (and actually more) calories. Mostly just a changing of timings, but I've also created a new meal for my school lunch time (a much healthier alternative to what I used to eat - and it's easy and convenient to prep). Just know that school won't be messing up my diet anytime soon
• Skipping - I am currently able to skip for 10 mins, with a small break at 5 minutes in. My plan initially was to keep increasing this by a minute every few days - it's how I've progressed to skipping for 5 minutes to 10, in the matter of a few weeks - but with school (again, the theme of this post at this point!) I don't think skipping for 10+ minutes is feasible, even though I'm getting up way earlier (will discuss that later). So I'm currently looking for some kind of skipping variations that are a lot harder than regular skipping, and therefore, I would only need to do them for a shorter amount of time. And this is where I ask, do you have any suggestions?
• Morning routine has changed - Before, I was getting up at 8am. Now? Like my skipping, like my workouts, I have progressively overloaded my morning routine too, progressively getting up earlier and earlier, like, getting up 15 mins earlier every 4 ish days - for about the past 2 weeks. So now I am getting up at 6.15am, which is where I will stay at, because it gives me ample time to keep up with my positive morning habits (e.g. morning meditation for 5 mins, stretching for 5 mins, skipping for 5 - 10 mins, drinking lots of water as soon as I get up) and still have time for school preparation (e.g. prepping bag, prepping school meals, prepping clothes). This also means that I'm going to bed earlier, where before, I would simply go to bed when I felt like it, sometimes up until 11.45pm (which in today's standards is okay, but not in my standards), and now, the latest I sleep is around 10.50pm, which means I'm getting around 7.5 hours of sleep - not quite 8 hours, but good enough I'd say.
• (this isn't totally health related but...) I've gotten my braces removed! - I've been wearing metal braces for the past year and 5 months, and boy, has it been a journey. My teeth used to be quite wonky and one of my teeth was bent backwards quite a bit (I think wonky teeth runs in my family haha), however, just 1 year and 5 months later, my teeth are pearl white and aligned perfectly. It still feels crazy, I can't help but grin whenever I pass by a mirror just to take in the beauty of my teeth lol. Getting my retainers in a couple of days, have to wear them all day for the first 6 months, then every night for the next 6, then wear them 3 nights per week for life. I'm cool with that.

To be honest, this thread post thingy has kinda just become a personal blog, but nonetheless I hope you found some value in reading this. (also please leave below any questions and/or suggestions)
Thank you!

 

[Akaushra]

Another thing with us Indians is that even if we’re ABCD’s and live in America and eat meat, we just do not have great genetics.

 

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[the hawk of dawn]

Another thing with us Indians is that even if we’re ABCD’s and live in America and eat meat, we just do not have great genetics.

haha, I can absolutely vouch for this

but in my opinion, life is full of hurdles, obstacles, adversities... so just simply adapt, work your way around obstacles, and continue progressing

also thanks for replying, hope you're having a good day!

 

[Akaushra]

haha, I can absolutely vouch for this

but in my opinion, life is full of hurdles, obstacles, adversities... so just simply adapt, work your way around obstacles, and continue progressing

also thanks for replying, hope you're having a good day!

Thank you man, we’re all gonna make it

 

[the hawk of dawn]

it's been a while...

But the self-improvement has been going great!

It's been roughly 3-4 months since I last posted.
I'd like to give a quick update on what's happened since...

Started on daily cold showers every morning...

• From 2nd September, I started taking cold showers every morning. This has many benefits, like increasing dopamine sustainably (unlike how social media does), as well as improving tolerance towards the cold (and discomfort in general).
• I've recently hit 100 days of cold showers in a row; I've not skipped a day since I started, and haven't gotten sick at any point, despite it being winter.

Meditating twice a day now...

• Since my last post, I started meditating twice a day, once in the morning, and also at night as usual.
• I have now hit 100 days of meditation as well, and I'm currently on day 124 or 125.
• For a few weeks, I experienced a drastic improvement in my mindfulness - my brain felt less foggy and I experienced less wandering thoughts. However, at the moment, my mindfulness has dropped slightly... perhaps I need to up the ante with my meditation.

Started stretching every morning...

• I felt that stretching every morning would be an effective way of improving my flexibility and relieving myself of any lower back or leg pain from my workouts (more on my workouts later).

Started Deep Journalling every morning...

• Deep journalling consists of asking oneself "deep" questions, where the answer may not come to mind straight away, and therefore a bit of digging deep within is needed.
• I've started this more recently, so I've not experienced any long-term benefits yet, but it's a nice way of self-discovering and potentially giving myself actionable advice to implement into my life.

Weight gain grind...

• Since Aug 1, which is when I started my weight gain journey / diet overall, I've gained an average of slightly above 1kg per month.
• I now currently weigh around 52.5kg; at the start of August, I was hovering at 47kg.
• I've been on a calorie surplus 9 days out of 10: I still have days where I may not eat exactly enough, but all in all, I've made tremendous progress and will continue to do so.
• I've been on a clean bulk rather than dirty bulk, despite some of my friends' suggestions, as I'm not willing to sacrifice my short- or long-term health just to put on a few extra kg's. The weight gain has been going well all the same, however.
• Also improved my diet: Eating more nuts and pulses (specifically chickpeas), as well as fruits. Eating eggs very consistently overall.

Started manifesting...

• I've started manifesting, as it is a powerful way to shape one's identity to match their dream version of themselves.
• My manifestations at the moment are...
  I am a successful entrepreneur
  I have retired my parents
  I am fit and healthy
  I am spiritual and present
  I am a hard-worker
  I am organised and productive

Progressively overloaded workout routine...

• My workout routine is now much more intense compared to before.
• I still workout at home, but I bought some more dumbbells so that I could start doing exercises involving 2 dumbbells, rather than just using the 1 that I had.
• I've made improvements in my strength too - I can now do up to 20 push-ups on a good day, whereas before, 10 or less was the maximum.
• I've seen a notable difference in my chest, especially since I have started training it more. My abs are also more visible than before, despite the weight gain.
• I will post my workout routine at the bottom of this message.
• I'll also post some progress pics alongside.

Some other improvements to my overall lifestyle...

• Drinking more water. I know drink a solid 2.5L of water a day.
• Reading more and more entrepreneurship / self-improvement books.
• Consuming no degenerate, "entertainment" content. Only watching self-improvement videos.

However, I'm not perfect, so here are some problems and setbacks I've experienced along the way...

• Still sometimes mind-wander and overthink stuff. Not as productive and efficient with my time as I could be.
• Struggled to eat avocados consistently.
• Became really mindful, then suddenly less mindful. *sad face*
• Getting slightly less sleep than I used to: I now wake up at 5am (and sleep at 9 - 9.30pm) so I can workout in the morning (since school revision was interfering with my afternoon workouts).

So there's about as much as I can think of saying. I feel somewhat bad for not keeping you guys updated, but oh well.


View attachment 53016

 

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[Spenny]

Weight gain grind...

• Since Aug 1, which is when I started my weight gain journey / diet overall, I've gained an average of slightly above 1kg per month.
• I now currently weigh around 52.5kg; at the start of August, I was hovering at 47kg.
• I've been on a calorie surplus 9 days out of 10: I still have days where I may not eat exactly enough, but all in all, I've made tremendous progress and will continue to do so.
• I've been on a clean bulk rather than dirty bulk, despite some of my friends' suggestions, as I'm not willing to sacrifice my short- or long-term health just to put on a few extra kg's. The weight gain has been going well all the same, however.
• Also improved my diet: Eating more nuts and pulses (specifically chickpeas), as well as fruits. Eating eggs very consistently overall.

I'd put the most emphasis on this & I wouldn't be surprised if most of your results have come from this. Going to the gym is a fantastic action. Stretching is a great action. These get you results. But I'll quote myself on a post I made.

Here's what else you've been doing, too.

Meditating twice a day now...

• Since my last post, I started meditating twice a day, once in the morning, and also at night as usual.
• I have now hit 100 days of meditation as well, and I'm currently on day 124 or 125.
• For a few weeks, I experienced a drastic improvement in my mindfulness - my brain felt less foggy and I experienced less wandering thoughts. However, at the moment, my mindfulness has dropped slightly... perhaps I need to up the ante with my meditation.

Started on daily cold showers every morning...

• From 2nd September, I started taking cold showers every morning. This has many benefits, like increasing dopamine sustainably (unlike how social media does), as well as improving tolerance towards the cold (and discomfort in general).
• I've recently hit 100 days of cold showers in a row; I've not skipped a day since I started, and haven't gotten sick at any point, despite it being winter.

Started Deep Journalling every morning...

• Deep journalling consists of asking oneself "deep" questions, where the answer may not come to mind straight away, and therefore a bit of digging deep within is needed.
• I've started this more recently, so I've not experienced any long-term benefits yet, but it's a nice way of self-discovering and potentially giving myself actionable advice to implement into my life.

Started manifesting...

• I've started manifesting, as it is a powerful way to shape one's identity to match their dream version of themselves.
• My manifestations at the moment are...
  I am a successful entrepreneur
  I have retired my parents
  I am fit and healthy
  I am spiritual and present
  I am a hard-worker
  I am organised and productive

Some other improvements to my overall lifestyle...

• Drinking more water. I know drink a solid 2.5L of water a day.
• Reading more and more entrepreneurship / self-improvement books.
• Consuming no degenerate, "entertainment" content. Only watching self-improvement videos.

This stuff above may take up a good chunk of your day, but I'm willing to bet 80% of the results were because of the gym - the rest is 20%.

That's great! But you've got to remember that while you're meditating, reading entrepreneurship books, having cold showers, deep journalling...

... People still have problems that they need to solve.

Read this quote from a post I made about my most significant lessons for my first year on the forum:

TO ALL YOUNG FASTLANERS - Journalling, meditation, reading, overcoming social media, cold showers, and gratitude don't do anything past a point. I can’t emphasise this enough. I often see people starting and never leaving this stage because it's uncomfortable (I did this).

• Go produce something of value.
• Get a purpose. Align identity with that purpose. Do something. Doing is ten times better than becoming an amateur philosopher.
• Don't trick yourself into watching Hamza, Alex Hormozi, or anyone else as "education". It's entertainment unless you're taking notes during the video.

I'm saying all of this because I fell into this for years, and I reflect, and I saw I hadn't done a thing to help another person & create a business off the back of it. Had I moved forward? Well, I think I had at the time, but nothing happened. I made this exact mistake.

"Why am I not moving towards being a fastlaner?"
"Why am I posting weekly accountability, and nothing is happening?"
"Why am I so damn broke? I journalled!"

I knew I wasn't doing anything, and I started catching on that I wasn't doing enough focus on business. The final nail in the coffin was from @BizyDad (thank you again!).

It wasn't directed at me, but it felt like he had shaken me through the screen. The text in bold resonated.

Stop posting daily updates if you have nothing business to talk about. Get serious or be quiet.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow?

Tomorrow is not promised to you. Tomorrow never comes buddy. Tomorrow is where the dreams of the inactive go to die. All you have is today.

But convincing your dad to spend money on you when you can't even be bothered to physically take care of yourself enough to exercise. You had a whole day of no school, you could've played games, exercised AND tried to convince your dad.

But here's the thing. Even if you do convince your dad, he'll be wasting his money because you won't take action.

So I have a better idea.

Why don't you take inspiration from any number of threads on here where school-age kids are making money.

And then save that money to do the Fox school if you want.

This forum is not a place for shortcuts and handouts.

It's for action takers and money makers.

You want to be taken seriously? You want to inspire other people? You want your dad to respect you and say yes to your ideas?

Learn to take action. Learn how to provide value. Learn how to ask for what you're worth.

From someone other than your father.

And stop with all the nonsense and crutches. You're mindfulness doesn't work because you don't want it to work. You're not committed to your success yet. You have it too easy.

It's time to start growing up and taking responsibility to make the things that you want to see happen happen.

This was in June, going into July. As soon as I consciously shifted my focus from "self-improvement" to "business", everything exploded.

I stopped posting anything about self-improvement as a primary goal. I had to talk about business. I made the active decision on my accountability thread.

You can see the before and after. It is a CLEAR distinction point for me.

... here's the kicker: my self-improvement got BETTER

Here's what I achieved in five months:

• I gained 5kg in muscle mass in three months
• from squatting 80kg 3x10 reps to 115kg 3x10 reps
• I filled out my shirts, my trousers - everything. I had to buy new clothes because I was ripping the old ones.
• I was able to be not only strong but also flexible. I can touch my toes, feel my hands behind my back and sit in an Asian squat with ease.
• My mind is more at ease than at any other time in my life & there is not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for. I'm also at peace that EVERY DAY, I'm moving towards the Spenny I envision at thirty - that gives tremendous satisfaction & joy.

Do not take this the wrong way; any action is better than not trying, but we have a common trope in self-improvement that we need to do xyz hack - when all we need to focus on is sitting ourselves down & working on a problem. That, and then peppering in living healthy. It shouldn't be the other way around.

"How can you make a sale this week? Who can you help?" I already hear @Andy Black shouting.

 

[Akaushra]

(p
Started manifesting...

• I've started manifesting, as it is a powerful way to shape one's identity to match their dream version of themselves.
• My manifestations at the moment are...
  I am a successful entrepreneur
  I have retired my parents
  I am fit and healthy
  I am spiritual and present
  I am a hard-worker
  I am organised and productive

Hey bro, good to have you back and good to see the update, keep at it.

I am going to have to warn you though, "manifesting" is...

Well, its good-for-nothing bullshit. It's action faking. Notice, though, that in your manifest you have these goals.

I am a successful entrepreneur
I have retired my parents
I am fit and healthy
I am spiritual and present
I am a hard-worker
I am organised and productive

This is who you want to be. Let me ask you...

What buisness are you working on?
How much money exactly is needed, and how can I scale the above to fit this?
What's your diet/fitness like? (of course, I know this, and like 9.2/10 amazing job but it's to prove my point.
How can you improve your meditations to fit this?
How are you callusing your mind to become one?
When was the last time you cleaned your room?

Look at your "dream version" as goals.

I'm afraid to say it...

but you have a (not so) rare condition

Hepatitis AF - Action Faking.

We cannot administer the cure. You must do it yourself. The habits you have built for yourself are fantastic. But at the end of the day they don't give your parents the security they need. They don't make you automatically become Mark Zuckerberg, David Goggins, and Andrew Huberman rolled up in one.

Action does that.

Work for 15min-3hr a day on each goal, specifically on getting yourself closer to this goal. Specific work.

To make yourself more organized: Tidy your room and make your bed. - 15 minutes.

To make yourself a successful entrepreneur - find a need and figure out systems to fill it. If it doesn't seem viable, find more needs. - 3 hours.

Godspeed brother, I hope you do not find my words painful to hear and can accept them.

"Because who are we if not imperfect dirt-scratchers who want to be gods, living in the skies? The difference is self-mastery."
-Me, about three seconds ago