r/fitness30plus

39 y/o male currently 195 pounds 6ft. Have been consistently working out for 4 years minus some injuries, vacation, burnout and just plain old life events. My Starting weight was 230, currently on a PPL split workout out 4-6 days a week with 10-20 minutes of stairs when there is time, try to eat Whole Foods while limiting alcohol, and eating out. I do not track my macros. Feel like I have hit a plateau for about the last year, I would like to cut some more fat and improve my chest development before I officially hit 40. Any tips are appreciated. Thank you!

Training for an event and this is definitely not one of my favorite ones. Really putting the hands to the test.

Posted a progress pic prob a month or two ago but showing more progress.

Looked at my weight tracking and was probably 195 in the first pic. Sitting around 165 today. Goal is to hit 158-160 and maintain for the rest of summer.

Have kept things very simple with my approach.

1800-1900 calories a day - 160+ grams of protein 10k+ steps a day with incline treadmill and weighted vest thrown in Weight lifting 3x a week Jujitsu 2x a week

MacroFactor has my tdee around 2600-2700 so definitely in a big deficit but hoping to jump to maintenance once I hit my goal weight

June 25 to May 26, for the first 6 months I was doing OMAD/KETO cuts and destroying any muscle I had and struggling to perform at the gym. December onwards I locked in with tracking everything I ate and spent more time learning about nutrition and choosing better foods whilst being at a calorie deficit (BMR is 2600 and I eat around 1750 on a good day).

I still love the odd takeaway so progress could have been quicker but this is a life style change not a sprint.
For the first time in 35 years I can actually look in the mirror and be happy with how I look, even though I am just starting my journey.
Current goal is to hit 70KG which I think will put me around 12% BF and then maintain over summer and then slowly bulk over the colder months and hit the gym much harder with the increased energy levels and higher testosterone as my levels have dropped from the long cutting cycle.

Only started going to the GYM in June, with only previous experience being some barbell bench press back when I was 16. All self taught and educated from the wealth of information on YouTube.

Just wanted to share because I once thought i was too old and didn’t think getting in shape was possible. I’m 6 foot 7, 36 years old, starting point 414 pounds. Morbidly obese according to my bmi. I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure, border line being diabetic.

I got to a point where I honestly just stuck. No structure, poor eating habits, drinking, soda, no consistency. Lost all confidence in myself, and really started to be embarrassed by the way I looked.

Full transparency, to get started I used a GLP-1 to kickstart things early on, mainly to control appetite and stop the constant overeating. Around the same time I got bloodwork done and found out I had low testosterone, supposedly a very common thing with high bmi guys in late 30s. Highly recommend guys to get tested and do it the right way through a doctor, don’t use sketchy gym bros.

I started TRT, which helped with energy, recovery, and consistency in the gym.
The meds helped me get moving, but the results came from sticking to the basics daily.

Diet:
I kept it simple and repeatable.
Focus: high protein, low carb
Typical foods:
Eggs (breakfast staple)
Chicken breast
Steak
Occasionally yogurt/protein snacks/popcorn
Big changes:
Cut out soda completely
Cut out alcohol
Stopped mindless snacking
Calories/macros:
I didn’t follow a super strict macro split at the start. The priority was:
Stay in a calorie deficit
Hit high protein daily
As I got leaner, I tightened things up more:
Protein: high (around 1g per lb goal bodyweight)
Carbs: lower/moderate depending on training
Fats: filled in the rest
If I had a higher calorie day, I balanced it out with more activity instead of quitting.

Training:

Biggest thing was this. Walking every day and I mean every single day. I turned tv time and video game time into outdoor walks. I’ve had reconstructive knee surgery and cannot jog. I knew I had to get in some form of cardio so I just started walking. To lose over 40% bw you need to burn more calories then you take in. Also very beneficial to listen to audio books while you walk. Listened to all kinds of books to better myself instead of mindlessly scrolling like I use to do.

Built up to 15–20k steps/day
Lifting:
4–5 days per week
Basic split (nothing fancy):
Chest
Back
Legs
Arms/shoulders

Today I’m healthier than I ever was. My bloodwork has went from very high cholesterol and high risk factors to being perfectly healthy. No longer have sleep apnea and the biggest thing is being confident in myself again. Glad to answer any questions

After being on so many fertility meds, and so many heartbreaking years (8). I knew I wanted to focus on me and be comfortable in my skin. I have always worked out and ran but you couldn’t see those efforts in my body. Fast forward to having my last baby in 2023, and I dialed in my nutrition and going even harder at the gym. It was such a hard road but happy at 42 to be in the best shape. It can be done!

Starting weight 165, current weight 110, height is 5’4”.

What I did:
- one meal a day with two high protein snacks. My meal could be anything I wanted. I didn’t count calories or track macros. I had tracked macros on and off for the previous 10 years and found it didn’t work for me.
- my workouts are either Orangetheory or running 3-5 mile a day plus lifting. Two days a week I’ll do a double where I add spin or yoga. I workout 5 days a week.

Wanted to hit 200kg before my Birthday. Achievement unlocked. 83kg body weight here.

Programmed in single leg hops to help break up scar tissue on left achilles from surgery years ago.

Iv been lifting for 20yrs. When I first put a bar on my back I had 10lbs on each side and it felt like the world. Today I squated 315lbs for 3 sets of 2. 38yrs old and getting stronger every day.

I’ve been focusing on lats, shoulders and chest to try and fill out some proportions, but I feel like the area in question is a little too low for even my lower lats to fill out.

I feel pretty good but I feel like my hips are just always making me not super comfortable with a shirt off even after 1.5 years of home workouts and 6 months of gym workouts.

Any advice to target this area?

6'8" 240lbs.

1st Set 1REP

2nd Set 2REPs

3rd SET 3REPs.

Wanted to get some good pictures yesterday and it ended up just ruining my day. I look huge and it just doesn’t make sense. I’m 5’8 and only 138 lbs. the last image is edited to what I want to look like or feel I should look like. I feel like my stomach is so far away from my back and I look so wide. It’s not the way I’m posing because I tried literally every pose and sucking in and there was literally no other way to hide it. Is there anyway to fix this or am I cooked :( I feel disgusting.

Also wouldn’t mind a form check

Like a lot of us, I was in great shape in my 20s. Lifted, had run marathons, tracked macro and calories. My 30s hit, I had a 70 mile round trip commute, I got complacent and was doing a lot of drinking, eating, and couching. Then, covid happened, and I really let myself go. I worked from home, ordered in a lot, and stopped weighing or tracking any calories or macros whatsoever. I avoided mirrors and having pictures taken. It wasn’t until I saw pictures of a get together with friends post covid, that I saw what I had done, and it hit me hard.

I started running again. It suuucked. I cut out alcohol. I stopped smoking. I bought the 5/3/1 book and started lifting. I tracked my calories. And it worked! I lost 40lbs and ran a marathon. I felt good and rewarded myself by starting drinking again. The weight started coming back.

So, I finally stopped drinking altogether. My breakfast and lunch are usually the same thing every day. Dinner also mostly the same.

Breakfast: 2-3 eggs, chicken sausage, toast, almond milk+scoop of whey.

Lunch: mixed greens with feta, chicken or beef, dressing.

Snack on a protein bar or chips.

Dinner: rice, vegetable, protein.

Dessert: yogurt

I get up around 4:30 to lift during the week. I’ve been doing the Stronger by Science templates. They’re free and they are 21 week cycles. I plug in my numbers and for about half a year, I do what the numbers say.

I’m running 30-40 miles per week, an can run a sub 20min 5k.

I’m in bed by 9:30-10:00pm

I’m by no means shredded, but I am immensely proud of the work I’ve done to getting to a place where I have a body that can be active and healthy for years to come.

Been training on and off for years with mediocre results. Recently turned 37, just had a newborn son, and decided this is my now or never moment. Built a serious home gym — Rogue rack, belt squat, full dumbbell set, echo bike — and locked in on a real program for the first time.

I’m 6’3” / 187lbs, probably 17-18% body fat. Goal is an athletic dense physique — think NHL player build, not bodybuilder. Lean, proportional, functional looking. The kind that looks powerful in a shirt and impressive without one.

6-7 weeks in and starting to feel like things are moving but I know I’m early. Getting protein, training 4x week, doing Zone 2 cardio, cleaning up nutrition.

What I actually want to know — for those of you who trained for YEARS with average or frustrating results, then made specific tweaks that completely changed your trajectory — what were those tweaks?
Not looking for “just be consistent bro.” Looking for the specific things that made the real difference when you finally figured it out.